ã€ŠMMORPG: Rebirth of the Mortal Onlineã€‹


 Chapter 1: Second Great Guild War

    <h4>Chapter 1: Second Great Guild War</h4>

    Year 2163 - The third year in the Second Great Guild War.

    At the ck Sea, in an unnamed ind.

    Thump!

    A horse-drawn carriage wheeled down a bumpy dirt road, kicking up clouds of dust and small pebbles as it rumbled along.

    "..." A ck-haired man looked at the unopened letter in front of him with a thoughtful look.

    He was dressed in simple but elegant silver armor with a symbol of a six-pointed star on his shoulder pad. He had a sheathed sword dangling from his waist, a silver scabbard, and a shield slung over his back.

    His short, neatly trimmed beard entuated his sharp jawline and navy-blue eyes, which were intense and piercing.

    Along with his pale skin, he looked pretty pleasant to look at, but his expression was somewhat sorrowful and seemed toe from deep within his soul.

    "Adam," a brown-haired man who was seated beside him called out as he looked at the letter. "Aren''t you going to open it?"

    Adam looked at the letter, then shook his head and ced it inside his chest pocket so the letter would be close to his heart.

    "I don''t need to," he said with a sigh and looked out of the window, watching the forest pass by. "Is this really reliable information? I don''t know why, but this is too good to be true."

    The brown-haired man''s smile slightly vanished, and he seemed anxious for some reason.

    "This information came from Sapphira herself. She has never let us down before."

    "You are right, Liam." Adam wryly smiled to himself, not quite sure why he was having a weird feeling, and then looked to the two people seated opposite him.

    One of them had simr-colored brown hair as Liam, but she looked more attractive with gentle-looking eyes and bob-cut hair and a slender figure that made the armor look slightly too big for her.

    She was Lisa, Liam''s twin sister.

    Beside her, a long-legged beauty with navy-colored eyes and long ck hair sat with a book in hand. She looked very intellectual, with fair skin and long eyshes that entuated her mature-looking eyes.

    With her slender, curvaceous body, she exuded an aura of grace and poise that would make it hard for any man to look away from her.

    She was Amelia, an old friend of Adam''s that spanned all the way from middle school.

    "Nikhs, are we close?" Adam opened the door slightly, letting in the cold wind of the approaching winter and shouted towards the driver.

    At the driver''s seat, thest member of their party used the reins to steer the horse down the dirt path.

    He had a bushy beard that seemed big enough to house a whole family of birds and a wide-brimmed hat that cast a shadow over his face. His body was big and muscr, the result of his former upation as a lumberjack before he focused all his time on Mortal Online.

    He had a rugged, weathered appearance that didn''t make him really popr with the opposite sex, but he had a gentle-looking expression that made him seem kind and caring.

    "We have reached the end of the line!" Nikhs shouted as he saw a small mountain in the distance that was blocking the dirt road from going any deeper into the forest.

    He gently made the horse''s stop, and the carriage stopped right beside the thick-looking forest that seemed endless around them.

    The cold wind whispered through the branches, making them sway and scratch each other with their wooden fingers.

    After opening the door, Adam jumped out of the carriage and looked around the surroundings with narrowed eyes.

    The forest was thick and dark, with lots of cover, making it the perfect ce for someone to try to ambush them.

    However, even with his Kiryoku, he couldn''t sense any danger nearby.

    It eased some of Adam''s worries, even though the strength of his Kiryoku had only slightly grown from his infant state. After all, he was never a patient enough to practise it.

    In situations like this, with uncertainties lying behind every corner, he regretted it.

    "Finally." Lisa let out a gentle moan while stretching her limbs as she stepped out of the carriage.

    Liam looked towards the small mountain that blocked their path and saw that there was an archway, barely the size of an ordinary door, leading deep inside the mountain.

    It looked like the archway was nature-made, but also like the rims of the archway was chiseled by a man.

    "We should hurry up!" Liam turned to Adam and shouted for some reason. "No time to waste!"

    "Why are you shouting?" Adam frowned and did a zipping mouth motion with his hand. "This is near enemy territory. Absolute silence is preferred."

    "Ahah, sorry." Liam sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

    Shouting, ignoring the potential threat, and carelessness wasmon mistakes among Mercenarymen, but not for experienced mercenaries such as them.

    However, Adam swept away the mistake because he thought it was just Liam''s excitement, knowing that they were close to winning the war for Lady Sapphira.

    "Let''s move." Adam said and took the lead as they headed towards the mountain.

    After stepping through the archway, Lisa and Liam lit up theirnterns, giving Adam enough light to see where he was walking.

    After a short while, Adam''s eyes shrunk into a narrow line, and his legs instinctively stopped moving.

    "What is it?" Liam asked with a few sweat drops trickling down his face, and he didn''t bother keeping his voice down. "We are almost there."

    "Quiet." Adam shout-whispered, almost sounding like he was shouting based on his facial expression, but the words came out as a whisper, and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his sword, but the intensity of the danger was almost overwhelming.

    "This is a dangerous ce. We should return and ask for reinforcements."

    "But we are so close!" Liam shouted. "We traveled all the way from New World to get here!"

    "Don''t you think this is strange?" Adam asked with a suspicious whisper. "Why did they send me here if there was something that could help Star Faction win the war? Why not someone stronger?"

    "Other generals were busy and their armies were needed elsewhere," Amelia whispered, trying to convince him. "And Sapphira trusts in you, always has."

    "..." Adam stayed silent, his mind racing with questions and doubts.

    However, the expectations weighed heavily on his shoulders.

    "Fine, but move quietly and slowly." Adam said while others nodded.

    They continued moving slowly, inching deeper and deeper into the center of the mountain.

    And, after a short while, they arrived at the heart of the mountain. It was a spacious room with arge stone pedestal in the center.

    However, there was nothing on top of the stone pedestal. It was empty room, and based on the carvings and scratches on the wall, it was a former Boss Room, but it was cleared a long time ago by mercenary party.

    Meaning, even the treasure chest had most likely been taken away. Therefore, there was nothing left to scavenge from this ce.

    "Nothing?" Adam frowned, and then his hair stood on end as he realized that something was off.

    ''My Kiryoku is going off! Someone ising, someone powerful...''

    p, p, p¡ªthunderous pping reverberated across the mountain as a person walked from the shadow of the rocky wall.

    He was a clean-shaven, handsome man with a sickening grin on his face and crimson eyes. He had long red hair that reached his lower back, and he was nearly two meters tall with a well-toned body.

    He exuded an aura of confidence and power that radiated like a scorching inferno.

    Adam drew his sword and pointed it at the man, feeling the intensity of the man''s Killing Intent that was locked into him.

    "Cmity..." Adam whispered coldly. "How bold of you toe here alone."

    "Hah," Cmity let out a shortugh and rested his cheek on his palm. "Alone? Hardly."

    Adam frowned, but at that moment, he felt a sharp nail stab into the back of his neck.

    "The fuck?" He quickly swatted the hand away and turned around to see Liam clutching his aching wrist with a cold expression on his face.

    Adam''s eyes shook, and he then plucked the nail out of his skin and saw that its tip was coated in some kind of slimy poison.

    At that moment, a notification popped up in front of him.

    [You have been poisoned!]

    "L-Liam, w-why..." Adam dropped down on one knee; he couldn''t see anything straight except the blurriness all around him. "A-Amelia, N-Nik... L-Liam p-poisoned me; k-kill him!"

    However, Amelia, Nikhs, and Lisa didn''t move and instead looked towards Cmity and bowed with mixed emotions on their faces.

    "W-what..." Adam''s eyes trembled as he tried to process what was happening in front of him.

    "See, I am not alone," Cmity walked towards him with his hands inside his pockets. "Your friends have betrayed you. They led you here, so I can zero you."

    "W-why..." Adam whispered and screamed as he tried to stand up, but he realized that he must''ve been poisoned by Chaosbeing''s essence, as only something like that could paralyze him in an instant.

    "I am sorry; I really am," Liam crouched in front of Adam and gently lifted his head to look into his eyes. "However, the Death Faction will win this war. Cmity promised us a seat in his council."

    "Hah..." Adam let out a weak chuckle. "A-after everything we did... you betrayed me for money?"

    "Not only for that," Liam shook his head. "It''s not like we killed you. You have done enough; live your life outside the game; get a family; that sort of Normie stuff."

    "Y-you don''t get it..." Adam suddenly grabbed Liam by his cor and pulled him closer. "T-this is my life."

    Liam paled and quickly removed Adam''s and backed off quickly, but he identally tripped on a small rock on the ground and fell down on his back.

    "Ouch..."

    "Brother, are you alright?" Lisa ran to her brother, and helped him to stand up. She then looked at Adam, conflicted look on her eyes, then she said. "If you were in our shoes, you would''ve done the same thing."

    "Who do you think I am?" Adamughed and looked towards Amelia and Nikhs. "What about you two? Nikhs, I helped you with your debt and never asked anything in return.

    "And you... Amelia, back in the school, wasn''t I the one that protected you from them? Without me, your life would''ve been a living hell."

    "That doesn''t mean I should be your loyal follower to the ends of time," Amelia said and crossed her arms to push her breasts up. "We are adults now."

    Nikhs looked coldly at Adam, and didn''t open his mouth. His usual gentleness and kindness had long disappeared.

    At that moment, Cmity scoffed and drew his glorious sword with a de that looked like it was made of hardened blood.

    Adam pulled out his medallion from his pocket and opened it, revealing an engraved heart with something written inside.

    Cmity ced the de against Adam''s neck, but then he saw the medallion. He frowned and snatched the medallion from his hand.

    As he saw the medallion, his eyes turned cold and rageful.

    The medallion read: ''Yours truly, Yu.''

    Cmity, in rage, smashed the medallion on the ground and broke it under his foot.

    Adam watched in silence, with blurry vision, as dozens of silvery pieces of the medallion scattered across the ground.

    "I truly don''t see what she saw in you." Cmity said coldly.

    "I am so tired of hearing your name, about how much of a genius you are, and that you''ll aplish great things.

    "I am Cmity, one of the Grand Lords and a person who achieved an S-ranked score on the tutorial. I am the man closest to challenging Konrad for the spot as High King!

    "Y-yet, why..." he gritted his teeth and raised his sword high. "Why are they always talking about you?!"

    "B-because..." Adam coughed blood and smiled. "They can see who you are, especially Yu. A pathetic worm, that''s all you are."

    "Pathetic, you say..." Cmity chuckled coldly and swung the sword down, beheading Adam with a single strike.

    As his head rolled down the ground, the light from Adam''s eyes disappeared, andstly, his body vanished among floating pixels that seemed to glow with otherworldly light.

    The pixels slowly faded from existence, and with that, thest sign of Adam also disappeared from Mortal Online.

 Chapter 2: Six-Pointed Star

    <h4>Chapter 2: Six-Pointed Star</h4>

    [Your ount has been reset!]

    [Name: Adam Palestar]

    [Level: 0]

    ***

    Adam slowly opened his eyes and saw the ss lid of his VR Pod slowly lift off, opening his sight to the room around him.

    He slowly climbed out of the VR Pod, and looked around the messy room, with clothes, alcohol bottles, and trash strewn about.

    It took him a moment to gather his thoughts.

    Ten years worth of hardships were wasted, just like this.

    As Mortal Online was verypetitive and strength ruled over everything, he started as nothing but Coinfeeder, the lowest rank.

    He climbed ranks, using his blood and sweat, struggling every day to avoid the threat of getting zeroed and his ount reset.

    In the end, he reached a highly respected Prime Mercenary rank and became one of the generals of Star Faction. He was respected and admired, which took nearly ten years to achieve.

    There were people who would kill him to be in his shoes, and now he was betrayed and killed by the people he trusted most. It wasn''t a rare thing to happen¡ªfriends would betray each other for their own selfish reasons.

    He never expected that to happen to him.

    Adam looked at his VR Pod, traced his finger across its smooth surface, and remembered the countless memories he had shared with his friends.

    However, when he thought about themughing and joking around the campfire, he felt like his breakfast was about toe back to the surface.

    "Amelia, Lisa, Liam, Nikhs..." Adam coldly whispered and stood up. "And Cmity..."

    At thest name, he added extra venom to his tone.

    "You''re all going to pay for what you''ve done." Adam''s eyes narrowed into a re as he walked out of the room.

    He stepped into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and began washing his face.

    After closing the faucet, he dried his face with the towel and looked at himself through the mirror.

    He grabbed the sink tightly, his eyes filling with tears.

    "Don''t think I am done..." Adam lowered his head and wiped his tears with his sleeve. "No matter how many times I get zeroed, I''ll return to kill all of you."

    At that moment, he raised his head to look into the mirror again, but then, over his shoulder, he saw a masked figure standing in the doorway of the bathroom.

    "Who¡ª" Adam turned around, but then felt a sharp object prating through his chest.

    When he looked down, he saw his chest bleeding, a blood-stained knife stabbing through his pale flesh.

    "Cmity says hi." The masked figure whispered coldly; his voice was muffled and unusually deep, as if the person was trying to hide his voice.

    "Otherworld Killer?" Adam whispered in shock with trembling eyes. "Why... why does he want to kill me?"

    "You can think about that in the afterlife." The masked figure grinned behind the mask and twisted the knife in the wound, causing Adam to scream loudly.

    "Fucker!"

    At that moment, with a bloody shout, Adam grabbed the masked figure by his throat and mmed his face into the mirror, shattering it in pieces.

    "Cough!" The masked figure coughed blood and stumbled backward, gasping for air.

    "Argh!" Adam, with his shoulder in front of him, tackled the masked figure and sent him crashing to the hallway wall.

    Arge dent appeared on the wall. It was human-sized hole and he almost flew straight through it.

    "Shit!" The masked figure cursed loudly, but then saw a fist flying towards him and quickly dove under it before rolling down on the floor to escape the attacker''s wrath.

    Crash!

    Adam pulled his fist from the fist-sized hole in the wall, and with his chest bleeding furiously and his vision turning hazier with every second, he approached the masked figure and cracked his bloodied knuckles.

    "I thought Otherworld Killers were scarier, as they kill yers in real life for money and for their sadistic purposes, but you are weak!" Adam stomped closer to the masked figure, his hands forming into fists.

    "Ptui!" The masked figure opened the mask slightly, just enough to show his mouth, and spat out blood.

    He then closed the mask again and scoffed. "I am not the one bleeding to death, am I?"

    "For now." Adam reeled in his fist and threw a wide punch at the figure''s face.

    SMACK!

    The punchnded squarely.

    The figure stumbled backward with bloodied nose, but quickly grabbed the railing and looked over his shoulder at the flight of stairs that went straight down to the bottom floor.

    If he hadn''t grabbed the railing, he would''ve stumbled down the stairs, and the end result wouldn''t have been nice. Most likely, his neck would''ve snapped with a crunch.

    Without slightest hesitation, Adam lunged forward and tackled straight into him.

    The masked figure''s ck eyes trembled as he saw the ceiling move further away, feeling his footing disappear.

    The two figures crashed into the steps of the stairs and stumbled down nearly a dozen steps before reaching the bottom of the stairs.

    "Argh!" Adam put his hand over the bleeding wound and groaned in pain. He felt like he was on the verge of passing out.

    The masked figure slowly stood up with a few groans of pain and pointed the knife at Adam, who was staining the nice-looking carpet under his feet with his crimson blood.

    "I suppose this is the end of ''The Adam'', the so-called sessor of Star Faction. Hah, what a fucking joke!"

    The masked figure thenunched forward and drove the knife deep into Adam''s waist, causing him to let out a blood-curdling scream.

    "This is only the beginning," the masked figureughed. "First, it''s you; then it''s time for Kiernan; then Perseus; then Fleur; and finally, it''s time for sweet Sapphira to die."

    "So, this is how Cmity ns to win this war." Adam said weakly.

    "Ruthless, but effective way," the masked figure grinned. "Once Star Faction is defeated, Cmity can challenge Konrad for the seat of the High King''s throne."

    "He won''t win..." Adam said with a bloodied smile. "He can try, but that waste of sperm will lose."

    The masked figure''s smile vanished, and he again twisted the knife in the wound.

    "Aaargh!" Adam grabbed the masked figure''s wrist and tried to make him pull the knife off his waist.

    "Grrrhh!" The masked figure gritted his teeth and let out a few groans of pain as he felt like his wrist was being crushed.

    "Haaa!" Adam screamed, and the trembling knife slowly slid off his waist and fell to the ground.

    The masked figure yanked his hand back from Adam''s clutches, but at the same time, his ck glove came off, revealing his pale-skinned hand and a six-pointed star tattoo on his thumb.

    After seeing the tattoo, Adam''s expression changed from confusion to shock.

    "Y-you are part of the Star Faction." Adam looked down at his own hand, and he had a simr six-pointed star tattoo on his thumb. "Only the core members of the faction tattooed the six-pointed star on the thumb. You are someone close to us..."

    "Hmph!" The masked figure''s eyes turned cold, and he pulled out another knife from his belt and lunged straight at Adam.

    This time, he stabbed the knife deep into Adam''s shoulder, very close to his neck.

    "Why..." Adam whispered coldly and grabbed the masked figure by his throat, squeezing as hard as he humanly could. "Who are you, and why are you doing this to us?!"

    "Ngh!" The masked figure''s face turned pale behind the mask, and he started stabbing the knife repeatedly on Adam''s chest.

    The blood spewed, and the sound of flesh getting killed filled the room, but the life slowly started to fade away from the masked figure''s eyes as the two hands, belonging to Adam, squeezed the life out of him.

    In these ten years, Adam focused on building his strength even in the real world and in this moment, the ten years of blood and sweat was finally worth it.

    Adam watched as the life slowly left the masked man''s ck eyes as his hands continued to squeeze his throat.

    Crackstly, the masked figure''s neck cracked, and he fell lifelessly on the ground.

    "Who are you..." Adam reached towards the mask, but at that moment, he lost his footing and fell to the ground.

    As his head mmed into the floor, his head cracked like a ripe apple, and without further ado, a pool of blood appeared around him.

    "No..." Adam cried out and tried to reach out to the mask, but his arm lost all of its strength, slowly falling to the ground.

    At the edges of his vision, darkness began quickly consuming everything, and he felt himself being pulled away from the world.

    "It''s cold..." Adam whispered as his vision faded to ck.

    ...

    Beep, beep!

    "Ugh..." A voice groaned in anger, and a figure rolled around in the bed, turning to his side and moving the nket to cover his face.

    Beep, beep.

    The rm continued to ring.

    "Five... no, ten more minutes..." The figure mumbled.

    He groaned and rolled over, burying his face in the pillow.

    At that moment, thirteen years worth of memories flooded his mind like a tidal wave.

    The figure mmed his eyes open, like a frightened rabbit and sat up in a hurry.

    "Six-pointed star!" The figure shouted in shock, but then he saw the room around him. It was a ce that had almost faded from his memory.

    "Wait..." He stood up and looked at his half-naked,nky body, with only his underwear covering his private parts.

    He fiddled with his toes and moved his fingers to ensure that it was really him and not just a memory of the past.

    "What in the world..." He stumbled out of the room, saw several doors, and a flight of stairs leading downstairs.

    He walked to the door in front of him and hesitantly turned the door handle, opening the door to the bathroom.

    As he stepped onto the tiled floor, he grabbed the sink and looked at his mirrored self in the mirror.

    "That''s... not possible." Adam muttered as he saw his younger self looking back at him.

 Chapter 3: The Return

    <h4>Chapter 3: The Return</h4>

    Adam touched his face, and the mirror mirrored his movements perfectly. He couldn''t believe his eyes.

    The pale-skinned face that wasn''t as weathered as his future self, theck of maturity in his features, and the unblemished, clean-shaven appearance.

    His future self, which was marred with scars of years gone by and battle-hardened muscles that were earned through blood and sweat, was all gone.

    He then looked down at his torso, traced his hand across the chest, and felt the softness of his skin. The knife wounds were gone.

    "What happened?" Adam wondered out loud and looked in the mirror. "Am I dreaming?"

    Creak¡ªat that moment, the door swung open, and a beautiful figure appeared in the doorway. A fair-skinned young woman, with pajamas draped over her, rubbed her sleepy eyes as if she had woken up just moments prior.

    Adam''s eyes trembled, and tears appeared in the corner of his eyes.

    The fair-skinned young woman opened her eyes wide and saw a half-naked young man looking back at her. Her cheeks flushed pink as she realized she had identally walked in on him.

    "A-Adam..." She shyly whispered as she quickly turned away. "I-I didn''t know you were using the bathroom, I swear!"

    "Alice..." Adam whispered, and his legs moved by themselves as he approached the young woman. Without thinking twice, he put his arms around her and pulled her close, holding her tightly.

    "I missed you." He whispered with tears trickling down his cheeks. "So much..."

    "O-oh..." She stuttered, her voice trembling as she looked up at him with flushed cheeks as she was held in such intimacy. "D-did I go somewhere?"

    At that moment, a wrinkled woman with light brown hair walked into the bathroom, her eyes fixed on the two, hugging with one of them being nearly naked.

    Her face turned red instantly, and she grabbed Adam by the ear and shouted loudly.

    "Adaaaaam! The hell are you doing to her?!"

    "Ouch!" As Adam was dragged out of the bathroom by the angry-looking woman, he said in surprise. "S-Serah?"

    "Go put clothes on!" She screamed and shoved him into his room. With her eyes trembling in anger, she mmed the door shut.

    Alice peeked from the bathroom, watching her mother storm angrily downstairs.

    As she looked towards the door of Adam''s room, she touched her chest, feeling the racing heart.

    "That was unexpected..." She thought with a shy smile and then closed the door, as she nned to take a shower before school.

    Inside the room, Adam sat back on his bed and touched his hands. He was certain that he was holding her as if she were really there.

    "This is not a memory..." He scanned the room and soon found his pants on the floor. He picked them up, searched the pockets, and soon found his phone.

    It was a phone, an old phone which he barely remembered. It was clearly a decade old, at least. However, now it looked brand new.

    After opening the phone, he saw the date and the current year.

    "2150..." Adam dropped the phone on the bed and covered his mouth in shock.

    "I was sent thirteen years into the past? It''s also been two days since my birthday.

    "I was still living with my government-appointed caretakers..."

    The government-appointed caretakers were a system created after the Dark gue swept across the whole world in 2130. It killed billions of people, and it only affected people who were over twenty years of age.

    His parents also died from the Dark gue, only a few days after his birth.

    Because of the sudden increase in orphans, the government-appointed caretaker system was put in ce. The orphans were put in the custody of a family that survived the Dark gue.

    Adam was sent to the Kindforth family when he was still very young and was raised by them.

    "This is really happening." Adam took a deep breath and felt like his heart couldn''t take so many surprises in one day.

    After a few minutes of sitting in silence, contemting things, he heard a knock on the door.

    "Uh,e in." Adam looked towards the door and said.

    The door slowly opened, and Alice walked in, drying her drenched hair with a towel.

    "Uhm, can you put clothes on?" She asked shyly and looked away. She had expected him to put on clothes already.

    "Oh." Adam stood up and grabbed his clothes from the floor. After slipping his legs into the trousers, he zipped them up and put on his shirt.

    "By the way." Alice sat down on the chair after seeing that he had finished getting dressed and asked curiously. "You acted strangely in the bathroom. Is everything alright?"

    Adam looked silently at the beautiful young woman and watched as her mouth moved as she spoke. He couldn''t help but feel emotional.

    "Uhm..." He shook his head and smiled. "Y-yeah, just a bad dream, I suppose."

    Alice tilted her head in curiosity. She felt like he wasn''t beingpletely truthful, but she didn''t push the matter further.

    "Anyway, my mother might be... little angry after that," she shyly smiled after remembering the scene in the bathroom and continued. "You should probably leave for the store first. Maybe she has calmed down by then."

    "Store?" Adam frowned and then let out a long sigh. "Right..."

    "Hehe, you forgot that you had work today?" Alice giggled and stood up. "Work hard; you can do it."

    "Heh." Adam chuckled and looked fondly at the young woman, who was both beautiful and kind and had always been one of the few people who actually cared about him.

    "I''ll have to go to school." Alice said, and as she was about to walk out of the room, she looked at Adam, smiled, and left.

    Adamid on his back, grabbed his phone, and turned it on.

    "Since it''s 2150, even the first Great Guild War hasn''t started. It is currently the so-called peace era, but it''s still all about strength.

    "Should I really start ying that game again?" Adam sighed. "It wasted ten years of my life; for what? Just to get betrayed and killed. I have a second chance; Alice is alive, and I can perhaps just make things right this time around."

    However, a sour feeling came to his mind then.

    "Without me, Cmity might really be the next king. It''s not like he was a good guy and turned bad because of greed.

    "Ever since I started ying in 2153, I have heard about him and his abuse of power. I have heard tons of disturbing things about him.

    "Also, Yu is there..."

    Remembering her face, Adam sighed deeply.

    "In my previous life, I started ying in 2153, three years from now on. The game has now existed for about 11 years, and it''s the biggest thing in the world, but it''s an extremelypetitive game, and only a handful of yers can make a name for themselves in that world.

    "However, I know about things the current yers do not know of." Adam scratched his head and chuckled.

    "There''re things they haven''t discovered yet. I could go and snatch them for myself. It''s not like I start from nothing again; I have memories of thirteen years of the future with me.

    "Also..." His eyes turned cold. "Amelia, Lisa, Liam, and Nikhs. They might not know what they did to me, but if I let them be after betraying me like that... hah."

    He then stood up from the bed and stretched his arms.

    "If I only found out the person who killed me, well, at least I know that he was ordered by Cmity to kill me. I never expected him to go so far.

    "But it''s not like it hadn''t happened before.

    "Some yers have sent ''Otherworld Killers'' after their rivals in real life after not being able to defeat them in-game and getting them killed.

    "It''s a dangerous game, but whoever manages to reach the top will be rich, powerful, and influential, like the High King¡ªKonrad."

    At that moment, a shout came from downstairs.

    "Adam, what is taking so long?!"

    "Sigh..." Adam sighed and pinched his be. "Well, first I have to go to work. Then, I can check for the next registration times for the next group of yers."

 Chapter 4: The Tutorial

    <h4>Chapter 4: The Tutorial</h4>

    Thump¡ªafter closing the car door, Adam heard the sound of an engineing to life, and then Serah, in the driver''s seat, drove off the yard and onto the road.

    "Listen!" Serah shouted, as she was still angry at what she saw in the bathroom. "You do not touch my daughter. You live under our roof, so you will listen to our rules!"

    "Got it." Adam nodded while seated in the passenger''s seat, gazing out of the window.

    "I could have already thrown you out when you turned 18, but out of my good will, I let you stay!" Serah''s nostrils red in anger.

    "You work in my store, listen to the rules of our household, and we''ll feed you, keep the roof above your head, and not ask for rent. Many orphans of the gue would be thrilled to be in your ce!"

    "I know," Adam said, his voice quiet as he stared out at the streets that looked familiar but felt like distant memories. ''I moved out because I got tired of being told what to do. I wanted to be in control of my life.''

    After a while of the car roaming across the streets of quaint little Navy Town, Serah parked the car in the parking lot of the small store that was owned by her.

    It acted almost like a flea market, with various shelves selling mostly donated stuff, but there was also a small section dedicated to handmade crafts and artwork, and at the back of the store, there was a section for farming, fishing, and gardening supplies.

    After getting out of the car, they entered the store and changed into their work uniform.

    As Serah opened the store, she looked over her shoulder at Adam, standing near an aisle that sold farming tools and equipment.

    "Go fill the shelves and make sure to put a price tag on them!"

    "Got it..." Adam saidzily, and he went to get a shopping cart from the back of the store. It had all the stuff he had to put on shelves, and there was also thebel marker, which he could use tobel the items.

    After pushing the shopping cart to one of the aisles, he started filling the shelves with the items while copying the price tag of the same items.

    The door started showing activity as customers began to swarm in. Serah greeted them with a warm smile that looked vastly different from how she was acting just recently.

    As Adam moved out of a few of the customers, he pushed the shopping cart to another aisle while thinking about Mortal Online¡ªthe game that he had been obsessed with almost his entire life.

    ''I need to purchase a VR Pod. I think I should have enough money, as long as I haven''t already spent it on some stupid shit. Then, I need to register for the game, and when the tutorial starts, I can''t leave the game for a few weeks...

    ''How can I let Serah let me do it? She''ll never allow me, and she will definitely threaten to toss me out of the house. I don''t want that to happen; I don''t want to leave Alice again.''

    As he was so upied by those thoughts, he sometimes put the wrong price tag on a few items.

    However, instead of fixing that, he moved onto another aisle to continue filling the shelves.

    ''Last time, I happened to meet Liam and Lisa in the same tutorial. So, it will be another three years before they start the game. I did reasonably well, but nothing major, and I barely got invited to any of the guilds.

    ''Only some second-rate guilds invited me, but I had no other choice than to join them. This time, I want to do much better, perhaps even try for an S-ranked score, which will open my path to any of the top guilds!''

    Adam thought excitedly, but he dropped a bucket of cold water on himself as he had to calm down his expectations. He knew that achieving an S-ranked score was nearly impossible, and in the current timeline, only five had ever managed to do so.

    Cmity being one of them.

    In the future, there were a few more, but it never went above 10 yers in over 20 years of the game being released!

    It told about how incredibly difficult it was.

    After Adam finished filling the shelves, he turned to the counter, where Serah finished restocking the candy.

    ''I have to convince her somehow. It will be incredibly difficult. It is possible to earn millions by ying Mortal Online at the top level, but only a few reach that level.

    ''If one reached a worse than D-ranked score in the tutorial, they wouldn''t receive Merchant Card and would be forced to y without the interface and as an ordinary person.

    ''Many quit the game after that, but some continued to y despite the challenges and try to gain a job as non-mercenaries, but with that, they can only earn minimalistic sumspared to mercenaries.

    ''There is only one try in the tutorial. Even if the yer got zeroed, aka killed, they wouldn''t be able to y the tutorial and are forced to join the game with the same score as they got on their first try.

    ''I got a C-ranked score, which was good enough for me back then, but it''s very mediocre, still it allowed me to be mercenary.''

    Adam pushed the shopping cart to the back of the store and then fixed the wrinkles in his work uniform as he headed towards the counter. He wanted to try to convince Serah to let him do the tutorial.

    "Serah." He knocked on the counter, trying to attract her attention.

    "What is it?" Serah asked while counting the money on the cash register. "Did you finish filling the shelves?"

    "I did, but there is something I want to talk to you about."

    "Hmm?" Serah closed the cash register and turned to look at the ck-haired young man.

    She crossed her arms and impatiently asked, "Well, what is it? I don''t have an entire day. A few of the customers are about to finish shopping."

    Adam wryly smiled, as he was expected to get spat on, shouted at, and cursed at¡ªmaybe not necessarily in that order.

    He cleared his throat and said:

    "Can I get a few weeks of vacation?"

    Serah looked nkly at him before smiling, her face turning shades to red.

    "Are you crazy?!" She screamed hoarsely. "Few weeks of vacation?! Are you nning to go to New Paradise for a holiday, or what the hell? Is this how you repay me by going on vacation?!"

    The few customers in the store looked away from the aisles towards the screaming woman and felt quite bad for the boy, as they believed his eardrums would be done after this.

    "All right!" Adam threw his arms up in the air. "Forget what I said."

    "Go clean the aisles!" Serah shouted and pointed towards one of the aisles. "Go!"

    Adam sighed, grabbed a broom, and walked to the aisle with his head hanging low.

    However, after he was out of Serah''s sight, he pulled out his phone and went to check the prize for VR Pods.

    ''I can only afford the Bronze VR Pod...'' He shrugged his shoulders. ''Well, it''s better than nothing.''

    After checking his bank ount, he returned to the website and ordered the VR Pod.

    ''It should arrive in three days.'' Adam pocketed the phone, and as he started cleaning, he had a hunch that Serah would be very mad.

    ''I still don''t know if she will throw me out. She isn''t aware of it, but we were actually somewhat close in the future. She''s not as bad as she acts.''

 Chapter 5: Plague Sickness

    <h4>Chapter 5: gue Sickness</h4>

    After returning home after a day of work, Serah dropped her bags and rubbed her shoulders. Then, after seeing Adam remove his shoes, she said:

    "Go clean your room. It''s a mess, and drop the silly thought of the vacation right away!"

    "Right, right." Adam sighed, went up the stairs, and entered his room.

    After closing the door, he took off his jacket andid down on the bed, feeling exhausted from the day''s events. He would have wished to take a few hours of rest to gather his thoughts.

    "Right, the registration." Adam pulled out his phone and went to Mortal Online''s website.

    There, he went to check the registration times.

    It waspletely full for the next couple of days, but there was a free slot on the third day¡ªluckily, it also happened to be the day when his VR Pod should arrive.

    If someone wanted to y Mortal Online, they couldn''t just purchase a VR Pod and hop on the game. One had to register for a certain slot for the tutorial.

    Then, the group of yers in that slot entered the tutorial together, and it wouldst for a few weeks. Quite many already dropped the desire to y the game after knowing that the tutorial couldst from a few weeks to a month.

    Luckily, the VR Pods had a hibernation program that allowed someone to stay that long inside the game. The Pod would take care of the person''s needs, such as a need for food, to empty the dder, etc.

    However, after such prolonged time inside the game, one would be suffering from so-called ''The Pod Syndrome.''

    It might take hours for the person to be able to walk alone, and they would be hungry and thirsty almost all the time until the syndrome ended. The person would also experience a range of other symptoms, including dizziness, nausea, and disorientation.

    That still didn''t stop millions from trying the so-called second world, which was unlike anything they had experienced. It was an experience that everyone had to experience at least once.

    Adam registered himself in that time slot and then closed his phone.

    ''I hope the VR pod arrives in time.'' He thought to himself. ''I also need to cook up an excuse that allows me to stay at home during that day. It won''t be easy; Serah has the instincts of an hawk.''

    ...

    Later that evening, Alice, Serah and a stern-looking man with sses on his face sat around the dining table.

    The man was John Kindforth, Serah''s husband and Alice''s father.

    He flipped through the newspaper and shook his head.

    "Again, another murder." He sighed and closed the newspaper. "This killing over the video game is getting out of control!"

    "Let''s not talk about such a rough subject at the dining table." Serah said while filling her te with sd and vegetables. "Where is Adam? He''ll be left without food if he doesn''t soone!"

    "I can go get him." Alice was about to stand up, but then her mother stopped her.

    "No need." Serah shook her head. "He had always had a belly full of food. Maybe when he is without food for a day, he''ll begin to appreciate it more!"

    Alice pouted and moved the fork around the sd with an absent expression. She didn''t like the way they treated Adam.

    At that moment, footsteps sounded from the stairs as Adam entered the living room.

    "Food is getting cold; eat!" Serah shouted and turned back to her food.

    Even though she was willing to let him starve for a day, if there was food on the table, she wouldn''t stop him from eating.

    "Hey, Adam." Alice smiled and pulled out a chair for him next to her. "How was the work? Was it busy?"

    "The usual." Adam sat next to her with a smile, but then nced at Serah and shook his head with a wry smile before upying himself with the food.

    "Hmph." Serah scoffed and used a napkin to wipe her lips. "John, do you know what Adam said today?"

    "Well, what?" John asked while cutting a steak on his te into tiny pieces.

    "He asked for a few weeks of vacation. Hah, what nerve!" Serahughed and angrily ate.

    "Oh?" John raised his eyebrow and nced briefly at Adam. "Well, why do you need vacation for? Is there any particr reason?"

    "Who cares about the reason?" Serah waved her hand dismissively. "If he wants to live under this roof, he will work!"

    "Mhm." Adam mumbled something while eating and then continued to eat in silence.

    John shrugged his shoulders and resumed eating. He wasn''t as angry at the thought of vacation as, in his opinion, Adam had worked hard since he began living with them.

    Having a few weeks of vacation wouldn''t be the end of the world.

    Alice looked around the dining table in silence and wondered whether Adam had some ce where he wanted to visit during that vacation.

    ''Maybe he would want toe with me to the hot springs some day.'' She thought about it and wanted to ask him sometime. ''It always brings me rxation. He had been working hard, so it could help him.''

    Adam stabbed the fork into the stake, making its juices flow down the te, mixing with the sd and vegetables.

    ...

    The days went by, and soon, it had been three days since Adam returned to the past.

    He had nothing except spending time with Alice and working in Serah''s store. He had used his phone to get caught up with the affairs of the current world, and he also started to remember some of the things that would happen in a month''s time.

    It made him feel strange, as it made him feel like a time traveler, which wasn''t too far from the truth.

    Unfortunately, he couldn''t remember any of the lottery numbers or how the stocks would perform, as those kinds of things didn''t interest him back then.

    Adam stayed under his nket, warming himself up, especially his forehead, and trying to make himself look as sick as possible.

    At that moment, the door swung wide open.

    "Still in the bed?!" Serah screamed and put her hands on her waist angrily. "Get up, we''ll have to go to work!"

    Adam rolled to his side, only showing his head, and coughed several times in a very convincing manner.

    "I-I think I became sick..."

    "Sick?" Serah crossed her arms with a frown and approached the bed. "What nonsense are you spouting? I have never seen you sick before."

    She leaned over him, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

    "W-well, l-look at this..." Adam showed his palm, his voice trembling like he was shuddering in the cold.

    On his palm, his veins were purple in color. and they looked like veins spreading across his fingers.

    Serah''s eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly backed off towards the door while covering her mouth with her sleeve.

    "A-alright, rest for today!"

    m¡ªshe closed the door in a hurry and seemed to leave the house as the front door opening and closing echoed from the downstairs.

    "Heh." Adam sat up and looked at his palm, then wiped the color off his palm.

    After the appearance of Dark gue, a new sickness called gue Sickness became very frequent. It would make a person''s veins turn dark purple, and it was very contiguous.

    Luckily, it wasn''t as deadly as the Dark gue, and one would get over it in a few days in most cases.

    It would often appear among orphans, as it was rumored that there was something in their DNA that caused their parents to die by Dark gue.

    The ones that survived Dark gue seemed to be immune, but Serah didn''t want to take any risks and quickly stormed off the building as she was a clean freak.

    "Whew, if she had checked my temperature, I would''ve been caught." Adamughed and stood up with a slight dance.

    "All right, the VR Pod should arrive in a few hours.

    "Then it''s time for the Mortal Online!"

 Chapter 6: Mortal Online

    <h4>Chapter 6: Mortal Online</h4>

    A delivery van slowly packed into the yard and parked in front of a two-story white-painted house with well maintained grass.

    The deliveryman walked out of the van with a clipboard in hand and saw the door open with a young man in his early twenties walking out of the house.

    "Adam Palestar?" The deliveryman asked.

    "That''s me." Adam said and wrote his name on the papers.

    The deliveryman then unloaded the package and rolled it into the house. It took both of them to carry it to the second floor, and once the package was put down in Adam''s room, the deliveryman bid farewell with sweat visible on his brows and left to do other deliveries.

    After closing the front door after the deliveryman left, Adam rushed into his room and unpacked his purchase. Soon, his Bronze VR Pod was set up and ready to use in the corner of the room.

    It was getting quite packed in the room because of the wardrobe, desk, bed, and now the VR Pod.

    "Whew." Adam wiped off his sweat and read some of the VR Pod''s instructions. But, after a short while, he tossed them away, as he had ten years worth of experience of fixing and using VR Pod.

    He even knew how to repair the VR Pod if it was malfunctioning.

    ''Now that John and Serah are still at work and Alice hasn''t returned from school, I could do this interrupted.''

    Adam crossed his arms and smiled at the VR Pod. His tutorial would start in a few hours, but he nned to enter the waiting room a little earlier and get used to moving with the Bronze VR Pod.

    He had used to y with the Diamond VR Pod, which was miles better than Bronze, but also more expensive. It had better reflexes, the feeling of touch was identical to real life, and it had a more realistic sense of immersion.

    At that moment, Adam realized something and went to rummage through the packages. Soon, he found what he was looking for.

    There were a bunch of nk cards with nk spaces for pictures and some information about the yer.

    ***

    [Name:]

    [Age:]

    [Location:]

    ***

    It was a VR card.

    With that, he could log into his ount, and if it went missing, the person''s ount would as well. Therefore, it was an absolute must to not lose it.

    That''s why Adam had always kept his card inside the VR Pod at all times, so whenever he went to y, he only needed to press the button and his consciousness would transfer to the other world.

    After taking out one of the nk cards, Adam opened the ss lid and climbed inside the VR Pod.

    He then lied down, put his head on the padded rest, and inserted the card inside a small card hole that was on the side.

    Below the hole, there were several buttons: one to close the ss lid, and one to transfer his consciousness to the virtual game.

    "It''s a little ufortable." Adam thought out loud as he tried to get into a morefortable position. He didn''t want to leave the game with massive neck pain.

    During this time, he wished he still had his Diamond VR Pod, which felt likeying on clouds.

    Adam then looked towards the button and reached out to it.

    As his finger gently pressed on it, Adam saw the ss lid covering the Pod glow. He then saw shes of light go past his vision, and then, without realizing it, he was standing in the middle of an empty white room.

    "Interface..." Adam whispered, and only a countdown appeared in his vision.

    ***

    [Game: Mortal Online]

    [Countdown: 1:47.56]

    [Do you want to enter the waiting room?]

    [Yes/No]

    ***

    ''1 hours and 47 minutes.'' Adam looked at the option and pressed yes.

    He was covered by floating pixels, and then he saw the scenery around him change as if he were on a fast-moving train.

    Atst, he appeared in a new location¡ªit looked like a cottage with a firece, two couches that could fit five people each, a table in the center of them, and arge window with a beautiful view of the surroundingndscape.

    He walked over to the window and looked outside towards the winter wondend with towering mountains, snowy forests, and a crystal-clear sky as if it were made of ice.

    "It''s still as breathtaking as before." Adamughed and went to sit on one of the couches.

    He then saw that there was a small book open on the table.

    He picked it up and saw that it was a help manual for the newer yers.

    However, Adam had read it countless times, so he ced it down and instead enjoyed the warmthing from the nearby firece, with logs crackling and popping in the background.

    "Ah, right..." Adam wryly smiled and stood up. "I forgot that I needed to get used to the Bronze VR Pod. I got swept up by the cozy atmosphere."

    He tried throwing punches, running, and moving all his fingers individually to see how different it was from the Diamond VR Pod.

    "Ugh, so slow and sluggish..." Adam grimaced as he felt like he was being held back by an invisible force.

    When he tried to touch the wall, he didn''t feel that it was really real, as he felt like the tips of his fingers were numb.

    His thoughts also felt sluggish, and when he wanted to move somewhere, it felt like he did that just a beat too slow.

    It was as if his body was in a state of disconnection from his mind.

    "This needs to get used to." Adam went back to the couch and sat down.

    He added another thing to the shopping list¡ªthe Diamond VR Pod.

    However, he was currently too poor to be thinking about purchasing such things¡ªBronze VR Pod alone emptied his bank ount.

    ''It would be quite embarrassing to get a worse result than before.'' Adam thought as he started to feel a little bit more nervous as the time for the tutorial neared.

    ''Well, now that I think about it, the reason for my somewhat poor score might''ve been Liam and Lisa. They were in danger of not bing mercenaries, but I spent thest remaining days helping them kill enough Chaosbeings.

    ''I could''ve reached a B-ranked score now that I think about it...''

    Adam sighed, and the more he thought about his old friends, the more frustrated he began feeling. Their friendship was over ten years old; they were at the bottom of the hierarchy at the same time, but they helped each other through the toughest times.

    ''It seems like I was the sacrifice for them to rise to even bigger heights.'' Adam scoffed.

    ''Nikhs always had money problems because of his gambling addiction. Liam and Lisa didn''t simply have the talent to be mercenaries.

    ''In this life, I suppose they might not even be ones.

    ''And then, Amelia...'' Adam scoffed and felt sick just thinking about her.

    He remembered Amelia in school, who was the most beautiful girl, and that attracted the attention of fellow male students and the wrath of female students.

    She was harassed and bullied by her female ssmates.

    Adam helped her get out of that situation, and he even spent some holidays with her family. Her family was very nice, and at one point, he also wished for them to have been his government-appointed caretakers.

    Unfortunately, he wasn''t lucky enough.

    However, Adam always had the feeling that Amelia was simply using him. She always seemed to be wearing a fake smile, and he couldn''t shake off the feeling that she was only pretending to care about him.

    "Whatever, just thinking about her makes me mad." Adam leaned on the couch and let out a deep sigh.

    At that moment, more lights appeared around the cottage.

    From those lights, figures started to appear.

    ''Oh, more yers.'' Adam''s expression turned serious. ''Let''s see who are my opponents this time.''

 Chapter 7: Coinfeeders

    <h4>Chapter 7: Coinfeeders</h4>

    "Whoah..." A blond-haired yer looked around the cottage with an intriguing look. "This is wild. Yo, are you guys seeing this?"

    With him, two other yers joined at the same time.

    They were equally impressed as they looked around and tried pinching each other to feel the sensation, whether it was anywhere close to real life as it was advertised.

    At that moment, the blond-haired yer saw that there was already someone sitting on the couch.

    He showed a friendly smile and extended his hand towards the person.

    "Hello, my name is Donald; who are you?"

    His two other friends joined their friend and looked at the stranger with a neutral expression. They were aware of the game''s hierarchy system, but in the tutorial, everyone was on the same level.

    However, during the tutorial, the hierarchy might shift¡ªthere will be, of course, strong yers and weak yers.

    They were trying to scan the ck-haired young man from head to toe, trying to determine what his position in the hierarchy might be.

    Adam silently looked at the hand in front of him and looked away, showing clear intention that he didn''t have any desire to shake the hand.

    "Ouch." Donald pulled his hand back with an awkward smile. "Not very friendly, are you?"

    "Hey, we are just trying to be friendly." Donald''s friend, a tall,nky young man with a serious look, chimed in. "No need to be an asshole."

    "Asshole?" Adam raised his eyebrow, then crossed his legs and put his arms over the couch''s backrest. "I simply didn''t want to shake hands. I was hardly an asshole."

    "All right, you two. Calm down." Donaldughed and stopped his friend from arguing before it went too far.

    He then looked back at Adam and smiled. "I hope we''ll meet in the tutorial. Maybe we can work together."

    ''Donald Wetherson in the flesh.'' Adam chuckled as he watched them walk to the other corner of the cottage. ''It took me a moment to remember his face. After all, he didn''t really make much of an impression.''

    At the center of the cottage, more shes of light came from nowhere, and nervous yers appeared from there. They all looked at the cottage with simr expressions¡ªwith awe and curiosity.

    As they tried to get used to the movement, Donald and his friends went to introduce themselves¡ªand as Donald looked somewhat handsome and approachable, many yers quickly warmed up to him.

    It was clear that he was trying to make himself look like a leader in the eyes of yers and get them to rely on him.

    ''He''ll lead you to your deaths.'' Adam thought as he watched the yers'' mingling with each other.

    At that moment, he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder.

    "Excuse me..."

    "Hmm?" Adam turned to see who was speaking to him.

    It was an unfamiliar face¡ªa pair of blue eyes hidden behind spectacles stared at him with a curious expression.

    "Are you reading that book?" He asked as he nudged his chin toward the book on the table.

    "No." Adam shook his head.

    "Okay." The young man took the book for himself and sat on the other couch before starting to read it with a curious expression.

    Adam curiously asked. "You knew it was the help manual. Someone told you about it, huh?"

    "A-ah, yes." He nudged his sses up and nodded. "My brother yed the tutorial once. He gave me some tips."

    "My name is Adam; what''s yours?"

    "Uhm." The sses-wearing man looked at him and replied. "Seth. Seth Hardrock."

    ''Doesn''t ring a bell.'' Adam thought and nodded before resuming his silence.

    As the time went by and more yers crowded inside the cottage, Seth finished reading the help manual and saw that it was already quite packed around the couches.

    He didn''t notice before, but someone had already sat beside him as space started to get cramped, but surprisingly, no one was sitting next to Adam, and he wondered why.

    Adam tapped his finger against his arm calmly, but with his side-eye, he saw Donald talking with yers, who sometimes threw nces in his direction.

    ''Hmm, making me an outcast already? That was quick.'' Adam chuckled, as he didn''t expect it to happen soon.

    He thought Donald would be able to resist his urges until the safe room opened, at least.

    ''They hadn''t realized yet, but we are all opponents. Trying to fight for any resource.'' Adam silently thought, ''This time, I don''t want some baggage slowing me down.''

    The time flew by while the yers waited impatiently for the tutorial to start¡ªsince they appeared in the waiting room, they had mingled with others and acted like this was just a video game with no consequences.

    A short whileter, a strange ringing reverberated through the cottage¡ªit sounded like an rm clock went off.

    Adam opened his eyes and stood up from the couch.

    At that moment, the door swung open, letting cold air in, making many yers shudder in the cold and forcing them to move closer to the firece.

    A wide-shouldered man walked through the door, almost not making it through because of his muscr frame.

    As soon as he entered, all the talk within the cottage died down.

    "Hmph," he scoffed loudly and crossed his arms to flex his muscles. "My name is Ron. You''ll call me Sir Ron!"

    After scanning the cottage and seeing a few nods, he continued.

    "I am a yer, just like the rest of you. However, I am different from all of you.

    "I am strong." Ron pointed at everyone individually with his finger. "You all are weak¡ªyou are Coinfeeders. It is an insult in here; it means waste of coin, what most of you are."

    Ron''s words struck a nerve among the group. Some didn''t like what he said, as if they were nothing but a waste of air.

    They hadn''te across such a thing in the real world.

    "This is the first floor." Ron pointed at the winter wondend outside.

    "This is a dimension within the dungeon. To get to the next floor, you have to defeat the floor boss.

    "The boss is somewhere in these mountains, and someone has to defeat it to get to the second floor."

    "Wait, everyone doesn''t have to defeat it?" A scrawny-looking yer asked with his arm raised.

    "No." Ron said coldly. "If the boss is defeated, it will respawn in 24 hours. In that time frame, you can get to the second floor if you wish.

    "However, you don''t get any points if you do that."

    "Points?" A yer asked.

    "Points are what determine the score you''ll reach at the end of the tutorial." Ron said. "You won''t know your score¡ªonly your ''Handler'' does."

    "A handler?"

    Ron took a deep breath as he seemed to get irritated by the questions.

    "You''ll meet your handler soon enough. For now, there are enough backpacks for everyone outside." Ron nudged his chin towards the wagon outside.

    "If you survive through the first floor, more things will be exined to you.

    "For now, find the boss; try to gain points for your score¡ªremember, if your score at the end is worse than D-rank, you aren''t worthy of bing mercenary. You''ll be trash for the rest of your life."

    Near the couch, Seth formed a fist with his right hand and clenched it tightly.

    Ron put on a hat to cover his head and said, "If you perform well, guilds might recruit you. Who knows, maybe you''ll even be recruited by the guild I am part of."

    He showed a tattoo that was on the back of his hand¡ªit was a serpent coiled around a crescent moon.

    "Crescent Serpents," Ron said with a hint of pride in his voice. "It''s a prestigious guild that values strength and skill. If you show exceptional leadership skills and strength, you might very well be recruited. Remember the name!"

    Donald and his friends showed expectant looks and raised their chins with overflowing confidence.

    "The tutorial starts now!" Ron shouted and walked out of the cottage into the snowyndscape.

    As soon as he said that, clouds began gathering in the crystal-clear sky as if a storm were forming, and almost instantly afterward, small snowkes began dropping from the sky.

 Chapter 8: Snowstorm

    <h4>Chapter 8: Snowstorm</h4>

    As the yers walked out of the cottage, they started cursing loudly.

    They had a basic tunic shirt, thin pants, and hole-riddled shoes that were clearly not suitable enough to survive in the cold, winter wondend.

    Ron picked up one of the backpacks from the wagon and opened it for everyone to see.

    Inside, there were winter clothes, food bags, water bottles, and some other essential items for survival. However, there was also a weapon¡ªin this particr backpack, there was a small knife.

    "Everyone gets their own backpack." Ron said. "Each backpack has a different weapon, and there are three backpacks without any weapon at all!"

    "Excuse me, sir Ron." Seth raised his hand and asked, "Why? Isn''t this basically a lottery?"

    "You, Coinfeeders, need to realize one thing." Ron tossed the backpack back into the wagon.

    Some yers eyed the backpack, as they already knew what weapon it held, and since it was a knife, they wanted to get it themselves, as there might be way worse weapons in other backpacks.

    "Luck is important." Ron said. "I ain''t lying, saying that only talent matters. No, luck is important to survive in this world. One death gets you zeroed, as we call it here, and puts you straight back to the bottom of the hierarchy."

    "Have you ever gotten zeroed?" A yer asked curiously.

    Ron shook his head. "No."

    The yers nodded and fixed their gazes on the backpacks.

    "Make a single line." Ron said and took one of the backpacks from the wagon. "I''ll hand it to you individually."

    The yers scrambled in the snow and quickly made a somewhat messy single-file line.

    "Here." Ron pushed the backpack towards the first yer in line.

    The yer hugged the backpack and looked around the front of the cottage, wondering where he should go next.

    "Move!" Ron shouted straight into his ear.

    "Y-y-yes, sir!" The yer quickly replied and started running towards the forest in the distance that was under the shade of an enormous mountain, with its top seemingly slicing the clouds in half.

    Ron then continued to hand the backpacks to the yers.

    Some checked their weapons immediately on the line¡ªsome left with giddy expressions, but few looked disheartened.

    After a while, it was Seth''s turn. He epted the backpack and looked behind the line. His brother suggested that he try to find a group as early as possible.

    However, because he spent the whole countdown reading the helping manual, he was toote, and most groups had already been formed.

    However, there was one person standing at the back of the line¡ªwho was alone just like him.

    He dragged his feet through the snow and soon arrived at the back of the line.

    "H-hey."

    "Hello." Adam replied without much volume or emotion in his tone.

    "U-uhm..." Seth scratched his head while looking around and asked. "D-do you want to group up with me? We should help each other."

    Adam looked at him silently before focusing his gaze on the line in front of him.

    "Sorry, I am nning to do this alone."

    "M-my brother said that being part of a group is important." Seth said, still adamant about convincing Adam to join him. "If either one of us has a terrible weapon, at least another one might have something useful."

    "Listen here." Adam said, his voice firm and unyielding. "You can''t rely on anyone in here. Your only ally is yourself."

    "My brother had already been in here." Seth looked frustrated. "He said that without a group, one cannot survive."

    "That is a weak person''s mindset." Adam said without sugarcoating his words. "He didn''t survive through the tutorial, did he?"

    Seth clenched his fists, some anger building up inside of him.

    "Fine." Seth clicked his tongue and slung the backpack over his shoulder in preparation to leave. "You haven''t been in the tutorial either. You wouldn''t know."

    "..." Adam stayed silent, his eyes fixed straight ahead of him.

    After not seeing any reaction from him, Seth shook his head and walked away into the snow.

    Adam patiently waited, even though his feet were freezing from not having proper winter boots on. He then saw Donald, leaving with a group of six yers¡ªhe seemed to have gathered yers that looked somewhat powerful.

    A short whileter, it was Adam''s turn.

    As he was thest person in the line, Ron gave him thest backpack avable.

    Adam didn''t open it yet and instead looked towards the sky with clouds gathered. It looked like a storm was gathering.

    ''It will be the same as before.'' He thought, and walked back towards the cottage.

    While others left for the nearby forest, as they all expected the boss to be near the mountain, Adam instead entered the warm cottage, shook off the snow from his shoes, and then sat down on the cozy couch.

    Ron walked into the cottage as well and saw another person there beside him.

    He crossed his arms and asked. "What are you doing here? You''ll be left behind, as you were already thest person to get the backpack."

    "A storm ising." Adam said and opened the backpack. "Staying inside the cottage isn''t forbidden, is it?"

    Ron looked at him silently before grinning slightly. "It ain''t forbidden."

    He closed the door and took a seat on one of the chairs that was near a firece.

    Adam took out the food bags and the winter clothes, and then saw his weapon at the bottom of the backpack.

    Ron, while warming his hands near the firece, looked towards Adam and wondered what kind of weapon he received.

    Adam suddenly showed a small smile and took out a shield¡ªit was a round-shaped shield with edges made of wood and the center covered by shimmering, silver-colored metal.

    "A shield, huh." Ron turned back to the firece. "Unfortunate. You can defend yourself better than anyone else in the tutorial, but you cannot kill Chaosbeings with that."

    Adam ignored him and whispered under his breath, "Information."

    ***

    [Weapon: Round Shield]

    [Rank: Basic]

    [Durability: 100%]

    [Description: A solid shield that was made of silver metal. It is a versatile and light shield, allowing the user to move quickly and easily]

    ***

    ''A pretty nice starter weapon,'' Adam thought.

    ''The weapon is only basic rank, just as I expected. I don''t think I will find any higher-ranked weapons during the tutorial.''

    ''Hmm, I wonder how my interface looks currently.''

    "Interface..."

    ***

    [Name: Adam Palestar]

    [Level: 0]

    [XP: 0/0]

    [HP: 50/50]

    [Rank: Coinfeeder]

    [Weapon: Round Shield]

    [Shinecoin: 0]

    [¡ª¡ªSKILLS¡ª¡ª]

    [None]

    [Inventory]

    [Log Off]

    ***

    ''Yeah, as expected.'' Adam stood up from the couch and started putting on his winter clothes.

    As he looked at the interface that hovered in front of him, he felt a little funny about how his interface looked right nowpared to his previous one.

    ''It looks empty.'' He thought. ''Well, everyone in here cannot level up, so the most important thing for me is to kill Chaosbeings, sell their Chaos Parts to get better weapons and skills. That is the only way.

    ''However, with a shield, it might be a little bit different.

    ''But, in my previous life, I used a sword and shield to fight, so at least I am not with a weapon I have no idea how to use.

    ''I quite pity those who got the bow and arrows, even though it''s quite powerful in the tutorial, but if itnded in the hands of someone who didn''t know how to use it, then they might be in trouble.''

    Outside the cottage, the snowstorm started to intensify, making it difficult for anyone to venture out. The wind started blowing hard, making the snow fall sideways and even making the windows rattle slightly.

    It was clear that the storm was getting worse by the minute.

    As he heard the storm raging outside, Adam wryly smiled.

    ''Last time around, I was outside when the storm hit, and it is still one of the worst experiences I have suffered through. The freezing cold is only one of the troubles¡ªduring the snowstorm, the Snow Chaosbeing starts to emerge.''

 Chapter 9: Snow Creature

    <h4>Chapter 9: Snow Creature</h4>

    "Where the hell did this snowstorm suddenlye?!" A group of yers shouted, but their shouts were muffled by the howling of the wind.

    After they finished putting on their winter clothes, it felt like the sky ripped open, and snow started falling like a deluge.

    The snowkes pelted down relentlessly, nketing the entirendscape in a thickyer of white.

    It made it difficult for them to see in front of them, and they felt the coldness seep into their bones¡ªthey didn''t expect the game to even mimic the sensation of freezing so vividly.

    One of the people in this group even lived in a remote town that was mostly covered in snow most of the year, but even she was surprised by the harsh conditions.

    She had never experienced something like this.

    Swoosh¡ªat that moment, a young man with his head covered by beanie saw something moving within the forest. It was like a blur of a shadow that quickly disappeared into the snowstorm.

    "Hey, I think I saw something!"

    The other two members of the group turned to look in the direction where his finger pointed, but they saw nothing except the whiteness of the forest, which almost seemed blinding.

    "There is no one there!" The young woman shouted. She had to shout till her voice turned hoarse; otherwise, it wouldn''t be possible to hear her through the wind.

    "Maybe I saw wrong..." The young man whispered with a low voice that was muffled by the wind.

    As the group of three continued dragging through the snow, they heard a deep howling sounding from somewhere nearby. It was loud and malicious, as if it wereing from some ancient beast.

    "Hey, what was th¡ª" As the young man shouted, a blur of shadow jumped from deep within the forest and sank its sharp teeth on the yer''s neck before dragging him into the forest.

    "Hmm?" The young woman turned around and squinted her eyes, but she couldn''t see one of the members of their group.

    Her eyes widened in a shock, and she hurriedly tried to tap the shoulder of the person in front of her, but she was just touching empty air.

    As she turned back to the front, she didn''t see him anywhere, as if he had simply vanished into the snowstorm!

    "Where are you!" She shouted and looked around with a frightened expression. "This is not funny!"

    Hooooooooowl!

    The hair at the back of her neck rose, and she turned to the hill in the distance, thinking that the howling came from there. However, she didn''t see anything there.

    At that moment, a soft growl sounded behind her, and her body froze in fear. With a trembling hand, she removed her backpack from her back, slowly opened it, and pulled out her mace with sharp pikes and a sturdy handle.

    She then turned around and smashed the mace clumsily on the ground, but she only managed tond a blow on the soft snow below.

    At that moment, she heard growlinging from everywhere around her.

    As she spun around slowly, looking around the forest, she saw dozens of glowing red eyes staring at her like she was just another tasty treat.

    Her face paled, and she screamed. "Interface!"

    After the interface appeared in front of her, she smashed the ''Log Off'' button, but nothing worked.

    During the tutorial, it wasn''t possible to log off, except if one got zeroed.

    At that moment, the snow behind her started to rise, as if suddenly a snow statue rose from the ground.

    The young woman looked ahead of her and saw a shadow looming over her. She dropped her mace to the ground, and with trembling eyes, she turned around.

    "Aaaaah!"

    Spurt!

    ...

    In another part of the forest, Donald and his friends dragged their feet through the snow while covering their faces with makeshift masks.

    "We''ll need to get to shelter!" A tall,nky man shouted. His name was Niko, and he joined the tutorial because Donald asked as they were already good friends at the school.

    Luckily, they managed to get permission from the school, as they knew that this tutorial wouldst from a few weeks to a month.

    Most schools gave such permissions, as they knew that Mortal Online wasn''t just any game¡ªit had changed the world a lot ever since the release of Reality Market, allowing yers to transfer their in-game currency to real-life.

    Also, the King of Mortal Online, Konrad Moriarty, had riches that could rival a small country. He was born in a very small town, and because he became the revered king, the town became one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world.

    The house, school, and even the yground where Konrad yed were all transformed into popr tourist destinations.

    If any of the schools were lucky enough for one of their students to be a new King, or even Grand Lord, their status would rise as well.

    Donald heard his friend''s shouting, and he would''ve wished nothing more than to find a shelter, but they had been walking towards the mountain for nearly an hour, but it still didn''t feel like they were anywhere close.

    ''W-we should''ve stayed in the cottage!''

    Luke, another friend of Donald''s from the school, looked around the forest. He was a short, brown-haired young man with a baseball bat in hand.

    At that moment, he stopped and looked straight at the glowing eyes that were staring at him with deadly intensity. His breathing almost stopped, and hepletely forgot to speak.

    "Luke?"

    "Luke!" Donald came to him, nearly shouting into his ear. "What are you doing?!"

    Luke pointed forward, and as Donald and the rest turned to look, they all drew their weapons and pointed them at the creature with the red eyes.

    "What the fuck is that?!" Donald asked loudly. He managed to get pretty lucky in the ''lottery'' and received a broadsword, and was pointing that straight at the creature.

    The creature within the forest stepped closer, and soon they saw its snow-covered fur and sharp ws that dug deep into the snowy ground below. It was as big as an adult lion and had a menacing re in its eyes.

    "I-is this the boss, perhaps?" One of the yers that were recruited by Donald back in the cottage asked.

    "I don''t think so!" Niko shouted while standing unarmed. He was one of the unlucky ones to not get a weapon.

    "We''ll still have to kill it!" Donald shouted. "T-this might get us good points!"

    They all nodded and prepared for the iing deathmatch with the strange creature. They had been treating this as just an ordinary game so far, but now, when they were facing such a scary beast, they started to feel the gravity of the situation.

    The snow-furred creature lowered its body, its tail wiggling behind it.

    "It''s preparing to pounce!" Donald shouted. "When it pounces, spread around, and attack it from all angles!"

    He had yed some strategy mobile games during his free time, thus he immediately managed to cook up a n.

    At that moment, the snow kicked up into the air as the snow-furred creature pounced and attacked the nearest person.

    The long-nosed man, with a small knife in hand, didn''t expect such a quick attack, and he was caught off guard.

    The creature''s sharp ws shredded through his chest, and then it sank its sharp fangs into the man''s neck.

    As the others saw one of them dying horribly in front of them, they didn''t back off and insteadunched their attacks.

    Luke smashed his baseball bat into the skull of the snow creature.

    The snow creature staggered to the side and turned to look at Luke with its crimson eyes, its mouth stained with blood.

    It let out a blood-curdling scream as it pounced forward again.

    "Haaa!" At that moment, Donald came running in with the sword raised high above his head and hacked it down at the snow creature.

    The sword sliced slightly through the creature''s snow fur and spilled a little bit of blood. The creature howled loudly in pain and stumbled backward, giving Donald the opportunity to strike again.

    "Haaaa!"

 Chapter 10: Slaying

    <h4>Chapter 10: ying</h4>

    "Haaa!" Donaldunched forward and hacked the sword down, but the snow creature

    quickly dodged out of the way, just in time.

    Niko''s eyes shrank as he saw the snow creature running towards him. Since he didn''t have any weapons at his disposal, he waspletely defenseless.

    At that moment, he noticed the small knife in the long-nosed man''s dead hands.

    As the snow creature pounced towards him, Niko quickly rolled down the snowy ground, snatched the knife from the dead hands, and stabbed it into the snow creature''s snow hide.

    The creature let out a blood-curdling scream and backed off with the knife still stuck on its side.

    Niko stood up, panting and trembling with exhaustion, but triumphant in his small, short-lived victory.

    "Keep attacking!" Donald shouted. "It''s in pain!"

    A tall man who had a rtively athletic-looking bodyunched forward with a hammer in hand. He was recruited back in the cottage and didn''t mind joining since Donald seemed to know what he was doing.

    He smashed the hammer at the skull of the creature, and it let out a blood-curdling scream as it fell to the ground.

    "Good job, Samuel!" An unimpressive-looking man with a small mustache shouted and jumped from the side with an axe in hand.

    He raised the axe high above his head and hacked it down, the metal dending on the snow creature''s leg and cutting it off.

    "Heh." He smirked as the snow creature''s cries rang in his ears.

    His name was Fama, and he joined Samuel in the tutorial after he asked. They were working in the samepany¡ªa desk job¡ªand they both hated it.

    After both received a few weeks of holiday, they both decided to try the tutorial and see how well they did. If they received a good score, they thought about quitting their job and trying their hand at Mortal Online.

    The snow creature whimpered in defeat, but it still tried slicing through the air with its sharp ws. However, the group of yers knew enough that the injured beast would be in its most dangerous phase.

    Samuel dodged the ws and lifted the hammer above his head, his grin stretching from ear to ear. He had a clean shot to kill the creature once and for all.

    At that moment, Donald tackled Samuel to the ground and used his broadsword to behead the snow creature.

    As the snow creature''s headnded on the snowy ground, Niko and Luke cheered for the sessful kill.

    However, Samuel angrily stood up from the ground, his clothes covered in a snow and asked loudly. "What the hell, Donald?!"

    "I am really sorry!" Donald dropped his sword, bowed ny degrees, and extended his hand for a handshake. "I thought one of its ws would hit you, so I pushed you out of the way. It was a mistake on my part, but we already lost one member, and I didn''t want to lose another as well.

    "I apologize sincerely!"

    "The hell?" Samuel asked venomously, but at that moment, Fama came to his side and shook his head.

    "It''s not worth it." Fama said and grabbed Samuel''s arm, pulling him away from the situation.

    "Tch." Samuel spat on the ground and went a short distance away with Fama to recover from their exhaustion.

    Donald stood up, picked up his sword, and looked at the snow creature with a smile.

    "What should we do with this?"

    "We can take its ws." Niko suggested. "Then, we could skin it and eat it."

    "Yeah..." Luke rubbed his stomach. "I am feeling hungry. I didn''t expect to be able to feel hunger in here."

    "Apparently, you can die by starvation in here." Donald said with a smile. "So, food and water are essential for survival. They can also replenish lost health."

    "I''ll cut off the ws." Niko said, went to pick up the knife from the snow creature''s side, and then started cutting off the ws.

    "What''ll we do with them?" Luke asked while ncing towards Samuel and Fama. They were whispering something to each other.

    "Hmm..." Donald shrugged his shoulders. "They''ll be useful for now. We''ll see about the future."

    Luke nodded.

    ...

    In another part of the forest, Seth sat on top of a fallen trunk, eating some of the rations he received from the backpack.

    ''Brother, I hope you are right about the boss.'' Seth thought and looked in the direction of the mountain.

    At that moment, he felt that something was different from before.

    As he looked to the sky, a few snowkes fell on his face, and he suddenly started to smile.

    "Finally..."

    The clouds above the forest started to clear, revealing a bright and sunny sky.

    The snowstorm was finally over.

    It was still cold enough to freeze one''s bones, but Seth finally had enough visibility to know which way to walk.

    He stood up, slung the backpack over his shoulder, and started walking in the direction of the mountain.

    ''I wonder how he is doing.'' Seth thought with a frown. ''Brother said that usually the people that were left outside the groups were the first to die.''

    ''Maybe I can still find a group to join. He''ll probably won''tst long if he keeps that stubborn attitude. A person can only do so much alone until reaching the limit.''

    ...

    Adam looked out of the cottage at the beautiful winter wondend.

    "Well, the storm is over." Ron chuckled while drinking from his water canteen. "You are left behind; others are about to arrive at the boss. Some might''ve already acquired points."

    "It''s a beautiful view." Adam looked toward the mountain. "Well, I suppose it''s also time for me to leave."

    "Good luck, brat." Ron waved his handzily. "If I were you, I would be running."

    Adam slung the backpack over his shoulder and held the shield in his left hand.

    As he opened the door, he nced at Ron and thought.

    ''He is probably Grandeur. I wonder how much this mission gives him.''

    Adam then stepped out into the cold air and cracked his knuckles with a loud pop. He took a deep breath and thenunched forward as he started running towards the snow-covered forest.

    Inside the cottage, Ron nced out of the window as the young man disappeared into the forest.

    ''He was calm, fearless, and didn''t show any sign of being nervous. When I was in his shoes, I was panicking every day, trying to get every possible point I could get my hands on.

    ''That Donald kid seemed impressive and could maybe reach Grandeur rank, but this... Adam, I think his name was, is not too bad either.''

    ...

    Outside Adam''s room, Serah and John stood with their backs against the wall.

    "Are you certain?" John asked. "Should I call the doctor?"

    Serah scoffed and waved her hand dismissively. "Doctors are expensive. He''ll get over it in the next couple of days!"

    They then heard footsteps from the stairs as Alice had returned from school, wearing a school uniform that consisted of a skirt that reached her knees and a white blouse with a tie.

    "Mom, dad?" Alice wondered why they were standing outside Adam''s room. "What are you doing?"

    "Adam is sick with gue Sickness." John said.

    "What?!" Alice identally dropped her backpack to the ground and quickly hurried towards Adam''s room.

    "Wait, don''t go!" Serah stopped her before she managed to open the door. "You''ll get sick."

    "I am not an orphan of the gue." Alice said with a frown. "I can''t get sick, neither you two."

    Serah turned speechless, but since she was a clean freak, she still didn''t want to take any risks.

    However, John then said, "Alice is right. We should see how he is doing."

    "Ugh, fine." Serah took out her napkin and covered her mouth. "O-open it."

    Alice carefully opened the door and peered towards the bed. "Adam, how are you doing?"

    However, she couldn''t see anyone on the bed. The bed was neatly made.

    She frowned and stepped inside the room, followed by John and Serah, who moved very slowly.

    At that moment, they noticed a strange device in the corner of the room, glowing with ethereal light.

    As they approached it, they saw a young man sleeping inside.

    "Oh..." Alice bit her pink lips and shook her head with a smile. "Adam, you..."

    "This bastard!" Serah screamed and leaned over the VR Pod, looking straight at Adam''s face, which seemed like he was in a deep sleep. "How ballsy of you, Adam, to lie to me!"

    John scratched the back of his head. "Ah, rebellious phase."

    "Rebellious phase?!" Serah stomped her feet angrily. "Adam, you have made a great mistake!"

    She then began looking around the Pod, and asked, "Does this thing have power off button?!"

    "Mother!" Alice called her out and stood in her way, stopping her from doing anything harsh. "Don''t do it. Adam must have reason."

    "Reason?" Serah scoffed. "This is pureziness. Skipping the work just to y!"

    "So, this is the reason why he asked for a holiday." John said out loud and shrugged his shoulders. "At least, he tried asking."

    "And I said no!" Serah screamed. "Still, he did this behind my back; he even lied!"

    "We''ll talk to him." John grabbed his wife by the shoulder. "But after he returns from there,"

    "Ugh..." Serah loosened her clenched fists and looked at Adam''s sleepy face with narrowed eyes. "Fine, but just wait, Adam, you''ll get earful."

    After Serah and John left the room, Alice leaned on the VR Pod, gazing at Adam''s sleeping face with a smile.

    She couldn''t help but feel a sense of satisfaction, knowing that he was finally doing something he was enjoying, and not forced to do.

    "Good luck~"

 Chapter 11: Adam Vs. Goatman

    <h4>Chapter 11: Adam Vs. Goatman</h4>

    Adam ran deep inside the forest, jumping over the fallen trunks and dodging the low-hanging branches.

    Soon, a small ravine, about a meter wide, appeared in the distance. It looked like it was cutting the forest in half.

    Without stopping, Adam leaped over the ravine andnded on the other side.

    As his backpack patted his back gently, he lifted his chin to look at the mountain. He was already standing under the shade of the mountain and could already see the terrain moving up the mountain.

    ''I am close.'' Adam thought, and he continued to run.

    After a short while of running, he came across just another patch of snow, perfectly simr to the clear, white snow that was all around him.

    However, there was something odd about this snow that made Adam''s brows furrow.

    His eyes narrowed into a slit, and he crouched, his kneesnding on the snow, and he then touched the snow with his pale-skinned hand.

    He could feel the coldness of the snow, but something was strange.

    As he raised his hand and rubbed the snow between his fingers, he realized there wasn''t any moisture in the snow.

    When he touched the snow a little further away, it waspletely wet,pletely different from that small area with dry snow.

    Adam''s eyes turned serious, and he slowly moved the shield in front of his body, protecting himself behind it.

    He then stood upright and started to slowly move across the dry snow towards the mountain area.

    He was cautious and vignt, scanning the nearby area like a hawk.

    At that moment, the snow behind him shifted slightly, and something started to emerge from the snow, looking like a blob of snow that slowly took the shape of a figure.

    Adam stopped moving, and his grip on the shield tightened. He then spun around and smashed the shield through the snow figure, sting its face apart and causing it to crumble like a badly built sand castle.

    As the figure copsed to the snowy ground, the ground around Adam started to shake. However, only the area within the dry snow began to shake.

    ''Snow Chaosbeing...'' Adam thought without even batting his eyes.

    Swoosh¡ªsnow spearheads shot out from the ground, piercing through the air as they headed towards Adam.

    Adam quickly shrank his body to hide behind the shield.

    Ssh¡ªthe snow spearheadsnded on the shield and caused Adam to stagger backwards one step.

    However, since the spears were made of snow, they couldn''t handle their form, and as soon as they smashed into the shield, they turned into powder-like snow and fell back to the ground.

    ''I need water...'' Adam opened his backpack, took out a water canteen that was still full, removed the cap, and started sshing it across the dry snow.

    The ground trembled as if a giant were stomping in the distance, and from the snow, a figure jumped out with a nearly furless body and glowing eyes.

    It looked humanoid as it stood with two legs, but it had a long tail, sharp ws, and the head of a goat. Its upper torso was naked, looking very simr to the male torso but as if it were frostbitten, and from waist to feet, it had goat''s legs.

    ''Goatman.'' Adam emotionlessly thought without a change in expression.

    It was a part of the Chaosbeing family¡ªa group of horrific creatures that were the main opponents for yers. They ruled the dungeons and the wastnd thatid beyond the New World.

    yers had been longing to conquer the dungeons for a while now, but they couldn''t stop the Chaosbeings from respawning, as if they were immortal creatures that couldn''t bepletely annihted.

    "Szzzz..." The Goatman let out strange and guttural noises as it looked angrily at the human in front of it. Its shoulder had a strange burn mark, as if it had been scorched by a powerful me.

    ''During Goatman''s snow form, sshing water at them is very effective to make them return to their normal forms.'' Adam closed the water canteen with the cap and put it inside the backpack.

    ''Unfortunately, when they are in their real form, water would have no effect anymore.''

    Adam tightened the straps on his shield and made it hug against his arm as if it were just another part of his arm.

    "Now, only blood and shattered bones will have an effect."

    Adam approached the Goatman slowly, his right hand reeling in slightly backward as if he were about to throw a punch at a moment''s notice.

    "Szzzz!" The Goatman let out an unpleasant sizzling sound and revealed its sharp, ck ws.

    "I don''t have all day..." Adam lunged forward with a quiet whisper and smashed the round shield across the Goatman''s face.

    Thud¡ªthe Goatman staggered to the side and shook its head with a stunned expression. For a moment, it seemed to be dazed and disoriented.

    "Hmph!" Adam put the shield in front of his body and then tackled the Goatman down to the ground.

    He then pinned the Goatman down on the ground with the shield and threw a punch with his right, whichnded squarely on the creature''s face.

    "Szzz!" The Goatman grabbed the shield with both hands and shoved Adam off of him. The difference in physical strength was very noticeable.

    After the creature climbed back to its feet, itunched forward and started delivering sharp and urate shes with its ck ws.

    Adam hurriedly put his shield in the way and blocked the ws, but scratches started to appear on the silvery surface, and the durability began to slowly drop.

    Adam knew he had to act fast before the shield waspletely destroyed.

    As the Goatman swung its arm wide, its ws missed Adam''s head by an inch, and he quickly took advantage of that¡ªhe decisively dove under its arm and swung his shield-wielding arm upwards, mming against the Goatman''s chin.

    The force of the impact sent the creature stumbling backward, and soon it fell backwards on the dry snow. Its eyes shook, and it started to slowly sink back into the snow.

    It was preparing to escape into the snow!

    "No, you won''t!" Adam tossed the backpack over his shoulder, dropped it to the ground, and picked up the water canteen.

    Once the cap flew out of the canteen, he sshed the whole bottle on the Goatman, who was already inside the snow, only its goat face showing.

    "Szzzzzzzzz!" It screamed loudly as its skin started burning from the inside out. Its chest turned charred, and the smell of burned meat started to waft through the air.

    Adam dropped the empty water canteen on the ground and watched as the Goatman appeared from the snow, rolling towards the wet snow, wanting to get rid of the burning sensation, but it only got much worse.

    After a few more screams, it stopped moving. Its eyes looked lifeless¡ªthe Goatman died!

    "Phew..." Adam heaved a sigh of relief and crouched beside the Goatman''s corpse.

    ''The ws look valuable, and the feet and the tail of Goatmen have value. That''s pretty much the only thing I can get from its corpse. I cannot eat it, because that would be utterly disgusting.''

    Adam scavenged all the ws and then used the shield to hack off its legs and tail. He then put them inside a bag found inside the backpack and filled it with cold snow and ice.

    While other yers thought these items wouldn''t decay, Adam knew they would, and their value would decrease. It had happened to him more times than he wanted to admit, and it was hard to prevent.

    However, he had learned a few tricks to try to keep up its value as much as possible.

    After putting the bag in his backpack, he slung it over his shoulder and turned his attention to the nearby mountain.

    ''I should be close. I wonder if anyone has found the boss yet...''

 Chapter 12: Black Wolf

    <h4>Chapter 12: ck Wolf</h4>

    As Adam finished hiking up the mountain, he came across a mountain wall with an archway made of rocks leading deep inside a dimly lit cave.

    The only light source seemed to be thenterns mounted on the walls, casting a warm and cozy glow throughout the passage.

    Adam turned around, and from the mountain, he saw the forest stretching for kilometers and the cottage in the distance, covered by the orange glow of the setting sun.

    At that moment, he heard loud panting, and Adam saw a group of four injured-looking yers climbing the mountain from a different ce than him.

    They took a longer route and a more difficult one.

    After they arrived at the same spot, they almost copsed on the spot. However, they then realized that there was already someone there, and they quickly pointed their weapons at him.

    "Whoah, calm down." Adam put his arms up in the air and slightly backed off towards the archway.

    "Ugh..." A yer with disheveled blond hair pointed his three-pointed pitchfork at Adam and shouted. "Give me your food, shield, and water, now!"

    Adam slowly lowered his arms and chuckled. ''They must''ve been attacked by other yers; otherwise, they wouldn''t be so hostile. It seems that it''s already starting¡ªthe fight for resources.''

    "W-why are youughing?!" The blond-haired yer shouted and slowly approached Adam with the pitchfork, while his other friends were trying to replenish their stamina as they had been running away for a while now.

    "You look a little bit fatigued; maybe sit down and rx." Adam stepped inside the cave. "Or you''ll die."

    "D-die?" The blond-haired yer erupted intoughter. "A-at least I have a proper weapon!"

    "I could take you," Adam said with a smile.

    "As if!" The blond-haired yer screamed and ran towards Adam, driving his pitchfork forward.

    While escaping from the group that attacked him, he had already used all his food and drink. He desperately needed them, as no one else in his group was willing to share.

    Adam put the shield in front of him and parried the pitchfork. The pitchfork mmed into the cave wall, causing its sharp points to get stuck.

    "Urgh!" The blond-haired yer cried out, trying to pull the pitchfork free.

    At that moment, Adam mmed the shield into the yer''s face, sending him stumbling across the ground towards his friends.

    As his friends stopped him from ending up rolling down the mountain, they turned towards Adam and saw him pull the pitchfork free from the wall.

    "And now I have a weapon." Adam spun the pitchfork around and pointed it at the group of yers. "Not a weapon I am most familiar with, but this shall do."

    "Argh!" The three of the blond-haired friends lunged forward and approached the cave entrance with their weapons in hand.

    However, as soon as they stepped inside the cave, they noticed they couldn''t walk side-by-side and instead had to attack Adam individually. There wasn''t enough space.

    However, they didn''t think much of it.

    A man with thick eyebrows approached Adam with a baton in hand. He was more muscr than his opponent, so he expected this to be an easy victory as long he gets a clean hit.

    He lifted his baton and smashed it down like a cksmith hammering a piece of hot metal.

    Adam raised the shield above his hand as soon as the baton struck it, and he bent his knees slightly to reduce the impact.

    Then he grabbed the pitchfork tightly and stabbed it through the man''s waist like a farmer stabbing through a haystack.

    "Argh!" The man cried out and saw his health plummet as the result of catastrophic hit.

    [-25 HP]

    [HP: 2/50]

    He was already injured before the fight and was only able to increase it to 27 HP with the food found in his backpack.

    However, now that he was also in a bleeding state, he slowly lost his health.

    [-1 HP]

    [-1 HP]

    Atst, his body fell lifelessly to the ground.

    His friends let out few gasps of shock as they saw their strongest member die like nothing.

    Adam had gotten used to the sight of gaining experience from the kill¡ªhowever, now, no such thing appeared, as it wasn''t possible in the tutorial.

    Adam quickly jumped over the corpse and stabbed the pitchfork through another yer''s face. He drove the pitchfork to the ground, with the yer''s face stuck in it and as soon as the yer''s head crashed into the ground, the light left his eyes, and he also died.

    The red-haired yer, who saw two of his friends die, quickly backed off from the cave and turned around to jump off the mountain.

    It wasn''t a big fall, but he ended up rolling down like a boulder and eventually hitting a little bit too many rocks on the way and dying because of the loss of health.

    The blond-haired yer''s eyes shook as he watched Adam walk out of the cave, blood-stained pitchfork in hand.

    He then chuckled and put his arms up in the air. "A-All right, I give up. You can kill me."

    "Appreciated." Adam raised the pitchfork and beheaded the blond-haired yer swiftly.

    As he looked at the three corpses, he went to check their backpacks and saw they had eaten most of their rations and drank all their water.

    It frustrated him slightly, but he found a few ws and teeth belonging to some animals and also received their weapons.

    Including the pitchfork, one had a baton, and the third one had a mallet.

    He tossed the baton and mallet into his inventory, nning to sell themter, and he also put the ws and the teeth inside his inventory.

    However, he put the bags found inside their backpacks inside his own backpack.

    He didn''t want to put his inventorypletely full, as the game had such a mechanic that the more items on the inventory, the heavier it felt to move.

    Adam nced at the corpses and saw them turn transparent with each passing second, as if they were about to vanish.

    He then looked at the archway, saw its strange engravings, and then stepped inside the cave, walking over the corpses.

    As he ventured deeper into the mountain, he started hearing the echoing of weapons and the roars of creatures.

    ''Hmm, someone is fighting close. That could mean no one has reached boss yet.''

    With the shield and pitchfork in hand, he picked up his pace and soon walked out of the passage. He entered a spacious room with another archway on the other side of the room.

    However, in the middle of the room, four different groups of yers and one solo yer were fighting against arge, four-legged creature with a barbed-wired tail and the appearance of a ck-furred wolf.

    It looked difficult to defeat such a beast, even with over a dozen yers gathered.

    "Tch!" Donald wanted to attack, but one of the different groups managed to do it before, which made timing the attack difficult.

    He wanted to kill everyone else in the room, but he didn''t want to attract their anger, so he tried to be patient.

    Near their group, Seth was holding a steel shortsword, which looked to be very high quality.

    As some yers saw the sword, a tinge of greed appeared in their eyes.

    ''Hmm, they are still blocked by ck Wolf, huh.'' Adam thought and was somewhat surprised to see Seth, but when he saw his weapon, he felt a slight pity. ''Oh, he received the best weapon of the early tutorial. How unfortunate; he''ll be killed soon.''

    At that moment, more footsteps came from the passageway.

    "Yawn, well, look what we have here." A grinning man tapped his machete against his shoulder. He had a tattoo covering half of his face, and there were silver earrings adorning his ears.

    Beside him, two of his friends were also tattooed from head to toe¡ªone with brass knuckles and the other holding arge knife.

    Adam looked over his shoulder at them and had a brief surprise sh by his eyes before his gaze turned into the calm look, which he had carried since the start of the tutorial.

    ''These guys... I know them.''

 Chapter 13: Magma

    <h4>Chapter 13: Magma</h4>

    ''Ramon, Parrish, and Hannibal.'' Adam thought as the three tattooed men looked around the room with a gaze that could only belong to apex predators.

    ''Necroman''s three lunatics¡ªinstead of being in asylum, they were put inside Mortal Online.''

    ''I guess the experiment of whether Mortal Online can have a positive impact on the mentality of lunatics has started. Of course, it has zero impact; they just get the freedom to do crazy stuff.

    ''It still works for the government, as they wouldn''t be roaming the streets.''

    Ramon, the man with half of his face tattooed,nded his gaze on Adam and smirked, showing his yellowing teeth.

    "Hey, you..." He pointed his machete at Adam and slowly approached him like a bully would its victim in school hallways. "Did you steal our prey, huh? Well, did you?"

    Parrish and Hannibal followed after him, their eyes uninterested and cold.

    Parrish had yellow hair, cold, and droopy eyes, as if he were always uninterested. A gray brass knuckle was clutched in his hand.

    Hannibal had tattoos covering his arms that looked like green dragon scales. As he opened his mouth, he revealed his unnaturally long tongue, as if it were a serpent''s, and licked his lips before closing his mouth again.

    He was holding arge knife, which a butcher would often use to cut up meat.

    "Prey?" Adam remembered the yers, whom he fought only moments prior, and their hostility. "Ah, those. So, they were escaping from y''all."

    "Heh," Ramon chuckled. "Are you proud of killing them, huh? Well, news sh, we did all the hard work, and they were already injured. Good work, bastard."

    "Hard work?" Adam smiled and nced at him with a chuckle. "Hardly. Since you guys failed, it was my right to finish off what you couldn''t."

    "Hah..." Ramon grinned andughed. "What a sharp tongue you have."

    "It''s a gift." Adamzily shrugged his shoulders. "If you let the prey go away, it''s just a matter of time before another predator stumbles on the scene and takes advantage of the situation."

    "Yeah, that is true..." Ramon tapped his cheek with his machete. "However, we let them go away. Y''see, we like to y with our prey. We don''t like when our fun is stolen away."

    At that moment, a loud scream sounded from the center of the room as the ck Wolf stomped one of the yers, leaving behind a bruised corpse with all limbs broken and twisted.

    "Well, it''s the past..." Ramon whispered and pointed the machete towards Adam yfully before starting to approach the ck Wolf. "Ya fuckers, get out of the way!"

    "Huh?" Donald and his group turned around to see a group of three approaching them. "It''s them..."

    He saw them before in the cottage¡ªthey were thest people to arrive in the waiting room, but he didn''t bother to approach them as he already had his own group.

    Also, he had a very bad feeling about them.

    Seth, hearing themotion, turned to see the group and saw a familiar face near the passageway.

    ''He really made it here.'' Seth grabbed his sword with both hands and focused his gaze on the ck Wolf. ''I-I can do this. This creature m-must give a lot of points.''

    At that moment, Ramon appeared in front of Donald and leaned close enough to make their noses touch.

    "Piss off, brat!"

    Donald stepped away and red at Ramon with a scowl, but he then stepped out of the way and joined his group in watching as the three men approached the ck Wolf.

    Parrish mmed his brass knuckles against his fist and let out a scowl, ignoring the small health drop he received from that.

    Hannibal licked the de of his knife and kept his other hand inside the pocket of his trousers.

    "Grr!" The ck Wolf turned its blood-red eyes at Ramon and growled loudly, releasing a stench of death and decay.

    "A nice smell!" Ramon grinned hideously and dashed forward like a wild animal. He then raised his machete, his fingers wrapped around the handle like snakes coiled around their prey.

    The ck Wolf swiped its paw at Ramon, but he rolled out of the way just in time.

    As he stood up with his grin stretching his facial muscles, he lunged forward and hacked the machete through the wolf''s neck, leaving a deep, bloody gash.

    "Hahahaha!" Ramonughed like a madman while twisting his machete inside the wolf''s neck.

    "Hooooowl!" As the ck Wolf let out a ground-shaking howl, then it started hopping like a prancing pony and shook its head furiously, trying to shake off the man.

    "Oh, shit!" Ramon''s grip over his machete slipped, and he was sent to the air. He crashed back-first on the wall and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

    He coughed up blood and saw his health plummet quickly.

    Above the ck Wolf''s head, a health bar appeared.

    [ck Wolf]

    [HP: 196/300]

    ''That attack cost ck Wolf 50 HP. He must''ve got critical strike or something because I don''t think any weapons we got can create such damage!'' Donald thought with his eyes wide.

    ''We had been fighting this creature for nearly an hour and managed to barely inflict a little bit over 50 damage. He did that in a few seconds!''

    Parrish lunged forward and delivered swift jabs at the ck Wolf''s face, but the creature''s thick fur and powerful muscles made it difficult tond a solid hit.

    The ck Wolf smashed its paw at Parrish, but he quickly dodged it and counterattacked with a flurry of punches.

    Pow, pow, pow¡ªas the brass knucklended on the wolf''s face, the skin started to slightly crack and the damage started to show.

    The ck Wolf howled in pain and tried to bite Parrish, but he quickly retreated behind Hannibal.

    Hannibal, with therge knife in hand, stabbed into the ck Wolf''s chest, causing it to let out a blood-curdling howl. Then he started slicing through the chest as if he were butchering a fresh cut of meat.

    Not being able to handle the pain, the ck Wolf copsed to the ground, and it looked like it was on itsst legs.

    At that moment, Donald''s and everyone else''s eyes widened in a surprise. Whoever managed to get thest hit would certainly receive a lot of points!

    "Argh!" Ramon stood up and started running towards the nearly-dead ck Wolf, with its HP nearly below 50!

    "My machete, where the fuck is it, huh?!"

    At that moment, Donald, with his broadsword in hand,unched towards the ck Wolf and began hacking down like a relentless force, striking the wolf with powerful blows.

    "Huh, trying to steal our prey?" Parrish scoffed, jumped into the air, and sent a powerful kick towards Donald.

    "Watch out!" Niko appeared in the way of the kick and crossed his arms in front of him, tanking the kick. He groaned loudly, as this was a very powerful attack and was forced to slid backwards.

    "Fuckers!" Ramon screamed loudly. "Once I get my hands on my machete, you all are dead!"

    "Hahaha, this is my kill!" Donaldughed crazily, but near him, Samuel and Fama also tried to go for the kill.

    They didn''t n on letting Donald get even more points after his obvious kill steal.

    At the other corner of the room, Seth, seeing it all happening, nodded firmly and approached the ck Wolf.

    However, at that moment, the wolf''s tailnded on him, sending him stumbling down the ground.

    "Ugh..." Seth groaned in pain and picked up his sword from the ground. ''The w-wolf is still alive? Why is it not doing anything?''

    At that moment, a low howl came from the wolf.

    "Huh?" Donald and others stopped attacking and turned towards the wolf''s eyes.

    Its eyes had changed colors¡ªits eyes were now glowing with a fierce light as if there was magma pool inside his eyes. Its body also started letting out smoke as if it were burning from inside.

    Thump¡ªthe wolf slowly rose from the ground; its ck fur was now covered in a thickyer of ash and smoke. Then it opened its mouth and spat out a ball made of burning magma!

    As the ball of magmanded on the ground, making the fire spread like unstoppable wildfire, the yers scurried out of the way, even though the creature''s HP was incredibly low.

    [Magma Wolf]

    [HP: 25/25]

    At that moment, a figure ran past the yers, holding a shield in his left hand and a pitchfork in his right.

    "This guy..." Ramon''s eyes widened in surprise.

    "It also has a second phase!"

    Adam shouted, and ignoring the smoke, he stabbed the pitchfork into one of thest remaining exposed parts that still showed flesh, which wasn''t covered in ash or hardened magma rock.

    The wolf''s eyes lost their brilliant glow, and it copsed to the ground. As the smoking slowly ceased, the creature became nothing but ash and dust.

 Chapter 14: Bloody Chaosbeing

    <h4>Chapter 14: Bloody Chaosbeing</h4>

    "It''s you." Donald angrily red his nostrils. He wasn''t happy about ''his'' kill getting stolen.

    Ramon picked up his machete from the ash pile and wiped the dust off its de with his sleeve.

    "My machete..." He pressed his cheek against the de and sighed deeply with great emotions behind his sigh, as if the machete was more than just an weapon.

    At that moment, Adam walked past him and approached the archway at the other end of the room, which led even deeper inside the mountain.

    "Hey, you bastard!" Ramon shouted, pointing his machete at him. "You again stole my prey. This is bing a pattern I do not like."

    Adam looked over his shoulder and saw most of the yers gazing at him with hostility¡ªhe, after all, had stolen their kill as he didn''t do anything except get the final hit.

    Still, it would be Adam who would get the most points, as he was the one who killed the wolf.

    "This ispetition." Adam said without any emotion and entered the archway towards the next challenge.

    "Tch," Ramon clicked his tongue. "Parrish, Hannibal!"

    "What?" Parrish walked over to him while cleaning his bloody brass knuckles.

    Hannibal twirled the knife in his hand, his eyes showing a sinister light.

    "I think I''ve found a new prey," Ramon said with a chilly tone as he watched Adam disappear into the passageway. "I can''t wait to see how this new game of cat and mouse unfolds."

    A small distance away, Donald whispered something to Niko and Luke, who were equally angry at Adam for stealing the kill.

    Near the archway, Seth walked into the passageway, walking slowly as he didn''t want to bump into Adam identally.

    ''He stole their kill...'' Seth sighed. ''He''ll definitely get killed for that. I only nned to hurt the wolf a little bit and maybe get some points for that, but now he had put a bullseye on his back.

    ''That is pretty foolish...''

    Ahead of him, Adam strolled casually, as if he wasn''t in any way bothered by kill-stealing. He seemedpletely unfazed by the situation.

    After a short while, he left the passageway and entered a small room that was a little bit bigger than his own room back in the real world.

    It had one door, reaching the ceiling, and covered the entire wall of this strange room. It had strange engravings, depicting scenes of battles and mythical creatures.

    As Adam walked closer to the door, Seth also appeared in the same room and looked at the door with fascination.

    Adam traced his hand across the door, feeling the intricate patterns and symbols etched into the surface. It also had two door knobs, which he could use to open the door.

    However, he didn''t do that and instead leaned on the wall, waiting for more yers to arrive.

    "Why aren''t you opening it?" Seth asked, curious about why he was waiting.

    "It''s a door to the boss room," Adam said casually. "Didn''t your brother tell you about this?"

    "He did, but why should we wait for other yers?" Seth asked with his brows creased. "It''s a good time to get a head start."

    "Impatience is death in here." Adam said with a serious tone and put his pitchfork leaning against the wall right beside him.

    He then started fixing the straps on his shield a little bit, as they seemed to be a little bit too loose.

    "Ugh..." Seth wanted to enter the room and thought the reason Adam didn''t want to was because he again wanted other yers to do all the hard work while he went for the final hit.

    ''Is this why he wanted to y alone, because he can''t do this with someone else? That is a very douchey way of doing things.''

    At that moment, Ramon and his friends entered the room, followed by other groups of yers, soon making the room packed. Donald and his group were thest, but they had to stay in the passageway as it was too cramped inside the room.

    "Why aren''t ya opening the door?" Ramon asked with a pompous tone and grinned as he looked at Adam. "I''ll keep my eye on you. No kill stealing for you anymore!"

    "..." Adam picked up his pitchfork in silence.

    "Hmph." Ramon expected him to reply with his sharp tongue, and after not receiving an answer he was hoping for, he was quite displeased.

    Parrish and Hannibal walked over to the door, each grabbing one door knob, and then pushed the door wide.

    After the door opened, dust flew in, and a stench of rotting flesh wafted in like a deadly cloud.

    They saw a spacious room, with pirs holding the ceiling in ce. The room was circr in shape, and there was a strange magical circle in the center of the room.

    It was a twelve-pointed star with strange symbols drawn inside the star¡ªone symbol was a horned devil, one was a winged lion, one was a serpent eating its own tail, and thest one was a burning phoenix.

    After all the yers entered the room, the heavy-looking granite door mmed shut, trapping them inside.

    "Hey, there is a door!" A yer shouted, pointing towards the end of the room. There were six steps of stairs leading to an ordinary door.

    "That must be the door to the second floor!"

    A group of yers started running towards the door¡ªthey joined forces when they met each other in the snowy forest. The group consisted of four yers, but each was a duo before joining forces.

    As they ran over the magical circle, it started glowing with the colors of the aurora, and four arms shot out from the ground, grabbing the yers from their legs, causing them to trip and fall to the ground.

    As they looked behind them, seeing their legs held by strange arms that were growing from the magic circle, they started screaming and tried to cut down the arms.

    They were sessful in cutting the arms in half, but shockingly, more arms grew from the magic circle and grabbed their limbs, then slowly started to drag them towards the magic circle.

    After being unable to use their weapons anymore, they screamed for help from other yers, but they all stood silently, wanting to watch what would happen.

    As soon as the yers were dragged to the magic circle, their flesh was ripped off like peeling paint, and their blood was sucked into the magical circle.

    In just an instant, those four yers were killed and used as sacrifice for some satanic ritual because the blood from the yers changed the magic circle''s color from aurora to blood-red.

    At that moment, four figures climbed from the magic circle¡ªthe shocking thing was that they looked exactly the same as the yers who were killed moments prior!

    The yers eximed by the shocking revtion¡ªthey wondered whether those four were actually those four yers, now manipted by the magic circle to do their bidding, unable to resist.

    However, Adam kept a calm face as he knew what was happening.

    ''The boss of the first floor cannot appear without a form, so at least one sacrifice is needed.

    ''The power of Bloody Chaosbeing¡ªit has the potential to be one of the most dangerous Chaosbeings if it gets over a thousand sacrifices, as it can create over a thousand clones of itself.

    ''To sessfully kill the boss, we need to kill all of its clones and, kill its main heart, which is hidden below the magic circle.''

 Chapter 15: The Heart

    <h4>Chapter 15: The Heart</h4>

    "W-what should we do?" A person asked. He wasn''t sure whether these were the same yers, and they were just mind-controlled. Therefore, he wasn''t sure whether they should be attacking them.

    "Attack, haha!" Ramonughed and shed through one of the yers'' throats.

    As he grinned, thinking that was already one kill, the wound on the throat mystically healed.

    "Eh?"

    The yer growled like a wild animal, grabbed Ramon by his throat, and threw him with unimaginable strength across the room.

    Ramon crashed into one of the pirs, leaving it slightly cracked, and fell to the ground with stinging pain.

    Ptui¡ªhe spat blood off his mouth and saw that his health had received a dent.

    [Ramon - HP: 28/50]

    "Tch..." Ramon took out a few breads from his inventory and ate them greedily. His health started to slowly rise.

    Parrish danced like a boxer around the female yer, whose eyes looked hollow and lifeless. He then delivered quick jabs and powerful punches, breaking her nose and jaw.

    However, all her wounds mystically recovered, and with a low growl, she lunged at Parrish and tackled him to the ground. She revealed her rotting teeth and bit down on his neck.

    "Ugh, shouldn''t we go on a date first?" Parrishughed, grabbed her by the back of her neck, and tossed her off him.

    However, she took a big bite of his flesh with her, munching on it like a delicious dish.

    "Shit..." Parrish climbed back to his feet and saw his health take a hit.

    [Parrish - HP: 25/50]

    At that moment, Hannibal appeared behind the female yer and chopped off her arm.

    As the armnded on the ground, tendrils grew out of its stump and reconnected with the female yer''s shoulder. She looked as good as new, once again.

    "Damn, can these things even be killed?" Hannibal thought out loud with a chuckle.

    The female yer growled and lunged after Hannibal, who quickly docked out of the way and shed through her abdomen. However, that wound also healed within seconds.

    Donald, Niko, and Luke attacked a yer whose face looked angry andunched their attacks. They managed to deal with lots of wounds on its body, but every wound healed mysteriously.

    A small distance away, Samuel and Fama worked together against the blond-haired yer, whose face was pale and lifeless. They managed to hack down its legs, but they grew back almost immediately.

    A short distance away, Ramon faced the well-toned yer, who managed to throw him effortlessly across the room.

    But then a sword pierced through the well-toned yer''s chest. As he turned around to see who stabbed him, he saw pale-faced Seth holding his steel shortsword.

    The well-toned yer growled and pped Seth away, as if he were swatting a fly.

    Seth rolled on the ground with a bloodied face, but he managed to keep hold of his steel shortsword, as if he were clinging to it like his life depended on it.

    "Fuck off, brat!" Ramon shouted, not caring whether Seth could hear him or not. "This is my prey!"

    He hacked down his machete, cutting deep into the well-toned yer''s shoulder, causing a gush of blood to spill out. However, the yer didn''t seem faced and punched Ramon in the face, sending him stumbling backward.

    The well-toned yer then pulled the machete from his shoulder and hurled it back at Ramon.

    Ramon''s eyes widened, and he quickly rolled out of the way¡ªthe machetended on the ground, right beside him. It was inches away from impaling his leg.

    "Ptui!" Ramon held his nose, spat out the blood from his mouth, and picked up his machete again.

    [Ramon - HP: 21/50]

    After eating the bread, he managed to get his health to 35, but with that single punch, he lost 14 valuable health points.

    At that moment, every yer heard loud nking noises, and for some reason, the yers who got sacrificed stopped momentarily before screaming angrily. Then, they all turned towards the magic circle.

    They all saw Adam destroying the magic circle with his pitchfork.

    "What the hell is he doing?" Ramon asked with a frown, but then the well-toned yer in front of him started running towards Adam like a possessed demon.

    Crack¡ªAdam managed to create a big enough crack for the magic circle to be broken. It wasn''t able to ept sacrifices anymore.

    Through the crack in the ground, Adam could see arge, beating heart pulsating with great intensity.

    As he was about to throw the pitchfork at the heart, all the possessed yers lunged at him simultaneously, like a horde of zombies.

    "Not that easy, huh..." Adam quickly blocked the punch from the well-toned yer with his shield and dodged the kick from the female yer.

    As he backed off, the blond-haired yer screamed loudly and lunged at him with his mouth wide open.

    Adam dodged it seemingly effortlessly, but his footwork looked fluid, as if he had done the same motion thousands of times before. He then swung his pitchfork, separating the blond-haired yer''s head from the rest of its body.

    All the yers, who weren''t possessed, expected the head to reconnect, as did the rest of the limbs before.

    However, to their shock, the blond-haired yer became nothing but a pool of blood on the ground¡ªhe died somehow!

    "H-how!" Donald eximed in shock.

    ''The magic circle was the reason for their regeneration.'' Adam thought and quickly dodged the attacks from other possessed yers.

    "What the hell did this guy do?" Ramon zoomed forward and hacked off the female yer''s head, killing her instantly.

    As she also became nothing but a pool of blood, everyone''s eyes gleamed with greed. Somehow, they were now able to kill them.

    They instantly ran forward towards thest two remaining possessed yers and quickly overwhelmed them. They didn''t care if they hit their allies; as long as they got the final hit, they expected them to be the bosses.

    However, while they were upied, Adam approached the crack on the floor with the pitchfork in hand.

    At that moment, Ramon, Parrish, and Hannibal approached him with deadly intentions.

    "Well, well, what are you nning?" Ramon asked with augh and swung his machete at Adam.

    Adam quickly blocked the machete with his shield but let out a loud groan as the force of the blow sent him sliding backward.

    Hannibal looked through the crack, and his eyes widened in surprise.

    "Yo, there is some kind of fucking heart in there!"

    "Ohoh." Ramon looked at Adam with a grin. "I wonder who told you about that, huh?"

    A distance away, Seth''s eyes widened in surprise while he was cleaning the blood off his face.

    ''My brother didn''t mention that. Wait, was he not part of the boss fight? D-did he wait for others to kill the boss for him?''

    "A heart?" Donald''s eyes narrowed with greed as he finished killing thest remaining possessed yer.

    Everyone gathered around the crack and looked at each other with narrowed gazes¡ªthe heart waspletely defenseless, and it looked like an easy kill.

    However, who would be able to get thest hit?

    "Argh!" Adam lunged forward and tackled Hannibal with his shield, sending him tumbling to the ground.

    "You bastard!" Ramon screamed.

    As Parrish threw a punch at Adam, he quickly blocked it with his shield and plunged the pitchfork deep inside Parrish''s gut.

    "Ugh!" Parrish coughed up blood and saw his health fall dangerously low.

    [Parrish - HP: 2/50]

    "R-Ramon, quick!" Parrish screamed.

    Ramon hacked the machete down at Adam, but he quickly blocked it with the shield and mmed his foot deep inside his gut.

    "Ugh!" Ramon stumbled down to the ground with a loud groan¡ªhe felt like all the wind was knocked out of his body.

    Adam pulled out the pitchfork from Parrish''s body.

    [-1 HP]

    Parrish fell to his knees and saw another health point leave, leaving him with only one. He reached out to his inventory, wanting to grab one of his foods to restore his health.

    However, Adam then swung his pitchfork and shed through his throat.

    Parrish''s eyes widened in shock, and he fell to the ground¡ªdead.

    A silence fell among the yers as they watched the scene unfold.

 Chapter 16: The Battle Royale

    <h4>Chapter 16: The Battle Royale</h4>

    In his previous life, Adam remembered Parrish as the Necroman Guild''s main damage dealer during raids. He was known for being one of the most skilled hand-to-handbatants in the game.

    However, he was also notorious for being mentally unstable.

    Adam had no pity for taking away his future, as in the future, he would do some horrific things, and he was also part of Death Faction, which was the enemy of Star Faction.

    "Y-you!" Ramon jumped to his feet, and with Hannibal, they lunged towards Adam with bloodlust raging over them.

    At that moment, Donald approached the crack with his broadsword, but then Samuel appeared in his path and swung his hammer at him.

    "Look out!" Niko shouted to Donald, as he was a little bit too far away to help.

    "Tch!" Donald dodged the hammer barely and shouted. "What the hell are you doing?!"

    "The partnership is over, you fuck." Samuel said coldly and rushed towards the crack, but then Luke rushed at him, swinging his baseball bat like a baseball yer trying to hit a home run.

    Samuel quickly blocked the baseball bat with his hammer, but the handle broke on the impact, leaving him without the hammer.

    As Luke raised his baseball bat, ready to crush Samuel''s face, Fama lunged at him and knocked the bat out of his hand with his axe.

    "You two have made a big mistake!" Donald shouted and rushed at Samuel with his broadsword. "We have three, while there are only two of you!"

    While they fought, the other yer groups also found someone to fight.

    Only Seth was left without a fighting partner, and he saw that there was a clean route to the heart. His breathing quickened as he had a chance to get the final hit on the boss, which would definitely give him enough points to be a mercenary, even if he didn''t do anything after this!

    A distance away, Adam blocked Ramon''s raging, powerful machete blows and simultaneously used his pitchfork to deflect Hannibal''srge knife.

    He masterfully used both a shield and a pitchfork, as if both of them were other limbs of his. It was clear to everyone watching that the tutorial wasn''t his first time fighting.

    "Who is this fucker?" Ramon cursed out loud while trying to smash his machete through the shield, but to no avail.

    However, Adam knew he couldn''t keep blocking forever as the durability of the shield would continue to lower.

    There weren''t any cksmiths in the tutorial to fix the broken equipment.

    At that moment, Adam saw a lonesome figure with sses on his face walking towards the heart, and everyone was too busy fighting to notice that.

    ''Sorry, but I cannot allow you to do that. I can''t afford to lose any points.'' Adam thought.

    At that moment, Adam dodged the machete and mmed his shield across Ramon''s face, sending him tumbling to the ground.

    [-5 HP]

    [Ramon - HP: 13/50]

    "Argh!" Ramon cried out loud.

    "Die!" Hannibal swung hisrge knife down, aiming for Adam''s neck. But then he noticed that he left himself far too open and saw the pitchforking towards him.

    Adam had a way better attack range with the pitchfork.

    Hannibal quickly tried sidestepping away, but one of the pitchfork''s sharp points stabbed through his waist.

    "Tch!" Hannibal let out a pained grunt as the pitchfork pierced his body, but he managed to avoid the fate of the pitchfork getting stuck inside his body.

    However, his waist was bleeding heavily, causing a bleeding effect.

    [-23 HP]

    [Hannibal - HP: 22/50]

    Before getting stabbed, he had 45 health, and with that single attack, Adam managed to half it!

    As both Ramon and Hannibal expected him to continue attacking, Adam instead ran past them and thrust the pitchfork forward like a fisherman trying to harpoon a fish.

    Seth, who was able to reach the crack in the floor, felt something approaching him, and when he turned to look towards the right, he saw a four-pointed pitchfork flying at him.

    It was headed straight for his chest.

    Stab¡ªthe pitchfork pierced through his chest, and then Adam kicked Seth in the chest, sending him flying across the room.

    Seth crashed on the floor and rolled around in stinging pain¡ªit was still possible to feel pain in Mortal Online; that''s why it was such a scary and realistic ce.

    However, the pain was nowhere close to real-life pain, but it was still nothing to scoff at.

    As Seth opened his hazy eyes, he saw the damage he had received and almost felt his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach.

    [-25 HP]

    [-5 HP]

    [Seth - HP: 2/50]

    The 25 health point loss was because of the pitchfork to the chest, but the 5 health point loss was caused by the kick to his abdomen.

    He had before already lost damage, but now he had lost a catastrophic amount and was at death''s door.

    Also, he had eaten his rations before because he became hungry¡ªhe forgot the importance of food to restore health, even though both his brother and the help manual mentioned it.

    "You..." Seth looked hatefully at Adam, but when he tried to stand up, he still felt the pain from getting kicked in the abdomen.

    Adam looked towards the crack in the floor and approached it, but then saw a sword approaching with his peripheral vision.

    He quickly pulled his head back and jumped backwards while the sword missed him.

    "No, you won''t!" Donald screamed as he blocked the path to the heart. "This is my kill!"

    Adam narrowed his eyes, and at the same moment, Ramon and Hannibal dashed towards him.

    "So troublesome." Adam quickly blocked Ramon''s machete and smashed his pitchfork at the iing knife. He then backed off while the two men chased after him with renewed rage.

    They didn''t give him even a chance to breathe.

    They were relentless in their pursuit.

    As Donald turned to the heart with greed-filled eyes, Fama swung his axe at him, but then Niko jumped to defend his friend.

    The axe sank deep into Niko''s chest, but he then grabbed the axe''s handle, stopping Fama from pulling it out as he didn''t want him to go after Donald

    "Donald, go!"

    "Shit!" Fama tried to remove the axe from Niko''s chest, but he was not letting go!

    As Samuel dodged Luke''s fist, he saw that Donald was on his way to get the final hit.

    "Not happening!"

    Luke was swinging his fists as he lost his bat a moment ago, and when he saw Donald rushing towards the heart, his grin grew.

    At that moment, Samuel rolled down the ground towards the baseball bat and snatched it for himself.

    Luke''s eyes widened in shock.

    Samuel swung the baseball bat with overflowing fury and smashed it through Luke''s head, crushing his skull like a watermelon.

    "Luke!" Niko shouted in shock as he saw the scene.

    Luke fell to the ground¡ªdead.

    "Donaaald!" Samuel rushed past Fama and Niko, chasing after Donald.

    "You are toote, loser!" Donaldughed as he reached the crack in the floor. He grabbed the sword with both hands and stabbed it towards the heart, his smile growing wider with each passing moment.

    As Adam dodged the attacks from Ramon and Hannibal, he saw Donald seemingly be the one to get the final hit.

    However, his expression didn''t change.

    ''Fools. You guys already forgot those arms?''

    At that moment, creepy arms grew from the heart and punched Donald with a powerful blow.

    "Cough!" Donald coughed up blood and fell down to his buttocks.

    At that moment, dozens of arms left the crack in the floor and attacked everything that moved.

 Chapter 17: Safe Area

    <h4>Chapter 17: Safe Area</h4>

    The creepy arms stretched like rubber and flew across the boss room, punching and pping the yers.

    The yers were terrified and tried to run away, but the creepy arms were too fast and caught them. Several yers were pummeled until they had no health points left and thus died.

    Adam smashed his shield at the iing arm, blocking its fist, and then harpooned the arm with the pitchfork, impaling it down to the ground.

    The arm tried to struggle free, like a snake trying to escape from a predator.

    He raised his head and saw every yer trying to cut the arms, but when they finally managed to do so, the arms multiplied like the hydra itself, and now they had another arm chasing after them.

    They werepletely overwhelmed and outnumbered.

    Adam pulled the pitchfork from the arm, and it slowly tried to grab his leg, but he then lunged forward, dashing towards the crack in the floor where the arms wereing from.

    He quickly jumped over several arms, narrowly avoiding the grasping hands andnding safely on the other side.

    At that moment, several arms stretched towards him, but Adam quickly blocked them with the shield and used the pitchfork to injure the arms, but he didn''t cut them like others did.

    The closer he got to the hole where the beating heart was, the harder it was to move, and the shield began to show signs of wear as he had to try to block several arms at the same time.

    Adam masterfully parried several fists with the pitchfork and used the shield to push away the arms in front of him.

    However, one rogue arm managed to break through his defenses andnd a blow on his waist.

    "Ugh..." Adam let out a slight groan.

    [-3 HP]

    [Adam - HP: 47/50]

    "Argh!" Adam sprang up in the air and deflected the arms that chased after him with the shield. He thennded beside the hole in the floor and looked towards the beating heart.

    It looked so close, but also so far.

    Every other yer was too upied to focus on him, as they were desperately trying to avoid the arms.

    After Adam raised his pitchfork, and put his arm into a throwing stance, several arms flew out of the hole and tried to snatch his weapon.

    Adam narrowed his eyes, and he jumped into the air, smashing his shield at the arms, sending them crashing down to the ground.

    There was now one open path towards the heart.

    However, the arms sensed that, and every single one of them rushed towards Adam, causing yers to also see what was happening.

    ''He''ll die!'' Donald thought while standing, bruised and battered. He didn''t expect anyone to survive that kind of onught.

    However, at that moment, Adam screamed loudly, and his non-existent muscles bulged on his right arm. He then swung his arm around, sending the pitchfork flying towards the hole in the floor,

    Adam quickly covered his body with the shield as well as he could, and then felt the onught of the arms as they smashed their fists at the shield.

    He experienced intense pressure throughout his body, as if hammers were striking him. A few fists managed to dodge the shield andnd a few hits on his body.

    As his health started to slowly drop, the pitchfork flew through the hole and stabbed into the beating heart. The moment it did, all the arms stopped moving and fell lifelessly to the ground.

    The beating heart released its final beat, and then withered like an old flower till nothing of it was left.

    "Whoo, whoo..." Adam kneeled down on the ground and held his waist in pain, his forehead covered in sweat as he tried to catch his breath. ''I-I forgot just how horrible stamina level 0 had...''

    Click¡ªthe door on top of the stairs clicked open. It wasn''t locked anymore!

    "God damn it!" Donald screamed, his blond hair disheveled as if he had just survived a storm. His attractive face had long since vanished, and in its ce was an expression of utter rage.

    "D-Donald..." Niko limped towards his friend, his clothes bloodied and dirty. "L-Luke, he died..."

    "Hmph!" Donald scoffed and angrily gritted his teeth. "Everyone useless. What were you doing? Your job was to prevent anyone from attacking the heart!"

    "I..." Niko held his aching waist and lowered his head, knowing that he had disappointed Donald.

    Ramon and Hannibal looked at Parrish''s corpse, slowly fading from existence. They drew a cross on his chest and then angrily red at Adam.

    Near a broken pir, Seth revealed himself. He had been hiding ever since the arms came from the hole, and it was the only reason he managed to survive.

    As he saw Adam deal the final blow, his eyes behind the sses turned angry.

    "I-It was my kill..."

    Adam stood up from the ground and took out his backpack from the inventory. He ced it inside the inventory so it wouldn''t hinder him during the fighting, but it also caused him to move slower because of the weight of the inventory.

    He then slung the backpack over his shoulder and walked up the stairs at a slow pace.

    "Watch your back!" Ramon shouted from near Parrish''s corpse as it finally disappeared.

    "Hmm..." Adam pushed open the door and stepped through.

    As his eyes got used to the light, he saw the surroundings, and it would be a very unexpected sight for many, but Adam expected it.

    It looked like he was standing at the entrance of a mall. He saw three floors, each filled with shops, restaurants, training rooms, and auditoriums for gathering.

    At the ce where often there would be elevators, there were stairs leading to the second floor of the shopping mall.

    The third floor was specially created to house the yers of the tutorial for those few weeks.

    As Adam looked around the mall, he saw many curious faces looking from the second floor¡ªthey were also yers from different time slots.

    They entered the tutorial earlier and were part of a different group¡ªthey would also finish the tutorial much earlier, much more likely.

    As the rest of the yers stepped through the door to the mall, they looked with amazement, as this wasn''t something they expected to see.

    "Wee to the Safe Area!" A familiar but unexpected voice came from the stairs.

    Ron, with his wide-shouldered frame, walked down the stairs and approached the group of yers with a small smirk.

    "This is the Safe Area." Ron put his arms wide and gestured to the mall around him. "This is a ce between floors. It is a separate dimension, created for yers who are doing the tutorial.

    "In here, you can sell your items, purchase things for your journey, eat in the restaurants, and sleep.

    "Sleeping is important, as your mind will still feel fatigue, so you have to sleep at least once a day!"

    "What is that?" A yer pointed towards a white board near the stairs. It was right beside a store that sold weapons and the gym. It had notes attached to it.

    "That is the mission board." Ron crossed his arms. "You''ll learn about the life of a mercenary here¡ªthe mercenary''s main job is to ept missions andplete them without failure. Those missions can range from just finding a missing kitten to killing some dangerous Chaosbeings."

    "What are those Chaosbeings?" A yer asked. "Are those the creatures we fought?"

    "Everything will be exined in time." Ron said and then remembered something. "Ah right, the first lesson is about to start¡ªfollow me to the auditorium."

    "A lesson?" Ramon scoffed loudly. "Are we some fucking kids? Lessons for what?"

    "You brats have a lot to learn." Ron said that and smirked. "Today''s lesson¡ªweapons and skills."

 Chapter 18: The First Lesson

    <h4>Chapter 18: The First Lesson</h4>

    The yers got seated in the auditorium.

    As Ron sat on thest row with his arms crossed, the yers saw another door from the front of the auditorium open.

    A long-haired woman with a book in hand walked in and took a spot in the middle of the stage. She then turned to look at the yers, who upied barely 1/10th of the seats avable.

    The woman''s eyes seemed to bore into their souls, as if she could see right through them.

    "Ron, are there any more Coinfeeders on the first floor, or has everyone either died or arrived here?"

    "Around a dozen cowards are left on the first floor." Ron said with a hint of disdain in his voice. "They should arrive here soon."

    "Hmm..." The woman shook her head and said, "We don''t bother giving them lessons. Tell them to go on missions or something and give them their room keys."

    Ron nodded.

    "Well then..." The woman opened the book and then mmed it shut loudly. "My name is Dakota. I am your ''teacher'' for the duration of the tutorial. I''ll teach you the basics of the game mechanics and some other game-rted things you should be aware of.

    "This is the Safe Area of the tutorial, and since it has safe in the name, this is supposed to be ce where yers can move safely without the constant danger of being killed.

    "That also means, we won''t allow other yers attacking each other in here.

    "If we catch you, there''ll be punishment.

    "Now that I have said that...

    "Has any of you read the help manual yet?"

    Near the back of the auditorium, only one hand raised, and it belonged to Seth.

    As soon as Seth raised his arm, he frowned and looked towards Adam, who was barely keeping his eyes open as if he wanted to fall asleep.

    ''Why didn''t he raise his arm? He said that he also read it.''

    "Only one." Dakota shrugged her shoulders. "More than I expected."

    Ramon and Hannibal groaned as they couldn''t care about lessons. They wanted to go check the missions and the selection of weapons.

    "All right, today''s lesson is weapons and skills." Dakota pointed towards the ckboard behind her, grabbed a chalk, and began writing down the usage of the weapons.

    "First of all, each weapon has its own base damage." Dakota said. "Say information, and you''ll receive the information about the weapon."

    Some yers looked surprised and tried it out. To their surprise, they received information about their weapon.

    Adam also whispered. "Information."

    ***

    [Weapon: Pitchfork]

    [Rank: Basic]

    [Max Damage: 23-25]

    [Durability: 75%]

    [Description: Usually a farmer''s tool, but in the hands of seasoned warriors, it can be a mighty weapon]

    ***

    Dakote wrote about the rank of the weapon and about the damage.

    "As you can see, the rank of the weapon is basic, the lowest rank. No matter what you do, you cannot increase the ranks of these weapons.

    "That''s why, mercenaries often change their weapons if they find a higher-ranked one. Higher-ranked weapons have higher max damage and won''t break as easily.

    "However, there are weapons that can evolve out there in the world, but none of you need to know about those now.

    "The basic weapons will be the highest-ranked weapon you can find in the tutorial. On the outside world, basic weapons are treated like garbage, but in here, it is your lifeline."

    Some yers nodded keenly.

    After Dakota finished writing and drawing, she turned to the yers and said, "Has anyone noticed that you are sometimes capable of creating more damage than the base damage?"

    Donald nodded casually and nced at Ramon, who managed to create astonishing 50 HP damage, which would be a strong enough attack to kill any of the yers.

    "If you hit any of the vital points of your opponent, you can double the base damage." Dakota said and pointed at the ckboard.

    "That is called Critical Hit. However, there is also a thing called Instant Kill. It doesn''t matter how much damage your weapon does; if you do Instant Kill, your opponent dies immediately.

    "That can only happen one way.

    "Beheading!

    "Your opponent can''t survive without a head; that should bemon knowledge!"

    While yers nodded, Seth was taking mental notes of everything¡ªhe nned to write them down after they were done with the lesson.

    "Also, the durability of the weapon is important." Dakota said. "In this tutorial, you cannot restore your weapon''s durability. It is another challenge of the tutorial. Outside the tutorial, only cksmiths can restore your weapon, and it is crucial to do so.

    "If the durability reaches zero, it will break and be unrecoverable!"

    Dakota then wiped off the stuff about weapons and moved onto the skills.

    "Onest thing about weapons: their ranks will be on the mission board. Check them out when you have time. Now, let''s move onto the skills."

    The yers watched as Dakota scribbled something on the ckboard¡ªsoon, they saw a drawing of scroll.

    "Skills can be learned through Skill Scrolls." Dakota said. "They can even be purchased here, in the Safe Area. However, even if you purchase the scroll, you won''t learn it immediately.

    "To learn the skill, one has to learn it by himself and practice it until it bes part of you¡ªpart of your core being.

    "When you check the information about the skill, it will show the currentpletion progress. You''ll have to reach 100% by simply trying to learn the skill.

    "Once it reaches 100%, you can use the skill by just saying the skill''s name out loud¡ªno one else will hear you say that, and they would only see your lips move.

    "The ranks of the skills are the same as the weapons, but the higher the rank, the harder it is to learn a skill.

    "One skill took me 6 months to learn, so it definitely isn''t easy. So, from early on, try to find a weapon that suits you, then find skills for that weapon, and it will be much easier than trying to learn skills for a weapon you don''t know how to use!"

    "Do not underestimate the value of high-level weapons and skills; they can be even more valuable than having a higher level, as if you only focus on your level, you''ll be in big trouble against mercenaries who are higher-leveled than you!

    "Only your stamina, HP, strength, and agility increase, which do indeed make you stronger, but you still cannot do more damage if you don''t decide to purchase higher-leveled weapons, which cost a lot."

    The yers nodded thoughtfully.

    "Andstly, thest thing for today''s lesson." Dakota opened the book in her hand and mmed it shut. "You all are Coinfeeders¡ªthe lowest rank. In this world, your value is as much as sidewalk trash."

    "Hmph." Ramon scoffed loudly near the back row of the auditorium.

    "Heh." Dakota nced at the rude yer and said, "If any of youplete the tutorial, you''ll automatically be a level 1 yer.

    "Also, you''ll receive your mercenary card and officially be the second rank¡ªMercenaryman.

    "Which is still low, and you''ll be basically trash that has a little bit more value.

    "However, the higher your rank bes, the more valuable you''ll be. You can acquire riches beyond your wildest fantasies; however, some yers value fame and respect even higher.

    "If you be strong, people will respect you.

    "Perhaps, you''ll remember this day, perhaps fondly, perhaps not, but still, any of you can be something of worth, but it won''t be easy as only one death puts you right back to the bottom.

    "If you want to find out just how far the hierarchy goes..." Dakota pointed to the door that leads out of the auditorium. "On the mission board, there will be mercenary ranks posted.

    "For now, the lesson has concluded. Take your room keys from Ron and go do what you want.

    "Also, the door to the second floor won''t be avable for y''all yet. The previous group, which arrived here before you, hasn''t cleared it yet.

    "When the boss spawns next time around, it will be your turn. So, rest, train, and get used to your life in the tutorial.

    "That''s all."

 Chapter 19: Mercenary Ranks

    <h4>Chapter 19: Mercenary Ranks</h4>

    "Here..." Ron stood at the exit of the auditorium, giving each yer their own key as they walked by him. "Your handler will wait for you in your room."

    "What is a handler?" Seth asked as he took the key from Ron.

    "Your handler will exin everything; now move." Ron pushed Seth out of the auditorium and then handed the key to the person walking behind him.

    A short whileter, Adam epted his key from Ron and checked the number to see whether it was the same as in his previous life.

    However, it wasn''t, just as he expected.

    "Congrattions for the kill of the first boss." Ron added as Adam epted the key. "Most impressive."

    "Thanks..." Adam then walked out of the auditorium and pocketed his key.

    At that moment, he saw Seth walking ahead with his shortsword dangling from his hip, as if he were announcing it to everyone.

    Adam''s eyes turned cold, and he slowly approached Seth.

    As Seth looked at the key in his hand, he suddenly felt a strong tug on his arm and then felt his back crash against a wall.

    "W-who!" He tried to draw his weapon, but Adam grabbed him by his wrist and held him in ce.

    "Y-you, what do you want?" Seth asked, his voice trembling.

    "I want your weapon," Adam said, pulling out his pitchfork from his inventory and stabbing it on the floor. "Give it to me."

    "Y-you can''t attack me in here!" Seth said with a shaky voice and saw other yers moving by, only ncing at them briefly without caring. "T-they w-will punish you."

    "I thought you were smarter than that." Adam smiled. "They said if they catch you doing it, do you see them here?"

    Seth looked back to the auditorium and saw its door closed¡ªneither Ron nor Dakota were here.

    "We''ll do a trade." Adam said with a smile. "I''ll give you the pitchfork; you''ll give me your sword. A fair deal, I would say."

    "F-fair, hah!" Sethughed mockingly. "T-this is ckmail. How is it fair when I get a worse weapon? This is my weapon; I got it!"

    "You don''t get it." Adam nced at the yers who were walking by. "You unt your weapon like an idiot. Do you think you''ll survive through this day if you have this? You won''t."

    "E-eh?" Seth looked around, and just as Adam said, many eyes nced at him briefly before moving on. He thought he saw other yers looking at him before but didn''t realize it was because of the weapon he was carrying.

    "It''s a fair deal, because this will save your life." Adam said and snatched the steel shortsword from his hip. He then dropped the pitchfork in front of Seth''s feet.

    "D-don''t even say you do this for me." Seth angrily spat. "You are doing this because of greed."

    "Exactly." Adam tied the sword to his belt, with its de sheathed inside a scabbard, and said. "I don''t do this out of kindness. You had something I wanted, simple as that, but it still doesn''t change the fact that I transferred the bullseye on your back to my own."

    "Y-you aren''t afraid of dying?" Seth asked with a scoff. "How do you have higher chances of survival than I have?"

    "I am stronger than you; that''s why." Adam said and began walking away from Seth. "Also, mercenaries have to be bold. You aren''t a proper mercenary if you are afraid to make some bold choices."

    Seth clenched his fists and shouted. "O-one day, I''lle to take that sword back from you. No matter how long it takes!"

    Adam waved his handzily and said, "Sure, whatever. Focus on getting through the tutorial first; it''s not looking good for you, pointwise."

    Seth gritted his teeth and picked up the pitchfork from the ground, which was left behind by Adam.

    "I''ll show you..."

    After a while, Adam reached the front lounge of the Safe Area and saw the stairs leading to the second floor of the mall, as well as the entrance of the mall that led back to the first floor of the tutorial.

    At that moment, more yers walked through the door, looking exhausted and disheveled. They were yers who didn''t participate in the boss fight.

    "Look, losers have arrived!" Ramon shouted near the mission board while his friend, Hannibal, looked at the missions.

    "W-who did you call a loser?" One of the yers spoke up, their voice trembling with anger but also with a slight fear as he saw the man''s tattoos.

    "You and the rest of you fuckers!" Ramonughed loudly. "Watch your backs, losers. If I see any of you leeching any more, I''ll kill you myself. Fuck the punishment!"

    The yers looked frightened and quickly moved by, their faces also looking slightly ashamed as they felt like everyone was staring at them with mockery and ridicule.

    "Making friends looks like." Adam approached the mission board, where Ramon and Hannibal were standing.

    "Hmph, you..." Ramon''s gaze dropped to his hip as he saw the steel shortsword. "Hah, poor little Seth. Is his corpse somewhere? Did you kill him like you did Parrish?"

    "No, he is alive." Adam stopped in front of the mission board and nced at the tattooed man. "Unlike Parrish."

    "Fucker..." Ramon gritted his teeth, but thenughed loudly. "You have balls!"

    Adam looked away from him and looked at the mission board¡ªthere were two posters made of goat parchment. One included the weapon and skills ranks, while the other had mercenary ranks.

    ***

    [Weapon, Armor and Skill Ranks]

    [1. Basic]

    [2. Common]

    [3. Umon]

    [4. Rare]

    [5. Azure Rare]

    [6. Epic]

    [7. Purple Epic]

    [8. Legendary]

    [9. Golden Legendary]

    [10. Mythical]

    ***

    [Mercenary Ranks]

    [1. Coinfeeder]

    [2. Mercenaryman]

    [3. Ordergiver]

    [4. Beyonder]

    [5. Holyman]

    [6. Grandeur]

    [7. Archwarrior]

    [8. Royal Mercenary]

    [9. Prime Mercenary]

    [10. Royal Prince]

    [11. Grand Lord]

    [12. High King]

    ***

    ''Hah.'' Adamughed inwardly as he looked at the mercenary ranks. ''I am back at the bottom, a fucking Coinfeeder. In my previous life, I reached highly respected Prime Mercenary, and Coinfeeders looked nothing but ants to me.

    ''Now, I am that ant.''

    Adam nced at the missions, which were quite different from his previous life, but some were the same. However, he didn''t n on taking any missions today, even though they gave quite good points.

    ''The handler is waiting in the room. I wonder who I get this time; the one in my previous life was annoying as hell.''

    However, before going to his room, he nned to go sell his stuff in the store.

    Adam left the mission board while Ramon''s gaze followed him like a hawk, and he walked up the stairs to the second floor of the mall.

    Soon, he found the merchant store, which had a few yers from different groups browsing through the shelves.

    "Hello, young man. How can I be of assistance?" The mercenary asked with a smile, his name hovering above his head.

    [mekeeper]

    ''NPC.'' Adam thought as he approached the counter.

    Most of the mall''s workers were NPCs, also known as Non-yer Characters. It was easier to hire them than have yers do everything, as most of the yers working in the tutorial areas also had to leave for real life often.

    "I would like to sell my stuff." Adam said and ced his Goatman ws, feet, and tail on the desk.

    Then, he also took out the ws and teeth he received from the yers he killed, as well as the mallet and baton.

    mekeeper nodded and took out his monocle, then looked at the items intensely.

    "Hmm, those are definitely Goatman''s, also in good condition. However, those ws and teeth are from a basic Chaosbeing and are in quite poor condition.

    "The basic weapons aren''t also worth much.

    "So, you''ll get 8 Shinecoins from all of this."

    Adam nodded. "All right."

    mekeeper''s eyebrow jumped in surprise as he had gotten used to yers arguing after receiving the price¡ªthey always have the illusion that the items they fought hard for were worth a lot.

    When they were struck by reality, they thought the merchant was trying to scam them.

    "You don''t want to bargain, huh?" mekeeper chuckled. "Fine by me."

    "I expected to get less." Adam smiled. "These are only worth 5 Shinecoins. You gave me some extra, so I appreciate it."

    "Oho." mekeeperughed. "You''re very informative, aren''t you?"

    Adam smiled and then epted the eight coins¡ªthe coins were shining a little bit, and they had a person''s face engraved on them¡ªit was the face of Konrad Moriarty, the High King.

    Whenever a yer became a High King, their face would be engraved on the Shinecoins. It was the highest honor a yer could receive.

    After Adam epted the coins, they were sucked into his interface.

    [Shinecoin: 8]

    ''All right, now that I am done with that, time to go meet my handler.''

 Chapter 20: Strong and the Weak

    <h4>Chapter 20: Strong and the Weak</h4>

    "Room 331..." Adam looked at the key in hand and then at the door with a sign that read "331."

    He inserted the key into the lock and turned it, slowly opening the door.

    A cozy room opened up with a hard-looking bed in the corner, a small table, and a candle next to it. There was also a carpet strewn across the floor and door to the bathroom.

    The room was dimly lit, with the candle casting a cozy light over the room.

    At the bed, a long-legged woman with shoulder-length ck hair and a small beauty mark under her left eye sat with her legs crossed, browsing through documents while sipping a cup of tea.

    After Adam stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him, the woman put the cup of tea down on the table, closed the documents, and turned to look at him with her dark brown eyes.

    "Hello." She said with a mature and elegant voice. "I am your handler, Muriel."

    "Adam." Adam introduced himself and put the backpack down on the ground, then started taking off his winter clothes as he was already getting hot and sweaty.

    "Do you have any questions, Mr. Adam?" Muriel asked without much emotion in her tone.

    "How are my points looking after the first floor?" Adam asked as he sat down, dropped the winter clothes to the ground, and started taking off his boots.

    "You seem to know what Handler''s job is." Muriel replied with a hint of curiosity in her voice.

    "You record my points, keep an eye on me, and assist me in Safe Area. Basically, a babysitter."

    "Yes, that''s basically it." Muriel nodded. "Also, I am Original, meaning I am a native of the New World."

    ''Original, also known as NPC,'' Adam thought to himself and nodded. "So, how did my points look like. You are allowed to give me a hint of how I am doing."

    "Do I need to even say?" Muriel opened her documents and said, "Ron gave a high assessment of you, as you managed to keep a calm head throughout the first floor.

    "You managed to kill Goatman; even though you seemed to know its weakness, it''s still a very hard feat for Coinfeeder.

    "Then, you managed to defeat a group of injured yers¡ªinjured or not, it was still an impressive feat for a solo yer.

    "And then, you showed excellent fighting capability against the boss, Bloody Chaosbeing, and managed to find its body and even kill it.

    "You got the highest amount of points from this group." Muriel closed the documents and looked at him. "Does that satisfy you?"

    "You left something out, didn''t you?" Adam sighed and scratched the back of his head. "What are theints?"

    "You acted alone." Muriel said. "Mercenary never does anything alone. They need to rely on others for both raids and missions.

    "Donald showed excellent leadership skills, as he was able to get several strong yers for his side with just a few words.

    "However, he ruined it with his greed. Still, he showed promise in this field and can learn from his mistakes.

    "However, you showed zero intention of even trying to work with others.

    "If you had tried, more yers would''ve survived the boss fight.

    "If you do the same in a real situation, with other members of the guild on your side, there''ll be big consequences.

    "No one will want mercenaries for raids who''ll only act alone for their own benefit.

    "It''s important to prioritize the sess of the group over personal gain." Muriel closed her mouth, signaling that she was done speaking out her criticism.

    "I do understand all of that." Adam put his boots to the side and looked at the woman. "However, why do I want baggage that will slow me down?"

    "Baggage?" Muriel frowned.

    "I am stronger than the rest." Adam said with conviction. "They would just slow me down. Guilds also don''t want mercenaries who cannot pull their weight in the raids."

    "Ramon, Hannibal, and Parrish seemed powerful." Muriel said, her brows creased. "Also, Donald and Samuel have impressivebat abilities. Any of those would''ve been suitable guild members.

    "Donald even approached you from the start, and if you had yed your cards right, he would''ve epted you as part of his group."

    "epted..." Adam smiled and stood up. "That''s cute."

    "Excuse me?" Muriel frowned.

    "A strong does not follow the weak."

    Muriel''s eyes widened as she saw Adam towering over her, his navy-blue eyes reflecting her face.

    "As you already saw, Donald and Ramon are leaders." Adam crossed his arms. "They wouldn''t have followed me. I am stronger than them, so I wouldn''t be following them.

    "The strong rules; this is New World''s mantra. A strong does not follow the weak; the weak follows the strong to be strong!"

    Muriel''s breath quickened as she listened to Adam''s words.

    "And the rest?" Adam scoffed and shook his head. "No one else was even worth my consideration. This is not arrogance or ego speaking; it is just the truth and how this world works."

    "I understand..." Muriel whispered and stood up while hugging the documents against her chest. "H-however, your points might still be reduced if you don''t want to work with others."

    "If that''s the case, so be it." Adam took off his shirt, revealing his bare chest. "I am going to take a shower. Was this all?"

    "That''s all." Muriel bowed and walked to the door. However, as closer she got to the door, the bigger her smile became. ''A strong follows the weak; the weak follows the strong to be strong. I might''ve gotten a very special yer!''

    Adam entered the bathroom and took off his clothes.

    As he stood below the shower head, with water falling down at him, he looked down at his waist, which had a big bruise.

    It was possible to get bruises or even scars. Bruises would heal, but the scars would stay forever on the avatar''s body.

    There weren''t any mercenaries without scars on their bodies.

    ''Points will most likely be deducted because I don''t want to work others, but so be it.'' Adam sighed while feeling the water on his skin.

    ''However, nothing I said was wrong. I do not follow people who aren''t worthy of respect. A follower would never get high enough points in the tutorial to be considered for top guilds.

    ''They would want people like Donald and Ramon, who are natural-born leaders. They''ll learn their ce when they leave the tutorial and enter the real world of mercenaries.

    ''I already know my ce.

    ''I might have been Prime Mercenary, a figure of strength and respect, but nothing of that matters anymore.

    ''The quicker I get used to the fact that I am again at bottom, the easier it will be for me.

    ''However, I do not n on staying weak for long.

    ''Next floor, the Second Floor, already has a golden opportunity I can take advantage of. It was discovered only five yearster by Dean Morticia, whoter became a good friend of mine and fellow general of Star Faction.

    ''Sorry, Dean, but this is an opportunity I can''t pass by. I''ll pay youter, when you start ying Mortal Online.''

    Adam closed the faucet, left the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, and sat down on the bed.

    ''Now, I need to press full throttle.'' Adam cracked his knuckles and smiled. ''There are hundreds of yers in the tutorial simultaneously¡ªif I want the Council to truly notice me, I have to break some rules.''

 Chapter 21: The Second Lesson

    <h4>Chapter 21: The Second Lesson</h4>

    A few days had passed since the start of the tutorial.

    The door to the second floor was still tightly closed, and most of the yers began wondering whether the group that entered the tutorial before them had encountered some kind of problem.

    At this moment, in the cafeteria of the mall, several people talked while stuffing their mouths with the delicious food.

    "Yesterday, I saw Donald talking to one of the yers who had already passed the second floor." A yer said while taking a bite of his food. "I assume he tried to fish some information about the next floor."

    "Wait, you can do that?" Another yer asked in surprise.

    "I don''t see why not." The yer said. "However, they aren''t apparently giving the information for free. You would have to pay Shinecoins for that information."

    "Ach..."

    "Shinecoins are important, so no wonder that they aren''t giving information for free." The yer said. "However, can any of us even afford it?"

    "Yeah..." The other yer sighed. "I checked the price for weapons and skills. They are ridiculously expensive. I only got 3 Shinecoins for all the stuff I managed to gather, and I almost died for those."

    "Yeah, that mekeeper merchant is very hard-headed." The yer sighed. "No matter what I said, he just didn''t want to listen."

    "Psst, he is here." The third person on the table whispered and nudged his chin to point at the person who entered the cafeteria.

    The person was a ck-haired young man with a pale-skinned face and navy-blue eyes. His build was rather lean, and one wouldn''t think he was strong at first nce, but none of them seemed to underestimate him.

    "Adam..." The yer whispered. "He must have some information about the second floor, right?"

    "Why do you think so?"

    "He seemed to know where the boss of the first floor was hiding." The yer said. "I think he had received some information beforehand about the tutorial."

    "That''s cheating, isn''t it?"

    "Ron and Dakota didn''t seem to forbid it." The yer shrugged his shoulders. "However, he is still powerful and seems to have a background in martial arts. Perhaps one of his family members is already a mercenary and has trained him."

    "Yeah, he managed to fight Ramon and his group alone." The third yer shuddered. "I wouldn''t want to fight them. They look like they are part of some gang in the real world."

    "Right, real world." The yerughed. "It''s been around three days since we came here. Anyone waiting for you when you get out?"

    "No one for me."

    "Neither for me."

    The yer nodded. "Easier that way. I had to convince my parents, which wasn''t easy. They were afraid of my safety, or some shit like that."

    "Yeah, for a good reason too." The other yer scratched the back of his head. "This ce isn''t what I expected. Is this even a game? I feel like we are in a different world."

    "Yeah..."

    At that moment, a holographic screen appeared on the cafeteria wall. The screen showed the face of Dakota.

    This was a holographic device that allowed people to talk¡ªit was the only way of speaking from long distances in real-time. Other ways ofmunicating were via letters, but they were way slower.

    "The second lesson begins now;e to the auditorium." Dakota''s echoing voice traversed throughout the mall.

    Without further ado, the group that had Dakota as a teacher stopped whatever they were doing and started moving towards the auditorium.

    The other yers didn''t move an inch and continued to do their own stuff as they had different teachers, and thus this lesson didn''t concern them as they had already gone through the second lesson.

    After taking seats in the auditorium, Dakota appeared from the front of the auditorium with the same book in hand as before.

    She stopped in the middle of the stage and opened her mouth.

    "Wee to the second lesson.

    "Today''s lesson, Chaosbeings and New World."

    The yers listened silently.

    However, there were a few yers missing, more noticeable Ramon and Hannibal, as they didn''t bother toe for some lessons.

    Seth took out his notepad and pencil to take notes.

    Adam sat in the back row, even though he was more aware of the things than Dakota was most likely. He had, after all, thirteen years of memories from the future, and some things in the current timeline hadn''t even been discovered yet.

    Yet, he still came to the lesson believing that even a small thing like this would increase his final point score. He also didn''t have anything else to do other than train.

    "Chaosbeings, as we call them, are the creatures you encountered on the first floor." Dakota began the lesson. "The Chaosbeings are unpredictable and strange creatures."

    "They can adapt to their environment and use everything around them to their advantage while battling the mercenaries.

    "They are the main enemy of mercenaries. It is our duty to protect the Human Sanctuary from them!

    "While dungeons are full of them, it''s not their only ce of existence.

    "Beyond the dungeon, there is the New World¡ªit is an enormous ce surrounded by tall rock walls, and it surrounds our ce of existence. It''s called the Wall of the Living.

    "The Wall of the Living circles us; it is what protects us from the horrors of the wastnd.

    "Inside the wall, there are five cities¡ªnamed Dawnwatch, Driftwood, New Karma, Ebonreach, and Imperium City.

    "There are also countless viges and towns.

    "That is what is inside the Wall of the Living and where mercenaries live alongside Originals.

    "However, on the other side of the Wall of the Living, there is the wastnd. It is a god-forsakennd where Chaosbeings roam freely.

    "That''s where most mercenaries die, but it is still a ce of enormous wealth and a way of gaining strength. That''s why mercenaries still roam out there in search of treasures.

    "You might think of Chaosbeings as mindless robots, but that is not true. The stronger Chaosbeing is, the more intelligent and trickier they are.

    "Never underestimate them¡ªthe Chaosbeings you encountered on the first floor were also at the bottom of the hierarchy among Chaosbeings.

    "We also have reason to believe that Chaosbeings are pretty much like us, with their own ruler and hierarchy."

    At the back of the auditorium, Adam crossed his arms and thought.

    ''That''s a rumor that is famous even in the future¡ªthere have been strange urrences where powerful mercenaries disappear when they venture too far into the wastnd.

    ''The strange part is that they don''t appear back in the real world. Even after their disappearance, they are still inside the game, slowly withering away till they die, and their loved ones cannot do anything about it.

    ''That was big news in the future, and parents used it to scare their children to stop them from ying. It is not such a big news in the current timeline, but that doesn''t mean it isn''t happening even now.''

    Ding, ding!

    At that moment, a holographic screen appeared on the screen of the auditorium, right behind Dakota.

    Dakota turned around with a raised eyebrow and saw Ron''s face on therge holographic screen.

    "The second floor is now open." Ron''s voice echoed, and then the holographic screen disappeared.

    The yer''s jaws dropped in shock, as they didn''t expect it to open so suddenly.

    "Well then..." Dakota wryly smiled and turned to look at the yers.

    "The ss has been concluded.

    "Remember to check the mission board; there are missions for the second floor that will give extra points.

    "Good luck."

    Without further ado, the yers hurried out of the auditorium, pushing other yers out of their way.

    Only one person walked at casual speed, and that was Adam.

    ''So it''s finally time.'' Adam thought and rubbed his neck. ''Good, I was getting bored. I have already decided on what mission I will undertake. It''ll be quite interesting.''

 Chapter 22: Adult Centipede Skeleton

    <h4>Chapter 22: Adult Centipede Skeleton</h4>

    A door stood at the end of the first floor of the mall. An otherworldly light seeped underneath it and brightened the area around it.

    At this moment, it unlocked with a gentle click, and immediately afterwards, yers rushed through it like a stampede of animals.

    They were eager and nervous to enter the second floor.

    The ones who didn''t do very well on the first floor were desperate to do well on the second floor.

    At the mission board, most of the missions belonging to the second floor were already taken; only the remaining few were left.

    Adam looked at the mission board, saw thest remaining second-floor missions, and looked uninterested. However, he was very interested in one of the missions on the top of the board, which was ignored by other yers.

    ''These missions are called All-Missions, and can bepleted on any floor.'' Adam took one of the mission posters and looked at it with a thoughtful smile.

    ***

    [Mission: Find and destroy the Baby Centipede Skeleton]

    [Rank: F]

    [Floor: Any]

    [Description: A race of Chaosbeings that often live in dark, damp basement areas. They can often be found on any floor, as they are one of the mostmon Chaosbeings found in the dungeon]

    [Reward: 5,000 points]

    ***

    ''F-ranked mission.'' Adam folded the poster and stuffed it inside his pocket. ''It''s not the hardest mission avable, but for Coinfeeders, F-ranked missions can be extremely deadly.

    ''However, I don''t care about the Baby Centipede Skeleton itself. Instead, it''s what follows and why Dean''s discovery was so shocking and crucial.''

    He nodded and then headed towards the door to the second floor. It was wide open, and he couldn''t see anything except bright light.

    After Adam stepped through the door, his figure disappeared amid the light and vanished from the Safe Area.

    On the second floor of the mall, Muriel took out her notepad and scribbled something down.

    "What mission did your yer take?" A voice came behind her.

    Muriel turned to her side and saw Ron lean on the railing, looking down towards the door of the second floor.

    "F-ranked, All-Mission." Muriel replied. "An ordinary find and destroy Chaosbeing mission."

    "Oh." Ron rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I expected him to take some risks. Ramon and Hannibal took the D-ranked mission."

    "I suppose he is not as reckless as we thought." Muriel said and closed her notepad. "He has gained enough points to get at least a D-rank score."

    "If that''s all he gets, I will be disappointed in him." Ron said with his arms crossed. "Mercenary also has to be bold. Does he stillck courage?"

    "..." Muriel shook her head. "I don''t know."

    However, she couldn''t get the words Adam spoke to her a few days ago.

    She had a hunch that Adam wouldn''t be afraid of taking a D-ranked mission.

    ''Is he only concentrating on the boss fights and is trying to save his strength?'' Muriel frowned deeply.

    ...

    After Adam opened his eyes, a darknd opened up in front of him.

    The sky was dark and cloudy, as if it could start raining at any moment, and he was standing at the entrance of an abandoned town with buildings made of ck rocks with shattered windows and crumbling walls.

    Adam looked at the ground below his feet, which was cracked like desert soil and very dry.

    After looking away from the ground, he saw a ck castle at the end of the town, standing on top of a small hill, surrounded by ck rock walls and four watch towers, one of which was broken from the middle.

    The yers were running towards the ck castle as if it were a race to see who could reach that ce first. They all expected the boss to be there.

    Adam looked away from the ck castle and walked into a dimly lit alleyway with his hands slipping inside his pockets. He was hoping for Dean''s memory to serve him correctly.

    After one raid, they had gathered around a campfire, and the generals of Star Faction spoke about their tutorial experiences.

    Dean''s experience stood out the most, as he was the one that almost caused the destruction of his entire group. However, he acted very valiantly, and at the end of the tutorial, he became the eighth person ever to receive an S-ranked score.

    After a short walkter, Adam stopped in front of a gated building with shattered windows and a dark interior. It was in a quite isted ce, far from the town''s main street and from the ck castle.

    It looked like this building hadn''t been touched for many centuries.

    Adam opened the ck, creaking gate and walked to the front door.

    After opening the door, he entered the room and heard the creaking floor below him.

    As he navigated through the first floor, he soon found a door hidden behind fallen furniture. After moving the furniture away and opening the door, he saw stairs leading deep into the basement.

    Adam walked down the stairs and reached the basement soon afterward. It was a very dark ce, with damp air and a musty smell.

    It seemed like the perfect spot for Baby Centipede Skeleton to live.

    However, when Adam''s eyes got used to the darkness, he didn''t see the centipede anywhere.

    But then Adam slowly drew his shortsword and approached the cracked wall at the end of the basement. It looked like it had been punched really hard and was about to copse.

    He took a deep breath and put the shield in front of his body, then tackled the wall with all his might.

    Crash¡ªthe wall crumbled apart, and dust clouds filled the air.

    At that moment, a chilly breeze swept through the basement, and the clicking sound echoed throughout the room, as if there were hundreds of locks disengaging at the same time.

    Adam took out a torch and matchstick, which he purchased from a merchant store, and lit up the torch.

    As the torch lit up the small area around him, he then hurled it through the broken wall and into the vast darkness beyond.

    As the torch illuminated the darkness, its yellowish light revealed a creepy skeleton nearly thirty meters long and five meters high. The skeleton had over a hundred legs, all sharp and deadly.

    At the moment when the torchnded on the ground, the ground shook like an earthquake had struck the town, and then the skeleton turned towards the crumpled wall in the distance, and even though it couldn''t see, it could sense a nearby presence.

    If this sight were seen by Ron and others, their faces would pale as this creature wasn''t Baby Centipede Skeleton.

    Instead, it was a nearly mature Adult Centipede Skeleton¡ªwhen it was discovered by Dean five yearster, it was fully mature and had caused enormous amounts of damage throughout the second floor, killing most of the yers.

    It was too much for Coinfeeders to deal with, and thus, some mercenaries working in the Safe Area had to step in and kill the centipede. It was one of the rare instances when they had to actually intervene.

    "Hah..." Adam''s face paled with a twitching lip. ''Didn''t those so-called Chaosbeing experts say that one of the Baby Centipede Skeleton''s must''ve had some kind of surprise evolution, starting in 2150 andsting five years?

    ''The evolution should have started this year, and yet, it looks like he has been evolving for a few years at least.

    ''Chaosbeing experts my fucking ass.''

    Smash¡ªthe Centipede Skeleton stabbed the ground with one of its legs that had a length of four to five meters. That single leg had more strength than a harpoon, and it could easily pierce through any metal.

    Adam slowly started backing off, feeling slightly regretful that he believed those fools who called themselves as Chaosbeing experts.

    At that moment, the Centipede Skeleton shot forward, its hundred legs moving in unison as it lunged towards Adam.

    Adam quickly ran up the stairs, stormed out of the basement, and jumped out of the window like a rabbit escaping its predator.

    At that moment, the building behind him crumbled like a house of cards, and then the Centipede Skeleton jumped out of the ground, its disgusting body and long, spindly legs stretching out towards the sky.

    "Shit..." Adam jumped to his feet, moved the shield in front of him, and put the shield into a counter-attack stance. There was no time for regrets.

    ''It''s still not as strong as it will be in five years, but can I defeat it as Coinfeeder?'' Adam closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then mmed his eyes open with renewed vigor in his eyes.

    "Fuck it, I''ll try!"

 Chapter 23: Strong Force

    <h4>Chapter 23: Strong Force</h4>

    Beep, beep, beep!

    rms rang in the mall''s control room.

    Several holographic screens showed several scenes from different floors, but now the biggest screen showed the skeleton-bodied centipede wreaking havoc with its springy skeleton legs.

    The door mmed open, and Ron trotted inside with a deep frown.

    "What the hell is going on?"

    Following him, Muriel also stepped inside the room with a bunch of documents in her hands. There were other handlers also gathered in the room¡ªall like her, female Originals.

    "Sir, it seems like there has been Adult Centipede Skeleton hiding who knows how long under the second floor''s Dark Town!" One of the people in the room eximed.

    Ron looked at therge screen with wide eyes. "God Almighty, are there any yers nearby?"

    "Yes, a yer had most likely interrupted the Adult Centipede Skeleton''s evolution slumber!"

    The screen shifted, showing a ck-haired yer standing near the centipede with a shield and sword in hand.

    Muriel''s eyes widened in shock, and she turned back to her notes.

    ''He went after Baby Centipede Skeleton, but it was actually a mature version...'' Her heart started racing. ''H-he is in trouble.''

    "Cursed." Ron looked at one of the people who operated the control room. "Message the Council of Mercenaries. I''ll have to take action."

    "Y-you can''t possibly interrupt with the tutorial!" One person argued. "T-this is something that those yers have to deal with. Mercenaries have to deal with difficult situations all the time; this is nothing different!"

    "It is different when a fully mature Adult Centipede Skeleton can destroy the hierarchy of the dungeon!" Ron shouted angrily. "This doesn''t only affect the tutorial. This can affect everyone below floor 20, and who knows how many mercenaries will die if this threat isn''t taken care of!"

    "Ugh..." The control room workers groaned as they couldn''t find words to refute Ron.

    "I''ll go. The Council of Mercenaries can punish me if they wish so." Ron turned around to leave the control room.

    At that moment, a loud shout interrupted him.

    "That yer is attacking it!"

    Ron spun his head around, and his eyes widened in shock.

    "What is this fool doing?"

    "Ron, you''ll have to hurry!" Muriel shouted.

    "Argh..." Ron stomped out of the room and leaped down from the third floor straight to the bottom floor.

    Crack¡ªas he crashed on the bottom of the mall, the ground cracked and shattered beneath him.

    At that moment, silver armor withrge shoulder pads, embroidered with the crest of a serpent coiled around a crescent moon, hugged his muscr frame, and on his back, arge shield with the same crest was strapped.

    At Ron''s hand, arge sword manifested out of nowhere, and he held it with a tight grip.

    "..." Ron''s face was then covered by a silver serpent helmet, and without further ado, he stepped through the glowing door.

    ...

    "Aaargghh!" Adam held the shield in front of him as the Centipede Skeleton''s long legs smashed into him.

    With a loud groan, he was sent flying through the air and then crashed back-first through the roof of a nearly-crumbled building.

    "Ptui!" He coughed up blood and saw his vision turn dark for a split second.

    [-35 HP]

    [HP: 15/50]

    "Ahahahaha..." Adamughed weakly and stood up. He then opened his inventory and stuffed his mouth with food, slowly filling his health.

    While in the mall, he left most of his cafeteria meals half-eaten as he put the rest in his inventory for backup food in case he ended up in a fight, which was a high possibility.

    "Coinfeeders truly are weak..." Adam looked at himself through the broken window shard, as if he were talking to himself. "How weak..."

    Crash¡ªat that moment, the Centipede Skeleton''s leg pierced through the ground outside the building. It seemed like the Centipede knew that he was inside the building and wanted to finish him off.

    ''Centipede Skeleton''s are blind, but their sense of smell is exceptional.''

    Adam stood up and then saw the roof peeling off like faded paint and saw the Centipede Skeleton''s hollow-looking eyesockets staring right at him.

    [Adam - HP: 30/50]

    "Sigh..." Adam tightened the straps around his shield and put it in front of him as protection. "Come on, you ugly fuck..."

    At that moment, the Centipede Skeleton''s legs shot forward at him like a harpoon and smashed straight into the shield.

    As the sparks flew, the impact sent Adam flying backwards while the silver shield shattered into pieces.

    He crashed through a wall that was already on the brink of copse and rolled on the ground for a few meters beforeing to a stop near a torn-apart couch.

    He then rolled to his side and stood up with wobbly legs.

    Then, he removed the straps of his broken shield, let it drop to the ground, and looked towards the Centipede Skeleton with a bloodied gaze.

    [Adam - HP: 9/50]

    ''Dean, I truly respect you.'' Adam stood straight, looking straight at the Centipede Skeleton with a weary gaze. ''You stood your ground against a more mature Adult Centipede Skeleton as Coinfeeder, and didn''t show any fear.''

    ''I won''t let you down.'' Adam vowed inwardly and pointed the shortsword at the skeleton creature in front of him.

    The Centipede Skeleton raised one of its hundred legs and thrust it towards Adam like a lightning bolt.

    "Raaah!" Adam leaped over the skeleton leg¡ªit missed him just a little bit¡ªand then shouted. "Strong Force!"

    Strong Force¡ªit was a skill from his previous life that helped him survive many ordeals and was one of the strongest skills he owned.

    However, without the skill scroll and having not learned it, he couldn''t use it.

    But, at this desperate moment, he still shouted it out for extra motivation.

    The Centipede Skeleton, who hadn''t been able to see a single thing during its life, now saw a glimpse of something.

    It was a faded image of Adam, but a more muscr and mightier version.

    Its senses alerted it of something dangerous.

    The shortsword shredded through the air and sliced through the Centipede Skeleton''s leg.

    As half of the leg was cut off, the Centipede Skeleton let out strange humming sounds and recoiled slightly in pain before crashing into one of the buildings.

    And then the Centipede Skeleton began to slither across the ground, using its remaining legs to escape the area. It didn''t care if there were buildings in the way; it simply went through it all.

    Adam crashed on the ground and clutched his chest in pain.

    "Why... did it leave?" He asked through a painful grunt. He felt like there was something sharp sticking to his waist.

    At that moment, Adam''s honed senses could tell him that something was approaching.

    He turned to look toward the air and saw a person leaping over the buildings andnding gracefully on the rooftop.

    It was a figure donning silver armor with a silver serpent helmet and arge shield on the back.

    "Huh..." Ron removed his helmet and watched as the enormous Centipede slither away like a frightened rabbit. "The hell?"

    As he turned back to Adam, he saw a skeleton leg, cleanly cut off by a sword, but it was still moving slightly, as if it were also trying to escape.

    "Adam, what happened in here?" Ron asked with round eyes, but he had a very clear idea but had a hard time believing it.

    "D-doesn''t matter..." Adam stood up while holding his waist. "It''s getting away. Shouldn''t you go after it?"

    "Right..." Ron nodded and leaped off the roof, heading in the same direction where the Centipede Skeleton escaped. "We''ll discuss thister!"

    "What a pain..." Adam shook his head and limped back to the crumbled building, then picked up the broken pieces of his shield.

    It''s durability was at 0%, and therefore it was unrecoverable.

    However, he still put them in his inventory and started heading back to the Safe Area. He didn''t expect anyone to defeat the boss today, and he knew he wasn''t in any shape to fight.

 Chapter 24: Kage Zane

    <h4>Chapter 24: Kage Zane</h4>

    Near the ck castle, Ramon and Hannibal heard a loud rumbling as if a horde of wild animals were running through the town.

    When they turned around, they saw an enormous Centipede Skeleton mowing through the buildings like an unstoppable train and wreaking havoc everywhere it went.

    "W-what the fuck is that?!" Ramon asked in shock.

    Hannibal''s eyes were also wide, like saucers.

    Below the hill leading to the ck castle, Donald and Niko looked at the creature with bulging eyes¡ªwith them were new yers they recruited, whom they only nned to use as fodder.

    "T-that can''t be the boss, r-right?" Niko asked with trembling lips.

    "U-uh, maybe we should return to Safe Area?" Donald suggested with a nervous chuckle.

    Even though it sounded like a joke, he actually meant it, but said it in a joking way because he simply wanted to see the reaction from his other group members and didn''t want to be the first one to suggest it, as it may harm his prestige.

    His newly recruited members, who didn''t participate in any of the fighting on the first floor, looked at each other with frightened looks.

    "U-uhm, boss, maybe we should prepare more?" One of them suggested.

    Donald gazed at him and scoffed. "A-all right, if you think so. I think I also didn''t take enough food for this."

    ...

    Adam stepped through the door and limped towards the stairs, then took them all the way to the third floor of the mall and soon arrived back at his room.

    However, he saw that there was already someone awaiting him.

    "Wee back." Muriel stood up from the bed and bowed.

    "Ugh..." Adam plopped down on the chair and dropped his sword to the floor. "So, did I fail in the quest? I honestly didn''t expect F-ranked missions to be that difficult, haha."

    Of course, he knew this wasn''t ordinary F-ranked mission difficulty. However, after the short meeting with Muriel, he realized that he might''ve been a little bit too obvious about his knowledge of things.

    He didn''t want someone from the Council of Mercenaries toe scoop around and ask questions about things he didn''t want to talk about.

    "I am not sure." Muriel replied and shook her head. "And you must already know after meeting with Ron that something was not right."

    "Could it be that wasn''t the Baby Centipede Skeleton?" Adam asked. "I had a hunch after it managed to toss me around like a ragdoll."

    "That was Adult Centipede Skeleton." Muriel said, staring at Adam with her dark brown eyes. "That is an evolved version of Baby Centipede Skeleton. It looked like it had been maturing under the second floor for quite some time."

    "How unlucky of me, I guess." Adam touched his waist and groaned. "What happens now?"

    "The second floor will be closed for a while." Muriel said. "At least until the Adult Centipede Skeleton is annihted. Ron will try to iste it while the other yers return to Safe Area safely.

    "We have already informed the Council of Mercenaries, and they have dispatched a guild toe and clear this mess."

    Adam nodded and intertwined his fingers. "I''ll rest for a while. Can you leave? Apologies, but I am a little bit injured."

    "Of course." Muriel bowed respectfully, and as she opened the door to leave, she turned to Adam and said, "Ron and perhaps someone from the guild that was dispatched by the Council of Mercenaries will want to have a word with you."

    "Anything serious?" Adam asked as heid down on the bed and took a relieved sigh.

    "No." Muriel shook her head. "You actually did them a favor. If the Adult Centipede Skeleton had matured a few more years, the consequences could''ve been much direr."

    ''Yeah, most of the yers on the floor died when the Adult Centipede Skeleton revealed itself. It could''ve been much worse without Dean and the mercenaries in the Safe Area.

    ''Compared to this, it was a much deadlier event.''

    After Muriel left, Adam felt his eyes turn heavier by the moment.

    ''If the words of those Chaosbeing experts would''ve been correct, and it was only Half-Matured Adult Centipede Skeleton, I could''ve killed it.

    ''I suppose I took this for granted and forgot that nothing ever works as nned for mercenaries. I need to be more careful in the future; this could''ve zeroed me, and my second chance would''ve been for naught.''

    At this moment, darkness filled his vision as he entered a deep slumber.

    Time passed by, hours went by, and soon, a loud knock on the door awakened him.

    "Agh..." Adam rubbed his eyes and went to open the door.

    After opening the door, Ron, d in his silver armor, stood in front of him.

    "Adam, we''ll like to have a word with you."

    ''We?'' Adam looked over Ron''s shoulder and saw a blond-haired man with a scar on his cheek standing behind him.

    He donned lighter armor than Ron, and it was fully in yellow and white. On the chest, there was a crest of a one-eyed human face with a smiley expression.

    He nced at Adam with a cold, calctive gaze, his eyes narrowing as he sized him up as if he were a person who couldn''t trust anything.

    "Can we enter?" Ron asked.

    "Sure." Adam allowed them to enter and went to sit on his bed.

    While Ron took a seat on the chair, the blond-haired man walked into the room and looked around the ce with a narrowed gaze.

    "This is my mercenary colleague¡ªKage Zane." Ron introduced the blond-haired man because he knew he wasn''t the most talkative person and wouldn''t have introduced himself.

    ''Oh, I thought he looked familiar.'' Adam scratched the back of his head and nodded at both of them. ''Kage Zane, member of the Lose Eye, Keep Smile guild. He is a member of the Pro-Strong cult.''

    Pro-Strong was an infamous cult in Mortal Online¡ªthey were fanatics who believed that strength was the core and the only way to achieve true enlightenment.

    They thought that all weak people were a waste of air and should be treated like ves. They still thought that weak people had to start somewhere to be powerful.

    That''s why they had been suggesting that all weak people should be ves, and only until they became strong enough would they achieve their freedom.

    This suggestion was shut down immediately.

    "We wanted to ask you about some questions." Ron said and crossed his legs. He kept his voice very natural and didn''t sound very serious. "How did you find out the Adult Centipede Skeleton?"

    "I epted the mission to find and destroy Baby Centipede Skeleton." Adam began retelling the events.

    "From the descriptions, I found out that it stays in dark, damp basements, so I went to look for one, and in the very first building, I found a suitable basement, but there was a cracked wall, and behind that, I found the centipede."

    Ron nodded. "What happened then?"

    "It attacked me, and I quickly escaped the basement. I would''ve died, but I managed to stand my ground long enough for you to arrive."

    "Hmph." Kage scoffed and shook his head while looking at the silverware on the cab.

    Ron, ignoring Kage''s scoff, nodded. "You did well by discovering the centipede and protecting yourself. It''ll be annihted quickly. If it had matured a few more years, I think we would''ve needed a few more guilds to participate."

    "What about my mission?" Adam asked and took out the folded mission poster. "Was my mission considered a failure?"

    "Sometimes, during missions, unexpected things happen." Ron said with his arms crossed. "Sometimes, those unexpected things lead to many casualties and unfortunate things."

    "However, sometimes the missions are diamonds hidden in a rough, and this was a perfect example of it." Ron then looked at Adam and said, "You''ll be rewarded for the discovery."

    Adam nodded with a slight smile.

    Ron then saw that Kage had heard enough as he turned around and walked out of the room with his cape billowing behind him.

    "We''ll have another gathering in the auditorium tomorrow and will invite everyone from the tutorial." Ron said. "You''ll receive your reward there."

    "All right, thanks." Adam stood up and bowed.

    "Mm." Ron nodded and left the room.

    After the door closed, Adamid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

    "I forgot how it feels to be looked at in scorn." Adam chuckled as he saw Kage''s gaze scanning him as if he were nothing but a speck of dust. "I had killed my fair share of morons from the Pro-Strong cult and made myself very known to them.

    "I think they called me the Anti-Christ? Hah, just because I was stronger than them. Bunch of hypocrites. In this life, I will just eradicate them."

 Chapter 25: Emergency Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 25: Emergency Meeting</h4>

    In the control room, the fight between Adam and the Adult Centipede Skeleton yed out on the big screen.

    In the scene where Adam sliced off the centipede''s skeleton leg, a few surprised exmations echoed throughout the room.

    Then, shockingly, it looked like the Adult Centipede Skeleton ran away, but they were certain that it was because it could sense Ron nearby.

    "What do you think?" Ron asked his colleague with a neutral tone.

    He wasn''t the most fond of Kage and his Pro-Strong agenda, but he knew how powerful he was, and with Lose Eye, Keep Smile guild members here, the situation would be resolved quickly.

    "I think that ant was lucky that the Adult Centipede Skeleton sensed your presence." Kage said coldly. "If you were ten seconds toote, he would be a crushed bug on the ground."

    "That is as expected." Ron said, his eyes narrowing. "However, he is only Coinfeeder and yet had the guts to confront the centipede by himself. That deserves some respect."

    "Strong deserves respect." Kage said. "Weak does not."

    He then turned around and approached the door.

    "Let''s get this over with so I can leave this ce quicker." Kage sniffed the air and grimaced. "It smells disgusting in here. A bunch of weaklings who can''t even stand up for themselves."

    Ron sighed and then looked at one of the control room''s operatives.

    "Send this feed to the Council of Mercenaries. I am sure they would like to see it."

    "Yes, sir." One of them nodded and started sending the video about the fight to the Council of Mercenaries.

    ...

    After a short while, an rm rang throughout the mall, indicating that an emergency meeting was going to be held.

    All the yers in the tutorial gathered in the Safe Area and swarmed inside the auditorium.

    The yers in Adam''s group had just recently returned from second floor and sat down inside the auditorium, wondering what the meeting was about.

    After everyone had gathered in the auditorium and most of the seats were filled, Ron and Kage appeared in front of the auditorium.

    "Hello, everyone," Ron said. "The reason for today''s emergency meeting is because something happened on the second floor, and we have to address it."

    The yers shifted their positions in the seats as it looked like it was more serious than they expected.

    "There had been Adult Centipede Skeleton evolving under the second floor for a few years now, and today, it was discovered by one of the yers in this room.

    "It might not sound serious to you all, but it is. It is a kind of creature that ismonly found above the 50th floor."

    Gasp¡ªloud gasps came from the yers.

    Donald and the rest paled as they remembered the sight of the hideous centipede running through the buildings. However, they were also relieved that the creature wasn''t the boss.

    The yers that had already reached the third and fourth floors raised their eyebrows, wondering what that had to do with them.

    "The Adult Centipede Skeleton is far too strong for floors this low." Ron continued. "It''s not fully matured and isn''t anywhere as strong as fully matured, which can be found beyond the 50th floor, but still, it''s powerful enough to disrupt the hierarchy of the floors this low.

    "It should be powerful enough to cross floors and reach the third, maybe even fourth floor by simply crashing through the wall of dimensions that separates the floors.

    "The wall of dimensions is so pathetically weak in these early floors, but it''s enough to keep these weaker Chaosbeings locked in their floors, but not enough to keep the Adult Centipede Skeleton on the second floor.

    "That''s why all floors below the fifth are closed for now. They''ll be reopened tomorrow after we get rid of it."

    Most of the yers didn''t mind, as it meant there was one free day of rest. However, the ones on the fourth floor were somewhat annoyed by it because the end of the tutorial was so close, and they had already been three weeks inside the tutorial.

    They wanted to get it over with.

    "Now then." Ron cleared his throat.

    At that moment, Kage rolled his eyes and left the auditorium, as he didn''t want to take part in this second part.

    Ignoring that, Ron looked to the back row, where a ck-haired yer sat.

    "We also decided to reward the yer who discovered the Adult Centipede Skeleton. If the centipede had been allowed to mature longer, the situation could''ve ended with a lot of casualties."

    The yers from Adam''s group looked around, wondering who was the one who discovered it.

    At that moment, Ron said. "The rewards are 10,000 points for the final score and 100 Shinecoins. yer Adam, pleasee here."

    "Argh..." Donald groaned and watched as Adam stood up and slowly walked down the stairs. "O-of course it was this bastard..."

    Ramon narrowed his eyes dangerously.

    Seth''s expression lookedplicated, and he focused his gaze on the steel shortsword dangling from Adam''s hip. He clenched his hands into a tight fist.

    The yers from other groups watched as Adam approached Ron. They were surprised about the reward, as 10,000 points were equal topleting a D-ranked mission, and 100 Shinecoins was a significant amount of money.

    "Here." Ron handed Adam the brown pouch containing Shinecoins and said, "If it weren''t for your identity as Coinfeeder, the reward would''ve been much higher, but the council thought that this should be more than enough for someone in tutorial."

    "I understand." Adam nodded and made the Shinecoins enter his interface.

    He was then about to return, but then Ron stopped him.

    "Also, here." Ron took out a round shield from his inventory and handed it over to Adam. "Yours broke, right? This is an old shield of mine, and I don''t have any use for it."

    Adam looked surprised but also conflicted about whether he should ept it.

    Of course, he wouldn''t mind free weapons, but this could have hidden intentions behind it.

    Seeing that look, Ron shook his head. "I ain''t trying to force you to join Crescent Serpents if you are afraid of that. This is my reward to you."

    "..." Adam nodded and epted the shield.

    It looked slightly higher quality than his previous one.

    After Adam returned to his seat, Ron looked at everyone and said, "For today, you all can have one meal in the restaurant, free of charge."

    Many eyes brightened up as some of them had already had the pleasure of tasting the food in there, and it was a hundred times better than in the cafeteria but also more expensive.

    Now that it was free of charge, many salivated just at the thought.

    After that, the emergency meeting ended, and Adam was the first one to leave the auditorium.

    ''10,000 points. I wanted a little bit more, but it''s good enough.'' Adam sighed with a slight relief and looked at his interface with 100 Shinecoins.

    He never had this many Shinecoins during his tutorial days in his previous life. Back then, it was a struggle to earn even a single Shinecoin.

    ''This is still not enough for Skill Scroll, and I don''t need any weapons. I should just save them, and perhaps, at the end of the tutorial, I might be able to acquire one Skill Scroll.''

 Chapter 26: Adam Vs. Ramon

    <h4>Chapter 26: Adam Vs. Ramon</h4>

    The following day, while most of the yers were sleepily having their dinner in the cafeteria, Adam moved around the spinning training dummies in the training room.

    The training dummies were made of thick wood, and they were holding wooden swords while spinning around as if they were in a dance.

    Adam, using the new round shield, blocked the wooden swords and smashed the shortsword at one of the spinning training dummies.

    Bang, bang, bang¡ªthe sound of a sword smacking against wood echoed across the training room.

    "Whoo..." With sweat dripping down his face, he used dizzying footwork, dodging several wooden swords at the same time and then counter-attacking with the steel sword, which left a mark on the torsos of the training dummies.

    "Why do you bother training?"

    At this moment, a morbid voice came from the door.

    Adam back-stepped, dodging the rest of the spinning swords, and then grabbed a towel from his inventory, cleaning his sweat while turning to look at the door.

    Ramon leaned against the doorway, looking with a smirk at Adam.

    "Why do I bother training?" Adam repeated the question andughed while wiping the sweat off his forehead. "I don''t mind giving you some advice."

    "Hah, why would I need advice from a piss ant like you?" Ramonughed and turned around in an attempt to leave.

    "Did you know training in the game actually has an effect on your real body?" Adam asked with a smile.

    "Huh?" Ramon frowned and turned back to Adam. "You mean, training here is the same as training in the real world? What nonsense are you spouting?"

    "It is true." Adam said and tossed the towel back into the inventory. "Our bodies are currently in hibernation state, stopping us from starving to death.

    "When we eat or sleep in here, our real body also gets nutrition and sleep at the same time. Same with the training. It has a bigger effect if you have Gold or Diamond VR Pod, but it still works even with Bronze VR Pod.

    "Do you know how that works?"

    Ramon shook his head.

    "No one does," Adam chuckled. "Have you ever wondered who created this game?"

    Ramon frowned. "No, and why would I care?"

    "No one knows who created this game." Adam smiled. "That''s why there is a big conspiracy that this game was actually created by the government to mind-control people, or, well, keep all the people who are prone to violence in here."

    Ramon''s expression turned thoughtful, as that sounded like a good possibility, as he, himself, would''ve been sent to asylum but was instead put here as an experiment.

    "However, thepany that creates the VR Pods, never added something that would allow the users to affect their real bodies in the virtual world, so it''s something about this game that makes it happen.

    "It''s truly fascinating, ain''t it?" Adam chuckled. "And improving the physique is one reason for my training, but there are also other reasons.

    "When we level up, our stamina, agility, and stamina increase; that''s true, but it doesn''t magically improve our swordsmanship or ability to wield any weapons.

    "You cannot learn any of the skills if you don''t know how to use the weapon. You can learn the weakest skills with just a basic understanding of your weapon, but not any of the stronger skills.

    "When you leave this tutorial and join guild, they will immediately put you into training course that mightst few months to half a year. You''ll be forced to learn until you know how to use the weapon, even with your eyes closed."

    "Oh?" Ramon scoffed, pulled out his machete, and examined Adam with a critical eye. "I have been living in the streets for my whole life, and I haven''t learned how to fight; I have learned how to kill my opponent, and that is the only thing that matters.

    "You think you''re better than me just because you''ve trained more? Foolishness!"

    Adam put his shield in front of his body and pointed the sword at Ramon.

    "Are you an orphan of the gue?"

    "Yeah." Ramon went into a low-fighting stance, looking like a wild animal ready to pounce. "That''s why I have lived a harsher life than you fucker could ever think about it.

    "Looking at you, you must''ve been born with a silver spoon stuck in your ass, having a worry-free childhood, and you needed a hobby when living in that small mansion of yours became boring, so you picked up martial arts."

    "Nope." Adam shook his head and slowly approached Ramon, ready to use the shield to block any attack thrown at him. "I am also an orphan of the gue."

    Ramon''s eyes shed with surprise before he again scoffed. "You must''ve got a good family."

    "I could''ve gotten worse." Adam shrugged his shoulders.

    "Well, I drew the shortest straw possible." Ramon''s grip on the machete tightened. "The family I got was horrible. I could onlyst them a few months before I just ran off and instead lived in the streets. With that suffering, I became powerful."

    "We''ll see." Adam said and dashed forth, stabbing his sword forward towards Ramon.

    "Raaah!" Ramon deflected the sword with a sloppy sh of his machete and then pounced at Adam like a wild animal and threw a kick.

    Bang¡ªAdam blocked the kick with the shield and held his ground even though his feet wanted to slide backwards.

    Ramon used the shield like a springboard and jumped up,nding behind Adam.

    He quickly turned around and shed his machete towards the exposed neck.

    However, at that moment, Adam quickly spun around and deflected the machete with his shield, then stabbed the sword deep into Ramon''s waist.

    The blood spewed out of Ramon''s body, sttering across Adam''s face and chest.

    "Hah..." Ramon grabbed Adam''s sword-wielding hand and spat blood towards his face.

    Adam quickly bent his knees, dodging the blood, and then swung his shield upward, smashing it at Ramon''s chin.

    Ramon''s head snapped back, and he stumbled backward, the sword slipping out of his waist.

    The sudden blow to his chin left him dazed, and he slowly fell to the ground.

    A holograph appeared above Ramon''s head.

    [Ramon - HP: 11/50]

    "You have great fighting instincts, but you don''t know how to defend." Adam slowly sheathed his sword and wiped the blood off his face. "You can''t just risk getting hit and then hope your counter-attack is good enough to kill your opponent."

    "Argh..." Ramon held his chin and stood up with his face red in anger. He only red at Adam and then stormed out of the training room.

    "This is why you''ll need training..." Adam shrugged his shoulders and was also about to leave the training room, but then saw Muriel appearing at the doorway, writing something on her notepad.

    "Did you enjoy the show?" Adam asked as he approached her.

    "Yes, I did." Muriel answered with a rather serious tone and then said, "The second floor is open; the Adult Centipede Skeleton has been dealt with."

    "Oh, that was quick." Adam nodded. "I''ll suppose I''ll go there then."

    "Good luck." Muriel said, put her notepad away, and then walked away with her heels clicking on the floor.

    At that moment, Adam heard soundsing from the first floor of the mall.

    As he looked out of the door, he saw that the first floor of the tutorial''s door shone, and another group of yers arrived at the Safe Area.

    They all looked exhausted and injured, as if they had been suffering some big setbacks.

    The number of yers was also fewer than Adam''s group.

    ''They must''ve had quite a hard time with the boss.'' Adam thought and then looked towards the second floor''s door.

    The yers of his group were already swarming through, most already having a destination¡ªthe ck castle.

 Chapter 27: The Second Floor

    <h4>Chapter 27: The Second Floor</h4>

    As Adam appeared in the abandoned town, he saw Donald and everyone else staring out towards the valley in the distance. It was around two kilometers away from the town, but they could clearly see something there.

    "..." Adam silently looked at the corpse of the Adult Skeleton Centipede that was lying on top of the small valley hill. It had most of the important parts removed because they sell for a lot of money.

    The mission reward was not the only way to earn Shinecoin during the mission. It was also possible to earn some by harvesting the creature''s body parts that were important.

    The Adult Centipede Skeleton had important bones that could be made into powerful weapons and artifacts.

    Therefore, the Lose Eye, Keep Smile guild harvested everything and left behind the useless corpse as a reminder of the true horrors that awaited in the deeper dungeon.

    "How did they defeat that..." Donald whispered in shock.

    However, after remembering what he said, he coughed awkwardly and looked at his new group of yers, whom he managed to recruit.

    "It''s just a big centipede, ain''t it, right?"

    They nodded awkwardly, but when they looked at the enormous corpse, they could never imagine fighting something that huge, and they knew that there were even more dangerous creatures outside the tutorial.

    "Cough, let''s go to the ck castle!" Donald shouted to them, and they then began running down the dark and winding path. Other yers who had finished admiring the centipede skeleton''s corpse soon followed them.

    ''I don''t want others to realize the things I know because they mighte to ask questions.'' Adam looked away from the skeleton centipede and followed after the group of yers.

    ''At the end of the tutorial, the yers have to write down their name on a contract that forbids them from revealing any information about the tutorial.

    ''However, that contract doesn''t apply to the yers who died beforepleting the tutorial. Still, if someone is suspicious of my knowledge, they might deduce some of my points.

    ''And the members of the Council of Mercenaries are very suspicious individuals. So, let''s take this more slowly and make sure that I don''t look like someone with excess knowledge.''

    After a walk down the dark, winding path, they arrived at the gates of the ck castle. Adam walked behind others while they surveyed the dark castle interior with weapons in hand.

    "Hey, you''re Adam... right?" A voice, followed by the heavy scent of female perfume, came right beside him.

    Adam side-nced at a smiling young woman with shoulder-length brown hair and pearly white teeth. She looked rather lovely, with brown eyes and a bright smile.

    ''Perfume. She purchased perfume with her Shinecoin in the Safe Area. It means she cares about her looks a great deal.'' Adam''s eyes narrowed. ''She must be trying to impress others, and it seems to have worked...''

    She was with three young men, who looked like they had just graduated from high school and were ring at him with great intensity.

    "My name is Katalina. Nice to meet you." Katalina offered her soft-looking hand, which looked like she had taken good care of her skin routine.

    Adam looked at the hand silently.

    ''Not a single wear on her hand, and it looks like she hadn''t even touched a weapon yet. She must''ve gotten Shinecoin from someone else to purchase her precious perfume.

    ''It means she is nothing but a leech.''

    Adam ignored the handshake and walked past her with an emotionless gaze.

    "Ah..." Katalina blinked in surprise and looked at her hand, which was left hanging alone.

    "What an arrogant fellow." A young man behind him said with an angry re. "Just because he managed to kill the first boss and identally found the Centipede Skeleton, hmph!"

    "He might just be anti-social; who knows?" Katalina smiled gently, but inside her mind, she had different thoughts. ''These fucking nerds. They probably never even leave their basement to touch some grass, yet he dares to ignore me. Ugh, so humiliating.''

    "Now, where the fuck is the boss..." Ramon looked across the castle''s yard with a narrowed gaze, but then saw Adam walk right past him and enter the castle without a second thought.

    "..." Ramon narrowed his eyes and followed right behind.

    "Yo, Ramon, where the hell are you going?" Hannibal quickly followed after him, barely being able to keep up.

    "I doubt the fucking boss is outside!" Ramon snapped back and pointed at the castle''s interior. "It''s somewhere inside. I know it!"

    After stepping through the entrance, Adam looked high towards the ceiling and saw many stairs leading up to the top, crisscrossing between each other.

    "This time, I''ll get the kill!" Ramon appeared beside him and said venomously.

    "Do you even know where it is?" Adam looked at him and smirked. "It took thest group a few days to find it."

    "I''ll tear through the walls and peel off the paint if I need to." Ramon snarled, his eyes zing with determination. "I ain''t losing to you!"

    "Good luck, then." Adam crossed his arms and closed his eyes, but then he heard a gentle clicking of the watch. His eyes immediately opened, and he turned towards a bookshelf tucked away in the corner.

    While Ramon and every other yer started running up the stairs to other floors in search for the boss, Adam approached the bookshelf and found a small pocket watch hidden among the books.

    "It''s currently... six in the evening." Adam closed the pocket watch and tucked it away in his chest pocket. He then slipped his hands inside his pocket and ran up the stairs, following other yers into the search for the boss.

    ...

    In the Safe Area''s control room.

    The hundreds of holographic cameras showed every part of the castle in high detail. They watched as the yers ran down the hallways, searching every room from top to bottom, and after a few hours, they still hadn''t found anything.

    Muriel sat in the far-away corner, away from other Handlers who were also looking at how their yers were doing.

    ''What are you doing now, Adam?'' Muriel tapped her pen against her lips while watching Adam survey the paintings in the hallway, as if he were just sightseeing and not in any hurry.

    ''Donald and others have already started working together to find any hidden rooms in the castle, and that will them some extra points within the Council of Mercenaries.

    ''You and a few others who are working alone will be negatively affected. Every single second in the tutorial is important for the ending result.

    ''What are you nning, Adam? For others to find the boss so you can kill it? Even if you are the one that kills the boss, you might still not get the highest amount of points among the yers.

    ''You have to do something that truly shows that you were the ''Key'' person forpleting the floor. Otherwise, your points will continue to be deduced.''

    "How much is the time?" A person managing the control room asked.

    A short-haired woman took out a pocket watch and nced at it briefly.

    "20:05, approximately." She replied and tucked away her pocket watch.

    "A little bit less than four hours..." The man whispered and nodded. "If you need to eat or rest, now''s the time. When the promised time is near, there won''t be any rest!"

 Chapter 28: Clown Boy

    <h4>Chapter 28: Clown Boy</h4>

    "Yaaaawn!" Ramon yawned loudly while leaning against the railing of the sixth floor of the castle.

    When he leaned over the railing, he could see all the floors of the castle, including the front lounge. He could also see yers moving along the stairs, moving between floors in search of the boss.

    "It''s nowhere." Hannibal said in frustration and leaned against the same railing. "We have searched everywhere."

    "Hmm..." Ramon caressed his chin thoughtfully, his gaze narrowing as he saw a certain person sitting on a couch in the front lounge. "Like he said, it took thest group a few days to find the boss."

    "Your meaning is?" Hannibal raised his eyebrow.

    "I don''t think the boss is simply hiding." Ramon crossed his arms.

    "I heard that Donald was suggesting that the ck castle was a decoy and the boss was actually somewhere else." Hannibal said. "It could be true, and maybe thest group realized that after a few days of searching."

    "Perhaps so." Ramon said and tapped his finger against the railing. "However, I am sure he would have thought about that, yet he is still sitting here."

    "Who?" Hannibal frowned.

    Ramon pointed towards the lounge.

    Hannibal leaned over the railing, gazing six floors down to the lounge. There, he saw the ck-haired young man sitting with his legs crossed on the couch.

    "Him?" Hannibal looked at Ramon with a frown. "Why do you care about him?"

    "Because he is the mostpetent one out of these fools." Ramon replied with a scoff. "You don''t see it, do you?"

    "See what?" Hannibal asked.

    "Back in the streets, I had to adapt to survive. I learned to pick my fights, and I stole from the weak while avoiding the strong.

    "I thought we were the apex predators when we arrived at that cottage. No one seemed threatening, especially not Donald, even though I can see his cunning nature from a mile away.

    "This guy, Adam, he''s the only one I couldn''t get a proper reading of. I couldn''t tell whether he was weak or strong, whether he was a leader or a follower."

    "Well, he is strong; we saw that already." Hannibal said. "He killed Parrish and fended off our attacks. He is a formidable opponent, sure, but he doesn''t radiate the aura of being invincible. I think we can take him down."

    "I don''t know." Ramon clicked his tongue. "He frustrates me greatly. I want to see his limit. I want to see where his breaking point is."

    On the bottom floor, Adam opened the pocket watch, saw the clockhand ticking, and nodded slightly.

    "Time is nigh." Adam tucked away the pocket watch and took out a napkin from his pocket, then used it to wipe his fingers clean before putting it back into his pocket.

    He then turned to face the center of the room, which looked empty. There was nothing on the floor or in the air.

    The only thing that filled the space was the silence and the echoing sound of yers footsteps.

    ''Let''s put my best acting face.'' Adam stood up and dusted off his trousers. ''What Muriel said is true. I might still get points deducted by the council if I look like a lone wolf. Lone wolves are not needed in any guilds.

    ''So, I''ll put just a small act on this floor alone. It should show enough of what I can aplish withpetent members on my back. Those stubborn members of the council are always so bothersome.''

    Adam then approached the door and walked out of the castle into the yard, inhaling the fresh air.

    "Yaaawn..." Adam let out a long yawn, stretching his arms and taking a deep breath.

    It looked like he was ready to go back to the Safe Area for a good night''s rest.

    Several hidden cameras caught that, and a buzz happened in the control room.

    "He is the first one to leave?" Several handlers said in surprise that they didn''t expect the yer with the highest total points to be the first to give up.

    Especially when it was ten minutes before midnight, which was the promised time!

    Muriel''s eyes shook. ''No, go back! What are you doing? You are ruining your tutorial if you are the first person to give up!''

    She pleaded inside her mind, her eyes trembling with worry.

    In the yard of the ck castle, Adam opened the pocket watch in his hand, closed it, and opened it again. It let out a "click" sound every time he closed and opened.

    ''The council wants mercenaries that also have a brain inside their heads and not all muscle. I brute-forced through the first floor; now it''s time to show them that I am more than that.''

    Adam turned around and looked up at the ck castle. The wall had faded engravings of a clock with its ck clockhands stuck in a single spot¡ªas if time had frozen.

    The clock was nothing but a faded painting, but it showed the time of midnight.

    Adam lowered his gaze and looked at the pocket watch. The clockhand ticked, nearing midnight.

    His lips curled slightly into a small smile, and the cameras captured it.

    "H-he had found the pocket watch?" The man in charge eximed. "Howe none of you caught that?"

    His workers looked embarrassed as there were over a hundred cameras, and at one point in time, they must''ve missed it.

    Muriel stood up in surprise, and when she saw the smile, her heart started racing.

    ''D-did he really find out the truth behind the boss?'' Muriel gulped. ''That quickly too?.''

    She couldn''t believe it, but she still kept her emotions in check and decided to wait till midnight to see how it would y out.

    In the ck castle, Adam stepped through the entrance and looked at the center of the lounge. He looked at the pocket watch, leaned against the wall, and waited patiently.

    Several yers yawned and departed from the castle, nning to return to the Safe Area to have a proper night''s sleep as they didn''t expect anyone to find the boss tonight.

    When the control room saw that, they shook their heads, as it was only a few minutes before the time!

    Adam didn''t stop the yers or tell them that it would be a huge mistake. Instead, he kept his eyes peeled on the pocket watch.

    ''1 minute...

    ''45 seconds...

    ''30 seconds...

    ''15 seconds...

    ''5... 4... 3... 2... 1...''

    Click¡ªas soon as the time hit midnight, Adam closed the pocket watch with a gentle click and pocketed it.

    "Hehehehe..."

    Childishughter reverberated across the castle. It stopped every yer in their tracks, and they all turned their heads in the same direction¡ªtowards the front lounge!

    "Do you want to y a game?"

    Without any warning, a figure appeared in the air in the front lounge, floating about a meter from the ground. He had the appearance of a child in his early teens, with a bright smile on his face.

    He had a colorful, whimisical appearance with baggy clothing that had patterns of polka dots and stripes. On his face, he had white face makeup covering his face with a painted-on smile and red cheeks, as if there were red paint sttered on them.

    He wore a bright yellow hat with arge, fluffy brim that was adorned with colorful feathers. It looked like he was just a child, trying to copy the appearance of a party clown, but it just made him lookughable and cute.

    Above his head, a floating name bar appeared.

    [Clown Boy - HP: 10/10]

    ''Clown Boy, also known as Child Chaosbeing.'' Adam drew his steel shortsword and picked up his round shield. ''It takes on the appearance of a human child, with a whimsical appearance that makes it look harmless. Yet it is a Chaosbeing through and through.

    ''The biggest mistake when facing Clown Boy is to underestimate it. It will eat your head the instant you let it.

    ''However, fighting is not the hardest part on this floor.

    ''The time limit is.

    ''Clown Boy only appears for one minute after midnight. Then it again disappears for the rest of the day. That''s why one has to kill it in that one minute.''

 Chapter 29: The Scene in Cafeteria

    <h4>Chapter 29: The Scene in Cafeteria</h4>

    "It''s the boss!" Donald shouted and ran down the stairs like a possessed demon. "The kill is mine!"

    "Shit!" Ramon and Hannibal quickly began descending down the stairs, but since they were at the top, they were furthest from the boss!

    "It''s a child?" Katalina said with surprise while walking down the stairs at a rather calm pace. She didn''t look like she was in any hurry because the men in her group had already reached the bottom.

    After seeing the health of the boss, many yers felt their greed shoot up, as with a single attack, they could kill the boss and shoot straight to the top of the total point score.

    It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

    "The kill is mine!" But then, Donald pushed past the yers and lunged at the floating child with his sword. He didn''t care that the Chaosbeing looked like a child.

    "Oh, you want to y?" Clown Boy showed a bright smile, and his eyes gleamed with excitement. He then pointed his finger at Donald, his fingernail painted red.

    "Then let''s y a game of tag. If I touch you, I win!"

    As the finger neared Donald''s forehead, he swung his sword at Clown Boy''s neck and expected it to kill him.

    However, when the broadsword finished its swing, Clown Boy vanished from the scene, leaving behind empty air.

    "Where?!" Donald''s eyes widened in shock as he saw his sword hitting empty air.

    "I caught you~" At that moment, a voice came behind him, and a finger touched the back of his head.

    Clown Boy floated behind Donald, touching his head with his finger.

    "You''ve lost." Clown Boy said with a childish voice, but then his teeth started growing. "A winner gets the loser''s dinner."

    When he opened his mouth wide open with his razor-sharp teeth, his skin started to tear near his mouth, and suddenly his mouth looked massive, as if he could eat a whole elephant in one bite.

    The yers eximed in shock and shuddered in disgust. This ''child'' was not a child but instead a terrifying creature.

    As Clown Boy prepared to take a bite out of Donald''s head, a figure with a shield rammed straight into the side of Donald, sending him flying away from Clown Boy''s clutches and saving him.

    "Ouch..." Donald rolled down on the ground, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the person who saved him. It was none other than Adam.

    "Y-you, why..."

    "You stole my food!" Clown Boy''s mouth closed, and he smiled sadly. "That was not nice."

    "Yeah, whatever." Adam swung his sword towards Clown Boy''s head, but the strange child-looking creature vanished like a fart in the wind and appeared on the sixth floor, floating near the ceiling.

    "You cheated!" Clown Boy shouted. "See you tomorrow, cheater!"

    At that moment, Clown Boy vanished from existence, and silence returned in the castle.

    "W-where did it go?" yers murmured between each other.

    "..." Adam slowly sheathed his sword and stored his shield in his inventory. He then shook his head, checked the pocket watch, and saw that it was one minute past midnight.

    He didn''t say a single word and walked out of the castle, heading back to Safe Area with an atmosphere of silence surrounding him.

    It was still silent inside the ck castle, and all the yers were confused about what had just happened.

    "You alright?" Niko helped Donald stand up. "Scary stuff, aye? You know what happened?"

    "No..." Donald shook his head and held his head. "I am a little tired; I think I am going to return to Safe Area to sleep."

    "What if it returns?" Niko asked.

    "I am too tired..." Donald waved his handzily and left the castle with many thoughts filling his mind.

    A few yers still remained in the castle. However, most of the yers left for Safe Area to have a proper night''s rest.

    In the control room, the man in charge nodded thoughtfully.

    "They didn''t manage to defeat it, as expected. It''s really hard without proper teamwork." He said out loud. "Still, that guy managed to find out the truth about the floor''s test. Write it down; the council might want to know about it."

    "Do you think someone told him?" A shoulder-length-haired woman asked.

    "No, he seemed to have figured it out by himself." The man said, "Also, I don''t remember anyone in the past few years finding it out. yers often just discover Clown Boy after midnight, and then when the pattern repeats, they realize what time the Clown Boy usually appears."

    In the far corner, Muriel hugged her notepad against her chest and left the control room with a smile on her face.

    ...

    After arriving at his room, Adam went to take a long, hot shower to wash away the tension and stress of the day. After that, he only put his briefs on andid down on the bed.

    He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, feeling the weight of his exhaustion lift off his shoulders.

    ''I hope I was convincing enough.'' Adam put his arms under his head and let out a short yawn. ''I could''ve killed Clown Boy, but that is not impressive. That will just give a ''meh'' reaction.

    ''Tomorrow, I''ll have to convince them. That won''t be easy, as I am not really liked here, and everyone wants to have the kill. Still, as long as half of them are with me, I''ll consider it a sess.

    ''Before that, I''ll have to do something else...''

    ...

    The following morning.

    In the cafeteria, the yers from Adam''s group had gathered to eat breakfast. Most of them nned to finish it early and go straight to the ck castle.

    As Donald moved his spoon mindlessly in the soup, he heard footstepse from the entrance and saw the ck-haired Adam enter the cafeteria alone.

    He wanted to call him out, but then he saw Adam walking past them and approaching another group in the corner of the cafeteria. They upied the biggest table in the cafeteria as if they were like ''kings''.

    They had been the longest in the tutorialpared to others and had already reached the third floor. They were extremely close topleting the tutorial, and in a day or two, they might seed.

    Donald frowned, and a few other yers also watched as Adam approached them with a frown.

    After Adam stopped beside the table, the yers around the table frowned and angrily asked.

    "What do you want, newbie?" They acted arrogantly, as if they were seniors and had the right to bully the neers.

    "Mind sharing the information about Clown Boy?" Adam asked with a smile.

    "Hah!" A brown-haired yerughed loudly and looked at his friends, who also snickered mockingly. "Sure, but the information costs 100 Shinecoin."

    "You thought you could get the information for free? Haha!" Another yerughed. "In a tutorial, knowledge is money, and knowledge is not free!"

    "We are fine with your sword too." A yer saw the steel shortsword dangling from Adam''s hip and licked his lips greedily. "That and 50 Shinecoins, then the information is yours."

    Ramon and Hannibal stopped eating their food and looked at the scene with frowns on their faces. It was silence in the cafeteria. The yers from Adam''s group watched in silence, slightly frustrated by the arrogance of those yers.

    They had been only a few days longer than them in the tutorial, yet they acted like they had been in Mortal Online for years more.

    They started to get the taste of the ''hierarchy'' of Mortal Online. It was seeped deep into the bones of the yers.

    Those yers who now acted arrogantly were also once the newest group, and the older groups acted arrogantly towards them. Now that they were the oldest group, they wanted to feel superiority, and it made them feel important.

    "Oh, quite expensive." Adam smiled. "However, I was not asking. I was demanding."

    "Huh?" The brown-haired yer frowned, but before he could speak another word, Adam grabbed him by the throat and mmed him into the wall.

    "What the hell!" A haughty-looking yer jumped up from the table, wanting to help his friend, but then felt a cold de on his neck.

    Adam held the steel shortsword near the haughty-looking yer''s throat while simultaneously squeezing the brown-haired yer''s throat.

    "Y-you''ll get punished for this!" The brown-haired yer screamed. "Help; he is attacking me. Punish him!"

    However, his shout reached empty ears as there weren''t Ron or any mercenaries nearby. It was still early in the morning, and they were often doing their own stuff this early before their shift started.

    "Tell the weakness of Clown Boy." Adam said. "Also, say it loud enough for my friends to hear."

    "Friends?" Ramon frowned and looked at others with equally confused looks. ''Since when the fuck were we his friends? Did he hit his head when he slept or what?''

    "F-fine!" The brown-haired yer screamed.

    He thought he was able to easily overpower someone from other groups as he had already experienced three floors, but when he looked into Adam''s eyes, he had bad premonition

    "Good..." Adam smiled. "You have one minute. If I even suspect you of lying, I''ll shove the sword down your throat. Trust me, it won''t taste nice."

 Chapter 30: I Have A Plan

    <h4>Chapter 30: I Have A n</h4>

    Nick, the brown-haired yer, looked at the yer in front of him with shakiness in his eyes. His confidence and pride as an older yer crumbled to pieces.

    While he and his friends around the table were more experienced yers, around two weeks older, they were still level 0 and in the same rank as everyone else¡ªCoinfeeders.

    Connie, his friend, felt the cold de against his neck and gulped dryly. He moved his eyes around, trying to see what his friends were doing behind his back and if they were nning to help, but they were all sitting calmly, watching the scene unfold.

    "Well?" Adam raised an eyebrow and squeezed Nick''s throat tighter.

    "Ngh..."

    After feeling the difficulty of breathing, Nick gasped and nodded as well as he could.

    "C-Clown Boy appears..."

    "Louder!"

    Adam shouted right into his ear.

    "Clown Boy appears right after midnight!"

    Ramon, Donald, and everyone else at their table felt their eyes widen, and they then conversed between each other, trying to remember when the Clown Boy appearedst time.

    They came to the conclusion that it must''ve appeared around midnight¡ªtherefore, the information seemed correct.

    "Now, how can we defeat it?"

    Adam asked in a calm yet powerful voice.

    "Ngh, you have to beat it in its game!" Nick shouted out. "Once you beat it, it will start crying, and since it''s health is low, one hit is enough to kill it. Otherwise, killing it is much harder since it is so fast!"

    "Is there anything else?" Adam asked with a frown.

    "N-no..." Nick shook his head, but his lips had turned dry, and he couldn''t stop the trembling in his hands.

    Adam removed the cold de from Connie''s neck and ced it against Nick''s abdomen, around where his belly button was.

    "W-what are you doing?"

    Nick asked while his face changed shades from bright red to pale white.

    ''D-did he catch my lie? There is no way...''

    "Last time, the Clown Boy disappeared quite soon; you wouldn''t know anything about that, would you?"

    Nick''s heart almost dropped to the bottom of his stomach. He was gambling with the truth, hoping that Adam and no one on his side were able to figure that out.

    After all, from his knowledge, this group shouldn''t have visited the second floor that often.

    "A-ah right, I-I forgot something!" Nick shouted, realizing that speaking the truth was the only choice.

    Donald watched everything happen and chimed to his friends, "There is something else? Could it be that there is a time limit?"

    "The Clown Boy disappears after one minute of its appearance!" Nick shouted for everyone to hear.

    "One minute..." Donald and the rest looked sour-faced, as that was not a lot of time.

    However, if they only needed one strike to end it, it should be enough.

    "Thank you..." Adam slowly sheathed his weapon and, with a smile on his face, turned his back to Nick and started walking towards Donald and others.

    Nick gritted his teeth and rubbed his bruised neck, feeling defeated and humiliated.

    "Guys, follow my lead."

    Nick said to Connie and everyone else in their group¡ªthey all nodded and stood up from the table.

    "You bastard!"

    Adam, after hearing the enraged shout, came to a stop and looked over his shoulder at the red-faced Nick and his friends. They were all wielding various weapons.

    In terms of experience and numbers, Nick''s group was adventegous.

    A few of them had even bought their first-ever skill scrolls, but so far, they hadn''t been able to learn them. Those skills were the lowest-ranked, but against those without any skills, it was an incredible advantage.

    "A fight, heh." Ramon and Hannibal stood up with grins on their faces.

    They didn''t like Adam, but they weren''t nning to fight to help him. Instead, they wanted to fight because it seemed fun and exciting.

    Donald and everyone else around the table hesitantly stood up from their chairs. They didn''t really want to fight, as they weren''t confident enough in winning.

    However, since Donald stood up, they simply followed his lead.

    He, on the other hand, felt like he needed to repay Adam by saving his life on the second floor and now sharing very important information with them.

    Adam could''ve just kept the information to himself and gotten a free boss kill, but for some reason, he wanted them to know as well.

    Anyway, Donald was feeling grateful.

    Adam looked at them briefly, and instead of unsheathing his weapon, he simply smiled and took a seat around the table. He didn''t look like he was nning to participate in the fight.

    "What are you doing?" Ramon asked with a frown. "Feeling tired or what?"

    "There won''t be any fighting," Adam said. "Please, sit down."

    "Huh?" Ramon asked, confused.

    At that moment, as Nick was about tounch his attack out of fury, a loud cough sounded from the entrance of the cafeteria.

    "What is happening in here?"

    After turning their heads around, they all saw Ron standing at the entrance of the cafeteria with his hands behind his back. He didn''t look too pleased.

    "W-we..." Nick''s face paled, and he quickly pointed in Adam''s direction. "T-that bastard attacked us!"

    "Hmm?"

    Ron raised an eyebrow and looked in Adam''s direction, who was scratching his cheek and looking in their direction with a confused expression.

    ''I was called here as there was apparently a disturbance in the cafeteria.''

    Ron thought nonchntly.

    ''It seems that Adam is using the fact that we aren''t around in the mornings to cause some disturbance. Oh well, as long as no one was killed, I don''t care.''

    "Sheathe your weapons." Ron instructed as he walked over to the end of the cafeteria to get some food to get the day started.

    "T-that''s all?" Nick asked in shock. "H-he should be punished!"

    After Ron took a tray from the stack and started loading it with breakfast items, he replied calmly, "No one was killed, I don''t care."

    "W-what!" Nick cried out in disbelief.

    Ron finished loading up the tray and walked out of the cafeteria, leaving a stunned group of yers behind.

    With frustration visible on their faces, Nick and the rest sheathed their weapons and sat down in anger. They started whispering something while throwing hostile gazes in Adam''s direction.

    Even though Adam had his back turned, his lips curled into a knowing smirk as if some kind of n was finallying together.

    ''That''s right. Make your ns ande after me.''

    "Ron actually let that slide?" A yer chimed in from the table, surprised.

    "You knew that would happen, didn''t you?" Ramon asked as he eyed Adam''s obvious smile.

    "Perhaps," Adam said coyly.

    "Why did you share the information with us?" Donald asked.

    It was a question that most of the yers had in their minds.

    At the corner of the table, Seth ate his breakfast silently but was secretly listening to every word that was said. He was still quite pissed about losing his sword, but he couldn''t help but be impressed by Adam''s guts.

    "I have a n." Adam said.

 Chapter 31: Timepiece

    <h4>Chapter 31: Timepiece</h4>

    "A n?" Donald and the rest raised their eyebrows in question.

    "For the next floor, we have to work as a team." Adam said and continued with, "If there is only one minute to defeat the Clown Boy, we have to work fast."

    "Work as a team?" Donald''s eyebrow jumped in surprise. "I didn''t expect you to say such words."

    "Hmph." Ramon scoffed and rolled his eyes. "What''re you nning, Adam? I know for a fact that you won''t let anyone else have the kill!"

    "Believe it or not, I have no interest in killing the Clown Boy." Adam said.

    "As if!" Ramon loudlyughed, not believing a word Adam said. "There is no way that you wouldn''t want the kill!"

    "Yeah, that is very hard to believe." Donald added.

    Everyone around the table showed simr suspicion towards Adam''s im. In their opinion, there wasn''t any straight-minded person who wouldn''t want the kill in this situation.

    After all, every point counts.

    Adam chuckled and shook his head.

    In fact, he did not lie.

    ''The Clown Boy does indeed give lots of points, but there is something else that gives even more¡ªanother golden opportunity.

    ''The Adult Centipede Skeleton wasn''t the only thing on the second floor that was found in the future. There was something else, something greater.

    ''It was something that changed the tutorialpletely.

    ''So far, it has been discovered only a few times, and it still isn''t public knowledge. Konrad Moriarty, the High King, also found a simr thing on the fifth floor. That''s why that floor is now considered a safe haven...

    ''The same thing was discovered on the second floor in Year 2161, a long time away now. However, now I have a chance to discover it myself... Compared to killing the Clown Boy, it is far more important.''

    "Listen," Adam said. "I won''t kill the Clown Boy. If I do, you all can just kill me right there and then!"

    Many surprised expressions shed by in the faces of the yers. Some were curious, some baffled, and some looked relieved, knowing that they wouldn''t have to fight him for the kill.

    They all knew that Adam was currently leading the tutorial with a very strong lead. That''s why, most of them believed that he didn''t care about that kill anymore, as he already had so many points.

    "What the hell..." Ramon squinted his eyes. "You could''ve kept the information to yourself and gotten the kill, and there was nothing we could''ve done. Now, not only have you shared the information with us, but now you are forfeiting the kill?

    "That sounds far too suspicious."

    "I found a pocketwatch." Adam reached into his pocket and pulled out the small silver timepiece. "It was hidden in the books on the ck castle."

    "And?" Ramon stared at him with a raised eyebrow, waiting for an exnation.

    After seeing the pocket watch, he thought it looked quite nice and would probably sell for a decent price. However, that''s about it.

    "What about it?" Donald asked as well.

    "There is a time limit with the Clown Boy." Adam said. "I also have reason to believe that there is more than that."

    "What do you mean?"

    "This pocket watch is strange." Adam said with a chuckle and showed it to everyone.

    After seeing it, they also saw the weirdness of it and were intrigued. It had twenty-four numbers instead of twelve. It took 48 hours for the clockhand to make a full rotation.

    It was clearly out of the ordinary.

    "So what?" Ramon looked annoyed. "It is just a pocket watch."

    "I don''t think it is a mere pocket watch." Adam said, "What do you think will happen after the clockhand has made a full rotation?"

    "It starts another rotation." Ramon said with a twitching eyebrow. "What''s the big deal?"

    "I don''t think that''s the case." Adam said, "I think, after those 48 hours, the Clown Boy will vanish."

    "Vanish?!"

    "It already has a time limit, and I found this pocket watch from there for a reason." Adam closed and opened the pocket watch with a gentle click. "I believe that once the time runs out, he will disappearpletely."

    "What do you think will happen to us then?" Donald asked with sweat trickling down his forehead. "Will we get disqualified?"

    "Perhaps I don''t know." Adam said with a serious look.

    "Why didn''t that guy tell us that?" One of the yers chimed in.

    "He didn''t know." Ramon said with a serious look. "Or didn''t want us to know, but I doubt it. He was scared enough."

    "Only those that has experienced the time limit would know, but they would most likely be disqualified." Adam said.

    "That makes a lot of sense..." Donald bit his nail with a nervous look. "We don''t have a lot of time."

    "But I am sure that we''ve been on the second floor longer than 48 hours." One of the yers said, "Shouldn''t the time limit be over already?"

    "I think the time limit started from the moment we found the Clown Boy." Adam said.

    "Right..."

    "That''s why you need us..." Ramon looked at Adam with a frown. "You could fail and get disqualified."

    "I think beating the Clown Boy in its game alone is far too difficult." Adam said with his arms crossed. "If it wants to y tag, it will be far too fast for me to beat. That''s why I need you all."

    "Yeah, it was extremely fast..." Donald nodded in agreement.

    "All right, I believe you now." Ramon said and leaned back in the chair. "So, what''s the n?"

    "I''ll face the Clown Boy and try to beat it in its game. I most likely will fail; that''s where you guyse in. You guys need to be on every floor and attack the Clown Boy at the moment''s notice.

    "It is hard to make a n without knowing what the game will be. If it is tag, I won''t be enough to beat it, that''s why I need all of you to be on every corner of the castle, ready to kill it if it appears near you."

    "What if you somehow beat it?" Donald asked.

    "I''ll leave the killing to you all." Adam said and pocketed his timepiece. "Whoever gets the kill won''t be harassed afterwards, deal?"

    "Deal."

    All the yers nodded in agreement, satisfied with the conditions and the current n.

    "If you n to betray us, I will shove my machete down your throat." Ramon whispered in Adam''s ear and then left the cafeteria with his friend, Hannibal.

    Following that, most of the yers started to stand up to prepare for the night. Most of them nned to leave for the second floor after breakfast, but after finding out that the Clown Boy only appears at midnight, they decided to wait until then instead.

    The table emptied quickly, and then Seth took away his tray without even ncing in Adam''s direction.

    If he had, he would''ve noticed the smile on Adam''s lips that hinted at mischief.

    Adam touched the timepiece in his pocket and couldn''t help but chuckle.

    About the 48 hour time limit, he was lying.

    They had unlimited attempts to kill the Clown Boy, and the silvery timepiece was simply a unique item with twenty-four numbers engraved around its rim. It was nothing special.

    ''If I seed in this, S-ranked score might actually be within my reach.''

 Chapter 32: The Game

    <h4>Chapter 32: The Game</h4>

    Second Floor, at the time when the sun had already gone down and a nket of darkness had stretched across the whole sky.

    At the entrance of the ck castle, a group of yers were impatiently waiting for midnight to arrive.

    It was getting quite chilly, but most of the yers still had their winter clothes from the first floor, and after putting them on, they were able to warm themselves up slightly.

    Leaning against a ck brick wall, Adam flicked the timepiece open and checked the time before closing it again and pocketing it. There were only five minutes left.

    ''It was that room, right?'' Adam thought to himself with a slight uncertainty. ''Third floor, first room on the left. That was the room. it must be.''

    "Yo."

    At that moment, Ramon came to him while drinking some hot drinks from his canteen. He was dressed in lighter clothing, but he still didn''t look like he was cold.

    A little bit of the drink spilled, trickling down his chin, and it looked like he was drinking coffee, which he most likely received from the cafeteria and filled his canteen with.

    "Hmm?" Adam raised an eyebrow in question as Ramon approached him, wondering what he wanted.

    "I couldn''t stop thinking about what happened in the morning." Ramon said, then took a small sip and continued, "You angered those guys, and they must being after you soon enough; you know that, right?"

    "I know." Adam nodded calmly. "They now know that during the mornings, there won''t be a lot of mercenaries around. It is when they will most likely attack me."

    "Hah, scared?" Ramon asked with a grin.

    "They''re older and more experienced, which is why I should be scared." Adam asked him back.

    Ramon shrugged his shoulders and said, "They also have manpower. If they find youcking, you will be in trouble."

    "I know." Adam nodded and chuckled. "That''s why I am not leaving my room during the morning."

    "Eh?" Ramon raised his eyebrows in confusion.

    "That''s right." Adam crossed his arms.

    "Your n is to hide?" Ramon asked beforeughing. "I thought you nned something brilliant, but instead you chose to hide in your room like a kid from his bullies."

    "Why would I go out and expose myself?" Adam asked with a frown. "It would be foolish. They have around twenty fairly skilled individuals. They can just surround me and overpower me with their numbers.

    "I would die."

    "Ah..." Ramon rubbed his chin with a smirk. "That sounds fair; I just didn''t think you were the kind of person who would hide and not fight."

    "Oh, I will fight, but there is a time and ce for everything," Adam said. "There is something you have to learn about this world. Survival is the only thing that matters."

    Ramon silently looked at him and thought about those words.

    At that moment, Adam pulled out his silvery timepiece, then closed it almost immediately and pocketed it.

    "The time is near; there are only a few minutes left."

    "Then you should hurry." Ramon said. "And remember, if you betray us, we will kill you."

    "Right."

    Adam slipped his hands inside his pockets and stepped through the entrance of the castle while all the yers watched him with intense anticipation.

    He had already told them what room he would be in and told them to cover the exit of the room, so the Clown Boy didn''t have any means of escaping that small, closed room unless he had a secret passage out.

    After stepping up the stairs, he reached the third floor and immediately entered the first door on the left.

    The door was already open, barely hanging on its hinges.

    As he stepped through the entrance, he saw a small light flickering in the corner of the room, with shelves of books lining the walls. In the center of the room, there was a desk cluttered with papers, and a single chair pushed up against it.

    Adam pulled out the chair and sat slowly down, then ced his pocket watch on the desk and watched it slowly tick down the seconds.

    At that moment, the ck clockhand struck twelve.

    Swoosh!

    A cold wind rushed in, the door immediately dropped off its hinges, and the light in the corner turned more prominent.

    "Do you want to y a game?"

    ...

    "Time''s up!" Donald''s voice boomed in the yard as he closed his very own pocket watch and pocketed it.

    He purchased it from mekeeper, as it was the only way to know the time.

    "Let''s go in!" Ramon shouted and was the first to enter the yard.

    Without any hesitation, all the yers rushed to the third floor and crowded in front of the first door on the left. They were even standing on top of the broken door that fell off its hinges.

    In the room, they saw Adam seated with a calm look on his face, and on the other side of the desk, there was a floating figure with a whimsical appearance.

    The Clown Boy looked adorable with flushed red cheeks and milky-white skin, but when Donald saw him, his skin started to crawl. He couldn''t forget the sight of the boy''s mouth stretching open into a grotesque grin filled with sharp, jagged teeth.

    "Do you want to y a game?" The Clown Boy asked once more, an adorable smile on its lips.

    "I do," Adam said.

    "Yay!" The Clown Boy cheered in joy and sat down on the desk, cross-legged, then showed its right hand before forming it into a fist.

    "Ever heard of the rock, paper, and scissors game before?"

    "I have." Adam said with a grim face. ''So, that''s the game. It would be luck-based, in most cases, but not this time around...''

    ''How ridiculous.'' Ramon thought to himself. ''Life and death scenarioing down to luck. Well, I suppose that luck is also an important factor in the life of a mercenary.''

    "Let''s begin!" The Clown Boy said excitedly.

    Everyone else watched from the doorway in nervousness, but they all had weapons ready and tried to huddle closer to the room to get a head start. The fastest and most prepared yer would be the one to get the kill.

    With that single kill, everyone would be practically guaranteed a higher score than D.

    The yers, who hadn''t done much in the tutorial yet, felt their blood pumping as this might be their best chance of catching up to the top yers.

    At that moment, Adam and the Clown Boy ced their fists against their open-palmed left hand and shouted, "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

    They both threw out their hands¡ªAdam with the rock and the Clown Boy with the paper.

    It was as if the time had frozen; all the yers stopped breathing. The Clown Boy''s paper covered Adam''s rock, dering the creature as the winner.

    "I won..." The Clown Boy said with a grin, and at that moment, the skin around its mouth started ripping as its mouth opened wider than humanly possible.

    It looked like it would be able to swallow Adam whole in one bite.

    "The winner gets the loser''s dinner~"

    The Clown Boy said and then lunged towards Adam, about to take arge bite off his head.

 Chapter 33: Respawn Crystal

    <h4>Chapter 33: Respawn Crystal</h4>

    "Wait!"

    Adam''s shout bounced across the walls of the ck castle, echoing eerily in the silence.

    The Clown Boy came to a sudden stop, and its hideous mouth returned to its previous size.

    It tilted its head in confusion and asked, "What is it?"

    "You cheated!" Adam used with a loud voice and a red face.

    "W-what?" The Clown Boy panickedly said and a few cold sweats rolled down its face. "N-no, I didn''t. Y-you are a poor loser!"

    Adam eyed the pocket watch briefly, making sure that there was still time left, and then continued shouting.

    "I saw you changing from rock to paper at the final moment!" Adam retorted. "I want a rematch!"

    "W-what!" The Clown Boy gulped nervously.

    As they both threw their hands out, and it was clear that Adam''s choice was rock, the Clown Boy used its superspeed to change from rock to paper at blitzering speed.

    It was done so quickly that no one would be able to see it. Not even Adam. However, in his past life, there was amon saying that the Clown Boys were cheaters!

    "Rematch, right now!" Adam formed a fist with his right, and ced it against his t-out left hand.

    "O-okay!"

    Having no other choice, the Clown Boy agreed to the rematch as he was afraid of being called a cheater.

    "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

    They both threw their hands out at the same time¡ªAdam threw out paper, while the Clown Boy threw out rock.

    "Ah!" The Clown Boy eximed, and tears welled up in its eyes.

    ''Yes!'' Adam cheered inwardly. ''After being caught with a lie, it didn''t want to get caught twice, and this time, it didn''t cheat, causing it to lose. Still, it was a very luck-based choice, but I had a hunch it would choose rock!''

    The Clown Boy sniffled and started crying on the floor. Its tears streamed down its face as it realized it had lost the game.

    While the Clown Boys were cheaters, they were also very poor losers. If they lost, they would always start crying and throw a tantrum till the Clown Man or the Clown Womanforted them.

    In this case, there weren''t either of those on the second floor, as they were powerful Chaosbeings, living on much higher floors.

    As the yers stood in shock, one of them rushed forward with a hatchet in hand and was about to hack off the Clown Boy''s head, but was then shoved to the side as another yer wanted the kill.

    Instantly, the room got crowded, and it became very messy.

    Adam jumped out of the chair and backed off to the end of the room, his back soon touching a wooden bookshelf.

    At that moment, a discreet-looking yer managed to jump over the group of yers and clumsily swing his weapon. Miraculously enough, his weapon sliced off the Clown Boy''s head from its shoulders.

    As the head rolled down on the floor, everyone heard a loud sound of a bell chiming, signaling the end of the second floor.

    "W-who got it?" Donald asked as he was trapped between yers, unable to move an inch. He was feeling very frustrated, as he was unfortunately in a very bad position to grasp the kill.

    At that moment, they all saw a discreet-looking yer celebrating with tears rolling down his cheeks. It was clearly a very emotional moment for him, as this guaranteed him a spot among the mercenaries.

    The other yers sighed in defeat, saddened by the fact, but they knew that there was always going to be only one person who would get the kill. This time around, it wasn''t them.

    "Cursed..." Ramon sheathed his machete with a sour face and then looked around the room, but soon noticed that one person in particr had vanished.

    ''Where is he?

    ''Where is Adam?''

    ...

    Ten seconds ago.

    With his back against the bookshelf, Adam watched the chaos unfold and then saw the discreet-looking yer finishing off the Clown Boy.

    ''There! It was the kill!''

    At that moment, he heard strange mechanical soundsing from behind him, and the bookshelf slid open to reveal a hidden, dark room.

    Adam instantly jumped inside the room, and not even a second passed; the bookshelf closed behind him with a loud thud.

    ''This is it. The legendary room!''

    Adam''s heart beated in excitement, as he had only heard about this room during campfire story sessions and in the drunken ramblings of tavern patrons.

    He didn''t even have to take a single step as a strange object appeared at the center of the dark room, illuminating the dark walls. It was a brilliant crystal that seemed to glow from within.

    It glowed white, with some faint blue and pink hues dancing within its depths.

    Adam approached the crystal, and once he was within arms-length, he noticed that it was much bigger than he anticipated. It was about the size of his torso and emitted a soothing warmth that enveloped him as he reached out to touch it.

    ''This is the respawn crystal. Once this is destroyed, the Chaosbeings of the second floor will lose their ability to resurrect themselves. Destroying it is the only way topletely kill off the Chaosbeing.

    ''It had only been found three times before in this timeline. The fourth, fifth, and twenty-first floors also had their respawn crystals destroyed. Even in the future, they would only find a few more respawn crystals.

    ''It bes popr knowledge in the future, and thousands of mercenaries go out to try to find them, but still, they''re almost never found.

    ''It is an amazing discovery, and now, in this timeline, this discovery belongs to me.''

    Adam slowly drew his steel shortsword and ced it against the crystal. It was getting even more beautiful with each passing moment, making him not want to destroy it, but it had to be done.

    With a whip-like motion, he brought the de down upon the crystal, shattering it into a million sparkling fragments.

    It spread in every direction, reflecting the light in a dazzling disy of colors, and as they fell to the dark floor, they lost their luster, bing dull and lifeless.

    "Cough!"

    Adam coughed loudly and fell down on one knee. It was like air suddenly left his lungs.

    At the same moment, he heard screams in his ears that seemed to echo endlessly.

    ''The legendary Chaosbeing Scream.''

    Adam thought with a wry smile.

    It was something that the destroyer of the respawn crystal would hear. It wasn''t known whose scream it was, but some rumors say that the scream belonged to the leader of the Chaosbeings.

    Adam took a deep breath, sheathed his sword, and slowly rose back to his feet.

    With a relieved smile, he turned around and approached the bookshelf that blocked his path. He then reached out and pushed it aside.

    The room, where the yers fought against the Clown Boys only moments prior, was now surprisingly empty. However, there was one person, whom he didn''t expect to see, standing there.

    "You found it..." Ron said in a shocked tone.

    Outside the room, dozens of well-armored mercenaries looked to the hidden room with an equally shocked looks. They finished taking the other yers outside for questioning and came here to see it with their own very eyes.

    ''They came faster than expected.'' Adam thought with a wry smile. ''I guess the time moved differently in that hidden room.''

    "D-did you see it?" Ron asked in a clear, shaky voice. "T-the crystal..."

 Chapter 34: Council of Mercenaries

    <h4>Chapter 34: Council of Mercenaries</h4>

    ''He knows about the crystal?'' Adam looked calm from outside, but inwardly he was quite taken aback.

    From what he knew, the information about the respawn crystal shouldn''t be widely spread. However, Ron and the mercenaries outside seemed to know about the importance of the find.

    ''I would understand that those mercenaries knew, as they only worked in the tutorial, and some of them must''ve been working here when the respawn crystal on the fourth and fifth floors was discovered.

    ''Then some of them must''ve shared it with others, and that''s how they all came to know.

    ''However, Ron should be only the tutorial''s supervisor for this month, as the supervisor usually changes every month. It is well-paid andes with additional benefits, but he shouldn''t be aware of the respawn crystal.''

    After leaving the safety of his thoughts, Adam crossed his arms and nodded, "Yeah, I saw some kind of luminescent crystal hovering in the middle of the room. Do you know what that was?"

    "I-incredible..." Ron, with an absent look on his face, walked past him and entered the hidden, darkened room.

    There, he saw pieces of the precious crystals strewn across the room¡ªtheir beautiful luster long gone, now looking dull and lifeless, like pieces of rock.

    "Y-you..." Ron took a handful of broken crystals in his hand and turned his head around to gaze at Adam. "Destroyed it?"

    "Yes, I did." Adam nodded. "I heard a voice in my mind, telling me to destroy it. Was I wrong in destroying it? Was it valuable?"

    After a night of thinking, he had to think of a way to exin why he destroyed the respawn crystal to keep away the suspicious gazes from him.

    There were many ways that person would react upon seeing the respawn crystal¡ªsome saw visions, some started bleeding from their eyes, and some heard voices whispering in their ears.

    Adam, in the end, decided to choose voice one. Now, he only had to act mostly clueless about the respawn crystal, as he shouldn''t be able to know anything about it.

    "Voice..." Ron gently pocketed a few pieces of the crystal and walked out of the room. He then tapped Adam in the shoulder and said, "Adam, minding with me?"

    "Alright..." Adam said, following out of the room while the mercenaries gave way to let them pass.

    After they left the room, the rest of the mercenaries rushed inside the hidden room to investigate and report everything. This was, after all, one of the biggest discoveries they had made in years.

    Adam followed Ron down the staircase, then down the castle''s front lounge, until they reached the front yard. There, the yers were gathered while whispering with each other.

    They didn''t understand why they weren''t allowed inside the castle anymore.

    At that moment, they saw Ron and Adam step outside; many eyes shed by surprise as they wondered where Adam had disappeared off to. Now, it looked like he had been inside the castle all this time.

    "You all may return to the safe area." Ron said to everyone. "It is quitete, and you guys need to rest as the third floor opens soon."

    They all nodded and started to slowly depart from the castle.

    At the corner of the yard, Ramon shot suspicious gazes in Adam''s direction. He was tapping his feet impatiently against the ground, trying to boost his thinking prowess.

    ''Where did he go? Is he the reason why Ron and the other mercenaries came? What did he find?''

    The sky on the second floor had turned a deep shade of ck, and the storm clouds were circling ominously. It looked like it was about to storm heavily, as if the floor was reacting to the destruction of the respawn crystal.

    Rumble!

    Following a loud rumble, a silvery lightning bolt struck a tall tree that had stood there since the creation of the floor. Now, all that remained was a smoldering stump.

    ...

    Tap, tap, tap.

    Footsteps echoed down the corridor, growing louder and louder.

    With long strides, Ron made his way down the corridor that led to the mysterious door at the end of the hallway. Adam followed right behind him, trying to match Ron''s pace as they both rushed.

    ''I''ve never been here; I wonder where this leads.'' Adam thought to himself.

    As Ron reached the end of the hallway, with two powerful hands, he pushed open the heavy-looking doors and stepped through without a single beat wasted.

    Adam followed right behind him and saw a dimly lit room with seats arranged like in a cinema and facing arge screen at the front. The screen was currently dark.

    At that moment, Adam noticed that there was already one person seated. The person, as soon as they entered the room, stood up and bowed.

    "Muriel." Ron nodded briefly and crossed his arms. "Is the connection set up yet?"

    "It has, sir." Muriel said in her usual monotone voice.

    However, once she saw Adam, her eyes brightened slightly as this yer again went beyond her expectations.

    First, he managed to discover the Adult Centipede Skeleton, which could''ve caused enormous destruction if left unattended any longer, and now he found an even more important thing¡ªthe respawn crystal!

    "Alright, start the connection." Ron said and turned to Adam, "I need you to be in your best behavior. Disrespect is not tolerable in this situation."

    "What''s happening?" Adam asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "You have an honor to speak directly to the Council of Mercenaries." Muriel said with a serious tone.

    "Oh..." Adam''s eyes turned. ''I had a hunch that this would happen. I''m not sure if this is a good or bad thing.''

    The screen started flickering, and then suddenly started to show something hazy. It was seven high-end chairs, shaped like thrones, and then a voice boomed, "Bow your heads!"

    Muriel, Ron, and Adam quickly bent their backs and bowed their heads low.

    At that moment, seven figures began to materialize in the seven throne-shaped chairs. Each figure had a majestic presence, radiating power and authority. They were the leaders of the Seven Ancient Guilds and the people who were in control of all mercenaries.

    The Council of Mercenaries!

    "State your name, Coinfeeder!" An old, powerful voice boomed like the rumbling of thunder.

    "Adam Palestar, at your service." Adam put his hand on his chest and bowed respectfully to the Council of Mercenaries.

    "Palestar?" A rightmost figure repeated the surname with a hint of recognition in his voice but immediately turned silent afterwards.

    "So, you''ve discovered the respawn crystal. Do you know about its importance?"

    "No, I don''t." Adam simply replied, feeling the weight of all the eyes in the room on him.

    "The crystal is life." One of them said in an elderly voice. "It holds the power to bring back the dead."

    "Without that crystal, the Chaosbeings of the second floor lost that ability. Now, when they die, they stay dead."

    "That''s a good thing, isn''t it?" Adam said in an unsure tone.

    "Depends on the perspective." This time, a feminine voice sounded from the screen. "It is important in the fight against Chaosbeings. However, the second floor''s Chaosbeings were never a threat to begin with."

    "Why did you destroy the crystal, little one?" A person with an amiable voice asked. "May I know why?"

    Hearing that voice, Adam cracked a smile, recognizing it. It belonged to a very important person in his past life.

 Chapter 35: S-Rank

    <h4>Chapter 35: S-Rank</h4>

    "I heard a voice, sir." Adam replied. "The voice was telling me to destroy it."

    "A voice, you say?" A rough-sounding man interjected. "Are you easily corruptible? Chaosbeings are creatures that feed on the weak minded, and they always try to manipte those who are easily swayed."

    "I don''t think I am easily corruptible." Adam said with his head bowed in respect. "I don''t think the voice belonged to Chaosbeing."

    "Whose voice was it then?"

    "It might sound silly, but I think it was God''s voice." Adam slightly raised his head to look at the screen. "I don''t know why, but I just have a feeling that it was Him."

    The room turned silent as the Council of Mercenaries didn''t speak a word. They then started whispering with each other; the audio was muted, so Adam and others couldn''t hear.

    Atst, one of them started speaking again to Adam.

    "You''re still new and don''t know better. Powerful Chaosbeings can even imitate the voice of God. We suspect that you heard the voice of the leader of the Chaosbeings. Only they have the strength to do so."

    ''I am just basically copying the things that one of the people who found the respawn crystal said.'' Adam said to himself casually: ''She said that she heard a voice of God, but it was never fully understood whether it was really God or just the trickery of some Chaosbeing.''

    "Don''t be discouraged, little one." The person with the amiable voice said: "You are still new; there is lots of room to grow. Today, destroying the respawn crystal wasn''t a bad thing. It was an important discovery, and destroying it was the right thing to do.

    "It is gettingte, so why don''t we call it a night?"

    "Yes, sir." Ron rose from his kneeling position, bowed once more towards the screen, and watched it turn dark.

    "Did it go well?" Adam asked Muriel as she slowly approached him.

    "I think so." Muriel said in her monotone voice. "I am not sure how this will affect your points, though."

    "This discovery changes how the tutorial is done from now on." Ron said. "However, any respawn crystal discovery is very important as it inches us closer to the Full Clear."

    ''Full Clear, a fool''s dream.'' Adam chuckled to himself. ''I didn''t think Ron was also believing in that.''

    Full Clear, a faraway dream. There were groups that fervently believed that there was a chance to clear all the floors of the dungeon by destroying the respawn crystals scattered throughout.

    Those groups spent all their time and energy finding those respawn crystals and then killing all the remaining Chaosbeings on that floor to make it safe.

    It was a fool''s dream, as it was still unclear how many floors in the dungeon there were. In the current timeline, only four respawn crystals have been discovered and destroyed.

    The second floor''s respawn crystal being the fourth one.

    "You should go take a rest." Muriel instructed. "In the evening, the third lesson will start, and then the third floor will open."

    "Right..." Adam nodded, bade them farewell, and left the room.

    "Aye, aye..." Ron sat down on the chair''s back rest and scratched his head. "It was supposed to be calm for one month, get well-paid, and then perhaps go for a vacation in the New Lake..."

    Muriel hugged the clipboard against her chest and asked, "What do you think of him?"

    "About who?" Ron stopped scratching his head and turned to her.

    "Adam," Muriel said.

    "Hmm..." Ron crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders. "It is hard to get a good reading of him. I thought he was a lone wolf, but now I am not too sure. I think he might be a leader."

    "What score do you think he will have?" Muriel asked curiously.

    "It is pretty much confirmed that he will have an A-ranked score; I think so." Ron said. "Those two discoveries alone will put him in the B-rank, but he has also shown great fighting prowess for Coinfeeder."

    "Only A..." Muriel pursed her lips and asked, "Do you think he will be able to reach an S-ranked score?"

    "Mmh..." Ron scratched the back of his head. "I am not too sure; that is above my pay grade. S-rank is reserved for the best of the best. Do you think Adam can be one of those monsters?

    "Konrad Moriarty is the current High King of the Mortal Online and the leader of humanity.

    "Mauricio ughter, the guild leader of Death Mercenaries. He reached Grand Lord not too long ago and is on his way to bing one of the Council of Mercenaries.

    "Sapphira Everheart is the youngest Royal Mercenary in history, and she is part of one of the Seven Ancient Guilds¡ªDying Star Guild. She is incredibly skilled inbat, and she has alreadypleted numerous high-risk missions with great sess.

    "At the current moment, she has the greatest chance of bing the next High King alongside Cmity ck. Their rivalry in the future will definitely be legendary.

    "Then, Arkham Everheart, Sapphira''s elder brother, is also part of the Dying Star Guild. He is mostly in the shadow of his sister, as he isn''t a shy person, but in terms ofbat prowess, he is considered the strongest of that specific rank.

    "Cmity ck is thetest S-ranked person and has already reached Royal Mercenary rank. He is part of Death Mercenaries and has already be Mauricio''s right-hand man, but we all know that he either takes over the guild once he bes strong enough or leaves to make his own guild.

    "He isn''t a person who follows others, but he is a natural-born leader!"

    Muriel stayed quiet during the whole introduction.

    "Now, do you think Adam can be part of them?" Ron looked at her and smiled weakly. "I think it is too early to say. There are only two floors left, and unless he truly does something special to show that he belongs among the other S-ranked recruits, I don''t think he will make the cut."

    Muriel nodded silently and hugged the clipboard even tighter to her chest.

    Ron patted her shoulder before walking out of the room.

    "Sigh..."

    With a long, thoughtful sigh, Muriel took a seat and looked at the empty screen that reflected the chairs and herself, barely.

    "What shall I do..." She mused to herself and looked at her clipboard in hand, where she had reported the doings of Adam so far in the tutorial.

    "Is that enough for him? Is that enough for me? No, I don''t think it is..."

    Outside the room, in the shadowy corner, Adam leaned against a wall with his arms crossed. He was hidden nicely in the shadows, as even Ron didn''t catch sight of him.

    He was eavesdropping a few moments prior, wanting to know how his score was looking so far.

    "Something special, huh..." Adam put his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

    The timepiece in his chest pocket continued ticking down peacefully without a care in the world. It was still ticking down towards the end of the 48 hours.

    "Fine."

    Adam opened his eyes wide and cracked a smile before stretching his arms out wide.

    "I''ll give you something special..."

 Chapter 36: Three Powers

    <h4>Chapter 36: Three Powers</h4>

    The morning dawned, but no one in the safe area could tell whether it was bright and sunny or dark and stormy.

    There were windows that should, in theory, show the outside, but they were all cloudy and misty, as if the outside world were enveloped in a thick fog.

    To this very day, no one has ventured beyond the safe area and into the shrouded world of fog. No one dared to risk getting lost in the unknown.

    Outside a small, cozy library, Donald and his friends were gathered around a table, engrossed in a game of chess.

    "What do you think Ron and others wanted from Adam?" One of them asked while taking a bishop and moving it across the board.

    Donald silently moved his knight, took the bishop, and said, "I don''t know, but I don''t think we should care about it now. We have to focus on the third floor and make sure that this time around, we''ll get the boss kill!"

    His friends nodded. While most of them felt confident in their current point score, a couple of them felt like they hadn''t done enough to reach a good score. The tutorial was reaching its end, and they had to do something.

    At that moment, they heard footsteps and soon their table was surrounded by a group of yers. They didn''t look like they were in a good mood.

    "Where is he?" Nick asked coldly.

    "Who..?" Donald asked hesitantly and moved his hand toward his broadsword. He started sweating profusely.

    "That fucker, Adam, was it?" Nick said coldly and clenched his hand into a fist. "As long you tell me where he is, I won''t kill you."

    "I don''t kn¡ª"

    Before Donald could finish his words, a voice came.

    "He is in his room."

    "Huh?" Nick turned to the side and saw two men standing nearby, licking ice cream cones.

    They were Ramon and Hannibal.

    "He ain''ting out either." Ramon chuckled and approached the group with a confident stride. "He knows you guys areing after him, that''s why he is staying in his room during the mornings."

    "Hah, so he is a coward, after all?" Nickughed with a hint of anger, and his friends around him joined him inughter.

    "Or not a fool." Ramon said and licked the ice cream off his lips. "Well, if it helps you, we cleared the second floor yesterday, thanks to you, hehe."

    "..." Nick narrowed his eyes and slowly revealed the de of his shortsword from the scabbard. "Are you making fun of me?"

    "No, of course not." Ramon said with a chuckle. "Just saying. You guys are on the third floor as well? Get my drift?"

    Nick''s eyebrow twitched. He then nudged his chin towards his friends, and they sheathed their weapons¡ªas most of them started to leave, Nick looked towards Donald, cleared his throat, and spat on the ground, right onto Donald''s shoe.

    "We get your drift." Nick nced at Ramon, and then, with his hands inside his pockets, he followed after his friends.

    Niko red after Nick, his eyes burning with anger, and looked at Donald, wondering how he reacted.

    At that moment, Donald pulled out a handkerchief, cleaned the spit off his shoe, and calmly pocketed the handkerchief before moving another piece on the chess board.

    "Checkmate."

    "Ah!" His friend eximed and scratched the back of his head in frustration. "I suck at this game!"

    "D-Donald, you alright?" Niko asked, surprised by his friend''s nonchnt reaction.

    "I am fine, fine." Donald replied and started arranging the chess pieces back on the board. "Completely fine."

    Niko gulped, unsure if he believed his friend''s words. He had a hunch that something was off.

    Ramon nced at Donald briefly before shaking his head and walking away, followed by Hannibal.

    "You sent those guys after Adam." Hannibal said nonchntly. "You want them to kill him?"

    "That would be preferable." Ramon said and then dropped the ice cream on the ground, sttering the cold treat all over the tiled floor. "If Adam''s gone, the rest of the tutorial will be much easier."

    "True that, but if he finds out you are scheming against him, he''lle after you, hehe."

    Hannibalughed sinisterly, excited about the chaos the future might hold.

    Ramon''s lips cracked into a smile that slowly spread across his face, stretching his lips into a crazy lunatic grin.

    "That would be fucking exciting!"

    ...

    Ding, ding!

    A bell chimed across the safe area, and following that, an announcement rang across the loudspeaker. The third lesson was about to begin.

    yers crowded inside the auditorium, taking their preferred seats, and after taking their seats, they talked loudly with their friends. After nearly a week in the tutorial, most yers had grown close and had formed strong bonds with each other.

    It made most of them remember their high school days, talking and spending time with their friends during ss breaks.

    After all the yers got seated, Dakota arrived at the stage and cleared her throat loudly, instantly managing to silence the auditorium.

    "Today''s lesson will be about the Three Powers!"

    At the back of the auditorium, Adam opened hiszy-looking eyes and straightened his back. This lesson was one of the more interesting ones.

    The yers looked confused,pletely unfamiliar with the concept of the Three Powers, but Seth had his notepad and pen ready.

    This was something his brother mentioned to him, but he still couldn''t quite grasp the importance of it.

    Dakota, after seeing that everyone had their eyes focused on her, started with:

    "The Three Powers are the key to unlocking the true potential within each of us.

    "They are important, yet so many fail to understand their significance. It is not only you, Coinfeeders, but also some famous, powerful mercenaries who overlooked their importance and realized it toote.

    "While skills and levels are important in growing strength, the Three Powers are what truly shape the strength of a mercenary in this world. Without mastering them, one''s potential will always be limited.

    "Since there are the Three Powers, and mastering even one of those takes a lifetime, mastering all of them is pretty much impossible without god-given talent.

    "That''s why you should forget about the idea of mastering all of them and instead focus on bncing them. Each one of the Three Powers has its uses and strengths; it is up to you what you think is the more important one."

    After that, Dakota moved over to the ckboard and drew three cubes, then wrote a strange name inside each one: "Kraft", "Magick", "Kiryoku".

    "These are the Three Powers!" Dakota shouted and continued with:

    "Kraft is the power to create invisible armor around yourself or objects. It can greatly enhance your attacking and defensive capabilities when used properly.

    "Magick is the power of magic. There are skills that cannot be learned without Magick, such as the ability to heal wounds with just a wave of a wand or control elements.

    "Magick is the most versatile of all Three Powers and it has no real limit to its potential when used properly.

    "Lastly, Kiryoku. With that, you can sense the aura, emotions, and strength of your opponent. It is most difficult to learn and master, but it can be a powerful tool once mastered!"

    The yers eximed, very excited about Kraft and Magick, as those sounded cool, while Kiryoku was mostly overlooked as it wasn''t as shy and exciting.

    Most of them, as children, had always dreamed of creating magic spells that destroy the terrain and defeat enemies with a wave of their hands. With Magick that sounded possible.

    At the back of the auditorium, Adam wryly smiled and lowered his head.

    ''I was just like them, upied with Kraft and Magick, not realizing the gold mine that is Kiryoku. If I had mastered Kiryoku, Cmity and the others would''ve never been able to betray and kill me.

    ''I would''ve seen their betrayaling from a mile away. That''s why Kiryoku is so overpowered!

    ''Kiryoku is difficult to learn and master, for sure. That''s why I never bothered with it, as it needs lots of patience, which I didn''t have. I won''t make the same mistake in this life.''

 Chapter 37: Third Floor

    <h4>Chapter 37: Third Floor</h4>

    Ding, ding!

    The ss ended, and all the yers left the auditorium, whispering with each other about the Three Powers and which one they would focus on.

    Adam walked down a hallway with his left hand inside his pocket and his right arm dangling by his side. He looked like he was upied by some thoughts.

    At that moment, he felt a touch on his shoulder, and as he turned to the side, he saw

    Donald, walking beside him with a friendly smile on his face.

    "Hello, Adam!" Donald greeted with.

    "Donald." Adam replied and continued walking, waiting for Donald to speak about what he wanted.

    "Which one of the Three Powers are you going to choose?" Donald asked with genuine curiosity.

    "Why are you asking?" Adam asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "I am curious." Donald said with a chuckle. "I have a hunch that you know about them more than we do."

    "What do you mean?" Adam asked with a frown.

    "You seem to be more knowledgeable than the rest of us." Donald said before waving his hand innocently. "I don''t care how you know about most of these things; I am just curious about the Three Powers."

    Adam rolled his eyes and said, "I haven''t chosen yet. All of the Three Powers have their uses."

    "Even Kiryoku?" Donald asked curiously. "It seems great to know just how strong the opponent is; if the opponent is stronger, you can decide the next course of action. That''s pretty much it."

    "You''re wrong." Adam said casually. "You can also sense their intent, and by doing so, you can anticipate their next move and dodge it easily. It has even better defensive ability than Kraft."

    "Dakota didn''t mention that." Donald said in surprise and started thinking more about Kiryoku''s abilities.

    "She doesn''t seem to be knowledgeable about Kiryoku." Adam said. "She is most likely a new teacher; this is perhaps her second year, her third at most. She knows plenty about Kraft and Magick, probably the ones she focused on while ignoring Kiryoku.

    "What a shame, but it doesn''t matter. The guilds you''ll join will teach more about the Three Powers. The Coinfeeders don''t have to know much yet."

    "You seem to know a lot about Kiryoku and the other Three Powers." Donald said with a suspicious frown. "How?"

    Adam stayed silent for a moment before chuckling and saying: "The forum."

    "The forum?" Donald looked confused before realizing something and eximing. "You have an ess to that ce?"

    "Yeah." Adam said with a smile. "However, I had the lowest ess. The amount of ess one has depends on their rank. Since I used the forum while I hadn''t even yed yet, I had Coinfeeder ess.

    "I managed to get a little bit of information about the Three Powers, etc. Nothing major, and nothing that helped me get this far."

    "I see. How did you get into the forum in the first ce?" Donald asked. "It is deep in the Dark Web, and getting ess to that as an ordinary person should be impossible."

    "That''s right; ordinary people shouldn''t have ess to that, and only mercenaries should." Adam said. "How did I get ess? Well, it is a long story."

    Donald, realizing that Adam didn''t want to reveal it, nodded and decided not to press further.

    "Did you know about the Bloody Chaosbeing via the forum?"

    "No," Adam replied. "Those details are locked behind Beyonder ess."

    "I see..." Donald replied, understanding that some information was not meant to be shared with everyone.

    He then touched his pocket, feeling the handkerchief that he had cleaned the spit off previously, and then said:

    "Those yers you angered in the cafeteria areing after you on the third floor."

    "Oh." Adam replied nonchntly. "Is that so?"

    After hearing the nonchnt tone and the zero change in his expression, Donald realized that Adam already knew.

    "You knew?"

    "It is obvious." Adam said and turned to him. "Did Ramon tell them?"

    "Yeah, he did..." Donald''s eyes widened. "How did you..."

    Adam slipped his right hand inside his pocket as well, picked up his pace, and soon had already walked way ahead of Donald.

    Donald came to a slow stop, his eyes shaking. "What is he nning?"

    ...

    Ding, ding!

    "The third floor is now open!"

    An announcement came from the loudspeaker that echoed across the safe area.

    Instantly, the mission boards were filled with yers who took a mission and raced to the door that led to the third floor. However, this time, they were all gathered in a single group.

    While Adam was doing his own thing, Donald and the rest managed to unite all the groups into a single one. It would significantly boost their survival capabilities, as everyone wouldn''t be scattered and divided anymore.

    Even Ramon and Hannibal were part of the group, as they had used Adam''s tactic, they managed to squeeze information from one of the solo yers in the other group, who had already experienced the third floor.

    They realized that with just two of us, the third floor would be exceptionally difficult.

    As the group of yers started walking through the door, Adam came from the direction of the cafeteria, as he didn''t eat in the morning, and wanted to fill his belly before the third floor.

    As he was about to follow the group of yers to the third floor, he nced briefly behind him and saw scattered yers in the distance, still finishing their dinner.

    He managed to see a few of them ncing in his direction, and he recognized them as being part of Nick''s group.

    Adam''s lips curled into a slight smile, and after the yers in front of him stepped through the door, he followed right behind and stepped through.

    ...

    After the bright light passed, Adam blinked his eyes rapidly until they adjusted to the dimly lit chamber.

    In front of him, there was a chamber with plenty of room and a high ceiling. The walls, floors, and ceiling were made out of brownish rock, and at the end of the room, there were ten paths leading in different directions.

    It looked like they were stuck in a cave and had to somehow find a way out.

    ''The third floor is pain in the ass.'' Adam thought. ''There are ten paths first, but then at the end of the path, there are another ten paths. In total, there might be about a thousand paths, and only one of them leads to the Boss Room.

    ''This is why it can take many weeks to reach the end. In my past life, it took three, long weeks.

    ''Unfortunately, I can''t remember the path! It was so long ago.''

    "Alright, everyone!" Donald shouted to catch everyone''s attention. He was standing near the ten paths. "I have a n!"

    Everyone listened keenly, even Adam, realizing that if he did this alone, he would be in big trouble.

    "We''ll split up and search the paths in groups of two!" Donald said, drew his broadsword, and drew an "X" on the wall of one of the paths. "Draw an X on the wall of the path you take, so we know it has been cleared!

    "We don''t know if these ten paths are the only ones; there might be more!

    "In about an hour, let''s regroup here and see if anyone has found the way to the end!"

    ''Solid n.'' Adam said with his arms crossed.

    "What if someone finds the Boss Room and decides to do it by themselves?" A worried-sounding yer said.

    "That would be suicide, whoever tries that." Donald said. "We''re in this together now, and together, we''re strong."

    The yers nodded in agreement and remembered the first floor''s boss. They didn''t think anyone would be able to clear it by themselves, except one person.

    They almost instinctively hovered their gazes in Adam''s direction, wondering whether he was going to be part of this n. He helped them greatly on the second floor, but he still had the stigma of being a lone wolf.

    After Donald saw those gazes, he looked over to Adam and asked, "Adam, are you with us?"

    "I like your n," Adam said. "However, I like to move alone, if that''s fine with you all."

    While most of the yers didn''t understand why, Donald did.

    "Alright, then." Donald said and then pped his hands. "Go into groups of two. If there are more than ten groups, just go down the same path as someone else. I hope most of you purchased the pocket watch from mekeeper so you can keep track of the time!

    "See you in an hour!"

 Chapter 38: Foolish

    <h4>Chapter 38: Foolish</h4>

    ''Can my body handle that?''

    Adam, lost in his own thoughts, waltzed down a lonely rock-walled passageway.

    It had been twenty minutes since he started walking down this passageway, and so far, he hadn''t found the exit. There was a very small chance that this would lead to the Boss Room, but he didn''t care either way.

    There was something more urgent in hand.

    The air was dry and stifling, as if he were inside a dusty tomb.

    This was one of the floors that perfectly created the dungeon atmosphere. However, this was an exception. There were simr-looking floors, but most floors looked like their own worlds, like the first floor''s winter wondend and the second floor''s ruined world.

    Adam pulled out a water canteen from his backpack, took a sip to moisten his already-dry lips, and then put the canteen back on the backpack before zipping it tightly shut.

    At that moment, as he didn''t stop walking to drink, he soon saw the end of the passageway. The exit was arched, leading to another chamber quite simr to the first room on the third floor.

    After stepping through the arched exit, he saw that there were another ten paths to take.

    Adam didn''t look surprised by that, as he expected that and knew that there would be another ten paths at the end of these ones.

    The difficult part was that each passageway was thirty minutes long, and nine of those were dead ends. It was different from the first room''s ten paths, as they all led to simr chambers like this one.

    Even if Adam continued to choose correctly and reached the end of the path he chose, there was a high chance that it still wouldn''t lead to the Boss Room.

    This was why this floor took the longest toplete, except if someone was lucky enough to find it on the first try, which rarely happened.

    Adam slowly drew his shortsword from the scabbard, then cut "X" into the rightmost passageway''s wall.

    Surprisingly enough, he then moved to the path next to that, did the same, and dulled the de slightly as he cut into the wall. Then he moved to another path again and did the exact same thing.

    In the end, he left three X marks on the walls of thebyrinth.

    After he was done, he sheathed his sword and then moved to the rightmost passageway and started trekking down the dark corridor.

    ''It doesn''t matter if my current body can''t handle... that...'' Adam grabbed his shaking hand. ''I still have to do that. That''s one way to tell the current limits of my weakened body.''

    With his shield and backpack slung over his back, his figure disappeared into the dark corridor.

    ...

    Ten minutester.

    Tap, tap, tap!

    Rapid footsteps sounded from a passageway, and soon, a group of fifteen yers arrived at the chamber, looking around quizzically.

    "There, he marked that wall!" One of them shouted, pointing at the rightmost passageway.

    As most of them were about to follow that, one of them suddenly cried out.

    "That''s also marked!"

    One of them pointed with their long fingers to the path right next to that.

    "There''s another one!"

    They all noticed that there were three paths marked, surprising them all.

    "There is no way that he has been able to check out so many passageways already! It would take at least an hour to check a path if it is dead end!"

    "Ramon, was that guy''s name? Didn''t he say that he would mark the paths he had already taken with X? This could mean that he already did, somehow."

    "Impossible!"

    In front of them, Nick rubbed his chin thoughtfully with a frown and said, "We have to split. Split into teams of three to five people each. Let''s check out the passageways, and then if either of those paths leads to another chamber,e back here and let''s regroup."

    "What if we find him?" One of the yers asked.

    Nick looked at her and said coldly, "Kill him!"

    They nodded and moved into groups before entering one of the three passageways.

    Nick, with four of his friends following behind him, entered the rightmost passageway with their weapons already in hand.

    ...

    "The dead end..."

    Adam reached the end of the passageway with a wall of rock blocking his path.

    He could always try to smash through the wall, but he knew that it would be futile and he would only destroy his weapon''s durability.

    After seeing how dark it was in the corridor, he took out a torch and some matchsticks. With a deep breath, he lit the torch and held it high above his head.

    ''I wonder how long it will take...''

    Adam slipped his other hand inside his pocket, pulled out the silvery timepiece, and checked the time. It wasn''t toote, and there was plenty of time before night.

    After that, he pocketed the timepiece and put the torch down on the ground, making it lean against the rocky wall.

    ''I would rather do this with some light.'' Adam thought to himself. ''I don''t prefer using that move in the dark, especially without Kiryoku.''

    He then pulled out his steel shortsword and moved his shield to his other hand. Then, with his back against the wall, he started waiting.

    The time slowly ticked, the torch flickering as he kept his eyes trained on the dark corridor ahead.

    Atst, rapid footsteps echoed from the darkness. There were people running. Adam quickly counted five sets of footsteps approaching. It made his lips rise into a smile.

    Scratch!

    A steel shortsword, exactly the same as Adam''s one, scratched against the rocky wall as figures began to emerge from the shadows of the darkness.

    Nick, scratching his shortsword against the wall, looked over at Adam with a deadly nce. He didn''te here to y around. He was here for a simple reason¡ªto kill.

    "You dulled your de for a dramatic entrance." Adam smirked. "Worth it?"

    "Still acting like this even though you''re overmatched and surrounded?" Nick grinned hideously. "What a foolish turd you are."

    "I haven''t been called a foolish turd before. As turd, yes, but foolish one? Not many have called me like that."

    Adam chuckled humorously and continued, "I suppose you brought more with you, but they are busy checking out those two other paths? I hope they find the exit for me, I would appreciate it."

    "You did that on purpose?" Nick asked with a frown. "You knew we wereing?"

    "I had a hunch." Adam said, "Also, it doesn''t hurt to make some preparations. I don''t really trust anyone, and if someone followed the same passageway as I did, they most likely had malicious intentions."

    "You should''ve marked more paths; spread our forces even further. Five against one, it is easy to tell how this will end."

    Nick pointed his shortsword at Adam, his friends following in suit. They were like a pack of wolves, led by their Alpha Nick, waiting to devour Adam''s flesh and leave nothing but bones behind.

    "It is indeed easy."

    Adam loosened the straps on his shield, removed it from his hand, and tossed it aside, surprising the yers. They didn''t understand what he was doing.

    At that moment, Adam took a single step forward and moved his steel shortsword into an unorthodox reverse grip, the tip of the de pointing towards the wall behind him.

    "What is this?" Nick frowned.

    ''Please, my body, don''t break.''

    Adam''s leg muscles strained, twisted, and bulged. He leaned forward, all his strength flowing into his legs like a relentless river. The steel shortsword began to tremble in his hand, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead.

    Crack!

    The rocky ground beneath him cracked like a window.

    As Adam blinked, his eyes then shot wide open, and as heunched forward, the ground below him exploded.

    Boom!

    Swoosh!

    A gush of wind struck Nick in the face, and his eyes widened in horror.

    ''He is so fas¡ª"

    Spurt!

    The blood spewed like a fountain of red liquid.

 Chapter 39: Little God

    <h4>Chapter 39: Little God</h4>

    "Haaa, haa!"

    Figures emerged from two of the paths, panting heavily with sweat rolling down their backs. They finished searching the two paths that ended at the dead end.

    They couldn''t find their target¡ªAdam Palestar.

    "Whoo, they haven''t arrived yet?" One of the yers noticed the absence of their strongest members, who ventured deep into the rightmost path.

    A short-haired yer pulled out a rusty timepiece from his loosely-hanging pants and checked the time. The hour was almost up.

    "Maybe they found him?" One of them asked.

    Before they could contemte going down the right path, they heard footsteps nearing them.

    At first, they smiled, but then they noticed something odd. It was easy to hear that there was only a single set of footsteps approaching.

    Suddenly, a thick scent of blood overwhelmed them, and the weak-minded ones instantly covered their noses with their hands.

    At that moment, a figure with a blood-soaked shirt emerged from the passageway. His ordinary-looking brownish basic shirt was now stained a deep crimson color. It was almost as if the figure wearing them was the one bleeding.

    A few stains of dried blood could be seen on the neck area and around the ankle cuffs of his trousers.

    "Who..."

    They couldn''t recognize him at first, as the blood took all their attention, but then their eyes regained their focus, and they realized it was their target, Adam.

    "What did you do to Nick?!"

    A sound of metal sliding out of a sheath echoed throughout the chamber.

    The yers held all kinds of weapons, from a broadsword to a dagger; one of them even had a broom, which wasn''t much of a weapon, but the other end was pointed and sharp as if it were a hidden de.

    "Haaa..." Adam let out a long, thoughtful sigh. "He is dead. I killed them. Their corpses must''ve already vanished into the annals of forgotten tutorial takers."

    The faces of the yers immediately changed into expressions of shock and horror. They expected that to be the case, but for him to say it so casually, as if it were nothing but a trifling matter, was unsettling.

    Their feet started to fidget nervously, and they started taking retreative steps back.

    There were ten of them. They should have a clear advantage. Yet, they were afraid to make their move.

    This was a far cry from real life.

    The stench of blood, Adam''s predator-like gaze, and the impending feeling of death hanging in the air paralyzed them with fear.

    As their eyes were focused on Adam''s pale-skinned face and the crimson shirt hugging his chest, they didn''t notice that his legs were shaking uncontrobly.

    If they looked at him even deeper, they would also notice that he could barely wield his shortsword. The steel de was pointing towards the ground, and the hand holding it was trembling.

    "W-we are sorry..."

    They started backing off towards the singr path that led back to the first room on the third floor.

    "We''ll leave you alone."

    "No." Adam said coldly, and with thest remaining strength, he raised his steel shortsword. "It is uneptable... I can''t... leave any of you alive... That wouldn''t be... S-rank worthy..."

    "Ngh!" The yers paled and then screamed in frustration before pointing their weapons at Adam.

    "We''re not some weaklings!"

    "Argh!"

    Adam screamed in pain and moved his sword into a reverse grip. Then, his legs started shaking, and the ground began to crack as if he were standing on thin ice.

    "Haaaa!" The yers screamed and lunged forward at him.

    Most of them looked desperate, knowing that killing him was going to be difficult, but that was their only chance, while the few were devoid of any hope of sess.

    Still, they all rushed forth and swung their weapons fiercely, hoping to strike a fatal blow.

    "Ahhh!"

    With a scream, Adam jumped at the yers and suddenly started spinning around wildly¡ªlike a whirling beyde¡ªand as the sword was on the front, it looked like a steel tornado wasing right at them.

    The yers came to an instant stop, shocked at what was heading in their direction, and instantly tried to dodge out of the way.

    At that moment, while spinning around, Adam extended his sword-wielding hand and cut through the throats of two of the yers.

    It was such a quick attack that they didn''t have any chance to do anything as they instantly died¡ªit was Instant Kill.

    Adam stopped spinning, and as he was about to smash into a wall, he smashed his feet against the wall to cushion the impact.

    Immediately afterwards, the wall cracked as Adam sprang back into the air with a blinding speed that made him look like a blur of steel.

    "W-what the hell is this?!" One of them watched as Adam moved around the room like a sh of silver lightning. "I-is this a skill or something? A human being cannot do this!"

    Those were herst words as Adam, like a sh of lightning, appeared in front of her and separated her head from her shoulders with one clean strike.

    Adam, his eyes glinting in crimson,nded on the ground for a split second and immediately started spinning like a whirlwind, his sword slicing through the yers near them.

    Another two yers were unfortunately too close, causing the shortsword to slice through their heads. It was another Instant Kill. They were unable to stop him.

    "Argh!" Adam stopped spinning for a moment, coughed blood, but immediately gritted his teeth and sprang straight back into the air.

    He jumped towards the ceiling, then started spinning around again, like a steel beyde, and cut straight through one of the yers. He cut it right through him, straight from the middle, making his body fall to the ground in two pieces.

    "T-this is not happening!"

    A yer who witnessed his friends dying left and right thought he was having a nightmare for a moment. At that moment, he also noticed something.

    "H-he is only going for Instant Kills. He wants to kill us all as quickly as possible!"

    Swoosh, Spurt!

    As his words left his lips, his head suddenly left his torso, and the yer was able to still see his body standing there through his eyes as his head slowly headed towards the ground.

    However, before his head thudded on the ground, his vision turned ck. Another aspiring mercenary died.

    Adam let out a furious cry and again shed across the room, looking for another target, and he continued doing that. Moving around the room at blitzering speed, cutting through the air and wind itself.

    Yet his sword didn''t taste blood anymore, as all the yers were already dead on the ground.

    "Cough!" Adam coughed blood and copsed on both knees, his sword slowly slipping from his grasp.

    The shortswordnded on the ground, the de covered in blood, and it looked more dull than before. It had reached the limit of its durability.

    It''s durability was already below ten percent, and it would only do half of the damage from now on.

    ''I-I knew... This was going to put my body beyond my limits, but this is shocking...''

    As Adam opened his mouth, blood poured out like a river, staining his teeth and lips.

    ''T-this isn''t any skill that one can acquire through scrolls. This is a skill¡ªthe rarest kind¡ªMythical Skill. These kinds of skills can only be learned through direct learning from the person who created them.

    ''I didn''t think I was able to use it after the regression. I thought it was impossible. I guess since it wasn''t bound to my avatar through skill scrolls, but instead via direct learning, I was able to keep it somehow.

    ''At first, the system interface didn''t show that I had this skill. However, when I was training, I noticed that... or more like, felt that I could use it and I did manage to do so. This was my first time properly using it though, in this life...

    ''I can''t use any of my other skills, like I couldn''t use Strong Force, as all of my other skills were learned from skill scrolls. Still, that is fine.

    ''For now, my body is far too weak to keep it up for long. It is also quite weakpared to what I was able to aplish with it in my previous life. Still, it can be my trump card.

    ''This is a skill that can save my life in the future...

    ''The Mythical Skill¡ªLittle God.''

 Chapter 40 Devourer

    40 Devourer

    The sword, lying on the ground, started to change. The de started to have scales and a serpentine shape, as if it were turning into a snake. It soon looked like a silver snake.

    At the tip of the de, a snake''s head appeared, with two green eyes and a forked tongue flicking out. The snake''s head opened its mouth, revealing two sharp fangs.

    And then the snake lunged towards the unarmed Adam and chomped off two of his fingers from his left hand.

    Adam, not showing a single pain in his face, even though it must''ve hurt, continued kneeling silently on the ground while the blood dripped down his hand onto the rough ground below.

    While the game didn''t perfectly replicate the game''s pain factor, it was still tenth of the real world pain that he experienced. It was far from a painless experience.

    As the snake, transformed from the de, slithered down the ground, it suddenly stopped and began to turn back into the steel shortsword.

    Once the transformation wasplete, the de of the sword cracked and shattered into a thousand pieces. The durability had reached zero percent.

    Rumble!

    Adam''s stomach growled loudly. It was as if he hadn''t eaten in days.

    He, with his bloody left hand, unzipped the backpack and took out some food items, then started devouring them greedily.

    It took some time, but his hunger was soon satisfied, and his health returned to normal. It also helped his stamina to recover slightly.

    "Ngh¡­" Adam unzipped the backpack, slung it over his back next to his shield, and stood up painfully.

    He then gazed at the broken shortsword and sighed momentarily.

    ''It''s fine¡­'' Adam opened his inventory and pulled out another steel shortsword, perfectly identical, but in much better condition.

    It was Nick''s steel shortsword.

    Adam slowly slid it inside his scabbard, then looked at his left hand, which was missing two fingers. It wasn''t as bad as he expected.

    There was a time when the Little God skill caused both of his legs to be swallowed. If that had happened, his time in the tutorial would''ve been much more difficult.

    ''I also don''t have enough Shinecoins to purchase The sk of Setting Sun, which would allow me to recover my lost fingers and lost limbs if I am unfortunate enough to lose one.''

    He then quickly checked the timepiece, noticed that he was alreadyte for the meeting.

    Adam quickly checked the two paths he didn''t take, but instead the other yers did.

    ''Since they returned here earlier than me, they must''ve encountered dead ends, and they ran straight back here. Well, there are seven other paths, which would take forever to explore.

    ''For now, I''ll go to the meeting.''

    Adam turned his back on all the corpses and started walking back to the entrance of the third floor.

    ¡­

    "Ron!"

    In the safe area, a mercenary loudly opened the door to the indoor gym. He was dressed in light armor and had a symbol of the guild he was part of on his shoulder pad.

    There was another symbol on his other shoulder pad, signaling his rank in the Mercenary Hierarchy.

    The symbol was a man seemingly shouting orders to someone. It didn''t show who he was shouting at.

    It was a symbol of the Ordergiver, the third rank in the Mercenary Hierarchy.

    Ron was doing handstands inside the indoor gym, sweat glistening on his well-toned body that seemed like it was made out of steel.

    "What?" Ron asked without stopping his handstands and then started doing one-handed handstands. He was pushing himself up and down, his muscles bulging with each movement.

    "S-something happened!" The Ordergiver shouted shakingly. "I-I think you shoulde to the control room!"

    "What happened?" Ron asked with a frown, then flipped over andnded on his feet gracefully.

    He grabbed his towel from the chair, wiped the sweat off, and put a shirt back on.

    "T-the third group has been annihted!"

    "What?!" Ron said in shock, but then he asked, "They all died to the boss?"

    It was strange to him, as he expected Nick to be a promising leader figure. He was still quite arrogant, stemming from his highborn status, but Ron still had some hopes for him.

    "That''s the thing." The Ordergiver gulped. "They didn''t find the boss. They were killed by another yer!"

    "Who?" Ron asked with shock.

    "It''s Adam!" The Ordergiver responded with a shout. "He killed them single-handedly!"

    Ron''s eyes widened in disbelief.

    ¡­

    "He is noting!"

    In the first chamber of the third floor, yers argued loudly.

    "He is alreadyte by half an hour!" A yer screamed. "He must''ve found the Boss Room and is noting back!"

    "Calm down." Donald tried to calm them down. "The one hour limit was too short for everyone to arrive on time. I didn''t know the passageways were so long. It takes a long time to navigate through them."

    The yers looked frustrated.

    Meanwhile, Ramon and Hannibal stood near the entrance with smiles ying on their lips.

    "He must''ve died." Hannibal said, "There were so many of them, and now that he hasn''t returned, it is clear what happened."

    Ramon crossed his arms and gazed in the direction of the passageway, where Adam and, afterwards, Nick''s group went.

    "Let''s wait for another half an hour. If he hadn''te before that, we''ll go search for him, alright?"

    Donald said to the frustrated yers.

    The yers eventually sighed and nodded, then moved back to their own small groups.

    Donald sighed and turned to check out the rightmost path. His brows were creased into a frown.

    At that moment, his ears perked up as he heard faint stepping noises in the distance. His eyes slowly widened in surprise.

    "Someone ising!"

    All the yers turned their heads towards the rightmost path.

    Seth looked the most surprised, as he expected Adam to have already betrayed him. He didn''t have any trust in him and believed that Donald was foolish to trust him.

    "Is it Nick and them?" Hannibal asked with a frown.

    Ramon looked stern. "There is only one set of footsteps."

    A figure emerged from the path, making the yers gasp in shock. The figure was stained with blood, with two of his fingers missing. It was clear that he had been through a violent ordeal.

    "Adam..?" Donald''s eyes shook.

    "I checked three paths; I didn''t find the room¡­" Adam said before coughing up blood.

    "Are you alright?" Donald asked in shock. "What the fuck happened to you?"

    "He must''ve discovered the Boss Room and got beaten the fuck up!" A yer argued angrily. "Then he must''ve escaped with a tail between his legs. I told you all that we shouldn''t have trusted him!"

    Donald frowned and asked, "Did you find the Boss Room? What else could''ve done this to you?"

    Adam wiped the blood off his lips and said, "Remember the guys in the cafeteria? Well, they didn''t like what I did to them, so they ambushed me."

    The yers exchanged shocked nces and forgot about the fact that there was another group doing the same floor as them. It was basically apetition between the two groups.

    "Are they still there?"

    "What shall we do?"

    "Should we go find them and fight them? It is not wise to move alone, as they might ambush us as well!"

    "Adam?" Donald turned back to him and asked. "What happened to them?"

    "They''re no longer with us¡­" Adam said and held his waist in pain. "I am going to return to the safe area. You guys can continue searching without any worry¡­"

    Donald and others watched in shock as Adam walked towards the exit, heading back to the safe area.

    As Adam limped past Ramon, his lips curled into a slight smile and he said, "Ramon, nice try." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Ramon gritted his teeth and threw a side nce at him. "How did you survive?"

    "If you try something like that with me again, I''ll show you how I survived." Adam finished with a spiteful tone and then stepped through the exit, leaving Ramon seething with anger.

 Chapter 41 Ruthless System

    Chapter 41 Ruthless System

    Water streamed down from the sink''s faucet, sshing against the bloodied hands and pooling in the basin below.

    Adam washed his hands in silence, feeling the stinging pain of his two missing fingers.

    After leaving the third floor, he immediately returned to his room to change clothes and wash off the blood.

    After washing off the blood, he turned down the faucet and watched as the water mixed with his own blood before slowly draining away.

    Knock, knock!

    At that moment, hard-sounding knocks came from the door.

    He turned his head to the door, grabbed a towel, and quickly dried his hands while approaching the door. Then, with his elbow, he turned the handle and opened it to see who was on the other side.

    Ron was standing there, looking serious and thoughtful.

    "Ron?" Adam''s eyebrow jumped in surprise.

    "May Ie in?" Ron asked with his arms folded in front of him.

    "Sure." Adam nodded, went inside his room, and got seated on the bed. He then tossed the towel aside and revealed that his left hand only had three fingers left.

    "Your fingers¡­"

    Ron closed the door and took a deep look at Adam''s hand.

    "Well, do not fret; there is a thing called The sk of Setting Sun. They''re not that rare and are popr and important items among mercenaries. It can recover your fingers in no time and only costs 500 Shinecoins."

    "That''s a relief." Adam said with a slight fake smile.

    Of course, he knew about it, but his current self shouldn''t have information about such things.

    "I have also lost more body parts than I can bother to count." Ron said with a chuckle. "It is painful, but pain makes you more alert and makes you better at surviving."

    Adam nodded and chuckled, putting his hand on his knee. "You came to talk to me about something."

    "Yeah, well¡­" Ron rubbed his chin with a chuckle. "A few handlers are pissed. You killed their recruits."

    "What about you?" Adam asked curiously.

    "A thoughtful." Ron smirked. "There were a few promising recruits: Nick, La, and Comet. It''s always a tragedy to see promising ones die before they can even start their journey."

    "I saved lots of time from a few of the unlucky guilds." Adam said casually, then took a water canteen from his backpack and took a long sip.

    "What do you mean?" Ron asked in curiosity.

    "They would''ve wasted the precious time and money of the guild they would''ve joined in the future."

    Adam said with a very casual tone, as if he had seen it many times before.

    "They ambushed me, first with overwhelming power, but they split into three groups. A mistake that cost their lives. It is something one should never do when chasing someone.

    "They underestimated me.

    "Nick was the one leading. That same mistake most likely would''ve happened in the New World.

    "In the New World, the consequences would be much harsher than here. What I did did more good than not; at least that''s my justification. In the end, I simply protected myself."

    "You say it like you know how it is in the New World¡­" Ron rubbed his chin with narrowed eyes before wryly smiling. "However, you''re right."

    However, then Ron''s expression turned stern as he asked:

    "But how do you feel about killing them? Destroying their dreams?"

    Adam turned silent and looked down, as if he were contemting the answer.

    "While the mercenaries that get zeroed in the New World can stille back. They will be back at the starting point, and some can''t handle that.

    "Still, they cane back.

    "However, recruits that die during the tutorial won''t be allowed to return."

    "Yeah, a ruthless system, but that is the life of the mercenaries." Adam replied with a grim nod. "I would''ve never gone after them myself. Even if I had the power to take all of them down.

    "They came after me, and they must live with the consequences. That is the life of a mercenary. Some things go smoothly, and some will go horribly wrong. Mercenaries have to know how to handle that.

    "It doesn''t matter how I feel about killing them. They''re the ones that have to think about their failure, not me."

    "¡­"

    Ron looked at him silently, slowly cracking his knuckles, beforeughing.

    "That is the life of a mercenary, indeed. I feel weird. As if I am talking to a veteran mercenary. Very strange indeed."

    "Did you watch the video of my fight with them?" Adam asked curiously.

    "I couldn''t." Ron said. "There weren''t any video recording devices there. It was one of the blind spots of the third floor. Unfortunate, I suppose."

    "Yeah, unfortunate." Adam smiled.

    "I hope I will get to see one day the strength that was needed to kill them all." Ron said with a smirk.

    "Maybe you will." Adam replied with a simr smirk.

    "The tutorial is sooning to an end." Ron opened the door to leave Adam''s room. "Your future is looking bright. I am just curious; do you know your ce in the hierarchy?"

    "You think I am deviant?" Adam asked.

    "Yes¡­" Ron nodded. "You''re special. Still, there are people in the New World who like to crush those who stand out. You have to know your ce."

    "Thank you for the advice." Adam responded, then stood up to bid Ron farewell.

    "Mm¡­" Ron nodded with a smile and said it in a joking tone. "After the tutorial is over, you''ll probably receive an invitation from the Crescent Serpents. Think about it. We''re only tier 3 guild, but our members are dedicated, and we have a lot of fun together!"

    "I''ll think about it." Adam said with a chuckle.

    With that, Ron left the room and closed the door behind him.

    ''It looks like I made a good impression. Not on handlers, though, who have the power to decide my score.''

    Adam thought to himself, then moved to the window and opened the curtains. It showed a misty outside world. It was a ce where no one had ventured before.

    ''Muriel is the one that matters the most. However, I''ve got a feeling that she is currently grinning from ear to ear. She is a sadistic type, having fun with the fact that her co-workers are weeping in sorrow as their recruits are gone.''

    Adam chuckled after hisedic thoughts, but jokes aside, he had a hunch that Muriel was indeed rejoicing.

    At the moment, it seemed like his score was looking great.

    However, Adam was still notpletely satisfied.

    ''It will take time till the third floor''s boss is found, and after that, the fourth floor¡­''

    Adam touched his left hand, which had missing fingers, and knew that he would have to learn to fight with two missing fingers. Luckily, it would take a week or two to find the boss.

    Three, if they were extra unlucky.

    ''I could take some missions to earn Shinecoins meanwhile. I can still enter the second and first floors. Maybe I can also earn my first skill scroll before the third floor''s boss¡­''

    Adam moved his tongue inside his mouth, which he often did when he was thinking deeply. There was another method he often used: listening to music. It was something he enjoyed greatly.

    Whenever he logged out of the game, he would spend hours just sitting and listening to music. Sometimes, he browsed through theputer or jogged down the lonely streets of his home town.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 42 The First Skill

    Chapter 42 The First Skill

    "Haaa, my legs are killing me!"

    "Yeah, mine too, but we gotta find that Boss Room. It had already been three weeks since the tutorial started, and I am starting to miss my family¡­"

    yers whispered among themselves as they moved in and out of the doorway that led to the third floor. It had been a few weeks since they entered the third floor, and so far, they hadn''t found the Boss Room.

    While that was happening, some of the yers also hung around the mission board, nning to visit previous floors to do some missions to increase their point total.

    It was something that most of the yers started to do after noticing that it would take some time for anyone to find the third floor''s Boss Room.

    Most of the missions barely gave any points and were only a drop in the bucketpared to the points one would get from killing the Boss of one of the floors. Still, every point mattered at this point.

    At that moment, the door of the first floor shed, and from there, Adam stepped through while dressed in thick winter clothing. There were snowkes falling from his coat.

    After Adam removed his winter gloves, he noticed a familiar figure standing near a mission board. She was writing something down on the clipboard.

    "Muriel." Adam approached her and tapped her on the shoulder.

    "Oh," she turned around and showed a smile. "Wee back. A sessful mission, I hope?"

    "Yeah." Adam showed a bag of loot that he had collected. For some reason, the bag was bleeding and turning a deep shade of crimson.

    Muriel''s nose scrunched up as she caught a whiff of the metallic scent.

    "Maybe you should take that to mekeeper." She suggested before focusing her gaze back on the mission board.

    "What''re you doing?" Adam asked curiously.

    "Writing down stuff," she said. "Some yers have gone missing after taking their missions. The time limit is also up. It means they''re most likely dead."

    "Anyone I should know about?" Adam asked curiously.

    He knew there was danger in every mission, but some yers have a habit of chewing more than they can swallow.

    "The most noticeable ones are Samuel and Fama." Muriel said. "Their mission should''ve ended three days ago. If they''re not back by now, they''re most likely dead."

    "I see. I didn''t really interact with them." Adam replied and shrugged his shoulders. "Any luck with the third floor yet?"

    "Not that I know of." Muriel said. "They''re done for tonight, as it is gettingte. I heard they will be gathering in themon room tonight. Maybe you should go there as well?"

    "Hmm¡­" Adam nodded and then showed the bag. "First, I''ll receive my reward. I think I can afford my first skill now."

    "Oh, a skill." Muriel''s eyes brightened and she said, "You''re the first one from this group with a skill. Good job."

    "Mm, well, see youter." Adam replied as he walked away with the bag slung over his shoulder.

    Muriel watched as he left, and once he was away, she turned back to the mission board, and a smile appeared on her beautiful face. She started humming a tune, rejoicing in the fact that she was currently the Top Handler of the tutorial.

    It was the first time for her.

    The handlers with the top recruit in the tutorial received that title. While some of the handlers already had it, gaining them greater status among their peers, this was Muriel''s first time.

    As she didn''t have that title before, she was treated differently from the rest. She was treated like a bad omen, and there was a chance that she was going to lose her job.

    Now, her future was secured.

    ¡­

    "Wee back." mekeeper said in his elderly tone as if there was something stuck in his throat. His brown beard seemed to have grown even longer.

    Adam ced the bag on the counter and said, "The head of the Snow Worm, like requested."

    mekeeper quickly peeked inside, let out a chuckle and nodded, "Very good, indeed. I''ll report to others that the mission has been sessfullypleted so you can get your points."

    Then, he reached out to his dusty pocket and brought out five Shinecoins before cing them on the table in front of Adam.

    Adam ced his own pouch of Shinecoins next to it¡ªthere were exactly 295 Shinecoins inside.

    "With that, I now have three hundred Shinecoins; I want to purchase something."

    "What is it?" mekeeper asked with a curious expression.

    "That." Adam pointed at the wall behind him. There was a worn out scroll tied to the wall, covered in dust, and barely visible in the dimly lit room.

    "Oh, a skill scroll." mekeeper grabbed it from the wall and ced it on the counter. "It is exactly three hundred Shinecoins. It is a basic-ranked skill, the lowest rank."

    mekeeper then opened the scroll, and it had drawings of various sword techniques and their corresponding movements.

    Then, magically, information about the skill appeared in the air as holographic images. The words were written in calligraphy, blue in color, shimmering slightly in the light.

    ***

    [Skill: Basic de Handling]

    [Rank: Basic]

    [Progress: 0%]

    [Description: A basic skill that focuses on learning proper grip and control of a de, essential for any aspiring swordsman]

    *** ''As my master taught me, the basics are the foundation of any skill.'' Adam said. ''I know swordsmanship, but I am not great at it. I still have much to learn and improve upon.

    ''I''ll begin with the basics and move on to more advanced techniques as I progress.

    ''This is a moment I''ll have to decide what kind of fighter I want to be in the future. I already decided that I''d focus on Kiryoku, but I don''t ignore the other two of the Three Powers.

    ''What kind of sword style would fit me the most with Kiryoku? I believe I will need to experiment and train with different styles to truly find the one that fits me best.''

    "Do you want to finish the transaction?" mekeeper asked with a smile.

    "I do." Adam said, and as soon as mekeeper epted the Shinecoins, the skill scroll appeared in Adam''s inventory.

    "Thank you for your purchase." mekeeper said, then bowed as much as he could with his tall and old body.

    Adam nodded, then left the merchant store and headed up the stairs towards themon room. It was where the other people from his group were going to have their meeting.

    ''I wonder how their search is going,'' he thought.

    After a short moment of walking, he pushed open a pair of doors and entered a cozy room with a firece crackling in the corner and windows showing the misty outside world.

    The walls, strangely enough, were built from wood, and there was a soft carpet covering the floor. The couches and chairs lookedfortable and inviting.

    It gave off a very homey and weing atmosphere. It made Adam remember the times when it was storming outside and he and his family would gather around the firece, ying board games and telling stories.

    Those times felt like an eternity ago.

    There were yers gathered, some seated around a table ying some games, some reading a book near the firece, and some lounging on the floor with nkets wrapped around them.

    In the corner of the room, a group of yers were discussing something. Adam heard words such as the third floor, boss, and such. "Yo, Adam, want to y a game?"

    Adam turned to the voice and saw Ramon and Hannibal rolling marbles on the table. It looked quite unique, and Adam recognized it. It was a game that was only yable in Mortal Online.

    "Sure." Adam grinned.

 Chapter 43: The Mad Marbles

    Chapter 43: The Mad Marbles

    ?

    "We''ll need one more." Ramon said with a smirk while rolling the marbles in his hand. "This game is better with four."

    "It is something we found in here, themon room." Hannibal said it with a grin. "It''s called The Mad Marbles. It is a crazy one, winning over any dull real life games."

    "Well then, let''s try to find another yer, then exin the rules." Adam said.

    He knew a lot about this game. It was something mercenaries yed all the time during their missions and during somete night gatherings. It was fun andpetitive, and it always kept everyone on their toes.

    "Hmm, who should be an exciting participant?" Ramon looked around themon room with a watchful eye. "I don''t want some spineless coward; that''s boring."

    At that moment, a voice came.

    "Adam, you''ve returned." Donald stepped into themon room, and Ramon''s eyes lit up with excitement.

    "Donald, a man I was looking for, keke." Ramonughed heartily.

    "You have?" Donald''s eyebrow jumped.

    "y a game with us." Ramon showed the four marbles. "A game of The Mad Marbles."

    "How is it yed?" Donald asked and got seated, then said to Adam. "We might find the boss room soon. We''ve gotten quite far."

    Adam nodded casually and turned to Ramon, then asked, "What''re the rules?"

    "We''ll roll these marbles." Ramon rolled one marble for everyone and said, "After you roll the marble, a number will appear on the marble between 1 and 20. The one with the highest score will start.

    "Then, that person will be an attacker and can choose to attack one of the yers. The attacker and the yer will roll the marbles. If the yer has doubled the score of the attacker, the attack will rebound for the attacker.

    "If you get attacked, your marble will crack. If your marble gets destroyed, you''re out of the game.

    "Understood?"

    "Sounds simple." Donald said this and rolled his marble between his fingers.

    "Is that all? Did you forget something?" Adam asked curiously while trying to stop himself from smiling.

    ''Still with his fucking games, Ramon...''

    "Hmm..." Ramon scratched his cheek and eximed, "Ah. The one getting attacked can choose to skip one round. The attacker''s round will also get skipped."

    "Mm, shall we start?" Donald asked with a smile, feeling slightly excited.

    Ramon and Hannibal rolled the marble in their hands, smirked at each other, and nodded.

    Beside the table, a firece flickered and sent a glow of gold across the room, illuminating the faces of the four as they prepared to begin their game.

    The room was quite warm and smelled of burning wood and cinnamon. It didn''t smell bad as the scent was quite faint and inviting.

    Adam threw his winter clothes inside his inventory as he started to sweat slightly. He was now wearing a light t-shirt and sweatpants with ck socks and sneakers.

    He had purchased some new clothes from the clothing store for a fairly cheap price. The basic clothes were quite ufortable as they were made from low-quality materials.

    "Let''s roll," Ramon said.

    At that moment, the four rolled their marbles to the center of the table. The marbles collided with each other with a soft click and came to a gentle stop.

    Ramon had a score of 6.

    Hannibal had a score of 11.

    Donald had a score of 12.

    Adam had a score of 2.

    "Ah," Adam wryly smiled, "the lowest score."

    "I had the highest score, so I am now an attacker?" Donald asked, making sure that he understood the rules correctly.

    "Yup, choose one of us three to attack." Ramon said with a smirk.

    "Mmh..." Donald looked around until his eyesnded on Adam and said, "I''ll attack Adam."

    Adam''s lips twitched, and he grabbed his marble from the center of the table-the others did the same.

    Ramon and Hannibal leaned against the backrests of their chairs, watching the confrontation unfold with amusement.

    "Will you skip or not?" Ramon asked Adam.

    "No, I am fine." Adam twirled the marble in his hand and prepared to roll. "Donald, let''s roll at the same time."

    "Aight." Donald felt his heart beat against his chest nervously.

    Three, two, one-the countdown ended, and they both rolled their marbles across the table simultaneously. They happened to sh against each other with a loud clink.

    After the marbles slowly came to a stop, they revealed a number each.

    The four leaned closer to check out the score.

    Donald''s score was 3.

    Adam''s score was 17.

    Crack-Donald''s marble cracked around the middle. It was still intact, but it wouldn''t survive

    another two attacks.

    "Cursed!" Donald grimaced and let out a sigh of frustration.

    Strangely, Adam, Ramon, and Hannibal stayed quiet, looking straight at Donald.

    Donald''s eyebrow rose, not understanding why they were looking at him.

    Smack¡ªat that moment, a loud sound of flesh getting pped resounded across themon

    room.

    Donald''s head snapped to the side, a red mark appearing on his cheek. His eyes looked wide in a shocked expression.

    Several yers looked around themon room, wondering where that strange noise came

    from.

    "W-what the hell?" Donald touched his stinging cheek and looked at the three with wide eyes. "W-what was that?"

    "Ah, I guess I forgot to mention." Ramon chuckled. "If your marble gets hurt, you receive some of the damage. p to the face."

    "What the..." Donald looked at the marbles in shock. "Magical items... what happens if the marble gets destroyed?"

    "Punch in the face." Ramon put his fist against his own cheek and imitated a punch. "It''ll

    hurt, but nothing you can''t handle."

    "Sounds interesting." Adam said it with a chuckle.

    Ramon wasn''t lying. It was mostly harmless, but the pain depended on the number the attacker had. This time, it was 17 out of 20, which was close to the pain of an ordinary p.

    If the score had been 20, it would be equivalent to the strength of the real p. "Alright, let''s continue." Hannibal said it with an impatient look. He was almost shaking with excitement.

    The four took their marbles and then rolled them at the same exact time. They rolled to the center of the table and collided there.

    The numbers instantly appeared on the marbles. The numbers appeared in a form of mist that

    soon took shape.

    Ramon''s score was 10.

    Hannibal''s score was 15.

    Donald''s score was 1.

    Adam''s score was 9.

    "Hahaha, let''s go." Hannibal rubbed his hands with a grin.

    "Who''ll you attack?" Ramon asked with a smile.

    Hannibal looked straight at Donald with a predator''s gaze. "Donald."

    "Ah!" Donald''s face paled. ''Now that my marble is damaged, they''re targeting me to finish

    me off. If I lose this one, my marble is at its breaking point. Should I skip?

    ''No, I''ll need to save my skip. If I win, Hannibal''s marble will also get damaged, and I won''t be targeted anymore. If I skip now, I''ll just get attacked the next round again.

    "This is a round I must win!''

    Hannibal and Donald grabbed their marbles, then counted from the three before rolling them down the table. They shed at the center of the table, and numbers appeared on each. Donald and Hannibal looked at the marbles. It was an important round for the whole oue of the match.

 Chapter 44: Twenty

    Chapter 44: Twenty

    ?

    Hannibal''s score was 1.

    Donald''s score was 2.

    "Eh?" Donald looked surprised and asked, "Is it a tie? Who won?"

    "Look." Ramon pointed at the marbles.

    Crack-a crack appeared on one of the marbles. It was Hannibal''s marble. Now, there were two cracked marbles at the center of the table.

    "If it is a tie, the tiebreaker goes to the defender."

    "Whew, haha!" Donald put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair with a satisfied grin.

    "Tch." Hannibal clicked his tongue, but then arge grin appeared on his face.

    His grin looked unnatural.

    Smack-arge sound of p sounded across themon room.

    Hannibal''s head snapped to the side with a red handprint on his cheek.

    During the p, he didn''t stop grinning even for a moment, not even when some blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.

    "Hahahaha!" Hannibalughed and snapped his head back to the front. "That stung, hahahah!"

    "Hahaha!" Ramon joined in theughter. "Cmon, I want to get hurt as well, kekeke!"

    ''The game of The Mad Marbles was extremely popr with mentally unstable people.'' Adam thought to himself as he saw the two lunaticsughing and grinning.

    ''If I recall correctly, Necroman Guild, which they were part of in the previous life, were known for their dangerous and sadistic games, like this one.

    ''In the end, this wasn''t enough for them, and they started ying another version of The Mad Marbles-it was called The Killer Marbles.

    ''In that version, if the marble gets destroyed, that yer will actually die and get zeroed!

    ''I once heard that Hannibal from the Necroman Guild was the undefeated champion of The Killer Marbles. He was the first person to win five times in a row, but even his streak came to an end eventually, and he lost his sixth match.

    ''Like in their previous lives, they seem to get addicted to this game, which will end up being their downfall.''

    "Let''s continue; I can''t wait!" Ramon shouted impatiently.

    The four took their marbles, and then, after the count of three, they rolled them to the center of the table. They shed at the center of the table and came to a slow stop.

    Ramon''s score was 14.

    Hannibal''s score was 6.

    Donald''s score was 8.

    Adam''s score was 20.

    Ramon''s and Hannibal''s expressions froze.

    "Oh, it is your turn." Donald turned to him and gulped, ''Will he attack me out of revenge? I won''t be able to win if I get attacked constantly. I chose Adam because Ramon and Hannibal seemed like a revenge type, but this is not going well for me!''

    "Oh, twenty." Adam chuckled and asked, "Since I got the highest point score, is there any rule regarding that?"

    "Actually, there is..." Ramon clicked his tongue. "If you get the highest score, you will have two attacking turns."

    "What!" Donald eximed.

    "The first attack is the normal one; however, if the attacker loses in his second attack, they won''t get any damage." Hannibal added with a serious look.

    "So they get one attack for free without any danger to them?" Donald said in shock.

    "Who will you attack first?" Ramon asked.

    Adam smiled and moved the marble gently in his hand. It looked like he was thinking. The game of The Mad Marbles wasn''t all about luck. There were some strategies involved as well. ''Should I try to push Hannibal or Donald to the breaking point? No, there is a better solution.'' "Ramon, I''ll attack you." Adam said with a smile.

    Ramon''s lip twitched, ''Sneaky fucker. If he hurts my marble, then he is the only one with perfectly intact marble. It is more worthwhile to go after others to try to eliminate them instead of wasting a turn trying to attack Adam.

    ''Also, if he wins this round, he has one free attack to try to push one of us three into the breaking point. He is currently in a great position. However, if I happen to win, the advantage will go to me!

    ''This is an important round that will decide the oue of the match!''

    Adam smiled with a carefree look.

    ''I have an advantage. Ramon has to double my score to win this round. That is still possible, but it is unlikely. Still, there is nothing else I can do except pray. As long as I don''t get a low score, my chances of victory are immensely high.''

    "Let''s roll!" Ramon grabbed his marble and said, "One, two, three, roll!"

    With the flick of their wrists, Ramon and Adam rolled the marble to the center of the table. They shed against each other and came to an instant stop.

    Donald and Hannibal looked at the marbles with expectant looks. This was a very important

    round.

    Ramon''s score was 11.

    Adam''s score was 3.

    "Yes, haha!" Ramon jumped to his feet and cheered as if he had just won the whole match.

    "Cursed..." Adam gritted his teeth and prepared for the impact tond on his cheek.

    Crack¡ªas his marble softly cracked, a loud pnded across Adam''s face, leaving a burning sensation in its wake.

    "Ah!" Adam stumbled back, the taste of blood filling his mouth.

    "Stings!" He shook his head as if he had just taken a shot of powerful alcohol, trying to shake

    off the pain.

    ''Now the advantage is mine!'' Ramon giggled to himself as he saw three cracked marbles on the table, right beside his perfectly intact one.

    He felt like a barrier had appeared all around him, protecting him from any harm. It was now mostly worthless to try to attack him. Unless they want to equalize the situation.

    If he lost, the game would be equalized, but if he won, the attacker would be at breaking

    point.

    Unless the attacker had a free turn...

    "I''ll attack Ramon again." Adam said without hesitation and picked up his marble. ''This is the

    only way. I''ll need to level up the ying field.''

    "Whew..." Donald and Hannibal sighed in relief.

    This was extremely good news for them. They weren''t in danger of getting pushed to the breaking point, and there was a chance that all four would be in the exact same position.

    That would increase their winning chances again.

    Ramon''s face looked sour, as if he had eaten something bad. This was a very bad oue for him. He was lucky to win the previous one, and the chances of winning yet another round were

    slim.

    ''You want to y? Alright then!''

    They exchanged powerful gazes, and then, at the exact same time, they rolled their marbles to the center of the table, where they shed and made a loud clinking noise.

    As soon as the marble stopped rolling, they showed numbers, and instantly, cheers filled the

    table.

    Ramon''s score was 7.

    Adam''s score was 7.

    "Damn it!" Ramon facepalmed with an ugly look. He would''ve needed 14 or above to win the

    round.

    "Whew..." Adam breathed out in relief and then smiled.

    Donald and Hannibal cheered as this greatly increased their odds. Even though Hannibal was Ramon''s friend, he also wanted to win. This was a good oue for everyone else except

    Ramon.

    Crack, Smack!

    After the crack, an invisible hand smacked Ramon across his face. However, his head didn''t move even the slightest as he tanked all the impact and the pain.

    "Whoah!" Ramon eximed andughed heartily, already forgotten about his loss as the pain brought a strange amount of pleasure to him. "Alright then, it is currently a tie!"

    The four exchanged looks.

    The next round was going to be tricky.

    No one really wanted to be the attacker this time.

 Chapter 45: The Breaking Point

    Chapter 45: The Breaking Point

    ?

    ''This round, it is better not to be either attacker or defender.'' Adam thought. ''It is now important to not get any more damage to the marble. Whoever reaches the breaking point first will be targeted.

    ''Now, the attacker can lose a round and end up at the breaking point. It will be a very tough position to be in.''

    "Let''s roll." Ramon said, rolled up his sleeves, and revealed some hidden tattoos. They weren''t as visible as his face tattoo.

    It looked like the tattoos on his forearms were his first tattoos, as he wanted to start with something small.

    At that moment, the four rolled their marbles down the table, each marble spinning until they collided at the center of the table.

    Some curious yers watched from the sidelines, not daring to interrupt the game but still watching with interest.

    Niko, Donald''s friend, watched the marbles collide with a look of anticipation on his face. This game looked quite interesting to him.

    However, the most interesting part was the four that were ying it-Ramon, Hannibal, Donald, and Adam-the four top yers of the tutorial.

    ...

    In a dark room, a screen flickered, showing themon room and the four top yers, who werepletely immersed in the game.

    Ron, with his legs crossed on the table and his other hand holding a bottle of beer, watched the game with a smirk.

    "A game of the Mad Marbles, ah, the good old days." He chuckled, reminiscing about his tutorial days.

    He was just like them, sitting around a table with his friends and ying the Mad Marbles.

    He still yed it asionally. Sometimes, after a long mission, he went to the tavern in Dawnwatch and ordered a drink, then yed a few games.

    "I also never expected to see these four sitting around the same table, ying." Ron chuckled and chugged down the beer. "I guess anything is possible in this world."

    "Oh, the numbers were rolled."

    ...

    From a mist, numbers appeared inside the marbles, showing the score of every yer.

    Ramon''s score was 16.

    Hannibal''s score was 15.

    Donald''s score was 11.

    Adam''s score was 15.

    "Now I am an attacker, typical." Ramon said sarcastically and took his marble from the center of the table.

    Everyone else took their marbles as well and turned their gazes on Ramon.

    ''He shouldn''t go after me, right?'' Donald thought to himself and nced at Adam, ''He should be going for revenge, I feel like. Without Adam, he would''ve been sitting nicely at the top position right now.''

    "I''ll attack..." Ramon looked straight at Adam before grinning, then turned to the side. "Hannibal!"

    ''What?!'' Donald''s eyes widened,pletely shocked by Ramon''s choice.

    He didn''t expect Ramon to attack his friend!

    Adam shook his head with a smile.

    "Haha, you motherfucker!" Hannibal grinned widely and showed his slightly-cracked marble. "The game''s on, bastard!"

    "Hahahaha!" Ramonughed and threw his marble at Hannibal with full force.

    Hannibal pped the marble away and, at the same time, rolled his marble after it with precision. Soon, the two marbles shed and rolled to the other ends of the table.

    However, before those marbles fell off the table, they steered towards the edge and hung there, suspended in mid-air. It was as if those were held back by an invisible power.

    Then, as if the marbles were mas, they suddenly moved towards each other and collided in a loud crash.

    Numbers appeared on the marbles.

    Ramon''s score was 19.

    Hannibal''s score was 4.

    It was a crushing victory.

    Smack!

    Hannibal''s head snapped to the side, and he fell off the chair. Hended sideways on the ground, one cheek stinging in pain and a taste of blood filling his mouth.

    The chair fell after him and fell over his legs with a silent thud.

    Crack-Hannibal''s marble cracked, and now it looked like a spiderweb of destruction. It was just an inch away from shattering into a million pieces.

    "Damn it..." Hannibal stood back up, cursing under his breath. He then didn''t bother picking up the chair and instead leaned on the table, nning to stand instead. "Well, attack me if

    you dare!"

    ''He is now at the breaking point, and getting rid of him should be the wise thing to do.'' Donald thought to himself.

    ''We could either try to finish him off or try to get another to breaking point.'' Adam rubbed his chin, but since the one at the breaking point was Hannibal, he had an idea.

    The four picked up their marbles again and rolled them to the center of the table. Soon, the

    numbers again appeared.

    Ramon''s score was 4.

    Hannibal''s score was 9.

    Donald''s score was 11.

    Adam''s score was 10.

    ''The decisionys in my hands!'' Donald bit his finger nervously.

    ''Should I attack Hannibal? I could also go for Ramon and Adam, try to get them to the breaking point. However, then I would most likely get attacked next round.

    ''If I win against Ramon, then if Adam gets attacker, he will try to push me to the breaking point. If I lose against Ramon, I will be at breaking point, but then Ramon and Adam will probably battle each other.

    ''I might be off the radar unless Hannibal goes after me. I now have an advantage, and I should go for Hannibal. That''s the best solution to ensure my victory.

    ''I don''t want to battle either Hannibal, Ramon, or Adam individually. If Hannibal is gone, it

    will be us three at the exact same point. They might treat each other as the bigger threat while

    ignoring me...''

    At that moment, Donald''s eyes widened as he remembered one rule that he hadpletely forgotten so far. The skip rule!

    ''Will Hannibal choose to skip? That would make my turnpletely useless!''

    Donald gulped, realizing that attacking Hannibal wasn''t a good choice after all. He then

    nced between Ramon and Adam, biting his finger nervously.

    ''Who shall I attack?''

    Adam rolled the marble in his hand, keeping his attention solely on the marble.

    Ramon crossed his arms and red at Donald with deadly intensity.

    Donald gulped and said, "I''ll attack Adam!"

    "Good choice." Ramon said coldly, then grinned widely.

    Adam didn''t react at all and continued rolling the marble in his hand. He ignored all the

    nces from the watching yers and the fellow contestants.

    He then closed his eyes softly and hummed a song inside his mind as he was thinking about

    his next move. Humming and listening to songs always calmed him down and helped him to

    think.

    "Let''s roll." Donald said impatiently.

    "Hmm..." Adam softly opened his eyes, revealing his navy-blue eyes. They looked deep, making the rest of his face look more mysterious and handsome.

    "Three..." As Donald started the countdown, he suddenly heard a voice.

    "I''ll skip," Adam said, shocking all the contestants and causing the game toe to a halt.

    "What?!" Donald eximed. ''Why did he do that? He wasted his only skip. If he reaches the breaking point, he''ll definitely be targeted first. Why did he do that?!'' "Donald, your turn''s over," Ramon said, picking up his marble. "Let''s roll again."

    Adam picked up his marble; the others already had their marbles in their hands. They then

    rolled them across the table, watching as they spun and collided with each other.

    Numbers appeared on them.

 Chapter 46: The First One To Lose

    Chapter 46: The First One To Lose

    ?

    Ramon''s score was 18.

    Hannibal''s score was 5.

    Donald''s score was 8.

    Adam''s score was 19.

    All the eyesnded on Adam. This was an important decision.

    However, it looked like he had already decided on who to choose.

    "I''ll attack Donald." Adam said casually.

    "Argh..." Donald grimaced. ''I shouldn''t have attacked Adam. That was a mistake on my part!''

    They both picked up their marbles and prepared themselves for the next round.

    Hannibal and Ramon picked up their marbles so they wouldn''t be in the way.

    As the fire crackled and the logs burned at the nearby firece, Donald and Adam counted from three and then rolled them across the table. They shed at the center.

    Donald''s score was 11.

    Adam''s score was 12.

    ''No!'' Donald called out inside his mind.

    Crack-Donald''s marble cracked, and it was now on the breaking point. It looked as broken as Hannibal''s marble.

    Smack!

    A resounding pnded on Donald''s cheek, leaving a bright red mark that stung with pain. He was stunned for a moment, but it wasn''t as strong as the previous p.

    Ramon picked up the two marbles from the center of the table and handed them over to Donald and Adam. It looked like he was too impatient and wanted to start the next round already.

    "Let''s roll!" He said excitedly, and after counting from three, they all rolled their marbles to the center of the table.

    Cling, ng!

    The numbers appeared inside the marbles, made of thick mist that slowly dissipated.

    Ramon''s score was 10.

    Hannibal''s score was 15.

    Donald''s score was 2.

    Adam''s score was 2.

    A silence fell over the table as this was a shocking oue.

    Hannibal''s smile froze as he began mulling over things.

    ''This is very interesting.'' Adam thought to himself. ''As an attacker, Hannibal can''t use his skip. If he loses, his marble will be destroyed...

    ''Will the so-called Undefeated Champion of the Killer Marbles be the first one to lose?''

    After a short time, Hannibal smiled and said, "I''ll attack Donald."

    Ramon''s and Adam''s heads turned towards Donald.

    Donald''s face paled.

    ''I knew this would happen!'' He clenched his hand into a fist. ''He wants me to use a skip so his attack turn will be skipped! A smart move-really fucking smart!

    ''I guess these two aren''t just crazy lunatics that like pain. They have a brain inside their heads. Still, should I skip?

    ''If I manage to win this turn, his marble will be destroyed. But the chance of me winning is slim!

    ''Also, if Hannibal is out of the game, Ramon and Adam will definitely target me so they can fight each other for the victory. It would be basically 1v2; it is suicide!''

    Donald touched his head as if he were having a headache and weakly said, "I''ll skip."

    ''Now, if Ramon or Adam gets the attacker, they''ll definitely target me as I don''t have a skip, but that was the only choice I had. I am now in the worst position!''

    Donald nced at Hannibal, who was smiling carefreely, and then picked up his mostly- broken marble. He saw his broken reflection in the cracked surface.

    "Hannibal, can we roll our marbles and see what scores we would''ve had?" Donald asked curiously.

    Hannibal''s eyebrow jumped, and he turned to Ramon.

    "Hmm..." Ramon rubbed his chin. "Rules said that ain''t allowed as it removes the suspense whether your decision was correct or not. However, this is for fun, either way, and I am also curious, so go ahead."

    Hannibal and Donald exchanged nces, then rolled their nearly-broken marbles to the center of the table. They shed at the center, and it was a shock that both of them didn''t

    shatter to pieces.

    Numbers appeared.

    Hannibal''s score was 9.

    Donald''s score was 10.

    It was Hannibal''s victory.

    "Whoo...'' Donald breathed a sigh of relief after making the correct decision. ''That was so close...''

    Hannibal scoffed.

    "Alright, let''s continue." Ramon said with a smile.

    The four picked up their marbles and then, after the count of three, rolled them across the table again. They met at the center, and the numbers appeared inside the cracked marbles.

    Ramon''s score was 15.

    Hannibal''s score was 15.

    Donald''s score was 11.

    Adam''s score was 13.

    "A tie?" Donald looked surprised and forgot that it was possible to have a tie when choosing

    the attacker.

    Adam chuckled and shook his head. ''Another rule they forgot to mention. This is the reason why making alliances during the game of The Mad Marbles is important.''

    "Ah, right, Ipletely forgot about this." Ramon scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Since it is a tie, me and Hannibal are both attackers."

    "Both of you are?!" Donald said in shock.

    "Yeah." Ramon said with a chuckle. "We can either attack the same person, where the defender has to do two rounds of defending, or we can both attack different people. We can even attack each other."

    ''This is a big rule they happened to forget to mention!'' Donald said with a pale face.

    ''Ramon and Hannibal are friends, so they will definitely work together. If I had known about this rule, I would''ve tried to make an alliance with Adam! This is very bad!

    ''Will they try to attack me to finish me off? I don''t have a skip left anymore!''

    "So, there is a chance that there can be three or even four attackers." Adam said.

    "Yeah, but the chances are slim to none." Ramonughed and turned to his friend. "Ready?"

    "Ready." Hannibal chuckled. "I''ll attack Adam!"

    "I''ll attack Adam as well!" Ramon said with a loudugh.

    ''They''re ganging up on him!'' Donald shouted inside his mind. ''If Adam loses both rounds, he

    is out of the game!''

    "Who is going first?" Adam asked with a calm look.

    "I''ll do it." Ramon said with augh. "You ready?"

    "Yeah," Adam said shortly.

    Ramon quickly counted from the three, and then they both rolled their marbles.

    As soon as the marbles stopped, numbers appeared on them.

    Ramon''s score was 9.

    Adam''s score was 15.

    It was Ramon''s victory.

    Crack-as soon as Adam''s marble cracked, a pnded on his cheek.

    "Ah..." Adam touched his stinging cheek and then turned to his cracked marble. It looked like

    it was barely being held together by glue.

    ''He lost!'' Donald thought. ''One more loss, and he is out!''

    "Ready?" Hannibal said with a grin.

    Adam picked up his marble with a cold look and nodded sternly.

    ''Whoever loses this round will be out of the game!'' Donald was in shock. ''Will it be Adam or

    Hannibal? Who will lose?!''

    Ramon watched with keen interest, a smile ying on his lips.

    At that moment, without counting down, they both rolled their marbles to the center of the

    table.

    They shed with a gentle echo and came to a stop. Again, numbers appeared inside the

    cracked marbles.

    The surrounding yers, the ones watching from the control room, and the four contestants

    leaned closer to get a better look at the numbers inside.

    As soon as the numbers appeared, there were shocked gasps from the crowd.

    Hannibal''s score was 10.

    Adam''s score was 10.

    It was Hannibal''s victory!

    Crack-Adam''s marble cracked onest time and then shattered into very tiny pieces.

    Those pieces glowed for a moment, but then they turned into water and got sucked inside the

    table, disappearingpletely.

    "H-he lost..." Donald looked at Adam in shock. "A-Adam lost..."

 Chapter 47: The Winner

    Chapter 47: The Winner

    ?

    Smash!

    An invisible punchnded on Adam''s face, knocking him off the chair and down to the ground.

    Drip, drip.

    A little bit of blood dripped from his nose and onto the carpet.

    "Mhm..." Adam pinched his nose, trying to stop his bleeding.

    At that moment, a hand with a handkerchief reached out to him.

    "Here." Katalina showed a bright smile as she reached out to him, offering the handkerchief.

    "Thanks." Adam epted it and wiped the blood off his nose. The handkerchief smelled like her perfume.

    ''I guess I lost.'' He thought with a wry smile and pocketed the handkerchief. ''I was never good with the Mad Marbles. I suppose my luck is not that good.''

    "Need a hand?" Katalina asked as she offered a hand.

    "No need." Adam patted his pants and stood back up. He then picked up his chair and sat back down at the table.

    "Mou, fine~" Katalina waved her hand dismissively and returned back to her friends, who were sitting on a couch chatting andughing, the misty window behind them showing rain droplets running down the ss.

    "Haha, unlucky~" Ramon grinned. "It''s just a game; don''t take it to heart."

    "I am fine." Adam smiled andbed his hair back with his hand. "Continue the game, it isn''t over yet."

    Ramon and Hannibal turned to Donald and showed beastly grins. Donald gulped nervously. At that moment, the three rolled their marbles, and the numbers showed.

    Ramon''s score was 10.

    Hannibal''s score was 9.

    Donald''s score was 11.

    ''This is my chance!'' Donald''s eyes brightened, and he then shouted excitedly. "I''ll attack Ramon!"

    "I''ll skip." Ramon said with a sadistic grin.

    "Ngh..." Donald gritted his teeth. ''Fucker!''

    They picked up their marbles and again rolled them to the center of the table. With a cling, the three marbles came to a stop and showed the numbers.

    Ramon''s score was 11.

    Hannibal''s score was 1.

    Donald''s score was 5.

    "I''ll attack Donald." Ramon said as he bared his teeth.

    Donald angrily took his marble to his hand, then blew hot air into it as if it were helping, and then, after the count of three, they both rolled the marbles to the center of the table.

    As soon as they shed, the numbers appeared.

    Ramon''s score was 3.

    Donald''s score was 12.

    Crack-Ramon''s marble cracked from the middle, causing his smile to freeze suddenly.

    Smack!

    A p echoed through the room.

    Ramon touched his stinging pain and let out a slight groan of pain. It felt like someone had just punched him in the teeth.

    "Oh, shiiit." Hannibalughed. "Howe I am suddenly in an advantageous position?" ''Right, Hannibal is the only one with the skip left!'' Donald gulped nervously.

    "Hahahaha, how interesting!" Ramon picked up his marble, and the others did the same. They then rolled their marbles to the center of the table.

    Ramon''s score was 16.

    Hannibal''s score was 1.

    Donald''s score was 16.

    ''Tie!'' Donald eximed inside his mind.

    "Oh..." Hannibal chuckled. "Interesting."

    "I''ll attack Donald!" Ramon shouted.

    "I''ll attack Hannibal!" Donald shouted.

    "I''ll skip." Hannibal said with his arms crossed.

    After the skip, there was only one attacker, and that was Ramon.

    Ramon and Donald exchanged res, then they picked up their marbles and rolled them to

    the center of the table.

    Ramon''s score was 9.

    Donald''s score was 20.

    Crack-Ramon''s marble cracked and shattered.

    "Oh shit!" Ramon''s eyes shot wide open, and then a powerful punchnded on his nose, knocking him off the chair onto the carpeted floor.

    All the air left his body after the collision with the floor.

    "Motherfuck-" Hannibal red at Donald, but he returned the same intense stare.

    With addrenaline rushing through their veins, they picked up their marbles and rolled them to

    the center of the table.

    Hannibal''s score was 9.

    Donald''s score was 17.

    It was Donald''s turn to attack.

    "I''ll attack Hannibal!" Donald screamed and snatched his marble from the center of the table.

    "The hell!" Hannibal picked up his marble, sweat trickling down his head.

    In an instant, their clear advantage crumbled to pieces as somehow Donald''s luck had

    increased by tenfold in the past minute!

    "Oho..." Adam smirked with interest. ''An unexpected winner, maybe?''

    After the count of three, Donald and Hannibal rolled their marbles to the center of the table.

    As soon as they shed, numbers appeared on the marbles.

    Hannibal''s score was 17.

    Donald''s score was 13.

    It was Donald''s crushing victory!

    Crack!

    With a crack, Hannibal''s marble shattered, and then an invisible punchnded squarely in his

    face.

    "Haaa, haaa..." Donald panted heavily and asked shakily. "D-did I win?"

    "You did it!" Niko cheered from the sidelines, and ps came from the other yers.

    "Ah, ah... hahahaha!" Donaldughed and stood up with a victorious look. "Wohoo!"

    "Good match," Adam said and then stood up as he nned to depart for his room. It was gettingte, and he still wanted to take a shower.

    "Wait a moment." Ramon rubbed his aching face and said, "What about a rematch? I don''t want to end this with Donald''s victory. Hell nah!"

    "Haaa?" Donald scoffed at the challenge. "You really think you have a chance at beating me?"

    "Y-you bastard..." Ramon grinned viciously and rubbed his hands together as he was

    preparing to throw hands. "What did you say?"

    "Enough." Adam stepped between them and showed his silver timepiece that showed the

    time. "It is quitete."

    "Hmph." Ramon reluctantly backed off and helped his friend, Hannibal, from the ground,

    who was still feeling the effect of the punch.

    Donald fistbumped with Niko, still feeling the adrenaline rushing through his veins. He never expected to win, especially against those three. It made him feel invincible.

    Tap, tap, tap, m!

    The door mmed wide open, and a loudly panting young man entered themon room. He looked slightly dirty, as if he hadn''t taken a shower for over a week. It was because he had

    spent most of the time on the third floor.

    He believed that by finding the Boss Room, he would get a great deal of points.

    "I-I found the Boss Room!"

    As soon as his words left his lips, themon room turned silent.

    The yers, no matter what they were saying, turned to the young man in shock. The ones resting under a warm nket stood up, the ones reading a book closed it shut, and the ones talking with their friends paused mid-sentence, all eyes fixed on him. "You found the Boss Room?" Ramon approached the young man with a scary look.

    The young man gulped after seeing the scary tattooed man approaching him and backed off slightly, but then nodded nervously.

    "Where? Show me!" Ramon grabbed the young man by his shoulders and was about to drag

    him to the third floor.

    "Wait a second, Ramon." Donald quickly picked up his jacket from the table and came to

    them.

    "What?" Ramon asked impatiently. "I am not sure about you, but I already want to leave the

    tutorial. There is a bigger world awaiting us!"

    "Rushing this won''t make a single difference."

    A calm voice sounded, belonging to Adam. His words carried a lot of weight, as he was considered the top yer in the tutorial. Other yers, even if some of them didn''t like him,

    still listened to him.

    Especially after what happened a couple of weeks ago... The group that was ahead of them suddenly disappeared, and they became the oldest group in the tutorial.

    There was a rumor that Adam killed them all; that''s why he was in such a poor state back then.

    "So, we''ll wait, or what?" Ramon scoffed. "When did you drop your balls, Adam?"

    "No, fool." Adam sighed and rolled his eyes. "The door to the third floor is closed, do you

    know why?"

    Ramon frowned and shook his head.

    "During the night, the third floor is locked for security reasons. The third floor''s Chaosbeings

    only move during the night, except for the Boss. Even if the door wasn''t locked now, I don''t think we could make it to the Boss Room."

    "Tch..." Ramon removed his hands from the young man''s shoulders and threw his arms in the air. "Fine, but we''ll leave as soon as the floor opens again. If you oversleep, we won''t be waiting for you!"

 Chapter 48: The Chaos Warrior

    Chapter 48: The Chaos Warrior

    ?

    The misty haze of the morning sun filtered through the clouded window, casting a warm glow on the old wooden floor.

    With the sun on his back, Adam sat at the edge of his bed with a thoughtful look.

    His interface floated right in front of him, which had slightly changed.

    ***

    [Name: Adam Palestar]

    [Level: 0]

    [XP: 0/0]

    [HP: 50/50]

    [Rank: Coinfeeder]

    [Weapon: Steel Shortsword + Round Shield]

    [Shinecoin: 0]

    [¡ª¡ª SKILLS--]

    [-Little God-]

    [-Basic de Handling-]

    [Inventory]

    [Log Off]

    ***

    Two skills had appeared.

    ''If I recall correctly, Little God skill wasn''t there to begin with. Therefore, it appeared as soon as I used it the first time. I suppose it counted as me learning it.

    ''Basic de Handling appeared like it was supposed to. It is still at zero percent, and I can''t really use it inbat yet.

    ''It isn''t a normal skill. It is a passive skill. It increases my handling of the sword. It is like the Little God skill, which is passive. Unlike active skills, I don''t need to shout out the skill name for it to work.

    ''However, Little God is still the strangest passive skill. It activates when I want to, so it is basically a mix of passive and active skills. I still don''t need to say ''Little God'' out loud for it to work.

    ''After I learn Basic de Handling, my swordsmanship will increase slightly. I''ve already seen the effects of my swordsmanship, as I am not as good as a swordsman as I was in my previous life.

    ''Not that I was any good; I was decent enough, I guess, butpared to the best

    swordmasters, I was way behind. I had learned all the way to Expert de Handling and I can see the effects clearly.''

    In his previous life, Adam''s style of fighting was a mixture of different things. He used a sword and shield to fight, and his role in the guild was that of a Tank.

    Tank''s job was to protect Magick Masters while they bombarded Chaosbeings with their magical spells.

    His swordmanship was above average; his skill with the shield was considered good as he was able to defend against attacks from swordmasters.

    However, he was still considered a powerhouse as his level was quite high, and even without that, because of Little God skill, he was able to fight mercenaries that were higher level than him.

    There was one thing that he was considered a master at-movement.

    His Little God skill and his natural speed made him an enemy that was both respected and feared. On battlefields, he killed hundreds before the enemy was even able to see what was happening.

    It was also the reason why Cmity chose to use a specific type of Chaosbeing Essence as poison. It nullified his speed as itpletely paralyzed him.

    Cmity was afraid of his movement; he knew that if Adam could move freely, they wouldn''t have been able to kill him.

    Adam would''ve killed his treacherous friends and could''ve put in a proper battle against Cmity. However, it was still unlikely he would''ve been able to beat Cmity, who stood near the apex of power.

    Still, he would''ve been able to escape.

    None of the mercenaries ever considered Tanks to be quick. They were often muscr, slow, and physically powerful. That''s why Adam was an anomaly and a big threat.

    ''I don''t have time to learn the Basic de Handling for now.''

    Adam pulled out his silver timepiece, checked the time, and saw it was soon time for the third floor to open.

    ''The third floor''s boss...''

    ...

    Third Floor, three hours past dawn.

    A group of yers walked down the rock-walled passageways, following behind a young man with short hair and a slicked-back style.

    Most yers were yawning and rubbing their sleepy eyes. They stayed awake for so long in themon room that they only had a few hours of sleep.

    "Here!" The young man shouted excitedly, pointing towards arge wooden door at the end of the hallway.

    ''It took three hours to walk here.'' Adam checked the time on his timepiece and added that to his mind.

    "Alright, let''s work together, guys!" Donald said, trying to encourage everyone to work

    together.

    However, to many, the second floor was a one time thing. This time, most of the different groups were nning to do this alone instead of coborating.

    Adam stayed silent, drew his shortsword with his right hand, and pulled out a shield from his

    back with his left.

    ''Remember the attack patterns, remember...''

    Ramon quickly walked over to the heavy-looking wooden door and mmed his hands against it. Then, while grunting and screaming, he pushed the heavy door open.

    As the door opened,nterns lit up across the ceiling and the floor. The room was a big chamber, filled with weapons and armor lining up the walls.

    There were skeletons, holding rusty weapons, lying beside the armor racks.

    All the skeletons had simrities, it looked like they had been shed by sharp objects as there were sword wounds on their bones. The skeletons appeared to have been warriors who

    died in battle.

    The yers slowly entered the room, slowly moving forward as if they were all hesitating to

    step further.

    At that moment, a sword fell from the ceiling and stabbed through the ground, right in the middle of the chamber room. It looked massive and ancient, with arge de and long

    handle.

    It definitely wasn''t a one-handed sword. It also seemed too heavy to be wielded with two

    hands.

    "Just what kind of person can wield that kind of weapon..." A yer whispered to himself, but

    it was heard by nearby yers.

    They also gulped and nodded, wondering the same thing.

    C-c-c-crack!

    At that moment, the ceiling copsed onto the heavy-looking sword, but amidst all the dust and debris, a figure emerged with one hand wrapped around the sword''s hilt.

    The yers drew their weapons and moved to their attacking stances. But then, their eyes

    widened as text appeared over the figure.

    [The Chaos Warrior, Kuruma]

    [Health: 100%]

    ''Health as a percentage?'' Ramon furrowed his brows and tightened his hold on his machete.

    ''This is different, very different.''

    ''The children''s games have been yed.'' Adam thought with a serious look. ''First and second floors are a jokepared to this and the rest of the dungeon. The real, dangerous Chaosbeings have their health as percentages.

    ''Bloody Chaosbeing and The Clown Boy are considered minor Chaosbeings, even if they''re Floor Bosses. They''re still nothingpared to the real threats, like The Chaos Warrior.''

    After the dust cleared, everyone saw a rusty-armored figure, enormously tall. It was nearly five meters tall, bulging with muscles beneath the thick armor. It wore rusty armor with a helmet that covered the entirety of its face.

    It didn''t have any visible weaknesses or openings in its armor.

    At that moment, Kuruma raised its sword with one hand. It didn''t seem to even struggle as it lifted the heavy weapon above its head.

    Swoosh-an arrow flew from somewhere andnded on Kuruma''s chest. However, it bounced off harmlessly, as if the arrow were made out of stic.

    A yer, with a bow in hand, paled and stumbled backwards with a pale face. He felt naked, as

    he felt like he was currently being stared at by Kuruma, even though its head wasn''t facing his

    direction.

    At that moment, Kuruma''s head snapped to the left, staring straight at the archer, and then it lunged forward like a bolt of lightning. It was surprisingly quick for someone of its size!

    "Ah!" The archer froze in horror.

    Kuruma lifted its sword high and then smashed it down on the archer.

    ng, smash!

 Chapter 49: Natural Born Tanker

    Chapter 49: Natural Born Tanker

    ?

    At that moment, a shield appeared in the path of the sword, and loud explosions sounded as the two objects collided.

    SMASH!

    "Argh!" Adam''s knees bent, and he was almost forced to sit on his knees, but he was barely able to hold back the enormous sword that threatened to crush him.

    ''How did he block that?!'' Ramon thought to himself, in shock.

    The attack looked far too powerful. It was supposed to go straight through the shield and smash Adam in one blow, but somehow Adam managed to stop it.

    ''Its sword is huge, and Kuruma''s frame is as big, making everyone think it is a super powerful monster.'' Adam grinned through pain, and then, with shocked gasps from nearby yers, he pushed the sword back.

    ''It has no technique whatsoever. It is still a mindless creature, just swinging its sword around. Therefore, it can''t use all the power that is stored in its body!''

    At that moment, Kuruma lifted its heavy sword and started smashing it down repeatedly on the shield that was barely holding up.

    The shield''s durability started decreasing at a steep speed.

    Adam blocked the sword and then let it slide down the shield. Then he stepped forward and rammed straight into Kuruma, knocking him a step backwards.

    His impressive defensive capabilities surprised all the onlookers-even Ron and the Handlers in the control room watched the fight with wide eyes.

    It was clear that Adam wasn''t an amateur!

    He was the Lead Tanker of Star Faction-one of the biggest factions in the history of Mortal Online. He was considered one of the greatest Tankers to have ever lived, but hisck of level didn''t make him the absolute greatest.

    Because he was often fighting enemies that were higher leveled than him, he learned ways to battle against stronger foes. This was why he was able to fight against Kuruma on equal ground.

    In this new life, he had yet to go all-out.

    "I''ll attract its aggro!" Adam shouted loud enough for everyone to hear. "Keep your distance and be ready to attack when its defense is down!"

    The yers nodded their heads and took their positions on the sidelines.

    ...

    "He would be an excellent Tank." Dakota, leaning against the wall, said while looking at the screen. "Great innate talent. He knows how to perfectly absorb his enemy''s attacks and redirect the damage."

    "Tanks are considered meatshields, but they are also the protectors of the party''s most important members." Ron said and then smiled. "They''re also the real ''leaders'' of any party, as they have the responsibility of keeping everyone alive and in line during battles."

    "They are lucky that they have someone like Adam with them." Dakota said. "Donald is good and all, but he doesn''t have a presence great enough to make everyone listen to him. Adam uses his strength tomand respect."

    Muriel watched the screen with admiration. She had handled many different yers with unique personalities, but Adam stood out as a true leader.

    ''Strong doesn''t follow the weak; the weak follow the strong to be strong...''

    Muriel repeated the words Adam once said to her. Now, on the screen, a perfect example of those words was being disyed.

    ...

    Kuruma swung its sword down with an overhead sh, but again, the round shield blocked it and redirected the attack towards the ground.

    It couldn''t stop its own swing, and it eventually crashed straight to the ground. The heavy de got stuck in the ground. It was trying to pull it out, but it was firmly lodged in ce.

    "Now!" Adam shouted.

    Swoosh, swoosh!

    Arrows flew over the heads of the yers andnded directly on Kuruma''s armor, but the rusty armor was able to withstand the attack.

    At that moment, the yers rushed in from all sides and hacked down their weapons at the armor. The rusty armor bent under the force of the blows, revealing a glimmer of light underneath.

    The armor started shredding, and instead of flesh, there was a body made out of light underneath.

    Adam stabbed his sword through one of the gaps in the armor and stabbed into the flesh of light.

    The attack was sessful as Kuruma started screaming and started bleeding a strange kind of light blood. The light blood sttered on the ground, sizzling as it made contact with the earth.

    With that, Kuruma''s health started to slowly drop.

    Kuruma screamed and writhed in pain, then pushed the yers away from it. It then grabbed its heavy sword with both hands and pulled it out of the ground.

    The yers paled and quickly retreated.

    As Kuruma was about to strike, Adam suddenly appeared in front of it with a shield in front of him. He immediately attracted Kuruma''s anger as it recognized him as the one who stabbed

    it.

    "Come on..." Adam smacked his sword against his round shield, creating a high-pitched noise that clearly angered Kuruma even further.

    Kuruma, with a low growl, charged at Adam and swiped its sword at him. It was a heavy- handed sh that seemed to be powerful enough to cut through a thick tree trunk.

    Adam''s eyes narrowed, and then his legs started swelling as his muscles bulged outwards as if they were trying to rip through his flesh.

    Swoosh!

    As Kuruma''s sh finished its swing, Adam suddenly disappeared, and the sh only went through empty wind. At that moment, a deep cut wound appeared on its neck, and then light blood spurted out like a fountain.

    Adam reappeared in the air, behind Kuruma, and softlynded back on the ground, but his legs were shaking and his lips were pale, as if he had suddenly lost a lot of blood.

    "Ngh..." He coughed slightly, holding onto his wound in pain.

    [-15 HP]

    He hadn''t fully recovered from using Little God against Nick and the others from his group. Therefore, doing it again, caused a significant health drop.

    "W-what..." Ramon whispered in shock, sharing the same look with other yers. "He never went all-out against me? What is this..."

    ...

    "What the fuck was that?" Ron shot up from his seat, his eyes widening in disbelief. "That speed, how?"

    Dakota looked surprised. "Not only was he fast, his uracy was insane. As he was about to get shed by the sword, he jumped in the air, shed through Kuruma''s neck, and avoided colliding with Kuruma by rotating his body mid-air. None of that was by ident!"

    Ron said with a serious look. "I can still easily track him with my eyes, and I''ve seen hundreds of mercenaries move as fast as him, or even faster, but those are all veteran mercenaries. Adam is only Coinfeeder!"

    "I have only worked here for two years, but during that time, I haven''t seen anyone like him." Dakota said with a sense of awe and admiration in her voice.

    "Ron." Muriel walked over to him while hugging the clipboard against her chest. "We need to

    talk."

    Ron looked at her and nodded. "I know what you''re about to say. Still, let''s talk."

    Muriel nodded and looked to the screen, a small smile rising on her lips.

    ...

    Kuruma fell down on its knees and tried to stop its neck from bleeding. Its health had already

    dropped to 70 percent.

    "Attack!" Adam ordered it with a powerful shout.

    The yers flinched and then nodded. Then, from every possible angle, they started raining

    Kuruma with blows and attacks. The armor cracked and shattered, revealing the vulnerable

    creature beneath.

    The health slowly dropped, and soon it reached the 50 percent mark.

    At that moment, Adam quickly shouted. "Retreat, now!"

    No one questioned why, and everyone followed his lead, sprinting away from the dangerous

    creature.

    Kuruma stayed on its knees, and it wasn''t moving an inch. Its armor was cracked and falling apart. It looked like it was easy to kill, as it wasn''t moving an inch. Adam covered his upper body with his round shield and took a low stance.

    ''Here ites...''

 Chapter 50: White Kraft

    Chapter 50: White Kraft

    ?

    Therge sword in Kuruma''s hand had a slight change in color. A shade of white started to spread from the hilt to the tip of the de. It was very faint, but still noticeable next to the silver metal.

    ''During its second phase, Kuruma is able to use Kraft, one of the Three Powers!''

    Kuruma''s humming intensified as it lifted the sword above its head, preparing to unleash the most destructive attack so far.

    Kraft had the ability to coat weapons and objects with ayer of protection that was extremely hard to break through. It also increased the attack prowess vastly.

    Kuruma''s Kraft was at the lowest level, White, but the difference in attacks between Kraft and without was extremely vast.

    After White, the next color would be ck, which would make the weapon even stronger and more durable. Then Purple, then Red, and finally Golden. Once one''s Kraft bes more powerful, the color changes.

    In his previous life, Adam managed to reach Purple, which already made his attacks and defense extremely potent. With Purple, he rarely needed to visit a cksmith to fix his weapons, as his swords and shields didn''t receive almost any damage!

    ''White Kraft is at the lowest rank, but it still can slice through my shield like a hot knife through butter.'' Adam lowered his stance, his knees bent, and his grip on the sword tightened.

    -

    In the control room.

    "He has to dodge!" Ron shouted urgently. "If he ns to block the attack fused with White Kraft, the shield will break!"

    "However, does he know?" Dakota said with a wry smile. "I didn''t mention this part in my ss for a reason. They have to learn this the hard way. There are some attacks that you shouldn''t try to block."

    Muriel nervously looked at the screen as Kuruma was about tounch its attack.

    ...

    Kuruma, with a low growl, swung its enormous sword over its head towards the small human in front of it. While Adam was not short by any means, in front of Kuruma, he looked very small.

    ''What a powerful attack!'' Ramon, standing on the sidelines, instantly felt that this was a different attack from the rest.

    His senses were surprising sharp.

    Adam quickly leaped backwards out of danger''s way. He chose to dodge, much to the relief of many.

    SMASH, CRACK!

    Therge sword sliced through the ground without any effort, shocking all the yers. This was an extremely powerful attack.

    At that moment, many broken pieces of the ground flew towards Adam like a flurry of bullets.

    Adam quickly covered his body behind his shield and blocked the iing projectiles with

    ease.

    If he hadn''t done so, those broken pieces could''ve actually caused some severe injuries, especially since some of them looked quite sharp.

    Therge sword wasn''t the only thing that could injure him. It was also the environment around him that posed a threat.

    After the dust cleared, Kuruma effortlessly lifted its enormous sword. It didn''t look happy that its attack had failed.

    ''I could easilybat Kuruma with speed, but I can''t handle that in my current state. I don''t want to exhaust myself and make myself an easy target.''

    Adam thought to himself and then nced towards the other yers, wondering if any of them could be of any use. None of them seemed strong enough to take on Kuruma.

    ''There is only one thing I can do.''

    Adam stomped on the ground and suddenly started running towards Kuruma, with the shield in front of him and his sword next to him.

    Kuruma grabbed itsrge sword with both hands, raised it high above its head, and then swung it down with all its might. It was so big that it looked like it could cut straight through Adam and leave no crumbs behind.

    At that moment, Adam''s body leaned dangerously forward; it looked like he was about to trip, and as the yers were about to cry in horror, he quickly rolled sideways out of the danger''s way.

    Therge sword cut through the ground beside him, and Adam quickly put the shield beside him and blocked all the debris that came flying towards him.

    Kuruma looked frozen as the sword was stuck in the ground, its arms trying to pull it out with all their might. Slowly, the sword started to get loose from the ground.

    At that moment, a silvery sh appeared in front of Kuruma, and then a shortsword cut through the air and sliced through the hilt of the sword. It also managed to cut through a few of Kuruma''s fingers.

    Therge sword, with its white de, lost its hilt. It wasn''t possible to wield it anymore. Slowly, the white color left the de, and it turned a dull gray color.

    ...

    "He sliced through the hilt?" Dakota looked surprised.

    "He did it because now the sword cannot be used effectively!" Ron said excitedly. "Usually, the hilt is too small to be easily hit, but Kuruma''s sword hilt was longer than most.

    "In most cases, Kuruma would''ve just dodged the attempt on the hilt and blocked the attack with the de. Now, it couldn''t, as the sword was stuck in the ground. Also, because the hilt was made out of wood, it was easily the most vulnerable part of the sword.

    "The hilt was the only part Kuruma didn''t coat the weapon in White Kraft!"

    "It is not wise to coat the hilt with Kraft." Dakota touched her chin thoughtfully. "It makes the weapon hard to grip, and it is easy for the sword to slip out of the grip. That''s why none of the mercenaries ever coated their hilts in any Kraft!

    "It is literally the only weak spot in Kraft and somehow Adam was able to find it!"

    "How the fuck did he do this?" Ron asked with a deep frown, staring at Adam on the screen. "Just who are you?"

    ...

    "Attack!" Adam shouted.

    Following that, all the yers rushed like frantic animals and started delivering powerful blows across Kuruma''s body. It was helpless. It was just standing there, trying to dodge

    attacks, but to no avail.

    The health dropped drastically.

    Soon, the health reached 25%, and Kuruma let out a defeanening roar, surprising yers. They realized that something was odd and quickly retreated.

    Adam nodded at that. It was wise to retreat if they weren''t sure about what was going to happen. To them, Kuruma already became stronger once suddenly, and now it looked like it had another phase in store.

    At Kuruma''s palm, a flickering fire appeared. It was small and seemingly harmless, but then the flickering fire turned more prominent and burst into a ser-sized fireball.

    ''Now, in this phase, Kuruma has the ability of Magick!'' Adam thought to himself and had already moved into his position.

    "H-hey, I think what is happening!" Seth shouted from the back of the yers. "I think it is using Three Powers! First, that must''ve been Kraft. You saw how its attacks became so much

    stronger. Now, it is clearly using Magick!"

    ''Oh, he noticed it-not bad.'' Adam chuckled.

    "I think you''re right." Donald said with a nod. "Be wary of long-range attacks. I think it can hurl those fireballs at us. Spread around; don''t clump together!"

 Chapter 51: The Last Phase

    Chapter 51: The Last Phase

    ?

    "A smart choice from Donald." Ron said with his arms folded across his chest. "When clumped together, they would be a bigger target, and it is harder to dodge the attacks."

    "See how that one archer is positioned?" Dakota pointed at the screen.

    On the screen, the only archer among the yers was positioned behind the yers that had the greatest defensive weapons. The archer was ready to fire at Kuruma.

    "It is starting to look like a proper party." Ron nodded with acknowledgement. "They let the Tank, Adam, handle the aggro. Donald, the leader of the party, gives out the orders. Others are positioning themselves strategically."

    "This was also not nned beforehand." Dakota said. "At first, it looked like everyone was going to be everyone for themselves. It would be disastrous, and there would''ve been a lot of deaths."

    "This is all because of Adam." Ron said. "When he gives the order, all the yers attack Kuruma simtenously. This allows all the yers to deal damage to Kuruma, which helps them get some points for their total score.

    "This way, all the yers are left satisfied. If there wasn''t any unity, all the yers would''ve just rushed at Kuruma, desperately trying to get a few hits in.

    "Adam, now, does the hardest part and lets the others have easy hits on the boss. It was masterful..."

    In Ron''s vision, he imagined a gigantic Adam, who was standing over the chess board, strings going from his fingers to the yers. They were the chess pieces, and he was controlling them like a puppet master, facing a lonely King on the other side of the board.

    "Now, the question remains: how will Adam handle the Magick phase?" Dakota wondered out loud.

    "Also, will the yers be able to resist the temptation..." Ron narrowed his eyes. "Will they go for the kill or follow the orders till the end?"

    "This is still far from over." Dakota said in a serious tone. "Kuruma bes more dangerous when it nears its death."

    ...

    Kuruma startedunching fireballs at the yers. It was hot and intense, causing chaos among the yers as they scrambled to avoid getting hit.

    At that moment, Adam rushed in and shed through Kuruma''s Achilles tendons, forcing it down on its knees. It roared in pain but slowly started to stand back up, as if the pain only fueled its rage further.

    Adam lifted his sword over the shield and stabbed through Kuruma''s back. There was a small enough hole in its armor for the sword to pierce through.

    Kuruma again roared in pain and then summoned a powerful wind that pushed Adam back- he still managed to hold his ground, and as soon as the wind stopped, he rushed back in and shed across Kuruma''s back.

    The light blood spewed out from the wound, staining the ground beneath them.

    "Archer, fire!" Donald swung down with his broadsword, signaling the archer.

    The archer let go of the string and fired a wooden arrow at Kuruma. It pieced through Kuruma''s shoulder, but it didn''t look like it was capable of stopping it.

    Kuruma growled loudly and turned back to Adam, then started shooting fireballs at him like there was no tomorrow.

    Adam swung his shield sideways and smashed through the fireballs. He didn''t choose to block, but instead chose to smash right through.

    It was easy to see why he did that.

    The fireballs packed a lot of power. When they smashed into something, they exploded in a burst of mes. However, when Adam destroyed them, they died off with a whimper.

    While the fireballs were very destructive, their defense was weak, and they needed to reach a certain amount of speed in order to maintain their power and eventually explode.

    Adam was at very close range to Kuruma, causing its fireballs to be very weak. It looked like Kuruma didn''t understand that fact as it continued to fire those fireballs.

    It was because Kuruma was not very intelligent. It was quite dangerous for Coinfeeders, but still very low-ranked Chaosbeing. Thus, its intelligence level was not high enough to realize the reason for the ineffectiveness of its attacks.

    It was why Adam chose to instantly go to close range and attack Kuruma with his sword.

    If he let Kuruma do whatever it wanted, it would be very bad.

    Kuruma''s health continued to drop drastically after Adam destroyed the fireballs, which he then shed through Kuruma''s exposed parts. It continued to writhe in pain.

    Its health went below ten percent, and some of the yers eyes lit up in excitement. There was some unrest among them as Kuruma was near death.

    Adam didn''t pay attention to them and continued bypassing Kuruma''s defenses, then dealing painful attacks to its exposed parts.

    ''Its Magick ability is also at the lowest rank. It can''t do much other than summon some wind and hurl fireballs at me. However, soon the end is near...''

    "Are we allowing him to get the kill?" Niko whispered in Donald''s ear.

    Niko clearly looked anxious, as it looked like Adam was more than capable of just killing Kuruma alone. He didn''t need them.

    "Wait..." Donald said with narrowed eyes. "If chaos ensues, all of us will be in danger."

    "Kuruma is almost dead." Niko said anxiously. "If we don''t anything..."

    Donald scoffed and stayed silent. He was focusing on the fight with great interest. He had already learned a lot about leadership and how to control the party.

    It was all thanks to Adam.

    ''In the future, I might be the leader of a party in some guild, and this will be a valuable experience for me. It is far more valuable than killing the boss.''

    [The Chaos Warrior, Kuruma]

    [Health: 2%]

    The yers on the sidelines flinched and looked extremely agitated, with sweat trickling down their faces. A while away, Ramon and Hannibal licked their dry lips and looked like they were ready to pounce at a moment''s notice.

    At that moment, Adam dodged a sloppy punch from Kuruma and shed through its exposed waist. More blood spewed out.

    And then Kuruma''s health reached the final percent. The eyes of the yers shed with greed, and they rushed straight at the boss with their weapons raised high.

    "..." Adam didn''t say a word and instead backed off slightly in retreat.

    -

    "I knew it!" Ron looked sour-faced. "Those impatient fools. It is always the same. I suppose

    not even Adam managed to make them lose their greed."

    "Greed is amon aspect of human nature." Dakota muttered under her breath. "Unfortunately, it seems to be a part of us that will never go away."

    "In the New World, if they did shit like this, their party leaders would cut off their heads. The tutorial was created to be apetition. Competition makes them strong. However, it also

    weakens them in a sense."

    "Now, I wonder how many will die."

    ...

    The yers, with greed in their eyes,unched their attacks from a very close range.

    At that moment, Kuruma raised its eyes and took a step backwards. Then it started weaving through all the attacks effortlessly. All the attacks missed it by an inch.

    It looked like the weapons were about to sh right through, but at the final moment,

    Kuruma was able to dodge each one with grace and precision.

    This was different.

    Kuruma hadn''t moved like this during the entire fight. It was quite slow, stupid, and just used

    brute strength in attacks. It, of course, tried to dodge before but was unsessful.

    Now, Kuruma was like a whole different person.

    ''Thest phase, Kuruma has the ability of Kiryoku.''

 Chapter 52: Attack Intent

    Chapter 52: Attack Intent

    ?

    In the control room, therge screen flickered as if there was a power surge, but then the video feed stabilized.

    "Even though Kuruma''s Kiryoku is at the lowest rank, it is still untouchable at the current moment. Now, how will they handle this?"

    Ron said with his arms crossed. He was very much looking forward to this.

    "Most of the groups I have overseen are usually waiting for Kuruma to exhaust itself, as using Kiryoku is exhausting." Dakota said.

    Muriel stepped closer to therge screen and looked at it with her round eyes. She was nervously holding her clipboard tightly against her chest.

    ''You realized the weakness of Kraft and Magick fairly quickly, but how about this?'' Ron thought to himself while looking at Adam''s figure on the screen, who was currently standing by the side.

    ...

    Kuruma weaved past yet another attack and then punched one of the yers across the face. The punch was powerful and sent the yer flying through the air,nding in a crumpled heap on the ground.

    It still wasn''t enough to kill the yer. However, it wasn''t too far.

    That punch surprised other yers, who were not expecting Kuruma''s physical strength to be this scary.

    At that moment, Kuruma rushed in and delivered a swift kick to the yer''s head, knocking them out cold. It then swept their legs out from under another yer, causing them to fall to the ground with a loud thud.

    Instantly, something tickled at the back of Kuruma''s head, and it instantly took a step backwards, avoiding an arrow that whizzed past its head. It saw a pale-faced archer hiding behind other yers.

    It growled loudly, but then a few other yers rushed in-they were Seth, Niko, Donald, and Hannibal. They cut, shed, stabbed, and hacked.

    However, Kuruma evaded each one, moving across the ground with grace. It didn''t look like its feet had even left the ground. It simply looked like it was skating across ice.

    Then, Kuruma formed a brick-sized fist with its right hand and slugged Hannibal in the face. It sent him flying to the far corner of the room.

    Following that, Kuruma low-kicked across Seth''s, Niko''s, and Donald''s legs, knocking them down to the ground. Then, Kuruma rushed in and threw a powerful punch, but before it could reach the target, it felt a strange tingling sensation at the back of the head.

    Kuruma''s choices were either to kill those three yers or escape.

    In that split second, Kuruma made its decision and quickly jumped backwards. It had, after all, only one percent of health left. Even with itsck of intelligence, Kuruma knew how to value its life.

    "Aa-rgh..." Donald stood back up, feeling an ache in his legs, and then turned to see who saved them¡ªit was none other than Adam, holding his shield in front of him.

    Adam tried to ram with his shield straight into Kuruma, but as he expected, it decided to dodge.

    ...

    "He finally made his move." Ron said while his lips moved into a smile. "Now, what will he do?"

    Dakota bit her nails in anticipation. For the whole time, she was waiting for Adam to make his move. She was very curious about how he would decide to deal with this.

    "Maybe he will try to use his speed?" Ron said to Dakota: "It might not work, but it''s definitely worth a shot."

    "Maybe..." Dakota said, her eyes fixed on Adam. "It is possible to overwhelm someone''s Kiryoku with the use of speed. Still, whose is superior, Adam''s speed or Kuruma''s Kiryoku?"

    ''Adam doesn''t feel like a person who will try to brute force something.'' Muriel thought to herself and then smiled. ''Maybe he has something else in store?''

    ...

    A silence had fallen over the room.

    The yers were sweating in nervousness while staring at Kuruma. They didn''t care about getting the kill anymore; they just wanted the creature to die.

    They were so close to clearing the third floor, but now, in thest percentage, Kuruma had to be even stronger. They couldn''t even touch it!

    "Did you guys notice it?" Adam suddenly straightened his back, dropped his guard, and put his shield and sword to his sides. His body waspletely unguarded.

    The yers looked at him with quizzical looks.

    "What do you mean?" Ramon asked from the side.

    During the whole fight, Ramon took a passive stance. Whenever Adam gave an order, he attacked the boss and dealt a considerable amount of damage to Kuruma-he would definitely get a lot of points.

    However, this experience made him wonder about his ce at the party and about his future. Currently, he was Damage Dealer, but he wasn''t sure whether that''s all he wanted to be.

    ''What''s Adam''s role exactly?'' Ramon wondered. ''He is controlling the battlefield like a king. I want that as well...''

    All the yers were waiting to hear Adam''s words.

    "When you are attacking Kuruma, it knows exactly from where and when the attack willnd. It then dodges."

    "We already know that." Donald said with a frown. "It was quite obvious, now?"

    "Yeah, but is there something else to that?" Adam smiled. "This must be Kiryoku. One of the Three Powers. However, how does Kuruma know where the attack ising from? Can it see into the future? I doubt it."

    "It is because Kiryoku is allowing it to detect the attacks, I guess." Donald said with a frown.

    "Yes, but how does it detect the attacks?" Adam shot up a question. "Is it detecting attacks, or the people attacking?"

    Donald frowned and felt like the answer to the question was within the tip of his tongue. However, he couldn''t find the answer.

    "I think it is detecting a person''s attacking intent." Adam said with a smile. "It is like you are shouting your attack right next to Kuruma, where it willnd, and when. It gives Kuruma

    more than enough time to dodge out of the way."

    "So, how can that be defeated?" Donald asked with a frown. "We shouldn''t have any attacking

    intent?"

    "Exactly!" Adam grinned widely. "Watch and learn."

    ...

    In the control room.

    "He learned it so quickly?!" Ron shot to his feet and screamed in shock. "How?!"

    "What in the world..." Dakota whispered in shock. "Still, how can he stop his own attacking intent? It usually takes years to learn to control it like that."

    Ron''s lips twitched into arge grin. A silver armor suddenly appeared around his body and hugged his muscr frame tightly. On his back, a shield with a crescent serpent symbol appeared, and on his hand, arge sword manifested.

    ''I want to fight...''

    -

    Adam approached Kuruma with slow and steady steps. All the yers watched with nervous

    heartbeats.

    Kuruma held its ground and formed arge fist with its right hand. It was ready to crush the annoying human in front of it with a single blow.

    This human was the cause and reason for all of its pain so far.

    At that moment, while walking towards Kuruma, Adam closed his eyes and entered the depths

    of his mind.

    His mind was vast, like an endless ocean. It was currently raging, with tall waves crashing against each other. It was like this because of Adam''s attacking intention and desire to fight.

    Snap.

    But then, Adam snapped his fingers, and the ocean calmed down. It didn''t have a single ripple. Not a single wave. It was so eternally calm that it almost seemed unnatural.

    And just like that, Adam''s attacking intentpletely vanished.

 Chapter 53: The Final Lesson

    Chapter 53: The Final Lesson

    ?

    Adam softly opened his eyes with a calm smile on his face.

    Kuruma stopped moving, its clenched fist loosening slightly. It suddenly lost its connection to Kiryoku. It could feel every other yer in the room except Adam.

    It made it feel strange. It wasn''t sure whether Adam was now dead or not.

    "Time to end this..." Adam tossed his shield to the side and moved his shortsword into a reverse grip. "Little God..."

    His leg muscles swelled, threatening to burst through his trousers, and he roared like a wounded beast. His veins popped out of his skin as he let out a final battle cry, channeling all of his remaining energy into onest strike.

    Crack-the ground beneath him cracked.

    Donald and other yers retreated from Adam, shocked by the aura he was giving off. He looked like an unfathomable creature.

    ...

    "His attacking intention is... gone!" Dakota cried out.

    "If Kuruma''s Kiryoku was at a higher level, it could still sense Adam''s aura, which is much harder to hide. But, unfortunately for our little Chaosbeing, its Kiryoku is weak!"

    Ron smirked and said, "The fight is over."

    ...

    CRACK, BOOM!

    The ground exploded!

    Adamunched into the air, flew across the room in a sh of light, and left a light blood trail in its wake. He appeared behind Kuruma, a small smile on his face, and behind him, Kuruma''s head dropped to the ground with a thud.

    Kuruma''s tall body copsed to the ground, lifeless and motionless.

    Ding, ding!

    Strange dinging echoed throughout the room, and then stairs appeared from the ground, leading up towards the destroyed ceiling. There, a lonely door made out of walnut stood closed. It was unlocked.

    "I-it is done!" The yers cheered, and some of them copsed on the ground out of exhaustion.

    "Again, he got the kill..." Ramon looked at Adam''s back, then scoffed and stepped up the stairs towards the door in the ceiling.

    Hannibal instantly followed after him.

    Adam moved the back of his hand across his mouth, cleared off the blood, and slowly straightened his back. His legs were shaking, and his face was paler than before, but he still smiled.

    ''I forgot about the pleasure of fighting...'' He chuckled, shook his head, and went to pick up his dropped shield from the ground.

    After he strapped his shield to his back, he noticed the looks of other yers. There was respect, admiration, and a hint of fear in their eyes.

    It was a look he had gotten very used to in his past life-after all, he was a famous Prime Mercenary and one of the generals of the Star Faction.

    However, this time it was different.

    ''I can''t really exin, but I prefer these guys'' gazespared to the awe in my past...'' Adam thought to himself. ''I always felt like they wanted something from me, as I was unmarried and wealthy. They never truly cared about me as a person, only what I could provide for them.''

    He shook his head, removed those unwanted memories from his mind, and then followed behind other yers as they ascended the stairs to the door above.

    ...

    "How many died?" Dakota walked over to one of the mercenaries that were working in the control room''s far corner.

    The mercenary nodded and quickly typed something on the holographic keyboard. After finishing the calctions, the mercenary was speechless for a moment.

    "Well?" Dakota raised an eyebrow.

    "Z-zero..." The mercenary whispered in shock. "No one died..."

    "What?!" Dakota shouted in shock.

    "It was because of Adam." Ron walked over to her, still dressed in his fancy armor. "He didn''t allow anyone to die."

    "Is this the first time?" Dakota asked.

    "It is..." Ron chuckled. "This is the first time there have been zero deaths in one of the groups on the third floor."

    "Adam, he..." Dakota felt a cold sweat roll down her forehead.

    "A monster, that''s what he is." Ron then patted Dakota''s shoulder and said, "They''re

    returning. Your lesson should begin, no?"

    "A-ah right..." Dakota nodded and looked at him, then asked, "Are you ready?"

    "I am..." Ron chuckled. "The end of the tutorial starts..."

    ...

    Stepping through the walnut door, the yers appeared back in the safe area. They all sighed in relief and took seats on the benches, even on the ground. They were all exhausted. However, the most exhausted person, Adam, stayed standing, as he didn''t want to look weak. It was important for the Tank of the group to stay strong. It made others feel safer knowing that someone powerful was always there to protect their backs.

    While the yers were sharing their ns with their friends; some nned on taking a shower, some nned to go read, and some nned on grabbing something to eat.

    A door to the side then suddenly swung open, and Dakota, dressed in a fluttering dress with a calm smile, walked over to them.

    "Congrattions to everyone." Dakota said, and her next words caused yers to groan. "Time for the next lesson."

    "Argh, fuck that!" Ramon stood up and rubbed his back. "We just finished a long ass fight. I am going to take a nap!"

    "If you refuse the lesson, you''ll get kicked out of the tutorial." Dakota said with a smile. "So, go on, take a nap."

    "Tch..." Ramon clicked his tongue and angrily crossed his arms, but he didn''t leave.

    The yers, with annoyance on their faces, followed behind Dakota and soon arrived at the auditorium. They took their usual spots and tried to make themselvesfortable, but the seats weren''t that nice.

    At the back of the auditorium, on the highest seat, Adam sat with a rxed expression. This was nothingpared to the New World''s harsh living conditions.

    Of course, New World had nice ces to sleep, such as guild buildings where there were soft beds and warm nkets. However, sometimes the mercenaries had to sleep out in the wild and inside dungeons where the conditions were much more challenging.

    At least, in the auditorium, there wasn''t a danger of Chaosbeing jumping out of somewhere and attacking you while you were resting.

    "This might bring smiles to your faces, but this is thest lesson of the tutorial!" Dakota

    announced.

    There were a few sighs of relief, but some yers also realized that the tutorial must be near the end. It had been a long three weeks, and some started to feel emotional that the ending was so near and they''d be able to meet their families and friends again.

    "The fourth lesson is about the guilds and their Tiers." Dakota said and crossed her arms behind her back. "We''ve already sent all the guilds information about each of you and your current sess in the tutorial.

    "After the tutorial, some of you might receive guild invitations. In those invitations, thate in a form of letter, should have the name and the ranking of the guild in them. "The Tiers of the Guilds are simple. The weakest guilds are Tier 4, and the strongest are 0.

    "There are only seven Guilds in Tier o. Those are called Seven Ancient Guilds. They''re quite special, and they won''t be inviting any of you. They''re not allowed to; otherwise, they would always pick up the best recruits.

    "To keep up the bnce between Seven Ancient Guilds and others, a pact has been made. They''re not allowed to recruit members from the tutorial, but they can recruit for their subsidiary guilds, where it is possible to advance to the Main Guild if you prove yourself.

    "Still, choose wisely. You might never advance, and I suggest taking your time with the decision. There''re many other powerful guilds beside Seven Ancient Guilds where you would be treasured and valued for your talents.

    "It is important to choose a Guild that will try to help you grow and reach your full potential!"

 Chapter 54: The Last Hour

    Chapter 54: The Last Hour

    ?

    "Now, after that''s been said," Dakota tapped her stick on the ckboard. "Besides the guilds, there''re other factions, such as Pro-Strong and Church of the God Almighty.

    "They''re different from the guilds, as their members are almost in every guild. However, they have their own sets and beliefs, and they can be quite dangerous if crossed.

    "As a new mercenary, I suggest avoiding Pro-Strong members as much as possible. They believe that the weak, such as you all, should be ves from the beginning. Only if you be stronger can you escape ve status."

    "What the..." The yers murmured with each other, shocked by such a thought.

    Seth raised his arm and asked, "Why do they think so?"

    "In the New World, strength is everything." Dakota formed a fist and ced it on her chest. "The weak have no real part in that world except to get stronger. So, a thought has been created that they would be of better use as ves for stronger mercenaries."

    The yers stayed silent.

    "However, it is very inhumane, so that thought is not shared by the majority." Dakota said. "Only King Moriarty can make very legal. However, luckily for everyone, he doesn''t share that ideology."

    The yers sighed in relief and made a mental note to avoid those Pro-Strong lunatics.

    "The Church of God Almighty is a tamer organization. They worship God Almighty, the creator of this world. However, they''re very religious and devoted to their beliefs. They can also be dangerous.

    "Then, there are some other factions, some that are staying in the shadows."

    Dakota finished and wiped the scribbling off the ckboard.

    "If you, one day, be strong enough, you may also create your own guild." Dakota said. "You''ll need to be Royal Mercenary in order to do so."

    ''I created my own guild, tinum Mercenaries, as soon as I was able to.'' Adam thought to himself. ''They were fiercely loyal to me. However, the ones that I thought were most loyal, ended up betraying me in the end.''

    Adam clicked his tongue as he again remembered those few faces.

    Liam, Lisa, Nikhs, and Amelia were the ones who suggested making a guild between the five of them. Since Adam was the only one who had reached Royal Mercenary at that point, he became the guild leader.

    He didn''t really want to, but he thought it would be fun with his friends. His guild managed to grow exponentially in a short amount of time. Therefore, his guild became one of the strongest forces in Star Faction.

    ''I don''t really know what I''ll do in this life...'' Adam sighed and scratched the back of his head.

    "Anyway, this will be the end of the lesson." Dakota put down her stick and added, "Remember, choose your guild wisely. It could determine your fate in the New World!" The yers nodded and stood up while stretching their numb-gone limbs. They also started talking with their friends loudly, instantly engulfing the auditorium with loud voices.

    At that moment, the door swung open with loud enough force to silence all the chatter. The yers saw Ron waltz into the room, a cold expression on his face.

    "Everyone!" Ron shouted loudly. "Go to your quarters; pack up your stuff. This is thest hour you''re in the Safe Area. You only have an hour to pack up; once you''re done, meet up in front of the fourth floor''s door!"

    Following that, Ron left the auditorium, leaving behind shocked yers.

    Without even a second passing, the yers started whispering about what the hell was going on. They then realized that this was it-the final stage in the tutorial.

    Today, the tutorial will end.

    Adam stood up, yawned shortly, and then left the auditorium with his hands inside his pockets. He headed straight to his quarters to pack up his stuff.

    "Adam!" Donald shouted from behind and ran to catch him.

    "Yes?" Adam didn''t turn around and continued walking straight.

    "Do you think this will be the end?" Donald asked while panting nervously. "The end of the tutorial."

    "Yes." Adam said with a nod. "The fourth floor opens in an hour. Go prepare yourself; it is thest push."

    "Damn, this is ruthless." Donald panted heavily. "We''re all exhausted, and now this..." "This is nothingpared to what mercenaries have to suffer day and night." Adam said. "Ah, what do you mean?"

    "I have heard some stuff, such as some Boss Fightssting for three days. The longest fight hassted for seven days.

    "It isn''t umon for a fight tost over a day. Imagine having to constantly be on edge to fight for that long. This is nothingpared to this."

    "Seven days?!" Donald eximed. "They take breaks, right? There is no way it is possible to stay awake for that long."

    "Breaks, hah, right." Adam chuckled. "That is, unfortunately, not an option. Seven days, non- stop, fighting."

    "That is insane..." Donald touched the back of his head and then gritted his teeth. ''This is nothingpared to that. I''ll have to push through.''

    "See you and good luck." Adam reached his door, opened it with his keys, and entered.

    Donald watched as the door closed and started heading in the direction of his room. He was still thinking about fighting for seven days. It made him respect the mercenaries that had to go through that.

    ...

    Adam packed up some of the clothes he had purchased and stuffed them inside his backpack. He then grabbed some of his food rations, filled the water canteen with water, and put them inside his neatly arranged backpack.

    Then he ced it on the floor and sat down on the soft bed.

    "Mhm..." He rubbed his neck, loosening his muscles as he let out a contented sigh. "Thest

    push..."

    Knock, knock!

    "Come in." Adam turned to the door, which opened, and a sweet-smiled woman walked in.

    "Muriel?"

    "You finished packing?" Muriel asked as she looked at the neat and tidy room.

    "Yeah, I was about to get going." Adam said, slung the backpack over his shoulder, and stood up slowly, as if the backpack weighed a ton.

    "Mm, good luck. This will be thest test." Muriel said. "I''ll be going to talk with the Council of Mercenaries. They''re the ones that eventually decide the final score."

    "Are the Council of Mercenaries going to watch the final test?" Adam asked.

    "..." Muriel nodded. "Yes, they will be watching. After that, we Handlers, have to tell the council what score we should give to our recruit. We have to convince them..."

    "I see." Adam nodded and sighed heavily. "I did everything I could. I hope it was enough."

    Muriel looked at him with a deep look. She then softly nodded and said, "I believe it was. I''ll

    also... try my best."

    "Thanks." Adam chuckled, walked past her, and opened the door. "Farewell."

    With that, he left the room, and his footsteps grew distant.

    Muriel walked over to the lightswitch, flicked it to turn off the lights, and then stepped out of

    the room. There were keys inside the lock-those were Adam''s keys.

    She took them and pocketed them, then she closed the door. Muriel touched the door with a sense of finality and then walked away.

    ''I''ll also do everything I can...'' Muriel straightened her back, raised her chin, and marched away confidently. ''I''ll also do everything I can to make sure Adam gets what he deserves.''

 Chapter 55: The Boss

    Chapter 55: The Boss

    ?

    The yers, around thirty of them, stood in six different rows. They looked like a military unit preparing for the battle.

    In front of them all, Ron stood with one hand holding a sword and another one holding a shield. He emitted a powerful aura that instilled fear and respect in all who looked at him.

    "Follow me." With that simple order, Ron turned around and stepped through the door to the fourth floor.

    The yers, hesitant at first, followed right behind him. First, it was the leftmost row, then the right one, until all six rows of yers had stepped through the door.

    This was thest time that this group of yers were seen in the safe area.

    -

    After a sh of light had passed, the yers opened their eyes to an amazing view. They were standing on a long stairway that led up into the starry sky. The stairway was hovering in the air with no visible means of support.

    "Ah!" The yers cried out; some of them almost even fell off the stairs in their shock.

    "This is the fourth floor?" Donald looked around in amazement. "How mystifying."

    Ron continued walking up the stairs, his boots echoing loudly with each step. Only one person was following him; it was Adam. Then, other yers woke up from their shock and quickly followed after them.

    It looked like the staircase led all the way to the space above. It just continued stretching on and on, seemingly without end.

    At that moment, it was as if the reality around them shifted; the distance between them and the sky shrank rapidly until they all took the final steps on the stairway and stepped onto a starry tform.

    The tform had stars engraved all over its surface, twinkling and shimmering in the darkness. The tform was surrounded by the starry sky on all sides, creating a mesmerizing and enchanting atmosphere.

    The tform hovered in the air without any support and was as high as the clouds themselves. It was an experience unlike any other.

    Those with a fear of heights felt their stomachs churn with anxiety as they looked down at the vast expanse below.

    Ron stopped in the middle of the tform, then turned 180 degrees and faced all the yers, who were amazed by the view.

    "Excuse me, where is the boss?" Seth asked, his voice trembling with slight anxiety. "This is the boss room, right?"

    "That''s right, this is the boss room." Ron nodded.

    "Then where is the boss?" Ramon asked with a prideful voice. "I like the view and all, but I would like to leave the tutorial already!"

    "Well, about that." Ron chuckled and stabbed his sword through the tform''s floor. "I am the boss."

    After the words echoed throughout the sky, the yers eximed and cried out in shock. "You''re the boss?!"

    "What the hell?!"

    "Ahahaha..." Ramonughed slowly and grinned sinisterly. "I see now. So, mind sharing your rank with us?"

    "My rank is Grandeur." Ron said. "It is the sixth rank in the Mercenary Hierarchy." ''Grandeurs are considered quite powerful; they are usually part of the core of the guild.''

    "I see..." Ramon licked his lips and asked, "How strong are you from us?"

    "Strong enough that even a thousand of you wouldn''t be able to beat me." Ron said it with a cold voice.

    "Hah, humble one." Ramon jokingly said, but he could feel the unfathomable pressure sinking his shoulders down.

    He knew that defeating Ron wasn''t an option. It wasn''t even a possibility.

    "How the hell can we clear this floor then?!" Seth asked in urgency.

    "Clearing this floor has different requirements." Ron said and then, his fancy armor started disappearing into pixels, revealing a skin-tight ck shirt that outlined his perfect muscles.

    "You only need tond a scratch on me, and you all will clear the floor."

    "Only a scratch?"

    "That should be easy enough..."

    "It must be much harder than the third floor, so be prepared!"

    "That''s right, if Ron knows Kiryoku, we can''t evennd a hit on him!"

    Ron, hearing all the discussions, smiled in amusement.

    "Also, to make it even easier, I won''t use any of the Three Powers or my skills. It will only be my sword and shield."

    Hearing that, yers felt excited and more confident about this uing challenge. However, there were a few yers who weren''t as naive.

    Those were Ramon, Hannibal, Adam, and Donald.

    They wore solemn expressions as they had a hunch that this wasn''t going to be as easy as Ron made it sound.

    "Whenever you all are ready." Ron chuckled, pulled out his sword from the ground, and faced the group of yers.

    At that moment, all the yers noticed something strange-the shield and sword were exactly the same as what Adam had been using. It was the ordinary steel shortsword and the

    round shield!

    This meant Ron wasn''t even nning to use his vastly better weapons. He nned to use the same poor weapons as them!

    ''How much is he handicapping himself? Facing thirty of us can''t be that easy for him!''

    That thought was shared by the majority of the yers. They started to feel increasing

    concern.

    They all knew that Ron was stronger than them, but not by how much.

    "Come on, didn''t you guys want to leave?" Ronughed. "This is your chance!"

    The yers hesitated, none of them wanted to be the first to attack.

    At that moment, one yer rushed past the yers and swung his sword at Ron.

    "Hahahaha!" Ronughed after seeing who it was. "Come on, show me what you''re made of,

    Adam!"

    ng!

    Adam''s shortsword shed with Ron''s sword. The sparks flew as they shed in a fierce

    confrontation.

    CRACKKKKKK!

    Adam side-stepped to the side, moved to Ron''s side with amazing speed, and then drove his sword towards his exposed waist.

    At that moment, Ron''s shield came down and parried the stabbing sword away.

    Adam changed the grip on his sword slightly, then thrust it upwards towards Ron''s chest.

    Ron chuckled in amusement and took a slow step to the side, avoiding the thrust with time to

    spare.

    Adam quickly moved his shield and rammed straight at Ron, but as if he expected it, he blocked the ramming attempt with his own shield.

    The two shields shed, but Adam couldn''t force Ron to take a single step backwards. It was a clear difference in physical strength.

    "Is that all?" Ron asked with augh. "Where is that speed of yours?"

    Adam silently reeled back his sword, then started stabbing repeatedly towards Ron''s face. Each stab was designed to deliver Instant Kill. He was fighting to kill his opponent!

    Ron chuckled and weaved through the rain of stabs with a smile on his face. It looked so

    effortless.

    ''Isn''t he using Kiryoku?''

    The yers wondered to themselves as this resembled Kuruma''s movements.

    However, Adam knew the truth.

    ''He isn''t using Kiryoku; it is just that all of my attacks look like they''re moving in slow motion

    in Ron''s eyes. His speed is just beyond ourprehension.''

    As Ron weaved through another wave of stabs, his ears perked up as he heard some noise. He

    quickly spun around and blocked a machete strike with his shield.

    "Oh, you might be a nice assassin." Ron chuckled as he looked at the grim-looking Ramon. "I almost didn''t hear you."

 Chapter 56: Unarmed Combat

    Chapter 56: Unarmed Combat

    ?

    "Now!" Ramon shouted.

    Ron''s eyebrow jumped, and in that moment, Hannibal jumped from his blind spot with arge knife in hand. Ramon instantly rushed to tackle Ron, nning to wrap his arms around him so he couldn''t dodge.

    "Tricks." Ron spat out as he easily sidestepped Ramon''s tackle and delivered a swift punch to his stomach.

    Ramon fell down on his knees, clutching his abdomen in pain.

    Hannibal swung his knife down, but then Ron grabbed him by the wrist with his shield- wielding hand and twisted it, causing the knife to drop to the ground. Then he brought Hannibal''s arm down, forcing him down to the ground.

    "Go to sleep." Ron said and smashed the sword''s hilt into Hannibal''s head.

    Hannibal reeled back, leaving a small bleeding dent in his head, and then slowly fell to the ground. He was still alive but had lost his consciousness.

    "A nice attempt." Ron said with a smile. "My abilities are still above that."

    At that moment, a steel de appeared behind his back, about to go straight through him, but then Ron tilted his body to the side. The de went right past him, nearly scratching him.

    "Oh..." Ron turned to Adam, who was holding the sword, with a smile on his face. "I shouldn''t forget you."

    Adam didn''t look frustrated that his attack was near sess. He moved alongside his sword, ran past Ron, and then turned around to face him once more.

    Donald, watching the fight, steeled his nerves and clutched his sword tightly, ready to join the fray.

    "Guys, we can only do this if we work together!" Donald shouted to all the yers near him. "Let''s put pressure on Ron; we can''t defeat him alone!"

    The yers gritted their teeth, then, with a loud scream, they rushed forward towards Ron. He was the only obstacle left in this long tutorial. He was the final obstacle.

    Ron looked over his shoulder and then moved his sword in front of him, blocking another attack from Adam. Heunched the attack as soon as Ron''s eyes moved elsewhere.

    However, Ron was prepared for it.

    "Now it is getting interesting." Ron said and turned back to Adam with a smile. "Take a break, Adam. I''ll test the others real quick."

    Adam''s eyebrows furrowed, but at that moment, Ron''s high kicknded on his head. It came so quickly and so unexpectedly that he didn''t have any chance of dodging it.

    His eyes rolled back to his skull, and he slowly fell to the ground-Adam fell unconscious.

    Ron turned back to the yers, smiled, and walked calmly towards them.

    The yers-over twenty of them-attacked Ron from all angles. From low, from high, from middle, and even from behind. He was surrounded.

    Ron ced his shield in front of him and then swung it in front of him. The shield made a loud noise as it blocked the first few hits, but the yers were relentless.

    The other attacks approached him from all directions.

    "Interesting."

    Ron said casually, and then he raised his sword and ordinarily swung it around him. It was a 360 degree sh. It didn''t hit anyone, but then a powerful shockwave struck all the yers and blew them away.

    The yers groaned loudly and desperately stopped themselves from moving any further back, as there was danger of falling off the tform. Then it would be a very long fall to the bottom.

    Ron smiled in amusement, but then heard rapid panting from behind him and quickly moved his shield behind him. A swordnded on his shield and made a loud noise.

    "Rgghh!" Donald gritted his teeth as his attack failed.

    "You followed up quickly; were you out of the range of my shockwave attack?" Ron looked impressed. "Not bad, not bad at all."

    ''I nned to have others act as decoys, and then I''ll finish off Ron with a sneak attack. He still managed to block my attack!''

    "I still don''t approve of your fighting style." Ron said coldly. "You''re way too ready to sacrifice others."

    Ron slowly sheathed his sword and strapped his shield to his back. He wasn''t holding any weapons now.

    "I''ll make it even easier for you guys; I''ll just use my hands." Ron said, the confidence evident in his voice.

    A small distance away, Adam regained his consciousness and touched his aching head with an ufortable look.

    ''He kicked at my temple.'' Adam shook his head and stood back up.

    He then regained his focus and saw what was happening in the fight. Ron was standing without weapons, and other yers looked disheveled.

    It didn''t look like the fight was going well.

    "That bastard is strong." Ramon walked to him, still clutching his abdomen. "We need to

    come up with a n quickly before it''s toote."

    "We?" Adam looked at him and chuckled. "I didn''t take you as a team yer."

    "Huh, I followed the lead on the third floor, didn''t I?" Ramon scoffed.

    "I suppose..." Adam rolled his tongue inside his mouth and said, "There aren''t any ns that would work against Ron. He is far too strong."

    "We just need tond a single scratch on him; how hard can that be?" Ramon asked in

    frustration.

    "It is hard, incredibly so," Adam said. "I don''t think you still realize the difference in our and Ron''s abilities. He could''ve already defeated us if he wanted to."

    "So fucking what? This cannot be an impossible test!" Ramon shouted angrily.

    "It isn''t impossible." Adam picked up his shield and sword from the ground, then said, "However, defeating him is very much impossible."

    "Eh?" Ramon watched as Adam started walking towards Ron. "What''re you doing now?"

    "Fight; that''s pretty much all we can do." Adam said.

    Back at the fight, Donald swung his broadsword; each swing was very wide and sloppy. Ron dodged them all while barely moving.

    "Your swordsmanship is poor, very much so." Ron raised his leg and said, "That''s one thing you must train."

    Then he kicked Donald very hard in the thigh, sending him sprawling to the ground. The kick sounded like a gunshot.

    "Oh, you woke up." Ron turned around and saw Adam walking towards him. "Not bad."

    His eyes then went to Hannibal, who was still lying on the ground. He was knocked out cold, and it didn''t look like he was going to wake up any time soon.

    "I needed the rest." Adam said and moved into a fighting stance. "Thank you for that."

    "No problem." Ron moved his hands in front of him, looking like he was about to grapple. "I''ve been itching for a good sparring partner."

    "Unarmedbat..." Adam shrugged his shoulders and dropped his shield and sword to the ground. "It''s been some time since I''ve fought someone with fists."

    "It doesn''t hurt to know unarmedbat." Ron said with a smile. "In the New World, there are some people who fight with their fists. Their fists can crack mountains, split the earth, and

    destroy forests."

    Adam moved his right hand beside his shoulder and his left hand near his waist, and his feet

    were positioned shoulder-width apart.

    "Boxing?" Ron asked with a raised eyebrow. "Any prior experience?"

    "A little," Adam said, and then lunged forward. During the lunge, he lowered his stance and

    threw over-shoulder punch with perfect form and precision.

    Ron moved his hand to grab the fist, but at that moment, the fist disappeared. It never

    connected with Ron''s hand.

    Adam disappeared from his field of vision. Ron''s eyes panicked slightly, and then he lowered

    his gaze just enough to see that Adam was going for a tackle!

    ''That punch was a feint. He punched, then did a feint into a tackle!''

    Ron thought with amazement and then quickly grabbed Adam by his shoulders before he

    could finish his tackle. At that moment, Adam wrapped his arms behind Ron''s legs, then lifted

    him up and mmed him to the ground with all his strength.

    CRACK!

 Chapter 57: Adam vs. Ron

    Chapter 57: Adam vs. Ron

    ?

    "Argh!" Adam groaned loudly, veins bulging on his forehead. ''H-he just doesn''t move!''

    "Oh, a nice try." Ron chuckled, his legs firmly rooted on the ground, with Adam trying desperately to lift them up.

    Adam''s tackle desperately failed.

    At first, Adam managed to lift him up and start throwing him towards the ground. However, somehow, Ron managed to bring his feet back down to the ground andpletely nullify his tackling attempt.

    "Your tacklecked the strength and technique needed to take me down," Ron taunted, then grabbed Adam by his left shoulder and threw him to the ground instead.

    Adam''s back crashed to the ground, a loud groan escaping his lips.

    "You are definitely good at striking, but your tackle needs work." Ron said and then chuckled. "You''re not actually good at wrestling, aren''t you? You just wanted to bring me down, as that counts as your victory. A nice attempt."

    "You caught me..." Adam groaned and stood back up, his back slightly bruised and bleeding from the roughnding.

    He never nned to challenge Ron in wrestling. He only needed to bring him down, and that counted as a victory for them.

    Unfortunately, the strength difference was just so immense that he was unable to finish his tackle.

    "You couldn''t get a good grip of my other leg." Ron looked at Adam''s hand, which missed two fingers. "Real unfortunate."

    "Even if I had my fingers, my tackle still would''ve failed." Adam said. "When I tackled you, it felt like I was trying to move a mountain."

    "Yeah, the difference in level between us is just too much." Ron sighed, actually feeling frustrated by it.

    "I wish I was able to control my brain processing speed, like some others are. I would be able to lower my reaction time and speed to match yours.

    "I want to fight you on equal ground some day, maybe once you''ve reached my level."

    At that moment, Adam put his arms close to his chest and rushed at Ron. He immediately reached close range, nning to take this fight to the next level.

    "What''s your next n?" Ron formed fists with his hands and smirked. "What kind of fighting style will you use now?"

    Adam stomped on the ground, twisted his waist, and threw a straight punch. His shoulder rotated, and his body lunged forward with full force.

    Ron caught the punch and made it slide past him, causing Adam''s bnce to falter and his body to be unguarded.

    At that moment, Adam revealed his thumb from his clenched fist and thrust it straight towards Ron''s eye.

    Ron quickly moved his head out of the way, his eyes slightly shaking. He was not expecting Adam to fight back so fiercely.

    After the thumb strike missed, Adam took a step closer, ced his arm beside his waist, and threw a powerful straight punch. It looked like a punch from traditional karate.

    Ron narrowed his eyes and elbowed the fist away before it could make contact.

    The fingers of the fist looked bruised.

    Ron then raised his leg and did a low kick towards Adam''s knee.

    Adam quickly jumped over the kick and did a front kick to Ron''s chest. However, he caught it by the ankle and then mmed Adam straight to the ground.

    CRACK!

    "Argh!" Adam groaned, and he thought he heard his spine crack in half.

    ''Since I can still move, I didn''t just get paralyzed!'' Adam thought to himself, then jumped back to his feet, sweating furiously because of the intense confrontation.

    "You showed that you can fight with great skill, but you''re still not using your greatest weapon." Ron cracked his knuckles and asked, "Come on, show me your speed."

    "No worries, you''ll see something even beyond that."

    Adam moved into a cat stance-it was a traditional stance in martial arts.

    He had one foot in front of the other, his weight evenly distributed. The front foot stood on its toes, while the other was t on the ground. His hands were open-palmed, ced near his waist, and his back waspletely straight with his head facing forward.

    "Well then, show me!" Ron pounced forward like a wild beast.

    With lightning speed, he appeared in front of Adam and threw a punch so powerful that it caused the air to explode around them.

    Adam slid his foot to the side and barely dodged the punch. He then jabbed two of his fingers towards Ron''s exposed eyes.

    "Again with that." Ron caught the hand with ease and twisted it, causing Adam to wince in pain.

    Adam intentionally dropped down to his knees and swiped his leg out, aiming to trip Ron.

    Ron steeled his leg''s muscles and blocked the attempt without any difficulty. His leg didn''t move an inch.

    Another failed attempt.

    Adam ced his hands under him and flipped himself over,nding on his two feet without a smile on his face.

    Then he rushed in and moved into a different stance. This time it was a flicker stance from boxing. He started throwing jabs, one after another.

    Ron furrowed his brows and weaved through the jabs without any difficulty.

    ''What''s the point in all of this? He should know that these attacks have no chance of hitting me.''

    ...

    In a dimly lit room with arge screen and lots of chairs-it looked like a cinema.

    On therge screen, seven shadowy figures sat on their high-end chairs. Most of them looked bored, leaning against the backrest or leaning against their arms.

    There were a few who continued watching with straight backs and intense focus, their eyes never leaving the screen.

    In the room, around thirty Handlers, stood patiently with their heads slightly bowed. Some of them were fidgeting nervously, while others appeared calm and collected.

    There was another screen for them to watch-a smaller screen that showed the battle on the

    fourth floor.

    "How much time is left?" One of the seven shadowy figures asked.

    One of the Handlers brought out a timepiece and said, "Five minutes."

    "Huh, they''ve already been on Fourth Floor fifty-five minutes..."

    "It looks like they weren''t able to harm Ron, after all."

    "Not a surprise. The Fourth Floor is rarelypleted fully, after all. Unless one has an S-

    ranked candidate in the group, it is very difficult."

    "Still, I suppose this group has some decent recruits."

    "This, Adam Palestar, is the top recruit, was he not?"

    "He was, indeed, the one who has made quite a ruckus. He is a decent fighter and has some

    prior fighting experience."

    "What''s his rank going to be?"

    "It looks like an A-ranker to me."

    "Yeah."

    "Agreed."

    At the back of the room, Muriel clenched her hands and looked at the screen. ''This ain''t enough. He deserves so much more. Adam, it is time to show why you belong among those

    monsters!''

    ...

    Adam reeled in his fist and dodged a slow punch from Ron. He then backed off till he arrived

    next to his dropped shield and sword.

    "Enough of Unarmed Combat?" Ron saw that and asked with a grin.

    "Unarmed Combat is dead-end." Adam said without emotion in his tone. "I''ll never be able

    to touch you. And I''m done trying."

    "Huh?" Ron''s eyebrow jumped.

    At that moment, Adam picked up his shield and sword, then stood up slowly, his back slowly

    straightening out.

    ''The time limit is almost up...'' Adam thought to himself. ''This floor has a time limit of one hour. Once that is up, the Fourth Floor is over. Every yer still clears the floor and has sessfully finished the tutorial.

    ''Ron''s job was to show the difference between his and our strengths. Coinfeeders have to know the extreme difference in strength so they won''t foolishly go pick fights in the New

    World.

    ''He was never supposed to kill us or anything. Just to teach us a lesson, that''s why he has stopped multiple lethal blows and has been holding back on all of his attacks.

    ''The ''Boss'' of the Fourth Floor is rarely ''defeated'' because it is just so hard for Coinfeeder tond an attack on someone of Ron''s skill level. However, every S-ranker so far has cleared it.

    ''If I don''t, there is no way I''ll be one!

    ''It is time to show what Little God is really capable of. It''s not only speed.''

 Chapter 58: Historic

    Chapter 58: Historic

    ?

    ''Those two are monsters!'' Seth thought to himself as he watched Adam and Ron fight each other.

    While Ron was clearly stronger and faster, Adam was equally impressive. His Unarmed Combat techniques were very high level. It was clear that he had prior experience.

    It made Seth feel small and insignificant. He had never fought before going to the tutorial. Not even in school. He never brawled with his friends or ssmates.

    ''Brother, how could I possibly survive in the New World if there are people like Ron around every corner?'' Seth gulped, fear slipping into his mind. ''I-I don''t think I am cut out for this.'' His sses, covering his dark blue eyes, reflected Adam''s unfazed expression.

    ''I am not like him, and I am not like Donald or Ramon. They''re all special. I am... nobody...''

    He then heard some whispers from nearby yers.

    "Maybe we should attack while Ron is distracted?" A short-haired yer suggested to his friend.

    "As if that would work." His friend scoffed at the idea. "Ron has ears like a fox and a nose like a dog. He can hear using from a mile away."

    ''A sneak attack, hah, that has already failed so many times...'' Ron looked at his hand, which was holding an ordinary pitchfork.

    ''In the third floor, I dealt some damage to Kuruma, but that''s pretty much my only contribution to this tutorial so far. Will I even be able to be a mercenary as I am now...

    ''Brother, mother, father, I am their final hope. I was supposed to be mercenary, be rich, and get out of poverty. I don''t think I can do it. I am weak...''

    Seth''s hands trembled, and his nails dug deep into his palm. He bit his lip, spilling blood down his chin. He looked up at the sky, tears streaming down his face.

    ''I hate this. Why did my brother have to fail? I didn''t want this responsibility. God damn it!''

    Seth screamed to himself and pped himself in the face. The nearby yers looked at him with strange expressions. They didn''t understand what the hell was going on with him.

    ...

    Ron picked up his sword and shield from the ground.

    "So, what''re you nning to show me?" Heughed as he raised his weapons.

    Adam looked over Ron''s shoulder, caught sight of someone, and then turned back to Ron.

    "This is my pinnacle." Adam took a deep breath, ced the shield in front of him, and softly opened his eyes.

    His heart started pounding against his chest as if it were trying to burst through. His legs and arm muscles swelled, the veins bulged, and danced around his forearms like fiery serpents.

    ''Little God Style, I Am Thee...'' Adam''s eyes mmed open, and he then shed forward with a speed that surpassed any human capability, leaving only a blur of motion in his wake. ''The Cycle of Life!''

    Ron''s eyes mmed wide open, and he quickly side-stepped. In that very instant, Adam struck a powerful blow that shattered the ground where Ron had just been standing.

    Ron barely managed to dodge out of the way, just in time.

    ''What the hell is this power?'' Ron thought to himself in shock. ''This is not what Coinfeeder should be capable of doing.''

    "The Cycle of Death!" Adam rushed after Ron and thrust his sword toward him.

    Ron put his shield up just in time to block the blow. BOOM. The impact rocked the shield and shockingly made Ron take a single step back.

    ''What in the world?!'' Ron''s eyes shook furiously. ''He pushed me back?!''

    "I have a favor to ask." Adam said, catching his breath. "Can you do that for me?"

    "What is it?" Ron asked with a frown.

    "Can you give me the sk of Setting Sun and the sk of Rising Moon?" Adam asked with blood draining from his face.

    "Why?" Ron asked with a strange look.

    "Because after this..." Adam chuckled and grinned. "I might die."

    Ron''s heart sank as he realized the seriousness of the situation.

    ''What kind of person is he? What was he taught? His own body can''t handle the power of his techniques. Is he a pupil of one of the legendary Martial Arts schools that has already gone into seclusion?

    ''I don''t think any other ce can create this kind of monster...''

    Ron pulled out his interface and brought out two sks-one had grayish liquid while the other one had golden-they were the sks of the Setting Sun and Rising Moon!

    He tossed them over to Adam, who caught them and stored them inside his inventory.

    "I appreciate it..." Adam coughed uncontrobly, blood dribbling down his chin.

    Ron moved out of his fighting stance and brought out his timepiece. There was only one minute left.

    "I enjoyed this; I indeed did." Ron said and then sighed. "I guess I still prevailed."

    "Did you now?" Adam wiped the blood off his lips and took a deep breath. "I haven''t gotten this far just to fail at the finishing line."

    Crack-with a powerful stomp, Adam vanished from the view. He moved around the tform with such speed that not a single yer managed to see him, except Ron.

    Ron looked around with his hawk-like eyes and managed to keep track of Adam. He still had to agree that he was quite fast. Still, he was faster.

    As Adam was about tounch an attack, Ron vanished from sight and appeared right in front of him. He moved with such speed that he even created an afterimage that tricked Adam into thinking he was still where he had been.

    "Not bad!" Ron said with a smirk and a twinkle in his eyes. "I bet you didn''t see thising." He then grabbed Adam by his cor and brought him back down to the ground,ughing triumphantly.

    CRASH!

    After the dust cleared, Adam coughed blood; his health had dropped all the way to the bottom. He only had a few health points left.

    Ron stood over him in victory.

    "That was a nice fight." Ronughed and checked his timepiece. "And... the time''s over."

    He was about to offer his hand to Adam to help him stand up, but then everything around him started to look hazy and disorientating. Adam and all the yers looked like they were fading away into nothingness.

    The sky turned green, and all the stars seemed to glow brighter than ever before.

    "Eh, what the hell is going on?"

    At that moment, Ron''s vision turned dark.

    "Oh my god!"

    "What the fuck!"

    All the yers shouted in shock all around the tform. They were all in shock. Everyone

    watching couldn''t believe their eyes.

    On the ground, Ron''s eyes looked nk, and he was drooling from his mouth. Adam, on the other hand, had his legs wrapped around his neck, squeezing tight.

    Adam had put Ron into a triangle hold without him noticing a thing and now, Ron''s eyes looked nk as if he was unconscious!

    "Ahahaha..." Adam stared into Ron''s unconscious eyes andughed. "I am actually pretty

    good at grappling. I tricked ya. Checkmate, Ron..."

    For the first time ever, on the Fourth Floor, the ''Boss'' since the destruction of the Respawn

    Crystal had been defeated!

    Adam, as Coinfeeder, had defeated a powerhouse of Grandeur Rank!

    The Fourth Floor erupted into cheers and apuse.

    The most shocking thing in the history of the tutorial just happened!

    In the history of the entire Mortal Online, this was something extremely rare!

 Chapter 59: Near Death

    Chapter 59: Near Death

    ?

    "Ah!" Ron''s eyes mmed open, and he sat up with cold sweat rolling down his forehead.

    He looked around with shaking eyes and trembling lips. He then saw Adam patting dust off his trousers and standing up.

    The yers were celebrating their victory.

    "What the..." Ron touched his neck, feeling tight. "No, that isn''t possible."

    "Yo, you got rolled." Ramon''s taunting voice came from behind him.

    Ron turned around and saw a grinning Ramon; he then asked, "How long was I unconscious?" "Only about three to four seconds." Ramon smirked. "That''s still our victory, no?"

    ''That long...'' Ron touched his head with a shocked expression. ''In a life-and-death match, Adam would''ve killed me. What in the world happened?!''

    Adam stood silently, touching his chest. He was pale-faced, as if all blood were drained from his face. Something was happening to his body.

    ''The devouring is about to start. With the sks of the Setting Sun and Rising Moon I have a chance to survive, but I will need to act quickly...''

    "Adam..." At that moment, Ron spoke up and stood up with trembling legs. "Tell me how you defeated me."

    "You want to know everything?" Adam stopped touching his chest and turned to Ron with a raised eyebrow.

    "Yes, I need to know." Ron said, taking deep breaths.

    "First of all, I tricked you." Adam raised one finger.

    "Tricked?" Ron frowned.

    "That tackle that failed, I intentionally did it badly." Adam said. "This made you less wary of my grappling abilities. Instead, I made you only focus on my striking. That was an important part of the n.

    "Second, I never used my top speed, not even against Kuruma. I knew that if I saved it forter, it would catch you off guard and give me a chance.

    "At the end of the match, as you mmed me to the ground, I wrapped my legs around your neck with my top speed. You couldn''t react in time, as you thought you already knew the limits of my speed.

    "Third, you thought I gave up on Unarmed Combat as I picked up my sword and shield. I never did. I always nned on using grappling as my final gambit.

    "Lastly, I had to make you believe that you''ve won. As you grabbed me by the cor and mmed me to the ground, your muscles loosened and your mind eased, causing your reaction time to slow down.

    "That was when my setup was finallypleted. You fell right into my trap."

    "Unbelievable..." Ron whispered in shock. "I got tricked by mere Coinfeeder..."

    "I was lucky; it was a big gamble." Adam said. "If you hadn''t limited yourself, if you had used Kiryoku, it would''ve never worked. In a real match, without any restrictions, I would have a zero percent chance of victory.

    "There''s one thing I can''t understand." Ron said with a frown. "Before everything went dark, I saw strange... illusions. It was why I didn''t see that I was put on a triangle choke hold." Adam smiled and thought to himself. ''Little God Style, Coiling Serpent. Little God has the ability to create illusions that can deceive even the most skilled fighters. After I put him into a triangle hold, I put Ron under a small illusion.''

    ''Again, it would''ve never worked if Ron had used Kiryoku. This illusion skill is also weak; as I am only a Coinfeeder, it bes more powerful alongside me. I was indeed lucky that Ron decided to limit himself to this extent.''

    "Your mind probably yed some tricks on you." Donald approached the two. "With that speed and strength, your supply of oxygen was stopped so suddenly that your brain yed some tricks on you."

    "Maybe..." Ron said as he rubbed his head. "It doesn''t matter; the truth is that I lost."

    At first, they only had to scratch Ron to "clear" this floor. If they had, it wouldn''t have counted as Ron''s loss. However, now that he lost his consciousness, he actually lost. It was something unheard of.

    There was a gap of six ranks between the twobatants.

    RUMBLE!

    At that moment, the tform started shaking, and from the ground, a flight of stairs appeared that led fifteen meters into the sky. Then, at the top of the stairs, a glowing door appeared.

    It was a strange door-it was a white door with angel wings that were slowly pping up and down, emitting a soft golden light.

    Ron looked at the door, let out a sigh, and said, "The door to the fifth floor is open. You all have officially cleared the tutorial!"

    After hearing that, the yers erupted in cheers. Some heaved sighs of relief, some were nervous about scores, but they were all excited about finally leaving the tutorial.

    It had been a long month.

    The yers started rushing up the stairs towards the door.

    ''I lost, huh...'' Ron turned to Adam, who was strangely standing still and not speaking a word. ''Still, I don''t feel too bad. I lost to a very special individual.''

    At that moment, Adam fell down to his knees and coughed up ck blood. He wasn''t looking good at all.

    "Are you alright?" Ron kneeled in front of him and asked in worry. ''His body is breaking apart. What kind of techniques was taught to him that his own body couldn''t handle?''

    "Y-yeah, just give a moment." Adam breathed heavily.

    Inside his body, a bloody snake head appeared from his heart and started hissing menacingly. Then, the snake head started to slither inside him, devouring him from the inside out.

    ''I-I am about to die...'' Adam whispered inventory and, with a shaky hand, brought out the two sks of vastly different-colored liquids.

    ''The sk of the Setting Sun and Rising Moon.'' Ron thought to himself. ''That''s why he wanted those. Those are the only things that can save him.''

    Adam popped open the two sks and grabbed both. However, he wasn''t drinking them yet. He was waiting for the devouring to end.

    ''If I drink these before the devouring is over, the Little God will still continue to consume my insides. I have to drink these once the devouring is over to fix everything.''

    ''Why isn''t he drinking?'' Ron frowned.

    Adam looked extremely sickly and weak as he sat there, staring at the sks in his hands.

    His insides were a mess. Little God left nothing behind except a beating heart and a soul that

    was slowly fading away.

    At that moment, Little God vanished into a mist of blood.

    ''Now!'' Adam moved the sks to his lips and started drinking both of them at once, hoping it wasn''t toote to save himself.

    While traversing through his throat, the two liquids mixed with each other, creating a violent reaction that sent excruciating pain throughout his entire body.

    ''Deal with it; it is just pain!'' Adam''s veins bulged out of his flesh, and he looked like he was

    about to burst.

    Atst, the medicine started to work its magic, and all of his internal organs started to restore themselves to their usual state. His broken flesh slowly began to heal, and the color returned

    to his face.

    His two missing fingers magically appeared, and the broken fingers of his other hand, which were broken by Ron''s elbow strike, began to straighten out and reconnect as well. "Haaa!" Adam let out a relieved sigh. It sounded like he had been holding his breath for far

    too long.

    "You alright?" Ron asked, wanting to make sure.

    "Yeah, I am great..." Adam slowly stood up and smiled. "Shall we also leave for the Fifth

    Floor?"

 Chapter 60: The Fifth Floor

    Chapter 60: The Fifth Floor

    ?

    In the dimly lit room.

    Therge screen showed the seven shadowy figures. There was a silence.

    All the Handlers had shocked expressions. This was an oue none of them expected.

    On the other hand, Muriel had the brightest smile on her beautiful face. She had been so nervous that her smile was a mixture of relief and joy.

    "This changes things..." One of the shadowy figures said with a voice of clear surprise.

    It showed just how monumental this moment was. None of them ever expected this to happen.

    "This doesn''t change anything!" A rough-sounding figure shouted. "That fool Ron lost his guard like a fool!"

    "Come on, Mister Hawthorne, we all know that it wasn''t that." A pleasant-sounding woman said. "A better strategy won. Adam perfectly used his weaknesses to his advantage."

    Hawthorne mmed his hand on the chair''s armrest and shouted. "Ron was idiotic, that''s all. This doesn''t change anything!"

    "It changes everything." A handsome-sounding voice said. "I would say that was worthy of receiving an S-rank."

    "Hah, are you nuts?!" Hawthorne screamed. "If that''s all you need to get S-rank, we might as well give it to everyone!"

    "Hawthorne, don''t be like that. We all know why you don''t want to give him an S-rank. It is because your precious Cmity would lose his status as thetest S-ranker."

    "S-rank is something special!" Hawthorne screamed. "We will lose all of our faces if Adam ends up being another mediocre fool! From what I''ve seen, sure, he seems like a like a decent recruit, but S-ranker? No way!"

    "Calm down, you two." An old voice said, "We should ask his Handler, shouldn''t we?"

    All seven powerful eyesnded on Muriel. She felt pressure that she had never experienced before. Still, she looked veryposed and professional.

    "Sirs, madam''s," Muriel bowed.

    "What rank do you think your recruit deserves?" One of them asked.

    "S-rank!" Muriel said without any hesitation.

    "Hah!" Hawthorne scoffed. "You''re a rookie Handler, aren''t you? You couldn''t possibly know what S-rank entails!"

    "I know!" Muriel shouted. "S-rankers are the future of the New World. They will lead the new generation of mercenaries!"

    "Do you think Adam is part of that future?" One of them asked.

    "I don''t only think that; I believe he will lead that future!" Muriel dered it with confidence. "He is special. It is not only the way he fights, but also the way he moves, acts, and talks!

    "Everything about him screams greatness. I am willing to be my life on him!"

    The seven figures of the Council of Mercenaries stayed quiet. They were all thinking about something.

    "Handlers have special eyes. That''s why they''re the ones dealing with the recruits, not the hired yers. That''s why I think we should listen to her."

    "Zephyr,e on." Hawthorne said with disdain. "Should we really trust a judgment of mere Original?"

    Muriel''s eyebrow twitched, but she continued to keep her calm facade. She had learned to deal with the racism and prejudice that came with being an Original in a world dominated by yers.

    While the Originals had a greater poption, the yers had the power of the System. It made them like gods in the eyes of many, but she refused to let that intimidate her.

    "I guess we only have one thing to do." The man with the old voice said, "We''ll have to vote. There''re seven of us, meaning there won''t be a chance of a tie vote."

    "I agree."

    "Fine, let''s do that."

    Muriel bit her lip and prayed. ''Please, please, please...''

    ...

    Adam stepped through a door and entered a cozy-looking cottage that resembled the First Floor''s cottage, except there wasn''t a fire crackling in the firece and it wasn''t cold.

    Through the window, the yers were able to see a beautifulndscape with green grass stretching into the distance under a clear blue sky.

    There was a beautiful forest right behind the cottage, ake with clear water close to the cottage, and an enormous boulder situated beside the cottage. At the boulder, there was another door-a wooden door.

    The flowers bloomed in vibrant colors all around the cottage, creating a picturesque scene straight out of a fairytale.

    The yers walked out of the cottage, took in the beautiful view in front of them, and felt a sense of peace wash over them. Some rushed over to theke to take a dip in the crystal clear

    water.

    Adam stepped out of the cottage and covered his eyes as the sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky.

    It looked like paradise.

    "There''s door!"

    At that moment, a yer shouted, and most of them rushed to the boulder. They attempted to open it, but the door stayed locked tightly.

    "That''s the way out!" Ron walked out of the cottage and shouted. "I have the key to open it, but you may not leave yet!"

    "Is there something left?" A curious yer asked. "I thought the tutorial was over!"

    "I still have to give you all your scores!" Ron shouted. "I''ll receive the scores soon enough, so stay close!"

    Hearing that, the yers started to feel nervous, especially those who weren''t sure whether they performed well during the tutorial.

    Some gazed in the direction of Adam, who was clearly the top recruit in their group. They were certain that he would receive a great score.

    Adam took a seat on the porch and plucked a flower from the grass. He twirled the stem between his fingers with a calm look on his face. Even though he looked calm, he was also

    nervous.

    ''I did everything I could do. If that wasn''t enough, there is nothing else I can do.''

    The time moved by-soon it had been an hour since they entered the Fifth Floor. Some yers were swimming in ake, some were checking out the forest, but stayed within shouting range, and others were near the cottage, hanging out with their friends.

    Ron watched as they all had fun with his arms crossed, but then his ears perked up and a small smile rose to his lips. He entered the cottage, and from the door, a person stepped through

    with a letter in hand.

    "These are the scores of every recruit." The person, with a strange upside-down cross on his forehead and a cold glint in his eyes, handed over the letter. "Handlers will be waiting in the

    New World."

    "Alright." Ron nodded.

    After the strange person left, Ron looked at the letter, took a deep breath, and stepped out of the cottage. He saw the yers doing their things.

    "Everyone, scores have arrived!" The shout was so loud that it echoed across the forest.

    The yers, no matter whether they were swimming or taking a nap in the grass, stopped whatever they were doing and gathered in the yard of the cottage.

    Ron used his finger and sliced open the envelope, then took out the piece of paper.

    "As a reminder, those with a D or better score will be mercenaries. Others, I am sorry,

    but you have to try a different path. There are jobs for non-mercenaries as well. It isn''t an end.

    "Now, I shall begin."

    The yers straightened their backs and nervously waited for their names to be called.

 Chapter 61: The New World

    Chapter 61: The New World

    ?

    A tense atmosphere descended over the area as everyone waited for the final results of the tutorial.

    Ron took a nce at the piece of paper and said:

    "Dujam Paris, score: D.

    "Jeni Riona, score: E.

    "Baako Matt, score: D.

    "Julian Cai, score: C.

    "Melete..."

    Ron continued to say the yers names. Some sighed in relief; others started weeping in sorrow and despair.

    "Sabah Maxie, score: F. Uh, how did you get that kind of score? Did you sleep through it all?" Sabah, the person mentioned, hung her head low in embarrassment.

    "Agata Xandra, score: C...

    "Seth Hardrock."

    Hearing his name pop out, Seth straightened his back and looked straight ahead with sweat rolling down his forehead. He was even more nervous now after hearing quite a few actually fail.

    Ron looked at the score and said, "Score, D."

    "Haaa..." Seth let out a breath of relief and closed his eyes, letting heavy emotions wash through him. ''Thank God, but I barely made it through...''

    Ron then continued staying names. He started nearing the end of the list.

    "Ramon Barnes, score: B."

    "Hmph." Ramon scoffed at his score, not feeling happy even though it was the highest score given so far.

    A few yers threw respectful gazes. It was a very decent score since even a C-rank score seemed rare.

    "Hannibal Murdock, score: B."

    Instantly afterwards, another B-rank was announced.

    Hannibal nodded casually, expecting it. He would''ve been very disappointed if he had received a C-rank score.

    "Niko Kawaguchi, score: C."

    "Ah..." Niko groaned in annoyance. "Only C, damn it..."

    "You still made it through." Donald patted his friend''s shoulder. "It is still a good score, and you''ll definitely get invited to some of the guilds."

    "Y-you''re right." Niko nodded with a smile. It was still one of the highest scores given.

    "Katalina Diva."

    Katalina moved her brown hair out of her face, revealing a smiling face.

    "Score, D."

    "Hmmm!" Katalina tapped her chin and shrugged her shoulders. "I''ll take it~"

    "Donald Wetherson!"

    Donald put his arms behind his back and straightened his back. He immediately attracted a lot

    of attention, as he was one of the top-ranking recruits.

    The yers whispered between themselves.

    "Donald might be getting an A-rank, right?"

    "Maybe, but did he do better than Ramon, though?"

    "Score, B!" Ron shouted.

    "Hmm..." Donald nodded in agreement, but his brows were furrowed in confusion. ''I thought

    I did very well, but still only B-rank. Just what did I need to do to achieve an A-rank?''

    The yers looked surprised.

    "Only B-rank; just how hard is it to get A-rank?"

    "That was a surprise, but he definitely deserves a B-rank at least!"

    "Now, there''s only one person left, Adam!"

    "He must be getting an A-rank. He was clearly the best yer out of all of us!"

    Ramon, Hannibal, Donald, and Niko all turned their attention to Adam. He was sitting on the steps of the porch, looking calm and collected. It was unclear what he was thinking about.

    They all agreed that Adam was the best one out of all of them.

    "And thest one, Adam Palestar..." Ron looked at the ck-haired young man and turned to the letter. "And his score is..."

    Everyone turned silent, eagerly waiting for the score to be revealed.

    Adam softly closed his eyes, his hands slowly clenching into fists.

    "..." Ron licked his dry lips and then looked away from the letter, slowly opening his mouth. "The score is... S-rank!"

    Adam''s eyes swung wide open, shocked by the revtion. His calm facade crumbled to pieces.

    The yers stayed silent, shock evident in their eyes.

    "Just for information, before this, only five people had ever achieved S-rank." Ron said and turned to Adam. "Adam''s the sixth one."

    That revtion made the yers realize the magnitude of Adam''s aplishment. They realized that they were part of a historic moment in the history of the Mortal Online.

    "That bastard is now that important?" Ramon said with a grim look.

    "Impressive," Hannibal said.

    "S-rank..." Donald said with a frown.

    "Amazing..." Niko whispered.

    Ron walked over to therge boulder that stood beside the summer cottage. He inserted the key in the lock, turned it clockwise, and opened the door.

    "The exit is now open; once you step through, you arrive in the New World. Once you leave, wait there for me!"

    Hearing that, yers started to slowly depart from the floor with excitement on their faces. As soon as they stepped through, they disappeared.

    Ramon nudged Hannibal and left with him.

    Donald took a final nce at Adam, then nodded at Niko, and both of them left.

    After them, Seth dragged his feet behind him as he approached the door. Lastly, he turned to

    look at Adam with a hostile gaze.

    ''I won''t forget about this. One day, once I am strong, I''lle get my sword back!''

    With that, he stepped through the door and vanished into darkness.

    Soon, only Adam and Ron were left on the whole floor.

    Adam slipped his hands inside his pockets and slowly approached the door.

    Before he could enter, Ron appeared in front of him and said, "May I have a word?"

    "Yes, what is it?" Adam stopped walking.

    "S-rank score is an incredible achievement. It gives you respect, even among some veteran mercenaries." Ron said, but then his look turned serious. "It also brings danger. Be careful, Adam. Everyone''s eyes will be on you now."

    "I''ll keep that in mind." Adam nodded, stepped past him, and approached the door.

    ''I know how important the S-rank score is, but since I haven''t lived it myself, I don''t know

    what awaits me. It will definitely be dangerous. There''s no turning back now.''

    Adam stepped through the door and vanished. He had officially left the tutorial.

    After he was gone, Ron put his hands on his waist and breathed out. "What a shocker! Haha, I

    can brag now to my friends. S-ranker appeared during my shift; who would''ve thought, haha."

    "My friends will be so fucking jealous."

    With a chuckle, he stepped through the door, closed it behind him, and entered the darkness.

    ...

    "Mmh..." Adam walked through the path of light and then, appeared inside some kind of building. It looked like a tavern of some sort, with rain pattering against the windows and lightning shing outside.

    All the other yers were also there, gathered there. There was also a bearded man seated behind a desk, looking like the innkeeper of this establishment.

    At the corner of the room, two armored figures were drinking alcohol and looking at the newly-appeared people. They looked like mercenaries hired to protect the inn.

    At that moment, Ron appeared behind Adam in a sh of light and saw that everyone was

    gathered and hadn''t gone anywhere.

    "Alright, that was it. Congrattions and wee to the New World."

    The yer''s eyes shimmered in excitement.

    "Yeahhh, wee~" One of the drunken mercenaries raised his cup. "Mister Caretaker, any

    good recruits or what?"

    Ron grinned and patted Adam''s shoulder. "This news will spread like wildfire soon enough,

    but here, this young man is the new S-ranked recruit."

    Hearing that, the mercenaries coughed out their alcohol drinks. They looked at the ck- haired young man with wide eyes and alcohol spilling down their shirts.

    "My god..." The innkeeper looked shocked, and stood up to bow. "It is an honor to meet you,

    sir."

    ''Sir?'' Adam looked surprised by that response. ''I''ve never been treated with respect as

    Coinfeeder before.''

    "All of you will receive a room from our innkeeper here." Ron said. "Your Handler will be waiting there. You can discuss your score with your Handler.

    "Then, you''re officially made into Mercenarymen. You aren''t Coinfeeders anymore;

    congrattions on the promotion!

    "Those who didn''t be mercenaries will also have your own room, but that''s pretty much

    it. You have to forge your own path from that point onward. "The newly promoted Mercenaryman has a choice to make. Tomorrow, some letters will arrive from guilds. You can choose your guild then if you desire so.

    "If not, carriages will arrive early in the morning. Each one leads to a different city, and you''ll

    decide where you want to go.

    "For now, visit your Handler, and after that, you may log off. It has been a long month, and I am sure most of you are eager to return to the real world. "However, tomorrow morning, be here. The carriages won''t be waiting for anyone!" "Yes, sir!" The yers echoed with excitement, took their keys from the innkeeper, and rushed to their rooms.

 Chapter 62: Second Decade

    Chapter 62: Second Decade

    ?

    Creak-the door opened.

    Adam stepped through the opening and entered a normal-looking inn room. It was smaller than the one in the Safe Area with one bed tucked in the corner, a nt sitting on the windowsill, and a small wooden table in the center of the room.

    A set of thin,cy curtains covered the window. The sound of rain tapping against the ss sounded soothing and calming. The rain was slowly calming down as well.

    At the bed, a soft-looking woman stood up and bowed gracefully. "Wee to the New World, Adam."

    "Muriel." Adam said, closed the door, and took a seat at the table.

    He then finally managed to rx himself and let out a satisfied smile. "Thank you."

    "I didn''t do much." Muriel humbly responded and sat on the other side of the table. "You did all the work."

    "The Council of Mercenaries must be a bunch of hard-headed old geezers, aren''t I right?"

    Muriel giggled and nodded, "They indeed are. Just, don''t say that near anyone else. They are widely respected."

    "I can''t imagine all of them agreeing with the score." Adam crossed his legs. "Did they?"

    "No, they didn''t." Muriel shook her head. "There was a vote."

    "How did it go?" Adam asked. He knew he obviously won the vote, but wanted to know the total score.

    "4-3," Muriel said.

    "May I ask who voted for which?" Adam asked.

    "Why do you need to know?" Muriel tilted her head in confusion. "You shouldn''t know any of them."

    "I am a curious being." Adam smiled. "Please?"

    Muriel sighed, her cheeks blushing slightly, and then said, "Alright, geez."

    Adam inteced his fingers and rested his chin on them, waiting patiently for Muriel to continue.

    "Alistair Fairchild, Athena Battleborn, Orion, and Zephyr voted in your favor.

    "Ambrose Hawthorne, Bartholomew Ravenscroft, and Aria Darkstar were against it."

    "I see, haha." Adamughed. "I guess those three weren''t convinced. Oh well."

    "They had their own motives to vote against." Muriel said and then smiled. "The truth is that you deserved it."

    "Mm..." Adam nodded and smiled gratefully. "Ron said I became a Mercenaryman, is that correct?"

    "I''ll need to give you the blessing first." Muriel said, then signaled with her finger to move closer. "Come on closer."

    Adam leaned across the table, and Muriel ced a hand on his forehead, closing her eyes in concentration.

    A small light entered his head through the forehead.

    Ding, ding!

    A sound of notification rang throughout his ears.

    ***

    [Name: Adam Palestar]

    [Level: 1]

    [XP: 0/1000]

    [HP: 500/500]

    [Rank: Mercenaryman]

    [Weapon: Steel Shortsword + Round Shield]

    [Shinecoin: 0]

    [¡ª¡ª SKILLS¡ª¡ª]

    [-Little God-]

    [-Basic de Handling-]

    [Inventory]

    [Log Off]

    ***

    "Ah..." Adam opened his eyes and saw his stats. ''Yeah, just as I remembered. My health rose from 50 to 500, and I am now officially level 1. I am around twice as strong as before.''

    "Congrattions." Muriel said with a smile.

    "Mm." Adam leaned on the chair''s backrest and let out a sigh of relief. "I am in need of a good rest."

    Muriel stood up, ced her hands on her abdomen, and bowed.

    "This will be our farewell. I''ll need to return to the Safe Area to do the final report and prepare for another group of recruits. It had been a pleasure."

    "Oh." Adam stood up, approached her, and offered a hand. "I was lucky that I got you as my Handler, I''ll owe you."

    Muriel looked at the hand, smiled, and shook it gently. "No, thank you... I am now one of the S-rank Handlers."

    "Haha, your status has increased?" Adam asked curiously, as he wasn''t too sure about the world of Handlers and how they operated.

    "Mm." Muriel nodded. "As I am one of the six S-ranked Handlers, I''ll be Handler for the most promising recruits for now."

    "Mm, I see." Adam nodded and let go of her soft hand. "You deserve it."

    "Be careful out there; the New World is full of dangers." Muriel tiptoed, nted a soft kiss on

    his cheek as farewell, and then left the room.

    As the door closed, Adam scratched his cheek and took a seat on the bed.

    "Whoo..." He heaved a sigh of relief and stretched his limbs. "Alright, time to return..."

    With those final words, he opened his interface and pressed the Log Out button for the first time ever. His avatar started to dissipate into nothingness, and soon he had disappeared from

    the room.

    After a month of long tutorial, Adam was finally returning to the real world!

    -

    Somewhere in the New World.

    The rain poured down in sheets, casting a shroud of mist over the empty streets of arge city.

    At one of the buildings, lights were lit up, and loudmotion sounded from the inside that even the sound of rain hitting the ground couldn''t silence.

    Drunken mercenariesughed, sang some rowdy songs, and danced around the room with reckless abandon. The barkeeper had his hands busy, pouring drinks for the rowdy patrons who cheered with each round.

    At the corner table, a messy, red-haired person napped with his face nted on the table that

    was filled with empty sses and spilled beer.

    He was snoring loudly, a stench of alcohol wafting from his body.

    At that moment, a grin-faced person mmed another cup of alcohol on the table and

    laughed loudly. "Cmity, wakey, wakey!"

    "Ngh..." The drunken man raised his messy face; he had scary crimson eyes and long red hair that was dirty and stained with alcohol. "What''cha want, ya dick?"

    "You''re so unslightly." The grin-faced person pinched his nose and waved his hand in annoyance. "Well, I happened to receive some news that might wake your drunken ass up!"

    "Not interested, burp!" Cmity saidzily and burped loudly in response. "Are you sure?" The grin-faced person showed his usual yellow-toothed grin. "Well, it happens so that you aren''t thetest S-ranker anymore. Haha. Congrattions!"

    "Huh?" Cmity''s eyes shrank in response, and he sat slightly straighter. "What the hell are

    you talking about?"

    "A new S-rank recruit just came straight from the womb of Mortal Online!" The grin-faced yerughed loudly. "I guess there''re now six of you monsters out there, haha!"

    Cmity''s eyes turned cold. "Who is it?"

    "Mm, some guy called Adam Palestar." The grin-faced yer responded, giggling like a child. "Apparently he beat the fuck out of the tutorial''s caretaker, haha! What a fucking

    monster!"

    "Adam Palestar..." Cmity whispered coldly.

    --

    All around the New World, a new name appeared on everyone''s lips-Adam Palestar, the

    newest S-ranked recruit.

    First, all the associates with the Seven Ancient Guilds received the news. Then, the word started to slowly spread like wildfire in every corner of the New World.

    Wild rumors about the newest S-ranked recuirt started to spread-he was apparently a three- meter-tall monster with hands the size of basketballs. The news of his arrival was met with

    both excitement and fear.

    Excitement from weaker mercenaries and fear from those with more experience about the ongoings of the New World. His appearance could spark a Guild War. It all depended on whose

    side he was going to join.

    In either way, his arrival was going to shift the power dynamic of the New World.

    This signaled the start of the new age-the second decade of Mortal Online started with a

    bang.

    It was a sign that everything was about to change.

    -

    End of the First Volume - Regression.

 Chapter 63: Return

    Chapter 63: Return

    ?

    Second Volume - New World.

    ...

    Swoosh.

    The ss cover of the VR Pod slid open smoothly, revealing a pale-faced young man with messy ck hair and beautiful navy blue eyes. He blinked a few times, adjusting his eyes to the real world.

    "Ahh~"With a moan, he sat up slowly and stretched his limbs, feeling the stiffness from being in the virtual world for so long.

    His lips were dry, and he felt parched, as if he could drink a gallon of water and still not feel satisfied. He also felt hungry, like his stomach waspletely empty.

    The VR Pod fed him; same with water, but still, if one was inside Mortal Online for too long, their body would start to suffer from The Pod Syndrome.

    Now, Adam was feeling it in full force.

    He felt dizzy, with a with a slight nausea and disorientation.

    ''It''s impossible to get used to this...'' Adam held his head, looking ufortable.

    Even though Adam had spent most of his life inside Mortal Online, he rarely yed a month straight, causing the Pod Syndrome.

    He only yed that long if he was out in a dungeon, logging out might be dangerous for his party members, as if they were attacked during the night and he wasn''t there, it could spell disaster for the entire group.

    ''I don''t understand how some people are living inside Mortal Online...'' Adam scratched the back of his head and climbed out of the VR Pod.

    There were people called Lifers who lived inside Mortal Online and barely ever logged out. Some had already been inside the game for years.

    If they logged out, the Pod Syndrome might kill them, that''s why they decided to stay inside the game instead. They knew the dangers, but they enjoyed Mortal Online so much more than real life; therefore, they stopped caring about their real bodies.

    After climbing out of the pod, he pressed a button that closed the ss cover and sealed the interior of the pod. He then blinked a few times and looked around his room.

    It was surprisingly clean.

    ''Someone cleaned my room...'' Adam thought before chuckling. ''Serah...''

    After a few more stretches, he picked up some new clothes from the closet and left the room. He gazed downstairs; it was currently quiet. It seemed like everyone had already left for the day.

    Adam shrugged his shoulders, went to the bathroom, and started taking a shower.

    While the sound of water hitting the floor echoed throughout the room, the front door opened, and a wrinkly, sharp-eyed woman entered with a stern-looking man following right behind.

    "Hmm?" Serah perked up her ears and looked upstairs. "Alice had returned from school? That''s early, no?"

    "I don''t see her shoes." John said as he took a nce at the shoe rack by the door.

    Serah frowned and stepped up the stairs. As she reached the second floor, the bathroom door opened, and a young man stepped out, drying his hair while dressed in casual ck clothing that was loose andfortable.

    "Ah!" Serah eximed, and then her face turned red in anger. "Adam!"

    "Serah." Adam turned to look at his angry, government-appointed caretaker.

    He already knew she had returned as he heard the front door open and close.

    John stepped up the stairs, saw Adam, and curiously rubbed his chin. He was quite curious about a few things.

    "So, you like ying games, huh?" Serah angrily cracked her knuckles, her veins popping up in her forehead. "You dare to trick me, huh?"

    Adam looked at her angry face and slowly raised his hands in surrender.

    "I am sorry. I know what I did was wrong, but I knew you wouldn''t have allowed me to otherwise."

    "Of course I wouldn''t have!" Serah screamed angrily. "You were there for a month! I had to hire a part-time worker as the work was too much for me to handle alone!"

    "I apologize, but I don''t regret what I did." Adam said and wrapped the towel around his neck. "I want to continue ying Mortal Online."

    "Haaaa?" Serah eximed with overexaggerated surprise. "Excuse me?!"

    "Does that mean you made it through the tutorial?" John asked from the side.

    Before Adam could reply, Serah screamed. "That doesn''t matter! If you want to live in this house, you''ll have to y by my rules!"

    "What if I''ll pay my own share of the rent?" Adam asked.

    "With what money?" Serah scoffed. "Do you think I didn''t know that you spent all our money on the VR Pod?"

    "By ying Mortal Online, I''ll earn enough to make a living." Adam said and crossed his arms. "I''ll pay for a third of the rent."

    "That''s your n?" Serahughed angrily. "I didn''t take you for a fool."

    John then said.

    "Many younglings dream of making money via Mortal Online. It is like a dream job for many, able to make more money than they could ever imagine with ying a game and killing some

    monsters.

    "However, how many actually make a decent amount of money? While the top yers make billions after billions, one has to be talented enough to even make a proper living.

    "Not only that, if you die once, you return to square one with no means of making a living. It is a double-edged sword. There have been many people like you, Adam, desiring big but never achieving it."

    "Fine, let''s do this." Adam raised a finger. "Give me one month, and I''ll pay a year''s rent in

    advance."

    "That''s impossible." Serah said with wide eyes.

    "Hmm..." John put his hand on his chin and asked, "What makes you so confident that you can

    do that?"

    "I am only asking for some faith." Adam faced Serah, and then a smile crept on his face. "A chance, one chance, is all I need."

    Serah frowned and looked at her husband, who shrugged his shoulders. She clicked her

    tongue, flipped her hair, and turned around to leave.

    "Fine, damn it. One month, that''s all!" Serah shouted while walking down the stairs. "If you

    fail, you''ll work without anyints!"

    John wryly smiled and followed his wife downstairs.

    Adam put his hands on his waist, let out a sigh, and chuckled. ''She sure likes to act stern. I

    knew she wouldn''t refuse. Now, I only need to make an amount of money that would only be a dream for Mercenaryman.''

    At that moment, the front door again opened, and a sweet voice sounded.

    "I am home!"

    A smile appeared on Adam''s face, and as he stepped down the stairs, he saw the beautiful Alice taking off her shoes, dressed in her school uniform with a backpack on her back. "Wee back," Adam said as he took the final step on the stairs.

    Alice''s eyes widened in surprise, and she turned to the stairs and dropped her backpack in

    shock.

    "Adam, you''re back!" She smiled and excitedly ran towards him, her bright eyes sparkling. "How was it there? Are you alright?"

    "Want to go for a walk?" Adam asked and patted his legs. "I haven''t used these for a month."

    "Mm, okay!" Alice replied eagerly, linking arms with him and walking out the door.

    "Be back before the dinner!" Serah shouted from the kitchen.

    "Yes, mom!" Alice replied, and as they left the house, the door closed with a gentle click.

 Chapter 64: Good Night

    Chapter 64: Good Night

    ?

    A blue sky stretched across the horizon, like a blue nket with white clouds scattered

    throughout. The yellow wheel of fire cast a warm light between the clouds, illuminating the world below.

    A gentle wind blew across the Navy Town, making the leaves rustle and the gs wave in the breeze.

    Most of the citizens were dressed in muted blues and grays, blending in with the colors of the town. All wore light clothing appropriate for the warm, summer-like day.

    The students, after leaving the school for the day, headed to the town with their friends; they were seen everywhere. Some hanged out in the arcade, while others wandered through the shops and cafes.

    On a two-way street, Alice and Adam walked side-by-side, ice cream cones in hand, enjoying the warm weather.

    "Mortal Online seems like a crazy world." Alice said and licked the ice cream. "A few of my ssmates apparently tried, but they couldn''t make it through the tutorial."

    "Haha, yeah, it isn''t wise to rush to y Mortal Online." Adam said. "That''s why most of those who make it through the tutorials are older than twenty years. Those who are younger usually fail the tutorial."

    "Why''s that?" Alice asked curiously.

    "Who knows." Adam shrugged his shoulders. "It''s just a theory, but maybe it requires a certain level of patience and maturity to seed."

    "Mm." Alice nodded in understanding.

    At that moment, they heard the sound of grunting and fighting. They turned to a three-floor dojo building, shaped like a 3D triangle, with a sign that read "Karate - Dojo" hanging above the entrance.

    Young men and women were practicing their moves inside. Those who entered seemed to be students, as they were dressed in simr-colored clothing as Alice.

    "Quite a few from my school are going to that dojo." Alice said with a slight smile. "Have you ever tried it, Adam?"

    "Karate?" Adam asked.

    "Yeah." Alice giggled. "Did you know that you can go there and challenge them for fun? The master of that dojo approved it as it helps them to recruit talented new students and allows their existing students to test their skills against new challengers."

    "Hmm, should I go try?" Adam asked with a smile.

    Alice''s eyes brightened, and she then giggled. "Go on, but if you lose, I don''t know you~"

    "Ouch, I guess losing is out of the question." Adam handed her his ice cream cone and then stepped through the entrance with her.

    They saw a crowd gathered around a stage, cheering and pping. There was already a sparring match ongoing, with two people battling each other fiercely.

    Most were dressed in white, with only a few exceptions scattered throughout the group who had seemed toe check it out.

    Also, at the stage, one of them wore casual clothing. He seemed to havee here for the same reason as Adam: to challenge the karate practitioners. He was clearly losing and struggling to keep up with his skilled opponent.

    After a short while, the challenger fell down on his back, defeated and exhausted.

    "Alice, is that you?"

    Alice and Adam turned to a handsome, blond-haired young man who was slowly approaching them. He had a well-toned body and a confident smile on his face. He also wore the same white clothing as others, with a ck belt adorning his waist.

    "Markus," Alice said with a slight smile.

    "I didn''t expect to see you here." Markus said with a clearly excited expression, but then turned to the young man beside Alice and asked, "Who''s this?"

    His eyebrow jumped in curiosity, and he scanned the young man from head to toe. He didn''t look impressed. His body seemed untrained andcked muscles.

    "This is Adam." Alice said with a blushing smile, "He is living with me and my family."

    "Oh, so he''s the one..." Markus rubbed his chin and smiled. "I am Alice''s ssmate, Markus, did youe here to watch?"

    "Actually, I came here to challenge, that was allowed, right?" Adam asked to make sure.

    "Oh." Markus nodded and asked suspiciously. "Any Martial Arts experience?"

    "A little," Adam said with a chuckle.

    "Oh, you do?" Alice looked surprised.

    ''A little, probably meaning a few minutes.'' Markus scoffed inwardly. ''His body is untrained; his fists look soft and weak. Is he trying to show off in front of Alice? Sad, he will lose within a few seconds.''

    "Alright, you can be the next challenger." Markus said, then looked to the second floor of the dojo. "I''ll go have a word with the master; he''ll approve you. What''s your name?"

    "Adam Palestar." Adam replied and stretched his limbs, making them ready for the uing fight.

    Markus engraved the name in his mind, then bowed and headed to the second floor.

    "Are you really ready?" Alice asked, starting to feel nervous. "I hope I didn''t pressure you into doing this."

    "You weren''t." Adam rubbed the back of his neck. "I wanted to try this, anyway."

    At that moment, a white-dressed person entered the stage. He had a blue belt, a clean-shaven face, and anky body. He was rtively tall, and he looked like another student.

    "The challenger, Adam Palestar!" A voice came from the speakers. It was a very powerful and firm voice.

    The crowd looked around, wondering who the challenger was, as it wasn''t one of the regr challengers. Some times, those who were practicing different martial arts came regrly here to challenge themselves against karate practitioners.

    "It''s your turn; good luck!" Alice said nervously. The ice cream cones in her hand were

    melting as she forgot about thempletely.

    "Thanks." Adam stepped through the crowd, who let him go past, and then stepped onto the stage. He wasn''t unhealthy looking, but everyone could see that he wasn''t training in any

    martial arts.

    At the second floor''s office, a bald-headed man looked to the stage with a frown.

    "Hmph, what is this, Markus?" He turned to Markus and said, "Why did you bring this

    amateur here?"

    "He wanted to challenge the dojo, so I gave him a chance." Markus said with a chuckle. "If he loses, maybe he realizes just how powerful karate is. Perhaps he wants to be your

    student."

    "He is too old to start karate." The bald-headed man said. "Most of my students have been practicing since they were five years old."

    Markus chuckled and looked at the stage with a smirk. ''Alice has been talking about him quite often in the school. I had high expectations, but this is very disappointing. Alice has really bad

    taste.''

    "Are you two ready?" A referee, who was also a student of the dojo, asked the two.

    "I am." Kuro bowed respectfully and then moved to his fighting stance-it was a very simple stance-his right foot and hand were forward, his left foot and hand back-clearly focusing on his right side and his dominant hand.

    Adam put his right foot forward and left foot back, then put his hands in front of him; they

    were open with fingers curled in a rxed manner.

    "Fight!" The referee shouted and swung his arm down.

    Without a single hesitation, Kuro rushed in and threw a right straight punch. He wanted to

    attack straight away and finish the match as soon as possible.

    At that moment, Adam grabbed Kuro by his wrist before his fist could reach him and twisted

    his hand, forcing him down on one knee.

    "W-what?" Kuro groaned in shock, his knee crashing against the floor.

    The crowd''s eyes slowly widened in shock.

    "Good night." Adam did a single middle-knuckle punch right into Kuro''s temple.

    Kuro''s eyes moved to the back of his skull and he lifelessly fell to the floor, not moving an

    inch. There was a clear dent around his temple, where the middle-knuckle punchnded. "That''s!" The bald-headed man stood to his feet, "Aikido!"

 Chapter 65: Adam vs. Markus

    Chapter 65: Adam vs. Markus

    ?

    The crowd was speechless as Kuro''s body fell to the floor, his eyes nk and drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

    Alice covered her mouth in a surprise gasp-she looked straight at Adam with sparkling eyes.

    At that moment, the referee rushed to Kuro''s side and quickly checked his pulse.

    "He''s fine, but he will be sleeping for the rest of the day." Adam said with a reassuring smile.

    The referee gulped and nodded. ''Kuro is not a slouch. He is slightly above average in this dojo, but no one has ever defeated him this quickly before.''

    ''That fight was short, but it taught me something valuable.''

    Adam thought to himself and looked down at his right hand''s middle finger. It was slightly bruised and starting to swell. His own attack also injured himself!

    ''My body is far too weak. In my past life, my fists could easily punch through walls, but now they are weak.''

    At the second floor''s office, the bald-headed man sat back down.

    "Markus, go fight him."

    "Me?!" Markus eximed and pointed at himself. "Why?"

    "Our dojo can''t lose face." The bald-headed manzily waved his hand. "I also want to see how strong he really is."

    Markus narrowed his eyes, bowed, and then left the office. He walked down the stairs and caught sight of Alice, excitedly cheering on the sidelines.

    ''Don''t hate me for what I am about to do to him.'' Markus rubbed his neck. ''There''s a reason why we have our very own medical wing. Sometimes, pulling punches just isn''t an option.''

    After Kuro was carried away by other karateka''s, the referee was about to announce another challenge match. Adam was also about to leave the stage. Then Markus went to the referee and whispered something in his ear.

    The referee looked surprised before smiling. "The next challenge is Markus versus Adam!"

    After hearing that, the crowd turned excited. Markus was the top-ranked student, after all, and was only below the master in terms of karate skills.

    "I have to fight more?" Adam looked slightly surprised, but then walked back to the stage.

    ''Markus against Adam...'' Alice looked worried for Adam''s safety. ''Markus is the reigning Teen Karate Champion.''

    "Are you two ready?" The referee asked loudly.

    Markus put his hands beside him, bowed, and then straightened up confidently. He then moved into his fighting stance. It was a straight stance with his feet close to each other, his right foot slightly in front, and his hands raised in front of his face.

    To the surprise of many, Adam moved into a boxing stance. His stance leaned closer to the left, with his weight shifted onto his back foot and his left hand held out in front of him.

    ''Boxing?'' Markus frowned. ''Isn''t he a user of Aikido? Perhaps he knows more martial arts? No, this could be a trick. Based on his body type, he shouldn''t be that familiar with boxing.

    ''Aikido doesn''t necessarily need a strong body to work, as it is mostly throws and joint locks, which rely on technique and leverage rather than strength or size.''

    At the second floor''s office, the bald-headed man crossed his arms.

    ''Markus, do not underestimate your opponent. You''re familiar with fighting other karateka''s as you''ve done that for your entire life, but you''re very unexperienced in other martial arts. You might''ve studied about them, but fighting is apletely different aspect!''

    Adam smiled casually, waiting for the match to start. His n had already gone into motion. He made Markus overthink, causing his brain to overclock.

    He could''ve used his boxing and other martial arts as trump cards to surprise Markus, but he had another n. He wanted Markus to be uncertain, so he went straight to the boxing stance.

    Based on his confused appearance, Adam was certain that Markus was thinking hard about whether he could actually box or if this was a trick.

    Now, whenever he attacked, Markus'' reactions to his attacks would be a beat slower, as he had to be careful for other martial arts.

    ''Markus is powerful when facing other karateka''s, but he is inexperienced when ites to other martial arts. The more martial arts I use, the slower his reactions will be because of his inexperience.''

    Markus sweated heavily. The fight hadn''t even started yet. Just like Adam predicted, he was overclocking his brain.

    ''Can he really box? Is there more martial arts he knows? Maybe he just wants to confuse me with boxing, and when the timees, he''ll use aikido to either throw me or put me into a joint lock.

    ''His strikes are not a joke either, as proved in Kuro''s match. His middle-knuckle punch knocked him out cleanly, but his right hand is slightly injured. His attacks willck strength, which is why I don''t think he will go boxing.''

    The referee raised his arm and then, with a loud shout, swung it down.

    "Fight!"

    ''I can''t let him control the match; I''ll have to attack!''

    Markus decided and instantly moved forward. The crowd grew excited.

    ''He went straight to offense; good idea.'' Adam prepared for his attacks. ''If he nned to do it slowly and use defense, I would''ve defeated him in a matter of seconds.''

    "Rah!" Markus twisted his waist and threw a powerful straight punch.

    Adam opened his clenched fists and pped the punch away with ease. He then slightly

    backed away.

    ''That p didn''t hurt!'' Markus grinned and started throwing punches like a rapid gun, not allowing Adam to escape him.

    Adam pped the punches away while backing off constantly. As he was about to fall off the stage, he quickly jumped to the side and circled around Markus, who turned around and

    continued to throw punches.

    Smack, smack, smack, smack!

    The crowd cheered for Markus'' relentless advance.

    Alice looked worried. ''Adam...''

    To the eyes of many, it looked like Adam was barely able to parry the attacks with his ps. He was also constantly retreating and being pushed to the edge of the stage. It looked like it was only a matter of time before Markus'' punchnded.

    Adam stayed silent, and at that moment, his feet reached the edge of the stage. He immediately stopped backing off and continued parrying the punches.

    Markus grinned and started throwing jabs, trying to break through the defense. He was now in the perfect position. If Adam tried to jump to safety, he would use either hook punch or kick to

    catch him mid-air.

    "This victory is mine!''

    The jabs were fast and precise. Almost looking invisible in the untrained eye. However, still, strangely enough, all of them were parried away.

    And soon, the crowd started noticing it as well. Not a single punchnded, even though Markus had already thrown nearly fifty jabs.

    ''W-why can''t I break through?'' Markus wondered with a sweat-ridden face, and his hands started to ache.

    Adam''s hands weren''t that strong, but after being pped nearly a hundred times, his arms

    started to sting.

    ''I''ll have to shift to a more powerful punch; jabs won''t cut it!'' Markus reeled in his fist,

    preparing for a straight punch.

    Adam''s eyes widened.

    This was a moment he was waiting for!

    Squeeze!

    Suddenly, Adam grabbed Markus by his wrist and twisted it, causing Markus to let out a

    painful groan.

    Still, Markus wasn''t nning to allow him to do that. He quickly threw a hook punch from an

    unguarded angle andnded a direct hit on Adam''s abdomen.

    "Cough!" Adam coughed in pain, but he tanked it, and then he mmed his waist against Markus and threw him over his shoulder.

    Markus'' worldview turned upside down, and then he crashed back-fist onto the hard floor.

    THUD!

 Chapter 66: Influence

    Chapter 66: Influence

    ?

    The crowd eximed in shock. The strongest student, the Teen Karate Champion, was thrown to the ground!

    ''How could you allow him to do that?'' The bald-headed master wondered with an ugly frown, but then he had a realization.

    ''Markus is simply too inexperienced when fighting against opponents who use mixed martial arts. He was too focused on Adam''s boxing, or was that p-boxing, causing him topletely forget the real threat-Aikido!''

    Markus coughed a little bit of blood, and his vision turned slightly blurry.

    ''N-no!''

    He quickly threw a kick from his down position and hit Adam in the forearm, pushing him back a step.

    Markus quickly flipped back to his feet, then, with a fury-filled gaze, rushed after Adam and started throwing a series of punches.

    Adam''s expression didn''t change, and he quickly pped the punches away, but then he noticed something strange. There wasn''t any strength behind those punches!

    ''Gotcha.'' Markus quickly stomped over Adam''s feet, stopping his retreat, and then hook punched him in the waist, causing Adam''s face to contort in pain.

    Markus palm-struck Adam''s chest, knocking the wind out of him, then low-kicked him in the thigh and then delivered a powerful chest punch that sent Adam sprawling to the ground.

    "Whoo!" Markus stayed in his punching stance, breathing in and out. ''This is a might of karate!''

    The crowd erupted in cheers, expecting the fight to be over.

    "Ah..." Alice''s lips curled down in sadness. For a moment, she thought Adam would win.

    At that moment, Adam slowly rose back to his feet, his face sweating and his posture looking shaky. Those attacks destroyed his untrained body.

    ''Oh, how weak I truly am...'' Adam coughed, feeling frustrated and exhausted. ''This is strangely making me remember my death...''

    At the moment of his death, Adam was clearly in his prime. He had trained for over ten years and had be one of the strongest martial artists in the country.

    Yet he died to someone who was clearly weaker than him.

    Why?

    Was it because he was stabbed and lost a lot of blood? No.

    It was because of his state of mind.

    Only minutes prior, his whole life was ruined, and he had lost all hope for his life. He was also suffering from the Pod Syndrome as he was inside the game for about two months.

    It was an important stage of the war, and he was needed in Mortal Online, so he didn''t bother logging out.

    Then he got stabbed and lost a lot of blood.

    If his strength was at its peak, he would''ve been able to survive. It was the same with his death in Mortal Online-if he wasn''t poisoned, he would''ve managed to escape.

    ''What an unlucky fucker I am...'' Adam chuckled to himself and watched as Markus rushed in with his punch flying in his direction.

    ''Image Training...'' Adam took a deep breath, and at that moment, Markus'' figure disappeared.

    Instead, in Markus'' ce, there was the masked figure who killed him.

    He used Image Training to change his opponent into an image of his killer.

    ''This is no longer a sparring match, but instead a match for my survival.''

    Adam formed a fist. It didn''t look any special, but it looked different from his usual fist.

    The masked figure''s punch approached him.

    At that moment, Adam used his forearm and pushed the attacker''s arm away, forcing the punch to miss his face by an inch.

    Immediately afterwards, the masked figure threw another punch with his left. Adam immediately blocked it with his right arm, and then he pulled his head back and mmed his forehead into the attacker''s face.

    The masked figure stumbled backwards with his nose bleeding and his posture looking shaky. Adam low-kicked the figure''s legs, causing his knees to buckle down. His legs looked bruised and swollen.

    At that moment, Adam hooked his arm around the figure''s neck and started choking him. Without him knowing, Markus'' face had turned pale-white while the crowd looked shocked.

    None of that seemed to matter.

    Adam stopped choking, then started pummeling Markus'' face with his punches. Smack, smack, smack, smack. It was relentless.

    After he threw hisst punch, he grabbed Markus by his loose shirt and threw him to the ground with a loud thud. It almost sounded like Markus'' back cracked.

    He then threw a punch, but Markus quickly rolled to safety. His punch cracked the floor tiles beneath him, where Markus'' face had been just moments prior.

    This was Adam fighting when he was going for survival!

    Markus quickly stood up; he was sweating and looked fearful, with most of his face bruised and bloodied. He felt like he was fighting a wild animal!

    ''T-this is nothing like in thepetitions!'' Markus fearfully thought.

    His eyes immediately widened in shock as Adam lunged back at him.

    "Eek!" Markus screamed, and he crouched down in fear, trying to cover his head with his

    arms.

    Still, Adam''s punch didn''t stop.

    However, before it couldnd on crying Markus, a hand appeared that caught the fist in mid-

    air.

    "That''s enough." The bald-headed master said as he looked at Adam with a deep look.

    "You''ve won."

    Adam jumped from the floor andunched a high kick, but the bald-headed master caught it with his other hand and twisted his body, forcing Adam down on the ground.

    Adam still didn''t stop and flipped himself back to his feet. He then started throwing punches

    at full speed.

    The bald-headed master parried the punches with ease, effortlessly doing so.

    At that moment, the bald-headed master took a step forward and stopped Adam''s advancement by mming his foot against his knee, causing Adam to stoppletely.

    "That''s enough!" He shouted with a powerful voice.

    It seemed to work as Adam''s eyes regained their focus and his body loosened up.

    "Oh..." Adam pulled back his fists slowly, realizing he had gone too far. "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to lose my temper like that."

    "That''s fine; that can happen in the midst of a heated fight." The bald-headed man said.

    "I am also sorry." Adam bowed in Markus'' direction, who was still cowering in fear. ''It''s not like me to lose control like that. I suppose I''ll need to start doing meditation once again.''

    ''Markus had never experienced something like this before.'' The bald-headed master looked at his best student. ''However, this is a valuable lesson. I don''t teach karate just to use in some petty tournaments. I hope my karate can save their lives one day.''

    Adam stepped off the stage, and walked past the crowd, who fearfully stepped aside. They greatly underestimated his abilities. It was clear that he was a powerhouse if he managed to

    beat Markus.

    "If you want to learn karate, the doors are open for you!" The bald-headed master shouted to

    Adam.

    However, he doubted that Adam needed to learn anything from him.

    Adam nodded, then joined Alice, who congratted him with a sweet smile. They then both

    departed from the dojo.

    The bald-headed master looked at Markus and said, "Come on, stand back up." "W-what was that?" Markus stood up, still shaking in fear. "I felt like he was trying to kill

    me!"

    "You made the greatest mistake when fighting a life-and-death match." The bald-headed master said with a frown. "You started to feel fear and doubt your abilities."

    "But there is no way I could''ve defeated him!" Markus cried out.

    "You could''ve!" The bald-headed master shouted. "Adam didn''t suddenly be stronger

    or better!"

    "B-but, I couldn''t defend, and his attacks hurt like hell!" Markus touched his face, which hurt from where Adam''s punchesnded.

    "You don''t think he was hurt from your punches?" The bald-headed master scoffed. "He was

    hurt!"

    "S-still, h-he was far too strong."

    "No, he wasn''t." The bald-headed man shook his head. "He is definitely strong, but he wasn''t stronger than you, Markus. He used what we call ''Influence'' and that defeated you."

    "Influence?" Markus frowned and raised his head to look at him.

    "The moment his Influence took effect was when he headbutted you." The bald-headed master said. "After that moment, all his attacks began tond. That''s Influence. It''s mental warfare that can turn the tide of battle in an instant.

    "Those attacks weren''t strong or fast. You''ve fought much faster opponents, and yet all those attacksnded. It is hard to fight against Influence. You can only learn tobat it by fighting

    plenty.

    "Since this was your first fight when your life might''ve been in danger, the Influence was very effective."

    "Influence..." Markus contemted. "Can I learn that?"

    "It''s not something that can be really learned." The master said, "I have trained Karate for

    thirty years, and I can barely do that. What Adam just did had a very high level of Influence. It

    takes a lot of dedication and practice to master it." ''Influence...'' Markus clenched his hands into fists.

 Chapter 67: Red Thread

    Chapter 67: Red Thread

    ?

    ''I am such a fool.'' Adam thought to himself while walking under the blue sky.

    He and Alice were walking beside a river that flowed gently through Navy Town. The water was so clear that he could see the rocks on the bottom and a few fish swimming around them.

    It was the Navy River that spanned throughout the Navy Town. It was a famous ce for many locals and tourists to visit for its tranquility and scenic beauty. It was also a famous dating spot for young couples looking for a romantic getaway.

    It wasn''t a big town, and most of the townspeople knew each other. The poption was only around three thousand. Despite its small size, the town had a strong sense ofmunity and support for one another.

    Alice happily walked alongside Adam, enjoying the breeze on her hair and the scenic beauty of the nearby river. They weren''t alone as townsfolk, with smiles on their faces, passed by, some crossing a small bridge to go to the other side.

    "I didn''t know you knew martial arts." Alice turned to him with a smile on her face. "Are you hiding something from me?"

    Adam was shaken off his thoughts and chuckled.

    "I know a little bit."

    "You defeated the Teen Karate Champion!" Alice put her hands behind her and hopped yfully. "That''s not a small achievement!"

    "I am older than him, which yed a role." Adam said. "If he was the same age, I would''ve tasted dirt; that''s the truth."

    "Mmh..." Alice suspiciously narrowed her eyes. "Is that so~"

    Adam shrugged his shoulders.

    ''If he was better at shrugging off the Influence, I would''ve lost. I lost control, like a goddamn fool. I had used Image Training many times before and hadn''t lost control like this before.

    ''It seems like it isn''t only my physique that has changed since my regression. My mental state as well. I can''t allow that to happen anymore.

    ''When I meet Cmity and my old friends, I can''t afford to lose myposure. It could cause my death!''

    "You should participate in some of those martial arts tournaments." Alice said with a smile. "Eh, not really interested, honestly." Adam said. "I''ll return to Mortal Online tomorrow. I''ll need to start making money."

    "Oh, how long will you be gone again?" Alice asked, her mood slightly dipping down.

    "I don''t know, but it won''t be as long asst time." Adam replied.

    "Mm, ok." Alice nodded and forced a smile, trying to hide her disappointment.

    ''Tomorrow, I''ll travel to my next destination...'' Adam thought to himself. ''Which will it be- Dawnwatch, Ebonreach, Driftwood, New Karma, or... Imperium City?''

    -

    The night fell over Navy Town, creating a beautiful scene of star lights reflecting off the river. In the Kindforth residence, the lights had all been turned off, and most of the residents had already gone to sleep. However, in one room, there was a small lighting from a bedsidemp on the desk.

    Aputer screen illuminated the face of a young man browsing the Inte.

    Adam moved his hands to the keyboard, typed something quickly, and then pressed enter. A ssified website popped up, asking for his card.

    He then brought out his VR card. It had his name, age, and current location. It was the only way to enter this ssified website.

    He then inserted the card into theputer and saw the website open up.

    [Clearance Level: Mercenaryman]

    This website was Mortal Online''s forums- a highly ssified website at the depths of the Dark Web. Only mercenaries were allowed to go there; otherwise, it was impossible.

    ''With Mercenaryman clearance level, there''s not much I can find, but I''ll need to find one thing...''

    He grabbed the mouse and used his middle finger to scroll down the page.

    After some time, he found what he was looking for.

    [Red Thread]

    Adam double-clicked on the post and began reading it slowly and carefully.

    The post was talking about a ce called Red Thread. It was a ce located in a city called Ivycrest. It was a two-hour trip away from Navy Town.

    Red Thread was basically an underground world of criminals and illicit activities. It was also where mercenaries from Mortal Online gathered and hired Otherworld Killers, and it was a ce where one also purchased and sold Mortal Online items with real currency.

    ''This was a ce where Cmity most likely hired someone to kill me.'' Adam thought to himself.

    However, he didn''t gather information about Red Thread because he wanted to find his killer ¡ªit was nigh impossible as it was thirteen years before he was originally killed.

    He wanted to visit Red Thread to purchase some stuff he needed in Mortal Online. Those were items that weren''t easy to find.

    It was a ce that was quite intimidating for neers. However, Adam frequently visited that ce in his previous life.

    He wasn''t too afraid to go there, but he needed to be extremely careful as his name-Adam Palestar-was going to be famous.

    ''Right, has any news outlet reported that yet.'' Adam clicked away from the forums and went to the first news website that popped up in his mind.

    Immediately, the first article had a bold font.

    [THE NEW S-RANKED FOUND IN MORTAL ONLINE!]

    ''They were quick.'' Adam frowned.

    It wasmon for all news outlets to share information about the ongoing events of Mortal Online with the outside world, as most outsiders were unable to enter the game as most of

    them died during the tutorial.

    Still, there was great interest in ongoings inside the game.

    This article had gone viral and was shared by millions of people worldwide. Many people were talking in thement section, wondering and specting about this new S-ranked recruit. Adam read through the article and sighed in relief after he was done reading-it didn''t mention his name or how he looked.

    However, it was only a matter of time before his name reached the ears of some reporters. It was also only a matter of time before his ce of residence was discovered and his privacy

    was invaded.

    This was the life of a popr mercenary.

    Most of the top mercenaries were basically celebrities; some had starred in high-budget

    movies, and others had their own reality TV shows.

    Adam closed the website and turned off theputer.

    He then rubbed his eyes and leaned against the chair, feeling mentally drained.

    ''Right... I haven''t had time to properly think about my current life...''

    ''My regression...

    ''Am I in heaven or hell? Maybe somewhere between.

    ''Maybe everyone who dies returns to the past, creating trillions of different timelines in a

    never-ending cycle of existence.

    ''Or maybe only people with great regrets, like me.

    ''I don''t know, but I also don''t n on caring. I''ll do everything I can with my second chance.''

    Adam stood up from the chair and took off his shirt, revealing hisnky physique, which was mostly flesh and bones. His muscles were nowhere to be seen.

    ''This won''t do.''

    Adam dropped down on the ground and started doing push-ups, his body moving up and

    down in a fluid motion.

    "Argh..." He was already starting to feel the burn in his arms.

    ''I''ll need to prepare myself.'' Adam thought while sweating heavily and grunting in pain. ''I am

    not foolish enough to think that someone wouldn''t try to kill me in the real world.

    ''Whoever will try will be in for a world of pain.''

 Chapter 68: Guild I Choose

    Chapter 68: Guild I Choose

    ?

    Mortal Online, New World, Border Vige.

    The sun peeked through the thickyer of mist and illuminated the small, quaint vige in a warm golden light.

    After a whole night of rain, the air was moist and the ground was muddy. The vigers emerged from their homes, ready to start their day of work in the fields.

    The winter had passed only a month ago, the temperature was still cool in the early mornings, and it was currently raining season, causing mist to rise over thend.

    At this moment, several horse-drawn carriages emerged from the fog, stopping in front of a three-story inn. The drivers wore thin-clothed cloaks; the hoods were pulled up over their heads, concealing their faces from view.

    Inside the inn, the yers were gathered around small tables, eating their breakfasts. Most of them were sleepy and exhausted.

    It was quite early in the morning, after all.

    Seth was the only one who looked rtively ready for the day. He went to sleep early, as his excited parents told him to.

    His parents and brother were very excited about him bing a mercenary and didn''t want him to be tired for his first day in New World.

    At that moment, footsteps came from the stairs, and Adam arrived with a calm look on his face. He didn''t look tired, even though he didn''t sleep at all.

    For the whole night, he exercised.

    In the real world, his body was extremely strained and exhausted, but in the game world, he felt invigorated and ready for any challenge that maye his way.

    The VR Pod was currently revigorating his body as well.

    "Adam." Ron raised his hand. He was sitting on a corner table alone.

    Adam nodded and joined him at his table.

    "Are you hungry?" Ron asked while stuffing his mouth with a dry-looking sandwich and sipping on a lukewarm cup of coffee.

    "No, I am fine." Adam said with a shake of his head. "Are we leaving soon?"

    "Yes, but first, I''ll have to give y''all something." Ron wiped his lips with a napkin and saw that most of the yers had finished their breakfasts.

    He then stood up and pped his hands loud enough that it sounded like a p of thunder.

    "Before we depart, some of you have some letters!" Ron shouted and headed over to the counter.

    There, the innkeeper gave a few boxes to Ron, with letters stored inside. He quickly checked them out while the yers nervously waited.

    "Alright." Ron took out one of the letters and showed it to the yers. "These are guild invitations. Some of you received invitations, but some of you didn''t."

    "Are we required to ept any of those invitations?" A bushy-browed man asked with his arm raised.

    "No, but I suggest doing so." Ron said. "The new recruits have a difficult time finding guilds otherwise. There''s a saying: If recruits don''t get recruited straight away, they''re most likely a waste of time."

    "Are guilds necessary?" Another yer asked. "What if we want to y solo?"

    "That would be suicide," Ron said. "Solo yers are easy targets for other yers looking to take advantage of them."

    The yers nodded, praying that they received even a single invitation.

    At that moment, Ron started giving letters to a few yers. Most got only two or three, while Donald received eight and Ramon got nine. Hannibal also received eight, while Niko received three.

    Then, Ron brought out a whole box, walked over to Adam, and ced it on the table. It shocked the yers, as the box looked like it weighed quite a bit.

    "You received a total of 391 letters." Ron said with a deep look. "However, if you don''t want to read them all, check out the golden letters. Those are from subsidiary guilds of the Seven Ancient Guilds!"

    ''Seven Ancient Guilds!''

    The yers eximed inside their minds and looked at Adam with great envy. This basically secured Adam a safe future, and he would definitely be wealthy and powerful.

    However, after Adam opened the box, he ignored the golden letters and searched for something in particr.

    ''I don''t have any intention of joining the Seven Ancient Guilds and perhaps causing another Guild War. I had a few guilds in my mind that I would love to find.''

    Ron''s eyebrow jumped after seeing what he was doing, and he leaned close to whisper.

    "You aren''t nning on joining them?" He whispered. "Are you sure?"

    "If I joined, would they allow me to do what I want?" Adam looked at him with a smile. "I would be basically in prison, groomed to be a powerhouse, and not allowed to go anywhere myself till I am at least Prime Mercenary.

    "If I do it safely, sure, I can be powerful enough to be the sessor of one of Seven Ancient Guilds, but will I enjoy being sheltered and controlled my entire life?"

    Ron''s eyes widened, and he nodded thoughtfully. ''Adam is basically an investment. Seven Ancient Guilds and all other top guilds wouldn''t want their investment to die. They would never allow him to experience this world freely.

    ''It is a very shackling experience.''

    ''I would be stuck in the Imperium City.'' Adam said with a frown. ''I wouldn''t be able to take advantage of my other golden opportunities.''

    "Who''re you nning to join, then?" Ron asked. "If you don''t want to be shackled, tier o and tier 1 guilds are out of question as they are only located in Imperium City."

    "That''s right, I''ll choose a tier 2 guild." Adam said with a smile.

    "Hmm, I see." Ron rubbed his chin and sighed. "Sadly, Crescent Serpents are only tier 3, but I don''t think my guild master can handle someone like you."

    ''Crescent Serpents...'' Adam shook his head. ''I''ll pass on that offer, as that is slightly too weak of a guild. I wonder if I got an invitation from a guild I thought about...''

    He continued checking the letters and then put them aside after checking their names, tiers,

    and locations.

    After reaching the bottom of the box with only around fifty letters left, he saw a glimpse of something and immediately snatched it.

    As he saw the letter, his lips curled into a small smile.

    ''They invited me, nice...''

    "What''s up?" Ron leaned closer and checked out the name on the letter. "Oh, Crimson Hound

    Mercenaries."

    "Heard of them?" Adam asked with a smile.

    "Yes, I have," Ron said while rubbing his small beard. "They''re Tier 2 Guild, even though

    they''re bottom of Tier 2, they''re still a pretty big deal."

    "Anything more you can tell about them?" Adam asked curiously.

    "The guild master is Digby Chaucer, Prime Mercenary." Ron said with a revered gaze. "He is a

    great man."

    ''Digby Chaucer...'' Adam chuckled. ''If the Second Guild War had happened ten years earlier, this man would''ve been another general of Star Faction.

    ''Unfortunately, he is currently 43 years old and is growing weaker by the day. If one reached the Royal Prince, they would be able to keep their youth and strength for much longer. ''Unfortunately, he never managed to do that one leap. When Second Guild War came, he was already 53 years old and was barely as strong as Archwarrior because his strength had depleted so much.

    ''However, in this current timeline, he is a great and powerful man. He also has great backing, as he is the son of one of the Imperial Pce''s elders. It would give me good shelter and

    protection.

    ''Digby is also not a man who would imprison me to protect me. He is a perfect ce for me to grow strong enough to protect myself.''

    "I''ll choose this." Adam said and showed the letter.

    Ron nodded. "You''re thinking far, I see. Other younglings in your ce wouldn''t be able to think straight and just choose one of the Seven Ancient Guilds."

    Adam pocketed the letter and said with a smile. "I''ll be heading to Dawnwatch, it seems."

    "Dawnwatch is also called the City of Guilds, as it has the most guildspared to any other city. Hell, even all other citiesbined wouldn''t reach the amount Dawnwatch has.

    "It is also a ce where Crescent Serpents are located, so we might see each other. I''ll be heading there, so we''ll be traveling together."

    Adam nodded with a smile, closed the box, and stored it inside his inventory. His decision has been made.

 Chapter 69: Dawnwatch

    Chapter 69: Dawnwatch

    ?

    Creak the door of the inn opened, and yers, with excited looks, stepped out onto the muddy ground.

    It was their first time breathing the air of the New World, and it smelled amazing. It was much fresher than the real world''s air, which was stale and polluted.

    The yers shuddered in cold. It was quite cool outside. The thick,yered mist was now also blocking the sun.

    "Alright, enter one of the carriages!" Ron shouted. "There''re five of them, each going to a different city. Imperium City isn''t avable for any of you, so choose a different one!"

    The Imperium City carriage was also for Adam, but since he wasn''t heading there, it was empty.

    The yers looked at the carriages, each with a different name engraved on the side. Those who had already chosen their guilds knew where to head, but those who didn''t get any letters were confused.

    Those who didn''t be mercenaries watched from indoors as the yers discussed which carriage to enter. They looked envious and sad. Some of them even pressed their faces against the ss, longing to join in on the adventure.

    They didn''t have enough money to pay for the carriage trip, so they were stuck in this Border Vige.

    "Ah, look!" A yer pointed to the east.

    Everyone turned to look, and to their amazement, they saw a far-away wall reaching towards the sky. It was enormous, and it looked like it was extremely far away but also close at the same time.

    "That''s the Wall." Ron said. "It protects us from the horrors of the wastnd."

    "Um, excuse me." Seth nudged Ron''s shirt and asked, "Since I didn''t get any letters, what am I exactly supposed to do now?"

    "There''re Mercenary Guilds in every city." Ron looked at him and said sternly. "Your only choice is to beg for one of the guilds to let you in. I suggest asking from tier 4 guilds; they''re mostly quantity over quality; maybe they''ll let you join."

    "Ah, I see..." Seth said, scratching his arm as he didn''t know what to do.

    While he became a mercenary, being a D-ranked recruit made him undesired. He was basically at the bottom, evenpared to other Mercenarymen.

    "Alright, choose one of the carriages. We''ll leave in ten minutes!" Ron shouted and entered Dawnwatch''s carriage. There, several yers were already seated, chatting and joking around.

    At the back of the carriage, Adam was sitting alone, staring at the wall with a somber expression on his face.

    Ron sat beside him and also kept his mouth shut.

    Outside the carriage, Donald stepped to Ebonreach''s carriage while Ramon and Hannibal entered New Karma''s. Lastly, Seth took a leap of faith and entered Driftwood''s carriage.

    After ten minutes, all of the yers had chosen their carriages, and then the horses started neighing and began pulling the carriages down the muddy roads.

    They soon departed from Border Vige and entered a dirt road. Soon, all carriages began heading in different directions. They soon disappeared from each other''s sight.

    ...

    Beyond the veil of mist, amidst vast fields of wheat and golden barley, stood a city enclosed by towering stone walls and majestic spires.

    This was Dawnwatch, widely known as the City of Guilds.

    Throughout itsbyrinthine streets, adorned with hundreds of guild banners proudly bearing symbols of their respective trades, life flowed ceaselessly.

    The cityy in the shadow of a colossal mountain, its peak shrouded in clouds, serving as both a guardian and a gateway to the enigmatic dungeon below.

    Amidst the cobblestone pathways, a diverse tapestry of armored mercenaries, diligent tradesmen, and bustling city dwellers pursued their daily endeavors.

    At the heart of Dawnwatch, amidst a forest of guild edifices, the grandeur of the Mercenary Guild reigned supreme, its halls teeming with countless warriors.

    The bustling Market Hub, with its myriad roadside stalls and itinerant merchants, thrived as the epicenter ofmerce and trade.

    Yet, amid the vibrant hustle and bustle, sporadic shes erupted in certain alleys, as mercenaries vied for dominance and territorial control, the echoes of shing des and fervent battle cries filling the air.

    In more serene corners of the city, number of martial arts academies flourished, each imparting uniquebat techniques and self-fashioned styles.

    Nestled near the heart of Dawnwatch, a resplendent vi of crimson brickmanded attention, its sprawling grounds housing a modest dojo for training amidst its spacious interiors. Within, formidable mercenaries, draped in crimson cloaks and gleaming armor, walked about.

    Amidst the symphony ofbat and instruction, a retinue of servants-both Originals and yers who had failed in their initial tutorial-attended to their duties with diligence.

    They tended to the needs of the mercenaries, ensuring the vi remained pristine and well- provisioned.

    At the vi''s gate, a banner unfurled in the breeze, bearing the emblem of a crimson-furred hound.

    Currently, at the top floor of the vi, in a cozy-looking office, a red-haired man with a scary, scar-ridden face sat behind arge wooden desk.

    He looked distracted, hearing the neighing of horses and theughter of his men outside. The man looked up at his paperwork, his eyes narrowing in suspicion at the sound of footsteps approaching his office.

    Knock, knock.

    "Come in." Digby said, his fingers pinching his be.

    The door opened, and a pleasant-faced woman entered, dressed in tight body armor with a red cloak fluttering behind her. She had brownish hair, tied in a ponytail, and red lipstick glistening on her lips.

    "Valora, what is it?" Digby asked and looked at the paperwork on his desk, feeling like his headache was about to return.

    "We heard reports." Valora said with her sweet voice. "Our worries about the next Guild War might not happen, after all."

    "Oh?" Digby leaned on his chair, allowing her to continue.

    "The new S-ranked recruit, Adam Palestar, didn''t go to the Imperium City, after all. If he had joined one of the Seven Ancient Guild''s subsidiary guilds, that might''ve caused problems for

    all of us."

    "Oh, that''s surprising." Digby said in surprise, but he still looked stoic. "Where''s he heading

    then?"

    "He is apparentlying here, to Dawnwatch." Valora said with a serious look. "He is supposed to arrive within the next hour."

    "Here?" Digby narrowed his eyes and interlocked his fingers. "That''s interesting. I wonder who he is nning to join."

    "If he joins our enemies, the Ameryn Brothers, what will we do?" Valora asked.

    "Haha," Digbyughed. "You''re always thinking about the worst oue, Valora. There''re hundreds of guilds here."

    Valora pouted, blushed slightly, and said, "You''re way too carefree, Digby. You know, the Ameryn Brothers will attack us as soon as they have the upper hand."

    "I am not afraid of them," Digby said with augh. "It is a minor scuffle."

    ''Minor?'' Valora''s eyebrow twitched. ''This is a battle between two Tier 2 guilds. It is far from

    minor!''

    At that moment, Digby closed his eyes and sensed several auras nearing Dawnwatch. Those auras were faint and weak, most likely Mercenarymen and they were inside a carriage that

    rolled down a dirt road.

    Along with those faint and weak auras, there was one somewhat powerful one and another that was slightly different from those weak auras. That aura was like a volcano ready to erupt. Digby''s eyes opened with a smile. "The S-ranker is about to arrive."

    ''His Kiryoku is as monstrous as ever.'' Valora thought. ''I am not able to sense them yet. I''ll have to increase my training!''

    "He is indeed different from other recruits." Digby said with a grin. "So, he is the one that kicked the ass of that kid from Crescent Serpents. How interesting."

    ...

    Adam''s back and forehead started sweating.

    ''I was already sensed.''

    He saw his hair stand up with goosebumps.

    ''Haha, I guess that was their way of greeting me.'' Adam''s lips curled up into a small smile.

    ''Dawnwatch, here I am.''

 Chapter 70: Mercenary Card

    Chapter 70: Mercenary Card

    ?

    A carriage, pulled by strong-looking horses, rolled down a cobblestone street.

    It was moving slowly as cityfolk walked on both sides, on the sidewalk, and went about their daily businesses.

    The driver peeked underneath the hood, pulled the reins tightly, and forced the carriage to stop. The horses, with a powerful neigh, kicked their front legs up in the air and then stopped.

    "This is as far as we can go." The driver said to people inside the carriage. "You must walk from here onward."

    The carriage opened, and Ron stepped outside, looking around the bustling streets. Since it was still quite cool, the pedestrians wore warm jackets and scarves to protect themselves from the chilly weather.

    A fewdies with waistcoats and hats passed by, chatting andughing as they walked. After seeing Ron, they saw the sign of Grandeur on his shoulder. They respectfully curtsied and continued on their way.

    "Dawnwatch..." Ron inhaled the cool air into his lungs, feeling rejuvenated.

    It had been only slightly over a month since he left Dawnwatch, but he still missed it every day.

    "Alright, step out!" He shouted sternly.

    The yers followed his stern orders and stepped outside into the cool air. They looked amazed at the bustling city around them.

    Lastly, Adam stepped out of the carriage and looked around with a deep look. This ce was also his home in his previous life. He felt a sense of nostalgia wash over him as memories flooded his mind.

    "We have to walk over to the Mercenary Guild from here onwards." Ron said sternly. "Carriages aren''t allowed to enter the Guild Grounds."

    The carriage had stopped beside a sidewalk, and from here onwards, it was a fully cobblestone road leading deeper into the city, surrounded by buildings that were bustling with activity.

    From here on, they would enter a ce called the Guild Grounds. It was a part of the city that was habitated by guild buildings and everything mercenary rted, such as shops selling weapons and armor, training facilities, and recruitment centers.

    "Stay close to me." Ron said, and then, with nearly ten yers in tow, he entered Guild Grounds.

    The yers looked around the streets and saw all sorts of mercenaries chatting and doing their business in the bustling area.

    In front of each building, there was a guild banner pping against the cool breeze. asionally, a few mercenaries threw nces in their direction and recognized them as new recruits. There was a mix of emotions, such as disdain, nonchnce, and curiosity.

    After some walking, they finally arrived at the front steps of the Mercenary Guild. It was very alive, with mercenaries of all kinds going about their business.

    While some mercenaries lined up in front of the counter, some were hanging around on the second floor''s stairs, and some were discussing something around some tables.

    There was also a board with different quests nailed on it, and some wanted posters of notorious criminals.

    "Start lining up at the front desk; y''all are getting your very own mercenary cards." Ron said and checked the time on his timepiece. "This is thest time I am giving you any orders. After you receive your cards, you''re officially mercenaries."

    The yers nodded and hesitantly joined the line. They saw all sorts of gazesing from the tables and stairs. They felt extremely small inparison to the other mercenaries in the

    room.

    Adam joined the line as thest person, and with his arms crossed, he waited for others to finish their business first.

    At that moment, he felt a powerful squeeze on his shoulder.

    "Yo, squirt, mind letting me pass?"

    Adam turned around and saw a tall, nearly two-meter-tall mercenary with a square-shaped face and piercing eyes staring down at him. He was donning heavy armor that hugged against his muscr frame, making him look even more intimidating.

    Seeing that, Ron frowned in displeasure, but then he caught sight of the insignia on his shoulder pad. He clicked his tongue and decided to do nothing.

    ''An insignia of a sword stuck in a rock...'' Adam nodded to the scary-looking man and allowed him to pass. ''He is Archwarrior, how unlucky of me.''

    The Archwarrior scoffed and stepped past, then continued pushing other recruits aside as he made his way through the line. The new yers looked very dissatisfied, but were intimated by his tall frame.

    Soon, the Archwarrior pushed him through the whole line, talked something with the front clerk, and then moved to the second floor to continue his business.

    "What an asshole..." The yers whispered between themselves after the Archwarrior was out of sight.

    ''If you can''t handle this, you should just quit now.'' Adam thought to himself. ''He is stronger, so he has every right to act that way.''

    At the front, as soon as yers said their names to the clerk, she showed uninterested looks and gave them their mercenary cards.

    The mercenary card had the name, current level, affiliation, rank that one received from the tutorial, and the current mercenary rank.

    The yers in front of Adam all had C or D ranks, which were very average, with D being even below that. They would most likely only reach Grandeur, maybe Archwarrior with good

    enough luck.

    In most cases, those kinds of people would never be important. Therefore, those with that rank were mostly ignored.

    In Adam''s past life, he only received a C-rank because he had to help Liam and Lisa. It stopped many of his opportunities, but in the end, he proved that his tutorial rank wasn''t reflecting his real talent level.

    After the yer in front of him received the mercenary card, Adam stepped forward and faced the clerk. The clerk had a round face with small lips, nose, andrge sses that made her look like a mouse.

    She was quite adorable-looking, but so far, she had worn only a nk expression during her conversation with other recruits. It was different when she interacted with Archwarrior, when she actually smiled.

    It was a sign of the difference in current status between them.

    "Name?" The clerk said with a hint of annoyance.

    "Adam Palestar," Adam said.

    As she was about to grab his card, she remembered that name and froze for a moment, her eyes widening behind the sses. She turned to Ron, saw him nodding, and then turned back

    to Adam with a look of recognition on her face.

    She wasn''t the only one who heard that name.

    Countless mercenaries inside the guild building turned around in surprise and stared straight at Adam, as if they were engraving his face inside their minds.

    "That''s Adam?" On the second floor, the Archwarrior said in surprise.

    He finished doing a quick errand to the Mercenary Guild''s leader and was about to leave until

    he heard that name.

    "Here''s your card... sir." The clerk handed over the card to Adam, using both of her hands, looking very respectful doing so.

    She felt quite weird to act respectfully toward someone who was only Mercenaryman rank, but S-rankers were special. They were all monsters in their own right.

    This one had already done some incredible achievements, such as defeating Grandeur while

    only being Coinfeeder. That was unheard of!

    Adam checked out the card and chuckled.

    ***

    [Name: Adam Palestar]

    [Level: 1]

    [Affiliation: None]

    [Recruit: S]

    [Rank: Mercenaryman]

    ***

 Chapter 71: Crimson Hound

    Chapter 71: Crimson Hound

    ?

    "We should get going," Ron said to Adam. "I can take you where Crimson Hounds are. This city is quite a maze; you might get lost."

    "Mm, sure." Adam nodded.

    At that moment, they heard a voice.

    "Hey, hey, wait a moment!" The Archwarrior came rushing down the stairs and bore a giant smile on his face. "Sorry for my previous behavior, but I didn''t expect you to be the one."

    Ron narrowed his eyes and asked, "What do you want?"

    "Calm down, Grandeur." The Archwarrior said with an arrogant chuckle and patted Ron''s shoulder. "I just want to talk to this little guy. I have an offer for him."

    Ron narrowed his eyes, but stepped back and crossed his arms while having a clear idea of what the Archwarrior was nning to do.

    The Archwarrior took a small card from his pocket and handed it over to Adam.

    Adam checked out the mercenary card and raised his eyebrow.

    ***

    [Name: Chris Raven]

    [Level: Hidden]

    [Affiliation: Dungeon yers]

    [Recruit: B]

    [Rank: Archwarrior]

    ***

    ''Dungeon yers.'' Adam recognized that name.

    "I am part of Dungeon yers; it''s a tier 2 guild." Chris said proudly. "As far as I am aware, our guild master sent an invitation to you. I am not sure whether you epted or not, but we can talk about some details if you''re interested."

    Some of the new recruits looked envious. They would be lucky enough to join the Tier 4 guild, let alone Tier 2. Now, this arrogant man was personally inviting Adam to join such a powerful guild!

    "I am interested." Adam said and asked, "I might already know, but what does your guild mainly do?"

    Chris grinned and said, "We''re mostly in the dungeons, just like you expected, ying Chaosbeings. We''re a very action-heavy guild, and we spend more time in dungeons than anywhere else."

    "They''re adrenaline junkies." Ron said coldly. "That''s why Dungeon yers are recruiting quite often because so many of their members die!"

    "I don''t like your tongue, Grandeur." Chris replied with a sharp re. "The weak die. That''s how it''s always been, everywhere in the New World. Only the strong survive in the Dungeon.

    "If you survive there, you can survive anywhere!"

    Adam handed his mercenary card back and thought about Chris'' words. It was quite a risky lifestyle, but it was one of the fastest ways to grow stronger.

    ''If I focused on killing Chaosbeings and just spent all my time in dungeons, I am sure I could reach Grandeur in a year. It''s extremely risky.

    ''Also, I don''t want to focus all my time on increasing my level. There''re other methods of strength as well, such as learning Kiryoku, Kraft, and Magick, then some skills.''

    "While our home is somewhat Dawnwatch, as it is where our "headquarters" are, we are actually living on the twenty-first floor of the dungeon." Chris said.

    ''Twenty-first floor''s Respawn Crystal has also been destroyed.'' Adam thought. ''That floor is now fully in the control of humanity, and it has been built into the only human settlement beyond the fifth floor.''

    "So, what do you say?" Chris asked with a confident smirk. "Since you''re an S-ranker and all, you''ll get some special benefits and protection. With us, you''ll be strong real quick!" "Sounds interesting and all, but I have to decline." Adam said with a calm look. "I am not that much in a hurry to be strong."

    Chris frowned and said, "You''re missing out on a great opportunity. Don''t be a fool."

    Ron smiled at Adam''s answer and said, "Actually, we''re in somewhat of a hurry. Digby Chaucer is waiting for us."

    Adam chuckled silently.

    "Digby is?" Chris'' eyes widened.

    Digby Chaucer was one of the strongest people in Dawnwatch. This city didn''t have any Tier 1 or Tier o guilds, as all of those were located in Imperium City.

    Therefore, Prime Mercenary had the highest rank in Dawnwatch, with Digby being at the peak of Prime Mercenary, a small leap away from reaching Royal Prince.

    "So, you''re joining them..." Chris scoffed, clearly annoyed by the rejection, and then stormed off the Mercenary Guild.

    "Digby isn''t actually waiting for us, is he?" Adam said with a chuckle.

    "He wouldn''t have allowed you to reject otherwise." Ron said with a smirk. "He is able to act however he wants in front of us, as he is stronger, butpared to Digby, he is nothing. "There''s always a bigger fish somewhere."

    --

    The banner of the crimson-furred dog pped in the wind, a symbol of strength and dominance.

    The sky had turned gray, as if it were about to rain, and the air was getting colder. Some dark clouds moved over Dawnwatch Mountain, casting ominous shadows over thend.

    "This is the ce." Ron, with Adam by his side, walked down a one-way street and arrived at the front gates of arge vi.

    Adam pulled out the invitation letter from his inventory and looked at it intensely. He was thinking about whether this was the correct decision.

    ''I am always nervous when making a life-changing decision.'' Adam sighed. ''However, I think this is the correct decision. Another reason why I declined Dungeon yer''s invitation was because they would get destroyed in the following year in a guild war.

    ''Crimson Hounds, on the other hand, were never in any major fight. There was the thing with the Ameryn Brothers, but they still survived through that.

    ''I hope the fate of this guild doesn''t change because of me...''

    "This is our farewell for now." Ron offered a handshake and after they shook hands, he looked

    at the gate and said, "I think you''re making a correct decision. Digby is powerful and

    influential.

    "Mm." Adam nodded.

    After Ron patted his shoulders, he slipped his hands inside his pockets and started walking

    away.

    And just like this, Ron''s job as tutorial caretaker hade to an end. It was supposed to be a one-month long job, and it was supposed to be a rather well-paid job that was going to be boring, but in the end, it turned out to be a very historic one.

    Adam approached the front gates and knocked on them twice.

    He then waited, and after a short while, the gates were opened slowly by two well-armored guards. They had silver armor with a crimson cape billowing behind them.

    It was billowing quite grandly as the wind started picking up. It was clear that it was about to start raining soon.

    "Who''re you, and what do you want?" The guards asked, their voices gruff and authoritative.

    "I got invited to the guild." Adam handed over the letter.

    The guards exchanged gazes. They weren''t aware that their guild master was recruiting. They then checked the letter''s envelope, and it had Digby''s signature and official guild seal. "We hadn''t received any news that our guild master was recruiting." The guard said. "If you don''t mind, my friend here wille talk to Sir Digby personally while you wait here."

    "I am fine with that." Adam said and gazed at the darkening sky. ''I hope they do it soon. It is

    about to rain...''

    The other guard entered the vi and went to fetch the guild master.

    "What''s your name, if I may ask?" The guard asked with a rough voice.

    "It''s Adam Palestar." Adam nodded respectfully. "Nice to meet you, sir." "Adam... Adam... Palestar..." The guard''s eyes slowly widened, and his sword ttered to the

    ground in shock.

 Chapter 72: Request

    Chapter 72: Request

    ?

    Drip, drip-the rain started to slowly fall, tapping against the window with a calming rhythm. At the vi''s cozy-looking office, which also acted as a small library, Digby read through a mystery novel with a cup of tea in hand.

    As he took another sip, suddenly a knock resonated throughout the room.

    "Come in." Digby said roudly, closed the novel, and put the cup of tea down on the desk.

    The door opened, and a well-armored guard entered the office with a low bow.

    Digby''s eyebrow rose. "You''re on guard duty, are you not? Did something happen?"

    "We have a person on the front gate that ims he received an invitation letter." The guard said.

    "An invitation letter?" Digby frowned. "In the past few months, I have only sent one letter..." His eyes slowly began to widen, but he then shook his head, thinking that it wasn''t possible. "Did you get the person''s name?"

    The guard looked awkward and scratched his head. "I forgot to ask..."

    "That''s fine." Digby stood up, fixing his jacket. "I''ll go."

    The guard nodded, and then, with Digby, they left the office and walked down the hallways until they arrived at the front yard. There, they saw a guard standing awkwardly with a young man standing under a small tree that was nted in the yard, trying to shelter himself from the rain.

    "Guild Master!" The guard, who waited with Adam, bowed respectfully.

    "Mm." Digby roughly nodded and turned to Adam, looking curious. "May I see the letter? I don''t recall sending any invitation letters."

    "Of course." Adam pulled it out of his pocket and handed it over to the red-haired guild master of Crimson Hound Mercenaries.

    Digby removed the envelope, which had been previously ripped open, and started reading through the letter.

    His eyes looked baffled, as if he couldn''t believe what he was reading.

    "May I see your mercenary card?" Digby''s heartbeat started rising, and he pocketed the letter. "It''s not that I don''t believe your identity, but..."

    "That''s not a problem." Adam pulled out his mercenary card and handed it over to him.

    Digby checked it out and saw the S-letter adorning the Recruit spot.

    "Adam Palestar, the newly crowned S-ranker..." Digby gave him the card back and felt the rain fall on his head. "Can we continue this talk indoors?"

    Hearing that name, the second guard''s eyes widened in shock, and he turned to his friend. His friend shrugged his shoulders, equally surprised.

    "Mm." Adam nodded and followed after Digby, while the two guards stayed outdoors as their duty was to guard the gate; it didn''t matter whether it was sunny or rainy.

    While walking down the hallways, Adam saw that the vi was shaped like a square with arge central yard. The central yard was used for some outdoor training, and currently, it was used by some mercenaries even though it rained.

    Around the central yard, there were countless different rooms; some were rooms for

    mercenaries, and a few were dojos or martial arts practice.

    Digby and Adam left the central courtyard, walked down another hallway that went for about twenty meters, and arrived at the cozy-looking office.

    Digby took a seat behind the desk, and Adam stayed standing, as his status wasn''t high enough to sit in the same room as Prime Mercenary Digby.

    ''This feels weird.'' Adam thought to himself.

    He had forgotten how it was to be the one standing. He was the one sitting down, while others had to stand up and treat him with the utmost respect.

    ''Oh, he knows to respect the hierarchy.'' Digby looked impressed, as new recruits always have a hard time getting used to it.

    "Why did you want to join us?" Digby asked with a frown. "I know you, as a S-rank recruit, must''ve received hundreds of invitations. Out of all of them, you chose my guild; why?"

    "First of all, I didn''t want to go to Imperium City." Adam said, "I would be the weakest person there, and I feel like I would''ve been ''trapped'' there. I like some freedom."

    Digby nodded, feeling like that was a fair thought to have. Every other S-ranker went to Imperium City, as it was the ce to gain the most strength in the fastest way.

    This made Adam very unique as an S-ranker.

    "Second, I wanted to be part of a guild that is fairly strong and not weak." Adam said. "This, as Tier 2 Guild, fits the criteria well."

    "Honestly, this guild is barely Tier 2." Digby said, not sugarcoating it. "If I was barely weaker, we would drop to Tier 3. There''re stronger Tier 2 guilds out there."

    ''He is unlike others, who are trying to paint a beautiful picture of their guild.'' Adam thought. ''He is saying the truth.''

    "I also heard that you''re a great man." Adam said with his arms crossed. "Also, I believe that you can give me the protection I need. As you must know, some people will target me." "Protection, you say?" Digby leaned on the chair and looked intently at Adam. "Sure, I am one of the strongest people in Dawnwatch, but I am only one person."

    "Your strength isn''t only physical." Adam said. "You''re the son of Samuel Chaucer, are you not?"

    "How did you know?" Digby''s frown loosened, and he stared at Adam in surprise. "I see, you are betting that no one will attack us because of my lineage."

    "I am hoping so, at least."

    "My father is old." Digby said solemnly. "One day, he will quit this ''game'' and what then? I have some enemies, y''see."

    "By then, I believe I can protect myself." Adam said and then bowed respectfully. "Please, let me join. You won''t regret it."

    Digby stood up from his chair and walked over to the window, watching as rain poured down from the dark clouds above.

    "Crimson Hound''s new generation isn''t looking that strong." Digby said with a heavy voice. "Knoxx is looking promising, but others are not so much. I also believe that you won''t stay with us forever, isn''t that right?"

    Adam nodded and said, "I appreciate the opportunity to learn from you and grow, but I also have my own path to follow."

    "Haha." Digbyughed and scratched his scarred cheek. "I like your honesty. To be honest, I just sent the invitation letter out of courtesy. I never expected you to ept it.

    "It brings some unwanted trouble to our guild, but I''m sure we can handle it."

    "We?" Adam raised his head with a smile.

    "Wee to Crimson Hounds." Digby turned to him and nodded. "It''s not everyday you get

    to teach an S-ranker."

    Adam sighed in relief and nodded with a slight smile. "Thank you, but... I also have a favor to

    ask. Consider it an investment."

    "What is it?" Digby sat back down and crossed his legs.

    "May I get 100,000 E-Dors in advance?" Adam said a shocking request.

    "Hmm." Digby considered the request carefully before responding. "You have financial troubles that might hinder your ability to log in constantly?"

    "That''s right." Adam said. "If I receive that, I don''t ask for monthly pay for the following

    year."

    Monthly Pay¡ªeach mercenary received a pay once a month, depending on their rank. It was why some guilds couldn''t just hire everyone they could get their hands on.

    The strong mercenaries cost too much for some smaller guilds to afford, so they had to carefully select who they hired.

    "That''s not needed." Digby waved his hand. "You''ll receive your monthly pay as well as this small investment. It is not a big request. Other S-rankers have made far more ridiculous requests, but they''ve also joined Tier 1 guilds, who can afford it."

    "I appreciate it." Adam said with relief. ''And now I have enough money to pay off the year''s

    rent in advance and also have money left to purchase a new VR Pod.

    ''This Bronze VR Pod limits my abilities far too much.''

 Chapter 73: Shadow League

    Chapter 73: Shadow League

    ?

    "This''ll be your room." Digby flicked a switch, and a small flicker of light appeared from the ceiling that fell over the room.

    There wasn''t any electricity in the world, and instead there was something called Magick Energy. It came from small shards found in the dungeons that basically worked as electricity. It allowed the people to still have proper light in their houses and make food on stoves. The room was rather simple, with a wooden bed in the corner, an empty bookshelf, a desk with a flickering candle on top, and a chair pulled up to it.

    "There will be a daily training session in the central courtyard''s dojo, it will be indoors this time as it is raining." Digby said. "You''ll join other recruits. Some have already been with us for nearly a year, but they''re still called recruits."

    "Alright." Adam entered the room with the backpack slung over his shoulder and dropped it on the chair.

    "Also, you''ll have a choice to make." Digby said with his arms crossed. "You''ll receive three choices. Kraft, Magick, or Kiryoku. Whichever you''ll choose, you get the scroll and instructions on how to learn that particr skill.

    "You aren''t allowed to choose more than one. Even though you''re a S-ranker, one of the Three Powers already takes years to master. Even learning its base form is difficult."

    "I see, thank you." Adam nodded, but he had already made his decision of which he would learn first.

    "Also, give me your card." Digby said while pulling out his own mercenary card.

    Adam handed it over to him, and Digby touched the card with his own card. Something changed in Adam''s card as it let out a soft glow. Then he gave the card back.

    "Now, it shows that your affiliation is with Crimson Hound Mercenaries." Digby said. "You''re now officially part of us. Since you already gave your bank details, you''ll receive your investment money in your ount within 12 hours."

    "Thank you." Adam breathed a sigh of relief and bowed respectfully.

    "You''ll hear a voice, a shouting voice, from one of my mercenaries. Whenever you do, go straight to the dojo and don''t bete. You''re a S-ranker, but we also don''t allow you toze around."

    "Alright." Adam nodded.

    With that, Digby left the room and closed the sliding door behind him.

    "Ah..." Adam rubbed the back of his head andid down on his bed.

    His muscles were extremely tense, and he could feel the exhaustion settling in. It was not easy to be in the same room as someone as powerful as Digby.

    His aura was overwhelming for someone like Adam, who was only Mercenaryman.

    ''The first part of my n has gone smoothly.'' Adam said with a fatigued look. ''Now, it is time to be stronger.''

    ...

    Digby walked down a hallway with a powerful posture and long strides. All the servants and mercenaries bowed at the sight of him, showcasing their undying loyalty and respect.

    "Digby." Valora rushed from the end of the hallway and asked, "Is it true?"

    "You already heard." Digby said casually. "Those guards?"

    "After I returned, the guards told me." Valora said anxiously. "S-ranker joined us?"

    "Yes." Digby nodded. "I already made him part of our guild."

    Valora quieted down, barely able toprehend it. It was truly shocking news.

    Out of nearly a thousand guilds, S-ranker happened to join them. They were now the fourth guild in the world to have S-rankers in their midst.

    King Moriarty, the guild leader of the Imperial Order. It was currently the strongest guild in the world. They were such a special guild that they weren''t ranked as tiers anymore.

    They weren''t even really considered a guild anymore, as their strength had reached such crazy levels. However, if there was a tier for them, it would be beyond tier o.

    Mauricio ughter was the Guild Master of Death Mercenaries.

    Sapphira and Arkham Everheart joined one of the Seven Ancient Guilds, the Dying Star Guild, only recently. It was now considered one of the strongest guilds in the world.

    Cmity ck joined Death Mercenaries, the guild that was at the top of the Tier 1 rankings. It was only a matter of time before that guild, led by Mauricio, bes part of the Tier o guilds and be Eight Ancient Guild.

    Adam Palestar had now joined Crimson Hound Mercenaries, the Tier 2 guild. It was such an odd choice for someone of S rank.

    "Don''t fret over it." Digby said and patted her shoulder.

    "Mm." Valora nodded, but she was still worried.

    "Is the training rea-" Digby''s words got cut off suddenly as he sensed something strange. His brows furrowed.

    "What?" Valora turned to him and saw Digby''s deep frown. "Is something wrong?"

    "Some pests are lurking around." Digby''s eyes turned cold, and he then quickly jumped to the roof of the vi. He activated his Kiryoku and sensed every living being in the vicinity of the vi.

    At that moment, he sensed a few abnormalities. Those abnormal auras were currently running

    away.

    CRACK-The roof cracked as Digby crouched and then leaped across the air. The rain continued to pour down heavily, but each raindrop disappeared as soon as itnded on his powerful body.

    Digby, while moving throughout the air, used his Kiryoku and then managed to sense one of the abnormalities. He saw a moving aura, hectically running down a narrow alleyway in the

    distance.

    BOOM!

    At that moment, Digby crashed down the alleyway, breaking the pavement and shattering nearby windows.

    "Ah!" A ck-clothed figure came to an instant stop, an ugly frown on his face. "He managed to sense me?!"

    "Shadow League''s rat." Digby spat out, ring at the figure with coldness.

    "Now that you know who I am part of, I can''t leave you alive!" The shadow figure screamed and summoned ck bullets all around him.

    "ck Bullets!"

    Then, those ck bulletsunched towards Digby, as if they were being fired from a machine

    gun.

    Digby''s eyes glowed with a faint glow, and then, with minimalistic movements, he weaved through the bullets that moved at the speed of light. The bullets all missed.

    ''His level of Kiryoku is monstrous!'' The shadow figure''s expression looked ugly, and then he jumped in the air and summoned a massive storm of darkness.

    "Shadow Sto-"

    Before he could shout out his skill''s name, Digby vanished and appeared next to the shadow figure, his fist moving towards his face. The vambrace and the glove suddenly turned deep

    purple color.

    He coated his vambrace and the glove with Kraft!

    The shadow figure activated his Kiryoku and slowly dodged his head out of the way, but

    Digby''s level of Kiryoku was higher, and his fist made contact with the shadow figure''s face,

    knocking him to the ground.

    As his body crashed to the ground, the pavement shattered like ss, and the nearby buildings trembled as if there were an earthquake.

    At that moment, the shadow figure''s body began to disintegrate into a cloud of ck smoke, dissipating into the air. Soon, he waspletely gone.

    Digby frowned, and he activated his Kiryoku to cover the entirety of Dawnwatch. However,

    the person was already gone.

    ''Shadow clones.'' Digby thought with a scoff. ''No wonder I couldn''t sense them at first. Their auras were so faint and indistinguishable from the other auras in the vicinity.'' "Digby, are you alright?!" Valora, with a dozen mercenaries in tow, appeared in the alleyway with their weapons drawn. They saw the aftermath of the fight, but the enemy seemed to be

    gone.

    "I am fine." Digby said casually. ''Too bad, I wanted to hide the fact that Adam joined us for a little longer. I guess he was being unfortunately followed since the Border Town.''

 Chapter 74: Worthless

    Chapter 74: Worthless

    ?

    New World, at a disclosed location.

    "Ah..." A ck-eyed man opened his eyes to reveal a sinister look.

    "How did it go?" Other voices echoed in the room.

    The ck-eyed man looked at the several people sitting in the same circle, cross-legged on a carpet with a flickering candle in the center.

    "The shadow is dead..." The ck-eyed man said coldly. "It took the mana of all six of us to create that one shadow, and now it''s gone..."

    "Please tell us that you at least received some information we can sell."

    "The new S-ranker is in Dawnwatch and has joined Crimson Hound Mercenaries."

    "Give him paper." A person on the circle said.

    Another person pulled out a piece of paper from his bag and slid it over to the ck-eyed man.

    He also gave the ck-eyed man a pen with ink on it.

    The ck-eyed man concentrated and then started drawing a portrait. His skilled hands moved across the paper with ease, and soon a drawing that resembled a face bore a familiar resemnce emerged.

    After a short while, the ck-eyed man did a final stroke-the drawing was finished.

    At the paper, a pale-skinned face with shoulder-length ck hair and a subtle smile gazed back at them. He didn''t look bad, and he had a certain amount of charm radiating from him. "This is the person." The ck-eyed man said. "Adam Palestar, newly crowned S-ranker." "This is good." The people echoed. "Let''s spread the news that we have information about him. I am sure other powers will soon know where he is and how he looks, but we have the lead for now."

    ...

    Dawnwatch, Crescent Serpent''s Guild Building.

    Smack, smack, smack!

    The sound of a wooden sword striking a pole loudly echoed throughout the yard.

    In the small yard of Crescent Serpent''s building, which was located in Guild Grounds, mercenaries of varying ages trained tirelessly under the watchful eye of their experienced instructor.

    It didn''t matter that the rain was pouring down in sheets.

    This was one of the practices of the Crescent Serpent guild.

    In the dungeon, there were floors with much harsher weather. If they couldn''t handle a single rainstorm, how would they ever survive the challenges thaty ahead in the dungeon?

    At one of the training poles, Ron hacked, shed, and stabbed his wooden sword at the pole until his arms ached and his hands were covered in blisters.

    His clothes were drenched and clinging to his skin, with sweat mixing with rain.

    "Hey, Ron!"

    Ron stopped striking the pole and turned to see his friend calling out to him. His friend was sitting under the shelter of the porch, calling out to him.

    After putting his training sword away, Ron entered the shelter and received a towel from his friend, then started drying himself off.

    "The guild master called out for you." His friend said with a smirk. "I am sure he wants to know about your experiences in the tutorial. It was quite a special one, wasn''t it?"

    "Mmh..." Ron nodded and put the towel away. "Thanks for the towel. Is the guild master at his office?"

    "Before you leave, I have a question." His friend turned to him and grinned. "Is this, Adam, really as monstrous as everyone says? After all, he defeated you, and I know how strong you are..."

    "I think everyone is still underestimating him." Ron said with a frown.

    "Huh, what do you mean?" His friend asked with a tilt of his head. "Everyone has spoken highly of him."

    "Hmph." Ron shook his head. "They don''t know anything about him. Of course, since he is a S-ranker, everyone is thinking highly of him. However, I think his potential lies even beyond S-rank."

    "Eh?" His friend raised an eyebrow in confusion and watched as Ron walked away to go meet the guild master.

    ''Beyond S-rank?''

    ...

    New Karma, Criminal''s Street.

    Smack, pow, boom!

    "Ah!" A young man fell to the ground with a bruised and swollen face.

    The sound of snickering andughter echoed throughout the room like a song of mockery.

    At that moment, another young man slid backwards with his arms bruised. In front of him, a grinning mercenary threw blows with a malicious gleam in his eyes.

    The young man desperately tried to block them, but the mercenary''s fist broke through his block andnded a solid punch on his gut, forcing him down on his knees.

    "A-argh!" Ramon vomited his breakfast onto the ground. He was covered in blood and bruises, and his clothes were dirtied and tattered.

    Beside him, his friend, Hannibal, barely managed to stay conscious. Hey t on the ground; his eyes looked unfocused, his hair disheveled, and his face badly swollen, as if he were having an allergic reaction.

    "Hahaha, so weak!" The mercenary flexed his muscles while over a dozen other mercenariesughed along with him while drinking and enjoying the show.

    At the end of the room, there was a high-end throne with a man sitting on it, observing the scene with a look of amusement.

    Behind the throne, on the wall, was a sign that said "Necroman Guild."

    "Ptui!" Ramon spat out blood from his mouth and stood up with his whole body shaking. His whole body was at a breaking point.

    [HP: 7/500]

    "Argh..." He groaned and looked at the man at the throne with hatred in his eyes.

    "Haha, I like the look in your eyes." Necroman grinned viciously, his face mostly covered by a

    dark hood. "A look of hatred and deviance. Dangerousbo."

    "Why are you... doing this?" Ramon asked through gritted teeth. "We are of no threat..."

    "Exactly, that''s the problem." Necromanughed. "You weaklings are eyesores. How unlucky of you fools toe to New Karma, the home city for Pro-Strong folks, haha!"

    ''Pro-Strong!'' Ramon''s eyes widened in fear and shock.

    "New Karma is the ce with the highest number of crimes and very!" Necromanughed. "Haha, no one mentioned that to you guys, didn''t they? Too bad, they''ve sent you guys here

    to be ves!"

    "Ngh..." Hannibal groaned in pain and sat back up, blood dripping off his face. "Ramon... what if we just die? We''ll get zeroed, but it doesn''t matter as we are already at the bottom. We don''t have to do the tutorial again either; we wouldn''t lose anything except our weapons and

    Shinecoin..."

    Ramon frowned, but was thinking about that possibility. They would respawn somewhere else and only have to avoid New Karma.

    "Haha, do you fools think that works?" Necroman leaned forward with a sinister gleam in his eyes. "We''ll only have to share the news that you two are Necroman''s enemies."

    Necroman revealed two mercenary cards and grinned.

    "We also have your two''s names and faces already-

    "There won''t be a ce that will ept you either. Good luck finding another Tier 2 guild like us, especially after finding out that you two have already made enemies.

    "And no Tier 3 guild will ept you, as they''re no match for us. There will be nowhere for you

    two to escape to, hahaha!

    "We''ll find you wherever you go!"

    "Why go to such lengths for us?" Ramon asked with despair dripping from his voice. "We are

    just two nobodies..."

    Hannibal despaired with a defeated look. He didn''t expect this to happen to them. He realized they both underestimated the New World.

    "Hihihihi..." Necroman giggled in a childish manner. "I just love doing so. You two have three choices: be our ves, kill yourself and try to hide from us, or just quit.

    "This ce isn''t where weak-willed foolsst long!"

    "Ramon..." Hannibal whispered with a heavy look.

    Ramon gritted his teeth and looked at his friend. "I am not going back to Asylym... I would

    rather die."

    "We''ll escape and try our luck?" Hannibal asked.

    "That would be worthless..." Ramon looked towards the throne, then bowed low till his forehead touched the ground and said, "P-please, let us join..."

    ''R-Ramon is actually pleading?!'' Hannibal''s eyes widened in shock, never expecting his

    friend to do that.

    Ramon had closed his eyes and was pressing his face against the floor so no one would be able to see his face. He was crying, tears streaming down his face.

    Necroman''s grin widened to his ears, and he clearly enjoyed this pathetic disy of weakness.

    Zip-a mercenary pulled down his zipper and started urinating on Ramon''s head.

    "That..." Hannibal''s eyes widened in fear.

    "What about you, weakling?" Nean''s dead-looking eyesnded on Hannibal. "What''s

    your choice?"

    "A-ah..." Hannibal''s head slowly lowered towards the ground, and soon his forehead touched the floor. He never expected the two of them to plead to be ves.

    At that moment, he felt warm liquid flow down his head as another mercenary started

    urinating on him.

    Hannibal gritted his teeth and side-eyed Ramon, wondering what his friend was thinking. At

    that moment, his breath almost stopped as he saw Ramon crying, but he also bit into his lip so

    hard that it was bleeding.

    ''I''ll be strong... strong... strong... strong... strong...'' Ramon kept repeating the word

    "strong" to himself over and over again.

    This was the biggest humiliation of his entire life. Even when he was living in the streets among rats and garbage, he never felt this low.

    It was as if he wasn''t even worthy of being called a human being anymore.

 Chapter 75: The Choice

    Chapter 75: The Choice

    ?

    Dawnwatch, Crimson Hound''s vi.

    "Training in five in the indoor dojo!" A voice echoed throughout the vi, bouncing off the stone walls and reaching every corner of the expansive estate.

    Adam''s eyes opened, waking up from his meditative state. He was sitting cross-legged and had meditated for the past hour.

    He was hoping to get his emotions under control.

    ''Better hurry.'' Adam stood up, his legs feeling slightly numb, and then left his room and headed straight to the central courtyard.

    After arriving, he saw yers opening a sliding door, bowing, and putting their shoes aside before entering the sacred ground.

    Adam followed suit, opened the sliding door, bowed in respect, and ced his shoes aside.

    Then, he entered the dojo in only his socks and saw rows of tatami mats covering the entire floor.

    The yers stood up in rows, talking with their friends and stretching while waiting for their instructor to arrive.

    Adam joined the back row, feeling slightly like an outsider. Everyone clearly knew each other, but since he was the only new recruit, he felt a bit out of ce.

    "Oh, a new recruit?" At that moment, the person standing beside Adam noticed him and offered a friendly smile. "I didn''t know our guild was recruiting."

    All gazes turned to Adam briefly before they all turned to look straight ahead. While they were curious about the new recruit, they had training ahead of them and wanted to focus on that.

    "Mm, my name''s Adam." Adam said to the smiling young man.

    The young man had blond hair, blue eyes, and a cheerful demeanor. He didn''t look older than Adam, and he was most likely a very new recruit as well.

    "I am Enigma." The young man said with a grin. "I am still Mercenaryman, but I am your senior by two months, so treat me with respect!"

    "Okay." Adam nodded.

    In most cases, Mercenarymen shouldn''t treat others with the same rank with the same respect as higher rankers. However, in this case, Enigma was his senior, and seniority in the guild was also treated with high regard.

    This might be the first time Enigma was senior to anyone, and since he had been bossed around for months, he finally had the chance to do the same.

    However, Adam was a S-ranker, and it was enough topletely ignore the seniority. But Adam didn''t like to go around dering it to everyone.

    "Everyone, stand in attention!" A brown-haired young man shouted loudly and straightened his back with a serious expression.

    Every single yer did the same, looking like a miniature army.

    At that moment, the sliding door and bored-looking man entered the dojo. He nced around the room, unimpressed by the disy of discipline.

    "Alright, let''s get this over with..." He yawned loudly and went to the front of the room, then turned to a bronze-haired young man and nodded. "Young Knoxx."

    "At ease!" Knoxx shouted and moved from his uptight position to a slightly more rxed one. However, he still looked like a very serious young man.

    All the yers eased up a bit and turned to look at the instructor.

    "Hmm..." At that moment, the bored-looking instructor saw that there was a new one in the midst. "A new recruit, hmm. The guild master didn''t tell me about this; oh well, name yourself."

    "Adam Palestar!" Adam said.

    "Adam Palestar..." The instructor wrote the name down and frowned. ''Haven''t I heard that name somewhere?''

    He shrugged his shoulders and said, "My name''s Dutch. You may call me Sir Instructor or Sir Dutch; pick your poison."

    Adam nodded and thought to himself. ''He is most likely Archwarrior. I don''t think any weaker should have a position as instructor in Tier 2 guild.''

    "Alright, you''ll have to choose which one from Three Powers you''ll learn..." Dutch said, but then he was cut off as the sliding door opened.

    A frown appeared on his brows. He expected ate student, but instead, a tall figure with fiery red hair entered the dojo.

    "Guild master!" Dutch immediately stood at attention, his bored expression vanishing like a fleeting cloud.

    All the yers in the room turned to the tall figure and bowed in absolute respect. They rarely had the opportunity to meet the guild master.

    Knoxx, the bronze-haired young man, looked excited. ''Guild master should''ve onlye here for one reason. He must think one of the recruits shows some promise, and that must be me!

    ''Perhaps I''ll finally have a chance to be a porter for Crimson Hound''s Top Dungeon Party!''

    "Dutch." Digby nodded briefly and made a stop at the front of the room.

    Dutch stepped aside, letting Digby take the lead.

    "Do you have the scrolls here?" Digby turned to the instructor and asked.

    "The Three Powers?" Dutch asked, and Digby nodded.

    Dutch quickly went to fetch three old-looking scrolls with worn-out text and quickly returned

    to Digby before handing them over to him.

    "Adam,e here." Digby turned to Adam and said.

    At that moment, all the yers realized that Digby came here for this new recruit. It was

    weird since it was the first time this had happened!

    Knoxx''s face morphed into a look of shock and confusion.

    ''He is here for this nobody? Why?''

    Adam walked to the front of the room and bowed respectfully.

    "You''ll have a choice to make." Digby crouched on the ground and opened the three scrolls. "Kraft, Magick, or Kiryoku. Choose one to start practicing in."

    Adam also kneeled on the ground and looked at the three ancient-looking scrolls. This was an extremely important choice that would determine his path for the rest of his life.

    "If you listened to the ss, you should know what each of them does." Digby said. "Eventually, you''ll start learning all three of them, as each one of Three Powers has its own

    uses.

    "You can''t really ignore any of them. However, you must focus on one of them, and this will

    be the moment to choose the one."

    "I''ll..." Adam hovered his hand over the scrolls, deep in thought.

    "Choose wisely." Digby instructed.

    "I''ll choose this one." Adam touched one of the scrolls with a confident look.

    It was a choice he had made a long time ago.

    After seeing the choice, Digby smiled. "You chose Kiryoku."

    At that moment, the scroll of Kiryoku started glowing, and a beam of light entered Adam through his forehead. He received knowledge about Kiryoku, and he was now able to learn it.

    "Kiryoku needs great patience and discipline to master." Digby said and gave the other two scrolls to Dutch. "You need to be in control of your emotions and focus your mind

    completely."

    "Yes, sir." Adam nodded, and he was almost shaking in excitement.

    He wanted to already start learning Kiryoku.

    "Dutch, I''ll be taking Adam to the dark room." Digby stood up and said, "I''ll train him

    personally."

    Gasps!

    The yers gasped and wondered who the hell Adam was for the guild master himself to train

    him personally!

    "S-sir, who is he?" Dutch asked with a trembling voice. "I have been the instructor for the past five years, and this is the first time you have trained someone personally!" ''Who the fuck is he?'' Knoxx looked at Adam with a look of hatred. ''I was a B-ranked recruit,

    and I have potential to reach Royal Mercenary and be one of the cornerstones of the Crimson Hound Guild!''

    "His name is Adam Palestar." Digby said. "Also, he is the newly crowned S-ranker."

    "What?!"

    Knoxx''s face paled, and his jaw dropped. ''S-ranker? What the fuck! Why did someone like him

    join Crimson Hound? What in the world!''

    Dutch looked frightened. ''I-I have a chance to train S-ranker?! Do I even qualify to do so?''

    "S-S-S-S-S-S-S ranker?!" Enigma felt lightheaded and almost fainted.

 Chapter 76: The Dark Room

    Chapter 76: The Dark Room

    ?

    Tap, tap. Footsteps sounded.

    Two figures waltzed down stone steps into the dark, musky basement.

    In the basement, there was a heavily chained door. It looked heavy and ominous. It was ck in color, with the chains being gray and rusted.

    Digby flicked a lightswitch, and a dim light fell over the basement.

    "This is the entrance to the dark room." Digby said as he looked straight at the chained door and pulled out a small key from his inventory.

    Adam looked at the door and felt a chill run down his back. It was suddenly getting cold.

    Digby inserted the key into the chains, removed them, and then heavily opened the door. Once the door was open, they saw a dark interior with all light sucked out of existence.

    Even the light from the basement didn''t reach that ce.

    "This is a dark room, specially created to learn Kiryoku." Digby said. "It will be dark, quiet, and cold there."

    "What do I have to do there?" Adam asked like a clueless student.

    In his past life, he had learned Kiryoku but stopped as soon as he was able to sense the attacking intent of the people. He thought it was enough. To an extent, it was.

    "I''ll give you the instructions." Digby said and stepped through the door. "Follow me."

    Adam followed behind, and as soon as he entered the darkness, the heavy doors shut down, trapping both of them in the darkness. He couldn''t see anything.

    However, Digby was able to see clearly, as if he had night vision. After walking further into the dark room, he turned around and instructed.

    "Take three steps forward."

    Adam nodded and took one step, then a second, and finally the third step. He was in the middle of the room now.

    "Sit cross-legged and close your eyes." Digby''s voice echoed.

    Adam sat down on the ground, put his legs cross-legged and closed his eyes.

    ''Cold...'' Adam shuddered as he felt cold seep into his bones.

    However, because of his Bronze VR Pod, it wasn''t an absolutely realistic feeling. He kind of felt cold, but also numb. It was a strange sensation, almost like a distant memory of winter''s bite.

    Digby pulled out a wooden stick from his inventory. It was a strange item to have, but it looked like something he had just picked up from outside in a hurry.

    "The first level of Kiryoku is able to read the attacking intent of people and their emotions." Digby said. "It is the first step in mastering Kiryoku."

    ''Kuruma was at this step.'' Adam thought to himself. ''If he was at the second step, which allowed him to sense the aura''s of others, I would''ve most likely lost.

    ''The first step is easy to bypass. Just hide the attacking intent. Luckily, it is not that easy to master-not now. Fleur Verner, the second general of Star Faction, found a way to learn it easier, allowing almost every mercenary to learn it.

    ''However, Fleur hadn''t discovered that yet. So, the people who can hide their attacking intents are quite rare!''

    "Kiryoku is usually learned through pain." Digby said and then he started circling Adam, his voice turning into an echo. "Learn it with pain. Try to dodge my attacks."

    Adam entered deep into his consciousness and put all his senses on high alert. His hearing became more acute, but for some odd reason, Digby''s footsteps disappeared.

    "I am not allowing you to use any of your senses to locate me," Digby said with a chuckle. "To learn Kiryoku, you must abandon your five senses."

    Adam took a deep breath and put his hands on his legs. He wasn''t trying to locate Digby anymore. Instead, he started to tap into Kiryoku, like he had done countless times in his previous life.

    At that moment, a wooden stick smacked Adam on the back of his head, causing him to lose focus.

    "Ah..." Adam touched the back of his head with a grim look. ''I couldn''t use my Kiryoku. I was so bad at it because I never practiced enough. Now I need to learn it again...''

    ''Hmm...'' Digby still circled around him. ''He slightly moved his head, but he didn''t use Kiryoku. He felt the air flow around the wooden stick. He has great instincts.''

    This time, Digby changed the grip on the wooden stick. Next time, there won''t be any air flow around the wooden stick.

    He was feeling rather carefree, knowing that he could just throw some sloppy strikes and they would hit Adam. However, he underestimated his fighting instincts.

    Adam closed his eyes again and took a deep breath.

    Digby walked a few circles, then he swung the wooden stick and hit Adam in the side of the head. Crack. It sounded like a whip hadnded.

    "Ngh..." Adam touched the side of his head and sighed heavily. "Master, I can''t sense anything."

    "Kiryoku, is your body finally saying enough." Digby said. "Without pain, you will be unable to learn it. You must learn to embrace it, allowing your brain to expand."

    ''Kiryoku and its ssic nonsense.'' Adam sighed heavily. ''Masters of Kiryoku always exined things in such a cryptic way.''

    "I am not expecting you to learn Kiryoku today or tomorrow." Digby said. "It will take months. However, for now, embrace the pain."

    Adam closed his eyes and then felt another whip-like attack hit the back of his head.

    For the next couple of hours, Adam continuously got hit. He got hit hundred, two hundred, perhaps even three hundred times. Yet, he wasn''t even close to dodging a single attack. After a three hour mark, the training came to an end, and Adam limped back to his room, where heid down on the hard, wooden bed.

    In the central courtyard. Digby looked at the courtyard fountain, deep in thoughts. Drip, drip. The water droplets sshed softly against the wooden floor, providing a calming rhythm that matched the movements of the leaves rustling gently in the wind.

    It wasn''t raining anymore, and the dark clouds had almost all vanished from the clear

    afternoon sky.

    "Master." Dutch walked over. He also just finished training his students.

    "Dutch." Digby nodded and asked, "How did the ss go?"

    "Good, good..." Dutch replied, but he clearly wanted to ask something as he fidgeted.

    "What is it?" Digby sensed his anxiousness and inquired.

    ''Sigh, it''s impossible to hide our emotions from the Master of Kiryoku.'' Dutch wryly smiled

    and asked, "How did he do?"

    "Adam?" Digby asked and saw him nod. "As well as you can expect. He couldn''t learn the

    Kiryoku."

    "Oh..." Dutch nodded.

    For a moment, he thought that Adam would be able to learn Kiryoku. After all, S-rankers were known as monsters above monsters. However, he thought it was also foolish of him to think

    that.

    S-rankers were monsters, yes, but even for a talented individual of A-rank, it would take

    several months to learn Kiryoku.

    "I''ll need you to be in charge of his other training." Digby said. "Martial arts and weapons training-that''s on you. I''ll personally teach him Kiryoku."

    "Alright," Dutch replied enthusiastically.

    It wasn''t every day you got to train a S-ranker!

    "I''ll log out for a bit." Digby said and pulled out his interface. "I want tomorrow''s training

    program on my desk before I return; is that clear?"

    "Yes, sir!" Dutch saluted and watched as their guild master vanished into floating light pixels.

 Chapter 77: Curse of Love

    Chapter 77: Curse of Love

    ?

    Real World, Navy Town.

    Adam sat on the desk, watching some videos on theputer. He was catching up on some news that had happened recently.

    He had forgotten about some things about him; these things happened over a decade ago.

    He had also been trying to remember what was going to happen in the following month or two, but couldn''t recall anything major.

    At that moment, his phone vibrated.

    He checked it out and saw that he had received notification-someone had sent 100,000 E- Dors to his bank ount.

    The sender''s name was Digby Chaucer.

    "Whew..." Adam sighed out a relief, closed his phone, and browsed the inte until he found the tinum VR Pod currently on sale. It was also in a very reputable online store.

    Its price was ridiculous.

    [Price: 20,000 E-Dors]

    "A worthy investment." Adam said and without any hesitation, he purchased the machine, and it would arrive in the next couple of days.

    ''I also have enough to pay off the rent and still have some money left.'' Adam leaned on the chair and let out a contented sigh.

    ''I''ll dy paying off the rent for a while; they would get very suspicious if I managed to get the money on the first day.''

    He then cracked his knuckles and went to Mortal Online''s forums-there, he found more stuff about Red Thread.

    It was a dangerous ce, but he wanted to visit it.

    ''I have now money to travel there and purchase some stuff that coulde in handy.''

    Adam moved under the desk, pressed the shut-off button on theputer, and then stood up. He then slid his chair under the desk and stretched his arms above his head.

    At that moment, Adam started hopping, like a boxer, and started throwing jabs at the empty air in front of him. Then, he took a step forward and did a flexible high kick, almost hitting the ceiling with his foot.

    His leg acted as a whip and made a loud whooshing sound as it sliced through the air.

    "Ngh..." Adam looked ufortable and put his foot back on the floor. "My body is not that flexible either. I know what I need to improve upon."

    He then dropped down to the ground, catching his body with his hands, and then started doing push-ups. It was already gettingte, and he didn''t sleep at allst night.

    Still, he didn''t feel that tired.

    ...

    On the other side of the wall, Alice sat on her bed with her back against the wall. She listened to the sound of Adam doing push-ups.

    "He has changed." She thought to herself and hugged her legs closer to her chest. "He is now taking care of his body, and he seems more confident now.

    "Perhaps he has a crush on someone?"

    She tapped her finger against her lips, deep in thought.

    "It feels like he is moving further away..." Alice wondered, feeling a twinge of sadness in her heart. She couldn''t shake the feeling that he was slipping away from her.

    "What should I do..."

    ...

    New World, the Imperium City.

    In the heart the Imperium City, where cobblestone streets wind like serpents between towering edifices, the Grand Cathedral loomed like a sentinel, its spires reaching for the sky. Within the expanse of the nave, rays of moonlight filtered through the clerestory windows, illuminating rows of pews where devout worshippers bowed their heads in prayer.

    The air was thick with the scent of incense, mingling with the soft strains of hymns sung by a choir hidden in the shadows of the choir lofts. The service was a beautiful disy of faith and reverence.

    At the heart of the Grand Cathedral stood the altar, adorned with intricate carvings and golden candlesticks, where a woman was sitting, her beautiful back facing the choir, as she prayed silently.

    Her beautiful, long silver hair cascaded down her back like a shimmering waterfall. She was the embodiment of grace and purity, radiating a sense of peace and tranquility to all who beheld her.

    She was the Grand Priestess, Lady Yu.

    She softly opened her eyes, revealing a depth of kindness andpassion that seemed beyond her years. Her golden eyes sparkled beautifully.

    As she was about to stand up and end today''s ceremony, a gentle breeze swept through the altar. It stopped her in her tracks.

    No one felt it¡ªnot even the devout worshippers, as they were still bowing and chanting different prayers under their breath.

    "God Almighty, is it you?" Lady Yu whispered in an angelic voice.

    "It''s me." A voice came behind her.

    Lady Yu turned around slowly, her heart pounding in her chest. She then saw a pale-faced man wearing a dark cloak and a crown of thorns on his head.

    "Little God." She smiled sweetly and bowed gracefully.

    "Is your Curse of Men still acting up, Little Yu?" Little God asked and sat down on the altar, crossing his legs elegantly.

    "It is..." Lady Yu replied, her voice tinged with sadness. "I think it has even be worse."

    "Howe?" Little God asked.

    "Before, when men talked to me, I felt sick and weak, as if I wanted to throw up," Lady Yu said with a sigh. "It''s not because I found them displeasing. Most of them were handsome young men and seemed kind, but this Curse of Men disallows any contact with men. "Now, if I am even stared at, the Curse of Men activates. It has be so much worse." "It is a powerful curse." Little God said. "Even a god like me can''t do anything about it." "Will I be like this forever?" Lady Yu asked with a sorrowful tone.

    "That''s uncertain," Little God said, crossing his arms. "But we have another name for the

    Curse of Men."

    "What is it?" Lady Yu asked curiously.

    "Curse of Love," Little God said. "Those with this curse are said to be forever alone, unable to

    find their love."

    "I am unable to find love." Lady Yu said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "I''ll be alone

    forever?"

    "Not necessarily." Little God said and raised one finger. "It has also been said that there is one person in your entire existence who is destined to be your soulmate.

    "The Curse of Love won''t activate in the presence of your soulmate."

    "Soulmate..." Lady Yu whispered, a glimmer of hope shining in her eyes.

    She rarely felt any desires, but now she couldn''t help but feel a spark of excitement at the

    thought of finally finding her soulmate.

    "Does your Curse of Love activate when looking at me?" Little God asked curiously.

    Lady Yu, ashamed, nodded her head.

    "I see." Little God nodded. "I don''t want you to suffer more, so I''ll get going, but I came here

    for another reason than just chitchat."

    "What is it?" Lady Yu looked at him.

    "A person with fragments of my power had appeared." Little God said. "The thing is, I don''t remember giving fragments of my power to anyone. I can only do it once, and it''s a power that

    cannot be taken back."

    "You think he stole it from you?" Lady Yu asked.

    "Very unlikely," Little God said. "I just want you to keep an eye on him. You''ve got your own

    spies, don''t you?"

    "I''ll send them first thing in the morning." Lady Yu said with a smile.

    "Good girl." Little God started floating in the air, his body slowly vanishing. "Don''t be

    discouraged. I have a feeling that your soulmate is closer than you think."

    "Mm." Lady Yu nodded with a smile.

 Chapter 78: Raid

    Chapter 78: Raid

    ?

    The winds of the winter had passed, and the warmth of spring enveloped thend.

    In Dawnwatch, at Crimson Hound''s vi, sweat flew as mercenaries sparred and trained tirelessly.

    Smack, smack, smack!

    At the corner of the central courtyard, Adam held a wooden sword in one hand, facing a stuffed doll that served as his opponent.

    He then lunged forward, shed his training sword across the doll''s chest, and repeated the move until the doll was in tatters.

    Ding, ding!

    A strange dinging noise echoed in Adam''s ears, stopping him in his tracks.

    [Progress: 100%]

    [You''ve learned Basic de Handling!]

    ''Finally,'' Adam thought to himself. ''It took longer than it should''ve, as I had put most of my effort into learning Kiryoku, which I still hadn''t managed to do.''

    Adam looked at the training sword in his hand and started doing simple shes. Yet, there was something different about the way it felt in his grip today.

    It felt smoother and more natural.

    ''That''s much better.'' Adam''s lips curled into a slight smile.

    He was very pleased.

    Some neers ignore the basics as they are mostly focused on more powerful ones. However, the basics were the foundation of everything, and Adam knew their importance. ''Now that my swordsmanship has improved, learning new sword skills will be much easier.'' "Everyone, gather indoors!" Dutch shouted.

    Everyone stopped their training and rushed inside.

    ''Oh, what''s going on?'' Adam, with curiosity, entered the small dojo and joined others to see what themotion was about.

    Dutch stood in front of the students, but he was standing strangely. He looked upright and tense.

    Usually, he would look bored and evenzy. His back was barely straight but instead curved as if he were having back pain. Now, his whole demeanor was different.

    The students immediately realized why and also straightened their backs.

    The sliding door of the dojo opened and Digby, the guild master of Crimson Hounds, entered with a stern expression on his face.

    Nowadays, he was rarely seen by other students because he was busy overseeing the operations of the guild and teaching Adam the ways of Kiryoku.

    Knoxx and a few others felt very annoyed by that because they felt like Adam had special privileges even though he was only Mercenarymen.

    They, as Ordergivers, thought Mercenarymen as less important and undeserving of special treatment.

    Even though the difference was only one rank, there could be a difference of multiple levels. Even a single level at the lower levels would make an immense difference.

    At this point, Adam was still level 1, as he hadn''t left thepound yet.

    Digby walked to the front of the dojo and said, "We''ve received information that the boss of Floor 10 has finally respawned."

    Knoxx''s and a few others immediately looked excited.

    "Knoxx, you''ll lead this raid, as usual." Digby said.

    "Yes, sir!" Knoxx said energetically, with a smile creeping up on his face.

    ''Floor 10?'' Adam''s mind began running, and then his eyes brightened. ''Right, that ce has a golden opportunity!''

    It took him some time to remember it, but once he did, his heart started beating rapidly.

    ''Right, that golden opportunity will be discovered soon from a member of the Richers Guild. It would happen within a month, so this might be my only chance to get this golden opportunity.

    ''I''ll have to participate in this raid somehow...''

    He looked past the dozen students and straight at Digby, then he slowly raised his right arm.

    The few students in his vicinity nced at him briefly.

    Digby looked over to him and nodded, allowing him to ask his question.

    "May I also join the raid?" Adam asked.

    It didn''t matter that he hadn''t entered floors 6, 7, 8, or 9 yet. He could even enter floor 50 if he wanted because the "door" there had already been cleared.

    Every floor has a door, and once it is opened, everyone else can step through it.

    At the current moment, humanity has reached floor 73. They had been working hard and tirelessly to clear floors towards the ultimate goal-floor 100.

    "Oh?" Digby rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked at Knoxx. "Knoxx, you''re the raid leader. What do you say?"

    "Absolutely not!" Knoxx firmly shouted. "He doesn''t know our tactics and strategy. He would just get in the way!"

    Adam frowned silently. ''This, Knoxx, has not been very friendly to me. He has some kind of animosity toward me. That''s troublesome.''

    "Hmm." Digby mumbled under his breath and said, "Adam, do you think you are ready?"

    "I am at the bottleneck with Kiryoku." Adam said. "I believe withbat, I can ovee

    that."

    "Is that so..." Digby nodded. ''Adam has insanebat talent. His body has started to react by itself, trying to dodge my attacks. It''s like his body is already predicting my moves before I even make them.

    ''Still, that''s not Kiryoku, but it is close. In the past week, I have seen hisck of progress, and it could be because of the bottleneck. It was pretty impressive of Adam to realize his own

    bottleneck.

    ''A proper life-and-death battle could prove useful to him...''

    "The raid on floor 10 isn''t a game!" Knoxx shouted, his face turning red. "We''re about to face

    a dangerous boss!"

    "Hmm..." Digby looked at Adam and asked. "What role would you like to take in the raid? Most roles have already been filled, such as damage dealer, healer, and support."

    "Not tank?" Adam questioned with a slight smile.

    "We have a tank!" Knoxx looked to his left and patted the shoulder of his friend, who looked slightly timid.

    His friend wasn''t tall or muscr; he was lean and short. He had a look of uncertainty in his

    face.

    It wasn''t his choice to be a tank. It was Knoxx''s because there was no one else for the role. It was also an extremely dangerous role.

    He didn''t want to be a tank, as he had already almost died because of it. It was his duty to keep the bosses busy, and he didn''t have the skill set to be one.

    Digby looked at the young man and slightly shook his head. He could tell that he was one of the "forced role" takers, as there wasn''t anyone else to take the role of tank.

    At that moment, Adam said, "I can be the tank, if the current tank is fine with it."

    Knoxx scoffed loudly. "Hah, we''ll be just fine with our current tank!"

    "Well, are you?" Digby looked at the uncertain-looking young man.

    The young man felt the sharp re of his friend, Knoxx, but he gulped loudly and lowered his

    head before whispering.

    "I-I am fine giving away my role as tank."

    Knoxx gritted his teeth and asked, "What the hell are you doing? You were doing just fine!"

    "I don''t want to fucking die!" The young man shouted back. "This is floor 10 we''re talking about; it''s vastly more dangerous than floor 9, where I almost died. After the battle, I only had 5 health left!"

    "Are you fine with being a tank?" Digby asked Adam with a worried look. "It is extremely

    dangerous."

    "I am confident," Adam said with a smile.

    "Alright then." Digby nodded. "You all will depart in the morning. Prepare for the journey

    ahead."

    "Yes, sir!"

    Adam was about to leave the dojo to get his things sorted, but at that moment, he heard a ding in his ears. It was a different-sounding ding from his previous one.

    He had received a message.

    It was from Serah.

    It was possible to send a message from the real world to Mortal Online with a specific messaging app, which Adam downloaded on Serah''s phone so she could contact him at any

    moment.

    After checking out the message, Adam quickly returned to his quarters.

    Serah was asking for the rent payment for the following year.

    ''Right, it has already been a month since I came here. I''ll get that over with, and then it''ll be

    time for the raid.'' Adam thought with excitement.

    He had almost forgotten about the excitement of going to new raids. Even though he had cleared the floor 10 long time ago, it still felt like a fresh experience.

 Chapter 79: Bloodhound

    Chapter 79: Bloodhound

    ?

    Swoosh!

    The ss lid of the beautiful tinum VR pod slowly opened, revealing the stunning interior filled with state-of-the-art technology and a young man lying inside.

    "Mmh..." Adam rubbed his eyes and slowly stood back up, then started stretching his limbs as if he had just woken up from a nice nap.

    He had been using the tinum VR Pod for a while now, and Adam had almost forgotten just how much better it waspared to the bronze.

    He had been using tinum for years before his death, and he had gotten so used to it that he forgot just how bad other VR pods werepared to it.

    tinum VR Pod enhanced the reality of the virtual world to a level that was unmatched by any other VR Pod. It also had the mostfortable seating and the highest quality audio.

    Also, it kept Adam''s real body very healthy. It was even improving his physical fitness level and health.

    Adam slowly climbed out of the VR pod, shirtless. His body in the past month had be slightly more toned and muscr. It was still far away from his previous body shape, but he was proud of the progress he had made.

    After putting on a t-shirt, the door to his room swung wide open, and Serah, with her arms crossed, stomped inside with a smug look.

    "Well then, I do hope that you have the rent money!" Serah said smugly and looked at the beautiful VR pod. "Or did you spend it all on this? Hmph, if you don''t have the money, we''re going to sell it off!"

    ''She doesn''t know the value of the tinum VR Pod,'' Adam thought to himself with a smile. ''I gave her a fake price that was actually worth only 500 E-Dors, while it was actually 20,000. If she had known the real price, she would''ve passed out.''

    Adam took out his phone, entered his banking ount, and typed something quickly while Serah impatiently tapped her foot against the floor.

    Brr...

    Serah frowned as her phone vibrated in her back pocket. She pulled it out and nonchntly opened it. She thought she had received a message from either John or Alice or from one of her friends.

    However, instead, she saw that she had received an email saying that she had received quite a sum of money in her bank ount.

    After seeing the amount, her sharp eyes rounded up in shock.

    "That should be enough, isn''t it?" Adam slowly pocketed his phone. "Our deal''s finished, and I can continue ying, right?"

    "How..." Serah looked at him in shock and turned to the VR pod. ''Should I start ying as well? How in the world did he receive so much money in a month?

    ''No wonder he was able to purchase another VR pod, even though they''re expensive. His old one should be in the garage, hmm.''

    "Well?" Adam asked with a raised eyebrow.

    Serah looked at him intensely, then scoffed and pocketed his phone. "Fine, but remember that this money will only cover one year worth of rent on your part. Next year, you''ll have to pay rent again if you n to live here. Remember that."

    "I know." Adam nodded, and then Serah left the room, leaving the door wide open.

    "You should''ve at least closed the door." Adam mumbled under his breath and closed the door, then went to the window and opened it.

    Fresh air filled the room.

    Adam leaned out of the open window, taking in the view of the town and inhaling deeply. He felt a sense of calm wash over him.

    As he was about to exhale, he heard a strange clicking sound.

    Click, click!

    After opening his eyes, he saw a strange figure in the narrow alleyway, just on the other side of the street, holding a camera and pointing it directly at him.

    The figure looked shady with a ck fedora and a long trench coat. He looked like a detective from a ssic noir film.

    "Shit." Adam suddenly leaped out of the window recklessly andnded in the backyard, then jumped over the fence and started running towards the dark alley.

    The shady figure ced his camera in his handbag and entered the dark alley slowly, as if he wasn''t in any hurry to escape.

    Adam entered the dark alley and saw the figure stop and turn around. He had a small mask covering his nose and mouth, but his eyes were piercing and full of malice.

    "Taking photos-what''re you, a pervert?" Adam said it mockingly. "What if I were naked? Now, mind handing me the camera?"

    "Haha," the figure chuckled. "I have heard that S-rankers are quite arrogant. They have earned the right, but not you yet."

    ''His voice is quite deep and sounds very southern.'' Adam thought to himself. ''He might be from New Texas or maybe even from Old Texas. I''ll need to get his name to know who sent him; I might know it.''

    "You followed a stranger in a dark alley." The figure said it maliciously and then grinned. "The world is a dangerous ce, little pup."

    "I am so scared." Adam said coldly and moved into his boxing stance. "Give me that camera, and then you''ll tell me your name, forcibly."

    "As I said, arrogant." The figure dropped his bag to the ground and cracked his knuckles. "My other upation is Otherworld Killer, but I suppose my boss doesn''t want me to kill you, so I''ll only rough you up a bit."

    Adam moved forward, weaving his upper body while having his two arms in a defensive

    stance.

    The shady figure lunged forward with surprising speed and agility, and then threw a fast straight punch that connected with Adam''s arms.

    Smack!

    It was a powerful-sounding punch, but Adam managed to block it without showing any sign

    of pain.

    "Heh." The shady figure formed a fist and started throwing punches at the block.

    Smack, smack, smack!

    Adam blocked all the punches without taking a single step back. His expression looked nonchnt, as if his brain hadn''t even registered that he was in a fight.

    At that moment, the shady figure noticed that Adam''s knees slightly buckled, and his block was starting to weaken. He immediately rushed in and threw a punch from low-it was a hook

    punch, aimed at the waist!

    ''Now!''

    Adam grabbed the arm while using his other hand to grab the shady figure''s cor, and then, using his momentum, he lifted the figure over his shoulder and threw him down to the

    pavement.

    Crack. The pavement cracked under the powerful throw.

    "Argh!" The shady figure coughed out all the air in his lungs.

    It was a shocking blow, and he hadn''t yet realized that he was down on the ground, breathless

    and in pain.

    Adam suddenly formed a fist and mmed it deep into the figure''s stomach. SMACK. The figure coughed blood all over Adam''s face.

    "B-bastard!" The figure cried out in pain and suddenly pulled out a knife from his belt and

    swung it at Adam.

    Adam quickly backed off, narrowly dodging the sharp knife and immediately put his hands up

    in defense.

    The figure climbed back to his feet, looked at the bag on the ground with a look of regret, and then rushed out of the alley while clutching his stomach in pain.

    Adam watched as he left and then turned back to the bag. He picked it up and opened it. There was a camera, a wallet, a passport, and some napkins.

    ''I could''ve caught him, but there''s no need to risk my life like that; he was here to find my location anyway, and he knows that, so he doesn''t really need the camera.''

    He didn''t really care that his location would be known. All the mercenaries had their homes

    known, except a very few that lived in shadows.

    It was dangerous, of course, as there were Otherworld Killers, but for that reason,

    mercenaries spent a lot of money on security measures.

    ''Well, I wonder who that person was.'' Adam picked up the passport and checked it out.

    As soon as he saw the face, a certain name popped up.

    ''Carmine De Luca...''

    Adam then checked out the name in the passport, which had a fake one.

    ''He didn''t care about leaving the passport either because it had a fake name. Carmine had no

    idea that I would recognize his face...

    ''Carmine De Luca, the Bloodhound of the Underworld.''

 Chapter 80: Crimson Armor

    Chapter 80: Crimson Armor

    ?

    The following morning, in the yard of Crimson Hound''spound.

    A group of yers had gathered and were waiting for the arrival of the wagon and the driver.

    Even though the dungeon''s entrance was in Dawnwatch, it would still take around an hour to reach it as the city was still quiterge.

    While everyone wore their own armor with the familiar crimson cloaks pping behind them, Adam didn''t have any armor as he couldn''t afford one.

    Therefore, he was in his usual getup with a simple leather vest and pants. He had his familiar steel shortsword dangling from his belt and a round shield strapped to his back.

    Seeing his getup, most of the yers on the yard scoffed and mocked him inwardly. It didn''t give them a lot of confidence that the tank of their group looked so... weak.

    "Sigh, I envy you." At that moment, Enigma came from inside and sat beside Adam. "I wish I could join the raid~"

    "Oh, you aren''ting?" Adam asked with raised eyebrow.

    "Nah, I am too weak, apparently." Enigma sighed wryly. "Well, they aren''t wrong. I am still trying to learn Magick. I am aiming to be a powerful wizard someday."

    "Wizard, huh." Adam replied, intrigued by Enigma''s goal.

    At that moment, the sound of horses neighing and wagons rolling down the cobblestone road sounded in the distance.

    "The ride is here!" Knoxx shouted and picked up his backpack. He wore steel-colored armor with a crimson cloak billowing behind him. "No time to waste; let''s go!"

    "Good luck." Enigma cheered Adam on and then returned inside to continue his training.

    As Adam was about to pick up his backpack, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and, to his surprise, saw Digby looking at him with his deep, red eyes.

    "Guild master?"

    "Here." Digby took something out of his inventory and ced it on the ground.

    It was a crimson armor with a simr-colored cloak and helm. The helm looked like a dog''s head with sharp, pointed ears. It looked menacing and intimidating.

    "What''s this?" Adam asked with a raised eyebrow. "This is for me?"

    "That''s armor that only fully-fledged mercenaries of Crimson Hound receive. You aren''t at that level yet, but perhaps this will help you survive through the raid.

    "I expect you to return it to me in prime condition."

    Adam looked surprised. This was clearly expensive armor. However, he was also grateful and epted it gratefully.

    After Digby left, Adam quickly put the armor on, and it perfectly fit his frame. The armor in Mortal Online worked in strange ways. It would perfectly mold to fit the user''s body, almost as if it were alive.

    Now, Adam looked vastly different from his previous scrawny self. The armor made him look dazzling, as if he were a seasoned mercenary.

    He then put the helm on and closed it over his face, with only his deep eyes peering out from the darkness.

    "Information..." Curiously, he wanted to check the armor''s stats.

    ***

    [Armor: Armor of Crimson Hounds]

    [Rank: Azure Rare]

    [Defense: 150]

    [Durability: 100%]

    [Description: An armor specially made to be worn by mercenaries of Crimson Hound-the helm and the crimson cloak radiate a menacing aura that has the ability to weaken the morale of enemies and inspire allies]

    ***

    ''150 defense, not bad.'' Adam thought with a smile. ''This armor can definitely stop most of the ordinary attacks, but I''ll have to avoid Chaosbeing''s special attacks.''

    "What''s taking so long?!" Angry-sounding Knoxx stomped to the yard after seeing that Adam was nowhere to be seen when they were ready to embark on their journey.

    At that moment, he saw a crimson-armored person in the yard. At first, he was about to bow

    as a sign of respect, as he thought it was a mercenary of their guild, but then Adam opened the helm and revealed his face.

    "Y-you..." Knoxx whispered in shock. "Where did you get this armor? You shouldn''t be allowed to wear that!"

    "Guild Master gave it to me." Adam took off the helmpletely and stored it inside his inventory, as it was quite stuffy to wear. He nned to wear it only during battles. ''W-why are they all treating him differently from the rest of us?'' Knoxx gritted his teeth hatefully. ''I am also a genius, so why have I never received this kind of treatment?''

    "We should get going, no?" Adam walked past him, left the yard, and entered the first wagon on the right. It was already mostly filled with other members of the raid.

    After seeing Adam, they looked shocked and envious at the fancy armor. They were aware that some neers receive privileged treatment because of their rank in the tutorial.

    It had never been as tant as now.

    S-rankers were truly treated differently; the difference was like day and night.

    "Tch!" Knoxx clicked his tongue in annoyance, took a seat beside the driver, and then ordered him to start going.

    The driver humbly nodded and started pulling the reins. He was also a yer but a failed mercenary. He failed in the tutorial, but instead of quitting, he became a wagon driver.

    The hours were long, and sometimes it could put his life in danger. Sometimes, he had to drive days to the neighboring cities to deliver goods and supplies.

    Sometimes, he was forced to fight off bandits and other wild animals.

    There were a lot of instances when he died and lost his coins and supplies. However, he always got back on his feet and continued doing his job.

    The job paid fairly well, and he enjoyed it more than his previous upation in real life. The hardest part was the treatment he received from mercenaries. They treated him like a second- ss citizen, which he was in the New World.

    At that moment, the horses neighed and started pulling the wagons down the cobblestone

    streets.

    During the hour-long journey, they passed down different kinds of streets with buildings of various architectural styles. The city was a mix of old and new, showcasing the stark contrast between tradition and progress.

    After some time, the wagon pulled to the entrance of a strange building the building seemed to be connected to the enormous mountain that oversaw Dawnwatch.

    The entrance of the building was outside the mountain, but over half of the building was embedded into the mountain itself.

    They all left the wagon, Knoxx paid the driver, and then they all entered the building. It was clear that they were part of Crimson Hounds, and some of the mercenaries nodded as a result. After all, they were Tier-2 guild and that garnered respect from weaker guilds. It didn''t matter that they were clearly one of the weakest raid squads in the guild; they still garnered

    some of that respect.

    As soon as Adam entered the building, he looked up. A small smile creeped up on his face. It was still as beautiful as ever.

    A spiral of stairs greeted him, going up the mountain like a snake slithering its way to the top. With each spiral, there were doors leading to different floors of the dungeon.

    Those doors acted as gateways, or more precisely, portals to the dungeon.

    The doors that were unlocked were hazel-colored, but those at the top of the spiral were a deep shade of crimson. Those were the floors at the top of the dungeon that had yet to be

    explored.

    Following Knoxx, they walked up the spiral for a short while. It wasn''t long-only about thirty steps-until they reached the tenth door on the stairs. It was the door to the tenth floor.

    Without further ado, Knoxx opened it and stepped through, immediately followed by other

    members of the raid party.

    "Tenth floor..." Adam smiled and stepped through the door.

    As soon as he stepped through, the door closed behind him.

    On top of the door, there was an insignia of a creature with eight, javelin-like legs and creepy

    large head with bulging body, like a spider. The insignia was also glowing softly.

    It meant that the tenth floor''s boss was currently alive. It wouldn''t glow otherwise.

 Chapter 81: Floor 10

    Chapter 81: Floor 10

    ?

    In a sh of light, a group of yers appeared in the middle of a deserted and overgrown, ruined city. It looked abandoned for years, and there were also eerie spiderwebs covering the crumbling buildings.

    Knoxx looked around with an eagle''s gaze, and then his gazended on a campfire that had burned out a while back.

    ''They used this ce as a camping spot; should we as well?'' Knoxx wondered to himself with a frown.

    He had the role of raid leader-it was a demanding role, and this raid was very important to him.

    So far, he hasn''t led any raids yet. He recently became an ordergiver and had the opportunity to be a raid leader. It was his opportunity to show what he was capable of doing.

    In Crimson Hound''s, there were in total ten raid teams-they were ranked from first to tenth based on their skill level-the guild''s core team was the first team, and Knoxx was now leaving the lowest-ranked team, the tenth team.

    He hoped that this would show his capabilities as a leader, and perhaps in the future, he could lead one of the top five ranked teams. It would be a huge honor.

    "Alright, everyone!" Knoxx shouted.

    Everyone stopped checking out the town and turned to their leader.

    "We''ll camp here."

    Knoxx said and after giving everyone the order, they began building up the campsite for them -it was still quite early, but they would have to spend several weeks on the floor.

    Their main goal was to defeat the boss of the floor, but that wasn''t all-they were also looking for Magick Energy shards. They were worth quite a bit, as the New World desperately needed them.

    Therefore, they would survey the floor for the shards before going to defeat the boss.

    After a few hours, the campsite was somewhat built-around seven tents were already up, forming a circle in the middle of the town-and in the middle of the circle, the previous campfire was removed and reced by arger, more borate bonfire pit.

    Knoxx sat down on a log and saw that everyone was listening. He then opened a map and pped it in front of everyone.

    "This is a map of the tenth floor," he said before continuing, "And it shows the areas where we can look for the shards. However, we must be careful in one specific area."

    As he showed the map, there was a red zone in the middle of a thick forest. It was a danger mark.

    "That''s where the bossys and its underlings."

    Knoxx scratched the back of his head before continuing.

    "We are facing a dangerous breed of Chaosbeings-Spider Demons-they are, just like their name suggests, spider-like creatures with demonic attributes.

    "They are quite a bit like humans, to be honest, as they can stand on two legs, but the underlings have four arms instead of two, and their heads are that of a spider''s. They are very disturbing fellows.

    "And then the boss is Spider Mother. She is the most terrifying of them all, with her massive size and ability to control all the underlings with just a nce.

    "Unlike underlings, she is a bona fide spider with eight steel legs that can pierce through you like a spear. We''ll need to think of countermeasures for them."

    A few female members of the raid party shuddered at the idea of those spiders. The idea of facing such ugly creatures was terrifying.

    Adam looked at the ground, where a few small spiders were crawling near the bonfire. He then stomped on them and squeezed the spiders into the dirt.

    Knoxx''s gazended on Adam, and he then smirked before asking, "Well, let''s ask from our neer. What are threemon Spider Demon skills that we need to be careful of?"

    He asked it because he was certain that Adam didn''t know the answer to that. None of the neers usually starts with reading about different types of Chaosbeings, as they are usually too upied with training.

    Knowledge had power-that''s why they were told to study about Chaosbeings, but since Adam was still a young mercenary, he hadn''t been ordered to.

    Knoxx and other members of the raid party had learned about Spider Demons beforehand because they knew what floor 10 had in store for them. They didn''t tell Adam to do that.

    "Spider Demons..." Adam quickly tried to remember and then said, "Spiderweb, Fear Inducement, and Wall Crawling."

    Knoxx''s eyes widened in surprise. He didn''t expect to know them!

    "May I exin them thoroughly?" Adam asked.

    "Sure..." Knoxx crossed his arms and listened.

    "Spiderweb is quite simple. Spider Demons can shoot silk from their hands, creating sticky webs to trap their enemies. Its weakness is fire, so hopefully we have some users of Magick that know how to throw fireballs."

    "I-I do." A shy-looking woman raised her hand with a smile. "I-I specialize in fire attacks."

    "That''s why I brought her." Knoxx said with a smug look.

    ''Oh?'' Adam shrugged his shoulders and then continued, "Fear Inducement is a mental attack. It can put a person in a state of extreme fear and panic, rendering them unable to think clearly or fight back.

    "If that happens and you are alone... you will die. However, as long as you are with someone, one p to the face will do the trick. It is easy to break someone out of that state."

    "If you see someone nk out, act immediately to bring them back to reality before it''s toote." Knoxx added.

    "Andstly, Wall Crawling." Adam sighed and said, "It is a troublesome skill. It allows the Spider Demons to crawl across walls and ceilings. It makes their ambushes deadly.

    "There is no real weakness to that; just keep your eyes peeled and be on the lookout for

    anything."

    "Not bad; that''s pretty much it all."

    Knoxx gave his first hint of a smile. He appreciated those who actually bothered to learn by themselves rather than relying solely on others to teach them.

    "Spider Mother has extra skills, but what we know is that she specializes in Magick skills. She does have the ability to use Kiryoku, but it is weak, and she is unable to use Kraft.

    "It still doesn''t matter because her hard shell protects her from most physical attacks. It''s pretty much as strong as the basic version of Kraft.

    "That forest..."

    Knoxx stood up to point towards a dark, thick forest that stretched far.

    "It is the home of Spider Demons. In the middle of the forest, there is a dome-like structure that houses their mother. It''s big enough to be seen from here if you go on top of one of the

    houses."

    "Excuse me, I have a question." Adam raised a finger.

    "What is it?" Knoxx asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "Is there a danger of another mercenary partying to contest us?" Adam asked.

    After he asked that, other members of the raid party turned quiet. It was obviously possible. Whenever one of the floors became avable, guilds sent a request to the Mercenary Guild to get permission to enter the floor. It was usually given only to one guild, whichever was

    fastest.

    This time, there were around five guilds that sent their requests, but Crimson Hounds was the fastest. However, there had been instances when other guilds ignored that and still went for

    it.

    If they were discovered doing so, there would be punishment-however, it was possible to do

    it unnoticed.

    All they would have to do is kill the other guild that got the official permission so that no one

    would know.

    "That''s unlikely." Knoxx said with a shake of his head and turned to his tent.

    "Are you sure?" Adam asked with a frown. "Does Crimson Hounds have enemies?"

    "..." A silence fell over the campsite.

    "They wouldn''t dare..." Knoxx said coldly.

    "However, just in case, should we change the location of our campsite?" Adam asked with a frown. "We are at the spawn spot. If another guild happens toe here when we are

    sleeping, we are easy prey."

    "Uhm..." Knoxx looked troubled and then saw other members look very worried.

    In the end, he sighed and waved his hand. "Fine! There''s another rtively safe ce north of

    here. We''ll move our camp there instead."

    "Whew..." Adam sighed to himself. ''I am relieved that even he is worried about that possibility and doesn''t want to take any risks. I expected him to be more hardheaded, but I

    guess he also has a brain.

    ''From what I know, Crimson Hounds have few enemies, and it doesn''t hurt to be careful. Dungeon is a dangerous ce, and Chaosbeings aren''t the only threat.''

 Chapter 82: Brothers

    Chapter 82: Brothers

    ?

    Dawnwatch, Corner of the Distro Street.

    At the corner of a bustling street, a tall building stood out. It was a modern-looking house with sleek lines and reflective windows that shimmered in the sunlight.

    It resembled quite a bit of real life''s architecture, which was an oddity in the New World.

    After all, this building was specially built by a real-life architect who was more familiar with real life''s architecture. Thus, it stood out among the traditional New World structures with its unique design.

    Currently, on the building''s top floor, which was just one big room,.

    "That''s the report, sir."

    A low-hooded figure said as he took back the stack of parchment papers.

    Tap, tap, tap.

    A towering figure impatiently tapped his finger against his knee. The silence in the room was deafening.

    At that moment, the door opened, and another towering figure entered the room. Strangely, he was identical to the person who was seated at the end of the room.

    "Brother." The chirpy-sounding man said this with a chuckle after entering the room. "How''re the things~"

    "Sigh, Arunn..." His brother rubbed his temples in annoyance. "While you were having fun with those wives of yours, I heard some interesting reports."

    Arunn scratched his groin area and grinned. "Pleasure is a way to a long life. Anyway, what''s the report, Aaron?"

    Aaron nodded towards the low-hooded figure, allowing him to exin.

    "Sir Arunn."

    The low-hooded figure said and nodded before starting.

    "The tenth floor was acquired by Crimson Hounds, just like we expected. From what we gathered, they sent their tenth team, led by young Knoxx."

    "Is that all?" Arunn asked with a yawn.

    "Just listen," Aaron said angrily.

    "Ahem..." The low-hooded figure cleared his throat and continued:

    "Apparently, Adam Palestar joined them and is currently on the tenth floor with them..." "What?" Arunn looked surprised. "That bastard Digby actually dared to send his golden boy to the dungeon? Anyone else would''ve kept him on a very tight leash and not allowed him to go anywhere without strong supervision."

    "This is an excellent chance." Aaron interjected. "We all know that Crimson Hounds are where they currently are because of one person: Digby Chaucer.

    "He is not only incredibly strong, but he also has strong backing as he is the son of one of the elders of the Imperium Pce.

    "However, Digby has reached his limit. He has failed his Royal Prince test five times already. He won''t advance anymore, and he''ll only grow weaker as time goes by.

    "Adam was like a light in the darkness for him. He finally has a proper sessor in mind. If we take away that light and hope, he will never recover.

    "It will just take a couple of years for Crimson Hounds to fall apart. This is a chance we have awaited for so long."

    "So, we are sending our mercenaries to tenth floor." Arunn said, "Shall I apany them? Just in case."

    "No, you fool." Aaron pinched his be in annoyance. "We can''t send our core forces. Digby is a master of Kiryoku; he''ll immediately find out if we send anyone from Beyonder and above.

    "We''ll have to also send our bottom team. Their strength and aura are so low that they''ll fly under Digby''s and other powerhouses''s radars.

    "Another reason why we won''t send our best fighters is because if the Mercenary Guild finds out, then the Council of Mercenaries finds out, and it will be only a matter of time before Digby''s father finds out.

    "We are not only losing all our hard-earned respect in the mercenary circle, we might be eliminated!"

    "Yeah, I understand, but this is risky." Arunn said with a frown. "I heard Adam is a difficult opponent. He defeated that guy from the Crescent Serpents. It doesn''t matter if he didn''t go all-out; it was still an impressive feat.

    "He is also an S-ranker. We can''t afford to underestimate those monsters."

    "I know, and I have already thought ahead."

    Aaron said with a smirk and pulled out some kind of cubicle box. It looked like it was made out of branches, leaves, and vines twisted together.

    "That''s..." Arunn whispered in shock.

    As Aaron opened it, a bright light enveloped the room. It was dazzling and bright.

    Slowly, the light got sucked back inside the box, and there was a ck ball with a fuse sticking out of it, lying on a soft cushion.

    It looked like a bomb.

    "You are giving this to them?" Arunn gulped. "A little overboard, no?"

    "Ast resort." Aaron said with a cold voice. "I am giving this to Rae. If she deems that the fight has been lost, she will use this to kill everyone."

    "Even ours...?"

    "We can always get more members if necessary." Aaron said. "The same cannot be said for Crimson Hounds. When a word goes out that they lost a S-ranker, who in the world would want to join them?

    "They''ll slowly dwindle and die~"

    "One thing is bothering me." Arunn said. "Won''t Adam just respawn after dying and just return to Crimson Hounds? He is only Mercenaryman, and he can start from scratch without

    losing anything."

    "S-rankers have egos the size of the moon," Aaron said with augh. "When he dies, he''ll realize just how feeble he really is. He will want to get protection from much stronger guilds. "He''ll abandon Crimson Hounds in a heartbeat and join one of the elite guilds." "What if he finds out that it was our guild that did this?" Arunn asked. "He''ll seek revenge, no?"

    "He won''t find out, and if he does, it will take years for him to reach a power level high enough to threaten us. He might''ve already forgotten about us by then."

    "Risky, very risky..." Arunn said with a frown. "I think we should have another n in ce."

    "And what''s that?"

    "If he ends up returning to Dawnwatch, we''ll snatch him up and lock him up in our little

    prison~"

    "Hmm..." Aaron thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "Very well."

    "When shall we send them?" Arunn asked. "I am sure Crimson Hounds has an eye on this ce and will notice when we send someone out. They''ll definitely recognize our youngest

    mercenaries."

    "I am already ahead on that." Aaron said with a smug look. "A few days ago, I relocated them to an inn near the dungeon just in case. They are ready to move to the dungeon in a

    heartbeat."

    "Hahaha, I see~" Arunn giggled like a child. "You expected this?"

    "Not really," Aaron said. "But it is a weing surprise. It has been a very troubling month ever since we learned that Crimson Hounds got an S-rank in their midst, but I feel like a light

    is finally shining on us.

    "Us, Ameryn Brothers, will destroy Crimson Hounds and avenge what we lost!"

    "I would pay a fortune to see Digby''s expression when he finds out." Arunnughed.

    "Heh." Aaron chuckled as well and then turned to the low-hooded figure. "Send the message

    to Rae and the rest. Tell them that the operation will begin at dawn tomorrow.

    "Also, give this to Rae..."

    The low-hooded figure carefully epted the cubicle box with the bomb inside and hurriedly left the room, disappearing into the shadows.

 Chapter 83: Black Locusts

    Chapter 83: ck Locusts

    ?

    ng, ng, ng!

    Adam smashed his pickaxe against a wall of rocks.

    The wall broke and showed a shimmering crystal hidden behind it. It was a crystal of Magick Energy.

    "Whew..." Adam wiped the sweat off his brows and turned to his surroundings.

    The other members of the party were having a break and drinking and eating to rejuvenate themselves.

    They were at a popr mining location that wasn''t too far from the spawn point. It had been used for many years by countless yers who left behind caverns and passageways.

    "I found one." Adam said with a voice that was loud enough for others to hear.

    Knoxx put away his food and came to Adam to check it out.

    "Oh, not bad." He said while scratching his cheek. "A decent size, but the light is a bit dull. The duller the crystal is, the less energy it can provide."

    Adam''s muscles tightened as he grabbed the pickaxe hard. He then mmed it against the crystal, causing many pieces to break off.

    "What are you doing?!" Knoxx cried out angrily. "You''ll need to be gentle with the crystal!"

    "Why?" Adam asked and smashed the pickaxe again at the crystal. "They''ll work nheless."

    "You fool!" Knoxx snatched the pickaxe from his hands and shouted, "These crystals are so ugly now! Those highborns want crystals that look nice and tidy, not these rough-edged ones!"

    "That''s extra work." Adam said in annoyance. "It would take ten times as long. The merchants and the guild will still purchase these at the same price, rough-edged or not; it does not matter."

    "Who do you think you are?" Knoxx asked angrily. "I am the leader! Do you think you know better than me?"

    Adam sighed heavily, trying to stop himself from cursing in frustration.

    Knoxx approached him and puffed his chest.

    "You think you should be the leader, don''t you? S-rankers and their world-sized egos...

    "I am the leader; the Guild Master himself appointed me as one! Know your ce!"

    "If you need to remind me constantly, are you really the leader?" Adam said and snatched the pickaxe back. "I won''t y your games. If you care so much, do it by yourself."

    He pushed the pickaxe into Knoxx''s hands and walked away, leaving Knoxx seething with anger.

    "You really want to disobey me?!" Knoxx walked after Adam and shouted loud enough for everyone to hear. "Want to fight, huh? If you win, you''re the leader. Come on, S-ranker!"

    Everyone else stopped eating and drinking. They watched silently as the two''s argument echoed throughout the tenth floor.

    Adam pulled out his steel shortsword, then flipped over to Knoxx and started hammering down on his defenses.

    Knoxx, taken aback, quickly retrieved his weapon and started defending with all his might.

    Adam''s relentlessly pushed onward. The two swords continued shing, sending fiery sparks flying across the air.

    "Oh, shit!" Others eximed and realized this wasn''t a joke anymore. It was very serious. Knoxx gritted his teeth as he continued backing off as Adam''s powerful blows pushed him further and further towards the rocky wall.

    ''He is such an aggressive fighter!'' Knoxx thought while desperately moving his sword in an attempt to defend himself.

    However, it was clear that Knoxx''s speed and strength were superior. He was alwayste to react to the sword swings, but his speed allowed him to defend just barely in time.

    At that moment, Knoxx''s sword''s de turned white, as if it were covered by a snow nket. He activated his Kraft!

    As soon as Adam''s swordnded on the Kraft-covered sword, the attack stoppedpletely, as if it had hit a solid wall.

    That wasn''t all.

    Adam''s arms started trembling.

    "Heh." Knoxx smirked confidently and whipped his sword towards Adam''s neck.

    Adam dove underneath the sword and backed off just in time.

    His steel shortsword''s durability decreased by 10% after a single exchange. It wasn''t only because of Knoxx''s Kraft. His sword was also of much higher quality.

    The steel shortsword was now at 88% durability. With just another nine of these exchanges, his sword would break.

    It was a very tough situation.

    Luckily, he visited a cksmith to increase his sword''s and shield''s durability before the raid. He expected that it would be difficult for his weak weapons to hold out for the entire duration

    of the raid.

    In the end, basic weapons were trash.

    They were useful in the tutorial, but he wasn''t in the tutorial anymore.

    "Sigh..." Adam sheathed his weapon and said, "I concede."

    "Hahaha!" Knoxxughed in triumph. "You realized the vastness of our strength? Now, do you know your ce?"

    "Yeah, whatever." Adam rolled his eyes and went to sit down on a log.

    Knoxx scoffed and cockily crossed his arms, reveling in his victory.

    He was over the moon, as he had just "defeated" an S-ranker. A feat not many could replicate.

    His friends came to congratte him for the victory; however, a select few didn''t. They had a hunch that Adam didn''t concede because he didn''t believe in his victory.

    ''After I receive my payment, I''ll have to abandon these basic weapons. They are worthless.''

    Adam thought to himself.

    Buzz, buzz.

    At that moment, everyone turned quiet as they heard loud buzzing, as if there was a mosquito right beside their ears.

    They turned their heads towards the sky and saw a swarm of ck flying insects descending

    towards them.

    "It''s ck Locusts!" Knoxx shouted and pulled out his weapon once again.

    Everyone immediately took their weapons and stood their ground.

    ck Locusts were a breed of Chaosbeings that were very weak alone. However, in swarms,

    they were rather deadly.

    Adam bashed his shield at the iing swarm and killed several of them before they could get too close. However, the locusts then surrounded him like a nket of night.

    Buzz, buzz. It was so loud that it was impossible to hear others shouting.

    Knoxx and others were screaming at Adam to try and find a way out, but the locusts were

    closing in fast.

    At that moment, Adam''s eyes glowed with a green hint for a moment, and every ck Locust

    stopped as if they were frozen in time.

    He used Little God''s illusion ability! Adam quickly smashed out of the encirclement and retreated towards others.

    The ck Locusts soon shook off the illusion and rushed after others with a terrifying speed.

    "Magicians, burn them to a crisp!" Knoxx screamed.

    "They are too quick!" The magicians cried out as they couldn''t chant their incantations in

    time.

    At that instant, Adam stepped forward and again used his illusion ability. This time, he attracted all the ck Locusts towards him.

    "I''ll attract them and keep them in one spot. You have five seconds!" Adam shouted towards

    the magicians and then protected himself behind the shield.

    At that moment, all ck Locusts smashed at the shield.

    In fact, he didn''t attract the ck Locusts to him. Instead, he attracted them to the shield.

    The illusion made the shield seem like a delicious target for them.

    In the eyes of ck Locusts, the shield looked like one big crystal of Magick Energy.

    ck Locusts, after all, were attracted to that energy. Which is why they often attack these

    mining locations.

    Adam, of course, knew all about it. It wasn''t his first time dealing with them.

    Quickly, the magicians finished their incantations and sent a wave of burning fire in the direction of the ck Locusts. The creatures screeched in pain as they tried to escape the mes but couldn''t, and soon they all turned to ash.

    "Whew..." Adam breathed out and strapped his slightly damaged shield to his back. Others let out sighs of relief. They were lucky to get out of this predicament without a scratch

    on them.

    "Good job~"A magician came and patted Adam on the shoulder with a smile. "You had previous experience as a Tank? You attracted their aggro perfectly."

    "Some." Adam replied with a short but mysterious answer.

    The magicians touched her cheek curiously. She expected the S-rankers to be impressive, but

    she had strange chills running down her spine as she saw him fight.

    Knoxx slowly sheathed his weapon and looked at Adam deeply. He didn''t want to say it out loud, but he had to agree that he also underestimated his tanking abilities.

    At least, in his own mind, he was better than their previous tanker, who wouldn''t have been able to do what Adam just did.

 Chapter 84: Enlightenment

    Chapter 84: Enlightenment

    ?

    Somewhere on the tenth floor.

    A shadowy figure, using a pickaxe, dug up the ground, slicing through the roots and rocks with ease.

    It was already dark, and it was strange for someone to be digging in the middle of the forest. It was almost like a horror movie.

    At that moment, the pickaxe smashed through the ground and hit something solid. A putrid smell filled the air.

    The pickaxe happened to strike a strange coffin that was buried in this forest.

    The figure quickly smashed the coffin open with the pickaxe, and there was a skeleton inside that still had flesh clinging to its bones.

    Its skeleton fingers were holding a box tightly.

    The figure didn''t care about respecting the dead and ripped the box off its fingers.

    Without further ado, he opened the box, and there was a single golden pill there¡ªa pill that was letting out a musical melody that was both haunting and beautiful.

    "This is it..."

    The moonlight revealed the shadow''s face. It was young, with navy-blue eyes and ck hair that blended nicely with the darkness.

    Adam rolled the pill in his hand with a smile, and then, without further ado, he popped it into his mouth and swallowed it down.

    This pill was the reason why he came to the tenth floor.

    It was this floor''s golden opportunity.

    ...

    In the campsite, a campfire flickered against the dark backdrop of the night sky.

    A few members of the raid party were still awake, but most had retreated to their tents for some much-needed rest after today''s long day.

    After a whole day of mining, they managed to acquire quite a few Magick Energy crystals.

    Inside one of the tents, Adam sat cross-legged with amp beside him, which illuminated the canvas of the tent. The crystal inside the gasmp gave off a faint glow, but it still provided plenty of light.

    Adam''s eyes were closed tight, his brows slightly furrowed, and his body looked unnaturally tense.

    ''What am I missing?'' He slowly opened his eyes. ''I know I am close to learning Kiryoku, but I just can''t seem to fully grasp it.''

    ''In my past life, I learned Kiryoku after several years of learning, but I never actively tried to learn it, only when I didn''t have anything to do.

    ''I was far from being a master of Kiryoku.

    ''I must not look like much of a genius since I am struggling to learn this. I still have to do my part as an S-ranker, which I don''t think I am without my future knowledge.

    ''I was never a genius. The only thing I had was my work ethic, which helped me achieve sess in the end. Now, I am supposed to be some kind of super genius. Sigh.

    ''If I had just learned Kraft and Magick, I am sure I could''ve re-learned them in a week or two. That would be very impressive.

    ''However, I can''t just abandon Kiryoku. I am confident in my choice!''

    At that moment, his overly tense body rxed significantly after letting out some of the steam. Without realizing it himself, his body was finally able to breathe freely.

    With his shoulders easing up, his body turned almost like jelly, with relief washing over him like a tidal wave. His muscles felt like they were melting away, and as he closed his eyes, he sank deeper into the blissful state of rxation.

    This was a strange state.

    This was not something he experienced even once in his past life.

    Without knowing about it yet, Adam reached a state of "Enlightenment."

    This wasn''t a coincidence or purely luck.

    After everyone started to go to sleep, Adam snuck out and went to get his golden opportunity -the golden pill-which in fact was called the enlightenment pill.

    He had heard so many rumors of such pills, but he never managed to get one of them in his previous life as they were incredibly precious.

    Now, it was his.

    "Whoo..." Adam slowly opened his eyes, which had a slight golden tint.

    At that moment, Adam''s mind turned much broader, allowing his thoughts to move with greater freedom than ever before.

    As he turned his gaze to the ground, he saw an ant move along a de of grass, carrying a crumb that was almost as big as itself.

    He could feel the ant''s emotion-it was craving a taste of that sweet crumb.

    Adam had unlocked the firstyer of Kiryoku-allowing him to feel the attacking intent and emotions of the people!

    "Finally..." Adamughed heartily. "That pill was surely fantastic. It is sad that its effect is pretty much gone, but now that I used enlightenment to awaken my Kiryoku, it will be easier

    for me to continue learning it.

    "That''s the magical power of enlightenment."

    Adam, with a smile, tried to extend his mind beyond the tent. It barely worked, and he

    couldn''t feel the auras of anyone around him.

    ''It is too early for me to sense auras...'' he thought to himself. ''I should be able to feel the heavy emotions of people in the campsite. Let''s try that...''

    Almost immediately, he managed to get a sense of just one heavy emotion that was very close

    to him-a few tents to the left.

    The emotion was heavy pleasure.

    "Oh..." Adam scratched the back of his head. "I was wondering why that tent was rocking back and forth so much. Well, let''s try more."

    He then started stretching his mind to its fullest. He wanted to test his limits.

    If he was standing right in front of the person, he could feel even the light emotions of the people, unless they were good at hiding or also knew Kiryoku.

    However, he now focused on more of the heavy emotions.

    Something clicked inside Adam''s mind. He managed to get a reading of another emotion.

    A strange emotion that wasn''ting from exactly the campsite.

    It was heavy nervousness.

    Adam opened his eyes with a frown and tried to understand where the reading came from.

    It came from pretty close, as he couldn''t stretch his mind too far. However, it didn''te from the campsite, that''s for sure.

    ''That also wasn''t a feeling from Chaosbeing. That emotion was from a person. Is one of the raid party members outside the campsite? But why and why would they feel such heavy

    nervousness?

    ''I would understand if they were nervous for the raid, as I am sure everyone is, but that was such heavy nervousness, as if that person was about to do something risky...

    ''I''ll need to check this out.''

    Adam left his tent and saw that there were a few people sitting around the campsite, just

    watching the fire.

    He then looked in the direction where he thought the emotion came from. It came behind

    trees that were standing still.

    It was so dark that he couldn''t see further than two trees.

    Adam frowned and looked towards the forest with a hawk-like gaze.

    He felt the heavy nervousness intensify even further, as if the person noticed Adam''s gaze.

    And then Adam''s eyes opened wide as over a dozen other signals assaulted his senses-there were at least a dozen attacking intents directed in his direction!

    ''There''s so many... Ambush!''

    "Everyone, wake up. We are getting ambushed!"

    With that, over a dozen dark-cloaked figures jumped out of the darkness of the forest,

    screaming and howling.

 Chapter 85: Ambush

    Chapter 85: Ambush

    ?

    "What in the world is going on?!" Knoxx left his tent with a sword in hand and only trousers

    on.

    He saw that the campsite was inplete disarray as strange, dark-cloaked figures stormed the campsite.

    Those around the campfire didn''t have time to retrieve their weapons and were immediately cut down and klilled.

    And just like that, three members of the raid party died. There were only nine remaining.

    "No!" Knoxx screamed, and then one person headed in his direction with a dagger in hand.

    sh!

    Knoxx blocked the dagger with his sword and then grabbed the assant by the wrist, twisting it until he dropped the weapon. The person screamed in pain.

    At that moment, Knoxx drove his sword through the figure''s face, killing him instantly.

    Another two people nked him from the sides. Knoxx quickly turned to face them and parried both of their attacks. However, before he could counterattack, he felt a sharp pain in his side as one of them managed to stab him with a hidden dagger.

    His health slowly dropped.

    Knoxx gritted his teeth and backhanded the assant across the face, sending him stumbling down the ground.

    At that moment, the other attacker reeled in his spear-wielding arm and started thrusting it towards Knoxx''s chest.

    Knoxx backed off while simultaneously smashing his sword''s blunt-sided edge against the spear, just barely enough for it to miss his body.

    Meanwhile, the tents got overrun, and barely-dressed members of Crimson Hounds fought back desperately. They didn''t have enough time to put their armor on.

    Inside the dungeon, it wasn''t possible to log out.

    Otherwise, they could''ve just logged out and been fine regarding the ambush.

    That''s why the dungeon was a very deadly ce. Other mercenaries were as big of a threat as Chaosbeings.

    On the sidelines, watching the chaos unfold, two of the dark-cloaked figures just watched. "I see him." Koil, a muscr man, stated as his eyes narrowed in on one person in particr.

    "Hmm~" Rae, a short-haired young woman with a calctive gaze, hummed casually. "I can sense your excitement. Go on then, fight him; that''s what you want, right?"

    "Heh~" Koil grinned like a child who just received a new toy.

    Near his fallen-apart tent, Adam effortlessly dodged the attacks from multiple attackers. It was clear that they were aiming for him.

    ''I can sense everyone''s attacking intent to be directed in my direction one way or another.''

    He thought while using his Kiryoku to sense his attacker''s intent and then dodged just in time. ''They''re after me...''

    At that moment, he felt someone approach him with an attacking intent that was almost boiling over.

    As he looked over, he saw a muscr man charging towards him with a heavy-looking shield in one hand and a long-shafted hammer in the other.

    "Ha!" Koil bashed his shield into Adam''s chest and sent him sliding backwards for around four meters.

    "Ngh..." Adam saw his health drop slightly.

    [HP: 485/500]

    "Hello, my name''s Koil." Koil said with augh. "Nice to meet ya~"

    ''Doesn''t ring a bell...'' Adam thought casually.

    "Koil..." Knoxx heard the name and widened his eyes in surprise. "From Ameryn Brothers?"

    Rae facepalmed and shook her head. "What''s the point with hiding our true identities if you''re going to blurt it out like that?"

    "Ameryn Brothers, huh..." Adam thought out loud and asked, "And what''s the point of this, if you don''t mind me asking? If you just wanted the boss kill, you could''ve gone straight for it.

    "But no. You wanted to kill us. Why? We are mostly Mercenarymen here; we won''t lose much by dying."

    ''Are they here for me?'' Knoxx wondered with a frown. ''If I die, it would take me another few months to get back to Ordergiver. I don''t think it is worth it, since this is basically just dering war on us.''

    "I shouldn''t have said that..." Koil clicked his tongue and then smashed his hammer down at Adam.

    Adam, using his Kiryoku, swiftly dodged before he even finished his swing. The hammernded on the ground and caused a slight tremor in the earth.

    ''What are they nning?'' Adam wondered. ''This is pointless. I don''t think the Ameryn Brothers want to openly have a war with Crimson Hounds. They were aiming at me for starters; why...

    ''They want to kill me, that''s for sure. I won''t lose anything, except my skills. Will I lose Little God? Unlikely. I would definitely lose Basic de Handling and then my useless weapons.

    ''What are they nning...''

    "Well, I guess I''ll just have to use this." Rae sighed and took out some kind of powder bottle. As soon as Knoxx saw it, he eximed, "Forgot Powder? They are really prepared!" ''Forgot Powder... It makes a person lose their memories from the past hour. Very effective for situations like this. Just like I expected, they don''t want us to remember and know who did this.''

    "It is a treasure I acquired, and I have been treating it as a baby till now." Rae said and put it back inside the inventory. "I was nning to use it anyway; it didn''t matter that Koil''s big mouth again spilled the beans about us."

    ''That way, when we respawn, we wouldn''t be able to remember if yers or Chaosbeings killed us. Very smart n, indeed.''

    Adam thought to himself.

    ''However, while not many can pinpoint our loss of memories to Forgot Powder, I could. Such tricks wouldn''t work on me. I am sure Digby is the same, and we would know that it was caused by yers, but we can''t be certain who did it.''

    "Hahaha!" Koilughed heartily and then started hammering down his weapon with mighty

    fury.

    Adam stepped to the side, dodged, then took a step back, dodged again, and then jumped to

    the left, barely escaping the powerful blows.

    Koil''s muscles tensed up as he nned to swing it again.

    At that moment, a ball of fire appeared behind him.

    Koil, feeling the heat behind him, quickly raised his heavy shield and blocked the strike.

    He then checked out who attacked him, and it was a female magician who had a serious look

    on her face. She was offering support for everyone.

    "Hana!" Knoxx screamed. "Where''s Max?"

    "H-he is dead!" Hana screamed. "I-I am thest remaining magician!"

    "Cursed!" Knoxx screamed. ''This is bad. Even if we somehow survive, how can we finish the

    raid?!''

    "You bitch." Koil saw the threat in Hana and quickly rushed after her.

    Hana, seeing the giant man approach her, stepped back in fear. She wasn''t a good closebat fighter, and she knew she was no match for him in a physical fight.

    At that moment, a figure appeared in front of Hana and collided with Koil. Their shields

    shed loudly, the sound echoing through the dark forest.

    "You..." Koil looked at the man in front of him. "Are you..."

    Adam looked at him coldly and said, "It is Tank''s duty to protect our dear supporters, no

    matter the cost."

    "A-Adam..." Hana whispered in relief, suddenly feeling protected as she looked at his back.

    It was strange. She had never felt like this before when she was protected by other Tanks. This time, she knew that no one could get past their Tank. She knew she was safe behind his shield. "You are also a Tank?" Koil grinned. "So am I~"

 Chapter 86: Battle of the Tanks

    Chapter 86: Battle of the Tanks

    ?

    ''A battle of the Tanks, huh?''

    Adam moved to a different stance- this time, his round shield was close to his chest and his sword was hiding behind it.

    Koil often acted rashly without thinking twice. But now, he didn''t make any uncalcted moves.

    He knew that his opponent wasn''t just any ordinary Mercenaryman. This time, it was an S- ranker. It was perhaps the strongest Mercenaryman he could possibly face.

    "Hey, magician," Adam said to the young woman behind him.

    He didn''t use her name because he didn''t know it.

    "Y-yes!" Hana replied nervously.

    "What spells do you know?" Adam asked.

    To learn Magick-rted skills, one would have to learn Spell Scrolls. There were many mercenaries who focused entirely on bing magicians.

    "Uhm, Fireball, Minor Healing, and Weak Telekinesis!"

    "Focus on healing me." Adam said, "Don''t use your stamina on anything else."

    "Y-yes!" Hana grabbed her wand with a soft, yet serious look. She didn''t want to disappoint him.

    "Oh, you want to rely on others to support you? Haha." Koil said with a mocking tone.

    "Don''t kid me." Adam side-eyed Rae, who was standing still without doing anything. "You also have support, don''t you..."

    Koil''s eyes widened in surprise. ''He managed to find out that Rae is also a magician? The hell...''

    ''This is not a one-versus-one fight.'' Adam thought to himself.

    ''It is also between two magicians. I think their magician is superior, as she seems to be their leader. She will definitely assist Koil.

    ''This will be a troublesome fight, especially since my weapons are weak. I''ll need to find a way...''

    With the campfire flickering on the side, the campsite had turned into a mess.

    Already, four from the raid party had died. There had also been plenty of casualties on Ameryn''s side.

    The moonlight shone over Koil and Adam. They slowly crept towards each other.

    Koil''s fingers, which were wrapped around his hammer, twitched slightly. His adrenaline was boiling inside him. He didn''t want to wait any longer.

    Thus, without further ado, Koil raised his hammer to bring it down.

    A small opening appeared in his defense.

    Adam quickly lowered his shield and stabbed his sword into the small opening, catching Koil off guard. The de stabbed into his waist.

    "Argh!" Koil screamed and had a small drop in his health.

    [-28 HP]

    [Koil - HP: 572/600]

    [-1 HP]

    This small damage didn''t mean anything to him.

    However, he still received a bleeding effect as his waist was bleeding. It would slowly drain his health if he didn''t treat it quickly.

    Koil brought his hammer down with full force. It was heading straight towards Adam''s head.

    If itnded, Adam''s head would pop like a watermelon and cause an Instant Kill.

    Adam put his round shield over his head and braced himself for the impact.

    ''Fool, that shield can''t stop my strike!'' Koil thought victoriously.

    As soon as the hammer came crashing down and touched a little bit of the shield, Adam suddenly tilted the shield to the side, which caused the hammer to slide off and miss himpletely.

    The hammernded on the ground with a loud thud, leaving Koil stunned.

    ''What a perfect redirection...''

    Adam thrust his sword towards Koil''s throat. He aimed for the throat, but in nick of time, Koil dodged, but the sword still went through his shoulder, causing a searing pain to shoot

    through his body.

    "Argh!" Koil screamed in agony but managed to push Adam away before he could strike again.

    [-60 HP]

    [Koil - 499/600]

    ''Argh, that was a Critical Hit? Fuck!'' Koil''s face looked sour and annoyed.

    "Sigh..." Rae brought out her wand and chanted a quick incantation. "Minor Healing, Koil!" Particles of greenish light fell over Koil and slowly healed his bleeding wounds. Koil felt the pain subside.

    None of his health returned to him, but luckily, his bleeding stopped. If that didn''t stop, he would gradually keep losing health.

    "Ah..." Hana, after seeing that happen, grabbed her wand tight and also prepared to help.

    "Don''t." Adam, after sensing her emotions, quickly said: "Only use your healing to stop my

    bleeding."

    "Ah, alright!"

    Minor Healing wasn''t effective enough to recover a lot of health. Therefore, it was more effective to just stop bleeding.

    Koil brought his hammer down with a mighty swing, but Adam knew exactly where he was going to attack and dodged in time.

    The neers with Kiryoku wouldn''t know how to sense the attacking intent well enough to know where the attack was going tond.

    However, Adam spent years with the first level of Kiryoku and was very well-versed in it. He, in fact, became pretty good at it.

    It was quite helpful with his Tank upation.

    ''He knows Kiryoku. This is just like when I fought Rae...'' Koil thought with a heavy expression.

    ''Kiryoku...'' Rae''s lip twitched. ''It took me nearly a year to learn the first level of Kiryoku. This guy hasn''t even been in the New World for a whole month. What a monster!'' ''Adam knows where the attack ising before he even moves to strike. Is this Kiryoku?'' Hana wondered excitedly. ''He is amazing! Did he already learn Kiryoku?!''

    "Oh, do I sense fear in you?" Adam swung his sword and sliced Koil in the armor, which managed to tank most of the damage, but a small sh wound opened up on his shoulder. "Rgh..." Koil stumbled back with a cold sweat running down his face.

    Again, he lost a little bit of health.

    When the fight started, Koil had an advantage of over hundred health. Now, it was pretty

    much equal!

    [Adam - HP: 485/500]

    [Koil - HP: 480/600]

    "Tch, what is that fool doing?" Rae pointed her wand at Adam.

    She came to the conclusion that, with only healing support, Koil might not win. She knew it

    would be difficult to kill an S-ranker, but this was shocking.

    A whirlpool of wind appeared in front of the wand.

    As she was about tounch the attack, a figure suddenly jumped in front of her.

    "Atom sher!" Knoxx shed up and split the wand in two with one swift motion.

    The wand broke apart and harmlessly fell to the ground, while the attack vanished into

    nothingness.

    "Knoxx..." Rae clicked her tongue and took her spare wand from her inventory.

    "Your fight is with me!" Knoxx shouted while his chest bled heavily.

    He killed around three members from Ameryn''s side, but he also received some heavy

    damage.

    Adam looked over to Knoxx and chuckled. "Alright. Hana, you can go assist him."

    "Are you sure?" Hana asked with concern in her voice.

    "Yes." Adam turned to Koil with a smile. "It has turned into a one-versus-one fight. I have

    my pride as a man, y''see."

    "O-oh." Hana''s lips curled into a smile.

    Even though it was a very serious situation, he could still die.

    After all, Koil was Ordergiver-one rank above Adam-but she still felt like he wouldn''t lose,

    not with that confident smile on his face.

    She headed towards Knoxx and waved her wand, immediately stopping his bleeding, and then used the healing spell one more time, giving him some extra health.

    "Thanks!" Knoxx shouted and rushed after Rae.

    She immediately retreated, as in close quarterbat, she would get destroyed by Knoxx.

    She knew she would have to get some good distance between her and Knoxx to chant her

    incantations.

    However, Knoxx wasn''t allowing her to escape.

    In such situations, magicians were very weak!

    Somehow, the sticky situation had turned around.

    The ambush seemed to have failed.

    The rest of the party members were participating in the fights with other dark-cloaked

    figures.

    However, none of them were losing.

    Instead, their morale seemed to be increasing more and more.

    It was the work of the Armor of Crimson Hounds, worn by Adam.

    Allies received a morale boost, while enemies had thepletely opposite effect.

 Chapter 87: Silenced

    Chapter 87: Silenced

    ?

    Koil screamed like a wild animal and swung his long hammer around with reckless abandon. Adam jumped over the ferocious blows andnded a few small strikes of his own.

    A few scratches appeared all around Koil''s body. The scratches stung, but only served to fuel his rage further.

    At that moment, he raised his hammer way above his head. He was only holding the hammer at the long handle''s end.

    "Ground King!" Koil shouted out his skill''s name and then brought the hammer down.

    ''That skill looks familiar!''

    Adam thought quickly, and then used his skill-Little God-for a brief second and jumped away with increased speed.

    It helped him gain a sizeable distance.

    At that moment, the hammernded on the ground and shook the ground with its immense force.

    Everyone else started stumbling and falling to the ground.

    Ground King was a Rare skill that was often used by Tanks to disturb enemies and gain focus on the enemy''s aggro. It was a very destructive and chaotic skill.

    In the hands of more powerful mercenaries, it could cause catastrophic devastation.

    Adamnded back on the ground after escaping the Ground King skill sessfully.

    He was also in possession of this skill in his previous life. It surprised him that Koil was in possession of this skill.

    ''It is quite hard to learn, but I guess it helps that Koil has a strong body I didn''t expect to find someone with Rare skill here...''

    "Shield Charge!" Koil, immediately after, used another one of his skill and rushed after Adam with his heavy shield, acting as an offensive weapon.

    Adam wanted to dodge, but then his feet started hurting. It felt like he just stepped on a bed of sharp rocks.

    ''Rgh, it''s because Little God...''

    Koil bashed his shield into Adam and sent him flying through the air.

    Adam crashed into the tree, feeling the impact reverberate through his entire body.

    "Agh!"

    [-50 HP]

    [-35 HP]

    ''Shit... that shield is also a pretty good weapon that can do even greater damage than my sword...''

    Adam slowly climbed back to his feet, blood dripping from his mouth.

    Without giving him any time to rest, Koil rushed in and brought his hammer down.

    Adam quickly rolled out of the way, and once the hammer smashed through the ground, he pulled out his steel shortsword and sliced through Koil''s knees.

    "Ah!" Koil dropped down on his knees, which were bleeding heavily.

    Adam shed his sword towards his neck, but Koil quickly blocked it with his hammer''s long handle. The sparks flew as their weapons shed, creating a shower of fiery embers.

    "Argh!" Koil started overpowering Adam with his immense physical strength and pushed the sword back at Adam with his hammer.

    "Tch..." Adam clicked his tongue, and then his eyes started glowing with a hint of green.

    He used Little God''s illusion ability!

    Koil''s eyes shrank in shock as, in his eyes, Adam suddenly vanished into thin air.

    ''W-where?''

    However, Adam was still there, just invincible in his eyes. It was an illusion that would onlyst one or two seconds.

    Since Koil didn''t see him anywhere, he stopped pushing his hammer forward.

    Adam pulled back his sword, grabbed Koil by the back of his head, and sliced his sword through his neck. Blood spurted out like a fountain.

    Koil gasped in shock, and then the illusion stopped, and Adam appeared right in front of him.

    He quickly pushed him away and started holding his bleeding neck.

    "R-Rae, I-I need help..."

    With great struggle, he shouted for help weakly.

    "Tch!" Rae clicked her tongue in irritation.

    She wasn''t in any position to help anybody else.

    Knoxx followed after her like a possessed demon. However, every sword attack of his missed

    the target.

    Rae nimbly and effortlessly evaded each strike.

    ''User of Kiryoku... troublesome...'' Knoxx thought with a scoff. ''However, she can''t win just by dodging. Using Kiryoku drains her of stamina.

    ''She needs stamina to use her spells. So, the more she keeps dodging, the less energy she''ll have left for any offensive moves!''

    ''Annoying...'' Rae thought and saw a few rocks lying on the ground.

    She had an idea, and she quickly waved her wand.

    "Weak Telekinesis!"

    It was one of the skills that was fastest to cast.

    She started to manipte the small rocks on the ground and then made them levitate.

    Then, with a wave of her wand, the rocks flew straight towards Knoxx like bullets. "Hmph, Atom sher!" Knoxx shed through the rocks with incredible uracy and speed. However, without realizing it, the moment it took Knoxx to slice through the rocks allowed Rae to gain the desired distance between them and execute her next spell.

    A whirlpool of wind started to appear in front of her wand.

    "Wind of Madness!" She quickly chanted her incantation and waved her wand in a circr motion.

    ''Not good!'' Knoxx nned to dodge, but at that moment, he remembered that Hana was

    behind her.

    He couldn''t just abandon her and let her face the spell alone.

    It would mean the death of her!

    ''Shit!'' Knoxx put his sword in front of him and braced for the impact.

    "Hmph, fool." Rae grinned and then did a final wave with her wand.

    Swoosh!

    At that moment, a sh of silver appeared from her peripheral vision, and a sharp de cut straight through Rae''s wrist before she could finish her spell.

    The hand that was still holding the wand flew through the air and thennded on the ground,

    right beside the campfire.

    "A-ah... ahh..." Rae began screaming in agony as she clutched her bleeding wrist.

    Knoxx looked surprised and turned to look at the person who attacked her.

    It was none other than Adam.

    ''B-but, wasn''t he fighting just now...'' Knoxx turned to Koil, only to see him lying on the ground with a nk look and a pool of blood around him.

    Koil had been defeated and killed!

    "H-how..." Rae quickly backed away from Adam with a frightened expression. ''I couldn''t

    sense his attacking intent? How!''

    "Adam!" Hana eximed in excitement.

    "Not looking good, isn''t that right?" Adam said to Rae with a cold look.

    ''W-where are others...''

    As she looked around the campsite, she realized a terrifying truth. They were losing horribly.

    ''How are we losing? We had two Ordergivers and a number advantage... What in the world

    happened?''

    After seeing the rest of her subordinates die, she realized there was nothing else to do.

    She gritted her teeth, and with herst remaining hand, she took out a bottle of Forgot

    Powder.

    ''I''ll need to make everyone forget first before using the bomb... I can''t let any one of them remember a thing!''

    "Not happening!" Knoxx suddenly came and sliced through Rae''sst remaining hand.

    The bottle of Forget Powder fell to the ground and spilled everywhere.

    "Aaargh!" The handless Rae screamed in utter pain.

    Even though the pain wasn''t as severe as in real life, it still hurt like hell to lose a limb!

    However, she didn''t need her hands.

    She opened her inventory and made everything spill out. It included the bomb that was

    hidden inside a box.

    ''Her attacking intent is at an all-time high. Does she have another n?''

    Adam thought with a frown, but he didn''t n to allow her to do anything.

    He moved to her and sliced through her legs with his sword. Now, even her legs were rendered

    useless, and she was unable to move.

    "No..." Rae fell head-first on the ground and tried to crawl towards the box, nning to use

    her teeth to open it.

    "What is this?" Adam picked up the box and curiously checked it out.

    "G-give it back, fucker!" Rae screamed.

    "Quiet." Adam casually shed his sword down and cut Rae''s head off.

    With that, Rae was silenced.

 Chapter 88: Raid Plan

    Chapter 88: Raid n

    ?

    [Adam - XP: 105.5/1000]

    ''Koil and Rae both gave me 50 experience points. Those few ck Locusts gave me a total of 5.5 experience points. A long way to go before the second level...''

    He then focused his attention on the box in front of him.

    "Is everyone dead?" Hana whispered, her voice barely above a murmur.

    "Yeah, I suppose..." Knoxx saw a pile of corpses and sighed heavily. "How many we lost?"

    "We lost half, six in total..." A well-defined young man said while crouching beside his deceased girlfriend.

    They were only together in Mortal Online, as they hadn''t met in real life yet.

    He knew that she wasn''t really dead, but it still hurt to see her lifeless body in the game.

    "Half..." Knoxx gritted his teeth. "Cursed!"

    This wasn''t a good look.

    This was his chance to prove himself, but he had already lost half of the team.

    ''With this, we can''tplete the raid...'' Knoxx clenched his fists. ''What a failure...''

    Adam slowly opened the box and saw a ck object inside.

    "No way..." He whispered in shock.

    "What is it?" Hana came to him and crouched beside him.

    Adam showed it to her and said, "A bomb."

    "A bomb?!" Hana cried out.

    Everyone heard her and surrounded them with curious looks.

    After seeing the object, they were equally shocked.

    "She nned to blow all of us to pieces." Knoxx said with a scoff, "She must be out of her mind."

    From the horizon, the first light of the morning appeared, casting a golden glow over the

    scene.

    They didn''t realize that an entire night had already passed.

    The fightsted for around thirty minutes, but they got ambushed near dawn. They expected everyone to be sleeping.

    "Sigh..." Knoxx sighed and pped his hands to garner everyone''s attention.

    Adam and others turned to look at him.

    "We... have to call it quits." Knoxx said with frustration in his tone. "We lost over half of the team. More importantly, we lost our secondary magician and most of our damage dealers.

    "We cannot finish the raid like this."

    "Y-yeah, we should also report this to the guild master." Another person added.

    Hana and others looked dispirited. It wasn''t nice to fail a raid like this.

    These kinds of raids didn''te every day. It could take several months before they could try again.

    Knoxx saw the look on their faces. He shared the same sentiment. It was very frustrating.

    At that same moment, he turned to look at Adam.

    Adam was silently contemting something.

    Knoxx softly opened his mouth and asked, "Adam. Are you fine with this?"

    "You''re the leader." Adam stood up with the box in hand. "I''ll listen to you." "You don''t think we should continue?" Knoxx asked.

    "It is risky..." Adam said heavily, "I''m not sure if the reward is worth the risk."

    Knoxx agreed with it, but then asked, "You think there is a possibility to seed?"

    "I do." Adam said it confidently. "Yes, we lost our damage dealers and a magician, but we don''t necessarily need them in the raid."

    "What do you mean?" Knoxx asked with a frown.

    Everyone else was equally confused.

    An extra magician and more damage dealers were always better.

    After all, the Spider Mother had a strong defense and required a well-rounded team to defeat her.

    "We need two magicians to support the entire team. Now that our team is halved, one magician is enough to operate."

    "We still cannot deal enough damage just by ourselves," Knoxx said.

    "Actually, we can." Adam showed the bomb inside the box.

    "Y-you n to use this bomb?" Hana asked in shock.

    "It takes around ten seconds for this bomb to explode after ignition."

    Adam said and pointed at the fuse.

    "We''ll have ten seconds to run as far away as possible, or we''ll get hit by the explosion."

    "Is it enough to kill the Spider Mother?" Knoxx asked with his arms crossed. "No," Adam shook his head, "We''ll have to reduce her health to forty percent, at least."

    "Forty percent..." Knoxx muttered and nodded. "That should be doable."

    "T-this is lunacy!" A yer shouted, "Can we even outrun the explosion?"

    Knoxx turned to Adam and asked, "Can it be done?"

    "You would be surprised just how fast people can run when their lives are on the line."

    Adam said and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

    Usually, he was quite confident in his ns. However, this was reckless, even for him.

    He couldn''t utter his typical confidence.

    After all, anything could happen.

    "We would still need to get rid of other Spider Demons before we reach the mother," Knoxx said.

    "They are swarming the ce. We''ll be exhausted before we even reach the mother with our numbers, especially Hana!"

    "Yeah..." Hana whispered before raising her voice. "We were supposed to share the burden during that phase, but I am now the only magician remaining..."

    "We could... move the burden to us." Adam said while looking at Knoxx.

    "What do you mean?" Knoxx asked.

    "Ever heard of Triple Defense?" Adam asked. "It should be amon tactic used by

    mercenaries."

    "Yeah, of course." Knoxx said, "Three shieldmen are at the front, tanking all the damage, and once the enemy is exhausted, the people behind the shieldmen can attack."

    "My idea is this..." Adam took a stick and started drawing on the ground.

    "Three of us will be at the front-me, Knoxx, and another one-and we''ll stop the Spider

    Demons from attacking others.

    "Then we''ll also be the ones attacking. One sword stab to the head will kill a Spider Demon.

    "We''ll move like that till we have reached the mother."

    "What if the Spider Demons attack us from the back or ceiling?" Knoxx asked. "They have

    Wall Crawling ability."

    "The rest will cover our rear, and about the ceiling ones... we can handle those." Adam said, "Luckily, the hallways in that ce are narrow with low ceilings."

    ''He seems to know quite a bit about theirir...'' Knoxx thought to himself. ''Well, so do I. It isn''t hard knowledge to find.

    ''From Dawnwatch''s World Library, it is easy to find knowledge about most of the early

    dungeon floors.''

    "When we see Wall Crawlers, we''ll focus our shields in front and use our swords to ward them off. Preferably, if you manage to kill them."

    "If we fail to kill even one Wall Crawler, our ranks will fall apart." Knoxx said with a frown.

    "That''s why I suggest you choose a good third." Adam said with a smile. "I saw you fight earlier. You''re good. We can handle most, but we also need a good third." Knoxx nodded and looked at the rest. Then he pointed at an orange-haired young man.

    "n, you''re with us."

    "Alright..." n said with a dispirited expression.

    He was the one who just lost his girlfriend and was quite disheartened about it.

    ''Seeing his impression, most party leaders wouldn''t want someone whose mind is not in the

    right ce in such an important role. However, I am different.''

    Adam thought.

    ''Maybe he can let out some steam by killing some Spider Demons.''

    "Alright, I guess we''re doing it." Knoxx said with a chuckle.

    Even he couldn''t believe that he was agreeing to such a suicidal n.

    "Ameryn Brothers will find out today that their n failed." Adam said while standing up.

    "Once they find out, they''ll send another team to finish us off.

    "We''ll need to finish the raid today and leave before theye.

    "If I have to guess, we have till noon."

    "Then, let''s not waste any time." Knoxx said and then shouted. "Pack your things. We''re

    going to the Spider Lair!"

 Chapter 89: Antique Shop

    Chapter 89: Antique Shop

    ?

    Adam crouched beside Koil''s vanishing body.

    His body was slowly disappearing into thin air, as if he were slowly erased from existence.

    After a short while, Koil''s corpse finally disappeared, and in his ce, several items appeared. ''After a yer dies, they''ll drop some of their items and Shinecoins...''

    In front of him, two skill scrolls, a pouch with Shinecoins, and several weapons appeared on the ground.

    Adam took the skill scrolls, and after seeing them, he let out a short chuckle.

    The two skill scrolls were the Ground King and Shield Charge skills.

    ''Those will be useful.'' Adam stored them inside his inventory and checked out the pouch.

    There were nearly six hundred Shinecoins inside.

    Adam stored them inside his interface, which brought his total Shinecoin count to 594.

    Andstly, he checked out the weapons Koil dropped. They were the heavy hammer andrge shield.

    ''Maybe I can sell those...'' Adam wondered and stored them in his inventory.

    Unfortunately, he couldn''t use them.

    He didn''t have great enough physical prowess to wield both of them effectively.

    "Did you find anything decent?" Knoxx walked over to him and asked.

    "Some." Adam replied and showed the weapons. "I don''t think we have anyone that can use these."

    "No." Knoxx shook his head and then dropped a sword and shield to the ground. "I found these two weapons from one of those deceased people. I saw you''re still using those basic weapons.

    "To increase our chance of survival in the raid, you should have these."

    "Hmm?" Adam checked them out and whistled in a slight surprise.

    The sword had a thick de and a sturdy hilt, while the shield was a heater-shaped metal shield.

    ***

    [Weapon: Heater Shield]

    [Rank: Common]

    [Durability: 87%]

    [Description: A decent metal shield with a sturdy build. It is very effective against arrows and melee attacks. However, it is weak to Magick attacks]

    ***

    [Weapon: dius Sword]

    [Rank: Common]

    [Max Damage: 50/55]

    [Durability: 91%]

    [Description: A short-ded sword with great bnce and sharpness. It is ideal for closebat situations and can be easily maneuvered with one hand]

    ***

    "These will do great..."

    Adam strapped the scabbard to his belt, slipped the sword inside, and then put his shield on his back while throwing his previous weapons back inside the inventory.

    Knoxx turned around and then pped his hands.

    "Everyone, it is time to move out. Finish looting quickly; we don''t have time to waste!"

    Everyone nodded their heads and quickly finished looting the corpses.

    They also took the items from their deceased friends, nning to give them back once they return from death.

    They took ast final look at the destroyed campsite and then walked into the forest, disappearing into the shadows as if they were never there.

    The final flicker in the campfire slowly died out.

    ...

    Ivycrest, Red Thread.

    Ssh!

    "Oh,e on!" A fedora-wearing man shouted in anger as he identally stepped on a puddle of sewer water.

    For some odd reason, he was currently inside a sewer with a disgusting stench filling the air.

    He was wearing a long trenchcoat with a fedora pulled low over his eyes and a small mask covering the lower half of his face.

    He slowly navigated through the sewer until he came across a door with a tall, wide- shouldered man guarding it.

    "Identification." The man asked with a cold voice.

    "I-I lost my identification." The fedora-wearing man said with a nervous chuckle, "However, you should know me-it''s me!"

    He took off his fedora and the mask, showing a brown-haired man with a pleasant-looking face and hazel eyes. It wasn''t that unique face.

    "Carmine..." The man rolled his eyes and opened the door with a loud creak. "Get new identification. This is thest time..."

    "R-right away, sir!" Carmine said quickly, slipped through the door and then put the fedora

    and mask back on.

    He let out a sigh of relief and then walked down a dimly lit hallway with trash and dust covering every inch of the wall and ceiling.

    A short walkter, he reached the end of the hallway-there was another door that wasn''t

    guarded.

    Carmine ced his hand on the door and slowly pushed it.

    The door opened smoothly and led to a street bustling with people.

    Carmine stepped through the door and immediately closed it after him.

    The door was attached to a house that looked brand new, which was strange since the interior

    was strangely a sewer.

    Carmine looked around with a sense of wonder.

    There wasn''t a sky above, only a dark ceiling that seemed to stretch on forever.

    This was Red Thread, an underground city situated under Ivycrest. It was a world of criminals and outcasts, a ce where thew held no power.

    While the ce was underground, it wasn''t dark, as the ceiling had lots of light streaming in from every possible crevice, creating an otherworldly glow that illuminated the entire city.

    It also wasn''t as stuffy as one might expect, due to the cleverly designed venttion system that circted fresh air constantly.

    "Right, where was I supposed to meet him..." Carmine pulled out his badly-drawn map and scratched his ear absentmindedly, trying to remember the directions.

    After somewhat remembering where to go, he hopped on a carriage that was actually pulled by a pair of humans. They looked rather rough-looking, as if they were homeless. "Go to Eight Street." Carmine ordered and then crossed his legs as he enjoyed the slow ride.

    Around thirty minutester, the ride arrived at Eight Street. It was another bustling part of Red Thread, with shops and restaurants lining the streets. However, each one of them was owned by mobsters and dangerous people.

    Carmine left the carriage, tossed a pair of coins to the homeless folk, and walked over to a

    small store tucked away in a corner.

    Its door was closed.

    Knock, knock.

    After knocking on the door, it mysteriously opened, and Carmine stepped inside the antique

    store.

    Carmine took out his fedora and quickly fixed up his hair.

    At that moment, footsteps came from the stairs at the end of the store, and from there, a wrinkly-faced old man came and got seated behind the counter.

    The old man had a deep grayish eyes with ck hair tied into a high bun. It was clear he wasn''t

    just any ordinary old man as he radiated an aura of wisdom and power.

    Carmine stayed quiet, but a few sweatdrops trickled down the side of his face.

    The old man gently put his sses over his nose and asked, "Did you seed?"

    "Y-yes, boss!" Carmine shouted nervously.

    "Show me the pictures." The old man said.

    "Uhm..." Carmine scratched his hair nervously. "I actually lost the camera, but please trust

    me, I still found him!"

    "You lost... it?" The old man asked, his voice rising in anger. "That wasn''t an ordinary camera,

    you fool!"

    Carmine flinched and bowed his head. "I-I am sorry!"

    "Useless..." The old man pinched his nose and asked, "How did you lose it? Don''t tell me you

    got discovered..."

    Carmine gulped and didn''t dare to answer.

    However, that was enough for the old man to know the answer.

    "Hah..." The old man didn''t know what else to say butugh in anger. "And I assume you also

    lost a fight? You look roughed up."

    Carmine, ashamedly, lowered his head.

    "This is bad..." The old man said, "That camera was an old antique. What a shame. I guess I

    am the fool for trusting you to keep my belongings safe."

    "I am sorr-"

    "I don''t want your apologies." The old man shut him down.

    "Sorry..." Carmine muttered under his breath.

    "I suppose Adam is just an ordinary young man." The old man interlocked his fingers. "His family is normal; he isn''t rich or influential. Just a young man with immense talent."

    "T-that means he is easy to control." Carmine said nervously.

    "Yes..." The old man said, "There must be stuff that he desperately wants, such as money and power. Whoever can offer him those things can manipte him easily."

    ''I couldn''t get a good reading of him...'' Carmine thought to himself, ''I don''t know why, but something seems off about him.''

    "Your job''s done here." The old man tossed him a pouch filled with money. "I cut your pay by

    half for losing my camera."

    "Ah, man..." Carmine didn''t dare to argue, pocketed his money, and then left.

    The old man crossed his arms and thought:

    ''Adam is still young and weak. No one will be recruiting him, just yet. They''ll wait till he has

    matured enough.

    ''There will be a war in the future.

    ''He will be a valuable asset when that timees.''

 Chapter 90: BOOM!

    Chapter 90: BOOM!

    ?

    The Dungeon, Tenth Floor.

    "This is it..." Knoxx whispered, hunched behind a half-sliced tree.

    Adam squinted his eyes and looked over at the small mountain before them.

    It was fully built with sticks and tree trunks, with several holes created for entrances. Within the small mountain, the Spider Demons roamed freely, their shadows asionally moving by.

    "Weird... there is no one outside." Hana whispered.

    There was only movement inside the strange, small mountain. The outside was eerily quiet and empty.

    "Sigh..."

    Adam heaved a sigh, then drew his sword and took his shield from his back.

    "Once we enter, we cannot hesitate," he said. "We''ll have to keep moving onward."

    Everyone nodded.

    Adam, Knoxx, and n shared a nce. They then nodded, left their hiding ces, and took their positions in front of the group.

    Everyone else slowly followed right behind them.

    Soon, they stepped through the hole in the mountain and entered a dark, gloomy cave made out of sticks, leaves, and mud.

    It was, luckily, as narrow as they expected.

    Adam, Knoxx, and n stood beside each other. Then, they ced their shields in front of them and continued moving cautiously deeper into the cave.

    Merely five meterster, they started hearing quick tapping noises.

    It was almost like there were hundreds of people running above them.

    Adam eyed the ceiling with a narrowed gaze.

    "Just how many are here..." Hana wondered aloud and then let out an audible gulp.

    "Hey, look..." n whispered and pointed his sword ahead at the hunched figure in the distance.

    Knoxx and Adam slowly advanced towards the figure.

    At that moment, the figure let out strange clicking noises and turned around just enough to reveal its face.

    It had the face of a spider, with eight eyes and sharp fangs protruding from its mouth. It was standing on two feet with two arms attached to its body, but it was far from human as it had a strange ck exoskeleton covering its entire body.

    "Click, click, click, click!" The Spider Demon clicked its fangs together menacingly and stood up from the ground.

    Behind it, two more Spider Demons emerged from the depths of the cave.

    They were equally ugly and terrifying.

    "Disgusting..." A yer mentioned while shuddering in disgust.

    "Brace..." Adam nted his feet on the ground and put his weight on his shield.

    Knoxx and n finished up the wall of shields.

    "Click, click, click!"

    With three clicks of the fangs, the three Spider Demons sprang forward with their jaws stretched open.

    Swoosh!

    One of the Spider Demons suddenly extended its hand and shot out a wall of spiderweb towards the three vanguards.

    "Hana, fireball!" Adam shouted.

    "Roger!" Hana waved her wand and shot a ball of fire towards the spiderweb.

    As soon as the fireballnded on the spiderweb, it ignited and quickly spread, burning

    through the sticky threads. It vanished as soon as it was created.

    The second Spider Demon suddenly leaped off the ground and attached itself to the ceiling, then started crawling towards the group.

    "Wall Crawler!" n shouted.

    "Don''t panic; ignore it for now!" Adam shouted.

    At that moment, Knoxx''s body froze in fear as the third Spider Demon''s eight eyes locked into him.

    "Something is wrong with Knoxx!" A yer behind Knoxx shouted. "He is trembling!"

    "It''s Fear Inducement!"

    Adam, without hesitation, elbowed Knoxx in the waist.

    It shook him immediately awake.

    "Ngh..." Knoxx shook his head and shouted. "Thanks!"

    After seeing their attacks fail, two of the Spider Demonsunched themselves into the

    shields.

    They tried to break through, but Adam, Knoxx, and n held their ground.

    Bang, bang, bang!

    The Spider Demon''s punched, but the shields held strong.

    "Hold your ground!" Adam screamed.

    At that moment, the Wall Crawling Spider Demon crawled above them with drool dripping

    from its fangs.

    "It''s above us!" Hana screamed.

    "Stab it!" Adam shouted and drove his sword through the wall crawling Spider Demon''s back.

    Knoxx and n hacked their swords through its exoskeleton with all their might until it screeched and finally copsed to the ground, defeated.

    Bang, bang, bang!

    After seeing one of them die, the Spider Demons grew erratic and started to w their way

    through the shields.

    "Ugh..." Adam was forced to step back, as were Knoxx and n.

    "T-they''re strong!" Knoxx screamed. "What do we do?!"

    "Smash your shields at their face!"

    Adam shouted and swung his shield across the Spider Demon''s face.

    Knoxx followed suit and swung his shield upwardly through the Spider Demon''s jaw.

    n bashed his shield into the Spider Demon''s chest, causing it to stumble backwards.

    "Attack!" Adam screamed and lowered his shield slightly, then pushed his sword through the Spider Demon''s face.

    Knoxx shed through another Spider Demon''s neck. Then n hacked his sword through the

    same Spider Demon''s head, finishing it off.

    The two Spider Demons fell in front of them, dead.

    "Whoo..." Adam and the rest breathed heavily.

    "Damn, this was only the first wave, and it was already this dangerous." n said with a

    heavy sigh.

    [You killed a Spider Demon!]

    [5 XP Acquired!]

    Adam made the notification disappear and then focused on the cave in front.

    "Like I said, we''ll have to keep moving forward. If we stop to catch our breath, we''ll get

    overwhelmed."

    "Right..." Knoxx turned to others and raised his sword. "Move onwards!"

    With that, they ventured further into the darkness.

    --

    "Click, click, click!"

    At the Spider Lair''s chamber, loud clicking noises echoed off the walls.

    A massive,rge-bellied spider with eight steel legs and an enormous head scuttled right in

    the middle of the chamber.

    It was hideous-looking and covered in thick, ck fur with a strong exoskeleton underneath.

    The Spider Demons were delivering food to her-their mother-and she was not pleased with

    the dy.

    At that moment, she let out an ear-piercing screech that echoed throughout the entire small

    mountain.

    ''Intruders... intruders... My children... dead...''

    ''FIND THEM!''

    With her telepathic abilities, shemunicated with every single Spider Demon in the

    vicinity.

    Her order was absolute.

    The Spider Demons dropped whatever they were doing and began their search.

    ...

    "Something is wrong." Adam came to a sudden halt with a frown. "I sense great anger. I think

    they know we are here."

    "How?!" Knoxx asked in shock.

    "I might know how..." Adam turned to them and said, "I guess this Spider Mother has

    Kiryoku. A strong Kiryoku that allows her to be connected with every one of her children."

    "Wasn''t this known?" Hana asked with a frown. "I thought everything was known about this

    floor."

    "It is different with the boss." Adam said, "Their abilities can change. Sometimes, they have the abilities of Kraft or Magick, sometimes Kiryoku, like now, and sometimes none of them. "It is the game''s way of making things unpredictable and hard.

    "However, this means the reward will be greater. But it will be much more difficult. It is a matter of time before they find us."

    "Should we leave?" A yer asked. "This raid was suicidal to begin with. Now, we have to

    fight Spider Mother that has Kiryoku!"

    "That might be fine." Adam said, "She is slow, and even with Kiryoku, she couldn''t possibly dodge our attacks. The bigger threat are those Spider Demons now.

    "Spider Mother canmunicate with them telepathically. She will definitely discover when

    we are close to reaching her chamber, and then she will summon all of her children to protect

    her.

    "To stop that from happening, I think we have to kill every Spider Demon."

    "Every?!"

    Others were taken aback. They never nned to kill all of them.

    They nned to get to the chamber quickly, fight Spider Mother till her health was below

    forty percent, and then blow this ce up.

    "Well, extra experience points." Adam said and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I can reach

    level 2, after all."

    "You are crazy." Knoxx said and then let out a shortugh. "But I like your style." "Insanity..." Hana said and chuckled. "We are all going to die."

    "Hah, Miranda, I guess I''ll also die..." nughed. "I guess I can start from level 1 again

    with her." ''It might take several months before I can join raid again. It is too much time to waste. I

    joined Crimson Hound so I can have more freedom about what I''ll do and grow at my desired

    pace.

    ''I''ll have to take some risks and make reckless decisions. This is one of them...''

    Adam tapped his sword against his shield.

    "By the way, I never said to fight each Spider Demon." Adam suddenly said.

    "Huh?" Knoxx turned to him with a frown.

    Adam opened his inventory and took out the ck bomb.

    With a crazy smile, he ignited the fuse and tossed it towards the end of the cave.

    "Huh?" Knoxx looked at the bomb with wide eyes.

    Everyone froze for a moment.

    "Umm, run?" Adam suggested before turning around and running away.

    "So that was your n?!" Knoxx and others quickly ran after him as fast as they possibly

    could. "You should''ve said so from start!"

    "You thought I was going to fight through the horde of Spider Demons?!" Adam shouted back

    while moving his legs as fast as possible. "I''m not stupid!"

    "Ah, you maniac!"

    They all left the small mountain and rushed inside the forest.

    After the tenth second passed, the small mountain, in a brilliant fashion, exploded into a

    cloud of fire and smoke.

    BOOM!

 Chapter 91: Battle Against Spider Mother

    Chapter 91: Battle Against Spider Mother

    ?

    The smoke and dust spread throughout the forest, creating a thick haze that obscured the sun. "Cough..."

    Adam choked on the air, struggling to breathe.

    He slowly climbed back to his feet and looked around at the suffocating smoke.

    He couldn''t see anyone else.

    ''Where are they...''

    Adam covered his mouth and nose with his hand and then moved deeper into the haze.

    Click, click, click...

    His feet halted, and he came to aplete stop.

    The clicking sounded weak and barely audible. However, it didn''te too far from him.

    Adam tightened his grip on his sword, then headed forward at a leisurely pace and soon came across a legless Spider Demon struggling to crawl.

    It was desperately trying to head in the direction of the small mountain that didn''t exist anymore.

    "You can still sense your mother?" Adam stabbed his sword through the Spider Demon''s head and then looked ahead.

    The Spider Demon wasn''t the only one who could still sense the Spider Demon.

    ''I can sense her... She''s in pain.''

    Adam continued walking forth and soon arrived at the site of the destruction.

    The small mountain was no longer there.

    It was reced by a small crater with burned twigs and trees strewn about. The ground was still hot to the touch.

    At that moment, a long leg of a spider stabbed through the ground, and from the thick smoke, a massive arachnid emerged, its eight eyes gleaming with malice.

    Its ck fur had burned off in patches, revealing a glossy, obsidian exoskeleton.

    [Spider Mother]

    [HP: 55%]

    "Click, click, click, click!"

    Adam narrowed his eyes and moved to an attacking stance.

    However, then two Spider Demons jumped from the thick haze, screaming and clicking their fangs. They came here as fast as possible to defend their mother.

    Adam quickly shed through one of them and then blocked the other''s durable exoskeleton

    arms.

    The Spider Demon wed with its sharp mandibles, but Adam cut them straight off and then flicked his wrist, changing the trajectory of the de, and hacked into the creature''s head, killing it instantly.

    "Click, click, click!"

    The Spider Mother''s clicking turned louder and more murderous. Her anger was boiling over like an erupting volcano.

    Its steel legs lifted high into the air and then flew straight towards Adam.

    Adam quickly activated his Kiryoku and evaded the highly dangerous legs, narrowly missing being impaled.

    One of the legs swung sideways like a whip, but Adam quickly ced his shield at the side of him and blocked it.

    However, his feet slid across the muddy ground, and he even almost slipped.

    Another leg suddenly swung straight at him.

    Adam leaped over it, and the leg smashed through the tree, shattering it into splinters.

    The Spider Mother screeched in anger and swung several of her legs at Adam.

    Adam, using his shield and sword, blocked them and moved at blitzering speed, dodging some of the legs and attacking a few, leaving behind sh marks on the creature''s thick exoskeleton.

    ng, ng, ng!

    The sparks flew as the two battled fiercely.

    Adam and the Spider Mother exchanged a fierce series of blows, neither seemingly gaining an advantage.

    Annoyed by it, the Spider Mother let out a spine-chilling screech.

    Adam''s body started trembling, and cold sweat rolled down his face. It looked like he was frightened of something.

    ''Fear... Inducement...''

    The Spider Mother opened its disgusting mouth and shot out a wave of spiderwebs towards Adam.

    The threads wrapped around him in a sticky embrace.

    "Click, click, click..."

    The Spider Mother slowly approached its prey. It still looked angry.

    After all, this human killed so many of her children.

    However, her anger slightly subsided, knowing that she was able to feast on such arge meal. It was much better than the usual boar, deer, or birds her children usually catch for her.

    "Eaten alive, huh..." Adam gritted his teeth and tried to break through, but couldn''t.

    The Spider Mother''s thread was strong material. It was often used for climbing rope, as it was much more durable than ordinary rope.

    "There''re bad ways to die-this is one of them..."

    The Spider Mother opened its disgusting mouth wide. It would be able to eat Adam''s head

    with one bite.

    As it was ready to feast on her prey, suddenly a ball of fire appeared on top of her tongue. She could smell and feel smoke rising up from her throat.

    "Click?"

    Boom!

    The fireball exploded, and the Spider Mother screamed in agony. Its health dropped another ten percent, all the way to forty-five percent!

    "Attack!" Knoxx''s shout came from the haze, and then the remaining members of the party rushed towards Spider Mother and attacked her from all angles.

    Hana shot her fireballs; her wand was constantly moving.

    The Spider Mother recoiled in pain, screeching as she tried to fight back against the

    onught.

    Knoxx came to Adam and shouted, "Atom sher!"

    His silvery de cut through the thread with incredible uracy, and then the spiderweb fell

    off of Adam''s body, setting him free.

    "Whew, thanks." Adam saw his hands were still trembling in fear.

    He quickly pped himself in the face.

    The Fear Inducement state vanished.

    "I am not letting you hog all of the glory." Knoxx said and then nodded at n.

    They rushed straight to the battle and pushed the Spider Mother further back.

    The Spider Mother screeched annoyingly and shot her long leg straight towards Hana. It was as if she could tell that without her, it would be much easier to kill the rest.

    Hana''s face paled.

    She imagined getting impaled by the long leg, and it made her tremble in fear.

    At that moment, Adam came in and hacked his sword down. It went straight through the steel

    leg, causing the spider creature to copse and writhe in pain.

    "Good shit, Adam!" Knoxx shouted and drove his sword through one of the Spider Mother''s

    eight eyes.

    "T-thanks, Adam." Hana thanked him with a small blush on her cheeks.

    "No problem!" Adam leaped to the top of the Spider Mother''s bulging belly, and while she tried to shake him off, he plunged his sword deep into her body and twisted it.

    With another painful screech, the Spider Mother shook him off and writhed around in agony. Everyone quickly retreated, or they would get crushed by her weight.

    A few arrows flew and stabbed through her eyes. She was basically blind already, as her blood

    dripped down her face in thick, dark streams.

    "Attack!" Knoxx screamed, realizing that she was already at the gates of death.

    Everyone surrounded her and attacked with everything they had.

    Adam even started using his Little God, shing with such speed that it seemed like he had

    multiple arms.

    After a short while, the Spider Mother let out one final screech and fell to the ground. She

    looked mangled and lifeless, her many legs twitching in their final death throes.

    And then, a few secondster, she finally stopped moving.

    Her health reached zero percent.

    "Haah, haah..." Everyone panted and watched at the lifeless corpse of the Spider Mother.

    "We did it..." n whispered.

    After that, everyone erupted into cheers.

    The raid was sessful!

    "Whew..." Adam smiled in relief and sat down on the ground.

    Ding, ding!

    "Huh?" He slowly opened his eyes and saw a surprising sight.

    [You Have Leveled Up!]

    [Level 1¡ú2]

    "Oh..." He chuckled, ''I guess I killed over a hundred Spider Demons, and then everyone who is

    participating in boss fights also gets experience points, no matter if one didn''t get the kill.

    ''It depends on how much one helped to kill it...

    ''I guess I got thergest percentage, giving me enough to level up... Level 2... Not enough to level up to Ordergiver, but my progress is looking good.''

 Chapter 92: Return to Dawnwatch

    Chapter 92: Return to Dawnwatch

    ?

    A bright, golden light appeared in the sky.

    It was almost as bright as the sun.

    At that moment, from the light, a treasure chest appeared and dropped down to the ground with a thump.

    "The treasure chest is here!"

    Knoxx walked over to the chest and kicked it open, revealing piles of shining coins and worn- out scrolls with some weapons stabbed into them.

    He ced his hand on the treasure chest, and then the chest disappeared and left behind a pouch with Shinecoins inside, a couple of scrolls, a couple of weapons, and a strange ring with a glowing gemstone embedded in it.

    "A pouch with 15,000 Shinecoins inside...

    "A couple ofmon weapons and... oh, a rare longsword! Not bad.

    "Skills ofmon rank... a spell scroll...

    "A ring?"

    Knoxx picked up the ring and examined it.

    He tried to gain information out of it, but everything just came up as question marks.

    "It is definitely an artifact."

    "Artifact?!" Hana looked at it with an excited look. "That must be worth a lot!"

    "I''ll show it to the guild master." Knoxx said and stored most of the stuff inside his inventory. Then, he split the money in six ways, giving each member of the party their fair share.

    ''1,500 Shinecoins...'' Adam stored his Shinecoins inside his interface. ''Each member gets 1,500 Shinecoins; the rest goes to the guild.''

    "Let''s scavenge important material from the Spider Mother, and then we''ll leave!"

    Knoxx gave an order.

    The Spider Mother had plenty of valuable materials that sold for a great deal.

    Rumble!

    The ground started suddenly shaking violently beneath their feet, causing the group to stumble and lose their bnce.

    A few steps of stairs emerged from the muddy ground and headed towards the hazy sky.

    At the top of the stairs, a door appeared. It was slightly ajar, revealing a faint glowing from inside.

    "The door to the eleventh floor..." Knoxx thought out loud and waved his finger around. "Finish up looting; we''ll have to return to Dawnwatch soon!"

    Adam looked over to the door for a moment, but then moved his gaze away.

    ''The eleventh floor is dangerous.''

    It was a thought shared by them all.

    From the first to the tenth floor, it was still basically a tutorial of the dungeon.

    The eleventh floor was where the real challenges began.

    They would need an entire party consisting of Ordergivers and above if they wanted to survive.

    A short whileter, they finished harvesting Spider Mother for all of her valuable silk, venom, and body parts.

    "Aight, that''s it!" Knoxx shouted. "Let''s leave!"

    Adam slung his heavy backpack over his shoulder, took a final look at the floor, before

    heading towards the exit with the rest of the group.

    ...

    Thump, thump!

    A carriage rolled down a cobblestone street.

    It arrived at the gates of Crimson Hound''s residence and came to a gentle stop.

    The door swung open, and the exhausting-looking members of the raid party stepped out.

    The gates swung wide open, and the guard nodded at them briefly, weing them back from the raid.

    "I''ll need to meet with the guild master." Knoxx walked over to the guard and said with a somber tone. "It is very serious."

    "I''ll inform him." The guard replied before turning to head into the guild hall.

    Knoxx then turned to the raid party and smiled, "Good job, everyone. It was much harder than expected, but we prevailed in the end."

    "Go take a good rest."

    The raid party felt their shoulders weight a ton, but they mustered a smile and started heading to their quarters. They nned to log off immediately, go take a long, hot shower, and then sleep for the entire day.

    ''I guess I''ll go check out the nearby merchant store...''

    Adam thought to himself.

    He didn''t n to go to sleep just yet. There was some stuff he wanted to purchase with his newly-earned Shinecoins.

    "Adam, minding with me?" Knoxx suddenly asked.

    "Eh, why?" Adam raised an eyebrow.

    "I have a feeling that the guild master wants to see that you are alright." Knoxx said, "After

    all, you''re his pupil..."

    "Fine, I suppose." Adam nodded.

    They waited for the guard to return, and soon he came back with hurried steps.

    "The guild master is waiting for you in his office."

    Knoxx and Adam immediately headed towards the office. It took them a while to navigate through therge vi.

    However, soon enough, they entered the office and saw that beside Digby, the Vice Guild Master, Valora Holly, was also seated there with a purring cat in herp.

    "I see that you made it safely back," Digby said. "Good job, Knoxx."

    "Thank you, guild master," Knoxx bowed, but then said somberly. "However, I have some

    bad news."

    "I heard from the guard that only half returned," Digby said with a frown. "The others died?"

    "Yes, they did..."

    "That''s unfortunate..." Digby sighed.

    "We were ambushed," Knoxx said. "It wasn''t by Chaosbeings, but by yers!"

    That surprised both Digby and Valora.

    "We never received a report that another guild beside ours was supposed to be there." Valora

    said.

    "Do you know who?" Digby asked with a steely expression.

    "Ameryn Brothers!"

    "Them..." Digby''s eyes turned cold. "But, why? What could they possibly gain from

    interfering in our raid like this?"

    "Perhaps their goal was to hinder us?" Knoxx said without certainty. "Those who died wasted half a year of training. They''ll have to start from scratch. That''s a lot of time."

    "I don''t think so." Valora said. "They knew if they got caught doing so, they''d be in trouble.

    To do something as dangerous for something so small doesn''t make any sense." "Hmm..." Digby looked over to the person who had been quiet so far and asked, "Adam, do

    you have any idea?"

    "I sensed their attacking intent." Adam said. "They were aiming for me."

    "You sensed it?" Digby''s lips curled into a smile. "You learned Kiryoku?"

    "Yes, I did," Adam replied.

    "Good, good." Digby smiled, but then again steeled his expression. "So, they were going

    after you..."

    "But why?" Knoxx asked with a frown. "He wouldn''t have lost almost anything from dying. It

    seems like a waste."

    "They wanted to show how fragile he is." Valora said with a cold tone in her voice. "Crimson

    Hound is weak and can''t protect you-that was their message."

    "Were they nning to recruit him?" Knoxx asked with a frown.

    "No." Digby shook his head. "Aaron is not stupid. He knows that Adam wouldn''t possibly join

    people who schemed and eventually killed him."

    "Then what..."

    "They wanted Adam to leave." Valora said. "To go seek better protection. They wanted him to

    go to Imperium City."

    "They must''ve been losing hair over knowing that we have S-ranker in our midst." Digby said

    with a scoff. "They''re scared about the future."

    "The future..." Knoxx whispered.

    "I am getting old." Digby said with a sigh. "We all know it. I am almost past my prime. There

    comes a time when I keep bing weaker and weaker."

    Valora lowered her head with a disheartened expression. She moved her hand across the cat''s back, feeling the soft fur beneath her fingertips.

    "The future generation is all that matters." Digby said. "We hadn''t had proper talent in a long time. We''ve tried to acquire A-rankers, but none of them want to join a declining guild."

    "That''s why..."

    "If they get rid of Adam, they can just wait for a couple of years and then finish us off when we

    are weak enough.

    "I still don''t understand why." Knoxx said. "Why are the Ameryn Brothers so set on

    destroying us? What happened between us and them?"

    Valora looked at Digby with a soft look.

    "Ameryn Brothers was destined to be a Tier-1 guild." Digby said. "After all, they had

    three powerful, talented brothers leading them..."

    "Three?" Knoxx frowned and soon realized. "You mean..."

    "I killed one of their brothers." Digby said. "That brother eventually gave up on Mortal

    Online after losing everything. That''s why Aaron and Arunn hate me to the core."

 Chapter 93: Market Place

    Chapter 93: Market ce

    ?

    The sun''s rays filtered through the window, casting a warm glow on the hardwood floor. The cat purred while curling up in Valora''sp, the sunraysnding on its fur like golden threads.

    In the office, after Digby revealed the truth about his past with Ameryn Brothers, he asked Knoxx to exin everything that happened on the tenth floor.

    After finishing up telling the story, Knoxx asked:

    "So, what should we do now?" Knoxx stood with a few sweatdrops forming on his forehead. "Is this war?"

    "No..." Digby said, shaking his head.

    "It is unlikely that this will escte into war," Valora added. "Aaron and Arunn will panic after knowing that they failed."

    "They''re going to await our next move." Digby said.

    "May I ask, what''re you nning to do?" Adam asked.

    Digby stood up, buttoned up his jacket, and ced his sses back inside his drawer.

    "Digby..." Valora whispered, wondering what he was nning.

    She had been with him for a long time, but even she couldn''t tell what he was thinking about.

    "I''ll go threaten them." Digby said, took his coat, and headed to the door.

    "Alone?" Valora gently ced the cat down and stood up. "I''lle with you."

    "No," Digby said.

    "B-but..."

    "Aaron and Arunn are impulsive fools." Digby opened the door, put one foot outside, and turned to them. "If they find out that their attack failed, they''ll immediately assume it''s going to be a war and will attack us."

    "We are not ready for that attack. Our casualties will be massive.

    "Instead, I''ll go there and tell them myself that their ambush failed. I''ll threaten them. However, I make sure that they don''t think it will be a war."

    "You know how much they hate you." Valora said. "They''ll attack you."

    "Exactly." Digbyughed and walked out of the office.

    "I''ll show them the reason why the war will be the end of them.

    "While I am gone, Valora, you are in the lead. I''ll be back before midnight."

    With that, he left, his coat fluttering behind him.

    "Sigh..." Valora shook her head and then said to Knoxx: "You... have something to deliver to the vault, right? Tell the guard I sent you."

    "Alright." Knoxx said, nudging his chin at Adam, and they both then left.

    After leaving the office, they walked silently down the hallway.

    However, that silence was cut short.

    "You think it''ll be war?" Knoxx asked.

    "The war is never taken lightly." Adam said. "You''ll think they can just dere war without

    any consequences? This is Dawnwatch. The consequences will be severe."

    "Yeah... there''s no way other guilds would just stand still." Knoxx said with a nod.

    "The war interrupts their lives too." Adam said. "They could decide their conflict with the Trial of Combat rule."

    "Trial of Combat?" Knoxx asked with a frown. "I''ve never heard of that."

    "You haven''t?" Adam looked slightly surprised. "It is a prettymon rule, no?"

    "I don''t think so..."

    ''Am I remembering wrong? Most conflicts were decided by that in the future. That rule should still exist in this time period.''

    "Anyway, what''s that rule?"

    "Oh, the guilds will send their representatives to decide the fate of their guild.

    "Usually it is their guild masters.

    "However, our guild master is stronger than theirs, so I doubt they will use this rule.

    However, they can also make their strongest Mercenarymen to fight each other if they want to decide like that.

    "Rarely do they resort to such means."

    "Since Digby is powerful, he shouldn''t ept that, right?" Knoxx asked. "If Ameryn Brothers want to fight, they''ll have to do a Trial of Combat against our guild master!"

    "Yeah, Digby doesn''t have to ept the challenge otherwise. If the Ameryn Brothers still don''t want to send one of their guild masters, it will show weakness.

    "If Guild shows weakness, they''ll get eaten soon enough."

    "Anyway, I''ll have to deliver our rewards to the vault." Knoxx quickly bid his farewell and scurried away.

    ''Hmm, I guess I''ll visit the market ce.'' Adam headed out of a different door that led towards the bustling streets.

    -

    Roadside stalls filled the market''s street, with sizzling meat and rowdy vendors shouting in every direction.

    The ce was packed to the brim with people bustling around, eager to make a purchase. "Hello, everyone!" A top-hat wearing man took the stage in the corner of the market. He was wearing a rather colorful tailored suit with a red bow tie. It almost seemed like he was a mix of a magician and a clown. It was hard to tell what kind of show he was about to put on. With that all, a small crowd gathered around him, curious etched on their faces-most of the crowd were Originals, but there were a few yers mixed in as well.

    "I''ll show y''all today something very special!"

    The man pulled out a wand from his top hat and waved it around. A rainbow of colors shot out from the tip, mesmerizing everyone who watched.

    The colors suddenly transformed into images-there were cars roaming down the streets, nes flying across the skies, and rocket shipsunching into space.

    "Whoah!"

    The Originals seemed amazed.

    The yers, however, were disappointed and slowly dispersed.

    They realized the man was just another person who tried to use the mysteriousness of the

    "Other World" to their advantage.

    The Originals knew the yers came from a ce called the Other World and had heard many stories about it. Thus, the man''s show was very interesting to them.

    While it waspletely boring in the yer''s eyes.

    This man wasn''t the only one who did such shows.

    Many others had earned a small fortune doing such things. It wasmon practice to use the

    ignorance of the Originals to find ways of earning money.

    At that moment, a ck-haired young man walked by the crowd.

    He nced at the show before turning away.

    ''Where was it...''

    Adam pondered, but then he found what he was looking for and quickly pushed past the

    pedestrians.

    Soon, he arrived at a stand that had a small line. A group of mercenaries were searching for

    something to buy.

    The merchant, with a sly smile, sold them a map that was rumored to lead to a hidden

    treasure.

    The mercenaries eagerly handed over their coins and set off on their quest.

    "Heh, easy money." The merchant pocketed the money, took out an identical-looking map

    from the back, and put it back on disy.

    "You aren''t afraid that they''ll find out about your scam ande to kill you?" Adam asked

    with a smirk.

    "Hah, a scam?" The merchant scoffed and waved his hand. "It ain''t a scam. That map is real. I just made some copies of it. If some other person manages to find the treasure first, it ain''t

    my fault!"

    "Fair enough, I guess." Adam shook his head and asked. "I am in search of two particr

    skills."

    "Names?"

    "Pull and Push." Adam scratched his nose. "Spell scrolls,mon rank." "Hmm, let me check it out..." The merchant rummaged through his countless boxes, and then

    he eximed and brought out two spell scrolls, one for Pull and one for Push.

    "That''s 750 Shinecoins each!"

    "No, it isn''t." Adam said with a scoff. "It''s Common rank skills, not Umon."

    "A price had changed, intion, and shit!" The merchant said with an uglyugh.

    "Think twice." Adam said and revealed a sigil of Crimson Hounds. "I am not some fool from

    the Tier 4 guild."

    "Hmph..." The merchant clicked his tongue. ''Fuck it, it ain''t worth it...''

    He showed five fingers.

    "500 each..."

    "Wise choice."

    Adam took out the required amount of coins and ced them in front of the merchant.

    "Thank ya for purchase~"

    Adam stored the scrolls inside his inventory and tipped his hat as a sign of farewell.

    "Wait a second, young man." The merchant said and slyly asked. "Are you interested in two

    very interesting healing sks? sk of Setting Sun and sk of Rising Moon!"

    ''I would, but I am poor...'' Adam shook his head and said, "I can''t afford it." "Alright then, but when you do, you know where to find me. It is dangerous for mercenaries to

    travel without proper healing supplies!"

    ''I guess he nned to sell me faulty sks, maybe filled with just water. Tch, tch...''

    Adam walked away after making his purchase.

    It was an odd purchase after not having even learned Magick. In the eyes of many, it would

    seem like a wasteful purchase.

    As Adam was about to leave, someone grabbed him by the arm and tugged him towards the

    nearest alley.

    Without hesitation, Adam pulled out his sword and ced it against the person''s neck.

    "Ahaha, calm down~" The person was a woman, with dark short hair and dimples forming around her cheeks. She was dressed in a robe that was tattered and worn.

    ''She didn''t n to attack me, as I didn''t sense her attacking intent. However, what the hell

    does she want?''

    Adam looked around, whether she was alone or with someone.

    Currently, it looked like she was alone.

    "Who the hell are you?" Adam lowered his gaze to her chest, as there was a ne hanging

    around her neck that caught his eye.

    ''That''s...''

    "Do you want to hear about God Almighty, our creator and father?!"

    ''Oh no, these lunatics.''

 Chapter 94: Power of Holiness

    Chapter 94: Power of Holiness

    ?

    "No, thanks." Adam quickly refused and turned around to leave.

    "Wait!" The young woman grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back to face her. "Are you sure?"

    "I am." Adam tugged back his arm.

    Her crystal clear eyes searched his face for something. Her gaze was intense and unwavering.

    "Then, why do I feel a power of holiness in you?"

    Adam frowned, unsure how to respond.

    This wasn''t his first time meeting with someone from the Church of God Almighty.

    Each meeting had been more awkward than the previous one.

    However, this was the first time someone mentioned that he was in possession of the power of holiness.

    ''The power of holiness. It''s what those churchgoers possess. It''s something they acquire after decades of praying and worshipping their god.

    ''They receive that power after being touched by the God Almighty; at least they think so.

    ''If someone has that power, they have a guaranteed spot in heaven. Thus, those with this power are usually in the highest positions in the church.

    ''Now, why did she say that I have that power? She must be mistaken.''

    "You seem confused," she said. "You think I am mistaken."

    "Yeah," Adam said. "I can''t possibly be in the possession of that power."

    "You seem to know what it is," she said. "Do you want to be sure whether you have that power? Follow me, and I will show you."

    "Hmm..." Adam hummed. ''She doesn''t seem to know who I am... I can sense her emotions; she feels excited. She really thinks that I''ve been touched by God.''

    "Well?" She walked deeper into the alley and waved for him. "Come on~"

    "What''s your name?" Adam asked before moving.

    If possible, he wanted to know her identity first in case this was going to be an ambush of some sort.

    After all, he shouldn''t be in possession of the power of holiness.

    It was impossible.

    However...

    ''This might be ridiculous, but I regressed back to my younger self... It sounds like something only God can do. Its stupid. Sure, God can exist back in the real world, but here?''

    "My name?" She turned to him and smiled. "My name''s Loya."

    "Loya?" Adam gulped and asked. "Loya Young?"

    "Yes, you know me?" Loya tilted her head curiously.

    "Ah, kind of..." Adam''s back was drenched in sweat. ''What year was it... year 2150... Why did I have to meet her out of everyone...''

    "Is something wrong?" Loya asked curiously.

    "No." Adam shook his head and slowly followed after her. ''Loya Young, the Demoness Who Ate the Sun...''

    They walked down the maze-like alleyways, and soon, the sun hid behind the tall roofs of the buildings around them.

    It became dark.

    "Here we are." Loya, with a smile, approached a house that was tucked away in the corner of the alley.

    It was so hidden and out of sight that no one would find it unless they were looking for it.

    Loya did a strange knocking tempo on the door.

    It sounded like a secret message.

    "Heh, we got our own secret message." Loya said smugly. "We''re secretive and mysterious like that."

    "Right." Adam rolled his eyes.

    Click, and the door opened ajar.

    A face peeked out cautiously and nodded at the sight of Loya.

    "Were you followed, Loya?"

    "Nope, but I have a visitor!" Loya cheerfully eximed.

    "A visitor?"

    "Yes, a very special visitor!"

    The door opened wider.

    "Come in~" The man smiled warmly and invited the two in.

    He had a dark hoodie pulled over his head, with his ck hair peeking out and framing his face. The face was quite pale-skinned, as if he had just stepped out of a freezer, and his eyes were a dull ck with no visible iris or pupil.

    "Thanks!" Loya entered the house, slowly followed by Adam.

    Adam shot a nce at the hooded figure, didn''t recognize him, and then headed deeper into

    the house that currently didn''t have any lights on.

    "Now, why did you bring the stranger to our headquarters?" The man asked.

    "Tim, I-"

    "Come on, why did you reveal my name?!" Tim shouted in frustration.

    "M-my bad, Tim!" Loya sheepishly scratched the back of her head.

    "Sigh..." Tim pinched his nose and shook his head. "Anyway, why did you bring him?"

    "Try to sense him, and you''ll see!" Loya said with a smug smile.

    "Sense him?" Tim turned to Adam, locked his Kiryoku in him, and his eyes widened immediately. "Whoah, power of holiness?!"

    "I knew it!" Loyaughed heartily. "I knew I wasn''t mistaken!"

    "Wait, you weren''t sure?" Tim asked with a twitching eyebrow.

    "Not quite..." Loya innocentlyughed.

    "Wait, what would you have done to me if I didn''t have this?" Adam asked in annoyance.

    "Uhmm, hehe, we have Forgot Powder that we can use!"

    Tim rolled his eyes and said, "We are very secretive faction. We can''t just let everyone

    know."

    "Yeah, very secretive." Adam sighed and said, "You guys aren''t actually with the Church of

    God Almighty, are you?"

    "Uhh..." Tim and Loya exchanged nces.

    "We... didn''t actually get epted." Loya said shyly. "Which is stupid! Our faith is second to

    none!"

    "So, you must be part of the church, right?" Tim asked.

    Before Adam could answer, Loya raised her hand.

    "I invited him here so he could see how strong our faith is! He must be a high-ranking member of the church with the amount of power of holiness he has. Let''s introduce him to

    everyone and show him the true power of our beliefs."

    "Hmm, good idea!" Tim gave a thumbs up.

    "Wait..." Adam looked exhausted. "I think there is a misun-"

    "We''ll introduce you to others!" Loya cut him short and opened a door to the basement.

    "Others are already here!"

    "Wait," Adam said, but then Loya pushed him through the door before he could finish his

    sentence.

    In the basement, there was a circr wooden door that was waist-high with eight figures

    seated around it.

    There was a carpet with strange symbols all around it, and the walls were filled with paintings

    of the god and goddess in various poses.

    There was also a worship altar covered in candles and incense.

    "Everyone, we have an important guest." Tim said.

    The eight figures locked their gazes at Adam.

    "Who is he?"

    "Sense him, guys!" Loya said with a smug smile.

    ''Don''t say that so casually.'' Adam''s eyebrow twitched. ''It''s considered disrespectful to just

    use Kiryoku on a person like that. If you do that to the wrong person, they might kill you for

    it.''

    "Power of holiness?!" The people echoed in shock.

    "Yup!" Loya smiled. "He is a member of the Church of God Almighty!"

    "Ah!"

    The eight figures stood up in a hurry and bowed deeply to Adam, showing their respect.

    ''I guess it is toote to say that they are wrong.'' Adam sighed. ''I also don''t want to lose my memories. It is troublesome. I might forget more of my memories than just the memories of

    this ce.''

    "Let''s show him the power of our faith!" Loya shouted.

    They all took out their wooden crosses, nted a kiss on them, and held them up high.

    "O'', God of the Old and the New, we, your loyal servants, seek guidance at this time of

    distress!"

    Their chants echoed throughout the basement.

    Adam watched with his arms crossed.

    ''Nothing ever happens during these worship sessions. I''ll just pretend to be impressed and

    then leave...''

    However, against all odds, the red fire in the candles turned gold.

    It was rather damp and cold in the basement, but strangely, a wave of warmth enveloped

    them all and the room began to glow with an otherworldly light.

    "Oh my god!" Everyone gasped in awe and disbelief.

    This was the first time this happened to them as well. "G-God is descending upon us?! Are we the chosen ones?!" ''What the hell is this?'' Adam''s eyes shook.

 Chapter 95: Power of Faith

    Chapter 95: Power of Faith

    ?

    As their gazesnded on the holy gold light, their eyes started burning with an intensity that they had never felt before.

    "Ah!"

    Loya and others screamed in pain that pierced through their very souls.

    Adam immediately looked away and tried covering his eyes with his hand, but the piercing light went between his fingers and continued to sear his retinas.

    "Drop your crosses, fools!" He shouted painfully.

    "N-no!" Tim shouted while his eyes were literally lit in mes. "This is God''s warmth. I have dreamed of this day!"

    "We''ll die!" Adam screamed. "If you don''t quit the ceremony, right now!"

    "W-we have dreamed of this for so long!" Loya screamed. "If we die, we''ll be embraced by the warm glow of divinity."

    "This God is not real!" Adam screamed. "You''ll just wake back up from darkness and respawn!"

    "H-how could you say that?" Loya asked with bloodied eyes. "You have been touched by God. Yet, you don''t seem to believe in His godly powers."

    "Aren''t you part of the church?" Tim asked. "Why does your faith seem... so weak?"

    "I am not part of the church!" Adam shouted while backing away from the light. "You guys

    just assumed so. I don''t know why I have the power of holiness. I don''t remember ever praying or being touched by so-called God!"

    "W-what?" Loya seemed shocked.

    "No wonder..." Tim whispered. "I was wondering why you''re so young-looking. That exins a lot..."

    The light seemed to intensify, and it was already impossible to open the eyes.

    "Tch, just stop the ceremony!" Adam screamed.

    "Our faith is not this weak." Tim said and forcefully opened his eyes, looking straight at the blinding light.

    Loya and others slowly opened their eyes and spread their arms around, as if they were trying to hug the warm light.

    "These... fools." Adam looked annoyed. "It''s not real..."

    ...

    Several years ago.

    "O'', God of the Old and the New..."

    Chants reverberated throughout a cathedral, echoing off the ancient and golden walls.

    Thousands of white-robed figures knelt in perfect unison, their voices rising in a melodious chorus.

    It was the annual sacrifice day, a solemn event that had been passed down through generations.

    It was a day to honor the gods and ensure a bountiful harvest for the year ahead.

    On the top balcony of the cathedral, six figures watched the ceremony, all already dressed in their armor, as if they were preparing to leave for a battle at a moments notice.

    A gentle-looking woman had her hands in prayer. She was gently swaying her head back and forth, whispering silent words to herself.

    "Sigh..."

    Leaning against the railing, a man with muscr build, with a back-sized shield on the back and a long-hilted sword in the belt, was staring off towards the altar.

    "Adam, are you not interested in the ceremony?" A beautiful woman with a rosy tint on her cheeks walked next to him, looking at him with a smile.

    "Not really, Sapphira." Adam shrugged as he turned to face her. "They''re praying for a person with a Godplex, nothing more."

    Sapphira giggled and shook her head. "You still have that theory of yours?"

    "I mean, who else could it be?" Adam asked. "Someone created this world. It would make somewhat sense that they think of themselves as God. However, acting as one is just too far, in my opinion."

    "Haha, don''t you think it is fascinating, though?" Sapphira put her chin on her hand and looked towards the altar.

    "This game appeared out of nowhere. It just appeared one day, without any warning.

    "Don''t you think this game was a work of God?"

    "I think my theory is closer to the truth." Adam said with a chuckle.

    Sapphira shook her head with a wry smile.

    At that moment, a silver-haired woman approached them from behind and wrapped her slender arms around Adam''s shoulders, whispering, "Your theory is stupid, Adam~"

    Adam looked over his shoulder at the beautiful, silver-haired woman, whose face radiated pureness and elegance. Her smile looked far too pure.

    "Yu..." He could see the mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Shouldn''t you be at the altar?"

    "Pope Almighty will do the finishing touches." Lady Yu said with a gentle smile and hugged him tightly, pressing her chest against his shield. "You can''t keep your eyes off me, can you?" "You''re stupid." Adam flicked her in the forehead.

    "Oww..." Lady Yu pouted and yfully pushed him away.

    "Lady Yu." Sapphira bowed to her and said, "A beautiful ceremony, as always."

    "Thanks~" Lady Yu smiled, her eyes sparkling with pride.

    She turned to look at the other people present and said, "Oh, famed generals of Star Faction, wee to the Ceremony of the Gods."

    "It was beautiful!" Fleur said with her eyes sparkling with excitement. "I almost could feel the warmth of God."

    Perseus scratched his ear-length brown hair and shyly nodded his head. "Thanks for the invite, Holy Priestess, Lady Yu."

    "Hm." Kiernan mumbled and nodded stoically.

    "It sure was a beautiful event." Dean stood up, put one hand on his chest, and bowed respectfully. "And you made it even more beautiful, Lady Yu."

    Lady Yu just warmly smiled in response. However, her Curse of Men was acting up quite harshly. Still, she kept herposure and smile.

    "Dean, even my skin crawled in disgust." Perseus said with disgust. "Don''t do that again,

    ugh."

    "Hah?"

    "Perseus is right, Dean; never do that again." Kiernan shook his head.

    "Haha, even the stoic Kiernan said so!" Perseusughed raspily.

    "Tch," Dean clicked his tongue but then smirked. "You guys are just jealous. Just y''know, back

    in my home town, I have girlfriends for every day of the week."

    "Sure you do."

    "Mmh, I believe you."

    Sapphira shook her head with a smile. "Dean, lying has never been your strongest suit."

    "Aish..." Dean looked defeated. "No one believes me..."

    "Are you alright?" Adam looked at Lady Yu. "Need to go?"

    "Mm, I am fine." Lady Yu said with a smile and leaned against his shield. "The curse eases up

    in your presence, so it isn''t that bad."

    "Lady Yu, we were just talking about Adam''sck of faith." Fleur said with a smile. "Can you convince him otherwise?"

    Adam rolled his eyes, not believing that anything could change his mind.

    "My Adam''s mind is sadly closed off to new possibilities," Lady Yu replied with a knowing

    look. "Perhaps a miracle is needed to change his perspective."

    "Adam, don''t you find it strange that this game came out of nowhere? The world didn''t even

    have the technology to create this.

    "Not even now, after twenty years of Mortal Online''s creation. No one has been able to

    replicate this. Don''t you find it strange?"

    Sapphira asked.

    "I think it is strange, sure." Adam said andughed. "However, a God''s creation? Quite far-

    fetched, I would say."

    "Didn''t God create your world as well?" Lady Yu asked. "So, I''ve heard."

    Adam shrugged his shoulders. It was something he didn''t have any answers to.

    "By the way, when is your marriage-" Fleur asked teasingly. "Come on, Adam, put a ring on

    her finger."

    Lady Yu''s cheeks turned pink, and she said teasingly. "That''s right, Adam~"

    "Alright, time to go." Adam said, changing the subject. "Sapphira, isn''t it time?"

    Sapphira quickly checked her timepiece and nodded solemnly. "That''s right."

    This changed the mood of the balconypletely.

    "Aish, war, wee." Dean stood up with augh. "We''re going to bete if we don''t hurry!"

    "Be careful." Lady Yu said worryingly towards Adam.

    "Mm." Adam nodded, and then the six figures left the cathedral.

    It was the year 2160, and it was time for the Second Guild War between the Star Faction and

    the Death Faction.

    A war that would change the course of history forever.

    ...

    "Ngh..." Adam shook his head and quickly ran up the stairs.

    He rushed out of the basement and then out of the house, his eyes still burning with the gold

    light.

    "Argh!" Adam screamed in pain, crouched on the dirty cobblestone ground, and took out some water from the canteen to wash his eyes.

    The pain slowly subsided, but he couldn''t really see anything yet, except bright light dots

    dancing in his vision.

    "Whoo..." Adam put his hand over his face and slowly slid it down, feeling the touch of his

    skin and the coolness of the water.

    Crackle...

    "Hmm?" Adam turned around and saw that the entire house was in mes. "What the..."

    As the mes turned tall and danced wildly, the gold light suddenly broke through the floor

    and exploded into a blinding white light.

    Adam quickly covered himself behind his shield as the housepletely exploded.

    The explosion sent him flying, and he flew through a window, then through a wall. His vision

    went ck as he lost consciousness.

    The house was razed to the ground. The gold light slowly dissipated. The worshippers were nowhere to be seen, as they had only turned into ash and dust.

 Chapter 96: The Rooftop Garden Fight

    Chapter 96: The Rooftop Garden Fight

    ?

    Distro Street, corner of the main avenue.

    At the rooftop garden of the Ameryn Brothers'' guild building.

    Aaron flipped through the newspaper while sipping his morning coffee.

    The echoes of pedestrians and carriages acted as background noise while the city slowly woke up.

    It had been a slow morning.

    He knew what was going to happenst night: the possible assassination of young members of Crimson Hounds.

    It was a risky mission and could end horribly, which could lead to a war.

    However, he was still able to sleep and wake up rather rxingly.

    The door to the rooftop garden suddenly opened, and Arunn came rushing in with disheveled hair.

    Arunn waspletely opposite.

    He couldn''t sleep a wink and was visibly anxious.

    "They still haven''t reported in!" Arunn shouted while pacing back and forth. "I told Rae to report back every morning. We haven''t received a word!"

    "Calm down." Aaron said and took a short sip. "It is hard to send a message from the dungeon. I''m sure we will receive a word soon."

    "What if something happened?" Arunn asked.

    "The tenth floor is smaller than the floors we''re used to, but it is still arge ce. There is a chance they haven''t found them yet. Nothing to fret about."

    "I guess..." Arunn sat down and enjoyed the morning winds as they blew through his hair.

    At that moment, Aaron and Arunn flinched for a split second.

    "You felt that?" Aaron asked and dropped his newspaper.

    "I did." Arunn said and drew his cuss from his belt scabbard. "Someone ising."

    In the sky, a ck dot appeared.

    It was small at first, but it slowly grew in size, and it looked like the ck dot was falling towards their rooftop garden.

    Aaron and Arunn peered into the distance, trying to make out who or what it was.

    "I-It''s a person..."

    The person crashed into the rooftop garden and made the building beneath tremble with the impact.

    It was just a little bit, but that caused the building to tip over to the side by only a few inches.

    The dust cleared up, and a figure stepped out of the dust cloud.

    "You..." Aaron couldn''t believe his eyes.

    "Digby!" Arunn screamed in anger.

    Digby patted off the dust from his crimson armor and slowly pulled out his longsword and diamond-shaped shield.

    "You shouldn''t havee here." Aaron said with a venomous tone. "You''ll die."

    "Since he is here, that means..." Arunn grinned hideously. "Rae and others seeded?"

    "I guess they didn''t seed in removing all of their memories." Aaron said. "That''s still fine."

    "Digby, are you sure that you want to start this war?" Arunn asked with a grin. "Your father can''t help you, if you do."

    "You two are mistaken." Digby said with a chuckle. "My subordinates are fine, thanks for asking. I can''t say the same about yours."

    "What?!" Aaron cried out. "That''s impossible!"

    "Then why are you here?" Arunn asked with an ugly expression.

    "To show what happens when you touch my guild."

    Digby leaped forward,nded between the two brothers, and swung his longsword in a wide

    arc.

    It sent the two brothers flying to the ends of the rooftop garden. The impact rocked their bodies, but it looked like they managed to block the attack just in time.

    "How arrogant of you." Aaron said angrily. "You think you can just waltz in here and defeat us that easily?"

    "This is for Aries!" Arunn rushed in with his cuss and shed wildly.

    Digby ced his longsword in the path of the cuss and blocked it.

    de-to-de, the sparks flew as the two weapons shed.

    The cuss in Arunn''s hand started to change colors. It turned deep purple, with a few tints of red scattered around.

    "The Sinful King''s de!"

    Arunn''s cuss started glowing with an otherworldly light, imbuing it with an ancient power that had been dormant for centuries.

    "Rah!"

    He swung the cuss around him and then did one final swing that caused a wave of energy to fly out of the de, heading straight to Digby.

    "Super Jump." Digby crouched before leaping high into the air like a spring, narrowly avoiding the wave of energy.

    While in the air, he switched the grip on the sword from a standard one-handed hold to a reverse grip and brought it down with all his strength.

    Arunn quickly evaded the attack. Digby''s sword stabbed through the roof and made the building rattle violently.

    He quickly pulled out the sword from the ground and then, using his reverse grip, attacked Arunn, but he ced his purple-ded cuss against Digby''s sword, stopping the attack

    just in time.

    "Watch out, brother!" Aaron screamed as he came in, rushing in with nothing but armor wrapped around his bulky body and gauntlets on his hands.

    Arunn grinned, then backflipped into the safety.

    Aaron reeled in his fist, and his armored gauntlet changed colors to a faint purple.

    "The Fist of Karash!"

    Digby swung his shield and smashed it against the gauntlet-covered fist.

    THUMP, SMASH!

    A loud, violent wind whipped throughout the rooftop garden and sent all the chairs, tables, and potted nts flying.

    "Ah, break through!" Aaron screamed as he hoped that his gauntlet would just punch through

    the shield.

    However, the shield had turned shades of deep purple. It was coated by Digby''s powerful

    Kraft.

    Aaron had weaker Kraft.

    It was obvious, and no matter how much he tried, he wouldn''t be able to destroy either of

    Digby''s weapons!

    "Brother!" Arunn headed back to the fight to assist his brother after seeing the failed attack.

    "You two... I''ll say this only once; leave my guild alone."

    Digby''s tone changed.

    Aaron''s eyes widened. Arunn rushed from the side, his cuss already heading to Digby''s face.

    At that moment, Digby parried the attack loosely to the side, then let go of his main weapon

    and grabbed Arunn by the throat.

    "Ugh!" Arunn gagged and struggled to break through, but then swung his cuss and shed

    Digby''s arm.

    However, it was only a small flesh wound.

    ''Impossible, I have stronger Kraft than Digby, but I barely made a scratch?!''

    It shocked Arunn to the core.

    Digby threw Arunn to the ground with a thunderous force.

    Arunn''s breath escaped his lungs in sharp gasps while the blood started to clog up his throat.

    The throw caused a tremendous amount of damage to him.

    At that moment, Digby raised his shield and smashed its bottom against Arunn''s chest,

    cracking his ribs.

    "A-argh, fuck!" Arunn coughed out in pain.

    "Shit!" Aaron swung his fist, only to be blocked by Digby''s shield.

    Digby, using his left hand, pulled out his longsword from the ground and stabbed it through

    Aaron''s kneecap.

    Aaron howled in pain.

    The two brothersid down on the ground, both whimpering in pain.

    At that moment, the rooftop garden''s door swung wide open as mercenaries of the Ameryn

    Brothers rushed in, weapons drawn.

    They heard lots of noises and saw how the building shook violently.

    They knew there was a high-level fight going on, but they knew their guild masters were

    supposed to be there. They couldn''t just leave without checking to make sure their leaders

    were safe.

    However, when they finally arrived and saw the condition of their leaders, they could barely believe their eyes.

    Their powerful, resilient guild masters were whimpering on the ground, bleeding and

    battered, looking like they had been through a brutal battle.

    "I am not going to kill you now." Digby said and sheathed his sword. "However, if I hear that

    any of you approach one of my guild members, I will not hesitate to end you." "Aargh..." Aaron held his broken knee and looked up at Digby with hate in his eyes.

    "E-enjoy these years..." Arunnughed through pain and slowly sat back up. "When you''re old

    and frail, we''ll be there..."

    Digby didn''t answer to them and instead jumped off the building andnded on the roof of the building on the opposite side of the street.

    "..." Digby silently walked away with thoughts floating in his mind.

    At that moment, a strange explosion rattled the nearby buildings, and it made thousands of pedestrians turn their heads around to see what it was.

    "Huh?" Digby looked to the distance and saw a plume of thick, ck smoke rising into the air.

    It came near the market.

    "What happened there..."

 Chapter 97: Magick

    Chapter 97: Magick

    ?

    "Cough..." Adam went behind a corner and tried to cough out the smoke from his lungs.

    He then looked back towards the smoking house and wondered what the hell was going on.

    ''I know that others have imed to have seen God''s pure light, but I have never heard of this happening.

    ''The light was warm and inviting, like the rumors say, but why was it also painful to look at? Also, why did the light cause the explosion?''

    He didn''t know the answers to any of that, but he felt like there was something else to that ceremony that he hadn''t thought of yet.

    "Hey, you there!"

    A shout came out of nowhere.

    Adam looked towards the end of the alley and saw a group of armored individuals approaching him. They looked like knights with their swords drawn.

    ''Watchmen of Dawnwatch, this is bad...''

    Adam slowly backed off, thinking about his options.

    "Don''t move an inch!" An armored figure shouted. "Or you''ll be treated as the culprit and will face the full force of thew!"

    ''I am already treated as the culprit.'' Adam thought with an ugly expression. ''Thew of this world is twisted and corrupt. I am not going to let them take me down without a fight.''

    Adam pulled out a long cloak to cover both his face and the armor. It was because he was still wearing his crimson armor.

    He couldn''t allow the Watchmen to catch a good eye on it; otherwise, it would be pretty easy for them to find out his identity via Crimson Hounds.

    "He is nning to fight." A Watchmen said.

    "Yeah, I feel it¡ªhis attacking intent."

    "Take him down; don''t kill him. I can sense that he is in thete stages of Mercenaryman. He can just respawn without losing much of anything.

    "We''ll need to take him alive and force him to get sentenced by the Lawmakers."

    "I ain''t going down without a fight!" Adam screamed and started running straight towards them.

    "What a fool." The Watchmen raised their weapons. "I thought the tutorial taught him not to get ahead of himself."

    As Adam was about tounch his attack, his attacking intent suddenly vanished like it never existed, and he disappeared from the eyes of the Watchmen like a ghost.

    Their eyes bulged out in shock.

    "Where did he go?!"

    "I can''t sense him anywhere!"

    "Go find him!"

    "Don''t let him escape!"

    ...

    "That was close..." Adam watched from a nearby rooftop as the Watchmen scurried away.

    He used his Little God''s illusion ability to fake his intent to attack the Watchmen.

    While they were under the illusion, Adam simply escaped to a nearby rooftop.

    If he nned to run away, he doubted he would be able to outrun the Watchmen-after all, they were rather powerful, much more powerful than him.

    If they weren''t powerful, they wouldn''t be allowed to scout the streets and protect the city in the first ce.

    Adam, after seeing that the Watchmen had left the area, left the roof and quickly escaped the area as well.

    ...

    Crimson Hound''s residence.

    "Here." Adam handed over the crimson armor to Digby.

    "Oh, you returned it." Digby nodded and put it hanging from a hook on the wall. "So, you remembered that it was only lent to you."

    "Mm." Adam nodded. "I am not a full member of Crimson Hounds yet. I know my ce." "Good, good..." Digby sat back down and crossed his legs. "How was your first raid? I know it was more troublesome than expected."

    "I think it went well," Adam replied.

    "I received reports from others, and they all told me one thing..." Digby checked out some reports on the desk and smiled. "That the sess of the raid was mainly because of you." "I can''t take all the credit." Adam said. "Knoxx was rather a decent leader."

    "Did he give you a hard time?" Digby asked.

    "At first, but then we worked together."

    "Mm." Digby nodded. "It is hard to be a genius. There will always be people who wish for your downfall. Knoxx can be hard-headed, but he is a good kid."

    "Mm." Adam nodded.

    "What''re your ns now?" Digby asked.

    "Visit the real world," Adam said.

    "Yeah, that''s good." Digby nodded wisely. "This world can be addictive, but never forget about the real world. Take a few days to unwind and rx, then get back to work."

    "I''ll do that." Adam nodded. "May I also get what I asked for?"

    "Hmm, sure." Digby rummaged through the drawers and took out a scroll. "I am not sure if this is the wisest thing yet."

    "You just learned Kiryoku, and it is wise to understand it before moving to other powers."

    "I know and I will, but I want to give it a shot." Adam said and epted the scroll.

    "It is up to you, I guess." Digby said. "However, during our training, I''ll only teach you Kiryoku. The other powers can wait until you have learned Kiryoku first."

    "I understand."

    The conversation soon finished, and Adam left the office and headed straight back to his

    quarters.

    His quarters looked the same as they did when he first received them. He hadn''t done any decorating or personalizing since moving in.

    ''Before leaving, I wonder if I can do that...''

    Adam slipped his feet out of his shoes, put them aside, and left them in a neat row by the

    door.

    He then sat down on his bed, took a position at the center of it, and then sat cross-legged. Then he took out the worn-out scroll.

    It was the main reason why he went to meet Digby after returning to the guild residence.

    This scroll was Magick scroll.

    With this, he could finally start to learn Magick.

    ''In my past life, I learned this and became quite decent with Magick. This is different than with Kiryoku, which I was very clueless about.

    ''I don''t have any enlightenment pills, but I still remember learning Magick as if it were just yesterday. I wonder if I can learn this quickly...''

    He shrugged his shoulders and then closed his eyes.

    The scroll in his eyes glowed with a faint color and entered his head through his forehead.

    Just like that, he knew the exact steps to start learning Magick.

    ''Hmm...'' Adam closed his eyes deeply. ''Magick...''

    The steps were different from Kiryoku.

    He imagined a river of "mana" and materialized it inside his vastness of mind. It would

    usually take months to do for neers.

    However, because he had done this countless times, he managed to do it immediately.

    A river of mana flowed through his mind with a strong current.

    "Whoo..." Adam breathed out and then imagined that the river of mana was flowing into his

    body from the mind.

    This was the hardest step.

    However, Adam still did it so ridiculously easily.

    The river of mana flowed from his mind into his body, filling every vein, every muscle, and

    every cell with power.

    If anyone else saw what was happening inside his body, they would cough out blood.

    What would usually take months took only a few seconds for Adam.

    ''This is so easy...'' Adam thought and softly opened his eyes. ''Can it really be this easy?''

    There was onest step.

    He needed to be able to control the mana inside his body to be able to use it for spells and

    incantations.

    "Control..." Adam closed his eyes and imagined the mana flowing through his body to his

    fingertips.

    He then slowly raised his hands, and a few invisible threads flew out of his fingertips. They flew for a few seconds before vanishing.

    As soon as he did that, his body started to feel rxed and weightless, as if he could just jump

    off the bed and float to the end of the room.

    Adam''s eyes shot wide open.

    "I did it... I learned Magick!"

    Inside the darkest depths of his mind, a small puddle appeared. It was the Mana Ocean. Itpletely reced his previous "sea" that told the state of his current emotions.

    Now, the puddle was rippling quite a lot because of Adam''s excitement.

    The one''s Magick strength was determined by how big of the ocean one had in their mind.

    When the ocean was depleted, it meant their mana had ran off and couldn''t use their Magick skills anymore.

    That''s why, magicians focus on increasing the size of their Mana Oceans so they could use

    more of their skills.

    Stronger the skills, more they use the mana.

 Chapter 98: Epicenter of Criminal Activity

    Chapter 98: Epicenter of Criminal Activity

    ?

    Pitter-patter.

    Dark clouds gathered over calm Navy Town, and then the rain began to fall in a soft drizzle.

    The rain tapped against a window of a freshly painted house, and the sound was soothing to the ears of the young man inside.

    Inside the house, in the living room with a television ying in the background, Adam sipped a freshly brewed coffee with his phone in hand.

    He was fiddling with his phone, scrolling through social media for the news of the past week.

    Some of the news he remembered, but some feltpletely new, as if he had missed out on a lot.

    At that moment, an ad popped out right in the middle of the phone screen-it was an ad for an uing movie, starring a beautiful actress with bright blue eyes and long, flowing hair.

    ''Oh, I remember her faintly.'' Adam thought to himself.

    ''A mercenary that became famous and started starring in big blockbuster movies. If I remember correctly, she is only going to be famous for a couple of years, then she will get pregnant and quit the industry to spend time with her family.''

    The front door slowly opened, and John came in with bags of groceries.

    "Oh, Adam," he said, then moved to the refrigerator and started filling it up.

    "John." Adam nodded and closed the phone before pocketing it. "Need help?"

    "No need; I am fine." John quickly emptied the bags, then put the stic bags inside kitchen cabs forter use.

    They usually used the stic bags as garbage bags, as it was an effective way of recycling them.

    After doing that, John also took a cup of coffee, then sat down on the table and began reading the newspaper.

    Adam finished up the coffee and went to the sink to wash the cup. Then he ced it on the drying rack to dry.

    ''What should I do...'' Adam thought to himself. ''Maybe I should go for a run...''

    "If you''re nning to go out, be careful." John said and turned pages in the newspaper. "Apparently there''s been some shady individuals lurking around in our neighborhood." "Is that so..."

    Adam said with a frown.

    ''A coincidence or some people from the underworld? I don''t think they''ll do anything except gather information about me and then sell that information to Otherworld Killers if one decides toe after me.

    ''Currently, no one has any reason to go after me, but I suppose I''ll have to prepare.''

    "John, are you interested in going on a vacation?" Adam asked.

    "A vacation?" John raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "I don''t really have that kind of money, and I am sure Serah is busy with her store..."

    "I can fund the trip for three of you, as thanks for allowing me to keep ying Mortal Online."

    "Eh?" John looked surprised. "Are you sure? This is a generous offer."

    "Mm, talk to Serah-a week in New Paradise does wonders, or so I''ve heard." Adam said with a smile and then headed upstairs.

    John, left alone in the living room, contemted the offer deeply.

    He had always wanted to visit New Paradise and its crystal-clear waters and beaches.

    It was a beautiful ce with a rich culture and vibrant nightlife, but it was also quite expensive.

    Many of his co-workers had visited New Paradise for a couple days and to this day, they''re still talking about their unforgettable experiences and adventures there.

    "A week there..." John contemted. "It''s going to be expensive, but he wouldn''t suggest it if he wasn''t aware of its cost. Also, he managed to pay the rent, as well, so I guess he has good finances...

    "If I had known that game would make so much money, I would''ve also tried it as younger, but s, I am old now... New Paradise, it sounds nice..."

    On the upstairs, Adam went back to his room and sat down on the desk with hisputer in front of him. Without further ado, he ventured deep into the dark web and into Mortal Online''s forums.

    He didn''t offer the free trip out of goodness of his heart-there was something he had to do, and they couldn''t be around here for it.

    "I''ll need to visit Red Thread..."

    Adam checked out the posts about the Red Thread and how things are there currently. asionally, there were gang wars there that made things dangerous for the residents and visitors.

    He didn''t really want to visit the Red Thread if that was the case.

    However, as it seemed, it was currently quite peaceful there.

    ''Hmm, it will cost a lot for them to do that to his house. However, it will be worth it. It will keep me and them safe if someone bearing ill will decides to cause trouble.''

    He then left the dark web and went to the New Paradise''s website-he immediately bought three tickets, each of themsting a week.

    ''Serah hasn''t agreed yet, but I know she will. After all, I know just how much she has been dreaming of visiting that ce.

    ''Her friends have been bragging about how amazing it is and how they had the best time of their lives there. She also wants to experience it.

    ''I remember her long rants about it, so I''m sure she will ept this offer with a smile on her face.''

    -

    The following morning.

    "Don''t you make a mess out of this ce!" Serah shouted from the front door with a red

    suitcase in hand.

    "Yeah, yeah," Adam said while bidding them farewell.

    "Thanks for this; we''ll be back in a week." John said and patted him on the shoulder.

    He was quite surprised about his wife''s reaction to the trip-when he spoke to her about it, she seemed thrilled. However, as usual, she acts sternly toward Adam.

    Still, he knew that she was quite pleased that he had offered such a trip to them.

    "Are you sure you don''t want toe?" Alice asked with a hopeful smile. "Pleasee. It will be nice."

    "I have something to do, sadly." Adam said with a soft smile. "You go and have some fun." "Mm..." Alice mumbled, feeling disappointed that Adam wouldn''t be joining them. "Alright, see you in a week-"

    They then entered their cars and drove off towards the airport, where they would catch their flight to their vacation destination.

    As soon as their car was out of sight, Adam closed the front door and checked his phone.

    He had received an email notification about another one of his purchases.

    He had also purchased ne tickets to another destination-Ivycrest, where the Red Thread

    was located.

    "Red Thread..." Adam pocketed his phone and went back to his room, where he took a hidden backpack from under his bed.

    It had all the necessary items for his trip to Ivycrest.

    He opened the backpack; there were some food, water, and sharp knives with red handles.

    Adam took out one of the knives from the backpack and twirled it around his fingers before carefully cing it back inside.

    He was hoping he didn''t need to use them, but Red Thread was the epicenter of criminal activity, and he knew he had to be prepared for anything.

    Adam slung the backpack over his shoulder and saw his virtual reality pod in the corner of the

    room.

    He gently touched it and whispered. "I''ll be back soon..."

    With that, he closed the lights off and left the room.

 Chapter 99: Saint Jayson

    Chapter 99: Saint Jayson

    ?

    Below the Irycrest''s streets, the hiddenwork of sewer tunnels and passageways extended in every direction like abyrinth.

    At the heart of the underground chamber, the broad-shouldered figure of a man stood tall in front of the lonely-looking door.

    It was just another day for him, standing in front of the entrance of the underground city. "Shit, this smell is going to kill me one day." The man murmured to himself in annoyance, then took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up.

    After cing one between his lips, he suddenly heard a faint echo of footsteps.

    It was easy to hear when someone was approaching, as the sewers echoed like a never-ending tunnel.

    From the depths of the sewer, a figure of average height slowly emerged, an ordinary backpack slung over his shoulder and a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes.

    "Stop right there." The man ordered and took a puff of the cigarette. "What''s your business here, stranger?"

    "I am seeking entrance to the Red Thread." Adam said this while adjusting his backpack and stepping forward confidently.

    "Never seen you before." The man said, then dropped the cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his boot. "We don''t like strangers here."

    "I understand. Do you need my identification?" Adam asked with a smile under the baseball

    cap.

    "Go on, give it to me." The man leisurely put his hand forth.

    He was acting very carefreely, even though his job was very dangerous.

    After all, he was guarding the entrance of the underground city-one would think it was a ce where one would try to sneak in each passing day.

    However, no one dared, because everyone knew this man in the underground circle.

    Adam rummaged through his backpack, found his ID, and then gave it to the man.

    He didn''t want to cause trouble with this man either.

    ''Saint Jayson, a legend.'' Adam thought while looking at the man. ''He is the fighting champion of the underground world. However, that is in the future, but that doesn''t mean he isn''t strong.

    ''He started as nothing but low-grade thug and worked his way up through sheer determination and skill.

    ''Now, he is the gatekeeper of the Red Thread, a dangerous and well-paying job. He is feared and respected by all who know him in the underground world.

    ''In a couple of years, he''ll participate in the fighting championship of the underground world and win it all.''

    Saint Jayson checked out the identification papers. It had a picture of Adam, a young man with a pale face, a navy-colored eyes, and slightly long ck hair.

    "Take off your cap." He ordered, as he couldn''t tell whether the owner of the ID was really him.

    Adam slowly took off his baseball cap, then fixed up his hair and showed his face to him.

    "Mm..." Saint Jayson nodded after seeing the face match the picture, and then looked at the name. "Adam... Palestar."

    He hadn''t been ying Mortal Online at all, but even he recognized the name-it was a name that had been spoken quite often during bar nights at the inn.

    "Interesting." Saint Jayson said and he then closed the ID and gave it back to Adam.

    "May I enter now?" Adam asked and pocketed his ID.

    Saint Jayson crossed his arms and leaned on the door.

    "No."

    "Why?" Adam asked with a frown.

    "Why forfeit your life like this?" Saint Jayson asked. "This is not a ce for wet-eared brats. Come back in a few years when you know more about the world."

    Adam put the baseball cap back on and shook his head.

    "Do I need to pay you or what? I don''t have time to waste on this."

    "Leave, brat." Saint Jaysonzily waved his hand. "Death is not the worst oue in here. There''re fates that you can only imagine in your worst nightmares."

    "I appreciate the concern, but I didn''t ask for it." Adam said that and stood his ground. "I didn''te here just to get turned around at the front steps. Step aside."

    Saint Jayson scratched the back of his head and picked up his baseball bat from the ground.

    "Alright, you''re stubborn." He ced the bat on his shoulder and smirked. "Make me move then, kid."

    "Are you serious?" Adam asked with a cold look.

    "You might be famous in the fake world." Saint Jayson said: "S-ranker or not, none of that really matters to me. I live in reality, unlike you fakers."

    Adam dropped his backpack to the ground and then brought out his two red-handled knives.

    "Oh, prepared, are you?" Saint Jaysonughed.

    Adam lowered his gaze to the dirty ground and saw broken sses, dirty rags, and folded cardboard boxes.

    Saint Jayson raised his bat over his shoulder and put it into a hacking position.

    It was solid aluminum, a real slugger''s bat-it was enough to crack skulls and crush bones with ease.

    Adam suddenly slid his boot across the coarse, dirty ground and kicked up the broken ss that was sharp enough to slice skin open.

    Those flew straight at the broad-shouldered man.

    Saint Jayson smashed his bat through the ss, but a few shards still pierced through his skin,

    causing blood to trickle down his arm.

    Adam made a dash forward and whirled his knives in Saint Jayson''s direction.

    Saint Jayson quickly backed off, narrowly avoiding the sharp des.

    It looked bad for him as he didn''t have a lot of space to move around; the door was right

    behind him, and in front of him was a somewhat narrow sewer tunnel.

    Adam rushed straight in and jabbed his red-handled knife towards the cornered man.

    With a swing of the arm, Saint Jayson brought down his bat and struck the knife off Adam''s

    hand.

    The red-handled knife flew away andnded in a small, dirty puddle on the ground.

    "Ngh!" Adam grunted in frustration and tossed his left-handed knife to his dominant right

    hand.

    At that moment, Adam grabbed the folded cardboard box from the ground and tossed it over

    to Saint Jayson.

    It perfectly blocked his vision.

    Saint Jayson smashed his bat through the cardboard box, and then saw Adam''s knife heading

    in his way.

    His eyes narrowed into a narrow line, and he quickly pulled back, but the knife sliced through

    his cheek all the way to the ear.

    It was a scar-inducing attack.

    "Fucker!" Saint Jayson shot his leg up and kicked Adam to the chest.

    Adam staggered backwards with a loud grunt and almost dropped to the sewer water.

    The kick rocked his insides and he had difficulties of breathing.

    ''What a tremendous physical prowess.

    ''I always wondered how strong Saint Jayson would be in Mortal Online. Shame that he never

    had the desire...''

    "Argh, shit!" Saint Jayson touched his bleeding cheek and felt the ringing in his ear. "The

    fuck!"

    "..." Adam wiped the sweat off and picked up his backpack from the ground. "Fine, I''ll

    leave..."

    He knew he wouldn''t be able to defeat Saint Jayson. It was a losing fight.

    However, he didn''t want to look weak. It was good to show a strong impression and perhaps

    he''ll change his mind about letting him in.

    Now, it started to look like the fight was heading in a dangerous direction.

    It could lead into Adam''s untimely death.

    It was a risk he didn''t want to take.

    "Wait..." Saint Jayson said coldly and looked at him with a sharp gaze.

    The atmosphere turned cold and tense.

    Adam gulped and tightened his grip on his knife.

    "Haa..." Saint Jayson let out a deep breath and then smiled through pain. "Not bad... not

    bad..."

    He turned around and swung the door wide open with a fresh scent wafting through the open

    door.

    It was rather good smelling scent,pared to the disgusting stench of the sewer.

    "What is this?" Adam asked.

    "I changed my mind." Saint Jayson said with a smirk and looked at the door. "Go on, enter

    that ce."

    Adam raised an eyebrow in surprise, then slung the backpack over his shoulder and slowly

    walked past Saint Jayson and through the open door.

    At that moment, a voice came behind him. "If you die, there''ll be no one to bury you there."

    With those words, the door closed behind him.

 Chapter 100: Kang Saruza

    Chapter 100: Kang Saruza

    ?

    Opening the door, Adam stepped through into the streets of Red Thread. The street was nestled in some obscure corner of the city.

    It had some pedestrians moving by, but for the most part, it was eerily quiet.

    ''It''s rarely this quiet. What''s going on?'' Adam lowered the cap further over his eyes and walked down the cobblestone road, trying not to attract any attention.

    It only took him two minutes of walking before he heard some loud banging noises.

    Adam looked around the streets-they were empty, and there weren''t any pedestrians around either.

    At that moment, from one of the buildings, a wounded man crashed out of the door and fell onto the sidewalk, gasping for air with a bleeding wound on the shoulder.

    Then, another man stepped out of the building with a gun in hand, aimed it at the wounded man, and then pulled the trigger.

    Bang.

    A bullet pierced through the wounded man''s forehead, ending his life.

    The man with the gun raised his gaze and saw another person around-the person looked somewhat younger than most people in Red Thread and had a baseball cap pulled over his

    eyes.

    Without further ado, he lifted his gun and ced his finger on the trigger.

    Adam''s eyes shook, and he quickly rolled to the side alleyway.

    Bang.

    The bullet flew andnded on the brick wall beside him with a piercing sound.

    ''What in the world?'' Adam''s eyes shook. ''Did I identally waltz onto an ongoing gang war?''

    The man removed the clip from his gun, let it drop to the ground, and then pulled out a fresh one from his pocket.

    He cocked his gun and slowly headed in the alleyway''s direction.

    As he neared the corner, he quickly jumped out with his gun ready and fired multiple shots at the dark alleyway.

    The bulletsnded on nothing but air.

    "Huh?" The man looked at the empty alleyway. "Where did he go?"

    There were more paths at the end of the alleyway, which the baseball cap-wearing young man must''ve taken.

    "He ran way..." The man shook his head. "Tch, tch."

    At that moment, a loud bang resounded from one of the roofs and pierced through his temple, also ending his life.

    On the roof, a dark-eyed man was standing with a gun in his hand, a smirk on his face.

    "Fool got distracted."

    Already far away, Adam navigated through the alleyways and soon exited into a street, which he recognized as one of the main streets of Red Thread.

    Strangely enough, it was also quite empty and quiet.

    However, at that moment, he heard a voice.

    "You there, foolish one."

    "Huh?" Adam turned around and saw a man leaning on a bar wall with a cigarette on his lips and an alcohol bottle in hand.

    "You neer?" The man asked. "Otherwise, you would be a very stupid one, just wandering into an active scene of a deathmatch."

    "Deathmatch..." Adam whispered to himself. ''I see. That''s why this ce is so deserted.'' "I just arrived."

    "Mm, I see." The man pointed behind the war. "You can watch from here. But don''t get in the way."

    Adam nodded briefly and entered the bar-there were many people inside, all watching the deathmatch unfold on arge screen.

    They were screaming, cheering, and drinking while enjoying the show.

    The deathmatch was an event that was arranged once a month.

    Everyone could register for it and try to win it-it was basically a battle royale, only one would survive, but the winner gets rewarded with a small fortune that would be enough for them to live a leisure life and never have to work again.

    It was quite a popr event in the underground world, broadcast across all criminalworks.

    The prize money attracted some of the deadliest and most cunning fighters from around the world.

    The man went to the corner table, where a group of his friends wereughing and drinking. He then whispered something to them, and they all turned their heads to Adam.

    Adam acted like he wasn''t aware of those gazes, but he was very much so.

    ''Time to go...''

    He touched his cap, turned around, and made his way to the exit.

    As soon as he left, the people at the corner table stood up and headed in the same direction.

    Outside, Adam stepped onto the sidewalk and, with a rapid pace, started heading in the opposite direction of the deathmatch.

    With his keen hearing, he was able to hear the doors of the bar swing open after his departure.

    However, he didn''t turn his head around and just kept walking forward.

    Through the streets and alleys, he made his way to the outskirts of the underground town.

    It was getting darker and colder as he walked further away from the center.

    The lights on the ceiling didn''t reach the far corners of the town, so it was quite dark and cold there.

    Strangely enough, there were still people who lived there.

    In a far corner of the underground city, there was a dim store with dirty windows, but the door

    was open with a shoe ced against the door frame so it wouldn''t close.

    An open sign hung outside, swaying slightly in the breeze.

    Adam stepped through the door immediately after.

    As soon as he did, the men following him stopped in the nearest alley. They eyed the store

    curiously.

    "He entered that ce."

    "It''s owned by the Saruza Family. We can''t do anything crazy here, or they''ll put our heads on

    a pike." "Let''s wait until hees out, then we''ll be able to do whatever we want."

    Inside the store, Adam slowly removed his baseball cap and looked around the store with a

    glint in his eyes.

    The store looked different from its future counter-part-it was somewhat dimly lit with dusty shelves and a musty smell in the air.

    Completely different from the bright, popr store it would eventually be.

    A rusty chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting a dim light over the store. It was almost like the light bulb was on itsst legs, barely emitting any light.

    "Ah, a visitor..." A gray-haired man came from the back of the store, wiping his hands on his apron. "We''re selling a variety of items that might pique your interest."

    Adam approached the counter and saw some vintage cameras disyed in a ss case. There were also some antique watches and pieces of jewelry scattered on the shelves.

    It was almost like this store was a jewelry store.

    "Jewelry?" Adam asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "That''s right." The gray-haired man chuckled. "My name''s Kang Saruza, the owner of this

    establishment."

    "I see." Adam slid his finger across the ss disy case. "There''s something I would like to

    purchase from this establishment."

    "Oh, please tell me." Kang said with a warm, elderly smile.

    "Z Package." Adam said and the atmosphere of the store changed suddenly.

    Kang still smiled, but his vibe waspletely different.

    "Z Package? What''s that?"

    "You''re Kang Saruza, the owner of House Enforcement, aren''t you?" Adam asked.

    "I am not sure where you heard that, but you''re mistaken." Kang said and pointed to the door.

    "I am sorry, but it looks like you entered the wrong store. May I suggest a house decorating store down the street?"

    "My name''s Adam Palestar." Adam ced his ID on the counter. "And I do need your help."

    Kang''s smile vanished.

    "Can you afford it?"

    "I can afford the down payment." Adam said. "The rest I''ll have to pay in installments."

    "I see." Kang nodded and removed his apron before cing it on the nearby chair. "Follow

    me then."

 Chapter 101: Z Package

    Chapter 101: Z Package

    ?

    Adam followed behind Kang.

    They entered the store''s back room, and there, Kang flicked a hidden switch that opened up a secret passageway that headed down into the basement.

    Through the spiraling staircase, they arrived at the dark basement with a lonely light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

    It had a singr rope hanging from it.

    Kang tugged on it, and a dim light stretched across the basement.

    Adam looked past the hanging light bulb and saw that there was another door at the end wall of the basement.

    It looked like it was part of the same stone wall as the rest of the basement.

    However, there was a door handle on it, and its edges stuck out slightly from the rest of the wall.

    "This is the center of our operations." Kang said and pushed open the door.

    A sight opened to a veryrge underground room filled with monitors andputers.

    In the seats, there were several people typing furiously on keyboards.

    On the monitors, there were maps and live footage of various locations around the city.

    Kang took a seat on a big meeting table, then pointed at the chair on the opposite side of the table.

    Adam sat down on the chair Kang had pointed at.

    "Sir." A man said from the monitor side. "There''re some people lurking about outside."

    "Is that so?" Kang raised an eyebrow and then looked at Adam, believing he had something to do with that.

    Yeah." The man looked at Adam. "They seemed to have been following him."

    "They''ve been following me from Dust King''s Bar." Adam answered truthfully.

    "From Dust King''s Bar..." Kang chuckled. "That''s at the center. I wonder why they didn''t make their move sooner."

    "Who knows." Adam shrugged his shoulders.

    "Let''s go straight to the business." Kang said and interlocked his fingers. "How did you find out about my business?"

    "The word spreads around." Adam said. "One of your clients couldn''t keep their lips shut tight."

    "Hmm, yeah, that can happen." Kang said, but then chuckled. "I let your lie slip because I don''t really care."

    "I am not that bad of a liar, or am I?" Adam asked with a smile.

    "Not necessarily, but what you said didn''t make any sense." Kang said. "I only offer my services to a special group of people. I don''t just help anymon thug with loose lips."

    "That''s true." Adam put his baseball cap down on the table and leaned back in his chair. "I guess I was too careless with my lie."

    "That''s fine. Let''s talk business." Kang said. "Z Package, was it?"

    "Correct." Adam rummaged through his backpack and put several stacks of money rolls on the table. "50 thousand."

    Kang waved his hand, and a worker of his came and took the money and put a blueprint on the table.

    "I am not sure whether you''ll know the full extent of the Z Package, but I''ll exin anyway.

    "It includes house reinforcement, trap installments, and a secret hideout. It will make the house a miniature fortress, impervious to any threats."

    "I want to be the only one with ess." Adam said. "Connect the ess to my virtual reality pod as well. I can''t always be in the real world to ess it."

    "Of course, we have done this for other "mercenaries" before," Kang said.

    ''I bought the same in my past life, but in the end, it failed as that Otherworld Killer still managed to bypass the security measures.

    ''I can only think of one reason why-that Otherworld Killer knew where I lived and knew all about Z Package''s security measures, because that person also had it.

    ''Or someone did research about my living ce and found out that I had Z Package installed in

    my house. Either way, my death was well nned out.

    ''I just wish I would''ve found out who the fuck was he...

    ''Either way, Z Package failed me back then, but it is still the best thing that money can buy. It can protect me and my family from any outside threats.''

    "Do you have any questions?" Kang asked.

    "How confident are you in your work?" Adam asked. "If there are any weaknesses in the security, I need to know."

    Kang silently tapped his finger on the table and then looked at the monitors that showed the entirety of the Red Thread.

    "My family built this ce," he said.

    "Red Thread, it was all my family''s doing. Ivycrest was built for one reason: to create Red

    Thread.

    "It was the creation of my family''s brightest minds, and it was done two hundred years ago, when technology was nothing like it is these days.

    "Am I confident in my work? I am."

    "I heard... stuff¡ªthat one owner of Z Package was killed in their home." Adam said. "That''s just a rumor; don''t believe everything you hear, but if that happened, how could it have?"

    "I haven''t heard of anything like that happening." Kang said with a frown. "But it is disturbing to think about."

    "I am still purchasing this product. I just want to know about any possible leaks."

    "There''s... one," Kang said.

    Adam leaned closer with interest.

    "The machine that oversees the house is programmed to be able to identify threats and friendly. A person identified as friendly can bypass the security measures and enter the house

    without any issues."

    "Hmm, interesting." Adam thought out loud with a frown. "Is it done manually or..."

    "It can be done manually." Kang said. "Like, if you live with your family, we can program

    them to be friendly, and then they can enter without any issues."

    "What is that person who never did that?" Adam asked with a frown.

    "The machine is also able to think by itself." Kang said. "Like, if you are guests, the machine can identify them as friendly based on how they and you act.

    "Otherwise, if you hadn''t put them as friendly beforehand, the security measures will activate and fill your guests with holes from head to toe. We can''t let that happen now, can we?"

    "So, the person, in theory, was killed by a guest of his?" Adam asked.

    "How did the murder happen?" Kang asked.

    "Apparently, the person woke up one day; there was a masked individual already there, and after an altercation, the masked individual ended up killing the person."

    "I can only think of one way." Kang raised a single finger. "That masked person once visited the person as a friend. Therefore, the machine identified them as friends based on how they acted with each other.

    "And when the masked person returned to kill him, the machine didn''t activate the security measures because he was already registered as friendly."

    "I see..." Adam said out loud with an enlightened expression.

    ''That narrows it down. I was only visited by a couple of people...

    ''Sapphira, Fleur, Dean, Perseus, and Kiernan. One of them is my killer...''

    It hurt him badly.

    They were one of his closestpanions-they fought side-by-side for years, bled together,

    and trusted each other with their lives.

    ''It''s hard to remember...'' Adam touched his head. ''Everything is so fuzzy. I remember that the attacker sounded male, but there''re convincing voice changers, and based on its body type, it also seemed like a male, but that can also be faked...''

    "Are you alright?" Kang asked.

    "Yeah..." Adam wrote something on the paper and gave it to Kang. "This is the address. Can

    you start as soon as tomorrow?"

    "That can be arranged." Kang said and then looked at the monitors. "However, if you happen

    to die, we won''t do it since you can''t finish the payment."

    "I understand." Adam stood up and slung the backpack over his shoulder, then put the cap

    back on. "We won''t be helping you with them." Kang said. "It would be rather disappointing for a S- ranker such as yourself to die in the hands of suchmon thugs."

    "I''ll take care of myself, thank you." Adam nodded and headed to the exit.

    "You have confidence in yourself." Kang stood up slowly and said, "However, the world is a

    dangerous ce, and you stepped into the heart of that danger. Be careful out there."

    "Mm." Adam nodded and left the basement.

    Kang walked over to the monitors and smiled. "Will he be able to get away?"

 Chapter 102: Statement

    Chapter 102: Statement

    ?

    Adam left the store through the front door, a backpack on his shoulder and a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes.

    The cameras stationed around the store followed him with intense scrutiny, capturing his

    every move.

    "Hey, you."

    At that moment, several people left the shadow of the nearby alleyway and surrounded him like a pack of wolves.

    They were quite tall, towering over Adam like a bunch of giants.

    They knew they were quite menacing-looking, and any ordinary person would be shitting bricks at the sight of them. They took pride in that and even disyed their tattoos proudly for all to see.

    "You know what I smell when I look at you?" One of them asked with a grin. "A smell of a coward."

    "Brat, you came to the wrong ce." Another one said and cracked his knuckles. "There are some sick individuals lurking around here, and you would sell for a penny."

    "So that''s why you are here?" Adam asked emotionlessly. "To sell me as a ve?"

    "You catch up quick." Theyughed. "That''s right. It''s nothing personal, just business." "asionally, some people from above-the-ground venture here or get lured in. They''ll never see another light of the sun again.

    "The ve industry is a booming business down here. We make a pretty penny off of it."

    "You seem like you''re someone new here." A man said, "If you just decide to give up willingly, we promise we won''t sell you to some sick monster who will do unspeakable things to you."

    Adam scratched his forehead and shook his head. He then slowly dropped his backpack and pulled out two shiny-ded knives.

    Their expressions changed to annoyance.

    "Idiot." A man said and revealed a gun holster with a pistol slipped inside.

    He touched the handle and stared at Adam with a steely gaze.

    "This is the real world, brat. Wanna rather die?"

    "Fuck off." Adam swung his knife and sliced through the throat of a person beside him.

    The person looked shocked and fell to the ground while blood poured out of his throat. He didn''t expect to get attacked!

    Everyone thought that Adam would put his focus on the gunman in front of him, but everyone was wrong.

    "Fucker!"

    The man unholstered the pistol, but before he could raise it to fire at him, Adam sliced his fingers off with the red-handled knife, and the man dropped the weapon in agony.

    "Aaaargh!"

    The rest looked shocked for a moment, but then they brought out their sharp-ded pocket knives and rushed at the young man.

    They came from all directions, but then Adam swung his knives around, deflecting and leaving behind trails of blood as he fought off the attackers.

    Adam weaved around the attackers, slicing, stabbing, and parrying their attacks with masterful skill.

    His arms moved like whips, and with each slice, his speed increased, making it impossible for the attackers to keep up.

    One of the attackers stabbed with his pocket knife, but then Adam moved his knife, shed the attacker''s fingers off, and then finished him off with a quick stab to the chest.

    Another person fell to the ground with a loud scream. However, he didn''t die, but he was severely injured and unable to continue the fight.

    "Just fucking kill him!" The leader of the group, who had the gun, screamed in pain while holding his fingerless hand.

    Adam brought down his knives and blocked a machete, with the two des scratching against the de of the machete.

    At that moment, a pocket knife came behind him.

    Adam swung his right arm over his shoulder and blocked the pocket knife with his knife.

    The de of the pocket knife hit the de of his knife and nged loudly, causing a spark to fly in the dimly lit street.

    "H-how the hell did he block that?" The person whispered to himself. "Does he have eyes at the back of his head or what?"

    Adam whipped his leg across the person''s waist and sent him sprawling to the ground with a loud thud.

    The machete-wielding man screamed and raised it high above his head, but it left his chest wide open, and Adam quickly sliced through his abdomen with the sharp knife.

    The man copsed on the ground while trying to stop himself from bleeding.

    Adam looked around at the group of men, sprawling and crying on the ground with various injuries.

    Without proper medical care, most of them would die.

    "Argh..." The leader of the group grabbed the gun with hisst remaining hand and aimed it straight at Adam.

    Before he could pull the trigger, Adam kicked the gun out of his hand and stabbed his knife through his shoulder.

    "F-fuck!" The man screamed in agony and looked at him hatefully. "Y-you''ll regret this."

    "Hmm." Adam pulled his knife out of the bleeding shoulder and wiped it on the man''s shirt before saying, "I highly doubt that."

    "Y-you think you can get away with this? You won''t." The man said, "You intentionally did shallow wounds because you''re afraid to kill. You can''t survive here if you aren''t willing to kill!"

    Adam raised an eyebrow, and without a change of expression, he shed through the man''s throat. This time, it was a much deeper wound.

    The man, shocked and utterly baffled, fell to the ground and felt his life slowly drain away

    from him.

    In thest moments of his life, he watched as Adam stood up and wiped the blood off the knives as if it were just another day.

    "W-who... the... are..."

    His words became iprehensible as he took his final breath.

    Adam put away his knives and looked straight at the cameras that recorded it all.

    ...

    Kang and others watched silently as Adam finished off the fight and then turned to look at the camera as if he were making a statement.

    "Hah, I see..." Kang chuckled and shook his head. "Statement, huh."

    "He is not even that old yet, and he is willing to kill without a second thought." Someone

    said. "Does he feel nothing?"

    "There''re people who have lost the ability to tell the difference between the fake and real

    worlds. To them, killing is just the same in both worlds."

    Kang scratched his beard and said, "However, it has only been barely a month since he started ying the game. Has he really been affected that much already?"

    "Maybe he has been raised by a criminal family?" A person asked. "He has top-level skill. No wonder he became S-ranker with that amount of skill, and he can kill without blinking." "Maybe..." Kang looked at the address on the piece of paper. "Navy Town, his home is in just some rural area. Also, I don''t recognize Palestar name."

    "What was the statement you talked about, Sir Kang?"

    "The news move around Red Thread quickly." Kang said. "Within a day, all the big names of the city will know that the newly-crowned S-ranker, Adam Palestar, visited this ce and they will know his every move.

    "Him defeating those guys was him making a statement-in the real world, he is not

    someone to be messed with."

    "I see..." The person muttered. "What crazy confidence he has. Are all S-rankers like this?"

    "Not sure, this is my first time meeting one." Kang chuckled. "What a crazy group of people,

    S-rankers..."

    "So, we''ll be expecting visitors from the gangs tomorrow?"

    "Mm." Kang looked at one of them and asked. "You have the recording of the fight, right?"

    "That''s right."

    "Make copies out of them." Kang said. "We''ll give it to them; otherwise, they''ll just bother us

    all day long."

    "A-alright, sir!"

    "Also, let''s start the transport of our equipment to Navy Town." Kang said with a smile. "We have a new client; we can''t disappoint him."

 Chapter 103: Silent

    Chapter 103: Silent

    ?

    After leaving the dark corners of the Red Thread, Adam arrived back at the city''s more bustling streets.

    The deathmatches had finished, and the streets looked alive with vendors selling their goods and people going about their daily lives.

    Carriages, pulled by rugged-looking humans, rolled down the cobblestone streets, carrying both passengers and goods to and from various destinations.

    A slight disturbance suddenly happened in the crowd, and a bronze-skinned kid with curly hair ran away from themotion, clutching a small leather pouch tightly in his hand.

    He was immediately followed by a group of angry-looking men who had already had their knives pulled out.

    Themotionsted for a second, and after they had already run further away, the crowd''s interest faded away, and they returned to their conversations and activities.

    "Selling goods from the Deands!" A vendor shouted while waving a rusty sword in the air. "The original ce of the Dark gue;e buy priceless artifacts!"

    "Come purchase foods imported from the most dangerous regions in the world!"

    The vendors engaged in shouting matches, trying to attract the crowd with their unique and dangerous wares.

    Adam moved into the crowd, unnoticed and silent like a shadow in the night.

    As he moved by, he noticed a group of people walk between two buildings and then down dark stairs. They disappeared as soon as they appeared.

    They all wore strange clothes-one had a coat made entirely of feathers, another had a hat shaped like a fish, and thest one was carrying a glowingntern with a blue me.

    "Hmm, that ce..." Adam scratched his chin. ''I don''t have a lot of money left, but I''m so curious about what they''re offering there...''

    However, before following the group of people, he headed back to the vendors and looked around with a keen eye.

    Soon, he found the vendor he was looking for.

    There were all sorts of cloth pieces on disy, but Adam was searching for a specific color and pattern that matched the outfit he had in mind.

    His eyesnded on a sleek, ck suit with a high cor, silver-colored buttons, and a full- face mask that revealed nothing.

    It was apanied by a long, flowing cloak made of a special, noise-dampening fabric that draped over the shoulders of the suit and reached all the way down to the ankles.

    It had an inner lining of deep, midnight blue with silver thread forming constetions and arcane symbols. To top it all off, it fastened at the front with a sp shaped like an ancient arcane symbol.

    The mask was a matching silver color with intricate engravings of stars and moons.

    It would make the wearer feel mysterious and ancient.

    "How much is this?" Adam asked the vendor.

    "Hmm." The vendor rubbed his lengthy beard and scanned the young man closely.

    He was trying to gauge just how easy it would be to extend the price.

    "It''s a specially tailored outfit; from what I heard, it once belonged to the creator of Calymen. It''s a magic cult, if you haven''t heard.

    "The mask is apanied by a voice changing feature that can mimic any voice, and the fabric of the cloak and suit can block out knife attacks."

    "So, how much?" Adam asked.

    "5 thousand." The vendor said. "I only sell preem stuff."

    "If you only sold preem stuff, you wouldn''t be begging for customers on the street corner." Adam quipped.

    "If I had to guess, the voice changing feature must not be working properly either, and that''s why it is currently in your possession."

    "Ngh..." The vendor scoffed and crossed his arms. "If you don''t want it, piss off!"

    "I will buy it for a thousand electros."

    "Thousand?" The vendorughed mockingly. "As if. This fabric alone is worth two thousand, at most, and not to mention that it belonged to the creator of one of the most infamous cults!"

    Adam pulled out his red-handled knife and stabbed it through the fabric. It went cleanly through, leaving a small hole.

    "Ah!" The vendor cried out. "What the hell was that for?!"

    "That material is Rukora." Adam said. "It''s strong, but like humans, it''s one of the materials that also ages and, with age, bes weaker. It''s stronger than ordinary fabric, sure, but it definitely can''t stop knife attacks anymore."

    "Cursed!" The vendor cried out and pinched his be. "Fine, a thousand it is!"

    Adam mmed the thousand money rolls on the table, then took the outfit and walked away.

    With quick steps, he left the crowd-filled area and entered the same alley where the strange group went.

    There, he put the suit and cloak on, then adjusted the mask on his face. It happened to be a good match, except slightly tight around the eyes.

    Adam took out his two knives from the backpack, strapped them around his belt, and hid them underneath the cloak.

    He then dropped his backpack in a nearby garbage bin, hid it there, and then started walking down the same stairs as the other group.

    The stairs were made out of rocks, with a narrow pathway that led even deeper to the

    underground.

    It was around fifty steps, and once Adam arrived at the bottom, he saw a narrow passageway that was dimly lit bynterns on either side.

    The passageway was tightly squeezed between two walls, barely wide enough for one person to walk through at a time.

    At the end, there was a ck door shrouded in shadows and connected to a tall building. The building had nearly ten floors.

    It had clearly other entrances beside this one, but this was clearly used for a more secret

    purpose.

    Adam approached the door, took a deep breath, and then did a secret knocking pattern that only those on the inside would recognize.

    ''I hope it is the same as in the future...''

    He waited in silence, and soon, strange mechanications around the door opened one by one

    until the door finally creaked open.

    "Who..." Half of the face appeared from the other side. "Goes there..?"

    The timid voice belonged to a gold-haired woman with long eyshes and dim gold eyes. Her

    lips were painted a deep shade of gold, trembling slightly as she spoke.

    "My name''s... Silent," Adam said, deepening his voice behind the mask, which sounded natural. "I am sorry, am Ite?"

    "I don''t recognize you..." The beautiful woman said as she furrowed her brow in confusion.

    "I am new," Adam said. "I was given instructions, though. I was told to wear a disguise, then that knocking rhythm and the starting date."

    "Mmh..." The woman slowly opened the door.

    She also had a strange outfit on-the other half of her face was covered by a golden mask with the eye closed shut as if it were winking, and she was dressed in a glorious golden dress that left little to the imagination with its plunging neckline and high slit.

    "My name''s Goldie; wee." She introduced herself and left the door open enough for him

    to walk through.

    Adam nodded to her and stepped through the entrance.

    A view opened up to him, with close to a dozen figures seated around therge round table.

    They all had strange outfits; there were also the ones with the coat made out of leather, a person with the hat of a fish, and thentern-carrying man.

    "Take a seat." Goldie said timidly and pointed at thest remaining chair. "My master will be

    here shortly..."

    ''I guess I''ll act out as Silent, myst life''s secret identity.'' Adam took a deep breath and

    changed his entire demeanor to fit his alternate identity-Silent.

    Silent straightened his back and then took a seat around the table.

    Everyone''s attention was on him from the start.

 Chapter 104: The Secret Meeting

    Chapter 104: The Secret Meeting

    ?

    The cuckoo clock on the wall continued ticking down.

    ''It''s been an hour; where is he?'' Silent thought to himself, but outside, it looked like he was just sitting still, waiting for something to happen.

    No one else around the table spoke a word.

    However, some of them seemed impatient and wanted to go either for a quick smoke break or a bathroom break.

    Goldie, standing on the sides obediently, checked her timepiece and realized that they had already been waiting for over an hour.

    ''Master, where are you?''

    Szzz...

    Suddenly, a static noise came from inside a wall-at least it seemed like it wasing from inside a wall.

    "Goldie,e to my office."

    The voice was rough-sounding, with a slight tremor in the tone. It was like the person had been shouting for over an hour to cause the voice to turn like that.

    "Excuse me." Goldie bowed and then headed upstairs as fast as she could with her heels clicking on the marble steps.

    She soon found her way to the office, just a few doors down from the stairs, and then opened the door before entering.

    It was a dark room, with the only lighting from the several monitors mounted on the walls.

    A man, with his face hidden behind a sunflower mask, sat on a chair that was seemingly a gaming chair based on its design.

    He was staring at the leftmost monitor that showed a person with a ck mask of stars and moons.

    "Master Sunflower." Goldie courtly greeted him.

    "Who is he?" Sunflower pointed at the person on the screen.

    "He said that his name is Silent." Goldie said. "Is something wrong?"

    "He hasn''t been here before." Sunflower said with a suspicious tone. "I don''t like that a stranger came here unknowingly."

    "He knew the knocking pattern, knew about having a secret identity, and even knew the table rulers¡ªno talking before the meeting."

    "Someone told him all that." Sunflower said and looked at his beautiful assistant. "What do you think? You have always had a good eye for people''s intentions."

    "I-It''s not that good," she stuttered shyly. "I didn''t find any malice from him, but this eye of mine is not a superpower, and I can always be mistaken..."

    "That''s enough, I guess." Sunflower stood up and tightened the sp on his mask. "Let''s get the meeting started. Keep an eye on this Silent."

    "Yes, master."

    ...

    The lights on the ceiling of the Red Thread dimmed down as if it were turning into a night.

    A darkness swept over the Red Thread, but the windows of various buildings were still brightly lit, casting light upon the streets.

    The city became even more active after the lights turned off.

    The bars were filled withughter and music, spilling out onto the sidewalks, and the red light district began toe alive with bustling activity.

    The hidden building, tucked away in the safety of the underground, turned very dark.

    People around the meeting table stayed silent while the darkness swept over them. They couldn''t see each other.

    At that moment, a pair of footsteps came from the marble steps.

    Click, click.

    A man with a sunflower came to the room, using his lighter to light up the path.

    The lighter''s fire was weak, but it was enough.

    He took out a candle from a shelf, lit it with the me, and then ced the candle at the center of the table.

    A deep, yellow light flickered in the room, casting shadows of around dozen figures on the walls

    "Wee everyone." Sunflower got seated, and Goldie sat right beside him.

    The figures nodded simultaneously.

    "We have a new member, it seems." Sunflower looked straight at Silent. "Mind telling us your name?"

    "Silent."

    "Buying or selling?" Sunflower asked.

    "Only buying," Silent replied.

    "Nn."

    Sunflower nodded and then turned to a woman with heart-shaped sses and a mask that only covered her nose, mouth, part of her cheeks, and the chin.

    "Heart, buying, or selling?"

    "Selling." Heart said with a very pleasant voice.

    "Then, you may begin." Sunflower said andid back on his chair.

    Heart stood up while she made sure that her dress was not wrinkled.

    "A while back, I got an item in my possession." Heart said with a gentle chuckle. "It is a magician''s cane. It has a Fire Orb added to it, which gives 200% extra power with every fire- based attack."

    "Any offers?" Sunflower asked.

    At that moment, a man with a mask of three different faces raised a skinny hand.

    "Three-Face." Sunflower nodded.

    "How much?" Three-Face asked with a low voice.

    ''Definitely someone from the Deands.'' Silent added inside his mind. ''Everyone from there

    sounds like they''re half-dead...''

    "300,000." Heart said with a smile.

    "I''ll take it." Three-Face said with a low grunt.

    "Yay." Heart pped her hands and sat back down.

    "Finish the transaction after the meeting." Sunflower said and turned to a person with a coat

    made of feathers. "Birdman, buying or selling?"

    "Selling," Birdman replied.

    Silent silently watched.

    ''There are all sorts of groups that sell their in-game items for real-life money, but this is the

    only ce to find the really rare stuff.

    ''I doubt I can afford anything, but I might as well make myself known to them. I might visit this ceter, after I have increased my money reserves.''

    Birdman stood up and said, "I am selling a painting."

    "No offense, bird brain, but I doubt anyone here is interested in a goddamn painting." A man

    who was sitting very disrespectfully with his legs on the table said.

    He had a mask of sorrowful-looking eyes that made him look like he was perpetually

    mourning his own death.

    "Penitence, silence." Sunflower sharply replied and turned to Birdman. "May you exin its

    functions?"

    Birdman cleared his throat and began exining the painting.

    "When the person dies, their consciousness returns to their real body while their virtual

    avatar slowly vanishes and joins the matrix of the digital afterlife.

    "However, this painting can trap the virtual avatar within itself, preventing it from disappearing. The painting bes the avatar''s eternal prison."

    "How much?" A woman with a smiley mask asked.

    "100,000," Birdman replied.

    "I''ll take it." Smiley replied and nodded to Sunflower.

    "Alright, Smiley, Birdman, finish the transaction after the meeting. Thank you."

    The meeting continued through the night until the early hours of midnight.

    Most of the attendees had already either bought or sold some of their items. However, all of them noticed that one person had stayed quiet through it all.

    Silent.

    ''He truly lives up to his name.'' Goldie thought to herself while throwing nces in his direction. ''I can''t really tell his intentions. What an unfathomable person.''

    "That was thest transaction of today." Sunflower stood up and said, "You may now finish

    the transactions. Once done, you''re free to leave. The next meeting is next month, in the same

    ce."

    Silent immediately stood up and headed straight to the door.

    "Wait for a moment." Sunflower followed after him with a few quick steps. "You''re in a hurry

    to leave. Is something wrong?"

    "I am tired." Silent replied shortly and put his hand on the doorknob, ready to twist it.

    "You didn''t buy anything." Sunflower said. "Not impressed with anything?"

    "I couldn''t afford anything." Sunflower blinked behind the mask in surprise. He didn''t expect such an honest answer!

    "Hah." Sunflower chuckled behind the mask and waved his hand. "I am sorry, but that came

    out of nowhere."

    "That''s fine." Silent replied without much emotional fluctuation in his tone and slowly

    opened the door to leave.

    Sunflower watched Silent leave, and after the door closed behind him, he put his hidden knife

    back into its sheath.

    If he didn''t like Silent''s answer, he would''ve simply killed him.

    ''What a strange person.'' Sunflower thought with a frown.

 Chapter 105: Girl Talk

    Chapter 105: Girl Talk

    ?

    The following morning, the sun shone brightly over a beautifulnd filled with beaches and palm trees.

    On the beach, lying on a colorful towel, Alice enjoyed the sun on her fair skin while wearing a blue bikini with white polka dots.

    She had sunsses on, looking straight at the blue sky with clouds scattered across it. In her ears, the calm sound of waves could be heard in the background.

    "Mom." Alice turned her head sideways and saw her mother, Serah, lying on a beach chair with a book in her hand.

    "Yes, Alice?" Serah said absentmindedly while flipping through another page of her book. Alice sat back up and hugged her legs.

    "I have an odd feeling. Was it really wise to leave Adam alone?"

    "He is an adult now." Serah said, licked her finger, and turned another page, not giving Alice''s concern much thought.

    "But weren''t there some shady figures lurking around the neighborhood earlier this week?" Alice asked in concern.

    "What if they try to rob our house? Adam is alone there, and what if he is currently ying..." She shuddered at that thought.

    The virtual pod was worth quite a bit, and if they just pulled Adam off the game without a second thought, it could destroy his brain. She couldn''t bear the idea of losing him in such a horrific way.

    Her beautiful face paled at such thoughts.

    "You''re overthinking it." Serah said with a chuckle.

    "I''ll call for him, just in case." Alice brought out her phone and quickly dialed his number.

    Serah rolled her eyes and shook her head. She didn''t think there was much to worry about, but when she thought about it further, she agreed that there was some validity in Alice''s concern. ''Ah, he is fine; just a foolish thought.'' Serah thought with a chuckle, but she couldn''t focus on the book anymore as it was quite a worrying thought.

    The phone rang for a moment, but no one answered.

    "He isn''t answering!" Alice cried out.

    "Calm down." Serah said, took her phone and closed it. "When has Adam ever answered any phone calls? He''s probably just ying, like you expected."

    Alice still looked troubled.

    "What''s going on?" John arrived in his swimming trunks, with his hair drenched and water droplets dripping down his body.

    He just finished a quick morning swim.

    "Alice is worried something might happen to Adam." Serah said with a chuckle.

    "I am sure everything is fine. We are living in one of the most safe towns in the country." John said with a reassuring smile.

    Alice nodded thoughtfully.

    There hadn''t been any big crimes in Navy Town-there hadn''t been a single murder in the past three years.

    There had been asional robberies, but nothing major.

    Alice''s shoulders slightly rxed on hearing this.

    At that moment, a couple of young men walked by them on the beach. They were both well- toned, with tanned skin, and quite charming.

    They saw the beautiful Alice and smiled at her before continuing on their way. Any ordinary young woman would have felt ttered by the attention.

    Alice simply rolled her eyes and covered herself with her towel.

    "Alice, take your mind off him and go make friends." Serah said. "You''re here to rx and enjoy yourself, not to pine over some guy who clearly isn''t worth your time."

    "Hmph." Alice pouted. "Mom, you''re always too harsh on him."

    "Rightfuly so!" Serah shouted. "He is good for nothing and he''ll just end up doing nothing for the rest of his life."

    "He is doing well, though; didn''t he be mercenary?" Alice said. "I heard that the test to be one is incredibly difficult."

    "So what?" Serah shook her head. "He''ll just waste a few years there, die, and lose everything. Then he''ll return to my shop to work for another few years before he just moves off town to do some other odd jobs."

    "You have no faith in him." Alice said with a sigh. "Also, he paid for this trip, so you could at least pretend to say nice things about him."

    "I am doing this for you." Serah said and mmed the book shut. "I know you two are close, but remember that you two cannot be any closer. I forbid it."

    "We aren''t even blood-rted siblings." Alice mumbled. "I have heard of some couples that met through the Goverment-Appointed Caretaker system and are living happily..."

    "I pretend I didn''t hear any of that." Serah said sternly. "Drop the thought immediately."

    "If we had met naturally through school, it would have been apletely different story." Alice said. "You would''ve happily epted the rtionship. But now you don''t because you are treating Adam as a son, aren''t you?"

    "Haaah?" Serah''s cheeks turned red for a moment. "He, my son? h, what nonsense! He is a leech; that''s what he is!"

    "Dad, say something!" Alice turned to John with her round eyes sparkling with innocence.

    "That''s girl talk; I am taking a nap." Johnid down on his own beach chair and started snoring almost instantly.

    Alice pouted in frustration andid back down on the towel. She closed her eyes and tried to rx, but her mind was still buzzing with questions about Adam and rtionships.

    ...

    "Here''s the entrance." Adam opened the door to his wardrobe. "I want it to act as an elevator going to the secret hideout."

    Kang wrote something on his clipboard and looked around the room.

    The house of Kindforths was bustling with activity as several dozen workers began their assigned tasks. The house on the outside was covered by arge green tent that made it so that no outsider could see inside.

    The neighbors peeked from their windows, wondering what in the world was happening in the Kindforth residence.

    "Mm, I got it all." Kang wrote it down with a nod. "We''ll be done in three to four days."

    "Mm, I''ll be in the New World for that duration." Adam said and looked at his virtual pod.

    "Don''t move it, or you''ll fry my brain."

    "I''ll be extra careful." Kang replied. "See you in three days, then."

    Adam climbed inside his virtual reality pod and pressed a button. The lid of the pod swiftly closed, sealing him inside, and his consciousness slowly drifted away.

    Kang and the rest started working tirelessly on the house.

    --

    "Ah..." Adam opened his eyes and saw that he was back in his living quarters in the Crimson Hound''s residence.

    A chilly wind wafted through the slightly open window, carrying the scent of pine and grass. "Mmh..." Adam sat on the edge of the bed, rubbed his eyes, and then tried to flow his mana

    through his body.

    It worked wlessly.

    ''I guess it is time to start learning my new skills. I''ll start with Pull and Push as they should be easy enough to learn in a couple of days.

    ''Shield Charge shouldn''t be too hard, but Ground King might be impossible for me at this point. I simplyck the physical prowess. I need either a higher level or just to increase my muscle mass, both take lots of time to do.''

    Adam went to his desk, took a round object from the drawer, and ced it on top of the desk.

    It was shaped like a ball and had a smooth, shiny surface.

    He left the ball there, and took a seat on his bed.

    Then, as he moved his legs to a cross-legging position, he extended his hand forward towards

    the ball that was around five meters away from him.

    "Whoo..."

    Adam took a deep breath and tried to imagine the ball rolling towards him without him

    having to move.

    He was trying to learn Pull!

    [Progress: 1%]

    [2%...]

    [3%...]

 Chapter 106: Gathering

    Chapter 106: Gathering

    ?

    Somewhere in the Blind Sea.

    An ind, shrouded by the fog of the morning, appeared like a ghostly mirage on the horizon.

    The calm waves gentlypped at the shore, creating an eerie yet peaceful atmosphere.

    At the same moment, a fleet of ships cut through the waves and headed straight to the ind, their white sails billowing in the air.

    At the head of the ship, a man dressed like a pirate, with a cuss dangling from his hip and a ck eye patch over his right eye, looked over to the ind.

    "Stop right here!" Amor shouted to his crew and then headed to the starboard railing to get a better look at the surrounding ships.

    He saw other ships stopping as well. They took small boats instead, with a group of ten men in each boat.

    "Captain Amor, is this really the ce?" A crewmate of his walked over to him and asked while looking at the ind with a deep look.

    This was a legendary location, after all.

    "Use your Kiryoku and search for your feelings." Amor said. "You can feel it... can''t you?" His crewmate closed his eyes, inhaled with only his nose, and then slowly opened his eyes. "I can feel it... This is definitely the ce for the Gathering. It is my first time participating in it, but I can now see why this event is legendary."

    "Yeah, Gathering..." Amor paused for a moment to take a deep breath. "It is finally starting again..."

    ...

    Dawnwatch, Crimson Hound.

    In the office, Digby looked at the letter on the desk and clearly looked troubled.

    He touched his forehead and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, deep in thought. The window was barely open, letting in a slight breeze that carried the scent of fresh grass. The winter winds were long gone, and so were the fallen leaves that once covered the ground. It was also time for an event that always took the world of mercenaries by storm. It was one of the most anticipated events of the year.

    "Troublesome..." Digby put his back against his chair''s backrest and squeezed the armrest. "What to do..."

    While deep in thought, the door opened, and Valora came in dressed in her armor maiden attire.

    The chestte outlined her feminine physique, molded perfectly to fit her. It was lightweight yet sturdy, and it was polished into a mirror-like shine. Its edges were crimson in color, like their guild''s color, and there was an emblem of a crimson-furred dog.

    Alongside that, she wore a crimson-colored skirt that matched the same colors perfectly. Her hair was tied back in a braid, and she was humming a pleasant melody.

    "You''re in a good mood." Digby said and asked. "What''s going on?"

    "Good weather; you should go out sometime." Valora said with a smile. "I came here to talk about that summer training camp; is it still happening?"

    "It is, but I don''t have time to worry about that for now." Digby showed her the letter and gave it to her. "Trouble has arrived."

    Valora opened the letter and read through it quickly, her smile fading as she reached thest sentence.

    "That''s..."

    "We knew the Gathering was going to happen soon, and I was fine with it as our guild was going to participate, but they also wanted him to be there... This is unprecedented."

    "Not really." Digby shook his head. "It''s happened before in the past. Whenever a new S- ranker came to be, they were also invited to the Gathering."

    "This is not an invite." Valora said. "This is order."

    "That''s right." Digby said with a sigh. "Other S-rankers joined powerful guilds that allowed them the freedom of just refusing the invitation, but we don''t have that luxury."

    "What do they want with Adam?" Valora asked. "Seven Ancient Guilds are in charge of the Gathering. Are they nning to get Adam to join them? That shouldn''t be allowed."

    "Uh, I don''t know." Digby scratched his head. "This letter does not say who was the one who gave the order. However, it has an emblem of Imperium City, so it must be someone from there."

    "What should we do?" Valora asked. "Beyonder and those below aren''t allowed to join the Gathering. Should we use the rule to reject the order?"

    "We aren''t in a position to make enemies out of any of them." Digby said and frowned. "I''ll talk to my father. There''s no other way."

    "Has Adam returned from his short vacation?" Valora asked.

    "Yes, I sensed his return three days ago." Digby said. "However, he has been mostly keeping to himself since he got back."

    "What is he doing?"

    "Learning new skills, or so I assume," he said. "I can sense his concentration."

    "Mm, should we mention to him about the Gathering?"

    "Not yet I''ll talk to my father first. He should know who gave this order."

    -

    The light of the sun filtered through the small gaps between curtains and stretched across the room in a warm embrace.

    The sunlight soon reached the bed, where Adam was deep in concentration.

    Adam extended his hand forth, and it was like he grasped at invisible threads.

    "Pull..." he softly whispered.

    The small ball on top of the desk slowly started to levitate and slowly headed in his direction.

    It soonnded on top of Adam''s outstretched hand.

    He then grabbed it tight and pointed the ball towards the desk.

    His eyelids twitched slightly and then he closed his eyes and focused his mana on his

    fingertips, and that way, into the ball.

    "Push..."

    [Progress: 99%...]

    Ding, ding!

    [Progress: 100%]

    The ball flew off his hand and slowly flew the distance of five meters before dropping onto the

    desk.

    It bounced a couple of times before rolling off the edge onto the floor.

    Adam opened his eyes with sweat filling his forehead and an exhausted smile on his face.

    It took him three days to learn both skills.

    It was quite fast pace.

    "Finally..." Adamid down on the bed with his back drenched in sweat.

    He closed his eyes, nning to take a quick nap as he didn''t really sleepst night as he wanted to learn the skills before Kang and others finished up with the house. However, at that moment, he heard a ding in his ear as he received a message to his virtual

    pod.

    Hezily checked it out, and it came from Kang-his message said that the house was done.

    "That''s quick..."

    Adam opened his interface and pressed the log-out button.

    From his toes to the knee, his avatar started slowly vanishing into floating pixels that

    disappeared into the digital void.

    Within seconds, his flesh, bones, blood, and everything else turned a light blue and some into white pixels. They eventually fell to the floor, went straight through, and vanished from

    sight.

    ...

    Adam''s eyes fluttered open as he saw the ss lid stretched over his vision.

    With azy wave of his hand, he tapped on the button that opened the lid. The ss lid slid

    open with a soft hiss.

    He slowly climbed out of the virtual pod, and not even a secondter, the door opened and

    Kang came in.

    "Good morning."

    "Morning." Adam nodded. "So it is done?"

    "One thing remains." Kang turned his gaze to the virtual pod. "You want to change its

    location to the secret hideout?"

    "Yeah, that would be preferable." Adam said with a nod.

    Snap.

    Kang snapped his fingers, and a couple of his workers entered the room. They started carrying

    the virtual pod and went to the ordinary-looking wardrobe.

    Kang pressed a hidden lever, and that opened the back wall of the wardrobe, showing an

    elevator inside the wardrobe.

    It looked like something from a spy movie.

    They entered the hidden elevator with the virtual pod and pressed a button that took them

    straight down.

    "You have one year to pay for the whole thing, you know what happens if you don''t, right?" Kang said to make sure.

    "I know, it won''t be a problem." Adam said and shook his hand. "Thanks for the hard work."

    "No problem, do you need me to go through with every function with you?"

    "No... I know everything." Adam said.

    "Nn." Kang nodded, curious about how, but didn''t push it further.

    After the two workers returned to the room, Kang bade farewell to Adam, and then they left

    the house with the other dozen workers.

    They took away the green tent that had been covering the house for the past three days and

    then left with several trucks.

    And just like that, the house lookedpletely the same before they even came.

    However, Adam knew just how different it actually was.

 Chapter 107: Hera

    Chapter 107: Hera

    ?

    Adam stepped into the hidden elevator, hidden in the wall behind the wardrobe.

    After entering the elevator, which had walls of white, the door closed with a soft click.

    On the control panel, there were only two options: floor 0 and 2.

    He pressed on the zero, and the elevator descended slowly without making any noise. It was so silent that he could hear his own heartbeat.

    A few secondster, the elevator reached its destination, and the door softly hissed open.

    Adam stepped out of the elevator and looked around the newly-created underground room that looked like a futuristicboratory.

    Its walls and floors were white in color with blue linings, and the ceiling was adorned with bright fluorescent lights that bathed the room in a soft, eerie glow.

    This room alone was bigger than the entire house above the ground.

    While the floor''s name was zero, this secret hideout was actually around ten meters below ground level.

    His virtual pod was right at the center of this room, its cables stretching out like spider legs in all directions.

    At the end of the room, there were a wall of monitors that were connected to hidden cameras situated all around the house. There were even some around the neighborhood.

    Adam touched the white chair that was positioned near the monitors and felt its soft cushions that felt like marshmellows.

    "Nice..." He thought out loud and then sat down on the chair.

    There was a long keyboard on the desk.

    He reached for it and pressed a simple start button.

    The monitors flickered for a moment, and then a strange humming sound reverberated from the wall.

    [Hello]

    A strange voice came from the ceiling''s inte. It was a robotic voice with not a single hint of emotion.

    It was the machine that controlled the house. It was also in control of all the weapon systems.

    "Hello, what''s your name?" Adam asked.

    [I don''t have one]

    "Do you want one?"

    [Your wish is my wish]

    "Very well..." Adam said, thought about the name, and then said. "Fine, your name is... Hera]

    [Hera is a name of female origin. Do you wish for me to change my voice to match my new name?]

    "Sure, do that," Adam said.

    [Done]

    The voice said.

    This time, it was quite different.

    It had some robotic tones to it, but it still had a soft, feminine sound to the voice.

    [Anything else you want from me?]

    "I want three individuals to be considered ''friends''." Adam said. "Alice, John, and Serah."

    [Alice, John, and Serah Kindforth are now considered friends]

    "Keep an eye around the neighborhood. If you see someone suspicious, take a picture and then show it to me once I am avable."

    [I will do so]

    ''Maybe I''ll recognize a few faces.'' Adam thought, and then he checked out the monitors.

    It was quite quiet in the neighborhood. Only a few cars passed by, and nobody seemed out of ce.

    "Hera, how much am I in debt?"

    [298,456 E-Dors to the Saruza Gang]

    "I guess I''ll need to start making money." Adam shook his head, but he wasn''t feeling too hurried.

    "You are connected to my phone as well, aren''t you?]

    [Correct]

    "Do I have any missing calls or messages?"

    [You have twelve missing calls from Alice Kindforth]

    ''Twelve?'' Adam frowned. ''Did something happen?''

    "Call her."

    Ding, ding!

    A ringing sound reverberated throughout the house.

    Atst, a soft click sounded as someone answered.

    "Alice, is something wrong?" Adam spoke to the empty air.

    It still sounded very clear in the other line.

    "Oh, Adam!" Alice''s chirpy voice came from the ceiling''s inte. "Were you busy?"

    "Not currently; did something happen?" Adam asked.

    "Umm... not really, just wanted to ask how things are going there."

    "It''s fine." Adam said and looked around the secret hideout. "Very fine. You guys areing back in a couple of days, right?"

    "Yup, you should''ve alsoe. Dad and mom are over the moon because of this ce. I feel like they don''t want to ever leave~"

    "Yeah, I know the feeling..." Adam sighed and smiled. "Take care; I gotta go now."

    "Mm, take care~"

    The phone call was disconnected.

    "Hera, do a special bronze virtual reality pod order with a very hazy ss lid," Adam said.

    [Done. The expected delivery time is eighteen hours]

    ''After speaking with her, I remembered something. She will most likelye to my room to check on how I am doing, and if she doesn''t see me or the virtual pod, she will wonder where

    the hell I am.

    ''With the virtual reality pod there and the hazy ss lid that won''t show anything inside, she will just assume I am ying.''

    "Once the deliveryman arrives, take care of the order for me."

    [I''ll tell him to take it to your room]

    "Good. Consider the deliveryman friendly, but the moment he leaves, make sure to double-

    check everything and lock up. Also, remove his friendly status."

    [Should I do a quick background check on him before letting him in?]

    "Sure." Adam stood up and went to the VR pod, then, with a simple press of a button, the

    ss lid slid open, and he climbed inside.

    Then, with another press of a button, the ss lid closed, and his consciousness traveled to apletely different world.

    Hera turned quiet, but the machine continued humming. It''s full attention was now on the cameras, ensuring that no one suspicious gets anywhere close to this house.

    ...

    Somewhere in the real world.

    "Mmh..." A gray-haired man stabbed his fork through a piece of steak, then cut it into tiny

    pieces with the knife before taking a bite and savoring the vor.

    The steak''s rich vors assaulted his taste buds.

    The dining hall was quiet and empty.

    Its long table had seats for nearly fifty guests, but there he was, sitting alone, enjoying the

    steak as well.

    It was a goodparison to the gloomy weather that had been lingering outside.

    m!

    The dining hall''s double doors banged open, and a well-dressed man entered the hall.

    He stopped at the other end of the table-a distance of about twenty meters between them- and put his hand on the chair''s backrest, looking across the room with a piercing gaze. "You have something to say." The gray-haired man said. "Spit it out, Digby." "Father." Digby paused and took a deep breath before speaking. "You know about the letter I

    received?"

    "About the Gathering?" Samuel took another bite off the steak. "I know you received one. All Tier one and two guilds got it."

    "I received an order." Digby said. "It said to bring Adam there. What the hell is the meaning

    of this?" "Oh, your little S-ranker." Samuel chuckled and drank a little bit of the red wine. "I suppose the Ancient Guilds want to meet him."

    "I don''t think the order came from them." Digby said. "The letter didn''t have a name. Only a

    signed emblem of Imperial City."

    "Oh..." Samuel paused and asked. "Do you have a picture of the letter?"

    Digby brought out his phone and slid his phone across the entire table.

    The phone''s momentum slowly vanished and stopped right beside the te of steak.

    Samuel took the phone and checked out the letter.

    It didn''t take him long to read it, but then he read it a second time and even a third time.

    He continued reading it for five whole minutes.

    Digby waited patiently.

    Atst, after the fifth minute, Samuel put the phone down and looked startled. It was a rare

    show of surprise from him.

    "What is it?" Digby asked with a frown. "You know something; tell me, father!"

    "I know who gave the order." Samuel said and didn''t feel like eating anymore. "You don''t

    have any power to refuse the order, and neither should you. Take the S-ranker to that ind; I

    don''t think they''ll harm him."

    "Who was it?" Digby asked. "Please, who?"

    Samuel took a deep breath before responding. "King Moriarty."

 Chapter 108: Sparring Match

    Chapter 108: Sparring Match

    ?

    Adam woke up in his living quarters at the Crimson Hounds base.

    It took him a short moment to get his scattered thoughts settled.

    He moved his head slightly to the left, then slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes.

    As he stood up to leave the living quarters to go straight to the training courtyard, as he had skipped quite many lessons now, he noticed the ck ball on the floor.

    Adam reached out his hand towards the ck ball and said the magical words.

    "Pull."

    The ck ball slowly rose into the air as if it were hanging from a thread. It slowly started to wiggle towards Adam, slowly weaving through the air.

    It thennded on Adam''s hand.

    He opened the drawer, put the ck ball inside, and closed the drawer with a satisfying click. Adam then checked out his timepiece and realized that the lesson must be ongoing.

    Dressed in his casual training outfit made of breathable fabric, he left his living quarters and, outside, saw others facing each other in the center courtyard, dueling with wooden swords and shields.

    "Oh, you''ve returned." Dutch said as he approached him. "Here."

    He tossed Adam a wooden shield and sword.

    "Let''s see if you have improved any."

    "Who is my opponent?" Adam asked as he stepped onto the courtyard.

    "n!" Dutch shouted towards the orange-haired young man standing at the other end of the courtyard.

    He was talking to a short-haired brte. They seemed intimate. She was his girlfriend, the one who died on the tenth floor.

    After a few days, the ones who died returned to Dawnwatch.

    It was very disheartening for most of them to lose nearly a year''s worth of hard work, but none of them outright quit.

    "Yes, teacher?" n walked over to them with a shield in one hand and a sword in the other.

    "Have a sparring match with young Adam." Dutch said. "The first tond three hits on the opponent is the victor."

    n looked at Adam and nodded briefly.

    Before, for the past month, Adam was quite outsider to them, as he mostly spent his time practicing with Digby or alone, so they didn''t have a lot of time to talk with each other.

    However, during the raid, Adam became properly part of their raid squad.

    They all valued his tanking skills, and honestly, most of them were relieved to have a proper Tank in their raid party who could protect their backs.

    Their previous Tank was mediocre, at best.

    "I am not going to hold back." n said and moved to his attacking stance.

    With the shield in front and the sword at the ready, it was Crimson Hound''s attacking form that focused on counter-attacks.

    "Good." Adam lowered his own shield to the side and put the sword in attacking form.

    Dutch put his whistle between his lips and blew a sharp note to signal the start of the sparring match.

    n didn''t move an inch.

    Adam, on the other hand, took a quick stride forward and thrust his wooden sword forward.

    The sword grazed at n''s shield, and then n swiftly swung his shield up, pushing the sword out of the way.

    Without a moment of hesitation, n took a stride forward and stabbed his own sword forward.

    This was the counter-attack he was waiting for!

    Adam ced the shield in front of the sword''s tip and stopped the blow right in its tracks.

    The wooden de''s tip was the only part of the sword that was touching the shield.

    n''s momentum was quickly halted.

    ''A perfect defense.'' Dutch thought with shaky eyes. ''Adam managed topletely nullify the power behind n''s strike by focusing his defense on the tip of the de.''

    Adam swung his sword from over his shoulder and hacked it down like a whip.

    n quickly blocked it with his shield, but he staggered a few steps back from the force of the blow, his eyes widening in surprise.

    Adam pressed forward and lunged his sword forward, using the entirety of his arm''s length to drive the de towards n''s chest.

    n realized he couldn''t block it in time and took a step backward instead, but the tip of the de barely scratched his chest.

    Whistle-

    Dutch blew on the whistle. "First point, Adam!"

    "Damn..." n softly cursed under his breath and moved back to his fighting stance.

    "You can do it, n!" The short-haired girl shouted from the sidelines.

    It made n''s cheeks blush, but it also made his heart race. He had even more pressure on

    this fight now, as he didn''t want to embarrass himself.

    Knoxx sat on a bench after a long sparring session and looked over to the two''s sparring

    match.

    ''n is very talented in swordsmanship, but he is still losing.''

    He took a long gulp from the water canteen and then closed it.

    Knoxx was quite surprised, but after remembering the events of the tenth floor, it started to

    make quite a bit of sense.

    ''Adam is vastly better with the shield. It is like he has been training with it his whole life...''

    Whistle-

    Dutch blew on the whistle again.

    Adam was the first one to make the move again.

    He lunged forward as if he wasn''t one bit scared of being hit by the opponent''s sword.

    n''s focus was on his sword, wondering from which direction the attack woulde.

    However, as soon as Adam''s footnded back on the ground after the lunge, he ced his shield in front of him and rammed straight through n''s block.

    "Agh!" n flew backwards for a short moment and then fell down to the grainy ground with

    a soft thump.

    And instantly after, Adam''s wooden sword touched his neck.

    "Ah..." n looked past the sword and straight at Adam''s face.

    Adam looked calm and collected, a few pants escaping his lips.

    Whistle~

    "Second point, Adam!" Dutch shouted and then thought. ''Howe it is so one-sided? Are

    their skill gaps just so big?''

    Adam backed off a couple of steps and moved back to his leisure stance-his shield on the side

    and sword at the front.

    n groaned, then kicked his legs up before flipping himself back to his feet.

    ''I am so careless. I was so focused on the sword!'' n thought with a frustrated sigh.

    He was frustrated at himself for making such a silly mistake.

    On the sidelines, Knoxx shook his head.

    ''You didn''t fail because of the mistake. Adam saw where your focus was and used that to his advantage. You simply walked into his trap.''

    Dutch put the whistle between his lips and was about to blow into it, but then rapid footsteps

    came from the direction of the hallways.

    A guard, dressed in crimson armor, came to the courtyard and bowed to Dutch before locking

    his gaze with Adam.

    "Adam, you''ve been summoned by the guild master. It is urgent!"

    ''What''s going on?'' Adam frowned and lowered his sword.

    Dutch nodded with a serious gaze and took the weapons from Adam''s hands.

    "You should go. Do not let the guild master wait for you."

    Adam nodded firmly and followed after the guard as they left the center courtyard.

    "What''s going on?" Knoxx came to ask. "It sounded serious."

    "I am not sure." Dutch said, but then looked at his students, who had stopped training.

    "What''re you idlying about? Go back to training!"

    "Y-yes, sir!"

    Knoxx walked over to n and put his hand over his shoulder.

    "Do not fret about your loss."

    "I didn''t lose yet!" n shouted with a scoff. "I''ll continue his fight once he returns from the

    guild master''s chambers!"

    "Sure~" Knoxxughed. "By the way, do you want to know Adam''s weakness?"

    "Weakness?" n frowned. "He has one?"

    "Everyone does." Knoxx said.

    n thought for a moment before shaking his head.

    "I don''t need help. I''ll defeat him alone!"

    Knoxx chuckled, knowing that n would refuse.

    "Very well."

 Chapter 109: Truth About the Gathering

    Chapter 109: Truth About the Gathering

    ?

    The guard''s metallic footsteps echoed through the empty corridors.

    Adam followed after him with his ears perked up, listening to the echo of those footsteps.

    Not a single word was uttered between them.

    Atst, the guard arrived at the guild master''s chambers and knocked on the door.

    "Come in."

    A deep voice came from the inside.

    The guard nodded, then stepped aside, turned around, and stood as a guard beside the door.

    "You may enter."

    Adam buttoned up his shirt, then yanked the door open and entered the chamber.

    This was his first time being here-the meeting with Digby was usually in his offices, but now it was in his private chambers.

    Without hesitation, he was hit by waves of powerful auras that seemed to pulse throughout his body.

    Adam''s eyes widened open.

    In the office, nearly ten figures were standing around arge conference table, all staring directly at him.

    "Adam, there''s something we need to discuss." Digby said from the end of the table.

    ''These are...'' Adam looked over the people around the table. ''Crimson Hound''s strongest members. What''s going on?''

    "So, this is the famous S-ranker." A motherly figure said with a giggle. "We''ve heard so much about you."

    She had a warm smile on her face and long, chocte-colored hair that cascaded down her lower back like a waterfall. She was quite beautiful and gave off very motherly vibes.

    "I expected him to be taller." Zahn, a ck-eyed man, said with a joking tone. "Didn''t the rumors say that he is nearing three meters, is built like a brick house, and has a voice that could shake the earth?"

    Lucette, the motherly-looking woman, raised an eyebrow andughed.

    "Those rumors about S-rankers are getting wilder each year, aren''t they?"

    "You have time to introduce yourselves at ater date." Digby said. "We have gathered you all here for the announcement."

    Valora stood beside him with a serious expression on her face.

    "It must be that, right?" Morial asked, trying to suppress a smile.

    Morial was a bald-headed man with a ruffled beard and a one-handed axe on his back.

    It made Adam remember a certain someone after catching a look at him.

    "The Gathering," Valora said.

    The others gasped in the cold air. It was a very important event, after all.

    It was also quite dangerous.

    ''The Gathering?!'' Adam''s eyes shook. ''How could I''ve forgotten? It is happening around this time of the year. But why am I here? I shouldn''t be allowed to attend this year.''

    "If I may ask, why is the S-ranker here?" Zahn asked. "S-ranker or not, he is still Mercenaryman. Does he need to know about the Gathering yet since he can''t even attend?"

    Digby sighed and said, "Adam will be joining us."

    "What?!"

    Others eximed in shock. They weren''t sure whether that was allowed, and even if it was, it was very reckless and almost idiotic.

    After all, the Gathering wasn''t a joke, and even they could die if they weren''t careful.

    ''Why?'' Adam thought to himself with wide eyes. ''What are they thinking?''

    "That''s very reckless!"

    "The future of this guild lies with Adam; this is not the time to be careless." Lucette said it with worry.

    "It was not my choice!" Digby shouted loud enough to silence the room. "It is an order that came from higher than me. It is not an order that can be refused!"

    "Seven Ancient Guilds?" A few guessed.

    "They shouldn''t have the power to do this!"

    "That''s such bullshit. Tell your father!"

    Valora lowered her head and rubbed her forehead.

    "I already did." Digby said. "The order came from a higher ce than the Council of Mercenaries."

    "Even higher?" Zahn frowned. "Elders of the Imperial Pce? No, they shouldn''t be higher than the council."

    "It came from King Moriarty himself." Digby revealed a shocking truth.

    "From the King?!"

    "But why..."

    "King Moriarty ising to the Gathering?"

    Adam tapped his feet against the carpeted floor, thoughts running around his mind like a whirlwind.

    This was shocking news to him.

    ''I haven''t met King Moriarty ever. Not even in my previous life. Why would he want me there?''

    "Alright, calm down." Digby said calmly. "I am not thrilled about this order either, but now you can see why we cannot refuse. Adam muste with us."

    Lucette looked at Adam and asked, "Young Adam, do you know anything about the

    Gathering?"

    "No, that''s the first time I''ve heard about that." Adam replied with a quickly cooked lie.

    "Let me exin it to you." Digby said and tapped on the conference table.

    A holographic image of a fog-shrouded ind with waves crashing against craggy cliffs

    suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

    This was a holographic map.

    "This is Kuro Ind," Digby said. "The location of the Gathering."

    "It''s in the Blind Sea, and the only way to get there is from Driftwood. Our ship is already

    waiting for us at the docks.

    "It''s a three day trip, but we should arrive in time for the Gathering.

    "The Gathering is a special day of the year.

    "During that day, thousands of special breeds of Chaosbeings will respawn on that ind.

    "That''s why hundreds of the guilds go there to kill them and make sure they aren''t leaving the

    ind.

    "If we leave them unattended, they can swim to the maind and cause enormous damage in the New World. It''s something we cannot let happen.

    "During the years, that day became sort of a festival of some sort as the strongest mercenaries of different factions and guilds gathered in the same ce.

    "If you''re lucky, you may even witness a duel between the most renowned fighters in the

    realm.

    "Sometimes, during the Gathering, there are friendly sparring matches, but sometimes there''re not so-friendly fights, and entire guilds might get destroyed overnight. "That''s why it is far from safe. Also, do not underestimate those Chaosbeings. There''s something strange about them..."

    "I understand." Adam nodded, but his fingers were curled into tight fists. ''Cmity will be there. Sapphira will be there...''

    "Also, there has always been one goal during the Gathering." Digby said. "To destroy the respawn crystal that causes their yearly respawning.

    "It is rare for them to be on an ind so close to the maind where Chaosbeings can just respawn, even if it is only once a year."

    "I see." Adam nodded, but then his lips curled into a slight smirk. ''I forgot about that, yeah...'' ''Back in the previous life, was it in the year 2155? No, year 2156. The respawn crystal was

    discovered and destroyed.

    ''It was discovered by Cmity...

    ''Not in this life, you fucker.''

    Adam inhaled a sharp breath and calmed his racing thoughts.

    ''It''s going to be dangerous to try to find the respawn crystal, even though I know where it is.

    It''s also pretty worthless to find because, a year after the destruction of the crystal, they still

    respawned.

    ''So there might be more than one respawn crystal there, but as long as I steal this find from Cmity, I can steal some of his future.

    ''That discovery spiraled Cmity to a higher level of fame, and his name was on the tongue of everyone for a long while, which allowed him to gain power and status within the New World.

    "We''ll be departing tomorrow for Driftwood." Digby said. "After this meeting is over, Adam, meet me at the vault. I can''t let you go there unprepared." Adam''s eyes widened in a pleasant surprise, and he nodded. "Yes, guild master."

 Chapter 110: Political Games

    Chapter 110: Political Games

    ?

    The darkness fell over the city of Dawnwatch as soon as the night arrived.

    The building lights flickered on, casting a warm glow onto the streets below, where a few pedestrians were still returning from their work or heading out for a night of revelry.

    Currently, in the silent residence of Crimson Hounds, few guards did their rounds around the perimeter.

    At the sleeping quarters, Adam was sitting on his bed, one knee up and the other dangling off the edge.

    He was looking at the items scattered on the floor and contemting the meeting that happened a few hours ago.

    After the meeting, he and Digby visited the Crimson Hound''s vault, and from there, Adam grabbed a few items for himself for the duration of the Gathering.

    It included the familiar crimson armor, a protective amulet, and a strange whistle. They were all protective items that the Crimson Hounds had acquired during their years in the dungeon.

    Digby didn''t give him a single offensive skill, as he didn''t want him to fight anyone, as that would only bring him immature death.

    ''The protective amulet.'' Adam took it for himself and thought, ''An artifact that can protect me from one lethal hit.''

    He then looked at the whistle.

    ''A whistle that can only be heard by a specific group of people. In this case, every Crimson Hound member would be able to hear it, and if I used it, they would know I was in danger.

    ''Digby, with his Kiryoku, would be able to find my location with ease.''

    He took the items into his inventory.

    Adam then noticed that he still had some worthless items in his inventory, which was weighing him down.

    ''Right, I should sell those...''

    Heid down on the bed, deciding to do it tomorrow before the departure towards Driftwood. As he was about to close his eyes to catch some sleep, he heard a faint noiseing from the hallway.

    His eyes twitched open, and then the footsteps stopped right in front of his door.

    A secondter, a knock sounded.

    Adam slowly stood up and walked over to the door. He hesitatingly opened the door to find a group of three familiar faces standing there.

    "Hello." Knoxx, Hana, and n stood outside in their casual attire, as they had already hung their armor for the night.

    "What''s up?" Adam asked and looked around the outside, only to see no one else but them. "May we enter?" Knoxx asked and annoyingly looked towards the night sky. "While the winter winds have gone by, nights are still quite cold here outside."

    "I was just about to go to sleep." Adam said and scratched the back of his head. "Is this important?"

    "We were curious about your meeting with the guild master." Hana said. "Apparently the core members of the guild were there as well, is that right?"

    "Is this about the Gathering?" n asked. "It is supposed to happen soon, right?"

    "Uh,e in, I guess." Adam motioned them inside and sat down on his bed with his back against the wall.

    He then took his pillow and ced it between his back and the wall for some cushion. Knoxx closed the door while Hana and n entered first.

    They looked around the humble-looking room and saw that Adam hadn''t done a single decoration of his own.

    They, on the other hand, had already made their quarters look like theirs with personal touches and vibrant colors.

    Knoxx took a chair and sat down the wrong way with the backrest facing him instead.

    "Well, can you tell us about the meeting?" n curiously asked.

    "It was about the Gathering." Adam said. "We are leaving tomorrow."

    "We?" Hana asked with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean by that?"

    "I am going with the rest of the core." Adam said.

    n and Hana looked surprised and somewhat worried. That wasn''t just some ordinary

    camping trip. It was dangerous trip to thend of darkness.

    "Is it because you are an S-ranker?" Knoxx asked with a frown. "However, this is very reckless from Digby. Is he wanting you to get experience?"

    "It wasn''t Digby''s choice..." Adam said with a sigh. "I was ordered to go there."

    "Ordered?" Hana asked in confusion.

    "Hmm..." Knoxx frowned. "Unfortunately, it looks like you can''t escape the political games of the Imperium folk."

    "Oh, you seem to know something." Adam looked at him with a chuckle.

    "The tension has been high in the Imperium Citytely." Knoxx said. "It''s like a war is about to burst out at any moment..."

    ''Back in my previous life, I did my tutorial three yearster than now, and I heard a great deal about the unrest during this period. However, there weren''t any big wars.

    ''However, that tension slowly built up over the years and finally exploded in 2155, when the Great Guild War finally began between the Seven Ancient Guilds.

    ''Seven factions fighting for supremacy. Every guild had to choose their side in the war, leading to a year of war and chaos.

    ''Three of the Seven Ancient Guilds got destroyed in the war, and everyone on their side was also promptly eliminated.

    ''I was only a two-year-old mercenary when the war began. I was just a foot soldier for the Dying Star Faction, and it was the most dangerous time of my life.

    ''When the Second Guild War started between Star Faction and Death Faction, I was already

    strong enough to be general.''

    "Who ordered you to go there?" Hana quickly asked.

    Before Adam could respond, Knoxx interjected and said, "It doesn''t matter. We don''t have to know. It''s an order that cannot be refused, I assume."

    "But..." Hana pouted. "I wanna know."

    "Digby''s father is Samuel Chaucer, an elder in the Imperium Pce." Knoxx said. "Digby definitely went to him to nullify the order, but if even he can''t do it, no one else can."

    "The order muste from very high up, then..." n said and his eyes slowly widened as if he had realized something.

    "n, keep it to yourself." Knoxx stood up and said, "Adam, have a good rest. The trip will be

    long."

    "n, what is it?" Hana begged for him to say something, but n kept his mouth shut with

    a wry smile.

    After bidding farewell, they dragged Hana away while she continued to pester them.

    "The political games..." Adam shook his head. "The Seven Ancient Guilds fought against each other to begin with to have a shot to reach the top.

    "The winner of the war would''ve taken control of the rest of the guilds, and with such power in the winner''s hand, they would''ve been able to contest King Moriarty for the seat of the

    king.

    "However, King Moriarty and his guild, the Imperial Order, joined the war and ended it in a single day. Since the winner of the war was never decided, no one had a chance to challenge

    him for the throne.

    "In the war, S-rankers were the tip of the spear of their respected factions, and I guess that''s why King Moriarty wants me to go to the Gathering-to have a chance to talk to me so I don''t

    join any factions.

    "A single S-ranker can shift the bnce of factions drastically because of their immense

    talent.

    "Currently, Mauricio and Cmity are on Nightshade Faction, led by Ambrose Hawthorne. "Sapphira and Arkham are on the Dying Star Faction, led by Orion.

    "The remaining five factions don''t have any S-rankers on their ranks, but they are incredibly strong, with hundreds of A-rankers.

    "If I join the Dying Star Faction, like I did in my previous life, their strength and influence would reach the top of the factions. It would put them in a very strong position.

    "King Moriarty most likely doesn''t want that... Perhaps he had already seen the future of my joining the Dying Star Faction. I cannot underestimate his power and cunningness."

    Adam cracked his knuckles, deep in thought.

    ''King Moriarty... It''s hard to know what he''s thinking...''

 Chapter 111: King Made His Move

    Chapter 111: King Made His Move

    ?

    Imperium City, the following morning.

    On the high clock tower of the cathedral, a priest climbed up thedder, and then, after arriving within the golden bell, he picked up arge hammer and began ringing the bell loudly.

    Its echoing sounds extended to every corner of the city, waking up even the deepest sleepers.

    The cathedral''s doors slowly creaked open, revealing a breathtaking view of the sun rising over the horizon.

    "Ah~" A bishop stood in the doorway, feeling the sun''s kiss on his hairless head.

    He let out a pleasant-sounding hum and then went by the altar to start the morning service. The cathedral was still empty of parishioners, but the bishop knew they would start arriving

    soon.

    It was at that moment that the cathedral''s doors mmed shut with a loud bang, startling the bishop and causing him to drop the holy water.

    The sk of holy water shattered on the cold stone floor, spilling its contents everywhere.

    The bishop turned over to the door and saw a figure standing perfectly in the shadow of the church entrance.

    The figure was just standing there, watching the bishop from the shadow.

    "W-who is it?" The bishop asked, and then quickly snapped three of his fingers.

    A long cross that was as big as an adult male appeared from the air, and the bishop snatched it with great skill.

    He wielded it around as if the cross were some kind of weapon.

    "Dere your name in the house of the God." The bishop said coldly. "Violence has no ce in here, but it can be used as ast resort if you push me to that point."

    "Hah..."

    The figureughed with his shoulders shaking and appeared amused by the bishop''s threat. "Calm down, War Bishop. I am not here to fight."

    "Then why are you here, stranger?" The bishop asked but didn''t lower his cross. "You came unannounced to the house of God."

    "I am sorry..." The figure spoke, stretching his words slowly. "I came here to confess my sins."

    The bishop frowned and eyed the confession booth near the altar. It was empty, as it was not the usual time for confessions.

    He then pointed towards the booth and said, "Very well, my son. Please proceed."

    He then focused all of his senses on the figure and its shadow. The figure had to leave the shadow to enter the confession booth.

    The figure simply smiled and took a step back. It looked like he got sucked into the shadow as The just disappeared, like light being snuffed out.

    "Where?" The bishop''s eyes widened, and he looked around frantically.

    At that moment, the confession booth''s door creaked open and shut down immediately after.

    The bishop turned to the confession booth, then slowly approached it with a beating heartbeat and opened a door to his own side.

    Although his side of the booth was empty, there was clearly a shadow of a figure on the other side, separated from it by a thin wood and cloth wall.

    ''What speed...'' The bishop slowly closed the door and then sat down on a small seat that was barely big enough for him.

    "What do you want to confess about, my son?" The bishop asked.

    "About lying." The figure said.

    "Lying?" The bishop side-eyed him. "What did you lie about?"

    "The reason for meeting you." The figure said: "I was not here to confess my sins."

    "Then what are you here for?" The bishop asked with cold sweat dripping down his forehead. "This confession booth is able to block anyone from eavesdropping, is it not?"

    "Yes, it is..." The bishop said with a loud gulp. "It can also stop Kiryoku from detecting anything inside the booth."

    "You know, walls have ears." The figure said with a chuckle. "I don''t want others to learn about what I am going to talk to you about."

    "Who are you?" The bishop asked.

    "You know who I am." The figure said: "Take out your pouch."

    "My pouch?" The bishop frowned and took out a small pouch from his trousers''s pockets.

    It was his money pouch with a humble amount of Shinecoins inside.

    The bishop loosened its string and took out a coin from there.

    It was shining little bit with a certain face engraved to it.

    "Do you expect me to believe that?" The bishop asked with shaky eyes. "You didn''t even show me your face."

    "It''s better if you don''t." The figure said with a tone that made it clear he was smiling. "Your eyes will only be used as a weapon against me."

    "Fine, let''s pretend that you are him." The bishop crossed his legs and asked. "What do you want?"

    "The church will send their chosen group to the Gathering, I''d like you to put a suggestion of adding another person there."

    "Who?" The bishop asked.

    "High Priestess Yu." The figure said: "She wasn''t on the list. She has to be there."

    "Lady Yu?" The bishop frowned. "Why? She has her own duty in the Imperial City."

    "I''ll need her there to change the future. It''s the only way to prevent disaster." "Future?" The bishop shook his head. "I am sorry, but I have heard enough. I don''t know who you are, bu-"

    At that moment, the door of the booth mmed open, and bright light flooded the booth with a piercing intensity.

    The bishop was forced to close his eyes, but when he finally opened them, he saw a figure standing in front of him.

    Its figure was blocking off most of the light, but the bishop could make out the outline of a

    tall, slender person.

    Atst, he managed to catch sight of his face.

    "You..." The bishop looked at the coin in his hand and then at the figure''s face. "Y-you really

    are..."

    He was about to fall down on his knees, but the man then stopped him by holding down his

    shoulder.

    "It''s important." The man said: "That you listen to me."

    "Your Highness, she''ll be there." The bishop said and lowered his head with a slight panic in

    his voice.

    "Good..." The man said, his voice turning hoarse, older, and more painful.

    His tall, slender figure slowly shrank as his posture turned hunched, his shoulders drooped down, and his knees buckled under the weight of his own body.

    It was almost like he just turned older.

    "That''s..." The bishop whispered in shock.

    "I am sorry, but like I said, your eyes can be used as a weapon against me. You know what that

    means..."

    The bishop gulped, tears appearing at the corners of his eyes.

    "I am sorry..."

    He whispered.

    "I am as well." The man said, then stabbed his fingers through the bishop''s eyes, blinding

    him.

    "Aaargh!" The bishop screamed in agony, and as soon as the fingers left his eye sockets, his eyes were crushed and blood poured down his face.

    "Tell Lady Yu to go on the next boat to Kuro Ind." The man said, "She needs to leave

    immediately."

    "I''ll... make arrangements..." The bishop spoke, his voice cracking in pain as he struggled to

    speak.

    The man then stood up, hunching and clutching his side as if he were in pain.

    His footsteps turned distant as he walked away, then the doors opened with a loud creak and stayed open with the sounds of parishioners echoing from the outside.

    The bishop continued to stand still at the front of the confession booth, the blood from his crushed eyes falling onto the hardened floor.

    It looked like he was in great pain at first, but then his facial muscles rxed and he started to look calmer, as if he had received medicine that took all the pain away.

    ''The King made his move...'' The bishop thought. ''I am an unfortunate casualty. Originals, such as me, cannot be healed by the magic powers of the sks, leaving me in darkness for the

    rest of my life.

    ''What will happen in the Gathering since even the King made his move? I am fearful for the

    realm''s future...''

 Chapter 112: Seths Hardships

    Chapter 112: Seth''s Hardships

    ?

    Waters of the Blind Sea crashed against the harbor''s nked roads, with hundreds of ships docked along the bustling city.

    Humble-looking buildings were scattered around the fish market and at the ends of the city''s narrow, nked streets.

    Strangely enough, this city''s roads weren''t made out of cobblestone or dirt but from nks, as if the city were one big dock.

    It almost felt like a big tidal wave came through; the whole city would float away.

    Wherever one was in these streets, they would be able to smell the roasted fish and sea salt in the air.

    It was the fishermen''s paradise.

    The mercenaries of the city wore open-front leather vests with loose, billowy shirts underneath and wide-brimmed hats to protect them from the harsh sun.

    They also wore high-waisted trousers, usually tucked into boots, and a few wore tricorn hats that made them look like proper pirates.

    Pirateing was amon practice in these waters. It was not only done by mercenaries, but also by Originals, and it was, of course, illegal.

    This city was Driftwood, the port city.

    Currently, loud and rowdyughter came from an open-door tavern down by the docks.

    Its sign that was hanging by the door had the sigil of a skull with an upside-down mustache and crossed swords.

    A brown-haired young man left the tavern with the other lens of his sses cracked and one lens missing altogether.

    His nose was bleeding as well, as if he had gotten punched in the face, which resulted in his sses breaking.

    He was clutching a mercenary card with a trembling hand.

    ***

    [Name: Seth Hardrock]

    [Level: 1]

    [Affiliation: None]

    [Recruit: D]

    [Rank: Mercenaryman]

    ***

    "Another rejection..." Seth sniffled and wiped the blood from his nose.

    He had gone through every mercenary guild in the city and was rejected by them all. Eventually, he became desperate and even went to visit the pirate crews.

    They rejected him as well, but it didn''t end with that. They beat him up for fun.

    Usually, Tier 4 guilds wanted more members and were less picky about who they let in.

    It usually didn''t matter whether one was a D-ranked recruit, but in Seth''s case, he was rejected nheless.

    It was because he didn''t look like he could hold his own weight with his scrawny, nerdy appearance.

    Seth pocketed his mercenary card, kicked a rock at the wall of the tavern, and then walked away down the nked road.

    The sound of waves turned louder as he arrived at the dock.

    During his time in Driftwood, he got a job by the dock as a helper for unloading cargo from ships.

    ''Maybe I should just be a fisherman or treasure hunter.'' Seth thought with a sigh. ''The chance of making proper money with either of them is small...''

    He soon arrived at the small hut by the docks.

    The small hut acted as a stall, with the front being open to the sea and the counter disying various fishing and diving equipment.

    Inside, a gray-haired old man with a broad back was cutting down fish and preparing them for sale.

    "I am back." Seth said and took a seat by the counter, watching the old man work.

    "No sess, huh?" Grayman looked away from the fish to stare at the bruised young man. "What happened to you?"

    "I... went to visit Sad Mustache Pirates." Seth said, rubbing his sore cheek.

    "You did what?" Grayman frowned. "Are you crazy?"

    He mmed his long knife through the fish and left the knife there as he turned to face the young man.

    "They were myst resort." Seth took out his notebook, and there were six pages that were full of names and crossed out.

    At the end of the sixth page, there was the name "Sad Mustache Pirates" written down, but then Seth crossed them out as well.

    "I have now asked every mercenary guild and pirate crew in the city." Seth sighed. "They all refused me..."

    "What do you n to do now?" Grayman asked, looking sympathetic to the young man''s bad luck.

    "I don''t know..." Seth turned his head to look at all the ships docked by. "Maybe be a sailor?"

    "About sailing, do you see those ships?" Grayman nudged his chin to the ends of the docks.

    There, many three-sailed ships were anchored in the harbor, each with a unique sigil at the front of their ship''s helm.

    "Hmm?" Seth shook his head. "Just some mercenary ships?"

    "Those ships are going to Kuro Ind." Grayman.

    "That Kuro Ind?" Seth looked interested. "I heard it''s full of treasure and danger."

    "The Gathering is upon us." Grayman said. "It''s where the strongest of the New World gather."

    "The strongest..." Seth bit on his nail, his gaze lingering in the direction of those ships.

    "Grayman!" A shout interrupted them as a long-bearded man came with a bag full of fishes. "I got you some!"

    "Put them on the counter, Rim!" Grayman gestured. "We were just talking about the

    Gathering."

    "Ah, the Gathering." Rimughed, and as he sat down beside Seth, a couple of his friends came over to join the conversation.

    "We saw a fleet of ships not long ago!" One of them said with augh. "Hey, Seth, how''s the job seeking going?"

    "Not good." Seth leaned against his fist. "Can I join your guy''s ship and be a sailor?"

    "Being a sailor is not as morous as you think." One of them said with augh. "You''re mercenary with the system. As a sailor, you cannot take full advantage of the system, as we almost never encounter Chaosbeings, unless we sail to the ck Sea, which we never do."

    "A fleet?" Grayman asked.

    "Yeah, a fleet of fifty ships." Rim said with a smirk. "It was the Imperial Order. They''re in control of Kuro Ind, so I assume they went there early to prepare for the Gathering."

    "Hey, look." Grayman looked towards the waters.

    As they all turned around, they saw a single ship sailing away with three crimson sails unfurled. The sails had a sigil of crimson-furred dog.

    "Crimson Hound Mercenaries..." Rim whispered with a voice of respect. "The resurrected

    giants."

    "The resurrected giants?" Seth asked. "What''s so special about them. They have only one ship, so it doesn''t seem like they have enough ships or people to have a fleet."

    "Ah, you don''t know?" Rim looked surprised. "You came from ''that'' tutorial group, didn''t

    you?"

    "What do you mean?" Seth asked.

    "There were only three guilds with S-rankers in their midst-Dying Star, Death, and Imperial

    Order. Now, there''s a fourth, and that''s Crimson Hounds.

    "They acquired the newest S-ranker, Adam Palestar." "Adam..." Seth''s voice turned painful with a hint of hate. "He joined that... guild?"

    "Yeah." Grayman nodded. "I doubt he is going to the Gathering, but all eyes of the mercenary world are going to be on them now.

    "With S-ranker as their future guild leader, there''s no doubt they''ll be a force to be reckoned

    with."

    ''Everyone talks about him. Adam that, Adam this... I have not forgotten what you did to me. I will have my revenge, no matter how long it takes.''

    Seth gritted his teeth, but he was helpless as his rival was just bing stronger with each passing day while he was still stuck at the start line.

    ''I can''t give up...'' he thought determinedly and suddenly stood up.

    "Seth?" Grayman frowned.

    The others looked at him with equally quizzical expressions.

    "I am sorry..." Seth whispered and then started running, wind rushing through his hair.

    "Seth, where are you going?!"

    Their shouts were drowned out by the whistling of the wind.

    Seth looked straight at one of the ck-sailed ships with its ck g waving in the breeze.

    ''I''ll show you...''

    Without further ado, he ran up the gangnk onto the ship.

    Grayman and others watched in shock as this ship was already ready to leave the harbor with

    all of its mercenaries inside.

    Before they could utter another word, the ship''s anchor was lifted and the sails unfurled,

    carrying it out to sea with Seth hidden inside.

    "What''s that fool doing..." Grayman ran to the edge of the docks, watching as the ck-sailed ship sailed away. "That''s a pirate ship, you fool!"

    "That is a pirate ship." Rim walked over to him with an ugly expression. "Belongs to the Mad Pirate Aemon. He''s strong enough to participate in the Gathering!"

    "So, that''s where the ship is going?" Grayman asked. "To the Gathering?"

    "Yes..." Rim nodded, a sense of dread creeping over him. "If Seth is discovered, they''ll crucify him. Aemon is known for his ruthless treatment of prisoners and crewmates alike..."

 Chapter 113: Royal Princess

    Chapter 113: Royal Princess

    ?

    The waves crashed against the hull of the crimson-sailed ship while it continued sailing through the open sea.

    Leaning against the railing, Adam chewed on the stem of a piece of wheat and watched the strange water creatures glide effortlessly through the water.

    Mortal Online was a home for all sorts of exotic creatures that were never seen in the "Other World."

    "E-excuse me, sir Adam."

    "Yeah?" Adam turned around to see a young servant standing nervously behind him.

    He was an Original, serving the Crimson Hound guild as a servant boy.

    It was quite an honor for the Originals, who were mostly farmer folk and rarely seen as anything other thanmoners.

    The Originals couldn''t possess the yer''s system, which gave them godlike powers.

    They also couldn''t consume yer items, such as the sks of Rising Moon and Setting Suns; otherwise, they would burn themselves from the inside out.

    "May I pour you a drink?" The young servant asked, holding a sk of water and a small cup in his hands.

    "Sure." Adam responded, taking the ss from the servant and gulping down the water. The servant bowed and quietly returned indoors to finish scrubbing the floors from dirt.

    In the captain''s quarters, Digby shook in his seat while the waves crashed against the ship''s hull.

    The gasmp flickered on the table while Digby was trying to read some text that was barely legible in the dim light.

    The door was opened slightly, and Valora stood in the doorway, then gently knocked on the door to gain Digby''s attention, as he didn''t even notice that the door had opened.

    "What is it?" Digby asked as he mmed the book shut in frustration, as he couldn''t make any sense of the text because of the dim lighting.

    "We''re about to reach the pirate graveyard." Valora said. "We cannot afford to go around it, or we''ll bete for the Gathering."

    "I understand." Digby nodded. "Full power ahead. Also, ready the cannons. Let''s hope there isn''t any need for them."

    "Yes, guild master."

    At the front of the ship, its hull cut smoothly through the blue water as it neared the ghostly graveyard.

    Not even a momentter, nks and barrels collided with the ship.

    The ship was immediately surrounded by broken ships that had either been sunk by pirates or had crashed into rocky formations that peeked from beneath the surface.

    It suddenly turned dark as ships that were three times the size of the ship loomed overhead, casting a shadow over the crew.

    However, they seemed abandoned, as they simply sailed past.

    "Hahahah~"

    Laughter-strangeughter.

    The mercenaries onboard looked around the ghostly graveyard and slowly unsheathed their steel from their scabbards.

    Digby raised his head and walked out of his quarters, his eyes looking around while his senses had already been stretched to their limits.

    He tried to find the source of theughter with his Kiryoku, but was met with a deafening silence.

    "Your touch was cold-"A woman''s voice came right beside his head, and then a purple- haired woman with pinkish skin ced her head on his shoulder. "I am freezing~"

    Valora came rushing in with a rageful gaze and swung her sword at the woman, but she simply floated away with an umbre in hand.

    The umbre in her hand continued spinning as she hovered in the air,ughing at Valora''s failed attempt to attack her.

    Her purple hair cascaded over her shoulders, which also had a quite peculiar shade of pink mixed in.

    She was dressed in a light pink dress with intricatece on her sleeves, twirling gracefully as if she were performing a dance in the sky.

    "Valora, stop!" Digby ordered with cold sweat glistening on his forehead.

    Valora lowered her sword, her eye twitching as she could feel the strange woman''s smirkful gaze piercing through her.

    The woman stopped twirling the umbre andnded on the roof of the captain''s quarters with a graceful flourish. She sat down, her exposed, pale-white legs dangling over the edge. "May I ask the reason for this visit, miss?" Digby asked with a slight bow. "Royal Princess." ''Royal Princess!'' Valora''s eyes shook. ''A variation of the Royal Prince rank that is only given to female mercenaries. It''s high enough rank to have audiences with King himself!''

    ''One rank above Prime Mercenary, a rank that has been Digby''s dream for years...''

    "I was merely flying by," she said with a giggle. "I don''t have a ship, y''see. I just have my umbre-"

    "And you found us?" Digby asked.

    "I happened to." She said with a sweet smile on her rosy lips. "My hand was getting tired... twirling this umbre around. I came to ask for a ride~"

    "You are going to the Gathering?" Digby asked.

    "Yes~" she said. "My guild is full of mean people. They left me behind just because I overslept, forcing me to fly all the way there."

    "We can give you a ride if you desire so." Digby said, put one hand on his chest, and bowed. "We are happy to help those in need."

    "What''s this guild?" she asked with a smile. "I apologize, the sigil on the sails don''t seem

    familiar."

    "Crimson Hounds, miss."

    "Ah!" Her face beamed up, and she looked around the deck in excitement. "Is he here?"

    "Who?"

    "Adam-" She stood up and twirled the umbre, causing her to fly down to the deck. "I heard

    he is alsoing~"

    Shended on the deck and walked past the mercenaries, who gave way and stepped aside.

    All the mercenaries around her were way taller than her, but for an odd reason, she gave off more pressure than all of thembined.

    She was about to walk past all the mercenaries, but one of them didn''t move aside and blocked her path with her hands on her waist.

    Lucette stared down at the strange woman and puffed her plentiful chest.

    "Hmm~" The woman raised her head and smiled at her with two canine teeth peeking from

    her mouth. "Well, well, what do we have here?"

    "You just happened to encounter us?" Lucette asked. "Are you sure you didn''t find us because

    of a specific person?"

    "You do not believe me?" she asked and giggled. "I never lie."

    "You haven''t even told us your name," Lucette said. "I am not letting you get close to him without telling your intentions first."

    "Oh, a protective mother-" She giggled and said, "My name''s Ame, and I assure you, my intentions are purely innocent."

    "You''re from Monstrym, aren''t you?" Lucette asked and pointed at her own face. "Based on

    your pink skin."

    "So what if I am?" Ame asked with a tilt of her head.

    "Honestly, I don''t trust your kind." Lucette said, crossing her chest over her breasts.

    "That''s rude~" Ame said with a pout. "Can you move out of the way? I just want to see

    him."

    "No-"

    "Lucette, it is fine." Adam touched her on the shoulder, nodded at her with a reassuring smile, and looked at the pink-skinned woman.

    "Alright..." Lucette looked at him with a soft gaze and stood aside, but she stayed close

    enough to protect him if needed.

    To her, Adam was the future of the guild. Nothing could happen to him. It was uneptable.

    "Ah~" Ame looked up at him with a smile. "You look quite ordinary~"

    "Disappointed, Miss Ame?" Adam asked with a smile.

    "No..." Ame replied with her smile growing, "I find ordinary people to be the most

    extraordinary."

 Chapter 114: Darkstar

    Chapter 114: Darkstar

    ?

    "Hmm~" Ame hummed herself a song while sitting on the railing, her legs dangling over the edge of the ship.

    Adam stood behind her, watching the waves crash against the hull.

    The other people onboard were doing their own things, but they sometimes turned their heads in their direction, wondering what they were talking about.

    Lucette was talking with Digby and Valora, not happy about Ame''s presence.

    After all, the Blind Sea was arge open sea, and she didn''t believe Ame found them by mere coincidence.

    "It''s about to rain." Ame said and put umbre over her head. "You may join me, Adam, under the umbre."

    Adam nodded and carefully sat on the railing, his hands sped tightly around the metal bars.

    Their shoulders touched as they huddled underneath the umbre.

    Ame closed her eyes with a smile on her rosy lips.

    Rumble~

    The sky rumbled, and then dark clouds began to pour rain, just like Ame predicted.

    It started with a soft drizzle but soon turned into a heavy downpour.

    Everyone on the deck rushed indoors, except the two who were sitting under the umbre.

    "Mm, I like rain." Ame said, and she put her hand out to feel the raindrops on her skin. "I feel like it''s cleansing my soul."

    "I prefer to stay dry." Adam said and caught some of the raindrops. "I do like water, but I don''t like getting wet."

    Ame smiled and turned to look at him with her pinkish eyes. Adam also turned his head toward her. Their eyes locked. Neither of them moved an inch.

    "Your eyes tell me that you know who I am." Ame said. "However, I don''t recall meeting you."

    "Ame Darkstar," Adam said. "Guild master of the Shattered Shields."

    "You''re knowledgeable." Ame giggled. "You know more about me than I know about you, Adam-"

    "What do you wish to know?" Adam asked.

    "Where your loyalty lies." Ame said with a smile. "You know, my mother is Aria Darkstar, guild master of Darkstar, one of the Seven Ancient Guilds."

    "I am aware." Adam nodded.

    "You seem to be aware that our meeting here was no coincidence." Ame smiled with an intrigued expression.

    "A while back, I felt a tickling sensation on my neck." Adam touched the back of his neck. "It was your Kiryoku, I assumed."

    "Interesting..." Ame kicked her legs back and forth yfully. "Good senses."

    "Did your mother send you here?" Adam asked.

    "Yup." Ame nodded. "I have to listen to her orders or she''ll marry me off to the King like she did with my sisters~"

    "Yeah, I heard about that." Adam said with a sympathetic smile. "Your mother sent ten of her daughters to marry the King, so that they would have his son one day, with the blood of the world''s greatest genius."

    "Yep, I was supposed to also get married to him, but I ran away because I didn''t want to be a part of that n~"

    "You grew powerful enough to make your own guild to avoid the marriage, but she is still ruling over you."

    "Mm, it is what it is~" Ame twirled the umbre around, which made all the raindrops scatter in every direction. "You know why I am here."

    "I''ll join whatever faction the Crimson Hounds go to." Adam said.

    "They''re basically part of the Imperial Order''s faction because of Samuel." Ame said and looked at him. "You must make them join the Darkstar faction."

    "Your mother was against me bing an S-ranker." Adam said with a smile. "Now she wants my help? Funny."

    "You didn''t realize it, but there was political reasoning behind even that decision." She said.

    "A single S-ranker can shift the bnce between factions and the New World. They can sense that war is imminent, and they have been preparing for years.

    "They don''t like that there is another trump card in y."

    "They don''t care about my potential, but the title." Adam said. "S-rank means power and influence. There are guilds that do not wish to go against S-rankers because of their potential, but instead wish to make friends with them."

    "That''s right..."

    "If they chose to bestow me with the title of A-ranker..." ..." Adam chuckled. "I wouldn''t have nearly as much influence, even if I had the potential of S-ranker level. This title is everything."

    "Is that no?" Ame asked. "My mother will not be pleased."

    "I am not giving any answer." Adam said. "If I do, she''ll just send assassins to finish me off."

    "I see..."

    Ame lowered her head and softly closed her eyes. She stopped kicking her legs back and forth. The umbre slipped out of her hand andnded on the ground with a soft thud.

    The rain fell over them with a heavy downpour.

    Adam frowned as the rain continued to soak his clothes.

    "My mother gave me another order..." Ame''s eyes fluttered open.

    "And what is that..."

    "Kill you."

    Ame''s nails grew into sharp knives, and she plunged her hand deep into Adam''s chest, bursting through his heart.

    "Cough!" Adam coughed out blood and fell off the railing into the cold, dark waters below.

    Ssh!

    Therge waves took his body elsewhere while the storm grew hectic and the sound of thunder turned deafening.

    Ame looked at her bloodied hand, and the nails shrank back into her skin.

    m!

    The doors were flung open by a powerful force.

    "You!" Digby''s thunderous roar echoed throughout the ship like the pping of the gods.

    With his longsword in hand, he appeared over Ame like a sh of thunder and struck his

    sword down upon her.

    She, with a low gaze, snatched her umbre from the deck and deflected the longsword with

    its unfurled canopy.

    The canopy was shaded with her Kraft-deep purple with slight hints of redness.

    "What did you do to him, you monster?!" Digby screamed.

    While he was dining inside, he felt Adam''s aura grow weaker and almost vanishpletely.

    He knew something had happened.

    "No..." Lucette walked indoors with rain mixing with her tears. "I knew it. She must''ve killed

    him! I can''t sense his aura anywhere!"

    "Fucking Monstrym whore!" Valora screamed and drew her sword.

    Every member of Crimson Hounds surrounded Ame from every direction, their faces red with rage. This happened on their home turf, basically.

    This was one of the biggest humiliations of their lives, with a crimson cloak on their backs.

    They finally acquired a monster with a limitless amount of talent that could bring their guild to the top, and now he died during their watch.

    "Why..." Digby asked while staring at the pink-skinned woman. "Do you think this will be left unpunished? The King himself wanted him there, and you yed him! Do you think your guild will survive this?!"

    "I had to make a choice." Ame said and using the umbre, she started floating up. "I did not want this. If you want to me someone, me my mother."

    "Lucette, don''t let her escape!" Valora screamed.

    "I won''t!"

    In Lucette''s hand, a wand made out of ckwood appeared. Its tip was already glowing.

    "Prison of Martyrs!"

    A prison made out of ck energy bars started to appear all around Ame. It only took a split second to appear, and they started to close in on her.

    However, before it could finish closing in, Ame flew out of the trapment from the small

    opening that hadn''t closed in yet.

    The prison finished closing in, but there was no one inside.

    It took less than a second for the prison to finish materializing, but that was too long, as

    Ame immediately reacted.

    ''No wonder why I couldn''t sense her aura before.'' Digby''s eyes shrunk. ''Her Kiryoku has

    reached level four!''

    Ame swung her umbre in a wide arc and created a wave of water with length of thirty

    meters that loomed over the ship like a giant shadow.

    Digby swung his sword and cut straight through the wave. The wave exploded into thousands

    of tiny droplets, drenching everyone on deck.

    "..." Ame watched as her attack failed.

    She was entirely drenched by the rain, her hair sopping wet and sticking to her face in clumps.

    It made it hard to see her facial expression or whether she was sad or not.

    "Mother..."

 Chapter 115: Transformation Magick

    Chapter 115: Transformation Magick

    ?

    Thunder rumbled across the dark clouds, and silvery lightning danced across the turbulent sky.

    Large waves rocked the ship back and forth.

    The waves were turning dangerously high.

    The mercenaries, with crimson cloaks on their backs,unched their attacks throughout the air.

    Ame pointed her umbre, with the canopy in front, towards the attacks and twirled it around, which caused a gush of wind that sent the attacks away from her.

    "Argh!" Digby used his Super Jump, appeared behind her, and brought his sword down towards her back.

    The sword cut through her dress and left a bleeding wound on her pink-skinned back that didn''t have any previous scars.

    "Ah!"

    Ame plummeted down towards the raging waters below, but then she took a hold of her umbre and opened it just in time to slow her fall and safelynd on the surface of the sea.

    At that moment, a tall, five-meter-high wave came behind her, enough to engulf herpletely.

    Her eyes opened in surprise, and she quickly closed her umbre and fell down to the sea with a loud ssh.

    The wavended at the side of the ship and almost made it capsize, but a few mercenaries were able to hold onto the railing and steady the ship.

    "Where did she go?!" Valora shouted. "Does anyone have eyes on her?"

    Everyone was looking over the railing, but no one saw anyone in the water below.

    Digbynded back on the deck with fresh blood dripping down from his cold steel de.

    "Guild master!" Zahn came to him with his sword drawn. "Good hit! Do you think she is dead?"

    "Unlikely." Digby said. "I now know a few things about her level of three powers." "Oh?"

    Others looked at him.

    "She has clearly reached level four in Kiryoku. It basically allows her mind to expand further, she can also separate her mind from her body and that way she''ll be able to see everything that''s happening near her. All sneak attacks are usually impossible against them.

    "However, it looks like she had just recently reached level four, her control iscking, and she can''t properly use it in battle.

    "Her level of Magick is still unknown to me, and her Kraft is powerful, having almost reached red."

    "Can you sense her with your Kiryoku?" Lucette asked. "We can''t let her escape after doing this!"

    "No, I couldn''t sense her before, and I can''t now. Her level of Kiryoku is higher, so she can mask her aura from me effectively, and she knows how to mask her attacking intent." "Can you sense her emotions? Anything?"

    "Nothing," Digby said. "We only have our eyes and ears to rely on."

    ...

    Kuro Ind, Town of Kuroshima.

    Arge, red tent stood tall in the center of the town square. It was raised high with ropes and wooden stakes, making itrger than any other building in the town that was built with bamboo and thatched roofs.

    Inside the tent, a candle flickered in the middle of a circr rock table with a map of the entire ind engraved on the table.

    In a fur-covered chair, a pink-skinned woman with angry-looking eyes and long purple hair sat, enjoying a fresh cup of rock moon tea.

    She enjoyed herself, sitting in the chair that was clearly designed to be used by the highest- ranked members around.

    Other chairs around the table were much less ornate andfortable. It was just rocks shaped like throne chairs.

    At that moment, the tent''s p opened, and a pale-skinned man entered with silver earrings peeking underneath his wild, curly hair.

    "Zephyr." Aria raised her cup of tea and giggled. "I didn''t expect you to arrive second." "You are sitting on the King''s seat." Zephyr said. "No matter how many daughters you are sending in Moriarty''s way, you won''t be queen of anything."

    "I don''t see the King anywhere." Aria looked around the tent with an ignorant expression. "Do you see?"

    "I saw his fleet docked." Zephyr said with a frown. "Are you saying he didn''te after all?"

    "I don''t see His Highness anywhere, hah." Aria said with a smirk and took a sip. "I guess His Highness is too busy to grace us with his presence."

    "Has the crimson cloaks arrived yet?" Zephyr asked.

    "Crimson Hounds?" Aria smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "I haven''t seen them."

    "Hmm."

    "If that''s all, I''d like to finish my drink alone."

    Zephyr moved his green cloak with elegancy to the side and left the tent.

    Aria lowered her cup to the table and gazed out at the air with lost thoughts.

    "Daughter, don''t you dare to fail me..."

    -

    Digby stood on the deck while the waves crashed against the ship. He didn''t seem fazed by the storm that hadpletely surrounded them.

    "Haa..." Morial let out a deep sink and carefully backed off from the railing. "Boss, I think

    something is wrong."

    "I feel something as well." Digby said with a frown. "I just don''t know what it is."

    "Should we leave?" Morial suggested.

    "We can''t!" Lucette screamed. "We''ll have to kill her first!"

    "That''s right!" Valora said. "This is not only about Adam. We''ll beughing stock of the

    Gathering if we let this go by!"

    While they started to argue, Digby closed his eyes and felt something strange.

    ''What''s this? Something deep. Something old. This aura ising from... under.''

    THUMP!

    It looked like something exploded underneath the ship, and then it suddenly jumped with a loud noise and flew for a short distance before crashing into the ocean''s rageful waves.

    A few holes appeared in the hull, and water started pouring throughout the lower levels.

    A tall fin emerged from the water, circling around the ship.

    It was pink in color and covered in shimmering scales.

    Digby jumped to the railing of the ship and saw the fin emerge and disappear beneath the

    waves.

    "So, that''s your special Magick ability?" Digby said and then shouted to the rest of the crew. "Watch out. She is using Transformation Magick!"

    ''Transformation Magick...'' Lucette frowned. ''The rarest kind of Magick skill. With Transformation Spell Scroll, one can transform into the creature of the scroll.''

    At that moment, more of the pink-scaled creature appeared from beneath the waves, making

    it clear what kind of creature it truly was.

    "Great Shark..."

    The sharp appeared beneath the waves, but strangely enough, there was a person stuck on its back, her arms stuck in between its scales, held by the shark''s flesh.

    It almost looked like Ame''s arms were wrapped around the shark''s molten flesh. Her eyes also seemed unfocused, as the shark''s eyes had turned into her own.

    The shark raised its jaws and let out a guttural growl, then took arge bite off the ship''s

    wooden railing.

    Digby jumped over therge shark with a great leap and went straight for Ame''s real body, his sword already heading in her way.

    The sword was about to behead her, but then Ame''s body moved like boneless jelly, and she dodged the de at thest moment.

    After his sword missed the target, Digby jumped off the back of the shark while the creature

    returned to the sea.

    ''That''s bad,'' he thought with an ugly expression.

    ...

    Somewhere in the Blind Sea''s Pirate Graveyard.

    The waves crashed against the rocks while washing away the destroyed ships and their

    remains.

    While the storm continued to wreak havoc, a wave carried a body onto one of those rocks. The body was that of a young man, drenched in saltwater and seaweed, with anky build and a ragged crimson cloak draped around his shoulders.

    "Ah..." The young man gave a wreak groan, sounding like he couldn''t breathe properly and then using his dirty fingers, he wed himself up the rock, just enough for him not to get

    washed away by those waves again.

    Crack...

    A single crack sounded.

    The young man turned around, lying on his back while facing the rain and the dark clouds.

    He made his armor vanish, leaving himself only in his vest and billowy off-white shirt.

    After unbuttoning the vest, he pulled out a ne from beneath his shirt. It had a strange amulet connected to the end of it, and now it cracked wide open. "Whew..." Adam took a deep breath and held the amulet close to his heart.

 Chapter 116: The Battle on the Sea

    Chapter 116: The Battle on the Sea

    ?

    The servant boy dragged his feet through the water while using a bucket to carry the water out of the lower levels.

    The ship continued to get heavier, and if it continued like this, the ship would sink!

    "Haaah, haaah..." The servant boy rushed up the stairs with a bucket full of water, then tossed the water overboard into the sea.

    He immediately returned to the lower levels, but then suddenly the ship started to tilt to one side.

    The servant boy lost his footing and tumbled down the stairs,nding in the water below with a loud ssh.

    His head hit something hard, and a deep cut formed on his forehead, causing blood to trickle down his face.

    The servant boy raised his head out of the water, gasped for air greedily, and saw the surroundings spinning around him like a whirlpool.

    The fight between the pink shark and the mercenaries raged outside. It was a level of fight that he had never witnessed before in his life.

    ''Am I going to die here?''

    A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind.

    Again, the ship tilted to one side as the shark outside crashed into the hull.

    A man-sized hole appeared on the hull, with water rushing in at an rming rate.

    The servant boy got submerged again, and because of the wild current, he couldn''t control himself and got pushed out of that hole into the ocean.

    The servant struggled to swim up, his oxygen rapidly depleting.

    ''No!''

    At that moment, he saw arge shadow loom over him like a shadow of death.

    When he turned around, he came face-to-face with the pink-scaled shark with the jaw of a predator. It was staring straight at him.

    ''No...''

    The shark swam through him and swallowed him whole. The servant boy vanished into the mouth of the shark, never to be seen again.

    At the same time, several attacks cut through the water and struck the shark from all sides.

    However, its scales managed to nullify most of the damage.

    Ame, stuck on the shark''s back, also seemed to struggle to breathe.

    Realizing that, the shark emerged from the water again.

    On the board of the ship, mercenaries continued screaming while delivering their attacks at the shark.

    "The ship''s about to sink!"

    "There''s a big hole in the lower levels!"

    "Lucette, go cover it!"

    "Alright!" Lucette ran to the lower levels and jumped into the water there.

    Ignoring the powerful current, she found the hole and started waving her wand around.

    A bubble appeared in the hole, blocking it off and preventing any more of the water from pouring in.

    She waved her wand again, created a bubble in the air, and made the water in the lower levels float up towards the bubble.

    The bubble grew in size as more water got sucked inside.

    Soon, the water waspletely gone from weighing the ship down, but it was inside the bubble that was already the size of a van.

    Lucette waved her wand and pushed the bubble out of the hatch and into the deck. She

    followed behind the bubble that now floated right above the ship.

    "I have an idea!" She shouted and brought the bubble of water towards the pink-scaled shark and dropped it over Ame.

    She got drenched even further and almost choked on seawater.

    The pink-scaled shark growled in anger and rammed head-first into the hull of the ship. The ship began to tremble as the impact caused a loud creaking sound.

    At the depths of the shark''s mouth, a pinkish light began to appear that soon filled up its mouth.

    "She is about to use her transformation creature''s magical ability!"

    While the Transformation Magick was already powerful, each creature also had their own magical ability that was unique to them and often unpredictable.

    From the shark''s mouth, a beam of pinkish light shot out and headed straight towards the ship. It cut through the waves like a hot knife through butter.

    "Brace for impact!"

    Valora and others shouted.

    While others grabbed something to hold onto, Digby jumped off the ship with a sword poised in front of him and appeared in front of the pink beam of destruction.

    "Atom sher Ultimatum!"

    The sword sliced through the beam, cutting it into thousands of tiny pieces and deflecting them in all directions.

    As Digby was about to fall into the sea, he suddenly put his feet against the ship''s hull and used it to propel himself back into the air with a powerful leap.

    "Super Jump!"

    He appeared over the pink-scaled shark, his eyes focused on Ame''s unfocused figure.

    The shark suddenly submerged, and not even a secondter, it leaped out of the water with its jaws wide open, flying in Digby''s direction.

    Its dark mouth started glowing with pinkish light, itsrge teeth turning pink as well, and

    then it mped down on his leg, tearing through his skin with ease.

    "Argh!" Digby yelled in pain as the creature pulled him under the water.

    "Guild master!"

    "Digby!" Valora shouted and was about to jump after him, but was immediately stopped by

    others.

    "Valora, don''t! It''s suicide to fight her in the water!"

    "Your guild master is in danger, fools!"

    "He can manage!"

    At the depths, Digby coughed in pain, and identally swallowed tons of water that filled up

    his lungs.

    The shark bit through his leg and swallowed it whole.

    That allowed Digby to finally get free of the shark''s clutches.

    However, the shark immediately turned around and chased after the one-legged human.

    It opened itsrge jaw and shot out rays of pink light that looked likeser beams. Digby''s arms moved quickly, and his sword cut through several of theser beams, but one of those beams pierced through his waist and left behind a hole as big as a basketball.

    His Kiryoku was running at full speed, but he still couldn''t do anything against those incredibly fast beams underwater.

    ''She couldn''t use her Kiryoku properly on the battle before, but now she is entirely moving instinctively. I hate fighting against ''Instinct Warriors''...''

    Instinct Warriors-a rare breed of mercenaries that can tap into the powers of their instincts

    to fight purely on instinct. It allowed them to be very unpredictable in battle, making them formidable opponents.

    The shark growled and suddenly turned around and leaped off the water with its teeth baring.

    It jumped towards the ship suddenly!

    The mercenaries were taken off-guard.

    A beam of pink light flew out of its mouth and cut through several of the mercenaries. They were shocked at the unexpected attack, and then the shark''s sharp teeth bit through them like

    a human biting through a piece of chicken.

    Others watched in horror as a couple of their friends died in such horrific fashion.

    "You..." Lucette bit through her lip with tears rolling down her cheek, and then she waved her wand, which created a sword sh made out of the air.

    The air sh flew throughout the air and cut through into the shark''s scales. However, its scales were tough and managed to nullify most of the damage.

    "Digby?!" Valora shouted over the railing and didn''t see their guild master anywhere.

    The shark returned to the sea and submerged, vanishing from sight.

    In the dark depths, the shark circled around the ship, preparing for another attack.

    At that moment, on the shark''s back, Ame''s eyes regained their focus, and she looked

    around with a horrified gaze.

    She was thrown out of her instinct state.

    ''I see... I now remember what happened...''

    Ame felt her chest turn tight as she remembered the events that led to this.

    ''I should get going... mother is probably waiting for news...''

    She tookplete control of the shark and started steering it away from the ship.

    Her emotions were out of control, reducing her control over Kiryoku.

    Thus, she didn''t notice that there was a person grabbing the shark''s tail and trying to pull

    themselves onto its back.

    Atst, the figure crawled up the shark''s back and arrived near her, outstretching his sword-

    wielding arm towards her.

    At that moment, the sword stabbed through her back, into her heart, and out of her chest.

    Ame gasped in shock, causing the rest of the air to be knocked out of her lungs, and then seawater poured into her mouth.

    She turned around and saw Digby, bleeding all around the ce, but still managed to deal the

    finishing blow.

    ''No... no...no... no... no... No!''

    Ame''s eyes shook as she saw the darkness surround her vision. She hatefully scratched her

    nails across Digby''s face, leaving deep gashes in his skin, but then she felt a suffocating

    feeling of death.

    ''No...''

    With that onest thought, Ame copsed into Digby''sp, her eyes dead and lifeless.

    The pink-scaled shark stopped moving and started floating back to the surface like a floating

    balloon.

 Chapter 117: The Cold, Wretched Rock

    Chapter 117: The Cold, Wretched Rock

    ?

    Ssh!

    From the dark sea, Digby emerged with a dead body in his arms.

    Hended on the deck of the badly damaged ship and dropped Ame''s lifeless body to the deck.

    "Guild master!"

    After seeing their guild master return victorious, they smiled and cheered.

    Lucette and Valora looked at Ame''s lifeless body with hateful gazes. It brought them littlefort knowing that she was finally dead, as they lost a way more valuable member to her.

    "Digby." Zahn heartilyughed. "You killed a Royal Princess!"

    "Lucky," Digby said. "Her emotions were not in the right ce. Her focus was elsewhere. In other circumstances, I might be the one dead on the deck."

    ''That''s what he says, but Digby''s strength is extremely close to that of the Royal Prince.'' Valora thought. ''Sadly, when he goes to do a promotion test, he never performs to his full potential because of his performance anxiety and fear of failure that hold him back.''

    "What will we do now?" Zahn asked. "Our losses are..."

    "I know..." Digby sighed. "We still have to go to the Gathering. We''ll have a word with the council and find out her identity."

    "With such strength, she cannot be some nobody." Lucette said. "She might be guild master of tier 1 guild."

    "If she is, we might be facing war." Digby said. "Let''s talk with the council first. She attacked us first, after all."

    "Will they believe us?"

    "Depends." Digby then turned to the helmsman of the group. "Can this shipst till we arrive at Kuro Ind?"

    "Barely, yes, if we don''t encounter any sea creatures." The helmsman said. "We''ll have to pay for repairs there."

    "Alright, set a course for Kuro Ind."

    As everyone else began examining the damage to the ship, Digby returned to his quarters, took a seat behind his desk, and brought out a bottle of rum.

    He took a long sip, then poured some into a ss cup, and then brought out two different sks-the sk of the Rising Moon and the sk of the Setting Sun.

    He poured both into the same ss cup, then mixed the three drinks together and took a deep breath before downing it all in one go.

    The gaping hole in his waist seemed to close up, the flesh beginning to knit back together as the magical elixir worked its healing powers.

    From the stump of his separated leg, buds of new skin started to grow, slowly but surely regenerating the missing limb.

    "Damn it..." Digby cursed under his breath and pushed the desk away in frustration.

    The desk collided with the door, and the loud bang echoed through the room.

    "Hahahaha..." His low-soundingughter echoed across the room.

    During the past few years, he has felt immense helplessness. He could feel himself reaching his limit and knew that there were only a few years left before he reached it.

    He wanted a sessor. Crimson Hounds needed a sessor.

    Finally, his wishes came true in the best way possible.

    His guild acquired an S-rank.

    It was ridiculous how quickly everything changed.

    He didn''t think, even in his wildest dreams, that S-ranker would want to join his humble Tier 2 guild. Yet someone did.

    "I didn''t deserve it." Digby thought out loud and drank more of the rum. "I finally woke up from the dream, huh? My strength is feeble-if only I could reach the Royal Prince..."

    The next promotion test was in a month''s time. It was perhaps hisst chance.

    The Gathering was thest chance for him to grow in strength.

    Digby opened his system and looked at how much he needed to level up. It was too much. He just finished killing the Royal Princess, which gave him some experience, but there was still a long way to go.

    After all, the leveling up system changes once one reaches Royal Mercenary rank.

    It wasn''t a matter of experience points anymore.

    It was a percentage system.

    One had to reach 100 percent to level up to the next level. It didn''t increase based on how many Chaosbeings one killed, but rather how strong one was.

    It all mattered¡ªweightlifting to increase strength, running to increase agility, bing a better swordsman, etc.

    Learning the Three Powers was the fastest way to gain experience percentage.

    After Digby killed Ame, he did, in fact, acquire a few percentages for killing her. During the fight, he became stronger.

    Digby had been stuck in Level 30 for five years already. The percentage moved at such a slow

    pace.

    He was currently stuck at 81%, a two percent increase after killing Ame-his biggest increase in percentage in a very long time.

    Thatst twenty percent seemed impossible to reach.

    It would probably take him another three to four years, but unfortunately, he didn''t have that

    much time.

    "If only..." Digby shook his head and rumbled in drunken incoherence.

    He then put the ss cup down and took something out of his inventory. It was the

    Transformation Magick Scroll of the Great Shark!

    ''My Magick strength is not the best, but I would still be able to learn this. The creature might

    not be as strong as Ame''s, but it doesn''t hurt to have another trump card in store...''

    He opened the scroll, and a beam of light entered his head through the forehead.

    He received instructions to learn the Transformation Magick skill.

    ...

    Somewhere in the Blind Sea.

    The wind howled like a banshee and made the falling rain feel like icy daggers as they pelted against Adam''s skin.

    He was sitting on the rock, shivering in his soaked clothes, while the endless sea surrounded

    him.

    Half of the rock was submerged, and he was barely sitting on the dry edge.

    It was cold, freezing cold.

    "S-shit..." Adam''s voice trembled.

    He couldn''t just log off and return to thefort of his warm home.

    If he wasn''t logged in and the ship happened to pass by, he would miss the chance to be

    rescued.

    During the Gathering, the Pirate Graveyard received the most ships during that time.

    Without the Gathering, this treacherous part of the sea might stay empty for several months!

    Thus, if Adam missed his chance to be rescued, he might not be able to leave this wretched

    rock for a very long time!

    However, he had a bad feeling that he might not be found.

    The waves might''ve brought him somewhere further from the known shippingnes that led

    to Kuro Ind.

    At this point, he didn''t care whether some pirate crews discovered him. It would still be better

    than being stuck on this rock!

    --

    The cold and stormy night passed.

    Near the fog-shrouded Kuro Ind, a crimson-sailed ship sailed through the mist and

    approached the harbor of the ind.

    It was clear to every onlooker that the ship was not in top condition. It had holes, barely patched by a weak sailcloth, and there was a smell of decay that seemed to emanate from the

    vessel.

    At the harbor, many eyes turned to the crimson-sailed ship. They knew it was the ship of famous Crimson Hounds-a guild that was rather unknown before with only some fame in

    Dawnwatch.

    Now, it was as famous as the top guilds in Imperium City-after all, it was a guild that had a

    rare S-ranker, Adam Palestar!

    On the dock of the harbor, an old man clutched his cane while watching as the damaged ship

    slowly docked at the port.

    The old man''s eyes looked worn out.

    "Something happened..."

 Chapter 118: The Red Tent

    Chapter 118: The Red Tent

    ?

    An anchor dropped from the crimson-sailed ship, sinking down into the murky depths of the

    ocean.

    After lowering the gangnk, the crew started to depart from the ship with their packed bags on their backs some didn''t take anything with them except their stuff on the inventory. There was a crowd gathered near the ship-a small crowd-barely fifteen men and women. They were here to see the new S-ranker, as they had heard news of himing to the Gathering.

    However, as more and more people departed the crimson-sailed ship, they looked confused and puzzled, as they didn''t see anyone that fit the description of the S-ranker.

    There were wild rumors about Adam''s appearance-like he was a giant of nearly three meters, had the rugged appearance of a merciless warrior, and had eyes as cold as ice-but they were obviously aware of the truth.

    There was a sketch of his real appearance-a young man of the early twenties, a pale face with gentle features, navy eyes, and ck hair that had desperate need of a cut.

    None of the people that left the ship fit those descriptions.

    Perhaps he didn''te after all. A thought shared by most of the crowdfolk.

    Digby, ignoring the crowd''s curious gazes, led his guild down the nked path towards the small hill that went up all the way down to the town of Kuroshima''s doorsteps.

    That walk came to a sudden stop as there was a person sitting on the nked road. His hands clutched a wooden cane that was spiraling. The elderly man''s head was bowed, and his body seemed too weak to carry him any further.

    "Mister, do you need help?" Lucette hunched in front of him with a gentle smile on her face.

    "A-ah..." Kory tried to speak, but his voice was barely a whisper.

    Lucette wondered who he was and why someone would take an elderly man such as himself to this dangerous ind. It looked like he was at death''s door.

    "Lucette," Digby touched her shoulder and looked at Kory. "I am sorry, sir, but we have some urgent things to attend to."

    "B-but," Lucette whimpered. "Can we leave him in such a state?"

    "Whoever brought him here will take care of him." Digby said, heading past the old man, and others slowly followed after him.

    Lucette bowed her head to the old man, apologized to him with a low-toned voice, and then hurried to catch up with Digby.

    "You lost your S-ranker, did you not?"

    Digby''s feet came to a stop. He turned around. The old man had turned his head around as well, staring at them with piercing eyes that seemed to see right through them.

    "Who are you?" Digby asked.

    There was something wrong with the old man. Digby couldn''t put his finger on it. It had something to do with his eyes, the fake acting, and the aura.

    The aura made it feel like the old man should be dead. That''s why Digby thought he was dying and came to the Gathering as his final wish.

    However, now he wasn''t so sure about it anymore.

    "Aish, my name''s Kory." The old man pushed himself up with the cane and walked to them slowly, the cane tapping on the nked road.

    "You were acting?" Lucette asked with furrowed brows.

    "I was just resting." Kory said with a chuckle. "My bones are like jelly when I don''t get enough rest. I was standing there, waiting for you guys, for a couple of hours. I strained my old body, y''see."

    "Why were you waiting for us?" Digby asked.

    "I am here on behalf of His Highness." Kory said with a chuckle. "I was told to get you to the Red Tent."

    "Is the King waiting for us there?"

    "No." Kory shook his head. "Others are, though. So, follow me."

    With that, he walked past the confused members of the Crimson Hounds and slowly made his way up the hill.

    The cane tapped against the nked road, but then they entered the dirt road, and his cane no longer made a sound.

    "An incident happened?" Digby said. "The King would probably like to hear it."

    "He already knows." Kory said. "Little Adam died, didn''t he?"

    "How...?" Digby''s brows furrowed.

    "The King knows a lot of things." Kory said with a smile. "That''s why he has already gathered the council on the Red Tent. They''d like to know about the incident."

    They made their way through the newly-resurrected town that had been abandoned for a whole year since thest Gathering. The weed had grown, but it was already being cut and cleared away by the servants.

    The dust and cobwebs had covered the windows and doors, making it difficult to see inside. That was also currently being taken care of by the servants.

    A new life was beginning to take shape within the old walls of the town.

    After a short while, led by the old man, they arrived at the red tent in the center of the town square. The old man opened the p, revealing a beautifully decorated interior.

    "Digby, please enter." Kory said, opening the p wide enough. "Others, wait outside."

    Digby stepped into the red tent, his sheathed sword clinking against his side. Kory followed right behind and closed the p behind him.

    The red tent was warm, sealed off from the cool, windy air outside.

    Seven figures were gathered around a stone table that had engravings of the map of the ind. They were all sitting on their hard rock thrones. The fur-covered throne at the head of the table was empty.

    "Who is this?" Ambrose asked, and his voice was rough, almost like he was having a sore

    throat.

    "Digby, guild master of the Crimson Hounds." Kory introduced him and then circled around

    the table until he arrived by the fur throne.

    He sat down on it, resting his exhausted legs.

    "That''s the King''s seat." Aria said with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you sitting on it?"

    "I am his majesty''s spokesperson for this." Kory said with a chuckle. "Also, I am exhausted. Give this old man some rest, will you?"

    "Hmph." Aria scoffed and turned to Digby. "We asked to meet with the new S-ranker. What

    do you want?"

    Inwardly, she was trembling in excitement. She wasn''t a fool. There was clear sadness in

    Digby''s emotions. It could only mean one thing.

    ''My foolish daughter seeded, after all!''

    "There was an incident, sir''s." Digby said with his head slightly bowed. "We were attacked in Pirate Graveyard, and unfortunately, Adam perished in the process."

    Silence.

    It was pretty surprising news. It wasn''t everyday that S-rankers would die. They were often quite protected because of their immense potential.

    That''s why this was quite an anomaly.

    A few of the council members smirked without any remorse. They thought it was funny and

    also made fun of Digby.

    S-ranker was clearly the most valuable member of the Crimson Hounds. Way more valuable than any Archwarrior that was filling the ranks of his core.

    Yet, they couldn''t protect him.

    "Who did that?" Zephyr asked. He wasn''tughing or smiling.

    "A Royal Princess that goes by the name Ame." Digby said. "She was there to speak to Adam at first. However, while I didn''t know what they were talking about, I suppose the talk didn''t end on nice terms, and she killed him."

    "Ame..." Orion tapped his finger on the table. "Any description?"

    "A pink-skinned, purple hair with a few pink threads, a decently beautiful woman, a slightly below average height, and a slender build."

    "That does remind me of someone..." Orion said and threw a sidelong gaze in Aria''s direction.

    He wasn''t the only one. Everyone threw some kind of gaze in Aria''s direction. The description was a nearly perfect match for Aria-while she couldn''t possibly have been the one to do that, perhaps someone close to her could have.

    "Don''t you have a daughter named Ame, Aria?" Alistair asked calmly and formally. "A guild master of Shattered Shields, if I recall correctly."

 Chapter 119: Board Has Been Laid

    Chapter 119: Board Has Been Laid

    ?

    Getting asked such usative questions didn''t faze Aria. She knew they had nothing on her, so she kept her rose-lipped smile unflinchingly in ce.

    "A worthless daughter of mine," she said. "I disowned her a while ago. I have nothing to do with her."

    "If she doesn''te willingly here to say her piece, I am suggesting to put a bounty on her head and dere her guild an enemy of the crown."

    Athena said. She was a middle-aged woman, beautiful like a flower on a bright summer day, and had green eyes like moss. She was a warrior. A proper battleborn woman.

    "There''s no need for that." Digby said. "I killed her. The avatar of hers had already vanished from the deck of my ship."

    Aria''s unflinching smile finally had a crack. The corner of her lip was twitching. It was clear that the news took her by surprise.

    "Oh?" Orion smiled. "Most impressive, Digby."

    "Thank you, sir, but I was lucky." Digby said with a short bow. "Her emotional state was not in the right ce. That vulnerability was the cause of her death."

    "That''s very... stupid," Aria loosened her clenched fist and said. "We needed to question her, and now she''s dead."

    This wasn''t ording to her ns. It was a big loss for the Darkstar family. Ame was powerful. She was disowned, but Aria still had her clutches on her. Losing someone so

    powerful was painful.

    "Not necessarily." Bartholomew spoke his first words. "It''s most likely that we won''t see her anymore. It took her, what, ten years to reach her current level of strength?"

    "That''s the average amount for an A-ranker to reach that level of strength." Orion nodded. "It''s likely that she won''t being back to Mortal Online."

    "Adam will have answers about his death."

    "If that''s all, I must go." Zephyr rose back to his feet impatiently.

    The rock throne almost toppled over from the force of his movement.

    "Why such a hurry?" Alistair asked formally.

    "Matters to attend to." Zephyr said, ignoring the questioning gaze of the others, and left the red tent without another word.

    "Aria, are you sure you didn''t know anything about your daughter''s intentions?"

    Athena asked. She didn''t sound like she was using her of anything, but her words clearly implied something.

    "I haven''t seen her since I disowned her," Aria said.

    "Hmm..." Athena rose up, her body-tight armor clinking as she moved. "Shame. I was looking forward to meeting him."

    "I suppose this is the ending of the meeting." Kory stood up with a smile. "Thanks foring. The king is also grateful."

    "I hope next time the king is actually participating." Alistair said and rose from his rock throne.

    Kory just smiled. Not speaking a word. Then he watched as the council departed one after another from the red tent. Digby was still standing at the back.

    "The king is saddened by Adam''s death-he likes you to have this." Kory handed Digby a small, folded piece of paper.

    "What''s this?" Digby asked and unfolded the piece of paper.

    It was empty. Yellow, with nothing drawn or written.

    "The king intended for Adam to have this once hees back from the dark world."

    Dark World-a ce where the yers went after their deaths. They would spend a couple of hours there before respawning back.

    For some odd reasons, no one ever kept their memories of the Dark World, except that they had been there. The only thing they remembered was a feeling of unease and darkness that lingered.

    "May I know what this is?" Digby asked and stored it inside his inventory, where it would be safe from prying eyes.

    "A map of the Godswood," Kory said. "The living ce of the only Chaosbeings inside these walls. It''s a good ce for Adam to go if he wants to grow stronger quicker."

    "This is incredibly valuable." Digby said with clear surprise. "Why would the king give this to him?"

    "I suppose he is feeling guilty about getting him killed." Kory said with a smile. "After all, he invited him here."

    "Hmm..."

    "The map will show the safe and danger zones of the Godswood." Kory said. "Do not let him enter any of those danger zones. It''s too early for him to go there."

    "I''ll keep that in mind." Digby said.

    Kory then tapped him on the shoulder, then, with a cane in hand, left the red tent behind.

    Digby opened the p, saw his guild members patiently waiting outside, and after seeing him, they asked about what they were talking about. He didn''t feel like talking about it yet and instead told them to get settled in the inn.

    The others, slightly disappointed but understanding why, nodded and headed towards the inn. The town was full of inns, as it was clear that thousands of mercenaries would stay there during the Gathering.

    "Sigh..." Digby sighed as he trudged along behind them, his heart heavy with the weight of today''s events.

    He could feel stares on him-it felt like everyone was staring at him-mocking him for losing a rare genius of Adam''s caliber.

    It wouldn''t take even a day for the rumors to spread across the mercenaries like a campfire. He would be theughing stock of the entire Gathering.

    Digby raised his foot as he was about to follow his guild. He then noticed that he had

    trampled over a flower. He quickly bent down to pick it up.

    It was a delicate white lily, its petals crushed and wilting under his boot.

    ''A white lily, dead yet alive.''

    ...

    A white-sailed ship with three masts docked by the dock. It was enormous, like a floating fortress on the water.

    Its gangnk was lowered, and hundreds of white-clothed, veiled figures disembarked in

    silence.

    They were the Church of God Almighty''s chosen disciples. Hidden behind the veils was a ne of silver chain dangling from their necks, and each link bore the face of a saint.

    The crowd of onlookers didn''t know how to react after seeing them. The power of faith was both dangerous and awe-inspiring at the same time.

    Zealots, such as these veiled figures, were not to be trifled with. They would kill for the sake of their faith without a second thought-no matter if that happened in the New World or the

    Other World.

    At the back of the veiled zealots, a veiled woman stepped down the gangnk. She was clearly gorgeous, no matter if the veil obscured her features.

    With a flower bouquet in her hands, she captivated everyone around her. The silver hair cascaded down her back. She was big-chested and dressed in a flowing white gown.

    The crowd only needed a nce to know who she was. A famous figure around the New World and its surrounding seas. There weren''t many who hadn''t heard about her world famous

    beauty.

    While she was Original, her beauty had even reached the eyes of the Other World, pictures of hers spread across the inte.

    Lady Yu, the High Priestess of the Church of God Almighty.

    ...

    "Lady Yu has arrived." Kory was standing in the middle of a rocky cave, staring at the entrance

    of the cave, which was obscured by a canopy of twisted branches and vines.

    Water sshed behind him.

    There was a small hot spring. It was steaming, filling the cave with a warm mist.

    In the hot spring, a man with short cut blond hair soaked leisurely, his naked body hidden in a

    thickyer of steam.

    "Mm~" Konrad let out a contended sigh. "Good. The blind-eyed bishop did well."

    "What now?" Kory asked.

    "Nothing." Konrad said with a chuckle, his face hidden in the steam. "Every piece has beenid on the board. Now, it''s time to wait and see how they move."

 Chapter 120: Festival of the Godswood

    Chapter 120: Festival of the Godswood

    ?

    It was cold. Bone-chillingly cold. The wind whipped through the air, making it feel even colder, and it didn''t help that the sea''s icy waterspped at the rock.

    Adam was hunched right in the middle of the small rock. He was shivering, regretting many of his choices.

    There wasn''t much to do on this godforsake rock except shiver in the cold, avoid sshes of water, and look nkly ahead at the hovering interface.

    He was looking at the health bar, watching as it slowly dropped. It was almost like a clock ticking down to his demise.

    Withoutst night''s storm, it wouldn''t be so cold. Instead, it could be rather warm as summer was approaching, only a couple of months away.

    Now, because ofst night''s storm, the sun is hidden behind a nket of clouds. The wind howled as well, unfortunately enough.

    Adam had already changed his clothes several times. Unfortunately, it only took a half hour or so before they were drenched again.

    With a shaky hand that trembled like a leaf in the wind, he retrieved a whistle, ced it between his lips, and blew weakly.

    The whistle''s weak sound echoed for a short distance.

    It was worthless in this situation.

    The whistle was never designed to travel long distances. It was only meant to alert someone nearby.

    With the same trembling hand, he put it back in the safety of his inventory.

    The sea breeze picked up, and the waves again started to swallow the rock whole. It wasn''t as big a wave as yesterday. Very small waves, barely ankle-height, but the rock was already barely above the surface, and now it disappearedpletely under a thinyer of water.

    Adam''s buttocks felt the cold water seep through his shorts.

    The water then receded and left the rock. It became dryer, but still damp.

    ''Ame...'' Adam suddenly thought.

    She was a person he knew from his past life. Not closely. However, he was still somewhat familiar with her. The way she acted today was strange.

    ''Well, the way she spoke, she wanted to avoid the future, which I know that''ll happen to her...''

    ...

    Five years ago, the festival of the Godswood.

    The blooming cherry blossoms fell from thick-trunked trees that almost seemed like they were half-alive and made the ground look pink.

    Arge festival was ongoing. Tents were put up, hundreds of them, around the entrance of the forest.

    It was a special hunting festival. Those with brave hearts and steel minds would enter the wretched forest of Godswood. Unlike its beautiful appearance, it was a hellishndscape of death and decay.

    Those with brave hearts and steel minds would saddle up on their horses and join the hunting party¡ªthey would go to the depths of the Godswood in hopes of ying a famous God Beast, Kyavan.

    A golden tent was put up at the center of the festival area. It was the tallest, most glorious, and longest tent of them all. A banner of the Imperial Order swayed in the gentle breeze of spring.

    The leaders of a dozen different guilds were gathered inside. They would be representing their guilds at the hunting party.

    Whoever gets the final kill on the God Beast will also receive all glory. Therefore, it was also apetition.

    The p of the tent suddenly opened, and a mature-bodied woman entered, her long, purple hair cascading down her back. She walked rather slowly. Most likely because of her round, pregnant belly.

    Beside her beauty, her pinkish skin also took the attention away from the guild masters. "Thanks foring, sires." Ame spoke with a weak-sounding voice and took a seat at the head of the table.

    "Where''s the king? He was supposed to be here."

    "My husband is unfortunately sick," she said. "Therefore, I am here as her spokeswoman." It disappointed many of them, but they still nodded and didn''t show their displeasure. She was still one of the king''s many wives and had be quite powerful in her own right. "We have received a sighting of the God Beast." Ame said and opened the map of the Godswood on the table. "Right there..."

    Her finger was tapping at the area of the map that was red in color. It was one of those danger zones. They all expected it, but it was much deeper in the forest than they expected.

    "Any questions?" she asked.

    A person raised a hand. He was tall and broad-shouldered. A serious face, battle-hardened, and a small beard budding on his chin.

    At the back, on his shield, was a sigil of a tinum lion.

    "Yes?" Ame turned to the unfamiliar man. "You are...?"

    "My name''s Adam Palestar, madam." Adam introduced himself.

    "Oh, tinum Mercenaries, correct?"

    "That''s right, madam."

    "What is your question, sir?"

    The other guild masters stayed silent. They had, of course, heard the nametely. They were all renowned guild masters, battle-hardened by the Great Guild War.

    However, currently, the new rising star-The Adam-was on the tongue of everyone.

    While he was yet to be as powerful as others currently, Royal Mercenary-for some odd reason, powerful mercenaries flocked to his newly-created guild like crows around a corpse.

    No one knew why, except the ones that joined him.

    They had faith in Adam. His charm, wit, and intelligence had a maic effect that drew

    people in.

    "I''d like to offer a ceasefire." Adam said with a smile.

    "Ceasefire...?"

    Ame asked, uncertain of what he meant.

    "In this tent, half of the men won''t return." Adam looked at others. They knew it as well. "The biggest casualty is the result of thepetition."

    "I think it is such a waste. The festival of the Godswood was supposed to bring others closer. This is pretty counter-intuitive. I know everyone wants to y the God Beast and im glory,

    but at what cost?

    "Every year, during the festival of the Godswood, five, six, sometimes even nine guild masters perish in the hands of Kyavan before that beast is finally killed.

    "If we work together, that number can be zero, can it not?"

    Ame stared at him silently. Then she looked at others. They threw snarky looks in Adam''s direction, thinking that he was just a foolish, naive child.

    They would never work together. Their pride was rock hard, their ego as big as the Godswood mountain, and their desire to win at all costs was blinding them to the possibility of

    cooperation.

    "Alright..." Ame smiled. "Everyone, I give you an order, in the name of King Moriarty, the hero of humanity, the Ruler of the Originals and the First Men. You must work together."

    A silence fell over the tent. They were surprised. They looked at each other and wondered whether they would be trustworthy. They couldn''t possibly put their lives in their hands! "If you break the oath, you''ll be branded as a traitor to the crown." Ame said with a cold,

    chilly smile.

    They all paled. None of them were foolish enough to go against the crown. It was just one pathway to an early grave.

    "Also," Ame looked at a smiling Adam and said. "Since this was your suggestion, if you let

    even one of them die, it''ll be on you, and you''ll be forbidden from participating in this

    festival in the future."

    "Alright." Adam said with a cocky, confident smile.

    It made Ame wonder. Why is he so confident? Was he so confident in his strength? He

    should be weaker than the other guild masters present. They were all Prime Mercenaries, after

    all.

    No. Adam was not confident in his strength. He was confident in the shield on his back.

    "Not a single harm wille to them." Adam said with a smile. "That''s my oath."

    Ame''s eyes widened into round orbs. Her heart skipped a beat. She realized something. Adam was not an ordinary mercenary.

    Mercenaries were often warriors. A sword and spear were their tools of the trade. But Adam was different; he was a protector.

    ''I heard rumors about him. In the town of Yale, he protected thousands of Originals with just

    his shield and sword. Ordinary mercenaries would just let them die and focus on their own

    profit.

    ''He didn''t let anyone die that day...''

    -

    "Whoo..." Adam breathed out cold air.

    He returned from his dream world. He was back at the wretched, godforsaken rock. It was

    almost like he could still feel the warmth of that tent.

    The smell of burned wood and the sound of crackling logs.

    He missed that dearly.

    "I-I need some rest..." Adam rested his head on his knees, his eyes closing into a peaceful rest. It looked like he was

    just going to have a short nap.

    However, his health started dropping at an increased speed. With this speed, it wouldn''t even

    take another five minutes before he died.

    Rumble- Rumble- Rumble-

    A rumbling sound, almost sounding like the rumbling of thunder, sounded. Yet, there was no thunder. It came from the air, somewhere.

    A short whileter, a figure appeared in the air above the rock. His legs were kicking in the air.

    With each kick, the air exploded, and it allowed him to stay on the air, as if he were airwalking.

    With each explosion, a rumbling sound trembled across the sea. It was the result of this figure''s airwalk.

    Hended on the small rock, his shoesnding on the underwater part of the rock, but he didn''t care that his shoes and socks got wet.

    He took Adam into his arms, holding him steadily against his chest, which warmed the

    freezing young man.

    "..." Zephyr looked at the young man with his deep, navy eyes. "He does look like you..."

 Chapter 121: St. Amella

    Chapter 121: St. Ame

    ?

    Warmth. A figure was sleeping under a thick nket. The figure''s chest rose and fell rhythmically as they slept soundly.

    It was dark outside the windows. It was night. A slight mist hade from the mountains and settled in the valley.

    Adam''s eyelids fluttered. He was about to wake up.

    While slowly waking up, he heard distant noises. Those clearly didn''te from the same room but from outside. Perhaps from downstairs.

    He opened his eyes. It was so quick that it almost looked like he had already been awake, just resting his eyes shut.

    "nket?" Adam sat up and slowly removed the nket, but he was immediately hit by a wave of familiar cold and the memory of the sea.

    He covered himself up again.

    His skin had turned paler than usual, almost blue, like ice. There was a frigid feeling still lingering in his bones.

    "Where am I?"

    He looked around the unfamiliar room. It made him wonder whether he was still dreaming.

    At first, he thought he had died and got thrown back into the real world. However, the room in the Navy Town house wasn''t as warm as this one or as cozy.

    "I was found." Adam sat on the edge of the bed, pulled the nket with him, and stood up from the bed.

    It was hard to walk at first, but he managed to take a few steps towards the door.

    He wrapped the nket around his freezing body, then made his way through the door, then down the hallway that led to the staircase. He made his way down the steps.

    The sounds became louder and had hints of familiarity.

    An arm suddenly wrapped around his shoulder and squeezed in aforting manner.

    "Finally, you wake up, aye?"

    Adam turned to see Zahn grinning at him. His cheeks were already flushed and clearly drunk, but he was still inplete control of himself.

    A mere alcoholic drink wouldn''t be able to shake the mercenary''s state of mind.

    "Zahn..." Adam whispered. "What happened? How am I here?"

    "You''re awake!"

    Lucette heard noises and came over to see Adam, who had finally woken up. Her voice was full of joy as she jumped to Adam, pressing her chest against his face and hugging her in a

    motherly fashion.

    Hearing that, the rest also came to the staircase, joyous to see Adam awake and well.

    It was truly shocking to hear the ringing of a bell and then pass out Adam on the doorsteps. He just appeared there, out of nowhere. They tried to ask around if someone knew who brought him, but no one had an idea.

    A couple of the council''s members also visited their living ce,ing to talk about Adam''s sudden appearance.

    They were clearly hoping to see Adam awake so they could speak to him, but they couldn''t linger around for too long either, or it was clear that they had some other reasons for being there.

    Footsteps came from the steps above them. Digby also came after hearing themotion, a relieved smile on his face. He was the happiest after seeing Adam on the doorsteps.

    "Adam." Digby nodded, sounding formal. "You must be surprised to be here."

    "Yeah..." Adam scratched the back of his head. "How am I here?"

    "Let''s take a seat by the firece; you must be freezing, and we''ll exin everything to you." They left the steps of the staircase. It was too narrow there, and then they went to the next room. Everyone continued patting Adam on the shoulder, weing him back warmly.

    Adam took a seat closest to the firece. Its logs are crackling softly, filling the room with warmth.

    It was very warm, as they knew that Adam was freezing, almost like a block of ice, so they had been warming up the house for hours after his return.

    It was so warm that others even sweated but didn''tin, knowing that Adam was in desperate need of the warmth.

    With a nket and a firece next to him, Adam still felt slightly cold. Not as bad as before, though. The color started to return to his face as well.

    "Mind telling us what happened first?" Digby asked.

    Adam nodded and began from the beginning. Telling everything he talked about with Ame. Then he talked about what happened after that and where he ended up after falling to the sea.

    "It was all Aria''s doing, after all," Valora spat out angrily. "It''s unfortunately all hearsay. We cannot use her of anything."

    "I thought someone of her caliber wanted you to be on her side," Digby said with a frown. "To think that she would straight up kill you for refusing her offer."

    "That sounds badly thought of, no?" Zahn said. "Adam would''ve just lost a couple of months. It''s not a big deal. He can start from over, and Aria would''ve made an enemy out of S-ranker."

    "Every month counts," Digby said. "A war ising. There''s no stopping."

    Digby had a simple thought about Aria''s n. She didn''t care about the status that came with having an S-ranker in the same faction. It didn''t really matter to her.

    A strength, on the other hand, did.

    If Adam wasn''t strong enough before the great war came, then he would be pretty useless to everyone. Thus, if he refused her, she wanted him killed so that he would waste precious

    months.

    He would only bring status to the faction. It could increase the numbers of that specific faction, but she didn''t care about that.

    She already had a big guild and an evenrger army backing her. She only needed strong

    members.

    "Do you know who saved you, Adam?" Lucette asked, rubbing her warm hand on his shoulder,forting him like a mother.

    "No," Adam shook his head. "I guess I passed out."

    "The Gathering starts tomorrow," Digby said. "Stay here. I am not putting you in danger''s

    way anymore."

    "But..." Adam sighed but realized why, and then he slowly nodded. "I''ll stay put..."

    "What should we do with the Shattered Shields?" Zahn asked. "We killed their guild master."

    "Ame is dead?" Adam asked in surprise.

    "Yeah..." Valora nodded. "She fought back hard, but it wasn''t enough."

    "A war might be heading our way," Digby said. "Luckily, Ame was their only Royal Princess. They do have a couple of Prime Mercenaries, but I think I can take care of them."

    "Their home base is in Imperium City," Lucette said. "However, I think they''ll leave. They are not strong enough to live there anymore, or they''ll get swallowed by other guilds." "We''ll need to be careful here," Digby said. "The rumors spread like wildfire. I wouldn''t be surprised if they already know we killed their guild master."

    Adam stayed quiet. This new took him by the surprise. It left him with a sour taste in his

    mouth.

    ''I suppose this was her goal, after all. When I was on that wretched rock, I was thinking about what she was possibly thinking. She was going to quit the game nheless.

    ''Her life went way differently in my past life-there, she ended up marrying the King, gave

    him a couple of children, and lived a life of luxury in the pce. She was also a crowned saint

    of the orphanage it was renamed St. Ame''s Orphanage.

    ''I wonder if she''ll be happier with her current life. Only time will tell, I suppose.''

 Chapter 122: Arkham the Introvert

    Chapter 122: Arkham the Introvert

    ?

    A glorious and burning bonfire roared with mes near the town''s square. The mercenaries danced and sang around it, celebrating the start of the Gathering.

    They used broken furniture and old wooden crates as fuel to feed the fire. Those had no use either way, so they might as well use them to light up the night and keep warm.

    It was a big party. Everyone mingled with each other, sharing stories andughter throughout the night. They drank, ate delicious barbecue, and danced under the stars.

    The start of the Gathering was just a few hours away. No one bothered to go to sleep. The excitement was palpable in the air.

    The Crimson Hounds arrived at the party. They had their own small party in their living quarters while waiting for their young genius to wake up.

    Now, he was awake, and well, the chill on his bones was long gone, and he also joined them for the festivities.

    "Look." Zahn came to him and looked discreetly at the group of people gathered around one of the dining tables.

    They didn''t seem to share the festival feeling. There was not a single smile on their faces. "They are part of the Ameryn Brothers, aren''t they?" Adam said casually.

    "Yeah." Zahnughed. "See their sour faces? They were celebrating the loudest when they heard news of your ''death'' so they celebrated loud enough for us to hear. They look like clowns now."

    Then, people from various guilds came up to Adam and congratted him on his quick recovery. They were all smiling and praising him for the things that transpired in the tutorial.

    Adam was no stranger to such things. The weak often curried favor with him. This time, they did it for his potential future.

    He just smiled and nodded.

    Once the first group came to talk and praise him, another group followed in session, all smiling from ear to ear. It was surprising to Adam that their mouths didn''t be numb from smiling so much.

    The other Crimson Hounds went to get some food and drinks. They knew Adam would be busy for the next couple of hours. No one wanted to miss a chance to talk to the newly crowned S- ranker.

    However, Digby didn''t go to drink or eat. He stood nearby, his posture straight and alert. He was keeping an eye on Adam, making sure nothing unexpected would happen-like a bodyguard.

    After another group came and went, Adam''s smile faded slightly, and he hoped that he had some drinks to quench his parched tongue.

    He didn''t want to drink alcoholic drinks. The Gathering was just a few hours away. He was too weak to deal with the effects of drunkenness.

    Another figure stepped forward. The figure clearly wanted to talk to him. Adam felt a little bit frustrated, but he didn''t show it on his face. He just forced another smile and looked at the figure.

    With an angr and handsome face, the figure extended a hand towards Adam to shake.

    "Uh..." Adam was quite speechless, recognizing the person.

    The figure didn''t speak a word. His hand still extended into a handshake.

    Adam grabbed the hand and shook it.

    "Hello." Arkham said very formally. His snow-white hair reached his ears, and he was very handsome with cold silver eyes. He was also muscled like a bull.

    It was a fascinating sight. Two S-rankers standing face-to-face.

    "Hi," Adam replied.

    Arkham nodded, then he turned around and walked away. It was such a brief and weird encounter. He went back to eat his barbecue in peace.

    ''Arkham the Introvert,'' Adam wryly smiled. ''A shadow of the brilliant star, Sapphira.''

    The year 2145 was a fascinating year. It was a year when two legendary geniuses appeared in the same tutorial. They also happened to be siblings-Sapphira and Arkham.

    They dominated the tutorial. No one else in the tutorial had any chance to show their prowess, so these two were the only ones who became mercenaries from that tutorial group.

    They were just too shiny-like two beautifulets.

    Back then, there wasn''t a council. The S-rankers were designed among the Handlers. They had no choice but to give both of them S-rank titles. They were truly exceptional.

    They had seen monsters like Konrad Moriarty and Mauricio ughter also dominate their tutorial groups. However, Sapphira and Arkham didn''t only dominate; theypletely obliterated thepetition.

    Sapphira was the more famous of the siblings. She was known for her unparalleled skills and strategic brilliance on the battlefield.

    Everyone knew that she would fight for the throne one day. She was destined to rule.

    Arkham, the shadow, was her loyal protector and confidant, always watching her back. He was

    a quiet man, always standing in the shadow, watching and waiting.

    However, he was strong. Strong like a monster.

    There was a saying-if you hurt Sapphira, a monster wille after you.

    That monster was Arkham-the strongest man of his rank.

    ''A man that was basically responsible for the Second Guild War,'' Adam thought.

    ''His death was the start of conflict between the Star and Death factions. The Otherworld Killer killed him in his virtual reality pod. There was a rumor that the Otherworld Killer was Cmity himself.

    ''Everyone knew that if they fought in Mortal Online, Arkham would win every time. If Arkham were alive for the Second Great Guild War, Star Faction would have had an had an easy victory. ''That''s why everyone believed Cmity killed him. If Arkham stayed alive, he would''ve never been able to get the throne-never.''

    Adam felt strange. He knew so much about the future that seeing some of these legendary figures alive left a strange taste in his mouth.

    He then licked his dry lips and headed back to their living quarters. There was at least a sink where he could get some cold water.

    Digby followed him with his eyes and kept his Kiryoku focused on him.

    He reached the door and was about to open it, but then he heard a cough.

    "Cough..." An old man with a cane in hand walked towards him. His cough sounded like he

    was having trouble breathing.

    Adam turned to him, frowning. He didn''t know who he was. However, the old man''s cane had the sigil of the Imperial Order.

    ''Imperial Order...''

    "Hello, young man, cough..." Kory wiped his mouth with a napkin and smiled weakly. "May

    we have a word?"

    "Who are you?" Adam asked.

    "Name''s Kory." The old man answered. "I''m just an old man, but I am currently acting as a

    spokesman for the King."

    Adam removed his hand from the doorknob, keeping the door closed.

    "Can we go for a walk?" Kory asked. "I want to show you something."

    Adam frowned, not too sure. He then saw Digby standing somewhat far, but looking towards them. It was almost like he heard it all. He nodded, as if he were giving his approval.

    "Sure."

    Adam nodded and walked with him away from the bonfire, heading to a dark forest, with the trees moving like something half-alive, their wooden fingers scratching against each other. "I am very happy that you are fine," Kory said with an elderly smile. "When I heard what happened to you, I felt like my old heart couldn''t handle such shock. dly, you are fine." "Thanks...?" Adam didn''t know how to answer that; therefore, his thanks sounded like a

    question.

    Kory just smiled and headed deeper into the forest. Adam followed closely behind, not exactly sure where they were going.

    They were approaching a small mountain. Its peak barely above the tree line.

 Chapter 123: Hot Spring

    Chapter 123: Hot Spring

    ?

    The branches and greenish vines draped down the side of the mountain like a cascading waterfall of nature. They were tangled, almost like they were performing an ugly dance.

    It was exactly where Kory was heading-towards that wall.

    Adam raised an eyebrow. He wondered whether the old man wanted to climb up the small mountain using the branches and vines as a makeshiftdder.

    He doubted the old man would be able to climb with his frail body. Walking alone seemed like a strainous task toplete for him.

    Kory, using the cane, moved the branches and vines out of the way, almost like he was opening a p to the tent. Instead, there was a nature-made entrance to a strange cave.

    "What''s this ce?" Adam asked.

    "Come in, and you''ll see." Kory said, beckoning him inside.

    They stepped through the nature-made entrance. The branches and vines came back down, blocking the light of the moon from the outside world.

    It became very dark.

    Kory put his cane against the wall and brought out a small lighter. With a flick of his thumb, a small me appeared at the end.

    It wasn''t much light, but enough.

    They headed deeper into the small cave and came across the hot spring. It wasn''t steaming anymore. The water was still bright, but the fog was gone and the air was warm.

    "A hot spring?"

    "Not just any hot spring," Kory said. "The King himself found this a couple of summers ago."

    "What makes this so special?" Adam asked, crouched near the water, and dipped his hand into the warm pool.

    His eyes widened. The tips of his fingers tingled as if tiny sparks of electricity danced across them.

    "A hot spring that can heal you, increase your talent, help you learn any skill, increase your mastery over the Three Powers, and even improve your appearance."

    Adam frowned. It sounded far too good to be true. He hadn''t heard anything like this exist in the world of Mortal Online before.

    If something like that existed, why was he shown this? It was fishy.

    "You must be wondering, why did I show you this?"

    "Yes, why?" Adam looked over to him.

    "The King wanted you to take a bath on it," Kory said. "He has given the privilege to every S- ranker so far. Sapphira and Arkham took baths yesterday; Cmity and Mauricio just took

    baths this morning."

    "Why?" Adam asked.

    "Why indeed." Kory chuckled. "Don''t bother trying to know his motive. It''s a mystery that only King himself knows the answer to."

    Adam looked at the hot spring. It doesn''t look active right now.

    "It doesn''t have any steam. The water was also rather cold for a hot spring."

    Kory chuckled, not saying a word, and took his cane, then left the cave with the sound of

    tapping the cane following after him. He took the light with him, dark enveloping the cave once again.

    "Hah... hahahahaha." Adamughed.

    It was a creepy sound that echoed through the darkness.

    This was perhaps his luckiest moment. He thought he would have to find this cave himself by searching around the forest like a headless chicken. To think that he was brought here willingly!

    Of course, he knew about this cave. He heard plenty about it.

    While he knew that this cave existed, he didn''t know anything about this hot spring. It was aplete surprise for him as well. He didn''t want toe here for the hot spring either way. It was what awaited him at the depths of the hot spring that intrigued him the most.

    The hot spring was deep. It reached thirty meters deep.

    ''Now I know how Cmity found that thing. He must''ve been here taking his bath when he stumbled upon it. Weird that the King never found it when he is owning this ce...''

    Adam smiled and started taking off his clothes-starting with the armor, then his boots, and finally his tunic-and soon stood buck naked.

    The water sshed as he entered the hot spring. It was rather cool. Only the air was warm.

    The bottom of the hot spring was smooth, thirty meters deep, and filled with round-shaped rocks that acted as natural footholds.

    From the gaps between the rocks, steam and hot water rushed up. The steam was so thick that it obscured his vision.

    It was pleasantly warm. It wasn''t so hot that it burned his skin, but it was hot enough to rx his muscles and soothe his tired body.

    Without visibly knowing, his body, mind, and everything in between started changing. It was the majestic effect of the hot spring.

    The Shield Charge skill-the one still stuck at zero percent-started magically learning itself. Same with the Ground King skill, but slowly. It didn''t matter if the hot spring helped to learn skills; Adam''s body stillcked the power topletely learn them.

    In the depths of his mind, the Mana Ocean started filling up with more water, gushing out in all directions. It wasn''t any longer a mere puddle.

    His mind also expanded. It helped his Kiryoku improve a little bit. However, he was still miles away from reaching the second level.

    His Kraft learning had made no progress. After all, he hadn''t gotten his hands on the scroll

    yet.

    Adam''s skin turned fairer. It was a discreet change, but it was a subtle transformation. The hidden muscles on his arms and chest had be more defined.

    Those were also very subtle transformations. It wasn''t noticeable enough yet.

    Adam let out a rxed sigh, leaned his back against the edge of the hot spring, and closed his

    eyes.

    There was no need to hurry for him yet. The real reason why he wanted to get here hadn''t appeared yet.

    It was still a little bit over an hour until the beginning of the Gathering.

    ...

    "Ah, my back..." Kory dragged his feet, keeping himself up with the cane while he made his way down the dark forest.

    It was hard for him to walk through the forest. There were treacherous roots, slippery rocks, and low-hanging branches that threatened to trip him at every step.

    "Ah~" A soft-looking hand moved one of the branches out of the old man''s way. "Saint Kory,

    I didn''t know you were also here~"

    "A-ah...?" Kory raised his head with great struggle; his old vision needed a moment to clear up before he could see the figure standing in front of him.

    After a few blinks, he recognized the familiar face and smiled warmly.

    "Young Yu, you''ve grown so much since thest time I saw you."

    Lady Yu smiled warmly. She didn''t have her veil on, revealing her kind and pure face, which has aged gracefully over the years.

    With each blink, her long eyshes, almost like she had eysh extensions, fluttered gently against her rosy, blushed cheeks.

    "What are you doing here?" Kory asked gently, seeing the town''s buildings looming near.

    "The party is ongoing..."

    "I wanted to visit the hot spring." Lady Yu said and touched her soft cheek. "I am afraid that my skin has been feeling drytely."

    "Nonsense, haha." Koryughed with a reassuring smile. "I am dry, wrinkly, and all that; you are as beautiful as ever. A goddess among mortals, if I may say so myself."

    "Hmph," Lady Yu yfully pouted. "You make me blush. You old flirt."

    "You wanted to visit the hot spring?" Kory asked, holding the cane with both hands.

    "Yes, is it currently free?" Lady Yu asked innocently.

    Kory smiled. "Yes, it is currently free. If my old mind remembers correctly, haha."

    "Then I''ll be on my way," she said with a smile and a skip in her step.

    Kory watched as she disappeared into the depths of the forest. The low-hanging branches hid

    her from view.

    "The flow of destiny..." he whispered.

 Chapter 124: Aemon and Seth

    Chapter 124: Aemon and Seth

    ?

    A ck-sailed ship was anchored near the northern shore of Kuro Ind. Its ck g, with a skull that seemed to be hystericallyughing, rippled in the wind.

    On the lower level of the three-masted ship, hunching behind arge wooden barrel, Seth waited nervously for the pirates to leave for the ind.

    However, they never did. He had already been waiting a couple of days, yet they didn''t seem to be nning to go anywhere anytime soon.

    ''I thought they were going to participate in the gathering. What''s taking so long?!'' Seth anxiously thought.

    He was already tired, hungry, and frustrated.

    It was just a matter of time before he was discovered. He was lucky that the lower levels were infested by rats and spiders, so no one wanted toe here willingly unless absolutely necessary.

    ''I''ll need to find out what the hell is going on up there.''

    Seth left his hiding ce. He crept cautiously down the lower levels, the hangingnterns lighting up his way.

    The lower level had a musty smell that made his stomach churn. It was filled with old crates, some broken furniture, and dust-covered cobwebs that hung from the ceiling.

    ''Here must be something I can use.''

    Seth opened some barrels, then crates, and searched through the contents, hoping to find something useful. It was just old junk.

    However, from his third opened crate, he found some old clothes-pirate clothes-that were either torn, blood-stained, or battle-worn.

    It was exactly what he was looking for.

    He quickly changed his clothes-a loose-fitting linen shirt, a richly colored vest, and knee- length breeches with leather boots-and it made him look like a true pirate, ready to set sail on the high seas.

    However, the sses on his nose were not very pirate-like. It reduced his menacing appearance.

    Seth realized it and quickly removed them before pocketing them in the vest pocket.

    He didn''t have a weapon on him. He tossed away the tutorial''s pitchfork the moment he arrived in Driftwood.

    Some would think it was foolish to get rid of his only weapon, but it made him think of his rival, Adam.

    He would rather be weaponless than use something given to him.

    Seth found a belt in the crate. It was a loose belt, but it would have to do. He fastened it around his waist.

    He steeled his expression, then crept across the lower level until he arrived at thedder of the hatch. He climbed it up, shoving the hatch door open and emerging onto the deck of the ship.

    A cold wind whipped against his face, stinging his cheeks with icy fingers. It was very early in the morning; the sun had yet to rise over the horizon, and the sky was still a dark shade of blue.

    Seth turned around and identally bumped into a muscle-chested man who towered over him, ring down with a scowl on his face.

    "What were you doing there?" Edwardius demanded an answer.

    Seth''s words got stuck in his throat. This must be the most intimidating man he''s ever seen. He felt like every lie of his would end in failure.

    Thus, he didn''t dare to speak.

    "Did you find what you were looking for?" Edwardius asked, his piercing gaze never leaving Seth''s eyes.

    Seth shook his head. He could feel the lump forming in his throat, making it impossible for him to respond.

    "That''s because I had it," Edwardius said, bringing out a sun-gazing tool. "The captain was looking for this, wasn''t he?"

    Seth slowly nodded. He didn''t know what tool that was or what he was talking about, but he still nodded because he thought it was the wisest thing to do at this very moment.

    "Go on, take it to the captain." Edwardius shoved the tool into Seth''s hands and left to bark orders at the rest of the crew.

    Seth looked down at the tool in his hands-it was light and oddly-shaped; it resembled binocrs, but with just one lens.

    ''Sun-gazing tool...''

    He looked over the upper floor of the ship-there were two stairs leading up there-and there was a single door that led to the captain''s quarters.

    Seth steeled his nerves and made his way up the right stair, gripping the railing tightly. His footsteps were silent, as he didn''t dare to make a sound.

    By the moment he arrived at the door, his heart was pounding in his chest.

    "Come in."

    A voice came from inside.

    He didn''t even have time to knock on the door.

    Seth opened the door with his free hand, while the other was holding the sun-gazing tool, and stepped into the room cautiously.

    The room was dark and musty, with a single candle flickering in the corner. There were maps of different areas of the sea nailed to the walls, clothes hanging from pegs, and arge

    wooden desk covered in papers and nautical instruments.

    "You look afraid; do I frighten you, kid?" Aemon asked, sitting behind the desk.

    Seth''s legs almost buckled underneath the weight of Aemon''s aura. It was suffocating and overwhelming, consuming every breath he took.

    Aemon just chuckled and returned to examining the maps spread out in front of him.

    Seth''s fear wasn''t suspicious. Every man and woman on this ship were afraid of the mad

    pirate.

    Aemon had ck hair-like night itself with handsome facial features sharp enough to cut through steel. He was dressed in an open-front vest, a billowy white shirt underneath, brown trousers, and tall ck boots.

    There was also a brown tricorn hat on his desk, but it was mostly unworn as he didn''t like wearing hats indoors.

    ''He looks somewhat familiar.'' Seth thought with a frown. ''But far more scary...''

    Aemon''s face resembled a certain face found on a coin.

    "Bring me my tool," Aemon said, pointing at the spot beside the tricorn hat.

    Seth stopped by the desk, ced the sun-gazing tool beside the hat, and stepped back to the door. With a bow, he nned to leave the room.

    "Now, I don''t remember having any new recruits." Aemon tore his gaze off the map. "Who are

    you?"

    Seth''s heart skipped a beat. The fear creeped inside him like icy tendrils wrapping around his

    chest.

    "You are too weak to be an assassin," Aemon chuckled. "Who are you?"

    "N-name''s Seth..." he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.

    "Why are you in my ship, Seth?" Aemon asked, adding extra weight to the name "Seth".

    "T-the Gathering..." Seth whimpered. "I-I wanted to participate in the Gathering." "Who doesn''t?" Aemonughed. "You do have balls; I give you that. Still, you''re an innocent and foolish pup. A brat who doesn''t know more about the world than a frog in the well."

    "W-why..." Seth gulped. "Why haven''t you gone to the ind?"

    Aemon chuckled and went to the window, opening it enough for the ind to appear.

    "Mercenaries are dealing with stuff on the ind. Pirates are on the water, ensuring that if

    there are some c... Chaosbeings that escape, we take care of them."

    ''Damn it...'' Seth cursed inwardly and asked. "W-what''ll you do to me?"

    "No worries, we''ll spend more time together," Aemonughed and shouted. "Ed!"

    The door opened, and the muscle-chested, giant of a man, Edwardius, stepped into the room.

    "Take the imposter and throw him to the brig."

    "dly." Edwardius grabbed Seth by the back of his neck, as if he were a disobedient puppy, and took him away, while Seth tried to resist the tears that welled up in his eyes. Aemon''s smile froze over. He coldly looked out of the window, towards the ind and all the way to the town of Kuroshima.

 Chapter 125: Black Sun

    Chapter 125: ck Sun

    ?

    The sun rose from the horizon. The dark shade left the sky as the world was bathed in a warm, golden light.

    It was a beautiful sight to behold.

    However, then something changed.

    Around the bottom corner of the sun, a faint ck haze began to form. Slowly spreading across the sun. The sky grew dimmer, and the warm light started to fade away.

    ck Sun-it was called.

    It onlyes around once a year, during the day of the Gathering.

    Across thends of the New World, early woken up citizens turned their gazes over to the sky. Some prayed. Some kneeled. Some wept.

    It was believed that during the day of the ck Sun, the Dark God of ckened Hearts would wake up, blink its eyes, and unleash chaos upon the world with its army of ck-hearted creatures.

    On Kuro Ind, the mercenaries saw the arrival of the ck Sun. They knew it was time. They raised their weapons, roared towards the sun, and started spreading across the ind, looking for the creatures of the evil god.

    ...

    There was a boulder sitting peacefully at the edge of a cliff, with a roaring river flowing below. It had been there for centuries.

    The boulder started trembling. The ground started shaking. It was like an earthquake was about to strike.

    Then, the boulder cracked from the middle, like a giant egg hatching. From the cracked boulder emerged a creature unlike any other, his ck hair and eyes resembling those of nightly creatures.

    He stood up, not uttering a single word, even though he looked like he could speak if he wanted to.

    From behind, he looked like a human. The ck hair cascading down the back of his neck, his naked back exposed, his back muscles rippling with every movement.

    He had ck hair and eyes as well, and a paleplexion with smooth skin that seemed almost translucent under the sun. Handsome, very much so, but he didn''t seem to have any emotions.

    As he stood there, naked like he was just born, his chest opened up-a hole the size of a brick at the center of it-and inside his body, there was a ck heart, as if it were roasted over a fire.

    In the vast world of the New World, Chaosbeings wasn''t the only threat to humanity. Their existence was kept under wraps, under hushed whispers, as even those who knew about them were afraid to speak of them openly.

    ckhearts-the creatures created by the Dark God of ckened Hearts.

    ...

    Within the Hot Spring, the warm steam rose up in a thick mist and fell in gentle waves over the rocks.

    Adam, with his eyes closed, enjoyed the warm bath. It was an intoxicating feeling-the feeling of bing stronger by just bathing in these magical waters.

    Unfortunately, the more he used the hot spring, the less effect it would have.

    After a couple of years of using it, the effect it had on King Moriarty was nonexistent.

    During the first time using it, the effects were the greatest. Afterwards, the magic of the hot spring was much lesser, almost making no difference, except to make the person feel amazing and refreshed for a short while.

    Adam softly opened his eyes and reached out to his trousers on the rocky floor. He took out a timepiece from his pocket and checked the time.

    It was time.

    ''ckhearts must''ve awakened.''

    He was aware of the scary truth behind this ind-ckhearts-it was something Sapphira revealed to him.

    It wasn''t their strength that he feared, but what they could achieve.

    Their only goal was to resurrect their evil god-the Dark God of ckened Hearts-and if they seeded, the world would be plunged into eternal darkness.

    Mortal Online had severe consequences for failure.

    If mercenaries failed to protect humanity, millions of Originals would die, and the world would be doomed to an eternity of suffering and despair.

    The closest thing to that happening was with Loya, The Demoness Who Ate The Sun. She wasn''t exactly the demoness, but just her vassal of destruction.

    She created destruction everywhere she went, bathing the world with her mes. She received her name during the height of her destruction when she devoured the sun itself, plunging the world into darkness.

    The New World was in darkness for several years. It was cold and deste. Chaosbeings rampaged through thend.

    In the end, King Moriarty, with his Imperial Order, managed to restore the sun and kill the demoness. He received the title of hero of humanity.

    Those years were never remembered as fondly. A record number of mercenaries died during those years. Some outright just quit, unable to handle the constant bloodshed.

    Adam sat on the edge of the hot spring, ready to do the thing he came here to do. It was only possible during the ck Sun.

    At the bottom of the hot spring, the round-shaped rocks cracked and got sucked into the swirling vortex below. A strange portal appeared.

    Adam pinched his nose, took a deep breath, and submerged himself in the water. The portal''s sucking power was so great that he was instantly pulled towards it.

    With no chance to fight back, he was pulled through the portal, vanishing.

    The portal vanished as soon as it came, and the round-shaped rocks rolled back into ce, leaving no trace of what had just happened.

    A whileter, a person stepped through the vine-covered entrance and stopped by the warm, hot spring. The warm mist fell over her skin like a gentle caress.

    Lady Yu crouched and touched the warm water with a smile. She could already feel her skin bing smoother and fairer.

    She stood up, kicked her sandals off, and slid the dress off her shoulders; it fluttered to the ground in a whisper of silk.

    She waded into the water, feeling the cool liquid envelop her body. She floated there, feeling weightless and serene.

    The hot spring was deep, but for some odd reason, it didn''t try to pull her down. She didn''t even have to hold herself up.

    With a gentle smile on her face, she closed her eyes and drifted off into a peaceful slumber. Her chest peeked out of the water, too heavy to stay afloat.

    ...

    Thump!

    Adam fell from a dark ceiling andnded on the hard ground below. It wasn''t warm anymore. It was cold and damp, and he could feel the chill sinking into his bones.

    With a shudder, he took out some of his clothes from his inventory and put them on. It was still cold, but at least it was slightly better than beingpletely naked.

    ''Where am I?''

    He wondered to himself.

    Cmity never exined what he saw inside this ce-only that he destroyed the respawn

    crystal.

    Adam looked around. It was dark, and there was nothing here. It was like he was standing in the middle of a void.

    At that moment, the ceilings slightly further away opened up. With a glow of light, something fell and fell to the ground.

    After a further moment, Adam realized it was a crystal-the respawn crystal.

    ''That was easier than I expected.''

    Adam drew his sword from his inventory. He slowly approached the crystal, creeping forward

    like a shadow.

    He arrived at the crystal, his sword raised.

    Someone suddenly pped him on the shoulder, the impact sending a shockwave through his

    body.

    "I don''t recognize you," a dark voice said. "Who are you?"

 Chapter 126: The Soul of the Dark God of Blackened Hearts

    Chapter 126: The Soul of the Dark God of ckened Hearts

    ?

    Adam whirled around to see who had just spoken.

    His sword stabbed through a mass of ck smoke, and he only saw a pair of white eyes and a mouth of sharp teeth within the smoke.

    ''What?''

    Adam frowned, backstepped, and went behind the crystal, his sword ready to sh down. It was almost like he was holding the crystal hostage.

    He didn''t expect to meet some kind of smoke monster. After all, he was clearly touched in the shoulder just now, and he believed if he removed his sleeve, there would be a handprint on his shoulder.

    "Who are you, insolent pig?" The smoke monster hissed, its voice echoing in the dark cavern.

    It wanted to approach the young man, but he touched the crystal with his sword, scratching the de across the smooth, jagged surface.

    The smoke monster stopped.

    ''Cmity never mentioned this smoke monster. Is it the guardian of the crystal?''

    "Ha, ha, ha, ha."

    The smoke monsterughed irregrly. Its mouth, with its jagged teeth and forked tongue, opened wide in an eerie smile.

    "You wouldn''t dare."

    "I wouldn''t?" Adam smacked the crystal with the blunt side of the sword, causing a crack in the surface.

    The smoke monster flinched. Its ck mass turned red, as if it had turned angry, and it let out a deafening screech.

    "You don''t understand what you''re doing!"

    "Then tell me what I am doing." Adam grabbed the sword''s hilt with both hands and pointed the sword down.

    With one wrong move by the smoke monster, Adam would just stab the sword through the crystal. He had the upper hand.

    "That''s the soul of the Dark God of ckened Hearts," the smoke monster exined. "You''ll get cursed, your heart will cken out, and you''ll be a servant to evil for all eternity."

    ''Curses are real. These kinds of threats are not to be taken lightly.''

    Adam furrowed his brows, feeling troubled.

    He thought about Cmity and whether there were any signs of him being cursed, but he was already a servant to evil-a murderer-so it was hard to tell if he was suffering from any curse at all.

    It would be easier if the person who destroyed the crystal was kind-hearted, but unfortunately, that was not the case.

    ''This creature is not ckheart. It is Chaosbeing-Smoke Chaos Entity- and it cannot be trusted. Its level of intelligence is high, so its strength should be as well, but that''s the thing with Smoke Chaos Entities; they are actually not that strong.

    ''They are often deceptive and rely on trickery to defeat their opponents.

    ''If Chaosbeings had an army, they would be strategists and spies rather than brute force warriors.''

    Adam didn''t know what to do. The smoke monster was most likely deceiving him, but he couldn''t be sure.

    He had his Kiryoku activated. However, he couldn''t tell what the smoke monster was feeling. It was nervous, that''s for sure, but also excited about something.

    ''Excited about the ck Sun, probably.'' Adam thought.

    The smoke monster kept its eyes on Adam. It was hesitant to make any moves. It didn''t have a lot of fighting prowess, except for a few Magick spells it could summon.

    ''Destroying the respawn crystal. I wanted to do it so that Cmity wouldn''t get it, as it helped him to get a mass following and be a formidable powerhouse.

    ''I have a good reason to find the crystal as well. Kory is able to back me up, so it wouldn''t look suspicious that this was my second destroyed respawn crystal.

    ''The destruction of the crystal would help me cement my position as a genius at the level of the S-rankers. It''s important to keep up the role. If it ever bes clear that I am not much of a genius, it''ll mean death of me.

    ''Destroying a respawn crystal also gives experience points. 1500, to be exact. It would be enough for me to reach level 3. A level of Ordergiver.''

    Adam was still hesitant. He wasn''t sure whether he wanted to risk getting a curse.

    The curses were cureable. However, a curse from the Dark God of ckened Hearts would definitely be difficult to remove.

    It didn''t seem worth the risk.

    Adam made up his mind.

    "Fine, I''ll leave," Adam said, and he pointed the sword at the smoke monster. "Back away, now."

    The smoke monster listened and flew to the other end of the dark cavern. It was smiling, but it was also nervous. The human could trick it, destroy the crystal, and try to quickly escape.

    Adam looked at the dark ceiling where he came from. It was not too high, but it was closed, and the portal was gone.

    Cmity mentioned leaving through the same ce where he came from. He only brought the remnants of the destroyed respawn crystal with him to the outside world.

    ''Now, how can I leave?''

    Adam crouched a little bit and jumped as high as he could. He managed to touch the ceiling with his fingertips before falling back down.

    Nothing changed.

    The ceiling, filled with ck rocks, remained closed just as it had before.

    ''I can''t leave?'' Adam wondered with a frown and tried again.

    Again, nothing happened.

    He tried cutting through the ceiling, but it was too thick.

    Adam frowned, trying to remember the stuff Cmity told others about this ce. He was proudly telling his stories, hundreds of times even, so the most important parts he

    remembered.

    ''After destroying the crystal, the ceiling opened up...''

    Adam turned his gaze to the crystal with a heavy heart. It was an extremely difficult decision

    to make.

    ''I can''t leave without destroying it...''

    The smoke monster felt something was odd. It ignored the order given to it and started to

    move towards Adam.

    "Get away from it!"

    Adam swung his sword in a t, wide arc and sliced through the smoke monster, but made no solid contact with its form.

    The smoke monster flew through the de, and two smoke hands emerged from its body. It was human hands, looking like they were covered in ck gloves.

    It was heading straight to the crystal. It was the only thing that seemed to matter.

    "Pull!" Adam reached out his hand towards the crystal, and it flew past the smoke monster

    and into his hand.

    The room fell silent for a brief moment.

    Then, the smoke monster screamed and flew towards Adam in a rage.

    "Give it back!"

    Adam tossed the crystal in the air-it spun around in the air for a moment-then a steel de

    sliced through the air, cutting the crystal in half.

    The crystal''s brilliant glow vanished, and it fell to the ground in two pieces at first, but after making contact with the hard ground below, the pieces shattered into a thousand tiny

    fragments.

    "Noo... 000...000..."

    The smoke monster''s voice trembled like a haunting melody, and then it slowly faded away into nothingness. It was somehow connected to the crystal at such a deep level that its

    destruction also killed it.

    [You destroyed the soul of the Dark God of ckened Hearts!]

    [5000 XP Acquired!]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 2¡ú3]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 3 ¡ú4]

    Adam''s eyes widened in shock. He didn''t have any idea that this would happen!

    Usually, destroyed respawn crystals give 1500 experience points to the user. However, that

    was with the floor respawn crystals.

    This crystal was more valuable.

    It was the soul of the Dark God of the ckened Hearts!

    Within the depths of his body, power surged through him like a raging storm of strength. His strength had an immense leap; a whole two-level increase was a very rare instance.

    ***

    [Name: Adam Palestar]

    [Level: 4]

    [XP: 1677/2500]

    [HP: 650/650]

    [Rank: Mercenaryman] [Weapon: dius Sword + Heater Shield]

    [Shinecoin: 1601]

    [¡ª¡ª SKILLS¡ª¡ª]

    [-Little God-]

    [-Basic de Handling-]

    [-Ground King-]

    [-Shield Charge-]

    [-Pull-]

    [-Push-]

    [Inventory] [Log Off]

    ***

 Chapter 127: Sorrow of Blackhearts

    Chapter 127: Sorrow of ckhearts

    ?

    Adam pulled out a dirty, brown pouch from his inventory. It was a pouch to hold Shinecoins, but he had already put all of his Shinecoins into the interface.

    There were a few uses for the pouch-to give money away, deposit money through Reality Market into a real-life bank ount, or hide the money in case of untimely death.

    Now, he unloosened the pouch''s string and started picking up the small fragments of the crystal from the ground, then carefully ced them inside the pouch.

    He did it until the pouch was full and bulging like a man who had eaten away his hunger until his stomach almost bursted.

    Those lightless crystal fragments had no value. They were just proof.

    Adam ced the pouch inside his inventory, then felt something on his throat, as if a finger were scratching at the walls of his esophagus.

    He ced the side of his fist against his mouth, coughed once, and then felt the scratchy feeling disappear.

    ''What was that?''

    Adam looked ufortable.

    His first thought was that it must have something to do with the curse. However, after a few seconds, he thought he was overthinking it, and it must''ve just been some dust in the air.

    He took a long nce at the interface. The rank of his hadn''t changed.

    It wasn''t something that the system was capable of changing.

    He had to take the Ordergiver test beforehand, and if he cleared it, he would rank up.

    Swoosh-the wind started picking up in the dark cavern.

    This was the first time a wind blew in this wretched cavern that had no ending to it.

    The ceiling opened up like a sliding roof, revealing a spiraling portal that looked like a whirlpool of deep ocean.

    It started pulling Adam towards it with an irresistible force.

    As soon as he got swallowed by the portal, the ceiling closed again, and the cavern copsed in on itself.

    ...

    Whether it was on top of a mountain, in the middle of the forest, inside a small cave, or at the beach, every ck-hearted individual turned their gazes to the ck Sun with frightened gazes.

    They could feel it.

    "Nooooo!"

    The mercenaries, spread across different parts of the ind, heard the unholy screams. They also realized that something must''ve happened.

    Arkham pushed his long-ded axe through the chest of a ck-eyed humanoid creature. Blood spewed out of the ckheart''s mouth, but then it let out a cry.

    It wasn''t a cry of pain; it was a cry of sadness.

    "?" Arkham frowned, pulled out his axe from the chest, and then plunged it deep into the creature''s beating, ck heart that was open for all to see.

    With thest cries of sadness, the creature copsed on the ground in a lifeless heap. Its ck heart had a deep cut that oozed dark, viscous blood.

    "Brother, do you feel this?" A beautiful, fair-skinned woman asked as she returned to her brother''s side after ying a fair share of ckhearts.

    "Yes, sister," Arkham said.

    Sapphira looked towards the ck Sun with mncholy. Her snow-white hair moved with the breeze. She had a red ribbon, shaped like devil horns, on her head.

    "They are mourning," she said.

    She could feel their sadness echoing through the air.

    At the west corner of the ind, a pile of ckhearts was forming around the crumbling remains of an old shipwreck.

    Mercenaries, with death skulls on their backs, fought against ckhearts, their weapons shing and blood spewing.

    Thest remaining ckhearts got quickly overwhelmed and were added to the pile of corpses that were already beginning to rot under the ck Sun.

    "Their focus was not on the fight," Cmity said, standing over the fallen bodies. "But instead, somewhere else."

    Mauricio cut a ck heart out of one of the bodies, slicing through the flesh that was glued to the heart like a grotesque masterpiece.

    He was a ck-bearded man with a rough visage, like a pirate, who had seen too much violence at sea. He had a body like a muscled minotaur and a voice that boomed like thunder.

    He ced the heart in a jar and whispered a curse before sealing it shut.

    "Mauricio, what do you think it was?" Cmity asked, slightly tensed up.

    It was strange for him. Those ck-hearted creatures didn''t care that they were being sliced apart; their attention waspletely elsewhere.

    "Who gives a fuck?" Mauricio tossed the jar to him. "Take it to the ship, and the rest of you maggots, start harvesting the ck hearts!"

    Cmity looked at the jar. The ck heart was still beating inside. It was grotesque and disturbing.

    The rest of the mercenaries started harvesting the ck hearts. The corpses, after having their ck hearts taken out, were tossed into another pile by the shipwreck.

    The stench of death and decay hung in the air.

    It was the perfect atmosphere for the Death Mercenaries.

    ...

    Within the hot spring, the steam cloud swirled around the peaceful cave. It was as if there wasn''t an ind-wide battle happening just now.

    Lady Yu, with a smile on her face, rested her naked back against the rocky edge of the hot

    spring.

    She didn''t notice it, but there was a pile of clothes right behind her, by the edge of the hot spring. Those were clearly a man''s clothes-underwear, trousers, shirt, vest, boots, and a belt were scattered around.

    The thick steam just so happened to be covering them. The man who had been wearing them was nowhere to be seen.

    At that moment, her brows furrowed in confusion as the water started to rise and fall like a heavily breathing chest.

    She looked around and noticed that something odd was happening underwater.

    At the bottom of the hot spring, the round-shaped rocks copsed, and a whirling portal of shimmering light appeared.

    However, this time, it didn''t have any pulling force but instead lots of pushing power.

    A figure emerged from the portal, the pushing power forcing him up to the surface of the

    water.

    Ssh!

    Arge ssh erupted from the air, sttering water across the walls of the cave and straight at the beautiful naked woman, whose face was one of shock.

    The portal disappeared, the round-shaped rocks falling back into their ce with a loud plop.

    Adam, with his clothes fully drenched, emerged from the water with a startled expression on his face.

    The scenery around him changed so drastically. He was at the dark cavern, then was pulled up into the portal, then went through the water that felt like he was running through a tunnel of

    water.

    Then, finally, he arrived back at the hot spring.

    He wanted to take off his clothes immediately and change back to dryer clothes, but then, with a corner of his eye, he saw a peek of soft-looking flesh that was shaped like a mound.

    "Ah..." A voice eximed softly.

    Adam''s eyes turned wide, like a round moon, and he then shifted his gaze to the woman.

    Her eyes were round as well, a surprise on her face.

    She then saw his cheeks turn rosy, and she felt rather breezy. She then turned to look down

    and noticed that she was still naked, just like when she was born.

    "Kyaa!"

    With a face full of embarrassment and a blush spread across her face, she covered her chest with her arms, which honestly didn''t do much to cover her up.

    ''Why is she here...'' Adam averted his gaze, feeling his face heat up as well, but he didn''t want

    to meet her yet. Not like this.

    He climbed out of the hot spring, the clothes drenched, while having him covered in a wet hug

    of cotton and silk.

    Lady Yu hid herself under the water, only a little bit of her face showing. It was still clear that she was pouting and angrily looking in the young man''s direction.

    She expected a very big reaction from the Curse of Men. Lately, she had been feeling sick by

    just getting looked at, and now, being naked and stared at, she expected a full blown curse.

    Yet, as time slowly went by, the young man picked up his clothes from beneath the steam cloud, and still, not a single thing happened from the curse.

    Instead, her heart started beating. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. It was thepletely

    opposite kind of reaction she expected.

    ''What is this...''

 Chapter 128: Four S-Rankers

    Chapter 128: Four S-Rankers

    ?

    Like a veil of smoke, the steam created a soft barrier between the two, making it difficult to see each other clearly.

    Lady Yu watched with a bashful expression as the young man picked up his clothes and began his walk to the exit. He didn''t utter a single word.

    She had questions. She wanted to open her mouth and ask him who he was, but the words caught in her throat.

    She then remembered her meeting with Little God.

    The Curse of Men-or Curse of Love-had been ced upon her, a curse that would stop her from falling in love with anyone but the "soulmate", which the Little God mentioned.

    It was a thought that lingered in her mind constantly, causing her both fear and excitement. However, only one person was destined to be her soulmate.

    She never expected to meet that person.

    Now, she met someone she didn''t feel absolutely disgusted with. The thought of him being her soulmate crossed her mind more often than she cared to admit.

    "W..."

    She wanted to speak, but it was like trying to find the right words in anguage she didn''t fully understand.

    The young man didn''t seem to hear her. He was already by the exit, pushing the vines out of the way with his left hand.

    "Wait..." she said, but it was barely a whisper.

    It was already toote.

    The young man had left the cave, the vines falling back into ce in front of the entrance.

    She looked disappointed, and her mouth closed in a defeated sigh. She didn''t understand what was wrong with her.

    This was the first time she was too nervous to speak.

    When she met the Little God for the first time, she was less nervous than now.

    It was like her heart was trying to escape from her chest.

    Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump.

    She still remembered his face so vividly-round, navy eyes widened in surprise, flesh flushed in a light pink, and lips slightly parted in awe-when she saw her ck hair, she thought it needed a little trim, but she still thought that he was strangely attractive.

    She had met all sorts of princes, kings, and holy men in her lifetime-most of them trying to be her suitor-and they were all good-looking, but there was something about him that stood out from the rest.

    ''Soulmate...''

    ...

    Adam fast-walked down the forest path, his heart pounding against his chest like a drum.

    ''Why is she here? She never came to the Gathering before.''

    It was impossible to forget the sight of her in the bath. It was almost like the sight was burned into his memory.

    ''Cursed... I was not ready to meet her.''

    Adam clicked his tongue in frustration and leaped over some of the fallen trees.

    He then heard shing weapons, rustling leaves, cracking twigs, and loud shouting.

    There were a lot of fights ongoing in almost every direction.

    That''s why Adam was hurrying back to the town of Kuroshima. He was too weak to encounter ckheart. It would be instant death.

    He started running, the wind whipping against his lengthy ck hair.

    After a short while, he arrived back at the town-its streets emptied and the bonfire fires extinguished¡ªbut there was still some trash, bottles of alcohol, and pieces of broken ss scattered around.

    "Oh, you''re back."

    Kory said from the porch of a house that was missing a few roof tiles and had boarded up windows.

    It wasn''t used by any of the mercenary groups, as there had been rumors of this house being haunted. A few years ago, during the Gathering, a whole guild went missing without a trace after spending the night inside.

    There were a few who knew some of those members back in the real world. After asking them about what had happened, they didn''t get a single response back.

    They had all gone mute, blind, and deaf-they were in aplete vegetative state.

    Kory, however, didn''t seem to be scared of the rumors.

    "What happened to you?" Kory asked with a frown. "You seem... stronger."

    "This happened," Adam said, tossing the pouch to his feet. "I have something to tell you."

    Kory picked up the pouch, untied the string, and looked inside to find fragments of crystals. They had lost their luster and looked like small pieces of dull ss.

    He examined one of them, and it didn''t take long for him to understand what it was.

    He inhaled deeply, recognizing the faint smell of sulfur.

    "You... found it?" Kory asked in awe. "How..."

    "The bottom of the hot spring." Adam said, leaning against the railing of the porch. "A portal opened up as soon as the ck Sun swallowed the real sun."

    "I see..." Kory chuckled, realizing it was silly. "It was right in front of our nose all this time. That ce had been searched fully hundreds of times, as it seemed the most ideal ce for the respawn crystal."

    "It was never searched during the ck Sun?" Adam asked.

    "No," Kory said. "The King is usually busy during that time, as are members of the Imperial Order. Who would''ve thought that the ck Sun opens up a hidden room there..."

    "How''s the raid going?" Adam asked. "I heard a lot of fighting."

    "It''s been intense," Kory replied. "I heard there is a massive fight happening on the southern beach, near the harbor. It is an important ce to defend, and we cannot allow them to take any ships."

    ...

    The south beach.

    An army of armor-d mercenaries battled against naked-bodied ckhearts.

    The blood shed, the screams echoed, and the sh of swords filled the air, creating a chaotic

    scene of war.

    There were three mercenary guilds present-Dying Star, Queen''s des, and Crimson Hounds and they were standing united against the might of ckhearts.

    The ckhearts, since their god''s soul was destroyed, had only one goal left-leave this

    ind and never return.

    At the frontlines, Arkham''s axe shredded through the bodies of the creatures, his axe glowing

    with a radiant glow of red.

    The people awed at the strength of the S-ranker.

    "What a monster, haha." Zahnughed while fighting side-by-side with Digby. "You think Adam will be as much of a monster as Arkham one day?"

    "Who knows? Focus on the present." Digby said while shing swords with the ckhearts.

    After wiping out a tier 2 guild before the beach war, the ckhearts took hold of their weapons. They were clumsy with them at first, but slowly, they began to show promise as

    skilled fighters.

    At that moment, they saw a white-haired woman leaping over them. She looked like a flying goddess; her movements were graceful and deadly.

    Sapphira pulled the string on her bow and released a flurry of arrows.

    Those arrows were d with purple Kraft; therefore, as soon as they hit their target, the bodies of the ckhearts exploded with holes. It was almost like they were hit by bullets! Sapphira, as soon as shended in the midst of the ckhearts, pulled out her silver sword from its sheath and cut through them with ease.

    With that, the mercenaries pushed onward, and the ckhearts struggled to hold their

    ground.

    At that moment, a sound of a horn and the marching of men came from the beach forest. From there, a group of ck-d mercenaries emerged, blood on their faces. "Men, kill these wretched creatures!" Mauricio shouted and swung his sword down.

    The members of the Death Mercenaries nked the ckhearts, encircling them with the

    other three guilds.

    Cmity, with a grin on his face, sliced through the ckhearts with his razor-sharp de.

    Soon, he came across a beautiful white-haired woman who was almost dancing around the battlefield, the blood dripping off her des like a macabre waltz.

    "Ah, what a pleasant surprise~" Cmity said to her with a flirtatious tone. "The Dancing

    de, Sapphira, was it?"

    "..." Sapphira remained silent, feeling his gaze undressing her in more ways than one.

    Smash!

    At that moment, an axe burst through a skull of ckheart, which fell right beside Cmity''s

    feet.

    Cmity''s words got stuck in his throat as he saw the axe-wielding man arrive at the scene.

    Arkham looked at Cmity with a cold gaze-a usual look for him-but Cmity didn''t know

    that, as he had never seen such a cold gaze before.

    Those who were fighting alongside them realized something awe-inspiring.

    There are currently four S-rankers in the same battlefield, fighting against same foe!

    Most of them had never met S-rankers before. Now they met four at the same time!

 Chapter 129: The Five Blackhearts

    Chapter 129: The Five ckhearts

    ?

    "H-help..."

    A faint voice of help sounded..

    A man, barely conscious, used his bloodied nails to crawl like a worm away.

    His legs were mangled, his feet werepletely shredded, and his back had long, stretchy scratch marks running down it.

    It was like he was attacked by a wild animal.

    Then, soft-sounding footsteps came behind him. It didn''t sound like boots hitting the ground, but instead like someone walking barefoot on dirt.

    The man paled, recognizing those footsteps of doom.

    "No..."

    A dirt-covered foot touched his back and forced him to the ground. He couldn''t crawl away anymore from the creature that loomed over him, its hot breath on his neck.

    The man turned his head around to face his fate.

    It was one person at first, but then four more appeared from the darkness like ghostly apparitions. They surrounded him, the dying man, like a group of reapers.

    All of them were pale, their eyes empty and lifeless, and their mouths a straight line. Each one had a hole in the chest with a beating ck heart inside.

    However, some of them had shoulder-length hair, a few had short cuts, and one had long dreadlocks cascading down their back.

    Their faces were all handsome, but they were also different in their own unique way.

    "Fine, kill me, you monsters!" The man shouted. "You already killed all my friends and my guild. What more do you want from me?"

    "We want..." The ckheart stomped his foot down and broke the man''s spine. "Revenge." With a gasp of breath, the man''s body went limp.

    He became crippled-he couldn''t feel his legs or anything from his waist down.

    The ckheart with dreadlocks crouched beside the man, grabbed his face with his big hands, and squeezed it like it were a stress ball.

    The eyes popped out, and then the head was twisted violently until it separated from the body.

    The ckheart looked at the head''s mangled face and then tossed it aside with a face of boredom. The head rolled down the hill andnded in a patch of wildflowers.

    They were standing on a hill, overlooking the valley below. They saw a town hidden in the distance, shrouded in the morning mist.

    "Dre kinir sepal drire."

    "Eip drie-he-ial otir drire."

    "Alile."

    "Laral."

    They spoke a forgottennguage that echoed through the valley, anguage lost to time.

    The ckheart, with his shoulder-length hair and a face that was quite soft and gentle, stood in front of them, and his mouth stretched wide.

    With a widely stretched mouth, he let out a scream that echoed through the mists of the morning, through the valley below, and to every corner of the ind.

    The scream sounded unnatural. It didn''t sound like it contained any words-just pure, guttural terror.

    However, every ckheart understood every word of the scream and felt their blood run cold. "Eipal fialn ile."

    We found him.

    It didn''t matter whether they were already fighting someone, near death, or looking for an escape route; after hearing those words in the scream, they started running towards the ce. Toward the town of Kuroshima-the location of their god''s killer.

    -

    The south beach.

    The fight was pretty much over; around thirty ckhearts remained, and none of them were without injuries.

    Now, they gave up on fighting and started running back to the forest. It looked like they were just retreating, afraid for their lives.

    However, they ran through the des, wincing in pain and leaving a trail of blood behind them.

    Instead of being afraid, they seemed to be desperate to go somewhere.

    After reaching the forest, they rushed through the low-hanging branches, thick foliage, and dense underbrush.

    The Queen''s de mercenaries ran after them.

    "Where in the hell are they going?" Cmity asked while fixing up his hair tie, tying his lengthy, crimson hair into a tight bun.

    Arkham and Sapphira exchanged a nce, and they didn''t need to speak a word; both understood what their sibling wanted.

    They ordered a squadron from the Dying Star guild and followed the ckheart into the forest.

    Digby took a deep breath, also wanting to continue the chase, but he noticed that his guild members were exhausted.

    After all, they were just archwarriors, and they had already been fighting non-stop for hours.

    The difference in stamina between archwarriors and ranks above them was stark and

    undeniable.

    "Ah, you must be Crimson Hounds." Cmity came to them with a fake smile on his face.

    "Sir Cmity." Digby nodded.

    While he was Prime Mercenary, a rank above Cmity, he knew it wouldn''t take long for him to pass him in ranks. Thus, he was rather respectful.

    "I don''t see your S-ranker with you," Cmity said with a smile. "Is he hiding in that little

    inn of his?"

    Digby didn''t answer because he didn''t know where he was.

    He just remembered Kory taking him somewhere, and then they asked him where he was- Kory only answered that he was safe and well.

    "Well, I don''t me you," Cmity chuckled. "He is weak, after all. Haha, there was already a rumor of him dying during your sea trip. I was wondering how someone so weak became a S-ranker, but I am d that he was fine. After all."

    Digby just smiled and nodded. Inwardly, he was furious but didn''t show it.

    It was widely known how arrogant and egocentric Cmity was. It must''ve hurt his ego after not being the most recent S-ranker anymore, which took away the spotlight and gave it to

    Adam.

    "Cmity, get your ass over here!" Mauricio shouted.

    Cmity rolled his eyes in annoyance; however, as soon as he turned around, he was all smiles again and went rushing over to where Mauricio was standing and started carrying away the jars filled with ck hearts.

    "I really don''t like him," Lucette said with crossed arms. "Two-faced people are the worst."

    "Keep those thoughts to yourself," Digby said. "Cmity, one day, will be fighting for the seat of the king. It''s best not to speak too openly against him."

    "I know..." Lucette said with a whisper. "I just wouldn''t want to be around when that happens. Who knows, he might make very legal just for the sake of it."

    "If he desires to do so, he has the right to do it," Digby said. "Only the strongest can be

    the King. And if that is his wish, then so be it."

    The members of the Crimson Hounds looked dissatisfied with Cmity. They thought it was unlucky that someone like him was blessed with so much talent and potential.

    Luckily, he wasn''t the only one with immense talent.

    There were Sapphira and Arkham, who''ll be Cmity''s main contenders in the future.

    Then there was Adam, and when they thought about him, smiles broke across their faces. They also had a person among them who was blessed with overflowing talent.

    Perhaps one day, a person with a crimson cloak will sit on the throne.

    "Everyone!"

    At that moment, a panicky looking man rushed to the beach. He looked somewhat young,

    around Adam''s age, but was actually older than he looked. He looked startled, wearing

    bloodied armor.

    "The ckhearts are attacking Kuroshima!"

    "What?!" Digby and others eximed.

    The town of Kuroshima had a way to prevent attacks from the ckhearts. It was why they

    never even bothered to attack that ce.

    Now, for some odd reason, they were!

    Crimson Hounds, led by Digby, joined the panicky-looking man and started running back to

    the Kuroshima.

    Mauricio watched them leave, then ignored it all and returned on harvesting the hearts off the corpses. Those were worth a lot of money, which was the only thing he was caring about.

 Chapter 130: Kuroshima Surrounded

    Chapter 130: Kuroshima Surrounded

    ?

    An army of the ckhearts surrounded the peaceful town of Kuroshima. Their numbers seemed to increase with each passing moment.

    However, they were unable to enter the town, which was upied by more and more mercenaries.

    A translucent barrier emitted a faint hum as it repelled all attempts at breaching its defenses.

    It was a barrier that was fueled with Magick Energy. It''s something that five major cities also have, but it''s muchrger in scale.

    It was created for situations like this, where the safety and security of the city''s inhabitants were of the utmost importance.

    However, Kuroshima''s barrier wasn''t as strong. It was starting to crack and show signs of weakening, causing concern among the mercenaries.

    The strength of the ckhearts varied drastically, but most of them were Archwarrior level or even above. Such firepower was very formidable.

    Thus, cracks appeared, pushing the barrier closer to its breaking point.

    Inside the town, worry grew.

    Nearly a hundred mercenaries managed to return to the town before the ckhearts had itpletely surrounded.

    The rest of the mercenaries were spread across the ind, possibly not knowing what was happening.

    In the town, the mercenaries just stood with their own guilds. Some were whispering about abandoning their posts and fleeing the town altogether.

    After all, it was just a town, and it didn''t seem worth it to risk their lives over it.

    However, after gazing outside the barrier, they realized the escape was simply impossible, unless they wanted to fight through the hoard of creatures that surrounded them on all sides. "Everyone." An old, calm voice sounded.

    Everyone turned their heads to Kory, who was walking towards them with a ck-haired young man by his side.

    "Adam."

    Digby and the rest of the Crimson Hounds stood up, relief washing over them after seeing him fine and well.

    "This is truly a bad situation," Kory said with a chuckle. "We''ll all die unless we work together."

    "Where the hell is the Imperial Order?" A rough-sounding guild master of Fairy Whip asked, his voice filled with frustration. "It''s their job to keep this town safe."

    "No need to worry about that," Kory said with a smile. "Mikael ising."

    Hearing that, many frustrated folks quieted down.

    With such a simple sentence, the tension in the air dissipated like a fart in the wind.

    Mikael, the right-hand man of the king, wasing.

    "So, what''ll we do?" A person asked.

    "The barrier won''tst long; most likely, it will break apart before Mikael arrives."

    Kory said, and then continued:

    "We could try to reinforce it with our Magick, which will buy us a couple of minutes, but I have other ns.

    "We could iste the ckhearts. If we make a hole in the barrier, barely the size of an adult human, they might stop trying to force their way through and instead use that opening to enter the town.

    "If the barrierpletely breaks apart, we''ll just be surrounded and overwhelmed. We need to stop them from breaking the barrier, and the only thing to do is let them inside the town."

    "I have a question." Sapphira stepped forth.

    Since Orion wasn''t right here in the town, Sapphira was in control of the Dying Star guild.

    As soon as some of the mercenaries saw her, they quieted down and rxed significantly. Her presence had a calming effect on them.

    Adam looked at her, and he felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him.

    ''She looks young and healthy. I only remember her having ck eyebags under her eyes from her sleepless nights.''

    Adam chuckled to himself. It made him happy to see her like this.

    "Miss Sapphira, what is it?" Kory asked with a smile.

    "What if the ckhearts don''t buy it?

    "They are not stupid. If we make the hole small enough, it''s easy for us to kill them since they have to enter the town individually.

    "It''s an effective strategy against weak Chaosbeings, but we are dealing with something much stronger.

    "I have a feeling that if the hole is small, they''ll just choose to not enter the town and destroy the barrier instead."

    Without realizing it, she said "ckhearts" as if she didn''t care about revealing it to everyone else.

    The mercenaries frowned, wondering what this "ckheart" was and whether it was just a name she thought for those ck-hearted individuals.

    Most of the mercenaries, who weren''t aware of the truth, called them "The Palewalkers."

    "So, you want to make arger hole?" Kory asked and chuckled warmly. "Not a bad idea. However, it''ll put more pressure on our tanks."

    He had a simple n-have the tanks at the front, then infantry in the middle, and archers

    and magicians at the back.

    "Do we have enough tanks?" Sapphira asked.

    "Hmm~" Kory looked around and counted the number of tanks.

    Once he was done, he wryly smiled and shook his head.

    "Eight. That won''t be enough."

    "Brother." Sapphira turned to Arkham. "You do have a shield, right? You can act as a tank for

    this time."

    "Mm." Arkham nodded, then strapped his axe to his back and took out a long shield.

    Other guilds also chose a few of their damage dealers to act as tanks.

    "Kory, may I as well?" Adam asked.

    "Huh?" Kory turned to him with round eyes. "That''s a pretty dangerous job for someone like

    you. Are you sure?"

    "Adam." Digby walked over to him with a stern expression. "Return back inside. It''s still too early for you to be fighting on the front lines."

    Adam frowned.

    He wasn''t strong enough to fight ckhearts, but he believed that his tanking skills were

    needed.

    "Ah, unfortunately, he can''t leave the frontlines." Kory said with a wry smile. "Otherwise, the

    n will not work."

    "What do you mean?" Digby asked with a frown.

    Others turned to them after hearing their conversation, curious about what Kory meant.

    Kory took out the brown, dirty pouch and showed the broken crystals inside.

    A few didn''t recognize them, but the ones that did eximed in shock.

    "Broken fragments of Respawn Crystal?!"

    "Adam destroyed the respawn crystal," Kory said. "Those creatures outside the barrier are

    here for him."

    All eyesnded on Adam, shock evident on their faces.

    A thought arose in their minds.

    Wasn''t this the second respawn crystal he destroyed?

    Lucette covered her mouth in shock and looked at Adam with a gaze of disbelief.

    Sapphira looked with her round eyes at Adam, a deep frown on her face.

    She thought he seemed ordinary-like a neighborhood kid you can find anywhere-but he

    had aplished several impossible tasks.

    "Hmm..." Kory thought about it further and smiled. "I think Adam being on the front lines

    works in our favor. They are already after him, so he already has their aggro. I say we use that

    to our advantage."

    "Agh..." Digby crossed his arms, not a fan of the n.

    He had heard that Adam did well as a tank in the raid on the tenth floor. However, the tenth

    floor was nothingpared to this.

    "I can do it," Adam said to Digby.

    "Alright, fine..." Digby scratched the back of his head. "I''ll be your support fighter; I''ll help

    you if need be."

    "That''s fine."

    A slight distance away, a group of mercenaries looked at them with hostile gazes. They were

    all holding shields that looked like they were cracked, but they were just painted to look that

    way.

    They were the members of the Shattered Shields.

 Chapter 131: The Commotion

    Chapter 131: The Commotion

    ?

    The mercenaries took their positions by the side of the barrier that was facing a forest.

    Around thirty ckhearts stood right outside the barrier, right at the spot where they nned to make the hole.

    "All ready?" Kory asked.

    He was standing in front of everyone.

    Behind him, slightly over twenty tanks stood side-by-side with shields in hand-over half of them weren''t even tanks, but damage dealers that were just muscled and had shields ready.

    Behind the tanks, there were arge number of fighters standing by, wielding swords, battle axes, and spears.

    At the rear of the group, a small group of archers and magicians were ready to provide support from a distance.

    After seeing everyone prepared, Kory turned to the barrier with a wand made out of walnut in hand. The wand was slightly worn from years of use, its tip curving down like a hooked nose.

    With a wave of his wand, he took control of the barrier and started creating an opening in the shimmering, translucent wall.

    At first, the opening was barely the size of an apple, then it gradually widened until it wasrge enough for a person to walk through. It continued growing until it was big enough for several people to pass through at once.

    The ckhearts didn''t move at first. They just looked at the opening with frowns on their handsome faces.

    They were certain that there was some kind of trickery behind this choice.

    On a small hill, hidden from the eyes of the mercenaries, the five ckhearts saw that happen.

    They spoke with each other in their strangenguage.

    A small fight of words happened between the two of them, but ultimately they decided on something.

    With a loud scream, they again ordered the rest of the ckhearts.

    The ckhearts, by the opening, stepped inside.

    They knew that this was part of the humans''s ns, and they knew they most likely didn''t want them to break the barrier as it would lead them to be surrounded.

    That was the first n of the ckhearts. If they focused on a single point in the barrier with their entire army, they would''ve already been able to break through, but that wouldn''t have destroyed the entire barrier.

    If there was time, they would''ve preferred destroying the entire barrier, but there was not enough time.

    They felt something approaching with high speed-someone strong-thus, they had to act quickly and were forced to make a hasty decision.

    "Stop them!" A shout sounded.

    The tanks stepped forward and ced their shields in front of them, locking them tightly together to create a makeshift barricade.

    The ckhearts screamed and smashed into the shields. They managed to make the tanks take a single step back, but that was all.

    The opening in the barrier was stuffed. There were nearly a hundred ckhearts waiting outside, unable to enter the town.

    That''s why Kory made the army of mercenaries stay near the opening, so they didn''t have the danger of every ckheart entering the town.

    It would lead to the same threat of them being eventually surrounded.

    "Ngh..."

    Adam grunted heavily while his shield was shaking from the sheer force of the ckheart warriors pushing against it.

    He had to use every bit of his strength to stop himself from being pushed back.

    If he didn''t keep his ground, there would be a big opening in the barricade of shields, which could lead to a devastating breach in their defenses.

    Adam drew his steel from the scabbard and stabbed the de through one of the ckheart''s thighs. The ckheart howled in pain as blood gushed from the wound.

    He had to somehow make him stop pushing against the shield.

    It worked for a moment, but then the ckheart, with pain and anger, grabbed the shield and tried to rip it off Adam''s hands.

    However, Adam''s arm was strapped to the shield, tightly secured by the straps.

    "Shield Charge!" Adam screamed and rammed his shield through the ckheart, sending him flying.

    He had finished learning the Shield Charge!

    After having a huge level up, his strength increased so much that he was able to learn Shield Charge with rtive ease.

    A new wave of ckhearts rushed in and tackled straight at the walls.

    THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

    "Rah!"

    The tanks roared and pushed against the ckhearts, their muscles straining with the effort.

    Adam suddenly crouched, ced his shield at the ckheart''s chest, and tossed him into the air with all his might.

    The ckheart flew over the shield barricade and fell in the middle of the mercenaries.

    The mercenaries looked at the creature with murderous gazes and stabbed him repeatedly until he stopped moving.

    The ckheart let out a final, guttural roar before falling silent.

    "Not bad."

    Beside Adam, Arkham acknowledged while stopping the onught of the ckhearts with rtive ease.

    "Thanks..." Adam replied, but was instantly attacked by another ckheart.

    There wasn''t a single moment to breathe. It was a constant battle from start to finish.

    Digby stood behind Adam, a small smile ying on his lips. He was pretty impressed with the young man''s skills as a tank.

    He had heard all about it from Knoxx and others, but to see it himself was another level of awe-inspiring.

    The Crimson Hounds never had a proper tank in their ranks, but they had done well without one. However, it was always nice to find one.

    Digby was certain that in five years or so, Adam would join them in battle as their main tank.

    At that moment, from the midst of the mercenaries, a cold-looking man stepped forward and pushed himself through the mercenaries.

    He was holding a small dagger and a sigil of Shattered Shields on the de.

    He lifted the dagger over his shoulder and saw Adam standing with his back towards him.

    The hand holding the dagger started itching. The cold-looking man started sweating

    profusely.

    As the back of the S-ranker neared, his throat turned dry.

    He was hesitating whether to strike or not. He was afraid.

    Failure meant death, and sess meant death.

    The members of Shattered Shields, who he thought were his friends, forced him to do this to avenge their guild master. He wanted to avenge her, but he didn''t want to die either.

    ''If I don''t do this, they''ll kill me. If I seed, maybe I can run away...''

    He realized that there was only one thing to do.

    With gritted teeth, he pushed through thest row of mercenaries and screamed. The dagger

    came falling down from above.

    At that moment, a steel sword sliced through his hand, causing the dagger to fall off its hand

    and tter to the ground.

    "Ah..." The cold-looking man let out one gasp of shock.

    Then, a steel sword sliced through his throat, ending his life instantly.

    Digby, holding the steel sword, coldly stared at the lifeless body on the ground.

    He then turned his gaze over to the group of Shattered Shields.

    ''They thought I was that stupid?''

    Since he came to Kuro Ind, he has kept an eye on Shattered Shields. With his strong

    Kiryoku, he could tell that they were very angry at them.

    He knew they would try something.

    Then, during this, he noticed that every member of the Shattered Shields was rather far from

    the front, clumping together as if they were nning something.

    "Bastard!" The members of Shattered Shields ignored the fight with the ckhearts and

    rushed at Digby as one.

    "Guild master!" Valora and other members of the Crimson Hounds joined their guild master

    and shed swords with the Shattered Shields.

    Themotion caught the attention of every mercenary.

 Chapter 132: Through the Arms, Through the Knees, Through the Neck

    Chapter 132: Through the Arms, Through the Knees, Through the Neck

    ?

    The shield barricade showed signs of cracking because of themotion.

    Among the tankers, there was one member of Shattered Shields.

    He heard his friends cry and abandoned his post at the front lines to rush to their aid.

    That created a sizeable opening in the shield wall, allowing the ckhearts to swarm through and attack the rest of the mercenaries.

    "No!" Kory shouted, seeing the carnage that ensued.

    Other tanks tried to mend the opening in the shield wall, but it was toote, and they were forced to unsheathe their swords and join the fight.

    A bloody, sword-screeching fight ensued-it was messy, chaotic, and relentless.

    All the ns, all the strategies, and all the hopes of a swift victory had been dashed in an instant.

    The ckhearts rushed through the opening in the barrier, more and more of them pouring into the town with each passing moment.

    The mercenaries were going to get overwhelmed at this rate.

    At that moment, Kory waved his wand in circles and mended the hole in the barrier. The barrier recovered just in time to hold back the oing horde of ckhearts.

    Half of the ckhearts stayed outside the barrier, but then they received a screaming order and started attacking the barrier with renewed fury.

    This was a blessing in disguise-with quick thinking, Kory was able to cut the ckheart army in half.

    However, they had to kill the ckhearts that were currently in the town before the barrier was broken through.

    Kory looked towards the battlefield with an ugly expression.

    The Crimson Hounds and the Shattered Shields were going at it-they didn''t focus on the ckhearts as they didn''t have any breathing room to do so.

    Adam wasn''tpletely aware of what was happening because he was in trouble. He was in the middle of the battlefield, nked by the ckhearts and mercenaries.

    A bloody battle was happening all around him.

    At that moment, one ckheart managed to kill a mercenary near him, and his emotionless eyes turned straight towards Adam.

    With a strange scream, he charged straight at him.

    Ignoring the fallen corpses, the pools of blood, and the deafening sounds of war, the

    ckheart only focused on this one young man.

    "Shield Charge!" Adam rammed his shield straight at the ckheart, who only stumbled back one step.

    Then, the ckheart kicked the shield aside and punched Adam in the face.

    The impact reverberated through his face and sent him flying backwards, only stopping once his back crashed against a wall with a loud thud.

    "Argh!" Adam coughed and tasted blood in his mouth.

    The ckheart walked straight to him, grabbed him by the cor, and lifted him off the

    ground. It looked like Adam was at the mercy of a merciless beast.

    Adam stabbed his sword through the ckheart''s waist, but it was of no use; his grip didn''t lessen.

    Stab, stab, stab!

    He started stabbing with all his might, but the ckheart''s grip remained firm.

    Then, the ckheart touched his throat and squeezed until Adam''s vision began to blur.

    The smile grew on ckheart''s face- he was enjoying this.

    At that moment, he started hearing something as his ears perked up.

    Ba-dump...

    Ba-dump...

    Slow, yet steady, rhythm of a heartbeat.

    The ckheart frowned and lowered his gaze from Adam''s face to his chest. With sharp nails, he ripped off his shirt and touched the skin over his heart.

    With a deep scowl, he started ripping through the flesh, and with bare hands, he created a

    dark, gaping hole, deep enough to reveal a pulsing heart inside.

    Adam was screaming. It was unbearably painful, even though the pain was only one-tenth of real life''s pain.

    It was still one of the worst pains he''d felt in a very long time.

    The ckheart looked inside, to the heart.

    The heart was there, but it looked weird-it was half red, half ck, pulsating in a way that was both mesmerizing and horrifying.

    "Derk God fier Tsanenil Hl..."

    The ck-hearted creature looked stunned, as if it had realized something unbelievable.

    "Fuck... you!" Adam swung his sword and beheaded the creature, its head rolling across the ground before finallying to a stop.

    Adam fell back to the ground, his chest bleeding profusely from the wound inflicted by the creature.

    "Q-quick..."

    He was about to die.

    He quickly opened his inventory, took out the sk of the Rising Moon, and gulped it down

    greedily.

    It was hisst sk of the Rising Moon.

    As soon as the liquid traveled through his throat, the gaping hole in his chest closed in, the flesh knitted together, and the pain slowly but surely disappeared.

    ''Why...'' Adam touched his chest with an ufortable expression. ''What the hell was that

    about?''

    A short distance away, the battle between two guilds raged on.

    The Shattered Shields were outnumbered, but they still put in a valiant effort. They had two members at Prime Mercenary rank, but still, Digby was stronger than both of them and managed to fight against both of them alone.

    Digby''s sword moved like a sh of lightning, and he parried the strikes from both with ease.

    "Tch..." Aryme, the vice guild master of Shattered Shields, clicked his tongue in annoyance. He was with Ray, the second Prime Mercenary of Shattered Shields.

    Aryme and Ray rapidly approached Digby-their weapons d in their Kraft- and they then used their skills.

    Digby moved his sword and parried the strikes from both, then pushed them back with rapid, consecutive thrusts.

    Aryme and Ray struggled and got a few scratches on their arms-shallow but painful

    nheless.

    Then they met again at the center of the town, their weapons shing with firework-like sparks flying in every direction.

    Aryme and Ray pushed forward and continued shing, cutting, hacking, and stabbing, but Digby moved his sword to interject, blocking their blows with ease.

    As soon as he finished blocking Aryme''s strike, his sword immediately appeared in front of

    Ray''s sword, stopping it in its tracks.

    They didn''t have any chance to attack, as Digby was simply too quick.

    ''How is he not Royal Prince? This is madness!'' Aryme thought with an ugly expression.

    Their swords met with each other and shed loudly. They repeatedly swung at each other, and even though he was outnumbered, Digby still had the upper hand. Aryme''s sword was knocked out of his hand. Ray tried toe to help him, but Digby sliced through his waist, through the flesh, through the bone, and finally exited through Ray''s back. Aryme shot towards his sword in the ground, picked it up, and swung at Digby with a t, wide arc. It connected with Digby''s sword, but again, Digby''s strength overwhelmed Aryme, knocking the sword from his grasp.

    The sword flew away and stabbed through the wall of a wooden building.

    "No..." Aryme paled and tried to summon some of his Magick skills, but Digby swiftly cut through his arms, then through his knees, and finally through his neck, ending his life. With a bleeding, gushing neck, Aryme fell to the ground, lifeless and cold. "A-Aryme!" Ray screamed and tried to stand up, but Digby hacked off his head before he

    could even move.

    "Whew..." Digby exhaled, wiping the blood off his de with the usual, calm look of indifference on his face.

    At that moment, a sound of horses neighing and galloping could be heard in the distance.

 Chapter 133: Self-Control

    Chapter 133: Self-Control

    ?

    Following the neighing of horses, a group of riders came through the forest and into the valley below.

    With swords in hand, they shed through the army of the ckhearts, and galloped through the barrier as if it were made out of air.

    While the ckhearts were unable to cross the barrier, the same didn''t apply to the yers.

    A golden-cloaked man led the riders, eyeing the ongoing battle with a sharp gaze.

    Feeling his gaze and seeing their strongest members die, the Shattered Shields lost their fighting spirit and slowly lowered their weapons, awkwardly looking around them and seeing the unhappy gazes of everyone around them.

    The other mercenaries were pretty much done with dealing with the ckhearts, but they also suffered some losses.

    "Mikael," Kory rubbed his back and awkwardly smiled. "I would bow, but my back is not feeling too great right now."

    Mikael removed his helmet-he was a blond-haired man with ocean-blue eyes and foreign features. He was very handsome, like a prince knight from a fairytale, and had a glorious sword hanging from his belt.

    He slowly left the saddle of his horse and approached the Shattered Shields with one hand in the sword hilt.

    "What happened in here?"

    Kory humbly smiled and exined everything, from Ame to the possible motive of the Shattered Shields attack and the consequences of that.

    Without the Shattered Shields, they could''ve survived through this without as many casualties.

    "I-It''s my fault," A member of the Shattered Shields kneeled in front of Mikael, fear on his face. "It''s all my fault..."

    He was the tank that abandoned his post to help his friends-again, he chose to sacrifice himself because he knew that if the fault was put on every member of the Shattered Shields, they would all die.

    "You''re taking the responsibility?" Mikael asked to be sure.

    "Y-yes."

    "Very well."

    Mikael, with one hand, drew his sword.

    As soon as the mercenaries saw the sword, they almost salivated. It was one of the rarest swords in the entire world.

    The Sword of the Morning Sun-it was a Mythical-ranked sword.

    Its hilt was gold and white with engravings of sun motifs. The de was white and gleaming, crafted from the finest celestial steel.

    The kneeling person lowered his head, closed his eyes, and prepared to meet his fate.

    "In the name of King Moriarty, the Ruler of the Originals and the First Men, I hereby sentence you to death."

    His friends watched tight-lipped, not daring to say a word, or they would face the same fate. Mikael swung his sword down-the swing looked perfect, graceful, and final¡ªthe white de cut through the man''s neck cleanly and efficiently.

    The man''s head rolled on the ground and came to a quick stop.

    This death had an honor-it was an honor to get executed by the Sword of the Morning Sun. After the execution was done, the rest of the Shattered Shields were cuffed and taken away- they would be judged and most likely thrown into the ck Keep.

    While they were dragged away, they begged not to be thrown into the ck Keep, knowing that it wasn''t any better than dying.

    It was a horrendous, terrifying ce where prisoners wouldn''t get a taste of the sun or fresh air for the rest of their days.

    It was often used to keep yers who had done horrible deeds locked up for eternity. There had been yers who didn''t care that they were killed, respawned, and did horrible things to the Originals until they were caught and killed again.

    Eventually, the ck Keep was created, and that''s where those kinds of people went.

    "You aren''t possibly thinking about sending them there, are you?" Kory asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "No," Mikael said, shaking his head. "This offense wasn''t that serious. They''re thinking that since they basicallymitted treason, they were going to suffer that fate. It''s not the case."

    "Where are you sending them?" Kory asked.

    "Beyond the wall," Mikael said. "They just wanted to avenge their guild master, so I allow them to keep ying this game, but just not inside the walls, ever again."

    After the incident was solved, Mikael and a couple of Imperial Order members, left the barrier and yed the rest of the ckhearts with ease.

    As time passed, more and more mercenaries started to return to the town, shocked about what had happened there.

    In the sky, the ck Sun nked the sky in darkness for a little while longer until it slowly disappeared beyond the horizon, allowing the beautiful moon and stars to return to the sky.

    Arge party was held in the town of Kuroshima, celebrating the ending of the Gathering and the sessfulpletion of the mission to prevent eternal darkness.

    The news of Adam destroying the respawn crystal quickly spread throughout the town, and everyone realized that this might be thest Gathering ever.

    It brought smiles, but also a somber realization.

    With alcohol in their veins, fights ensued, some ending in friendly terms and others not so much. It was a chaotic and emotional night that would be etched into their memories forever. Adam sat on a porch swing, drinking and enjoying the cool night air on his hair and face.

    ''I really need to cut my hair.'' Adam thought as it continued to go in the way of his eyes.

    He shrugged his shoulders and took another sip of his drink, deciding to wait until everything settled down to finally get a haircut.

    "Yo, why are you sitting here alone?" Zahn asked as he came from inside with a new drink in

    hand.

    He was about to return to the party, held near the bonfire, but then saw their little genius sitting in the swing, all alone.

    "Thinking, reminiscing." Adam said and took a sip.

    During these peaceful, cool nights, he couldn''t help but remember his past life and all the mistakes he had made along the way.

    Zahn raised an eyebrow, wondering why he was talking like an old man at such a young age.

    Before he could ask, Zahn took another sip of his drink and chuckled, realizing that maybe he was just growing wiser beyond his years.

    "Fine, I suppose, but this is a good chance to make connections and new friends. Who knows, you might need it in the future."

    With that, Zahn returned to the party,pletely drunk and almost unable to walk straight. Adam looked at the drink in hand, feeling like it had lost its taste, and put it away. ''Alice and others must''ve already returned from New Paradise. If not today, maybe tomorrow, so maybe I should visit the real world for a moment...''

    As he thought that, the swing moved slightly as a person sat beside him, and a thick stench of alcohol hit his nose.

    Adam turned around, and immediately a hostile gaze appeared in his eyes, but he quickly masked it and looked indifferent like ice.

    "This must be our first time meeting," Cmity said with a grin and offered a handshake. "Name''s Cmity; I was S-ranker before you."

    "Adam." Adam said indifferently and shook the hand.

    "Not very warm, are you?" Cmity said with a chuckle. "Introvert? You remind me of

    Arkham, who has the emotional range of a wood nk. I honestly can''t imagine him being the sibling of someone as beautiful as Sapphira. A weird world we are living in."

    Adam couldn''t care less about his drunken ramblings. He wanted to shove his sword through his throat, but even when he was drunk, he would still be able to destroy him with ease.

    It took all of his self-control to keep his emotions in check.

 Chapter 134: Discipline

    Chapter 134: Discipline

    ?

    Cmity enjoyed his drink. It was Jordanian beer brewed in the high mountains of Jordan, a small ind in the far-left corner of the Blind Sea.

    A guild, who built their guild headquarters there, brought some of that to the Gathering- they also ship it to the maind and sell it there, fetching a high price due to its rarity and unique vor.

    It was a strange drink in a sense, since the drink tasted different depending on who drank it.

    For Cmity, it tasted like the most delicious drink, which was why Jordanian beer was one of the most addictive drinks in the New World.

    However, in Adam''s case, it tasted like a soda that was left sitting under the sun for an hour and had gone t.

    It wasn''t bad taste, but not good enough to make him drink it.

    "I heard you found that wretched crystal," Cmity said with a drunken smile. "Congrattions~"

    "Thank you." Adam answered with a very t tone.

    He didn''t hide the fact that he wasn''t in a mood to talk to him, hoping that he would take the hint and leave him alone soon.

    However, whether it was because he was ignorant or drunk, Cmity didn''t notice the t tone and just chuckled before drinking again.

    "It must be tough to be an S-ranker," Cmity said. "All the expectations. Ah, I also remember when I left the tutorial-I joined Death Mercenaries, and those pure-blooded fuckers sure liked to bully me."

    ''Pure-blooded.'' Adam seemed to know the strange term.

    It was a mocking term used to refer to the ones that were aligned with the Pro-Strong movement-Death Mercenaries were full of them.

    The strong rule-the weak ved the world was a cruel ce for those who did not fit into their narrow definition of strength.

    "Not going to lie, it was wise to go to Dawnwatch." Cmity stood up, then looked at Adam with a grin. "You probably wouldn''t have survived if you were in my shoes."

    Adam didn''t answer; he just cracked his knuckles and looked at him with a t, unwavering expression.

    "Heeeh..." Cmity chuckled at the expression and then walked off the porch, waving his hand. "See you soon, buddy. We''ll probably meet on the big battlefield once the war starts!"

    "Yeah..." Adam cracked his knuckles loudly. "See you soon..."

    The drink by his side had lost its taste.

    He didn''t feel like drinking anymore.

    ''I''ll go tell Digby and others that I''ll go log off so they won''t wonder where I am.''

    After standing up, he stepped off the porch and walked down the darkly-lit town streets. The bonfire gloriously burned in the distance as he made his way towards it.

    It turned brighter and brighter with each step he took.

    There were mercenaries everywhere-around the bonfire dancing,ughing, and singing¡ª around tables ying Mad Marbles, telling stories, and enjoying drinks-some had retreated to their inns with their lovers, and others were engaged in heated discussions under the night sky.

    At that moment, Adam bumped shoulders with someone. He was too upied trying to find Digby, causing him to identally bump into someone.

    "Hey, look where you are going." A sharp-voiced man said, then ced his hand on Adam''s shoulder and shoved him back forcefully.

    Adam stumbled back and nearly fell to the ground, but quickly caught himself before he lost his bnce.

    A group of drunken men looked at him with strangely annoyed gazes. They wore sigils of a scythe slicing through a heart.

    ''Necroman Guild.'' Adam''s eyes turned cold.

    Those were the worst kind of people to bump shoulders with, especially when they were drunk.

    "Apologize, you little shit." Karma again ced his hand on Adam''s shoulders and shoved him back.

    This time, Adam was prepared and was only forced to take a couple of steps back.

    This small confrontation quickly gathered attention. Some were hoping for Karma to kick the ass of the S-ranker. That would be a sight to see.

    "I am sorry. May I pass?" Adam asked and patted the dust off his shoulder, as if he had gotten dirty from Karma''s touch.

    "Little shit." Karma raised his hand and pped Adam across the face. "Watch your tone, fucking mercenaryman trash!"

    His friendsughed, the spectators gasped, and more gazes turned in their way.

    Adam touched his cheek and felt the sting of the p, but he didn''t look like he was in pain.

    "What the fuck are you doing?" Zahn came striding across the grass, his face twisted in anger, his voiceced with anger.

    "Just disciplining a little shit." Karma said with augh. "He thinks that since he is here, he is on equal footing with the rest of us. He ain''t. He ain''t shit."

    Cmity enjoyed the show from the sidelines. He was grinning,ughing, and drinking.

    This was something he expected to happen and hoped for it to happen.

    It was easy for S-rankers to forget their ce-while that title helped a lot, it also made them

    ignorant.

    In the end, the New World worked with a strength-based hierarchy. The S-rankers also had to remember their ce.

    Zahn stopped Karma from doing anything and said, "The disciplining is left for the guild to do. You wouldn''t like that I would discipline you now, would you?"

    "It''s easier for him to learn this now thanter." Karma said with augh. "If we had met

    under worse circumstances, I would''ve already killed him."

    "You''re pushing it." Zahn said in anger.

    "It''s fine." Adam suddenly said and told him to move aside.

    Zahn, with a frown, stepped aside to let Adam pass.

    "I thank you for the lesson." Adam said, looking at Karma''s ck, round eyes.

    It wasn''t sarcastic or condescending.

    He truly meant it.

    The S-rank title had gotten in his head-he had to admit that-and he forgot the simple fact

    that he was weak!

    The hierarchy of strength was the only thing that kept the New World in check. It was needed for the order to be maintained.

    "It''s good that you understand, unlike someone else." Karma turned his gaze to Zahn, mockingly. "I don''t me you for not knowing; being around losers like them, they didn''t

    teach you properly."

    Zahn''s forehead twisted in anger, veins popping out as he clenched his fists.

    Smack!

    A fist connected with Karma''s jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. The beer in his hand

    spilled all over his new shirt.

    All eyesnded on Adam, shocked at the sudden violence.

    Adam mounted Karma and smashed his fist into Karma''s face over and over again. The bones broke, the flesh split, and blood spattered everywhere.

    "You may ''discipline'' me as much as you want, but don''t you fucking dare insult my guild,

    you fuck!"

    The fist finally came to a stop, covered in blood and shaking from the adrenaline. Karma''s face was a mess of bruises and cuts, blood dribbling down from his forehead to the chin. He looked like he was unconscious.

    "Whoo..." Adam breathed heavily, looking at Karma''s bloodied face with indifference.

    "You shit!" A friend of Karma''s finally came back to his senses and kicked Adam off his friend''s body.

    The members of the Necroman guilds were angered, their eyes burning with drunken rage.

 Chapter 135: Solving Incident

    Chapter 135: Solving Incident

    ?

    Adam climbed back to his feet with his hand clutching his waist.

    That single kick must''ve broken some of his ribs.

    "You fuck!" The Necroman Guild''s members shouted. "You''ll pay for what you did!"

    "I did what exactly?" Adam asked with a raised eyebrow. "I was just disciplining him. You should know what might happen if you insult a guild; it''s his fault for being ignorant. In worse circumstances, I might''ve killed him for that insult."

    That response caused a few people to chuckle here and there.

    He turned Karma''s words against him, and he was alsopletely correct.

    It was a death sentence to go and just insult a guild like that, especially since Necroman and the Crimson Hounds were of the same tier-the war between them would lead to many deaths.

    The members of Necroman gritted their teeth and felt troubled. They weren''t as drunk as Karma, so they were able to feel somewhat level-headed.

    It was very dangerous to go and fight the S-ranker, knowing that the Shattered Shields were just thrown to a prison ship and shipped back to the maind to get thrown beyond the wall. Without their guild master''s approval, they would be risking severe punishment.

    ''How did Adam beat an Archwarrior like that?'' Zahn wondered. ''It''s true that guy was drunk, barely able to stand still, and couldn''t use any of the three powers in that state, but still, he should''ve been easily able to shrug off that punch.''

    Most of the onlookers just thought that Karma was more drunk than they had originally realized, but there was a person sitting by the roof who witnessed it all and knew what happened.

    Mikael used a whitstone to sharpen his sword while keeping an eye on the fight. He had arge te of meat and fish food, with arge cup of mead on the roof beside him.

    ''Influence.'' Mikael thought with a serious expression.

    ''That punch to the jaw was a catalyst for everything. Once that punchnded, Karma''s brain was bouncing in his head like a pinball machine, but in ordinary circumstances, that still wouldn''t be enough for Adam to do anything afterwards.

    ''However, the Influence took control of Karma-once the punches continued tond, he started thinking that Adam was much stronger and faster than he actually is. Then he was fear-stricken, thinking that he had severely underestimated his opponent.

    ''The Influence is rarely used in the New World, mostly because almost no one knows how to use it in a fight. It''s also because there is Kiryoku, which is easily able to counter it.

    ''However, Karma, like an idiot he is, was too drunk to straighten his emotions to use Kiryoku. ''I am impressed, Adam Palestar of Crimson Hounds.''

    ...

    "Move out of the way." Necroman pushed aside his guild members and saw Karma bleeding on the ground, still breathing, barely.

    Necroman was half-dressed, his ck cloak trailing behind him.

    Then, a few of his guild members whispered something in his ear-telling their biased understanding of the situation, making Karma look good and Adam seem like the bad guy in the situation.

    "You attacked my guild member?" Necroman asked, his voice not sounding angry or upset but rather eerily calm and chilling.

    He had silvery hair with a few grayish threads interwoven throughout, giving him a distinguished and wise appearance that contrasted with his menacing aura.

    However, he seemed very pale, like he was freezing from the inside, and there were wrinkles forming around his eyes, making it harder for him to properly open his eyes and see clearly.

    Someone could mistake him for an elderly person, but those who knew him were aware of the truth.

    He actually wasn''t that old, in his early forties, and had years left before reaching the end of his prime.

    With the peak Prime Mercenary rank, he was one of the strongest guild masters of Tier 2.

    "I did," Adam answered, truthfully and honestly.

    "Hah... hah..." Necromanughed slowly, which almost sounded fake.

    ''Necroman...'' Adam thought. ''What an interesting character.''

    "I too... have rebellious spirits in my guild." Necroman said, thenughed. "Ah, I tried to teach them, but either they refuse to learn or they''re too stubborn, maybe both!"

    While he wasughing slowly and eerily, a hand touched Adam-Digby arrived, looking level-headed andposed.

    With a quick nod of acknowledgement, he said. "Necroman, long time no see."

    "Digby, Digby, Digby..." Necroman chuckled. "I am sorry, but I was talking with this young fellow of yours. He assaulted my guild member, y''see."

    "I heard what happened." Digby said, hearing the truth from Zahn''s mouth. "Both were wrong. Your guild member insulted us, and Adam protected our pride, that''s all."

    "Pride is a dangerous thing." Necroman said. "That has led to wars before, and it will likely lead to more in the future if not kept in check."

    "Thank you for your guidance." Digby said with a slight bow. "So do insults. It''s best to avoid both."

    "True that..." Necromanughed and looked at Adam. "A couple of people joined my guild recently; maybe friends of yours?"

    "Who?" Adam asked with a frown.

    "Ramon and Hannibal, they''re from your tutorial group, if I am not mistaken."

    ''In the end, they followed the same footsteps.'' Adam sighed and nodded. "I wouldn''t say friends, but yes, I do know them."

    "They''re very rebellious, haha." Necroman chuckled. "I''ve had to whip them a couple of times, but they''re really slow learners. Like Karma..."

    With a whip-like kick, Necroman kicked Karma in the side, causing him to yell in pain.

    "Get up." Necroman''s voice turned cold. "How long are you nning on sleeping and embarrassing me?"

    "G-g-g-gu..." Karma tried to speak, but his teeth were a mess and his lips were swollen and bruised.

    "Shut up and go get your face fixed up; you look pathetic." Necroman said with an ugly look.

    Karma nodded shamefully, but then nced at Adam, and if looks could kill, Adam would''ve

    dropped dead on the spot.

    His friends helped him walk away; he was barely able to stay on two feet.

    "I hope this doesn''t be a bigger incident than it has to." Digby said.

    "Hahaha, it''s fine." Necroman said. "But I need to pay to fix up his face, which wasn''t pretty either way, but I can''t leave him like that. If you can?"

    Digby nodded and tossed him a pouch with enough Shinecoins to pay for the healing sk.

    "Appreciated." Necroman caught it and then nced at Adam. "See youter, S-ranker. I am interested in what kind of man you''ll be in the future~"

    Adam didn''t like that nce. It made him feel uneasy, as if he had been trapped in a

    spiderweb.

    That old man was nning something nefarious.

    "Are you alright?" Digby asked.

    "Yes." Adam sighed. "I am sorry."

    "No need to apologize; you did nothing wrong." Digby said his own honest opinion.

    He was wondering whether Adam was loyal to their guild and whether he was just going to grow stronger in peace and then leave for a stronger guild when it was time. However, this proved that his heart was in the right ce, and he was filled with loyalty.

    It made him happy.

 Chapter 136: The Old World

    Chapter 136: The Old World

    ?

    Themotion died down, but many hidden eyes saw this as a prelude to something bigger. During the Gathering, there had been tension among the Seven Ancient Guilds and their allies.

    Nothing had happened yet, but friends, who were part of different factions, cut their ties together, preparing for the inevitable conflict that loomed on the horizon.

    It was only a matter of time.

    A slight distance away, hidden behind a corner, Lady Yu observed everything with a blush on her cheeks. Her gaze followed behind the ck-haired young man, who returned to his quarters with Digby.

    "So he is Adam Palestar..."

    It made her heart flutter. This was a person that Little God wanted her to investigate.

    ''If he really has His power, howe he doesn''t have the power of holiness?''

    At first, she thought that perhaps Little God was wrong, but she didn''t dare to think about that any further. It was near sphemy to think that Little God could be wrong.

    Those with the power of gods at their disposal should also have the power of holiness. However, Adam didn''t have it, as if it werepletely erased.

    ''Weird, I''ll have to investigate him... more thoroughly.''

    Lady Yu cheekily smiled and vanished like a light in the darkness. The shadows of the night seemed to swallow her whole.

    The Originals usually didn''t have any ways of gaining powers simr to the mercenaries, but Lady Yu was different because she was a servant of the gods.

    They had granted her powers beyondprehension-the Power of Holiness.

    ...

    The night turned dark and deep.

    Within the Crimson Hound''s living quarters, many were sleeping, snoring and muttering in their sleep.

    Adam was sitting on his bed, the window curtains slightly ajar, letting in a faint sliver of moonlight.

    He thought about returning to the real world, but it was alreadyte, and everyone must be already asleep.

    He decided to stay a little longer, enjoying the peacefulness of the night.

    At that moment, as if someone just snapped his fingers to make him feel sleepy, his eyelids started to feel heavier and heavier, until he eventually drifted off into a deep and nightmarish sleep.

    ...

    Adam found himself in a dark and twisted dreamscape, filled with shadows and eerie whispers.

    The scenery continued to shift-from a dark forest to the back of an ancient castle to a deste wastnd with no end in sight-and then finally ended at the edge of a cliff overlooking a vast, churning ocean.

    However, the churning ocean was reddish, as if it were filled to the brim with blood.

    At that moment, bones began to emerge from the crimson waves, floating eerily towards the edge of the cliff.

    In that instant, the face of a person also emerged-dead-and its flesh started to peel off from its skull in long, thin strips.

    "Where the hell am I?"

    Adam had never seen a dream this vivid before. It was almost like he was there.

    "You''re in the Old World." A voice said.

    Adam''s first instinct was to turn his head around to find out who said that, but then a figure appeared in front of him.

    A ck-haired, silver-eyed man stood before him, dressed in a flowing, baggy robe that seemed to be made of some kind of fabric he had never seen before.

    He was just standing there, but for some odd reason, a noise came from his direction. Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump.

    It sounded like a loud heartbeat, echoing through the Old World like a drum in the night.

    "Who..?" Adam stood up hesitatingly.

    "Name''s stor," he said, and he pointed his finger around the nightmarishndscape. "And this is the Old World, a world destroyed so that the New World could be rebuilt from its

    ashes."

    "Am I dreaming?" Adam asked and then felt a headache, forcing him to grab his head. "Of course it is a dream... It can''t be anything else."

    "What isn''t a dream?" stor stood by the cliff, looking at the crimson sea. "This is the Blind Sea, but back in the Old World days, it was known as the Sea of Lost Souls."

    "How could anyone live in here?" Adam asked, looking at the drought-fillednd and the dry and barrenndscape stretching out before him.

    "Different kinds of people lived back then." stor said. "The Originals hadn''t yet existed back then. I think the name Originals is funny because they are far from being the original inhabitants."

    "Who are you, then?" Adam asked. "Who are you, really?"

    He had never seen dreams or nightmares when he was sleeping in the Mortal Online-not even once during over a decade of being there.

    Dreams and nightmares were foreign concepts in this world.

    "The Dark God of ckened Hearts," stor turned to him. "That''s me."

    Adam''s eyes bulged wide, and then stor opened his robes to reveal a hole in his chest with

    a ck, burned heart still beating inside.

    "You... didn''t die?" Adam asked with a squeak.

    "A foolish thought. A god can never truly die." stor said and looked around the wretched ce. "I was the creator of the Old World. When it was destroyed, I still didn''t die. I was just

    sealed away."

    "That''s why..." Adam felt his throat turn dry. "If you''re resurrected, the Old World wille

    back..."

    "Exactly," stor said with a chuckle, and he pointed at him. "You''re a smart fellow." "What do you exactly want with me?" Adam asked with a frown. "I destroyed your soul... So

    how..."

    His eyes slowly widened with sudden realization.

    "The curse that was mentioned!" stor chuckled. "I am that curse, per se. And you, Adam,

    are the vessel."

    Adam stepped back in shock and turned his gaze down at his chest. He ripped off his shirt and saw a small, intricate symbol etched into his skin.

    It was a symbol of the ck heart, located right above his heart.

    "That''s why ckheart did that..." Adam gulped. "I also have a ck heart?"

    "Our hearts fused together." stor said. "Our lives are bound together."

    "No..." Adam gritted his teeth and shouted. "I''ll just kill myself and get rid of you!"

    "You can do that, but I have a feeling you will regret that." stor said. "You, and the others from that Other World, cane back alive as much as you want to. In that sense, all of you are very simr to us and the Chaosbeings."

    "Yeah, I can, so I''m not too worried about losing a couple of months of progress as I can get

    rid of you!" Adam said.

    "That''s the thing." storughed. "If you die, you''ll lose your ability toe back alive."

    "What?" Adam frowned. "You''re lying."

    "Am I?" stor chuckled. "Every yer also has their own respawn crystal. It''s just very hidden, and it cannot be broken by ordinary means. Only God can do it, haha."

    "That''s..."

    stor opened his hand and snapped his fingers-a strange, red crystal appeared in his hand ¡ªand it felt shockingly familiar to Adam, as if he had a deeper connection to it than he could

    exin.

    "Your respawn crystal." stor squeezed the crystal in his hand and destroyed it. "Is now gone. You only have one life left, so go ahead and kill yourself."

 Chapter 137: Ruthless Request

    Chapter 137: Ruthless Request

    ?

    Adam fell down on his knees, looking at the churning crimson sea with his eyes shaking in shock.

    He didn''t want to believe any of it, but after seeing the red respawn crystal, he didn''t have any other choice but to believe it.

    He had a strange connection with the red respawn crystal. Once it was destroyed, he felt like a part of himself had disappeared.

    "I have a task for you." stor said and sat on the edge of the cliff, one knee bent and his hand resting on his sword.

    "What is it?" Adam asked weakly.

    "I''ll leave the task of resurrection to you," stor said with a chuckle. "My children failed, unfortunately, but I have faith that you''ll seed."

    "Hahaha..." Adamughed. "You really think I''ll resurrect you?"

    "I don''t," stor said, turning to him and smiling. "I know you will."

    Adam frowned and stood up. "That''s thest thing I''ll do in this life. Even if I die, I won''t resurrect you, no matter what happens."

    "We''ll see about that." stor said. "It''s morning already, so I suppose it is time for you to leave."

    Adam frowned, and then stor snapped his fingers, the surroundings disappearing quickly. "Wait!" Adam shouted and quickly asked. "Who is really in control of the body? You or me? Is that why you are so confident?"

    "The body, mind, and everything between are yours." stor said with his arms behind his back. "I am just a passenger. I can''t see, feel, hear, or do anything with your body. I am sealed in here, in the fake Old World."

    Adam stayed closed as he slowly vanished from the nightmarish world.

    He didn''t know whether he was lying or not, but he had a hunch that he was speaking the truth.

    However, he wondered why he was so confident that he would betray humanity to resurrect him. It''s something he would never forgive himself for.

    ''Fuck!''

    Adam clicked his tongue and then remembered one thing.

    ''Cmity must''ve been a vessel of stor in the past. After my death, did he resurrect him? How did the world end up after my death? Did Star Faction win or lose? So many questions...''

    ...

    "Ah!"

    Adam mmed his eyes open and felt the warmth of the sun on his face, the rays filtering through the window.

    It was morning, and he was still sitting in the same position as before he fell asleep.

    He unbuttoned his shirt, then tugged his shirt down just enough to see his chest-the ck heart symbol was still there-this confirmed that it wasn''t a dream after all.

    "Damn it..."

    He buttoned his shirt, moved to the edge of the bed, and stood up, feeling the weight of the day on his shoulders.

    "Two levels in exchange for a curse." Adam shook his head, feeling idiotic for going for the respawn crystal.

    However, there was no way he would''ve known-it was something Cmity never mentioned, and it wasn''t a surprise.

    If anyone had found out that he was harboring an evil god in his heart, everyone would''ve gone after him in an instant.

    Knock, knock.

    Someone knocked on the door.

    "Come in."

    Zahn opened the door, and his hair was disheveled. He had a sleepy look on his face. He was definitely hungover.

    "Yawn, we are leaving." Zahn said and rubbed his eyes. "The ship''s ready by the dock." "Alright." Adam picked up his backpack and checked the time on his timepiece.

    The time moved in that nightmarish ce differently-it was already three hours past dawn.

    After leaving the room, everyone was already gathered downstairs, and after Adam and Zahn arrived, they bid farewell to the town of Kuroshima and then walked straight to the harbor. All the buildings were being emptied, and servants were doing final clean ups while the mercenaries were heading to the harbor.

    The ships continued to leave the docks, one by one.

    They soon arrived by the dock-it was packed to the brim, so they had to squeeze through, making their way towards the ships.

    Five minutester, they finally reached the gangnk of their ship and made their way up, soon arriving at the deck of their crimson-sailed ship.

    The hull was fixed, somewhat. It was enough for the ship to sail back to the maind, but they definitely had to pay for proper fixes there.

    A couple of days wasn''t enough to repair all the damage that had been done during the fight.

    "Let''s get the ship ready and leave as soon as possible!" Digby shouted.

    Adam leaned on the same railing from where he fell to the ocean and looked out at the horizon with a distant expression.

    ...

    A ck-sailed ship was docked in the harbor, surrounded by ships of all shapes and sizes. The ck-sailed ship had a g of a scytche slicing through the heart-it was Necroman

    Guild''s ship.

    "Hurry up and pull the anchor!" Necroman barked orders.

    The wind was quite good at the moment, and he wanted to take full advantage of it before it

    was toote.

    "B-boss, here." Karma, with a bruised face, handed him the drink he had requested.

    His face was still bruised, but it looked much better than it did yesterday.

    Necroman took the drink from him and drank it all in one go.

    Karma humbly lowered his head, but his eyes were heading in the direction of the crimson-

    sailed ship. He was boiling with anger.

    A Mercenaryman trash humiliated him in front of the entire mercenarymunity. It was the biggest humiliation he had ever received.

    His nickname had be Swollen-Lip Karma.

    He wished to go to that ship and rip off Adam''s head and put it on the front of his ship.

    "The deck is dirty; where the hell are those two?!" Necroman asked with a loud shout.

    The hatch of the lower decks opened up, and two young men came with a floor scrubbing brush and a bucket full of dirty water.

    "Right away, boss!" Ramon started scrubbing the dirt off the deck, while Hannibal started mopping up the dirty water.

    "You''re alwayste, aren''t you?" Necroman asked and tugged Ramon by the hair, dragging him down to the deck. "Can''t you think by yourself? Or do you need me to hold your hand

    through everything?"

    "N-no, boss..." Ramon answered through gritted teeth while having his face on the dirt.

    Hannibal silently kept mopping, tight-lipped, and continued to look at the deck with an

    emotionless gaze.

    "Look there." Necroman lifted his head and made him face a certain crimson-sailed ship some distance away. "A friend of yours is doing much better than you. Because he is better

    than you. You''re trash."

    Ramon''s eyes shook, slightly brimming with tears, and he was somewhat able to see the

    distant outline of Adam.

    Not long ago, they were in the same tutorial group, but in just a couple of months, their lives

    became so much different.

    "You want to change ces with him, don''t you?" Necroman asked.

    "N-no..." Ramon weakly replied. "I-I am happy here..."

    "LIAR!"

    Necroman mmed his head on the deck, and blood began to trickle down his face.

    Then he pulled the head back and made Ramon look directly at him.

    "Strength can only be achieved through pain." Necroman said with a grin. "Do you want

    strength?"

    "Y-yes..."

    "I am giving you a mission," Necroman said. "I''ll give you a freedom to enter the dungeon,

    but you must bring his head to me."

    "Whose?" Ramon asked, hope filling up in his eyes.

    He had dreamed of returning to the dungeon. It was a hundred times better than staying in

    the New Karma.

    "Adam''s, of course." Necroman said.

    Ramon''s eyes shook.

    "H-how can I do that?"

    "Be strong through pain." Necroman said. "What? Are you saying that you cannot do

    it?"

    Ramon gritted his teeth.

    This request was ruthless.

    He would have to be stronger than the S-ranker recruit. They came from the same

    tutorial group, but Ramon had to somehow surpass him.

    B-ranker versus S-ranker.

    "I''ll... do it..." Ramon said deviantly. "I''ll kill him. I''ll do everything in my power to kill him!"

    "Good..." Necroman grinned and let go of his hair. "Now, start cleaning up, trash."

 Chapter 138: The Mad Pirates

    Chapter 138: The Mad Pirates

    ?

    By Kuroshima''s cliff, overlooking the dock and the surrounding waters, Zephyr sat on the grass and watched the ships leave with the tide.

    There were only a couple of ships left-even his own guild''s ships had already departed.

    He ordered them to leave without him.

    Zephyr hung his head low and closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears.

    A few tears escaped down his cheeks.

    "So, they''re dead." He covered his eyes and wept silently.

    The wind howled mournfully around him, carrying the faint scent of salt and seaweed.

    His shoulders shook with each sob.

    To anyone who knew, it would be a shock to see him crying.

    He was a stoic, reserved man who rarely showed his emotions.

    Zephyr, the guild master of Zestruction, was known for his unwavering strength andposure in the face of adversity.

    He wasn''t known as a man of many emotions-he was very honest and would speak the harshest truths without hesitation, but seeing him cry was a rare sight indeed.

    He wiped the tears off his cheeks, then stood up with a mournful expression.

    His body shook with silent sobs as he tried to hold back the flood of emotions that threatened to consume him.

    Then, his fists clenched into tight balls of rage.

    "Argh!" Zephyr let out a scream of anguish, and the ground cracked underneath him.

    The trees started swaying heavily as if they had turned alive, threatening to topple over.

    The wind picked up as if the whole ind was suddenly in the center of a massive hurricane.

    CRACK!

    The ground exploded, and a dust shockwave swept across thend, crushing the trees and leaving a massive crater in its wake.

    "Haah, haah..."

    Zephyr breathed heavily after venting some of his emotions.

    He stayed on the ind to do exactly this-he doubted he would be able to contain his emotions during the ship trip back to the maind and might destroy the ship in a fit of rage.

    While his guild members participated in the Gathering, Zephyr spent his days back in the real world. He found out something that saddened him greatly.

    "That''s how you died, by the Dark gue." Zephyr looked up at the sky and regretted his choices that led him here.

    Selfishness, greed, and lust¡ªthree main things that cost him his family.

    "I had a hunch, but he is really your son, Arthur..."

    ..

    Within the ship of the Mad Pirates.

    Click, tick, squeak, and click.

    A hatch snapped open, and Aemon, with amp in hand, descended a short woodendder. The air was moist and dusty, with rats scurrying about between the crates of stolen treasures. Aemon ced themp ahead of him and walked forward to the end of the level, then opened a door at the end of that and entered the dark brig.

    The only source of light came from a small hole in the ceiling that was dripping water onto the wood floor.

    The brig was otherwise empty, except there was a dirty-looking young man shackled to a wall inside a small cell with rusty bars.

    The young man''s sses were lying broken on the ground, and his brown hair was dirty and matted. He was barely awake, his eyes closing and opening slowly, his face pale and bruised.

    "I am honestly surprised." Aemon picked up a chair and sat on it while facing the young man. "Howe you didn''t log off and quit already?"

    "Agh..." Seth had a hard time talking because he was so thirsty.

    Ever since sneaking inside the Mad Pirates'' ship, he hadn''t had ess to food or water.

    "It''s time for you to speak." Aemon said and ced themp in front of the cell, letting the light reach Seth. "I will ask you again, why?"

    "B-b-because..." Seth coughed. "The real world... is not any better..."

    "Really?" Aemon looked around the dirty cell and chuckled. "I have a hard time believing that. You haven''t eaten and drank in days."

    "H-hope... t-that''s all I have..." Seth said and licked his dry lips. "My mom, dad... brother are all hoping that I''ll pull through and be... rich."

    "A father and mother put you through this?" Aemon asked with a chuckle. "Isn''t it their duty to provide for and protect their children? This world is not a kind ce."

    "T-they can''t..." Seth said with a hoarse cough. "T-they were in an ident... They can''t work anymore. We lost everything. We are poor and hungry every day. I don''t want to return to that."

    "Wait." Aemon raised a finger and asked. "Have you logged off ever since you left the tutorial?"

    Seth shook his head and lowered his head.

    "Hahaha." Aemonughed and shook his head. "You''re destroying your body for your family? What if you fail? What if you''ll be locked in this brig for the rest of your life?"

    "I-I can''t fail..." Seth bit his lip, tears running down his cheeks. "I don''t want to fail!" "Ahaha..." Aemon''sugh slowly died down, and his eyes had a sympathetic look. "Believe it or not, our situations are somewhat simr."

    Seth barely managed to lift his head, his eyes showing that he quite didn''t believe that.

    Aemon was a popr pirate captain with treasures beyond imagination, while Seth was just a lowly Mercenaryman with no future in sight.

    "I also don''t have a future." Aemon said with a sigh. "It''s like my whole life was predetermined. I hate it. I am my own person, but he thinks he can control me..."

    ''He?'' Seth frowned, wondering who Aemon was referring to.

    Aemon shook his head and pulled out a bundle of rattling keys from his pocket, then opened

    the cell and tossed it over to Seth.

    "Eh?" Seth looked at the keys in confusion and then back at Aemon.

    "Will you do anything for power and money?" Aemon asked.

    Seth looked at the keys, then back at Aemon and ustered his words.

    "Y-yes... Anything!"

    "I can give you that." Aemon entered the cell, then crouched in front of the malnourished teenager. "I can give you that, but ites at a price."

    "W-what is it?" Seth asked fearfully, but his own desires were clouding his judgment.

    He didn''t want to see his mother, father and brother suffering anymore-they were all

    trusting him.

    He could still remember their smiles and their thrilled expressions after he revealed that he

    had be a mercenary.

    They were so happy...

    However, they didn''t have any idea that the tutorial was the easy part.

    The New World wasn''t made for the weak.

    "I am not telling you that, yet." Aemon said with a smile. "That day wille, though. It might happen in a month, in a year, in five years, or even in ten years, but you''re not leaving me until that price is paid, do you understand?"

    "I understand..." Seth said and lowered his head in a bow. "I am yours tomand,

    captain..."

    "Take off the shackles." Aemon said, then stepped off the cell. "Then join me on the deck. I''ll start your training, Seth of the Mad Pirates."

    Seth quickly took a hold of the keys and started removing the shackles while tears ran down his cheeks. It was very painful, but he felt a sense of relief and freedom as the shackles fell

    away.

    As soon as the shackles fell off his limbs and onto the ground, he stood up, his legs shaking

    and weak from the days of being bound.

    ''Wait, he said to start the training...''

    Seth''s expression paled even further.

    That meant that Aemon hadn''t allowed him to gain his strength back yet. He would have to

    endure more pain and suffering before he could rest.

    Whether it was food or water, he couldn''t get any of them before he earned them.

    "F-fine..." Seth gritted his teeth and stepped out of the cell. "Bring it on..."

 Chapter 139: The Birthday Party

    Chapter 139: The Birthday Party

    ?

    A few dayster.

    A virtual pod''s covering lid slowly opened, with smoke billowing out.

    The smoke slowly dissipated into the room, revealing a figure lying inside the pod.

    Adam slowly opened his eyes, then sat up and climbed out of the pod. He had to take a moment to stabilize himself; otherwise, he would''ve fallen.

    "Oh, god, what a headache..." Adam touched his head.

    It felt like a hammer was knocking him on the head.

    After departing from Kuro Ind, the ship took them to the maind, where they rented an inn in the Driftwood. They nned to take a wagon to take them to Dawnwatch tomorrow. Thus, he nned to now take a day to rest in the real world and catch up with news and his family.

    "Hera," Adam said.

    [Yes?]

    The feminine robotic voice responded.

    "Has my family arrived yet?"

    [They have, but they are currently about to leave]

    "Why?" Adam asked.

    [A birthday party. The whole neighborhood was invited to Nik Leckerman''s 70th birthday party]

    "Oh." Adam said, not really recognizing that person. "Did they ever look for me?"

    [They did. A young woman with long brown hair came to look for you daily. She seemed disappointed after visiting your room]

    "I guess the fake virtual pod trick worked..." Adam sighed in relief and asked. "Did Serah want me to go to the birthday party?"

    [She has been mad at the fact that you aren''t awake. Apparently, it looks disrespectful to miss something like this when everyone else is participating]

    "Sigh..." Adam pinched his forehead and asked. "Do you know if there''s any headache medicine in the room? My head is killing me."

    [Take this]

    A small opening appeared in the wall. There was a syringe inside with a strange blue liquid.

    "What''s this?" Adam asked with a frown and took the syringe. "Kang added some extra stuff, it seems..."

    [It''ll cure your headache]

    "Thanks." Adam said and stabbed the syringe into his muscle, then pumped the liquid into his bloodstream.

    It was like magic.

    A feeling of weightlessness washed over him.

    Adam let out a relieved smile and then called out for the elevator, entered, and returned back to his room.

    There, the virtual pod was still closed with a clouded lid.

    With the press of a button, he opened the lid.

    However, he didn''t climb inside and instead changed his clothes to more proper ones-after all, he was going to the birthday party.

    After putting new clothes on, he left the room and walked downstairs.

    There, Serah and Alice were well dressed, about to put their shoes on.

    "Ah!" Alice noticed him first, and a smile broke on her face. "Adam!"

    "Tch, about time!" Serah ced her hands on her waist and said, "I was starting to think that you were nning to live inside that thing!"

    John came from the kitchen in a hurry and nodded at Adam, then noticed that he was already pretty well dressed, good enough for a birthday party.

    "Ah, Adam, we were about to go to Nik Leckerman''s birthday party. I am not sure if you know him, but it would be good for you toe as well."

    "Pleasee?" Alice asked with her round, puppy eyes.

    "Sure." Adam nodded.

    He most likely doesn''t know anyone from that birthday party, but he didn''t mind visiting. After putting on their coats and shoes, they left the house, and instead of taking the car, they walked for a couple hundred meters until they arrived at the biggest yard in the whole neighborhood.

    With his long life, Nik Leckerman had gained a sizeable fortune for himself.

    This neighborhood wasn''t the fanciest, but it was peaceful, and it was where he liked to spend his retirement days.

    The yard, the backyard, and inside the house were packed to the brim with guests.

    The whole neighborhood was invited, and even some of his close friend''s families were there to celebrate with him.

    "I am going to deliver the gift." Serah said and entered the house, and before delivering the gift, she met some of her friends and started talking with them.

    John, on the other hand, went to the backyard where a barbecue was already being set up by some of the men of the families and joined them, grilling some burgers and hot dogs.

    "What should we do, Adam?" Alice asked.

    She was pretty shy and nervous, as she didn''t really know anyone at the party either.

    "Let''s just go get some cake." Adam said as he led the way towards the dessert table.

    There was arge cake with colorful frosting and sprinkles on top.

    He cut a small piece for himself and then another one for Alice before cing them both on a ss te that was shaped like an eight-petaled flower.

    Alice smiled and thanked him before picking up her te and following him to find a ce to

    sit.

    They found a not-so-cozy spot in the corner of the living room. The house was so loud and full that it was a miracle that they even found a spot.

    They both had a small spoon and ate their dessert in silence while looking around the birthday

    party.

    It was so chaotic and loud that they could barely hear their own thoughts.

    "Were you having fun?" Alice asked, but her words got drowned out by the loud voices around

    them.

    "What?" Adam asked back with a shout; he couldn''t really hear.

    "Did you have fun?" Alice asked again, this time with a shout.

    "Yeah, I suppose!" Adam shouted back and asked. "Did you in the New Paradise?" "Mm!" Alice nodded and took another bite of the cake. "We went on a beach, then a party festival, a native hot spring, and then a walk through the underwater tunnel!"

    The underwater tunnel was the most popr tourist attraction in the New Paradise. The tunnel allowed them to walk on the bottom of the ocean floor and see all the marine life up close. The tunnel was made out of ss, but not just any ss; it was made out of special reinforced ss that was able to withstand the immense pressure of the ocean depths.

    It was one of the most beautiful things Alice had ever witnessed. They even came across a gigantic Blue Whale swimming gracefully through the crystal-clear water.

    Its mouth was so huge that it would''ve been able to swallow the tunnel whole.

    Yet, while the tourist panicked, the workers there looked very calm and collected--they hadplete faith in the tunnel.

    Adam nodded, even though he couldn''t really hear thest parts, but still smiled and ate the

    cake.

    The smell of the roasted barbecue wafted from the backyard, so some of the guests moved there, and the living room turned emptier.

    "I am going to go find mom. She wanted me to meet her friends." Alice said, then took the ss te to the kitchen before heading to the backyard.

    Adam finished up the te of cake and put it on the small table beside him.

    He was now sitting there, all alone, surrounded by strangers-his former self would be terrified as he was a pretty introvert many years ago.

    However, after years in the New World, he shed his old insecurities and gained confidence in

    social situations.

    Adam stood up, nning to go talk to some of the guests since there wasn''t much else to do.

    However, at that moment, a young woman with long ck hair came to the living room and seemed lost. She was very beautiful, with an innocent gaze in her eyes.

    She was truly gorgeous, and many younger men in the party looked at her with admiration

    and desire.

    When she turned her gaze to Adam, her eyes had a look of recognition and surprise.

    "Adam~" She smiled and approached him, thrilled to finally find someone she knew very

    well.

    However, Adam''s face paled, and his fists clenched into tight balls of anger.

    "Amelia..."

 Chapter 140: The Old Friends

    Chapter 140: The Old Friends

    ?

    Amelia smiled sweetly and approached her long-time childhood friend from across the crowded room.

    She and her family weren''t living in this neighborhood, but their family had been friends with the Leckerman family for generations, so they were also invited to the birthday party.

    Adam loosened his clenched fists and forced a smile as he prepared to greet her.

    "How''re you doing?" Amelia asked. "We haven''t seen since... when?"

    "The school reunion a few years back," Adam said.

    While it was a few years for Amelia, it had only been a few months for Adam.

    They traveled to the ck Sea, the most treacherous sea in the New World, and while Adam didn''t want to do it, others convinced him to go there.

    The loudest voice was Amelia.

    She insisted that it was necessary to ensure the Star Faction''s victory, and Adam listened to her as she was the advisor of the guild.

    Reluctantly, he agreed to set sail for the dangerous waters, which ended up being the decision that ultimately led to his death.

    "Ah, it''s been already so long." Amelia smiled with nostalgia. "I hope you''ve been doing good."

    "I am doing alright," Adam said formally.

    His tone made it clear for Amelia that he was treating her like a stranger-it was very odd to her, as during the school days, he was quite warm to her, because she believed that he had a crush on her.

    Amelia''s brows slightly tightened, and she asked, "What''re you up to these days~"

    "Nothing much," Adam replied.

    "Is that so~" Amelia sat down beside him, using the seat that Alice used just moments prior. "I heard that you''ve been ying that game."

    "That game?" Adam looked at her briefly and kept his sentences short.

    He had a hunch what Amelia was after and was waiting for his hunch toe true.

    "Mortal Online." Amelia said with a smile. "Our school group is still active and rumors about

    us spread there quickly. I heard that you''ve been ying that game from them."

    ''A lie.'' Adam thought.

    ''I am not close to any of them. It would be impossible for them to know what I am up to unless someone from my family told them, which is unlikely.

    ''First of all, Serah is not proud of the fact that I am ying that game. She is old-fashioned, and she would rather have me be a shop clerk for the rest of my life.

    ''While being mercenary in Mortal Online is something to be proud of, she doesn''t think the

    same.

    ''John is not a gossiping type, and I don''t need to worry about Alice spreading those kinds of

    rumors.

    ''Amelia just wants me to admit that I am ying that game because of one reason...''

    "Yeah, I''ve been ying it recently." Adam said with a nod. "Why?"

    Amelia smiled and pped her hands. "So am I. I graduated from the tutorial around one year ago, and I had been addicted to it ever since."

    "Oh, what guild did you join?" Adam asked nonchntly while knowing the answer.

    "The Moonlit Guardians." Amelia responded with a smile. "They''re in control of the Chumash Vige that is around a day trip away from Dawnwatch."

    "I see," Adam nodded. "Is that what tier of a guild?"

    "Four," Amelia said with slight hints of embarrassment in her voice. "With my D-ranked score, it was the safest ce for me to go."

    "Mm." Adam nodded.

    "By the way." Amelia turned to him with a smile and curious gaze.

    ''Here ites.''

    "I heard some rumors in the New World." Amelia said and fidgeted with her clear, ck hair. "My guild mates can''t stop talking about it. There''s apparently a new S-ranker, and his name is Adam Palestar."

    "Mm." Adam nodded and chuckled. "A coincidence. I''ve been mistaken for him too many times."

    "Is that so?" Amelia''s gaze turned suspicious. "Weird. I saw a picture of him, and he does look like you..."

    ''She came here prepared.''

    Adam scratched the back of his head and sighed in resignation.

    "Alright, you got me. That''s me."

    "Ah!" Amelia happily eximed. "I knew it!"

    "I would appreciate it if you don''t go around telling everyone, though."

    "I understand~" Amelia said and yfully did a zipping motion across her lips.

    "I''ll be on my way." Adam stood up from the chair. "I came to this party to just show my face, and now that I have done that..."

    "Ah, wait." Amelia stood up and touched his hand intimately. "I''d like us to meet in the New World; maybe go for a coffee."

    Adam looked at her and took his hand away. "No need for that. I wouldn''t want you to travel to Dawnwatch for just coffee."

    "Ah, no worries~"Amelia smiled cheekily. "I am already in Dawnwatch, doing some business for my guild. Let me treat you to a lunch."

    ''She was really prepared.'' Adam thought.

    ''She knew that I was part of Crimson Hounds, which is located in Dawnwatch, so she came there to meet me.

    ''She most likely came to this birthday party expecting me to be here. If I wasn''t, she would''ve most likely sought me out in Dawnwatch.''

    "Ah, the thing is..." Adam scratched his head. "I am currently in Driftwood. It takes me about a day to return to Dawnwatch."

    "That''spletely fine; I''ll have to spend a few days in Dawnwatch either way." Amelia said,

    really insisting.

    It even took Adam by surprise, even though he had known him for such a long time.

    ''She is very desperate.''

    Adam had a few guesses about why.

    ''It''s because I am S-ranker. In the past life, I was only C-ranker, and the first time she showed

    signs of wanting to be part of my party was when I started making a name for myself as a

    surprisingly talented individual.

    ''She is attracted to my current status as S-ranker. She doesn''t want to miss this chance to join forces with someone who could reach the top of the New World.

    ''She believes that my potential sess could elevate her own status in society.

    ''In the end, she did betray me for Cmity. Her loyalty is never genuine; she will just switch

    sides when she has milked everything she could.''

    "I''ll be busy for the next couple of days. I just returned from the Gathering, so I am sorry, but I

    have to pass."

    Adam said, then left the party without looking back.

    Amelia stood behind, stunlocked expression on her beautiful face. She had never been

    rejected so bluntly before.

    "Tch..." She clicked her tongue with an ugly expression and started biting her nail.

    "What''s with that arrogance? Now that he has be S-ranker, he haspletely forgotten

    about me?

    "I thought this would be easy; that''s why I came to this fucking party in the first ce.

    "Does he already have some bitch that has tricked him into liking her?

    "What a weak-minded loser. All the men are the same..."

    Amelia''s mind anxiously ran. She didn''t want to miss this opportunity.

    When she first heard the name Adam Palestar from her guild mates, she thought it couldn''t possibly be him-the nerdy-looking young man from the high school.

    It was impossible.

    However, after seeing the picture, it was clear as day.

    "Think, Amelia, think!"

    "Ah, Adam?" At that moment, a sweet-sounding voice came.

    Amelia turned to and saw a sweet-looking, round-eyed young woman looking around in

    confusion.

    "Alice, right?" Amelia''s cold look changed, and she was smiling again.

    "Uh, who are you?" Alice asked and looked at the empty chairs. "Do you know where the

    person that was sitting here has gone?"

    "My name''s Amelia, Adam''s childhood friend." Amelia offered a handshake.

    "Oh..." Alice looked at the hand and shyly shook it.

    "Adam just left." Amelia looked at the door. "I guess the party wasn''t to his liking."

    "Oh." Alice pouted and wondered whether she should also leave.

    She wasn''t that interested in this party.

    At that moment, Amelia wrapped her arm around Alice''s arm and said, "I heard a lot about

    you from Adam."

    "You have?" Alice asked in surprise.

    "Yup." Amelia giggled and said. "I am alone here as well; my parents went somewhere. If you

    don''t mind, want to hang out together?"

    "Umm, alright." Alice nodded with a shy smile.

 Chapter 141: The Talent

    Chapter 141: The Talent

    ?

    After returning from the exhausting birthday party, Adam went straight to his room and there removed his shoes and jacket before copsing onto his bed.

    He didn''t expect the birthday party to be so exhausting, but it was, and that was because of one person.

    "Amelia."

    Adam''s voice was filled with poison.

    He always knew Amelia wasn''t the most honest person in the world. She had been caught in a lie a couple of times.

    She even once tried to make Adam and Lisa, when they were still dating, break up.

    Why? No one found out.

    After getting caught trying to do so, she just acted like it was a misunderstanding, and even though no one believed her, she never apologized or admitted anything.

    There were other simr circumstances.

    It was somewhat clear that she was a pathological liar.

    However, they still trusted her and believed in her-Adam did the most.

    He never expected her to betray her in such a cruel way, but she did.

    "They might not know what they did to me, but I do, and I''ll have my revenge."

    Adam sat up on the edge of the bed and vowed to never trust her again.

    He wanted his revenge.

    However, he didn''t want to do it yet.

    It was too early.

    When he died, he lost over a decade of hard work. He wanted Amelia to feel the same pain that he had felt.

    Now, she was most likely just an ordinary Ordergiver-if he killed her, it wouldn''t hurt her at all.

    She would juste back and wouldn''t trust Adam ever again.

    Adam needed her trust so he could use her like a pawn.

    "Maybe I should go have a lunch with her, after all..." Adam''s eyes turned cold, and his brain worked like a well-oiled machine.

    A n was forming in his mind-a long and patient n.

    Adam reached out to his jacket on the floor, rummaged through its chest pocket, and took out his phone-he still had Amelia''s phone number.

    He left a message.

    He then put the phone away to get it charged and stood up, then went to theputer to start working on his long and patient n.

    After opening theputer, he went straight to a Word app and started writing stuff down.

    "That''s the groundwork..." Adam looked at the screen, then closed the app and locked it behind a secure password.

    ''Amelia cares about three things-money, status, and power-if I take all three things away from her, she will have nothing left.''

    ...

    Ding, ding.

    "Hmm?" Amelia took her phone from her purse and checked it out.

    Alice was sitting beside her in a garden chair in the backyard. They had been enjoying the sun and chatting about mundane things.

    ''She is Adam''s childhood friend...'' Alice thought while side-ncing at Amelia. ''She is so pretty. Adam must''ve liked her...''

    She shook her head, trying to shake off those thoughts.

    She enjoyed Amelia''spany quite a bit, but couldn''t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Amelia read through a text message, and a beautiful smile broke across her face. ''Hahaha, I see. He acted tough, as if he wasn''t interested, but I knew he couldn''t resist my charm in the end.''

    "Did something happen?" Alice asked after seeing her suddenly smile.

    "Yes, something good." Amelia replied with a smile and then put the phone back on the purse. "I''ll must be going as well now; it was nice to talk with you. I hope we can do this again soon."

    "Ah, alright, bye." Alice said and watched as the beautiful young woman walked away.

    ''She must''ve received some good news. That smile was one of the brightest I''ve ever seen.''

    ...

    Tumbling down the cobblestone streets, a carriage soon came to a stop in front of a gated residence-a crimson-furred sigil on top of the gate.

    The carriage''s doors opened, and the members of the crimson cloaks entered the vi after a long and strainous journey. The servants and guild members weed them with open arms and a warm meal.

    However, they noticed a couple of them didn''t return, as their numbers seemed fewer than when they left.

    It was shock to them-the core of the Crimson Hounds, in their eyes, were unbelievable strong, but even some of them didn''t survive through the Gathering.

    "Adam, walk with me." Digby said and took another path, down a rock-stepped path that led to the backyard of therge estate.

    Adam nodded and walked after him, backpack slung over his shoulder.

    He didn''t mind a walk, as his legs had gone numb because of the bumpy carriage ride.

    Over ten yearster, he still couldn''t enjoy those carriage trips-there were times when he wished there were cars, trains, and nes instead.

    The stone-stepped path took them to the backyard''s small pond with a gentle fountain in the

    center.

    Digby came to a stop, and after marveling at the pond''s calming effects for a couple of seconds, he pulled out a paper from his inventory and handed it over to Adam.

    Adam took it with a raised eyebrow-it was empty, yellowish paper.

    "That''s yours." Digby said. "It might not look much, but apparently it is the map of the Godswood forest, given by the King himself."

    "The Map of the Godswood..." Adam frowned and realized what kind of paper this was.

    With a deep breath, he infused a little bit of his Magick into the paper, and a drawing of a forest started to appear, with some areas highlighted in red circles and some with green

    circles.

    This paper was made out of Emperor''s Flesh. A rarest kind of paper.

    "You have learned Magick?" Digby asked in shock.

    "Yeah." Adam replied with a chuckle. "It was much easier than Kiryoku."

    Digby''s throat turned dry. This was amazing.

    While he wasn''t that impressed with his Kiryoku learning speed as other S-rankers did it faster, Adam learned Magick faster than anyone he had ever heard of!

    ''His talent with Magick is insane!'' Digby frowned and thought. ''If he focuses on bing Magick Master, he might be the strongest magician in history.''

    He thought about it deeply, but unfortunately, the Crimson Hounds didn''t have any Magick Masters among them. Lucette was their best one, but in the end she was just average.

    He believed, with good guidance, Adam might really be the best magician the world had

    ever seen.

    Adam smiled as he looked at the map. It was a very valuable object, and he definitely nned

    to visit the Godswood.

    "Adam, take this as well." Digby took a scroll from his inventory and gave it to Adam.

    Adam opened the scroll, and his eyes widened slightly.

    "Kraft scroll?"

    "Try learning it, ande to me instantly after you''ve learned it." Digby said.

    "Oh, alright." Adam nodded and put it away into his inventory.

    Digby wanted to see whether Adam''s talent also transferred to Kraft.

    If so, he could at least teach Kraft.

    "I won''t keep you upied any longer, Adam," Digby said. "You should go and practice."

    "Thank you, master." Adam bowed and left straight for his room.

    Digby looked down at the pond, with his reflection on the surface, and took a heavy breath.

    "Should I send him there? There would be enough Magick Masters to teach Adam everything he needs to learn, but what if he''ll start thinking that he won''t need my guild anymore? "No, I shouldn''t think such things. I don''t want to be a block between him and his potential."

 Chapter 142: The Demoness

    Chapter 142: The Demoness

    ?

    Dawnwatch, a corner alleyway near the market ce.

    A yellowish tape with stop written on bold, ck letters surrounded a smoldering, destroyed building that was located deep inside the maze of alleys.

    Its walls, ceilings, and floors were charred and crumbling, giving off a strong smell of smoke and ash.

    Everything between the rubble and debris was eerily silent and still.

    After a couple of weeks of endless smoke, it settled down, and the Watchmen were finally able to quench the mes.

    Those mes were strange. They burned night and day for weeks.

    After killing the mes, the Watchmen put the yellow tape around the crime scene and left it alone. There was no evidence to be found.

    Thump...

    A faint thumping sound came from the debris.

    Then the rubble started moving and toppling over as a figure, d in ashes, rose from the wreckage.

    With her clothes burned off, she waspletely naked, with ash stuck in her body like a second skin. She looked around with wide, panicked eyes, trying to orient herself and understand what had happened.

    "A-ah..." Loya panickedly whispered, feeling the heat of the mes still lingering on her skin.

    She didn''t understand how she survived it.

    It was like a mirage.

    "Mirage..." Loya touched her chest, feeling the rapid beating of her heart. "The God saved me."

    She was smiling from ear-to-ear.

    "God? No, it was me."

    Loya flinched and climbed off the rubble in panic, only to see that she was alone. The voice seemingly came out of nowhere.

    "Who just spoke?"

    "I did."

    Loya touched her own mouth. It was moving without her wanting to.

    "W-what..."

    For a split second, Loya''s panicky look turned into that of ridicule. She wasn''t even able to control her own facial expressions anymore.

    Her mouth moved, letting out words that she did not want to speak.

    "We are together now, Loya Young."

    Loya tried to close her mouth, but it continued to speak on its own.

    She started to feel fear. She started to feel like she wasn''t in control of her own body.

    "W-what do you want?" Loya asked.

    Her mouth started to move.

    "Look up to the sky."

    Without allowing her to do it herself, Loya''s head unwillingly turned towards the sky.

    The sky was blue and cloudless with a yellowish wheel of fire in the center-the sun was bright as ever.

    "A-A sun?"

    "Yes, go on and swallow it."

    Loya hesitantly looked around, not sure what the voice meant by that. How could she possibly swallow a sun?

    The voice continued to urge her, saying, "Trust me, you''ll feel better once it''s done." "B-but, that isn''t possible, and if the sun is gone, won''t the world get destroyed by the freezing cold?"

    "Haha, no need to worry. That old bastard in the Kingdom won''t let His precious world be killed that easily. The sun is just a dinner for us to give us a good enough starting point to get stronger."

    "I-I don''t want to do that." Loya said fearfully. "I love Him. I don''t want to go against Him."

    "Foolish one. This is a chance of a lifetime. Don''t you want to meet Him? I can take you there, to the Kingdom."

    "Kingdom?" Loya gulped. "Is that where He lives?"

    "Yes..." the voice said. "Would you like to meet Him?"

    "B-but..." Loya struggled with the decision. "Won''t He be angry at me?"

    "No..." the voice said. "He can always make more suns."

    Loya looked at the sun with its heat radiating down on her, and she nodded slowly.

    "Okay... How can I do it?"

    The mouth started to smile creepily. It wasn''t Loya smiling. It was the creature that was poisoning her mind.

    "A ritual is needed."

    "What do I need for the ritual?"

    "Five sacrifices is enough," the voice said. "Luckily for you, there''s five sacrifives near you."

    "Huh?" Loya looked ahead, past the fork in the alleyway and at the building with square windows that lined the street.

    Through one of those windows, she saw a family of five-mother, father, and their three children-dining together.

    "H-huh?" Loya gulped. "Are you sure?"

    "Their children are already at the age of an adult. Those are perfect candidates for the sacrifice, especially since all three of them are virgins."

    "But their parents aren''t."

    "Yes, but that''s fine. Their bloodline is the same. It''ll make the sacrifice strong."

    "I-I am not too sure whether I should do this." Loya shook her head. "This is not right." "There''s so much suffering and pain in the world. You want to end that, right?"

    "Y-yes..." Loya nodded, realizing that the creature that was in control of her body was also

    able to read her thoughts and memories.

    "With one conversation with God, you can make Him fix all of that. No one has to suffer

    anymore."

    "R-really?" Loya asked with a hopeful gaze.

    "Yes..."

    Loya looked at her ash-d hands and formed two fists.

    "Alright, I''ll do it."

    "Good, use this."

    A de appeared in her clenched hand. Its hilt was made out of crimson bone, and the silver

    de was curved like a fang.

    "You''ll need to finish the sacrifice while the sun is still in the sky."

    "Alright..." Loya nodded, then approached that building, still buck naked and a de in hand.

    ...

    Crimson Hounds Residence.

    A cozymp hung by the window, lit up with the Magick Energy crystals, casting a warm glow

    over the room.

    On the bed, with a swordying in front of him, Adam sat cross-legged in deep thought.

    Then, with his hand, he grabbed the sword by its hilt and softly opened his eyes.

    At that moment, a strange glow appeared on the de-it was faint and white in color-it was barely noticeable, but it seemed to be growing stronger.

    Adam couldn''t help but to smile.

    He learned Kraft!

    It took him nearly an hour, which took longer than Magick, but still, it was incredibly fast, and

    if Digby learned about this, he would probably pass out in a shock!

    Now, Adam had finished learning the first stage of every Three Powers!

    At that moment, a wave of sleepiness washed over him, and his eyes turned heavy, like they

    were suddenly weighing a ton, and then his head hung down as he drifted off into a peaceful

    slumber.

    -

    RUMBLE!

    A powerful rumbling of thunder wreaked havoc across the nightmarishndscape of the Old

    World.

    Adam shook awake by the rumble and saw that he was sitting on the cliff, overlooking the crimson sea with boiling blood and floating skeleton parts.

    "Huh, why did you bring me here?" Adam asked in annoyance. "And why in the middle of the

    fucking day?!"

    "Something serious happened." stor walked up the hill towards Adam, then stopped by

    the cliff, taking a deep breath.

    "What is it?" Adam frowned.

    It must be very serious if an evil god such as Himself was looking so serious and urgent.

    "A demoness has woken up," stor said. "The Queen of Bitches."

    "Huh, a demoness?" Adam''s eyes turned serious and panicky.

    He hoped what he was thinking was not true.

    ''Don''t tell me it''s her...''

    "The world will sumb to darkness if she is not stopped." stor said.

    "I thought that was what you wanted?" Adam said in ridicule.

    "That''s not exactly what I had in mind," stor rebutted. "Her understanding of darkness is different. She ns on swallowing the sun, engulfing the world in cold and darkness." "Sounds like you two would make a perfect match," Adam said. "So what''s wrong? Why don''t

    you want that to happen?"

    "I don''t want the world to be destroyed," stor said. "If the sun''s truly gone, there''s no

    recovering that."

    ''Weird, if I recall correctly, King Moriarty recovered the sun and restored the warmth to the

    New World...''

    "You''ll have to stop her." stor said. "You know where she is. She is in control of a young woman named Loya Young. Kill her."

    "You expect me to defeat a Primordial Demoness?" Adam asked with a twitching eyebrow. "You sure have faith in me, don''t you?"

    "She doesn''t have her power yet," stor said.

    "Your opponent will be Loya Young. Once she swallows the sun, she''ll gain power slowly over

    the course of a few years until she reaches the level of a God.

    "At that point, no one can stop her. It''s better to kill her when she is still in her infancy."

    stor waved his hand and shouted. "Now go; she is preparing the sacrifice. Stop her!"

    With the wave of his hand, Adam was tossed out of the nightmarishndscape and back to the New World.

 Chapter 143: Game of Chess

    Chapter 143: Game of Chess

    ?

    Rushing through the streets of Dawnwatch, Adam felt the rush of the time.

    There wasn''t any time to be wasted.

    At first, he thought about getting a carriage, as they were usually faster than just running, but they had to go rather slowly due to the narrow streets and heavy traffic.

    Thus, he decided on just running.

    There was some distance to the market ce. A distance that seemed unreasonably long, but he knew he had to make it there as quickly as possible.

    ''I didn''t know this would happen, cursed!''

    Adam clicked his tongue and felt like he should''ve done something after seeing Loya, the demoness incarnation, back then, but he thought that she was just an innocent victim of all of that.

    The timeline had now changed.

    Last time, she became controlled by the demoness during the year 2151. It took her another seven years till she was able to swallow the sun.

    Now, the Dark God was saying that it would happen today if he didn''t stop her.

    So, something happened back then that stopped her from swallowing the sun. Perhaps someone stopped her, which caused her to dy ns for another seven years.

    ''I don''t want that darkness to return. Those years were horrible.''

    Adam gritted his teeth and pushed through the crowd. The crowd almost fought back, not wanting to move an inch, but eventually he managed to push through and continue his way down the cobblestone streets.

    ''Back then, King Moriarty restored the sun. What was He saying that it cannot be restored? Could it be that the King didn''t restore the sun after all? But the sun clearly returned with all of its warmth and light.

    ''Strange...''

    After a short while, he arrived at the market ce. He was looking around frantically, wondering what alleyway he took before.

    He had slight difficulties remembering the way to that fire-destroyed building.

    At that moment, Adam halted as soon as he went past an alleyway that somewhat looked familiar. Then he ran inside the alleyway, navigated through the maze of narrow paths, and finally arrived at the hidden part of the city.

    There, tucked away in the shadow, a smoldering, destroyed building stood crumbled with yellow tape circling around it.

    However, on the other side of the yellow tape, at the front of the broken house, a naked, ash- covered woman was crouching, drawing something on the ground with her bloody fingers.

    She drew an eight-pointed star with demonic symbols surrounding it, muttering incantations under her breath.

    At that moment, Adam saw five figures tied on five broken, charred pirs, their mouths covered with cloth, their eyes wide with fear.

    A blood ran down their arms-Loya used their blood to draw the strange symbol on the cobblestone ground.

    Adam slowly drew his sword and approached her, keeping his footsteps silent on the dusty ground.

    As soon as the family of five saw him approach, their eyes lit up with hope, and they wished they could shout for him to kill her.

    Adam cut through the yellow tape with his sword and said, "Loya, it''s time to stop."

    Loya flinched and turned around to face Adam, her eyes filled with tears.

    "I must do this!"

    "No, you don''t." Adam said. "Don''t listen to that poisonous voice. She is lying to you."

    Loya''s tear-ridden face changed rapidly. Now, she looked like she was smirking through the tears.

    "Oh, oh. I did not expect to meet another vessel today," sheughed. "Did stor tell you to stop me? A wise warning: don''t listen to Him. He taught me how to lie."

    Loya regained her focus, and her tears filled her eyes. She heard it all. She then looked at Adam with a wary, teary gaze.

    "Y-you''re a vessel of the Dark God?" She backed away from Adam. "D-don''te closer to me."

    "Calm down, Loya," Adam said and sheathed his sword, then showed his empty hands. "I am unarmed."

    Loya''s face changed, and she shouted, "Don''t listen to him. He is an evildoer, a servant of the evil, a vessel of the greatest gue the world has ever seen!"

    The face changed back to normal.

    Loya looked at Adam with suspicion.

    "Please leave, or you''ll force me to kill you as well."

    "The ceremony you did in the basement," Adam pointed to the smoldering building. "It wasn''t to summon the God. It was to summon the demoness in your head. You had a wrong

    inscription."

    "What?" Loya frowned.

    "The light of God doesn''t hurt. The demoness killed all of your friends just so that they can''t expose her existence, so she can freely manipte you as she wishes."

    "He is lying!"

    Loya looked troubled and then looked at him angrily.

    "You don''t even believe in God. You''re non-believer!"

    Adam softly nodded.

    "I don''t believe; that''s true, but I believe that there is evil in the world, and I know one when I see it. That poisonous voice. That demoness. That''s true evil."

    "She promised me..." Loya breathed heavily, trying to hold back her tears. "That I can finally see Him..."

    "You''re a believer, are you not?" Adam looked straight at her. "Do you think this is what He wants?"

    Loya''s tears fell down her ash-d body, washing away the dust and ash that had settled on her skin.

    "No... He wouldn''t want me to do this."

    As soon as she said that, her expression changed drastically, and she pulled out her bone- hilted dagger from the ground and held it tightly in her trembling hand.

    "Fine, I''ll do it myself!" The demoness shouted. "This mortal shell shall break, and I will rise again in my true form!"

    Adam drew his sword from the scabbard and shed des with the demoness. The dagger was very sturdy despite its size. They then circled each other and exchanged blows after blows, sparks flying as they fought fiercely in a dimly lit corner of the alley.

    The family of five just watched, tears running down their cheeks.

    "Die, mortal!" The demoness screamed like a hysterical monster and drove her dagger

    towards the man''s chest.

    Adam parried it with the blunt side of his sword, and a white hue spread across his de-he used his Kraft¡ªthen exchanged another series of blows with the demoness.

    Slowly, Adam started pushing her back. She was struggling to maintain her ground as Loya''s body was physically much weaker than his.

    Then, with his free hand, he took his shield from his back and used Shield Charge, mming right into her and sending her flying through the charred wall of the house.

    The wall crumbled over her, burying her in a cloud of dust and debris.

    A few secondster, she jumped off the ground, coughing and sputtering. "You are nothing but a vessel of evil," the demoness said with a ridiculing tone. "stor is using you. When the time''s right, he''ll betray you, kill you, and take everything you hold

    dear."

    "You don''t need to worry about me. I''m not foolish enough to get betrayed anymore. Never

    again."

    The demoness gritted her teeth and lunged at him, her eyes zing with anger.

    Adam blitzed past her dagger, then cut through her arms from elbow to wrist.

    The arms, with one of them holding the dagger, fell to the ground, right at the center of the

    demonic symbol on the ground.

    "Nooo!" She screamed in pain.

    Ignoring the pain somewhat, she ran after Adam and kicked her leg forward.

    Adam brought his sword from down and cut through her thigh. The leg fell while the blood

    gushed from the fresh wound. She fell on the ground on her knees.

    "You don''t understand!" She screamed. "You''re just a pawn in a game of chess yed by

    Gods. You are nothing to them!"

    Adam twirled his de around and ced the tip of the de against her chest-the heart

    right behind theyer of flesh.

    "I am not too bad at chess," Adam said and smiled. "I don''t mind ying with them."

    "Hahaha!" The demonessughed. "You think you can outy stor? He is a hundred steps

    ahead of you. After all, he is the original Trickster God."

    Adam just smiled. Didn''t answer back. Then stabbed the de through her chest, through the

    heart, and out of the back.

    She let out another painful scream before copsing onto the ground.

 Chapter 144: Sealed Demoness

    Chapter 144: Sealed Demoness

    ?

    [You killed an Ordergiver!]

    [50 XP Acquired!]

    ''I didn''t kill the demoness, it seems.'' Adam thought with a frown. ''Otherwise, I would''ve gained way more experience than this.''

    At that moment, he heard faint sobbinging from inside the smoldering building-the family of five was still tied with tears running down their cheeks.

    Adam quickly went to them and cut their ropes with his sharp sword.

    The family hugged at each other, crying and whispering thank you.

    They thought they would be used as a sacrifice to some demonic ritual. It was said that sacrifices of those rituals may never reach the gates of heaven, and this family was quite religious and feared what fate awaited them beyond death.

    While they kept crying, Adam approached Loya''s naked, ash-d body and saw that there was

    a strange dagger beside her. It was the dagger that she was using.

    He took it with a trembling hand and felt the weight of the weapon in his palm.

    It was cold and sharp to the touch.

    It was still clearly a very valuable weapon.

    When Adam looked at his sword''s information, he noticed that its durability decreased drastically, even when he used his Kraft!

    ''What a spectacr weapon,'' Adam twirled the dagger around and whispered. "Information.''

    ***

    [Weapon: The Dragur''s de]

    [Rank: Legendary]

    [Max Damage: 300/305]

    [Durability: 100%]

    [Description: A de forged from the fangs of the legendary Dragur, said to cut through any armor like butter]

    ***

    ''Luckily the fight was short,'' Adam breathed a sigh of relief. ''We exchanged blows around ten times, and that alone caused my weapon''s durability to drop thirty percent.''

    He stored the weapon in his inventory, very tempted to keep using it.

    However, it wouldn''t fit his fighting style as a Tank. That''s why he was not quite sure what to do with it.

    The dagger''s max damage was also not that highpared to other Legendary weapons. After all, the daggers were never high damage weapons.

    However, it was easily better than his current sword-dius Sword¡ªthat had meager max damage of fifty.

    ''I could sell it and buy proper armor,'' Adam thought and looked at his clothes. ''I returned my Crimson Armor again, as it is not mine and I only lent it. I don''t have any armor otherwise.''

    He thought about putting it on a sale on the Reality Market-it also had an auction feature. ''A weapon like this could go for 20,000 Shinecoins, maybe. That would be of great importance, but again, this dagger could be of great use to me since its damage output is insane.

    ''If I use a dagger with my Little God, I could be very deadly.''

    Before he coulde to the conclusion, he heard rattling of armor and shouting of men- there were peopleing from near alleys.

    The family looked over with hopeful gazes. They recognized that noise vividly as it sounded like the Watchmen.

    ''Gotta go.''

    Adam thought and quickly walked away in the opposite direction. The family didn''t notice that he disappeared.

    After a short while, the Watchmen of Dawnwatch arrived at the scene, recognizing the destroyed building. Then, they saw a naked, ash-d woman dead on the ground and saw a family still crying.

    Then, they saw the demonic symbol on the ground and showed looks of horror and disbelief. They realized that something hellish was about to happen there.

    Since they saw no one else present, they started to question the family.

    The family said they were rescued by a young man, and when they looked around his whereabouts, they noticed he was gone.

    A couple of the Watchmen nodded and searched the surroundings for that person.

    After a while, they returned to the scene after not finding him anywhere.

    "We''ll need to take this to higher-ups."

    "A demonic ritual, right here in front of our noses, and we couldn''t sense a thing."

    "It must be a high level ritual. What kind of satanic creature was she about to summon?" "This woman is a yer. Should we put a bounty on her?"

    "If she respawns, we''d like to question her. Put a big enough bounty so she can''t walk freely in any popted town or city."

    "Roger."

    -

    Back at the main street, Adam walked among the crowd, a hood pulled over his head, and kept his steps light as he made his way away from the scene.

    He wasn''t nning on returning to the Crimson Hound''s residence.

    There was a meeting he had to attend to.

    A coffee date with Amelia-they decided to do it today at the Cafe De Parys.

    As Adam made his way down there, his legs suddenly turned sluggish, and he became tired. The eyelids shut down unwillingly, and right in the middle of the street, he fell asleep.

    The crowd just walked past him, bumping shoulders and ignoring his presence. They hadn''t noticed that this young man strangely fell asleep.

    --

    Ssh!

    The crimson sea''s tall waves crashed against the shore.

    "Ah!" Adam opened his eyes wide and grumbled in annoyance. "Seriously, in the middle of the street? Couldn''t you wait?"

    "I wanted to give you my congrattions," stor said with a smirk. "You managed to stop an apocalypse. Be more happy. Go on, cheer; you''re a hero."

    "I don''t feel like a hero," Adam said.

    "Oh, what will make you feel like a hero?" stor asked. "Big parade in your honor? A statue the size of the Great Wall? A blessing from the God?"

    "I didn''t kill the demoness, did I?" Adam turned to him with a frown. "She survived."

    stor looked at the sea and shrugged his shoulders. "You think killing a primordial being

    such as herself is as easy as killing an Ordergiver?"

    "I thought she would be stopped if I killed Loya."

    "She was stopped," stor said. "For now."

    "For now?" Adam frowned.

    "She''ll return," stor said. "She is still in the control of Loya. There was nothing you

    could''ve done to stop that."

    "Then, when she is done respawing, can''t she just do the ritual and swallow the sun?"

    "No, that''s the sweet part," stor said with a grin. "You killing her was not for naught. She

    is somewhat sealed in Loya''s body now, but she can still speak to her, able to poison her mind, but she cannotplete the ritual without taking control of the body."

    "How long will that sealst?"

    "It could be five or ten years," stor said, unsure. "It depends how strong Loya bes during that time. One thing is for sure: that demoness will do everything in her power to help

    her grow strong."

    "She''ll just hide and grow stronger for the next few years." Adam sighed. "Is there stopping

    her even?"

    "You''re the only one that knows about that threat," stor said. "Now, you are way too weak

    topletely kill the demoness in her body. That''s why, when the next timees, you''ll need to be strong enough to kill herpletely."

    "The seal will be weaker the stronger Loya bes, so can''t we just keep finding her and killing her?" Adam asked.

    "Good luck with that," stor said. "I was only able to sense her because she was this close, and now that she is sealed, it''s even harder to sense her. Also, I am sure that she has thousands of hideouts to choose from. After all, there are some factions that are loyal to her."

    ''I guess the same thing happened in the previous life,'' Adam thought with a frown. ''I am even more convinced that Cmity was the vessel of stor. He must''ve killed Loya at year 2151 to seal demoness away, but failed to kill her next time around.''

    "Anyway, it was nice to catch up with you, hero~" stor waved his hand. "Grow stronger." With that, Adam disappeared from the Old World once again.

 Chapter 145: Amelias Favor

    Chapter 145: Amelia''s Favor

    ?

    Cafe De Parys-a sign made out of hazel wood-swung gently in the wind by the door.

    It was a nice-looking cozy cafe with its windows adorned with flower boxes full of colorful blooms and a small garden by the door.

    Inside, the smell of freshly ground coffee beans lingered in the air.

    The patrons enjoyed cups of coffee while chatting with friends or reading books.

    By the window, near the entrance garden, a beautiful ck-haired young woman enjoyed a cup of coffee.

    She was waiting for someone-it made some of the male patrons wonder about who she was meeting and why would someone let such a beautiful young woman wait for so long.

    After all, she had already been sitting there for nearly half an hour.

    Atst, the bell above the door jingled, and a navy-eyed young man walked in, scanning the room until his eyes met hers.

    "Adam~" Amelia waved her hand with a smile blooming on her face.

    Adam made his way over to her table and took a seat across from her, his gaze scanning her dress.

    It was clearly bought from an expensive store, as its material seemed to be simr to what the rich would wear.

    Usually, a rookie Mercenary wouldn''t have such money to spend sovishly, and Adam knew that Amelia''s family, Beautyheart, wasn''t that wealthy as well.

    It meant someone bought it for her, and he had a good guess who.

    ''She must be popr in Moonlit Guardians.''

    Compared to her, Adam''s outfit was quite casual and humble-ck shorts, a t-shirt, and a pair of sandals¡ªhe didn''t mind though, as he didn''t want to waste the money on fancy clothes.

    "I am sorry for beingte," Adam said and took the menu of the avable drinks.

    "No worries~"Amelia said. "You must be busy, I understand. I already ordered a coffee; I hope you don''t mind."

    "Not at all," Adam waved towards the waitress and gave her his order.

    He ordered a breakfastbo-it included a ck bean coffee with a side of scrambled eggs and toast.

    "I met your stepsister, Alice. She is really nice," Amelia said and took a sip of her drink.

    "She is not really my sister," Adam said. "I just live with them."

    "Oh." Amelia looked slightly surprised. "I''ve heard some Government-Appointed Caretakers making the orphans of the gue their children."

    "That''s the case for some," Adam said. "Not for me, though. I am still orphan."

    "Oh..." Amelia looked sympathetic. "I am sorry to hear that."

    "I am fine with it." Adam said. "At least I have a roof over my head."

    A short timeter, the waitress brought him his drink and the breakfast.

    While he was eating, he tried to get a reading of Amelia''s emotions using his Kiryoku.

    Unfortunately, he was unsessful, as she had also learned Kiryoku, so she was able to mask her emotions from him.

    ''She did the same in the past life,'' Adam kept his expression neutral. ''She knows that her tricks have no chance of seeding if a person is able to sense her emotions, so she learned to mask them.

    ''Since I didn''t learn Kiryoku at all, I couldn''t sense my closest friends nning to betray me.'' That''s why Amelia often avoided people she knew who were powerful with the Kiryoku.

    For example, she never wanted to meet with Fleur, who was strongest with Kiryoku among the Star Faction.

    He never thought it was strange-now that he was thinking about it, he might''ve been too blind.

    After finishing up her drink, Amelia elegantly wiped her lips with a napkin and looked at Adam with her slightly nted eyes.

    "I''d like to ask a favor," Amelia said. "A favor between childhood friends."

    "What is it?" Adam stopped eating and put the fork and knife down on his te.

    "I''d like to join the guild you''re in," Amelia said and fidgeted with her fingers, as if she were nervous. "Please?"

    "Why?" Adam asked. "I thought you were happy with the Moonlit Guardians."

    "Honestly, I am feeling very ufortable with them," Amelia grabbed her arm, looking very vulnerable. "There''s not many women there, and I feel like I don''t belong there."

    "Hmm..." Adam paused for a moment, considering her words carefully.

    "I feel like I am just a mascot for them," she said. "A pretty face to show off, but not taken seriously for my skills and opinions."

    "That must be frustrating," Adam replied sympathetically. ''A liar.''

    Amelia smiled hearing that and said, "I''d like to be with you. I was never good with new people, and it would help a lot if I saw familiar faces around."

    "I, of course, have to talk with my guild master," Adam said. "I do not have power to influence his decision."

    "Of course, I don''t mind." Amelia said with a smile.

    They then finished their drinks and food.

    After that, they left the cafe, took a carriage, and headed straight to the Crimson Houndspound. During the trip there, both of them stayed rather quiet, only listening to the wheels rolling down the cobblestone streets and the asional sound of horses'' hooves.

    After finally arriving there, the guard let them in and also nodded to Adam. The guards already treated him as one of them.

    However, after briefly admiring Amelia''s beauty, they developed a suspicious expression as they wondered what she wanted from their young genius.

    They were very much aware of how the world worked-the weak clung onto the leg of a

    strong.

    Thus, there were many women who used their looks, bodies, and charm to raise their status in the highlypetitive world.

    A short walkter, they arrived at Digby''s office. He was there, doing some paperwork in his usual meticulous manner.

    After a knock, he told them to enter, and then both of them took a seat across from him.

    "Adam." Digby nodded and then turned at the young woman. "Whose this?"

    "My name''s Amelia Beautyheart; it is an honor." Amelia said with a gorgeous smile.

    It was a smile that would immediately charm anyone in the room.

    However, Digby simply frowned and gave her a cold stare.

    Amelia''s back started sweating. She kept her smile, but she felt like she couldn''t hide

    anything from Digby. He was a person she hated the most.

    "This is a childhood friend of mine," Adam said and asked. "I was wondering if she could join

    the guild."

    Digby leaned on the chair and sighed, "I''m sorry, but we don''t ept any new members at the

    moment."

    "Please, I will do anything," Amelia said and put her hand on her chest. "Cleaning, cooking, and running errands. I''ll do anything to help the guild, please."

    "Adam, can we share a word?" Digby asked and looked at Amelia. "Can you step out for a

    moment?"

    "Of course." Amelia stood up, bowed respectfully, and walked out of the room, hiding her

    ugly, annoyed expression.

    "What is it?" Adam asked.

    "I know I just met her, but I have a feeling that she doesn''t have your best interest in heart."

    Digby said with a soft voice.

    "Is that so?" Adam hid his smile, liking Digby even further.

    It was nice to have a guild master who genuinely cared about his well-being and wasn''t easily

    deceived.

    "You''re S-ranker, and I am sure this won''t be the first time, but there are people who will do anything to get close to you," Digby said. "And I mean anything."

    "Do you trust me?" Adam asked. "Do you think I am easily fooled?"

    Digby looked at him deeply and nodded. "I know you''re smart. However, friends can betray you as well, and this Amelia girl, I have a bad feeling about her."

    "I want you to still let her in," Adam said. "I know it''s your guild, and I shouldn''t be one to dictate who you let in, but please do this."

    Digby sighed and nodded. "Alright. I am not happy about this, but if she is this important to

    you, then sure, but keep a close eye on her."

    "I''ll do that." Adam stood and bowed. "Thank you, master."

    "Before you leave, there''s one more thing I need to discuss with you." Digby said. "Sit back

    down; it''ll be quick."

    Adam sat back down and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

    "Have you ever heard of the Eldertree?" Digby asked.

    Adam''s eyes widened in recognition.

 Chapter 146: Eldertree Institution

    Chapter 146: Eldertree Institution

    ?

    Eldertree¡ªthe biggest tree in the Mortal Online, located in the center of the twenty-fifth

    floor.

    It was so big and tall that it went over the cloudyer, and rumors say that its peak might even reach the outer space. There were many mysteries surrounding its origin and purpose.

    Its enormous roots protrude out of the ground and seem to stretch on endlessly. Those roots were wrapped around the entire floor, and between the roots were thick forests that still hadn''t been fully mapped out.

    That wasn''t all.

    Somehow, it was unclear who built it, but inside the Eldertree, there were stairs, living ces, and hidden passageways that led to unknown parts of the tree.

    Some experts said that it must''ve taken someone thousands of years to build all of that.

    The institute was created inside the Eldertree, thus receiving the name Eldertree Institute.

    There, mercenaries from all corners of the world gathered to train.

    It was also a ce where the children of mercenariese to train.

    Before undergoing the tutorial, it was possible to visit the institute to train for it.

    However, not just anyone was epted into the institute. It was a verypetitive environment.

    Ron, for a brief moment, thought that Adam had toe from the institute, but after checking his report papers, it wasn''t mentioned anywhere, even though it should''ve.

    He thought only his kind of genius coulde from the institute, so it was a pretty big surprise for him.

    Currently, in the office room, Digby took a book with a tree on the cover and showed it to the young man who was sitting across from him.

    "Eldertree Institute," Digby turned the pages. "I want to send you there, if you want to."

    Without letting him answer yet, because he thought he didn''t know what it was, Digby started to exin the ins and outs of the Eldertree Institute.

    "When a mercenary reaches a certain age, they''ll start to grow weaker. Their strength will flicker away like a sad little candle me, and during that time, those mercenaries usually quit.

    "However, those who have be strong, very strong, also decided to choose a different path, to be teachers in the Eldertree Institute to keep teaching the new generation.

    "Magick Masters, Kraft Masters, and Kiryoku Masters-there''s all of them. They''re the best teachers one could ask for.

    "Unfortunately, we don''t have a good enough Magick teacher to help your talent blossom and reach its full potential."

    Adam listened closely, even though he knew all about it.

    However, he never went to Eldertree Institute to learn. It was because it wasn''t a ce where everyone could just go.

    He tried to apply and even took a test, but he failed miserably.

    His talent was not good enough to get epted, apparently.

    "So, what do you say?" Digby asked.

    "How long will I stay there?" Adam asked.

    "It''s up to you," Digby said. "I would say three years."

    "Three..." Adam thought deeply.

    ''It would be a perfect ce to grow strong. Since it is a ce located on the twenty-fifth floor of the dungeon, it''s a very dangerous ce, but that gives more opportunities to grow in strength.

    ''All of the S-rankers had visited that ce, and they entered that ce as weak but came out as strong.''

    Digby looked at him with a deep expression.

    He was conflicted.

    The Eldertree Institute was a dangerous and highlypetitive ce.

    Since Adam was S-ranker, he would definitely get targeted by others wanting to take him down a peg.

    There was also the fact that the twenty-fifth floor was an extremely dangerous ce for someone like Adam, who was still rather weak.

    Digby could tell that his strength had incredibly leapt during the Gathering, but that still wasn''t enough.

    However, without danger, he would never be strong enough to fit his status as S-ranker.

    Every mercenary had to deal with their own share of deadly encounters, and those who weren''t brave enough never made a name for themselves.

    "Alright." Adam raised his head to stare Digby straight in the eyes. "I''ll do it."

    A small smile crept onto Digby''s face, and he nodded. "Alright, then. I''ll send a letter over to the Eldertree Institute''s Headmaster. It might take a month or two before you can take your test."

    "There''s something else I''d like to ask," Adam said. "The Ordergiver test. It''s soon, right?" "In three weeks." Digby said with a nod. "You want to participate?"

    "Yes, sir."

    "Very well," Digby said.

    He could tell that Adam was more than strong enough to undergo that test.

    Digby was also going to do his Royal Prince test, which he had failed many times already. He didn''t have a lot of hope of seeding.

    Adam then stood up, bowed, and went to the door, preparing to leave.

    "Tell your friend to go find Valora; she''ll get her sorted."

    Adam nodded and left the room.

    Outside, Amelia was standing by the wall, fidgeting nervously while the guard''s sharp gaze was on her. She didn''t really feel weed by anyone.

    "Amelia, let''s go," Adam said.

    "What did he say?" Amelia asked and followed after him with quick steps.

    "He allowed you to join," Adam said. "I''ll be taking you to Valora. She''ll get you sorted.

    "Yay, thank you!" Amelia hugged Adam''s arm, pushing it intentionally against her plentiful soft chest.

    Adam didn''t show it in his face, but he was very annoyed. She felt like a fly buzzing in his ear. A short walkter, Adam found Valora by the central courtyard. She was training by herself, dressed lightly with her sword slicing through the cool air.

    "Miss Valora." Adam nodded.

    "Adam." Valora showed a smile and took a towel, then wiped her sweat away.

    At that moment, she noticed that there was a young woman beside their young genius.

    "This is my friend, Amelia, and she is the new member of Crimson Hounds," Adam said.

    "Oh." Valora looked at her with her round eyes.

    Usually, she was thrilled to have more women in the guild, as they were outnumbered by men,

    but now she wasn''t.

    She had a bad feeling about Amelia-a very troubling feel.

    "Digby epted her?" Valora asked, just to be sure.

    "Yes," Adam nodded.

    "Alright then..." Valora shook her head, and she thought she was overthinking it then.

    She very much believed in Digby''s ability to make sound judgments, so if he epted her, it

    must be for a good reason.

    "Then,e with me." Valora said to Amelia and headed to the armory.

    Amelia smiled at Adam and then skipped after Valora.

    "Oh, who was that?" Knoxx asked and wrapped his arm around Adam''s shoulders. "A

    girlfriend of yours?"

    "No, just a friend..." Adam said in a low voice and then shrugged off his arm and returned to

    his quarters.

    "Why is he in a bad mood?" Knoxx wondered as he watched Adam walk away.

    He hadn''t seen Adam have such a look in his face before. It was like a storm was brewing

    inside him.

    ...

    Weeks flew by, and the winds of the summer came alongside a heat wave that made the air

    stifling and heavy.

    By the gates of the Dawnwatch, a carriage that carried a sigil of the Crimson Hounds, wheeled

    away, leaving behind a cloud of dust that settled slowly on the ground.

    It was time for the promotion tests.

 Chapter 147: Promotion Test

    Chapter 147: Promotion Test

    ?

    New World, Imperium City.

    The golden bell on the cathedral''s tower rang out.

    Ding, ding, ding.

    The sunlight of the summer sun cascaded over the royal castle and the city below.

    It was very warm.

    The people of the city had changed from their warm clothes to short-sleeved shirts and light dresses.

    Since it was the wealthiest city by arge margin, everyone walking on the streets looked like they came straight from a picture in a magazine.

    Handsome and pretty couples walked hand-in-hand, the cafes opened their doors, and childrenughed as they yed in the fountains.

    The banners of the guilds pped proudly against the wind.

    Unlike in Dawnwatch, where the guilds only had one building to their name, in Imperium City, since there were so many streets and buildings, every guild had their own street.

    It was their territory, per se.

    The Imperium City, after all, was home to the strongest guilds and the mercenaries.

    At this moment, carriages wheeled down the summer-heated streets and rolled through the entrance into argepound with high stone walls and sand floors.

    The carriages circled in the sand yard until they came to a stop in front of the massive wooden double doors with circle-shaped knobs.

    The doors of the carriage swung open, and the mercenaries emerged one by one.

    Digby and Adam left their carriage, and stood shoulder to shoulder. They were the only members from Crimson Hounds that came to the promotion tests.

    A few gazes from other carriages went in their way, or more precisely, in Adam''s direction.

    The double doors creaked open by a muscr, hulking man that seemed to have been consumed by his muscles.

    He nced around at everyone present and said, "You may all enter. Keep your swords and armor in your inventory; you do not need those."

    After everyone did so, they slowly walked over to the hulking man, showed their mercenary cards, and then entered thepound.

    After Digby entered, Adam followed in his footsteps and showed his mercenary card to the hulking man.

    "When was thest time you updated your card?" The hulking man asked, seeing that is still showed that Adam was only level one.

    "I haven''t," Adam said.

    The hulking man nodded and let him enter.

    It was cool inside thepound. It almost felt like they had entered a different world,pletely different from outside''s sweltering heat.

    The mercenaries stopped in the lounge. There were closed doors all around them with a fancy chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

    After thest mercenaries entered thepound, the hulking man closed the double doors.

    As soon as he did that, a smaller door on the side opened, and a small person emerged wearing a friendly smile.

    "Thank you for alling, participants of this month''s promotion tests," he said and took his ce at the front of the lounge. "My name''s Albertson, and I am today''s judge."

    The tests were handled by the Mercenary Guild to ensure fairness and impartiality.

    The promotion tests were held every month, and even so, it didn''t mean that someone who failed a test a month ago could apply again for next month.

    In Digby''s case, since he was undergoing the Royal Prince test, it was something he was allowed to do only once a year.

    Albertson snapped his fingers, and eight doors opened those doors all had different sigils on top of them.

    Every door led to different tests.

    "Those doors lead you to a test of the rank you''re trying to achieve." Albertson said with a smile and turned to Digby. "Digby Chaucer. You''re today''s highest-ranking participant, and you''re trying for Royal Prince; please go and enter your door."

    Digby nodded and straightened his sleeves. He then turned to Adam, patted him on the shoulder, and headed to a door that had the sigil of a young kid wearing a crown.

    It was the Royal Prince''s official sigil.

    After he entered through the door, it closed behind him with a soft click.

    Albertson then continued calling more names.

    A couple of people stepped through Prime Mercenary''s doors, then another through Royal Mercenary and then quite many through Archwarrior.

    There was also some for Grandeur door, then Holyman and Beyonder.

    There was only one door left open, and Adam was alone, standing in the room.

    ''I am only one doing the Ordergiver test? That can''t be right.'' Adam thought to himself.

    There were sometimes hundreds of participants for the Ordergiver test, but now he was all alone. It didn''t make sense.

    "And, Adam Palestar." Albertson said and smiled. "You''re the sole participant of the Ordergiver promotion test. Please, enter your door."

    Adam nodded, still wearing a frown, but he then entered through the door and heard it close behind him.

    It was a dark hallway with light shining at the end.

    He kept his steps light and quick, soon stepping through the light and to an empty white room, at the center of which stood arge, ornate mirror.

    Szz...

    A strange, static-like sound emanated from the walls.

    "Hello, hello, can you hear me?" A robotic, static voice came.

    "Yes," Adam said.

    "Look at the mirror." The static voice said.

    Adam walked over to the mirror, stopping right in front of it.

    The mirror was full-body and reflected his own image back at him.

    Then, the mirror''s reflection started to distort, and the surface looked like there were waves rippling across it.

    Then, a mirrory hand reached out from the mirror, and then head, then torso, and finally legs, until the figure was standing on two feet before him, identical in every way.

    It was Adam''s doppelg?nger, but without his skin-the doppelg?nger''s skin looked like it was made out of a mirror.

    "The first test, mirror fight," the static voice said. "The mirror doppelg?nger has a strength of low-level Ordergiver. Its strength is what the Ordergiver should have, at minimum." The mirror doppelg?nger reached out its hand, and a mirror sword appeared in its hand. It resembled the dius sword quite a bit.

    ''It can replicate my skills, but it cannot replicate my fighting style.''

    "You will receive your sword now. As soon as you pick it up, the fight starts." The static voice

    said.

    A sword fell from the ceiling andnded before him¡ªit was an ordinary-looking dius

    sword.

    Adam picked up the sword. He wasn''t wearing any armor, as he wasn''t allowed to rely on any items during the test.

    As soon as he touched the sword''s hilt, the mirror doppelg?nger rushed forward and shed down at him with an overhead sh.

    Adam shed his sword against the mirror de, the sh of metal and ss ringing out

    through the room.

    After only a second, Adam managed to push its sword away. It was clear that he had better physical strength than a low-level Ordergiver!

    The mirror doppelg?nger''s posture looked shaky.

    Adam rushed in and stabbed his sword forward, but saw the mirror de appear in the way;

    therefore, he quickly snapped his wrist, changed the trajectory of his stab, and sliced through

    the mirror doppelg?nger''s knee.

    A crack appeared in its ss mirror knee.

    His speed was also much more superiorpared to the mirror doppleg?nger!

    Adam swung his sword again, and this time, the de went through the mirror doppelg?nger''s face. It shattered into a million pieces.

    "First test, sessful," the static voice said.

    Another door opened at the end of the room, leading deeper into the facility. "Whew..." Adam dropped the sword and left the room.

 Chapter 148: Edward

    Chapter 148: Edward

    ?

    "His strength is already above that of an ordinary Ordergiver."

    Argus said, facing a mirror-like ss that showed the room where the fight between the mirror doppelg?nger and Adam just happened.

    It was a one-way window, and it looked like just an ordinary white wall from inside the room. Thus, Adam couldn''t tell that anyone was watching.

    Albertson smiled beside the man and said, "Special people need special privileges. That''s why we dyed every other Ordergiver promotion test to allow Adam to do it alone without any distractions."

    "I am curious how he will fare against Beyonder," Argus said, touching his exotic mustache. "Can that be arranged?"

    "Of course." Albertson said with a smile and left the room to make the necessary arrangements.

    Argus stood up from his seat, then strode through another door and arrived at the other hidden room. There, from the window, he saw Adam waiting inside the room.

    "He showed that he is decently skilled, but is that all?" Argus wondered with a frown. "I have seen S-rankers do their early tests, and so far, he is rather dull. Strong, for sure, but dull." Argus was in histe thirties, but he had already seen many young geniusese and go. He had one of the sharpest eyes when it came to the talent and potential of the new recruits. He was awed whenever he saw the S-rankers do their early promotion tests, as they already showed signs of greatness from the get-go, but now he was in a dilemma.

    Adam didn''t bring him a feeling of awe, like the other S-rankers did.

    Instead, he brought a feeling of uncertainty and doubt.

    At the start of the Mortal Online, on its first days, only 100 yers were allowed inside the New World. They were beta testers of sorts.

    Argus was one of them.

    Those hundred yers eventually created the Mercenary Guild, and when more yers started to enter the New World, they quickly established the hierarchy system and helped others to create their guilds.

    Argus saw Konrad Moriarty''s talent before anyone else did.

    "What''s with him?" Argus looked out of the window at Adam. "Why does he feel so ordinary?"

    ...

    ''What''s taking so long?'' Adam wondered while tapping his feet against the white floor. He had already been waiting inside this white room for nearly half an hour, yet it didn''t look like the next test was about to start anytime soon.

    However, as soon as he said that, the door on the opposite side of the room opened.

    At the same time, a weapon dropped from the ceiling andnded beside his feet-it was a sword with a broad de.

    Adam picked it up and looked at his opponent.

    His opponent entered the room, d in nothing but a leather ragged outfit. It looked like it was made out of the worst material possible. He was also holding the same sword.

    Szz...

    The static voice said. "This time, you''re facing a high-level Ordergiver. Do your best." ''Wait, this isn''t the same test as I had to do in my past life.'' Adam frowned. ''Something is wrong.''

    "Tch, this sucks." His opponent suddenly said, scratching his dirty blond hair. "Fuck this." ''Huh?'' Adam frowned. ''What''s with him?''

    Szz...

    After the static, the voice said. "Edward, do you want to return to the ck Keep?"

    "Fuck you," Edward said and pointed his middle finger all around him. "I''m never going back there!"

    "Then fight," the static voice said. "If you lose, you''ll get thrown back there."

    "Hmph," Edward turned his gaze to the ck-haired young man and said, "You''re unlucky one; I guess you made some enemies, haha!"

    ''The ck Keep? Edward?'' Adam frowned. ''Is he one of the prisoners of the ck Keep? Why is he here?''

    "You must be confused; so am I." Edward approached him slowly while picking his ear and looking slightly annoyed.

    "You''re from the ck Keep?" Adam asked, keeping his sword ready.

    "Yeah." Edward said and yawned. "They said if I defeat you, they''ll give me back my freedom."

    ''I guess they created a special test for me.'' Adam scoffed. ''Privileges of S-rankers, I suppose.'' "Let''s get this over with." Edward stepped forward, his sword dangling in his hand.

    He walked very casually, like he was taking a stroll in a summer-heated park with no care in the world.

    Edward was taller than Adam and packed some muscle behind his dirty, leather rags.

    He was either tanned or simply dirty; it was hard to tell. It looked like he hadn''t showered for quite a while.

    The lengths of his arms were covered in tattoos, and his armspan was immense, resembling that of a basketball yer.

    "I wonder what crime youmitted." Adam said and moved to his sword-shing stance. "Oh, you curious?" Edwardughed with his yellowish teeth peeking out from his smirk.

    "It can''t be too severe if they allow you to receive your freedom if you defeat me." Adam said.

    "If you win, I''ll tell you."

    Edward said and then took another step closer; then, with a whip of his arm, he brought his

    sword down.

    Adam took a step back, allowing the sword to narrowly miss him.

    "Heh!" Edward grabbed the sword with both hands and swung it heavily sideways.

    It looked like he was using the sword like it was an axe!

    Without having any intention of blocking that strike, Adam jumped backwards and evaded the

    sword strike.

    It would''ve been suicide to try to block or parry that strike.

    It looked like the strike would simply go through Adam''s sword and then through his torso. It was destined to end badly.

    ''It looks like his choice of weapon was an axe, not a sword.'' Adam thought, as it looked like Edward was not that experienced with swords.

    Again, after his long swing ended, Edward brought his sword straight at Adam.

    Once again, he was holding the sword two-handed and using all his strength.

    Adam quickly sidestepped to avoid the oing blow. The sword missed him. He then quickly stepped towards Edward.

    Edward''s gaze shrunk slightly, and then they exchanged several blows, their swords shing loudly. They were near each other, swinging their swords, and shing one after another.

    "Tch..." However, Edward looked like he was in a worse position.

    With each sh, Adam''s follow up attack took Edward by surprise, and he awkwardly managed to somehow block the attacks, but it looked like he couldn''t do that much longer.

    Edward backed off quickly and wanted to do another one of his mighty strikes, but Adam closed in and delivered another series of sword shes that left Edward reeling. "God damn it, annoying!" Edward shouted and suddenly pped his sword-wielding hand against his other open palm. "pping of Thunder!"

    SMACK! "Argh!" Adam covered his ears in a futile attempt to block out the deafening sound.

    It was the work of Edward''s skill-pping of Thunder-that would momentarily deafen and disorientate his surrounding opponents!

    "Ha!" Edward grabbed his sword tight and shed at Adam''s chest, the sh wound

    stretching from his shoulder to his waist.

    "Ngh!" Adam''s eyes widened in surprise, and he reeled back with a bleeding waist.

    "By the way, they lied to you." Edward grinned andunched at him. "I am not a high-level Ordergiver. I am Beyonder!"

 Chapter 149: The Laugh

    Chapter 149: The Laugh

    ?

    "He didn''t expect that." Albertson said with a chuckle.

    "Was it necessary to lie?" Argus asked. "If he knew that he was Beyonder, he would''ve been more wary of his skills."

    "I didn''t necessarily lie." Albertson said. "In his mercenary card, it still stays that he is Ordergiver, only because he hadn''t done his promotion test to Beyonder yet, but he is easily Beyonder level."

    "Beyonder is called Beyonder for a reason." Argus said. "Those with that rank are already allowed to go beyond the wall. The strength leap between Ordergiver and Beyonder is just so vast."

    "Adam did good though." Albertson said. "After seeing that Edward overpowered him with strength, he went close range andpletely nullified Edward''s strongest ability, his strength."

    "If Edward was Ordergiver, his skill most likely wouldn''t have disorientated Adam so much that he was unable to dodge. Thus, the lie most likely decided this match."

    Albertson shrugged his shoulders. "If he cannot win against Edward, is he really S-ranker?"

    "Mm." Argus nodded. "I''ve seen Arkham and Cmity win against much worse odds." "What do you think about Adam defeating a Grandeur-ranked mercenary during tutorial?" Albertson asked. "He was just Coinfeeder back then."

    "It is a feat like no other." Argus said. "When I heard that, I thought that there was finally a talent that canpete with Moriarty."

    "You don''t think that anymore?" Albertson asked and looked back at the fight.

    "There was a rumor that Ron allowed Adam to defeat him as they had grown to be friends during the tutorial."

    "Wait, for real?" Albertson widened his eyes in surprise. "Doesn''t that make him a fake S- ranker then?"

    "It is just a rumor." Argus said with a sigh. "However, from what I''ve seen, I am starting to believe those rumors. Adam is just very ordinary."

    ...

    Drip, drip...

    The blood pooled around Adam''s body, staining the pristine white floor.

    He noticed that his health dropped drastically, and it was still dropping.

    ''Beyonder... I am starting to get annoyed.''

    The veins bulged in his forehead.

    He didn''t like that he was lied to and tricked to. It made him feel like he was just a circus animal being manipted for the entertainment of others.

    ''Very well, fuckers.''

    Edward rushed in and again pped his hands together. pping of thunder. However, this time the effect was weaker.

    It still made Adam slightly dizzy, but he was able to escape from Edward''s heavy sword swing.

    The pping of Thunder''s effect became weaker when it was used multiple times against the same person.

    Edward brought his sword down again. It was dodged. He then swung it tly sideways, using both hands. It again missed.

    He approached Adam and swung his sword three times. The first swing missed, the secondcked strength and was blocked, and the third one was parried away.

    Adam looked like he was on backfoot, having to retreat after each exchange. Edward was driving him to the corner.

    "It''s the end!" Edward grinned and stabbed his sword through Adam''s waist, then twisted it for good measure.

    With his grin growing, he thought it was over.

    However, at that moment, his throat started to tighten as if someone was squeezing it.

    Edward''s face turned red, and a panicky look appeared in his eyes.

    The figure in front of him, Adam, vanished like an image fading into thin air, and then he noticed that there were arms wrapped around his neck.

    Those arms belonged to Adam, who put him under a tight stranglehold.

    ''How?!'' Edward thought in a panic. ''I was fighting an illusion? When was I put under an illusion?''

    At that moment, he saw that Adam''s chest was still bleeding. It meant that he was put under illusion after his sessful attack.

    ''How in the world?''

    ...

    "What?!" Albertson rose to his feet and rubbed his eyes. "What happened? Was that a skill?"

    A cold sweat ran down Argus'' forehead. "The illusion almost got me."

    He, at first, saw that Edward managed to push Adam against a wall. At that moment, he

    noticed that something was wrong and managed to shrug off the illusion.

    Then he saw Edward fighting against empty air while Adam walked around him and put him under a stranglehold.

    It was shocking to him that Ordergiver almost tricked him!

    "Was that really a skill? If it is that effective in the hands of Ordergiver, it must be an extremely high-ranked skill!"

    "How did someone like him get hands on this?" Albertson asked. "Digby gave him?"

    "I don''t think Digby should be able to get hands on a skill of this caliber. If he did, it would be

    of better use in Digby''s hands, as when used by Prime Mercenary, this illusion might be even able to trick the High Kings!"

    ...

    Edward screamed and squirmed around. Then, using his full strength, he broke free of the stranglehold and shoved Adam away.

    He was sweating heavily, arge bruise forming on his throat. He almost died!

    Adam stumbled backwards, but he still looked calm and collected.

    At this moment, his leg muscles started to twist and distort. It looked like he was having a massive cramp as his muscles began to spasm uncontrobly.

    "Fucker!" Edward shouted and swung his sword very widely.

    Adam effortlessly dodged each wide, sloppy sword strike. It looked like Edward just wanted to get one lucky strike with all of his strength behind it. But Adam was too quick and skilled for

    that to happen.

    "Sky Strike!" Edward raised his sword high, and the de turned from a dull metallic color to

    white.

    He used Kraft!

    Alongside his Sky Strike skill, it was going to be his strongest attack yet.

    Adam couldn''t really use his Kiryoku against Edward, as their level of Kiryoku was simr, so

    both nullified each other''s senses.

    However, he still knew that this attack, ifnded, was going to kill him.

    "Little God..."

    Adam whispered.

    As Edward brought his sword down, Adam suddenly vanished, causing a powerful wind breeze that knocked Edward off bnce.

    ''Another illusion?'' Edward thought panickly, but as he turned around, a sharp de cut through his leg, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground in excruciating pain.

    "Ah!"

    In the hidden room, Argus and Albertson''s eyes widened in shock. They were able to see what

    was happening.

    This time, it wasn''t an illusion.

    It was just that Adam was moving at such high speeds that it looked like he disappeared.

    Adam twirled around in the air, the de moving alongside his rotating body, and then shed through Edward''s limbs in one move.

    Edward was helpless, and he could do nothing but scream in pain. His legs were cut, and his

    arms were also sliced.

    "W-wait, didn''t you want to know my crime?!" Edward shouted. "Please stop, and I''ll tell

    you."

    "I don''t care." A voice came behind him, and then a sword went through his neck, beheading

    him.

    With that, Edward copsed on the ground-dead.

    Adam, like a vanishing ghost, appeared in the middle of the room, blood-coated sword in

    hand.

    Argus and Albertson were speechless, but at that moment, they saw something even more frightening. Adam was looking in their direction as if there wasn''t any one-way window in

    the way.

    The ground cracked as suddenly Adam jumped in the air, then used his maximum speed, twirled around like a metallic twister, and smashed through the window, sending broken ss flying across the hidden room.

    With another jump, Adam spun around in the air and brought his sword down at Argus, a weight of his full strength behind that strike.

    The de was also covered in the white Kraft. It was one of the strongest strikes he could

    muster.

    Argus ced his arm in the way, and as soon as the swordnded on it, the de shattered like a fragile ss bottle.

    Adam''s eyes widened in surprise.

    "Bold one, aren''t you?" Argus'' voice turned cold, and suddenly, he grew from an average

    height middle aged man into a five-meter tall giant with rippling muscles and a fierce

    expression.

    As he grewrger, his clothes ripped apart and stretched against his muscr, gigantic body.

    With his enormous hand, he grabbed Adam by the torso and mmed him on the ground,

    making the whole building shake.

    Adam, trapped under the enormous hand, disabled his Little God ability and felt a wave of weakness wash over him.

    His body was in terrible pain and was trembling like he was freezing.

    "Hey, what do you think you were trying to do?" Albertson asked angrily. "This is Argus, the

    Grand Lord of the Mercenary Guild; show some respect!"

    "Enough, Albert." Argus said and looked at Adam deeply, his lips growing into a grin. "Not bad, not bad at all. I suppose those rumors were false, hahahaha!"

    Hisughter sounded happy and thrilled, as if he had found something special.

    Albertson was shocked to hear himugh.

    It was extremely rare to hear Argusugh, as he was known to be very stoic and serious!

    He doubted that anyone in the Mercenary Guild had ever heard himugh.

 Chapter 150: Innate Skill

    Chapter 150: Innate Skill

    ?

    The rapturousughter filled the room.

    After a short while, Argus''ughter died down, and he looked at Adam with a smile on his lips.

    "Adam Palestar, was it?"

    "Nn..." Adam nodded hesitantly, still trying to catch his breath.

    Argus shrunk in size, returning back to his average height. However, his clothes were unfortunately far too big now, the fabric stretched and hanging loosely on his slender frame.

    He let go of Adam and sat back on his seat, catching his breath.

    "Whew, am I really getting that old?" He wryly smiled to himself and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

    The transformation skill took a great deal of stamina and energy to maintain.

    The skill-Giganticus-allowed him to increase his size and strength tenfold, but it always left him feeling drained afterwards.

    Now, he only increased his size till he was five meters tall, but that wasn''t his limit, and the bigger he grew, the more taxing it was.

    Argus was a Grand Lord ranked mercenary, the same rank as the members of the Council of Mercenaries, but his transformation skill was legendary-ranked, way stronger than Ame''s Great Shark transformation.

    Thus, it had great power, but it came with significant drawbacks.

    Adam climbed back to his feet, his legs shaking. He was also breathing heavily.

    ''The devouring is about to start...'' Adam bared his teeth.

    "What''s this skill that you used?" Albertson asked. "It must be very high-ranked."

    Adam kept his mouth shut. He didn''t want to reveal anything about the Little God skill.

    He didn''t really want to use it here either, but he doubted that he would''ve been able to beat Edward otherwise.

    "Wait, Albert..." Argus said with azy wave of the hand and looked at Adam. "I was thinking. This skill is not something one can just find. It must be Innate Skill."

    "Innate Skill?!" Albertson breathed in cold air.

    ''Innate Skill?'' Adam frowned. ''Is he misunderstanding?''

    "Yes..." Argus nodded. "I noticed something when he attacked me. There was a different type of energy in his strike."

    ''Energy?'' Adam looked thoughtful. ''I know that strong Kiryoku users can detect a certain energy in people''s attacks.''

    Albertson rubbed his small beard. "Energy sensing allows Kiryoku users to sense the power of the strike, or more precisely, they''ll know what ranked the skill used is."

    "Mm." Argus nodded. "I can sense whether my opponent is using Basic, Common, Umon, Rare, Azure Rare, Epic, Purple Epic, Legendary, Golden Legendary, and Mythical ranked skills."

    "So what was Adam using?"

    "Nothing." Argus said. "It can only be nothing if he wasn''t using any skill."

    Albertson eximed. "That cannot be possible. The illusion creation and that speed... He

    must have been using some kind of high-ranked skill."

    "That''s why I believe he used Innate Skill." Argus said. "It is the only type of skill that no one can detect."

    Adam scratched his chin thoughtfully.

    Argus stood up and looked at Adam.

    "You may not know it, but beside normal skills and magick skills, there are also Innate Skills. Those are the rarest type of skill that a yer receives the moment they enter the game for the first time.

    "Those kinds of skills will never disappear from you. If you die, that skill still stays with you and cannot be stolen. There are others with Innate Skills as well, but they are very rare, and most of the mercenaries don''t even know that those exist."

    ''Wait, I think he is not wrong.'' Adam thought with wide eyes. ''Could it be that the Little God skill is now my Innate Skill? It could exin how I had it without actually learning it.

    ''It was a Mythical-ranked skill in my past life, and I was only able to learn it with direct learning from the skill''s creator-Little God himself-but to think that I was wrong to think that was the reason for why I had this skill.

    ''Somehow this skill became my Innate Skill after all!''

    If true, it was extremely good news for him.

    It meant no one could steal this skill from him.

    It was one of the reasons why he tried to keep it hidden. It was a very valuable skill to have, and many would kill him for it.

    However, if it meant that it was Innate Skill, there was nothing they could do.

    ''Has something changed with the Little God skill then?'' Adam thought with a frown. ''I haven''t studied it much, but it could be that this isn''t the same skill as in my past life.''

    When he looked at the skill''s description, it waspletely the same as in his past life. It was talking about cosmic harmony, eternity, and the cycle of birth and death.

    To this day, he hadn''t understood what any of that meant or why it was in the description of

    the skill.

    Ding, ding!

    [Mystery Resolved!]

    [Little God Is Transforming!]

    [1%...]

    [2%...]

    ''What?'' Adam''s mouth opened in surprise. ''What the hell is going on?!''

    ...

    Somewhere in the New World.

    Walking down and made out of clouds, a figure came to a stop and stared out into the

    distance with a confused look on his face.

    "What''s this?" Little God removed his hood to reveal a head full of curly hair with a crown of

    thorns resting on top.

    He felt something strange within himself.

    It was like something that was part of Him was changing at rapid speed. He didn''t understand what it was. This felt like a shift in the very fabric of His being.

    "I feel dizzy..." He touched his head and swayed back and forth, as if he were about to pass

    out.

    It''s something that he hadn''t ever experienced.

    "I am almost there..." Little God bared his teeth and continued striding down thend of

    clouds.

    The further he got away from that strange feeling, the better he started to feel. A sense of relief washed over him, knowing he was finally escaping whatever had caused his distress.

    A short whileter, he came to a stop with a deep look on his face.

    Ahead of him, a golden gate stood closed like a silent guardian.

    It was the gate to the Kingdom.

    "Kingdom..." Little God sighed and stepped closer to the gates, and soon they swung open as

    if they were weing him inside with a warm embrace.

    With that, the gates again closed shut from everyone else, sealing off the Kingdom from the

    outside world.

    -

    Near the crimson sea of the Old World.

    "Nooooo!" stor fell down on his knees and started holding his head in his hands.

    It felt like someone was striking his skull with a chisel and hammer.

    A gold light started to spread through the dark sky, and the crimson sea''s bloody waters

    started to change with ocean-blue waves.

    "No!" stor screamed in anger. "This is my world. This is the Old World. Don''t you dare to change this as well; you will not take this from me!"

    The anger in his voice resonated through the air, causing even the bravest warriors to tremble

    in fear.

    The voice reached every corner of the Old World, and alongside that, his dark powers stopped the gold light and ocean-blue waves from influencing this world any further. However, the lingering feeling of the warmth of God''s omnipotent power still stayed behind.

    That was something stor couldn''t remove.

    "I already removed Adam''s power of holiness, as he was somehow touched by some God, but

    to think that this my world can still be affected to such lengths.

    "What did Adam do?"

 Chapter 151: A Cruel Test

    Chapter 151: A Cruel Test

    ?

    "Is something wrong?" Argus asked, seeing Adam so stunned, but thought it was just because the news about Innate Skill was so unexpected.

    "Ah, yes." Adam nodded and turned to him. "Right, about the promotion test..."

    "We''ve seen enough." Argus said. "You passed."

    Adam nodded with relief.

    "Give me your mercenary card." Albertson said, offering his hand.

    Adam took out his mercenary card. It was small and simple-looking. Then he handed it over to him.

    Albertson took the card and then took out a strange item from his inventory.

    It looked like a small version of the printing machine. It was hand-sized with a crank on one side.

    With the card in hand, he inserted it inside the strange item and turned the crank.

    It hummed for a couple of seconds and then stopped.

    Albertson took the card out of the machine and handed it back to Adam.

    "There you go."

    Adam looked at the card with a slight smile.

    ***

    [Name: Adam Palestar]

    [Level: 4]

    [Affiliation: Crimson Hound Mercenaries]

    [Recruit: S]

    [Rank: Ordergiver]

    ***

    "You defeated Beyonder, but your physical attributes are not enough to reach that rank yet; I apologize for that." Argus said.

    "I understand." Adam said and put the card back inside his inventory.

    The card''s picture of him also had changed. It wasn''t much, but in the couple of months, his hair had greatly grown out.

    There wasn''t much with his physical descriptions, except his skin looked slightly fairer than before, but it wasn''t anything drastic.

    ''I suppose I haven''t been able to grow muscle much.'' Adam looked at his arms and sighed.

    He wanted to put more effort into that, but he was just too busy, as he didn''t want tock on his training.

    While it helped to have a strong body with muscles, currently the skills, Three Powers, and level increasing had greater effects on his overall strength.

    "With that, you may leave." Argus said and offered a handshake. "It was a pleasure to see you in flesh."

    Adam nodded and shook the hand.

    "You may follow me." Albertson led Adam out of the room and down the long corridor. Argus stayed behind, lost in thought.

    ''Only those with god-given talent can receive Innate Skills. I underestimated him greatly, how foolish of me. I even have a feeling that he didn''t show me everything he is capable of...

    ''Now I am excited to see what kind of person he can be.''

    ...

    While walking down the corridor, Adam asked:

    "Is Digby done yet?"

    "No, he is at his final test." Albertson said and looked at him. "Do you want to watch?"

    "Sure." Adam nodded.

    After taking the corridor, they headed to another hidden room that was currently empty with

    arge window overseeing a surprisingly different kind of testing room.

    It had an open ceiling with a blue sky and scorching hot sun shining down.

    Its walls were white, and the floor was raised like a tform.

    "Rah!" A crying shout came from the room.

    Albertson and Adam stopped by the window and looked down into the room.

    There, they saw Digby, kneeling with blood pooling around him as he tried to stand and move further.

    Behind him, there was a white g waving in the air, and at the other side of the tform, there was a ck and white g, as if it were a finishing line.

    "What''s this?" Adam asked.

    He had never tried to do the Royal Prince test or haven''t even watched anyone do it.

    "A test of willpower," Albertson said. "Digby has to walk from the white g to the other end of the tform. If he makes it within the time limit, he''ll be Royal Prince."

    Adam looked at the wall where there was a clock ticking down the seconds.

    Only one minute remained.

    "Digby has failed this particr test three times already," Albertson said with a sigh. "I don''t know what''s with his mental state. He is clearly strong enough, even though he iscking the level barely, but that doesn''t matter, as long as he manages to walk through the tform."

    Digby tried to stand up, crying and shouting, but his body was not listening to him. It almost felt like he was fighting against gravity.

    His knee was strongly nted on the ground, and his body weighted like an enormous mountain pressing down on him.

    "Another failure, it seems." Albertson said with a sigh. "This might be hisst chance. He is

    already, what, 43 years old?"

    "That''s right..." Adam sighed.

    It was frustrating to see someone struggle to walk a distance of five meters.

    That''s all it was.

    The tform was only five meters long.

    Digby managed to walk a mere one meter in the past half an hour. It was all he managed to

    aplish.

    It was even frustrating to him because he reached two meters a year ago. It meant that his willpower had decreased.

    ''I am so weak...'' Digby gritted his teeth. ''I want this... I want this... so why... why can''t I reach

    it?''

    At this moment, he remembered himself as a kid, a time of innocence and boundless energy. He remembered watching some old animated shows.

    In those, the protagonist always received a strange power at the moment when they were in

    their darkest hour.

    As a kid, it was like the coolest thing ever.

    Digby gritted his teeth, imagined himself as one of those protagonists and pushed himself

    onest time.

    His knees shook and rose off the ground, a pain raging in his eyes, but he didn''t stop.

    Ding, ding.

    At that moment, a sound that he had learned to hate the most echoed in his ears.

    Szz.

    A static voice said, "You''re out of time, Digby. You''ve failed the promotion test; you may leave the way you came."

    Digby''s knees crashed back on the ground, a despair shing through his eyes.

    Again, he failed.

    In the hidden room, Adam averted his gaze with a deep sigh.

    "What an evil test," Albertson said. "It makes the person feelpletely hopeless."

    "Yeah, it truly is..." Adam said and then sighed before bowing as farewell. "I''ll be leaving

    now, thank you."

    "Take care." Albertson said, still looking towards the tform, where Digby was kneeling in defeat with tears running down his cheeks.

    Since the test of willpower had ended, the strange power that stopped Digby from moving

    had also disappeared.

    However, still, he was kneeling as if he were frozen like a statue.

    "Truly a cruel test..."

    ...

    The sun reached the highest peak in the sky.

    At the yard of the promotion testpound, carriages started departing.

    Some were thrilled after getting promoted, some looked dishearted, and some were outright

    crying, while others were stoic and silent, their emotions hidden beneath a mask of

    indifference.

    Adam was sitting inside his carriage, hiding from the warmth of the sun.

    Thankfully, the interior of the carriage was somewhat cool and shaded.

    At that moment, the door opened, and a wave of heat entered the carriage for a brief moment,

    then a figure stepped inside and sat down.

    Digby looked normal with a mask of indifference. His eyes weren''t red either, as if he hadn''t

    just cried, and his breathing was steady.

    Adam side-eyed at him, not daring to speak a word.

    "How did it go?" Digby asked.

    "I passed the test."

    "Good." Digby smiled. "I knew you could do it."

    "Mm..." Adam nodded, not daring to ask about his sess because he already knew.

    He had seen people like him before.

    At his current state, Digby most likely preferred to stay quiet for the rest of the day.

    Ding, ding!

    Adam flinched in surprise and looked ahead at strange messages that appeared in front of his

    eyes.

    ''It''s done...''

    [99%...]

    [100%...]

    [Transformation Complete!]

 Chapter 152: Alone?

    Chapter 152: Alone?

    ?

    [Transformation Complete!]

    [Skill: The Little God]

    [Rank: Innate]

    [1st Power: Physical Movement Enhancement]

    [2nd Power: Illusion Creation]

    [3rd Power: ???]

    [4th Power: ???]

    [5th Power: ???]

    [Side Effect: Devourment]

    [Description: The first mystery has been unraveled; three remain]

    ***

    ''What in the world...''

    Adam looked at the interface in front of him and wondered what the next powers would be.

    He had never thought about the possibility that he had more than just physical enhancement and illusion creation.

    It was because he had these two powers since the beginning, and he thought that''s it.

    ''The name of the skill changed slightly. It now has ''the'' on it; I wonder if that means anything.''

    Adam then saw the side effect and remembered something dire.

    He had been trying to stop the devourment from happening this time around but couldn''t hold it in anymore.

    His sleeve, around his left arm, turned into the jaws of a shark and mped down on his wrist.

    A terrible pain shot out throughout his arm as the shark sleeve ate his hand.

    Blood began pouring out, but Adam quickly took out the sk of the Setting Sun, which he purchased before leaving the Dawnwatch for the promotion test.

    The sk immediately helped and recovered his missing hand.

    The shark''s jaws disappeared from his sleeve, returning the sleeve to its previous state except it was slightly bloody around the cuff.

    Adam took a deep breath and looked over to Digby.

    He had been looking outside the window since they left the testpound, watching as the beautiful streets of Imperium City went by.

    ''Hmm...'' Adam waved off the interface and thought. ''Three mysteries remain, huh. Sure is a lot to unravel.''

    ...

    Inside an attic-looking room with a low ceiling with a light bulb hanging in the center, a beautiful woman kneeled in front of arge bookshelf filled with dusty old tomes.

    At that moment, the hatch of the attic opened up and a ck-d person entered, looking like he had just stepped out of the shadows.

    "Madam Yu," he said and nodded. "I bring news."

    "Yes?" Lady Yu opened her pearly eyes and waited for the man to speak.

    "The man you asked us to tail, Adam Palestar, haspleted his promotion test sessfully. He is now Ordergiver, and he is on his way back to Dawnwatch."

    "Mm," Lady Yu smiled and asked. "Did anyone see you?"

    "No," the man shook his head. "We couldn''t enter the testpound without being seen, so we didn''t. There was a powerful man inside who would have noticed us."

    "Oh, any idea who?" She curiously asked.

    "Grand Lord, probably someone from the Mercenary Guild."

    "Well, he is S-ranker, so I am not surprised that a higher-up from that guild came to see him."

    Lady Yu said and rose to her feet, looking like she was slightly floating above the ground as the dress billowed around her in the gentle breeze.

    "Should we keep tailing him?" The man asked, talking about Adam.

    "Yup, keep following him for now." She replied with a smile and turned around to the man. The man''s cheeks flushed slightly.

    He had been training in the shadows for a long time to be a powerful assassin. He had trained his emotions and reactions to bepletely controlled, but her presence always seemed to throw him off bnce.

    A few years ago, he was given a mission to assassinate her. He thought it was going to be easy, but when he finally saw her, he couldn''t do it.

    Eventually, he joined forces with her, and he returned to his client, who ordered the assassination, and killed her instead.

    The client was just some jealous concubine of the King Moriarty. She thought she would be able to do it without any consequences because she was close to the King, but she was severely mistaken.

    After she was killed, the King didn''t move a finger to avenge her.

    "By the way, I am not sure if this is important, but Adam brought someone to the guild."

    "Oh, who?" Lady Yu asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "A young woman named Amelia. She is from Moonlit Guard-"

    Before he could finish, he was frozen like a statue as he saw Lady Yu''s expression.

    Her beautiful, gentle face was now twisted in anger.

    She was trembling with rage with her nails digging into her palms so tightly that they left

    deep marks.

    "M-madam Yu?" The man''s voice quivered in shock.

    He had never seen her so furious before.

    To this day, he was unsure whether she was capable of even feeling anger, as she seemed too

    holy and pure to ever experience such a base emotion.

    "Whoo..." Lady Yu took a deep breath and forced a shaky smile. "K-Kyle."

    "Y-yes?" Kyle whimpered back a response.

    "I have a mission for you of the highest importance." She said, her voice quivering with uncharacteristic seriousness.

    "I am yours tomand." Kyle fell on his knees and lowered his head.

    "Kill that bitc-that woman, alright?"

    "M-mydy?" Kyle said in shock.

    She had never ordered him to do any assassinations; thus, he started to think that life was

    behind him.

    "Mm?" Lady Yu turned to him with an innocent look. "Is something wrong?"

    "I, um, is that wisest thing to do?" Kyle asked. "It''s no gain, high risk situation."

    "Exin."

    "If I assassinate her sessfully, she will just respawn and return to that guild. From what

    I''ve gathered, she is merely an Ordergiver.

    "It''s also not a ce where I can just enter freely. Digby, if you haven''t heard, is rather

    powerful."

    "Then don''t get caught." Lady Yu said and smiled. "Simple as that. I have no doubt you can

    handle it."

    "Sigh..." Kyle nodded.

    In truth, he wasn''t too troubled with the request, as he believed he could do it easily and

    without being seen.

    However, he didn''t want Lady Yu to do something she would regret afterwards.

    "I expect it to be done swiftly." Lady Yu said, her eyes narrowing in a way that made Kyle

    shiver.

    ''What''s up with her? This is not Lady Yu I know.'' Kyle gulped, nodded, and then left the attic to do his preparations for the mission.

    Lady Yu loosened her clenched hands and looked at her palms, which were bleeding slightly.

    She took out a napkin and wiped the blood away, then she sat down in front of a knee-high table with a candle at the center.

    After taking out a matchstick, she scratched it against the side of the box and lit the candle. Its yellow me flickered side to side, casting dancing shadows on the walls.

    She then ced her hands around the me and took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she whispered a silent prayer.

    The small wounds on her hands healed with visible speed, leaving nothing behind but

    smooth, unblemished skin.

    She opened her eyes, and her pink lips curled into a sad look.

    "No, no, no..."

    She shook her head and whispered, "It can''t be true. You couldn''t possibly be cheating on me,

    right?"

    "You''re my soulmate, please... I don''t want to be alone..."

    Small tears escaped her eyes andnded on the table.

    She felt like there were cracks in her heart.

 Chapter 153: Headmaster

    Chapter 153: Headmaster

    ?

    A couple of dayster.

    Twenty-Fifth Floor of the Dungeon.

    The tree that was as high as the sky swayed gently in the breeze, its branches reaching across the sky and casting a shadow over the entire floor.

    Its leaves were golden and shimmered like stars during the darkest night.

    At thend below, the tree''s roots protruded out of the ground and stretched to the ends of the floor. It looked like those roots split the floor in twelve different sectors.

    At this very moment, inside the tree''s enormous trunk.

    Stairs spiraled upwards towards the top. There were hundreds of doors alongside the stairs, leading to different parts of the tree.

    At the end of the stairs, on the highest floor of the tree, there was a small room with a window that showed the entirety of the floor.

    The room was at such a high ce that it was almost in the outer space.

    Currently, in the room, behind the desk, the Headmaster of the Eldertree Institute, Renard Marshal, was reading through a letter from a familiar name from the Crimson Hounds.

    "Adam Palestar..." Renard muttered to himself. "S-ranker...."

    He removed his sses from his nose, then pinched his be and put the sses down on the desk.

    At that moment, his shoulders started shaking as if he were containing hisughter.

    His lips parted, and he leaned against his chair.

    With his mouth moving inughing matter, it looked like he wasughing, but no sound came from his mouth.

    It was truly a strange sight to behold.

    Knock, knock.

    Someone knocked on the door, then the knob turned, and a scrawny-looking young man entered the room with a big bruise over his right eye.

    "Terry," Renard shook his head. "What happened now?"

    "I was studying in my room, then they broke through my door and beat me up," Terry exined in a shaky voice.

    "Did you at least manage to fight back?" Renard asked.

    Terry bit his lip and shook his head.

    There were many other bruises around his scrawny body, but he was hiding them under his baggy clothes.

    "Do I need to send you to the Culling Chamber?" Renard asked.

    Terry''s face paled. "P-please, no!"

    "Then why did youe here?" Renard asked. "You want me to punish the ones that hurt you? You want others to fight the battles for you?"

    Terry lowered his head and shook it.

    It was usually forbidden to fight outside the sses, so there was usually punishment for those who did.

    However, what Renard hated more than the rule-breakers was the weak. It made him sick. "You have a brilliant mind." Renard stood up, walked over to the young man, and patted his shoulder. "You have a gift that many are jealous of, but you squander it away by being weak." "W-what should I do?" Terry asked. "Whenever I want to fight back, my body freezes over." Renard smiled and whispered in his ear. "The Culling Chamber."

    "P-please..." Terry''s eyes shook with tears falling. "Anything else, please!"

    Renard rolled his eyes and smiled. "I ain''t letting you do it by yourself; no need to worry."

    "W-what?" Terry looked into his eyes. "W-with who?"

    "There''s a new studenting in." Renard walked over to the desk and looked at the letter. "A very special kind of student."

    ''A special student?'' Terry gulped. ''Who could it be? The headmaster rarely speaks so highly of

    someone.''

    "When he arrives, he''ll do the Culling Chamber with you; no need to worry." Renard said. "Meanwhile, you go and wait in your quarters till you''re summoned."

    "P-please, mercy!" Terry fell on his knees and begged. "I''ll do anything else!"

    "You''re pissing me off!" Renard said angrily and smacked his fist across Terry''s face.

    Terry copsed on the floor in a crumbled heap, bleeding from the nose and mouth.

    Renard stomped over him and broke a couple of bones.

    Terry''s tears mixed up with his blood, and he tried to scream, but Renard covered his mouth and muffled the sound.

    "Shh, shh, don''t cry now." Renard used his other hand to wipe away Terry''s tears.

    Terry''s eyes looked horrified.

    "You''re from a proud Kingston lineage," Renard said. "Your family has high hopes for you,

    but if it so happens that I have to expel you, they wouldn''t be happy with you."

    Terry''s eyes widened in shock, and slowly, his tears stopped falling, and he stopped screaming.

    It was the only reason why he had stayed in the Eldertree Institute for so long.

    He managed to deal with the bullying and constant abuse by just remembering what would happen if he quit or got expelled.

    Renard removed his hand from his mouth and stood up with a smile.

    "I''ll give you special permission to skip the sses." Renard said. "After all, I want you to be

    in a tip-top shape for the Culling."

    Terry climbed back to his feet, barely able to keep his bnce.

    Renard turned around and returned to his desk. Then he put his sses back on, waved his hand in a dismissal motion, and started writing a letter for Digby to ept the enrollment. Terry turned around and approached the door, then came to a stop and turned around to look at Renard.

    "E-excuse me."

    "What?" Renard asked, his tone impatient.

    "What''s his name?" Terry asked.

    "Whose?" Renard frowned and looked away from the letter.

    "Of the new student." Terry said and gulped. "I want to know his name."

    "Adam." Renard replied and turned his head down at the letter. "He''ll arrive in a couple of

    days."

    "Adam..." Terry whispered, curious about this new student.

    They were going to do the Culling together, so there was already an invisible bond between

    them.

    After all, they had to work together or they wouldn''t get anywhere there.

    ''I hope he is nice.'' Terry thought and opened the door. ''I hate everyone else here.''

    ...

    A night fell over the Dawnwatch.

    Guards did their usual routine check-up on the Crimson Hounds and made sure all was secure

    before the darkness settled in.

    Without them noticing, a shadow flew over thepound like a slithering snake and

    disappeared as soon as it appeared.

    Inside Amelia''s room, she was sitting on her bed and scratching the back of her head.

    She was given a task by Valora, and that was to learn Magick.

    However, she didn''t know how to start learning it. She wasn''t given any instructions except

    the ones in the scroll.

    ''Damn, how do they expect me to learn this?'' She gritted her teeth and bit her nail, looking

    very unfeminine.

    The window suddenly opened, and cool night air wafted inside.

    Amelia shuddered in cold and looked at the window that was suddenly open.

    She frowned, stood up, and went over to the window.

    As she opened the window, she peeked out and looked around to see anyone.

    She shrugged her shoulders and closed the window, but at that moment, from the reflection

    of the window, she saw a masked figure standing behind her.

    Before she could scream, the masked man wrapped his arm around her mouth and stabbed her

    through the back multiple times.

    She kept screaming and screaming, but everything came out muffled, and then everything

    went ck for her.

 Chapter 154: Couple of Years

    Chapter 154: Couple of Years

    ?

    Adam speed-walked down the open hallways of the Crimson Hound''spound and soon arrived by the room that had door wide open with mercenaries walking in and out.

    As he stepped inside, he was immediately greeted by a flurry of activity and loud voices.

    By the window, a lifeless womany on the ground with dead-looking eyes and slowly turned transparent. It looked like she was about to disappear.

    "Adam." Digby, after seeing him arrive, walked over to him with a serious look.

    "What happened?" Adam asked as he looked at Amelia''s dead body.

    He wasn''t sure how he should react to this.

    While he was inside his room, about to fall asleep, he was alerted up by a guard standing over him with a brightntern.

    The guard told him to go here.

    He was shocked to hear that Amelia was found dead in her quarters with multiple stab wounds on her back.

    He was mildly annoyed.

    After all, his revenge would have to wait even longer, as he didn''t want to kill her when she was weak with nothing to lose.

    "I hate to say this, but we don''t know," Digby said with an ugly expression. "The window was slightly tempered with, so the assassin must''ve entered the room from that."

    "Why would anyone kill her?" Adam asked, looking angry.

    In Digby''s eyes, it looked like he was just angry about his close friend dying, but that was far from the truth.

    He just didn''t want anyone else to kill her and take away the satisfaction of doing it himself. "We have a few theories." Digby said. "Whoever killed her was very high-ranked since even I couldn''t sense anyonee and go."

    "Could it be Moonlit Guardians?" Adam asked with a frown. "She left them to join us."

    "Unlikely," Digby said. "Moonlit Guardians are not hostile kind; that''s why they left the bustling of Dawnwatch to create their ownmunity in their small vige."

    "They also don''t have powerful members that cane here unseen." Valora said, entering the room as well.

    She saw that Amelia was dead and looked annoyed as well.

    This was a very troubling matter in many senses.

    However, what annoyed her most was that she gave her the Magick Scroll. It went to waste, as she immediately died after acquiring it.

    It looked like the assassin didn''t leave any of her stuff behind either and just took all of them with him.

    "It might be that the assassin killed her identally." Valora said. "The assassin might''vee here for someone else, like for you."

    "An assassin that strong most likely wouldn''t make such a rookie mistake." Digby said. "I have another theory. It might be a warning."

    "Warning?"

    "Yes, it''s like the assassin is saying, ''We can kill you whenever we want to,'' but their reasoning for doing so remains mystery."

    "It could also be as simple as Amelia angered someone powerful and joined Crimson Hounds to have protection."

    Adam listened to them and nodded.

    ording to his memory, Amelia never made enemies out of anyone.

    From what he remembered, she was also never assassinated like now.

    Her early days in Mortal Online were very peaceful, as she stayed with the Moonlit Guardians until she met him.

    ''So, are Moonlit Guardians culprits for this? Unlikely, they didn''t do anyone when she joined me, so why would they now?''

    Digby looked at Adam with a deep look.

    This incident was proof of Crimson Hound''s incapability of protecting him.

    The person dead on the ground could be Adam instead of Amelia. It was a chilling thought, as

    if that were the case, they would have no idea who did it, like now with Amelia.

    "Adam, walk with me." Digby said as he left the scene of the crime and headed towards the central courtyard.

    Adam bowed to Valora, then followed after him, walking quickly behind him.

    During the short walk to the central courtyard, Digby didn''t speak a word.

    Soon after, they arrived at the courtyard with a starry sky shining over them and the moon casting a soft glow on the ground.

    "Why did you join Crimson Hounds?" Digby asked.

    "Huh?" Adam looked at Digby confused.

    "You told me that you didn''t want to go to the Imperium City and that you joined us because of the protection my father and I can give you."

    "That''s right." Adam nodded, frowning.

    "It does seem like I can''t offer any protection." Digby said. "I underestimated the threat you''ll be facing. My father''s status will protect us from the guild threats, but not from the threats that areing from shadows."

    ''I have to agree that I didn''t think I would garner so much attention from Imperium City.''

    Adam thought to himself.

    ''However, Digby is forgetting that I am not Amelia. I would''ve not allowed myself to get assassinated like this. I''ve got many safety precautions in ce.''

    "That''s why." Digby turned to look at him and said, "This ce is not safe, so I was thinking about relocating from Dawnwatch to Ebonreach."

    "Ebonreach?" Adam looked surprised. ''The famed wall city.''

    "My father''s allies are located there." Digby said. "It''s where I believe this guild will be the

    safest."

    "Why haven''t you gone there before?" Adam asked.

    "I didn''t want to rely on my father too much." Digby said and then sighed. "But I must. My uncle is also living there, and I sent him a letter a while back. They''ve already arranged a ce

    for Crimson Hounds."

    "I see, when are we leaving?" Adam asked.

    He didn''t mind going to the Ebonreach.

    It wasn''t as nice a ce as Dawnwatch and was quite crude as it was a city right beside the Wall. It was also the first ce that would get destroyed if the Chaosbeings managed to break

    through the wall.

    However, it was a good ce to grow strong quick.

    "We are, not you." Digby said. "Remember the Eldertree Institute? You must go there, now."

    "Was I epted?" Adam asked with a frown.

    "I haven''t gotten the official confirmation, but I don''t think they''ll reject you."

    "What if I do?" Adam asked.

    "Then..." Digby chuckled. "You must have a few ideas of your own."

    "Hmm..." Adam scratched his chin in a thought. "It is on the Twenty-Fifth floor. Can I reach

    the institute by myself?"

    "You''ll be fine as long you move during the day." Digby said. "The night is when the boss of the floores out to y. We can''t join you there because we would have to make a deal with the Mercenary Guild, etc. It would take several months to get clearance for me to go with you."

    "Right, I understand." Adam nodded.

    He, obviously, knew all this, but he had to act ignorant to keep up appearances.

    He wasn''t too worried to go alone, as just Digby said, daytime on that floor wasn''t that

    dangerous.

    However, during the night, he knew that it was a different story.

    "At earliest morning, start heading to the Twenty-Fifth floor. If you move quickly, you can

    arrive at the Eldertree Institute before the night falls."

    "Alright." Adam said with a deep sigh and offered a handshake. "I guess we''ll see in a couple

    of years?"

    Digby looked at the hand, then smiled and shook it.

    "Yeah, in a couple of years. I am truly intrigued by just how strong you''ll be by then."

 Chapter 155: Welcome

    Chapter 155: Wee

    ?

    Thump, thump!

    A group of wagons and carriages rattled through a dirt road, leaving behind the bustling city of Dawnwatch.

    A sigil of Crimson Hounds adorned the side of each carriage and wagon.

    The mercenaries watched as the Dawnwatch hid behind the hills and disappeared from view.

    It was a ce where they had spent countless years to make a name for themselves and for their guild. Now, they were leaving it behind.

    They were riding towards the unknown-Ebonreach.

    Some of these mercenaries had never visited it before but had heard countless tales about that ce.

    It was the only ce where one could leave to go beyond the wall, where Chaosbeings and Wildlifers dwelled.

    It was the first line of defense against the dangers of the unknown.

    Most of them didn''t want to leave Dawnwatch and their beautiful vi. They were already missing their rooms and the safety of the familiar.

    At the frontmost carriage, Knoxx and other young recruits sat eagerly, chatting amongst themselves about Ebonreach.

    "So, Adam is going there..." Hana said out loud while looking out of the carriage window at the passing scenery.

    "Oh, you''re missing him already?" A young woman beside her elbowed her yfully.

    "Stop it." Hana blushed in embarrassment and quickly looked away, but she couldn''t hide her pink cheeks from her teasing friend.

    "Eldertree Institute." Knoxx said with a deep sigh. "I remember when I was there."

    "You were on Eldertree Institute?" n asked in surprise.

    "For one summer," Knoxx said. "Couple of years before I took my tutorial."

    "I thought that only the elite could enter that ce." n said in surprise.

    "My family is rich, like mega rich." Knoxx said. "With good connections, they managed to apply me there. It was a very enlightening experience..."

    "How did it go?" n asked in excitement.

    Others were equally curious.

    "There''s a reason why I only stayed for one summer." Knoxx said, and absentmindedly looked out of the window. "That''s as far as my talent could take me."

    "You were kicked out?" n asked in shock.

    It took all of them by surprise because even though Knoxx couldn''t bepared with Adam, he was still a very talented individual.

    They knew that Knoxx had great sess back in the real world as a track and-field athlete, winning many national tournaments.

    His physical prowess and talent were clearly amazing, but even he couldn''t survive in the Eldertree Institute!

    "It might look like a paradise from outside, but that ce is the worst." Knoxx said with a serious look. "It''s where dreams go to die, where the talented get broken and the weak get crushed."

    "What happened to you there?" n asked.

    Knoxx had never spoken to them about the Eldertree Institute before, and it was now clear why. It looked like he got some very deep scars there.

    "There''s a thing called the Culling Event there. If you undergo it, you''ll get broken, and it''s nearly impossible to put yourself back together."

    They all stayed quiet, gulping at the thought of it all.

    "The worst person is that fucking headmaster." Knoxx said with a scoff.

    "He acts like a good-hearted man, but he''s the one who created that hellhole in the first ce.

    "That ce was different before he became the headmaster."

    "Will Adam be alright?" Hana asked in worry.

    "Who knows." Knoxx shrugged his shoulders. "With his talent, he''ll go far as long as he doesn''t break first."

    A few carriages away, Amelia was sitting by the window, looking at the passing scenery with hidden annoyance in her eyes.

    She was cursing Adam thousand times in her mind.

    He had now left somewhere else, leaving her alone with people who clearly didn''t like her,

    and he didn''t even have courtesy to ask whether she was alright.

    She was murdered and yet he didn''t even send a text message!

    ''No wonder you''re still single and virgin.'' Amelia scoffed.

    ...

    Twenty-First Floor.

    Crack, crack, crack.

    In the shadow-covered forests, a sound of cracking twigs echoed.

    It was still evening, but it looked like it was nearing night as the sun was hidden behind those enormous branches that blocked out the sky and cast long shadows across the forest floor.

    The birds chirped, and all sorts of animals ran hectically around in an underbush. They were all escaping to their own corners of the forest as they could feel the approaching night.

    Even the animals were afraid of the night. It was like a natural force was about to happen.

    By the Eldertree''s lower trunk, a pair of men stood in guard of a wooden door. It was the entrance to the Eldertree Institute.

    The men noticed that the animals were escaping as the darkness of shadows started to spread further across the forest.

    "We should go inside," Willibert said. "We don''t want to be here in the dark.

    "Wait," Ilkin, standing beside him, said. "It''s still ten minutes until closing time. We must be here in case."

    "Fine, do it yourself; I am not risking my life just to be punctual," Willibert said and was

    about to open the door.

    He was then stopped by Ilkin who grabbed his arm and whispered, "You want Renard to know

    that you left early? He doesn''t like those who don''t follow the rules."

    "Tch, asshole," Willibert shook off his hand but didn''t dare to turn the knob.

    "I am just saving your life; no need to thank me."

    "Saving my life? As if. The night is about toe, and we''re still outside."

    "Just wait a couple more minutes, and then we leave."

    Crack!

    A loud crack sounded from the near forest.

    They drew their steel from scabbards in a haste and faced the dark forest where the noise

    originated.

    "W-what was that?"

    In that moment, a dark-hooded figure stepped out between two trees and raised a hand in

    greeting.

    "Hello."

    "Who are you?" The two men asked while not lowering their weapons.

    They then whispered between each other.

    "All the students should be back by now."

    "He doesn''t look like a student."

    At that moment, the figure removed his hood and revealed his face to the two men.

    He didn''t look too old and looked like an ordinary student from the institute.

    "My name''s Adam, and I am here to join the institute." Adam said with a smile.

    "A new student?" The two men exchanged frowns. "Have you heard of someone new

    coming?"

    "Wait..." Ilkin pulled out some of the papers and looked at the young man. "Palestar? Are you

    Adam Palestar?"

    ''They were expecting me?'' Adam looked surprised and nodded. "That''s me."

    The two men exchanged shocked gazes.

    They received a special order from Renard a day ago. If a person named Adam Palestar arrived,

    they should allow him to enter immediately and take him to the Culling Chamber.

    "Do you have an ID?" Willibert asked.

    "Wait." Ilkin said and looked at the sky. "It''s turning dark. The night is about to start!"

    "Damn it!" Willibert, scared to his wits, opened the door and shouted. "You there, young

    man,e in!"

    Adam looked at the dark sky, then followed the two men through the wooden door, which closed immediately after.

    They entered a small room with wooden walls, wooden furniture, a wooden floor, and a faint

    smell of smoke in the air.

    "Ah, sorry about that; we don''t want to be outside during the night." Ilkin said with a chuckle

    and asked. "Can we get your mercenary card, please?"

    Adam nodded and gave him the card.

    The two men looked at the card and nodded.

    "Well then, wee to Eldertree Institute, Adam Palestar."

    The end of the Second Volume-New World.

 Chapter 156: Worthless Genius

    Chapter 156: Worthless Genius

    ?

    Third Volume: Eldertree Institute.

    ...

    Ilkin opened a door and took a hold of antern hanging by the door, then, with a flick of a switch, a small, gentle fire lit up inside thentern.

    It gave enough light to cover the small room.

    The room was slightly bigger than a bathroom, with two small sofas pushed up against the walls.

    There was another door in the middle of the two sofas. It was closed. However, there was a sign on top of the door that read "Culling Chamber," and its letters were made of timber. "Please wait here." Ilkin said with a smile. "Your partner will soon join you."

    ''Partner?'' Adam raised an eyebrow, nodded, and entered the small room, then took a seat by one of the sofas.

    Ilkin and Willibert left, closing the door behind them.

    ''Eldertree Institute, I have heard a great deal of stories of this ce.''

    Adam looked above the door at the lettered word. It made him frown.

    ''Culling Chamber. That doesn''t sound nice.

    ''I''ve heard both good and bad things about this ce. It''s a very secretive ce, but the public knows that it''s a ce where talented people go if they want to push their talent to the limits.

    ''It''s definitely a good ce to grow strong; unfortunately, I didn''t have a chance to experience it myself.

    ''I did take a test, which was quite boring, but this is the first time I''ve heard about this culling chamber. I wonder what it entails.''

    While waiting, Adam quickly took out the auction window to see the current highest bidder.

    Before leaving for the Eldertree Institute, he decided to put the dagger up for auction and see how much he could get for it.

    He came to the conclusion that he didn''t want to rely too much on the dagger for his fights, as it would ruin his fighting style.

    For the short term, that dagger was life-saving, but it would just hinder him in the long run. He had many golden opportunities, some of them being weapons of very high rank. Some being higher than the legendary rank.

    When''s the time, he would go seek them out and take them for himself.

    Therefore, he wasn''t too worried about not having that good of weapons, but he still needed armor. That''s why he put the dagger for sale to get enough Shinecoins to buy armor that was equal to that of Crimson Armor or even better.

    Creak-the door began to open.

    ''Finally.'' Adam removed the auction window from his eyes and looked over to the door. ''Who''s this partner they were talking about?''

    As soon as the door opened, Ilkin pushed a young man inside the room and closed the door- then they both heard the door being locked with a loud click.

    It sounded like a key was turning in a lock.

    The young man was scrawny. There was a slight bruise over his eye; it looked like he had applied some makeup to cover it up.

    It was clear he was nervous, his eyes swimming all around the ce, as if he was allergic to looking someone in the eye.

    Adam stood up and offered his hand. "Name''s Adam. Nice to meet you."

    ''A hand? He wants to shake hands?'' Terry gulped and hesitantly reached out to shake Adam''s hand. "T-Terry Kingston."

    "Well then, Terry, are you a student here?" Adam asked.

    "y-yes, I am in my second year." Terry nodded and finally looked high enough to see his face.

    At first, he thought that Adam looked quite ordinary, but then he noticed that certain tint of navy-blue in his eyes that made them stand out.

    ''He is carrying himself with such confidence.'' Terry gulped.

    "I was wondering about this." Adam pointed at the sign on top of the door. "Culling Chamber, what is this?"

    Terry paled and stammered, "It''s where the weak go to die."

    "Huh?" Adam frowned and was about to ask what he meant by that, but then the door opened.

    "Eek!" Terry backed away in terror.

    This time, it was the Culling Chamber''s door that opened.

    Adam lifted his feet and stepped through the opening of the door.

    The room was white. That''s it. It was empty, white and bright.

    However, strangely enough, there was some kind of die hanging by the ceiling, but instead of

    it having numbers, it had images that were constantly changing and shifting.

    "Please, no Kerobites or Deadlings, please." Terry prayed with his hands tightly sped together.

    "Kerobites, Deadlings?" Adam frowned and looked at him. "Why did you say those names?" Terry didn''t answer and just kept praying to any God that would be listening.

    "Terry, answer me." Adam grabbed him by the throat and pulled him close. "Why did you say those names?"

    Terry looked at the die with a shaky gaze. "This is the Culling. The weak are eliminated, and in this case, we''re the ones getting culled. The die decides which monster they''ll send to cull

    us."

    "And you can get Kerobites and Deadlings from that?" Adam asked with his face also

    changing shades.

    "In very rare cases." Terry said with a gulp. "I''ve heard them appear a couple of times, and when they did, everyone in the Culling died."

    Adam removed his hand from his cor and turned to the dice with a serious look.

    ''Of course they''ll die. Kerobites and Deadlings are only found on floors above fifty. So, the die decides our faith; what a fucking joke!''

    At that moment, the die started moving on its own, spinning up, down, and sideways, and continued doing so until it moved at such speeds that it was a blur of colors.

    Adam and Terry continued to stand still, looking at the moving die.

    Atst, it came to a stop, and only the bottom half of the die was glowing.

    The image was that of a skeleton key, and the background looked like a cemetery on a foggy

    night.

    "Singing Skeletons!" Terry eximed, looking scared.

    "Whew."

    On the other hand, Adam breathed a sigh of relief.

    It was much easier to deal with.

    Singing Skeletons were the boss minions of the fifteenth floor!

    At that moment, the ce changed rapidly.

    It turned from that dull white, empty room to a cemetery covered in fog and gravestones.

    The ground below Adam''s feet turned from solid to soft grass that seemed to pull him down

    into the earth.

    The gravestones had the names of every student that was once culled.

    "Oh god, they''reing!" Terry paced back and forth in a panic. "We''ll need to run! But where? We can''t leave this cemetery, and it''s not like this ce is big either!"

    "Calm down." Adam patted him on the shoulder, which caused him to jump in panic. "Why

    are you so scared? We could''ve gotten much worse!"

    "It''s still dangerous!" Terry cried out. "Singing Skeletons is not something we can deal

    with!"

    "Aren''t you a student of this school?" Adam asked with a frown.

    "Y-yes?" "Then why are you so afraid?" Adam asked. "You''re a genius, are you not?"

    Terry lowered his head and shook it. "I am worthless genius. I can''t do anything right."

    Adam frowned and smacked him in the cheek with an open palm.

    Smack!

    "Ah!" Terry''s eyes widened in shock, and he touched his stinging cheek. "Y-you pped me?"

    "A worthless genius is still better than none at all." Adam said, feeling genuinely angry.

 Chapter 157: A Skeleton Key

    Chapter 157: A Skeleton Key

    ?

    "You wouldn''t understand." Terry said in anger and took a step away from Adam. "In here, worthless genius is the bottom of the barrel, and I am sinking fast."

    "So, they sent you here because you''re worthless?" Adam asked. "To get you culled?"

    Terry gritted his teeth and nodded. "It ain''t the first time. This is my third time in here."

    "How''ve you survived so far?" Adam asked.

    Terryughed. "With luck. Amazing Luck."

    "Exin it further; it looks like we still have time." Adam said, and sat on top of the tombstone, looking around the foggy cemetery. "The skeletons aren''t here yet."

    "We should hide!" Terry shouted. "This Cullingsts for ten days! Ten fucking long days!" "Can we leave earlier if we kill all the Singing Skeletons?" Adam asked.

    Terry looked at him like he was looking at a fool.

    "Yes, but that''s easier said than done. They''re very strong, even if they aren''t the strongest kind!"

    "You can hide, only after you''ve exined how you survived." Adam crossed his arms. "Go on."

    "I was lucky, alright!" Terry shouted. "In my first Culling, I got the ck Locusts as the monsters and the arena was a big forest. So, I hid through the ten days!"

    "What about the second Culling?" Adam looked at him. "What happened there?"

    "I was again lucky!" Terry scratched his hair. "I got the easiest monsters possible-a group of rabbits! And the arena was a huge meadow. I just rxed and enjoyed the view."

    "That''s indeed lucky." Adam said with a chuckle.

    "Singing Skeletons are loud as they are always singing and slow, so we can get through this Culling if we just keep hiding and running!"

    Terry said impatiently, hoping to get Adam to join him.

    "Please, we still have time to find a ce to hide."

    "You know a lot about these monsters." Adam said, looking carefree.

    "I am good at studying, that''s it!" Terry said. "It''s the only reason why I haven''t been expelled yet."

    "You said your name is Kingston, correct?"

    "Yes, so?"

    "Is your father Markus Kingston, perhaps?"

    Terry looked at him in surprise. "You know my father?"

    "Know? No, but I''ve heard about him. Markus is one of the best archers in the New World. It has been said that he can hit a target from over a mile away with perfect uracy."

    "Yeah, he sure is awesome..." Terry sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Unfortunately, I didn''t get his skill with the bow. I''ve got good eyes for details, but my aim has always been terrible." "Don''t fret over it; just try to find something you''re good with."

    Adam jumped off the tombstone and walked to the center of the cemetery, but then came to a quick stop as soon as the fog cleared ahead of him.

    There was a strange hole at the center of the cemetery. It was shaped like a keyhole, but the key would have to be gigantic to fit it.

    Adam looked to the foggy sky and narrowed his eyes.

    "Can we go hide now?" Terry asked impatiently. "The Culling is about to start."

    "Aish..." Adam opened his inventory and brought out a box of strange cigar-looking objects.

    He lit one up, put it between his lips, and took a deep drag, causing a cloud of smoke to rise around him.

    After grabbing the cigar and taking it off his mouth, he turned to Terry and asked. "Want some?"

    "What''s that, a cigar?" Terry asked. "Aren''t you too young for something like that?"

    "It ain''t a cigar." Adam said. "This is a roll of kero."

    "A roll of kero?" Terry leaned closer. "I haven''t heard about that before.

    "It''s a special item that can enhance your mental fortitude." Adam exined. "It''s side effect

    is that it causes your health to lower for a couple of days."

    "Umm, I am not too sure." Terry said. "Will it cause cancer or something?"

    "Nah." Adamughed. "Want to have a taste?"

    Terry bit his lip and shook his head. "My mom wouldn''t like me to smoke something like that."

    "Why? It''s perfectly healthy." Adam said. "It''s not any different than any other Mortal Online item."

    "Uh, it sounds like there''re some risks involved." Terry said. "Like it makes me dumber."

    "There is a risk, and I already said it. You''ll health will be lower. You are only Coinfeeder, right?"

    "Yes," Terry nodded.

    "So your health is already low, so this will be even more dangerous to be used by you, but tell me this: do you want to get rid of your fear?"

    "This can do that?" Terry asked, looking at the roll of kero.

    "It can." Adam said and handed over the roll to Terry. "It''ll make you clear-headed."

    Terry hesitated for a moment but then put the roll between his lips and inhaled deeply.

    He instantly started coughing uncontrobly, regretting his decision.

    Adam justughed beside him. "I was just fucking with you. There aren''t any special powers in that thing. You think it is that easy to get rid of fear? Haha."

    "W-what?" Terry coughed out loud with tears brimming at the corners of his eyes. "You lied to me? Then what was that thing!"

    "It''s name is a roll of kero, but instead of it doing something, it does absolutely nothing." Adamughed. "Its basically just a normal cigarette without the cancer part."

    "Ah, you bastard!" Terry shouted, and then a fewughs escaped his mouths. "That tasted like shit!"

    "It indeed does." Adam replied with a smirk and stored the box back in his inventory. "How''re

    you feeling now?"

    "Eh, what do you mean?" Terry asked, still trying to cough the rest of the smoke from his

    lungs.

    "Are you still afraid?" Adam asked with a smile.

    "Eh?" Terry looked at him and noticed something strange.

    He didn''t feel scared anymore.

    "T-that actually worked? What?"

    "No, haha." Adam shook his head. "The fear is a fickle thing. All you needed was a

    distraction."

    "Oh..." Terry looked at him in amazement. ''That prank caused me to totally forget about the

    Culling-he is amazing.''

    "Now, listen." Adam wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "We''re not going to hide or run. That''s some pussy shit. Instead, we''re going to kill those skeletons!"

    "How?" Terry asked.

    "Are you a good runner?" Adam asked.

    "Y-yeah, I think so." Terry nodded.

    "Fine, the n is this..." Adam whispered in his ear.

    Terry''s face paled after hearing all of it. "You''re crazy."

    "If we do it correctly, we can return by the time the bell rings for the morning sses."

    Adam said, smiling.

    "Ah..." Terry sighed and nodded nervously. "Alright, I''ll do my best..."

    "Good..." Adam patted him on the shoulder and looked at the foggy sky. "It looks like it is

    about to start."

    A key made out of skeleton parts fell from the sky, stabbed through the cloudyers, through the fog, andnded at the keyhole in the middle of the cemetery.

    The ground shook.

    CLICK!

    With a loud click, the key turned ny degrees, and strange music began to y from the

    depths of the earth.

    It sounded like there was a music box buried in the ground.

    At that moment, skeletons, one after another, rose from the ground, and their mouths clicked together in a musical harmony.

 Chapter 158: Singing Skeletons

    Chapter 158: Singing Skeletons

    ?

    Click, click!

    A sound of clicking reverberated throughout the foggy cemetery.

    It soon started sounding like a lyricless song, haunting and eerie in its melody.

    "So, this is the famous skeleton song." Terry said with a gulp.

    The skeletons rose from the soil, their teeth chattering.

    As soon as they stepped into the fog, the mist clung to their bones like a ghostly shroud, and after stepping out of the foggy veil, they took a hold of rusty swords and rusted shields.

    "S-shit..." Terry backed off in fear after seeing that the skeletons were clearly approaching them.

    "Alright." Then, Adam patted him on the shoulder and said, "You know about the way of the aggro, right?

    "Aggro?" Terry looked at him and nodded nervously. "Yes, the simple-minded Chaosbeings have aggression mechanics. The Tanks job is to keep their attention focused on them, while the DPS takes them down one by one."

    "That''s your job." Adam said. "Attract their aggro, and bring them there."

    He pointed to the only building-like structure in the cemetery. It was rock-made and looked like a tomb.

    "Inside?" Terry asked, and Adam nodded. "Won''t I be trapped there?"

    "I''ll handle that. I''ll be waiting for you inside."

    As Adam started running towards that tomblike building, Terry shouted. "How do I garner their aggro?!"

    "Aren''t you a good student?" Adam shouted while running away. "What do the Singing Skeletons hate the most?!"

    ''What do they hate the most...'' Terry licked his dry lips and looked at the skeletons that weren''t that far away from him anymore.

    He then cleared his throat, trying to appear calm despite the fear rising in him.

    "Y-your..." Terry took a deep breath and then opened his mouth wide. "Your song sucks!" The words came out as a strong shout, and all the skeletons heard it.

    The clicking of their teeth halted for a moment as they turned to stare at Terry with their hollow eye sockets.

    They didn''t have eyes, but Terry could feel their rageful stares piercing into his soul like knives.

    At that moment, the Singing Skeletons started running towards him, their bony fingers wrapped around the hilts of their rusty swords.

    The clicking of their teeth returned, and this time, the music was with a faster tempo, intensifying the sense of impending doom.

    "Oh, shit!" Terry turned and started running as fast as his legs could carry him, desperately trying to escape the skeletal horde.

    He was indeed much faster than the skeletons, and even had to slow down his pace; otherwise, the aggro on the Singing Skeletons would lessen and they would stop chasing him.

    Terry was able to stay very clear-minded, and even though he didn''t have any experience as Tank, his talent was his intelligence, and he immediately knew what he needed to do.

    However, he was still worried about the rest of Adam''s n.

    They would get stuck inside the rock structure as there was only one entrance and exit.

    ''Whatever, he must''ve some kind of n!''

    "Come on, follow me, you shitty singers!" Terry continued shouting, slowly backing off into the stone structure.

    The skeleton horde walked up a small hill, then arrived at the entrance of the tomb and stepped through one by one.

    It was

    narrow entrance, so they couldn''t enter all at once.

    Terry looked inside the tomb and saw dusty coffins lined up against the walls. The coffins appeared to be centuries old, untouched and undisturbed.

    At that moment, he saw Adam sitting on top of a coffin at the end of the tomb, and joined him by his side, nervously gazing towards the skeletons.

    "W-what now?" Terry asked.

    "You did good." Adam said with a smile. "You attracted their aggro like a master."

    Terry scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "It was pretty easy, but I am sure there are monsters that are not as easy."

    "Yeah." Adam chuckled. "The intelligent Chaosbeings are pain in the ass, but even they are vulnerable to the aggro. You just need to know what buttons to press."

    "I see..." Terry whispered and felt surprisingly ecstatic.

    It felt amazing to control this skeleton horde, like he was a puppetmaster.

    It was the first time in his life that he did truly something amazing, and he was proud of himself.

    "What do we do now?" He asked as the skeletons stepped through the entrance and gulped. "We''re very trapped here."

    "That''s the thing with these environments; they''re your ally." Adam looked up at the flimsy

    ceiling.

    It was all cracks, dust, and spider webs.

    Adam reached out his hand towards the ceiling and said, "Pull!"

    The ceiling started shaking weakly. Nothing really happened.

    The skeletons have mostly entered the tomb and were approaching the two men. They were

    only five meters separated.

    "Adam..." Terry gulped. "Hurry!"

    "Damn..." Adam gritted his teeth, and sweat rolled down his forehead. "Pull!"

    He focused his pull on a small stone b at the ceiling that seemed to be looser than others.

    The dust fell out of the ceiling''s cracks, and suddenly the b gave way.

    CRASH!

    The ceiling fell apart and crashed over the skeletons, burying them under piles of debris.

    [You killed 22x Singing Skeletons!]

    [220 XP Acquired!]

    [XP: 1947/2500]

    "Y-you did it!" Terryughed happily. "That''s amazing, Adam!"

    "Whew..." Adam breathed heavily, but then said. "It isn''t over."

    "Huh?"

    There were Singing Skeletons left outside who didn''t enter the tomb.

    Adam couldn''t afford to wait for them to enter, as the tomb seemed full enough, and if he waited too long, the skeletons would''ve reached them and killed them.

    "What do we do now?" Terry asked urgently.

    "Fight." Adam grabbed Terry by his arm and pulled him out of the crumbled ceiling that was

    now their only exit.

    They arrived at the only remaining part of the roof that was still intact.

    They looked around and saw around ten skeletons surrounding them.

    "So many left..." Terry''s expression looked ugly, but then he saw Adam pick up his sword and

    shield.

    "You''re really going to fight them?"

    "Yes, it''s much more doable to fight ten skeletons than over thirty." Adam said.

    "What will I do then?" Terry asked. "Attract their aggro again?"

    "You already did great, but leave the rest to me."

    "Huh?"

    At that moment, Terry watched as Adam suddenly leaped into the air and started falling

    towards the skeleton horde, who were staring at him with their hollow eyes, their rusty

    swords pointing upward.

    "He is crazy!" Terry cried out in horror.

    Adam suddenly put his shield in front of his body while he was falling and shouted. "Shield

    Charge!"

    The shield went through the rusty swords and the skeletons below, then mmed against the

    ground.

    The ground shook, and all the skeletons stumbled away with a loss of bnce.

    [You killed 2x Singing Skeletons!]

    [20 XP Acquired!]

    [XP: 1967/2500]

    "Eight..." Terry whispered.

    Adam swung his sword in a wide arc and yed another couple of skeletons.

    [You killed 3x Singing Skeletons!]

    [30 XP Acquired!]

    [XP: 1997/2500]

    "Five." Terry''s eyes widened in shock as he couldn''t believe what was happening.

    Adam pointed his hand at one of the skeletons and shouted. "Pull!"

    The skeleton started floating above the ground and slowly floated in the direction of the

    young man, and at that moment, Adam sliced through the air with his sword, cutting the

    skeleton in half.

    [You killed a Singing Skeleton!]

    [10 XP Acquired!]

    [XP: 2007/2500]

    "Four..."

 Chapter 159: Mr. Caretaker

    Chapter 159: Mr. Caretaker

    ?

    Thest remaining Singing Skeletons rushed Adam from the forth. They didn''t have any n in the mind except to keep swinging their rusty swords and sing with their clicking teeth.

    Adam parried their flimsy swords and then used Shield Charge to push them all away.

    While the Singing Skeletons were in disarray, Adam rushed in and cut through them like a hot knife through butter.

    They couldn''t handle the rush and fell apart one after another.

    Soon, thest remaining Singing Skeletons were in a heap of destroyed bones, and the singing slowly ceased to exist.

    [You killed 4x Singing Skeletons!]

    [40 XP Acquired!]

    [XP: 2047/2500]

    "You did it!" Terry jumped off the roof and cheered in relief. "Oh god, we actually survived!"

    Adam sheathed his sword and put his shield on his back, then looked at the destroyed skeletons scattered across the ground.

    Then the skeletons vanished into thin air, and the soft ground turned to solid.

    The cemetery vanished from the sight, and they found themselves standing back at the white room with the eerie die hanging by the ceiling from invisible chains.

    Terry sat on the ground and felt like crying.

    He didn''t think he would actually survive the third time, but again, he was very lucky to not be there alone.

    ''Maybe my talent is my immense luck.'' Terry thought with a wry smile.

    A door opened at the end of the white room.

    It clearly wasn''t the same door that they took to enter this ce; thus, it must lead somewhere else.

    "Ah, let''s go." Terry stood up with a smile.

    "Where is the door leading?" Adam asked and followed him as they left the white room and entered a hallway with walls, floors, and a ceiling made out of timber.

    It looked like they were walking down a tree trunk.

    "We''re heading to the Eldertree Institute, you''re about to see something amazing."

    Terry said with a smile, then arrived at the end of the hallway and opened the door there that was circr shaped.

    As soon as they stepped through the opening of the door, Adam''s jaw almost dropped to the ground.

    They walked absentmindedly to the center of one huge floor and looked straight up, seeing a spiraling staircase leading up the tree for seemingly eternity.

    Adam believed that if he had wings, he could just fly up and reach the ceiling of this tree without any trouble. However, without wings, those stairs seemed to be the only way to get to the top.

    At this moment, it was very quiet, and there wasn''t anyone on this floor or at the stairs.

    "It''s Silent Hour." Terry said. "After 12am, everyone is supposed to be in their rooms and be all hush hush, or there will be a punishment."

    "Then are we breaking rules now?" Adam asked.

    "No, the same rules don''t apply to us now because we just left the Culling." Terry said.

    "Oh." Adam touched his chin and wondered. "Where is my room, then? Where am I supposed to go?"

    "Umm..." Terry shrugged his shoulders. "I don''t know either."

    "I know..."

    Terry and Adam looked behind in surprise and saw the person who just spoke.

    It was a person with moles all around his face, and he had disfigurement on one side of his face that made it look like his face was swelling up.

    He was short, three heads shorter than Adam, at least, and he was always hunched over like his spine was permanently bent.

    "I am the caretaker of his establishment; you can call me Mr. Caretaker." Mr. Caretaker said with a sly grin, revealing his yellow, crooked teeth.

    Terry gulped and shuddered, then whispered to Adam. "Be careful around this guy; he gives me the creeps."

    "It''s rude to whisper in front of someone, or is there something you want to hide from me?" Mr. Caretaker said. "Did you suddenly lose all your respect in the past hour, Terry Kingston?"

    "A-ah, no..." Terry shook his head. "I am sorry..."

    "Hmph." Mr. Caretaker clearly didn''t like him and then turned to Adam. "I''ll apologize on behalf of the headmaster; he didn''t expect you to be able to clear the Culling today, so he has already retreated to his bed."

    "That''s fine." Adam said and asked. "Do you perhaps know where I''ll be sleeping?"

    "Yes..." Mr. Caretaker said and looked at Terry with an annoyed look. "You two are roommates, so he''ll know."

    Terry''s eyes widened in surprise, and then he smiled. "Nice!"

    "Everyone in this facility is living in pairs, so you''ll have a roommate." Mr. Caretaker said.

    "I see." Adam nodded, not minding at all.

    "The Silent Hour has already begun, so go in your rooms," he said. "At morning, I''lle pick you up for your first sses."

    Adam nodded again, and as the hunched man left, he followed Terry up the stairs, who couldn''t stop from closing his mouth.

    "Since we are roommates, we''re also in the same ss." Terry said with a smile.

    He had hated his ss in the past, but now he was looking forward to it as he was finally not

    alone.

    Adam was listening to him, but most of his focus was on the surroundings.

    He was holding the railing, and while walking up the stairs, he looked up and down from over the railing to get a look at everything.

    All the doors by the stairs were closed and locked as they were locked as soon as the Silent

    Hour began.

    "We have everything here." Terry said. "Libraries, restaurants, hot springs, saunas, and even a viewing tform where you can see the entirety of the twenty-fifth floor. It''s wicked." "This ce sure is amazing." Adam said. "It seems like a paradise, but then there is a thing like that, Culling. How would you describe this ce?"

    Terry sadly smiled and said,

    "I''ve heard stories about the former Eldertree Institute. Apparently it was actual paradise, but everything changed since Renard took charge. Apparently he is one of the leaders of Pro-

    Strong movement."

    "Oh..." Adam replied, realizing the gravity of the situation. "I''ve heard about them..."

    "Yeah." Terry sighed. "He cares about strength and intelligence. Since I am intelligent, I

    haven''t been expelled, but he cares about strength more and..."

    "I am starting to get the gist of it..." Adam sighed.

    "It''s not all that bad." Terry said, a slight lie in his tone.

    For him, the Eldertree Institute had been the worst experience in his life by far. It was because

    he had to deal with constant bullying and abuse.

    However, he believed that Adam would do great in here, as he was a strong and clearly very talented individual.

    "Ah, here we are." Terry and Adam came across a door, then with a key, he opened the door

    and entered.

    There were hallways with stairs at the end leading to another floor of this ce.

    Terry''s voice turned to a whisper. "All the students of ss E are living here."

    "Mm." Adam nodded.

    They then walked to the end of the hallway, and instead of walking up the stairs, Terry opened

    a door at the leftmost end of the hallway and entered the room with Adam.

    The room was dimly lit, with only a smallmp in the corner providing light.

    It was quiet and cozy. It also wasn''t too small.

    There were two bedrooms, a living room, a very small kitchen, and a small bathroom.

    "This is my room." Terry pointed at the left door and then pointed at the door right next to it.

    "You can use that room. It already has a bed with sheets, so there''s not much you have to do

    there."

    "It''s nice." Adam said with a smile.

    "You should go to sleep." Terry said and opened the door to his room. "The ss is very early,

    so you should get some rest."

    "Hmm, ok." Adam nodded and felt the shift in Terry''s emotions.

    Whenever he mentioned the ss, he turned sad and clearly hated going to it.

    "I''ll see you in the morning." Adam said.

    Terry smiled and nodded, then closed the door.

 Chapter 160: Floor Orb

    Chapter 160: Floor Orb

    ?

    The first light of the morning shone over the Eldertree, causing several howls and screams toe from the forests.

    While the darkness began to disappear, the strange monsters in the forests started to retreat back to their caves and hiddenirs, almost like they were allergic to the sunlight.

    Eldertree Institute also woke up, doors banging open as the staff members of the facility stumbled out of their quarters and started their day.

    At the dormitory for the students, the doors stayed closed and the light was dim there. Most of the students were still sleeping as it was two hours before their sses started.

    However, there were a few early risers who left the dormitory to do either their running routine or to grab breakfast before the cafeteria got too crowded.

    Inside a room, Adam pushed himself up and down in a series of push-ups, the sweat glistening against his rtively pale skin.

    "Argh..." Adam grunted as he strained to finish his set.

    Then, after doing thest push-up, he stood up and suddenly formed fists with his hands, then started shadowboxing against empty air in front of him.

    Swish, swish, swish.

    Before he could finish his shadowboxing set, the door opened, and a hunched man slowly walked in, holding a cane to assist him in walking.

    "Young Adam, if you don''t mind, can you follow me?" Mr. Caretaker said.

    Adam stopped throwing punches, nodded while breathing heavily, then used a towel to wipe his sweat and then put a t-shirt on.

    ''I didn''t hear hime in. I didn''t even hear the door being unlocked.'' Adam thought to himself.

    He thought it was because he was so focused on his own training that he didn''t even notice. They headed out of the room, and Adam thought he would meet other students already, but every other door was still closed and the dormitory seemed empty.

    After leaving the dormitory behind, they started walking up the spiraling stairs, and this time, Adam was the ce being more alive as staff members were bustling around.

    As the Mr. Caretaker and Adam walked past several staff members, their gazes lingered in Adam''s direction for a beat longer than usual.

    "It''s him..." A female staff member said to her friend and pulled out a piece of paper.

    The paper had a picture drawn, and it was shockingly uratepared to the real one. "S-ranker..."

    While Adam couldn''t hear their whispers, he could feel the stares stabbing into the back of his head like a thousand tiny needles.

    ''How far are we walking?'' Adam wondered as they just kept walking longer and longer up the spiraling stairs.

    Strangely enough, he didn''t even have to slow down his walking pace, as Mr. Caretaker''s pace was surprisingly good.

    It didn''t matter that he was walking with a cane and had hunched back, looking like he wouldn''t be able to move, let alone walk at the same pace as Adam.

    Adam tested a theory and picked up his pace slightly. His feet started moving faster and faster.

    Still, Mr. Caretaker stayed ahead of him, and his legs didn''t seem to move any quicker either. It was as if he was effortlessly gliding along the steps of the stairs.

    ''Heh...'' Adam smirked. ''Interesting.''

    Since it looked like Mr. Caretaker could keep up with any pace of his, Adam kept his pace rtively quick so they would arrive at their destination quicker.

    However, they walked another hour, yet it didn''t look like they were half-way up the tree.

    ''It would probably take me three days to reach the top.'' Adam thought as he looked up towards the top. ''Where exactly are we heading to?''

    "Ah, here we are..." Mr. Caretaker suddenly said and just entered one of the random doors that lined the stairs.

    Adam, in surprise, followed after him and headed deep into the hallway that had one door left at the end.

    With the master key, Mr. Caretaker opened the door, and instead of room, there was just a shelf of glowing orbs.

    "Here..." Mr. Caretaker took one and tossed it over to Adam. "Don''t drop it."

    Adam caught it with ease and looked at it with a raised eyebrow. "What''s this?"

    "You must be wondering, Oh, this ce is huge." Mr. Caretaker said. "This, in your hand, is Floor Orb."

    ''I knew that already.'' Adam thought while acting ignorant. ''Floor Orbs are found on every floor and can only be used on a floor they''re found on. They allow teleportation. No wonder; it would take days to move around this ce without it.''

    Mr. Caretaker took out his own Floor Orb from his back pocket and said, "The headmaster office. Repeat those words."

    As soon as he said that, the orb sucked him inside like a vacuum cleaner, and he disappeared from sight.

    "The headmaster office." Adam repeated those words, and the same thing happened to him.

    He got sucked inside the orb.

    While inside the orb, he was spinning uncontrobly, and he felt like he was traveling through time and space.

    Anyone with a weak stomach would have likely thrown up, and first-time users of the orb always throw up or pass out.

    After a while, Adam got thrown out of the orb, and he appeared at the top floor of the tree, standing by the door of the headmaster''s office. It was closed tight.

    "Argh..." Adam touched his stomach and looked like he was about to throw up. ''Yep, my body isn''t ustomed to that.''

    "If you throw up, do it over the railing." Mr. Caretaker said and pointed at the stairs with

    railings.

    If he threw up the railing, the vomit would travel straight down to the bottom floor and could make someone''s day a thousand times worse.

    "Nah, I am fine." Adam said, took a few deep breaths, and seemed to be feeling better.

    "The headmaster doesn''t like things that are dirty." Mr. Caretaker said. "He would not be happy if you dirtied the doorstep of his office."

    "I understand; I am feeling better." Adam said with a weak smile.

    He was slightly paler than usual, but the color slowly returned to his face.

    "Good." Mr. Caretaker said and knocked on the door.

    "Enter." A voice came from inside.

    Mr. Caretaker opened the door, and stayed outside, not nning to enter the room. Instead,

    he was motioning for Adam to enter it instead.

    Adam nodded and stepped through the door into the cozy-looking office, ornate with arge mahogany desk in the center.

    This was his first time seeing Renard, a stern-looking man with hazel-brown hair and scarry

    fingers formed into a steeple as he observed Adam.

    "Please, take a seat." Renard''s mouth formed a smile, somewhat.

    Adam bowed and took a seat on the other side of the mahogany desk.

    He couldn''t help but look out of the window that was behind Renard and saw the clouds

    forming below the window and stretching out into the distance.

    It was a spectacr sight.

    "Adam Palestar, isn''t that right?" Renard put on sses and read through some papers.

    "Correct." Adam nodded.

    "I, honestly, didn''t expect to see you that soon." Renard said. "I thought it would take longer

    in the Culling."

    Renard paused for a moment before continuing, "But I suppose congrattions are in order

    for passing the test so quickly."

    "Thank you." Adam nodded. "I couldn''t do it without Terry; he was of good help."

    "No need to lie to me." Renard said. "He cried to you about probably being expelled, didn''t

    he? You''re a strong one, Adam; don''t let these weaklings bring you down while you try to help

    them."

    Adam hid his frown, but he wasn''t pleased with his words.

    ''Pro-Strong, indeed.''

 Chapter 161: New Student

    Chapter 161: New Student

    ?

    Renard stood up from his high back-end chair and walked to the window, his back facing Adam.

    He had always enjoyed the view of the clouds forming underneath him.

    It was very therapeutic.

    It made him feel like a god.

    "This is my school, and I can give some extra credit to whoever I want," he said, using the reflection on the window to look at Adam. "I care about talent."

    Adam listened with his mouth staying in a straight line.

    "While other folks care about only strength, I care about talent that can lead to strength. That''s why those who show great potential get some extra perks that others don''t."

    Renard then turned around, walked over to the desk, and put his hands down on it, staring straight at Adam with his deep gaze.

    "You''re what everyone in this institute should strive for, a talent that is only limited by humanity''s own limitations.

    "S-ranker.

    "Abandon the weak, and in a year or two, you might be standing where I am now."

    "You want to recruit me as the headmaster?" Adam asked with a frown.

    Renard''s mouth opened and closed like he wasughing, but no sound came out. It was eerie and creepy.

    "Maybe," he said with a sly grin. "You''re still too green for that, though, but if you ept my faction''s guidance, I''m sure we can get you there soon enough."

    "And what is that faction?" Adam asked with a deep frown, but he already knew.

    "Some may call it Pro-Strong." Renard said. "But I don''t share the core values of that faction."

    "What do you mean by that?" Adam asked. "From what I''ve heard, Pro-Strong are nothing but ver wannabes."

    "I always thought the ving part was a little silly." Renard said. "I don''t wish to make people my ves."

    He sat down on the desk and looked at Adam with a serious expression.

    "I am thinking much further.

    "I''ll be honest here.

    "Most Pro-Strong folks are hateful beings. They were bullied and wronged for being weak, so when they finally became strong, they returned the favor by oppressing others.

    "It''s a vicious cycle that needs to be broken.

    "I am a dreamer, y''see, and I want this faction to reach the top and show that strength can be used for good, not just to inflict pain."

    ''What a fucking hypocrite.''

    Adam looked cold.

    ''He culls the ones he deems as talentless and weak, and then preaches about using strength for good.

    ''There''s nothing good about what he does. I wouldn''t be surprised if those he deems worthy are using their status to take advantage of others just like Pro-Strong folks do.

    ''I am not sure whether he is just ignorant and blind. Maybe he just genuinely believes what he is doing is good, but his understanding of good is way different.''

    "May I ask, but what is good?" Adam asked. "Many have different understandings of the good."

    "I don''t mind,"

    Renard said with a smile.

    "I''ll reveal some things about my dream.

    "I do wish that the needless violence stops, such as those bloody guild wars and pointless battles over territory.

    "The war is brewing on the horizon. A great guild war. I wish to stop that and the bloodshed it

    causes.

    "A strong order is needed to keep everyone in line so they can focus their attention on more important matters, such as clearing the dungeon.

    "One day, under my lead, I wish to see the dungeon conquered.

    "I think thews of the New World are way toox. They''re allowing the conflict, but my n is to stop all of it before it even starts to brew.

    "King Moriarty, in my opinion, is a horrible king. He sits on his lofty throne, looking down at others as if they are mere pawns in his game of power.

    "That''s all he cares about-about his own power.

    "I wish to give power to others. One day, everyone will be strong, and there''s no more weak." Adam listened silently, but there was only one word that came to his mind.

    ''Benevolent Tyranny.''

    Knock-suddenly a knock came from the door.

    "Ah." Renard pulled out his timepiece and saw the time. "Oh, it seems I''ve kept you here long enough. Your ss is about to start."

    "Oh..." Adam stood and bowed. "Thank you for your time and wisdom, sir."

    He was hiding his sarcastic tone.

    Renard smiled and said, "Think about it. If you join my faction, I''ll make you reach heights

    that would seem impossible at first. You can be a part of fulfilling my dream."

    "I''ll think about it." Adam said, bowed, and then left the room.

    After the talk, he had a pretty good understanding of Renard''s character.

    ''He is very much the same as other Pro-Strong folk. He might act like he isn''t, but he

    definitely is. This is not my first ride with these lunatics, and I see through him like a

    transparent piece of ss.''

    "Your ss is about to start." Mr. Caretaker said, standing outside as he hadn''t moved an inch

    ever since Adam entered the office.

    "Alright." Adam nodded and took out his Floor Orb.

    "ss E''s ssroom." Mr. Caretaker said and got sucked inside the orb.

    "ss E''s ssroom." Adam said and watched as the orb glowed brightly before transporting

    him to his destination.

    Again, after spinning and traveling through distances, he appeared at the front of a door in a corridor with six different doors.

    Beside each door, there were signs that read "ss A," "ss B," "ss C," "ss D," "ss

    E," and "ss F."

    Each door was closed, but there were voices and soundsing from each ssroom. It looked like each ss was underway.

    Mr. Caretaker opened the door to the ss E''s room and walked inside with his cane tapping against the floor. He went to the teacher and whispered something to him.

    The teacher looked outside straight at Adam, her eyes shing with surprise and curiosity.

    "Alright." Irene nodded at Mr. Caretaker and turned to the rest of the ss with a smile. "We have a new student."

    At the front row of the ss, Terry smiled from his seat, but then felt something hit the back

    of his head.

    It was an eraser that slowly hit the ground.

    Terry touched the back of his head and turned around and saw a group of students snickering

    and whispering with each other.

    He wanted to say something, but after exchanging nces with one of them, his words got stuck in his throat and he turned back to the front.

    "Coward." Noel said with a grin after seeing Terry again do nothing.

    "A new student, I wonder if it''s he or she~" Renee, a young woman beside him, asked in

    excitement.

    Behind her, Jake said, "I hope it''s a cute girl; there''s not enough girls in our ss!"

    Renee rolled her eyes. "Even if there were twenty girls and you, no one would still date you."

    "Hey, who do you think I am, Terry?" Jakeughed. "Just so you know, girls love my sense of

    humor."

    "Weird, I don''t." Renee turned to him with a cheeky smile.

    "Because you''re not a girl." Jake said with a yful grin and tapped his finger on her

    forehead, only for her to p his hand away.

    "Don''t touch me; now I have to wash my whole body." Renee said in disgust and shuddered in

    a yful manner.

    Irene watched as the whole ss whispered between each other and then turned to the door,

    showed a gentle smile, and said.

    "Come in."

    The whole ss''s eyesnded on the front, and from the door, Adam entered the ssroom

    and stood beside her in silence, looking around the ss with a calm expression.

    The other students thought that he looked rather normal.

    "This is Adam, and unlike most of you, he had already done his tutorial and came from the

    New World to attend the Eldertree Institute."

    The students looked surprised. It would mean that Adam was quite talented and must''ve

    received a decent talent rank in the tutorial.

    Renee raised her hand and asked. "What''s his rank?"

    She was very outspoken and always spoke out her mind.

    The rest of the ss also wanted to know his rank.

    Terry also wondered about it. He believed that he must be at least B-rank.

    ''He doesn''t look strong.'' Noel thought, looking coldly at Adam. ''He is Terry''s roommate,

    isn''t he not? Hmph.''

    Irene wryly smiled.

    She never expected to have a chance to ever teach someone of his caliber.

    This was her first year of teaching at Eldertree Institute, and she got a monster as a student!

    ''Why me?'' She felt like crying. ''Am I worthy even? I am a rookie teacher!''

    The students waited impatiently.

    Seeing her take her time, Mr. Caretaker tapped his cane on the floor.

    "His name is Adam Palestar, and he is S-ranker. He hase here to study alongside all of

    you, but don''t get mistaken, he is far from an amateur like some of you may be."

    Mr. Caretaker''s voice boomed across the room.

    "I suggest you all learn from him and strive to reach his level."

 Chapter 162: Godhood Awaits

    Chapter 162: Godhood Awaits

    ?

    The silence in the ssroom felt almost suffocating.

    The wide-eyed students stared nkly at the new student.

    "Take your seat." Mr. Caretaker said, ignoring the silence, and then left the ssroom.

    Adam nodded and took a seat in the front row, with Terry on his left side and a round-headed young woman on his right. The young woman nced at Adam, shock on her eyes.

    "Ahem." Irene cleared her throat and said. "Alright, let''s continue with the lesson..."

    ''S-ranker? What in the world...'' Terry side-eyed Adam discreetly.

    It was a huge shock to him.

    After all, since he''d been stuck in the Eldertree Insitute and couldn''t enter the New World without tutorial, he''d been reading books and had studied about the S-rankers.

    They were monsters in human skin.

    Now, one of them was sitting right beside him and was his roommate!

    "Adam, since you don''t have your books yet, you can use your neighbor''s book meanwhile." Irene said.

    Adam nodded and moved his seat closer to Terry. "Do you mind?"

    "N-no..." Terry''s voice trembled, and he showed him the hardcover book with the golden cover and embossed letters.

    "Oh, the history of the New World."

    Adam remembered reading it a while back.

    It was basically the most popr book of the New World as it told the tale of its creation.

    However, ever since the discovery of the Old World, he wondered whether any of it was actually true.

    "H-have you read it before?" Terry asked.

    "Once," Adam said.

    "We''re at page 186," Terry said.

    "Hmm..." Adam turned his attention to the book.

    "Many, many years ago, before the creation of the wall and the five cities, thend was very different." Irene started reading text straight from the book.

    The words painted a vivid image of times long bygone.

    "With red and ck soil filling thend, the Originals lived in oppression under the rule of the Tyrannical Warlords.

    "There was one Tyrannical Warlord for every region, each more ruthless than thest.

    "While there were only five of them, there were a thousand Originals under each of them, who suffered greatly at their hands.

    "Strength, cruelty, fear, maniption, and oppression-those were the tools of their trade, each warlord possessing one of those qualities.

    "That''s why they were Tyrannical Warlords in name and purpose."

    The students listened in interest since none of them had really visited the New World.

    They were very interested in that ce, even if it included some stories from thousands of years ago.

    "However, even their tyranny came ultimately to an end as a hero arose, a lofty hero with hair like gold and eyes like diamonds.

    "He was the High King Soroman.

    "With his great de, he defeated the warlords and restored peace and prosperity to thend, bing a legend that would be told for generations toe.

    "It''s been said that the current High King of the New World, Moriarty, is his descendant. That''s a story shared among the Originals, but yers doubt its truth for many reasons."

    Adam nced between the teacher and the book.

    This was one of the pages that intrigued him the most.

    After all, there wasn''t much revealed about the time between that incident and the arrival of the yers. Who knows what really happened after Soroman became the ruler of the New World.

    At that moment, his eyes started to feel heavy, and his head suddenly slumped down as he started sleeping.

    ...

    With crimson water crashing against the cliffs, Adam opened his eyes wide with annoyance shing by his eyes.

    "Can you stop that, seriously?" Adam asked angrily. "I am in a ss!"

    "I am intrigued by that history." stor walked to him with a grin. "What a shitty history, aye?"

    "You heard what was happening?" Adam frowned. "You said you couldn''t hear, feel, or see anything."

    "Yeah, I can''t, but I could sense some things." stor said. "Like I was able to sense the demoness. That book''s whispers of history echoed in here."

    Adam rolled his eyes, not sure whether he was believing him any further. He felt like he hadn''t been truly honest about everything.

    "So, is the history true about the Tyrannical Warlords and Soroman?" Adam asked.

    "Half, and half." stor said. "That history didn''t happen in the New World, but in the Old

    World."

    "Huh, really?" Adam looked surprised and then chuckled. "Funny, as that book''s name is the history of the New World."

    "Yeah, they''ve been trying to override the Old World''s history with the New World''s."

    "So, what really happened?" Adam asked.

    "Tyrannical Warlords were my Satanic Angels." stor said. "They ruled the Old World in my name and protected the Originals from the dangers of the Chaosbeings."

    "Oh, they weren''t oppressed?" Adam asked.

    "Oppressed or not, does it really matter in the end?" stor asked. "Without their protection, they would''ve been food for the Chaosbeings. The Old World was no ce for a weak, but that foolish brother of mine could not see that and created them anyway."

    "What was the God Almighty doing all that time?" Adam asked. "What made Him want to take the Old World away from you?"

    "I am the older brother; the Old World belonged to me by birthright." stor said. "However, my brother was always the kind one, and he couldn''t bear to see his creations suffer."

    ''So, they were oppressed.'' Adam rolled his eyes, not surprised in the slightest.

    "He sent his own angel to the Old World. I guess he was that Soroman, which is not his real name, by the way.

    "I thought he defeated the Tyrannical Warlords to take the Old World away from me, but I found out a few thousand yearster that they did, in fact, not lose but instead joined forces

    with him.

    "They betrayed me."

    "Why would they do that?" Adam asked.

    "Those morons wanted to be White-Winged Angels." stor said. "My warlords were Fallen Angels, y''see, as they broke rules in the Kingdom, so they were thrown into the Abyss, where they got corrupted.

    "They really thought my brother would ept them back. He is kind-hearted, yes, but he is not foolish enough to allow snakes in his garden.

    "In the end, that Soroman broke the deal by the orders of my brother and sealed them away,

    somewhere..."

    ''That''s not what I expected...'' Adam took a deep breath. ''I wonder if I am the first one among

    yers to know the real truth...''

    "Haha, and my brother changed this ce."

    stor rose and pointed all around him-at the Old World-and said, "He made it his own."

    "So, you''re pretty much the bad guy of the story." Adamughed. "Should''ve guessed." "Yeah, I am the bad guy, the Dark God." stor turned to him with a grin. "But every story needs a viin. That''s the most important character, isn''t it?"

    Adam raised an eyebrow.

    "I have a job for you." stor said. "I don''t expect you toplete it any time soon, because

    you''re weak."

    "No thanks." Adam stood up and patted the dust off his trousers. "I don''t owe you shit."

    "It''s better for us to work together." stor said with a smile. "You don''t want me to trap

    you here, forever, now do you?"

    Adam rolled his eyes and asked angrily. "What the fuck you want?"

    "Kill the warlords for me." stor said. "They''re sealed in the world of the mist. When you''re

    strong enough to travel through it, go and y them."

    "You want me to kill some divine beings?" Adam asked with a frown.

    "Yes, I do." stor said. "I know you''re too weak now, but you have to be stronger in

    order to defeat them."

    "Much stronger..." Adam shook his head andughed. "Yeah, sure, let me be High King

    real quick then."

    "High King is not enough," stor said. "You must be something else entirely. You

    must reach the Angel status, yourself."

    ''Angel...'' Adam asked. "How many ranks are there above the High King?"

    "High King is still nothing more than a mortal." stor said. "Beyond that, the realm of

    godhood awaits."

 Chapter 163: Potential Rank

    Chapter 163: Potential Rank

    ?

    "H-hey, Adam, wake up." Terry tried shaking Adam awake as the ss had already ended. The students slowly departed from the ss but took onest good look at Adam.

    After seeing him sleep so carefreely in the ss, they thought he was quite the character.

    No one else would dare to sleep in one of the lectures, or they might be sent to the Culling. Irene finished up packing her things and looked at Adam, slightly annoyed that he just slept through her lecture. It made her feel like she was a boring teacher.

    At that moment, Adam jolted awake and sat straight, looking around him in clear confusion. "Eh?"

    "Adam..." Terry breathed a sigh of relief. "The ss is over."

    "Already?" Adam touched his head and shook it, then nodded to Terry and stood up to leave. As Terry walked past Irene, when it was Adam''s turn, she finally spoke out.

    "Mister Adam, I-I don''t appreciate you sleeping through my lesson." Irene puffed her chest. "I''ll allow it this one time, but if that happens again, I''ll have to send you to the detention."

    "Oh, I am sorry." Adam apologized and said. "I have narcolepsy; I can''t control when I fall asleep and when not."

    "Eh?" Irene''s eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

    "Did I fall asleep suddenly?" Adam asked.

    "Uhm, yeah..." Irene remembered him just falling asleep without any warning, almost like some kind of switch had been flipped inside him.

    "I''ll try to stay awake next time." Adam said, then bowed respectfully and left the ss to follow after Terry.

    Irene, after hearing the excuse, didn''t feel so bad anymore and hummed a song in a soft voice while finishing packing up.

    Outside the ss, at the corridor, Terry and Adam left and entered the stairs, but then noticed a group of three students leaning against the railing, blocking the path with their legs kicked up.

    Noel, Renee, and Jake justughed with each other, like they were talking about something bad.

    Terry wanted to tell them to move, but again felt his words get stuck inside his mouth. "Excuse me, can you move?" Adam asked.

    "Huh?" Noel turned to Adam and smirked. "Oh, look who it is, the sleepy king."

    "I didn''t talk to you to start a conversation." Adam said. "You''re blocking the path."

    "Damn, not friendly, aye?" Noel asked, a smile leaving his face. "We''re ssmates; you should talk to me in a more friendly way."

    "Adam, we can just use our Floor Orbs." Terry said and wanted to stop Adam before it escted any further.

    "Yeah, use those orbs, like a little bitch." Noel said while looking straight at Terry. "That''s what you do best, don''t you, Terry? Run away again."

    Renee giggled, and Jake''sughter was irritating to listen to.

    "Apologize," Adam said.

    "To who?" Noelughed. "To Terry? Ah, I would rather jump off the railing to my death."

    "That can be arranged." Adam smiled.

    "Don''t, Adam!" Terry shouted and tried to stop him. "There''s punishment if you fight him!" Noel''s grin grew even wider.

    ''Come on, punch me and see what happens!''

    Adam''s eyes glowed with a green tint for a slight moment.

    Crack...

    "Huh, what was that noise?" Renee frowned and turned to look down.

    Her eyes widened in terror as the stairs began to crumble beneath her feet.

    "A-ahhhhhhh!" She started screaming and tried to escape the crumbling stairs, but then saw even the stairs behind her were falling apart rapidly.

    "What the fuck!" Jake quickly grabbed the railing and saw his legs dangling in the empty air with a fall of thousands of meters below.

    "Ah!" Noel let out a panicky scream and jumped on the railing.

    There was enormous fall under him, and it felt like the railing couldn''t handle his weight!

    Strangely enough, the stairs under Adam and Terry didn''t disappear.

    "P-please, don''t let me fall!" Noel reached out his hand towards Adam. "S-save me!"

    Adam grabbed his hand and pulled him towards him, but then while Noel was dangling off by the edge, he let go of the hand.

    "Ah!" Noel started falling down and screamed hoarsely. "Nooo000000!"

    The railing also fell apart, causing Renee and Jake to fall. They were crying and screaming while pleading for someone to help.

    As the other sses ended, other students came to look at what caused the screaming, and even the teachers rushed in; with them was Irene.

    Their expressions looked strange.

    Noel, Renee, and Jake were rolling around the stairs, iling their arms and legs in panic.

    The students startedughing, wondering what the hell they were doing.

    The green tint left Adam''s eyes, and then in Renee''s, Noel''s, and Jake''s eyes, the stairs

    returned, and they were back on the stairs, tears on their eyes.

    "E-eh?" Noel sat up and looked around in fear. "H-how... what?"

    "M-mom..." Renee mumbled, tears streaming down her face.

    Jake grabbed the railing so hard that his hands turned white. He didn''t want to let go, ever.

    Then, they heardughter, and when they turned around, they sawughing students and angry-looking teachers who didn''t like themotion that the three had caused.

    "You should''ve stepped aside." Adam looked at Noel and then walked over them, followed by Terry, who tried to muffle hisughter.

    "Noel, Renee, and Jake, in my office, now!" Irene shouted.

    "B-but, the stairs disappeared..." Noel stammered over his words. "I-I was falling... I was

    about to die..."

    "Did you take drugs?!" Irene grabbed Noel by the ear and started dragging him back to the ssroom. "You are in big trouble, young man!"

    "B-but stairs..."

    "Hahaha, what the hell was that?" Terry followed after Adam and asked. "Did you do

    something?"

    "Oh, why do you think so?" Adam asked with a smile while stepping down the stairs.

    There was one hour of free time before the next sses, and he wanted to get his books before that; therefore, he was going to visit the library.

    "I am not stupid." Terry said and excitedly asked. "Is that one of those skills?"

    "Mm, yeah." Adam chuckled. "Illusion skill. In their eyes, the stairs disappeared, and they

    started falling down to the ground."

    Terry shuddered. "That''s scary!"

    "Yeah, I might''ve traumatized them a little bit," Adam admitted with a grin.

    "You''re scary; do you know that?" Terry said with a slight tremor in his voice. "You think I went too far?" Adam asked and found himself at the doorsteps of the library.

    They entered through the door and arrived at the library with shelves filled with books filling up the floor. There was another floor above them, essible by a winding staircase.

    "I don''t know..." Terry answered truthfully. "Noel is aplete asshole." "They''ve been bullying you, right?" Adam asked while going through the books, trying to

    find his books.

    "Yeah..." Terry scratched the back of his head. "That obvious?"

    "I am not blind." Adam said. "If they bother you in the future, I won''t help you."

    "Eh?"

    "Why don''t you grow stronger instead?" Adam asked. "It is far more satisfying to beat them

    by yourself."

    "I..." Terry sighed and looked down. "All the students are ranked in a way. Do you know?"

    "No." Adam looked at him. "What do you mean?"

    "The headmaster gives each student a rank of their potential talent. He updates those every

    month, pretty much.

    "Noel''s potential is A-rank.

    "Renee is B-rank.

    "Jake is B-rank.

    "I am D-rank."

    "D-rank, huh." Adam shrugged his shoulders. "Could be worse."

    "Well, the thing is, E-rankers are usually expelled, so D-rank is the lowest you can be here."

    Terry said. "I fear that next month I might be E-rank."

    "Then you gotta do something about it." Adam said, and then found one of the books on the

    shelf.

    "That''s easy to say..." Terry sighed. "You''re automatically S-rank potential."

    "You just need to put in the effort." Adam said. "Everything starts from that. When the sses

    are done, let''s exercise together. What do you say?"

    "Exercise?" Terry repeated, puzzled.

    "Yeah." Adam said. "This ce must have some kind of gym, right?"

    "It has..." Terry said and frowned. "Is that really all I have to do to increase in rank?"

    "Yeah." Adamughed. "It''s really not thatplicated. Show some effort, grow stronger, and you''ll move up the ranks quickly."

 Chapter 164: Murder! I Saw Murder!

    Chapter 164: Murder! I Saw Murder!

    ?

    The sses ended, and the thousand-strong student body poured out into the dining hall for an after-ss dinner.

    Four long tables were set up with a variety of delicious dishes, and each table was quickly surrounded by hungry students eager to eat.

    Each table fit over a few hundred students easily.

    At the end of the dining hall, there was a table for the teachers that was facing the rest of the hall, where the eagle-eyed teachers could keep a close watch on the students.

    Three chandeliers hung from the ceiling, each being as big as a small car. The chandeliers were adorned with white crystals that cast the light across the hall.

    It had been a long day of sses, and some students looked like they were roughed up quite a bit.

    Their hair was disheveled, and their clothes were wrinkled and dirtied. It looked like they had spent a whole day in some swamp or forest.

    At the table with the students of dirtied clothes, they were absentmindedly taking food from their tes and stuffing them inside their mouths.

    "Yo, did you guys hear?" A young man suddenly came to them and sat across them.

    "What?" A tired voice asked.

    "I don''t get how you can still be this energetic after spending the whole day in that wretched ce."

    "First of all, how did you manage to change the clothes this quick?"

    They looked at the student, who was just smiling and filling his te with delicious food.

    Unlike others, he didn''t have a single dirt on him.

    The clothes were clean and looked brand new. It didn''t even look like there was a single wrinkle on them.

    "I wonder~" Ryan answered with a wink. "Anyway, did you guys hear?"

    "Hear what?"

    "Young Ones had a new student in the ss E." Ryan said. "From what I heard, he is rather special."

    The students were ranked based on how long they''ve been in the institute-Young, Middle, and Elder-the Young Ones were students that had been in the institute for less than three years.

    The Middle Ones were students that had been in the institute for three to six years. Andstly, Elder Ones were students that had been in the institute for six to nine years.

    After nine years, the Elder Ones would just graduate.

    However, no one had been in the institute for that long of a time yet.

    "Special student?" one of them asked.

    "Yeah, I heard rumors." Ryan chuckled, turned his head around to look at the Young Ones

    table, and said. "You''ve heard about the guy Adam Palestar, right?"

    "That new S-ranker?" One of them nodded. "Yeah, he was big news about a couple of months ago when those news traveled here. Do you mean...?"

    "Yeah, apparently that guy joined the institute," Ryan said.

    "Damn, but it isn''t really a surprise," one of them said. "All S-rankers have studied in here, haven''t they?"

    "Apparently so." Ryan took some food into his mouth and eyed the Young Ones table.

    He was wondering who this guy was, but since there were over a thousand students present, it was hard to find him.

    At this moment, the tall and big doors opened, and in walked a man with a darkplexion and a stern expression.

    "Fuck..." Ryan was about to take a drink of water but halted and stood up abruptly.

    It wasn''t just him.

    As soon as the students saw him, they rose to their feet with equally serious expressions.

    Not a single person was happy to see him.

    The teachers rose to their feet as well and bowed respectfully to the man who had just entered the hall.

    Renard, with his back straight and a stern look on his face, walked past the students and took his spot at the center of the teacher''s table.

    As soon as he sat down, all the students and the teachers followed in suit.

    A single sound of people sitting down echoed throughout the hall.

    At the Young Ones table, Terry and Adam sat down side by side.

    "Have you met the headmaster yet?" Terry asked.

    "I did earlier today," Adam said.

    "Did you see him ugh''?" Terry asked with a smirk.

    It was pretty loud in the Young Ones table, but since they were sitting side by side, both were still able to hear each other; however, no one else was able to.

    Several students continued ncing in Adam''s direction, too nervous to go to talk to him, so they stuck to staring at him.

    "Kind of..." Adam shrugged his shoulders. "It looked like he wasughing, but in the end he wasn''t."

    "Yeah, haha." Terry looked over to the teacher''s table. "It makes him look super creepy, doesn''t it?"

    "Kind of."

    "Apparently he has someughing disorder that whenever heughs, no soundes out." "Really?" Adam''s eyebrow rose as that was something even he hadn''t heard about. "That''s why, among students, he is called Renard the Silent."

    "I assume that name is spoken in whispers?" Adam looked at him with a smile. "The students seem to fear him."

    "Renard is scary..." Terry whispered. "I mean, the headmaster. He doesn''t like when we use his real name either."

    "What kind of person do you think he is?" Adam asked. "Do you think he has kindness in his

    heart?"

    "Haha," Terryughed and had to cover his mouth to stifle hisughter. "Kindness? His heart is too small to fit kindness in."

    "Thought so." Adam chuckled and took a sip of a pint of foam-covered drink.

    BANG!

    Like a gunshot, the doors mmed open, and a figure dressed in all ck burst into the room.

    He seemed panicky, his eyes darting around the room wildly and his arms failing around as if he were swimming through the air.

    "Stop right there!" Renard''s voice boomed through the air as he stood up in anger. "The start of the dinner had already passed. If you haven''t arrived by the hall before then, you''ll be left without food. Get out!"

    The young man looked scared and shouted. "M-murder! I saw murder!"

    A surprising silence fell over the hall.

    It was usually only silent when the headmaster arrived in the hall, but this time, it was

    different.

    "Another one...?" the students whispered.

    Terry gulped and said to Adam. "There''s been a series of killingstely. It started about a

    month ago, and they still haven''t caught the killer."

    "Can''t they ask from people who got killed?" Adam asked.

    "They tried, but none of them saw the killer''s face or even a voice." Terry said with a sigh.

    "They just drop dead suddenly."

    "What''s this fool spouting..." Renard left the teacher''s table, grabbed the scared student by

    the arm, and tugged him away from the hall.

    As soon as they left, the voices of the students turned loud once again, filling the hall with

    chatter.

    The teacher also looked concerned.

    "Another murder..." a dirty-clothed student said with a sigh.

    Ryan took a sip of his drink and then said, "During the dinner? That''s bold. It should be easier

    to narrow the culprit down."

    "Right, if the killer is a student, it should be easy to narrow it down!" One of them eximed.

    "Wait..." one of them turned to one of the empty seats near them. "Where is Dn? He didn''t

    come to the dinner."

    "Dn..." Ryan looked at the empty seat. "He always disappears randomly, doesn''t he? We

    should bring this to the attention of the teachers."

    "Yeah, let''s do that!"

 Chapter 165: The Dormitory Party

    Chapter 165: The Dormitory Party

    ?

    Tap, tap, tap.

    Renard, dragging the young man behind him, walked down the hallway of a floor that looked nice with its ornate square-shaped windows and long carpet leading to a grand staircase.

    "Where did you find the body? Where?!" Renard shouted.

    "Up the staircase," the young man whispered.

    "Why were you here, huh?" Renard asked. "This is a teacher-only area."

    "I-I am Johnson''s assistant!" The young man shouted. "I was told to bring him the books from his ss!"

    "Hmph, fine." Renard pushed aside the young man, who stumbled and crashed against the wall.

    As Renard reached the staircase, he saw that the steps of the stairs had a trail of blood trickling down them, almost like the staircase was an arm that had been cut open.

    While avoiding the blood, he made his way up the stairs and soon saw an arm dangling lifelessly off the edge of the stairs, its fingers cold to touch.

    After reaching the top of the stairs, he saw a light brown-haired young man, his arms sprawled out and his eyes staring up at the ceiling, a look of horror frozen on his face.

    It looked like he had been dead for days, but that couldn''t be true as teachers used this ce every day.

    However, the dead in the Mortal Online world rotted quicker; the corpses turned cold and lifeless within minutes.

    The blood pooled around the corpse of the young man and even touched Renard''s shoes, staining them with a gruesome reminder of the violent act.

    "Tch, dirty." Renard stepped aside, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the blood off his shoes.

    After a short while, more teachers arrived at the scene and felt their blood run cold as they saw the dead student.

    It happened right in front of their office.

    It was like the killer was making fun of them.

    "Who could do this?"

    "This was a statement. The killer''s arrogance knows no bounds.

    "Last murders usually happened after the dinner when everyone was leaving to do their own things, so it was nearly impossible to track the killer.

    "Now, it happened during the dinner when everyone should be present there. Is he really that confident of not getting caught?"

    "It could also be a she." Renard said. "We need to consider all possibilities before making any assumptions."

    "O-of course."

    "Don''t let anyone leave the dinner hall. Write down everyone who was present there, and we''ll narrow it down to the ones who weren''t."

    "What about him?" A teacher looked down at the upstairs at the scared-looking student. "Should we question him?"

    "Johnson." Renard looked at the bushy-bearded teacher. "He is your assistant, yes?"

    "Yes, sir." Johnson nodded. "He was here to bring my books, which I left in my ssroom."

    "He is our main suspect, for now." Renard said. "For now, get the list of everyone that was in the dinner hall and who was not. We''ll go from there."

    "Yes, headmaster."

    "This student was..." Irene recognized him. "He''s ss B''s student, is he not?"

    "So what?"

    "His potential rank was B." Irene said. "There''s been five murders, and each one of them was B-ranked."

    "The killer is targeting potentially talented individuals?" Renard asked. "If so, why don''t go for A-rankers?"

    At that moment, one teacher walked up the stairs.

    She was the ss B''s teacher.

    "It''s because his talent was much more," she said with a hurt expression. "I was nning to rmend him to take the A-ranker test."

    Renard''s eyes widened in surprise. "What about the other four?"

    "A same situation with them. I was talking with the teachers of the students who got killed, and they were also nning on rmending them to A-rank."

    "Why not go after A-rankers, then?" one of the teachers asked.

    "He is practicing," Irene said. "This is not some professional hitman. This must be one of the students. All the murders seem clumsy, like this one''s throat was cut in a very crude manner." "A-rankers also have more eyes on them," one teacher said. "They''re also rarely alone and are with their friends. The killer most likely is practicing until they can confidently approach and attack an A-ranker."

    "Howe this ''amateur'' is able to kill everyone without being detected?" Renard asked. "Well, answer that question, detectives."

    His voice was annoyingly sarcistic.

    "He could be using a skill," one teacher said. "An invisible skill or something else."

    "So, you mean the killer could be one of the tutorial-takers?" Renard asked. "That would narrow it down even further, but you must be sure."

    "Before I came here, I was approached by my students." A teacher, who''d been silent so far, spoke out. "Apparently, one of my students, Dn, was missing from the dinner."

    "And?"

    "He''s a very reserved person. He always seems to disappear like a fart in the wind. He is also from the New World, so he has done his tutorial and came here to learn more."

    "Sounds like someone that could''ve done this." Renard said. "Bring him to my office; I''d like to speak to him personally."

    "Yes, headmaster."

    ...

    In the dormitory of the Young Ones.

    All the doors were slung open, and the students mingled with their friends in their rooms. It was like a big sleepover party.

    While they were having fun, ying cards, and some were even sneaking in snacks they weren''t supposed to have, the idea of the murder slowly faded away from their memory.

    Terry leaned out of his room, looking around the hallway of the dormitory, and then he saw something that made his heart stop.

    A group of pretty girls wereughing and chatting in front of one of the rooms. One of them happened to be Terry''s crush.

    They were living one floor above, at the girls dormitory, but they were allowed toe down to the boys dormitory.

    "Sigh..." Terry let out a deep, emotional sigh and walked back inside, where Adam was

    scrolling through an invisible screen, which he couldn''t see as it might be his system

    interface.

    "What are you looking at?"

    "Auction window." Adam said. "I put an item for sale, and it seems to finally garner some

    traction."

    "Oh, how much you''re getting?" Terry asked curiously.

    "55,555 Shinecoins, so far." Adam said with a chuckle.

    "That much?!" Terry eximed. "It must be an amazing item."

    "It''s pretty good, but I want a little bit more." Adam said and then closed the auction

    window.

    He nned to let the auction go for another few days before ending the auction.

    ''It''s just 5,555 E-dors; I want way more...'' Adam sighed.

    It was a decent weapon, as it was a legendary weapon, but there weren''t many dagger- wielders at the top echelon of the mercenary world.

    He wanted enough money to buy good armor and then have some money left for real life, as there were those installment payments that were eating into his earnings.

    ''It''s hard to make good money in the institute. One of the main money revenues I nned for myself is to go get treasure hunting and then sell some of those items.

    ''I need to use my future knowledge to the best of my ability, but I am yet too weak to go any

    of those treasure ces.''

    Knock, knock.

    At this moment, someone knocked on the open door.

    "Yo."

    "Lucas?" Terry looked over to the broad-shouldered young man whose hair was as silver as a

    moonlit night.

    He was one of the most popr students in the Young Ones, and he had captured many hearts

    during his time at the institute.

    "Adam, was it?" Lucas showed a pearly-white smile.

    "Mm, who''re you?" Adam nodded and asked.

    "Name''s Lucas; nice to meet''cha." Lucas pointed at the hallway with his thumb and said,

    "Others like to meet you, as you''re a new ssmate of ours, wannae?"

    "I don''t mind." Adam stood up and patted Terry on the shoulder. "Terry, let''s go."

    "Me too?" Terry asked in surprise.

    "Yeah, you too."

 Chapter 166: Ballet Dancer

    Chapter 166: Ballet Dancer

    ?

    "Everyone, this is Adam; treat him well, aight?"

    Lucas introduced Adam to a group of students huddled in his room at the dorm.

    They were ying cards, eating snacks, andughing loudly, but once they arrived, it turned silent, and they were all looking at Adam with their round eyes.

    It turned awkward real quick.

    "Don''t mind them; they haven''t met a celebrity yet." Lucas patted Adam on the shoulder and joined his friends on a table, where a card game was ongoing.

    "Yo, name''s Garry." An emo-haired guy said, extending his hand for a shake.

    Adam shook the hand and nodded briefly.

    As he looked around the room, he saw the gazes of the other students lingering on him, but no one really dared to speak to him.

    Terry stood by the doorway, feeling out of ce.

    This was his first time being part of a small dorm party, as he had never been invited before.

    He wasn''t the most popr guy in the ss. In fact, many of his ssmates barely knew who he was.

    He had a stigma of being a quiet boy who wouldn''t be fun at any parties, so no one bothered to invite him as they didn''t want to make the atmosphere awkward and ufortable.

    Adam''s gaze thennded on one of the young men, who was fiddling with some kind of gadget, but it looked like he didn''t understand how it worked.

    Adam approached him and said, "Hey, need any help with that?"

    "Eh?" The young man flinched after seeing him and then stared at the gadget in his hands. "I bought it from the tool shop since I thought it looked interesting, but I should''ve asked for goddamn instructions."

    "It''s from the New World, and not something that can be opened by normal means." Adam sat beside him and put his hand out. "May I?"

    "Uh, sure," the young man handed the gadget to him.

    It was cubicle-shaped and had strange symbols engraved on each side.

    It pretty much looked like a puzzle, and that''s what the young man thought as well.

    Since he was a big fan of puzzles, he bought it, but had no idea how to solve it, even though back in the real world, he had solved one of the world''s hardest puzzles.

    He was a genius at puzzle-solving.

    Lucas and others also looked over, interested about this object from the New World.

    The students often bought items from the tool shop as they were from the New World, and they were very interested in learning more about that strange, amazing world.

    ''An item from the New World?'' Terry also approached them, interested in how Adam would solve it.

    "See these lines?" Adam traced his finger across the zigzag lines that covered the surface of the item.

    Those were the outline of the strange symbols that were etched into the object.

    While the young man focused on the symbols, thinking those had some kind of clue to opening the object, Adam knew that the real key to unlocking it was with these lines.

    Adam raised his index finger, and invisible sparks began to fly out from his touch.

    Those sparks were invisible to everyone else as well, but they could hear faint cracking like lightning.

    "What''s this..." the young man whispered.

    "This is Magick, one of the Three Powers, and it is the key to unlocking this gadget."

    Adam said, and then pressed his finger against the lines, then started tracing his finger across

    the line, following the line with his finger until the symbols started to glow.

    As his Magick power flowed, the gadget began to hum and vibrate with energy. Crack.

    The gadget let out cracking sounds, and then symbols started to sink into the metallic surface.

    As the cubicle object turned smaller, the gadget let out another clicking sound, and then a small opening appeared at the top of the gadget, and a small figure of a ballet dancer started to slowly rise up with grace.

    After it rose from the object, the ballet dancer started spinning around with grace and elegance. It was slow, yet mesmerizing.

    "Eh, a ballet dancer?" The young man''s face flushed in embarrassment. "I spent fifty Shinecoins to buy this?!"

    "Pfft..."

    His friends erupted inughter and started making fun of him.

    It felt like aplete waste of money!

    "Rumors say that if you stare at this ballet dancer long enough, you''ll start to dance her like

    too." Adam said with a wry smile. "It''s made for women, I assume."

    "What a waste, aish..." the young man said, touching his head in frustration.

    Adam pushed the ballet dancer inside the gadget, and after a small click, it returned to its former state.

    "I''d like to check this tool shop; perhaps that ce has some useful stuff as well." Adam said and handed the gadget back to the young man.

    "I can show it to you, maybe you can tell us what to buy," the young man grinned.

    "Right, Adam, you''re from the New World." Lucas took his chair to them and sat down in front of them. "I am curious about hearing that ce."

    "What do you guys know?" Adam asked.

    "Nothing much," Lucas said with a wry smile.

    "I thought there were other students from the New World, aren''t there?"

    "Yeah, but apparently none of them have actually traveled the New World." Lucas said.

    ''That makes sense. Usually rookie mercenaries aren''t allowed to go anywhere dangerous until they''ve proven themselves.''

    "Not sure if I know much more than others since I''ve only been in the New World for a couple of months, but what do you want to know?"

    "About those murders, do you have any idea how the murderer has never been seen yet, even after killing so many?"

    "I bet the guy has invisible skill." Garry said with a grin. "That skill sure would be handy..."

    His friend elbowed him in the chest with a disgusted look. "Shut up, you pervert; what would

    you want to do with that skill?"

    "Nothing, nothing at all..." Garry zipped his mouth shut.

    "I doubt it is an invisible skill." Adam said. "That''s a very rare skill."

    "Hmm, I see." Lucas rubbed his chin. "What do you think of those murders?"

    "I guess the best word is griefing," Adam said.

    "Griefing?"

    Since most of them had yed otherputer games before, they recognized that term.

    "Yeah, since those who die in here and haven''t taken the tutorial yet, can''t y this game any more."

    "What?!"

    It was surprising news to them.

    "Wait, seriously?" Lucas frowned. "So is that why none of the murdered ones came back? I thought it was because they were too afraid to return."

    "It''s same as dying in the tutorial." Adam said. "If you die even once before receiving the Mercenaryman rank, you''re unable to return to the game."

    "So, that''s why it is griefing..." Lucas looked enlightened. "It''s because that killer is destroying their future and basically made their time in the institutepletely worthless!"

    "Damn, I heard that killer murdered someone who''s been in the institute for five years!"

    "Five years to a waste..."

    "The killer is heartless, that''s for sure." Adam said. "If he knows about it."

    "The killer''s victims so far have been those who haven''t taken the tutorial yet. I heard that

    one student, who has reached Beyonder rank, tried to bait the killer into killing him, but the

    killer never took the bait."

    "Interesting..." Adam intertwined his fingers. "I wonder who the killer is..."

 Chapter 167: The Killer and Detective

    Chapter 167: The Killer and Detective

    ?

    At the headmaster''s study.

    Dn looked nkly ahead at the candle on the mahogany desk.

    It was, for some reason, blue and flickering slightly, even though there was no breeze in the

    room.

    The door then opened, and Renard entered the room, his footsteps heavy and slow.

    While his gaze was on Dn, he walked around the desk and took a seat on hisfy seat with its high backend and plush cushions.

    "Do you know why I''ve invited you here, Dn?" Renard asked, his voice oozing with coldness.

    "I am not too sure, headmaster." Dn replied.

    He had ck hair like night and looked like a depressed puppy with his big, sad eyes.

    It was clear that he didn''t enjoy people''spany and preferred to keep to himself. "What were you doing during the dinner?" Renard asked.

    "I was at the library, reading," Dn replied.

    "Oh, is that so?" Renard tapped his finger on the desk. "Anyone can vouch for you?"

    Dn shook his head and said, "I was there alone. I suppose the librarian was dining as well." "Hmph..." Renard scoffed at the exnation. "Someone was killed today."

    "Oh?" Dn lowered his head and said weakly. "That''s horrible."

    It didn''t sound like he truly meant it-after all, he wasn''t really close to anyone in the institute and didn''t really care about people''s lives-as for him, this was just a video game. "What a convincing tone." Renard said sarcastically. "You fit the picture of the killer. You weren''t in the dinner when the killing happened; you''re stronger than most as you''ve taken the tutorial test, and you''re intelligent enough to not get caught."

    "If I were the killer, why would I kill someone during the dinner?" Dn said with a frown. "It would be easy to narrow it down to the ones who weren''t participating in the dinner."

    "Because I am smarter than you, and I discovered your trick." Renard said with a scoff. "What?" Dn frowned.

    "You tried to frame Johnson''s little assistant, didn''t you?" Renard said with a smirk. "He was the main suspect at first, but then I pondered deeper and realized your devious plot!"

    "What?" Dn looked lost and confused.

    "Don''t act confused!" Renard screamed. "It was all part of your n to frame him and divert attention away from yourself!"

    "No, no..." Dn shook his head. "That doesn''t make a lick of sense."

    "It does, and I''ve caught you." Renard sat back down and said. "Therefore, you''re officially expelled from my institute. Pack your stuff, and leave immediately!"

    "W-wait." Dn said in a hurry. "I didn''t do anything!"

    "Quiet down, and I''ll be sure to tell your guild master what you did, killer." Renard waved his hand. "Leave; I get sick by just looking at you!"

    "Listen to me, I didn''t do anything!" Dn shouted. "I am sure if you investigate further and check out the other murders, you can find out that I was nowhere near those when they happened!"

    "I don''t need to; I already know the truth." Renard stood up, pulled out his Floor Orb and pointed it at Dn. "Send the student to the lounge."

    "No, wait!" Dn shouted, but then got sucked inside the orb and was teleported straight to the bottom floor of the tree.

    As his foot touched the lounge''s marble and wood floor, he copsed onto the ground in shock.

    "That fool..." Dn gritted his teeth. "If he had just investigated further, what a fucking fool. The librarian could''ve vouched for me that I was nowhere near one of those murders!"

    It frustrated him to the end, and his hate for the headmaster deepened.

    The headmaster always thought he was the smartest person in the room, but in Dn''s opinion, he was the most arrogant and ignorant person he had ever met.

    "I''ll tell my guild master the truth, and I am sure he will contact the headmaster to get the truth of this matter..."

    Dn stood up, looked back to the top with hate in his eyes, and then walked out of the door, heading to the exit of the tree.

    As he walked down the wooden hallway, he kept muttering to himself about how he would make Renard pay for what he did.

    ''That idiot only cares about his image. He doesn''t know who he''s dealing with. I''ll ruin him by discovering the true identity of the killer!''

    Stab!

    Like a sudden thunderbolt, a de of silvery steel pierced through the back of his neck, went cleanly through his throat, and emerged from his mouth.

    "?!"

    Dn''s eyes widened in shock as he tasted blood and steel. His heart started racing like a racing horse galloping towards the finish line, which in this case was death.

    "Thanks for taking the wall; I''ll appreciate it." The killer spoke in his ear, "I could always count on the headmaster''s ignorance~"

    Dn''s eyes widened in shock as he recognized that voice.

    He wanted to say the killer''s real name but couldn''t utter a single word because of the de in

    his mouth.

    "You won''t remember any of this either way. You won''t even remember that you got

    expelled."

    The killer whispered, then pushed a bottle of Forget Powder down Dn''s throat.

    ''Forget Powder, no!'' Dn''s eyes shook. ''I''ll forget everything, no!''

    "Bye, bye..." The killer chuckled in his ear, then took the steel de out of his mouth and

    sliced through his head, severing it from his body.

    Dn copsed on the ground, headless, and while he was slowly fading away from existence, he could still hear the killer''sughter echoing in his mind.

    ''No...''

    With that, his eyes turned nk and his life slipped away.

    The killer''sughter slowly faded away as well as he disappeared into the darkness, leaving

    behind a lifeless body.

    The hallway was now empty except for the bleeding corpse.

    However, since it would take another four to five hours before the night fell, the corpse would disappear way before the two guards, Ilkin and Willibert, returned from outside.

    ...

    A pleasant piano music yed from a music box resting on a nearby table. It worked with the Magick Energy crystals powering it.

    While the music made the atmospherefy, Renard, wearing a bathrobe and slippers, took a seat on his reclining chair while enjoying a cup of warm chamomile tea.

    "Lla~" He sang alongside the piano music and then took a sip of the tea.

    He was in a very good mood after, in his opinion, discovering the culprit of the killings

    basically single-handedly.

    "A fool tried to trick me; haha, I am not that stupid." Renard smirked and put the tea on the table next to his book.

    ''I would be great detective, solving crimes left and right,'' he thought to himself with a

    chuckle.

    At this moment, the door opened with a gentle creak, and a long-legged woman entered the

    room.

    She had quite heavy make-up on her face, which made her look slightly older than she probably was, but she had a great body and was dressed very professionally.

    "Headmaster." The woman''s voice was very high-pitched, and she seemed slightly out of

    breath as she spoke. "Good work today."

    "Bertha, take off your clothes and join me in the bath; we''ve got a lot to celebrate today." Renard said with a smirk and emptied his tea cup with one long sip.

    "I''ll be right there." Bertha bowed with a shy smile and went to the other room to undress. ''Detective Renard has a pretty good ring to it.'' Renard smirked.

 Chapter 168: Herbology

    Chapter 168: Herbology

    ?

    The weeks flew by.

    It was history week, thus the sses were all about the history of the New World.

    While it was interesting for other students, Adam basically shut down his brain for those sses and barely paid attention, but he was thinking about his future ns.

    Eldertree Institute had Christmas holidays, and during those holidays, there weren''t any sses or mandatory attendance, so the students could do whatever they wanted.

    While the students spent the time back in the real world, having fun with Christmas, Adam nned to visit the New World without any overbearing restrictions.

    However, it was currently the fifth month of the year, and the Christmas holidays were still seven months ago.

    On the other hand, his auction item had broken the 70,000 Shinecoin barrier.

    It was slowing down, but the amount was still increasing with each passing day.

    It was fun to see the money increase like that, as it felt like his bank ount was swelling each day.

    However, he doubted he could earn enough to pay the whole Z Package.

    There was no way anyone would pay three million Shinecoins for the dagger, so during Christmas holidays, he nned to go do some treasure hunting to pay off the package.

    Since there was still a lot of time before then, Adam focused his attention on strengthening himself.

    At this very day, all the sses and the dinner had ended.

    The gym was active with people working out.

    At the furthest corners of the gym, where it was peaceful and quiet, Adam did biceps curls, the warm sweat rolling down his forehead.

    The daily training had not been naught, as he could feel his muscles getting stronger with each repetition.

    "Whoo..." Terry let out a satisfied sigh as he finished his final set of bench presses.

    He then sat up on it, took his towel, and wiped the sweat away.

    For the past week, he''d been joining Adam in the gym, and at first, it was almost like torture, as every morning his body was screaming in pain, even though it was just his virtual body.

    However, for some odd reason, his real body was feeling way better, like he was living in bliss.

    Adam exined that it was the magic of the workout and the tinum Virtual Reality Pod. If you trained in the Mortal Online, its effect would reach the real body, and you would feel the physical benefits in no time.

    It was surprising to Terry as he had no idea.

    The other ranked pods didn''t have as strong of an effect; that''s why the tinum VR Pod was a must-have, as its benefits were much greater than any money spent on it.

    "Did you hear about what''s happening tomorrow?" Terry asked while taking a sip of his water

    canteen.

    "No..." Adam said with a grunt while finishing up his set of bicep curls, then he put the dumbbells back on the rack.

    "We have teacher Bertha''s ss." Terry said with an ugly expression. "She is very annoying, and every student hates her, but beside that, apparently we are going to the forest."

    "To the forest?" Adam looked interested. "You mean the outside forest?"

    "Yep." Terry nodded. "We''re supposed to go gather some herbs, but it''s dangerous outside..."

    "Yeah, while the night is the most dangerous time here, the daytime is not some pic time either. This is twenty-fifth floor, after all."

    "We''ve been outside before, but very close to the Eldertree." Terry said. "The monsters don''t really approach the Eldertree, but they can; nothing is stopping them from doing so."

    ''Bertha must be a teacher of Herbology.'' Adam thought to himself. ''It is a dead art, but maybe I should try to learn it? It coulde in handy, especially the poison aspect of the Herbology."

    -

    The students, dressed in their mandatory school outdoor uniforms, were waiting in the lounge, awaiting for their teacher so they could depart to the forest.

    It made many of them excited but also nervous, as the outside world was quite dangerous.

    Adam, standing beside Terry, straightened the sleeves of his school jacket. It was light blue in color with white flowers embroidered on it.

    It was very nice looking, but Adam was more interested in the fabric.

    ''This jacket has good defensive capabilities. I suppose they didn''t allow us to go to the forestpletely unprotected.''

    At that moment, a whirlpool of light descended from the air andnded at the lounge.

    From the whirlpool of light, Bertha emerged, attired in outdoor clothes that clung to her body like a wet rag.

    She wasn''t smiling as her mouth was a straight line, and she even looked little bit annoyed when she looked at the students present.

    "Move into teams of two. I give each team a recipe of herbs and spices to find in the forest. The team thatpletes it first will have a prize waiting for them at the end of the day."

    It interested the students clearly, and the close friends already started to create teams.

    "Shall we be a team?" Terry asked with a smile.

    "Sure." Adam nodded.

    Seeing the bustle of the students, Bertha frowned and said, "I haven''t said the teams yet, so quiet down. I am not allowing you to create your own teams; otherwise, all you will do is fool around and not take this seriously!"

    The students looked disappointed and had a hunch that Bertha was nning to do this. It wasn''t secret to them that she absolutely hated every single student in the institute.

    They were wondering why she even became a teacher if she hated teaching so much.

    "Ah, cursed..." Terry started to feel nervous, as he didn''t know anyone else that well.

    He looked around the lounge and felt his face turn cold as he saw a group of three-Noel, Renee, and Jake-ncing in their direction with hate.

    They had finally gotten out of their week-long detention.

    After a week of sitting in a dark room and having time to think, they realized that Adam must''ve done something to them.

    It scared them as it was like a work of a god.

    The whole stair disappearance seemed so real that they still had nightmares about it.

    Their nightmares have them falling down to their deaths, and they always jolted awake in a

    state of shock, still feeling like they were falling.

    It was all Adam''s doings.

    Bertha started making teams. She made sure that the teams included two people that clearly

    weren''t close with each other.

    "Terry." She finally came to her and said, "Go join Noel."

    "Eh..." Terry panicked. "C-can I get someone else?"

    "Go!" Bertha screamed.

    Terry, panicked and nervous, reluctantly walked over to Noel.

    Noel''s eyes turned cold, and he was repeatedly clenching and opening his hands.

    "Now, Adam..." Bertha looked at the young man for a split second longer than others and

    said, "You''re with Yuri."

    ''Yuri?'' Adam saw that there was one person without any par yet.

    She looked like a timid-looking student with squinted eyes and a nervous look on her face with a small smile trying to break through.

    Adam walked over to her slowly, then nodded to her-she returned the nod-then they stood side-by-side, waiting for the signal to leave.

    Bertha handed every team a parchment paper of the recipe and then went to open the door.

    "You have five hours to find every herb and spice!" Bertha opened the door. "Go!"

 Chapter 169: Weakling

    Chapter 169: Weakling

    ?

    The sun''s brilliant glow fell over the trees, creating shadows across the grassy, muddy terrain as a gentle breeze rustled the leaves above.

    The students stayed near the Eldertree, looking at the parchment paper in their hands with a frown on their faces.

    They kept picking up different kinds of nts, fungi, and flowers to examine them more closely, but some of them didn''t have any idea what those herbs and spices looked like.

    For fear of encountering monsters, no one dared to go too far into the forest.

    Yuri crouched beside a nt with unique, different-colored leaves.

    The nt had a total of seven leaves, each leaf a different color of the rainbow.

    "This must be something, right?" Yuri looked behind at Adam. "Is this part of the list?"

    "That''s Rainbow nt; is it included in the recipe?" Adam asked.

    Yuri read throughout the parchment paper, then regretfully shook her head.

    "No..."

    "Then we keep searching." Adam said and looked deeper into the forest. "I doubt the teacher included any of the herbs and spices that are in the vicinity of the Eldertree. I have a hunch that she wants us to go deeper into the forest."

    "Isn''t that dangerous?" Yuri asked. "There are monsters."

    "We won''t go too far," Adam said.

    He saw that all the students had only ventured ten meters out into the forest. They all could still see the door that led back to the institute, a door that was guarded by Ilkin and Willibert.

    Bertha was just standing still, annoyance in her features. She looked like she was always annoyed by something.

    "Let''s go." Adam said, and Yuri reluctantly followed after him.

    Other students watched as they walked away, and no one dared to follow them.

    A distance away, Terry awkwardly stood behind Noel, who hadn''t spoken a word and was just looking at the nts, the roots that protruded from soil and seeds.

    Noel clearly didn''t know what any of the herbs and spices in the recipe looked like-however, Terry knew as he had studied well, but he was too afraid to say anything.

    The silence was killing him.

    At this point, he would prefer Noel''s verbal bullying, as at least it would be clear that he was angry.

    Noel dug his fingers in the soil and ripped the roots of the flowers out of the ground.

    He had a cold look on his face, and he couldn''t help but remember a conversation he had with his brother a few days ago.

    ...

    A few days ago, somewhere in the real world.

    In a well-furnished room with a gaming console and a t screen TV showing action-packed gamey.

    On the sofa, ankily built man moved his thumbs furiously across the controller, his eyes glued to the screen.

    "Brother, were you listening to me?!" Noel shouted from sidelines.

    He was furious, as he had spent thest few days stuck in that detention room.

    The detention room had no sunlight. It was dark and silent for every hour of the day. He was unclear how long he''d been stuck inside the detention!

    At this moment, a font with bold red letters saying "DEAD" appeared on the screen.

    The man scoffed and put the controller away.

    "What do you want, lil bro?"

    "I want you toe to the Eldertree Institute and kill someone for me!" Noel said with a shout.

    "Huh?" His brother looked at him beforeughing. "Ahaha, you can''t handle your own battles?"

    "It''s not that..." Noel gritted his teeth. "He has unfair advantage as he is mercenary already!" "I am not your personal hitman." His brother said with a shrug. "Who is it that you want to die either way? Perhaps I know him."

    Noel turned silent, and then, with a soft whisper, he said. "Adam Palestar."

    "Pfft!" His brother spat out in disbelief and then rose to his feet in anger. "Are you crazy?!"

    "What?" Noel frowned. "You''re stronger than him. If I lure him outside and you''re there waiting, it will be an easy kill."

    At this moment, his brother slugged him in the face, and Noel went flying backwards, crashing into the wall behind him.

    It was almost like his punch was as strong as a cannon shot.

    "A-ah, my face!" Noel cried out in pain and rolled on the floor, holding his injured mouth.

    "Why the fuck are you so stupid?" His brother asked genuinely. "Were you dropped as a child or what? How are you this fucking stupid?"

    "It''s just freaking one person!" Noel screamed. "Are you afraid of being caught? Since when did your balls drop, brother?!"

    "Hahahaha..." His brother justughed and shook his head. "Did you anger him?"

    "Huh?"

    "Did you make enemies out of him?"

    "..." Noel scoffed.

    "Of course..." his brother pinched his forehead and then said. "Apologize to him

    immediately."

    "Huh, the fuck?" Noel stood up and shouted. "I am not some little bitch!"

    "Now you are." His brother said and grabbed Noel by his cor. "You are now his little bitch. You''ll do whatever he wants; are you listening to me?"

    "No, I fucking won''t!" Noel tried to take his hand away from him butcked the strength to do so. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

    "I don''t let you drag our name in the mud because of your childish antics." His brother said coldly. "Your actions have consequences, you stupid fuck. If my guild hears that my little brother made enemies out of fucking S-ranker, what do you think they''ll do to me?"

    "Argh..." Noel gritted his teeth. "I won''t apologize to anyone..."

    "Hah..." His brother let go of him and shook his head. "Fine. I hope the S-ranker thinks that

    you are far too insignificant to care about."

    Noel clenched his hands, anger swelling up inside him.

    ...

    At the Eldertree Forest.

    Noel stopped ripping the roots, his eyes shing with coldness.

    "H-hey, I-I think I saw one of the nts deeper in the forest." Terry said nervously behind

    him. "T-Terminal us nt, I-I think I saw it."

    Noel turned around to look at the nervous-looking young man, and then the anger inside him

    started to boil over.

    Without any warning, Noel grabbed Terry by the hair and smashed his face into the dirt,

    causing his screams toe out as muffled pleas for mercy.

    "Shut the fuck up." Noel said coldly into his ear. "I''m done with your bullshit."

    Bertha witnessed it, but she didn''t seem to care as she simply averted her gaze, pretending

    like she didn''t see a thing.

    Instead of focusing on the ss, she was thinking about what dress she should wearter tonight as she was going to meet with Renard once again.

    The other students saw it, but just simply averted their gazes and focused on finding the herbs

    instead.

    Noel removed Terry''s face from the dirt and turned his head just so he could stare into his

    eyes.

    "You think you''re bully-free because you are following S-ranker like a fucking puppy?"

    Terry''s eyes looked unfocused, and he didn''t dare to speak another word.

    "You''re still the same fucking coward as before, and it is only a matter of time before he gets

    tired of you as well."

    Noel said and smashed his face on the dirt again.

    "Know your ce, weakling!"

 Chapter 170: Shocking Honesty

    Chapter 170: Shocking Honesty

    ?

    Yuri held soil-covered seeds in her small hands, carefully looking at them.

    She had been learning about Herbology and its thousands of different nts for her sses, but not enough to know every seed from her memory.

    She spent most of her time learning Magick from a genius magician, Kevin, who had taught her all of the basics.

    After doing her tutorial, she nned on bing a magician, so she only learned the basics of Herbology to not get a bad grade.

    "Uh..." Yuri turned to her partner and showed the seeds. "Do you know what these are?"

    "They''re Karceless seeds," Adam replied, recognizing the small, ck seeds in Yuri''s hand.

    "Karceless seeds..." Yuri checked the recipe, and a smile blossomed on her face. "It''s in the recipe!"

    "Here." Adam handed her a small ss jar, knowing that she would need it to properly store the seeds.

    After she put the seeds inside the jar, Adam closed it tightly and stored it inside his inventory. "How do you know so much about seeds and nts?" Yuri asked curiously as she stood up from the soil-covered ground, her knees covered in dirt.

    "I knew someone that was very into Herbology." Adam said with a tone filled with nostalgia. "She found sce and peace in her garden, and I found sce in listening to her talk about

    it."

    "Oh, it sounds like you two were close." Yuri said with a curious tone.

    She wondered who could make him-S-ranker-show such expression.

    "What is her name?" Yuri asked.

    "Lisa."

    "She sounds like a nice person." Yuri said with a smile and then hopped off to another area of the forest to search for more ingredients for the recipe.

    Adam slipped his hands inside his pockets and followed after her.

    Yuri found a quite unique nt that she had never seen before.

    Its petals were a vibrant shade of blue, and it was oozing a sweet, fragrant liquid.

    "What''s this?" Yuri asked, bending down to inspect it.

    "Sweet Blue nt." Adam said. "Its liquid is only an important part. Is it included in the recipe?"

    Yuri quickly checked it out and said. "Sweet Blue nt''s liquid, 100 ml."

    "Alright." Adam took out another empty jar, ced it under the nt, and began carefully collecting the liquid.

    The jar was soon half-full.

    He collected more than 100 ml, but he doubted that it would matter as more was merrier. After putting the jar inside his inventory, they headed to search for the next ingredient.

    They had been working at a nice and leisurely pace, almost half of the ingredients already gathered, and it hadn''t even been an hour.

    "Where''s this Lisa now?" Yuri asked.

    She usually enjoyed the quietness as she wasn''t the most social person, but she was very interested in knowing more about him as he seemed very mysterious.

    "Where..." Adam took a deep breath and said. "Somewhere in Klovend with her brother." "Klovend, wow." Yuri muttered to herself. "Are you also from there?"

    "No, I am from Hignds," Adam said.

    "Oh, you met this Lisa in the New World?" Yuri asked and then picked up one of the seeds from the ground, which she recognized as one of the ingredients for the recipe.

    "I did," Adam said.

    "You must be missing her, the way you''re talking about her." Yuri said. "Will you meet her once you leave this ce?"

    "I am nning to meet her." Adam said. "In three years."

    "Three years?" Yuri took her own jar from her inventory and put the seeds inside. "That''s a long time, no?"

    "It is, but I am patient yer." Adam said.

    "Are you dating her or?" Yuri asked as she stood up and headed even deeper to the forest.

    As Adam followed after her, he said. "I used to."

    "Used to?" Yuri curiously looked at him.

    "Yeah, we broke up," Adam said.

    "Oh, I thought the way you talked about her, you two were still a thing." Yuri hummed in surprise. "You still like her?"

    Adam didn''t answer that question and just kept walking behind her.

    "Uhm..."

    After not receiving an answer, Yuri asked another one.

    "Why did you two break up?"

    "I liked her. She liked me back. But, in the end, we simply didn''t have the chemistry."

    "Oh..." Yuri hadn''t dated anyone, so she couldn''t really understand what he meant by the

    chemistry.

    "When I was dating her, I felt like something was wrong." Adam said. "I liked her, I truly did, and I had fun with her, but I always felt like she wasn''t the one. It''s strange."

    "Like she wasn''t your soulmate?" Yuri asked.

    "Soulmate?" Adam looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "I don''t believe in soulmates, but yeah, I always felt like there was someone else in the world for me."

    "If you like her enough, maybe you should try to rekindle the candle with her." Yuri

    suggested.

    Adamughed and shook his head. "No, that ship has passed."

    "Then why''re you nning to meet her in three years?" Yuri asked. "It sounds like you''re very

    excited to meet her."

    "I n on killing her."

    "Huh?" Yuri stopped in her tracks and looked at him in shock. "Are you serious?"

    Adam just smiled and plucked a nt from the ground.

    "Yrhm''s nt." He handed it over to her. "Thest ingredient in the recipe."

    "Eh..." Yuri took it to her arms and looked at him in surprise.

    She wasn''t sure whether he was joking and this was just one of his darkedy jokes, but when she looked at his face, she felt conflicted.

    It didn''t seem like he was joking.

    "Shall we return?" Adam asked and started heading back. "I want to win the prize, after all~"

    "Ah, alright..." Yuri jogged after him but couldn''t shake the feeling of unease that had settled

    in her stomach.

    She kept a short distance to Adam for the whole way back.

    After a few hundred meters of walking, they arrived back at the Eldertree and saw that there were still some groups desperately trying to find any ingredients nearby.

    However, it was painfully clear that there weren''t any, and other groups had found that out

    already.

    Bertha was standing in the same ce as she saw an hour ago. It didn''t look like she was focusing on anything that was happening around her, as she was stuck inside her mind.

    "Teacher!" Yuri hopped over to her.

    Bertha woke back up and looked at the chirpy young man, and in annoyance, she asked.

    "What?"

    "We''ve got all of our ingredients already." Yuri said with a smile.

    Bertha''s eyebrow jumped in surprise, and she looked over to Adam, who was her partner.

    "Are you sure you got the correct ingredients?"

    "Y-yeah..." Yuri said with a nod.

    She was still slightly hesitant whether Adam actually knew the correct seeds and nts.

    He acted in a very convincing manner, but some nts and seeds look very simr to each

    other.

    "Show me them."

    Yuri and Adam took out the jars filled with seeds, nt juice, and some nts.

    Bertha checked all of them closely, and after doing so, she was genuinely surprised.

    "All are correct..."

    "Yes!" Yuri cheered and looked at Adam with a big smile.

    "Good job." Bertha said. "You two may return to the institute, if you want to. I''ll give you

    your reward after the ss has ended."

    "Mm." Yuri nodded with a smile.

    Adam immediately nned to take a trip to the gym. He had be slightly addicted to weightlifting as he had finally started to see his body improving greatly.

    He felt like his current Tank skills wereckluster, as he didn''t have physique big enough to

    take full advantage of his skills and knowledge.

    It''s also the reason why no one had taken him seriously as Tanker, as no one expected someone as scrawny as him to be able to protect anyone.

    As Adam was about to return to the institute, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

    He turned around and saw an unfamiliar face-clearly one of the students-look at him with

    a hesitant gaze.

    "What is it?" Adam asked. "Who''re you?"

    "Uhm..." the student stammered and said. "Y-you''re Terry''s friend, right?"

    "Yes?" Adam raised an eyebrow.

    "Well..." the student looked around, and after seeing that no one was watching, he said. "Noel

    and his two friends took Terry somewhere. It didn''t look like they were going to have a

    friendly chat."

    "Is that so..." Adam looked deep into the forest, tapped the student on the shoulder, and started heading into the forest.

    "Adam, where''re you going?" Yuri asked, but after seeing that he wasn''t replying, she frowned and decided to follow after him.

 Chapter 171: Sleepwalker Poison

    Chapter 171: Sleepwalker Poison

    ?

    Terry rolled down a hill, bouncing and tumbling until he finally came to a stop at the bottom. He groaned in pain and looked around at the strange underground cave he hadnded in. Roots, moss, and dripping water surrounded him in the eerie darkness.

    At that moment, three figures slid down the same hill and arrived at the underground cave.

    One of them brought a torch that illuminated the cave''s walls.

    It looked like the ceiling and walls were made out of blocks of dirt and tree roots. The air was thick with a musty smell, and the sound of dripping water echoed through the cave.

    At the end of the cave, there was an enormous, thick tree trunk that seemed to be stuck inside the wall. This cave was clearly next to one of the big trees, and the ceiling above was just the forest ground above.

    This strange cave seemed to be nature-made.

    "What''s this ce?" Terry asked fearfully.

    "We found this a while back." Noel said with a grin. "I happened to identally fall into this hole, and like you, I rolled all the way here."

    Terry gulped.

    "In here, no one will be able to find us." Renee said with a giggle.

    "W-why''re two of you here?" Terry asked, looking at Renee and Jake. "Two of you have different partners, don''t you?"

    "We don''t care about this worthless fucking ss." Jake said with a scoff. "Noel wanted us to teach you a lesson or two, so here we are."

    "Is this really necessary?" Terry asked. "I haven''t even done anything to you guys!"

    "You fool, you''re just bait." Noel said with a grin and drove his fist into Terry''s stomach.

    Terry copsed on his knees and coughed loudly, which brought out his breakfast all over the ground.

    "We''ve sent Jake''s partner to inform Adam about us taking you." Noel said. "We''ve also given enough hints where we are, so if your friend still can''t find us, I am truly disappointed."

    "Hahaha..." Terryughed painfully. "Y-you think you can beat him in a fight?"

    "Of course not." Noel said. "It''s an unfair fight to begin with. He has the system. If I had a system, yes, I believe I could easily win against him, but I don''t, so we need to rely on other things."

    "Huh?"

    "Jake."

    Jake, with a smile, brought out a needle with strange ck liquid dripping from its tip and handed it over to Noel.

    "This is Sleepwalker Spider''s poison." Noel said with a chuckle. "With one drip of this poison, one will fall into a deep sleep for a long time~"

    "That won''t be enough..." Terry said and screamed. "He''ll just kill all of you!"

    "That''s what you think." Noel chuckled. "You think this poison just makes him a little bit

    sleepy? It has special functions, such aspletely nullifying his skills.

    "Meaning, he can''t use his illusions~"

    Terry''s eyes shook as he realized the full extent of Noel''s n.

    "Today, we''ll kill S-ranker." Noelughed.

    ''They''ll kill me as well...'' Terry gulped. ''There''s no way they want any witnesses!''

    ...

    "Where''re you going?" Yuri jogged after Adam, panting as she struggled to keep up with his pace.

    "Go back," Adam said.

    His eyes followed the footsteps on the ground that led deep into the forest. Even they didn''t go that deep when they were searching for the ingredients.

    "If something happened, shouldn''t we talk to the teacher?" Yuri asked.

    "If you want to do things right, you''ll do it yourself." Adam said.

    He then extended his Kiryoku once again and then felt slight emotionsing from very near.

    It didn''t seem like they wereing from above the ground, but instead from somewhere in the ground.

    ''Underground?''

    Adam quickly followed the footsteps and found a nature-made hole near an enormous tree. The footsteps ended at the edge of the hole, disappearing into the darkness below. "Don''t tell me you''re nning to go there." Yuri said, her voice oozing with concern. "Go back," Adam said, then jumped down the hole and started sliding down.

    Yuri bit her lip and turned around at first, but then she sighed, turned back around, and jumped down the hill. Her screams faded into the darkness.

    ...

    After sliding and bouncing for what felt like hours, Adam finallynded on solid ground.

    The cave was dimly lit, but there was a torch lying on the ground nearby.

    Adam''s eyes narrowed as he felt emotionsing from the darkness. Then, he felt something approaching him.

    With a single backstep, he dodged something very small but incredibly fast.

    He couldn''t tell what it was.

    "Haaa!" With loud shouts, Jake rushed in with a broadsword and swung it at Adam.

    Adam grabbed him by the wrist, twisted his arm, and made him drop the sword, then kicked

    him in the groin with a ball-crushing force.

    Jake let out a painful scream and fell down on the ground on all fours.

    "Where''s Terry?" Adam asked coldly.

    "He''s here." Noel came from the darkness, dragging Terry behind him from his hair. "A little bitch of yours, just as ordered."

    Terry tried to shout something, but his mouth was covered by a mouth gag. It sounded like there was something very urgent that he wanted to convey.

    Adam pulled out his sword from his inventory. Its de seemed to have been sharpened

    recently.

    "Ohoh, not that fast." Noel grinned and put the de of his sword against Terry''s throat. "Lower your weapon or you''ll friend will have a quick end."

    Adam lowered his weapon, the tip of the de facing the ground, but he didn''t drop it.

    "You can still survive." Adam said to Noel. "You have three seconds to let him go or you''ll

    die."

    "Heh, I''m not the one who''s going to die here." Noel grinned.

    Adam frowned, and at that moment, something sharp stabbed him at the back of his neck.

    His eyes widened in shock, and a wave of sleepiness came over him like a tidal wave.

    He touched the back of his neck, then turned around and saw Yuri, tears falling from her eyes, holding some kind of needle.

    "What..."

    "I-I am sorry..." Yuri said with tears on her face. "I-I also want the bullying to end."

    "Heh, good job, ugly Yuri!" Renee giggled from the darkness.

    Terry screamed loudly, but everything came out muffled.

    Noel let go of Terry and made him drop to the ground.

    Terry couldn''t move an inch as his limbs were tied tightly with rope.

    "Sleepwalker Poison, how''re you feeling?" Noelughed loudly. "You didn''t see that

    happening, now did you?"

    Adam looked at Yuri, his eyes shaking and he took a step back in a shock.

    It made him remember something that he had been trying to forget.

    A memory that had been haunting his dreams ever since his regression.

    Liam''s face reced Yuri''s, and this scenario felt exactly the same. The same feeling of betrayal dug into his heart like the ws of a ferocious beast.

    Adam''s eyes started to sink into a deep, dark pool of despair.

    The sleepiness tried to corrupt every single part of his mind, but he fought against it with all

    his might, and slowly, the mana ocean in his mind started to run crimson and its waves turned

    high as skyscrapers.

    "I-I am sorry..." Yuri whispered, tears streaming down his face.

    Adam swung his sword and sliced through her body in one clean stroke.

    Her legs fell to the left and her torso to the right, blood spilling out onto the ground.

    She was still screaming and crying, but then everything turned dark for her as her death came

    as quick as the strike of his sword.

    Noel, Jake, and Renee turned silent.

    The atmosphere turned suffocating, like someone was pushing a pillow over their faces.

    Terry''s screams also stopped. He was just looking with his wide eyes.

    Then, slowly, Adam turned around to face them; his navy eyes had turned red, and his mouth

    had shifted into a rageful smile.

    In his eyes, Noel''s face had changed that of Cmity; Jake looked like Nikhs; Renee looked like Lisa; Terry looked like Amelia.

    "You trying to betray me?" Adam''sugh sounded sinister, and then he took a step forward.

    "I thought we were friends."

    "W-why is the poison not working?!" Renee shouted.

    "I followed the recipe perfectly!" Noel screamed.

    "No, the poison is working!" Jake shouted. "He is just trying to act tough. Just kill him!"

    "Shut up, Nikhs." Adam said, looking at Jake with his red eyes. "You were always the

    loudest one, but you won''t be making noise for much longer." ''Nikhs, who?'' Terry frowned. ''What is happening to him?''

 Chapter 172: The Wings of Berserker

    Chapter 172: The Wings of Berserker

    ?

    Rage!

    Adam''s memories gotpletely rewritten.

    It was like he had returned to that day. The day of the betrayal.

    "It''s fine!" Noel tried to calm down his panicky friends. "He can''t use any of his skills. We should be able to still kill him with ease!"

    "Y-yeah, you''re right..." Jake nodded hesitantly.

    Renee licked her dry lips, but then heard something behind her.

    She turned around slightly and saw the roots of the tree slither like snakes in the darkness.

    ''What''s that?''

    "Renee, focus!" Noel screamed.

    "A-ah, I am sorry!" Renee turned to face Adam and held her thin-ded sword tightly in her hand.

    Adam, with sword in right and shield in left, took a strong step forward.

    Strangely enough, his veins were pulsing around his arms like snakes slithering beneath his skin, emitting reddish radiance as if his body were on fire.

    His current state was not unheard of. It had happened to a couple of people before, but it was still a rare phenomenon.

    It had received the name of Berserker State or Lethal Rage.

    In this state, a person wouldn''t be able to tell friend from foe, and those who had undergone this state often had no recollection of their actions afterward and instead found all of their enemies and friends brutally in afterward.

    Thus, both names were quite fitting.

    The back of Adam''s jacket ripped open, and his exposed back looked like it was swelling, and then strange wing-like appendages burst out from his skin.

    Those "wings" started to look more like the petals of a flower-red and orange-and around eight of those petals sprouted from his back, making him look like some kind of mystical creature.

    Ding, ding!

    [Second Mystery, Berserker Rage, has been unraveled!]

    [Berserker Rage: Its state originated from the Little God, who was once known as the Angry God of Tantrums. Whenever He threw a temper tantrum, the world trembled in fear, and disasters would befall thend.

    [During His tantrums, no one could calm Him down, not even the other gods. Those tantrums oftensted thousands of years.

    [When He finally reached adulthood, the Angry God of Tantrums mellowed out and became a peaceful deity, eventually receiving the title of the Little God.

    [While the Angry God of Tantrums no longer exists, His famous Berserker Rage is still part of every single living human being]

    [Third Power Unlocked!]

    [3rd Power: The Wings of Berserker]

    "W-what the fuck are those on his back?" Renee asked, thinking that those wings looked very beautiful. "He wasn''t supposed to be able to use any skills!"

    "Did the Sleepwalker Poison fail?" Noel felt frightened and started backing off.

    Unfortunately, while this ce was hidden nicely, there was only one exit, and Adam was currently standing right in front of it!

    There was no escape!

    Noel then saw Terry on the ground, as shocked as the rest of them, and then picked up him, and ced him in front to act as a meat shield.

    "Don''t move an inch, Adam, or your friend will die!" Noel screamed.

    Renee and Jake also moved behind Terry.

    "Amelia, you betrayed me for these kinds of people?" Adam said while looking at Terry. "How funny."

    ''Amelia?'' Terry didn''t know who that was. ''Is he talking to me?''

    Adam put his arms close to his chest, and then his wings sprouted outwards, and with one leap forward, he soared across the cave like a majestic eagle.

    "I''ll really kill him!" Noel shouted while cing his de against Terry''s throat, but soon noticed that Adam didn''t seem to care even the slightest!

    Adam ced the flower-petaled wings in front of him like a shield and rammed straight into the four people, sending all of them flying through the air like ragdolls.

    Their backs crashed against the enormous tree, leaving them dazed and confused on the ground.

    "I-I need to escape..." Renee stood up with her jelly-like legs, barely able to stand. "We''ll die..."

    One of the orange, flower-petaled wings shot forward and impaled through Renee''s chest, nailing her into the tree like a bizarre crucifixion.

    "A-ah!" Renee gasped in pain and shock.

    "Renee!" Jake shouted in anger and ran towards Adam with his broad-ded sword in hand.

    Then, the left-sided wings unfolded and shed through Jake with their razor-sharp edges, leaving him lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

    He was still alive-barely.

    "How is this possible..." Noel clumsily took out the rest of the poison needles from his pouch and then tossed all of them over to Adam.

    He hoped that at least one would hit.

    The left-sided wings opened up in front of the needles and blocked all of the hundred tiny, poison-d needles.

    The wings were so durable that none of those needles managed to break through, thus the poison didn''t manage to do anything.

    "Cmity, I didn''t expect you to be this weak."

    Adam said, then, with his unfurled wings, flew at Noel, grabbed him by the throat, and

    mmed him against the tree with ferocious force.

    Noel gasped for air as he struggled against Adam''s grip.

    Adam pulled back his head and then headbutted him straight on the nose, breaking it and

    causing blood to gush out.

    The three friends were now all gasping in pain.

    Renee, still impaled by one of the wings, felt her life slowly drain away.

    Jake was nearly unconscious. If left unattended, he would die in a couple of minutes.

    "G-god damn it..." Noel mumbled through clenched teeth as he struggled to stay conscious and figure out what to do next.

    Adam revealed his steel-ded sword and impaled Noel through the chest. He left him there, dangling there with his feet off the ground and sword in the chest.

    "Now, onest person~" Adam turned to the tied-up Terry, a look of terror in his eyes.

    He tried to scream for Adam to stop as he realized that he wasn''t in the right state of mind as he was clearly thinking that he was someone else!

    However, not a single word of his came that sounded understandable. Instead, all that came out was muffled shouts.

    Adam pulled out his sword from Noel''s chest, letting him fall to the ground, and then

    crouched in front of Terry, ignoring his tied-up state, and just coldly looked down at him

    while his wings moved behind him in a mesmerizing dance.

    "Amelia, I should''ve seen it. I should''ve known that you were a snake. Why was I so blind?"

    Terry tried to scream, but again muffled.

    "Amelia..." Adam frowned and lowered his head with an unfocused look. "Wait, didn''t you just join Crimson Hounds? No, we''re part of tinum Mercenaries, or am I?"

    Slowly, the face of Amelia vanished, and it was reced by Terry''s teary visage. "Terry?" Adam looked at him in shock and quickly removed his mouth gag. "Are you alright?"

    "Ah..." Terry breathed in relief. "Y-you remember me? What the heck was that?"

    "Uh..." Adam touched his head, and it felt like he had a pounding headache.

    When he turned to look at the other three-he still saw Cmity, Nikhs, and Lisa.

    "What in the world is going on?" Adam frowned and then turned back to Terry.

    With his sword, he cut off his ropes and set him free.

    As he was about to stand up, he felt something heavy on his back, and when he turned around,

    his eyes turned wide in shock as he saw his beautiful flower-petaled wings.

    "Wings? What the fuck..."

    "Let''s leave." Terry said, after finally being cut free. "You''ve been poisoned!"

    "Poisoned?" Adam asked, feeling a sudden wave of dizziness washing over him. "Right, I am

    feeling quite sleepy..."

    "The teacher can still cure you; we need to go now!"

    Adam stood up, but before leaving, he turned to look at the three bleeding bodies lying on the

    ground.

    He was still seeing those three faces that had been haunting his nightmares for too long. He had a feeling that if he let them live, they would onlye back to haunt him again.

    "Adam, we need to go!"

    At that moment, the whole cave started shaking, and the roots of the tree burst out from the

    ground. They moved like whips and startedshing at everything in sight.

    "What the fuck is that?!" Terry screamed and backed off towards the exit.

    Adam frowned.

    Near the enormous tree, a healthbar interface appeared out of nowhere.

    [Minor Boss, Crazy Lashing Tree Monster]

    [HP: 100%]

    "A minor boss?!" Terry screamed. "This ce is a hidden boss room?!"

    "Terry, leave." Adam said, tightening his grip on his shield and sword.

    "What about you?" Terry asked.

    "Go and don''t look back," Adam replied sternly.

 Chapter 173: Crazy Lashing Tree Monster

    Chapter 173: Crazy Lashing Tree Monster

    ?

    ega!R

    Adam''s memories gotpletely rewritten.

    It was like he had returned to that day. The day of the betrayal.

    "It''s ef"lin eolN iertd to lcma nwod ish naickpy feinr.ds "He can''t use any of sih ll.ikss eW uhdols eb lbea to still klil him thiw "es!ae

    "Y-yeah, you''re right..." Jake nodded hesitantly.

    Renee licked her dry lips, but then heard something behind her.

    She untrde aondru hylgilst dna aws the oorst fo eht tree erhtils keil eanssk ni eht darkness.

    ''What''s that?''

    "Renee, focus!" Noel screamed.

    "a,Ah- I am "soy!rr eReen ruetnd ot ecaf amdA dan delh her et-hiddbanl sodrw lthgity in her hand.

    Adam, with sword in right and shield in left, took a strong step forward.

    Strangely enough, his veins were pulsing around his arms like snakes slithering beneath his skin, emitting reddish radiance as if his body were on fire.

    His currten sttea saw ton drunaeh of. It ahd pdpahnee ot a ulocpe fo elpoep o,beref btu it saw still a raer .mneonhnpeo

    It had received the name of Berserker State or Lethal Rage.

    In this state, a person wouldn''t be able to tell friend from foe, and those who had undergone this state often had no recollection of their actions afterward and instead found all of their enemies and friends brutally in afterward.

    Th,us htob nasme erew uetqi nftigt.i

    The back of Adam''s jacket ripped open, and his exposed back looked like it was swelling, and then strange wing-like appendages burst out from his skin.

    Those "wings" started to look more like the petals of a flower-red and orange-and around eight of those petals sprouted from his back, making him look like some kind of mystical creature.

    iDn,g !dngi

    [Second Mystery, Berserker Rage, has been unraveled!]

    [Berserker Rage: Its state originated from the Little God, who was once known as the Angry God of Tantrums. Whenever He threw a temper tantrum, the world trembled in fear, and disasters would befall thend.

    [nirDug siH ma, snutrt no eno dluoc lcam miH donw, tno enve the oerht dogs. ohTes nmtsrtua eoftndset tounsdsha of yr.sea

    [When He finally reached adulthood, the Angry God of Tantrums mellowed out and became a peaceful deity, eventually receiving the title of the Little God.

    [While the Angry God of Tantrums no longer exists, His famous Berserker Rage is still part of every single living human being]

    [Thdri oPwre ]!ndkelcoU

    [3rd Power: The Wings of Berserker]

    "W-what the fuck are those on his back?" Renee asked, thinking that those wings looked very beautiful. "He wasn''t supposed to be able to use any skills!"

    "Did eht kralwSeleep Ponsoi lf"a?i olen felt ngiedhfert and started gnikcab fof.

    Unfortunately, while this ce was hidden nicely, there was only one exit, and Adam was currently standing right in front of it!

    There was no escape!

    Nole etnh was eTyrr on teh,dnuorg as cohsedk as eth rets fo hm,et dna tnhe dceipk up i,mh nad cpe him in front ot tca sa a tmae dhesli.

    "Don''t move an inch, Adam, or your friend will die!" Noel screamed.

    Renee and Jake also moved behind Terry.

    leAm"ia, uoy erdyteba em for eshet dnsik fo pe?op"le Adma said hewil kloniog ta rr.eTy "wHo "nn.uyf

    ''Amelia?'' Terry didn''t know who that was. ''Is he talking to me?''

    Adam put his arms close to his chest, and then his wings sprouted outwards, and with one leap forward, he soared across the cave like a majestic eagle.

    II''I"lyer kill i!h"m olNe ohesudt ilehw linpacg sih ed satngia Tre''rsy rhtota, tub soon otnidec that aAdm ditnd'' mese ot caer even eth tgleihslst

    Adam ced the flower-petaled wings in front of him like a shield and rammed straight into the four people, sending all of them flying through the air like ragdolls.

    Their backs crashed against the enormous tree, leaving them dazed and confused on the ground.

    -I"I dnee to ese"a...cp Rneee stdoo up htwi reh llekyejil- Iseg, ebraly ebal to dnats. "llW''e di"...e

    One of the orange, flower-petaled wings shot forward and impaled through Renee''s chest, nailing her into the tree like a bizarre crucifixion.

    "A-ah!" Renee gasped in pain and shock.

    n!e"eeR" ekaj dtuseoh ni gnare nda nar towards madA iwth his rldebdbado-a rwods in nd.ah

    Then, the left-sided wings unfolded and shed through Jake with their razor-sharp edges, leaving him lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

    He was still alive-barely.

    o"Hw si sthi op....lbie"ss eoNl clysiuml ookt uot teh rste fo eht sinopo eeenlds from ish ocuph and nhet tosdse all fo etmh roev ot .madA

    He hoped that at least one would hit.

    The left-sided wings opened up in front of the needles and blocked all of the hundred tiny, poison-d needles.

    Teh ginsw wree so edluarb ttha enon fo eshto senedle mdagnae to bakre,thgruho suht the oiopsn ndid''t maegna ot od ytg.nhnia

    "Cmity, I didn''t expect you to be this weak."

    Adam said, then, with his unfurled wings, flew at Noel, grabbed him by the throat, and

    mmed him against the tree with ferocious force.

    leoN espagd for iar sa eh geustdrlg sitagna madAs'' irgp.

    Adam pulled back his head and then headbutted him straight on the nose, breaking it and

    causing blood to gush out.

    The three friends were now all gasping in pain.

    ee,neR llits pdmi by one of eht,ignws left reh life llosyw rdian yaw.a

    Jake was nearly unconscious. If left unattended, he would die in a couple of minutes.

    "G-god damn it..." Noel mumbled through clenched teeth as he struggled to stay conscious and figure out what to do next.

    dmAa eaedvelr sih eltsldee-dab sodwr and dalempi Nloe gtouhhr the ts.ehc eH eftl mih etr,he gdingaln reeht thiw sih feet ffo eht orngdu dan drows in hte .cthes

    "Now, onest person~" Adam turned to the tied-up Terry, a look of terror in his eyes.

    He tried to scream for Adam to stop as he realized that he wasn''t in the right state of mind as he was clearly thinking that he was someone else!

    eworHev, ont a silneg drow of sih ecma ttha ednuosd ats.eldadnuernb asn,tled  that ecam out saw fmdeufl shouts.

    Adam pulled out his sword from Noel''s chest, letting him fall to the ground, and then

    crouched in front of Terry, ignoring his tied-up state, and just coldly looked down at him while his wings moved behind him in a mesmerizing dance.

    "Amelia, I should''ve seen it. I should''ve known that you were a snake. Why was I so blind?"

    rrTey tried ot mscare, tub agnai f.fludme

    "Amelia..." Adam frowned and lowered his head with an unfocused look. "Wait, didn''t you just join Crimson Hounds? No, we''re part of tinum Mercenaries, or am I?"

    Slowly, the face of Amelia vanished, and it was reced by Terry''s teary visage. re?y""Tr admA oodkel at him in oskch nda ylciuk? omdeerv sih motuh ga.g "Are you trl?h"gai

    "Ah..." Terry breathed in relief. "Y-you remember me? What the heck was that?"

    "Uh..." Adam touched his head, and it felt like he had a pounding headache. nehW he unretd ot Ikoo ta het oethr eeh ethr still saw tCaml, aiy os, Niklha and .Lisa

    "What in the world is going on?" Adam frowned and then turned back to Terry. With his sword, he cut off his ropes and set him free.

    SA he was uatbo to antds pu, eh tlef gstinomhe vheya on ihs kc,ab adn ewhn he nruted

    ourn,ad sih ysee utrnde ediw ni shock as eh aws sih utuiafleb -pdlroweetlfea gsn.iw

    "Wings? What the fuck..."

    "Let''s leave." Terry said, after finally being cut free. "You''ve been poisoned!"

    "e"nd Pis?oo aAdm ad,ske flengie a ndudes eawv of zissziedn nwisahg revo mi.h "Ritgh, I ma

    fneilge qteui eel"pys...

    "The teacher can still cure you; we need to go now!"

    Adam stood up, but before leaving, he turned to look at the three bleeding bodies lying on

    the ground.

    eH wsa still ieesng thoes teher asefc atht ahd bene gthauinn his esmthgrina for too lgon. He

    dah a leneifg hatt fi eh tel mteh i,lve ethy would only moec bakc to nhaut mih i.agna

    "Adam, we need to go!"

    At that moment, the whole cave started shaking, and the roots of the tree burst out from

    the ground. They moved like whips and startedshing at everything in sight.

    tahW" hte kfuc si hta"!t? Treyr ereasmcd and kdcabe off awtorsd the xeit.

    Adam frowned.

    Near the enormous tree, a healthbar interface appeared out of nowhere.

    niM[ro Bos,s rCzay ihsngal eert tsre]nMo

    [HP: 100%]

    "A minor boss?!" Terry screamed. "This ce is a hidden boss room?!"

    ry"T, re v.e"ael madA dias, htiinntgge his iprg no ihs shdile dan wdsor.

 Chapter 174: The Call For Help

    Chapter 174: The Call For Help

    ?

    It was dark, sunless, and eerily quiet.

    Somewhere in this godforsaken ce, three figures slowly woke up from their deep, dreamless sleep.

    "My neck..." Noel sat up in a hurry and touched his neck.

    He almost could hear the sound of his neck breaking.

    He then looked around, trying to make sense of his surroundings.

    The ground below him was hard and cold. It was dark all around him.

    Then, he saw two of his friends waking up-Renee and Jake looked confused and disoriented.

    "What''s this ce?"

    "We are at the doorsteps of the Dark World."

    They heard a voice, and when they turned to the voice, they saw Yuri sitting on the ground, holding her legs close to her chest with a look of sadness in her eyes.

    "The Dark World?" Noel frowned and then saw a door in the distance.

    The door happened to be the only ce that emitted light in this wretched ce. It looked like a golden portal with edges made out of dark stone.

    "It''s where the dead go." Yuri said. "For two hours, you''ll spend in the world of the dead before you return to the world of the living without any memories."

    "Then what the fuck are we waiting for?" Noel stood up with a scoff. "Renee, Jake, stand the fuck up!"

    However, they weren''t moving and instead wore looks of despair on their faces. They had realized something Noel hadn''t.

    "Hahahaha!" Yuri startedughing so hard that tears began to fly out of her eyes.

    "What''s so funny, bitch?" Noel asked venomously. "If you had seeded, all of us would still be alive, but you worthless fuck can''t do anything right!"

    "It''s funny that you still haven''t realized it." Yuri giggled. "There''s no second time for us. We don''t have the power of the system yet. Yes, we can use it, but it''s basically just a ceholder."

    "So?" Noel frowned.

    "Those without the power of the system can''t respawn!" Yuri shouted andughed. "This is thest time we''ll be inside the Mortal Online. Once we have experienced the Dark World, we will never be able to return to this game!"

    "What..." Noel whispered in surprise, having to take a step back in shock.

    "It''s over, Noel." Jake, with a disheartened expression, stood up and started walking towards the glowing door.

    "You''re nning to give up just like this?" Noel scoffed. "Cowards!"

    "That''s enough, Noel." Renee followed after Jake, her voice filled with disappointment. "We should have never listened to you."

    "Fine, give up like a bunch of sissies!" Noel screamed and sat down, not nning to move an inch. "I ain''t leaving like this!"

    "Childish." Yuri stood up and also headed towards the door. "We deserved this. We should have known better than to try to kill him."

    As he watched his friends and Yuri leave, Noel pressed his teeth together in frustration.

    They soon left through the golden door, but Noel didn''t follow after him.

    He just continued sitting there, stewing in his own guilt and regret.

    ...

    Twenty-Fifth floor, the Dungeon.

    The leaves and branches rustled as Terry ran past them, a panicky look shing through his

    eyes.

    He was somewhat lost.

    It had already been a couple of hours since he left Adam behind, and he''d hoped that he had already returned to the Eldertree so he could ask for help from the teacher.

    However, this forest was tricky. It was like it was trying to keep him from finding his way.

    It felt like the forest and its thousand trees had a mind of their own.

    After a while, whether it was purely coincidence or not, he finally stumbled out of the thick forest and saw the door of Eldertree.

    He also finally saw other students, some still trying to find the herbs and spices.

    The time limit was almost up, so they were panicking and hurrying, but they couldn''t find thest ingredients.

    It had been almost five hours, and still, only Adam and Yuri had found all the ingredients. Terry ran past the students, who turned to look at him with raised eyebrows, and as he saw the teacher standing in the distance, he shouted.

    "Teacher, help!"

    Bertha, boringly, turned her eyes to Terry and saw him run towards her as if his feet were on fire.

    "What is it?"

    "A-Adam needs help..." Terry panted heavily and tried to exin in a hurry. "H-he is fighting a minor boss! Noel and his friends are also there as they tried to kill him!"

    Bertha listened silently through his exnations, still wearing a look of indifference on her face.

    After he was done exining, Bertha looked up into the sky through the swaying branches and saw the sky turn orange.

    "It''s toote," Bertha said. "I don''t want to be outside during the night."

    "B-but..." Terry''s eyes widened in shock at her indifference. "They''re your students!"

    "It''s their own fault for going that deep into the forest." Bertha said.

    "It wasn''t Adam''s fault! He came to help me as Noel and his friends kidnapped me!"

    Bertha didn''t seem to care and ced two fingers against her lips, then whistled so loudly that all the students in the vicinity heard her.

    "Time''s up. Time to return inside!"

    "You''re really nning to abandon them?" Terry asked in shock. "Aren''t you supposed to be

    strong?!"

    Bertha looked at him in anger and said, "You too. Return inside, and we''ll talkter about

    yourck of respect."

    Terry gritted his teeth hatefully and turned to look back at the forest. He was praying for

    Adam''s safety.

    Bertha looked in boredom towards the forest.

    She, in her prime, reached a powerful Royal Prince rank, but she was way past her prime.

    In a month, she would reach her sixties, and that''s why she used her makeup to cover most of

    her wrinkles.

    She was perhaps only as strong as Grandeur in her current state, and she didn''t want to risk her life, knowing that this floor during the night was extremely dangerous for someone of

    Grandeur rank.

    She was only the teacher of the institute because of her vast knowledge in Herbology, one of

    the few that truly mastered it.

    ''Even if I go help them, they''re already dead by the minor boss.'' Bertha thought with a scoff. ''Doesn''t matter just how much of a genius that S-ranker is, they''re no match for that tree.''

    ...

    BANG, BANG, BANG!

    It had been a couple of hours since the fight started.

    Adam, with his beautiful wings, shed against the tree monster, their battle raging on.

    The underground cave looked destroyed, the ceiling about to fall apart any moment now, and the ground had been flipped upside down.

    Crimson blood flowed down Adam''s face, caused by several wounds he''d received during this

    fight.

    The tree monster also looked injured, with long, sword-made scratches running down its bark, and most of its "branch-arms" had been cut down.

    At the beginning of the second phase, it had around twelve arms, but now only six.

    Its health had also dropped down to 28%.

    The wings pped and carried Adam to the air, then he turned his sword into a reverse grip and started spinning like a spiral, but so fast that it looked like a whirlwind of des. The tree monster screamed andshed its hundreds of roots down towards him, but then Adam shed past the roots, his sword already slicing through the bark.

    With just a split second, he appeared behind the tree monster and left behind an enormous sh wound on its bark that immediately started bursting with that brownish liquid.

    It was his strongest attack so far.

    The tree monster''s health immediately dropped below twenty percent.

    The tree monster''s eyes, hidden behind the thickyer of branches and leaves, glowed with

    fury.

    Its wood body started to burn from the inside out.

    The third and final phase of the battle was about to begin.

 Chapter 175: Night Forest

    Chapter 175: Night Forest

    ?

    The fire burned strong and bright inside the tree monster''s body.

    As it took a step forward, the fire channeled itself through its arms and shot out in all directions, igniting everything in its path.

    Adam covered his body with his brilliant wings and then flew through the fire like a phoenix.

    The fire couldn''t reach him.

    As soon as he emerged from the other side of the fire, the fire-d roots smashed down at him like whips of mes, but again, Adam put the wings around himself to protect him from harm.

    The whips didn''t reach him, but the brute force of those whips sent him flying back into the mes.

    With the wings protecting him, he flew through the mes andnded safely on the other side.

    Immediately after, the tree monster ran through the mes, its wooden bodypletely on fire like a raging inferno.

    Its leaves had already turned charred and ash.

    The hundreds of burning roots whipped down at Adam''s wings, scorching everything on their paths, but the beautiful wings held strong against the fiery assault.

    The underground cave caught the fire and quickly began to fill with smoke, making it difficult to see anything.

    It was near impossible to breathe with the thick smoke clogging his lungs.

    Adam couldn''t help but think about how this fight would''ve gone if he didn''t have his wings. With his former defensive power, he would''ve been dead hundred times over already.

    These wings were life-saving and most likely also in the future, as he could always fly away from the fights that he couldn''t win.

    With each passing moment, he fell more in love with these wings, as they were the perfect defensive and offensive weapon for a Tank such as himself.

    ''There''re two more powers left in the Little God arsenal. I wonder what those are...''

    "Cough..." He suddenly coughed because of the smoke and used his wings to fly further away from the ck smoke.

    It was very annoying to fight now in this smoke-filled cave.

    However, he didn''t want to leave this ce, as the tree monster wouldn''t be able to follow him.

    The boss and minor bosses of the floor had their own designed area, which they couldn''t leave.

    This cave was one of those designed areas, and the tree monster was basically trapped here.

    Adam wanted to kill it. The escape wasn''t an option for him!

    ''I didn''t fight for hours just to escape near the finishing line!''

    Adam''s eyes bulged wide open, then, with wings in front of him, he rushed through the ck smoke and arrived near the burning tree monster.

    Everything around the tree monster was burning with tall, scarlet-red mes that were reaching the tall ceiling.

    Ignoring the mes, Adam flew straight through with his steel-ded sword in hand and shed through the burning bark. The tree monster let out a deafening screech of pain.

    The burning roots followed after him like a hunting pack of fiery serpents.

    With his wings carrying him into the air, Adam flew around the tree monster, delivering hundreds of quick shes into the monster''s body.

    Some were shallow as a paper cut, while others cut deep into its bark-like skin.

    With another loud screech from the tree monster, it whipped down one of its burning roots and shed deep into Adam''s chest.

    Instead of an ordinary flesh wound, the flesh started burning and sizzling like it was being cooked from the inside out.

    "Aargh!" Adam screamed in a horrible pain, then another whip of firended on his wing and sent him flying to the back end of the cave, eventually crashing into the wall.

    [HP: 111/650]

    [-5 HP]

    [-5 HP]

    While his chest was burning, his health dropped with every passing second.

    Adam took out a water canteen from his inventory and spilled it over his burning flesh. It caused terrible pain to him, but it also helped to soothe the mes and the burn.

    The charred flesh looked terrible, and he was still losing health at a slow pace, but not as much as it did when it was still on fire.

    The tree monster stomped towards him, its fiery roots dancing around him like living whips. The wings carried Adam back into the air, and it looked like he was airwalking, stepping on the empty air as if it were solid ground.

    Swoosh!

    The fire crackled and popped as it spread throughout the cave.

    While that happened, the burning tree monster and the winged young man exchanged a long

    gaze.

    Both were injured and exhausted from the battle, but there was also mutual respect and understanding in their eyes.

    The tree monster, while still being Chaosbeing, was much smarter than the previous monsters Adam had faced.

    It could think and feel fear and pain.

    It wasn''t as smart as humans, but not too far either.

    While it thought this young man was easy to kill at first, it didn''t take long for it to realize his

    strength, and Chaosbeings respected strong ones.

    The wings on Adam''s back spread wide like blooming flowers.

    The burning tree monster justughed in a deep, guttural voice.

    Then, the burning roots appeared around the monster, looking almost like extended limbs.

    "You," the tree monster suddenly spoke. "Strong..."

    After those words, the burning roots moved as if they had a mind of their own andshed out towards the winged young man.

    The wings wrapped around Adam, like a mother''s arms protecting a child, and protected him from the fiery assault that didn''t seem to have an end.

    Behind the wings, Adam''s lips curled into a slight smile, and then the wings burst outwards and sliced through the burning roots with ease, freeing him from the fiery assault.

    The wings then pped with such power that the mes were extinguished in an instant.

    The dancing mes around the tree monster''s body vanished into thin air, leaving behind only a charred wood creature.

    Wings sprouted wide, and then Adam soared through the air, his sword slicing through the charred creature''s remaining limbs with ease.

    The health bar that was floating on the air reached zero. It turned red and then shattered into

    a million pieces, signaling Adam''s victory.

    The tree monster copsed on the ground into a pile of charred and ashes.

    [You defeated Minor Boss, Crazy Lashing Tree Monster!]

    [1000 XP!]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 4-5]

    At the pile of ash, a treasure chest emerged that was great contrast to the destruction around

    it.

    It was a silver chest with gold engravings around it.

    Adam picked up the chest and stored it inside his inventory. He didn''t think that this was a

    good ce to open it.

    He then walked away from the smoke-filled cave, climbing up to the ground above.

    As soon as he reached the fresh air, he noticed that it was dangerously dark.

    The sky had turned dark, and the sun was nowhere to be found.

    It was nighttime.

    As soon as he noticed that, dangerous howls echoed from the distance, and he felt like there

    was danger everywhere around him.

    "So, I am not out of the danger yet..." Adam chuckled as he thought it was funny and then

    stood up, his wings spreading wide.

    Wherever he used Kiryoku, he felt bloodlusting everywhere around him.

    It felt like he waspletely surrounded, but he couldn''t see anything with his bare eyes, except a dark forest with trees standing eerily still.

    Adam''s gaze turned cold, then he tightened his grip on his sword and started walking into the

    forest, the wings on his back giving off nice light.

    And just like that, he, too, disappeared into the dark forest, but unlike the thousands of victims that have died in this night forest, he had a strength that belonged here.

 Chapter 176: Extra Lessons

    Chapter 176: Extra Lessons

    ?

    The door opened, and Ilkin stepped into a small break room designed for the Eldertree door guards.

    After filling the cup with fresh coffee, he took a seat at the table and let out a couple of yawns before settling in to enjoy the quiet moment of morning rxation.

    A few sipster, the door again opened, and Willibert, with his bed hair and rumpled shirt, shuffled in with a tired smile.

    "Good morning, yawn." Willibert said and took some green bean tea instead, as he didn''t fancy coffee, and then took a seat beside his friend.

    "Morning," Ilkin said and took a sip of the coffee. "Any interesting happening today?"

    "The same old shit." Willibert and then checked the time on his timepiece. "Oh, finish the drink quick; we''ll need to be on our post in five."

    "These work hours suck." Ilkin said and took a sip of his coffee. "I understand why youin every day."

    "Oh, the strict Ilkin is finallying to the light." Willibert smirked, then finished his drink and went to wash the cup.

    Ilkin did the same, and after they put on their work uniforms, they left the break room and walked down a long wood-made hallway until they arrived at the door of the Eldertree.

    They shared a nce, then brought out two identical-looking keys and inserted them into the locks simultaneously.

    "One, two, three."

    Click.

    They turned their keys about 90 degrees, and the door creaked open with a gust of fresh air.

    Ilkin pushed the door open and let out a rxed sigh as he stepped into the morning air.

    This was the best moment of his days, taking the first step of the morning and feeling the sun on his face.

    However, at that moment, he saw something on his peripheral vision and turned to see what it was.

    A young man, in his early twenties, was sitting beside the door, his back against the bark of the elder tree, and his eyes were slightly open, staring at the ants that were avoiding his boots.

    "Holy shit!" Ilkin screamed and jumped back in surprise.

    Willibert''s mouth hung wide open. "Wait, you''re Adam; why the hell are you outside?!" They didn''t hear from anyone that there was a student left outside!

    "Oh, it''s morning already." Adam scratched his head and noticed the brightness of the sky. "Y-you stayed outside the whole night?" Ilkin asked, disbelief in his face.

    "Yeah..." Adam stood up from the ground, slipped his hands inside his pockets, and stepped through the door.

    The two guards noticed that the back of his shirt and jacket was ripped apart from what seemed to be a result of a fight.

    "Why weren''t we informed that someone was left outside?" Ilkin asked.

    "Adam must''ve been Bertha''s student. They were the only student group outside yesterday."

    "Why didn''t she tell us?" Ilkin asked.

    "Because there''s nothing we could''ve done." Willibert said. "How did he survive?"

    Ilkin gulped.

    The same question haunted his mind.

    --

    At the top floor of the Eldertree, inside the headmaster''s bed chamber.

    Renard, snuggled under the nket, read through some of yesterday''s reports.

    Beside him on the bed, Bertha, naked under the nket, slept soundly, her chest rising and falling with each breath.

    At that moment, a sound of hard knocking came from the door.

    "Argh, what the hell is it now?" Renard removed his sses, put them on the bedside table, and then shook Bertha awake.

    "Mmh, what?" Bertha''s eyelids fluttered open, and she looked around in confusion.

    "Put on some clothes." Renard said hastily and then shouted towards the door. "Who is it?" "It''s me, headmaster."

    It was Mr. Caretaker''s voice.

    "What does that creepy fuck want?" Bertha asked while revealing her naked self from under the nket, and then put on the clothes fromst night that were crumbled on the floor.

    "Silence." Renard said sternly and shouted. "Wait a second!"

    After putting his reports aside, he left the warmth of the nket and put on his clothes that were scattered around the room.

    Once he and Bertha were dressed, the door opened, and Mr. Caretaker stepped inside, bowing to both of them.

    "What is it? It better be important." Renard said and took a seat on his table near the window, while Bertha sat on the bed, fidgeting her toes as she waited for Mr. Caretaker to speak.

    "Yes, sir." Mr. Caretaker nodded. "I''ve received a report that young Adam, who did go missing yesterday, returned safely from night outside."

    "What?" Renard frowned. "He went missing, what?"

    "Oh, you weren''t aware?" Mr. Caretaker shot a side eye towards Bertha but quickly turned back to the headmaster.

    "Bertha, what the hell is he talking about?" Renard asked with a frown.

    "Yesterday, we went to gather herbs and spices. Then, at the end of the day, when the night was starting to near, I heard that Adam encountered some trouble with a minor boss."

    "A minor boss?" Renard frowned. "And he survived? What do you mean that he survived a day night outside?"

    "I thought he died to the minor boss." Bertha said. "It seems that he survived, but didn''t make it to the institute in time and had to spend a night outside."

    "How could this happen?" Renard asked angrily. "Bertha, why do you sound so indifferent? He was your responsibility, was he not?"

    "The students die all the time," Bertha said. "I thought it was better to cut down the losses."

    "Cut down the losses..." Renard looked like he wasughing, but no sound came. "What a joke. Mr. Caretaker, was that all?"

    "It looks like there were some losses." Mr. Caretaker said. "Noel, Renee, Jake, and Yuri, students of ss E, didn''t make it."

    "I am sorry, but I have to ask." Bertha said in her usual indifferent tone. "So what if Adam had died? Why am I med for it? They went and got themselves in trouble in the first ce."

    "It''s all politics, you dumb broad!" Renard snapped out. "If even S-rankers die in here, why would anyone keep sending their children here to learn if they just die?"

    Bertha stayed quiet.

    "S-rankers are off-limits. I also want to convince him to join my cause." Renard said. "He

    would be a powerful ally."

    "Adam is waiting for you two, if you want to talk to him." Mr. Caretaker said.

    "Fine, let''s go."

    ...

    In the headmaster''s office.

    Adam, with his legs crossed and a bored expression, waited while reminiscing about

    yesterday.

    He didn''t have to wait much longer as the door opened and the headmaster finally arrived.

    After taking his seat at the opposite side of the table, Renard nodded to Adam.

    "I am happy to see you well, Adam."

    "Mm..." Adam grunted in response.

    Renard''s eyebrow jumped in surprise.

    That response took him off-guard, and he had a feeling that Adam seemed slightly different

    from his old self. It was as if that one bit of childlike innocence that Adam used to have had

    disappeared.

    "Show some respect; you''re speaking to the headmaster!" Bertha screamed out.

    "That''s fine." Renard raised his hand to silence her. "He had a long night, and he must be

    tired. I doubt you had a chance to sleep, right?"

    Adam didn''t answer that question.

    He tried to log out during the night as the Sleepwalker Poison and just natural sleepiness tried

    to put him in a deep sleep.

    Surprisingly enough, he couldn''t log out because it was impossible to do so if the game

    detected that one was inside abat.

    While he wasn''t outright attacked, not even once, he felt like he was stared at non-stop. It meant he was at some kind ofbatbat of auras.

    "You can leave." Renard said after seeing him being non-responsive. "We''ll talk about this

    later. I''ll allow you to skip today''s sses."

    Adam nodded and stood up; then, as he saw Bertha, he asked. "Do I get the reward? Unfortunately, my partner died, so I suppose I am only one to get the reward." Bertha nodded sternly. "The reward was a potion made out of those ingredients. It''s called

    the Elixir of Stamina. It increases one''s energy and endurance for a full day."

    "May I trade that reward for something else?" Adam asked.

    "For what?" Bertha frowned.

    "May I get extra lessons about Herbology?" Adam asked. "I''d like to learn how to make

    potions myself."

    "You''ll learn that from my sses; you don''t need extra lessons." Bertha said with a frown.

    The main reason she refused was because she was toozy to teach any more than needed.

    "Hey, Bertha." Renard said sternly. "Adam is genuinely interested in learning and could benefit from your guidance. Extra lessons don''t hurt anyone."

    "B-but..." Bertha stammered, but after seeing his cold gaze, she lowered her head and

    nodded. "Alright, fine..."

    "I appreciate it." Adam said without a smile and then left the office, but instead of using his Floor Orb, he jumped off the railing and started falling thousands of meters down.

    Then, his beautiful flower-petaled wings sprouted out of his back like blooming flowers and

    stopped his fall.

    With that, hended on the floor of the dormitory, and his wings shrank back inside his body.

 Chapter 177: Arena Online

    Chapter 177: Arena Online

    ?

    The ss lid of the virtual reality pod opened like a sliding door.

    From there, a sleepy-looking young man climbed out, ruffling his messy hair and stretching his arms above his head.

    It had been quite some time since Adam had left the game and came back to the real world.

    It had been too long for his own taste.

    "Hera, has anything happened?" Adam asked as he left the virtual reality pod.

    [No, it''s been quiet]

    "Good." Adam stepped inside the elevator, then, with one press of a button, returned to his

    room.

    After also opening the bronze virtual reality pod inside his room, he put on some clothes for outside this time.

    Instead of going to sleep, like he should, he decided to visit the town for a moment.

    He left his room, and then stepped down the stairs to the first floor.

    After arriving at the front door, he slid his feet inside his shoes, and when he put his hand on the door handle, he heard a sound of the door opening and the sound of rushed footsteps.

    "Adam?"

    A sweet voice belonging to Alice came from the stairs, and after seeing him, she smiled and asked. "Where''re you going?"

    "Shouldn''t you be at school?" Adam asked and checked the time on his phone.

    "It''s weekend, dummy." Alice said with a giggle but also looked concerned. "Are you alright?"

    "Yeah..." Adam scratched the back of his head.

    "Well, where''re you going?" Alice asked with a smile. "Can Ie with you?"

    "I n on visiting a barber." Adam said and showed his long and messy hair. "It''s about time."

    "Mm, I''lle with you." Alice didn''t ept no as an answer and put on some outdoor clothes and shoes.

    "Fine by me." Adam chuckled and watched as Alice gathered her things.

    A short whileter, she was ready, and then they left the house behind, heading towards the town together.

    The town was not far, so they walked there with the summer sun shining over them like a silent guardian.

    Since it was the weekend, the local farmer''s market and fair were in full swing, bustling with activity and people from all over the region.

    While walking to the barber, they checked out the fair and sampled some of the delicious food offerings.

    Those foods had the freshest ingredients, straight from the nearby farmer''s market.

    "Look." While eating the food, Alice pointed at one of the carnival games that was

    surrounded by a crowd of people.

    "Hmm?" Adam looked over and couldn''t see what kind of game it was from where they were standing.

    Curious though, they went to check it out and saw two machines-looking like virtual reality pods, but in a sitting position-and there were two people sitting on them.

    At the screen behind them, the crowd watched as the two fought in some kind of virtual colosseum, cheering and shouting as if they were actually there.

    "Is this Mortal Online?" Alice asked curiously.

    "No..." Adam shook his head. "It must be Arena Online. It''s another virtual reality game."

    "Oh, is it good?" Alice asked. "As good as Mortal Online?"

    "They''re different." Adam asked. "However, no, it is not as good as Mortal Online for multiple reasons."

    "Why?" Alice curiously asked with a cute tilt of her head.

    "Arena Online is unsmooth in terms of gamey mechanics. The owners of that game tried to make the game open-world, but their NPCs were just lifeless dolls, so they kept it as one- versus-one.

    "While in Mortal Online you can move as smoothly as you can in the real world, Arena Online is different in that aspect as you feel like you''re controlling a puppet version of your body."

    "Oh, I see." Alice smiled and said. "Give it a try, please!"

    "I am not sure; I need to have my haircut." Adam said as he was not that interested in ying

    it.

    He had some experience with Arena Online, as there was a moment of his life when he properly tried to get good with it, but in the end, he returned back to Mortal Online like a moth to a me.

    "I can stay in the line for you while you get your haircut." Alice said with a smile. "I''ve never seen you y, so I want to at least once, please~"

    "Sigh..." Adam looked at her cute face and couldn''t say no, so he nodded with a sigh.

    "Alright."

    "Yay~" Alice then pushed Adam in the direction of the barbershop.

    There was a barbershop nearby, its doors wide open, and it was currently empty as thest customer just left with a freshly cut haircut.

    As Adam stepped inside the establishment, he didn''t see anyone there, so he just took a seat at one of the chairs.

    A couple of secondster, a middle-aged woman came out from the back room, holding a pair of scissors and ab.

    "Oh, hello, are you here for a haircut?" She asked with an amiable voice.

    "Yes." Adam stood up and showed his long threads of hair. "I let my hair grow too long."

    "Alright, just take a seat, and we''ll get you sorted." She said with a smile.

    Adam sat on one of the chairs that were facing a mirror. He stared at his reflection and wondered what kind of haircut he should get.

    He hadn''t thought about it much.

    "Do you have a haircut in mind?" She asked as she adjusted the cape around his neck.

    "Not really..." Adam replied. "Just shorten it up a bit, I guess."

    "Mm, I''ll see what I can do." She said with a wink and then proceeded to pick up her scissors.

    ...

    Outside, under the scorching sun, another round of matches finished up.

    The crowd was still as big as ever, and the line had grown bigger.

    Finally, Alice arrived by the machine.

    She looked at it with amazement but could tell that it wasn''t as high-tech as the VR pods of

    the Mortal Online.

    At that moment, she started to hear some whispersing from the people in line behind

    her.

    "Wait, isn''t he...?"

    They were staring towards the other machine, where an older man with short gray hair was standing. He was surrounded by friends of his, chatting andughing.

    "Uh, who is he?" Alice asked the person behind her.

    "You don''t know?" The person shook his head and said, "Hignd Champion of Arena

    Online, Oath."

    "Oath?" Alice frowned. "Hignd Champion, so he is good?"

    "He is one of the best!" The person said with a look of admiration. "I heard that he is visiting

    these carnivals all around Hignds and challenging others to Arena Online, but I never

    expected to see him here!"

    "He sounds amazing..."

    "Of course he is!" The person said. "He ended up as fourth in the World Cup, after all!"

    ''Since these people know him, Arena Online must be a popr game as well.'' Alice thought. ''Well, of course it is; it''s a revolutionary game just like Mortal Online.''

    "I pity you," the person said while looking at the beautiful young woman. "It''s still a rare chance to y against a world-ss yer such as himself, so have fun!"

    "Oh, I am not the one ying." Alice said. "I am here with someone, and he ising back

    soon."

    "Oh..." the person thought it would be obvious that she wasn''t alone. "Your boyfriend might get embarrassed by him."

    "Mm..." Alice''s cheeks were slightly flushed, but she shook her head. "I don''t think so; I think

    he''ll win."

 Chapter 178: Arena Fight

    Chapter 178: Arena Fight

    ?

    "There you go." The hairdresser said with a sweet smile and removed the cape from Adam''s neck.

    Adam looked into the mirror''s reflection.

    Before the new haircut, his hair had already reached shoulder-length, and the bangs were hanging nearly over his eyes.

    Now, his hair was styled in a trendy,yered cut that framed his face perfectly. It was around ear-length with razor-sharp edges that made him look like apletely different person.

    Adam turned his head side to side, checking the haircut from every angle, and then he nodded with a satisfied look.

    "Thank you; this is good."

    "I am happy that you like it." The hairdresser said.

    After leaving the seat, he quickly paid for the new haircut and walked out of the salon with lightness in his steps.

    As soon as he inhaled the freshness of the outside air, he saw that there was an even bigger crowd around the two machines.

    ''Right, I have to y.'' Adam shrugged his shoulders, slid his hands inside his pockets, and headed to the crowd.

    Then he noticed that Alice was by the machine, already waiting for him toe back.

    It looked like she''d been waiting for a while, as the crowd seemed to be anxious as they waited for the next game to start and for their turn to y.

    "Sorry, I guess I amte." Adam walked over to Alice, then caught sight of the gray-haired opponent, who didn''t even give him a courtesy to acknowledge his presence.

    "Ah!" Alice turned to him with a sweet smile, and after seeing his newly cut hair, her smile grew. "It''s your turn to y!"

    "Right." Adam nodded and took a seat on the machine, then put some kind of bowl-looking helmet over his head that was connected to the machine.

    Oath, his opponent, did the same while his friendsughed and chatted with each other, not really believing that their friend''s opponent had any chance of even being a good fight.

    "Good luck." Alice said with a nervous look in her eyes.

    She had never seen Adam y Arena Online and wasn''t even sure whether he had yed it, but she doubted it should be that different from Mortal Online.

    However, in fact, it was vastly different.

    Adam pressed on the start button, and his consciousness slowly transferred into the game world''s avatar.

    ...

    After pping his eyes open, he found himself standing in the colosseum''s armory.

    There were racks of weapons and armor lining the walls, glinting in the dim light of the hangingntern.

    He slowly opened and closed his hands, then tried to move his fingers individually, and an annoyed look appeared in his brows.

    ''It feels so slow and clumsy.''

    Those who hadn''t experienced Mortal Online thought that this game was the closest thing that came to the real thing-it was actually nowhere close.

    The difference between two games was like night and day.

    More people yed Arena Online as it was easier to get into. There was nothing like a tutorial that cuts down the yer base by over 90 percent.

    However, those who had yed Mortal Online rarely enjoyed Arena Online because itcked in every aspectpared to the former.

    At that moment, a series of dinging noises echoed throughout the halls of the colosseum, and then a system interface-purple in color-appeared before him.

    [One-Versus-One]

    [Write Your Name]

    Below that, a holographic keyboard appeared in the air, inviting him to input his name.

    Adam wrote the name of his alternate persona-Silent.

    [Silent vs. Oath]

    [Weapons: Randomized]

    [Ready?]

    Adam pressed on the ready button, and so did his opponent instantly afterward.

    At the same moment, thousands of different-looking weapons appeared in the interface, shuffling around like a lottery wheel.

    After a short while, it came to a stop, and the weapons for the match were chosen.

    [Weapon: Dual Swords]

    Two identical-looking swords appeared in Adam''s hands.

    They were sharp-ded with thin hilts.

    After that, light armor d over Adam''s body. It looked like the armor of ancient diators that battled in simr-looking colosseums.

    Creak!

    The metallic, rusty gates swung open, kicking up the sand off the ground, and then the roaring of a virtual crowd filled the arena like a tidal wave.

    Adam stepped through the arena and saw the arena filled to the brim with the NPCs, but they looked so fake and lifeless, their eyes zed over like the eyes of mannequins.

    "Hah..." Adam shook his head with a wry smile.

    It was why the open-world aspect of Arena Online never seeded, as it felt like living in a

    fake world with dolls keeping youpany instead of real people.

    Then, the rusty, metallic gates appeared on the other side of the colosseum, and Oath, dressed in simr light armor with two dual swords in hand, stepped out into the arena with a simr look of indifference in his face.

    ''Does he even enjoy ying this game?'' Adam wondered. ''He looks so bored.''

    He didn''t know that Navy Town''s mayor, who was in charge of the fair, invited Oath to participate as a special guest.

    He didn''t want to be here, but he got paid a pretty sum to show up and y.

    After finishing up with this one game, he nned to leave, perhaps visit Ivycrest to getpletely wasted with his friends.

    Ding!

    [Countdown Starts!]

    Oath stood still, his swords dangling by his side like he was too tired to lift them up into a

    proper fighting stance.

    Ding!

    [Three!]

    Adam tapped his foot against the ground.

    Ding!

    [Two!]

    Oath let out a yawn.

    [One!]

    The crowd in the outside world leaned closer to the screens.

    Alice held her breath.

    Ding!

    [FIGHT!]

    With a burst of energy, Oath suddenly sprang into action, and he crossed the distance instantly. It looked like he just nned to end this fight as soon as it began.

    As he brought his swords down, Adam suddenly swung his swords up and deflected Oath''s

    attack like it was nothing.

    Oath''s eyes widened slightly.

    Adam lunged forward and started swinging his swords in a fluid and unstoppable motion,

    pushing Oath back further and further.

    Their swords shed with a loud and metallic sound that echoed throughout the arena.

    ''He knows how to fight.''

    Oath thought for a moment, but then he started showing why he was one of the greatest Arena

    Online yers, as with just a few movements of his swords, he managed to stop the flurry of

    Adam''s strikes.

    It was surprising to him that his opponent knew how to fight because Arena Online''sbat was quiteplex and annoying.

    The amateurs wouldn''t even know how to move their limbs properly in this game, as it was nowhere the same as moving in the real world.

    That''s why movement was actually much harder in Arena Online than in Mortal Online.

    Everyone who tried Mortal Online already had decades of experience with moving their bodies, so obviously it was going to be easy in Mortal Online.

    However, in Arena Online, they were basically moving their bodies like a puppetmaster

    controlling marites.

    It was difficult at first.

    "Not bad, I suppose." Oath brought his sword down and pushed Adam a step back, then closed

    in and delivered a swift kick to his side.

    The kick sent Adam sprawling down on the ground, but he quickly jumped back to his feet.

    The pain system in Arena Online was also different.

    There was no pain whatsoever.

    In the waist, where Adam got kicked in, the lingering sensation of numbness spread across his

    "injured" waist.

 Chapter 179: Revolutionary Techniques

    Chapter 179: Revolutionary Techniques

    ?

    The crowd outside watched as Oath managed tond the first hit.

    His friendsughed among themselves, not even really keeping eye on the match as they knew how it would end.

    It would most likely end in a couple of seconds.

    Alice bit her nail nervously.

    "See," the person behind her shook his head. "It''s not a shame to lose to Oath. He is the champion of the Hignds. There is no one in this country that is better than him."

    Alice ignored him and focused her gaze on the screen.

    ...

    Oath started his famous rush attack.

    It was an ever-changing series of attacks that usually left his opponents scrambling to keep up until finally the attacksnded with a devastating blow.

    Adam moved his swords as fast as possible, barely able to block the strikes that wereing at him from every angle.

    Some of the attacks aimed at his legs, so he had to jump and dodge in order to avoid being hit, which ended up making the fight quite awkward.

    Atst, one of the swords cut into his light armor, but luckily it only left a shallow cut on his

    arm.

    Oath shot his right arm forward, the sword stabbing through the air like a de of wind.

    It was heading straight to Adam''s chest, but then, with a reverse grip of his sword, he brought the de down on the iing sword and mmed Oath''s de into the sandy ground, causing a loud ng to echo through the arena.

    Then, with his other sword, he shed towards Oath''s face, but he also had his own second sword and brought it up to block the attack just in time.

    Adam pushed Oath a step backward with all his might, then took a step forward to enter the closebat and grabbed him by his wrists to try to disarm him.

    Oath didn''t let go of his swords and instead kneed Adam in the abdomen with full force.

    Adam gritted his teeth and mmed his forehead against Oath''s face, causing both of them to stumble back.

    The blood dripped down Oath''s face as he growled with an ufortable look.

    After a second of stumbling, they rushed towards each other again and entered another exchange of blows-de against de-each strike more fierce and determined than thest.

    ...

    Oath''s friends quieted down, and one of them dropped their cigarette on the ground that lost its me.

    The crowd''s jaws hung low in awe of the intensity of the fight happening before them.

    "Come on,e on..." Alice tiptoed closer to the screen, her heart beating like a drum.

    ...

    Adam''s stayed stern while avoiding Oath''s sword strikes. He wasn''t swinging his swords anymore and was just dodging.

    ''It didn''t work.'' He thought to himself.

    As he headbutted, he tried to use influence on Oath.

    It failed, and Adam knew why.

    ''Oath wholeheartedly believes that he is better than me. He doesn''t think that even in a million years I could beat him, so the influence didn''t work because of that.

    ''I thought it would shock him if I managed tond a proper hit on him, which would cause his confidence to show some cracks, but it didn''t.''

    Oath''s face was bleeding, but it didn''t seem to matter to him as he kept rushing in, his sword shes bing faster and more aggressive.

    Adam jumped backwards, barely in time to dodge those shes. He made a big enough distance between them to catch his breath.

    ''I''ll need to crack his confidence, and there''s only one thing I can do.''

    Oath let out a single breath and then jumped straight after Adam.

    His fighting style was very aggressive, and his former opponents knew that he would keep pursuing his opponents relentlessly until they were too exhausted and defeated.

    At that moment, Adam tapped his feet on the ground three times-so fast it looked like he never even raised his feet-and then he disappeared like a speedster.

    There was only a faint blur of movement left in his wake.

    ''Where?'' Oath''s eyes widened in shock.

    Then, something cut through his armor, around the waist, and left behind a bleeding wound.

    "What?" Oath looked at his waist with a frown. "The hell?"

    As he turned around, he saw Adam standing around ten meters away from him, one of his swords bleeding with Oath''s blood.

    "How can he move so quick?" Oath asked from himself. "Hacker? Impossible, this is not his own machine, so how could he hack?"

    ''Speed Step.'' Adam thought to himself. ''Technique found in the future. A bug in the game''s system allows moving at extreme speeds if you just step on the ground three times in quick

    session.''

    After it was discovered, it was never patched either, so all the yers had to learn it in order to staypetitive.

    It wasn''t as easy to learn as it sounded.

    Adam again stepped on the ground exactly three times very quickly. This time, he moved in a straight line and stabbed his de deep into Oath''s chest.

    "Argh!" Oath copsed on the ground and lost the grip on his swords.

    The sword had gone straight through Oath''s heart, and he was slowly dying.

    "H-how..." Oath whispered weakly, his eyes filled with confusion.

    Without having time to hear the answer to that, his consciousness left his avatar as it died.

    DING!

    [Winner, Silent!]

    ...

    "Ah..." Adam slowly opened his eyes and heard the excited scream of Alice, who suddenly

    entered his embrace with a warm hug.

    "You did it!" Alice screamed in excitement.

    The crowd looked shocked and confused. They had no idea what happened in the fight.

    They didn''t understand how Adam could move at such speeds.

    "Y-you cheated!" Then, friends of Oath, angered beyond belief, shouted towards them.

    "Huh, no, he didn''t, sore losers!" Alice said and showed her tongue. "How could he cheat if he

    didn''t do anything to the machine? Exin that sore losers!"

    "No one could move like that!" Oath''s friends shouted. "It''s obviously cheats!"

    The crowd also seemed suspicious at the way Adam won.

    "Enough."

    At that moment, Oath rose from the machine and told his friends to quiet down. He then walked around the machine and looked straight at Adam, who was also climbing out of the

    machine.

    "How," Oath asked. "You didn''t cheat. So how did you do it?

    "I call it the Speed Step." Adam said, not nning on hiding anything since he wasn''t even nning to y Arena Online after this.

    "Speed Step?" Oath frowned.

    "If you tap the ground three times-exactly three times-so quickly that it only looks like one step, the game misunderstands your real speed, allowing you to move like I did just

    now."

    The crowd eximed, and then fell silent in awe of that discovery.

    They hadn''t heard about it, and since even the fourth-ranked yer in the world didn''t know

    about it, it must be a very new discovery!

    They looked at the machines, wanting to test it right away!

    "Wait, for real?" Oath looked shocked. "Three times. Not two or four?"

    "Two is too little, and if you do four, it''s a thousand times harder to do." Adam said.

    Oath touched his chin, then nodded and went to one of the machines and went straight back to

    Arena Online, wanting to test it.

    Then, one member of the crowd ran to the other machine while the rest of the crowd surrounded the screen, excited to see whether Oath could do it.

    While they were busy with that, Adam walked away with Alice, humming a song under his

    breath.

    "Did you discover that by yourself?" Alice asked curiously. "It sounded like a revolutionary

    technique."

    Adam just smiled.

    In fact, it was discovered by him in his past life.

    It was one of his proudest moments of his life, as his discoverypletely changed how

    Arena Online was yed.

    While in Mortal Online, he was mostly taking credit for other people''s discoveries in this life.

    However, he didn''t have to do that in Arena Online, as in his past life, he was one of the

    greatest legends there as he discovered a total of four revolutionary techniques.

    Speed Step was just the first one.

    He doubted that Oath''s mind would be able to handle the other three.

 Chapter 180: Beyond the Wall

    Chapter 180: Beyond the Wall

    ?

    New World, Ebonreach, the ending days of the fifth month of the year.

    The new Crimson Hound''s headquarters was located at the far corner of Mercenary Street. It lined up with the other guild buildings, its dark crimson banners fluttering in the wind.

    They didn''t have their own yard, courtyard, and backyard anymore. Instead, it was just a simple three-story building, but there were a lot of rooms to house all of the members.

    In terms of size, the indoor was quite massive and impressive-the first floor had its own reception area, the second floor had the offices and meeting rooms, and the third floor had the living quarters.

    There was also the basement, hidden below the main building, and there were all the storages and their vault. It was heavily guarded by armed security at all times.

    The front door of the main building was always open, and they sometimes received guests who came here to conduct business deals, such as making quests to either find their missing puppy or something more serious.

    While mercenaries came and went by the front door, at the second floor''s meeting room, three people were gathered.

    They were Digby, Valora, and Zahn.

    On the meeting table, a map was spread out, showing the terrain beyond the wall''s harshndscape.

    "There, there, and there." Digby pointed to three different locations on the table. "That''s where you must go, Zahn."

    "I see." Zahn rubbed his beard that had slightly grown since the departure from Dawnwatch. "The treasures of ancient civilization will fund us for the foreseeable future."

    Digby said while looking at the map.

    He was slightly reluctant to send Zahn there without them, but they had other troubles brewing in Ebonreach, so they couldn''t leave their guild alone even for a moment.

    However, they didn''t n to send Zahn there alone, and he would be apanied by a small group of mercenaries of their choosing.

    Zahn looked at the map, his fingers tightening against his palm.

    The Crimson Hound was not in a good ce now.

    They spent most of their guild funds to transfer their headquarters from Dawnwatch to Ebonreach.

    It was a money sink since they had to pay for all the transport and then had to pay Ebonreach''s Guild of Mercenaries to be here.

    That''s why this mission beyond the wall was of utmost importance.

    Zahn''s job was to go beyond the wall, to the wretched wastnd, and find rare artifacts that were from the ancient civilization that used to live behind these walls.

    A few of those artifacts would fund the next year of guild expanses.

    Digby folded the map, then handed it over to Zahn with a deep look.

    "We''re counting on you."

    "I got this." Zahn said with a smile, then nodded to Valora and then left the meeting room, stepping down the stairs and out towards the streets.

    The weights of the expectations pressed heavily on his shoulders.

    After traversing through the busy streets of the Ebonreach, he left the shadow of the looming buildings and saw the massive wall reaching high into the sky.

    It was the only thing that was standing in the way of the total chaos.

    However, the Originals of Ebonreach went by their days with smiles on their faces-none of

    them were thinking about the horrible future if the wall copsed one day.

    They had aplete faith in the sturdiness of the wall.

    ''I am going beyond that wall.'' Zahn felt some butterflies flying in his stomach.

    The unknown aspect of that ce was terrifying to him.

    However, he just forced a fist and put more weight into his step, trying to shake away the nerves.

    After a short whileter, he arrived by the horse stables and saw that some crimson-cloaked figures were already there waiting for him.

    They were mostly Holymen and Grandeur''s; they were part of the second and third teams of the Crimson Hounds.

    After they saw Zahn arrive, they bowed in unison.

    Before being promoted to the core team, he was a leader of the second team, so he already knew a couple of guys that wereing with him.

    After a brief moment of catching up with them, they hopped on the saddles of their horses and rode off towards the wall.

    At one moment, they were still surrounded by the buildings of the city, and the next, the buildings had changed into military-looking barracks with high walls and barbed wire

    fencing.

    The closer they got to the wall, the more imposing it became, looming over them like a giant monolith.

    After a short while, they rode an open road that led them straight to the massive gate of the wall.

    There wasn''t any line to wait for, as there weren''t many people willing to go outside the wall. A guard was waiting for them.

    After giving him an ID, the guard went and opened the gate with loud creaking noises, then the crimson cloaks rode through the gate and entered a dark chamber inside the wall.

    The gate behind them closed.

    Then, another gate opened ahead of them, and this time, it led straight to outside.

    Zahn gulped, then grabbed his reins tight and started galloping through the open gate, followed by ten strong horsemen.

    As soon as they were outside, they noticed it was harder to breathe, the air thick with humidity and the smell of smoke.

    Thendscape ahead looked dark and foreboding, drought-fillednd reaching to the far mountains, and a few trees that were scattered throughout were smoking like a dying fire. Atop the far mountains, a storm was brewing, with silvery lightning dancing above the dark clouds and thunder rumbling in the distance.

    Kyaaak!

    A scream of terror pierced the eerie silence.

    Zahn and the rest turned their gazes over to the sky and saw a couple of vultures circling the sky above them.

    A few of them sighed in relief after seeing just a couple of ordinary birds, but then they noticed just how high they were, yet they still looked much bigger than ordinary birds.

    Then, the long-winged vultures headed down, and as they neared them, they continued turning bigger and bigger until they were giant-sized vultures, their screams echoing

    through the valley.

    "Giant Vultures!" Zahn screamed. "Ride faster!"

    He immediately recognized them as a breed of Chaosbeings that weremon above thirty

    floors of the dungeon.

    The horses galloped as quickly as possible, but then one of the long-winged vultures dove down and swallowed one of the horses whole alongside the mercenary riding it.

    A paleness came to everyone''s face as they witnessed that horrible sight. Another Giant Vulture headed down, and this time it was heading straight to Zahn, who was

    riding at the front of the group.

    The steel sword appeared from the scabbard, and Zahn, with one swing, cut the vulture''s wing

    off and made it crash straight to the ground.

    The rest of the group also fought off the vultures.

    After seeing that it wasn''t worthwhile to continue the attack, the vultures retreated, pping their wings loudly and strongly as they flew far into the distance.

    They were usually preying on the weak; that''s why they were waiting near the gate. If the fight didn''t seem worth it, they would usually retreat.

    "Damn it..." Zahn looked behind at the terrified looks of his group members and realized this

    was the worst way to start their mission outside the walls.

    Now, the fear had crept into the hearts of everyone present. ''I knew this ce would be dangerous, but we already lost one!''

 Chapter 181: Boom, Boom, Boom

    Chapter 181: Boom, Boom, Boom

    ?

    Boom, boom, BOOM!

    The explosions raged in the wretched wastnd.

    A pir of smoke rose high into the sky.

    At the smoke, crimson-cloaked mercenaries threw their magick skills at the rock formation, causing explosions to echo through the destendscape.

    A short distance away, Zahn checked the map and knew that this was the ce where there should be some artifacts to be found.

    This map was one of the rare treasures they had discovered during their time in the New World.

    Digby found it a while back from a tomb of a deceased treasure hunter.

    The treasure hunter had found a couple of spots where there should be some artifacts to be found, but fortunately for them, he had passed away before he could retrieve them.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    At this moment, the rock formation fell apart, and once they removed the rocks, they found a shimmer of silver.

    "We''ve found something!"

    Zahn and the rest came over, and to their delight, they found a silver treasure chest!

    With smiles on their faces, they immediately opened it and found a collection of jewels and gold coins.

    It looked like those jewels were rare noble jewels of ancient civilization..

    After seeing them, Zahn''s breathing turned ragged as he realized they''d found something incredible.

    Noble Jewels were the most beautiful kind of jewels, and he knew that the wealthydies of Imperium City would pay a fortune to get their hands on them.

    This would not only fund the next couple of years; it could fund their operations for the next decade!

    "Pack them up!" Zahn thought with a grin, but then felt some odd tingling sensation at the back of his head.

    He turned around and looked around the valley.

    Unfortunately, there were tall cliffs all around this location, so he couldn''t see very far.

    Nevertheless, he could almost swear that he felt someone watching them from above.

    ''My imagination?'' Zahn frowned and turned to the thrilled-looking mercenaries. "Quickly, pack them and let''s leave."

    "There''s most likely more treasures here; shouldn''t we search for more?"

    "I have a bad feeling about this ce." Zahn stood up and came to fetch the horses.

    This was already a very good haul, and he didn''t want to lose it all by staying too long because of greed.

    The others, though not happy about the decision, nodded and hopped on the saddles of their horses.

    With that, they rode off the valley and headed straight back towards the wall.

    They had been riding for three days to reach this ce, so they couldn''t return to Ebonreach today as it was still a few days away.

    They rode through the afternoon orange skies until it turned night with stars sparkling across the skies.

    Since it was already toote, they decided to set up camp and rest for the night.

    The camp was on top of a cliff overlooking a vast valley below and the wall in the distance. It was on a good spot as there weren''t many ways of getting there besides the way they came from, which was one-way uphill.

    After the tents and campfire were set up, they gathered around the fire to eat their rations. "This ce can be beautiful when it wants to."

    One of them said while looking ahead at the valley with the starry sky over it.

    It looked like something straight from a painting with its rolling hills and the wall in the distance that added wonder to thendscape.

    It was a rare moment of beauty in this miserable ce.

    "Indeed..." Zahn said with a long sigh.

    While enjoying the serenity of the moment, a few members of the party started showing signs of getting tired with a few yawns escaping their mouths.

    As they were about to kill the fire and get some sleep, they all heard a swooshing sound and then a sharp-edged arrow pierced through one of their hearts, causing chaos and panic to erupt among the group.

    "We''re under attack!"

    Zahn''s eyes narrowed into a deadly re as he unsheathed his word.

    ''I knew it. Someone was really watching us and following us here!''

    From the uphill, a group of ck camel-looking creatures appeared, galloping towards them with riders that wore only clothes made out of animal hide and donned tattoos all over their bodies.

    "Wildlifers!"

    The crimson cloaks huddled together with their weapons pointed at the crude-looking yers that looked like they were straight out of a historical reenactment.

    ''These lunatics...'' Zahn had an ugly expression on his face.

    There was a breed of yers that willingly only lived outside the safety of the walls-they were called Wildlifers-they were often feral and dangerous.

    At that moment, one of the Wildlifers hopped off the saddle and slowly walked up the hill towards the camp. The look on his face was like that of a feral animal.

    He had a bald head, even though it didn''t look like he was old enough to be balding, and had a face that could only be described as someone abandoned by the god.

    After reaching the campfire, the man looked at their shiny, clean-looking weapons and just

    scoffed.

    "What do you want, Wildlifer?" Zahn took a step forward as the leader of the group.

    "I do have a name," the Wildlifer said. "You can call me Victor-Victor Vash." "What do you want, Victor?" Zahn repeated the question with a stern look on his face.

    "A friend of mine..." Victor pointed at one of the Wildlifers that had a bow on his back. "Saw you guys bombing a ce. Boom, boom, boom. You guys found something, apparently, and I

    want it."

    "Your guy must be mistaken." Zahn said. "We found nothing."

    "I hate liars!" Victor exploded out, which frightened the group of yers. "I left the so-called Human Sanctuary because all the liars! If you give me whatever you found there, I''ll let all of

    you go."

    Zahn gritted his teeth and tightened the grip on his sword. "We found nothing. Please leave."

    "Liar." Victor scoffed and walked back to his camel-looking creature; then it looked like he whispered something in the creature''s ear.

    At the same moment, all the Wildlifers pulled out their bows and rained the campfire with arrows.

    The crimson cloaks, under the leadership of Zahn, built a shield wall and stopped the rain of

    the arrows.

    The Wildlifers took out their sharp, twisted-edged des that looked like they were made out of some strange metal and rushed at the campfire.

    With des against the shields, the battle raged on, with blood spewing from the very first

    moment of contact.

    Victor looked at the campfire, but then one of the crimson cloaks fell over it and killed the fire

    with a hiss.

    It was a sad sight.

    ...

    The first light of the morning shone over the valleys and the destroyed campsite.

    Victor sat on top of a log, his legs crossed over each other, staring at the smoldering remains

    of the once roaring campfire.

    Next to his feet, Zahn, barely conscious, was lying with a pool of blood around him.

    There were dozens of arrows sticking out of his back with both of his arms missing and his face frozen in a look of shock and disbelief.

    Everyone else from his group was already killed, their crimson cloaks scattered across the smoldering remains of the campfire.

    "Fuck... you..." Zahn spoke weakly, and then his health dropped to zero and he copsed onto

    the ground, lifeless.

    Instantly after, the Noble Jewels and gold coins poured out into the ground like a waterfall of

    riches.

 Chapter 182: Five Months

    Chapter 182: Five Months

    ?

    It had been five months since Adam joined the Eldertree Insitute.

    It was the tenth month of the year, and the first snowkes began to fall all around the New World.

    As the Originals opened their windows to start their day, they saw that the color of the ground had changed from brown to a shimmering white.

    Then, right in front of their eyes, the snowkes fell slowly and delicately, creating a peaceful and enchanting winter wondend.

    While the dungeon''s floor had only one season throughout the year, the New World was constantly changing with the weather.

    Through the cold winter, into the rainy spring, all the way to the scorching summer, and then finally the colorful autumn.

    This year''s autumn was cut short for some odd reason as the snow started to fall earlier than

    usual.

    The joyousughter reverberated across the streets as children woke up and went to y with the snow.

    The snowballs flew through the air, sshing against the ground in a flurry of white.

    While the snow took control of the New World, the twenty-fifth floor still looked the same as five months ago.

    ...

    A group of young women, their eyes unfocused, were gathered at the doorsteps of one dormitory room, staring ahead at the room, where a young man was in the middle of his training.

    With sweat rolling down his exposed, well-toned body, he continued doing handstands, pushing his muscr arms against the floor with ease and grace.

    "Whoo..."

    With a deep, powerful breath, he pushed his body up into a perfect vertical position.

    The back was wide and strong, the arms trembled with power, and the face looked like a portrait.

    The young women bit their lips, as their naive, innocent minds hadn''te across such a sight yet.

    "Excuse me, please get out of the way!" Terry came and pushed the young women aside, then closed the door to their disappointment.

    He was carrying stacks of heavy-looking books, but with ease, as hisst five months had been spent working on his strength and endurance at the gym.

    He was no longer a scrawny young man.

    After putting the books on the shelves, Terry wiped the sweat off his brows and tossed a towel over to the young man, who was still in the middle of his handstands.

    "Adam, Ryan, and others asked if you''d like to y a game of Mad Marbles today. After all, tomorrow the Hunter''s Month starts."

    While doing handstands, Adam flipped himself up andnded back on his two feet; it looked effortless, like he had perfect control of every fiber of his body.

    "Fine, I suppose." Adam said, using the towel to wipe off the sweat from his body.

    He had undergone tremendous transformation in the past five months.

    The shoulders had be broader; he was muscr yet lean as his body had shed all excess fat. He had also be taller, almost two meters tall, with a short, faded haircut that made him look even more imposing.

    "Nice!" Terry grinned and said. "They''ll be here in ten, alright?"

    "Ok." Adam said and entered his room to change away from his training clothes.

    After changing into something more casual, he took a seat on his bed and rubbed his sore shoulders.

    His shoulders had been achingtely due to the intense training sessions he had been putting himself through.

    However, it had been worthwhile as he was now in the best shape of his life, but the physical transformation wasn''t the only change he''d underwenttely.

    "System Interface."

    Out of curiosity, Adam opened the interface.

    ***

    [Name: Adam Palestar]

    [Level: 9]

    [XP: 119/5000]

    [HP: 900/900]

    [Rank: Ordergiver]

    [Weapon: dius Sword + Heater Shield]

    [Shinecoin: 5545]

    [¡ª¡ª SKILLS¡ª¡ª]

    [-The Little God-]

    [-Advanced de Handling-]

    [-Ground King-]

    [-Shield Charge-]

    [-Pull-]

    [-Push-]

    [-Ice Breath-]

    [-Poisoned de-]

    [-Minor Healing-]

    [-Chi Strike-]

    [Inventory]

    [Log Off]

    ***

    It had been a busy five months.

    After surviving through that one night, he visited the outside forest every day to increase his level and reached level 9, which was already very good for his first year in the New World.

    His speed of leveling up was already fastpared to other S-rankers.

    He also managed to purchase a couple of new skills.

    Ice Breath, Poisoned de, and Minor Healing were spells, while Chi Strike was a rare-ranked

    skill.

    After learning more about Herbology from teacher Bertha, she actually gave him Poisoned de spell scroll to learn. Then, he also learned Minor Healing as it was pretty useful to stop

    bleeding wounds.

    Chi Strike was a skill that he used in his past life, and it had amazing uses, even though it couldn''t be used with a weapon. It was still fine.

    Since he was level 9, he was way past Ordergiver rank already, but he would have to do a promotion test to increase his rank.

    However, there was no way to do that yet.

    He wasn''t sure whether he would do it during the Christmas holiday and depended heavily on whether he had time beside his treasure hunting.

    However, one thing was sure: his strength was already way beyond ordinary rookie level.

    After increasing his physical strength, he also learned Ground King to 100 percent and was now able to use it effectively in battles. It was a very important skill to have.

    Knock, knock.

    Someone knocked on the door, and then it opened, revealing brown-haired Ryan, who had

    befriended Adam in the past few months.

    "Yo, you ready?"

    Adam stood up, nodded, and joined them around the table in the living room of their

    dormitory room.

    Beside Terry and Ryan, there were three other young men, who were originally friends of

    Ryan and ended up befriending Adam as well.

    "So, we ying or what?" Roberto, a tanned young man, rolled several marbles in his hand

    with a pearly sheen.

    "Did you bring enough marbles?" Terry asked.

    Roberto checked the marbles in his hand. There were six, which was enough for everyone to

    have at least one.

    "Yup!" He said and rolled each person on the table a marble.

    Ryan juggled the marble in his hand and said, "So, tomorrow the Hunter''s Month starts~"

    "There''s six of us." Brady, a tall young man, said and eyed each other. "It''s only allowed to

    have five people in the team, so what will we do?"

    ''Hunter''s Month...'' Adam muttered, deep in thought.

    It was a one-month long event when the students of the institute leave outside for the forest to hunt monsters and gather herbs and spices for points.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The team with the highest amount of points gets a special prize that would help them greatly

    in the New World.

    That''s why, in such an event, teams with members that already had system interfaces were

    incredibly important.

    Adam had received offers from many other teams that had great winning chances, but he refused them all as he nned to do the event with the young men inside this room.

    However, they had to choose who would sit out.

    "We''ll decide tomorrow. We''ll flip a coin to make it fair," Adam proposed, hoping to avoid

    any hurt feelings among the group.

    "Sounds good to me." Ryan said. "However, Adam, you''re needed in the group, so we''ll flip with everyone else."

    "Hmm..." Adam frowned as it didn''t sound so fair.

    "Ryan is right, Adam." Glenn, the sses-wearing young man said. "Not even Elder Ones dare to start anything with you, as you''re one of the strongest students in here. You''re

    needed."

    "Alright, fine then." Adam said and rolled his marble to the center of the table. "Let''s y."

 Chapter 183: Another Murder

    Chapter 183: Another Murder

    ?

    It was almost midnight, and the Silent Hour was not too far away.

    In the Young Ones dormitory, the doors started to close and the lights began to dim.

    In the leftmost room, the final marble cracked, andughter echoed throughout the room.

    "I guess I won~" Ryan said with a grin.

    "Cursed," Brady said, who became second in the match of the Mad Marbles.

    Terry wryly smiled, finishing the podium in third ce.

    Glenn was fourth, and Roberto was fifth.

    "Adam, you''re really bad at this, aren''t you?" Roberto said with a grin.

    "And unlucky." Adam sighed with a tired smile. "Either way, its gettingte."

    "You''re right." Ryan poured the broken pieces of the marbles into his pouch and stored them inside his inventory.

    After bidding farewell, the young men left the room to get some sleep before tomorrow as Hunter''s Month starts.

    After going in their own separate ways, Brady used his Floor Orb and teleported straight to Middle Ones'' secondary dormitory.

    Since there were so many Middle Ones students, they had three different dormitories, more than any other student group.

    As he walked through the door, he saw that all the doors there were already closed as everyone went to sleep early to be ready for the start of the Hunter''s Month.

    "Mm~" Brady hummed a song while juggling keys, and when he reached his room, he checked all the keys on his key chain to make sure he had the right one before unlocking his door.

    Since all the keys looked pretty much the same, it took him some time to find the correct one. After some while, he was confident in his choice and inserted the key into the lock and was about to turn it, but then something sharp went through his back.

    "Cough!" Brady coughed blood.

    The crimson blood sttered across the white wooden door and dripped down to the floor, staining it red.

    "What the fuck-"

    He wanted to look behind him, but then his head was mmed against the bloody door, and then the knife on his back was twisted further into his spine.

    "Ar-"

    He wanted to scream, but then a ck-gloved hand covered his mouth and muffled the sound.

    "Haa, haa, haa."

    Warm, heavy breathing sounded in his ears, making his body turn cold.

    ''I-I am getting killed? Why? Why? Why?''

    Brady couldn''t understand why someone would want to kill him. He''d been nothing but kind for everyone and was his ss president.

    Instead of spending his free time having fun, he often helped fellow ssmates of his with their homework so they wouldn''t get expelled.

    At least he wanted to catch a glimpse of his killer, as he didn''t want to live without knowing who had backstabbed him like this and why.

    However, the knife then stabbed through his heart, and his vision quickly faded to ck.

    Then, like a tree, he copsed at the doorsteps of his room, the blood pooling around him as the sound of footsteps faded away.

    ...

    At the lounge of the Eldertree Institute, it had been transformed into a bustling marketce with stalls built from ground up that lined the walls and made the spacious lounge a little bit more cramped than usual.

    A long, red carpet stretched down the center aisle, and around the marketce, the students of the institute checked every stall.

    At the tall wall of the lounge, a leaderboard was put up, but it didn''t show any names yet.

    The stalls sold armor, weapons, and potions-the students could also sell stuff, and the grand stall at the end of the aisle was reserved for the Point Shop.

    The students must give the stuff they had found in the forest to Point Stop so they could increase the total point count for their team in the leaderboard.

    Currently, Adam and Terry checked the different stalls while enjoying the festivity of the event.

    The start of the event was only an hour away.

    However, they knew that they would have to drop one person from their team as the team had to have a total of five people. They were unsure of who to choose.

    On the balcony, overseeing the festivity, Bertha leaned against the railing and when she saw Adam, her eyes brightened up and she waved her hand with a smile.

    "Bertha seems to be fond of you nowadays." Terry said with a sly smile. "She seems to hate everyone else, I wonder what you did to make her like you."

    Adam shrugged his shoulders.

    "Yo, Adam, Terry!" Glenn, Roberto, and Ryan walked over to them after finally finding them.

    They didn''t share the looks of festivity as the rest of the students.

    "Hey, where''s Brady?" Terry asked, expecting him to be with them.

    "Something happened." Ryan said with a serious look. "Brady was killedst night."

    "What?!" Terry eximed in shock.

    Adam''s brows deepened in concern.

    "When his roommate woke up today, he found dried-up blood in front of his doorsteps, and

    for some odd reason the door was also sttered with blood.

    "He thought, at first, that it was some sick prank, but then noticed that Brady was missing as

    it looked like he didn''t return to the roomst night."

    "I called Brady in real life, as we''re living in the same town." Glenn said. "He told me

    everything."

    "When he was trying to open the door, that cowardly killer stabbed him in the back and killed him." Roberto said angrily. "He couldn''t even catch a good look of the guy!"

    "Wait," Terry frowned. "Doesn''t that sound familiar to the murders about five months ago?"

    "The murderer was expelled, wasn''t he?" Glenn asked. "It was that Dn guy, right?"

    "What if they had the wrong guy?" Terry asked.

    "Why would the murderer wait for another five months to kill again?" Ryan threw a question up in the air. "It doesn''t make much sense, and why kill Brady? Everyone liked him."

    "That sucks." Terry said. "Brady was looking forward to Hunter''s Month."

    "We can''t do anything about it now." Ryan said with a sigh. "We''ve now five people by default. Let''s focus on the Hunter''s Month for now, and we''ll hunt down the killer afterwards,

    alright?"

    Everyone nodded, still pissed about Brady''s death.

    "That killer will most likely kill again." Adam said, and eyeing the people present, they all nodded. "When the killer makes one mistake, we''ll find him."

    "Yeah, sounds good," Roberto said with a grin.

    Brady had been helping greatly, and his death pissed him off greatly.

    Adam stared at the four young men, a hidden suspicion creeping into his mind.

    While he didn''t really believe that any of them killed Brady, he didn''t know who to trust

    either.

    Brady''s death was so random.

    ''If this was the killer''s first murder, why Brady? If this was the work of the same murderer as five months ago, which is very likely, then why Brady?

    ''From what I know, Brady mostly hangs out with us except when he is helping his ssmates

    with their homework.

    ''I don''t think he has any enemies.

    ''Maybe this is really just random murder. However, the killer didn''t leave any clues for Brady,

    so I doubt this was just random murder.

    ''It seems very calcted, like he knew where Brady would be and where his room is.

    ''It could be Brady''s ssmate or someone from the same friend group as he is.

    ''It waste when he died. Almost Silent Hour. The killer must''ve waited near his dormitory

    for the perfect moment to strike.

    ''I have a couple of scenarios. Maybe the killer was busy for the rest of the day and only had time to kill someer in the day.

    ''Maybe the killer believed that killing someone before Silent Hour had the best chances of sess. If I were the killer, I wouldn''t have done that, especially in that busy dormitory, since someone could just suddenly go out of their rooms.

    ''Brady could''ve also made some sounds that could''ve alerted someone. It was a risky ce toN?v(el)B\\jnn

    kill someone, so it was either random murder done by some clumsy idiot who was extremely lucky that he wasn''t discovered.

    ''Or, the killer was smart and knew what the hell he was doing. I am leading further into this

    theory.

    ''I really think it is the doings of the same murderer from five months ago.

    ''I''ll need to investigate further.''

 Chapter 184: Killingborne

    Chapter 184: Killingborne

    ?

    The wooden cuckoo clock ticked down, and it was almost time for the cuckoo bird to pop out and chirp.

    As soon as it does, it''s time for Hunter''s Month to start.

    The students had already registered their teams and were now mostly waiting while checking out the stalls. Some were spending their hard-earned Shinecoins to buy proper weapons and

    armor.

    Tick, tock, tick, tock.

    ...

    A ball of fire hovered on top of an open-handed palm.

    Lnd closed his hand and made the ball of fire explode into a shower of sparks.

    "Can you stop that?" Violet said with a look of annoyance on her round-shaped face. She was beginning to get tired of Lnd''s obsession with his fire magic skills. He was non- stop using his skills, as it seemed like he just enjoyed seeing the fire burn and the sparks fly. "I am bored." Lnd said while sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the Hunter''s Month to start.

    "Eight more minutes; just save your mana, for god''s sake." Violet rubbed her forehead and sighed in frustration.

    As if he didn''t hear her, he cast another fireball that created circles of mes around the ball.

    Violet''s veins throbbed with irritation, and then she put her hand over the fireball and froze it all over into a ball of ice.

    A half of Lnd''s hand froze as well, but then the mes came from beneath his skin and consumed the ice and melted it away.

    They were part of the same Tier 1 guild, "Ice-And-Fire Guild," and like the name suggested, they were all magicians who specialize in only those two Magick types.

    The other members of their team sat silently near them. They didn''t have system as they hadn''t done tutorial yet, so they were feeling pretty worthless next to the two.

    In that way, this event was kind of ruthless, as those without the systems were pretty much useless.

    While the mercenaries had the clear advantage over them in every aspect.

    However, there were other ways of trying to get points than just kill powerful monsters.

    "What teams should we be wary of?" Lnd asked as he fiddled with another fireball.

    The question wasn''t aimed at Violet but at one of the systemless young men, who had done investigations on other teams.

    "Mm, let me see," he took out his notes and said. "I think the clear winning candidate is Team Lucius."

    "Where are they?" Lnd asked.

    The young man pointed at the group of people seated by the stairs and said, "There with purple clothing."

    They were all dressed in purple clothing and also seemed quite bored, waiting for the event to start.

    "A four of them have systems already."

    "Hmm." Violet looked over and frowned. "A little girl?"

    Strangely enough, there was a long-haired little girl sitting with them, who seemed way out of the ce. She was hugging her legs while ignoring the conversations around her.

    "Don''t let her looks fool you; she is a monster," the young man said with a serious look. "She is twelve years old, but she is already part of Middle Ones, meaning she has always been in the institute for over three years and has survived this far."

    "How could her parents allow that?" Violet said with a frown. "This is not some kindergarten."

    "What''s her name?" Lnd asked.

    "Celestina Killingborne," the young man said. "If you think she is that team''s weakling, you''re mistaken. She is part of the Killingborne family, known for their ancient martial arts."

    "I''ve heard about her family." Lnd said. "The oldest family of vampire hunters."

    "Who else do we need to look out for?" Violet asked.

    "Well, it''s pretty obvious, but team Terry," the young man said. "They have that S-ranker in

    their team who had been making name for himselftely, Adam Palestar."

    "Oh, him..." Lnd said with a hint of concern. "What about the rest of his team?"

    "Nothing to be worried about," the young man said. "Others are systemless."

    "Any other teams?"

    "There are other teams with system users, but I think those two have the strongest members beside us."

    -

    Coo-coo!

    The cuckoo clock chimed in the background, marking the hour.

    "Everyone!" Renard''s voice traveled across the room. "The time''s here. The Hunter Month''s starts now!"

    The door to the outside world swung open as if it were pushed open by a gush of wind.

    "Do everything in your power to gather points. The winning team will receive a reward that will greatly help them during their time at the New World.

    "So, do your best and remember, the strength is everything."

    With that, the students rushed out, and the lounge turned empty as they headed outside. The doors stayed open, but there were many guards on standby in case some rogue monster tried to attack them, but it was unlikely as they didn''t really approach the Eldertree.

    After exiting the Eldertree, Adam jogged behind the members of his team as they were in a very big rush to find anything that could give them points.

    The event was one month long, so there was no real need to be in such a hurry, but it was caused mostly by the excitement of thepetition.

    At that moment, Adam felt strong tingling feelings on his left ear, and he quickly ced his arm in the way, barely managing to block a kick aimed at his head.

    Adam didn''t flinch at all, as if he were a mountain unmoved by the force of the kick.

    He turned to the assant, and to his surprise, it was some little girl with flowy ck hair and

    an adorable-looking face like a porcin doll.

    "Eh?" Terry and the rest came to the stop.

    "Hey, what the fuck are you doing?" Roberto asked from the little girl.

    "You''re S-ranker, are you not?" Celestina only looked at Adam, ignoring everyone else''s

    existence as if they didn''t matter.

    "I am; who are you?" Adam asked with a frown.

    "You defeated Grandeur-ranked as Coinfeeder, did you not?" she asked again.

    "I did, so what?" Adam asked.

    "Good." Celestina said and then her hands shot forward, her fingers jabbing towards different parts of Adam''s body.

    He, however, easily evaded her finger jabs with clean, smooth footwork.

    "My name''s Celestina, and I''ll be the next S-ranker." She said with a pout, then jumped from the air and threw a kick that was strong enough to knock down a brick wall.

    Yet Adam grabbed her feet in midair like it was nothing and flipped her onto the ground. She stayed on the ground, looking up at Adam with a fiery gaze that dared him to make aN?v(el)B\\jnn

    move.

    "Celestina..." Adam only knew one person with that name and asked. "Killingborne?" "You know my family?" she asked and stood up from the ground while huffing and puffing.

    "Yeah, I do..." Adam looked deeply at her. ''Celestina Killingborne. Underwent her tutorial in 2157 and became the seventh S-ranker in the world.''

    "Celestina, what are you doing?"

    At this moment, a slick-haired man walked over to them with a smile on his face. He had swag

    in his walk and a glint in his eye that made him seem like he knew something they didn''t.

    "Lucius..." Celestina said and turned back to Adam. "I am fighting him and bing S-

    ranker right now."

    "Aish..." Lucius scratched the back of his head and showed an apologetic smile. "I am sorry for her behavior. She can be a bit impulsive sometimes."

    "I am not impulsive." Celestina said. "I''ll defeat him to be S-ranker." ''Not impulsive, huh?'' Adam''s lips twitched. ''You jumped into the mouth of a dragon because

    it couldn''t be damaged from outside. You are the most impulsive person alive.''

 Chapter 185: Hunters Month

    Chapter 185: Hunter''s Month

    ?

    "Let''s go." Lucius put his hand on Celestina''s shoulder. "You''re bothering him."

    "Hands off me, doofus." Celestina pped his hand away and lunged at Adam, her fingers jabbing forth.

    "Vampire ying Art, The Killing Body Jab!"

    She was aiming her finger jabs at the pressure points around Adam''s body, and some of those pressure points, if hit correctly, could stop his heart.

    With quick movements, Adam snatched her hands away before she could touch him.

    He was grabbing her by her wrists, and she was trying to kick him in the shins to get him to let go.

    However, those kicks felt like pillows whennded on him.

    "Put your hands off me, you creep!" She shouted in desperation, but she felt like it was useless to fight back against his strength and started to feel despair.

    A few tears escaped her round, cute eyes.

    "Do you forfeit?" Adam asked.

    "Never!" Celestina said and bit her lip strongly.

    "Hey, let her go!"

    Suddenly, one of the members of their team-a brown-haired woman-rushed at him after seeing what he was doing to Celestina, whom she was considering a little sister.

    "Don''t, Wynne!" Lucius shouted with an annoyed look.

    He felt like he was about to have a massive headache as he couldn''t handle his impulsive team members.

    "Strong Fist!" Wynne jumped at Adam and threw a powerful straight punch.

    Adam removed his hand from Celestina''s right wrist, then formed a powerful fist with it and punched Wynne in the face with such impressive force that a shockwave sent her flying back.

    CRACK, CRACK, CRACK!

    She crashed through the trees and finally crashed into one of the teams that had been looking for herbs nearby. A few of them got severely injured, but all of them survived.

    "Wha-" Celestina was shocked by the sheer force of the punch.

    It was impossible for ordinary humans, meaning that Adam''s strength was already on the superhuman territory.

    "You''re too young to think about being S-ranker." Adam said with a grin. "Do you still want to try?"

    "Yes!" Celestina shouted and then bit down on his shoulder, but his muscles were too strong for her teeth to break through.

    She was trying everything, but it was all for naught.

    "Very well then." Adam chuckled, and then the back of his shirt ripped open.

    The flesh on his back started swelling and pulsating, revealing beautiful blooming eight- petaled flower wings that extended outwards like the beautiful wings of a deity.

    As those wings revealed themselves, the students nearby eximed and looked fascinated. It was one of the most beautiful sights any of them had seen.

    "What the hell are those..." Ryan whispered with wide eyes, and then it looked like his face turned serious, and he started muttering something to himself.

    Terry had seen those wings already, but they still amazed him every time he saw them.

    "Beautiful..." Celestina whispered as she saw those wings. "How do you get these wings? I want them!"

    The wings then pped once and took both Adam and Celestina high in the air. They were soon so high that the forest below looked small inparison.

    "Ahhhhhhhh!" Celestina screamed loudly as the wind rushed past her face.

    She was thrilled and terrified as Adam was only holding her by her wrist. If he identally let her go, it would be a painful death below.

    "Goodbye," Adam suddenly said with a yful grin.

    "Eh, what?" Celestina then felt the grip on her wrist disappear, and she started falling thousands of meters down.

    "Ahhhhhhh, someone help me!"

    Her screams of help reverberated across the twenty-fifth floor.

    She soon saw the trees surround her, realizing that she was only moments away from sttering against the ground below, and when she closed her eyes, she didn''t feel anything.

    "A-am I dead?" She asked with her eyes closed.

    "Look down."

    Hearing that voice, she opened her eyes and saw that she was hovering in the air, a meter

    away from the ground, as Adam was holding her by her leg.

    He then let her go, and shended on the ground on her back.

    She blinked nkly and couldn''t believe that she was on the ground safely.

    "You''re stupid!" She shouted at Adam. "I hate you!"

    Adamnded on the ground, and the wings retreated back into his body.

    "Oh, you don''t like flying?" He looked down at her and then walked away with augh. "My bad."

    "What the hell is wrong with him?" She sat back up and watched as he walked away. "He''s so strange and creepy! I hate him!"

    -

    After the students left the institute, Renard walked along the lounge, tracing his finger across some of the stalls, and saw the dust get stuck on his finger.

    He showed the dust to the stall vendor and said, "This is uneptable. Clean it, now!"

    The vendor nodded nervously and quickly began cleaning the stalls.

    Renard scoffed and watched him work, asionally scoffing and shaking his head as if he were criticizing the vendor''s cleaning technique.

    The vendor felt like bawling his eyes out, but kept those tears deep inside him and worked diligently to ensure everything was spotless.

    "Headmaster." Mr. Caretaker walked over to him, the cane tapping against the wooden,

    carpeted floor.

    "What?" Renard asked and put his hands inside his back, which made his posture seem more

    dignified.

    "Were you informed about the murder that happenedst night?" Mr. Caretaker asked.

    "I was; what about it?" Renard asked.

    "I interrogated some of the students there and checked the crime scene. It feels strangely simr to the murders that happened five months ago."

    "And?" Renard looked at him.

    "There''s a possibility that it was done by the same killer." Mr. Caretaker said.

    "It''s impossible. I caught the killer and expelled him." Renard said. "It''s the works of some

    copycat killer."

    "After you expelled him, we got an angry letter from his guild master. Apparently he was

    killed."

    "I got the angry letter, not you." Renard said with a sharp tone. "Know your ce."

    "Of course..." Mr. Caretaker lowered his head.

    "Some student could''ve taken revenge for their friends, or he died in the forest when

    leaving."

    "He didn''t remember anything." Mr. Caretaker said. "It could''ve been the works of the Forgot

    Powder."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "He is most likely lying so that his guild master takes pity on him and doesn''t expel him from the guild." Renard said with a scoff. "Also, bandits like to use Forgot Powder when they''re

    robbing mercenaries."

    "What if there is a possibility that the killer is still in here?" Mr. Caretaker asked. "It doesn''t look good for you if you cannot catch the killer."

    Renard, angered by his words, grabbed him by the throat and mmed him down to the

    ground.

    The impact caused all the air to leave Mr. Caretaker''s lungs. He was breathing roughly and

    struggled to speak.

    "I caught the killer!" Renard screamed.

    "Y-you''re right..." Mr. Caretaker stood up with the help of his cane and bowed painfully. "My

    apologies..."

    "You go and find this copycat killer. If you can''t find him, you''re fired!"

    "Yes..." Mr. Caretaker used his cane and walked away slowly, frustrated.

    He didn''t dare to reveal the final pieces of his investigation to Renard.

    After asking some of the teachers, it seemed like Dn had a strong alibi when some of the murders happened. He was with some of the teachers.

    Thus, it was very unlikely that he could''ve killed someone unless he had the ability to be in

    two ces at the same time.

    ''The real killer is still here, but why has he been waiting for these five months before striking

    again?''

 Chapter 186: The Wrong Territory

    Chapter 186: The Wrong Territory

    ?

    Hiding behind thick bush, Terry drew the string on his wooden bow and aimed at the deer grazing in the clearing.

    The deer looked strange with its unusuallyrge antlers, and when it finally turned its head towards him, it surprisingly had two heads-the second head growing like a parasite from the side of the first.

    Adam, Ryan, Roberto, and Glenn crouched behind Terry, waiting for him to shoot the arrow.

    This deer Chaosbeing was pretty weak overall, and it was possible to kill it with an urate shot to its head to cause Instant Kill.

    Five months ago, it would have been difficult for Terry to pull back the string at all, but now, with muscles developed from constant practice, it was almost effortless.

    However, the bow was still shaking as he was nervous.

    "Remember, its main head is the weakness." Adam instructed him. "The second head is basically

    just for show, and this deer can live perfectly fine without it."

    "I got it." Terry said, then with a deep breath, he steadied his aim and released the arrow.

    The arrow flew through the air with a soft whooshing sound and then went through the deer''s eye of the main head.

    It didn''t let out a single sound as it copsed on the ground-dead.

    "Good job." Roberto grinned and patted Terry on the shoulder.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Terry let out a sigh of relief, and then a smile broke open on his face.

    After leaving their hiding spot behind the bush, they took the deer''srge antlers with them as it would reap some points for the Hunter''s Month.

    The deer didn''t have anything else valuable for the Hunter''s Month, except one would usually cut off its meat for food supply if needed, but they didn''t have to do that.

    After cutting off the deer''s antlers, they gave it to Glenn, who was carrying arge sack of already-gathered herbs, spices, and monster parts.

    The sky was turning orange, and there would be a few hours left before the night fell.

    "We still have time," Roberto said while eyeing the sky. "Should we try to find another monster to kill?"

    Everyone agreed to do so, and they started heading even deeper in the forest.

    The deeper they went, the more dangerous it became.

    Terry walked beside Adam, looking at the bow in his hand.

    The bow was the main weapon of Kingston family, and his father had been trying to teach him since he was five, but he never managed to learn it properly.

    Now, after spending only five months with Adam, he managed to teach him different kinds of weapons, including the bow.

    He thought he would be happier to finally learn to use the bow, but he wasn''t, as there were other weapons he''d like to use more-the shield and sword, the usual favorites of Tank.

    He wanted to follow in Adam''s footsteps and be a powerful Tank, as, in his opinion, Tanks were the coolest kind of mercenary as they were protectors of those who couldn''t protect themselves.

    They were like superheroes to him, and he idolized Adam, who pretty much looked like a superhero in his eyes.

    "y''know, guys, I nned on perhaps taking my tutorial after the winter holiday." Roberto said, excitement bubbling in his voice.

    He was already in his early twenties, and he doubted there was more that he could learn. There was, of course, Three Powers, which he was still pretty clueless about, but he thought he was already prepared to do the tutorial to the best of his ability.

    "Really?" Ryan asked with a frown. "So soon?"

    "Ah, I have already been here three years." Roberto said with a sigh. "I don''t want to wait any longer."

    "I agree with your decision." Adam said.

    "You do?" Roberto asked in surprise, as he had some fears that he might be rushing it. "I''ve been here five months, and while I learned some things about the Three Powers that even I don''t know, it''s most suitable for younger people that have more room to grow.

    "We''re already in our twenties, so this ce isn''t as worthwhile."

    "How long do you n on being in here?" Ryan asked Adam.

    "I thought three years at first, but I changed my mind." Adam said with a wry smile. "After these months, I''ve realized that I''ve reached the limit of what I can learn from here. I n on traveling around the New World."

    "You''re leaving as well?" Terry asked in surprise, and he also started thinking about possibly taking his tutorial.

    "Yes, after the Hunter''s Month..." Adam said with a deep sigh.

    The reason why he joined Crimson Hounds was to have some freedom to do things he wanted to do to grow stronger.

    While he grew stronger than he expected in Eldertree Institute, it was also chaining his freedom quite a bit, which he didn''t like.

    After leaving the Eldertree Institute, he didn''t n on returning to the Crimson Hounds yet, as he wanted to travel the New World as he was more confident on doing that now with his

    current strength.

    He wanted to go search for some of his golden opportunities to finally pay off the Z Package and have some extra money for himself as well.

    "Hmm..." Ryan scratched his chin in a thought.

    "Wait, I see something in the distance!" Glenn said and hid behind a thick trunk of a tree. The others followed suit and crouched down, trying to see what Glenn had spotted. At the near clearing, they saw a camp that looked crude-made and long abandoned. The huts were made of wood and leaves, and a small fire burned in the center of the campsite. However, what shocked them was that on top of the campfire, they saw a human skull with the body being roasted like a piece of meat.

    The fire was recently lit, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air, so it wasn''t abandoned. Glenn had to cover his nose at the scent. "Disgusting. Is this some yer camp? That can''t

    be."

    "It''s not." Adam said with a serious look and drew his sword from his scabbard. "Goblin

    Camp."

    "What should we do?"

    "The eyes of the goblin''s give five points each." Adam said. "Pretty worthwhile, in my opinion. They''re also not that strong of Chaosbeings."

    "Shall we take them out, then?"

    After a moment of contemtion, they decided to do it.

    If it were only four of them-Terry, Ryan, Glenn, and Roberto-they would never dare to do

    so, but they had Adam, so they were confident in doing it.

    Drip, drip...

    Adam''s body froze in horror as some kind of acid poison fell on his shoulder and began

    burning through his skin.

    He turned his head up to the trees, and to his horror, a twenty-meter long anaconda with green scales and piercing yellow eyes was hovering above them.

    "RUN!"

    Suddenly, Adam''s scream resounded across the forest.

    The four young men jolted around and saw Adam look up. They also turned their gazes up and their legs almost gave out from under them as they saw the massive snake descending

    towards them.

    "Ahhh!"

    Adam lifted his shield above him, and the anaconda stabbed its fangs into the metal. The

    fangs were d in its acid poison, but thankfully the shield held strong against the attack.

    "Run to the camp!" Adam screamed. "Take defensive positions!"

    "What about the goblins?!"

    "This is anaconda territory!" Adam screamed. "All the goblins are dead if anaconda is nearby. They ventured into the wrong territory!"

 Chapter 187: Anaconda and Orc

    Chapter 187: Anaconda and Orc

    ?

    The anaconda smashed into the shield constantly.

    The acid poison sttered all over the ground, creating a noxious cloud of fumes.

    "Haaa!" Adam stabbed his sword up and pierced the anaconda''s slithery, long body.

    While it looked like the anaconda was finally defeated, it suddenly wrapped itself around Adam''s leg.

    It squeezed so tight that Adam could feel his bones starting to crack.

    Crack!

    With another squeeze, Adam''s leg broke in two.

    "Argh..."

    The bones stabbed through his flesh, and he started to lose health at a rapid yet steady pace. "Minor Healing." Adam whispered under his breath.

    The bleeding stopped, and the bones slowly began to mend themselves back together.

    After five months of learning the Three Powers, he was at the peak of the first levels of Magick and Kiryoku.

    He hadn''t been focusing on Kraft as much, so there was still a way to go before the second level.

    However, whenever he wanted to, he believed he could reach second level in Kiryoku and Magick.

    ''It''s time!''

    Adam focused his attention on his mana ocean, and its waves started raging around inside his mind. The mana flowed inside his body like a river of power, fueling his muscles and enhancing his senses as he prepared to take on the challenge of reaching the second level.

    With two deep breaths, he started pushing the waves of the ocean mana against the gate of the second level that was tightly shut.

    While visualizing the sight, it looked like the mana ocean inside his mind was flowing towards a tall, rusty gate.

    As soon as the waves crashed against the gate, it creaked open slightly, and some of the mana began to seep through the opening.

    The gate wasn''t heavy enough to stop that, and soon the rest of the mana ocean just flowed through and mmed the gates open wide.

    His mana ocean had grown nicely from the small puddle to resemble ake.

    After the gate was open, Adam felt like his mastery over Magick and the power of it had increased tenfold.

    The anaconda turned its mouth towards Adam and unleashed a deafening hiss. It was going to try to eat him whole.

    It would definitely be one of the most horrible deaths possible.

    There were many jokey forums in the dark web, discussing what would be the most horrible death.

    Adam had to add that death by being eaten alive was definitely at the top of the list.

    "Fuck off, Push!" Adam pointed his hand towards anaconda and used his skill-Push!

    A telekic force pushed anaconda''s head away, but it quickly snapped back, angrier than before.

    Then, with his sword in hand, he started hacking down at the anaconda''s body that was wrapped around his leg.

    The anaconda let out a cry of pain and unwillingly let him go, but instantly after, it shot forward with its poisonous mouth wide open.

    Adam swung his shield up and mmed the head away from him.

    Reeling from the impact, the anaconda slithered away for a moment before shooting spits of acid from its mouth towards Adam.

    Adam jumped over the spit and headed straight at the anaconda, who shot towards the falling man with its jaws wide open.

    Then, the wings spread outwards from his back, and he flew over the anaconda just in time. Stab, stab, stab!

    While flying over the anaconda, he stabbed his sword into the anaconda''s back repeatedly, and it started squirming around in pain.

    At the goblin''s camps, the four young men watched as Adam battled fiercely against the disgusting monster.

    Ryan''s expression looked serious.

    ''He has grown too quick. He did allow me to make the decision myself, so I suppose I have to speed up the things.''

    Grr!

    "Did you guys hear that?" Terry asked.

    He could swear he heard some growling.

    "Hear what?"

    Others looked confused.

    Terry turned around and looked around the abandoned camp to see where that growling sound could havee from.

    Then, behind one of the huts, there was a cave inside a small mountain wall, and he saw two red eyes ring at him from there.

    "Eek!" Terry pointed at the cave. "There''s someone there!"

    As soon as he said that, arge, muscle-filled creature stepped out from the cave, dragging a heavy-looking wooden club.

    It was green-skinned, like a hulk, and had two long, sharp fangs protruding from its mouth.

    It was an orc!

    "Orc?!"

    "I heard that some goblins are following a leader." Glenn said with a pale face. "That leader is usually an orc!"

    "The anaconda couldn''t kill this orc or what?!"

    "Look, it has signs of wounds." Ryan pointed at the orc.

    Just like he said, there were deep burn marks on the orc''s shoulder, as if it were bit by the poisonous fangs, but it managed to survive the poison because of its durable skin!

    "Adam, we''re in trouble!"

    Adam, while flying circles around the anaconda, heard their cries of help and turned towards

    them for a moment.

    When he saw the orc, his expression turned ugly for a moment.

    At the same moment, the anaconda lunged its entire body at Adam after seeing that he wasn''t focusing on the fight in front of him.

    Then, like a silver sh, Adam vanished and cut through the anaconda hundreds of times in just a few seconds until it didn''t have a single part on its body that didn''t have a sh wound.

    Weakly, the anaconda fell on the ground-dead.

    A leader of territory died just like that. It couldn''t do anything in front of Adam''s speed!

    [You killed the Poison Anaconda of the Myst!]

    [100 XP Acquired!]

    The wings then carried him to the goblin camp, and he and the orc exchanged gazes

    immediately.

    The orc, with its battle-hardened senses, could tell that the only threat to its life was this

    winged young man.

    Adam smashed his sword down. The orc raised its wooden club to block it.

    They shed with a force that shook the ground beneath them.

    "Ice Breath!" Adam opened his mouth wide and breathed out cold air that froze the orc''s

    protruded fangs and half of its face.

    The orc let out an angry roar and pushed its wooden club forward that managed to push away

    the sword Adam was holding.

    He was sent flying for a short distance, but the wings stopped his momentum with ease.

    "Poisoned de!" Adam shouted.

    Then, one of the poison jars inside his inventory appeared above the de, dripping then/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    deadly poison on the de.

    After the jar was empty, it disappeared, and the de''s silvery sheen had changed into an ugly

    swamp-green color.

    Adam, with his speed, effortlessly evaded the orc''s club and shed through its shoulder.

    The poison sizzled on contact, and its shoulder oozed with a foul-smelling green liquid.

    The poison easily ate through the flesh, then turned the bones into ash, andstly, the orc''s muscr arm fell to the ground as it got separated from the shoulder because of the poison.

    The swamp-green de returned to its previous condition.

    It was no longer poisonous.

    "One more hit!" Terry shouted in excitement.

    It was going to be huge for them if they managed to kill the orc and the anaconda on day one!

    They would definitely be leading thepetition.

    However, at that moment, a ball of fire, a spear made out of ice, and arrows flew through the

    air and stabbed the orc into the back.

    Everyone looked surprised and saw that there were other groups waiting in the near forest.

    They were trying to kill steal!

    "Those bastards!" Roberto screamed hatefully.

    ''Kill steal?'' Terry''s face paled. ''They were waiting for Adam to weaken the orc and then steal

    the kill for themselves. How could they stoop so low?''

    ''Kill stealers...'' Adam frowned.

 Chapter 188: The Strange Man of Darkness

    Chapter 188: The Strange Man of Darkness

    ?

    The orc fell to the ground. It couldn''t survive all the attacks that suddenlynded on its body. With the fewst rough breaths of life, it let out a final, guttural roar before falling silent.

    A loud sound of celebration came from the nearby forest,ing from the person who was lucky enough to get the final hit.

    Then, a five-strong group walked from the forest, led by Lnd and Violet.

    "Sorry, bud, no hard feelings, right?" Lnd said with a grin.

    "You bastards!" Roberto cried out. "Fucking kill stealing scumbags!"

    Lnd crouched in front of the deceased orc with a smile on his face.

    "Are we really letting them get the monster parts as well?" Terry whispered.

    "It''s stated in the rules that we cannot steal the monster parts." Ryan said. "Unfortunately, we have to abide by the rules."

    At that moment, Adam''s whip-like kick sent Lnd flying back into a tree with a loud thud.

    The tree shook heavily and almost copsed from the collision.

    "What the hell are you doing?" Violet stared at Adam with shaky eyes.

    "We aren''t allowed to steal the monster parts, ording to rules." Adam said and slowly lowered his leg. "However, it is fine as long as no one finds out about that."

    "You n on killing us?" Violet scoffed.

    "Bingo." Adam lunged forward and drove his sword forward.

    "Ice Wall of Syberia!" Violet jumped back and created a thick wall of ice in front of her, blocking the sword.

    "The kill stealing is usually considered taboo in the New World as it often leads to many deaths."

    Adam said and cut through the wall of ice with a single swift strike.

    The ice of the wall crumbled in front of him, revealing shocked Violet on the other side. "It could lead to an all-out war; that''s why greed like that is so dangerous."

    With another sh, he cut deep into Violet''s shoulder and ran the de across her chest. "Ah!" Violet let out a piercing scream and slowly fell backwards, her eyes wide with horror. "Violet!" The bow-wielding men of their group screamed in shock.

    "Violet..." Lnd whispered, staring in disbelief at the blood pooling around her.

    He wanted to go help her, but he then noticed that there was a sharp branch sticking out of his waist. It looked like it had pierced through his skin when he crashed into the tree.

    He pulled it out with a cry of pain, then tossed it onto the ground and approached Violet, but then his gaze saw Adam''s eyes, and he froze.

    The Kiryoku inside him wanted him to prioritize his own survival over all else.

    Adam stepped closer to Violet and raised his blood-soaked sword.

    "No..." Lnd, ignoring the warnings his Kiryoku gave him, took a step forward to protect Violet.

    "You fools, shoot the arrows!"

    He shouted at the three young men, who were just standing still like dummies and not doing anything to help Violet.

    After hearing Lnd''s voice, the three young men finally snapped out of their shock and began shooting arrows at the enemy.

    Adam raised his shield and easily blocked the arrows. He didn''t even stop walking as if nothing had happened.

    "Fireball of Burneria!" Lnd screamed, and the mes shot out from beneath his skin, engulfing the surroundings in a ze of fire.

    Then, a fireball the size of a small car flew towards Adam like a fieryet from hell.

    "Push." Adam pointed his hand at the fireball and made it stop in midair.

    "Grrh!" Lnd''s veins bulged in his forehead.

    He drained all of his mana to push the fireball forth, but nothing he did seemed to work! ''His Magick is stronger than mine? That''s impossible; I am specialized in Magick!''

    Their level of Magick mastery was of the same level. Level 2. However, Adam had a higher system level that eventually decided everything.

    Violet groaned and slowly opened her eyes, then saw the disgusting sword wound on her chest.

    "Minor Healing..."

    With a gentle whisper, her bleeding stopped, and the flesh started to slowly mend itself back together.

    She then stood up, well trying to, but immediately fell back on her knees.

    From her kneeling position, she pointed her hand at Adam and created a spear of ice that was

    as sharp as a real spear.

    "Ice Spear of Syberia!"

    Adam frowned and then pushed the fireball back at Lnd.

    Lnd waspletely caught off guard and wasn''t fast enough to react.

    The fireball exploded against his face, leaving a burn mark and causing excruciating pain. "Lnd!" Violet cried out.

    "Give me that." Adam sheathed his sword and used his skill-Pull-at the ice spear, and it came flying straight at him but stopped just inches away from his chest.

    "My ice spear!" Violet''s eyes shook.

    Adam grabbed the ice spear, then jumped at Lnd and drove it into his chest, which froze everything it touched, including his organs and the beating heart.

    Lnd gasped in a shock, but instead of ordinary breath, cold air left his mouth in a chilling

    mist.

    "Lnd!"

    "You... fool." Lnd said while staring at Adam. "You know what you did? I am part of the Tier 1 guild; they''ll avenge me."

    "You two must understand a few things about this world." Adam said. "The guilds at the top of the hierarchy only care about two things-longevity and strength."

    "And?" Lnd coughed blood and felt his life slipping away.

    However, before dying, he wanted to hear his words.

    "You don''t possess strength great enough of making them care. Second, longevity. They

    aren''t nning on making enemies out of S-ranker for you two.

    "It''s not like you two are some never before seen geniuses either."

    "Agh..." Lnd lowered his head and closed his eyes. "I suppose that''s true. They did send us here since we weren''t learning fast enough in the Imperium City. Fair enough, I guess."

    With that, he copsed on the ground.

    "No..." Violet gritted her teeth and summoned another ice spear. "Ice Spear of Syberia!"

    Swoosh!

    With a sh of steel, Adam cut through her throat with his sword.

    She choked on her blood and quickly died, the ice spear turning into a puddle of water right

    beside her on the ground.

    [You killed 2x Ordergiver]

    [150 XP Acquired!] ''75 XP from both; they must''ve been peak Ordergivers.''

    The three young men of their group looked frightened and wanted to turn away and run away.

    At that moment, they heard a cough near them, and when they looked over to the person that had coughed, they came across angry-looking young men.

    "So, you want to kill steal, huh?" Roberto cracked his knuckles and smiled in a chilly way.

    The friends of Violet and Lnd paled.

    For the following minutes, their screams reverberated throughout the forest.

    ...

    In the world of darkness thatcked sun and light.

    Lnd aimlessly walked ahead in the distance. He could see a door of light there, and he wondered where that would lead.

    He didn''t stay behind to wait for Violet, even though he believed that she was not going ton/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    survive either.

    As he kept moving his legs, he suddenly saw another silhouette in the distance.

    The silhouette was just sitting in the middle of the darkness, his posture aplete mess, as

    if he had been sitting there for months without end.

    Lnd didn''t want to talk to him and just walked past him, but out of curiosity, he turned to

    look at the figure.

    He couldn''t tell who it was because of the thick beard and the dirty clothes. However, his eyes were blood-red, caused by the constant exposure to the darkness. "Weirdo..." Lnd shook his head and walked away, leaving the strange man behind in the

    darkness.

 Chapter 189: Lies and Deceit

    Chapter 189: Lies and Deceit

    ?

    "Haha, you should''ve seen his face." Roberto said with a grin while he and the othersughed uncontrobly at those young men.

    The way they died was pretty silly.

    While they nned on killing them for kill stealing, they ran away, but then they tripped and rolled down a hill,nding on the river below, where they eventually drowned.

    It was a pretty unlucky series of events for them.

    It was turning night, so they returned back to the Eldertree Institute and saw other students doing the same.

    There was a long line to the Point Shop and the leaderboards were updating with every passing second.

    Team Lucius was currently in the top spot with a whopping 1080 points. The second ce was only at 677 points.

    After some time of waiting, Glenn handed over their gathered items for the stall vendor.

    The stall vendor quickly counted the points, then told the referees, and they updated the leaderboard.

    Their team appeared in fifth ce with 490 points.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "Fifth, argh." Roberto sighed. "How the hell did that first ce team get so many points?"

    "Almost full team of mercenaries, no wonder." Glenn said.

    "What''re you guys nning to do now?" Terry asked. "If you guys don''t have anything to do, should we y a game of Mad Marbles?"

    "I''d love to, but me and Glenn are nning to visit the Mourning Room." Roberto said. "They''re nning to put Brady''s name on the Wall of Memorial, so we''d like to be there..."

    "Oh..." Terry nodded and patted him on the shoulder. "Understandable. See you tomorrow then, alright?"

    "Mm." Roberto nodded, and then he and Glenn left with their Floor Orbs in hand.

    "What about you, Ryan? Are you down?" Terry asked with a smile.

    "I also have some things to do back in the real world." Ryan said with a smile and scratched the back of his head. "I see you two tomorrow."

    "Aight," Terry replied, waving as Ryan walked away.

    Adam followed Ryan with his gaze until he disappeared around the corner.

    ''I always thought Ryan was good with his emotions, as I couldn''t get a good reading out of him, but now he is feeling pretty impatient. I wonder what''s got him so worked up.''

    ...

    At the Mourning Room, another name was added to the Wall of Memorial.

    It had the names of everyone that had died in the Eldertree Institute, and it was already so many that there was barely any space left on the wall.

    Roberto and Glenn lit up incense candles and said a prayer for their fallen friend.

    "How''s Brady doing?" Roberto asked.

    "Sad." Glenn said. "He isn''t answering my phone calls anymore, but I asked his parents, and they said that he''d been holed up inside his room mostly."

    "Maybe we should visit him?" Roberto asked. "After Hunter''s Month is over. Then we have plenty of stories to talk to him about."

    "That sounds good." Glenn said with a smile.

    At this moment, the door to the Mourning Room opened and instantly closed with a loud enough m to startle the two.

    Glenn and Roberto turned around-they saw a masked figure standing by the door holding arge knife.

    "Who are you?" Roberto asked with sinking feeling in his stomach.

    It looked like the masked figure smiled as the mask''s fabric stretched across his face.

    Without having any time to respond, the masked figure crossed the room and lunged at Roberto with the knife.

    "What the hell!" Roberto grabbed the hand, but the knife still plunged deep into his shoulder. "Get away from him!" Glenn threw a punch at the mask, but the figure grabbed the fist, pulled his knife out of Roberto''s shoulder, and then stabbed repeatedly at Glenn''s chest till it was riddled with holes.

    "A-ah!" Glenn let out a final breath before copsing to the ground.

    One of those stabsnded on his heart, instantly killing him.

    "Glenn!" Roberto cried out. "Bastard!"

    He threw a punch fueled with anger, and itnded squarely on the mask.

    The figure stumbled a few steps back, but then threw therge knife, and itnded deep in Roberto''s side, causing him to crumple to the ground.

    Then, the masked figure pulled the knife from his side and stabbed it repeatedly into

    Roberto''s chest.

    Roberto reached out towards the mask, but before he could rip the mask off his face, he turned limp as everything turned dark, and he took his final breath.

    "Whoo... whoo..." The masked figure stood up and then removed the blood from the knife using a cloth before quietly leaving the room.

    At the Mourning Room, two bodies started to slowly turn transparent, but their blood trickled down the hundreds of names on the Wall of the Memorial, leaving stains that could never be washed away.

    ...

    At the exact same time, at the highest floor of the Eldertree.

    "What is it?" Renard sounded very annoyed as he took a seat behind his desk.

    He was already preparing to return to his quarters to have some alone time with Bertha, but then got called out to his office by one of the students.

    If it wasn''t something important, he nned to expel the student right here and there!

    "Well, what is it, Ryan?" Renard said.

    Ryan stood in the office with a serious look on his face.

    "I''ve got something important to tell you." Ryan said.

    "I am listening." Renard said impatiently. "I don''t have all day!"

    "I heard that you wanted Adam to join you in your cause." Ryan said. "I am friends with him,

    so he told me."

    Renard frowned and tapped his finger against the desk.

    "Yes, I did, and so what?"

    "It''s not news you''d like." Ryan said. "However, behind your back, Adam is insulting and ridiculing you. He thinks your idea of justice is idiotic."

    "What?" Renard gasped. "I gave him a special privilege to visit outside whenever he wanted to and allowed him to skip some of the sses. You''re saying he is insulting me behind my

    back?"

    "Yes." Ryan nodded. "I don''t like him doing that, as I think you''re a brilliant man; that''s why

    I came to tell you this..."

    "That bastard!" Renard mmed his hand on the mahogany desk and cracked it from the middle. "After all I did for him, that two-faced bastard!"

    Ryan hid his smile behind his calm facade.

    Renard stood up and stormed out of the office, leaving Ryan alone.

    When the footsteps disappeared, Ryan let out chillyughter that echoed through the empty

    room.

    "What a fucking fool." Ryan said with a grin. "Just a few lies, and Renard believes it all,

    haha!"

    It was true that Adam had told them about his meeting with Renard, but he never insulted

    him or made fun of him.

    It was all Ryan''s lies and deceit.

    "Now that Adam will be taken care of by Renard, there''s one more person I have to deal with.''

    Ryan''s smile grew.

    ...

    Inside his room, Adam juggled a small, hand-sized ball and thought about some mundane things like what he would have for morning breakfast before returning to the forest for the

    Hunter''s Month.

    At that moment, the scenery around him changed, and the bed disappeared below him.

    He fell on a hard, forest ground and realized he was no longer in his bedroom, but instead

    back at the outside forest!

    The howls of dangerous monsters surrounded his location.

    Adam''s eyes shrunk, and he stood up.

    Then he saw someone standing not far from him.

    It was none other than Renard, a look of coldness in his face.

    He was holding Floor Orb in his hand-it was the master Floor Orb of the twenty-fifth floor,

    and he was able to summon other users of Floor Orb at will.

    "Headmaster?"

    "Making fun of me, huh?" Renard gritted his teeth. "I thought you could see the bigger

    picture, but in the end, you are just a brat."

    "What are you saying?" Adam''s eyes shook, and he felt chill seep deep into his bones.

    He realized something frightening.

    ''He is here to kill me!''

 Chapter 190: The Disaster Sword

    Chapter 190: The Disaster Sword

    ?

    The cold wave of realization struck Adam, and he could only ask one thing-Why?

    He didn''t think that he had done anything to anger the headmaster.

    Instead, he had tried to be careful with him, as after a few meetings with him, he realized that Renard was cocky, arrogant, and living in his own world of pretentiousness.

    "May I ask what happened?" Adam asked with cold sweat running down his back.

    "A friend of yours told me everything." Renard said with a cold smile on his face. "It seems like you''ve been lying and making fun of me behind my back."

    "Who said that?" Adam asked with a frown. "Because that''s not true."

    "Ryan," Renard said. "And I think everything he said is true because now that I think about it, you were always concealing your emotions with me as if you didn''t want me to know what you really thought."

    "Ryan?!" Adam''s eyes shook. ''I see now. It truly was you, Ryan, but why do you want me to get killed? Did you realize that I was suspicious of you?''

    "I thought you could see the broader picture." Renard shook his head.

    ''Time to shed off the facade.'' Adam''s expression changed.

    "I think you''re as ignorant as you''re blind." Adam said.

    "Huh?" Renard turned his head to him, and it looked like he was about to explode in anger.

    "You''re believing too much in the goodness of one''s hearts." Adam said. "However, in the end, when people get strength over others, they usually use it to oppress."

    "You don''t get it." Renard said. "I''ll mold my followers to follow my lead."

    "That''s the exact problem." Adam said. "They''ll learn to oppress the weak, just like the Pro- Strong are doing now. You say that you don''t follow their core values, but in the end, you do, but in a more roundabout way."

    "You''re just a child; you don''t have any clue how the world works!" Renard said. "With strength, I''ll make them listen to me. They won''t dare to oppose me."

    "And when one of your followers grows stronger than you, what then?" Adam asked. "You teach that to get what you want, you''ll need to oppress others with strength."

    "Silence!" Renard screamed, and the wind picked up, swirling around them violently. The trees got uprooted and sent straight towards the sky.

    Adam crossed his arms in front of him, but the wind still pushed him back.

    The strength difference between the two of them was as vast as the earth and heaven.

    "I am done listening to you." Renard said, then waved his finger above him, and the trees came back crashing down, flying at Adam like flying spears.

    Then, from Adam''s back, the eight-petaled flower-like wings bloomed out like a brilliant sunrise, and he took off into the sky, leaving Renard behind in shock and awe.

    "He can fly?!" Renard''s mouth almost hung low. "Transformation Magick?!"

    The trees missed Adam and stabbed through the ground before exploding into splinters.

    Renard was truly shocked, as wing-type Transformation Magick was an extreme rarity. He had never witnessed such power before.

    However, when he used his Kiryoku, he felt a surge of energy like never before.

    ''The rank of that skill is nothing?'' Renard''s eyes shook. ''Innate Skill? I''ve only heard about it, but this is the first time meeting someone with it!''

    It made his expression cold and angry.

    He was about to be thrilled, knowing after killing Adam, that power would be his, but if it was Innate Skill, he couldn''t get it no matter what he did.

    However, he still nned on killing him.

    Renard brought out his master Floor Orb and scoffed. "You cannot escape me."

    As he was about to summon Adam back to him, he suddenly couldn''t feel the connection to his Floor Orb as if it had disappeared.

    "Huh? Why can''t I summon him?"

    At the skies, flying away like a missile, he stopped squeezing on a marble-like ball.

    There were pieces of broken orb on his closed hand, and then he swiped his hands together, making them fall long way to the ground.

    He hadn''t forgotten about the Floor Orb and Renard''s ability to summon him with it.

    While some students didn''t know it was because of the Floor Orb, Adam knew, and that''s why he broke it before Renard could use it against him.

    ''I can''t stay here any longer!''

    Adam thought while flying away.

    He was heading straight towards the exit of the twenty-fifth floor, nning on returning to the New World!

    There was no way he could live on this floor anymore after Renard was after his life. It would be suicide and stupidity to stay here any longer.

    As his wings were about to p, the air around him changed, and dark clouds spread across the night sky.

    A tornado formed from the dark clouds and touched down at Adam, sending him flying straight back to the ground with a force that made the forest ground crack and tremble.

    "Agh!" Adam coughed blood, feeling the pain shoot through his body as the tornado continued to rage around him.

    "You think you can escape me?!"N?v(el)B\\jnn

    A rageful shout reverberated across the stormy sky. It almost sounded like the clouds shouted

    that.

    Then, lightning shed across the sky, and the silhouette of a figure seemed to hover inside those dark clouds, holding a sword above his head.

    The lightning struck the sword, and it was so bright that the night sky turned bright. "The Disaster Sword!" Renard shouted louder than the rumbling of the thunder and then swung his sword down with all his might, unleashing a powerful wave of energy.

    The lightning wave of energy flew straight down at Adam and the forest below. It was a terrifying sight, like a god attacking mankind.

    Adam''s face looked pale, and then his wings wrapped around him in a protective cocoon.

    Without being able to do anything else, the lightning wavended on the ground and created a mushroom cloud of explosion that burned the trees to crisp and left a deafening silence in

    its wake.

    ...

    In the dormitory room.

    The door softly opened and closed.

    Like a silent assassin, a masked figure with arge knife walked deeper into the room and noticed the small kitchen with dirty tes and utensils scattered across the counter.

    It looked like the upants had been busy today, so they didn''t have time to properly wash

    them.

    There were also some clothes scattered around the sofa.

    It was quite an ordinary sight for a young man''s dormitory room.

    With silent steps, he came across one of the bedroom doors-Terry''s door-and as if the figure knew where to go, he opened that door and stepped inside the dark bedroom.

    It was quiet and dark.

    The bed was cloaked in the darkness, and it was hard to see anything.

    With therge knife, the masked figure walked over to the bed and then raised it high above

    his head.

    Stab, stab, stab!

    He started stabbing through the nket and into the mattress, over and over again.

    However, a frown appeared behind the mask, and he then swung the nket off the bed.

    To his surprise, the bed was empty.

    ''Where is he?'' The masked figure panicked. ''Where has the target gone?''

 Chapter 191: Art of the Herbology

    Chapter 191: Art of the Herbology

    ?

    The mushroom cloud rose high into the sky, and its surroundings were engulfed in a fiery inferno.

    Below the mushroom cloud, somewhere in the forest, a cocoon made out of beautiful wings unfurled, revealing injured and bloody Adam, who was barely conscious.

    "Minor Healing," he whispered, and his bleeding stopped, but there was still some internal bleeding.

    Without further ado, he took out the sk of the Rising Moon and gulped it all down. It helped his organs to heal, and his health began to recover as well.

    After selling the legendary dagger in the auction, he earned 120,000 Shinecoins.

    Most of that went to Z Package payments, but he also purchased the healing sks and even armor for himself.

    The armor wrapped around his body like a warm, protective shield.

    It looked quite pretty with its silver designs etched into the metal-it had silver images of bulls and stars then there was also a matching helmet thatpleted the look.

    The helmet looked fierce and intimidating, with horns protruding on either side. It looked like the head of a bull.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    It was called Silver Bull Armor.

    While its rank was Azure Rare, like the Crimson Hound armor, it gave off better protection and had a special attribute of Magick Defense that blocked any Magick attack below level 2.

    While it was pretty useless in the uing fight against Renard, it could protect him from some fatal blows.

    Adam rose back to his feet, heavily breathing.

    The heavy aura of Renard was suffocating and intimidating, removing all the fighting spirit left in him, but this wasn''t the first time he was fighting a losing battle.

    There was no way he would be able to defeat Renard in frontalbat.

    Even if he was fighting as his past life self, he still would be unable to win against Renard.

    It didn''t matter that Renard was past his prime and had lost a step or two; he was still a formidable opponent that perhaps he could defeat in another ten years.

    Unfortunately, he didn''t have another ten years to wait.

    The wings pped and took him to the skies.

    As soon as he revealed himself, the dark clouds started raging with thunder and lightning.

    "You survived that, huh?" Renard grinned smugly while the lightning bolts stabbed the ground around him.

    Boom, boom, boom, boom!

    Crackle!

    "You need to try harder if you want to kill me." Adam said calmly.

    "Haha, I didn''t expect S-rankers to die that easily." Renard licked his lips and grabbed one of the lightning bolts as if it were nothing. "But I do love a challenge."

    Adam reached out towards his inventory, then brought out three empty sks and dozens of poisonous ingredients. Then, with lightning fast hands, he mixed them into two of the sks before pouting both into the middle sk.

    The middle sk started to emit poisonous haze.

    "Die!" Renard grinned and flew at Adam with the lightning bolt in hand.

    "The Poison Haze!" Adam spilled the poison in front of him that created a wall of toxic gas.

    It was poisonous enough to kill any ordinary human who inhaled it for more than a few seconds.

    Yet Renard didn''t care as he flew straight through it and stabbed the lightning bolt through Adam''s chest armor and through his body.

    "Cough!" Adam coughed out blood and was sent flying hundreds of meters, a burning hole in his chest.

    While flying backwards, he quickly took out another sk of the Rising Moon and gulped it down.

    It helped him to heal some of his burned organs, but it didn''tpletely heal his drastic injuries; therefore, he took out another one of the same sk and gulped it down as well.

    He didn''t have an unlimited amount of those sks, but if he didn''t use those now, he would just die!

    Renard used his skill-airwalk-to move across the air uninterrupted.

    The poison was quickly spreading through his veins, but he then gulped down a poison antidote and felt immediate relief.

    While Adam was using Bertha''s knowledge to fight against Renard, he had some antidotes to counter that, which Bertha made for Renard just in case he ever needed them.

    Bertha never thought that one day her pupil would be fighting against her lover.

    "Is that all your trickery worth?" Renard asked with a scoff as he approached Adam.

    Again, as fast as possible, Adam took out three of his sks, mixed up the poison in them before pouring them into the middle sk.

    He even used the Little God''s physical enhancement to move quickly.

    Usually, if one rushed to make these potions, it would turn bad, but Adam did it perfectly each time.

    While Bertha did teach him, he had also used these poison sks in a previous life.

    Lisa, the herbology master of their group, taught him how to properly handle the ingredients and the timing of each step in the process.

    She created her own kind of fighting style-Art of the Herbology-which used the Herbology knowledge in the fight.

    It wasn''t umon to see Lisa create dozens of poison potions in the heat ofbat. She learned to use Kiryoku to dodge all the attacks while creating those potions.

    It made her quite a strange opponent to fight against.

    While Adam was nowhere at her level, he also learned the art of the herbology.

    However, it was sour memories, as when he thought about it, they must''ve made Lisa to make Chaosbeing Essence, which was difficult poison to make, to poison Adam and weaken him so he couldn''t do anything.

    As Renard approached him, he again spilled the poison in front of him and created a wall of toxic gas.

    This time, however, Renard jumped over the poisonous mist and kicked Adam down to the

    ground.

    However, before mming against the ground, the wings carried Adam back to the air and made some distance to Renard.

    While his attack was unsessful, the corners of Adam''s mouth curled into a slight smile.

    ''He doesn''t have any antidotes left.''

    He came to that conclusion because Renard was arrogant and cocky. He wouldn''t willingly dodge any of his attacks, as he believed that Adam was inferior beingpared to him.

    At the first toxic gas wall, Renard went straight through it even though he could definitely tell

    it was poisonous.

    After all, he watched Adam mix the poison right in front of his eyes.

    Adam did that on purpose to see whether he had any ways to counter the poison.

    ''That''s one weakness, poison. Now, how can I use it against him?''

    Behind his back, he mixed a few poison potions to use as sort of bombs and then stored them

    inside his inventory.

    Renard, since he was far enough, couldn''t see what he was doing.

    ''What to do...'' Adam frowned.

    ...

    In a dimly lit gym, Terry lifted weights, sweat flying off his body after each rep.

    Since he didn''t feel like sleeping, he came to the gym to lift some weights.

    He had been thinking about the conversation that happened today.

    It seemed like everyone was about to leave the Eldertree Institute-even Adam, whom he

    thought would stay longer.

    He felt like he was about to be left behind.

    ''I need to be ready for the tutorial. I can''t fail!'' Terry gritted his teeth and did another rep.

    At the same moment, the door of the gym creaked open, and a figure stood by the doorway,

    watching him with a cold look on his eyes.

    It was Ryan.

 Chapter 192: Creators Orders

    Chapter 192: Creator''s Orders

    ?

    Boom, boom, boom!

    Explosions rang throughout the sky above the forest.

    Currently in the Eldertree Institute, watching from a window of the highest floor, Mr. Caretaker had a look of worry in his face.

    The door behind him then opened, and Bertha, still half-awake, walked over to him and looked out of the window towards the forest.

    "Is that Renard fighting?" Bertha asked.

    She wondered where he went as he was supposed toe to the bed, but then he apparently had a meeting, and he ended up never returning.

    "Yes." Mr. Caretaker said. "However, I don''t know who he is fighting."

    It rumbled above the dark clouds so loudly that even the windows shook, and the lightning illuminated the room in sporadic bursts.

    "His opponent feels familiar." Bertha said.

    She wasn''t that good with Kiryoku, but she could tell that the person''s aura felt familiar.

    "Hmm..." Mr. Caretaker frowned.

    ...

    Adam flew backwards through theyer of the dark clouds and was consumed by the raging storm.

    The wings carried him through the tempest, and he arrived above the clouds, his face bloodied like someone had spilled paint all over his face.

    The armor was cracked from the chest because of the lightning bolt attack. Its durability had already decreased by over half.

    Then, Renard sted through the dark clouds with arge grin on his face and smashed his fist into the chest armor.

    Crack!

    The armor and the ribcage cracked on impact, and Adam was again forced to fly backwards with blood flying out of his mouth.

    It was starting to get hard for him to breathe.

    The wings spread and stopped his momentum in the air.

    "Argh..." Adam coughed in pain. "I don''t know how much more of this I can take."

    The health bar was blinking in red as he had lost more than ny percent of his total health. Crackle!

    With lightning bolt in hand, Renard appeared above him like a deity and then smashed the lightning down upon Adam, engulfing him in the sea of the silver lightning.

    "Argh!" Adam cried out in pain as his body convulsed from the shock.

    His health bar dropped even further.

    With his quick hands, he gulped down two sks of the Rising Moon and then whispered Minor Healing under his breath.

    It had some effect, but a few more of those attacks would bring him back to the brink of death. "Heal yourself more; I don''t care." Renard said with a grin. "I''ll just hurt you more!" Adam''s eyes widened in shock.

    Then, with speed that surpassed his own, Renard appeared in front of him and smashed his fist through the armor like it was made out of some second-grade material. CRACK!

    The armor shattered as it reached zero durability.

    And like that, the armor Adam spent a sizeable sum of money on waspletely destroyed.

    It couldn''t handle three hits from Renard.

    Without the armor as protection anymore, Adam fell back to the ground and smashed through the weakened ground beneath him.

    He fell into dark depths below.

    ...

    "Hey, Terry." Ryan knocked twice on the gym door. "What''re you doing here?"

    "Oh, Ryan." Terry, surprised to see him, put the lifts back into ce with a loud ng. "Late night training, why''re you here?"

    "I also thought about lifting some weights." Ryan said and approached him while rubbing his shoulders. "I didn''t feel like sleeping."

    "Really?" Terry raised an eyebrow. ''Weird, I thought Ryan wasn''t that big of a fan of the gyms and instead liked to do sports as a hobby.''

    "Adam''s not with you?" Ryan asked. "He is usually doing gym with you, is he not?"

    "I didn''t want to wake him up." Terry said. "We need him well-rested for tomorrow, either

    way."

    "True that." Ryan picked up one of the dumbbells and started curling it with one arm. "Do you hear that?"

    Terry raised an eyebrow and perked up his ears.

    There was some faint rumblinging from somewhere.

    "Yeah, it must be storming outside; why?" Terry asked curiously and wiped his sweat with a towel.

    "Each rumble is a sign that the job isn''t finished yet." Ryan said and then smiled. "What a tough son of a bitch, he is."

    "What''re you talking about?"

    "I am talking about Adam." Ryan shook his head with a smile. "He is fighting against that monster, yet he is still surviving, like a cockroach refusing to die."

    Terry''s frown deepened, and he slowly rose from his seat.

    "What''re you saying?" he asked with a frown. "Adam is fighting? Against who?"

    "Against Renard, of course." Ryan turned to him with a grin and dropped the dumbbell with a loud ng. "I should''ve killed Adam five months ago when I still had a chance, but he has

    grown too much, so I had to make someone else do it for me."

    "What''re you saying?" Terry asked, his eyes wide with shock. "What have you done?"

    "It''s just you and Adam left." Ryan said with a smile.

    "You killed Roberto and Glenn?" Terry asked, his hands clenching into tight fists.

    "A part of me did, yes." Ryan said with a smirk. "Look behind you."

    Terry spun his head around, and to his surprise, there was a masked figure in all-ck standing with arge knife in hand.

    "Who the hell?" Terry flinched and retreated away from him.

    "A friend of mine." Ryan approached Terry from the back and grabbed him by the shoulder. "I

    am the killer, you see. I killed those people while back; now I killed Brady, Roberto, and

    Glenn."

    Terry''s eyes widened in shock.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "You must be wondering how I didn''t get caught." Ryan smirked and pointed at the masked figure. "Take off the mask, my friend."

    The masked figure removed his ordinary ski mask, and a face that waspletely identical

    with Ryan appeared.

    "A same face..." Terry whispered.

    "I''ve had to be on two ces at the same time to do some murders and that''s exactly what I did." Ryan grinned. "I made a clone of myself."

    "How?" Terry asked in shock. "You haven''t taken the tutorial, so how? Isn''t this a skill of

    some kind?"

    "It''s indeed a skill." Ryan said with a smile. "How did I make a clone? It''s quite interesting, actually. Too bad you''re too dead to know."

    Terry reflexively elbowed him in the chest and escaped from him, but then therge knife came from behind him, piercing through his back, slightly below the shoulder de. "Ngh..." Ryan touched his painful chest with a grin. "No one is here to save you anymore. You were lucky with the Culling, weren''t you? Let''s see if you''re lucky enough to survive us." Terry forcefully pushed the knife out of his bad and retreated further back, his back colliding

    with the back wall.

    With a single stab, his health was reduced nearly fifty percent.

    ''I don''t understand why he would want to kill me.'' Terry thought with a pale face. ''I''ve never

    done anything to him.''

    "It''s unfair, isn''t it?" Ryan asked as he and his second-self approached him. "Why you? You must be thinking. It''s not your fault, it''s Adam''s fault."

    "What''re you talking about?" Terry asked.

    "I was given a glorious mission." Ryan said. "From my creator, to kill those that may seem like a problem in the future. If you had stayed as your pathetic self from five months ago, you

    would have been spared."

    "Unfortunately, Adam had to reveal your hidden talent." The second Ryan said. "You might not feel like it, but you''re indeed a genius. A genius in disguise."

    "That''s why you killed them as well?" Terry asked with a painful expression.

    "That''s right." Ryan said. "I am here to cull the talented. It was my creator''s orders, and I

    must obey them."

    ''His creator''s?'' Terry asked with a frown. ''Something sinister is at y here!''

 Chapter 193: Realm Between

    Chapter 193: Realm Between

    ?

    The warm blood touched his skin, making him warm and ufortable.

    Adam''s eyes fluttered slightly open, and with a hazy vision, he saw a hole in the ceiling and he felt the soft, dirt ground beneath his back.

    "Hey, are you about to die?"

    "Eh?" Adam asked, confused.

    When he looked over to the side, he saw a silver-dressed woman crouching next to him.

    Her face looked obscure as it was hidden by a veil, and her silver hair flowed gracefully over her shoulders like a waterfall.

    "Who...?"

    "Are you about to die?" she asked again with a voice that continued to echo in his mind long after those words escaped her soft lips.

    "I guess..." Adam replied with a rough voice. "I am in pain."

    "Want me to take away the pain?" she asked.

    "If you can..." Adam said with a sense of desperation and hope in his voice.

    "I''ll take it away eternally." She reached out her hand towards his head.

    "SNAP OUT OF IT!"

    A shout came and halted her movements.

    It sounded like stor.

    "stor?" Adam frowned and fluttered his eyes open. "How''re you in here?"

    "You fool, you''re at the Realm Between, where the boundaries between life and death are blurred." stor''s voice echoed throughout his ear.

    Adam''s eyes widened further. "Why am I here and how?"

    "Because you''re about to die!" stor shouted. "That bitch next to you summoned you here. It''s because my presence is bringing forth more godly beings to you!"

    "Who is she?" Adam asked as he looked over to the veiled, silver-haired woman.

    "Mistress Death." stor said. "A hateful bitch."

    "Don''t listen to him," her sweet voice echoed through his mind. "He doesn''t know the sweet bliss of the death. He only knows the fear of it."

    "She summoned you here to trick you into death." stor said. "Because she knows that it will bring death to me. You''re still alive, very much alive just refuse her offer!"

    "You can be with me forever, if you desire it." She said and moved her pale, cold hand across Adam''s chest, leaving a trail of frost in its wake. "You won''t regret it, I promise~"

    Adam felt veryfortable, like he was sleeping in a bed made out of clouds with the beautiful Mistress Death lying next to him, whispering sweet nothings in his ear. "Adam, for fuck''s sake!" stor screamed. "Are you really this weak-hearted?!" "Ugh..." Adam opened his eyes. "I just needed a short rest. Calm down."

    "Huh?" The Mistress Death looked surprised as her seductive spell broke apart.

    Adam pushed her aside and sat up, the bed made out of clouds disappearing into thin air.

    "I refuse your offer," he said. "Let me return to thend of the living."

    She looked at him softly and touched his shoulder. "Very well. If you find thend of the living too harsh, you always have a spot beside me."

    With that, he left the Realm Between and found himself at the strange underground cave, the hole in the ceiling revealing a glimpse of the stormy night sky above.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    It was raining as well, the sound of thunder echoing through the cave walls.

    Adam reached out to his inventory and grabbed hisst sk of the Rising Moon.

    Without hesitation, he gulped it down, and his health nearly reached full once again.

    The sk dropped on the dirt ground and shattered.

    He still had some sks of the Setting Sun, but that was only useful to heal separated limbs, not replenish health.

    At that moment, the whole underground cave shook as the ceiling above crumbled apart because of a few lightning strikes, and from there, Renard came down, stepping on the air as if it were solid ground.

    "Still alive? Tough sonuvabitch, aren''t you?" Renardughed, but again, not a single sound escaped his lips.

    Adam struggled a bit, but eventually he stood up and faced Renard with a determined look in

    his eyes.

    "If I died that easily, it would be pretty disappointing, wouldn''t it?"

    "Hmph." Renardnded on the ground and frowned after seeing his boots turn dirty.

    "Haah..." Adam breathed heavily and wiped the blood from his lips.

    "I am saddened, truly." Renard said. "You, as my right-hand man. We could''ve be something great together."

    "You''ve only a few years left, either way." Adam said. "The New World can''t be taken over in just a few years."

    "It sucks truly." Renard said. "I was born in the wrong era. When the Mortal Online was released, I was already in my forties. Every year, it started to be harder to advance. I had to work twice as hard as my younger peers.

    "You''re lucky. You have thirty to forty years ahead of you." Renard said. "I could''ve taught you. In a few years, you could''ve be the new headmaster and led the future of the Pro- Strong faction."

    "I was always a bad student." Adam said. "You couldn''t have taught me."

    "You''re a stupid student." Renard said and his hand turned into the head of a spear. "You chose death instead of a glorious future."

    "That I am." Adam raised his hand and then showed a middle finger to Renard. "I am also a very rude student."

    With a long lunge, Renard rushed at him, his hand looking like the head of the spear, and then he stabbed his hand forward.

    The hand pierced through Adam''s body like a real spear.

    "Hand Spear," Renard said as he watched Adam cough blood and cry out in pain.

    However, immediately after, a confused frown appeared on his face, as it didn''t really feel

    like he had stabbed through a living person.

    Just as he expected, the person in front of him shattered like a mirror.

    It was an illusion!

    Behind him, hands wrapped around his mouth, both hands holding two sks of poison, and then poured the poison down Renard''s mouth.

    There was nothing he could do in time to stop it from happening.

    If he had a higher level of Kiryoku, perhaps, but he had spent the majority of his time with

    Magick. Thus, he was one of the strongest magicians in the New World, but was very average

    with Kiryoku.

    Turning around, Renard stabbed his hand through Adam''s body again.

    "Hand Spear!"

    "Cough!" Adam coughed out blood.

    This time, the Hand Spear struck the real body.

    "Die!" Renard screamed, but then everything started to turn hazy as the poison traversed

    through his veins and into his heart.

    If that happened to an ordinary person, they would already be dead, but Renard only became dizzy and slightly light-headed.

    At that moment, Adam ced his hand at Renard''s chest and shouted.

    "Chi Strike!"

    The Chi Strike ignored Renard''s hidden chest armor and struck deep into his heart, causing

    excruciating pain.

    It made his heart stop for a moment, but then Renard screamed so loud that wind ceased and summoned a bolt of lightning from the sky.

    The lightning struck Renard and sent Adam flying backwards with a jolt of electricity.

    The shock of the lightning made Renard''s heart beat again.

    To reach his current level, Renard was a genius of his own right. A genius ofbat. If he

    wasn''t, he would''ve died a long time ago, as because of his arrogant nature, he''d made plenty

    of enemies.

    However, he had always been able to be thest one standing.

 Chapter 194: Clone

    Chapter 194: Clone

    ?

    SMACK!

    Terry slid across the ground, his face contorted in pain.

    A bruise spread across his forearms as he tried to block a kick from Ryan, but to no avail.

    ''That''s crazy strength!'' Terry thought in a panic. ''Is he really Coinfeeder like me?''

    Ryan, with a grin on his face, approached him and started throwing straight punches and low kicks with lightning speed.

    Struggling to keep up, Terry just backed off constantly like a scared rabbit.

    ''Is this all I can do?'' Terry thought in anger. ''Run away? What happens when I take the tutorial? Will I keep running away there as well?''

    Ryan stepped forward, and then, using the flexibility of his waist, he sprang forward with a powerful punch.

    ''No!'' Terry shouted inside his mind, dodged the punch, and grabbed it by the wrist.

    Ryan scoffed and ripped his hand out of Terry''s grip.

    "I ain''t running away!" Terry swung his fist andnded a punch across Ryan''s face, knocking him a few steps back.

    "Agh..." Ryan''s gaze turned deadly as he wiped the blood from his lip.

    Swoosh!

    With a sh of silver, a knife shed through Terry''s forearm and made the crimson blood stter on the ground.

    "Ah!" Terry quickly jumped away, his gaze shifting to the second Ryan, who still had hisrge knife ready..

    "Give that to me." Ryan said to his twin-looking man.

    The second Ryan didn''t say a word to oppose and handed over therge knife.

    "I''ll kill him myself." Ryan twirled the knife around in his hand, and with slow steps, he arrived within the attacking range.

    As soon as Terry blinked, Ryan jumped forward and swung the knife from back to front. Therge knife''s big de sliced through the air with a chilly whoosh, nearing Terry''s neck.

    Terry watched as therge knife of death approached. He could only watch in fear as it came closer and closer.

    At that moment, dodging was out of the question.

    If he nned on dodging, the knife would most likely still hit his shoulder and he would lose thest remaining health of his.

    Thus, there was only one option left.

    His eyes opened wider and wider, and the pupils dted like cat eyes.

    While everyone in the Eldertree Institute were geniuses in some things they were doing, Terry''s talenty on something more discreet-in his eyes.

    He was very skilled at reading people.

    ''Maybe I always knew who the real killer was.'' Terry thought. ''I just thought I was wrong.''

    With his left hand, he grabbed the knife-wielding hand by its wrist, stopping the big de before it could pierce through his head.

    However, the knife was still nearing his head as he couldn''tpletely stop the momentum. After all, Terrycked the required strength topletely stop Ryan!

    ''Damn it, stop!'' Terry screamed inside his mind.

    He was shocked that after five months, day after day in the gym, he stillcked strengthpared to Ryan, who hadn''t even been training.

    ''He is not Coinfeeder, that''s for sure!'' Terry thought. ''He must''ve lied about being Coinfeeder!''

    The knife eventually came to a stop, but their hands were still trembling as the other tried to push the knife down, and the other tried to push the knife up, away from himself.

    "You''re annoying!" Ryan shouted while staring at Terry in anger. "Stop fighting against the inevitable. You''re going to die. No one wille to help you!"

    As soon as he said, the second Ryan came from the side and kicked Terry away like he was nothing but a rag doll.

    Terry''s feet slid backwards, and his back eventually crashed against a shelf that held dumbbells, causing a few of them to fall to the ground and roll away as the metal ngs echoed through the room.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Death.

    It was bing painfully apparent that the chances of survival were slim to none.

    Yet Terry didn''t get consumed by the despair, and instead he started smiling-smiling like a madman.

    "Says who?"

    The inventory window popped out open in front of him, and it was empty without anything there. Except, on the first slot, there was some kind of ss jar with liquid inside.

    He took it out and held it above his head.

    "What''s that supposed to be?" Ryan asked with a frown.

    "Very powerful poison." Terry said with a grin. "I didn''t know why, at first, but Adam gave me this after you, ording to yourself, went to do some real life stuff."

    "Why would he do that?" Ryan asked with a frown.

    "I am good at reading people." Terry said with a sigh. "I should''ve listened to my gut and told my worries about you to Adam earlier; maybe we could''ve stopped you before you did something stupid like this."

    ''Adam knows?'' Ryan frowned. ''That''s impossible. I am a clone of acting. No one should have been able to find out.''

    The second Ryan approached Terry without caring about the poison. He didn''t seem to care whether he was going to be poisoned or not.

    "Don''t move!" Terry shouted. "If I drop this poison, everyone in this room will die within

    seconds!"

    However, the second Ryan didn''t stop moving and didn''t speak a single word.

    ''What the hell is wrong with him?'' Terry''s eyes showed looks of panic.

    "Stop." Ryan''smanding voice sounded.

    The second Ryan finally came to a stop.

    "Haha." Ryanughed in amusement. "News sh, we don''t care about dying if you think that

    is going to stop us."

    "What?" Terry stammered, feeling a sense of unease growing in the pit of his stomach.

    "Why do you think I showed my face in the first ce?" Ryan asked with a smirk. "Because

    this will be thest time this world will see me."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I am a clone." Ryan said and looked at his twin. "So is he, but he is even below me-a secondary clone-and he doesn''t have his own thoughts or feelings like I do."

    Terry didn''t speak.

    "I was always going to die." Ryan said and touched the shoulder of his secondary clone. "I''ll just finish my job first. I''ll need confirmation that Adam is dead before I die. After all, when I die, my memories will be transferred to my creator."

    "So, that''s why." Terry looked at the poison and closed his eyes.

    Then he looked straight into Ryan''s eyes and opened his mouth.

    However, he wasn''t going to talk to Ryan, but to whoever was going to receive these

    memories.

    "Coward."

    Ryan chuckled and took a seat by one of the lifting benches.

    "Don''t be mad. In front of my creator, you''re as insignificant as a fly," he said. "I was sent

    here to keep an eye on possibly talented individuals, but that doesn''t mean any of them would''ve been able to challenge my creator in the future.

    "However, he is worried about Adam.

    "While he wants him to be on his side, he also doesn''t trust in him, so he left it to me to

    decide whether he was going to die or not."

    "Isn''t your creator worried that Adam will find out about his assassination attempt?" Terry asked. "Adam will be a great man in the future. If I were him, I would hide."

    "Adam will never find out who my creator is."

    "You''re his clone, are you not?" Terry asked. "I would guess that you look like him."

    "Ah, this?" Ryan pointed at his face and shook his head. "I look different from my creator."

    Rumble!

    At that moment, another rumbling sound reverberated from outside.

    "He is still alive?" Ryan scoffed. "He is fucking stubborn, but it looks like Renard is also growing impatient. Their fight will end soon, and then you''ll die, as will I."

 Chapter 195: Sky and Beyond

    Chapter 195: Sky and Beyond

    ?

    "HA!"

    Renard''s scream shook the walls, and then he started throwing hundreds of punches in a span of a few seconds-some of the punches were ps, some were jabs, and the rest were ordinary straight punches.

    With the Little God ability working at full strength, Adam moved his hands with lightning speed, parrying and rebounding the attacks.

    Smack, smack, smack!

    Since he had grown stronger, the devouring side effect of the Little God wasn''t as strong as before, but it was still a struggle to control.

    However, he couldn''t use the Little God forever without fearing for the side effect.

    Especially now.

    He didn''t have any healing sks left, except for the Setting Sun.

    If Renard didn''t kill him, the devouring might if he pushed himself too much.

    At that moment, one of Renard''s punches bypassed his defenses and smashed deep into his chest with a bone-breaking force that knocked the wind out of him.

    "Ah!" Adam coughed out blood.

    His face had turned pale as if all the blood was drained from his body.

    "You think you can fight me in frontalbat?" Renard smiled menacingly. "The gap between us is bigger than the Blind Sea!"

    "Heh..." Adam justughed and then mmed his feet at Renard''s chest. "Chi Strike!"

    The Chi Strike exploded through Renard''s body, and his face twisted in sudden pain.

    ''He used his Chi Strike with his kicks?!'' Renard thought in shock.

    This wasn''t the first time he''d seen someone use Chi Strike-it wasn''t that umon of a skill as it had the perfect ability of bypassing all the defenses.

    It was especially powerful against Kraft Masters, who could d their entire bodies in Kraft to protect them from all harm.

    However, he thought it was only possible to do with hands and not with legs!

    The wings on Adam''s back swung downwards and left deep cuts on Renard''s chest and arms.

    For the first time in a long time, Renard was properly bleeding, and it felt strangely invigorating.

    "Ah, I have forgotten how it feels to be in pain!" Renard screamed and mmed his fist into Adam''s chest and sent him flying to the ends of the underground cave.

    With his wings softening the blow, he crashed into the wall but quickly rose back to his feet.

    ''He is poisoned, but it doesn''t even look like it.'' Adam thought with an ugly expression. ''What can I do now? I had a n, but it''s useless now!''

    Renard, his eyes almost glowing, rushed at Adam and started throwing punches that made the air explode.

    Boom, boom, boom!

    Within an instant, he put Adam at the back foot, while his punches broke bones, ripped the flesh, and left him gasping for breath.

    Painful.

    It was truly painful.

    Adam was pushed around as if he were a ragdoll, unable to defend himself against the relentless assault.

    He felt like his whole body was about to break apart and copse at any moment.

    He''d stopped looking at his health bar as he knew the situation with his body way better than his interface ever could.

    With bloodied and broken fingers, he tried to parry Renard''s relentless punches, but whenever he did, more of his fingers broke as he simply couldn''t stop those powerful punches.

    The blood spewed from his wounds, staining the ground beneath him in a grotesque pool of red.

    Yet, while he was suffering, Renard became faster and stronger-each punch of his felt stronger than thest.

    "You''ve been fighting a rusty version of me for thest hour or so!" Renard said with a grin. "This is the real me. Suffer, suffer, and suffer more!"

    Bang!

    Another punch that sounded like a gunshotnded on Adam''s arms, and he was thrown back several dozen meters.

    The flesh around his forearms was bloodied and ripped open, exposing the muscle underneath.

    It was a hideous sight.

    ''It sure is painful,'' Adam thought while struggling to stand up. ''I''ve been using Minor Healing non-stop, but my mana reserves are almost depleted.''

    Renard didn''t give him a second to catch his breath and lurched forward with another attack. Adam shrunk his body behind his arms and braced for the impact.

    SMACK, SMACK, SMACK!

    The punchesnded on his forearms, sending shockwaves of pain up his arms.

    It wasn''t only a few punches, but hundreds of punches that seemed toe at him all at once.

    His arms wanted to break under the force, but Adam didn''t allow them.

    He was using his White Kraft to somewhat protect his arms, but it didn''t seem to work even slightest.

    For a moment, he wanted to use his wings to shield himself, but he knew he needed to save his wings as those were hisst trump card.

    If Renard exhausted himself, perhaps he could still fly away back to the New World. Based on the strength of these punches, he doubted whether his wings could handle them.

    Losing his wings would be the end of the fight. He was fine with losing his arms and legs as long as he still had his wings left.

    At that moment, a punch seemingly came out of nowhere andnded on Adam''s jaw, pushing his face to the side and stretching his neck muscles to their limit.

    It was at that moment that everything turned dark for him.

    However, immediately after, another punchnded on his chest that woke him back up.

    Adam, frightened to the core, again hid his body behind his arms while the punches continued

    to rain down on him.

    ''I lost consciousness?'' Adam gulped. ''That was almost it. I almost died!''

    ''Minor Healing, Minor Healing, Minor Healing!''

    Ignoring hisck of mana reserves, he continued to use his healing spell to somehow keep

    him alive!

    A sharp headache assaulted his mind, but he refused to stop.

    As one of the punches came from front, Adam dodged the fist with a head tilt and, with a coincidence, looked straight towards the open ceiling, towards the sky above.

    At that moment, a crazy n formed in his mind.

    ''Sky. That''s right.''n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Without a moment of hesitation, Adam put Renard under a bear hug, and with a p of his

    wings, he flew out of the open ceiling and straight towards the sky.

    "Hands off me!" Renard formed a spearhand and stabbed through Adam''s chest.

    "Cough!" Adam coughed out blood that sttered across Renard''s face.

    "Ngh, disgusting!" Renard shook his head, trying to shake off the blood from his face.

    ''Faster, faster, faster!'' Adam forced his wings to p harder and faster. ''To the sky and

    beyond!''

    Renard screamed and tried to remove the arms from around him.

    As he grabbed the arms, he broke and shattered the bones within them.

    After doing so, he thought that Adam''s grip would loosen, but the opposite happened, and his

    grip only tightened further.

    "Where the hell are you taking me?!" Renard asked in anger. "Let me go, fool!"

    Adam just coughed blood and used his Minor Healing without stopping even for a moment.

    The mana reserves were already depleted, and he was using the backup reserves, but that was

    just enough to help him stay conscious for a few more seconds.

    ''A few more seconds is all I need!'' Adam flew through the dark clouds and flew straight towards the stars above.

    ''Don''t tell me he is trying that...'' Renard''s eyes widened in shock. ''Madman!''

 Chapter 196: Emptiness of Space

    Chapter 196: Emptiness of Space

    ?

    The starry sky started to be closer.

    Like a shooting star, the beautiful wings carried Adam and Renard further into the sky.

    It was bing very windy and cold as they ascended higher and higher.

    Slowly, ayer of frost started to spread across the tips of Adam''s wings.

    "You think you can survive longer than me here?" Renard asked in anger. "This is a worthless attempt. You''ll freeze over way faster than I do."

    "You think so?" Adam grinned widely and opened his mouth wide. "Ice Breath!"

    A breath of cold air swept out of his mouth and froze Renard''s eyebrows and solidified his hair strands into icy spikes.

    "Enough, Lightning st!"

    After Renard''s roar, a lightning bolt shot out from the clouds under them and struck both of them, engulfing them in a sea of electrifying energy.

    "Ah!" Adam''s flesh burned as the electricity coursed through his body, leaving him paralyzed and in excruciating pain.

    His grip on Renard loosened.

    ''It''s loose!'' Renard wanted to escape, but then the grip returned and squeezed him tighter than ever before.

    "You aren''t escaping, bastard!" Adam screamed, his voice filled with rage and desperation. ''How did he shrug off the state of paralysis so quickly?'' Renard wondered in shock.

    The wings sprouted from Adam''s back, unfurling to their full span.

    p, p, p, p!

    They rose higher and higher into the sky.

    The ground below looked small and insignificant.

    They were already flying above the enormous Eldertree, with its enormous branches spreading around them like a protective canopy.

    It was turning so cold that their bodies started to freeze all over.

    With a few more ps of the wings, it began hard to breathe, and his wings froze all over into blocks of ice.

    The blood on Adam''s arms dried up into a dark, icy crust, and his fingers turned stiff and numb.

    With that, his grip on Renard loosened, and both of them started to fly away from each other, but they weren''t falling; they were ascending slowly.

    ''I have to get out of here!'' Renard thought, still having the ability to move his limbs.

    He wanted to use his airwalk to escape this world of coldness, but he couldn''t.

    ''Why? Why is my skill not working?'' Renard thought in shock.

    Seeing that, Adam just smiled and thought. ''The system''s powers don''t work outside the world.''

    When Renard looked down, the world looked amazing. It was like one big bubble with the enormous tree at the center.

    However, the world didn''t look as big as he expected.

    This world was just the twenty-fifth floor, nothing else.

    ''All the dungeon floors are separate dimensions.'' Adam thought and turned around to look at the space.

    There were around a hundred other bubbles floating in the space away from each other.

    At the center of all of this was a giant bubble-it was the main world of Mortal Online-the New World.

    There hadn''t been many yers able to see this sight with their own eyes.

    ''Please!'' Renard tried to crawl himself back to the bubble where they came from, but he continued floating further away, the cold spreading through his body.

    ''No!''

    At that moment, Renard remembered something.

    He still had his master Floor Orb!

    As long as he used it, he could teleport wherever he wanted on that floor.

    ''Yes!''

    With his cold, stiff fingers, he took it out and thought about his office.

    However, nothing happened.

    ''We''re not on the twenty-fifth floor anymore.'' Adam thought as he watched him float away. ''Thus, the Floor Orb does not work.''

    While Renard couldn''t use any of his skills, the wings on Adam''s back were still there.

    With a few difficult ps, the wings pushed him down to the bubble, and then he started falling towards the ground.

    Since they were frozen, those wings couldn''t carry him anymore.

    ''How can he still use his wings?'' Renard asked as he saw Adam fall back to the bubble. ''Is it because those are part of Innate Skills? That''s unfair; that''s bullshit!''

    Yet, no matter how much he cried, it didn''t change the fact that he was dying.

    At that moment, he couldn''t breathe anymore as he had finally reached the exosphere, and his

    face froze all over as he gazed at the vast expanse of space before him.

    With that, frozen Renard floated away from the bubble and into the emptiness of space.

    ...

    Swoosh, swoosh!

    The wind rushed around him as Adam continued falling like aet towards the ground.

    He had his eyes closed, as if he had already forfeited himself to his fate.

    Past the Eldertree''s branches, through the dark clouds, the ground quickly approached him

    like the eventual death.

    Adam''s eyes slowly opened, and his eyes showed panic.

    As he turned his head around with great difficulty, he saw the ground nearing.

    "No!" He pulled out his sword and cut through his frozen wings.

    His frozen wings shattered, and on his back, eight broken bones were exposed, piercing through his skin. Those were the bones of the wings.

    From his inventory, he took out the sk of the Setting Sun and gulped it down all in one go.

    With that, new, beautiful wings emerged from his backs, unfrozen and perfect. Those wings caught him and slowed down his fall, but his feet still hit the ground hard.

    He rolled on the ground for a short moment before he came to a stop, panting heavily and

    feeling the pain in his bruised body.

    There was not a single spot in his body that wasn''t either bruised or bloodied.

    ''H-how much health left...''

    With a whisper, the interface opened up in front of him.

    [HP: 3/900]

    After seeing that, he panicked slightly, and he began to check out his wounds to see if he was bleeding from anywhere, but his Minor Healing had healed the most.

    Thus, he wasn''t in danger of losing any more health.

    Unfortunately, since he didn''t kill Renard directly, he didn''t receive any experience points

    from that, but still, he was happy and even let out a fewughs.

    If this feat came known, his status would rise significantly, as this feat was even crazier than

    his victory against Grandeur.

    This was a proper deathmatch, and it was against a person that was former Grand Lord!

    While he had grown slightly weaker than in his glory days, it was still an amazing feat!

    Crack!

    At that moment, a sound of a twig breaking came from behind him.

    He turned around to the dark forest and didn''t see anyone, but to his shock, there was a sk of the Rising Moon on the ground, some footsteps leading away from it. ''Someone was watching?'' Adam thought in shock and picked up the sk. ''That person left me this? Why? Who was watching?''

    He turned to look at the forest around him, searching for any sign of who could have left the

    sk.

    ...N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Walking down the forest, a blond-haired man lit up a cigarette between his lips and took a

    long puff.

    "What a monster," Kyle thought out loud. "Lady Yu, this man is dangerous."

    The safety of Lady Yu was his utmost priority, and currently he had a feeling that if he kept

    keeping an eye on Adam, his life would be in danger.

    He was afraid.

    There weren''t many assassins stronger than him-he had reached very respected Royal Prince

    rank, yet he was afraid of this rookie mercenary.

    "I was about to help him, but to think that he would do that..." Kyle looked over to the sky.

    "Rest in piss, Renard."

 Chapter 197 Words to the Creator

    Chapter 197 Words to the Creator

    "Ah, no sound." Ryan put his hand over his left ear and didn''t hear the rumbling anymore. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "I guess the fight is over~"

    ''Adam, don''t tell me you''re dead¡­'' Terry thought to himself.

    Ryan stood up from the bench and slowly approached Terry.

    "It''s time. Let''s die now, alright?"

    "You haven''t guaranteed that Adam is dead yet." Terry said with a pale face. "Shouldn''t you go check out his corpse or something?"

    "He is dead." Ryan said sternly. "Renard attacked him. There''s no way he leaves him alive after that."

    Terry gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the poison sk.

    "Don''t move!" He shouted. "You''ve got feelings and thoughts, don''t you? Don''t you desire to live?"

    "The clones have a simple purpose." Ryan said. "I''ve resigned myself to death ever since I was born."

    "Why are you still listening to your creator?" Terry asked. "Your job here is done. Just leave and go have a proper life!"

    "Oh, but my job is not done." Ryan said and pointed at him. "I still have to kill you~"

    "J-just listen to me." Terry pleaded, hoping to reason with Ryan before it was toote. "Don''t you want to travel the New World and go to new ces? Don''t you want to experience everything life has to offer?"

    Ryan smiled and spread his arms wide as if he were epting a hug.

    "I have already lived for five years. That''s longer than any clone could ask for."

    "So, you are satisfied with that?" Terry asked.

    "Oh, yes." Ryan chuckled. "Once I die, I''ll be part of the creator once more. That''s the greatest bliss I could ask for."

    "You are¡­" Terry shook his head. "Very sad existence."

    "You don''t understand." Ryan said. "You don''t have a purpose. You just exist."

    "Fine¡­" Terry looked at the sk of the poison and sadly smiled. "Let''s die then."

    Ryan and his secondary clone started praying to their creator.

    Terry closed his eyes and went into a throwing motion.

    As he was about to throw the sk to the ground, the gym door exploded from its hinges.

    The three heads turned to the door.

    A sword flew from there and stabbed through Ryan''s chest before he had even a chance to look at the person who threw it.

    The second Ryan reacted and jumped towards the door, but then two wings stabbed through his chest and lifted him high into the air before smashing him into the ground with incredible force.

    Then, through the door, an injured-looking young man walked in, a limp in his step.

    Terry''s eyes slowly opened wide. "Adam!"

    Adam wiped the blood off his lips as he approached Ryan, anger shing in his eyes.

    "That''s impossible!" Ryan screamed and tried to pull the sword from his chest but was unsessful as it was stuck between his ribs.

    "Adam, are you alright?" Terry asked and was about to drop the sk, but then remembered that it was very poisonous and stored it gently back in his inventory.

    "Yeah, what about you?" Adam asked.

    "Surviving." Terry said and looked deeply at him.

    He couldn''t believe his eyes.

    While he had a lot of faith in Adam''s capabilities, he never expected him to survive Renard!

    "What happened to Renard?" Ryan asked in anger. "How did you survive?!"

    "He is dead, as will you." Adam said, grabbed him by the throat, and mmed him into the wall. "Who sent you?"

    "What the fuck?!" Ryan''s face paled. "You killed Renard? You definitely cannot be left alive!"

    With his right hand, he pulled out a hidden switchde from his belt and swung it down at Adam, but he simply pped the de away with ease.

    The switchde slipped off his hands andnded harmlessly on the ground.

    The second Ryan''s gazended on the switchde, and he rushed at it with his bleeding chest, but then Adam''s wings cut through his throat, leaving him headless.

    Thump!

    The second Ryan copsed on the ground and vanished without a sound.

    "Wait, Adam." Terry walked over to him. "He is a clone, sent by someone he calls the creator."

    "A clone?" Adam looked into Ryan''s eyes. "So, when this clone dies, whoever created him will receive these memories."

    "Exactly." Terry said. "How did you know?"

    "I have known a few people that had cloning skills, but it''s rarely this advanced."

    "So it will be easy to find out who the creator is?" Terry asked hopefully.

    "Not necessarily." Adam said. "Those with cloning skills are keeping themselves hidden. They don''t want to reveal something as powerful as this, especially because these clones have a mind of their own."

    "Yeah¡­" Ryan chuckled. "You''ll never find out who my creator is. When he receives these memories, he''lle to finish you off by himself."

    "So, it is ''him''." Adam scoffed. "Come on, reveal more about him, you bastard."

    "Ptui!" Ryan spat in his face. "Come on, kill me and go hide like a cockroach you are!"

    "Adam, what shall we do?" Terry asked. "Leave him alive so his creator doesn''t get the memories?"

    At that moment, he remembered something.

    "Ah, right. That second Ryan, will his memories get sent to the creator as well?!"

    "No," Adam said. "He was nothing but Ryan''s clone, so those memories got sent to Ryan."

    "Wait, the creator''s clones also have the cloning ability?" Terry asked in shock. "That''s overpowered as fuck!"

    "Yes, this creator must be very powerful," Adam said.

    "Yes, he is, and when he arrives here, this floor and everyone here will burn!" Ryanughed like a madman.

    "I don''t think so." Adam smiled. "I don''t believe your creator wants to reveal himself. I don''t think he''ll being."

    "Even if he doesn''t, he''ll send one of his stronger clones." Ryan grinned. "My brothers are much stronger than I am. I have merely Ordergiver''s level of power!"

    "That''s why, your creator made you weak so you can hide better among others as your strength wouldn''t be detected by teachers and so that when you eventually get caught, it wouldn''t be easy to find out who the creator is.

    "No, he won''t send anyone." Adam said. "Because this creator of yours isn''t a fool. Why would he risk another failure by his clones? I know quite a bit about cloning myself, wanna hear?"

    Ryan frowned.

    "The weaker the clones, more different they look from their creator.

    "That''s why, your creator made you weak so you can hide better among others as your strength wouldn''t be detected by teachers and so that when you eventually get caught, it wouldn''t be easy to find out who the creator is.

    "The opposite goes to the powerful clones. They look more simr to the creator, and your creator knows that to kill me, he''ll need to send more powerful clones, and if they fail to kill me, I will know what the creator looks like."

    Ryan''s face paled at the realization.

    Adam looked into his eyes and spoke directly to the creator.

    "I don''t know who you''re. There''s no need toe after me."

    "Don''t listen to him, my creator!" Ryan screamed. "Avenge me!"

    Adam pulled out the sword from his chest and beheaded him with a quick swing.

    The head rolled down on the ground, and instantly afterwards, Ryan disappeared into thin air.

    "It''s over?" Terry copsed on the ground and breathed heavily. "Oh my god, that was scary."

    "It ain''t over." Adam said. "We''ll need to leave. Now."

    "Why?" Terry asked in a slight panic.

    "I just killed the headmaster." Adam said. "It isn''t hard for the teachers to find out about what I did, and when they do, she''ll kill me."

    "Who?"

    "Bertha." Adam said. "She is crazy in love with Renard, and she''ll go search for Renard when he has been gone for some time. We need to leave this floor now."

    "A-ah, alright!"

 Chapter 198: The Island

    Chapter 198: The Ind

    ?

    Somewhere in the New World.

    With curtains drawn to shield the sunlight, a shadow of a man was sitting in a dimly lit room at a in wooden table.

    His hands were ced against his chin, allowing his head to rest on his hands as he stared ahead.

    Just moments ago, he received a flurry of new memories.

    It meant that one of his clones died somewhere in this vast world.

    After understanding every piece of new memory, it was clear whose memories those were.

    "Ryan," his voice was emotionless. "A failure."

    The door then opened, and a butler-outfit-wearing man stood there, holding a white rose in his hand, its petals gently falling to the ground.

    "Sir, one of the white roses is dying," he said. "Did a clone die?"

    "A clone of acting, Ryan," the man crossed his legs. "I am angry, beyond belief."

    The butler ced his hand on his chest and bowed. "I am more than willing to avenge my brother''s death."

    "I am not angry at the killer," the man said. "I am angry at Ryan. He revealed my existence- it was too premature."

    "The killer found out your identity?" The butler asked. "More reasons to burn down the ce he is hiding at."

    "If I wanted your opinion, I would''ve asked for it," the man snapped.

    The butler panicked and knelt on the ground. "It wasn''t my intention to be rude, sir."

    "And no, he doesn''t know who I am. However, he knows that I exist, and that''s all that matters for now."

    Crack.

    At that moment, something shattered into a million pieces in the outside hallway.

    Then, some hurried voices of the servants came from behind the door.

    "Sigh..." the man pinched his be and shouted. "Stop moving!"

    With a singlemand, hundreds of people froze inside the residence, looking like mannequins in a store disy-they were all his clones-over a hundred of them!

    The butler wasn''t immune to themand, and he was frozen in ce as well.

    "Finally-peace and quiet."

    The man stood up and walked over to the curtained window, then peeked outside into the bustling city of the Imperium.

    "You''ve yed your cards well, Adam, yet you also do have weaknesses."

    With a discreet smile, he turned around and headed out of the room.

    "Move."

    A single word, yet a powerfulmand, reverberated throughout the residence, and all the hundred clones began moving, continuing their lives as if nothing had happened.

    ...

    At the Eldertree Institute, Adam and Terry rushed down the woody corridor.

    After a short while, they arrived at the exit and saw that its door was missing.

    It seemed to have been sted into pieces.

    "What happened to the door?" Terry asked.

    "It was locked, so I had to do something to get back to the institute." Adam said.

    "Its door was made out of Eldertree wood-it isn''t easy to destroy..." Terry said with a wry smile.

    "You got that right."

    Adam said and then his beautiful wings sprouted from his back.

    Then, he grabbed Terry from the back of his shirt and started flying towards the far end of the twenty-fifth floor.

    While hanging from the hand, Terry saw the vast destruction of the forest.

    The trees had been toppled over, the ground was scorched, and the dark clouds in the sky hadn''t fully dispersed yet either.

    "How did you survive all that..."

    Terry wondered out loud, and he felt like he couldn''t ever reach such a level of strength.

    Without answering, the wings carried them to the end of the floor, and there they found the door that led to the New World.

    Theynded right in front of it.

    It looked like the door was just standing there without anything to hold it. If one opened it, one would think that there was nothing on the other side.

    However, after further inspection, it was clear that this was where the floor ended.

    At the other side of the door, there was more of the forests and mountains, but when Terry touched at the side of the door, it felt like he was touching a wall and that those forests and mountains were nothing but painted on.

    It was, however, such a vivid painting that everything looked real.

    "So, what happens when I walk through the door?" Terry asked. "Will I arrive on the New World?"

    "No." Adam said. "You''ve got to take the tutorial before the ''gods'' of that world allow you there, so I''ve heard. You''ll get logged out when you step through, and when you log back in, it will be in the tutorial after you''ve registered for it, of course."

    "I see..." Terry looked back at the enormous Eldertree. "I am not sure whether I am ready. Can''t I stay here?"N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "They''ll notice my departure, and since you''re my roommate, they''ll interrogate you." Adam said. "I can''t say with certainty about what they''ll do to you, but you''re ready for the

    tutorial."

    "You think so?" Terry asked in hesitation. "I couldn''t do anything against Ryan except run away. I think I am not ready."

    Adam opened the door, and there was nothing except an empty void beyond it.

    "The tutorial is easy," he said. "Your teachers have been preparing all of you for it, but they

    don''t teach you one thing, the mentality."

    "The mentality?" Terry asked in curiosity.

    "Since the students have been prepared for the tutorial, when it''s finally time for it, they''re nervous, as they don''t want to fail after spending so much time to prepare for it.

    "They also think it''s difficult since so many fail it, but that''s not the case.

    "All you need to be is confident, and the tutorial is as easy as it gets."

    "Is it really just that easy?" Terry asked. "Just be confident?"

    Adam smiled and patted him on the back. "Remember to wear warm clothes."

    "Warm clothes?"

    Without answering, Adam just pushed him through the door, and Terry''s screams got cut

    short as he disappeared into the void.

    Adam stepped through the door, then turned around to catch a final look at the Eldertree and then closed the door behind him, also disappearing into the void.

    ...

    The winds of winter came and went.

    It was already the time for the rainy season of the spring, the rain pouring down like a

    symphony of nature''s tears.

    The waves of the Blind Sea crashed against the sharp rocks of a small ind that jutted out of the water like a forgotten monument to some long-lost civilization.

    By the sharp rocks on the ind, a cane-wielding old man sat under the shade of a crumbling stone archway, watching towards the ocean and at the storm that was raging some distance

    away.

    At that moment, from the storm, a single boat sailed through the crashing waves, and there

    was a man standing on it, paddling against the wind.

    Its one mast had copsed as the result of the storm. However, with the one paddle, he managed to approach the ind.

    "A visitor..." the old man muttered to himself as he watched the boat approach. "A rare

    sight."

    As soon as the ship neared the ind, the rain stopped mysteriously and the sun peeked from

    behind the clouds.

    The man removed his hat and looked at the ind with a deep look.

    "The ind of the crying woman." Adam narrowed his eyes.

    The End of the Third Volume, Eldertree Institute!

 Chapter 199: The Winged Angel

    Chapter 199: The Winged Angel

    ?

    The Fourth Volume - The Winged Angel.

    ***

    Ssh, ssh, ssh!

    Waves after waves came and sshed, covering the shore in the saltwater and foam. The wind blew and the seagulls cried out in the sky.

    The small boat rocked back and forth as it stopped by the sharp rocks of the small ind.

    After tying the boat to a nearby tree, Adam stepped out into the small road that led straight to the fallen rock structures.

    To his small surprise, there was an old man waiting for him, a cane in hand and a wide brimmed hat on his head.

    "Hello, young traveler," the old man said. "How unfortunate of you to encounter that storm."

    "A storm that''s protecting this ind, I assume." Adam said and took a seat on one of the rock formations next to the old man.

    "Oh, why do you think so?" The old man asked with an elderly smile.

    "This is the ind of the crying woman, is it not?" Adam asked. "An ind gued by the curse of a woman''s sorrowful spirit."

    "You seem to know a lot." The old man chuckled. "You shouldn''t havee here; after all, you''re now trapped here."

    "Like you?" Adam asked.

    "Exactly." The old man said with a chuckle. "I identally sailed here thirty years ago, and I''ve been stuck ever since."

    ''The story stays the same as in the past life.'' Adam thought to himself. ''He is Quest Original, here to wait for a yer toe and to end the curse.''

    "You seem like a powerful young man; maybe you can end the curse." The old man said.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Oh, please tell me more." Adam said. "I''d hate to get stuck in here."

    "Hundred years ago, a ship wrecked near these shores, and on that board, there was a powerful witch who had been said to bear a curse of the unfortunate.

    "That curse caused the shipwreck, and she ended up on this ind while everyone else died. "Haunted by the guilt, she was sitting in these same rock steps, day in and night out, with tears streaming down her face as she relived the tragic events over and over again.

    "She also died, yearster, to the starvation.

    "Her corpse, swallowed by the ind, is somewhere in here, and the curse is still living strong within her corpse.

    "You''ll have to find her corpse and destroy the curse."

    Ding, ding!

    As soon as the old man finished talking, two dings echoed deep inside Adam''s mind.

    ***

    [Rare Quest Acquired!]

    [Quest: Curse of the Crying Woman]

    [Rank: B]

    [Description: The ind had swallowed the crying woman''s corpse. You must find it, and then destroy the curse within]

    [Time limit: 1 year]

    [Reward: ???]

    ***

    "Now, go and destroy the curse, young traveler!"

    "Very well." Adam said. "I have a favor to ask, however."

    "What is it?" The old man asked.

    "Do you mind fixing my boat?" Adam looked towards his boat with the mast broken from the middle. "I still need to have a way to leave this ind."

    "I''ll see what I can do." The old man said, and then asked with a raised eyebrow. "Did you know that I used to be a shipwright?"

    "Oh, you''re?" Adam chuckled and stood up from the rock seat. "Coincidence, just

    coincidence."

    "Hmm..." The old man murmured and then walked over to the small boat.

    With a chuckle, Adam stepped into the depths of the forest and tried to remember the location

    of the corpse.

    In his past life, he was sessful in doing this quest, but it took him a couple of weeks as it took him a long time to find the location of the corpse.

    Luckily for him now, he knew where it was.

    ''Right, it''s been already a year since my regression.''

    It felt like the time had flown by.

    After leaving the twenty-fifth floor behind, he''d been treasure hunting all around the New World, and had fully paid off the Z Package.

    However, there was something in this ind that he wanted still, and he nned to get it before going to Ebonreach to reunite with his guild.

    During the past few months, he''d reached level 12 and had reached second level in all of the Three Powers.

    While he was not that far from reaching third level in Magick and Kiryoku, his Kraft had changed from white to ck.

    Its durability had increased greatly.

    With the second level of Kiryoku, he can now sense auras and use that to dodge attacks. He can also urately determine the opponent''s level of strength.

    As he stepped deeper into the forest, he suddenly stopped and looked around him.

    This ce looked familiar as the trees around him made a perfect circle. It was like the forest was telling him that this was the correct ce.

    His gaze went down to the ground, and with a smile, he used Ground King and smashed

    through the ground.

    After a short fall, hended in a dark chamber that was filled with blue roses. The scent of the flowers was overpowering but strangelyforting at the same time.

    At the center of the flowers, there was a person lying on a stone pedestal, seemingly dead with

    a flower bouquet in her hands.

    She seemed holy and ethereal, like a goddess frozen in time.

    A silver dress draped over her delicate figure, and her long hair cascaded down her back in waves. She had rosy-red lips, blushing cheeks, and closed eyes that seemed to be in eternal

    slumber.

    It didn''t look like she was dead and was merely sleeping like a sleeping beauty.

    As Adam approached the stone pedestal, he noticed that there was one blue rose missing from

    the bouquet.

    He picked up one of the blue roses and ced it on the bouquet.

    The wind was instantly filled with a sweet, floral scent.

    It definitely did something.

    At that moment, a ghostly figure sat down on top of his shoulder, her hair gently flowing in

    the breeze.

    She didn''t weigh anything, like a feather, and her eyes were the color of the ocean on a calm

    summer day.

    The ghost looked just like the beautiful woman on the stone pedestal, but more ghostly as if she wasn''t real, but he could still feel her sitting on his shoulder.

    "The crying woman, I assume?" Adam asked as he looked at her beautiful face, her eyes filled

    with sadness and despair.

    ''You''vee to free me?''

    She didn''t speak a word, but her thoughts were loud and clear in Adam''s mind.

    "I did," Adam said.

    Finally, she smiled¡ªa smile that could light up the darkest of rooms.

    ''Thank you.''

    "What do you want to do?" Adam asked. "Leave this ind?"

    She nodded.

    ''Yes, sail away.''

    Adam nodded.

    Then, from his backs, wings emerged that were so beautiful and majestic that they took her

    breath away.

    ''The Winged Angel, are you?''

    "No, just a human."

    He said, and then took flight, soaring into the sky with grace and power.

    She wrapped her arms around his neck, eximing as she looked towards the sun.

    With tears flying out of her eyes, she showed a final smile of bliss and slowly vanished from

    his shoulder, her final words whispering into his mind.

    ''Thank you, angel...''

 Chapter 200: Scarless

    Chapter 200: Scarless

    ?

    Bang, bang, bang!

    The hammernded against the wooden mast of the small boat, slowly fixing it back into ce.

    The old man, using the back of his hand, wiped the sweat off his brows.

    At that moment, he heard footstepsing behind him, and when he turned around, to his surprise, the young man had already returned.

    "Oh, you''re back?" The old man asked. "Don''t be discouraged if you couldn''t find her corpse right away."

    "Oh, I found it." Adam said and showed a blue rose in his hand. "The curse is gone, and she has been put to rest."

    The old man''s eyes widened in surprise, and he took the blue rose gently, looking at its cold petals with tears streaming down his face.

    To those who didn''t know what was going on, it would look weird for the old man to cry over the blue rose, but Adam knew what exactly was going on.

    "Sorry about my outburst." The old man said and wiped his tears. "You found the blue rose with her?"

    "They surrounded her sleeping ce." Adam said. "I suppose these blue roses mean something to you?"

    "Yes, they do." The old man sat down on the boat.

    "The crying woman was my wife. I came here to look for her, but I never did, as if the ind didn''t want me to find her.

    "These blue roses. I gave her a bouquet of blue roses every year on her birthday. It has been said that those who are killed by a curse will be surrounded by things that they remembered fondly in life.

    "It makes my heart happy that she didn''t forget me..."

    "There is a theory that the inds of the Blind Sea have a consciousness of their own." Adam said while looking around. "Maybe this ind felt lonely, so it didn''t allow you to find her because it neededpany, and without the curse, no one would stay here."

    "Or because the ind knew that I wouldn''t be able to kill the curse." The old man said with a sad smile. "After all, killing the curse would mean killing my wife."

    "Perhaps so." Adam said and looked at the small boat, already fixed. "Oh, you already fixed it."

    "Yeah, I work fast." The old man said and looked over to the ocean, where the storm was calming down. "Now it is the best time to leave."

    "Are youing with me?" Adam asked and took a seat on the boat.

    "No, I don''t think so..." The old man looked at the blue rose. "This is where I belong."

    "Very well." Adam nodded.

    "However, before you leave, have this." The old man walked over to him and handed him a small, silver chest.

    "A chest..." Adam smiled and said. "What''s inside?"

    "Its magical chest." The old man said. "There are thousands of things you can get from it, but it depends on your luck. If your luck is bad, you might get a dirty boot, but if you are lucky, you might get a treasure beyond your wildest dreams."

    ''It''s like spinning a lottery wheel.'' Adam thought and put the chest inside his inventory.

    ''However, I am not going to use it yet. I have ways to increase my odds. I don''t want to open it just topletely rely on luck. I''ll have to boost my luck first.''

    "Good luck in your way back, young traveler." The old man said and gently pushed the boat away from the shore.

    The white sails billowed in the wind as the boat started to sail away.

    With strong wind carrying the boat away, the ind soon vanished from sight.

    ...

    New World, Ebonreach.

    The carriages wheeled down the cobblestone roads as they entered the city through the archway of the grand stone gate.

    Rough-faced, battle-hardened mercenaries filled the streets; not a single one of them was void of scars or evidence of pastbat.

    If one wanted to be strong and respected in Ebonreach, they would need to prove their worth through battle.

    It didn''t matter how high their rank was; the strength in the battle was all that mattered. After all, there were mercenaries that didn''t actually know how to fight against fellow yers, so they weren''t thought highly of in these streets.

    In that sense, it was the most disrespectful city of the five.

    In this region, not even King Moriarty had any say, as in the eyes of these scarfaced mercenaries, he was nothing but a baby-faced royalty hiding behind his big walls.

    Through the stone archway, people continued to swarm in, and among them, a tall-figured young man looked around the city as if it were his first time here.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''It''s been a long time since I''ve been here.'' Adam thought.

    Whenever he visited the Ebonreach, he would usually spend a few days there to gather supplies before going beyond the wall.

    ''Now, where are the Crimson Hounds located...''

    Adam followed the walking pedestrians until he came across one of the stores that seemed to

    be selling maps.

    In the store steps, there was a thin-haired man talking with a few friends of his, blocking the entrance to the store. It looked like he was the owner of the establishment.

    "Excuse me, sir, do you know where the Crimson Hounds are?" Adam approached them, hoping to get some directions.

    It shouldn''t be too hard for them to know, as Ebonreach was the smallest city alongside

    Driftwood.

    While Dawnwatch was enormous and those who had lived there their entire lives wouldn''t know every street, Ebonreach was different.

    It was a small, tight-knitmunity where everyone knew everyone else''s business.

    The thin-haired man looked annoyed and said. "You think the information is free, huh, pretty

    boy?"

    In his and his friend''s eyes, Adam looked like a rookie mercenary who wouldn''t be able to survive five minutes outside the wall.

    "I am willing to pay, if that''s the case." Adam said.

    "Hah." The thin-haired man stopped leaning against the doorway and said, "I don''t feel like

    taking money from scarless, let alone talking to one."

    "y''know what scarless is, boy?" One of his friends asked.

    "Enlighten me," Adam said with a smile.

    The man grinned, showing his yellowish teeth.

    "Scarless are the bottom of the hierarchy here, boy."

    "So, one has to have scars to gain respect here?" Adam asked.

    "Exactly." The thin-haired man said. "Now, get out of my face, scarless!"

    "But, I do have scars; want to see?" Adam asked.

    "Some papercut doesn''t cut it, boy, it has to be a proper scar made by steel and blood!"

    Adam lifted his shirt to reveal a hideously long scar around his left waist. It was unclear what

    could''ve caused it, but the sight could make weak-hearted faint.

    However, Adam was proud of the scar and wore it as a badge of honor.

    It also looked quite amazing beside his chiseled abs, making him even more attractive to

    those who were close enough to catch a glimpse.

    "What an amazing scar!" The thin-haired man eximed alongside his friends.

    They examined the scar with round, thrilled expressions. They looked like scar fanatics,

    obsessing over every detail and whispering excitedly to each other about what could''ve

    caused it.

    "How did you get this amazing scar?" They asked.

    It came from his fight against Renard, but it was quite a sensitive topic, so he didn''t want to

    spread it around.

    Adam hid the scar under his shirt to the disappointment of others.

    "From someone I was lucky enough to kill." Adam said with a chuckle. "Is this scar enough to

    get directions?"

    "Of course, haha!" The thin-haired man''s attitude hadpletely changed. "They''re just a

    few blocks down that way."

    "Thank you, I appreciate."

    He bid them farewell and then headed in the direction the man had pointed.

    He was pretty excited to return to his guild, and he was wondering how they were doing in

    Ebonreach''spetitive environment.

 Chapter 201: Fifth Generals

    Chapter 201: Fifth Generals

    ?

    The Crimson Hound''s banner pped against the wind of the spring.

    The Mercenary Street was as busy as always, and there were hundreds of guilds lining up the road.

    With hundred other guilds, Crimson Hound looked like just any ordinary guild, and it wasn''t eyecatching for bystanders.

    It had already been around seven months since they came to the Ebonreach, and they had struggled to make a name for themselves.

    An incident that happened beyond the wall a while back was a big setback for the guild, and they were still trying to recover from it.

    At the current moment, the front door closed because of the wind, but then a person opened it and stepped inside with a backpack hanging over his broad shoulder.

    He looked around the guild building with a smile on his face-it looked like he was quite impressed and pleased.

    Adam then noticed the receptionist area as the receptionist, a young woman with long blond hair seemed to be upied by something, not even looking in his direction.

    With his strong fingers, he tapped on the receptionist desk to get her attention. "Excuse me, miss."

    "If you want to arrange an appointment, take a paper and pen from there," she said whilezily pointing towards the corner of the desk, where there was a stack of papers and a few pens.

    "I am not here for an appointment; I am here to meet Digby."

    "If you want to meet the guild master, you''ll need to arrange an appointment. He is a busy man."

    "I am a member of this guild," Adam said.

    She finally looked up from her papers and straight at Adam-he was surprised she could see anything past her thick eyeliner.

    "I don''t recognize you." She said.

    "This is my mercenary card." Adam said and handed over his card, not bothering to exin about his whereabouts for the seven months.

    She read through his name her expression didn''t change then she read the text about his mercenary affiliation and looked slightly surprised that he was actually a member of their guild.

    Then, she caught sight of the recruit text, and her ck eyes popped open in shock.

    Her jaw almost dropped.

    She had been the receptionist for the Crimson Hounds for the past few months, as she couldn''t be mercenary as she received a pathetic score of E in the tutorial.

    Thus, she traveled around the New World until she found herself in Ebonreach.

    It wasn''t a nice ce for a young woman such as herself, so she hoped to find work in some guild for protection and became the receptionist for Crimson Hounds.

    She had heard about this guild and that they had an S-ranker in their guild.

    She couldn''t understand how because this guild screamed ordinary from the outside and inside.

    While she was just an E-ranked recruit, she always wondered just how great S-rankers were as she continued hearing about Adam through the mouths of other guild members.

    "Y-you..." she stammered.

    "Hey, Lydia." At that moment, Lucette walked down from the front door with a broken umbre in hand. "Do you have another umbre? This one was riddled with holes."

    Lydia didn''t answer as she continued staring at Adam nkly, an awkward expression on her face.

    Lucette frowned, wondering what''s going on, and then saw the young man and asked. "Do you need help?"

    "Lucette, long time no see." Adam smiled.

    She frowned.

    While she didn''t recognize him, she thought that the voice sounded familiar but a little deeper.

    She picked up his mercenary card from Lydia''s hands and checked it out.

    Her eyes widened in shock.

    "Adam...?"

    "You didn''t recognize me?" Adam scratched the back of his head. "I am kind of hurt."

    "Adam!" With a bright smile, she hugged him and pushed his head against her breasts. "You''re back!"

    "You''ve grown so tall and handsome! What happened to you?!"

    Having difficulties breathing, Adam struggled to free himself from her tight embrace.

    He tapped on her back as a sign of surrender, and then she finally freed him.

    "I thought you wouldn''t be back for another two years." Lucette said with a giant smile. "Why

    so soon?"

    "Is Digby here?" Adam asked. "I''ll exin it to you all at the same time."

    "Mm, he is at his office." Lucette grabbed his hand and led him to the second floor.

    A short walkter, they arrived at the guild master''s office.

    With a couple knocks, Lucette opened the door without waiting for a response and saw Digby

    sitting at his desk, meditating.

    "What did I say about interrupting?" Digby slowly opened his eyes.

    "Adam''s back!" Lucette shouted and dragged Adam behind her.

    "Adam?" Digby raised an eyebrow, surprised, and stood up from his chair. "You''re back?

    What happened."

    ''It looks like they didn''t send a letter to him about my sudden disappearance.'' Adam thought. Adam then smiled and said, "I didn''t think I could learn any more from them." "What?" Digby frowned, and without any courtesy, he used his Kiryoku on him and fell a step back, his eyes widening in shock.

    "Your strength..." He couldn''t believe it. "How? It''s been only seven months!"

    While he was impressed by his current level, he was Prime Mercenary and was able to see even deeper into Adam''s strength that surpassed his level greatly!

    "Your Three Powers, how''re they?" Digby sat back down and asked with a serious expression.

    "Kiryoku is at the peak of the of the second level; I think I can reach the third level soon."

    Hearing that, both Digby and Lucette were stunned.

    The third level was something that took years to achieve for many.

    It took Digby five years to reach that, and he was currently at the peak of the third level.

    While the first and second levels weren''t that hard to achieve, the jump to the third was immense, yet Adam was already confident that he would be able to achieve that!

    "I am second level in Kraft." Adam said and d the sleeve of his shirt with a ckyer of

    armor.

    Digby nodded.

    It wasn''t as shocking as the thing with Kiryoku, but impressive nheless.

    "And I am at the peak second level in Magick," Adam said. "I think I can reach third level thisn/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    month."

    "Whoah..." Lucette, who was a magician, was impressed as well.

    She was at the peak third level; it took her six years to achieve.

    However, the gate that was blocking the third level was incredibly hard to pass, so she

    believed that Adam was quite a bit underestimating the difficulty of that.

    "Mm..." Digby nodded and said. "No wonder you left that institute. If you believe that was the

    best decision, I trust you."

    "How''s the things been in here?" Adam asked out of curiosity.

    Digby''s expression turned serious. "Not good."

    "Huh?"

    "We''ve encountered some problems." Digby said. "A while back, I sent Zahn and a few others

    to beyond the wall to treasure hunt as I had received a map for one of the locations.

    "Unfortunately, while they were returning, they were ambushed and killed."

    "Zahn is dead?" Adam looked surprised.

    "Yes..." Digby scratched the back of his head. "Killed by someone named Victor Vash. I asked

    my uncle, and apparently he is the leader of a group called Wild Sons, one of the more

    notorious groups among Wildlifers."

    "Victor Vash..." Adam''s eyes turned cold.

    ''The Fifth General of Death Faction, Victor Vash from Wild Sons.''

    In his past life, he''d encountered him on the battlefield more times than he would''ve wanted

    to.

    While Adam was the Fifth General of Star Faction, he was the Fifth General of Death Faction, so of course there was some serious rivalry between the two.

 Chapter 202: Deceased Paladin Armor

    Chapter 202: Deceased Pdin Armor

    ?

    Digby felt sour after speaking about Zahn.

    After he respawned from his death, Zahn quit the gamepletely because he believed that he''d failed his trust.

    Thus, Digby lost one of his best friends, and whenever he thought about it, his anger towards Victor would consume him.

    "Anyway, I am d you''re back." Digby said. "I guess your next step is to go to the promotion test?"

    "That''s right." Adam nodded.

    "It''ll be in two weeks." Digby said. "What test do you want to do? You''ll skip Beyonder and go straight for Holyman?"

    "I was thinking of doing the Grandeur test." Adam dropped a bomb.

    "Grandeur?!" Lucette eximed and put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure?"

    "Average Grandeur mercenary would be one as level 16." Digby said. "It''s unheard of that someone became one as level 12."

    "I am confident." Adam said. "I would go for Archwarrior, but I feel like that''s pushing it. I don''t think I am ready for that yet."

    ''This level of growth is unprecedented.'' Digby thought. ''If he can really be Grandeur in a year''s time, his level of talent would rival that of King Moriarty''s.''

    "Very well, I''ll be sending the letter." Digby said. "Lucette, go show him his room."

    Lucette nodded with a smile, and as they headed to the door, they heard Digby say:

    "For the foreseeable future, we are forbidden from going beyond the wall," he said.

    Adam nodded and then followed after Lucette, leaving the second floor and heading up one floor-the third floor was where all the living quarters were.

    They had been saving a room just for Adam-it was at the end of the floor, by the corner room that was slightly bigger than an ordinary room and had a good view outside.

    It was already furnished, as they remembered that Adam wasn''t that fond of furnishing himself as he didn''t make any changes to his previous room back in the Dawnwatch.

    He dropped his backpack on his bed and let out a sigh of relief.

    "What''re you sighing about?" Lucette asked with a smile as she fixed up some books on the shelf so they wouldn''t fall.

    She was solely responsible with furnishing his room, and she wanted it to be perfect before he returned.

    "It feels strange to be back, that''s all," he said and sat down on the bed.

    "We were missing you." Lucette said and smiled. "d to see you back in one ce."

    ''In one ce.'' Adam touched his waist. ''Am I really?''

    These scars had been hurting over the past few months-it felt like they would randomly light up in mes for no reason at all.

    The fight against Renard had longer consequences than he expected.

    It would take many years for these scars to fade and heal.

    "Is that you, Adam?" A familiar voice came by the door, and Knoxx, along with a couple of familiar faces, entered the room.

    Lucette smiled and left the room, leaving the younger generation alone.

    "Knoxx, Hana, and n." Adam said with a smile. "Long time no see."

    Knoxx punched him on the shoulder gently and sat next to him.

    "I didn''t recognize you at first, but this room was supposed to be for you, so I just guessed." "Wow, you''ve changed a lot." Hana said while staring at Adam, round-eyed and in disbelief. It wasn''t just a small growth spur, but it seemed like he was apletely different person. Then they realized that Adam must be Hignder.

    Hignders had something in their gene that gave them abnormal growth spurs throughout their lives.

    It looked like he didn''t have his growth spur before going to Eldertree Institute.

    When Knoxx looked at Adam, he couldn''t see the limit of his strength.

    It felt like he was staring at an endless ocean of potential and power.

    "You''ve be Beyonder?" Adam asked as he looked at Knoxx.

    "Yeah." Knoxx said while scratching the back of his head. "I was excited about finally going beyond the wall, but it''s forbidden now because of those Wildlifer trash!"

    "Yeah, I heard about it. It''s horrible." Adam said with a serious look.

    "The mercenaries have sent hunting groups after Victor and his henchmen, but they never returned. Thus, we have to stay here and wait until the situation gets under control."

    "Oh, what else are you guys doing in here?" Adam asked out of curiosity.

    He also wanted to do something to kill his boredom since going outside the wall was out of the question.

    Ebonreach had its very own entrance to the dungeon as well. It was hidden below the ground, but he didn''t feel like going to the dungeon as of yet.

    "Quests," n said. "There''s Quest Tavern down the street where you can earn some money bypleting tasks for the city."

    "Mm, interesting; I might do those." Adam said. "First of all, I nned on purchasing a new weapon. Any good stores here?"

    "Dr. Locksmith''s Weapon Emporium has some of the best weapons in the city," n replied.

    "I suppose I''ll visit that." Adam said, already wondering what kind of weapon he would go

    for.

    While he liked dius Sword and Heater Shield, they were still second-rate weaponspared to what he hoped to find at Dr. Locksmith''s.

    Luckily for him, he didn''t need to purchase another armor as he found one he liked very much

    from one of his treasure escapades-a full set of Deceased Pdin Armor.

    It belonged to a Pdin of Holy Order that used to roam thesends a long time ago.

    Now, old and forgotten, but the armor was in perfect condition.

    ***

    [Armor: Deceased Pdin Armor]N?v(el)B\\jnn

    [Rank: Purple Epic]

    [Defense: 335]

    [Magick Defense: 200]

    [Durability: 100%]

    [Description: Enchanted with protective spells, this armor boosts the wearer''s strength and resilience in battle. It also grants protection from dark magic and curses]

    ***

    It was made out of polished silver steel-the helmet was a full helm, protecting the whole head with a slit for the eyes and an ornate design of a griffon wrapping around the sides.

    The chestte was broad and muscr. As if it were designed to mimic the idealized form of the human torso. It also had holy symbols, such as crosses, sunbursts, and the old emblem of

    the Holy Order.

    The pauldrons lookedrge and rounded, providing ample protection for the shoulders. It was also very spiky, giving the appearance more of a dramatic and tough appearance.

    The gauntlets that were usually wrapped around the sword hilts were sturdy and articted, allowing more flexibility. The fingers of the gauntlet were pointed and reinforced, also spiky around the knuckles for added protection and to look more tough.

    The armor used to have a cape, but Adam removed it as he didn''t want to wear any other cape than the crimson cape as it was a trademark of their guild.

    "I suppose I''ll go visit that store." Adam said and stood up. "It was nice to meet y''all." "Be careful out there." Knoxx offered a word of advice. "These people don''t like scarless like

    us. I even thought about giving myself a scar so they would stop pestering me, but I have a hunch they will know if its self-inflicted."

    "I''ll be fine." Adam said with a smile and waved his hand as he walked away. "See youter."

 Chapter 203: Quest Tavern

    Chapter 203: Quest Tavern

    ?

    Within Dr. Locksmith''s weapon shop, Adam eyed the shelves of various swords and daggers.

    Some of the price tags made his eyes pop out, including one particrly ornate sword that was priced at five hundred thousand coin pieces.

    ''Hmm, what about this one?'' Adam picked up a sword that was worth twenty five thousand shinecoins.

    If he purchased it, he wouldn''t have enough for a shield, but he didn''t really care as he had his wings and armor that gave him great defense already.

    He wondered whether he even had any need for a shield anymore.

    He thought about switching to greatsword and focusing solely on offense while leaving the defense aspect for his wings.

    ''This is a nice sword.''

    Adam looked at the sword in his hand.

    It was greatsword with the de being a shade of silver and the hilt made of polished oak. Its de''s thickness was same as of longsword, but its length was much longer, around two meters long.

    It felt light to wield, which made it perfect for his style ofbat, as he didn''t want a weapon that would hinder his speed.

    "Sir, did you find a weapon that you''d like?" The shop''s owner, Dr. Locksmith, came over to him after finishing up with the previous customer.

    They were the only ones remaining at the store.

    "This one," Adam said as he swung the greatsword in his hand.

    "Oh, Greatsword of the Forgotten King, a fine choice indeed," Dr. Locksmith said with a smile.

    "Forgotten King?" Adam asked out of curiosity. "Who is this forgotten king you''re speaking of?"

    "That''s the thing; no one knows." Dr. Locksmith said. "Someone had to be the king before the King Moriarty''s rise to the throne, but no one remembers and knows who it was.

    "When you check out the sword''s information, you''ll see that the sword''s name is the Greatsword of the Forgotten King, so that''s how I know."

    "Interesting." Adam checked out the information, and the name was indeed inscribed there. "You think the current King knows?"

    "Who knows." Dr. Locksmith shrugged his shoulders. "It''s not that expensive because its attributes are only worth that much."

    "You don''t care about the fact that this de belonged to a king?" Adam asked. "The stuff of kings usuallyes with a price."

    "I don''t really care about it." Dr. Locksmith said. "Maybe that''s just the sword''s name, and it actually didn''t belong to any king, but the cksmith who forged it named it as such."

    "That could be true." Adam said. "I''ll take this."

    "Then follow me to the counter; let''s finish the transaction."

    After going to the counter, Adam paid the whole sum for the greatsword and saw his total wealth go down with a great margin.

    With a slight pang in his heart, he gave the money away and then left the weapon store, a new sword strapped on his back.

    Since it was such a long sword, it didn''t fit to any ordinary scabbard, so there was a custom one for it that was to be strapped on the back.

    Usually, he had his shield strapped on his back, but he stored his Heater Shield in his inventory as he didn''t feel like using it.

    He also nned on perhaps putting it away into his room''s storage so that it wouldn''t bring extra weight on his travels as inventory''s weight mattered.

    ''I''ll go check out that Quest Tavern. It''s been a while since I''ve been there," he thought to himself.

    ...

    The Quest Tavern''s swinging doors creaked open one after another as the patrons insideughed and clinked their sses together.

    Through the swinging doors, Adam entered the loud, smoky room, feeling a sense of nostalgia wash over him.

    It wasn''t even a night yet.

    The sky was turning slightly orange, but the tavern was already full.

    While drinking the tavern''s very own-brewed ale, the cityfolkughed and chatted.

    Some of them had finished a long day at work, some mercenaries were sharing stories of theirtest adventures, and a group of minstrels had already begun to y.

    Within all the noise andmotion, several people were gathered around the quest board that had tattered posters nailed to it.

    Adam went straight to the quest board.

    He didn''te here to drink and eat-he came for a new adventure to embark on.

    While looking around the quest board, he came across a particrly interesting poster that

    caught his eye.

    [Quest: Capture the Thief!]

    [Rank: Holyman and above]

    [Location: Mercenary Street]

    [Description: A thief has been roaming these streets, right at the front steps of the mercenaries, and yet the thief had not been caught, telling a lot about the skills and cunning of this criminal. Find the thief, capture him, and bring him to justice]

    [Reward: 2,500 shinecoins]

    ''2,500 shinecoins isn''t much, but it''s pretty interesting quest.''

    He took the quest poster from the board and walked to the bartender and put it down on the

    counter.

    "I''d like to take this quest."

    The bartender checked out the quest and pointed to the back door. "Go talk to the owner of this establishment. She takes care of the quests."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Adam nodded, took the quest poster with him, and walked to the door that seemed like it would lead to the back alleyway, but there was actually yet another room behind it.

    With a couple of knocks, he heard a voice, and then he opened the door.

    In the small office with a stench of cigarettes and alcohol, a busty-chested woman in a red dress sat behind a cluttered desk, smoking and drinking at the same time.

    She was far from ady.

    "A quest taker?" She asked. "I see the poster in your hand. Stop wasting my time, ande

    here."

    "Very well." Adam put the quest on her desk, right beside the empty bottles of alcohol and cigarette butts.

    "That thief quest, yeah..." she put her hand forth. "Give me your mercenary card; I''ll have to confirm that you have the skills required toplete this."

    "I am still Ordergiver." Adam said."

    "Hah..." she scoffed. "You''ll need more than just bravado for this one. This thief is also a

    killer."

    "I might be Ordergiver, but my strength is not." Adam said. "I''ll allow you to check me out

    with Kiryoku."

    "Very well." She used her Kiryoku on him, and after a moment, she put another cigarette between her rosy lips. "I see. Give me your mercenary card; I''ll register you."

    After handing over his card, she wrote his name down in the logbook, and after a few strokes

    of the pen, she recognized the name that she was writing.

    "Well, well, dear me." She looked at him. "We got a celebrity in here, huh. To think that

    someone of your... status would deal with these backwater quests."

    Adam looked into her eyes and saw a glint of amusement.

    "Just you know, it doesn''t matter here what kind of genius you are. You can be the King, yet

    you wouldn''t gain a single ounce of respect from anyone in these circles."

    "I know. Scar and the Scarless." Adam nodded. "I heard about it."

    Sheughed and said. "My name''s Shura. I can give you a proper scar; what do you say?"

    "I already have a scar." Adam said and lifted his shirt. "A painful one."

    As soon as she said the scar, she licked her lips and asked. "Do you want to fuck?"

    "Excuse me?" Adam slowly lowered his shirt.

    Shura leaned on her chair and crossed her long legs, then after a couple of puffs of smoke.

    She said:

    "You heard me. Do you want to fuck?"

    "I am here only for the quest." Adam said. "I''ll have to pass."

    "Shame." She said and shook her head. "That scar was indeed beautiful. It''s worth more than

    you can imagine. It tells a thousand different tales to those who know how to read them."

    "You know how to read the scars?" Adam asked curiously.

    "I can." Shura said. "You received the scar from a powerful enemy, yet, somehow, you''re the

    last one standing in that fight. I must admit, it made me wet."

    "That''s nice, I guess." Adam picked up the quest. "Can I go finish the quest now?"

    "You may," she said. "The thief is a slippery one. This quest had been failed two times

    already, but y''know the saying."

    "Third time''s the charm." Adam replied.

    Shura raised a cup for him and wished him good luck.

    With that, he left the room and headed straight out of the tavern to embark on his quest.

 Chapter 204: The Witch Doctor

    Chapter 204: The Witch Doctor

    ?

    Adam grabbed a handful of small pebbles, barely the size of his fingernails, and tossed them into his brownish pouch that, for some odd reason, was also wet to the touch.

    Then he ced his pouch, filled to the brim with the small pebbles, inside his pocket that swelled because of the size of the pouch.

    ''Now, preparations are done.'' Adam dried up his hands because of the wet pouch and drank some kind of beverage that had strange color to it.

    ''I heard the thief is usually roaming the Mercenary Street, which is pretty bold. The thief is master pickpocketer and has even been able to sessfully steal from mercenaries.

    ''There''re some that want the thief dead, but whoever put up the quest just wants him brought to justice.''

    Since he already knew where to start from, he roamed the Mercenary Street and eyed the walking pedestrians with a watchful eye.

    He blended in well with the crowd, except his height was only matched by some of the taller mercenaries, making him stand out slightly.

    "A thief! A thief!"

    Amotion came from the street ahead of him.

    Some turned their heads around, but quite a few outright ignored it and continued with their day.

    ''A thief?'' Adam pushed past the crowd and saw a brte-haired woman anxiously looking around in confusion.

    She was screaming about her purse missing as if it had suddenly disappeared from her hands.

    ''The thief''s here?'' Adam thought to himself and expanded his Kiryoku to cover the entirety of the Mercenary Street.

    However, at that moment, he felt his pocket turn shockingly light, and when he touched it, he noticed that his pouch was gone!

    ''What?'' Adam checked his empty pocket in shock.

    ''The thief managed to stay hidden from my Kiryoku and steal something as heavy as my pouch without me even noticing it at first!''

    When he looked around him, trying to find the thief, he didn''t find anyone carrying his heavy pouch, as if the thief was invisible!

    ''Not bad.'' Adam then activated his Kiryoku, and for some odd reason, he could feel a fraction of his aura getting further and further away.

    His lips curled into a slight smile.

    He wanted his pouch to get stolen; that''s why he made the pouch big with the small pebbles so the thief would think that he was a loaded young man, here to have some good time at the tavern.

    That''s why he was dressed as ordinary Original with a brownish tunic and white trousers to blend himself with the crowd and trick the thief into stealing it.

    It was because he covered one of the pebbles with his blood-his blood had a scent of his aura, which he could track now that he was second level in Kiryoku.

    Its very advanced level of skill, which most second level Kiryoku users didn''t have any ideas about.

    Adam followed the scent of his aura, leaving the Mercenary Street behind and headed to the outskirts of Ebonreach.

    The outskirts were a deste area.

    A few years ago, powerful magicians fought there, leaving behind remnants of their destructive spells that still lingered in the air.

    Because of the destruction, hundreds of houses there were burned and copsed, so no one bothered to live amid the ash and rubble.

    As he followed the scent, he noticed that it led to one of the alleyways there.

    He picked up his pace and drew his sword.

    Then, as he arrived at the corner of the alleyway, he jumped into the alleyway with his sword ready to sh down.

    However, there was no one there except the pouch, open on the pavement, with its contents spilled out.

    Adam crouched in front of it and picked up one of the pebbles that was covered in his blood.

    ''Not bad...''

    He saw that there were other fingerprints on the blood-soaked pebble, and it seemed to belong to the thief.

    ''The thief recognized that something was odd. He is good, very good...''

    However, he didn''t care as he smiled.

    ''Still, I have the upper hand.''

    The blood-soaked pebble was not his only n.

    He drenched the pouch with a special poison he created.

    That''s why, when Adam touched it, he had to drink special antidote; otherwise, he would''ve suffered from several different symptoms of poison.

    It wasn''t lethal poison, as he didn''t want to kill the thief, but it was a very annoying type, as it made the target feel extremely sick, nauseated, and weak till it was cured.

    ''Unless the thief knows herbology, his only choice is to find a witch doctor to cure him.''

    Adam thought with a smile.

    ''With a great coincidence, Ebonreach only has one witch doctor avable, and I know where she is living.''N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Adam dropped his blood-soaked pebble and left the outskirts of Ebonreach, heading straight to the witch doctor''s hut.

    ...

    Bang, bang, bang!

    Someone knocked on the door so loudly that it shook the walls of the hut.

    "Who is it?" The witch doctor went to the door and opened it.

    She was smelling like rotten eggs, and her eyes glowed bright green.

    As soon as the door opened, a person copsed to the ground in front of her.

    "I need... help!" He called out weakly and crawled himself into the hut before closing the

    door.

    "Henry?" The witch doctor looked at his abnormally pale face and saw green veins popping

    out. "You''re poisoned!"

    "Yes..." Henry climbed back to his feet with great difficulty and copsed on the bed that was usually reserved for patients. "Cure me, quickly!"

    "..." She looked conflicted and then saw his outfit, full ck. "You were again stealing,

    weren''t you? You should stop doing that!"

    "I don''t have time for chitchat!" Henry shouted. "I am being chased by... someone."

    "You were poisoned by whoever was chasing you?" she asked as she started making potent

    antidote.

    "Yes..." Henry whispered. "I visited all the potion stores, but none of them had antidotes that could cure this poison. That''s why, out of desperation, I had toe here. My chaser will

    discover this ce soon enough!"

    "You brought trouble to my doorsteps again!" The witch doctor shouted angrily.

    "Come on, the Ounders should stick together, don''t you think so?" Henry said with a

    painful breath.

    "You only take, take, and take!" The witch doctor snapped and put some herbs on the cauldron. "I''ve had enough of your selfish ways. Once I''ve cured you, don''te back!"

    "No worries..." Henry said and coughed. "This ce has be too hot. Now, they''ve sent someone powerful after me. I can''t stay in Ebonreach any longer."

    "Where''re you nning to go?" she asked out of curiosity.

    "Who knows, maybe I''ll disappear into the shadows for a while."

    The witch doctor shook her head, and with a few more added spices, she finished the antidote

    that gave off a strong smell of mint and earthy aromas.

    "Just stop this thieving business of yours; it''ll put you in an early grave." She said, handing

    the potion over to the thief.

    "Hmph." With a scoff, he gulped down the antidote, and in just a few breaths time, he felt the

    sickness fade away.

    "I owe you." He said, and stood up, ready to leave.

    Knock, knock, knock.

    However, at that moment, someone knocked on the door.

    Both of them turned to look at the door-the closed door with a shadow of a figure

    underneath it.

    "He is here..." Henry''s face paled.

 Chapter 205: Successful Quest

    Chapter 205: Sessful Quest

    ?

    The witch doctor approached the door, her steps hesitant as she reached out to open the door. "What''re you doing?" Henry whispered in anger.

    Without answering to him, she opened the door and had to raise her gaze to meet the eyes of the young man waiting outside.

    "May I help you?" She asked, but she couldn''t hide her trembling voice.

    "I am here to talk with your patient." Adam said with an amiable smile. "He is expecting me."

    The witch doctor didn''t oppose it and stepped aside, not daring to meet the betrayed eyes of Henry. The witch doctor knew that he had lost Henry''s trust forever, but she knew that he was on the losing end of this conflict.

    Adam stepped into the hut and saw pale-faced Henry sitting on the bed it didn''t look like he was under the effects of the poison anymore as he couldn''t find any traces of it left in his body. "So, you''ve been chasing me?" Henry pulled out a couple of hidden knives behind his back. "I suppose bitch Shura and mercenaries finally got tired of me. I am honored."

    "Why don''t youe with me?" Adam asked. "You''re just a thief; you won''t be sent to ck Keep, but you''ll spend a couple of months in Ebonreach''s jail."

    "Haha, that doesn''t fit with me." Henry said with a grin. "I don''t like giving those Justice Lords any satisfaction of my capture."

    "You''re just a small fry." Adam said. "A skilled small fry, but small fry nheless. If you plead guilty, you''ll be in jail for two months, and if you desire so, you can return to your thieving ways; I don''t care."

    "Nah, two months is too much!" Henry shouted.

    "It really isn''t." Adam said. "After all, you don''t have to be inside the game to fulfill the sentence. You can just spend those two months back in the real world. It''s very light punishment."

    "But I would have to give back my hard-earned money, which I''ll refuse to do!" Henry screamed. "I worked hard for that money, and I''m not giving it back!"

    "Henry, listen to him!" The witch doctor shouted. "You''ll punishment will be much harsher if you fight back!"

    "You should listen to her," Adam said.

    "Shut up, traitor!" Henry snapped. "How much are you getting from the quest, either way? I''ll pay you double!"

    "I am not doing this quest for money." Adam said. "And I don''t like the reputation of someone who fails quests. After all, reputation is the most important thing in mercenary circles."

    "Fucking mercenary trash. I always hated how self-righteous you bastards are!" Henry had enough, and with flicks of his wrists, he threw his hidden knives at Adam.

    Adam, with a single sh of his sword, smacked the knives out of the air.

    Without staying behind to fight, Henry jumped out of the window, soared across the street below and smashed through another window of the building on the other side.

    He looked around with a smirk, but to his shock, the young man jumped after him and tackled him to the ground.

    "You were asking for it." Adam raised his fist and smashed it down at Henry''s face.

    Before it couldnd, Henry rolled out of the way, kicked his legs up, and pushed Adam a step back.

    Then Henry jumped away from Adam and threw another round of knives, sharp and small- ded.

    Adam, with the blunt side of his sword, smacked the knives out of the air and jumped after Henry with a long lunge.

    "Smoke bombs!" Henry pulled out several smoke bombs from his inventory and threw them to the ground.

    As soon as they exploded against the floorboard of the narrow hallway, the room was engulfed in a thick cloud of smoke.

    Adam shed through the smoke cloud butnded on nothing.

    After his swing finished, he sensed an aura above him using his Kiryoku, and when he raised his gaze, he saw Henry clinging to the ceiling with his knife stuck into the wood.

    Henry stomped his foot down, but Adam caught his feet and smashed him into the floor, knocking all the air out of him.

    He then smashed Henry to the wall of the hallway, shattering some of the drywall, and then tossed him against another wall.

    This time, Henry flew right through the wall andnded on the floor of a room.

    "Kyaa!"

    There was a couple embracing in bed who screamed in terror as Henry crashed into their

    room.

    "Fucker!" Henry summoned thest knives on his disposal and threw all of them at Adam, yet with a couple of urate swings, he smacked all the knives away from him effortlessly.

    With his shoulder in front of him, Adam tackled at Henry and sent him crashing on another wall.

    "What the hell is happening in here?!" The innkeeper came after hearing themotion and almost passed out after seeing the hole in the wall.

    It would cost a fortune to repair!

    After seeing the two fighting, he continued shouting profanities.

    "Mercenary business, stand down!" Adam shouted at the innkeeper while pushing Henry

    deeper into despair with his powerful swings.

    Since Henry only had one knife, he didn''t bother throwing him, as without it, he wouldn''t have any weapons left.

    Thus, he just dodged, dodged, and dodged more.

    At that moment, Adam tackled at him, wrapped his arms behind his back, and smashed through a window with him, falling several floors onto the pavement below.

    SMACK!

    The pedestrians scurried away in a hurry, and some went straight to inform the authorities of the Ebonreach that there was a fight happening in the streets.

    "Whoo..." Adam rose above Henry, who hit his head pretty badly on the pavement and seemed to be unconscious.

    "Had to make me sweat..." Adam wiped the sweat off his forehead. "You should''ve just plead guilty, idiot."

    With that, he tossed Henry''s unconscious body on his shoulder and started heading back to

    the Quest Tavern.

    ...

    The Quest Tavern''s swinging doors sted open, and a young man with an unconscious man

    on the shoulder entered, catching the attention of everyone inside.

    He walked to the counter and dropped the unconscious man onto the floor.

    "A drink, please." Adam said.

    "Right away, boss." The bartender said and gave him their very own brewed ale.

    After drinking it whole, Shura came from her office and saw the scene-an almost sadistic

    smile spread across her face.

    "So, is this the little thief?" Shura crouched in front of the unconscious man and looked at his

    face. "Wait, I know him..."

    "You do?" Adam seemed interested.

    "Yeah, Henry." Shura took a cigarette from her cleavage and lit it up before cing it between

    her lips. "He used to be one of my quest takers, but he specialized in quests that made handsN?v(el)B\\jnn

    dirty."

    Adam nodded and asked. "So, was my quest sessful?"

    "That remains to be seen." Shura said. "Of course, we''ll have to validate it first. You could have captured some random person off the streets, but no worries, it''ll be easy to find out."

    Adam nodded, expecting it.

    "Come back tomorrow; you''ll get your reward then." Shura said and threw a flirtatious wink before taking Henry''s unconscious body to the basement to do the validation process.

 Chapter 206: Temptation

    Chapter 206: Temptation

    ?

    Drip, drip.

    The water leaked from the wooden ceiling and sshed on the dirty floor below, right beside a chair, where a person was tied up.

    Henry, his mouth clogged, struggled against the ropes that were binding his wrists and ankles.

    Shura dragged a chair behind her and took a seat in front and only received a hateful re from Henry.

    "Brighten up that darnedntern, will you?" Shura turned her head to an axe-wielding man standing in the corner.

    He took out a box of matchsticks, went to thentern by one of the pirs holding up the ceiling, and proceeded to light it up.

    A better, brighter light filled the room.

    "Henry, Henry, Henry-" Shura shook her head and touched at the dirty rag that was covering Henry''s mouth. "Before I remove this, please keep your words pure and honest."

    Henry scoffed and his gaze hardened, but he knew he had no choice but toply, so he nodded.

    Shura removed the dirty rag.

    "Bitch," Henry said.

    "What did I say?" Shura blocked his mouth immediately after, a look of disappointment in her face. "Keep your words pure and honest."

    She again removed the dirty rag from his mouth.

    "I was honest, wasn''t I?" Henry sarcastically said.

    "Aedian, are you now?" Shura tossed the dirty rag away and crossed her long, smooth legs over. "What happened to you, Henry? You''re just amon thief now."

    "I am far from amon thief." Henry said. "None of you guys would''ve been able to catch him. You guys had to hire someone who clearly isn''t part of your small circle!"

    "What do you mean?" Shura raised an eyebrow.

    "That guy who caught me." Henry said. "How much did it cost to hire someone of his caliber?"

    "I think you have misunderstood." Shura said with a smile. "He just came here today, took a random quest off the board, and caught you. We haven''t hired anyone."

    "So who is he then?" Henry asked. "Some powerful mercenary who was bored? Otherwise, why would he havee to this dirty and run-down tavern?"

    "Does the name Adam Palestar ring a bell?" Shura asked.

    "That S-ranker?" Henry frowned. "What about him?"

    "That was him."

    "That''s impossible!" Henry screamed. "I''ve seen his picture. They look nothing alike, and he is only a 1-year old rookie. There''s no way he is this powerful already!"

    "He is, believe it or not." Shura giggled. "You haven''t denied that you''re indeed the thief we''ve been searching for."

    "I am not denying it; that''s me!" Henry screamed. "And, when I''ll be freed from that dirty prison, I''ll do it again!"

    "Prison?" Shura giggled. "Oh, boy, you''re not going to prison."

    "What?" Henry frowned.

    At that moment, the axe-wielding man swung his axe, and it came crashing down towards Henry''s head.

    Swoosh.

    Henry got beheaded in executioner style.

    The head dropped to the ground like an apple falling from a tree.

    Shura lit up another cigarette and put it between her rosy lips.

    "No one betrays my trust and gets to keep their head."

    ...

    Under the moon''s glow, Adam was leaning out of a window of his new room, staring at the stars above.

    Ding, ding.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Then he heard some strange dinging noisesing from somewhere.

    When he checked it out, he saw that there were messages from Serah. The message was mostly about cleaning his real-life room, which didn''t really need that much cleaning as he''d barely used it.

    However, because of that, there might be some dust that needed to be taken care of.

    After leaving the Eldertree Institute, he''d spent more time in the real world and less time in the virtual reality game he had been obsessed with.

    While Serah was still as stern to him as before, he''d spent more time with Alice, and she always updated him on the newest news.

    Apparently, his new technique of Speed Step became quite famous in the Arena Online circle''s, and everyone had been using it.

    Because of that technique, Oath managed to win every match he yed and reached number one rank worldwide for the first time ever.

    However, after everyone got used to the Speed Step, the other top yers caught to him, and it didn''t take long for him to lose the number one spot.

    At that moment, the door of his room opened, and a young woman with her arms crossed stood in the doorway, a pout on her face as she tried to make herself look cute.

    "Adam."

    Adam turned around, and he forced a smile-it was one of the hardest things he ever had to

    do.

    "Amelia." Adam tried for his voices to sound warm, but it was very hard to do. "Long time no

    see."

    "Hmph." Amelia entered the room, her cheeks blushing and pink lipstick covering her lips.

    She approached Adam and then put her arms wide, as if she were readying for a hug.

    "A hug?" She said, trying to sound all cute and flirty. "I''ve been missing you."

    Adam epted the hug and embraced her against his sturdy chest.

    She, while being hugged, thought it would be disgusting, but when she felt his powerful chest, her cheeks had a genuine blush.

    The previous blush was the work of a make-up artist to make her look like she was blushing

    naturally.

    ''He has changed.'' With a blush, she ced her cheek on his chest and felt his powerful

    heartbeat.

    Ba-dump.

    Ba-dump.

    ''I actually don''t mind this. It feels... right. A handsome, powerful, and wealthy man needs someone like me on his side. We''re destined to be together.''

    While she couldn''t see his expression, Adam''s smile had vanished, and he was looking nkly ahead at the air. He felt like he was trapped in a nightmare that he couldn''t wake up from.

    She then pushed her soft chest against his chest and lowered her hand down to teasingly touch

    his genital area.

    "Adam, should we?" She whispered in his ear, her hot breath tickling his skin.

    She was very beautiful indeed, and any other young man would already be undressing. It was very hard to fight against the desire.

    Adam felt his willpower weaken, but he then moved her hand away and took a step back.

    "Eh?" Amelia looked up at him, puzzled.

    ''Don''t antagonize her. I''ll still need her to think that I like her so that my revenge hurts her

    more.''

    Adam sat on his bed and loosened his cor, looking like he had difficulties breathing.

    "Are you sure, Amelia?" He asked while making his words sound shy. "Why so suddenly?"

    She smiled, leaned closer to him, and ced her hands beside his legs, whispering softly in

    his ear.

    "Because I can''t stop thinking about you~"

    She then nted a few kisses on his neck and continued to sit down on hisp while her arms wrapped around his shoulders.

    ''What the fuck can I do?'' Adam thought to himself while feeling her wet lips pressing against

    his skin.

    ''Do I really have to embrace her? I would rather do it with a cave dwarf!''

    She then started touching his shirt, wanting to remove itpletely. When he started thinking that there was nothing he could do, one of his windows suddenly shattered and a rock, which seemed to have broken the window,nded on the floor. "Kyaa!" Amelia hid behind Adam and looked at the broken window. "Someone broke the

    window?"

    "I''ll go check it out." Adam, finding a way of salvation, walked over to the window. "Wait, don''t go!" Amelia shouted, trying to grab him by the arm, but missed. "It must be some little kid''s prank. Let''s continue what we were doing!"

    "No one can disrespect Crimson Hounds and get away with it. I''ll find the culprit!" Without staying behind, Adam opened the broken windows and jumped out, ignoring the fact

    that they were on the highest floor.

    The door then swung open again, and some Crimson Hounds members rushed in after hearing

    themotion. They tracked the sound to Adam''s room and rushed there as quickly as

    possible.

    However, to their surprise, they only found Amelia there.

    "Amelia, what''re you doing in Adam''s room?" Lucette asked.

    Amelia looked embarrassed and just walked away, shouting. "Nothing!"

    "Where''s Adam?"

    "He left!"

 Chapter 207: Kanari

    Chapter 207: Kanari

    ?

    Adam jumped from roof to roof, not using his wings, as those weren''t exactly low-key enough to stay unnoticed.

    Those wings could cause quite amotion if anyone were to see them.

    After a short while, Adam stopped at the end of another building''s roof, and looked around the sleeping city of the Ebonreach.

    ''I don''t know who threw that rock, but thank you!''

    This was the first time that he actually believed in a God.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    While trying to resist the temptation, he tried praying for perhaps the first time ever, and it looked like his prayers got answered!

    "You should stop doing that."

    Adam turned around to the voice and saw a tall, like three meters tall, man sitting on top of a chimney, wearing a spiky, delinquent outfit with short, ck hair.

    It looked like he was a mix of a delinquent and a punk, but he was abnormally tall-three meters was a rarity for humans.

    However, because of Hignder''s unusual genes, it was possible to have a growth spur that extreme.

    "I guess you were the one that threw the rock." Adam said, having to raise his gaze significantly to meet Hignder''s eyes. "Who do I have pleasure talking to?"

    Simultaneously he was thinking. ''I guess it wasn''t God''s doing after all.''

    "You''re a fellow Hignder?" The tall man said. "I recognize that ent anywhere."

    "I am," Adam said. "And I guess you got the extreme version of the Hignder gene''s."

    "My grandfather was four meters tall; I am nothing but a midgetpared to him." He said. "You can call me Kanari."

    "Alright, Kanari. Why did you throw a rock at my window?" Adam asked.

    "You were about to have sex with that woman." Kanari said. "For your and her safety, I had to stop it."

    "For our safety, what do you mean?" Adam frowned.

    "Ah, listen." Kanari scratched the back of his head. "Just trust me in this one. You don''t want her to start crying. I won''t report to her what you were about to do, but if you do, I must."

    "Her?" Adam frowned. "Why would someone care what I do? I don''t appreciate being stalked."

    "Honestly, I don''t want to follow you around either." Kanari said. "However, I am very loyal to her, and she wanted me to be here."

    "Let''s make a deal." Adam said. "Leave me alone, and I won''t have any sexual rtionships. What do you say?"

    "Can I trust you, though?" Kanari rubbed his chin.

    "I''ll be honest with you." Adam leaned against the same chimney, where Kanari was sitting. "I didn''t want to do anything with her. I am thankful that you saved me from that situation."

    "It didn''t look like it." Kanari said. "You didn''t try to say no. You didn''t push her away or anything."

    "It''s moreplicated than that." Adam said. "She thinks that I like her. I must keep her thinking that."

    "You hate her that much that you don''t want to even touch her?" Kanari asked. "That''s wild. What the hell did she do to you?"

    "Something I will pay her back for." Adam said while cracking his knuckles.

    "Well, she is pretty." Kanari pulled out a canteen of alcohol and handed it over to Adam. "Have a drink. This is brewed in the High Mountains of the East, and you can taste the purity in every drop."

    Adam took a sip and felt a warm sensation fill his body.

    "A question." Kanari looked at him. "Can you handle the temptations? After a few drinks, something might happen, especially since she seems to be wanting to seduce you."

    "I was already drunk." Adam said. "I took a drink at Quest Tavern. They make ale there so strong, it knocks you off your feet after just one sip."

    "Oh?" Kanariughed. "I thought I smelled something strong on your breath."

    "She most likely made her advance after recognizing that as well." Adam said. "She is the type of woman who knows how to take advantage of situations."

    "The worst kind of woman." Kanariughed and took the drink from Adam, then drank it in one gulp.

    "Who is this woman you''re listening to?" Adam asked. "Royal Prince, such as yourself, shouldn''t be assigned to mere spy duty."

    "Oh, you know how to urately tell my strength?" Kanari chuckled. "Most impressive. I am an assassin and spy. I work for her because I owe her a great debt."

    "One of the Seven Ancient Guilds?" Adam asked.

    "Haha, fuck no." Kanariughed in a drunken mess. "I suppose you would think that. They

    will fight for your help when they realize your current strength..."

    "I''ll be going to take my promotion test in a couple of weeks. I guess they will approach me."

    Adam scoffed.

    Then he remembered something and asked Kanari.

    "Did you spy me in the Eldertree Institute, as well?" Adam asked. "After a fight I had there, someone left behind a sk for me that healed some of my injuries.

    "That must be my colleague." Kanari said. "After that, he stopped following you around. This is my first day spying on you."

    "Hmm," Adam looked at him and asked again. "So, can you stop following me around? I like my privacy, y''see."

    "Fine by me." Kanari said and let out a powerful yawn. "I''ll find someone else to spy on."

    "I appreciate it." Adam stretched his arms and started walking away on the roof. "I''ll need to return before others start to worry."

    Kanari watched as he jumped from this roof to another, slowly disappearing from sight.

    Kanari jumped off the chimney, and despite his tall body, he managed to cross the roofs like it was nothing.

    At that moment, his face started to turn into the face of a horse, then hooves sprouted from his hands and feet, then he went into four legs, white fur slowly covering his entire body.

    After the majestic transformation, he''d turned into a beautiful white horse with a flowing mane and powerful muscles.

    He was bigger, stronger, and longer than any horse could be.

    With a powerful neigh, two white wings sprouted from his back, and he took off into the sky, soaring gracefully towards the clouds.

    ...

    Through the broken window, Adam returned to his room and turned his gaze to his bed.

    He immediately wanted to lie down and sleep, exhausted from the day''s events.

    "Oh, you''re back." Knoxx waved his hand from the door and entered the room. "I heard

    something happen."

    "Oh, Knoxx, yeah." Adam looked at the broken window. "Some kid broke the window. I found

    him, and made his parents discipline him properly."

    "Oh, I see." Knoxx nodded and then showed a sly smile. "I heard Amelia was here. What were

    you two lovebirds doing~"

    "Lovebirds, what?" Adam frowned.

    "It''s obvious that you two are dating." Knoxx said. "You guys aren''t?"

    "No, we definitely aren''t." Adam sat down on his bed.

    "Oh." Knoxx scratched his chin. "A few new recruits are crushing on her bad. I told them to give up on it because I thought you two were a thing, but I guess I was wrong." "Yeah, you''re wrong." Adamid on the bed. "I am sorry, but it''s been an exhausting day. I

    want to sleep."

    "Alright." Knoxx pointed at the window. "I was here to tell you that they will fix that broken window tomorrow. Try to survive through the cold wind for tonight, aight?"

    Adam nodded, and then Knoxx left, closing the door behind him.

    "Mm..." With an inaudible murmur, his eyes closed shut, and he entered the dreand of

    deep sleep.

 Chapter 208: Meditation

    Chapter 208: Meditation

    ?

    "There''s the money for the gig." Shura put a pouch of shinecoins on the table.

    Adam took it and tossed the pouch up and down in his hand a couple of times, and then nodded.

    "You aren''t nning on counting the coins?" Shura asked with a smirk.

    "I already did." Adam stored the pouch''s contents at his interface and closed it immediately afterwards.

    He then rose from his seat, bid farewell to her, and headed to the door.

    "If you''re interested, there''s a Mad Marbles tournament happening by nightfall." Shura said. "The prizepool is at 10,000 shinecoins. The entrance fee is 1,000."

    Adam nced at her and then opened the door. "I''ll have to pass. I am not that good at that game; I would just waste my time."

    "Alright, but if you change your mind-nightfall." Shura then returned to her paperwork. After leaving her office slightly richer, he went to check the quest board briefly, but it looked like all the interesting quests had been taken as there were only some minor fetch quests left.

    Since there weren''t any quests for him, he left the tavern and waltzed through the bustling city square while trying to find out something to do.

    He then noticed something that took away his attention-around a fountain of shimmering water, sitting cross-legged on mats while a bald-headed monk preached about something. ''A meditation session?'' Adam looked interested and approached the sight.

    The nearby pedestrians avoided the area, knowing that it would bring bad fortune if they bothered with anyone''s meditation.

    There was one empty mat, and Adam decided to sit on it, crossing his legs..

    "Wee, young one." The bald-headed man approached him, his hands hidden by the sleeves of his orange robe.

    "Hello." Adam replied and lowered his head slightly to bow.

    "Are you aware of the art of meditation?" he asked. "I can teach you if you don''t."

    "I know." Adam said. "Is this meditation boosted by something?"

    "Yes, young one." The bald-headed monk revealed an amulet. "Amulet of Golden Buddha. It increases the efficiency of your meditation by fifty percent."

    "Okay, are you a wandering monk?" Adam asked while closing his eyes.

    "Yes. Yes, I am," the monk replied. "I''ll be gone by tomorrow. I''ll continue my journey to spread wisdom and peace."

    "Mm..." Adam nodded and then entered deep into meditation.

    He asked such questions because the wandering monks had the ability of increasing the effects of meditation.

    The meditation helped to calm one down, enhancing their focus and rity of mind. However, it also helped with Kiryoku and Magick, which was Adam''s main focus for now. ''With this meditation enhancement, I can push both of them closer to the third level.'' In his mind, the waves of theke calmed down, mirroring his own internal state. However, slowly, yet steadily, theke started to grow bigger as if there were a waterfall nearby, filling the space with its roaring sound.

    At the same time, his mind began to expand and open up to new possibilities.

    While using his Kiryoku now, he was able to feel the auras of hundreds of people near him, but slowly, he started to be able to sense the emotions and intentions behind each aura.

    Slowly, the amount of aura''s he was able to sense went from hundred to two hundred, then three hundred, and four hundred.

    He was nearing the third level at rapid speed!

    However, at that moment, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and his eyes popped up.

    "Young one, what a deep meditation..." The monk was impressed.

    He hadn''t seen anyone other than monks being in such a deep state that they would be blind to the surroundings.

    Adam, surprised, saw that the sky was dark and the streetmps were already lit up.

    The city square looked empty as there were only a few pedestrians moving by.

    "How long was I meditating?" Adam asked.

    "Ten hours," the monk said. "I am sorry that I had to stop you, but in your current state, if I hadn''t, you might''ve continued meditating for days."

    "It''s fine..." Adam stood up from the mat, bowed, and then started heading back to the Mercenary Street.

    He could feel that his Kiryoku and Magick had improved, but there was one more leap he had to take before reaching the third level.

    However, he could feel that he was closer than ever before.

    ''Even I am impressed by my current rate of improvement. In my past life, I was stuck in the second level of Kiryoku and the third level of Magick, yet I am about to surpass myself in Kiryoku and reach my previous peak in Magick.''

    Adam never thought of himself as a genius, but he was able to reach great lengths with his mere C-ranked score in his past life.

    No one thought he would reach as far as he did, but he did, and it looked like he could''ve reached even greater lengths if he hadn''t died.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Now, his speed of improvement made him excited but also made him wonder.

    How was he able to learn them so easily?

    He was expecting a bottleneck, but it never came-it was like his level of talent had increased with his regression.

    While training in his past life, he always arrived at the bottleneck after bottleneck. It was why he stopped properly training Kiryoku, as he couldn''t break through the bottleneck.

    Now there hadn''t been any bottlenecks!

    ''I heard that S-rankers rarely came across bottlenecks.'' Adam walked down the dimly lit streets and chuckled. ''I do look like a real S-ranker, don''t I?''

    ...

    With theputer screen glowing in front of him, Adam used the mouse and browsed through the inte.

    After finishing his meditation session, he returned to Crimson Hounds headquarters and logged out before Amelia again visited his room.

    He knew that she was nning to do so, as when he returned to the headquarters, he found Knoxx, Amelia, and the rest ying some cards.

    When he caught Amelia''s gaze, he felt a chill run down his back, and he believed that she was

    going to try something again.

    Thus, he ran away back to the real world.

    ''Gang war raging in Red Thread... Monstrym''s borders closed because of epidemic... Olnd''s military on high alert... What a mess.''

    Adam read through some of the news stories that were circling in the dark web, and when he read through them, he felt like the world was indeed a dangerous ce.

    The dark web mostly consisted of news about warfare, political unrest, and other negative

    events happening around the world.

    Knock, knock.

    Adam clicked off the dark web and opened the door to find Alice standing there with a smile

    on her face.

    "Alice, what''s up?"

    "I saw lighting from under your door and heard a mouse clicking." Alice curiously peeked towards theputer. "Are you busy?"

    "Not at the moment, what''s wrong?" Adam let her in his room, which was pretty crowded because of the VR pod by the corner that took quite a bit of space.

    Alice nervously fidgeted her fingers and said, "Tomorrow is a school sports day, and parents are at work tomorrow, so they can''te, but I was wondering if you want toe."

    "Hmm, what do I need to do there?" Adam asked out of curiosity.

    "There''re some events that are team-oriented, and I need someone to participate with, if you

    want to."

    "Mm..." Adam nodded. "It sounds like fun; count me in."

    Alice''s face beamed with excitement, and after reminding him to wake up early, she left to

    prepare for tomorrow.

    Adam copsed on his bed, and murmured. "Sports, huh."

 Chapter 209: Three-Legged Race

    Chapter 209: Three-Legged Race

    ?

    The school''s bell rang and echoed through the empty halls.

    While the school buildings were empty and abandoned, the sports fields were packed with students ying and cheering on their teams.

    The stands were filled with parents of the students..

    By one of the grassy hills near the sports fields, some students were there sitting while waiting for their events to start.

    Alice was sitting with a couple of her friends, cheering for their ssmates.

    "By the way, Alice, when''s your partnering?" Laura asked.

    "He''ll be here shortly." Alice said with a smile. "I just got a text from him saying he''s on his way."

    "So, he is part of the Government-Appointed Caretaker program?" Reina asked.

    "Yup." Alice nodded.

    "How does it feel to live with someone who would basically be a stranger in another timeline where gue didn''t happen?" Laura asked out of curiosity.

    "I was curious about that too," Reina said with a giggle.

    "Hmm, I have never thought of that." Alice said, pondering the question. "It''s a strange thought to imagine a reality where we never met."

    "My parents thought once about partaking in Government-Appointed Caretaker program because they had difficulty getting a child." Laura said. "Then, with a lucky stroke, I was born."

    "Why did your parents go through with it?" Reina asked Alice.

    "I never asked." Alice said. "My mother is a very serious person, but I feel like they felt pity on Adam after both of his parents died immediately after his birth."

    "Whoever created Dark gue should rot in hell." Reina said hatefully.

    "It wasn''t created by anyone silly; it was naturally urring." Laura said.

    "You don''t know that!" Reina pouted, but when they looked into each other''s eyes, they burst intoughter.

    They had been arguing about it for years, both having their own theories.

    Alice rolled out her eyes.

    At that moment, she heard footsteps behind them, and when she turned around, her lips curled into a smile.

    "Adam, here!" She waved her hand so that he could see where she was sitting.

    Laura and Reina also turned around, and their eyes widened in shock-this was the first time they saw this famous Adam, who Alice keeps talking about, and he was even more attractive in person.

    With one hand in pocket and another carrying a stic bag, Adam walked over to them with his eyes shielded behind dark sunsses.

    "Here." Adam handed over the stic bag to Alice and then took a spot beside her on the grassy hill, looking towards the sports fields in the distance.

    Alice, with a smile, took three cold drinks from the stic bag and gave one to Laura and another to Reina.

    "What''s up?" Alice looked at Laura and Reina, who became suspiciously quiet after Adam

    came.

    It looked like they turned shy out of nowhere, while they were usually quite talkative. "I-it''s nothing." Laura stammered slightly over her words and then pointed at the fields. "Look, Markus won another event!"

    With another gold medal around his neck, Markus smiled while talking with his ssmates about his victory.

    "When''s our turn?" Adam asked Alice.

    "Let me check." Alice took out the schedule.

    "My name''s Reina." Reina brought back her extroverted personality. "You''re Adam, right?" "Mm, you''re Alice''s friend?" Adam asked, and after seeing her nod, he smiled. "Thanks for taking care of her. I know that she can be somewhat... forgetful."

    "Forgetful?" Alice looked at him with a pout. "Not even!"

    "I have only had to share my books with her five times when she has forgotten hers." Reina yfully said.

    "Liar!" Alice eximed with augh. "I haven''t forgotten even once, dirty liars."

    She then checked the schedule and eximed.

    "Ah, it''s actually our turn!" Alice stood up in a hurry and pulled Adam to his feet. "You were almostte!"

    "What''s the event?" Adam asked curiously.

    "3-legged race!" Alice said urgently, and dragged Adam behind her.

    "It was nice to meet you two." Adam said to two of her friends and then walked after Alice, hand-in-hand.

    "I now see why she keeps talking about him." Reina chuckled and shook her head.

    "Mm..." Laura mumbled to herself, lost in thought.

    ...

    At the hundred-meter mark, one of the teachers, who acted as referee of the event, tied Adam''s and Alice''s ankles together with a piece of string.

    Then they did the same with their hands till they were holding hands.

    There were seven other teams-partners were always one female and one male-to keep it fair for everyone.

    "Hello, Alice, did you see my victory?" Beside Alice, on the firstne, Markus was standing with a big smile on his face.

    He was tied to a female ssmate of his who was part of the track and field team. They were easily the favorites to win.

    "Yes, I did, congrats!" Alice said with a smile.

    Markus'' cheeks blushed slightly after seeing her smile, and then he turned to her partner, and felt small even though he was already quite tall for someone of his age.

    "Umm, who is your partner?" Markus asked.

    "It''s Adam; you two have already met." Alice said. "Remember the sparring match in your

    karate dojo?"

    Markus'' eyes turned fearful, and he turned his gaze to the front-he started sweating, his mind racing with memories of that embarrassing defeat.

    "Why''re you sweating so much?" His partner asked in annoyance as she felt the sweat on his

    hand. "Markus?"

    Adam side-nced at Markus, felt slightly sorry, and then turned his head to the front.

    He used his Image Training against Markus and went pretty far when fighting against him, so he wasn''t shocked that Markus was afraid of him.

    After all, Markus treated the fight as just another sparring match, while Adam thought of it as

    a deathmatch.

    It was most likely his first time ever having to fight someone that fought to kill.

    It didn''t shock Adam that it was traumatizing for him.

    The spectators then started cheering as the three-legged race was about to start.

    The teacher grabbed the starting pistol, and went to the grass beside the track to start the

    race.

    "Ready!"

    With a shout, the runners lowered their stances slightly.

    The referee raised the gun towards the sky, and then with a gentle trigger press, a loud soundN?v(el)B\\jnn

    echoed throughout the sports field.

    The eight teams exploded off the starting line, some looking clumsy as it was their first time trying a three-legged race.

    "What''re you doing, Markus?" His ssmate shouted as their rhythm was aplete mess as Markus was still taken aback.

    After that shout, he recognized that they were in the race, and started running faster, but because of the sudden shift in the rhythm, his partner almost fell over.

    They were currently running in fifth ce.

    With the race being not too long-only hundred meters-the race soon ended, and the winning team was a pair of father and daughter, who kept the best rhythm.

    It helped that the father was a former track-and-field athlete while the daughter was a

    volleyball yer.

    As third ce, Adam and Alice crossed the finishing line.

    It started very rough, but they quickly got a grip of the rhythm and started passing others

    quickly until they reached third ce.

    Because of his much longer limbs, Adam had to slow down his pace to match Alice''s shorter

    strides. It was difficult, but it worked in the end.

    "Third..." Alice panted slightly and smiled, then high-fived Adam. "We got a medal!"

    In the fourth ce, Markus and his partner crossed the finishing line-he was immediately chewed out by his partner for the poor start.

    ''This is actually the first medal I''ve ever won.'' Adam smiled. ''It feels nice. I kind of want to

    win a gold medal now.''

 Chapter 210: No One Can Replace You

    Chapter 210: No One Can Rece You

    ?

    After they received their medals, Alice left to have a quick chat with her two friends.

    Adam, left alone, walked along the grass patch while the participating students cheered and celebrated their victories around him.

    There was youthfulness in the air.

    ''It takes me back to my school days.'' Adam thought wistfully, reminiscing about the carefree days of his youth.

    "Hey~"

    At that moment, he was suddenly surrounded by a group of schoolgirls, their eyes full of innocence and curiosity.

    "Yes, what is it?" Adam had to look way down as he towered over the schoolgirls by a big margin.

    Their chirpy, melodiousughter filled the air as they bombarded him with questions. Since they hadn''t seen someone like him in the school corridor''s before, they immediately knew that he must be a brother or rtive of one of their ssmates.

    In their innocent eyes, he looked maturepared to the boys of their ss, and it was attractive to them.

    The boys of their ss just looked with jealousy in their eyes.

    However, before Adam could answer any of the questions, he felt a tug on his hand and turned to see Alice angrily pulling him away from the schoolgirls, puffing and red in the face.

    "I left you alone for a moment!" Alice huffed in anger.

    Adam scratched the back of his head and asked. "They came to me. I didn''t do anything."

    "Right, right." Alice looked at him with a pout. "You must''ve been happy, though. Being popr!"

    With a shoulder shrug, Adam asnwered. "They''re just kids in my eyes."

    "Am I too?" Alice asked, her face turning redder by the moment.

    "Yes...?" Adam tilted his head.

    Alice kicked him in the shin and stormed away back to her friends with tears in her eyes.

    "Ouch..." Adam looked at his leg and then at Alice, who was walking away. "That hurt..."

    While Alice was of adult age, and their age gap was just a couple of years, he always saw her as that little kid who liked to y with dolls.

    However, he couldn''t help but remember Alice''s future-her death and the pain that came from losing her.

    ''I acted blindly towards her feelings, but the way Serah spoke to me after her funeral, it seems like she never forgot me while I forgot her because my life circled around Mortal Online.''

    He felt like it was heading again in the same direction as in the past.

    He didn''t want that to happen.

    ''I don''t want to lose her again...''

    He put his hands in his pockets and kicked a small rock that was lying on the ground. The rock rolled a few meters away beforeing to a stop.

    With steady and strong steps, he walked over to the grassy hills where the three young women were sitting-Laura and Reina were wondering what was going on with Alice, who stayed quiet and sad-faced.

    "Alice." Adam walked over to her, but she ignored him and looked down at her hands in herp.

    Laura and Reina stayed tight-lipped, realizing that something must''ve happened between them.

    Adam crouched in front of her and softened his voice while talking to her.

    "Alice, the next event is about to start."

    "I don''t care." Alice said. "I am going home..."

    "We''re not alone in this ry. We''re participating with two others."

    "You can find someone to rece me." Alice said. "Laura or Reina can rece me..."

    Laura and Reina exchanged looks-they had never seen Alice like this before, who was usually chirpy and cheerful.

    Adam looked at her in sadness and whispered. "Nobody can rece you..."

    Hearing that, Alice''s ears perked up as she felt like those words held pain and loneliness that seemed to havee from decades of buried emotions.

    Adam offered his hand to her and said, "I only want to do this with you."

    Alice looked at the hand and softly grabbed it. "Fine, but in one condition."

    "What is it?"

    "If we win, you''ll do whatever I say." Alice looked at him with a pink blush spread across her cheeks. "Deal?"

    "Deal." Adam smiled and helped her to her feet.

    A school''s bell rang across the sports fields, and then the announcer''s voice came-it was telling that the next event was about to start.

    It was a ry race-4x100 meters, but each team had two females and two males.

    "Good luck!" Reina and Laura cheered them on.

    Adam and Alice headed to the starting line and joined up with two other members of their team, who also managed to get a bronze medal from another running event, so the team wasn''t that bad.

    After sharing a few words, they went in their own ways and walked to their starting positions, stretching and warming up for the race.

    Risa-a young woman from Alice''s ss was their starter. She had some sports experience and managed to get a bronze medal in the women''s 100-meter dash.

    The second runner was her partner in other team-based events-Quill-and he won bronze in the men''s 200-meter dash.

    While he was more of an endurance runner, he was still pretty quick on his feet.

    Then, as their third runner, Alice, who was athletic in her own right. She didn''t participate in other running events and only took part in the three-legged race so far, where she got bronze

    with Adam.

    And, as the anchor, Adam shook his legs loose and did some final stretches.

    He wasn''t much of a sportsman, but he had trained tirelessly for the past year, whether it was running, push-ups, or lifting weights. He was pretty confident in his own speed.

    On the line beside his own, Markus looked deadly cold as he did some stretches.

    After the embarrassing three-legged race, he wanted to win this one-he wanted to crush the person that was standing on the left line.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    His team was most likely the best one-his partner from the three-legged race won the gold medal in the women''s 100-meter dash, and the two other people in their team were silver medalists in other running events.

    "I will win." Markus turned to Adam and shouted this time around. "I''ll crush you!"

    "Whoo." Ignoring the tauntsing from near him, Adam pped his hands at his thighs.

    ''My body, you better not fail me.''

    "Runners get ready!" The announcer''s voice sounded.

    At the starting line, Risa twirled the baton in her hand, slightly nervous as she always was

    before the start.

    Because she was the starter, she had to run the curve, and she wasn''t very experienced in that position, but when she looked next to her, she didn''t really recognize any of them that might

    be faster than her.

    Except one, ponytail girl who had beaten her in the 100-meter dash and got a silver medal. She was part of the same team as Markus.

    Risa knew that beating that team was impossible, and that team was pretty unfair. Every other team had someone that wasn''t a student, like a father, brother, or some rtive. Most of them were in the race for fun and hadn''t properly done any sports in years. ''I''ll need to make a big gap immediately to others. As long as I am second when it''s Quill''s turn, I''ll be fine with that.

    ''I don''t know how quick Alice is, but she will most likely lose positions, and our anchor is Adam... He looks nice... I believe he can hold his own weight in this race and get us a medal, at

    least.''

    "Alright, the race starts!"

    The announcer''s voice sounded.

    Risa, and every starter running went into their running positions-they just waited for the

    pistol to signal the start.

    It didn''t take long.

    BANG!

    And just like that, the race started.

 Chapter 211: Wish

    Chapter 211: Wish

    ?

    The cheers filled the sports field as the race started with a loud bang.

    Straight from the starting line, Risa exploded into motion, her legs and arms moving in

    perfect harmony as she quickly took the lead.

    She had the greatest start, but then the ponytail-wearing girl on the line next to her started to catch up and took the lead with a burst of speed that left Risa in shock.

    She pushed through the pain and fatigue, trying to catch up, but it looked like she was just getting further and further.

    Soon, they reached the end of their turn, and the young men, before taking the baton, took a few running steps and then made the switch.

    Quill, after receiving the baton, started running down the straight track and noticed that the person running ahead of him seemed to be running like lightning, getting further and further away!

    However, the person on Markus'' team had perfect running form and was gaining ground on him quickly.

    While on the first fifty meters, the gap between them grew.

    But then Quill managed to push through the final fifty meters faster than any other and managed to gain a few meters on the leading figure.

    But he just shook his head and thought that winning was impossible.

    At the switch, Alice grabbed the baton and started running.

    "Go!" Quill shouted, but when he looked at the person who was running for Markus'' team, he knew that the race was over and they should fight for the silver ce.

    "Go, Alice!" Laura and Reina shouted from the sidelines.

    Alice''s ponytail bounced behind her, and she looked very focused, her beautiful face determined and confident.

    While the audience''s cheers blurred into nothingness, Alice''s feet started moving faster and faster.

    The wind rushed around her.

    She had never run this fast before, and to the shock of many, she started to gain ground on the leading runner, who happened to have won a gold medal in the women''s event earlier today.

    Since she already won that, no one in the audience expected that there was anyone that could challenge her.

    However, to many''s shock, Alice, who didn''t even participate in it, was clearly the faster one! However, the gap that was created in the first two runners was too big topletely catch up. They arrived at the switching point, Adam and Markus immediately took a few running steps, and then the batonnded on Markus'' hand first, and he immediately sped off.

    Only a secondter, Alice handed over her baton to Adam and shouted. "Go, Adam!" With a smile on his face, Adam exploded into motion and started running like a possessed demon, his steps long and powerful because of his tall body, quickly gaining ground on the leading runner.

    His leg muscles were like coiled springs, propelling him forward with incredible speed.

    When there were only fifty meters left in the race, Adam finally caught up to Markus. Markus couldn''t believe it when he saw a silhouette appear on his peripheral vision. ''How, how, how could he be faster than me too?!''

    He pushed himself so hard that he felt his muscles burning, but still, the person on the left line slowly passed him when there were only a few meters left in the race.

    With a final push, Adam ran through the finishing line, the cheers exploding in his ears.

    Beside him, Markus copsed on the ground, defeated. Slowly, more teams ran through the finishing line, and the exhaustion was visible on their faces.

    "Whew..." Yet Adam still felt like he had more to give. ''We won...''

    Suddenly, someone jumped on his back with a thrilledughter.

    "You did it!" Alice''sughter sounded like a heavenly bell, bringing a smile to Adam''s face.

    A short timeter, Quill and Risa also arrived, truly shocked. They never expected to win! After a short while, they received their shiny, gold medals, and it was the first one for all of them.

    "I''ll tell you my wishter, okay?" Alice whispered in Adam''s ear, and then with happy hops, she went to her two friends, who were already celebrating their victory.

    Adam touched his ear, feeling slightly ticklish, and he then touched his gold medal, smiling.

    It was made from fake gold, obviously, and it was clearly made of very poor fake material, but still, it was perhaps his most valuable possession so far.

    The night came over Navy Town.

    However, there were still students in the school''s sporting fields, even though all the events had concluded.

    A brilliant bonfire was lit up at the center of the field, withughter and music filling the air. While students partied, the teachers talked with each other, some non-alcoholic beverages in their hands.

    The speakers sted some popr music as the night went on.

    By the bonfire, Adam sat on the grass field, looking at the burning mes that crackled and sent scarlet-red sparks into the night sky.

    It was already bing so dark that the stars were beginning to twinkle brightly above.

    Then, with two drinks in hand, Alice sat next on the ground and gave him a drink.

    It was some fruity cocktail, non-alcoholic, of course, and it tasted somewhat bad, but they

    still drank it while admiring the bonfire together.

    "Should we leave?" Alice whispered in his ear. "It''s turningte."

    "Mm." Adam nodded. "Your parents will get worried if we stay out too long."

    "No..." Alice shook her head. "They''re on a hot springs trip, remember? They won''t be back until next week."

    "Ah..." Adam touched his head. "I forgot..."

    "I thought so." Alice giggled, and then, with a slight blush, said. "The house will be all ours."

    Adam finished the drink, smiled, and replied. "Do you want to say goodbye to your friends

    before leaving?"

    "No need." Alice shook her head and pulled him up by his hand. "Let''s go~"

    Adam looked at her with round eyes, and thought about what she would want, but he just

    shook his head as he thought he was most likely overthinking things.

    With hands locked together, they left the bonfire and headed straight home.

    ...

    With the door opening, Adam and Alice entered their warm, cozy house.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    It was dark as there wasn''t any light lit up.

    With the press of a lightswitch, light began to spread across the kitchen, to the living room,

    and finally to the hallway.

    As they removed their jackets and hung them by the clothes rack, Alice said: "Should you take a shower? We''ve been sweating today quite bit. I''ll take one after you~"

    "Mm, I should." Adam let out a few yawns as it had been a long day, and then headed straight

    to the bathroom.

    After he was gone from the sight, Alice calmed down her racing heart, then steeled her

    resolve.

    ...

    With water rushing down from the shower, Adam stood under it, letting the warm water fall down his naked, toned body.

    He closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind of all the stress and worries of the day.

    The soles of his feet were slightly burning because of the whole day of walking around and

    running in those events.

    After the shower, he just wanted to copse on his bed and fall into a deep, peaceful sleep.

    Because of the rushing of the water, he didn''t hear the bathroom door open, and then, out of

    nowhere, two slender arms wrapped around his body.

    With the soft embrace, two soft breasts pressed against his back.

    Adam''s eyes shook, and he didn''t even have to turn away to know who it was.

    "I want my wish now~" Alice whispered into his ear.

 Chapter 212: R-18

    Chapter 212: R-18

    ?

    Adam backed into a wall, his back touching the cold shower wall as the hot water continued to pour over him.

    Boldly, Alice pressed her naked body against his, wrapping her arms around him in a passionate embrace.

    She had slender curves that made her look small in front of Adam''s well-toned frame.

    Then, her small, round breasts softly pushed against his chest, sending a shiver down his spine.

    The manhood of his body grew hard with desire.

    "Alice..." Adam nervously chuckled.

    "Mm?" Alice innocently tilted her head to the side. "What is it?"

    "Uh..." Adam had no words, and she didn''t allow him to talk any nonsense as she immediately pressed her lips against his, silencing him with a passionate kiss.

    All the reasoning disappeared from his mind¡ªhe stopped caring what Serah would do to him if she found out. He stopped caring all about that.

    With his strong hands, he grabbed her by the buttocks, causing her to let out a small moan, and then lifted her up from the ground as if she weighed nothing at all.

    While the kiss continued to intensify, she wrapped her legs around him and lost herself in the moment.

    He put her gently against the shower wall while their tongues wrestled with each other in a passionate dance.

    The water from the showerhead poured over them, causing the steam to fog up the ss door.

    After the kiss ended, Adam looked at Alice''s face he couldn''t recognize it anymore as her eyes were unfocused with desire, almost like there was a heart shaped me burning in them.

    Her blush spread from one cheek to another, and she was breathing and moaning heavily with passion.

    She was basically sitting on top of his manhood, grinding against her honeypot, both twitching with anticipation and ecstasy.

    "Do it..." she whispered weakly, her voice barely audible over the sound of their heavy breathing.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Adam''s throat tightened with a gulp, and then he guided his manhood into her, and while the tip disappeared into her warmth, they both moaned in pleasure.

    She already came once, her legs twitching in pleasure.

    His manhood pushed deeper into her warm tunnel, soon reaching a weak obstacle before breaking through with a final thrust, sending them both over the edge into euphoria.

    A few droplets of blood dropped from the tunnel but vanished into the heat of the moment.

    "Ah~" Alice bit her pink lips as she felt a foreign object inside her.

    "Haah, haah..." Adam breathed heavy. "Fuck..."

    "What''s wrong?" Alice whispered, her heart racing so fast that she was afraid that it would burst through her chest.

    "Nothing..." Adam looked into her round eyes. "You ready?"

    "Ready for what?" Alice asked with a whisper, a smileing to her lips.

    His hands squeezed on her soft buttocks, feeling like he was touching a delicate flower, and then he started moving his manhood inside of her with a slow, deliberate rhythm.

    "Ah~"

    p...

    p...

    Slowly, the manhood moved back and forth inside her, their pleasure growing with each thrust.

    Flesh against flesh, the sound filled the shower, echoing off the walls and mixing with their heavy breathing.

    He felt drunk on the pleasure, his thrust growing stronger as he stopped caring about being gentle,pletely consumed by their passion.

    She didn''t mind, her moans growing louder with each thrust, her soft, small breasts bouncing with each movement.

    With seconds turning into minutes, she already came multiple times, her body trembling with ecstasy and desire without a stop.

    Adam then put her back down. However, she could barely stand as her legs felt like jelly, but he then turned her around and pushed her against the wall.

    "Ah~ Ah~"

    With a dogstyle position, his thrusts were deep and fast, sending her over the edge again. This time, Adam also felt like he couldn''t hold it in as he felt his legs trembling and feeling like something was about to shoot from the tip of his manhood.

    With two more powerful thrusts, his hip pushing against her soft, round buttocks, he finally reached his end, moved his manhood out of her honeypot quickly, and released it all over her back.

    "Haah..." With one long, deep sigh, he copsed on top of her, breathing heavily and exhausted.

    "Ah~" Alice looked at him with a loving smile and nted a couple of kisses on his face before whispering, "I love you so much."

    Adam''s eyes widened in surprise, not expecting such an intense confession out of nowhere, and he wasn''t sure how he should respond to that.

    Alice embraced him warmly, resting her head on his chest as she felt his heart beating against

    her cheek.

    "Should we go to the bedroom?" She asked shyly.

    "Mm, yeah..." Adam smiled, lifted her up in his arms, and carried her to the bedroom while

    her giggles resounded across the empty house that only belonged to them for today.

    They went to her bedroom, and it was very tidy and cozy-the bed was only for one, but Adam didn''t mind squeezing in beside her.

    She pushed him down on the bed and sat on hisp, a yful smile on her lips.

    "Back at the shower, you had your way with me; now it''s my turn-"

    With her hand, she guided his already-hard manhood to her honeypot, then slowly inserted it inside her. She let out a couple of moans and then lowered her buttocks, fully taking him in.

    Adam just watched as she started bouncing up and down-like a rabbit-a pleasure filling her face as she rode him with increasing fervor.

    A small smile yed on his lips, quite enjoying seeing her like this.

    The bed creaked underneath them, and if there was anyone else on the house, they would

    exactly know what was happening in this bedroom.

    He sat up and started licking the pink nipples on her soft breasts, savoring the sweet taste of her that tasted better than any candy he had ever had.

    p, p, p!

    She wrapped her arms around his neck, and bounced on hisp, moans of pleasure escaping her lips as she rode him, the rock hard object making a mess inside her with each thrust.

    In, out, in, out, in out.

    "Ah~ AH~~ AH~"

    With the rhythm of their bodies in sync, they neared the ultimate climax, and it almost felt like their bodies were melding into one.

    Alice looked up at the ceiling, her eyes filled with pleasure and desire and her tongue tracing

    circles along her lips.

    Adam, gritted his teeth in ultimate pleasure, grabbed her by her soft buttocks, and helped her to move up and down on hisp as they finally reached the climax.

    Knowing his limits, Adam quickly squeezed at her buttocks and lifted her up, the manhood leaving the warmth of her body. He immediately released another wave of white substance, this time sttering across the bedsheet and her stomach.

    The same thing happened with Alice, who moaned in ecstasy and released a soft whimper as

    she reached her climax.

    Panting and exhausted, Adam fell on his back on the mattress, and Alice copsed right on top of him, her body still tingling with pleasure.

    With a smile on her face, Alice felt extremelyfortable and felt her heart swell with happiness. She also started to feel sleepy, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up to her.

    "Mm..." With a whimper, her breathing turned steady as she fell apart.

    Adam looked at her, smiled, and covered her with a nket.

    "Hera, close the lights..." He whispered, and as the lights faded away, he snuggled under the

    same nket, hugged her naked body, and then closed his eyes, also falling asleep into the best sleep he had, perhaps ever.

 Chapter 213: Bold and Panic

    Chapter 213: Bold and Panic

    ?

    The light of the morning burst through the window, and the golden glow of the rising sun filled every inch of the bedroom.

    In the bed, under a single thin nket,y two naked figures, their bodies intertwined in a peaceful embrace.

    While they were still sleeping, a phone suddenly began to ring on the nightstand next to them.

    "Mm..." Alice, still half asleep, took the phone from the nightstand, epted the call, and ced it against her ear. "Yes..."

    "Alice, are you awake?"

    "Mom?" Alice rubbed her eyes and answered. "What time is it?"

    "Way in the morning!" Serah''s voice came from the phone. "What did you do sotest night that you were still sleeping?"

    "Mm..." Alice''s eyes slowly widened open, and she turned to look at the bed, blush returning to her face. "Nothing..."

    With eyes still closed, Adam was peacefully sleeping beside her, naked like when he was born, but the thin nket still slightly covered him.

    She sat back up in a hurry, and then felt slight soreness in her lower region fromst night''s activities.

    "Ouch..."

    "Ouch?" Serah said from the other side of the phone. "What happened?"

    "I identally bumped my head on the nightstand." Alice cooked a quick excuse and nervouslyughed. "How''s the hot spring trip been?"

    "Horrible!" Serah shouted. "There was a downpour yesterday, and since the hot springs were outside, we couldn''t use them. It looks like we have to return early, so we''ll be back at home in about an hour!"

    "Uh?" Alice blinked in surprise, not expecting their trip to be cut short, and then felt a slight panic. "O-oh, I see!"

    "I need the house to be clean by the time we''re there. Wake up that fool Adam or just plug the cable of his VR pod to help you!"

    "I-I''ll do that..." Alice chuckled nervously. "Have a nice trip back."

    "Thank you, my dear daughter."

    With that, the call ended.

    "Adam!" Alice shook him by the shoulder. "Adam!"

    "Mm?" Adam''s eyes fluttered open, and sleepily asked. "What is it?"

    "Mom and dad will be back home in an hour!" Alice stood up from the bed and quickly ran to

    the wardrobe to put on some clothes. "We''ll need to clean everything"

    She then sniffed the air and felt like the scent of yesterday''s lovemaking was still lingering in the room.

    With panic, she opened the window and rushed out of the room.

    "I''ll leave my room to you; I''ll clean the shower!"

    "Mmh..." Adam sat up to the edge of the bed and rubbed his eyes. "They will be back in an hour? I thought their trip would take a few days longer."

    "Something happened!" Alice''s shout came from downstairs. "Hurry, clean, clean!"

    Adam let out a yawn, removed the bedsheet, and while dragging his feet behind him, walked towards the bathroom to put them on the washing machine.

    However, at that moment, Alice saw what he was about to do and asked. "What''re you about to do?"

    "But these on the washing machine?" Adam asked as these bedsheets were sticky with their love substances.

    "The stains will remain!" Alice shouted. "We must burn them. Yeah, burn!"

    Adam looked at her with a twitching lip. "Yeah, burning is definitely less suspicious. I''ll throw it in the trash, alright?"

    "What if my mother checks the trash out?" Alice asked. "You know how serious she is about cleanliness."

    "I don''t think she is going to dig through the trash." Adam said with a smile. "I''ll throw these to the garbage cans outside, alright?"

    Alice nodded, but then her eyes looked down at him and she bashfully said. "Perhaps you should put some clothes on first before going outside?"

    "Mm?" Adam looked down, wryly smiled, and returned to his room to get some clothes.

    With a chuckle, Alice shook her head and went back to cleaning the shower.

    The seconds went by, minutes flew past, and soon the hour was up-the house looking as clean as ever, and there wasn''t a speck of dust in sight.

    Alice, still nervously, did some final cleaning on her room-she was afraid of her mother as she had crazy instincts that could sense even the tiniest imperfection.

    She was afraid that she would find out about what transpiredst night.

    At that moment, they heard a car roll down to their gravel driveway.

    Adam peeked from the window and saw that they had arrived, still inside the car chatting about something.

    "They''vee." Adam chuckled and walked over to Alice, who was waiting by the front door like a nice daughter. "Rx, you''re tense."

    "I am trying..." Alice nervously said. "Right, what if she smells something in me? I forgot to take a shower!"

    Adam turned her head towards him and nted a bold kiss on her lips-her eyes turned blissful and unfocused for a moment, but then she heard the door mming outside, and her eyes turned panicky.

    She gently pushed him a step back and wiped her lips. "What''re you doing, stupid?!"

    "Haha." Adamughed and turned to the door with a smile. "Calm down; your mother will see if you''re nervous."

    "Hmph..." Alice pouted, but she felt less nervous now that Adam was making light of the situation.

    After all, he was in bigger trouble if they found out about what they did. He would be thrown to the streets like a stray dog.

    The door then opened, and with bags in hand, John and Serah entered the room.

    "Wee home, mom, dad!" Alice''s smile brightened their mood significantly.

    "My dear daughter." Serah hugged her daughter and then looked at Adam with a stinky look. "A face I thought I would never see again."

    "Wee back." Adam smiled.

    John nodded and looked around the house. "You guys cleaned the kitchen and living room? You didn''t need to do that."

    "Hmph, Alice must''ve done everything." Serah looked at Alice with a pride.

    However, a sh of surprise came to her eyes as she noticed that Alice had already grown head-taller than her, and seemed more mature-looking like a proper young woman. She hadn''t noticed it before, but now did, for some odd reason, and felt like Alice was bing old enough to sprout her wings and fly away from her nest.

    "Actually, Adam helped me." Alice said with a smile.

    While Serah ignored that, John nodded as response.

    After taking off their shoes and jackets, they wanted to take their bags back to their room as they didn''t want to leave them by the front door.

    As they headed upstairs, Adam kissed Alice on the cheek, winked, and also headed upstairs.

    "Stupid!" Alice yfully pushed him on the back, her cheeks swelling into a pout. ''How

    reckless!''

    If Serah and John had turned their heads around at that moment, they would''ve seen them

    kissing!

    She felt like Adam enjoyed seeing her panic and nervous.

    At the upstairs, as Serah and John opened the door to their room, Adam walked past them and

    said.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "If you need something from me, just send a message."

    "You''re going back there?" Serah asked with a frown. "You don''t take even a day break, do

    you?"

    "I already did." Adam smiled.

    "Hmph," Serah crossed her arms and said. "Remember, you''ll need to start paying the rent again from next month onward!"

    "I remember." Adam, with a chuckle, went to his room and closed the bronze VR pod''s lid.

    He then walked over to his wardrobe, looking like he was putting on some new clothes, but instead he walked through it and entered a hidden elevator there.

    With a press of a button, he arrived at the hidden basementyer and climbed inside his VR

    pod.

    [Wee back, master]

    Hera''s robotic, feminine voice sounded.

    "Keep them safe, Hera." Adam said and pressed a button by the VR pod.

    [I will]

    Then, as the ss lid closed over his VR pod, he pressed another button that immediately

    transferred his consciousness into the virtual world.

 Chapter 214: Motionless

    Chapter 214: Motionless

    ?

    With his consciousness traversing from world to world, Adam found himself back at his room, the broken window fixed and the bed neatly made as if someone had been here.

    He flicked open his timepiece, then snapped it shut and pocketed it before heading out of his

    room.

    As he walked down the stairs, he stopped by the railing and looked down to the first floor, where some guild members talked with the receptionist, and then left in a hurry.

    ''I wonder what''s going on.'' he thought to himself and then went straight to the first floor. When he was about to step out of the door, someone called out to him.

    "Adam."

    Adam turned around and saw Digby standing by the second floor, leaning against the sturdy railing.

    "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

    "Sure." Adam walked up the stairs to the second floor and entered his office with him, the door closing behind them.

    However, it didn''t really sound like the door even closed, and as Adam turned around, he saw that it hadn''t.

    "The door''s little broken." Digby said and sat down on his seat. "This ce sometimes feels like it is falling apart. Some doors don''t work, the windows randomly shatter, and the floor creaks, as if this ce is haunted."

    "That doesn''t sound normal." Adam said and sat on the chair across from Digby. "What did you want to talk about?"

    "Curious." Digby intertwined his fingers. "I am your master, after all, and I am curious about your progress."

    "Like I said, I am level two in all of the Three Powers." Adam said.

    "I know, but when ites to the Three Powers, there''s more to it than just increasing the level."

    Digby said, and then opened a drawer-there were small iron needles inside-and grabbed a handful of them.

    "While you can sense the aura of the people, what about the aura of the lifeless?"

    With a swing of his arm, he sent the needles flying at Adam from a point nk range.

    Adam snatched the iron needles out of the air-when on his hand, the iron needles started to turn ck as if they were suddenly painted over in a dark shadow.

    "Throw them." Digby said, the corner of his lips curving up.

    With a swing of the arm, the ck-colored needles flew like dark darts towards Digby. They were d in Adam''s ck Kraft-the color of his Kraft changed when he leveled it up.

    Digby, without moving an inch, just sat still while the ck needles flew past him and embedded on the wall behind him. It didn''t look like he moved his head or did anything special, but they still missed!

    "..." Adam stayed quiet.

    This was something even he didn''t know anything about.

    While Kiryoku was amazing to anticipate any and all attacks, it shouldn''t be able to do whatever Digby just did.

    It even looked like some needles just phased right through him, and since they were d in ck Kraft, if hit, they would hurt!

    "Motionless," Digby said. "When you use Kiryoku, your weakness is the reaction speed." Adam raised an eyebrow.

    "When I threw the needles, you needed a fraction of a second to react, and you managed to catch them from the air. However, if I had thrown them faster-faster than your reaction speed-then those needles would have hit you.

    "Motionless a technique created by the Kiryoku Masters-it looked like I wasn''t moving, but I was; however, it was only minor movements.

    "I shifted my center of gravity so little that it looked like I didn''t move, but just enough to dodge all those needles.

    "I also only used the same level of Kiryoku as you have in your possession."

    "How?" Adam asked with a frown.

    "Simple, I reacted before you." Digby said. "I started shifting my gravity, and I used Kiryoku to tell how your hand would move so I was able to urately tell where those needles would

    fly.

    "Since I reacted before you, I was able to dodge over half of the needles without even using Kiryoku on those objects. The rest of them almost grazed me, and they came so close that it might''ve looked like they went straight through me."

    Digby touched his cheek and chuckled. "Motionless is a risky technique."

    "Motionless..." Adam stood up, dragged the chair away from him, and then took a spot by the

    door.

    "Throw the needles again."

    "Huh?" Digby frowned, pulled open his drawer, and said. "Motionless is not something you can learn in a day or two."

    "Please, master."

    Digby looked deeply at him, then sighed and grabbed a handful of the needles.

    "Very well then..."

    ''I don''t know why, but I have a feeling like I know exactly what to do.'' Adam closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and then opened his navy-blue eyes once again.

    Without another word spoken, Digby''s throwing arm moved,unching the needles in his general direction.

    Without a single fear on his face, Adam took a step forward and walked straight at the needles. It looked like he was about to be a porcupine.

    However, when the needles touched his clothes, they went straight through and stabbed into

    the door behind them.

    Small, minuscule holes appeared in the fabric of his shirt where the needles had punctured through, but not a single one touched his flesh.

    With small steps, Adam walked through all the needles unscathed.

    After not sensing any more needles, he turned around to look at the needles stuck on the door;

    some had dropped on the floor, and not a single one touched him.

    "Hmm." Adam smiled and turned to his master. "I think I understood the Motionless."

    Thest needle that Digby was holding dropped on the ground.

    He looked taken aback, unfitting of his master status, but he couldn''t help it as this was justn/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ridiculous.

    Motionless, the highest level of technique that only a few masters had ever achieved, was learned in mere seconds by Adam.

    ''One would say that this was expected from S-ranker, but no, this is ridiculous and

    impossible!''

    "How?" Digby stood up and looked at his pupil in disbelief.

    "It''s the knee, is it not?" Adam looked down at his knee and rubbed his hand across it. "By

    moving your knee, you can change the center of gravity and shift your weight, which makes it look like you aren''t moving, but in reality you are."

    "No..." Digby shook his head. "That ain''t right. I was sitting, so I couldn''t have used my knee to shift my gravity, and instead I used my upper body."

    "Oh, so I was wrong?" Adam scratched the back of his head. "I guess learning Motionless is more tough than I expected."

    "No, what you did was definitely Motionless." Digby said and then uttered unbelievable words. "However, what you did was even higher leveled than Motionless."

    "Higher level?" Adam raised an eyebrow. "No one''s been using the knee technique to shift

    the center of gravity?"

    "Knee technique?" Digby shook his head. "No."

    ''Knee technique was taught in the future that allows shifting the center of gravity.'' Adam thought. ''It seems like it can be used alongside Motionless.''

    Knee technique was crucial for Tanks, and he''d been using it subconsciously in this life as well. It allowed to redirect, avoid, and absorb iing attacks.

    While it was a prettymon technique for Adam, in the eyes of Digby, he looked like an unfathomable monster.

    Because he was now the first person to use knee technique in this timeline.

 Chapter 215: Red Apple

    Chapter 215: Red Apple

    ?

    Ssh!

    By a hallway of windowless doors, a young man dipped his floor scrubbing brush in a bucket of soapy water and then started cleaning the dirt and sand off the floor.

    Back and forth¡ªthe floor scrubbing brush moved in rhythmic motions, erasing any trace of dirt or grime from the floorboards.

    After it turned dirty, he dipped the brush in the bucket of water, cleaning it off before continuing.

    "Hey, Donald!"

    Donald stopped for a moment, and without turning his head around, he continued scrubbing the floors clean.

    "What is it, Niko?" He asked and then came across a spot of grime on the floor that refused toe off.

    Gritting his teeth, he scrubbed harder, but it still refused toe off.

    Eventually, he took out a sponge, crouched by the spot of grime, and started scrubbing it with hands until it finally faded away.

    "You''re still on cleaning duty?" Niko asked with a frown.

    "Yes, it wouldn''t be a punishment if I didn''t have to work hard." Donald replied with a grit on his teeth.

    After the tutorial, they entered a carriage that took them to the wall city of Ebonreach and joined tier three guild there.

    While they were happy to get a guild, it was a guild that didn''t treat the rookie mercenaries that well and forced them to do all sorts of cleaning tasks.

    It greatly hindered Donald''s and Niko''s progress and training-both of them still stuck in Ordergiver.

    A week ago, Donald snapped and shouted at one of the big-bearded men in charge, which earned him a week of cleaning duty.

    "Well, I heard some news on the streets." Niko leaned on the wall. "A word has been spreading that S-ranker hase to the city."

    "S-ranker?" Donald raised his head. "Is it him?"

    "Most likely," Niko said. "After all, his guild is also here."

    "I wonder how strong he has be." Donald thought out loud while staring at the dirty bucket of water. "I wonder how strong Ramon, Hannibal, and the rest are as well. Are we behind everyone?"

    "Don''t think like that." Niko said. "Once we be Beyonders, we can abandon the cleaning duties for good. We will be allowed to travel out of the walls."

    "Take this." Donald handed him the floor scrubbing brush. "Cover me for a second, will you?" "Where you going?" Niko asked. "If they see me cleaning for you, your punishment will be even worse. Your might be forced intotrine duty for a month!"

    "I''ll be back in just a second; I''ll go for a smoke." Donald opened a door that led to the balcony and leaned on the railing, taking out a cigarette from his pocket.

    While the carriages wheeled down below the balcony, he lit up the cigarette and ced it between his lips, taking long and powerful drags before exhaling a cloud of smoke into the cool air.

    The dark clouds gathered across the sky as if it were about to rain at any moment.

    "It''s already been a year since the tutorial..." Donald shook his head. "Others must be doing much better than I am..."

    ...

    By the Blind Sea, a ck-sailed ship crashed against the tall waves without any fear.

    The rough-looking pirates on board rushed to secure the cargo before it was lost to the storm. Some of them slipped as the waves sent them tumbling across the deck.

    "You maggots, tie the cargo properly!" Aemon screamed. "If any of the cargo happens to fall overboard, I''ll have you all keelhauled!"

    With fear being a strong motivator, the pirates worked twice as hard to secure the cargo, and it was done sessfully just in time as a big wave crashed against the side of the ship, sending a shudder through the entire vessel.

    Some of the pirates hit their heads and actually died as their skulls cracked open upon impact.

    "Hmph." Aemon turned around and entered the captain''s quarters.

    The desk there was sliding across the floor, crashing from wall to wall, making a terrible screeching noise and damaging the wall and floor alike.

    While that happened, a scrawny-looking young man was standing by the corner, holding his arms straight with two buckets of water on his hands.

    There wasn''t a single spot in the young man''s body that didn''t have a bruise, scratch, or cut.

    The young man had been standing in the same position for three days already, holding the two very heavy buckets of water.

    If he dared to drop them, his punishment would be a thousand times worse.

    Aemon looked at Seth with a scoff and then stopped his desk from moving any further as it was about to slide straight at Seth and crush him with its weight.

    Seth''s eyes looked unfocused, not looking like he was really alive either.

    "Drop the buckets and go help your crewmates." Aemon said.

    Seth let go of the buckets immediately, and they fell on the floor, spilling their contents everywhere.

    Without another word, Seth left the captain''s quarters and entered the stormy outside.

    Aemon leaned by the doorway and watched as Seth struggled against the raging winds and rain to help his crewmates secure the sails.

    While he''d been training Seth with pain and torturous methods, he hadn''t heard a single word

    ofint from him.

    ''A perfect ve.'' Aemon chuckled.

    ...

    "Hey, that bastard stole my food!"

    Shouts reverberated across the streets as a group of angry-looking men clearly looked for someone in these dark streets.

    However, they couldn''t find them.

    Hiding behind a corner, Ramon carried a bag of apples looted from the market, a fewughs

    escaping his lips.

    "Bastards, overpricing everything." He said with a grin. "But, everything is free for me!"

    "You think you can hide?!" A voice came above him.

    By the roof of the building, Lazarus jumped off the building andnded right in front of the

    thief, Ramon.

    "Argh!" Ramon tried to run away, but Lazarus grabbed him by the back of his shirt and mmed him against the pavement.

    The bag of apples dropped, scattering the red fruit everywhere.

    "You damnards!" Ramon jumped to his feet and rushed at Lazarus like a wild animal. "You''ll

    regret this, Lazarus!"

    SMACK!

    Lazarus''s palm connected with Ramon''s forehead and sent him tumbling on the ground,N?v(el)B\\jnn

    blood trickling from his nose.

    "Hahaha!" Ramon justughed, climbed back to his feet, and rushed at Lazarus with even

    more fury.

    Lazarus swung his elbow backwards, connecting with Ramon''s chest with a sickening thud.

    Ramon''s eyes rolled back to his skull for a brief moment, but he then regained his

    consciousness and charged at Lazarus with a primal scream.

    "Thirty Sekai Fists!" Lazarus pummeled Ramon relentlessly.

    The fists broke, shredded, and ripped through Ramon''s body.

    With bloodied wounds, Ramon copsed on one knee, but he was still trying to fight back, but

    he couldn''t even open his eyes anymore as his whole face was covered in blood.

    "I am only leaving you alive because you''re Necroman''s little pet." Lazarus spat on him,

    picked up the apples, and then walked away with the bag.

    "Hah... hah... hah..." Ramon struggled to breathe, but he stillughed and smiled.

    He took out something from his pocket-it was a red apple.

    With a smile on his face, he took a bite and savored the sweetness of the fruit before

    sumbing to darkness.

 Chapter 216: Piggy Goes...

    Chapter 216: Piggy Goes...

    ?

    Within a normal household in the Ebonreach, the smoke of roasted food filled the air with a savory aroma.

    The mother of the family stirred the pot of stew that was simmering on the stove and saw that it was about to be ready.

    By the table, her husband flipped through the pages of the newspaper and shook his head.

    "The unrest by the Imperium City is getting worse," he muttered out loud. "It is only a matter of time before the war starts."

    Hearing that, his wife looked at the stew absentmindedly; the stirring stopped, but then she quickly resumed, trying to push away the anxiety that was creeping into her mind.

    "In the war of the gods, we, the Originals, will be the foot soldiers." He said with a sigh.

    "They cannot force us to participate." His wife said.

    "Oh, they can." He said. "They''re, after all, protecting us from the horrors of beyond the wall, and the least we can do is help in the war."

    "The food''s ready!" She shouted and ced the steaming pot on the table.

    From the living room, their two daughters ran in and took their seats by the table.

    All of them said their evening prayer, thanking God for the delicious meal they were about to enjoy.

    After doing so, they eagerly served themselvesrge portions of the hot,forting stew. Thum-

    Then, some strange sound came from under the floor.

    Only the eldest daughter heard it.

    "Did you hear that?" She looked around in confusion.

    "Hear what?" Her father didn''t hear a single thing.

    While others were confused, the floor by the table cracked as if someone was hitting it below the ground, and then it broke apart.

    The tablesitters stood up and retreated to the corner of the small kitchen.

    From the hole, a hand started to reach out, grasping at the air.

    After pulling himself up from the hole, the man looked around with a yellowish grin.

    Seeing the scary man, the father of the family rushed to the door to shout for help. They were close enough to the Mercenary Street for someone to hear his shouts of plead.

    However, the scary-looking man grabbed him by the head and smashed his face into the floorboard.

    "Father!"

    "Oy, oy, don''t you dare to do anything that you''ll regret." Timothy, the scary-looking man, said with a grin. "Sit still, like a little good Original, and nothing will happen to your pretty daughters, alright?"

    Hearing his words, the father of the family paled, nodded through pain, and then was thrown to the same corner where the rest of the family was.

    Through the hole, three more figures emerged, their eyes glowing with malice.

    As thest personing from the hole, Victor Vash looked around the ce with a cold, calctive gaze.

    "Tie them and clog their mouths." Victormanded and walked over to the window, peeking at the streets through the slight gap in the curtain.

    Timothy, and the two others tied the family to their respected chairs and clogged their mouths with cloth.

    Their eyes welled with tears.

    "Your daughter sure is pretty, mister runner." Ishaan pinched the cheek of the eldest daughter and licked his lips.

    "Mmh!" Through a clogged mouth, the father of the family screamed and tried to push the man away from his daughter.

    "Hmph." Ishaan just smirked and joined Victor by the window, for now leaving them alone. "What''s the n?"

    Victor narrowed his eyes and said, "We need a map. Search this ce. I would rather know where I am heading before going anywhere."

    "Mmh!" The father screamed to him, clearly recognizing him as the leader of these thug- looking people.

    Victor walked over to him and removed the cloth from his mouth.

    "What?"

    "Just tell me what you want, and we''ll give you it!" He said urgently.

    "Y''know where Crimson Hounds are located at?" Victor asked.

    "They''re... um, in Mercenary Street."

    "More detailed, please." Victor said, his tone bing more forceful.

    "There are like a hundred guilds; I can''t remember every one of them." The father sighed.

    Victor stuffed the cloth back into his mouth and said to him. "If you n on being useless one more time, I''ll rip your windpipe out."

    "Fuck!" Aarush kicked one of the drawers shut. "There''s not a single fucking map!"

    "Nothing here." Timothy said while going through the living room''s stuff.

    "Found nothing in their room." Ishaan said, but twirled an underwear around his finger. "Except this one~"

    "We''ll have to visit the map store, then." Victor said. "Any volunteers?"

    Not a single one of them spoke a word.

    "Ishaan," Victor said.

    "Why me?" Ishaan grimaced.

    "Because you are the youngest." Timothy made a mess out of his hair. "And the least intimidating-looking."

    While Ishaan was not pretty by any means, he didn''t have tattoos and piercings like the other

    three.

    "Fine!" Ishaan clicked his tongue and pointed at the eldest daughter. "However, I better have one turn with her because of the hard work I am putting in!"

    She paled like a ghost after seeing him point at her and felt like biting her tongue to escape

    that fate.

    "Change your clothes." Victor said. "Take some from his wardrobe."

    "You better have some good clothes, bitch." Ishaan pped the father of the family in the head and headed to his room to find some spare clothes.

    Victor then asked from the father of the family where the nearest map store was-this time,

    he knew the location.

    A short whileter, Ishaan had changed his clothes-now wearing a worn tunic with white trousers and ck boots with longces.

    "How do I look?" He asked with a mischievous grin.

    "Slightly less uglier than normal." Timothy grinned. "Don''t do any stupid shit out there,n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    alright?"

    Victor then whispered the location of the map store to him.

    Ishaan yawned, opened the door, and saluted Victor before stepping out into the street.

    Victor closed the door with a m.

    He didn''t want to risk any bystander suddenly catching a glimpse of the tied-up family, so he

    just closed the door as soon as possible.

    When Ishaan just stayed on the doorway, saluting, he felt like just pushing him out and

    closing the door.

    "So reckless..." Victor clicked his tongue.

    ...

    Through the busy streets, Ishaan walked with his hands buried in his pockets, acting like a

    common thug with his legs spread apart and posture proud.

    While he was dressed in ordinary clothes, his walking style was something that stood out

    among the other pedestrians.

    ''The map store wasn''t far...''

    After a moment of looking around, he found the map store tucked away in a small corner of

    the street.

    The entrance was currently blocked by a thin-haired man, who was talking with his friends and ying some chess by the table.

    As Ishaan was about to push past him, the thin-haired man stopped him and said.

    "Where''re you going, boy?"

    "Inside the store." Ishaan said with a grin. "You stupid or what?"

    "Excuse me?" The thin-haired man''s eyes turned cold, and his friends stood up as well,

    surrounding him with their superior numbers.

    "You heard me." Ishaan grinned.

    "You still have a chance to walk away, scarless." The thin-haired man said coldly. "Or you''ll

    leave here with a permanent reminder of your stupidity."

    "Oh, scarless?" Ishaan pulled up his shirt and revealed awork of scars crisscrossing his

    torso. "I ain''t someone without any scars."

    "Those scars..." The thin-haired man''s eyes shrank. "So ugly..."

    They knew that to receive those scars, the man before them had done some hideous deeds in

    his past. "Hahaha..." Ishaan stabbed his finger through the thin-haired man''s neck. "This piggy goes

    to the market!"

    SPURT!

 Chapter 217: Lord and Savior

    Chapter 217: Lord and Savior

    ?

    When stepping down the steps, Adam noticed the troubled-looking receptionist by the counter and walked over to her.

    "What''s up?" He leaned over the counter and saw the receptionist carry a packet of some sort.

    "S-sir Adam!" Lydia eximed.

    "You can just call me Adam." He said and looked at the packet. "A packet?"

    "Yes..." Lydia said. "I am supposed to take this to Copper Tree Guild, but I have no idea where that is."

    "You don''t have a map?" Adam asked.

    "No, it''s ridiculously expensive." Lydia said with a sigh. "To think that the prize of the knowledge in this world is so high."

    "I can deliver the package." Adam took the package and felt that it was pretty light.

    "You will?" Lydia asked with starry expression.

    "Yeah, I''ll need to buy a map of this ce either way." Adam said with a smile, and after bidding farewell to the receptionist, he left the building and walked out into the bustling

    streets.

    While he didn''t know where the Copper Tree Guild was located, because he didn''t think that guild existed in a few years''s time, he decided to go buy a map quick.

    The map should have the location of every guild in the city.

    He still remembered the location of the map shop, where he originally asked directions to Crimson Hounds ce; thus, he arrived there in no time and noticed that this time around there was no one blocking the entrance.

    When he was about to arrive by the store, a person suddenly walked out of the store, holding a map in his hand with an unnatural smile on his face, as if he were ecstatic about something.

    However, then he noticed blood on his hand and the person''s face.

    While the face looked younger than in his memory, Adam recognized him!

    Without any hesitation, Adam hid behind a corner and watched as the person walked away into the crowd.

    ''Why is he here? Ishaan of the Wild Sons, righthand man of Victor.''

    He remembered vividly as he was in constantbat with Wild Sons during the Second Great Guild War.

    Ishaan was particrly memorable.

    Adam left the corner and ran inside the map shop-it looked normal with maps neatly put on the shelves.

    However, there was a thick scent of blood in the air.

    When he walked over to the backroom, he saw a pile of corpses there each one of them missing their eyes and manhood.

    This was why Ishaan was so memorable to him.

    He did the same thing in the Second Great Guild War.

    The worst part was that he cut their eyes and manhood when they were still alive so that they would remember the pain when they return to the real world.

    ''It is the same Ishaan I know. Why the hell is he here?''

    He had to find out.

    Adam rushed out of the shop and hurried after Ishaan-he somewhat remembered the direction where he went.

    After following the direction, it took him to a street that was safely tucked away somerger buildings, and when he came by the side street, he saw Ishaan opening a door, then eyeing surroundings in a very suspicious manner.

    After the door closed, the curtains fluttered in the window as if someone quickly checked whether someone was following him.

    ''That building belongs to the Originals. Why are the Wild Sons here?''

    Adam felt like contacting Digby and the rest, but he felt like if he left now, Wild Sons would be nowhere to be seen when he returned.

    ''Victor is a very cautious man. If he is really there, he''ll probably move away from there in case someone saw Ishaan enter that house.

    ''I don''t know why Wild Sons are here, but it can''t be anything good.''

    ...

    "There, your map!" Ishaan handed the bloody map to Victor.

    "It''s bloody." Victor frowned. "What the hell did you do?"

    "That fucking map shop owner tried to pick a fight with me." Ishaan said and straightened his sleeves. "I had to teach him a lesson."

    "Foolish and reckless." Victor clicked his tongue. "You could''ve ruined us all!"

    "Hmph, I did what you asked." Ishaan walked past him rudely and looked over to the tied-up people. "Now, time to let out some steam~"

    "Take it to the back room, and keep it quiet." Victor said in anger. "This is a delicate

    operation, and you need to act ordingly."

    "Yeah, yeah, I''ll make sure she stays quiet." With a grin, Ishaan started dragging the chair, where the eldest daughter was sitting, towards one of the rooms by the corner.

    "Mmh!" The father of the family shouted, trying to remove the cloth from his mouth.

    His wife and the youngest daughter cried, frightened by the scene unfolding in front of them.

    Knock, knock.

    At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

    Ishaan stopped dragging the chair, and the teary-eyed eldest daughter turned her gaze to the door, trying to scream through the cloth for help.

    "Shut up." Ishaan covered her mouth and whispered in his ear. "If you act stupid, It''ll hurt

    more."

    "Quiet down..." Victor whispered and looked at the door. "Take them to the other room."

    Timothy and Aarush dragged the wife and the youngest daughter away from sight.

    Victor then untied the father of the family and removed the cloth.

    With his fingers, he tried to dry the tears off his face and said coldly. "You''ll open the door and act normal. If you make a single wrong move, we''ll drag your family back where we came from, where they will live their days naked and in pain."

    "Please..." the father pleaded. "If I do this right, please tell that man to leave my daughter alone."

    "No," Victor said coldly. "That''s a small price to pay for life, don''t you think so? You have no choice. If you do anything stupid, your family will suffer for the stupidity of the man that should be responsible for their protection."

    "A-alright..." he said with a voice full of pain and approached the door.

    Victor hid behind the corner and pulled out a short dagger from his belt.

    Timothy, Aarush, and Ishaan covered the mouths of the rest of the family.

    With racing heartbeat, the father of the family opened the door and forced a smile.

    "Hey, how may I help you?"

    "Hello." Adam said with a smile. "Have you ever heard of our Lord and Savior, God

    Almighty?"

    By the back room, Ishaan scoffed. "A fucking member of that shitty church."

    Victor was slightly rxed, but his senses were still vignt.

    "O-oh, I-I am already a member of the church." The father of the family said.

    "Oh, that''s wonderful." Adam smiled. "May I enter and we can talk about possibly donating

    to the church?"

    "No!" The father suddenly shouted and then cleared his throat. "I mean, no. We were just

    about to have dinner. Y''know, the dinner is sacred."

    "Yes, yes, of course." Adam nodded, and then, with a quick nce, saw the small hole by the

    floor. "Is your family home?"

    "N-no..." The father shook his head.

    "But you just said we?" Adam said.

    "I-I mean, yes, haha." The fatherughed nervously. "It''s been a long day, and I am very

    hungry. If there''s nothing else..."

    As he was about to close the door, Adam stopped him and said, "May the eternal light of the

    Almighty bless you."

    "Y-you too..." The father said and then closed the door.

    With a deep sigh, he walked over to Victor and said. "I-It was just a member of the church."

    "You did good-" Victor was about to say.

    At that moment, the window of the living room shattered and a long-ded sword cut through the air. It went through three necks before the swing ended.

    Timothy''s, Aarush''s, and Ishaan''s heads rolled off their shoulders andnded on the ground.

    "Wha-"The father of the family eximed.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Victor''s eyes shrunk, and he quickly stepped to the side, but the sword still stabbed through his shoulder, de piercing his flesh and causing a sharp, searing pain. Through the window, a person stepped through and pulled the sword back to his hand. "Hello," Adam pointed his sword at Victor. "Have you ever heard of our Lord and Savior?"

 Chapter 218: Strange Strength

    Chapter 218: Strange Strength

    ?

    Victor watched as three of his friends heads rolled down the floor.

    It didn''t make him angry, but instead disappointed.

    "You must''ve followed Ishaan here, didn''t you?" Victor touched the back of his head.

    The father of the family rushed to his family''s side, removed the binds from their wrists and ankles, then helped them up.

    "When you leave so many corpses in your wake, it is only a matter of time before someone tracks you down." Adam said. "Don''t you agree, Victor Vash?"

    Victor nodded and then, out of nowhere, threw his dagger towards the family of the four that were cowering by the corner.

    However, before it could reach them, Adam''s longsword smacked his dagger out of the air.

    With a quick lunge, Victor retrieved his own sword from his inventory and brought his sword down at Adam.

    Adam sideways parried the sh and countered with an overhead sh towards Victor''s shoulder-the attempt behind the sh was to hack off Victor''s sword-wielding arm.

    "The Dance of the de." Victor evaded the sh with a dance move and then swiftly twirled around, making his sword dance in the air with very unpredictable motion.

    However, no matter how unpredictable those strikes were, Adam''s Kiryoku was one step ahead, and he deflected each blow effortlessly.

    While in level 1 of Kiryoku, Adam had to react to attacks based on the opponent''s attacking intent. Now, with level, he could use the attacking intent and also their aura to predict their movements.

    It worked like a film reel.

    In his mind, he would see Victor''s aura make the move before he did it or even thought about doing it.

    It was close to seeing the future, but not at that point yet.

    When one''s Kiryoku became strong enough, real future seeing became a possibility.

    The sword in Victor''s hand turned ck. He used his Kraft!

    Adam reacted, and the sword in his hand also turned ck, like it was absorbing all the darkness in the room.

    Then, both moved at the same time and shed swords at the center of the living room.

    ''Cursed. Our base strength is simr. His Kiryoku is stronger, and our Kraft is equal. What about Magick?''

    Victor jumped backward and then shouted. "Multiplication!"

    Around him, a dozen swords of the same length and type appeared out of thin air, surrounding him in a protective circle.

    With the wave of his hands, he sent the swords flying.

    Half of them went towards Adam, and surprisingly, the other half headed straight to the family of the four.

    "Why are you bothering them?" Adam frowned.

    With the back of his shirt ripping open, eight-petaled wings sprouted from his back and blocked all the flying swords before they could reach the family of the four.

    Those swords harmlessly fell on the ground and vanished like the avatar''s upon death. "Wings?" Victor asked in shock.

    "Wings..." The father of the family whispered. "Angel wings..."

    The rest of his family was equally amazed. Those wings looked exactly like the ones they used to see on the picture books they read every night before bed.

    Apparently, the author of those picture books managed to catch a glimpse of an angel, and

    that inspired him to make his illustrations as urate as possible.

    Victor took a step forward, nning to make his move, but then he heard soundsing from outside. It sounded like metallic footsteps.

    ''The guards are here?'' He clicked his tongue.

    Adam retracted the wings back to his body as those were too big and would make moving inside this cramped house impossible.

    With a long step, he swung his sword at Victor. It got blocked. He epted the defeat in that sh and tried a different tactic.

    Instead of going head-on, he circled around Victor to attack from behind and stabbed his sword towards his back.

    With backwards sh, Victor parried the attack and brought his sword towards Adam.

    But then Adam''s sword changed trajectory and made a small cut on his waist.

    It was a small but significant wound.

    "..." Victor silently backed off. ''He doesn''t have any attacking intent.''

    Victor''s level of Kiryoku was only level one.

    While he hadn''t done his promotion test, he was of Grandeur rank level of strength. He wasn''t as powerful as he would be in the future.

    As Adam rushed forward with his sword swings, he pushed Victor back with each sh. He was suffering greatly, with more and more scratches appearing on his arms.

    "Go, kill him!" The family of the four cheered him on.

    Yet, even though he was clearly losing, Victor''s expression didn''t change. He looked bored,

    cold, and impassive.

    "Are you done?" Victor asked.

    "What?" Adam''s brows furrowed, and when their swords shed, the sword surprisingly slipped off Adam''s hand and flew across the room.

    Victor ced his sword by his throat and said, "Your swordsmanship is rudimentary."

    Adam jumped backwards and pulled his longsword back to his hand.

    That short sh made Adam''s back drenched with cold sweat.

    ''It looks like he didn''t slowly evolve into the monster that he was in the future. He was already a monster at this very moment.''

    Victor was the strangest person to have ever yed Mortal Online. It was because it was impossible to gauge his strength.

    When one reached Royal Mercenary, the leveling up system changed to percentages, and that system was pretty perfect in telling how strong the yer was.

    However, when it came to telling Victor''s strength, the system was confused.

    In the end, he was at the peak of Prime Mercenary during the Second Great Guild War, but he

    was able to easily fight against Royal Princes and give Grand Lord''s run for their money.

    So, why was he only Prime Mercenary when his strength was greater than that?

    It was because his strength was ever-changing.

    At one time, he could defeat even the mightiest of foes, but the next day he could struggle against minor opponents.

    "I would like to end this fight, but I guess we''re out of time." Victor saw people moving outside the house.

    He then sheathed his sword, looked at Adam, and said, "We''ll have to continue this another

    day."

    With that, he jumped inside the hole where he came from and, like a shadow, disappeared. Adam slowly sheathed his sword and frowned deeply.

    "Thank you, sir, for saving my family." The father of the family shook his hands with tears rolling down his face. "Without you, my daughters would''ve been..."

    His wife and the daughters were crying by the corner of the house, relieved, but still in a fear. It didn''t feel like they were out of harm''s way yet, knowing that one of them escaped.

    "The guards are here; tell them what happened." Adam said and started to walk towards the hole.

    "Where''re you going, good sir?" The father of the family asked curiously.

    "I am going to go chase him, of course." Adam said. "I know a person that needs avenging."

    "You''re going after him?!" They eximed.

    "Yes, this world will be in a way better ce with him gone." Adam said, then nodded towards the family before hopping down to the hole.

    With that, the door of the house mmed open, and guards entered with their weaponsn/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    drawn.

 Chapter 219: Adam Vs. Victor

    Chapter 219: Adam Vs. Victor

    ?

    After crawling through a tunnel that spanned several kilometers, Victor returned back to the surface covered in dirt and sweat.

    The entrance of the hole was around five hundred meters away from the wall, and they dug for several kilometers.

    It was a long and important operation, but it horribly failed.

    Victor walked over to a dead-looking tree that was the only tree in sight. There were three horses and one ck camel tied to the tree.

    He untied his very own ck camel from the branch of the tree and hopped on it to start his return journey.

    At that moment, he heard some strange noisesing from the hole near him. It sounded like someone crawling.

    "The guards have already caught up to me?"

    Victor''s eyes turned cold, and then he used his sword to kill the horses so the guards wouldn''t have any means to catch up to him.

    With a squeeze by the reins, the ck camel started to gallop towards the looming mountains on the horizon.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Victor kept ncing backwards and then saw a person jump from the hole. It wasn''t any guard, but the person he fought earlier that day.

    "That guy..." He whispered in surprise. "He is actually chasing me? I thought he would have second thoughts after I unarmed him with such ease. Why is he going to such lengths?"

    After that, he remembered that it didn''t matter that he killed those horses-that bastard had wings!

    With eight-petaled wings, the person soared into the sky and started chasing him with a terrifying speed.

    It was clear that the ck camel was outssed in terms of speed.

    While in the wastnd, the ck camel was one of the fastest creatures, but it was no match for this winged person.

    However, in terms of endurance, the ck camel mighte out ahead, but Victor doubted that it would be enough to make up for the speed difference.

    With a swoosh, Adam soared over him andnded in the ground ahead of him, facing him with a sword in hand.

    Victor pulled on the reins, but it wasn''t enough to stop in time as Adam shed through the ck camel''s legs.

    The ck camel fell forward, and Victor quickly hopped off and then rolled out of the way of the falling animal, narrowly avoiding being crushed underneath it.

    At that moment, Adam leaped over the dead ck camel and smashed his sword at Victor. Victor quickly drew his sword, then tried to parry the heavy strikes, and he was somewhat sessful, but he stumbled and lost his footing on the uneven ground.

    With a lunge, Adam rushed back at him and swung his sword without stopping. Victor matched his energy, and their swords shed together with a loud ng.

    It was constant nging as their swords shed hundreds of times in the span of the minute.

    Under the scorching sun, their fight raged on, both fighters showing no signs of backing down.

    When another sh ended, Adam used the Little God''s speed, and while he was fast enough to be almost invisible, Victor still managed to parry the blows.

    ng, ng, ng!

    The wastnd around them stretched for kilometers in every direction, the only witness to their epic battle. It was barren, dead, and eerily silent except for the sounds of their weapons shing.

    "You shouldn''t have chased me." Victor said with a deadpan voice, but something inside him clicked, and his strength started to grow once more.

    Adam''s expression turned serious, and he was forced to step back as Victorunched himself forward with renewed power.

    With the new power, Victor pushed Adam''s longsword aside and then cut through one of the gaps in the Deceased Pdin Armor, slicing into Adam''s flesh.

    While it wasn''t serious enough to be life-threatening, it was definitely painful.

    "Now you''ll die, and for what?" Victor asked and tackled Adam to the ground, then, with a swing of his sword, knocked the sword out of Adam''s hand.

    Victor ced his sword at Adam''s throat, centimeters away from ending his life.

    "I would like to know why." He said. "To risk your life like this. It can''t be because of that fake family right there, right? They''re creations of code, so why does it matter what we do to them?

    "Their feelings, their thoughts, their existence-none of that exists."

    Adam smiled and said. "I am from the future."

    "Huh?" Victor frowned.

    "I''ve seen what kind of person you''ll be, and knowing you''re capable of such cruelty, it gives me pleasure to know that I can stop all the things that you will do."

    "What nonsen¡ª" Victor was about to say, but then with his ck-d gauntlet, Adam pped his sword away from his throat and hopped back on his feet.

    With a straight jab, Adam punched Victor in the chest and shouted. "Chi Strike!"

    The Chi Strike brough through Victor''s defenses and caused havoc in his chest.

    "Cough!" With a bloody cough, Victor almost fell on his knees.

    Without stopping attacking, Adam headbutted him with such force that it broke Victor''s nose.

    "Argh!" Victor swung his sword at Adam, but to his surprise, his de went right through Adam''s face, as if he were a ghost.

    "What?!"

    Motionless!

    Adam threw another straight jab, and Victor was knocked back a few steps, barely able to stay

    on his feet.

    When he was about to sh again, Adam grabbed him by the wrist of his sword and kneed him

    in the chest.

    With just a few attacks, Victor''s whole body was screaming in pain.

    ''How can''t I react to any of his moves? It''s not like he is moving fast either!''

    Without realizing it, he was currently under Influence!

    Influence-it makes a person hesitate about everything they do, and that allowed Adam to continuending easy hits.

    It was mental warfare that Adam had mastered!

    "Pull!" Adam summoned his sword back to his hand and then stabbed into Victor''s chest, the tip of the de barely inside his flesh.

    "Argh!" Victor looked at the sword and coughed out blood. "Why... why aren''t you finishing

    your strike?"

    "What was the reason foring to Ebonreach?" Adam asked. "If you answer truthfully, I''ll let you live."

    "Hah..." Victor smirked with bloodied teeth. "No, you won''t."

    "No, I won''t." Adam shed through his body with an upward sh, splitting him in half

    from his waist up.

    With that, he copsed on the ground before his feet, lifeless and defeated.

    "..." Adam sheathed his bloodied sword and started heading back.

    He wasn''t happy about his victory today because he had a feeling that this wouldn''t be the

    last time he met Victor.

    He was talented enough to reach his current level of strength in a few years and could easily catch up to people in his tutorial group if he put his mind to it.

    However, no matter what, Adam didn''t n on allowing him to catch back to him.

    When Victor peeked his head from his hole, Adam nned to smack him down again.

    ...

    As the night fell over the Ebonreach, inside a cramped and empty house, Adam climbed out of

    the hole and looked around the abandoned ce.

    ''It looks like they left this house. I don''t me them for leaving in a hurry.''

    Adam shrugged his shoulders and stepped out of the house, stepping back into the dark

    streets of Ebonreach, the cold air of the night on his hair.

 Chapter 220: Whisper In Sleep

    Chapter 220: Whisper In Sleep

    ?

    A few hours ago, by the world that was devoid of light.

    Victor emerged from the light that vanished as soon as he stepped onto the dark ground.

    "The world of death..." Victor raised an eyebrow.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    It was the first time he had been here, as this was his first death.

    The death didn''t make him mad or sad; it made him curious.

    The infamous Dark World.

    What was the reason that no one kept their memories of that ce?

    At that moment, he saw the only source of lighting from ahead. It was the gateway to the Dark World.

    Victor narrowed his eyes and headed there, but when he was not that far away, he saw a silhouette that almost seemed invisible inside this dark ce.

    The strange man was sitting on the ground, his back permanently hunched, staring nkly at the gateway like he wanted to go there, but since he was sitting for too long, he couldn''t stand up anymore.

    "Who are you?" Victor asked from him.

    The strange man didn''t answer.

    "Hey," Victor said.

    The strange man didn''t answer.

    At that moment, Victor just pped at the back of his head, hoping to get a reaction.

    This time, the strange man let out a strong, guttural groan.

    "That hurt, bastard..." The strange man whispered.

    "So, you can speak." Victor said with augh. "You look horrible. What happened to you?"

    "Good question..." The strange man said. "You woke me up..."

    "I woke you up?"

    "Yes, I was sleeping." The strange man said. "That''s the only thing I can do here. Sleep, sleep, and sleep..."

    "Why the hell are you here?" Victor asked. "You''re a yer, right?"

    "I am." The strange man said. "Are you from the New World?"

    "Yeah, and no. I lived in the ce that we, Wildlifers, called as Other World." Victor said.

    "I am envious." The strange man said. "I''ve never been there, and then I died, so I can never get there."

    "What''s your name?" Victor asked.

    "Noel''s the name." The strange man said and rubbed his lengthy beard that had grown overtime.

    "You didn''t answer one question from me. Why are you here?"

    "At first, out of stubbornness." Noel said. "Then I couldn''t leave anymore. My joints turned stiff, and my legs got weak. I could never get there."

    With his trembling finger, he pointed at the gateway. The ce that he never could reach.

    "Yeah, that''s the gateway to the Dark World." Victor said, curiosity in tone. "By the way, have you seen three peoplee here before me?"

    "I was sleeping," Noel said. "If they died, they stepped through the gateway."

    "Why don''t youe with me there?" Victor asked. "There might be a way to return from the Dark World, alive."

    "Has anyone done that?" Noel asked weakly.

    "No, but we can be the first." Victor said with a grin.

    "Foolishness..." Noel tried to stand up but couldn''t. "I can''t stand up. I need your help..."

    Victor grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him up, but Noel stumbled and almost fell down, but Victor caught him just in time.

    "You need a little bit of foolishness in your life sometimes," Victor said with a grin.

    "Let''s go then..." Noel said weakly and started stumbling towards the gateway.

    With a couple of steps, they went through the gateway and vanished from sight-on the other side, the fabled Dark World, awaited their arrival.

    ...

    By the Copper Tree Guild, the receptionist walked to the front door and checked the dark sky with its sparkling stars and hovering moon.

    It was midnight and time to close the door.

    As she closed the door and was about to lock the door, a person ran to the front steps with a package in hand.

    "Sorry, we''re closed for tonight!" The receptionist said and was about to twist the key in the lock.

    "I have a package for someone..." Adam read through the text on package. "Named Tommy Loyald."

    "Oh, for the guild master?" The receptionist opened the door and looked at the package. "I can''t let you enter thiste, but I can hand it to him first thing in the morning."

    "Sure." Adam handed over the package and watched as she closed the door afterwards.

    It didn''t matter to him that he wasn''t allowed to enter, as it was his fault for returning the package sote. He got pretty sidetracked, after all.

    ''I guess there is nothing else for me to do tonight.'' Adam thought as he walked away from the building.

    When he thought about returning to Crimson Hounds headquarters, he felt a chill on his back and shook his head instead.

    ''What if she tries something again? I''ll log off instead.''

    With a press of a button, his avatar vanished from the street as he logged out and returned to the real world.

    -

    After climbing out of his VR pod, Adam greeted Hera, then used the elevator to go to his room, and from there walked to the kitchen downstairs.

    As he poured himself a drink of water, he heard a door open from upstairs, and footsteps followed that sound.

    He turned around to see sleepy-faced Alice enter the kitchen, wearing her favorite oversized t-shirt and messy bun.

    When she saw him, she smiled and greeted him with a yawn before pouring herself a ss of water as well.

    "I didn''t expect you to see up sote." Adam said and took a sip of the water.

    "I was studying; exams areing up-" Alice said and yawned. "I was about to go to bed."

    "Mm, good luck then." Adam poured the rest of the water on the sink, washed the cup, and ced it on the drying rack.

    "What about you?" Alice asked. "I thought it would take another few weeks before I can see

    you again."

    "Uhh..." Adam shrugged his shoulders. "I felt like getting some real air."

    "Real air?" Alice looked out of the window. "Its dark already."

    "I know," Adam replied. "I just felt like taking a jog for fun."

    "Its dangerous." Alice said with worry. "I heard that there have been some shady individuals lurking around Navy Towntely..."

    "Oh, again?" Adam raised an eyebrow. "I remember John talking about that a long time ago."

    "Yes, we were talking about it at school." Alice said. "Apparently they''re all tattooed and have been causing trouble."

    "Mm, I''ll be careful." Adam said and leaned against the kitchen counter while looking at

    Alice.

    "Why are you looking at me like that?" Alice asked from him with a pout.

    She saw his lips curl upward in his ssic yful grin.

    "Nah, it''s nothing." Adam shook his head and went to the front door to put on some outdoor

    clothes.

    Alice tilted her head in confusion, wondering what he was hiding from her.

    "Is there something going on in that other world?" she asked out of curiosity.

    "Oh, why do you think so?" Adam asked curiously.

    "I just had a hunch." She said. "You''re acting strangely, after all."

    "You''re overthinking it." Adam put on the clothes and was about to leave the house.

    At that moment, Alice said. "Is this about Lady Yu?"

    Adam froze like a person stuck in time.

    "How do you know that name?"

    "You... whispered that name in your sleep." Alice said. "I happened to hear it."

    "Mm..." Adam shook his head. "It''s nothing; see youter, alright?"

    With that, he left the house, but Alice noticed a look of longing in his eyes. She could tell that

    person meant a great deal for him.

    ''Adam...''

 Chapter 221: Weakest Faction

    Chapter 221: Weakest Faction

    ?

    With wind blowing against his ck hair, Adam jogged down a sidewalk that was blocked with railings from both sides of the sidewalk.

    The streemps brightened his surroundings with their golden glow of light.

    The sidewalk was still slightly damp as it just finished raining, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of wet pavement.

    With his powerful running steps, he quickly made his way down the long sidewalks that went through some empty streets, through a narrow alleyway, and then through the gates of a nearby park.

    The park was vast and filled with vibrant greenery. It had some small forests, nice ponds, and tiled roads that wound through the lushndscape.

    Since it was nighttime, the park was eerily quiet and peaceful, with only the sound of birds chirping in the distance.

    The winding tiled road path led to a beautiful clearing where a small fountain stood in the moonlight.

    When he finally arrived there, Adam came to a slow stop and tried to catch his breath before taking in the serene beauty of the scene before him.

    At that moment, he also heard some running steps, and when he turned around, he saw an ordinary couple jog alongside the pond.

    "Hmm..." Adam sat down on the edge of the fountain and watched as they passed by before returning back to his thoughts.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    However, before he could finish a single thought of his, two people sat left and right of him on the fountain.

    With a side nce, he saw that they were monstrously big, standing near three meters tall, and looked like they were as thick as a mountain.

    "We are on behalf of..."

    Before they could say who, Adam said:

    "Bartholomew Ravenscroft."

    A sh of surprise went through the two men''s eyes.

    That''s exactly who was their boss, but they couldn''t understand how this young man knew this unless he already knew that they were in Navy Town and that he had kept an eye on them.

    "Then you must know why we are here." us said. "While Big Boss couldn''t meet you in the New World, he sent us here to talk with you."

    "Answer is no," Adam said.

    "You didn''t allow us to tell you his offer." Johannes said.

    "Sorry, but I have grown a little bit of an ego." Adam said and cracked his knuckles. "I don''t care what his henchman has to say. I want to hear his offer from his own tongue."

    "That isn''t possible." us said. "Big Boss is a busy man."

    "I am not important enough for him to take a two hour ne trip?" Adam asked. "He doesn''t live that far from me, now does he?"

    us and Johannes exchanged a nce.

    With a nod, both of them stood up, and stayed standing there like two bodyguards.

    At that moment, another person walked from him, cleaned the spot beside Adam, and then sat down.

    This man was also incredibly tall¡ªlike a giant, with meticulously groomed brown hair and a stern expression on his face.

    "You indeed are important enough for me to take this trip." Bartholomew said. "It costs me money for me to move away from VR pod, as every second I am logged out, I lose money."

    "How long you''d been here?" Adam asked.

    "Inded this morning." Bartholomew said. "I''ve been waiting to meet you face to face."

    "You''re making me feel bad; after all, I nned on refusing your offer." Adam said with honesty.

    He was being shockingly honest, which took us and Johannes off guard.

    "You don''t know my offer yet." Bartholomew said with furrowed brows.

    "I know what it is about and I am not interested." Adam said. "Don''t get me wrong, I do respect you. Guild master of Smilebacks, a gue of Chaosbeings, Bartholomew Ravenscroft."

    "Yet, you don''t want to join hands?" Bartholomew looked at him with a frown. "You don''t want to or Crimson Hounds had already chosen their alliance?"

    "I have a feeling that Digby is waiting for me to make my decision. It doesn''t seem like he is willing to do that by himself."

    "Then you don''t want to?"

    "Yeah, I don''t." Adam said.

    "May I ask why?"

    "I think you''re going to lose the war." Adam said. "And I don''t want to be on the losing side." "Hahahaha!" Bartholomew erupted inughter and patted him strongly on the back. "Your honesty is very refreshing! No one else has dared to say that straight to my face!"

    Adam wry smiled and shook his head.

    "And you''repletely correct." Bartholomew said. "My faction is weakest in the entire war. Its because our numbers are weak for all-out war."

    "Why don''t you drop down from the war?" Adam asked.

    "That isn''t a choice; you should know that, as you seem like an intelligent fellow yourself."

    "Yeah, when the war is over and other sides are weakened, you could sweep in and take the victory for yourself. They wouldn''t allow you to do that."

    "The war''s participants have already been chosen." Bartholomew said. "The Seven Ancient Guilds and their alliances. Then, standing alone, Imperial Order."

    "Mm, it''ll be a bloody war." Adam said. "Titans will fall, rulers will die, and kingdoms will crumble."

    "It is what it is. Greed is in a human''s blood." Bartholomew stood up, then, from his hunched back position, slowly straightened his back. "It''s exciting though. My battleaxe is sharp and

    ready."

    ''It feels like the timeline has shifted drastically.'' Adam thought. ''It feels like the war will start earlier than before, as Bartholomew himself came to me. It sounds like he is in a hurry.'' "Either way, see you at the war; perhaps we''ll get to sh weapons." Bartholomew said and then started to walk away.

    "Why didn''t you want me as S-ranker?" Adam asked. "Honest question."

    "Because you''re a bnce breaker," Bartholomew said. "I''ve been preparing for this war for three years now. I know every guild''s weaknesses and strengths, but then you came-wild

    card."

    "..." Adam frowned.

    "You''re the only wildcard in this entire war." Bartholomew said. "While I personally don''t think you can influence this uing war too much, it''s still something to worry about."

    ''Hmm, strange feeling.'' Adam thought to himself. ''In the Great Guild War, I was nothing but a footsoldier that, in the end, didn''t make any difference at all, but now, I am the wildcard?'' With a tip of his hat, Bartholomew then left with his two strong-bodied bodyguards.

    Adam slipped his hands inside his pocket and also left, headed back to his home.

    ...

    With the hour growingte, Adam walked down the sidewalk of his neighborhood, about to arrive at his front door.

    However, at that moment, he saw a person standing by the front gate, inches away from

    touching the frontwn.

    "Who are you?" Adam asked with a deep frown. "And what''re you doing in front of my

    house?"

    "How did the talk with Bartholomew go?" The man turned to him. "Adam."

    With his wild, curly ck hair and silver earrings, he looked like a troublemaker, but his calm

    demeanor and kind eyes told a different story.

    "You are..." Adam frowned.

    It was someone he didn''t have the greatest memory of but knew about his position among the

    mercenaries in the New World.

    He was the guild master of Zestruction, one of the Seven Ancient Guilds, Zephyr!

    "My name''s Zephyr." Zephyr smiled warmly. "I''d like to have a word with you."

 Chapter 222: Sit on the Throne

    Chapter 222: Sit on the Throne

    ?

    By a hill area, the left side having a steep uphill climb while the right side descended into a valley, the two men walked down that road that led to the hillside neighborhood.

    Adam slowly walked behind Zephyr, a person he didn''t expect to meet.

    Today was a strange day; meeting two members of the Council of Mercenaries¡ªin the real world nheless-was an unexpected surprise.

    He didn''t ask where he was being taken, but he had a feeling it was somewhere important.

    After a long walkter, they arrived by gatedmunity.

    It looked abandoned, the weed-covered driveway going through the middle of the overgrown houses.

    It seemed like it was a nice ce, like twenty years ago.

    "This is the ce where the first outbreak of Dark gue happened in the Navy Town." Zephyr said, opened the rusty gates, and entered the neighborhood.

    Adam thought about asking how he knew about that, but decided against it and instead just followed after him.

    They went past most of the houses-Zephyr''s steps seemed quick as if he knew exactly where he was heading.

    It didn''t take them long to arrive at the abandoned house at the end of the street.

    It looked nice, like a house straight from a coloring book, but that would''ve been twenty years ago; now it was dpidated and sad-looking.

    However, by the front gate, there was a rusty sign, half of the words erased, but it was easy enough to see what it was saying.

    "Home of Palestar''s." Zephyr read it aloud. "That''s where your parents lived before the Dark gue, y''know."

    "How do you know all that?" Adam asked.

    "It wasn''t just your mother and father that lived. They lived alongside your father''s parents, who also perished in the Dark gue."

    "..." Adam stayed silent.

    He also knew that his grandparents died in the Dark gue, which made the memory two times as painful.

    "However, there was one more person living there." Zephyr said. "Your father''s brother, your uncle."

    "That''s..." Adam looked at him with a shake in his eyes. "What''s your name?"

    "Zephyr Palestar." Zephyr said with a chuckle. "I haven''t used that name in a long time." "You''re my uncle?" Adam frowned. "Where the fuck have you been for thest twenty years?" Zephyr sadly smiled. "Around a year, or was it two years before all that Dark gue shit, I left. There was an argument; I was young and stupid. I removed myself from this family.

    "Traveling across the world, I had no other meaning, and so when I vinished traveling the entire world, I found out about Mortal Online, where I had now spent another decade.

    "I just spent time traveling around Mortal Online. I''d seen ces I''d never imagined and met people I''d never forget, but ultimately, it was all just a distraction from the pain of leaving my family behind.

    "I never knew about you nor that my brother and she... died. I only found out that in the tutorial of yours, you looked just like your father with your mother''s eyes, and that''s when I thought about contacting my brother again.

    "I tried, and after digging up, I found out he has been dead for twenty years."

    "Holy..." Adam sat on the fence and buried his face in his hands. ''I spent my entirest life without finding that out?''

    Zephyr looked at an old kid''s bicycle on the overgrownwn and remembered when he paddled it down the street as a child while his brother pushed it from behind.

    "Why did it take you another year to contact me?" Adam asked.

    "I had to gather my courage to do that first, and because I am a coward." Zephyr sighed. "This ce was not kind for me. I had a lot of bad memories here."

    "What now?" Adam asked. "I doubt you''ll be staying here. I am sure you have a life somewhere."

    "I would ask you toe with me, but I know you will refuse me." Zephyr said. "I don''t want you to abandon your life here."

    "There''s another reason why you came to me today, isn''t it?" Adam looked at him with a knowing look. "The war."

    "You''re smart, unlike your father." Zephyr tried to say a joke, but when he remembered his brother, his mood turned sour. "Also, yes."

    "You want me to join your faction." Adam scratched the back of his head. "Is that the main reason for your visit?"

    "I have never used the Palestar name in Mortal Online before." Zephyr said. "With you on my side, I''d like to change that."

    Adam just let out a deep sigh.

    It was a troubling matter.

    On the other hand, he knew what happened to Zestruction in the future, and he doubted he could change the oue as the war was fought between giants and titans of the mercenary

    world.

    "I couldn''t care less about the war before." Zephyr said. "I thought it was finally time to retire as I finished traveling around the entire New World like a year ago.

    "I still have some floors undiscovered in the dungeon, but I have a feeling they won''t be cleared in my lifetime.

    "I thought the war would be myst hurrah. I don''t think my faction will win it. I doubt we will survive through it.

    "I have now changed my mind. I want our family to sit at the throne. I finally have a purpose

    in this life."

    "Well, what''s your answer, nephew?" He asked and offered his hand. "Join my side so that our family name doesn''t stay in shadows. Palestars are destined for much more."

    Adam opened his mouth, the words leaving his lips as he answered.

    ...

    At the dawn of the morning, around four in the morning, a door of the bedroom opened, and Adam, tired like a log, stumbled over to the bed to catch a wink of sleep.

    It had been a very exhausting day.

    With the fight with Victor, long traveling between Ebonreach and the wastnd, then meeting with Bartholomew and ending with a discussion with Zephyr.

    However, when he came by the bed, he noticed that there was a lump under the coves, and when he moved away the covers, he saw that Alice was sleeping on his bed, looking as beautiful and adorable as ever.

    Adamy beside her and looked at her sleeping face, the soft breath leaving her lips every now

    and then.

    When he was about to sleep as well, she muttered something before her eyes slightly flutteredn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    open.

    However, her eyelids barely opened, looking like a slit.

    "You''re back..." She muttered. "I was waiting for you... but you didn''te, so I fell asleep..."

    "Why did you wait for me?" Adam asked.

    "I was worried..." Alice whispered sleepily. "Also, what I said earlier..."

    "Its nothing..." Adamy on his back, gazing up at the ceiling. "You''re interested in her?"

    "I''ve seen your look." Alice said. "You like her."

    "I''ve nothing to do with her." Adam put his arms under his head. "I used to. We used to be very close. But not anymore."

    "You want to, though." Alice said and traced her finger across his chest. "I always wondered what you were doing in there. You spend weeks, sometimes months at the time there, and I

    always thought that you must have someone else there."

    "How does that make you feel?" Adam looked at her with a soft look.

    "I don''t know..." Alice said.

 Chapter 223: Blood River

    ?

    With the sun rising over the horizon, the Navy Town started waking up.

    The same thing happened in the Kindforth residence as Serah and John woke up to start their day.

    They started making breakfast, some bacon sizzling on the pan, while they started to prepare for the long day ahead as both had work.

    In one of the bedrooms, Adam stared at the ceiling with Alice nudged up against him, still sleeping peacefully.

    However, Adam couldn''t get a single wink of sleep.

    There was just too much to think about.

    "Mmh..." With a soft moan, Alice also woke up and turned to face Adam, her eyes heavy with sleep.

    "Good morning." Adam said and nted a soft kiss on her forehead.

    "Did you sleep?" Alice asked sleepily.

    "No," Adam replied. "I was too busy thinking about everything that happened yesterday."

    "Oh..." Alice rubbed her eyes and let out a soft yawn.

    She felt bad, as she thought it was because of what she said, but she didn''t know that Adam had quite an eventful day yesterday.

    "What''re you nning to do today?"

    "I''ve got some things to do at Mortal Online." Adam said. "I will be very busy..."

    "Oh..." Alice whispered with her lips curling down. "When will I see you again?"

    "I''ll make some time every day, I promise." Adam messed with her hair and then said. "Your parents seem to be awake. You should get going before Serah finds you here."

    Alice''s eyes popped open, and she realized that she wasn''t in her room.

    She then quickly hopped back on her feet, pulled up her oversized shirt because it was sliding off her shoulder, then nted a quick kiss on Adam''s lips before rushing out of the room.

    Adam stretched his arms, and during the night, he had time to think about a lot of things.

    However, for now, the biggest issue was the war.

    It was going to happen soon.

    ''I''ll need to go talk to Digby and others.''

    ...

    While dressed in his Deceased Pdin Armor with his longsword on his back, Adam stood at the meeting room alone.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    With apathetic expression, he moved the ces of the quills and paper to the side of the table. Then, he also made sure that they were straightened out before sitting down to wait for everyone to arrive.

    He told everyone to gather in the meeting hall before nine in the morning, but since he was quite nervous, he came quite early and had been there waiting, trying to keep his hands busy.

    After a short whileter, the double doors finally opened and the core members of the Crimson Hounds swarmed in.

    They gave a courtesy bow in Adam''s direction before taking their seats around the table.

    This meeting room was thergest room in the whole building. Bigger than the lounge. It only had around four square-shaped windows, therge circr meeting table with twelve seats, and a chandelier above the table.

    Since he arranged this meeting, Adam was allowed to sit at the head of the table.

    It was pretty unheard of a rookie mercenary sitting at the head of the table during any guild meetings, but no one hereined.

    They heard about Adam''s current strength. He had be shockingly strong in just a year.

    In another year, maybe it wouldn''t take even that long, he would''ve already surpassed most of the people that were sitting around this table.

    Thest people arrived by the meeting hall. They were Digby and Valora. They took their seats across from Adam.

    The double doors closed behind them.

    "Thank you all foring." Adam said, and bowed in respect.

    "Is this about what happened yesterday?" Morial asked with his rough voice. "Those Wild

    Sons trash infiltrated this ce but died like the rats they are."

    "We were informed about it." Digby said. "It was something every guild needed to know because there is now a threat of Wildlifers digging their way here."

    All the eyes stared at Adam.

    "It looks like you all already know." Adam nodded. "I was the one who discovered them."

    Everyone nodded, some having smiles on their faces. It made them happy that it was someone from their guild that foiled their ns. It was revenge for Zahn''s death.

    Adam then recalled the events of yesterday about what happened with the Wild Sons. When he told about killing Victor, many looked surprised before grinning through their white teeth.

    Digby nodded sternly and said. "Good job. It sounds like Victor was indeed the leader of the Wild Sons, but he wasn''t the strongest member. Those that are backing him might try to get

    revenge."

    "Any idea why they came here?" Lucette asked.

    "No," Adam said.

    "They came here for us, apparently." Digby said. "That family that survived said that Victor was asking directions to here. It seems like they were searching for something."

    "Any idea what that could be?" Adam asked.

    "No." Digby shook his head. "There''s nothing that is really valuable with us. Their reasoning stays a mystery."

    "Why did you gather us here, Adam?" Valora asked. "Was it for this?"

    "No." Adam shook his head. "Guild master, have you already decided the faction that you will

    back up?"

    A silence fell over the room.

    "No," Digby said. "While my father is part of the Royal Pce, he isn''t associated with the Imperial Order. However, that could be a strong faction to support."

    "We were actually waiting for your input." Valora said as she stared at Adam. "The whole New World is waiting for your decision, and honestly, we don''t want to make that decision for

    you."

    "Children of the Fair is also a very attractive faction. They''re a strong faction that could win the war between the Seven Ancient Guilds, and after that, their strength could''ve risen high enough to challenge Imperial Order."

    One of the people around the table suggested.

    "Nightshade as well." Another one said. "Ambrose Hawthorne has the Pro-Strong faction in his pocket already, and that makes their core strength one of the highest. Death Mercenaries are also backing them, and they have two S-rankers, Mauricio and Cmity!"

    "What about the Smilebacks?" Someone said. "Bartholomew as leader is someone you want to follow. He is the greatest tactician of the New World, and while their numbers aren''t as high as other factions, they make up for it with unparalleled strategy and cunning. "Battle Maidens is good as well." Lucette said with a smile. "Athena is a true battleborn, and her army of fair maidens is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. They''re faction with

    the greatest weapon arsenal."

    "What about Dying Star Guild?" Morial said. "They already have Sapphira and Arkham, two S- rankers, and if we add Adam there, three S-rankers in one faction is an extremely formidable

    force!"

    "Darkstar Guild is a very attractive choice." Another one said. "If they lose the war, their

    faction might still survive because of the close connection with the Imperial Order. If they win, they might not go for the throne and ally with themselves with King Moriarty, making

    the strongest alliance in history."

    "What do you think, Adam?" Digby asked.

    Adam took a deep breath and said.

    "What about Zestruction?" Adam asked.

    "Hmm, Zestruction is an only-male guild and has the strongest magicians in their ranks, but

    they''re not very versatile in battle." Digby said. "Zephyr, the traveler, is also not that well-

    known as a leader, so it will be a gamble."

    "Since all of you will hear about thister, Zephyr is my uncle." Adam said with a heavy look.

    "I just found out about that recently."

    "Your uncle is part of the council of mercenaries?!"

    A shocked expression crossed everyone''s expression.

    "That... changes things." Digby said. "When others find out, they believe that you''re already sided with Zestruction, and if you join another faction and cross them on the battlefield, they might think that you don''t have what it takes to fight at full strength!"

    "That''s also good, no?" Lucette said. "If Zestruction wins the war and Zephyr''s takes the throne, we can make Adam his heir. Zephyr is also old-48 years old-there aren''t many years

    left for him to rule!"

    "Crimson Hounds would then be Royal Guild like the Imperial Order is right now." One

    of them said with a greedy expression.

    This n could lead them straight to the throne!

    "Hmm..." Digby looked at Adam and asked. "You want to ally ourselves with them?"

    "I..." Adam took a deep breath and nodded. "I do."

    Digby nodded sternly. "Once we''ve sent our letter to them, the other guilds will find out, as

    Zephyr will use your name to gather more support from guilds that haven''t chosen their side

    yet.

    "When that happens, the ball will start rolling, and we get one step closer to the war." "The war is already here." Adam said and looked out of the air. "I can feel it in the air. The tension is clear. You can see in the faces of everyone on the street that look of anticipation. "When the war starts, the blood river will flow from Imperium City to Ebonreach''s gates. The Originals can''t hide from the war either. They will also be forced to choose a side." Digby picked up his quill and parchment paper and then started writing a letter for Zephyr. This letter inched the world closer to the war.

 Chapter 224 First Bullet

    Chapter 224 First Bullet

    A half-open lettery on the desk. It was read just recently, and the words were still fresh.

    Near a slightly open window, Zephyr gazed out to the streets of the Imperium City.

    He heard the usual chatter of tradesfolk, the ttering of carriages nearby, and the familiar church bell ringing in the distance.

    It was all peaceful.

    However, Zephyr knew that all that peace and quiet would end shortly.

    He straightened his sleeves, buttoned his coat, and then left his office.

    With a small railing in front of him, he leaned against it and looked below. He could see his guilding to life as the members arrived for their weekly meeting.

    "Everyone!"

    With a loud scream, the guild building turned silent like a grave, and all eyes turned on him.

    "Prepare for the war." Zephyr said coldly.

    ¡­

    Red Thread, the old antique shop.

    Alistair read through some of thetest news he had received.

    With moments flying by, he started to look older and tired.

    "Uncle and nephew¡­" He sighed and looked at the very old chandelier that hanged by the ceiling.

    It seemed worn and about to break down, just like himself. However, there was one final mission ahead, and he hoped that he wouldst enough to see it through.

    From one of the drawers, Alistair brought out an old revolver and spun its chamber like a wheel.

    At that moment, a pair of shadows moved behind the foggy windows, and then, the door opened with a cling of a bell.

    With a quick throw, a shbang grenade rolled inside.

    Alistar hid behind the counter with the revolver in hand. The shback grenade exploded behind the counter, blinding the antique shop.

    "Its a war time, bitch, die!" Tyson stormed the antique shop with a tommy gun and riddled the walls with bullet holes.

    Ratatatatatata!

    Through the valuable antique items, through the walls, and through the windows, the bullets made everything look like Swiss cheese.

    "Hahahaha!" Tysonughed maniacally, but then the gun needed a reload.

    Behind the counter, Alistair stood up, unscathed, pointed his revolver at Tyson, and fired a single bullet. The bullet went through Tyson''s forehead.

    Tyson''s friend jumped through the door, and before he could shoot his own tommy gun, Alistair pointed his revolver at him and fired the second bullet.

    Swoosh.

    Through the eye, he also died.

    "Cough, cough!" Alistair coughed wildly and dropped down on his chair with drool dripping from the corner of his mouth. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The war didn''t only revolve around the Mortal Online. The real world was as dangerous a ce now for those participating in the war.

    "The first bullet has been fired¡­" Alistair cleared his throat. "No going back now."

    ¡­

    Under the scorching sun, Orion sat on a rock bench, a walking cane in hand, and looked as two of his beloved pupils fought by the yard.

    Sapphira''s and Arkham''s attacks were fierce. It didn''t look like an ordinary spar, but a fight to the death.

    Sapphira danced beautifully, her light sword moving like a lightning bolt from the sky, fast and deadly.

    With his heavy axe, Arkham struggled to keep up with her speed and agility, but with one overhand sh, he managed tond a solid blow on her shoulder.

    Spurt!

    The cut was clean, and Sapphira''s arm flew off her shoulder,nding on the ground with a sickening thud.

    Orion chuckled like a child, but then a member of his guild came to him, whispered something, and then left.

    It wasn''t good news.

    Far from it.

    However, Orion didn''t look worried and just let the two younglings fight without telling them that the war had basically already started.

    ''No need to hurry. The war isn''t going anywhere.''

    ¡­

    "Wohoo, war!" Cmity danced on top of a table that was packed with alcohol bottles.

    The bar was loud like a concert as the members of the Death Mercenaries partied after the news of the war reached the ears of their guild master.

    While the official announcement of war hadn''te yet, they knew that the war was already at their doorsteps.

    It was only a matter of time before they would be called into battle.

    After today, who knew how long it would take before they could party like this again. It could be years!

    "The war, haha!" A drunken mercenaryughed. "Cmity, perhaps you can be thetest S-ranker after all, once that Palestar brat is dead, hahaha!"

    Cmity grabbed an alcohol bottle and smashed it against the mercenary''s face. Its sharp ss cut through his face like a knife and left him badly disfigured.

    "Moroooon!" Cmity shouted and took a big gulp of alcohol. "I am thetest one. He hadn''t proved himself yet, and I don''t care what those old geezers say. He is S-ranker in name only; unless he proves himself in the war, he''s nothing!"

    "Argh, fuck!" The disfigured mercenary screamed. "You hurt me, bastard!"

    Cmity scoffed and threw his alcohol bottle at him. The bottle exploded against his face, causing blood to spurt out everywhere.

    "How exhrating!" Cmity screamed. "In this war, everyone will die and perish!"

    ¡­

    A brilliant throne, embedded with the brightest jewels, stood at the royal hall of the Royal Pce.

    At the throne, seated with one leg crossed over the other, King Moriarty read through a letter that the messenger just brought.

    With his golden eyes moving through the text, he looked apathetic, and after reading it through, he gave it back to the messenger.

    "My liege, what shall we do?" His left-sided royal advisor spoke to him. "With nearby viges and Godswood in your control, they''re tempting ces for Ancient Guilds to target to get a strong foothold."

    Then, his right-sided royal advisor, who shared the same face as the left-sided royal advisor, said:

    "You must act swiftly to protect yournds and people."

    King Moriarty raised his hand to silence them.

    "They don''t matter."

    "My liege?" The royal advisors exchanged a concerned gaze.

    "It is the throne that truly matters. Those viges that I am in control of have only a poption of five hundred each. Godswood is housed by Chaosbeings. I won''t exchange my men or resources for such insignificant things."

    "My liege, you''re still ruler of this realm. If you don''t protect your territory, your alliances will fall apart."

    "Evacuate the viges, and burn the Godswood to the ground." King Moriarty said. "With Godswood gone, the trees that give that ce natural defenses will be gone, making that ce worthless."

    "Madam Aria Darkstar sent a letter." The left-sided royal advisor said. "She has her concerns."

    "She has my support." He said. "Those Originals from the evacuated viges will be relocated to hernds to act as reinforcement for her army."

    "It''ll make them dissatisfied. Aria will send them to be meatshields."

    "At least they will have their uses," he said. "Their dissatisfaction also doesn''t matter when they''re dead."

    "What will Imperial Order do during this time?"

    "We aren''t the main party of the war." King Moriarty said. "Leave the fighting for Ancient Guilds first. We''re thest boss, after all."

    ¡­

    Wheeling down a bumpy dirt road, a wagon loaded with supplies jostled and bounced, the driver struggling to maintain control as they headed towards the towering city of Imperium.

    After opening the p of the wagon, Adam peered outside, inhaling the fresh scent of pine trees and feeling the cool breeze on his face.

    It was only him inside the wagon beside some cabbage boxes, food delicacies, and a few boxes of water.

    The Imperium City loomed closer and closer with each bounce.

 Chapter 225: Ceremony

    Chapter 225: Ceremony

    ?

    In an alleyway that was safely tucked away behind some tall buildings, Adam was sitting on top of a wooden box, the hood pulled up over his head, his legs crossed, and his fingers tapping impatiently on the knee.

    It didn''t take long for him to hear some footstepse by the corner, and from there, Argus from the Mercenary Guild appeared in the deste alleyway.

    "Hello, young man." Argus said with a slight smile. "Here''s your card."

    He handed Adam a mercenary card. It was Adam''s card originally, but he gave it to him to put a slight change on it.

    Now, instead of having Ordergiver rank on it, it had Grandeur instead.

    He was now an official Grandeur-ranked mercenary!

    This transaction happened in the shadows, as Adam didn''t want some of the big names to know that he was here currently.

    After showing some of his prowess to Argus, he was convinced enough to give him the rank of Grandeur. If he wanted to, he could''ve tried for Archwarrior as well, but Adam thought that Grandeur was enough for now.

    "You never told me why you came all the way here for just a promotion. This city is not safe for you anymore." Argus said. "We all know that war ising."

    "Since I was nning oning for different business, I thought that might as well get a promotion while I am here."

    Adam said and stored his mercenary card back in his inventory where it would be safe.

    "You must be here for something important, then." Argus raised his arms. "I won''t ask why. I don''t want to know."

    "I appreciate the favor." Adam said, stood up from the box, and headed to the exit of the alley.

    Argus lit up a cigar and took a puff of the smoke before turning to walk in the opposite direction.

    ''What he just showed me... His strength could very well reach Archwarrior''s level. He is just level 12 as well. When he reaches level 25, the level of Royal Mercenary, his leveling turns into percentages, and the system will determine his current level of strength.

    ''He might jump straight to Prime Mercenary. What a ridiculous young man.''

    ...

    In the cathedral, a blind-eyed bishop cleaned the altar. It looked like he was able to move pretty well for someone who was blind.

    At that moment, the double doors of the cathedral opened, and someone entered.

    "Who goes there?" the bishop called out. "Apologizes, but we''re not having any visitors at this hour."

    It was almost evening, and the young monks of the nearby monastery would soone to have their evening prayer. For this, outsiders weren''t prohibited.

    Adam took a seat in the front row of the chapel and said, "I am here to meet someone."

    "You can meet that someone tomorrow," the blind-eyed bishop said. "Until then, please be on your way."

    Adam crossed his legs and looked like he was waiting for someone.

    The bishop started to look annoyed, but then one of the doors behind him creaked open and a figure stepped out. It was an extremely tall man.

    "Bishop, he is with me." Kanari said.

    "Is he now?" The bishop responded. "Lady Yu''s visitor?"

    Adam stood up, picked up a single shinecoin from his pocket, and tossed it to the collection basket. Itnded with a soft clink, joining the other coins inside.

    After that, he followed Kanari through the door that led to a spiraling staircase that led to the attic of the cathedral.

    Neither of them spoke a word until they arrived at the bottom of the stairs. There was one wooden door, and it had wings like an angel carved into it.

    "Why you''vee here?" Kanari stopped Adam for a moment. "You didn''t look surprised when I appeared, so you found out who told me to spy on you."

    "Mm, I did." Adam said. "No worries, that''s have nothing to do with why I am here."

    "Why''re you here?" Kanari asked.

    "Some peace and quiet." Adam said. "I''ll try to increase my strength as much as I can before the war is officially dered. I''ll need to increase my chances of survival, and that''s why I need her assistance."

    "Alright." Kanari touched him on the shoulder and said sharply. "Be kind to her. She is a crybaby."

    ''Yes, I know.'' Adam thought inside his mind and then stepped through the door.

    Kanari closed the door behind him.

    The attic looked like a beautifully decorated room, with sunlight streaming in through the small window and casting a warm glow over the antique furniture.

    It was the perfect room for someone who liked some quiet and peace.

    By the small window, one could just stand there and see the entirety of the Imperium City move with life in the bustling streets below.

    There was already someone standing by the window. She had her back facing Adam, dressed in a white silk dress with delicatece details cascading down her back.

    Her long, silvery hair flowed down her back like a shimmering waterfall, and when she turned around, her piercing gold eyes locked onto his.

    She already looked beautiful, but the small blush on her cheeks made her look even more radiant and stunning.

    "Mister Adam, what a pleasant surprise." Lady Yu said with a smile, her voice smooth andn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    melodic.

    She had her hands intertwined, but it looked like she was fidgeting somewhat as if she were

    nervous.

    "Lady Yu." Adam lowered his head in a respectful nod.

    "This is our second meeting, is it not?" She said.

    However, after remembering their first meeting, her blush grew. She wondered whether he was still remembering that rather embarrassing meeting in the Gathering''s hot spring.

    "It is..." Adam tried to remember.

    The years and all the meetings had be quite muddy in his mind. While he''d actually met her many times, this was just the second meeting in this timeline.

    "If I may ask, what''s your reasoning for this visit?" Lady Yu asked with a smile. "Don''t get me wrong, I am really happy about finally properly meeting you, but it is quite poor timing, don''t

    you think so?"

    The war frightened her.

    It was a very scary thing to witness as Original. It was because her kind would be thrown to the frontlines to just die and slow down the advancement of the enemy''s forces.

    It made her really sad and angry.

    "I need your help," Adam said.

    "Help?" Lady Yu asked. "I am not quite sure what I can help you with..."

    "The Holy Room," Adam said. "I''ll need holy maiden''s help."

    Lady Yu''s eyes popped wide open.

    This wasn''t a small request.

    The Holy Room''s ceremony was intimate and sacred, not to be taken lightly. A warrior and holy maiden once they enter the Holy Room together, their destinies would be forever

    intertwined.

    The ceremony''s purpose was to increase the strength of the warrior. However, since it was an intimate ceremony, their souls would get connected, and when one of them died, the other

    would as well.

    It was a ceremony that had only been once in thest century.

    They wereplete strangers, and to ask something like this was ludicrous!

    Adam looked deeply at Lady Yu, knowing the ridiculous request. However, it wasn''t as

    ridiculous as it seemed.

    It was because in hisst life, Adam was supposed to do the ceremony with her, but before he could, he was assassinated and killed.

    If he was assassinated a month or twoter, Lady Yu''s soul would''ve died alongside him. That''s the only positive thing about his death that it happened earlier than the ceremony.

 Chapter 226: The Stage of war

    Chapter 226: The Stage of war

    ?

    "That''s a serious matter." Lady Yu turned to gaze out of the window. "You would gain strength to fight in the war. However, if you perish, so shall I."

    "Something for you to think about." Adam said. "I''ll be in the city for a couple of days. I''ll visit you before I leave, and you can give me your answer then."

    "Why..."

    "Hmm?" Adam heard a sound of her whisper.

    "Why do you believe I would even entertain that?" Lady Yu looked over to him with her sweet gaze. "We don''t know each other. Those who usually do the ceremony have been very close for decades. Some even lovers..."

    "I thought you were the right person for the job." Adam said. "A feeling of sort."

    ''A feeling?'' Lady Yu touched her chin thoughtfully.

    "Don''t think too much about it." Adam headed to the door. "If you don''t want to, just say so. I won''t take it personally."

    "Mm, I''ll give my answer when you return." Lady Yu said.

    Adam nodded and then left the attic.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    At that moment, Lady Yu''s knees buckled under her, and she plopped down on her buttocks. ''That sounded like a confession, didn''t it?'' Lady Yu touched her heated cheeks. ''The Holy Room ceremony has another name. Marriage Ceremony. After all, the holy maiden and warrior are bound together in the ceremony.''

    ...

    It turned night, and the stars began to twinkle in the sky above.

    While a small portion of the city went to sleep, the rest of the city stayed awake as the nighttime activities began. The taverns opened their doors, the sound of music andughter filled the streets, and the city came alive with energy.

    By his inn room''s balcony, Adam watched the lively scene below with a drink in his hand.

    It all seemed so peaceful, but it wasn''t going tost.

    He remembered the time when the war started previously. It was his first year in the New World, and it all started during a day as peaceful as this.

    It frightened him greatly, as he thought he would just die in the war.

    It was nothing like life back in the real world. He thought about skipping the warpletely and continuing ying once the war was over.

    However, the real world seemed so dull and lifeless. He was living alone at that point, disconnected from everyone, and there wasn''t anything to do.

    He was still working at a nearby convenience store with a shitty pay, but he found sce in the virtual world of his video games.

    That''s why he gave the war a go.

    It was painful at first.

    It was painful six months after the war started.

    However, eventually, he molded into a battle-hardened warrior. He shed off his fear of battle, epted his fate, and embraced the adrenaline rush ofbat.

    He stopped caring about life and death.

    He jumped straight to the jaws of death, and it was at that war that he started to make a name for himself.

    Since he was only Ordergiver ranked at the time of the war, he was part of the first wave of the soldiers alongside Originals. It was so bloody.

    However, as he got stronger, he got stronger mercenaries on his side as well.

    That''s how he met Nikhs. He was in the Dying Star faction. They fought on the same side, straight on the frontlines, and survived while keeping each other''s backs covered.

    Nikhs had already be mercenaries. He was somewhere in the New World.

    He would also most likely participate in the war. Dying Star faction.

    In this war, they would be opponents, and if Adam saw him on the battlefield, he swore to kill him.

    ''I still hope I don''t meet Sapphira on the battlefield.'' Adam sighed and finished the drink. Till that talk with Zephyr, he thought he would be part of the Dying Star faction in this life as well. He had an amazing time there and was loyal to them.

    He kind of wanted Orion to approach him with an offer, so it looked natural for him to join their faction. However, he never did, and it didn''t surprise him.

    Orion wasn''t the type of person to look for alliances. He went with the flow, and that''s why his guild members loved him like a father.

    ''Let the war begin.'' Adam put the drink down.

    At that moment, he heard some screamsing behind the door. It followed with some thumping noises and thudding like someone was mming their head against a wall.

    ???"

    Adam slowly made his way towards the door and opened the door enough to peek outside. He wasn''t the only one who thought about what was happening, as his neighbors were also peeking out of their doors, looking concerned.

    It seemed like the sounds wereing from downstairs.

    Adam closed his door, and headed downstairs. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw the source of the noise-two men were strangling each other with their hands.

    The innkeeper tried to remove them from each other, and other visitors had already gone outside, away from harm''s way.

    "Smileback trash!" Khamisi screamed as he squeezed on the man''s throat.

    "Argh!" Issa gripped Khamisi''s arm in an attempt to break free. "Nightshades..."

    ''A fight between Smileback and Nightshade?'' Adam''s eyes turned cold. ''It''s already at that

    stage, huh?''

    Issa front-kicked Khamisi in the chest, enough to force him a few steps back, and he then drew his steel sword from the scabbard.

    A quick sh went between Khamisi''s ribs, drawing a line of blood.

    Khamisi didn''t look in pain and just d his fist with his red Kraft before throwing a series of punches that sent Issa reeling backwards.

    Issa tried to use his sword to block some of the punches, but it was like trying to block sledgehammers. Khamisi''s blows were too powerful and precise.

    The shockwave radiating off the punches sent the innkeeper flying like a kite to the end of the room. It was extremely dangerous for Originals to stay around when yers were fighting.

    Issa clicked his tongue, dashed past Khamisi, and made a few cuts on his arm. His swordsmanship wasn''t shy with wide and quick swings, but instead very small movements that created small wounds but would umte quickly.

    When he turned back to Khamisi, about to sh again, someone suddenly grabbed him by the elbow and twisted his arm behind his back.

    "Argh!" Issa turned around, and to his surprise there were around eight or nine ck-cloaked

    figures standing by him.

    "Senior Brother!" Khamisi grinned.

    "You''re bullying a fellow brother of mine? Tch, tch." Tauro shook his head, grabbed Issa''s

    sword forcibly, and cut through his throat.

    Issa fell on the ground and choked on his blood.

    Tauro looked at the dead Smileback, smiled, and then took Khamisi with them as they left the

    inn to party somewhere else.

    Adam, standing by the stairs, returned back to his room.

    When he reached his room, he closed the door and locked it tightly.

    "Haaah," Adam leaned his head against the door.

    If something like that happened on peace day, Tauro and his friends would be executed to avoid an all-out war between two Ancient Guilds that would create a big rift in the world. However, now it didn''t matter. The war would happen one way or another.

 Chapter 227: Brothers and Sisters

    Chapter 227: Brothers and Sisters

    ?

    "I bless you." A white-robed priest wet his finger and drew a cross on the foreheads of the people present.

    They were sitting on pillows in the middle of the temple, their round eyes open, and ck robes draped over them.

    They all looked strangely the same-cross earrings, ck hair, faces pale as snow, and round, soft-looking features.

    The priest gave them his blessings.

    After that, they rose to their feet and headed out. They were smiling, some grinning, and others tight-lipped.

    The First Brother and the First Sister walked side by side, leading the way. The brother walked with a confident stride while the sister was just smiling and hopping along with excitement.

    When they left the church that was in the middle of a strange forest, the robed sisters and brothers stopped in the clearing.

    There was a thick forest surrounding them with tall trees and dense bushes, making it impossible to see further.

    Behind the bush, dagger-wielding men and women were waiting to ambush them. They wore masks, and clothes that blended with shadows.

    "Come out~" The First Sister called out to them with augh. "You think you''ve been able to hide from us? Come out; I''d like to talk to you all~"

    "Lower your weapons or die!" The First Brother shouted.

    "Mou, what''re you doing?" The First Sister looked at him with a pout. "You''re scaring them away. Brute, stupid, block head!"

    The First Brother''s eyebrow twitched.

    "Stupid." The Second Brother nodded in agreement.

    "Indeed, indeed." The Seventh Sister nodded with a smile, her bobcut bouncing with each movement.

    A dagger flew from the bush, but the Fourth Brother caught it and looked at it with a frown. Strangely enough, the dagger was ticking like a bomb.

    "Oh..."

    Boom!

    The dagger exploded.

    The force of the explosion threw the Fourth Brother back. He crashed through the church doors and slid down the floor till his body came to a stop.

    A smoke of the explosion engulfed his face like a misty mask.

    "Are you alright there?" The white-robed priest asked.

    "Yes, I am not much of a smoker, but I won''t reject a freebie!" The Fourth Brother leaped back to his feet with a grin on his face.

    The smoke dissipated, and his face looked intact. There wasn''t a single cut or bruise to be seen. It was like he was only hit by a harmless smoke bomb.

    He walked out of the church and into the sunlight.

    "Hey, you rude bastards. What was that for?!"

    The First Brother took a step forward, drew his katana-like sword from the scabbard, and shed it through the air. It created a sh made out of the air that cut through the trees in the distance.

    Those who were hiding jumped out of harm''s way and finally revealed themselves from the bushes. It was unclear what guild they were part of.

    It also didn''t look like they wanted to talk.

    Instead, they unleashed a flurry of spells, while a few of them did a straight frontal attack.

    "Heh!" The First Brother grinned out of excitement, and with several quick shes, he cut through the spells.

    A dagger-wielding man appeared from his shadow. The dagger already heading towards the First Brother''s neck.

    "Your breathing is too loud!" The First Brother stabbed his katana through the man''s throat. "If you want to seed in assassinating, you''ll have to be much quieter!"

    The First Sister kneeled on the ground. She was smiling and singing a song inside her mind.

    Three people attacked her seemingly defenseless self.

    "Who wanders too close to me..." The First Sister opened her beautiful eyes. "Will die."

    The skin of the three people peeled off like paint, and they started screaming like they were on fire.

    The First Sister revealed a hidden knife from her sleeve and quieted them with a swift and precise cut to their throats.

    She then hid the knife back to her sleeve.

    It was a massacre.

    The brothers and sisters ughtered their enemies without mercy,ughing and smiling

    while doing so.

    The ambush was a horrible failure.

    ...

    The sun hadn''t moved in the sky, yet the fight was already over.

    The First Brother sat on top of thest remaining member of the ambush party. He was removing the blood of his victim from his sword with a cloth.

    "Hey~"The First Sister crouched in front of the half-dead man and smiled sweetly. "Who''re you with? I''d like to give them my gratitude for such a warm wee~"

    "We''re darkness... We''re the shadows... we''re death..."

    The First Sister giggled and said to everyone. "We defeated death!"

    "I had chills." The Third Brother rubbed his arms. "That guy is a proper weeb. Who can say

    that with a straight face?"

    "I know that mantra of theirs." The First Brother said. "Shadow League."

    "Oh, I''ve heard of them!" The First Sister said with a giggle. "They''re like a secret society for gamers or something, right?"

    "You should fear us!" The half-dead man shouted. "We''re Otherworld Killers, y''know? When we find where all of you live, we''ll kill all of you!"

    None of them seemed worried and instead justughed straight at his face.

    "Oh, I don''t mind giving our address." The First Sister said. "We''re living together, after all."

    "Together...?"

    "Red Thread''s Orphanage, that''s where we are." The First Sister said with a grin. "All of our parents were criminals. Horrible, horrible people. When they died, we were sent to Red

    Thread''s Orphanage.

    "We were supposed to be ves to the powerful. The person in charge of the orphanage was a horrible bitch. However, then Alistair, our beloved master, bought the orphanage and

    gave us a future.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "He gave all of us VR pods toe here and start a new life in the digital world." The First Sister smiled hugely. "We became part of the Children of the Fair. We''re Alistair''s sword and

    shield."

    "Come and kill us." The First Brother said. "I dare you. I''ll kill all of you to protect my

    brothers and sisters."

    "Oh, you''re such a sweetie." The First Sister smiled at him and then took her knife before finishing off the half-dead man. "We''re waiting. Don''t make us wait for too long~"

    "Hey, you guys see this!" The Tenth Brother shouted.

    When others looked over to him, they saw the thing he was seeing. It looked like there was fire

    spreading deep in the forest.

    "A forest fire? Here?" The Second Sister said worryingly. "This is Godswood. An ordinary fire doesn''t burn here."

    "It looks like the King has made his move!" The Fifth Brother shouted out. "They''re going to burn the Godswood till there''s nothing left!"

    "No..." The First Sister pouted. "We''re supposed to take control of Godswood for our master."

    "This ce is useless now!" The First Brother shouted. "Let''s leave. Our master has no need

    for burnednd."

    "Where''re we going?" The Third Brother asked.

    "To Imperium City!" The First Brother said. "Every faction is going there. That''s where the first fight will happen. Our master needs us there!"

    "War!" The First Sister trembled in her boots. "The time''s finally here. We''ll make Alistair a

    king!"

    "Let''s go, brothers and sisters." The First Brother headed away. "We have a realm to conquer!"

 Chapter 228: What Was That?

    Chapter 228: What Was That?

    ?

    The blood dripped down a mountain. It was a strange mountain of dangled arms, twisted legs and crushed skulls.

    It was actually a mountain of corpses. It was a haunting sight to behold.

    It was located in the center of an innocent-looking vige. It was an empty and dead vige now. The houses still looked intact, the streets clean, and the air pure, but all the vigers were dead, piled high in the center of the vige.

    On top of the corpse mountain, a person was sitting crosslegged, his legs long and thin, his skin pale, and his eyes closed with a small smile on his face.

    "Hmm~" Akuji hummed a song. "You lied to me~"

    There was someone kneeling below the mountain. A tear-ridden old man was staring up at the person on top of the mountain, his heart heavy with regret and sorrow.

    If he had only spoken the truth.

    If he had just betrayed their ruler.

    If only he wasn''t as loyal as he was, his family and the people he was supposed to protect would still be alive.

    "I am sorry!" The old man tearfully shouted. "What else do you want from me?! You killed everyone!"

    "I want your wholehearted apology," Akuji said. "Say it with passion. I want to see that you truly regret your actions."

    "I do, I already do!" The old man shouted. "I am very, very, very sorry!"

    "Mmh, I can''t tell if you really mean it." Akuji clicked his tongue.

    ''This lunatic. Can''t he see that I am heartbroken? Can''t he see that I lost everything?! Does he even have emotions?!''

    Akuji slid down the corpse mountain and slowly walked to the sorrowful old man. The old man looked down at the soil that was wet with blood.

    "Say it again." Akuji prayed with his hands. "With passion. With anger. With hatred. With regret. With sorrow. Anything!"

    "I am sorry!" The old man screamed. "I was stupid. I was foolish. I was ignorant. I regret everything!"

    "What''re you sorry about?"

    "I lied about the fact we are loyal to the king." The old man said. "I lied about joining Nightshade faction for the war. I didn''t think far. I am sorry!"

    "Hmm." Akuji''s lips crunched together in a thin line. "I don''t know. You said that you''re sorry, but you were looking at me when you said that. Shouldn''t you be sorry at the dead for not protecting them?"

    The old man''s eyes widened.

    ''A trap!''

    Akuji cut his head off with his bare hands, and the blood sprayed everywhere, painting the walls in a grotesque disy of violence.

    "Yawn!" Akuji let out a very loud yawn and walked past the headless corpse. "Well, this vige is now ours. It''s such a remote ce that it wouldn''t probably be even used for the war, but oh well."

    Thump!

    On top of a nearby building with a pitched roof, someone emerged from a ck smoke cloud. It was a person with devilish eyes, a forked tongue, and long fingers with ck nails.

    "Akuji, trouble has arisen!"

    "What is it now?" Akuji asked. "Your little Shadow League has encountered some trouble?" "Tch..." Snakeman clicked his tongue in annoyance. "A small group of basement dwellers. None of my main guys. However, they got eradicated in the Godswood."

    "Oh, by who?" Akuji asked with a raised eyebrow, already suspecting the answer.

    "Children of the Fair," Snakeman said. "The Brothers and the Sisters have made their move." "Of course they would; Godswood is a strong ce to hold." Akuji said. "I doubt they''ll be able to get control of Godswood in just a day. Ambrose wants me to go there to assist?" "Godswood has been abandoned." Snakeman said. "Burned, turned to ash."

    "Oh, interesting move." Akuji said. "Godswood has those God Beasts that make venturing there dangerous. What happened to them?"

    "yed, like every other Chaosbeing there." Snakeman said. "Mikael of the Imperial Order took care of them."

    "Wooh..." Akuji grinned. "That''s one dangerous guy. What now?"

    "It looks like the Brothers and the Sisters are heading over to the Imperium City." Snakeman said. "Like everyone else is. The first battle will happen there."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Rumble!

    The sky rumbled with thunder as dark clouds gathered overhead.

    ''It''s about to rain?'' Akuji frowned. ''That''s spring for ya~''

    He took an umbre from his inventory, opened it up, and covered himself under it.

    It didn''t take even a second for rains to start pattering down.

    With water rushing down, the blood on the streets was quickly washed away.

    "What''re you nning to do now?" Snakeman asked as he jumped from roof to roof, following Akuji, who was clearly heading out of the vige.

    "Imperium City, where else?" Akuji asked with augh. "That''s where the party will happen!"

    "You''re the Third Hand of Ambrose-he would appreciate your presence." Snakeman said. "What''s with the zing?" Akuji asked. "What do you want? Speak your mind out!"

    "If you find any of the Sisters and Brothers, alone perhaps, kill one of them for me, will you?"

    "I don''t work for you. Why would I do that?" Akuji asked.

    "I''ll give you ckheart''s ck heart in return." Snakeman said with a slight grin.

    He knew it was a very attractive object.

    "And I wonder how you got hand to one of them." Akuji chuckled. "Fine. Does it matter if it is only Tenth Brother or Sister? I don''t think I can kill the First Brother and Sister, they''re always

    together like two peas in a pod."

    "That''s fine. Any of them is fine." Snakeman said.

    "Alright, I''ll do my best~"

    In that, an enormous slithering shadow made the surroundings dark, like someone had turned

    off the lights.

    When they looked to the sky, they saw something incrediblyrge and heavenly slithering above the dark clouds. It seemingly came out of nowhere!

    "What the hell is that?"

    The dark clouds under the enormous shadow''s mouth disappeared as a pir of hellish fire

    and smoke shot out, consuming the entire vige in mes.

    "Argh!" Akuji fell through the ground as the mes crashed down on him.

    Snakeman vanished into his shadows.

    The mes swept across thend and made the nearby farm fields turn to ash.

    The shadow above the dark clouds left quickly. It slithered across the sky and had already disappeared beyond the horizon, with the dark clouds following it.

    The sky turned clean, the rain stopped, and the sun returned.

    Through the burned, ash-filled ground, Akuji punched through with a rageful shout that

    echoed through the burned wastnd.

    "What the hell was that?!"

    Snakeman appeared close to him. His face was cold with sweat, and he looked as frightened as

    Akuji.

    "What the heavenly fuck was that?" Akuji asked. "Snakeman, did you see what it was?"

    "No!" Snakeman shook his head. "I can usually see through the shadows, but that thing... I

    couldn''t see it as if I was not allowed to do so!"

    "Not allowed?" Akuji frowned. "A being that can change thews of the world?"

    "God?" Snakeman asked in shock.

    "I don''t know." Akuji narrowed his eyes. "Usually Gods are only able to change thews of the world. If you couldn''t see it even with your shadow powers, it means the being changed aw of sight around it. Thus, no one could see it unless it wanted to be seen."

    "That''s ridiculous!" Snakeman cried out.

    "What way did it go?" Akuji asked, as he couldn''t see it because he was buried in the ground.

    "To the west." Snakeman said heavily. "In the direction of the Imperium City." "What the hell is going on?" Akuji clicked his tongue. "Will there even be Imperium City left after all this? What''s happening there that even attracts beings as godly as that?"

 Chapter 229: Death Party of Smilebacks

    Chapter 229: Death Party of Smilebacks

    ?

    "What the hell is going on?!" Johnny shouted as he stood in the middle of a vige, surrounded by strange chaos.

    The windows of all the houses had a smile painted on them, and a group of clowns were dancing wildly in the streets.

    The mercenaries were trying to kill those clowns, but when they tried doing so, the clowns fought back-they turned into killer clowns-and ughtered the mercenaries with theirughter sounding like death.

    Those clowns and smiles appeared out of nowhere.

    It was just a calm, sunny day, but now it felt like a nightmare came to life.

    "Hello, Little Johnny-" The clown came over to him. "Would you like to see a magic trick~"

    "H-how do you know my name?" Johnny asked fearfully and backed off into one of the open houses.

    "Jajajajaja!" The clownughed. "It''s your birthday party, is it not? See!"

    Johnny looked over to the vige. There was arge banner hung between two buildings that read, "Happy Death Day, Johnny!"

    Johnny stormed inside the house, skipped the stairs to the second floor, and hid himself in one of the rooms. He heard the clown''s squeaky shoesing up the stairs.

    "This..." Johnny took a cold breath. "I know what this is. It''s a Death Party of Smilebacks!"

    "Ding, ding, ding-" The clown''s voice came behind the door. "Let the party begin!"

    Knock, knock, KNOCK!

    The clown knocked on the door. The first knock was normal, the second knock was quieter, but the third knock was loud and forceful.

    "Let me inside, Little Johnny!"

    "Leave me alone, please!" Johnny sat on the ground while trying to keep the door closed. "I''ll join Smilebacks! Yeah, I''ll let you have this ce!"

    "You will?" The clown whispered. "Are you lying, perhaps~"

    "N-no, I will!"

    "You should''ve said so from the beginning!" The clownughed. "Jajajaja~"

    Withughter, the clown disappeared, and all the smiles on the windows vanished. The

    vige was left inplete silence, wondering what had just happened.

    Knock, knock, knock.

    Again, someone knocked on the door.

    Johnny flinched.

    "Come out, Little Johnny; I''d like a word with you." The voice was deep like a sea.

    "W-who is it?" Johnny asked.

    "Name''s Jesse." He said. "I am with the Death Party."

    "What do you want?" Johnny asked. "Were those clowns with you?"

    "I''ll enter." Jesse said, and then without any effort, he pushed the door open and made Johnny fall aside.

    Johnny picked up the first thing he found from the floor. It was a shoe. He was holding it like a sword.

    Jesse sat down on the window sill, and opened the window to allow a greater space for him to sit on.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The streets of the vige still looked hectic.

    The mercenaries of the guild that was in control of the vige were healing their wounds. No one actually died from thest attack, thanks to the healers that were present.

    "I saw the banner at the entrance. Your guild is called the Lion Twisters, is that correct?"

    "Y-yeah..." Johnny said. "You''re from Smilebacks?"

    "I am, and I am here to take this vige under our control." Jesse said.

    "Where did those clowns go to?" Johnny asked. "They were everywhere, and then they were nowhere."

    "Those are friends of mine. They''re part of the Death Party alongside me. We would''ve killed all of you, but you sounded like you wanted to stay alive.

    "So, you want to change factions?"

    "Y-yeah, as long as I don''t have to meet those clowns ever again!" Johnny said. "We''re originally part of the Darkstar faction, but we''re really not that loyal. Its the only faction that sought us!"

    "Yeah, sounds about right." Jesse said. "Your guild is weak, but it does have numbers. Quantity over quality, no doubt."

    Those words hurt Johnny deep like daggers, but he couldn''t argue against that.

    They took control of some abandoned vige that had been ravaged by a natural disaster, so they built the vige from the ground up and made it their base.

    They allowed everyone to join theirmunity, as long as they were willing to work hard and contribute. That made the overall strength of the guild weak.

    "No wonder Darkstar sought you out." Jesse said. "They''re factions with the greatest numbers. It''s because they''ve simr mindsets as you-quantity over quality."

    "We''re more than happy to join ships." Johnny said. "As long as we''re not abandoned in the war."

    "My boss will use this route to gather supplies and reinforcements. He''ll probably build an outpost in this very vige, so all of you will be safe."

    "That''s good to hear..." Johnny breathed a sigh of relief.

    "Hung this next to your banner." Jesse handed him a g.

    It was a g of a smile on a ck background.

    "With that, it''s obvious who your loyalty lies on." Jesse said and looked down to the street.

    "If you betray us. Y''know that the Death Party wille after you."

    "T-those clowns?" Johnny gulped.

    "Especially those clowns. Now, farewell." Jesse jumped out the window.

    Johnny rushed over to the window and saw Jessend on his two feet in the ground before

    walking away.

    ...

    Jesse walked to the hillside forest that overlooked the vige in the distance.

    When he arrived there, he looked around for a moment, but then four other figures emerged

    from the trees to join him.

    "It''s done?" Emmett asked.

    "Yes, a stronghold has been set up," Jesse said.

    "Good, it''ll help." Lara said.

    "What now?" Alec asked.

    "To the Imperium City?" Zera questioned with a furrow on her brows.

    "Yes," Jesse said. "Bartholomew needs his Death Party."

    "Hmm~" Lara took a seat by a big boulder and giggled with her legs crossed. "Were they

    frightened?"

    "It looks like the little Johnny was quite afraid of clowns." Jesse said with a chuckle and

    crossed his arms.

    Alec grinned and then spun around while a clown''s outfit appeared on him in a puff of smoke.

    As he did the clownly dance, the squeaky shoes squeaked on the ground.

    "Little Johnny-"Alec''s voicepletely changed to mimic that of a clown.

    The Death Party was infamous in the New World. They were the strongest group that

    Smileback had on their side-their ultimate weapon.

    It was because wherever the Death Party went, victory followed. It was what made Smilebacks

    a formidable force in the first ce.

    A carriage was waiting for them at the edge of the forest.

    As they hopped inside, Jesse stood on its side, holding onto the railing, and looked around. He then created a driver out of a puff of smoke. The driver wore a top hat and looked very

    distinguished.

    The ugly, brownish carriage also changed into a beautiful, shimmering gold color. It looked

    like a carriage used by royalty.

    That wasn''t all.

    Wings grew from the sides of the carriage and the horses. With a pull on the reins, the driver

    urged the horses to take flight into the sky.

    With a couple of gallops, the horses took flight, and the carriage followed, flying through the

    air without any worry in the world.

    However, before they could reach the skies, dark clouds appeared out of nowhere.

    ''It''s about to rain? Right now?'' Jesse clicked his tongue.

    It was sunny just moments ago.

    However, then the sky started to rumble with thunder and the carriage started shaking like it

    was caught in an earthquake.

    At that moment, an enormous shadow flew over them. It was so big that it looked like it

    turned night for a second.

    Jesse''s eyes widened in shock, but for some odd reason, he couldn''t see what the creature was.

    Inside the carriage, others also looked outside with an equally stunned expression.

    "What the hell is that?!"

 Chapter 230: A Force of Nature

    Chapter 230: A Force of Nature

    ?

    The stars sparkled in the sky.

    Within the flower-decorated balcony, a seemingly close couple gazed up at the twinkling lights.

    The woman was pretty. She had braided hair that cascaded down her back in a beautiful, intricate design and had some red roses tucked behind her ear.

    She wore a floral dress with a waist cinched by a thin belt, and her eyes sparkled with joy as she pointed out constetions in the sky.

    "Those are not the same as back in our world, right?" Desire said with a smile.

    Dominique smiled and said. "That''s right. The stars are different here, but just as beautiful."

    He was soft-spoken and had a way with his words. He looked decently handsome and had a calming presence around him. He seemed like a person that could charm a person by just standing still and saying nothing at all.

    Desire looked fascinated, and when she smiled, her cheeks swelled with a rosy hue. They looked like a couple that was madly in love and was having a date in their own little world.

    However, in that moment, the building on the other side of the street started to turn loud. Some of the windows shattered as the people inside fought.

    "What''s going on?!" Dominique cried out.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Desire!" A heavily armored woman ran to the balcony and broke the romantic atmosphere. "We have to go, now!"

    "Who the hell are you?" Dominique flinched and asked.

    "Already? Hmm, ok!" Desire said, and then armor with small metallic wings on the back hugged her body tightly.

    She instantly changed from a sweet young woman to a fierce warrior.

    "What? Why''re you looking like this?" Dominique asked with an ugly frown. "This is not womanly at all!"

    "Well, y''see Dominique, it was fun for about thirty minutes or so, but I gotta go." Desire said with a sweet smile and followed after her friend.

    However, she turned around for one more time and said. "By the way, I break up with you. I''ve got to go to. Bye bye~"

    "What?" Dominique frowned. "I thought we were happy together! Desire!"

    Desire justughed and waved, then left with her friend. They left the romantic restaurant behind and crossed the street to enter the building that had a fight going on.

    It was a mess there.

    Through a solid wall, a ck-haired man crashed through andnded on the ground with a loud thud. There was a sword wound on his chest that stretched from his shoulder to his waist.

    A metal-armored woman stepped through the wall. She also wore a helmet with small metallic wings on each side.

    As she raised her sword, she finished off the man on the ground.

    The ceiling then broke apart, and two people were exchanging punches. A bloody-faced man and armored young woman were locked in a fierce battle, neither giving an inch.

    As they crashed on the ground, the armored young woman mounted over him, sword poised to strike the final blow. The man looked frightened, and the steel de pierced through his heart.

    "Desire, you''rete!" Florence shouted. "You''ve pretty much missed the entire fight!" "It''s already over?" Desire scratched the back of her head and muttered. "I am sorry."

    "She was having a date." Her friend rolled her eyes.

    "Who was it this time?" Florence asked as she cleaned the blood off her de.

    While doing that, a fight was happening in the nearby room. It soon ended as the guild that was in control of this building only a minute ago waspletely annihted.

    "Dominique~" Desire''s friend said.

    "Ugh, him?" Florence cringed. "Desire, I love you and all that, but your taste in men is terrible."

    "I guess I am attracted to weak men- " Desire said with a wink.

    In that moment, they heard stepsing from outside.

    They turned around and turned silent like a deer caught in headlights.

    Athena slowly entered the ce, dragging a spiky mace behind her. It looked heavy and dangerous. With a single swing, it could most likely shatter the entire human body.

    "Its done?" she asked.

    "Yes, mydy," Florence replied respectfully.

    "I see." Athena found thest remaining chair that wasn''t broken and sat down with a loud

    sigh.

    She also had fought somewhere.

    The blood on her mace was still fresh.

    This night was long.

    They went on a killing rampage and eliminated a guild that had been harassing her guild members. It wasn''t the first time, as it was only a female guild.

    However, like always, whoever bothered with herdies did so at their own peril.

    "Desire, I smell a foreign scent on you." Athena looked at her with a soft look. "You should stop ying with their hearts. It might not end well for you next time around.

    "I''ll be careful~" Desire hugged Athena''s arm like a daughter trying to please her mother. "I''ll stop doing it~"

    "Sigh..." Athena shook her head and let out a quick giggle.

    She knew that Desire was lying, but she couldn''t get angry at her. She was like a little sister of their entire guild, after all, and she was the heart of their team.

    "Burn this ce down." Athena said and stood up. "Then return to HQ. It''s not wise to be out in these troubled times."

    Florence nodded, and she already had ways of making a fire. She created a makeshift torch and set fire to the walls.

    It quickly spread as if the walls were made of dry tinder.

    When they all left, the building was already burning so much that it was beyond saving.

    ...

    In the basement of the Battle Maiden''s HQ, the steam made the ce very foggy. The steam came from a hot spring that ran directly under the building.

    They happened to build their headquarters right on top of that and were able to create their very own hot spring. However, unlike the Kuro Ind''s hot spring, it didn''t have any healing or improving properties.

    In the hot spring, thedies of the Battle Maidens bathed with their naked bodies hidden by the warm steam rising from the water.

    Currently, on the roof of the building, Athena sat right on the edge, her legs almost dangling over the edge. It looked like with a single gust of wind, she would fall.

    She had taken off her armor and was just on a t-shirt and jeans, with her hair still wet from the

    hot spring.

    "Something horrible has happened." Athena opened her round eyes.

    She could feel that something was wrong. It was like an angry force was heading in their way.

    "Someone angry. Someone furious. Someone who is wanting revenge ising."

    Athena hadn''t felt like this possibly ever.

    At first, when she had this feeling earlier today, she thought it was just slight jitters before the war. However, now she realized it was something far more threatening.

    A force of nature.

    Itsing.

    ''What''ll happen?'' She shuddered at the thought.

    ...

    Within the mountainside, a shadowy creature wrapped its body around the mountain like a

    serpent coiling around its prey.

    It was sleeping. Its breathing was slow and steady, yet powerful.

    It was so big andrge that all and everynd animal just escaped from the mountainside because its sheer size made it so that the mountainside only had ce for itsrge body.

    "Shhh..."

    "Shh...."

    "Sh..."

 Chapter 231 Mysterious Ability

    Chapter 231 Mysterious Ability

    The sun rose over the horizon like a silent guardian watching over the world below.

    After thest night''s partying, the city woke up slowly and stayed more quiet than usual.

    Because of increased tension, the taverns and bars officially closed. It was because there were more frequent fights and disturbances breaking out among the patrons.

    Guilds versus guilds.

    Factions versus factions.

    That''s why, because it was thest day to have an actual party, most of the guilds drank their fill of alcohol and celebrated before the official closure.

    It was unclear when they would be open again, but one thing was clear. It wouldn''t happen any time soon, as the day that war broke out was fast approaching.

    Currently in the Dying Star Guild''s meeting room, the top members of the guild had gathered for the final meeting before they all would go prepare for the war.

    They all had their own groups. Often used for raids in the dungeon. Now, they were going to be used for war.

    Orion smiled weakly and said. "Focus on the survival in the war ahead. We''re unwillingly taking part of the war, but there is nothing we can do about that. Let''s just get through this war in one piece, alright?"

    They all nodded.

    Orion didn''t have desire for the throne. He was old and didn''t have any heirs. However, he cared about his members, and he believed that one of them¡ªSapphira¡ªwas destined for the throne.

    If they won the war, he would just sit on the throne till Sapphira was ready to seed him. It''s the only reason he was still fighting in his old age.

    By the corner of the meeting room, Arkham stood alone with his battleaxe on his back, leaning the axe against the wall behind him.

    It wasn''t clear what he was thinking.

    "Now, there''s some problems." Orion said. "Razer Guild. They used to work closely with us as they have ways of acquiring sks of Setting Sun and Rising Moon, but they''ve apparently changed sides."

    "Changing sides days before the war, hmph." Kewin said. "In these troubled times, we can actually see who is loyal and who is not."

    "We ordered a shipment of sks from them." Orion said. "500,000 Shinecoins worth. Instead of delivering them before changing sides, they took the money and the sks and stopped answering to our letters."

    "Scumbags!"

    "Do they think they can just betray us without consequences?"

    "What side did they betray us for?"

    "Nightshade." Orion said. "Nightshade are basically in control of New Karma. I am sure Razer Guild will move there. We don''t have any power there."

    "Are they nning on giving our sks to them?" Sapphira asked. "I would guess so. Our money also goes to their war efforts."

    "That''s the case." Orion said. "Now. Nightshade is protecting them. One of my spies saw a lot of activity in their ce. Those sks are important as our supply is dwindling."

    "I can go knock on their door." Ford smashed his fists together. "Just because we''ve been kind to our enemies, they think we''re soft."

    "We need a proper n." Sapphira said. "If Nightshade''s top guys hear about us attacking them, they''ll send their Hands to deal with us. It''ll turn into an all-out fight in these streets.

    "We would just wound each other before the war has officially even begun."

    "I''ll go handle them." Arkham finally said a word, and headed to the door.

    "Brother, stop!" Sapphira shouted. "Didn''t you hear what I just said?"

    "Nightshade is also busy. Their Hands are dealing with the final preparations. They can''t afford to send a powerful force to protect Razer Guild.

    "When the situation has calmed down, Razer Guild will deliver those sks over to Nightshade. They can''t do it right now. There''s too many to carry in inventories. They''re also scared about getting robbed on the way back to Nightshade Guild.

    "Thus, they''ll wait.

    "This is the best time to attack.

    "Nightshade most likely only epted Razer to their faction because of those sks. Without those sks, they''re as good as dead. Razer knows it. They can''t get robbed out of them, no matter what."

    Arkham said and pushed the doors open.

    "Allow us to at least help you." Sapphira said. "Razer is Prime Mercenary. He alone is already a formidable force."

    "No." Arkham said and stepped out. "Other factions are keeping a close eye on us. They would try something foolish if we all went there. It''s better if I go alone; they won''t bother to go after me."

    "But¡­" Sapphira looked conflicted.

    "You heard him." Orion said. "Arkham, destruction of Razer Guild is not a priority. Find the sks. Bring them here."

    "Yes¡­" Arkham replied slowly, and then left.

    ¡­

    "Hahahaha!" Razerughed through the food in his mouth. "The future is looking promising!"

    His top officersughed as well, enjoying an expensive steak dinner.

    To the left of them, the crates of the sks were piled up high. It was the most important item in their possession, so instead of just storing it in their highly guarded storage room, they decided to keep it close by and in sight at all times.

    Thus, those crates were right at Razer''s office. The office was never empty, and there was always at least five guards.

    When Razer brought another steak piece into his mouth, the floor under him shook, and shouting erupted from outside.

    They all jumped to their feet and went outside to check what the hell was going on.

    "What''s the meaning of this?!"

    When they walked outside, they looked through the railing and saw that their front door had been broken down. The members were sprawling on the ground, some injured and others unconscious.

    Then, like a force of nature, Arkham stepped through the entrance with a battleaxe in hand.

    When they saw him, they cried out his name. They knew who he was. They feared who he was.

    "Arkham!" Razer shouted with a cold face. "What''s the meaning of this?!"

    When he peeked outside, he saw more corpses on the ground. They were all the guards that Nightshade sent for them.

    He thought they would be enough to keep Dying Star away from their guild, but they were gravely mistaken!

    ''There''s no way Arkham could''ve killed all of them single-handedly. He is just Royal Mercenary!''

    He expected there to be more Dying Stars outside, but seconds went by, and it seemed like it was only Arkham!

    "Send a letter to Ambrose, now!" Razer shouted to one of his officers.

    The officer saluted quickly and turned to carry out the order.

    Razer jumped over the railing and fell down to the ground below. Hended on his knees, and slowly stood back up like a graceful predator.

    "You''vee alone?" He asked and pulled out a strange-looking weapon from his inventory.

    It looked like a hammer at first, but the head was shaped like a crescent moon.

    Squeeze!

    Arkham tightened his grip on his battleaxe. "All I need is me."

    "Arrogance. Ignorance. Stupidity!"

    Razer charged at him. The crescent moon of a hammer came from far down. It was almost touching the ground, then he swung it up. It swung over his shoulder and crashed down towards Arkham with incredible force.

    Arkham didn''t make a move. The hammer crashed towards him.

    At that moment, it looked like the ground had expanded. The room turnedrger, and the distance between the two of them grew.

    The crescent moon part of the hammer missed Arkham''s head because of that. It onlynded on the ground in front of him with a shattering impact.

    ''What? Did he suddenly move, or why did it look like I was further away from him suddenly?!''

    Razer was confused.

    At that moment, the distance between the two shrank. Now they were right in front of each other!

    "Mysterious World." Arkhamnded his battleaxe on Razer''s shoulder and cut so deep that the axe de got stuck.

    "Argh!" Razer coughed out blood. ''How? I didn''t move, and he didn''t move his legs! How am I suddenly so close to him?!''

    "You must be confused." Arkham said. "That''s its beauty. This ce is a little bit bigger to my taste, don''t you think so?"

    Razer''s eyes widened in shock.

    The whole building turned smaller. It used to have three floors, dozens of rooms, and arge roof. Now, it was as big as a small bedroom.

    Every member of the Razer Guild that had been hiding in nearby rooms was now inside this same room. They looked shocked and utterly confused.

    At the corner of the room, the crate with the sks appeared.

    This room looked like it was a mixture of many rooms. The office, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and living room, allbined into one.

    This room was the remnant of the former building.

    ''It''s like he manipted space itself here.'' Razer thought in shock. ''This is definitely our guild building, but so small now¡­''

    Arkham removed his battleaxe from his shoulder and moved it over his shoulder, looking like he was readying a wide swing.

    "Now that all of you are in the same room, it''s easy to kill all of you in a single strike."

    "Everyone, dodge!" Razer screamed.

    However, there was nowhere they could hide. The room was too small. The only exit was behind Razer, which was now just one door, and he was blocking it with his body.

    With a single swing, the whole room exploded. The bodies exploded, the blood spewed, the bones shattered, the legs twisted, the arms ripped off.

    It was a hideous sight.

    When it was all done and dusted, Arkham walked out of that single room. The building behind him turned to its former size. Now, every wall was covered in blood.

    Arkham looked at his hands. He was carrying the crates of the sk.

 Chapter 232: Willhelms Words

    Chapter 232: Willhelm''s Words

    ?

    Real World, Londs, Darkstar Household.

    Within the dining hall, all twenty seats were filled. The dinner had been set. However, no one was eating.

    Aria sat at the head of the table. She was the only one eating as the others sat in the silence.

    It was unusual silence.

    Her daughters and sons were staring at their full tes in silence. It looked like they were waiting for someone.

    At that moment, the door of the dining hall opened.

    Willhelm entered the room with the help of a walking cane. He looked sick and weak, as if he could barely stand on his own two feet.

    One of the daughters helped him to sit down.

    "Thank you, dear daughter." Willhelm put his butt on the chair and let the walking cane drop to the ground. "Eat, eat."

    After those words, everyone grabbed their fork and knife and began to dig into the delicious meal.

    "If you''re nning to bete, please let us know in advance." Aria said, taking a sip of her wine. "You made our children wait."

    "At least they have manners to wait." Willhelm said. "I see that your te is half empty. You were too hungry to wait, perhaps?"

    "I don''t ruin my schedule for you." Aria said and put more food into her mouth. "I am busy, unlike you. You sleep, eat, shit, and repeat. Drop dead already, Willhelm."

    The daughters and the sons looked ufortable.

    It wasmon to hear this kind of argument from both parents, but it didn''t make it any less ufortable.

    "Unfortunately, my body is breaking apart. I don''t have a spring in my step anymore." Willhelm said. "It''s sad that I got poisoned. Don''t you think so, Aria?"

    "What''re you implying?" Aria said with a chuckle. "That I poisoned you? You''re lowlife, but you''re my husband. Why would I do such a thing?"

    "I never implied anything," Willhelm said. "However, without me, you would haveplete control of this family. I fear for the future of my daughters and sons."

    "I already am in control of this family." Aria said with a chuckle. "I am the sole breadmaker in his household. You''re head of the family in nothing but name only."

    "What wondrous things you''ve done with the family." Willhelm said. "You''ve made a few of our daughters run away. Remember Ame, do you?"

    "A worthless daughter." Aria said and took a sip of the red wine.

    She had the usual pink skin of someone from Monstrym. Half of the sons and half of the daughters had the same skin color. It was quite exotic and beautiful color.

    "Since when did it matter how much worth our children had?" Willhelm asked. "They all should be priceless to us."

    When the daughters and the sons heard him, their eyes slightly turned damp. In this household, they hadn''t heard such words many times, as they were only tools for their mother.

    "Haha, what a hypocrite." Ariaughed. "When did you get your golden heart? You''re a war monger, earned your fortune with arms dealing, and you''ve suddenly grown a heart? Don''t kid me, Willhelm!"

    "Warmonger..." Willhelmughed. "My weapons stopped wars. They brought peace and stability to regions torn apart by conflict. I don''t im to be a saint. However, I do believe in redemption."

    "Redemption, haha!" Ariaughed. "You''re as delusional as ever, Willhelm."

    "Sigh..." Willhelm dropped his fork and knife, picked up his walking cane, and stood from his seat.

    When he stood up, the daughters and the sons did so as well. Aria was the only one still standing.

    "You may continue eating." Willhelm limped towards the door. "I am not hungry anymore." "Yes, run away from conflict, Willhelm!" Aria yelled after him. "While you run away, I''ll need to get my hands dirty to protect the future of our family!"

    When Willhelm opened the door, he paused for a moment and said, "Mortal Online."

    "Hmm?" Aria frowned.

    "You''ve sacrificed our children for glory and life there. Your ambitions are high as the sky. Yet, I do believe, there''s someone there. Someone special. That will one day kick down your little sand castle."

    "I am protected." Aria rose from her seat. "I worked hard to get that protection. My daughters have pleased the King there. No one will be able to touch me!"

    "That King, you speak so highly of." Willhelm turned over to him. "Can also die. Get defeated. Lose everything. Just one person is enough to undo everything you did."

    "There isn''t anyone that can do that." Aria said. "King Moriarty is an embodiment of greatness. My daughters will give him strong sons. Their sons will inherit the throne. Darkstar will one day sit on the throne."

    "There''s always someone," Willhelm said. "The world is a big ce. I am sure someone has already been born that will challenge him for the throne."

    "You don''t think he doesn''t know that?" Ariaughed. "King Moriarty is wise. He knows everything that is happening in the world. Whenever someone that can challenge him appears, he''ll destroy that ember before it could turn into a me!"

    "Hahaha!" Willhelmughed and walked away. "I now wish to live a few years longer. I want to see this King of yours fall!"

    "You want our family to fall?" Aria asked angrily. "You weak-minded fool. You were never ready to make sacrifices to achieve greatness!"

    "I want my daughters to make their own decisions." Willhelm looked over to his daughters with a smile. "My dear daughters. Soon, you can do what you want. Doctor, teacher, or even an artist. The choice is yours."

    The daughters looked over to him with a soft gaze. They had their own dreams, but whenever they dreamed of something, Aria was there to make sure their dreams would never be

    achieved.

    Knowing that there could be a future without Moriarty, they felt like crying tears of happiness. Yet they knew how strong he was. It would not be easy to defeat him.

    They weren''t sure whether it would even be possible.

    The war was approaching.

    Maybe, in this war, King Moriarty would fall.

    ''Please don''t let him win.''

    They prayed inwardly.

    They hoped that both Imperial Order and Darkstar would fall in the war.

    It didn''t matter to them who won as long as it wasn''t one of those two.

    Aria''s face had turned red. She was screaming inwardly and felt the blood boiling inside her.

    ''There''s no way King Moriarty will ever lose. He has never lost a fight!''

    Aria took deep breaths to rx himself. She started to feel better because she knew how

    impossible it was to actually defeat him.

    She felt extremely confident.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ...

    In a dark room with aputer screen radiating light, Moriarty drank from a can of soda, his

    eyes focused intently on the screen in front of him.

    It showed the page of Mortal Online forums. The dark web.

    Crack!

    He squeezed the can and threw it in a trash can across the room. Itnded among the pile of

    empty cans.

    There were posts about the war. They were specting about who would win the war.

    There was also a poll.

    At the top with an 88% chance of victory, Imperial Order was favored to win.

    However, there was a heated conversation in thement section. It was clear that not

    everyone agreed with the prediction.

    "Hah," Moriarty chuckled. "Everyone is mistaken. There''s no such thing as war. This is just a

    culling. It was about time for the Seven Ancient Guilds to perish." With augh, he closed theputer, and the room turned dark.

 Chapter 233: Declaration of War

    Chapter 233: Deration of War

    ?

    Orange hue spread across the sky. It was cloudless, and the sun began to dip below the horizon.

    Ding, ding, ding.

    The bells of the cathedral rang with a hollow sound. It didn''t sound as bright and cheerful as before, but rather somber and mncholic.

    The streets turned empty, turning the city into a ghost town.

    Alone, walking down the empty streets, Zephyr embraced the feeling of loneliness and allowed himself to get lost in the mncholy of the moment.

    He looked serious and contemtive, his mind consumed by memories of happier times. It was a stark reminder of how quickly things can change.

    Today was the day when the New World would change forever.

    When he walked across streets that used to be busy all day, every day, he caught a glimpse of the Originals peeking through the windows.

    They didn''t dare to go outside as they felt the hanging pressure looming over the city. They all knew what was going to happen today.

    It was a long time brewing, and today was the day it was finally going to boil over.

    Zephyr came to a stop at the intersection of 5th and Main. It had six other streets leading into the same exact ce.

    It was like this ce was the center of the city.

    It was silent for a couple of minutes more, but then footsteps came, and six more figures walked down their own streets and met at the intersection.

    Alistair brought a metal bucket. He then tossed it to the middle of the intersection with a loud ng.

    It seemed empty, but the metal bucket''s sides were clearly drenched with some kind of liquid. "Let''s get this over with." Aria said and brought a white letter from her inventory.

    With a slick fire Magick, she made the white letter burn and tossed it inside the metal bucket. The metal bucket caught fire, and the mes quickly engulfed the sides. "Darkstar Guild officially deres war against Ancient Guilds," Aria said.

    "You seem to be in a hurry." Ambrose said with a scoff. "Hurry to die?"

    "Oh, please." Aria rolled her eyes. "Why wait any longer? Did we gather to chitchat? No, we came to officially dere war under the eyes of God."

    Alistair looked to the sky. This ce was perfectly under the heavenly sky, and some religions believed that the heavens would hear their derations.

    It was mostly nonsense, but the churches wouldn''t approve this war otherwise. It didn''t seem worthwhile to go to war against churches as well for something as minor as this, so they gathered here at this intersection to dere war.

    Ambrose put a fire on his own letter and tossed it to the metal bucket. The mes inside the bucket turned bigger.

    "Nightshade Guild officially deres war against Ancient Guilds."

    Athena took a step forward. She held the white letter in hand, but before burning it, she asked.

    "Everyone, have you all sensed that something is wrong?" She asked. "Like something is heading in this direction?"

    "Your imagination is again running wild, huh, Athena?" Aria said with a scoff. "Burn the goddamn letter. You''re just feeling jitters because of the war, as you know your guild won''t survive!"

    "Oh my, I am not worried." Athena put the letter on fire. "I believe in my girls."

    With that, she tossed the letter in the bucket.

    The mes burned strong.

    "Battle Maidens officially dere war against Ancient Guilds."

    Bartholomew looked at the letter in his hand and lit the corner of it with a match. The fire

    slowly spread until the entire letter was engulfed in mes.

    With a simple toss, the letternded on the metal bucket.

    "Smilebacks officially dere war against Ancient Guilds."

    "Aish, I guess it is my turn." Orion approached the metal bucket slowly and rummaged through his pockets.

    He couldn''t find what he was looking for, so he started to check out another pocket.

    Aria''s face turned red. "You old geezer, hurry up!"

    She was feeling extremely impatient and wanted to get this over with.

    After countless sleepless nights, the war was finally here, and she didn''t want to wait any

    longer.

    "Calm down. I am doing my best." Orion said with a smile, but couldn''t find the letter on his pocket.

    He searched through the rest of his pockets as well, but couldn''t find it.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Where could it be? Did I leave it back on my desk?"

    "Oh my god!" Aria cried out.

    "Sir Orion, have you checked your inventory?" Athena asked sweetly.

    "Ah..." Orion opened his inventory, and a smile broke across his face as he found it. "Ah, there

    it is. Haha, I forgot about inventory, silly me."

    With a snap of his fingers, the letter caught fire, and then he tossed it into the metal bucket.

    "Dying Star Guild officially deres war against Ancient Guilds."

    Alistair looked at Zephyr. He saw that he wasn''t moving. Thus, he approached the metal bucket first and brought out his letter.

    All six guild masters looked at Alistair with frowns. This man was the closest to King Moriarty and had the highest chance of winning the war.

    ''Alistair...'' Aria remembered her husband''s words. ''No, he is not the special one. He won''t be the one to steal the throne!''

    Alistair put a fire on the letter and dropped it into the metal bucket.

    "Children of Fair officially dere war against Ancient Guilds."

    The remaining gazesnded on Zephyr.

    None of them thought highly of him before, as he was the most lowkey member of the Council

    of Mercenaries, but things had changed. He was now one of the factions with S-rankers in

    their ranks.

    Zephyr approached the metal bucket, brought out the letter, and made it burn like a torch.

    With a flick of his wrist, the letter left his hand, floated a small distance, and fell inside the metal bucket where the mes were raging.

    "Zestruction officially deres war against Ancient Guilds."

    Zephyr then turned around and started walking away down the long street immediately after

    his deration of war.

    The war had officially started.

    The other guild masters turned around and headed away from the intersection as well.

    This was thest time in a very long time that they would see each other on somewhat friendly terms. Next time would be on the battlefield, and they would fight to kill each other.

    ...

    Ding, ding, ding!

    The echo of the bell sounded like a sad farewell.

    When the Originals and the mercenaries all around the city heard that, they knew the

    deration of war had been made.

    The news birds started to fly away with their small wings pping about. They were taking the

    news to every corner of the New World.

    The New World was now in the age of war.

    The Great Guild War had begun!

    By the Royal Pce''s high balcony, Konrad Moriarty stood in his royal attire with a white

    letter in hand.

    Without him doing anything, the letter started burning in his hand.

    He tossed the letter over the railing of the balcony.

    The burning letter started falling down. It burned and burned with strong mes till it turned

    ck and slowly disintegrated into ashes.

    "Imperial Order officially deres war against Ancient Guilds."

 Chapter 234: Game of Coin

    Chapter 234: Game of Coin

    ?

    The inn was eerily quiet.

    A brown-bearded man drowned his nervousness with a ss of blood whiskey. It was heavy stuff that could knock down a grown man with just one sip.

    However, he looked just a little bit tipsy.

    The innkeeper stood behind the receptionist desk. He didn''t feel like working, as the atmosphere was just so heavy and tense.

    The other patrons were lurking near the windows and looking outside.

    "Those bells signaled that the war has started, right?"

    "Those were the bells of deration of the war. The church has now approved the war. Its just blood, steel, and death from now on."

    "Shit..." the brown-bearded man said.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "We''re all in for it now." The innkeeper said. "You''re being sent to the front lines?"

    "Yes." The brown-bearded man said in anger. "I am part of the Darkstar faction just because the constructionpany I am working with has a contract with them about building a new storage room for them."

    "I am stuck with Nightshade." Another person said. "I hate to work with those fuckers. They''ve sent our kind to work in mines as ves. If I had one chance to stab Ambrose in the back, I would dly take it!"

    "Amen to that." The brown-bearded man said.

    They were all on different sides, but they were all Originals and knew that they were nothing but meat shields in the uing war. Their lives didn''t matter in the grand scheme of things.

    At that moment, Adam came from the second floor. He saw the solemn atmosphere, ignored it, and headed to the door.

    "Hey, young man." The innkeeper said to him. "It''s not safe to go outside. The fight can start at any moment."

    Adam tossed the innkeeper his key of the room. He didn''t have any need for it, as this was thest time he would stay in this inn.

    "Thanks for the room-" Adam said, waving goodbye as he walked out the door.

    "Stay safe out there. This world has gone mad!" The innkeeper said.

    "I''ll keep that in mind." Adam stepped out of the door and made sure to close the door behind him.

    The air was cold and crisp.

    The church''s bells were still ringing with that hollow tone. It would keep ringing till the fight started.

    "I wonder if she has made up her mind about that thing yet."

    Adam wondered and then headed straight to the cathedral, where the ringing of the bells wasing from. It felt strange for him to walk in these empty streets.

    ''It feels nostalgic. This is my third Great Guild War. I am the person with the most wars under my belt, now that I think about it. Strange feeling.''

    ...

    In the attic of the grand cathedral.

    Lady Yu gazed out of the window to the empty, dead streets of the Imperium City.

    Knock, knock.

    After a knock, Kanari peeked his head from the gap and said, "Lady Yu, you needed me for something?"

    Lady Yu took a deep sigh and said. "Go prepare the Holy Room for me, please~"

    "What?" Kanari''s eyes widened. "What for?"

    "I might need it." She said. "Don''t worry about it. I most likely won''t."

    Kanari frowned.

    ''She couldn''t possibly think about doing the ceremony with him. She has strange feelings for him, sure, but she doesn''t know him. He doesn''t know her. It would be ludicrous!''

    He then nodded and left the attic to go prepare the Holy Room.

    ''What to do? I need guidance...'' Lady Yu bit her lip.

    Immediately after that, someone knocked on the door again.

    "Kanari, was there some-"

    Before she could finish, the door opened, and instead of Kanari, Adam entered the attic.

    She turned silent like a mime and turned her flushed face away from him to hide her blush.

    "Lady Yu." Adam bowed in a respectful manner.

    "Mister Adam, the three days are up, it seems." Lady Yu said with her back facing him.

    "Yes, I am here for the answer." Adam said.

    "I had been thinking, but I couldn''t find the answer." Lady Yu said.

    Her eyes were slightly red, as she hadn''t slept well for the past few nights.

    "I expected you to thoroughly reject me." Adam said softly. "You''re conflicted, why?"

    "I..." Lady Yu closed her mouth immediately after.

    "I can make the decision for you." Adam said and turned to the door. "I am sorry for asking for such an unreasonable favor. I will leave now."

    "No, wait." Lady Yu pleaded. "Stay. Let''s talk about this."

    Adam raised an eyebrow and turned back to her. His eyes widened as he saw her tears streaming down her face.

    "Why''re you crying?"

    Lady Yu dropped on her butt and buried her face in her hands, unable to speak through her sobs.

    Adam reached out his hand to her, but then his hand froze, and he slowly reeled it back, not daring to touch her. He sometimes forgot that he shouldn''t know Lady Yu in this timeline.

    Whenever she cried back then, he was the one thatforted him, and she cried a lot, which got her a nickname of a crybaby in their circles.

    "I don''t know what to do!" She shouted through her tears. "My brain is telling me no, but my heart is saying yes. Which one is right?!"

    Adam hesitated, unsure of how to respond, but seeing her in such distress tugged at his

    heartstrings.

    As he watched her struggle with her inner turmoil, he couldn''t help but feel a pang of guilt for the role he yed in causing her pain.

    "Which one do you think I should listen to?" Lady Yu asked with her teary eyes, looking at

    him.

    "I..." Adam sighed. "I honestly don''t know."

    Lady Yu lowered her head and covered her face with her hands.

    "I have a solution, though."

    Lady Yu raised her head to look at him and saw him take out a coin. It was a shinecoin with two sides, one having the face of King Moriarty and the other showing the city of Imperium.

    "Flip a coin."

    "A-are you serious?" Lady Yu asked.

    "Yes." Adam chuckled.

    "Hmm..." Lady Yu looked at the coin, sat properly on her knees, and nodded.

    It looked like her mood slightly improved as Adam added some yfulness to the decision.

    It was because Adam knew that she loved games.

    "City or King." Adam said. "If itnds on the side you chose, we''re doing the ceremony. If not,

    we won''t, and I''ll walk out of that door."

    "Hmm, ok!" Lady Yu looked nervous and said. "City!"

    Adam flipped the coin to the air. It rolled around and around before finallynding back on his

    hand.

    With a p, Adam covered the coin with his other hand, hiding the result.

    Then, slowly, he raised his hand and showed the result to Lady Yu.

    The coiny on his hand. It showed the city side of the coin.

    "Ah..." Lady Yu eximed, and her heart started beating like a drum.

    "..." Adam pocketed the coin and said, "Are you happy about the result? You can still say no. I

    am not forcing you to do anything."

    Lady Yu shook her head. "I am not a cheater. That was a fair game, and I''ll ept the result."

    Adam nodded with a slight smile.

 Chapter 235: Deepening Bond

    Chapter 235: Deepening Bond

    ?

    Step, step, step.

    Walking down the long, rocky steps, Lady Yu made her way down, with Adam following right behind her.

    They were clearly heading down, way down like they were heading to the core of the world.

    These steps seemed to never end, but soon, the bottom was in sight.

    It was very dry all the way here. The rocky ceilings, steps, and walls had cracks, and through those cracks, the dirt fell like miniature waterfalls, creating a constant dusty haze in the air. After reaching the bottom, they came across a gate that was so tall it seemed to belong to giants. It was made out of twisted metal and had a color of rusty red.

    Adam''s eyes widened open.

    This was his first time being here, and even though he was supposed to do the ceremony in his past life, he never came all the way to here.

    This ce was very guarded, and only a handful of people had ess here. It was the entrance to the Holy Room.

    "You''re here." Kanari was standing by the gate, knocked his fist against it, and stared at them with a piercing gaze.

    He couldn''t believe his eyes.

    ''The Holy Room is a very important ceremony in every holy maiden''s life, but yet here she is, about to do it with a stranger.''

    He didn''t know how to feel about it.

    ''Even I am closer to her than he is, so why did she choose to do the ceremony with her? Why not with me or Kyle if she wants to do it so badly?''

    "Thank you." Lady Yu said to him and approached the gate. "Kanari, you may leave. We''ll be unavable for a couple of days."

    "Yes, mydy." Kanari bowed and started walking up the steps that led back to the surface, but he couldn''t help it and turned around again to look at Adam.

    ''What''s so special about him? S-ranker, yes, but she rejected the King when he wanted to do it with her, so her choice wasn''t regarding his status. There''s something deeper in the y here.''

    Kanari narrowed his eyes and walked away.

    ''I never expected her to do the ceremony because of the Curse of Men. She would have to spend several days alone with a man, and she wouldn''t be able to handle that with her curse. This means, maybe the curse isn''t activating with Adam?''

    Lady Yu touched her chest and took a deep breath.

    The Curse of Men was acting up when Kanari was here, but it was all gone now.

    When she turned to look at Adam, instead of feeling the curse acting up inside her, she felt her face turn warm, and it felt like there were butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

    "You''re alright?" Adam asked.

    "Yes..." Lady Yu nodded and turned to the gate. "We must touch the gate together and open it together."

    Adam nodded and ced his hands against the gate. When he tried pushing it open, it didn''t move an inch.

    Lady Yu put her soft hand over Adam''s, helping him push gently.

    It was a gentle push, but the gate still opened slowly.

    It opened enough to fit through.

    She took Adam''s hand, and they walked through the gate together.

    After crossing past the gate, they stopped holding hands, and the gate closed behind them. The world beyond the gate was dark and lifeless. There was nothing there but silence. However, then, as if someone flicked the lightswitch, light descended down upon them, and instead of the ce being lifeless, now it was very vibrant with clouds of colorful butterflies fluttering around.

    The ground was soft as it was made out of clouds, and the ce had small hills, also made out of clouds, and the ceiling was a beautiful shade of blue, mimicking the sky above.

    When they took a breath of the air, it smelled like fresh flowers and honey.

    "This is the Holy Room." Lady Yu spun around with a smile on face and made her dress twirl around here. "This is my first time being here. It was impossible to enter this ce alone, and you can only enter with your holy partner."

    "When will we be able to leave?" Adam asked.

    "Once the ceremony is over." Lady Yu said. "The moment we walked through the gate, we got locked in. The ceremony must now bepleted before we can leave."

    "I see." Adam nodded. "What do we start with?"

    "I''ve only read about the ceremony, but no one has done this in my lifetime." Lady Yu paused, looking uncertain. "I guess we need to learn it together."

    "We should get to know each other, don''t you think so?" Adam sat on one of the clouds,

    smiling.

    "Ah~" Lady Yu blushed and nodded. "You haven''t introduced yourself yet, right?"

    "My name''s Adam Palestar," Adam said. "Other Worlder."

    "You have family?" Lady Yu asked.

    "I... sort of." Adam scratched the back of his head. "Littleplicated. I have uncle, though."

    "Mm, I see." Lady Yu smiled warmly. "You can ask something from me."

    "Do you have a family?" Adam asked.

    "The church is my family," she said. "The pope is my father figure, the bishops are my brothers, and the congregation is my extended family."

    "No real family?" Adam asked.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "If you''re asking who gave birth to me, I don''t know." She said. "I''ve only known the church since I was born, and I am happy with that."

    "I see." Adam smiled. "We''re in the same boat. I don''t know my father and mother. They died when I was very little."

    "Oh..." she looked softly at him. "I''m sorry to hear that."

    "It''s fine. I''ve learned to live with it." Adam said. "Sure, I''ve wondered how they were, but I''ve epted that I may never know."

    As the conversation went on, the invisible connection between them grew, and the bond, which was extremely important in the ceremony, deepened.

    "The war... Are you scared?" she asked.

    "Scared..." Adam repeated, his voice trailing off. "Not yet."

    "Yet?"

    "I''ve been nervous. This is something one can''t prepare for." Adam said. "I haven''t felt fear yet. Its because it is not the fighting that I am afraid of, but the war is a very ugly thing, and fear mighte from the uncertainty of what is toe."

    "You don''t feel uncertainty now?" She asked.

    "I know how the war will start with." Adam said. "The battle will ravage the city and burn it

    all down. It''s just the opening of the war. It''s the middle and ending part of the war that

    worries me."

    "You want strength to fight the war," Lady Yu said. "I should''ve asked this before we came here, but are you a reckless person? Do you jump into the jaws of death often?"

    "I promise to be more cautious." Adam said with a chuckle. "Some of these yers think that the war is about who can have the best K/D, but that''s not the case."

    "K/D?" Lady Yu tilted her head at the term she didn''t recognize.

    "Ah, it''s a gaming term." Adam scratched the back of his head. "It means some people join the war just to kill as many people as possible. Whether it is for experience points or to just have a bet with their friends. Those kinds of people die first."

    "Are you that kind of person?" Lady Yu asked.

    "I honestly used to be," Adam said. "I wanted to be recognized. I wanted the respect of my peers, so yes, I jumped into the jaws of death more times than I want to remember."

    "Mm~" Lady Yu hummed in response. "I also promise to be safe. Our lives are connected with

    a single thread, and it''s not only you who has to be careful."

    "Mm, I believe in you." Adam said with a smile.

    Lady Yu returned the smile.

 Chapter 236: The First Casualty

    Chapter 236: The First Casualty

    ?

    Slip scratched his hands as if they were itchy.

    ''I don''t want to be here. Why do I have to participate in the war? This is bullshit!'' Slip shouted inwardly angrily.

    He was just a young man from the peaceful vige of Greenfield.

    After acquiring the VR Pod, he tried out Mortal Online to have mostly fun when he wasn''t doing any farm work, and now, two yearster after that, he was participating in the war!

    It was a foreign concept to him, as the country where he originated had never seen war before. He''d of course seen movies about war but never thought he would actually experience it firsthand.

    "Alright, you sons of bitches!" A rough-voiced man entered the room.

    The room had simr people like Slip-new to the war, green, and scared.

    They were all part of weak guilds, but because their guilds had to choose a faction to support, they ended up being the foot soldiers of the Children of Fair faction.

    None of them were from Imperium City either. They were from Driftwood, but they came here for the promotion tests and were taken from there to participate in the first battle of the war.

    Since they didn''t want to sacrifice any member of Children of Fair this early on, they decided to use their allied forces instead.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "Your job is extremely simple. So simple that even the densest of you would understand!" The rough-sounding man shouted. "The war is like chess. We need to move our pawns to get to the king. And if we lose a few along the way, so be it."

    ''So we''re just sacrifices?'' Slip felt like crying. ''Fuck this faction.''

    "Master Alistair wants all of you to go to the Trigger Street and secure the buildings there. It''s a tactical point to push Dying Star''s territory. It''s right on the edge of their territory, and there is a good chance that they won''t guard it.

    "Dying Star has the worst location of all the Seven Ancient Guilds. They''re surrounded by all the guilds, and they have so many ces to guard, so there is a chance they''ve forgotten about the Trigger Street."

    "What if they hadn''t?" A person asked, "Will we retreat if we see any sign of trouble?"

    "Of course not!" The rough-sounding man screamed. "If there is any opposition, you must eliminate the threat and create a stronghold there!"

    "B-but."

    "No buts!" He shouted. "Alright, get on moving! Time''s of essence, and before Dying Star can rally more troops, you must have the Trigger Street under your control!"

    ...

    The group of the foot soldiers neared the Trigger Street. They hid in one of the many alleyways and made sure to keep their steps silent.

    "Alright, one building at the time." One of them said who took the leading rule out of nowhere. "We don''t want to separate. We''re stronger together."

    ''We''ll need to use the surprise momentum and speed to clear the buildings quick.'' Slip thought with a frown. ''If we move together, we''re slow and we''ll be seening from a mile away.''

    However, he didn''t speak out his worries aloud, as it already looked like everyone else was on board with staying together.

    "Alright, let''s get going!"

    Loudly, they ran out of the alleyway and ran in the middle of the street towards the Trigger Street that loomed beyond. They left the Children of Fair territory and entered Dying Star''s. The first building came into view. It was a small, rundown structure with broken windows. However, before they could reach the first building, their "leader" came to a stop like a deer in the headlights, and everyone else bumped into him in confusion.

    ''Why did he stop?'' Slip wondered, but then he saw why.

    There was someone waiting for them, sitting in the middle of Trigger Street with a spear in their hand. It was just one person, but their piercing gaze seemed to freeze everyone in ce.

    "That''s..." The leader gulped in fear. "Korazion!"

    ''Korazion?'' Slip frowned. ''That name rings a bell.''

    "The war is here, huh." Korazion stood up and twirled the spear in his hand. "This''ll be a nice story to talk about to my grandsons one day."

    "He is just one person!" One of them shouted. "Let''s just kill him!"

    "No, I recognize him!" Another one said. "He''s that popr movie star, isn''t he? That guy who does martial arts movies and is always doing his stunts. Isn''t he? Korazion Chen!"

    "It''s not only that!" Their leader said with a scared look. "The Dying Star''s top five ranked members are called Stars!"

    "Sapphira the Dancer is Fifth Star. It means she is the fifth strongest member of the guild, not counting the guild master.

    "Arkham the Strong is the Fourth Star.

    "Thoroughbred the Swift is the Third Star.

    "Korazion the Graceful is the Second Star!

    "Sepheron the Great is the First Star!"

    "This means that guy is the second-ranked member of Dying Stars?!" One of them cried out. "That''s Ancient Guild! The second-ranked member would be stronger than most guild

    masters!"

    "Exactly, we encountered the worst kind of opponent!" The leader said. "We can''t win!"

    ''I knew I remembered his name somehow!'' Slip''s face paled. ''My guild master talked about Korazion. He lost to him! That man ahead of us is stronger than my guild master!''

    "We need to lea-"

    The leader was about to say, but then the spear struck him in the chest, silencing him. When they looked over to Korazion with fear, they saw that he was still standing in his original position. However, the spear in his hand grew long.

    The spear had a strange ability that allowed it to extend in length at will.

    Korazion made the spear the regr length once again, but the leader copsed on the ground as the spear happened to pierce through his heart. He was the first casualty in the war. While twirling his spear around, Korazion again extended the length of his spear, and cut through the group of people while they were too stunned to speak.

    The heads rolled and the blood spewed.

    "A-ah!" Everyone turned around and started running away.

    Slip was among them, his legs moving the fastest. He didn''t dare to turn his head around, but

    he heard the sound of people dying behind him.

    Without knowing it, he was the only one left and felt like something was approaching him.

    The death.

    However, at that moment, someone jumped off the roof and deflected the extended spear before it could pierce through Slip.

    Slip almost tripped and turned around in a surprise. He just saw a ck-robed woman standing in the way of the spear but didn''t dare to stay behind and kept running away.

    "Oh?" Korazion looked at the woman. "Who were you again? All of you sisters and brothers

    look the same to me."

    "Hehe," she giggled, and she twirled the daggers in her hand. "I am the Second Sister. Please remember me, okay~"

    "I probably won''t." Korazion smashed his spear down.

    The Second Sister moved her daggers above her head and blocked the spear. The ground shattered underneath her. However, she just giggled and smiled as if the attack was nothing

    more than a mere tickle.

    "Oh, I''ll make you remember~"

 Chapter 237: Ambush, Blood and Fight

    Chapter 237: Ambush, Blood and Fight

    ?

    In a narrow alleyway, a group of mercenaries moved silently like ghosts and peeked over the corner to see the ongoings in the street.

    It looked empty, but when they were about to move there, shing weapons reverberated through the air.

    A battle raged in the street.

    Korazion and the Second Sister shed weapons-spear versus dual daggers-it was a heated fight to the death.

    With a flick of the spear, Korazion smacked the Second Sister across the face, leaving a deep gash. The Second Sister stumbled back, blood dripping from her wound.

    "Five Spear Death Rush!" Korazion jumped to the air, and five identical-looking spears appeared around him.

    When he pointed his very own spear at the Second Sister, those five spears shot forward in a lightning-fast attack, aiming to strike her down.

    The Second Sister nimbly cartwheeled out of the way, but one of the spears grazed her arm, leaving a shallow cut.

    Yet she didn''t seem worried as she cut through the air with her dual daggers. It created invisible air shes that flew straight back at Korazion.

    With his Kiryoku fully activated, Korazion smashed his spear through the air shes.

    The Second Sister threw one of her two daggers. It stabbed into Korazion''s shoulder. "Mgh..." Korazion grunted with an ufortable look.

    The Second Sister quickly did some hand signals that looked like her fingers were getting tangled with each other.

    "Gravity Dagger!"

    The dagger on Korazion''s shoulder suddenly felt like it weighed ton. He crashed to the ground while the dagger buried itself deep into his flesh, slowly cutting deeper and deeper as it was so heavy that his flesh couldn''t hold up against it.

    Korazion yanked the dagger from his shoulder and dropped it to the ground. The pavement cracked once the dagger fell.

    "Pull!" The Second Sister summoned the dagger back to her hand and then entered another round of closebat.

    With her daggers, she had an advantage over Korazion, who was more of a long-range attacker with his spear that could change lengths at will.

    However, Korazion wasn''t a bad closebat fighter. He twirled the spear around him while deflecting all the daggers that came his way.

    In the nearby alleyway, the mercenaries noticed that the fight on the street was something they couldn''t participate in. It was leagues above their current level.

    "Let''s continue moving." One of them whispered. "Our goal is within the Children of Fair''s territory, after all."

    The backs of their robes had a symbol of a half cut face-a symbol of Zestruction.

    They continued heading deeper into the alleyway that led straight to the enemy territory.

    They didn''t n to fight over the Trigger Street, as even if their guild took control of it, they would be in the middle of Dying Star and Children of Fair.

    It wasn''t a strategically wise move to do.

    They were after something in the Children of Fair territory that was much more important.

    However, when they came across an alleyway of weedy pavement, the leader suddenly stopped in his tracks.

    "I sensed something..." he said and darted his gaze across the nearby roofs, but didn''t see anyone.

    He was chosen as the leader of this mission because of his decently high level in Kiryoku. It had allowed him to escape danger several times before, as he knew how to urately sense nearby attacking intent.

    He could almost swear that he felt a tiny bit of the attacking intent. It was just a little bit before disappearing.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    It''s like someone realized their mistake and quickly hid their attacking intent.

    ''Someone who knows how to hide their attacking intent... That person must be pretty high- level.'' The leader thought to himself. ''What to do? The attacking intent might''ve not been aimed at us if there''re other fights going on nearby.''

    "Is something wrong?" A person behind him asked.

    "I don''t know..." The leader gritted his teeth. "Follow me."

    They walked over the weed that was growing in the cracks of the pavement and headed deeper into the maze-likework of alleyways. The leader''s mind was racing with thoughts of potential danger lurking in the shadows.

    At that moment, his heart turned cold as he didn''t only feel two or three attacking intents. It was dozens,ing from every direction.

    Unlike the one who managed to mask their attacking intent, these ones couldn''t, but it was fine as they had already stepped into the trap.

    "Run!" The leader screamed.

    However, before any of them could make a proper move, the arrows rained down on them like

    a rain shower and stabbed through them like they were voodoo dolls.

    With blood flowing down the cracked pavement, their corpsesy lifeless in the dimly lit alleyway. Around fifteen mercenaries died, just like that.

    In the nearby roofs, the bow-wielding women looked over, and smiled with each other. The ambush was sessful.

    They were part of Battle Maidens, and since joining the guild, they''d been learning the ways of the ambushes and fighting.

    It also included learning to mask attacking intents, but they were all just rookies, so most of them hadn''t learned it, but they were still very effective with their ambushes.

    Knowing that it would be easy to find out their location since they couldn''t hide their attacking intents, they did their ambushes in these narrow alleyways.

    It was to trick their own senses.

    They couldn''t have any attacking intent because there was no one to attack. So, they chose a ce to ambush, where they didn''t know if anyone was about toe, so they didn''t know when they would attack someone.

    So, when one finally enters their trap, they immediately attack. That''s how, even if they managed to detect their attacking intent at thest moment, there was nothing they could do.

    "Whew, good job, sisters." A brte-haired woman said with a smile.

    "Whew..." A pigtail-haired woman touched her chest and took a deep breath. "That was a close. Who did identally let out their attacking intent?"

    "T-that was me. I am sorry..." A shy-looking woman raised her hand. "I was too nervous, so I couldn''t help but think about the moment when we attack someone, so my attacking intent

    seeped out..."

    "Stay calm with your thoughts, next time." The brte-haired woman said. "Luckily, you managed to erase those thoughts quickly. Otherwise, we would''ve all be in great danger."

    "I''ll do better next time around..."

    "What''ll we do about that?" A sharp-eyed woman asked as she looked to the street. "Those two are still fighting out there."

    "That fight is beyond our league." The brte-haired woman said. "Guild master Athena told us to be careful with the fights we choose. We shouldn''t get involved unless absolutely

    necessary."

    ...

    The fights raged across the Imperium City.

    It was frightening how fast things turned around.

    Only an hour ago, it was still quiet and eerily silent.

    Now, it would be strange if they didn''t hear any fighting for more than a few minutes.

    The Originals hid inside their abodes, keeping their children and loved ones close. There was

    nothing any of them could do when the mercenaries fought.

    It was like they were humans in the presence of the Gods.

    There was nothing they could do except pray and hope that they would stay safe.

 Chapter 238: Do You Believe?

    Chapter 238: Do You Believe?

    ?

    Korazion evaded the dagger shes. The Second Sister panted heavily as she had reached the end of her stamina.

    While her opponent, Korazion, looked still fairly good despite the intense battle.

    With a jump backwards, Korazion made some distance to her, then extended the length of his spear and smacked it into her waist.

    She felt as though a baseball bat had struck her.

    The hit sent her flying through a nearby building''s window.

    When her flight stopped, she noticed a family of Originals hiding under a table. When they saw her, they started weeping uncontrobly and hugged their loved ones.

    Korazion jumped through the broken window and swung his spear down, but she stopped it once again with her dual daggers.

    "Stop it!" She shouted. "There''re innocent beings here who have nothing to do with our fight!"

    "So?" Korazion kicked her in the stomach and growled. "You''d think I would pull my punches because of them? I won''t fall for your tricks."

    "We can go back to the street to continue this fight!" The Second Sister shouted. "There''s no trickery behind this!"

    "As if!" Korazion extended the length of his spear and cut through all the walls while simultaneously sending her flying into the air.

    She flew and crashed into a wall.

    Korazion pointed his spear at her and extended the length of the spear. The spear stabbed through her waist and pinned her to the wall.

    She tried to pull the spear out of her waist but to no avail.

    Korazion lifted her up while she writhed in pain and mmed her straight to the ground. He then lifted her up again and smashed her to the wall. She let out a scream as the pain shot through her body.

    The health dropped to dangerous levels.

    She tossed her daggers to the ceiling. They stabbed into the ceiling right above Korazion''s head.

    Korazion raised his head to the ceiling.

    "Gravity Daggers!"

    The weight of her two daggers changed, and that caused the ceiling to fall apart because of their new heavy weights.

    Korazion jumped out of the way and returned his spear to its former length.

    The ceiling fell down and happened to fall right on top of the table, with the Originals hiding right under it. The ceiling''s debris buried them under its weight.

    "Haha, as I expected!" Korazion shouted. "You acted like you cared about their lives. You just wanted to use them to kill me!"

    "Pull!"

    Now freed from the spear, she summoned the daggers back to her hand and attacked Korazion like a wild beast. Her attacks were furious, fast, and precise.

    A few cuts appeared here and there on his body.

    The Second Sister kicked him in the chest, then into his jaw, and finally at the temple. Blood began to trickle down his face, and Korazion stumbled out of the house.

    She tossed her daggers again. The two daggers stabbed the ground around Korazion. One to the left side of him and the other to the right side.

    With quick hand signals, the daggers multiplied into a dozen more, surrounding Korazion on all sides.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Korazion''s expression hardened.

    "You''re making me angry!" The Second Sister said angrily, and her hair started floating upwards as if the gravity around her changed. "Gravity Force!"

    Korazion crashed on his knees, and the pavement under him shattered. It felt like a boulder suddenlynded on top of his head, as it felt like something very heavy was pushing him down.

    The gravity inside the circle of the daggers increased tenfold!

    He couldn''t lift his spear, let alone move.

    "Hahaha!" Korazionughed, and the spear turned longer.

    The tip of the spear happened to be pointing at the Second Sister''s right leg. Thus, after it turned longer, the de stabbed right through her leg, causing her to cry out in pain.

    Korazion struggled greatly but managed to pull one of the daggers off the ground. It was one of the two main daggers, thus the gravity spell broke apart.

    He was able to move once again.

    Korazion pulled his spear back and smacked it across the Second Sister''s face. She flew far away and crashed into a building about hundred meters away.

    When he jumped after her and rummaged through the debris to find her, he couldn''t find her

    anywhere.

    She had escaped.

    "Hmph!" Korazionnded back on the street and checked his timepiece. "The reinforcements should be here soon..."

    ...

    The Holy Room.

    "Ah~" Lady Yu moaned with flushed cheeks. "Right there~"

    "Ahem..." Adam awkwardly smiled as he kneaded his hands against her back on one of the

    tense muscles. "Is that good?"

    "Yeah~"Lady Yu smiled and looked at him with a blush on her cheeks. "You''re good at massaging. Where did you learn it?"

    "My caretaker made me his massaging ve." Adam said with a chuckle.

    When he was young and Serah came from work, tired like a dog, he would massage her feet and back to help her rx.

    It was the least he could do, as he had a roof over his head and got to eat warm food every day. He was also afraid of being abandoned if he didn''t do anything to help them, so he did a lot

    for the family.

    Lady Yu felt light as a feather and smiled with satisfaction.

    She was surprised that she was able to be touched by a man and didn''t feel absolutely

    repulsed.

    Instead, it felt strangely good.

    Adam leaned on the cloudy hill and just rxed.

    There was nothing much to do in this Holy Room, so he decided to enjoy the peace and quiet

    for as long as possible.

    After all, once he left this ce, he would enter the war, and it would be chaos and noise

    everywhere.

    Lady Yu gracefully sat on her knees and looked at Adam with just a smile on her beautiful face. She was also enjoying the peace and quiet for a moment before it would all be gone.

    Thest few weeks had been very stressful.

    They knew that the war wasing.

    "What''s up?" Adam felt her gaze and turned to look at him.

    "It''s nothing." She shook her head, but then she felt like she was flying as there were some

    more questions she wanted to ask.

    "You can ask anything," Adam said.

    He knew her very well, and after seeing that slight crunch of her eyebrows, he knew she was

    hiding something.

    "Mm..." Lady Yu bit her lip and asked. "You said you don''t have much of a family left, but do you have anyone you care about except your uncle? A loved one, perhaps?"

    "I do," Adam said.

    "Y-you do?" Her eyes shook, and it sounded like she was about to choke on her own words.

    "Her name''s Alice." Adam said with a sigh. "She''s from the Other World."

    "You love her?"

    "Yeah." Adam nodded. "Very much so."

    "I see..." Lady Yu lowered her head and bit her lip, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart.

    "This ceremony has another name. Do you know what it is?"

    "Marriage Ceremony, is it not?" Adam looked at her.

    Lady Yu''s eyes widened in surprise. She was surprised that he knew the answer.

    "Do you believe in soulmates?" she asked with a nervous tone.

    "Before, no." Adam chuckled. "Now, yes."

    "Because of Alice?" She asked.

    "Yes, and because someone used to convince me about it." Adam looked at her with a smile,

    and she couldn''t help but feel a flutter in her chest.

    ''Why did he look at me when he said that?''

    She wondered with her heart racing.

 Chapter 239: Oldman

    Chapter 239: Oldman

    ?

    After a whole day of fighting, it turned calm as soon as the sun hid behind the horizon and the moon reced it on the sky.

    Imperium City was sleeping, but some shadow lurkers were still out and about, doing who knows what under the cover of darkness.

    Swoosh, swoosh!

    Through roof to roof, a shadow dodged the moonlight and moved swiftly.

    He was heading to the gates of the Imperium and seemed to be nning on leaving this wretched city behind.

    However, when he arrived on top of one of the pitched roofs that overlooked the gates, he saw a couple of guards there. The gate behind them was closed.

    With both hands, he pulled two knives and threw them at the guards.

    The first knife sessful took down one of the guards, but the second one quickly ced his shield on the way of the knife.

    The knife bounced off the shield.

    The shadow did quick hand signals and whispered.

    "Shadow Shift!"

    With a strange magical spell, he changed positions with the knife that bounced off the shield, and the guard looked taken aback.

    He kicked the guard in the neck area and made him drop down to his knees.

    With his right hand, he pulled out his knife from the corpse of the first guard and stabbed it into the heart of the second guard.

    The guard let out a final breath of life before dying.

    Snap!

    With a snap of his fingers, the knife, which he changed positions with, returned to his belt.

    Then he grabbed his other knife tight, and its small de started to turn red, as if it were about to burst into mes.

    It was now extremely hot, and if anyone dared to touch it, they would surely get burned. The gate stood in his way with its durable metal bars.

    However, then he started cutting through the metal bars with his knife.

    In usual circumstances, that would be an impossible feat, but slowly and surely, because of the heat, the knife went rather easily through the bars.

    With the knife moving up, then to the left, and finally down, a portion of the metal bars fell to the ground. There was a nicely human-sized hole in the gate.

    He put his knife back on his belt that had strangely cooled off in a matter of seconds.

    Music~

    He stopped on his tracks with cold sweat drenching his back.

    A strange music echoed from some distance away. It sounded like someone was strumming a banjo.

    It sounded all too familiar.

    "No, it''s him!" Richard wanted to run through the opening in the gate, but his legs refused to move. ''Move, move, move!''

    He wanted to raise his hands to block the sound of the music, but he couldn''t even move his arms!

    The sound of banjo came closer and closer.

    Soon, it sounded like someone was ying it right beside his ear.

    Richard couldn''t turn around to see the face of the musician, as if some invisible force was holding him in ce.

    "Richard, Richard, tch, your mother will be very angry at you." Oldman said while slowing the speed of strumming.

    He had short gray hair like a storm cloud and had a hat covering his eyes. The banjo on his arms was worn from years of use but still emitted a beautiful sound.

    His leather armor looked basic, some ck metal vambraces protected his forearms, and there was a single sheathed knife on his right leg''s thigh.

    "Oldman..." Richard gritted his teeth. "Isn''t this little too much? My mother''s top protector came to take me back there. What if you got ambushed and died? A little too big of a risk, don''t you think so?"

    "Your mother was angry that you left." Oldman said. "He wanted you to return safely. Thus here I am."

    "You can tell my mother to piss off!" Richard shouted. "I am not going back there!"

    "You don''t have a choice." Oldman started to y his banjo again, and the sound turned very dark and foreboding.

    Without being able to fight against the sound, Richard felt like he was about to fall asleep at any moment.

    However, he then was able to unbuckle his belt and make it fall to the ground with his knives on it.

    "Large Expansion!"

    The knives bulged through the belt''s fabric and turned from small, almost harmless objects into two-meter-high des.

    The knife appeared between Richard and Oldman.

    For some odd reason, Richard was able to move again as if the music didn''t affect him

    anymore.

    The music spell needed to fulfill two conditions in order for it to work-first, one had to have

    a clear view of the target, and second, the music had to reach one''s ears.

    He was only able to fulfill the second condition, but that wasn''t enough.

    Because of therge knife between them, Oldman couldn''t see Richard!

    He quickly peeked around the knife to catch a sight of Richard, but didn''t see him anymore, but then saw a shadow jump over the knife.

    Richard twirled in the air before kicking Oldman across his waist. The kick sent him sliding a

    few meters.

    It didn''t look like it hurt him even the slightest.

    Oldman, now that he had a clear sight of Richard, started strumming his fingers across the banjo like a possessed demon.

    The music turned loud, powerful, and amazing.

    However, for some odd reason, Richard didn''t stop like before, even though the sound was piercing through his ears, and he had clear sight to him.

    At that moment, Oldman noticed that something was peeking from Richard''s ears. It was a white cotton ball to stop all sound from reaching his eardrums.

    "Oh, not bad, kiddo!" Oldman grinned from ear to ear, but then he started ying another

    song.

    Boom!

    The ground ahead of Richard exploded.

    Richard looked pale-faced, and he quickly approached Oldman while jumping left to right. With his other hand, he made one of the knives regr-sized and summoned it back to hisn/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    hand.

    The ground continued to explode, but it was as if Richard knew exactly where each explosion would ur, and he dodged them all while approaching him.

    "Drilling Kick!" Richard mmed his foot against the banjo, and his feet started spinning like

    the drill''s bit.

    It seemed like the banjo would break, but at that moment, the banjo''s color turned to a hue of

    red.

    As soon as it did, Richard felt a pang of pain in his feet, and had to retreat. It felt like he was trying to kick through a wall of solid steel.

    "This was funny and all, but I sense some troublemakers heading in our way." Oldman said, and with a single strum of the banjo, Richard''s legs fractured like twigs under the pressure.

    "Ah!" Richard copsed on the ground and coughed out blood.

    Oldman knelt before him, removed the cotton balls from his ears, and drummed a sleepy melody that immediately put Richard to sleep.

    At that moment, figures appeared ahead, hunching on top of the roofs. They were all

    belonging to different factions.

    "Sorry, did I disturb you all''s sleep?" Oldman chuckled innocently. "I am just bringing a troublemaker back to his mother, do you mind?"

    "It''s him..." The Fifth Brother said with a serious look.

    "Oldman..." Florence of Battle Maidens whispered with a serious look.

    "The strongest man of the Darkstar faction, Oldman." Persephone, the Second Hand of Ambrose, said with a grin. "I am too pretty, and young to die. Therefore, goodbye~"

    With that, she left.

    It didn''t take long for others to turn around and leave as well.

    They didn''t want to gamble with their lives this early on, and if their factions lost them on the

    first day of the war, it would be a big setback.

    Oldman tossed Richard to his shoulder and said, "Alright, your mother Aria is awaiting you."

 Chapter 240: Four Cities

    Chapter 240: Four Cities

    ?

    Dawnwatch.

    With the night covering the streets, birds with their small wings flew into the city, and brought with them news about the ongoings of the Imperium City.

    Every day, the guilds had been waiting for one particr set of news, and today, they received them.

    It was a moment of silence, as the guild leaders read the newspaper of the war happening in their capital city.

    All of them had already chosen their factions.

    There was no going back.

    In this war, hundreds of guilds would fall and perish.

    Currently in the Crescent Serpents guild building, they gathered in the meeting room, which was basically a war room for the time being.

    They had also chosen a side.

    The war would be extremely ugly for guilds such as them-tier 3 guilds-that didn''t really have strength to survive through the war.

    Also, they chose a side of the war that was risky, and perhaps the weakest of them all- Zestruction.

    "The war has begun. There''s no stopping that now." Reese, the guild master of the Crescent Serpents, said and pointed at one spot in the map.

    "Imperium City will be covered in mes for several days. That is all the time we have to strategize."

    Ron tapped his finger against his arm while thinking about things. The frightening reality came true.

    There was still a chance that war wouldn''t happen, and even though it was minimal, there were some people who had hope.

    Ron was one of them.

    However, deep inside him, he knew that it was impossible odds.

    "The first battle willst a couple of days there." Reese said. "When the fight over Imperium City is over, the losing guilds will migrate to their strongholds.

    "We can assume that Zestruction won''t be able to win over the Imperium City. Thus, they''ll head to Honey Vige, and I think we should start heading there, as well."

    "Sounds good, boss."

    "This war will be a fight for our survival." Reese said.

    "I need everyone to log on more often from now on. I''ve seen people not logging out as often anymore because of the war, but we need them.

    "We don''t have time for cowards!"

    -

    New Karma.

    "THE WAR?!" A loudmouthed, short-bodied man shouted. "WHAT WILL WE DO?!"

    "Shut up!" Young shouted and read through the newspaper with a grit on his teeth. "You''re breaking my eardrums!"

    "I AM SORRY!"

    "Shut the fuck up!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Necroman sat on his throne, reading through the newspaper on his hands. A small smile yed on his lips.

    "Yo, boss." Young called out. "When will we head out?"

    "Why such a hurry?" Necroman asked with a chuckle. "The war is not going anywhere, my friend."

    "WHAT ABOUT AMBROSE?" The loudmouthed man asked. "HAS HE GIVEN US ANY INSTRUCTIONS?!"

    "Yeah, he did." Necroman showed a torn apart letter. "Fuck him, though."

    "Aren''t we part of his faction?" Young asked with a frown.

    "We are, but only because I like his vision of the future." Necroman said with a grin. "Weak for the ve, strong for the master!"

    "§¯§¡§¯§¡§¯§¡§¯§¡§¯§¡!"

    Cleaning through the dirty floors, Ramon and Hannibal listened intently. Their bodies had undergone a transformation, with muscles peeking underneath their flesh, and they had shed off their previous baby fat.

    ''A war?'' Ramon scrubbed the floor with a frown. ''This could be a chance. I can finally make a name for myself, and move on from cleaning all the time!''

    Hannibal had the same thought.

    The cleaning had be an everyday routine of their lives, and they''d gotten extremely tired of it.

    If they do well in the war, perhaps they could move into Necroman''s inner circle, which had plenty of benefits. Women, wealth, and power.

    ''When I join the battlefield, I''ll fucking kill everyone!'' Ramon grinned. ''And no one will stand in my way!''

    ...

    Driftwood.

    The harbor was chaotic as everyone was running away like scared rabbits.

    It was all because of one ship.

    A ck-sailed ship that was heading straight to them.

    The guards of Driftwood were on high alert.

    When the ship arrived by the harbor, they dropped the anchor and dropped the gangnk to the wood-made dock.

    With the gangnk down, the pirates started to make their way onto thend, and they all looked more ferocious than thest.

    They noticed that the harbor was empty.

    The Originals had retreated to their homes, and the mercenaries were looking over to the harbor, but not a single one of them made a move.

    This pirate group was extremely infamous, and if they wanted to, Driftwood would be in mes by morning.

    After the pirates departed from the ship, scrawny-looking Seth stepped down the gangnk, pulling up the hood of his cloak to conceal his face.

    Right behind him, Aemon and Edwardius left the ship and joined the other pirates in the dock. With wind blowing, it brought a newspaper, floating towards Aemon''s feet.

    Itnded right by his feet.

    Aemon picked it up, cleaned it off the sand, and began to read the headline about a recent war

    in the Imperium City.

    "The war has already started," Aemon said with a scoff.

    He dropped the newspaper, and left the dock with Edwardius, the army of pirates following

    right behind them. Wherever they went, doors closed, windows got shut, and people hid.

    It was like a gue had entered their city.

    Seth picked up the newspaper, and read through the article.

    ""

    Without any emotion, he tossed the newspaper to the sea, and followed after Aemon and the

    rest.

    ...

    Ebonreach.

    "Troubling news," Digby said.

    "Adam just headed there, and the war started!" Lucette shouted. "I knew we shouldn''t have

    allowed him to go there!"

    "Calm down, Lucette." Valora said. "He knew that the war might start at any day, ever since

    Digby sent the letter to Zephyr. He was prepared for this oue, and he knows what he is

    doing." "He''ll be able to handle himself there." Digby closed the newspaper. "We''ve got other

    troubling matters to discuss."

    Lucette and Valora listened.

    "After the first battle is over, we''ll most likely be summoned to join Zestruction''s war party."

    Digby said.

    "The good thing about Ebonreach is that the rulers of the city won''t allow any fighting here.

    "Thus, we''ll be safe here. Other guilds won''te after us for being in opposite factions, but

    as soon as we leave the city behind, anything can happen."

    "What will we do?" Valora asked.

    "Start gathering supplies," Digby said. "We''ll need sks of the Setting Sun and Rising

    Moon, Zestruction won''t supply us with those.

    "Visit cksmith. Increase the durability of everyone''s armor and weapons; take money from

    the guild

    ount."

    Valora nodded and headed out of the office to do the things she was ordered to do.

    As Digby sat back on his chair, someone knocked on the door, and after allowing the person

    enter, Lydia entered the office with a bow.

    "Guildmaster Digby, your uncle is in the front lounge."

    "What, why?" Digby frowned.

    "He is here to talk about the war," Lydia said.

    Lucette frowned as well, as this was very suspicious timing.

    "Hmm..." Digby waved his hand. "Bring him here. I''ll talk to him alone. Lucette, go help

    Valora."

    "Alright..." Lucette and Lydia left the office.

    "What does he want..." Digby muttered to himself, feeling a sense of unease.

 Chapter 241: Symptom of Broken Heart

    Chapter 241: Symptom of Broken Heart

    ?

    The Holy Room.

    While it was night outside, it was still rather bright inside the room, but it didn''t mean that the two of them didn''t feel sleepy.

    On top of one of the soft clouds, Lady Yuid with her eyes softly closed, and her chest continued to rise and fall in a slow, steady rhythm.

    She was sleeping peacefully while her mind wandered through dreams of distantnds and adventures.

    A small distance away, behind some of the clouds, Adam swung his heavy sword down and up, his muscles straining with each powerful blow.

    The sleeves of his shirt were pulled all the way up to his shoulders, and his exposed arms were coated in a thin sheen of sweat.

    "Wooh..." Adam breathed heavily, swung his sword down, and lifted it back up.

    During his adventures after the Eldertree Institute, he found a skill scroll for the Knowledge Master skill. It was a rather different skill from others, as it helped him to absorb all types of knowledge.

    Thus, because of the skill, he''d been reading through some swordsmanship books and learning techniques that he never thought possible.

    Victor''s words cut deep.

    He was indeedcking in the swordsmanship department, and since he was Tank, he didn''t have to be good at it, but it wouldn''t hurt to have a few extra tricks up his sleeve.

    After swinging his sword back down, he took a step forward and cut horizontally across the air. He then took another step and shed up diagonally to cut his invisible training partner.

    With a short thrust, he stabbed his sword behind him, then turned around and shed through the air in front of him.

    He then switched his grip and continued to practice his forms.

    After doing it a little bit longer, he stabbed his sword through the cloud ground, left it there, and sat down on the cloudy hill.

    With an exhausted look, he took some water from his inventory and poured it over his head to cool off.

    ''What''re we supposed to even do here?'' Adam looked around with a puzzled expression on his face.

    This was his first time being in the Holy Room, but he expected something to happen at least. He only knew that in this room, people turn into superhumans.

    Around hundred years ago, Original entered the Holy Room with his holy partner-a beautiful holy maiden¡ªand after three days, they emerged from the room.

    The Original, only three days prior to that, was a scrawny-looking man with skinny arms, but after three days in the Holy Room, he turned into a powerhouse that was able to fight God Beast, who''d been terrorizing the nearby viges, and was able to y it.

    ''I don''t feel any different...''

    At that moment, he heard some painful sounds. It sounded like someone was struggling to breathe.

    When he walked up the cloud hill, he saw Lady Yu clutching her chest, and looked like she was still sleeping, but her face had turned red and her breaths were shallow andbored.

    "Yu?" Adam jumped next to her, crouched beside her, and touched her forehead.

    It was burning up with fever, and Adam saw that his hand slightly burned from the heat.

    ''How''s her fever so high?'' Adam thought to himself and panicked slightly.

    She was in a desperate need for medical help!

    Adam rushed over to the rusty gates. He tried kicking and punching it open, but it didn''t even flinch.

    It was not going to open before the ceremony was over.

    Adam returned to Lady Yu''s side, took some cloth from his inventory, drenched it with cold water, and ced it on her forehead to cool her down.

    She was sweating profusely, and her white dress was beginning to stick to her skin, turning slightly transparent, revealing her undergarments.

    "Mm..." She moaned softly and opened her eyes slightly. "Where am I?"

    She didn''t sound well at all.

    She sounded like she was parched.

    "Here, take some water." Adam ced the canteen of water between her lips and helped her take a few sips.

    After a few sips, she let out a quiet mumble and asked. "I don''t feel good..."

    In her eyes, everything was spinning around her, and she couldn''t even see Adam properly. It was like the world was stretching around her.

    It was her fever that was causing her to see these strange things around her.

    ''sks of Setting Sun and Rising Moon don''t help with fever.'' Adam frowned. ''What should I do? This kind of fever is not normal.''

    "It''s so hot..." Lady Yu touched the cloth on her forehead, feeling the intense heat radiating from her body. "I am thirsty..."

    "Take some more." Adam gave her more water, but it didn''t seem to work at all.

    He also had a limited amount of water with him, and he couldn''t just leave the Holy Room to get some more.

    He had some food with him, but nothing that fever-struck Lady Yu could eat. She needed some healing soup, and he didn''t have the ingredients to make it.

    "It hurts..." Lady Yu touched her chest.

    "What hurts?" Adam felt his heart skip a beat and he touched her cheek.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    It felt like the fever was turning worse with each passing moment.

    At this rate, she would die!

    "My heart..." Lady Yu clutched her chest and winced in pain. "So painful..."

    ''What the hell is going on with her?'' Adam touched his own forehead, worry clouding his thoughts. ''Think, think, think!''

    At that moment, she breathed heavily and sat up, the drenched cloth falling down on herp. She was in such pain that tears streamed down her face.

    "Please,y back down." Adam tried to help her lie back down, but she winced and refused.

    "No..." She hugged him and whispered. "Take this pain away, please..."

    Because of the intense fever, she drifted in and out of consciousness.

    ''Can''t I really do anything?'' Adam hugged her back and felt extremely helpless.

    "Mm..."

    She mumbled sleepily and nted a kiss on Adam''s neck.

    "?" Adam turned back to her and saw that her eyes were closed, but she was still mumbling.

    It seemed like even she didn''t know what she was doing anymore.

    "Soulmate..." She buried her face on his shoulder. "You''re the one..."

    "That''s..."

    Adam felt like he had the answer right at the tip of his tongue. He was sure that he''d heard

    something simr from Lady Yu in the previous life.

    A story of bygone times, a story about soulmates, and painful love.

    ''That... I remember it!''

    He turned Lady Yu around until her back was facing him. Her head drooped down as if she fell unconscious, and her body also turned limp, but she immediately woke back up, and looked

    around in confusion.

    At that moment, Adam ripped the back of her dress, and exposed her delicate back. There was

    a strap of her bra peeking out from the tear, but below that, there was a strange mark.

    He lifted the strap to catch a better look of the mark, and when he saw it, his heart sank.

    It was a mark of a broken heart.

    ''A symptom of a broken heart.'' Adam thought. ''It''s something that only can happen to a rare few. It happens to those who have loved someone deeply but lost that love in the end.''

 Chapter 242: R-18

    Chapter 242: R-18

    ?

    For a moment, Lady Yu regained her senses, and turned around to see Adam look at her exposed back.

    With a shy voice, she asked. "What''re you doing?"

    "I have a question, and please answer truthfully." Adam looked into her golden eyes. "Who do you love?"

    While her face was already red, some pink blush spread across her cheeks, and she said.

    "No one..."

    It was clear that she was lying, but she was too shy to reveal it.

    "Truthfully, please!" Adam grabbed her by her shoulders and made her look directly into his eyes. "You''re suffering from a symptom of a broken heart. I only know one way to heal it, but only your loved one can do it."

    "Symptom of a broken heart?" Lady Yu''s eyes shook. ''It''s because I found out that he had someone else, and I felt like my heart broke in pieces.''

    "Tell me!" Adam begged.

    "It''s you..." Lady Yu teared up. "You''re really blind to the feelings of women, aren''t you?"

    Adam turned silent, but he already had a hunch. He just had to be sure.

    ''Is soulmate really a thing? I know that she had feelings for me in the previous life, but I thought it was because we survived together in the era of the war. I thought she grew feelings for me during that time, like I did with her.

    ''However, now we barely know each other, and again, I am the only person her Curse of Men doesn''t affect.''

    "It hurts." Lady Yu touched her chest with a gasp of pain. "You know how to cure this?"

    "I know," Adam said. "Remember the Tale of 55 Maidens and Dragon yer?"

    "Yeah, I read it as a child..." she answered with pain, but then she understood what he meant.

    It was a small part of the story, but it happened.

    "A-a-are you sure?" She asked shyly. "I-It is just a story."

    "A story of true story." Adam said. "There''s a reason why the nuns of monestary teach you all those tales. It''s because they''re knowledge."

    She leaned back and sat on the cloudy hill, her dress basically transparent enough to see everything underneath.

    She felt her heart racing with excitement, and surprisingly enough, the fever started to calm down, and she didn''t feel as bad as before.

    "I-it''s working." She said with a shy smile.

    "Your broken heart is healing." Adam said and took off his shirt, revealing his well-toned abs. "It''s still in pretty bad shape though."

    Lady Yu covered her eyes, but her heart continued to race faster and faster. The louder her heart beat, the more she could feel the pain leaving her body, and she started to feel like she was floating.

    It felt extremely good.

    "You have Alice," she whispered, and when she remembered that, the pain slightly returned.

    "If I don''t do anything, you''ll die." Adam pushed her down and removed her hands from covering her eyes.

    "W-what if she''ll find out?" She rubbed her legs together with a blush. "I-I don''t want to destroy your rtionship."

    "I''ll tell her myself." Adam said softly. "I won''t hide anything from her, but if you think I let you die, you''re mistaken. I do love you, as well."

    Her eyes widened in disbelief, her heart swelling with emotion.

    After pulling down his pants, he leaned close enough to press his body against her soft breasts and inserted himself inside her, the tightness and warmth enveloping himpletely.

    "Ah~!" She moaned in heavy pleasure as she felt her maidenhood being taken away.

    It was something that she''d treasured for so long, and now it was taken away, but she didn''t feel sad. She had never felt as good as she did now.

    The fever left her body as quickly as it hade, and the broken heart healed in an instant.

    "Ah..." Adam moaned as well and felt his legs turn jelly as he released a breath he didn''t realize he had been holding.

    It felt heavenly.

    "Your broken heart is healed..." Adam whispered in pleasure. "We can stop here."

    "It''s not healed." Lady Yu whispered softly. "Keep going..."

    "Oh?" Adam thought that was enough, but he listened to her, and started moving his hips in a slow rhythm.

    In, and out.

    p- p- p-

    "Ah~ Ah~ Ah~" She moaned in ecstasy, and her breasts popped out of her bra, bouncing

    freely.

    Her breasts were the size of basketballs, and she had inverted nipples that he found incredibly arousing.

    With one of his hands, he squeezed on her left breast, which felt like a soft, squishy pillow, and saw the nipple pop out from its inverted state and harden under his touch.

    With his other hand, he traced it across her soft thigh, feeling the goosebumps rise on her skin, and started thrusting faster and stronger to make her moans even louder.

    The breasts bounced up and down with each movement. Her body responded eagerly, arching towards him as she reached the peak of ecstasy.

    With another thrust, she climaxed, her body shivering in pleasure, and let out a loud scream of satisfaction.

    However, Adam wasn''t done and smashed his lips against her soft lips. She was greedily epting the kiss, put her arms around his neck, and pulled him closer, wanting more.

    After another thrust, he released his white substance deep into her, filling every inch of her maidenhood that was untouched only moments prior.

    "Ah~" She moaned in pleasure and smiled contendingly. "So good~"

    Hearing the happiness literally seeping from her word, Adam turned her around, and forced

    her toy on her stomach so he could continue his thrusts from behind.

    With her breasts squeezed against the cloudy hill, she looked over her shoulder with a

    seductive smile.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Adam moved her dress up and saw her underwear was white and innocent. It was still covering her soft-looking, round buttocks that seemed dangerously inviting.

    After he ripped them off, she moved her buttocks left and right, as if tempting him like a seductive temptress.

    With a quick thrust, he again inserted himself deep into her and started smacking his hips against her soft buttocks with a rhythmic intensity that left her gasping for more. However, at that moment, he noticed that the broken heart mark on her back was long gone.

    ''You little liar...'' Adam just chuckled and continued to thrust into her with even more passion. With both of them reaching the peak of pleasure, his thrust made his partner scream out in ecstasy, and they both simultaneously copsed in a state of blissful exhaustion.

    The white liquid dripped off her maidenhood and disappeared within the cloudy ground.

    "Ah~" She let out a satisfied sigh, turned around toy on her back, and spread her arms out wide, as if she were epting a hug.

    She looked at Adam with a smile, wanting him to embrace her in return.

    Adam entered her embrace, her breasts squeezing against his chest, and the two of them melted into each other''s warmth, feelingpletely content in that moment.

    "I am yours~" she whispered into his ear.

    "You don''t care that I have another?" Adam asked.

    "No." She shook her head. "As long as I am the only one you have in this world. That''s all I

    care about~"

    "Mm."

    Without either of them realizing it, their souls got closer to fully connecting with each other. The ceremony was nearlyplete, and it wouldn''t take long for their bond to be

    unbreakable.

 Chapter 243: Box of the Dead

    Chapter 243: Box of the Dead

    ?

    As soon as the first light of the morning dawned over thend, the fights began, and the Originals were woken up from their slumber.

    They weren''t sleeping that well as the dangers of the war loomed over them, but they managed to catch a few hours of shut eye.

    Somewhere in the city, an entire section of the city had gone up in mes as battle raged between the foot soldiers of two factions.

    Zestruction versus Smilebacks.

    With blood spewing and teeth flying, it was one of the bloodiest fights so far.

    Smilebacks, in one big group, ran towards Zestruction''s forces while screaming their war cries

    out.

    At that moment, the tank of Zestruction stepped forward, carrying his heavy shield, which was almost as big as him, and let out a deafening scream.

    Smilebacks attacked him.

    With his heavy shield, he tanked all of their attacks without taking a single step backwards.

    "Is that all you got, scum?!" The tankughed at their futile attempt.

    At that moment, magic spells flew behind the tank, hitting the front group of Smilebacks and forcing them to retreat a few steps back.

    "Onwards!" The tank swung his sword and charged forward.

    In the middle of the street, two sides shed, the steel des swinging, spears flying, magic spells exploding, and the ground shaking with each blow.

    When the fight turned even more intense, the leaders of both sides stepped forward to meet each other at the center of the street.

    Others calmed down with their attacks and retreated to allow the two leaders to face off without any disturbances.

    This was a leader showdown, and it was an extremely important fight in any battle.

    It was because the winning side would have a great increase in morale and momentum, while the losing side would suffer a significant blow to their confidence.

    Smilebacks'' 20th divisionmander, Para, held dual swords and was as big as a boulder, with muscles bulging out of his armor.

    It looked like he would fit more as a tank.

    Zestruction''s captain of the 50th squad, Volume, stood across from him, towering over Para with a cocky grin on his face.

    While Para was as big as a boulder, Volume was as tall as a tree.

    Volume wielded a staff.

    He was a magician.

    They circled each other while their subordinates watched without averting their gaze even for a moment. These kinds of fights could end in an instant.

    Para made the first move. It was obvious that he would since he was the one with swords, and Volume would need some time to cast his incantations, so it was unlikely that he would make a first move.

    Para activated a skill. It gave him greater eleration speed, and he quickly closed the distance between them. The two swords were approaching.

    Volume tapped the ground with his wooden staff and said, "Go fly."

    The ground under Para''s feet shot up in a sharp angle,unching Para into the air.

    Volume aimed his staff at him and said. "Magic Missile Storm!"

    From the tip of the staff, magic missiles shot out; they all flew at Para from different angles, surrounding him from all changes, and since he was in the air, it was impossible for him to dodge!

    Para''s eyes widened, and he just tried to block the magic missiles with his armor.

    Boom!

    The magic missilesnded on him, causing a sizeable explosion, and Para fell straight to the ground, his armor burned, and his face was covered in soot.

    Cheer~!

    Zestruction side was cheering as it looked like it would be an easy victory for them.

    Smilebacks looked dead serious.

    Paranded on the ground, injured and struggling to stand up.

    "Heart Pierce." Volume pointed his staff straight at him, and a heart-shaped arrow shot out from its tip and flew straight at Para.

    As it was about tond and the defeat looked almost certain, Para''s dual swords came crashing down on the arrow, shattering it into a thousand tiny shards.

    Volume looked taken aback.

    With his insane eleration, Para shot forward and cut through Volume''s armor like a hot knife through butter. The des managed to slice through his flesh with ease, leaving deep gashes that immediately began to spurt blood.

    ''This is bad!'' Volume jumped backwards and wanted to use Minor Healing on himself, but Para used his super jump to appear above him and kicked him back down to the ground.

    Volume crashed on the ground on his back, and Para fell straight down at him, his swords stabbing downwards. He was going for the head!

    However, Volume quickly rolled out of the way while those swords stabbed into the

    pavement.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Magic Missile!" He shot out a magic missile randomly to stop Para from chasing after him,

    but he just cut through the missile and ran straight after him.

    Para was not letting him breathe freely for even a moment!

    This was his fighting style-hunting his opponent down relentlessly!

    Zestruction''s soldiers noticed that the bnce of the fight had shifted. Their captain was just running away while chased down.

    Smilebacks cheered on for theirmander.

    Volume''s eyes turned cold, and he suddenly coated his staff with his ck Kraft and smashed it at the dual swords. The weapons shed against each other in a deafening cacophony. With a spin of the staff, Volume pushed Para a step backwards and struck him across the chest with a powerful blow.

    Para stumbled back but used his dual swords to block another attack by the staff.

    It looked like Volume had given up on his Magick as he just couldn''t chant the incantations when Para was chasing him like a hunting dog.

    However, he was also skilled in staffbat and quickly changed tactics.

    "Who do you think you''re?!" Volume screamed. "I am Volume the Tricky, the captain of Zestruction''s 50th squad, and I''ve not lost to anyone within my rank yet, and I won''t lose now!"

    The staff came swinging down.

    However, without any warning, the dual swords cut through Volume''s knees, and he fell to the ground in a shock. It was clear he didn''t know what happened.

    "First time for everything." Para said coldly and stabbed his swords through Volume''s neck

    area.

    Volume coughed out blood, but then everything turned dark for him, and he slowly died

    because ofck of health.

    Silence ~

    Zestruction side was quiet, like a grave.

    However, their opponents, Smilebacks, erupted in roaring cheers.

    Para turned to Zestruction''s soldiers, who looked frightened under his gaze, and even

    retreated a couple of steps.

    "Attack!" Para screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing through the battlefield.

    The fight became one-sided.

    Zestruction tried to fight back, but they werepletely overwhelmed by Para''s forces, and the tank tried to keep everyone alive, but he was swiftly killed off by Para''s merciless attack.

    A few minutester, not a single one from Zestruction was alive, and Smilebacks cheered in a

    victory.

    Para entered one of the buildings.

    It was the reason why they fought here in the first ce to retrieve something extremely

    important for their faction.

    It was within Zestruction''s territory, that''s why the fight happened in the first ce.

    Every other faction wasn''t aware of the item hiding in this ce, but Bartholomew somehow

    knew.

    Para cut through walls to find the item, and after a short while, found a box that had been hid

    inside these walls for who knows how long.

    "Box of the Dead..."

 Chapter 244: Melted Souls

    Chapter 244: Melted Souls

    ?

    With mes raging in almost every corner of the Imperium City, the fights became very frequent, and there was barely any street that wasn''t a battlefield.

    However, the roads that led to the Royal Pce were empty and quiet.

    By the gates of the Royal Pce, Imperial Order''s gold knights stood guard, and not a single faction was crazy enough to attack them right now.

    Currently, the fights were participated in by the foot soldiers alongside a few leaders of

    squads. It was because every faction was keeping their strongest forces reserved for the uing fights.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    When the factions finally released their strongest members, the Imperium City would cease to exist, and it wasn''t in the best interest of the factions to destroy such a valuable asset.

    They were also afraid of King Moriarty making a move.

    He was a person that no one wanted to fight yet.

    ...

    The Holy Room.

    Adam sat in a meditative stance. He could feel his Kiryoku and Magick were about to level up, but there was something missing.

    ''Maybe this ceremony allows me to do advance in Kiryoku and Magick.''

    He thought, but at that moment, someone big-chested hugged him on the back and nted kisses all around his neck.

    Feeling ticklish, Adam turned around at Lady Yu, who was grinning mischievously. She had be quite clingy after their sexual experience, and Adam wasn''t quite sure how to handle

    it.

    Thump...

    In that moment, they heard some very distant sound, and it seemed toe from ground above them.

    Lady Yu looked to the ceiling and sadly said, "Is it the war?"

    "Yes." Adam sighed. "They seem to be fighting near the cathedral as well. It looks like the first battle of the war is reaching its final stages."

    "Mm..." Lady Yu hugged him tightly and said, "Are you sure you want to go out there? It will be a graveyard of strong warriors by the time it''s all over."

    "Mm, I have to." Adam said. "I gave my promise to my uncle. That''s why I need this ceremony to seed. I need strength."

    "Alright." Lady Yu smiled and put her hands on his back. "Close your eyes."

    "Mm?" Adam didn''t question her and closed his eyes.

    She closed her eyes and mumbled something under her breath.

    A golden light left her hands and entered Adam''s body through his back. It looked like a holy light straight from the heavens, and he could feel warmth spreading through his body.

    "What was that?" he asked.

    "Power of Holiness." She said with a giggle. "It purifies your body, mind, and soul. That should help you to do the final leap to enlightenment."

    "Enlightenment?" Adam looked at her in surprise. "I can do it right now?"

    "If you focus really hard!" She said with a smile.

    "Hmm..." Adam closed his eyes.

    He remembered when he found the pill of enlightenment that allowed him to do the final leap to learn Kiryoku.

    He didn''t know any other locations of enlightenment pills, so he thought that would be the only time he had a chance to experience it, but now, with Lady Yu''s help, it became a possibility once again!

    With his mind going dark, Adam''s body rxed significantly, and just like that, he entered his state of enlightenment.

    Within an instant, his mana ocean started pushing against gray gate. It was the only thing separating him from level 3 Magick.

    Meanwhile, his Kiryoku inched closer and closer to third level.

    The third level was already extremely high for Kiryoku, and it would allow him to dodge every attack purely out of instinct, and he could sense auras of pretty much everyone in a small city.

    It wasn''t something that every magician could learn, and since Adam had already reached this level in a year, it was extremely impressive.

    Lady Yu watched with a smile.

    While she was able to help people get closer to the enlightenment, it was another thing entirely to actually do it.

    Since he was able to do it so easily, it said a lot about his level of talent-a level of talent that even he didn''t seem to be aware of.

    The waves of the mana ocean crashed against the gray gate and made it creak open. It was enough for some of the water to seep through, and as soon as that happened, the rest of the ocean just flowed through, smashing the gate open.

    Third level achieved!

    His Magick strength increased drastically.

    However, he didn''t stop there and focused on expanding his mind further and further.

    Previously, he couldn''t extend his mind beyond the Holy Room, but now he was able to do so. He could see auras through the walls, even though his eyes were closed, and he could sense the emotions and thoughts of those around him with ease.

    Since there was only one person around, he tried sensing Lady Yu''s emotions but had to quickly stop doing so because her emotions were extremely heavy.

    A very, very intense love and obsession that stopped his breath for a moment.

    However, it was clear now that his Kiryoku had also achieved a new level.

    Third level in Kiryoku achieved!

    Adam softly opened his eyes and let out a deep breath.

    With third level in Kiryoku, he was far more confident in surviving through the war.

    Ba-dump!

    Ba-dump!

    In that moment, both of their hearts started skipping a beat before returning to a steady

    rhythm.

    Their bodies turned hot and warm as their souls started melting with each other.

    "It''s happening!" She shouted with a smile and hugged him behind. "Embrace the feeling. Our souls are finally connecting, which means we''re in the ending phases of the ceremony!" "Why so suddenly?" Adam asked in shock.

    "I don''t know; I am new to this!" She said. "Just enjoy the moment and embrace it. This''ll take some time; it could be a day, but it will be worth it in the end!"

    "Mm." Adam closed his eyes and embraced the feeling.

    ...

    The forest rumbled and shook like an earthquake had hit.

    The massive, shadowy snake moved and squeezed its massive body around the mountain. The

    mountain cracked and shattered.

    After a moment, the creature finally opened its eyes after the slumber, and as soon as it did,

    dark clouds gathered across the skies.

    Shh~

    With a strange sound, the creature took flight and went straight through the dark clouds. The

    dark clouds parted like a curtain, the sun brightly shining through, but then dark clouds started moving away, following the dark creature like a shadow.

    ...

    In the grand balcony of the Royal Pce.

    King Moriarty looked over to the horizon. He saw some dark clouds as if a storm was

    gathering there, looking ominous and threatening.

    If it was an ordinary rainstorm, he wouldn''t feel anything except insignificance, but now he

    felt like something dangerous was heading in their way.

    ''What the hell is that?''

    He leaped off the balcony andnded on top of arge-ded sword. The sword was flying somehow, suspended in the air by unseen forces.

    With the flying de, Moriarty flew out of Imperium City and headed in the direction of the

    iing storm.

    However, when he neared it, a lightning bolt shot through the dark clouds like an angry god descending from the heavens.

    Moriarty touched the lightning bolt with his hand, and absorbed it into his hand as if he were

    a lightning rod.

    "You!"

    An angry scream sounded above the dark clouds.

    Moriarty''s ears started bleeding, and his eyes widened in surprise.

    At that moment, a shadowy tail swung through the dark clouds and smashed into Moriarty,

    sending him crashing into the ground.

    The ground shattered, flipped around, and swallowed him whole.

 Chapter 245: Ragnarokia

    Chapter 245: Ragnarokia

    ?

    While the looming threat of the dark clouds was still a long distance away, the war didn''t stop even for a moment.

    By one of the streets, a new mercenary, who only two months ago finished his tutorial,

    watched as his fellow soldiers died all around him.

    This was an insane sight to him.

    ''This is stupid...''

    He took a few steps back.

    ''None of those Handlers spoke anything about this!''

    He turned around, wanting to leave, but the soldiers behind him kept pushing him forward as they had to follow orders and advance.

    At that moment, a shower of arrows rained down on them from the sky and stabbed through their armor like it was paper.

    Everyone around the young man died, but he miraculously survived without a scratch.

    His legs were shaking uncontrobly as he stood frozen in shock.

    At that moment, an enemy soldier approached him with a war cry. He looked into the soldier''s eyes and saw fear instead of malice.

    Both were afraid.

    Stab!

    The sword went through the young man''s chest, and he fell to the ground with his body turning cold like the winter snow.

    ''None of the Handlers prepared me for this... this sucks...''

    ...

    Aria looked through the window at the smoke that rose high to the sky.

    The door behind her opened, and Richard entered the room with his head hanging low.

    "You tried to escape, why?" She asked.

    "This war has nothing to do with me." Richard said. "Just a bunch of egos fighting against each other."

    "A childish mindset, as always." Aria shook her head in disappointment. "This war is for the future of our family. You''re my son, and the next head of the family!"

    "This war is for the family or for you?" Richard asked. "You want to share the throne with Moriarty, don''t you? You want to be his little queen."

    Aria grabbed him by the cheeks and made it so that he couldn''t speak another word.

    "Listen here, Richard. You can be king one day. Don''t you want to be one?"

    "..." Richard couldn''t speak a word, but his eyes told everything¡ªhe didn''t want to.

    Aria pushed him away and turned back to the window. "Youck ambition; that makes you weak, Richard."

    Richard scoffed and walked out of the room, closing the door with a loud m.

    ...

    A distance away from the Imperium City, the ground had shattered, and the lightning bolts continued to strike down from the dark clouds.

    The sight was like from a nightmare.

    Through the broken ground, Moriarty jumped back to the surface, and saw the massive creature slither above the dark clouds.

    "Who are you, and what do you want from my city?"

    "Your city?"

    The voice was so loud that it seemed to shake the entire earth.

    Moriarty winced and held his ears. If he listened to that voice longer than a second, his eardrums would surely burst. His ears were already bleeding.

    "Yes, my city!"

    Through the dark clouds, a shadowy face revealed itself. It didn''t look like the shape of a human face, but something entirely different. It was also covered in a shadow that seemed to be moving and shifting, as if alive.

    "I''vee to destroy "your" city!"

    Moriarty crossed his arms in front of him as those words created a powerful shockwave that almost knocked him off his feet.

    "Why?"

    "Your kind destroyed my home, so I will destroy yours!"

    "What''s your home?"

    Shh~

    With a strange sound, the creature said. "Godswood!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Moriarty frowned. ''A creature of this magnitude shouldn''t have lived there. It had God Beasts, yes, but this is beyond that. This is the Divine Beast. It lived there, but where there?''

    "Your kind burned my home, so I will burn yours!"

    "Yeah, I''ll stop you." Moriarty put one hand to the ground and lowered his stance like he was about to pounce.

    "You? Stop me? Hah!"

    The creature found it amusing. It could tell the difference in their strength levels, and this

    human in front of it had no chance in hell of defeating it!

    A golden light burst out of Moriarty''s body like a supernova.

    "Gold Meteor!"

    Swoosh!

    With the speed of a meteor, Moriarty took flight and soared straight through the dark clouds, flying so high that he was soon hovering above the massive creature that was as long as the road that went from Imperium City to the nearby vige of Darkhaven!

    The Divine Beast turned its head to the golden man and released a breath of mes that made the sky a sea of mes!

    With a rush of speed, Moriarty flew circles around the Divine Beast''s enormous body and left behind a golden trail that seemed to survive through the divine mes.

    In the sky, a golden circle appeared.

    The speed was so high that he was able to drown the mes with the gust of winds that followed in his wake.

    At that moment, a tail swung in his direction and smacked Moriarty off the skies.

    He flew down and crashed through the ground like a meteor. It made the ground shatter,

    creating a crater of destruction in its wake.

    The tail moved so quickly that it was just impossible to dodge it.

    However, while buried in the ground, Moriarty licked the blood off his lips and put his hands together like he was a statue of a glorious Buddha.

    The golden circle in the sky turned bright like a sun and wrapped around the Divine Beast''s massive body. It was like a ring of fire created by the gods themselves.

    "Golden Circle of Heavens, Grand Trapment!"

    The golden circle burned into the Divine Beast''s body. It made the creature let out a powerful

    scream of pain.

    It was so loud that the ground shook all the way in the Imperium City. Moriarty jumped up to the surface and cloned thousands ofrge-ded swords around him.

    With a wave of the hand, the swords flew towards the Divine Beast and smashed into its

    indestructible scales.

    "Golden Circle of Heavens, Grand Massacre!"

    "You have skills, I admit that! However!"

    With a burst of power, the Divine Beast shattered the golden circle that kept him bound and

    roared in defiance.

    "My name is Ragnarokia!" The Divine Beast opened its mouth wide and released a beam of pure energy that obliterated everything in its path.

    The beam struck directly into Moriarty, melting his flesh and turning his bone into ash. With his loud screams vanishing, the beam drilled through the ground and made the surrounding

    land crumble and copse into an abyss.

    It was absolute destruction.

    Ragnarokia took flight once again, and the dark clouds wrapped around its massive body like a

    ck nket.

    It looked over to the looming city.

    It wasn''t done with the destruction, as its hatred burned strong like a raging inferno.

    ...

    In the destroyed, burned ground, an arm reached out, and then a figure climbed out of the burned soil, gasping for breath and covered in ash.

    ''The Divine Beast is not a joke.'' Moriarty thought with a frown and summoned his flying

    sword next to him.

    ''The Imperium City is done for. No matter, it''s just buildings. We can rebuild.''

    With the flying sword, he started flying away from the Imperium City.

 Chapter 246: Destruction

    Chapter 246: Destruction

    ?

    The dark clouds gathered above the Imperium City, and rain started falling like sheets.

    The rain washed away the blood, but the soldiers quickly took cover under the nearest shelter. It wasn''t strange for it to rain, but they felt like something was very wrong about this rain.

    At first, it looked like ordinary rain, but then it changed colors. It looked like blood was falling from the dark clouds above.

    The streets were drenched in crimson red, and rivers of blood flowed through the city, creating a terrifying scene.

    By one of the Nightshade buildings, Akuji looked to the skies with shaking eyes.

    "This is..." Akuji''s expression turned serious. "That creature is here!"

    As the fighting stopped everywhere, everyone turned their gazes over to the sky, and watched as the Divine Beast revealed its face from the dark clouds.

    This time, the shadows didn''t block the creature''s majestic form.

    It was a massive snake with blood-red scales, like the dead leaves of autumn.

    At that moment, a hush fell over the crowd as none of them could believe their eyes.

    This was the strongest creature any of them had ever encountered.

    They thought this kind of creature was only something they would find at the highest levels of the dungeons, not in the New World!

    The Seven Guild Masters looked to the skies in shock and immediately ordered evacuations.

    They were able to sense the creature''s killing intent and knew that this city would cease to exist in a matter of moments.

    With mercenaries running away from the city, the Originals followed in suit, but it was hard to move through the streets because the blood rivers made it nearly impossible to keep their footing.

    "Today, you humans shall suffer!"

    Ragnarokia''s words echoed through the chaos, and the voice alone killed some of the weak- hearted Originals who could not bear the intensity of his power.

    No one stood behind; everyone realized that this city was lost.

    On top of one of the roofs, Aria looked over to the Royal Pce, and frowned.

    ''Why isn''t Moriarty doing anything? I am sure he could take this beast down!

    ''After all, he is the strongest!''

    "Madam Aria." Oldman appeared on the roof with his usual banjo in hand and said, "We should leave~"

    "We''re abandoning the city?" Aria clicked her tongue. "It''s important for our cause!"

    "This city will be nothing but scorched earth, and crumbled buildings. It''ll be worthless for the cause."

    "What about other factions?" Aria asked angrily. "Whoever has this city under control has the entire realm under control!"

    "What will they do with scorchednd?" Oldman said with a shake of his head. "It''ll be worthless to fight over some ash, and rubble."

    "Cursed!" Aria shot another look towards the Royal Pce and then left in a hurry.

    ...

    In the skies above, the Divine Beast opened its mouth wide.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Inside its throat, a small ball of blue fire appeared before it expanded into a massive blue fire that covered every inch of its mouth.

    However, it didn''t shoot it out just yet.

    The blue fire''s strength kept increasing and increasing.

    It only nned to release one attack but wanted that one attack to be enough to wipe this city off the face of the world.

    Imperium City was quite a big ce. It had tens of thousands of houses and hundreds of streets, stretching across an entire valley.

    With his previous destructive beam of pure energy, he could create a scary amount of destruction, but not enough to wipe this city off the face of the world.

    As the attack charged, the Originals screamed in fear as they wanted to leave the city, but they were all too slow.

    They didn''t have the impressive physical capabilities of the mercenaries that could leap from roof to roof and leave the city in a hurry.

    At that moment, blue light spread across the city as the attack finished charging.

    With an inhumane scream, the Divine Beast released its attack-a massive ball of blue fire.

    ...

    Holy Room.

    The moment had arrived.

    Ba-dump. Ba-dump, Ba-dump.

    Lady Yu and Adam could hear each other''s hearts. They could hear each other''s thoughts. They were now connected in the most intimate way possible.

    This was the moment when their souls connected with each other.

    They wouldn''t always hear each other''s thoughts, but it was only possible during the moment of connection.

    Now, Lady Yu could feel Adam''s presence. This connection allowed her to know where he was at all times and would know when he would be in danger, and vice versa.

    It was the deepest kind of connection anyone could wish for.

    "Ah!" Adam opened his eyes and turned around to look at Lady Yu. She simultaneously looked

    at him.

    It was a strange feeling.

    "It''s done now." Lady Yu said with a smile.

    "I don''t feel anything else." Adam said with a frown. "Where''s the strength thates with

    this?"

    However, as soon as he said that, he heard dinging noises reverberate across his skull.

    Ding, ding!

    [You''ve done Holy Connection with the Holy Maiden, Lady Yu!]

    [Your strength is evolving!]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 12-13]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 13 ¡ú 14]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 14 ¡ú 15]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 15-16]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 16 ¡ú17]

    The strength skyrocketed in a way that Adam never thought it would be possible!

    While Adam believed he could put up a good fight against Archwarriors when he was just level 12, now he was level 17, and his total strength was now aplete mystery!

    Everything in his body changed.

    Strength, durability, vitality, and endurance all increased exponentially, surpassing even his

    wildest dreams.

    ''I am not too far from the strength of my previous self.''

    Adam thought with a racing heartbeat.

    In just a year, he achieved something that took him around seven years to achieve before. "Congrattions~" Lady Yu whispered into his ear. "I can sense the change in your body." "Yes, this is ridiculous." Adam said with a smile and formed a fist with his hand.

    The raging power surged through his veins.

    However, the moment of happiness was shortlived as the whole Holy Room started shaking

    and the ceiling started to fall apart!

    The blue fire broke through the ceiling.

    "Ah!" Lady Yu eximed in a shock.

    The Holy Room''s walls and ceilings were supposed to be indestructible. It meant that this attack came from someone who lived beyond the strength of the indestructible.

    ''Exalted Lord?!''

    The wings sprouted from Adam''s back, and he quickly shielded her with his own body while

    the wings expanded to protect them both.

    "Pretty..." She spoke aloud as he saw his wings for the first time.

    She wasn''t even aware that he had wings like this.

    At that moment, the blue fire smashed into his wings, and the ceiling''s debris crashed into

    them.

    Everything turned dark.

    ...

    Above the surface, the Imperium City had turned to and of scorched earth; all the buildings

    were gone, the pavement streets had been reduced to rubble, and the once vibrant city now

    lay in ruins. Burned corpses after corpses were scattered across the destendscape.

    In the sky, the Divine Beast flew away, the dark clouds following after like a trail of

    destruction.

 Chapter 247: Monastery in the South

    Chapter 247: Monastery in the South

    ?

    The debris moved and fell off with a dustynding.

    In the ruined remains of the Holy Room, Adam carried Lady Yu on his arms.

    She was slightly injured with a few scratches on her legs, but nothing too severe.

    "W-what happened?" She looked to the destroyed ceiling, which had copsed in a cloud of dust and rubble.

    "Time to find out."

    Adam said, unfurled his wings, and flew straight through the crumbled ceiling with Lady Yu in his arms.

    While four of his wings kept him float, the other four cut through the ground above him, clearing a path for them.

    Soon enough, they smashed through the finalyer of the ground and appeared outside.

    However, they were immediately engulfed in a ck cloud of smoke and ash. It was impossible to breathe.

    Without stopping his flight, Adam flew straight up and exited the ck smoke from top.

    Both of them then turned to look down and saw a shocking sight.

    The city was gone, with a massive ck cloud covering it all.

    The cathedral was gone.

    The Royal Pce was gone.

    The roads were gone.

    It was all just a burned, barren wastnd.

    "Oh my god." Lady Yu covered her mouth in shock.

    With fear in her face, she turned to look towards the ce where the monastery should''ve stood, but like everything else, it was also gone.

    It made her tear up, and she hoped that everyone got out safely as they were basically her family.

    ''The hell is this?'' Adam frowned. ''Nothing like this happened in my past life. Imperium City is gone? That''s crazy.''

    This meant that he had somehow changed the future, but he didn''t understand how he could''ve changed something so drastically.

    "Do you think everyone is dead?" Lady Yu asked.

    "No." Adam looked over to the horizon and narrowed his eyes. "I sense auras leaving this ce-millions of them."

    "I see..." Lady Yu said. "My home''s gone..."

    She felt quite lost and didn''t know what to do next.

    "Do you have any ce to go?" Adam asked.

    "There is..." Lady Yu looked to the south. "A monastery on top of Mt. Laojun."

    "I''ll take you there." Adam''s wings unfurled, and he started flying straight towards it.

    Luckily for him, he knew where it was since he had visited that ce before.

    Lady Yu wrapped her arms around his neck to not identally fall, and together they soared towards the monastery on top of Mt. Laojun in the south.

    When they were flying across thend, they saw roads lining up people, heading away from the Imperium City. Most of them were Originals.

    It was a sad sight.

    "What will all of them do?" she asked. "They all lost their home, like I did..."

    "I am sure they''ll find a ce to live." Adam said. "This world has ways of helping Originals in need."

    "Mm..." Lady Yu mumbled and asked. "What do you think about my identity as Original?" "What about it?" Adam asked back.

    "You don''t think that..." She paused for a moment before saying. "I am not real?"

    "What is real?" Adam looked into her beautiful face. "What if I am not real? Y''know all about

    the Other World, but what if that is not real?"

    "I... never thought about that." She frowned.

    "Then don''t." Adam said. "I don''t care about you being Original or whatever. You look goddamn real to me."

    Her eyes widened in surprise, and then she smiled softly.

    With the wings, they soared over rivers, forests, and green fields of flowers. It was strangelyforting, feeling the wind in her hair and the warmth of the sun on her face.

    After hours of flying, they saw the mountain looming in the distance, its peak cutting through the cloudyer like a knife. It was a sight that took her breath away.

    Adam started flying higher and higher until he finally caught sight of the monastery on the mountain''s peak. It was shrouded in a mist and seemed almost magical in its istion.

    He flew over the monastery''s walls, and the monks and nuns who were spending some time in the courtyard looked over towards the unexpected visitors.

    Afternding on the courtyard, Adam lowered her to the ground, and she looked around the monastery''s gardens with a smile.

    A couple of nuns recognized her and weed her warmly.

    She was, after all, Holy Priestess, and they were allowed in any monastery.

    Monks looked over to Lady Yu, and she felt slightly sick as her stomach churned, but it

    actually wasn''t that bad.

    The Curse of Men didn''t act as strongly when the man who looked at her didn''t feel lust or any sort of attraction.

    That''s why her two guards were Kyle and Kanari, who didn''t feel anything towards her, but she still couldn''t be in the same room as the two of them for too long.

    "Priestess Yu, what a pleasant surprise." The monastery''s head priest, Father Zhang, greeted her with a warm smile.

    He didn''t expect her toe so suddenly.

    "Father Zhang." Lady Yu did a womanly curtsy, and smiled warmly. "I am sorry for my sudden

    appearance."

    "That''s fine. Is everything alright?" He asked.

    "No, it''s not." She shook her head. "Imperium City is gone."

    "Gone?" Father Zhang looked shocked.

    The courtyard turned silent as no one knew how to react.

    It wasn''t just a small surprise. It was shocking.

    The capital city of the New World was gone!

    "What about our brothers and sisters?" Father Zhang asked in a serious tone. "Did they

    manage to leave the city?"

    "I don''t know." Lady Yu said, tears welling up in her eyes.

    "Alright..." Father Zhang looked at the head nun and said, "Catherina, may you take her to her

    quarters?"

    "Right away, father." Catherina smiled at Lady Yu and beckoned her to follow her.

    Lady Yu turned over to Adam, and to many people''s surprise, she grabbed his hand and asked.

    "What will you do?"

    They were shocked because they knew about her Curse of Men, but now she was willingly touching a man, and they looked very intimate while doing so.

    "I have a n in my mind."

    "To the war?" she asked worryingly.

    "Actually, no." Adam shook his head. "This incident changed my ns. It''ll take a couple of

    months before any faction is ready to enter the battlefield again. They need to arrange their

    ranks, etc."

    "Then, what will you do?"

    "I''ll go to the dungeon." Adam said. "To do the final push."

    "Final push..?"

    "This holy ceremony increased my strength by a great amount. However, it is not enough. I

    n on grinding and try to reach level 25 before I am needed in the war."

    "Oh..." She didn''t understand some of the terms, but she nodded nevertheless.

    Adam nted a kiss on her cheek, which caused many people in the courtyard to gasp.

    They thought that was enough for her Curse of Men to activate.

    However, instead, she was just smiling happily with a blushed cheek and gave him a farewell

    wave.

    With his wings carrying him away, Adam flew over the monastery''s walls and headed straight to the entrance of the dungeon on the buried Imperium City.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He wanted to reach level 25 because that was the moment when he would officially be "Royal Mercenary" and the game would calcte his current strength again.

    It was a level when a yer''s strength changes significantly.

    If the game determined he was Prime Mercenary level of strength, his level would increase to

    match his current strength.

    After reaching level 25, he might reach the same strength as his previous self was!

    Thus, he was extremely excited to start grinding levels, and he nned to start doing so from

    a pretty high floor.

    50th floor!

 Chapter 248: Reborn Knight

    Chapter 248: Reborn Knight

    ?

    In the underground crypt, the walls were lined with ancient inscriptions and eerie symbols, casting a foreboding atmosphere.

    The light flickered ominously, creating dancing shadows that seemed toe alive in the darkness, and the coffins creaked open one by one as if beckoning the living to join them in eternal slumber.

    It was like straight from a horror movie.

    This underground crypt was quite massive, with stone walls lined with cobwebs and rats scurrying about.

    It was like there were hundreds of dusty hallways leading nowhere in particr. The air was thick with the smell of decay and dampness, like the stench of death was lingering around every corner.

    At that moment, a door opened by the entrance of the underground crypt, and Adam stepped through, his greatsword already in hand.

    The door closed behind him.

    ''50th floor, underground crypt.''

    He didn''t choose this floor because he was attracted to its ominous atmosphere, but because of one simple reason.

    This floor had a lot of Chaosbeings-a lot.

    More than any floor before this.

    There were some floors above this that had an even greater number, but he wasn''t confident in surviving through those floors.

    After all, he wasn''t even Royal Mercenary yet, and he was alone in the 50th floor.

    In most cases, it would be suicide to attempt Solo Clear on a floor as high as this with his strength.

    Solo Clear-a greatest achievement mercenary could achieve.

    To go alone in the dungeon and clear that floor all by himself.

    That achievement didn''t hold any weight below the 50th floor, but from this floor onwards, Solo Clears were rarity because the bosses were so incredibly annoying to deal with alone.

    One needed a whole party to deal damage, tank, heal, and support each other.

    ''This is a good ce to start my grinding journey.''

    Adam stepped deeper into the crypt.

    Usually, it was suicide to go alone to the dungeon. It was because if he was discovered by any rogue party of mercenaries, they would just kill and rob him.

    However, the whole mercenary world was so upied with the war that he had enough confidence to enter the dungeon alone.

    Also, he was quite confident in escaping with his wings.

    That was also one of the reasons why grinding wasn''t that worth it-grinding with a whole party was slow and ineffective-grinding alone was extremely dangerous.

    One also needed to focus on the Three Powers and the skills to be powerful, not only level.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Adam was already extremely high level in Three Powers, and while his skills were somewhatcking, he hoped that he would get some strong skills from the crypt.

    ''Let''s check my interface and go from there.''

    ***

    [Name: Adam Palestar]

    [Level: 17]

    [XP: 0/9000]

    [HP: 1300/1300]

    [Rank: Grandeur]

    [Weapon: Greatsword of Forgotten King]

    [Shinecoin: 5845]

    [¡ª¡ª SKILLS¡ª¡ª]

    [-The Little God-]

    [-Advanced de Handling-]

    [-Ground King-]

    [-Shield Charge-]

    [¡ªPull-]

    [-Push-]

    [-Ice Breath-]

    [-Poisoned de-]

    [-Minor Healing-]

    [-Chi Strike-]

    [-Knowledge Master-]

    [Inventory]

    [Log Off]

    ***

    Adam then made the interface disappear.

    It was a very long way to go for level 25, but he nned on grinding for the following months without stopping even for a moment.

    It was the perfect time to focus solely on leveling up.

    He doubted that the war would continue any time soon because all the factions were

    exhausted and needed time to recover.

    Now that the Imperium City was gone, therge-scale battles would be more frequent, and to gather an army for those, they needed time to gather one.

    ''Let''s start grinding.''

    Adam entered the first stone chamber. It had some closed coffins, covered in cobwebs, and at the far end stood a tall, ominous figure.

    However, it wasn''t a living figure, just a stone statue of a warrior holding a sword.

    Yet Adam charged at the statue and stabbed his greatsword at the center of his chest. The blow created a crack that spread across the statue and then finally shattered into a thousand

    pieces.

    Under the stoneyer, a muscr man, filled with flesh, bone, and blood, opened his eyes and let out a roar that shook the ground.

    The coffins opened, and skeletons hopped off, clicking their teeth as if they were singing.

    Adam swung the greatsword across the skeletons and hacked off their skulls. He then turned back and faced the newly-born man, who was almost as tall as the ceiling.

    Since the skeletons died, he acquired his first bits of experience points, but it was a very minuscule amount.

    The knight approached him and brought down his heavy sword with a thunderous force.

    Adam jumped out of the way. The sword hit the ground and cut through the stone floor like

    butter.

    With the greatsword, Adam swung straight back at him, but the knight masterfully brought his sword up and deflected the blow with ease.

    The knight pushed his greatsword away and shed towards Adam''s exposed side, but he was able to bring back his greatsword and smacked the heavy sword away.

    They swung their swords at the same time and shed them together with a loud ng.

    With a sh of speed, Adam jumped to the wall, used it as a pivot, andunched himself back

    at his opponent.

    The greatsword shed through the knight''s shoulder, leaving a bloody gash on his flesh.

    However, instead of crimson blood, it was a dark, viscous liquid that oozed out.

    Afternding back on the ground, Adam shed his sword back at the knight, but he stomped

    his foot down on the sword, trapping it under his weight.

    Adam gritted his teeth but couldn''t move his sword from its position.

    At that moment, the knight pointed his finger at Adam, and the nail started glowing like a

    beacon in the night.

    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

    Three light beams shot out from the knight''s nail and pierced through Adam''s chest,

    shoulder, and waist.

    "Argh!" Adam coughed out blood.

    [-300 HP!]

    [HP: 1000/1300]

    "Shield Charge!"

    Instead of using his shield, he used his shoulder and tackled the knight off his greatsword. It

    sent the knight flying to the end of the stone chamber, crashing into the wall with a loud thud.

    "Minor Healing." Adam healed his bleeding wounds and stopped the bleeding.

    The knight stood back up and charged at Adam as if it had no fear.

    Adam pointed his hand at the knight and shouted. "Push!"

    An invisible push sent the knight flying across the chamber.

    With his Magick level now being level three, his strength of magic spells had increased

    drastically!

    The knight struggled to stand up.

    Adam grabbed the greatsword with both hands and threw it. However, he didn''t throw it at

    the knight, but at the ceiling above it.

    Once the greatsword stabbed through the ceiling above the knight, Adam pointed his hand

    towards it.

    "Pull!"

    With the pull, the greatsword started moving towards Adam, but it caused the ceiling to

    copse on top of the knight.

    The knight got buried and soon after stopped moving.

    Ding, ding.

    [You killed Reborn Knight!]

    [300 XP Acquired!]

    [XP: 330/9000]

    The greatsword returned to his hand.

    ''First Reborn Knight killed. A few more to go...''

    Adam then approached one of the coffins as there was a faded-colored letter lying on the

    ground.

    After picking it up, he started reading it through.

 Chapter 249: Corrupted Original

    Chapter 249: Corrupted Original

    ?

    Adam started reading through the strange piece of paper that was just lying in the crypt. Since it was strange for the piece of paper to be here, he read it with some interest.

    "I woke up and found myself in a ce I didn''t recognize.

    "The crypt of the darkness and sorrow.

    "Why am I here?

    "I am not dead. I am just lost being.

    "I have to find my way back home. To thend of the Old. I must find a way back, but for now, I am stuck in here.

    "There''s a door I tried. It was locked like a fortress. It didn''t even budge. I had a feeling that would be the exit. However, for now, I''ll have to find a way to live in here."

    The text ended.

    Adam folded the piece of paper and tucked it into his pocket..

    ''This floor is different from the previous floors. This floor''s boss has a story. This piece of paper belongs to the boss of the floor-a very intelligent Chaosbeing.

    ''As intelligent as a human, if I may say so, but that also makes it very powerful. I am still too weak to challenge the boss, but I do hope of reaching level 25 before taking on the boss.''

    Since there wasn''t anything else on this particr stone chamber, he made his way over to the next room over. It was empty, thus he kept going until he reached a dead end.

    He turned around, backtracked a few steps, and headed in apletely different direction. The dusty hallway led him to a dead-looking door at the end.

    It had skulls as decoration, and the color of the door was a deep crimson red, as if someone painted it with blood.

    With a small push, the door opened to reveal a hall lined with torches on either side, casting an eerie glow on the stone walls.

    It looked like this hall was used as some kind of storage before because there were shelves filled with dusty boxes and old crates.

    However, now this hall clearly hadn''t been used for years, maybe centuries even.

    "RAWR!"

    At that moment, a strange creature tackled him behind, and they both rolled down the hall''s floor.

    The door of the hall mmed shut as if they were trapped here now.

    Adam grabbed his sword and looked over to his attack.

    The attacker was strange-looking.

    "RAWR!"

    The creature growled. It looked like a young adult, but short, and had a lion''s hide wrapped around its body. It was also rotting from face down to its torso, with exposed bone visible in some areas.

    ''Lionborn.'' Adam thought. ''However, I don''t remember Lionborn''s rotting. It must be the doings of the boss.''

    Lionborn lunged at him. It didn''t have ws of the lion, but its nails looked sharp nheless.

    Adam shed past him, his sword swinging during the swift movement, and appeared behind Lionborn. He moved so fast that it looked like he had teleported.

    Spurt!

    Lionborn got cut in a half, and its body fell to the ground in two pieces.

    [You killed Reborn Lionborn!]

    [15 XP Acquired!]

    Adam then sheathed his sword on his back and looked around the hall for a way to leave, but it looked like the door was the only exit and entrance.

    He headed to the door and tried opening it. It didn''t work. Tried kicking it open. It didn''t work. Finally tried to sh through it, but that didn''t work as well.

    ''This is not the boss room yet, so why am I stuck in here?''

    At that moment, one of the hall''s walls started shaking, and from its small cracks, water started pouring in.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    The wall couldn''t hold the water and copsed under the pressure.

    A massive ceiling-high water wave suddenly surged into the hall and headed straight to Adam.

    It was like a miniature tsunami, but if more water poured in, there would be no ce to breathe air and would eventually drown.

    It looked very bad!

    "Push!" Adam screamed and stopped the water wave that threatened to engulf him.

    The water wave was frozen in ce, but Adam started sweating as it was very hard to keep it contained.

    The mana ocean inside his mind was also emptying at an rming rate, as if someone had pulled out a plug and caused all of it to rush down the drain.

    "Ice Breath!"

    A gust of freezing cold air left his mouth and froze the water wave that soon looked like a big wall of ice.

    He finally lowered his hand and saw that the ice wall was blocking the rest of the water froming at him.

    Adam, coincidentally, looked to the ceiling and saw a small trap door. It was right above the ice wall that he had created.

    ''A way out.''

    He then climbed up the ice wall, pushed the trap door open, and jumped through it.

    As soon as he escaped the hall, the ice wall cracked and shattered, and the hall got filled with

    water.

    Adam closed the trap door and looked around for any signs of danger.

    It looked like he was inside some sort of attic. It was dimly lit, with cobwebs in the corners and boxes stacked high against the walls.

    ''It looks like this underground crypt was used as someone''s living ce. It''s not just a resting ce for the dead.''

    He''d been on the 50th floor before, but it was such an enormous ce that he hadn''t seen everything in one go.

    He also didn''t participate in the boss fight before then but had heard a lot about its difficulties. It was something he never expected to try, but now he was nning to do it alone.

    The attic wasn''t asfy as Lady Yu''s ce, but a ce that would be found inside of a horror movie.

    Adam searched through the attic for more letters, but this ce was clearly emptied some

    time ago.

    After not finding anything, he left the attic using a hatch and stepped down some stairs till he arrived back at one of the many dusty hallways.

    However, at that moment, he saw a door at the end of the hallway. It was a guarded door.

    A man was sitting by the door. A smoky cigarette between lips, and held three chains with his

    right hand. A dog was growling at the end of each chain.

    Those three dogs looked like hell beasts.

    "Oh, look what we have in here!" Tobias said with a smirk. "Mercenary!"

    When he said mercenary, his words were filled with malice and contempt.

    "Corrupted Original." Adam said with narrowed eyes. "How rare."

    "Corrupted? No, reborn!" Tobias stood up, towering over his three, menacing-looking dogs.

    ''Some Originals are desperate for power after seeing the might of the yers. Out of

    desperation, they turn to dark magic and forbidden rituals.

    ''In the end, they get corrupted and be Half-Original, Half-Chaosbeing.''

    "You came at a good time, human." Tobias said and patted his dogs. "My pets have be

    hungry!"

    Growl!

    The dogs began to snarl and bare their teeth.

    "I concur." Adam lifted his greatsword above his head. "My sword''s the same, y''see. I don''t

    know what''s wrong with it, but when it doesn''t get a taste of blood, it bes restless and

    temperamental."

    Tobias let go of the chains, and the dogs started running towards Adam.

 Chapter 250: Vengeance of Tobias

    Chapter 250: Vengeance of Tobias

    ?

    The dogs lunged while baring their teeth.

    Adam smashed his sword through one of the dogs. The sword was so heavy that the dog''s body was immediately pinned to the ground, unable to move.

    It died without being able to do anything.

    [You killed the Corrupted Dog of Tobias!]

    [10 XP Acquired!]

    The two other dogs jumped over the greatsword and opened their jaws to attack.

    Adam dodged the first dog, and the second dog attacked his leg, but he quickly lifted his leg to dodge that as well. Both dogs went past him as their attacks failed.

    While dragging his greatsword behind him, he lifted it high in a reverse grip and stabbed it through one of the dogs through the back.

    The dog yelped before dying.

    [You killed the Corrupted Dog of Tobias!]

    [10 XP Acquired!]

    Thest dog ran at him with a ferocious growl, but he swiftly sidestepped and plunged his sword into its side, ending its life.

    [You killed the Corrupted Dog of Tobias!]

    [10 XP Acquired!]

    Adam twirled his greatsword around as if it didn''t weigh anything and faced Tobias with a cold look frozen over his face.

    "You killed my dogs," Tobias said coldly. "I truly hate you yers."

    "And why do you hate us that much?" Adam asked.

    "Why? Haha!" Tobiasughed angrily. "It''s because all of you treat life as if it didn''t weigh anything and face no consequences. Your kind is killing Originals without blinking an eye."

    Adam didn''t speak a word.

    "It must be nice..." Tobias said. "To have a power of resurrection. All of you bastards can juste back from death, while if the rest of us anger even one mercenary, our life is over!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "All we have to do is keep you bastards happy so your kind won''t kill me and my family! "You all act like heroes.

    "Keeping us safe from the horrors of the wastnd.

    "However, who is keeping us safe from your kind?!"

    The ck smoke on the cigarette turned red, as if it were resembling Tobias'' anger and hatred.

    At that same moment, red smoke started toe from his flesh, enveloping him in a fiery aura of vengeance.

    "This is the power I''ve received to protect my kind!" Tobias screamed. "With this, I''ll protect my kind from the likes of you!"

    With a strong lunge, the ground shattered under him, and Tobias appeared right in front of Adam.

    With a clenched fist, Tobias threw a punch that held all the hatred of his very being.

    "Rage Smash!"

    Adam ced his greatsword in the way of the punch, but once the fistnded on the de, the ground under him shattered, and he was thrown backwards with great force.

    BOOM!

    After another lunge, Tobias appeared near Adam and threw another punch.

    "Rage Smash Ultimatum!"

    The fistnded on the de of the greatsword, and this time, Adam''s knees buckled under him, causing the ground below him to shatter and break.

    Boom!

    A small crater appeared under him, and Adam coughed out some blood.

    [-100 HP!]

    [HP: 900/1300]

    "Rage Kick!"

    This time, a kicknded on Adam''s shoulder, and it made him copse on the ground. The shoulder was now broken.

    Tobias lifted his leg high and kicked it down with his heel first.

    Adam quickly rolled out of the way and whispered under his breath. "Minor Healing..."

    The shoulder healed as now that he was level three in Magick, his Minor Healing had greater healing capabilities. Healing simple fractures was very easy.

    As if he had turned angrier, Tobias let out an inhumane scream, and the ground around him began to crack and tremble.

    His flesh started to turn red, and he started to look more like a monster than a human.

    He then raised his clenched fist, and behind his fist, a surge of crimson energy started to gather. It began to look like a ball of blood.

    "Blood of the Vengeance!"

    With a swing of his arm, the ball of blood shot towards Adam at an unbelievable speed.

    Adam smashed his sword through the ball of blood, cutting it in half, but the two pieces of the ball exploded on impact, covering Adam in a spray of crimson liquid.

    It started to sizzle and burn his skin, causing excruciating pain.

    "This is the pain of the vengeance!" Tobias screamed. "It hurts, doesn''t it?!"

    Adam winced in pain while the crimson liquid continued to burn his skin. It would definitely leave scars behind.

    Snap!

    As Tobias snapped his fingers, hundreds of balls of blood appeared all around him. They were much smaller, about the same size as bullets, but they swirled around him in a deadly dance, waiting for his nextmand.

    "This is the start of my vengeance. Here, enjoy the Bullets of Vengeance!"

    With another snap, he released the deadly blood projectiles that headed straight at Adam. The hallway didn''t have enough space to dodge all of them.

    So, one would think that he was destined to get hit by those and die.

    Adam didn''t move a muscle. His facial expression softened, and he dropped his greatsword.

    ''He doesn''t n on dodging?'' Tobias frowned. ''He has given up? As expected from mercenaries, such weak will. He can always resurrect; that''s what he must be thinking. I hate

    people like that!''

    However, when those blood bullets came near him, they all missed him by a hairbreadth. They swooshed past his ear, past his clothing, past his legs, and past his arms before

    disappearing into the distance.

    Adam didn''t move an inch, yet all those hundreds of bullets missed!

    "How?!" Tobias screamed out.

    Motionless + Level Three Kiryoku!

    While Adam wasn''t moving his upper body, he switched his center of gravity with his knees,

    and using his Kiryoku, he was able to dodge every single bullet.

    It was still extremely difficult.

    There weren''t many people in the history of Mortal Online that could''ve achieved that feat.

    "I do pity you." Adam said and picked up his greatsword. "However, look at you. You''ve abandoned being Original for power."

    Tobias took a step back and felt his anger fading away. It wasn''t because he stopped feeling hatred, but because fear had taken its ce.

    His power only worked when he was feeling hatred and anger, and without it, he was back to

    being weak Original.

    "No... that can''t be." Tobias gritted his teeth. "I can''t die. I have vengeance needed to be

    fulfilled!"

    The anger returned back to him like a tidal wave, and his flesh felt like it was on fire.

    However, at that moment, Adam swung his sword at him, but Tobias blocked it with his exposed arms, and the sh of metal against bone echoed through the empty hallway.

    The blow sent Tobias into a wall, and his arm was immediately broken. Adam then stabbed his greatsword through his body with a vicious force. "Argh!" Tobias coughed out blood and summoned a singr bullet of blood, but before he

    could send it at Adam, the greatsword sliced through his body and pinned him to the wall. With pain overwhelming his nerves, his anger vanished once again, and he copsed on the ground like a crumpled doll.

    "Ow..." Tobias coughed out blood. "It hurts... hurts... Hurts!"

    "I do agree with your words." Adam said. "However, I fear that you won''t be able to see the

    clear picture. You might end up hurting those you love. A revenge filled with anger is a

    dangerousbo."

    "You''re filthy mercenary!" Tobias screamed. "I hope Chaosbeings end up killing all of you!"

    The first sentence was still uttered by human voice, but the second one already sounded like a

    voice of Chaosbeing.

    "Corrupted Originals can''t stay as Originals. The corrupted part of theirs will always win, and

    if you had beaten me here, you would''ve be Chaosbeing who has ess to the New

    World.

    "I couldn''t let you live, knowing the danger you possess." Tobias teared up, and then, he copsed onto the ground, dead.

 Chapter 251: Game of Chance

    Chapter 251: Game of Chance

    ?

    Adam looked at Tobias'' corpse and had some conflicting thoughts, but in the end, he had to die.

    Corrupted Originals were bnce breakers. They were monstrosities, and when left

    unchecked, they were greater danger to the New World than any ordinary Chaos being.

    Sure, if a level 50 boss appeared in the New World, there would be immense casualties, but in the end, mercenaries would eliminate the threat.

    However, corrupted originals were far more dangerous with their ideals.

    They were able to create more corrupted originals; thus, when they arrive at the New World, it wouldn''t only be one corrupted original that mercenaries needed to worry about. It could be thousands.

    Thousands of Tobias.

    Because of their ability to corrupt, corrupted originals couldn''t be left alive. Click!

    A strange click sounded.

    Behind Adam, a strange door opened, andughter echoed from within.

    Adam turned his head around, looked at the slightly ajar door, and approached it.

    When he stepped inside, he was greeted by a small room, a knee-high table in the middle with a strange creature sitting across the table.

    The creature was big-headed with round eyes, short, and had skinny, long limbs like a stick figure.

    It was also floating above the ground, as if it were hanging from the ceiling with an invisible rope.

    "Ke ke ke!" The creatureughed. "Take a seat across from me, mercenary!"

    "I would rather just kill you." Adam threw his greatsword across the room, but before it could hit the creature, it stopped and just hovered in the air.

    "I am protected by the powers of reality." The creature said with a cackle. "You can only kill me if you beat me in a game!"

    "A game?" Adam pulled the sword back to his hand and sheathed it on his back before taking a

    seat across the creature.

    He realized what this was.

    While most Chaosbeings were kible in ordinary methods, there were some unique

    Chaosbeings that needed certain requirements to be filled to be killed.

    The creature put down a strange wooden pipe on the table. It almost looked like a flute, and he then put two darts next to it.

    One of the darts was green like poison, and the other was ck.

    "A game of chance," the creature said, and snapped his fingers.

    The two darts vanished to a mist and seemingly entered the flute-looking thing.

    "Three lives each. Our bodies can handle three doses of poison. We shoot the blowgun after each other until thest one standing wins.

    "The green dart is poisonous. The ck dart is harmless.

    "You may shoot yourself. If the ck dart hits you, you won''t lose any health, and instead you get one more turn to shoot."

    ''This is a worthless risk to take,'' Adam thought. ''My survival depends on stupid luck; it''s stupid to take that chance, but unique Chaosbeings often give valuable rewards when defeated.''

    m!

    The door mmed shut.

    "And before you think about leaving, you''re trapped here with me." The creatureughed. "You can only leave if you kill me!"

    ''Fuck.'' Adam sighed and asked. "Who starts?"

    "Mm, I let you do the honors." The creature said with augh.

    Adam picked up the blowgun, but instead of pointing it at the creature, he pointed it at his very own neck and activated the blowgun.

    It was Magick activated; one didn''t need to necessarily blow into it.

    With a soft force, a dart flew out of the blowgun, andnded on Adam''s neck.

    It was a ck dart.

    Adam removed the dart from his neck and tossed it aside.

    When the ck dartnded on the ground, it vanished into a mist.

    The creature looked slightly stunned.

    "I didn''t expect you to shoot yourself first. Interesting."

    ''These kinds of games are always rigged in their favor.'' Adam thought. ''This creature is cheating, as well. It expected me to shoot at it first, so I did the opposite.''

    Since there was only one dart left in the blowgun''s chamber, Adam turned it to the creature

    and blew into it.

    The green dart flew out of the blowgun andnded on the creature''s big head.

    The green poison filled its veins, but it wasn''t a lethal amount yet.

    "Ah..." The creature let out a long sigh and then snapped its fingers.

    This time, four darts appeared-three green, one ck.

    "You can go again." The creature gave the blowgun to him and smiled cheekily.

    Adam looked at the blowgun and frowned.

    ''It''s in my favor. Three green and one ck dart. Good odds. I should shoot the creature, but this game is rigged, and I feel like the odds are way too obvious.

    ''Could it be that if I shoot, it''s ck dart?

    ''Let''s see. If I shoot at it, and it''s a ck dart, I''ll be hit by a green dart for sure next turn. That makes our health the same, but then it is my turn, and I can lower the creature''s health again.

    It will only have one health left.

    ''However, the blowgun will have one more green dart left, and it will definitely hit me. We both have one health, but the next round, it''ll probably be the creature''s turn to shoot first, and it will most likely make it so that the green dart will be the first dart!

    ''I would die.

    ''If I decide to shoot myself first, and it is a ck dart, I will definitely win this round. However, if it is green, I''ll be in a shitty situation.

    ''For shooting myself, I''ll lose one health. The creature knows what dart will shoot, so if it is green on its turn, I''ll only have one health left.

    ''If the creature doesn''t shoot the ck dart on its turn, I''ll have fifty-fifty chances for either ck or green. It''s just flipping a coin. If I choose wrong, I would die, and if I choose right, I would only be able to lower the creature''s health to one as well.

    ''Then the next turn will be its turn to start, and I''ll just die.''

    Adam frowned as he contemted his next move.

    The creature just chuckled like a broken recorder as it seemed to take pleasure in Adam''s

    troubled expression.

    It liked to crush its opponents mentality.

    The creature was well aware that Adam must be thinking about how the game was rigged.

    Obviously it was rigged.

    The creature had been facing many mercenaries before.

    Unlike ordinary Chaosbeings, Unique Chaosbeings only have one life. It didn''t matter whether

    there was respawn crystal nearby.

    Thus, if it hadn''t rigged the game long ago, it would''ve been long dead.

    It didn''t want to die, obviously!

    Without Adam knowing it, the creature was hiding its hand and was snapping its fingers. The

    color of the dart in the blowgun continued to change.

    If Adam decided to shoot himself, it would make the dart green. If he decided to shoot the

    creature, it would make the dart ck.

    It was a loss situation, no matter what!

    "Sigh..." Adam just sighed and pointed the blowgun against his temple.

    The creature smirked and snapped its fingers.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The dart turned green.

    Adam closed his eyes and took a sniff of the air. It was very gentle sniff.

    However, he smelled something in the air that made him stop.

    ''Poison dart...''

 Chapter 252: Three Rules

    Chapter 252: Three Rules

    ?

    Adam softly looked ahead and wryly smiled.

    With his time with Bertha in the Eldertree Institute, she taught him ways of detecting poison, and one of them was smelling the air.

    While the scent in the poison dart was very minimal, and an ordinary person wouldn''t be able to smell it, Adam had been trained to pick up the slightest scent of poison.

    Thus, if anyone dared to poison his drink, he would know.

    ''However, it is strange. The scent of the dart changed multiple times. This fucker is changing the dart, depending on my choice.

    ''In the end, winning this is impossible.

    ''However, since it is cheating so obviously, I don''t mind cheating a little bit as well.''

    "Come on, make your decision already." The creature hurried him.

    "Alright." Adam pointed the blowgun at the creature. "I shoot you."

    The creature chuckled and snapped its fingers-the dart turned ck.

    Adam took a sniff in the air and recognized theck of poison smell now. It could only mean one thing.

    With his Magick activated, the blowgun''s carvings started to glow, signaling the creature that it was about to shoot.

    Thus, it rxed its hand, knowing that its opponent had already made a decision.

    However, in that split second, Adam flicked his wrist and made the blowgun point at himself instead. The dart shot out andnded on his neck.

    The creature''s eyes popped open.

    The dart was ck.

    "Oh, lucky me." Adam pulled the ck dart from his neck. "I changed my mind. Sorry about that."

    The creature was now truly panicking.

    It realized that this human in front of it had found out about its cheating method, and because it rxed its body slightly, it didn''t have time to change the dart before it was toote.

    Now, there were only three poison darts left in the blowgun.

    It was obviously going to end in the creature''s defeat.

    ''Since it already knows I am cheating, I don''t need to hide it anymore. I''ll be even more bold!''

    It was grinning hideously.

    Adam kept his neutral expression, but knew from that look that the creature hadn''t given up. It had another trick up its sleeve.

    ''What is it nning now?'' Adam frowned. ''Will it change the poison darts to ck instead? It would be obvious cheating, but I think it values its life more than honor.''

    Adam had to find out its cheating method. Thus, he pointed the blowgun at the creature and shot it.

    The poison dart flew from the blowgun and headed straight to the creature. Its color wasn''t changing any way, but when it was flying, it started weaving and began to lose altitude.

    It looked like it was going to miss!

    The creature grinned.

    ''Right, it didn''t mention in the rules what happens when one of us misses...'' Adam''s eyes turned cold. ''I would assume it skips the turn. Well yed.''

    However, using his hand that was inside his pocket, he used Push to make the dart fly quicker.

    That slight speed helped greatly, and the dart stabbed the creature in the thigh. Without that extra speed, it would''vended on the ground instead.

    "?!" The creature looked stunned, and it only had one health left.

    ''You tried.'' Adam just smiled.

    The creature pulled the poison dart from its thigh and looked truly angry.

    It took the blowgun from Adam and pointed it straight at the human, a sinister glint

    appearing on its very round eyes.

    It blew straight into the blowgun with immense force.

    A poison dart flew out of the blowgun.

    At first, Adam nned to allow it to hit him as it would only cost him one life, but shockingly enough, the second poison dart flew straight after the first one.

    Instead of shooting only one poison dart, the creature shot both that were still left in the blowgun!

    The poison dartsnded on Adam''s chest, causing the poison to fill up his veins.

    "Haha, I guess we''re tied!" The creature grinned.

    Adam''s face turned pale. ''I didn''t expect that.''

    "Thest round." The creature snapped its fingers, and only one dart appeared.

    It was a poison dart.

    After the dart entered the blowgun, the creature took it and said. "You started two times already, so I''ll start this round, alright?"

    Adam checked his health. It was very low and one more poison dart would be more than enough to finish him off.

    ''Sigh, this won''t end well.''

    With his knees creaking, he stood up.

    "What''re you doing?" The creature asked with a suspicious gaze.

    If this human nned to escape, it would make sure that he would die.

    "May I die standing?" Adam asked.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "As you wish." The creature chuckled.

    The creature, joyously, turned the blowgun at Adam, put its disgusting lips together, and blew thest dart.

    The poison dart shot out, and it moved so fast that no one would be able to react to it, but when it was about to hit Adam, it miraculously went straight through him.

    It looked like the dart had just hit a ghost!

    Adam touched his chest, and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, that''s strange."

    The creature''s eyes popped open. "What did you do?!"

    "Me? Nothing." Adam innocently shrugged his shoulders.

    However, he indeed did something.

    Level three Kiryoku + Motionless!

    To do Motionless as powerfully as he did, he had to be standing so he could shift his center of

    gravity using his knees.

    Thus, if he had continued sitting, it would be way more obvious that he simply dodged.

    "You cheated, I know it!" The creature screamed.

    "That''s hurtful; I would never." Adam showed the area of his armpit that had a slight tear.

    "The poison dart missed me barely. It went past my torso and arm, y''see."

    ''I actually just missed?'' The creature frowned. ''I haven''t missed before!''

    "Is it my turn?" Adam asked. "Since you did miss, it would make sense for your turn to be

    skipped, don''t you think so?"

    "Hmph, no!" The creature shouted.

    "Come on now." Adam''s expression turned serious. "You, as Unique Chaosbeing, must have some rules. If you don''t abide by those rules, the powers of reality will stop protecting you."

    The creature''s expression darkened as he was now aware that he had underestimated this human. He seemed to know a lot about the Unique Chaosbeings!

    The powers of reality that were protecting him were immensely powerful, but like Adam said,

    it had to follow some rules; otherwise, reality wouldn''t protect him anymore.

    It had three rules.

    First, it had to allow the opponent to start the first and second rounds.

    Second, if a shot missed, the turn would be skipped.

    Third, if the creature happened to lose, it wasn''t allowed to attack its opponent.

    If it broke any of the three rules, the powers of reality wouldn''t protect it outside the game of

    chance.

    "Fine!" The creature gave Adam the blowgun and snapped its fingers to summon twelve

    darts.

    Six of them were poison darts, and six were ck darts.

    All of them entered the blowgun.

    "Let''s start the final round!" The creature shouted. "You start!"

    ''Fifty-fifty chance. More like a hundred to zero chance. Will it keep changing the color of the darts? I don''t think I can take it by surprise anymore, so what to do...''

 Chapter 253: The End of Game

    Chapter 253: The End of Game

    ?

    The haunting candles flickered in the dim darkness as the game of chance neared its conclusion.

    Adam was thinking.

    He tried to look at the creature, trying to find out what it was thinking about it, but it looked deadly serious.

    It wasn''t joking around anymore.

    Now it was a matter of life and death.

    It also made finding out the cheating method much more difficult.

    After taking a sniff of the air, Adam figured out that the first dart was a poison dart.

    It was relieving news, but he still didn''t know how the creature would cheat.

    ''There''s nothing I can do now. I just gotta shoot and see what it will do.''

    After pointing the blowgun at the creature, he didn''t blow into it because the creature had done so, and he felt disgusted touching his lips in the same ce.

    Thus, he activated his Magick and fired the poison dart.

    It shot out from the blowgun just like it was supposed to. It was also clearly poison dart based on its swamp greenish color.

    However, when it came into contact with the creature''s skin, it just bounced off like a harmless toy.

    The poison dart fell to the ground.

    Adam looked silently at the scene, but then he crossed his arms andughed.

    "Hah, so that''s how it is?"

    "What''re you talking about?" The creature shrugged off its shoulders. "The dart''s tip just happened to be too dull to not be able to prate my skin, unlucky."

    "I see, very unlucky indeed." Adam narrowed his eyes.

    "My turn-"The creature took the blowgun and pointed at itself, then fired it.

    A ck dartnded on his neck.

    It didn''t hesitate even for a moment, as it seemed like it knew exactly what dart was awaiting inside the blowgun.

    It then fired another blowgun dart. It was ck again andnded on its neck.

    After yanking both darts off its neck, it turned the blowgun straight at Adam and grinned hideously.

    It was clear that this time around, it was a poison dart.

    Without even the slightest hesitation, the creature shot the poison dart forward.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The dart crossed the small distance between them in a split second, andnded on Adam''s shoulder, but strangely enough, its tip couldn''t prate his skin; instead, it broke apart and fell back to the ground.

    The creature gritted its teeth in anger. It knew that this human used Kraft to shield himself from the poison dart.

    ''It doesn''t matter. Next turn, I use Kraft on the dart as well, and it''ll be able to pierce.'' However, Adam had a simr thought.

    ''It bounced off its skin before. It wasn''t Kraft, as Kraft is able to harden skin, so my Kraft could be able to prate through that bounciness.''

    This time, it was a ck dart on the blowgun.

    Thus, Adam pointed it at himself but kept a close eye on the creature so it wouldn''t do any funny business and shot the dart.

    The ck dartnded on his neck.

    He tossed it aside and then turned the blowgun towards the creature-this time, there was a poison dart.

    However, without the creature noticing it, the tip of the dart turned ck as Adam fused his Kraft on the tip only.

    Then, with his Magick activated, the poison dart flew forward.

    It moved at such fast speeds that the creature couldn''t see the ck tip.

    It was just sitting still, expecting its bouncy skin to take care of the threat, but to its shock, the dart stabbed into its chest with a sickening squelch.

    The creature gasped in shock.

    The poison filled every vein in its body.

    The third dose was the lethal one, and the creature could feel its world falling apart.

    "No!" The creature quickly opened a hidden drawer and took out a bottle of antidote.

    It wasn''t nning on dying just like this!

    At that moment, Adam kicked the table up and as the table mmed into the creature''s hand, it made the bottle of antidote fall from the hand.

    The creature watched in horror as the antidote shattered on the ground.

    "No!" The creature screamed in horror. "If I die, I''ll take you with me!"

    With a lunge, the creature leaped over the table, and reached its hands towards Adam.

    However, in that same moment, the powers of reality stopped protecting it, as it just broke the third rule.

    The haunting candles all died, and swift darkness filled the room.

    Adam drew his greatsword and shed through the creature with all his might.

    The creature got split in two and fell to the ground like a sad puppet whose strings had been cut.

    It was trying to grab Adam''s leg, but he dodged and just watched as it trashed around, trying to cling onto life somehow, but the poison was too strong, and it eventually stopped moving. [You killed Game Master, Kuppet!]

    [500 XP Acquired!]

    [XP: 1375/9000]

    Click!

    The door at the end of the room opened; Adam approached it and stepped through.

    He arrived in another hallway with more dusty coffins and a faint scent of decay filling the air.

    As soon as he arrived there, all of the coffins slowly began to creak open, and from there,

    rotting creatures emerged.

    All of them had blue, glowing eyes like pools of water reflecting the moonlight.

    With the sword in hand, Adam jumped right into the fray, and started cutting through the creatures with overwhelming strength.

    These were weak creatures, so he wasn''t afraid, but there were quite many of them. However, it was a good time to start grinding some experience points.

    As he killed about twenty of them, four knight-looking things walked from the other end of the hallway. They were the same Reborn Knights that Adam fought a while back, but now there were four of them!

    The wings on Adam''s back unfurled, and he flew straight at the Reborn Knights, his sword moving to block their attacks, and then used his sharp wings to cut straight through them. Reborn Knights fought back hard. They managed to push Adam back, but the human in front of them was very hard to kill.

    Thus, when the fightsted for about five minutes, Adam finally managed to kill them off, but he didn''t have time to rx as the rest of the rotting creatures attacked him from all sides.

    "GROUND KING!"

    With a stomp on the ground, everything started shaking, and the creatures lost their footing. Using that to his advantage, Adam massacred them all, one by one.

    As the night neared, he was finally done with the long fight thatsted for about hour total,

    and he was surrounded by many rotting skeletons.

    [XP: 3040/9000]

    "One third of the way there..."

    He muttered to himself.

    Slowly but steadily, he was getting there.

    Since there weren''t any creatures left, he started backtracking his steps and headed down the

    same way he came from.

    If he had ventured even deeper into the crypt, he was afraid that he would encounter stronger

    creatures.

    He needed to lick his wounds, recover his stamina, and then continue onwards. It was getting prettyte, so he wanted to get some good rest before continuing to grind.

 Chapter 254: Night Talk

    Chapter 254: Night Talk

    ?

    The days flew by.

    In the crypt''s strange attic, Adam was sitting by a campfire that he had created right in the middle of the attic.

    It looked dangerous to have something like that in the attic, but the fire didn''t spread, and the smoke curled up through the hole in the ceiling.

    By the campfire, some roasted animal was being cooked on a stick.

    After days of grinding, he''d reached level 18, and was already on good route to reach level 19 in a couple of days.

    His daily routine was basically waking up, grinding experience points till nightfall, eating something, sleeping, and repeating.

    A short whileter, Adam took the stick and started eating the roasted animal. It didn''t taste anything special, but it was sustenance to keep him going.

    While eating, he looked towards the windows on the attic and frowned at the world of the mist outside. It was the exact same as on the tutorial floor.

    This world of mist was very interesting to him.

    ''stor said that his Tyrannical Warlords are sealed in the world of mist. Could it be the ce outside of the dungeon?''

    He munched on the food while thinking about things.

    If there was a chance, he''d loved to visit the world of mist, but he was far too weak to travel there. It was definitely not a ce for weaklings.

    ''I wonder how things are going in the New World...''

    ...

    In a random vige in the New World, a small army had gathered in the vige, and more and more carriages were entering through the vige''s gates with each passing second.

    In the gate, Zestruction''s symbol pped against the wind.

    As one of the carriages stopped in front of thergest building in the vige, a figure dressed in crimson stepped out and looked around the bustling vige with a look of wonder.

    There weren''t any Originals left here, and instead everyone were mercenaries of the Zestruction faction. They were preparing for the war here.

    "Sir Digby!" A well-armored soldier came over to him. "Sir Zephyr had invited every guild master to have a talk with him. It''s happening on the third floor."

    Digby looked over to the tall building and headed straight there.

    After a while, he entered the third floor and saw all of the guild masters gathered around a sizable table.

    It was loud and chaotic, with everyone speaking at once.

    They were throwing up ideas and suggestions for the war while Zephyr listened with his mouth staying shut.

    However, at that moment, his gazended on Digby, and a look of recognition shed through his eyes.

    "Sir Digby, nice to have you here with us."

    The room turned silent slightly, and most of the eyes turned to Digby.

    While Digby was strong enough to be respected in mercenary circles, it would never be enough to silence the room like this. It happened now because the guild masters believed that S-ranker, Adam Palestar, must''vee with him.

    Because of his status as guild master of S-ranker, Digby was more respected than just ordinary Prime Mercenary, and it helped that he had connections in the Royal Pce.

    "Let''s continue this meetingter, gentlemen, shall we?" Zephyr said.

    After bowing their heads, the guild masters headed off, but Digby stayed behind as he sensed Zephyr''s intention to have a word with him.

    After the guild masters had left, Zephyr asked. "Has my nephewe with you?"

    "I thought he was already with you." Digby said with a frown. "He went to the Imperium City, but I haven''t heard a word from him."

    "Is that so?" Zephyr frowned. "I''ll send him a message in the real world. Depending on how busy he is, it might take a couple of days before the answer."

    Digby nodded.

    He then looked at the meeting table and saw that some nning had already taken ce. There were quite a few markers in the mountain region of the north.

    "Why the mountains, sir?" Digby asked.

    "Closing the." Zephyr said. "Our first fight will most likely be against Battle Maidens. If we win the battle, their army would retreat to these mountains. I''d like us to have a stronghold there, so when they go there, we''ll eliminate the rest of them.

    "If we happen to lose, we can still retreat to those mountains, and they have great defensive advantages. I gotta prepare for everything."

    "I see." Digby nodded, bowed, bid his farewell, and left the meeting hall.

    After he left, Zephyr frowned slightly. ''Where has he disappeared off to?''

    He pressed the log off button, nning to go shoot a message to Adam, asking about his whereabouts.

    ...

    As the night fell over the Navy Town, Adam climbed out of the VR pod after another exhausting day of grinding.

    The attic was the only safe ce he''d discovered on the fifty-first floor, so he was able to log off there.

    He was about to take the elevator to his room, but then his pocket vibrated as he received a message, and after pulling out his phone, he saw that the message was from his uncle.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He quickly answered, pocketed his phone, and headed straight to him.

    After taking the short elevator trip, he plopped down on his bed and felt like sleeping right away, but he couldn''t because he remembered one thing.

    He turned his head to the wall next to him-Alice was right on the other side of the wall.

    Adam bit his lip as he felt like he''d betrayed her. He wanted to use the broken heart symptom as an excuse, but the truth was, he would''ve still liked to make love with Lady Yu.

    After all, he''d been in love with her so long that he wasn''t able to remember the time when he

    wasn''t.

    He left his bed, left his room, and stopped in front of Alice''s room door.

    Before opening the door, he checked the time on the phone, and it wasn''t midnight just yet, but Alice might be sleeping because she had school tomorrow.

    He gently opened the door and saw that the room was dark. There was a person lying on the bed, not moving an inch.

    After entering the room, he closed the door, walked over to the bed, and whispered, "Alice, are you awake?"

    She mumbled something under her breath, and her eyes softly opened. She looked slightly groggy, her eyes barely staying open, but she managed to smile weakly in response.

    "Adam..."

    She didn''t expect to see him anytime soon, as he seemed very busy.

    "There''s something I must talk to you about."

    "What is it?" Alice heard the seriousness in his tone, and she shrugged off her sleepiness to

    focus on his words.

    However, before Adam could speak a word, footsteps came from the hallway.

    They turned to the door and saw a shadow by the door.

    "Alice, are you awake?"

    It was Serah''s voice.

    "Hide!" Alice hurried Adam, who quickly hid under her bed.

    The door slowly creaked open, and Serah, in her sleeping pajama, flicked the light switch and

    looked at her sweet daughter.

    "I heard some talk. Who were you talking to?"

    "No one." Alice smiled and shook her head. "Maybe father left the television open in the

    downstairs?"

    "No, I closed the television; I am sure of it..." Serah scratched the back of her head and then

    slowly closed the door. "Get some sleep; you have school."

    "I will, mom."

 Chapter 255: Silenced Guns

    Chapter 255: Silenced Guns

    ?

    After Serah closed the lights again and left the room, Adam crawled out from under the bed and heaved a sigh of relief.

    "Are you alright?" Alice asked with an amused smile.

    Her heart was also racing as her mother was extremely close to finding out.

    "Yep..." Adam sat on the bed and looked at her with a deep look.

    "What''s wrong?" Alice tilted her head in confusion, wondering why he was looking at her like that.

    "I have something to confess." Adam lowered his gaze slightly and felt like he had a lump on his throat.

    Alice sat silently and felt her heart skip a beat. She had a feeling that it was something very serious.

    Adam opened his mouth and started talking about what happened between him and Lady Yu. He spoke slowly, a pain in his tone, and Alice just sat still, barely blinking as she soaked up all the information like a sponge.

    After he was done, they sat in silence for nearly a minute.

    However, then Alice spoke out.

    "P-please leave..." She sounded like she was sobbing. "I want to be alone."

    "Alice," Adam whispered.

    "Please!" Alice hugged her legs and buried her head in her knees, tears streaming down her face. "Leave!"

    Adam closed his eyes with a pang of pain in his heart, nodded, and left the room. When he stepped outside the room, he heard her crying loudly.

    "Fuck." Adam gritted his teeth and retreated back to his room, where he opened a window and just leaned out, trying to clear his mind.

    At that moment, he heard the door open and heard footsteps go downstairs. Then, barely, he was able to hear the front door open as Alice clearly went outside.

    "..." Adam put his head against his arms.

    ...n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Outside the house, sitting by the porch, Alice rubbed her cold arms as the night air nipped at her skin.

    Her tears were still fresh and made her feel colder.

    "How could he do that?" She bit her lip in frustration.

    The pain in her chest felt unbearable.

    When she was about to start crying, she suddenly felt something on her forehead, and when she raised her gaze, she frozepletely as she saw a shadowy figure holding a silenced gun against her forehead.

    "Shh." The masked man put his finger against his lips. "Don''t make a sound."

    Alice trembled in fear and then saw five other masked men step out of a van that was parked across the street. They were all holding silenced guns.

    "Where''s Adam Palestar?" the masked man asked. "Only he shall die. The rest of you can go free."

    ''Adam? They''re after him?'' Alice''s eyes trembled. ''Why?''

    "I am an impatient man," the masked man said and ced his finger on the trigger. "Which room?"

    "H-he doesn''t live here." Alice whispered through tears.

    "You lie," the masked man said coldly. "We''ve done our homework. We know he is living here."

    Alice choked on her words, and then the masked man pulled her up.

    "You will lead us straight to him, and no fucking detours," the masked man said and eyed the roof above them.

    With his hawkish gaze, he saw some hidden cameras that were very hidden, but since he knew what he was looking for, he spotted them easily.

    The other masked figures looked at the cameras without fear.

    "It looks like it is working," the masked man said. "This young woman is considered friendly. The machine won''t attack us, even if it considers us a threat, since friendly is in danger."

    After making sure of that, they opened the door and slowly entered the dark house.

    Alice moved in front, acting as a meat shield for the masked figures, and looked towards the upstairs with a teary gaze.

    She debated whether she should just scream so that Adam and her parents could have a chance to run away.

    She doubted these men would leave any of them alive.

    "Alright, let''s start heading upstairs," the masked man said, and turned to the others. "Search the downstairs, and then join me upstairs."

    ...

    Brr!

    Brr!

    ''What the fuck is it?'' Adam had felt his phone vibrate for some time now, but he was too upied with his thoughts to pay attention to it.

    However, now it was just getting annoying.

    He pulled out his phone, and instead of it being a phone call, he received hundreds of warnings from Hera.

    Hera was also connected to his phone, so it could warn him at any moment if there was danger

    nearby.

    With the phone, he was also connected to the cameras and checked one in the downstairs.

    What he saw made his blood run cold, and his look turned into one of pure anger.

    "Give me a gun!" Adam screamed, and in the wall, a hiddenpartment appeared from

    nowhere.

    Inside was a silenced gun with a magazine full of bullets.

    "Hera, can you take care of them or not?" Adam paced back and forth while thinking.

    Ding!

    He received a message on his phone.

    [Hera: No. She would be in grave danger. She is their hostage now, and the man she is with

    knows about my existence]

    "Kang Saruza?" Adam asked. "He told them about you?"

    [Hera: I don''t know. He is, somewhat, my creator, and I don''t want to believe that possibility]

    "Alright. Lock every door," Adam said. "Do not let them find Serah and John!"

    [Hera: Done]

    Inside the master bedroom, the walls turned soundproof, and the door turned metallic. In the

    room, Serah and John were sleeping soundly, unaware of the dangers outside.

    "I don''t need more hostages..." Adam scratched the back of his head. ''Alice...''

    [Hera: They''re about to enter upstairs. The man with Alice is currently alone, but in thirty

    seconds, others will follow him]

    "Alright, don''t do anything with your weapons. Do you hear me?"

    [Hera: If you take care of the man with Alice, I could easily eliminate others in the downstairs]

    "Don''t, that''s too loud." Adam looked at the silenced gun. "I want them to believe that their life is boring and safe. I don''t want them to discover the truth."

    [Hera: Alright. What is your n?]

    "I''ll kill the ones in the downstairs first. Keep my door locked, but don''t make it obvious. I want them to believe I am just sleeping, so create some snoring sounds from the speakers, not

    too loud."

    [Hera: Alright]

    Adam then stepped into the elevator, descended only one floor. He didn''t go straight down to

    his hidden underground base but instead arrived at the downstairs''s cleaning closet.

    On the other side of the door, he heard some very faint footsteps.

    "Whoo..." Adam cracked his neck and tightened his grip on his silenced gun.

    His blood was boiling as he was raging like never before.

    At that moment, a person moved past the cleaning closet.

    Without further ado, Adam jumped out of the closet and appeared behind one of the masked

    figures. He seemed to be alone, looking around the short hallway.

    Adam put his hand over the man''s mouth and ced the silenced gun against his back before

    pulling the trigger about three times.

    Three bullets shredded through the man''s body, and he couldn''t do anything except let out a muffled grunt of pain.

    A short whileter, the man copsed, and Adam tossed his corpse to the cleaning closet.

    "How many left in the downstairs?" Adam whispered.

    [Hera: Four]

 Chapter 256: Killing

    Chapter 256: Killing

    ?

    "Nike?" A red-haired man spoke to his radio but didn''t receive an answer.

    While his red hair was quite vibrant, he still wore a ck mask over his face to hide his identity.

    After not receiving an answer, he frowned, and made his way through the kitchen with the silenced gun in hand.

    He arrived in the same hallway, where Nike was supposed to be patrolling, and didn''t see anyone.

    However, after taking a single step forward, hended on something wet.

    He turned to the ground, and saw some blood spilling from underneath a cleaning closet''s door.

    After opening the door, to his shock, his close friend of many years, Nike, was lying dead there.

    As his eyes widened in shock, he reached out to his radio, but at that moment a silenced gunshot reverberated behind him.

    A single bullet tore through his forehead, and he copsed on top of Nike, also dead.

    Adam, holding the silenced gun, narrowed his eyes, and closed the cleaning closet''s door before heading to the living room.

    He was crouching, moving very stealthily like a ninja.

    In the living room, one of the masked men was searching through the cabs. It looked like he was more of a robber than an assassin.

    ''They don''t give off professional assassin vibes. Being this careless while in the house of their target. Maybe they don''t consider me a threat, but since they know about the existence of Hera, I would guess they would be more afraid.''

    As Adam was about to make his move, he noticed with his peripheral vision that there was another person standing by the front door.

    It looked like he was on guard so that no one could slip out unnoticed.

    "Where''s the third one?"

    [Hera: Garage]

    The garage was next to the kitchen. There was only one door leading there, and it was out of sight.

    ''I must kill these two now before the third one alsoes here. I have, what, thirty seconds before they all go upstairs? They would discover that two of them are missing.

    ''Also, if they group up now, I can''t possibly kill all of them without putting Alice in grave danger!''

    After making up his mind, Adam jumped out of his hiding spot, and the person by the front door immediately noticed him.

    His eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly pulled out his silenced gun to fill Adam with bullet holes.

    However, Adam was faster.

    He immediately pointed his gun towards the man''s face and pulled the trigger.

    The bullet crossed the distance and drilled through the man''s eye.

    The man crashed against the front door, and copsed on the ground.

    Thump!

    The other man in the living room heard that clearly, and turned around, just to see Adam running straight at him.

    He pulled out his silenced gun, and was about to fire, but Adam grabbed his wrist and twisted it, causing the gun to fall to the ground.

    "Argh!" The man groaned and kicked his leg up, but Adam blocked it with his own leg, and swept his legs under him.

    As the man fell on the ground, Adam punched him in the face, and stuffed his silenced gun inside his mouth before firing a single bullet.

    The brain matter sttered across the ground as the man fell dead.

    Adam didn''t have time to rx as he heard the garage''s door open.

    He immediately rushed to the kitchen, and saw the person closing the garage door with his silenced gun on his left hand.

    As Adam ran straight to him, the man saw a reflection through the window, and quickly turned around before firing a single bullet.

    Adam dove under the bullet, which flew across the kitchen andnded on the counter with a loud tter.

    Before the man could fire another bullet, Adam tackled him through the garage door and tackled him to the ground.

    Adam pinned his left arm down so he couldn''t use his gun.

    "Bo-" He tried to shout for help, but Adam quickly covered his mouth and headbutted him

    in the face.

    The man''s nose broke.

    "Who''re you with, bastard?" Adam asked and ced his silenced gun against the man''s

    temple.

    "Grr!" The man tried to touch his radio, but Adam took it first, and tossed it far enough away that the man couldn''t reach it.

    "You have three seconds." Adam said. "Tell me who''re you with."

    The man hatefully red at him.

    "One, two..." Adam ced his finger on the trigger. "Three."

    Bang~

    The bullet went through the man''s temple.

    Adam slicklybed his hair back, and left the garage, went past the kitchen, and arrived at

    the steps to the upstairs.

    His eyes turned colder, and he then slowly made his way up.

    After reaching the top, he saw the masked man holding Alice hostage, his arm wrappedN?v(el)B\\jnn

    around her slender throat as she struggled to breathe.

    "I thought I heard some news from downstairs," the masked man looked at Adam with a grin. "You''re pretty damn good. No wonder this job paid so well."

    "A-Adam..." Alice whispered through tears, and then was surprised to see him holding a gun. She was shocked, as she never expected him to be able to kill someone.

    ''I guess I didn''t really know him after all...''

    "Alice..." Adam looked at her softly and tried to convince her. "You''ll be alright. Give me a

    second."

    "Ahaha, don''t make a move," the masked manughed and ced his gun against her back. "I won''t hesitate to kill her."

    "If you kill her, Hera will kill you." Adam snapped his fingers, and from one of the walls, a mounted minigun swiveled around to face the masked man.

    It hadser sights, aiming straight at the masked man''s forehead.

    "..." The masked man gulped, and dryly chuckled.

    "I am in control of the situation unless you don''t really care about her. You could of course kill

    me, which would mean that you would survive to see another day, but this prettydy will

    die."

    Adam showed his silenced gun, and then lowered it to the ground.

    "You came here to kill me, didn''t you?" He slowly approached the two. "Let her go, and you

    can take me as hostage instead."

    "A-Adam..." Alice bit her lip, tears streaming down her face.

    "Alright, move carefully. My finger is itching." The masked man said sinisterly, and as Adam arrived close enough, he shoved Alice away and ced the silenced gun against Adam''s chest.

    The minigun started swirling, but it didn''t fire just yet.

    "Adam!" Alice cried out, her voice filled with terror.

    "It''s alright." Adamughed and raised his arms in surrender. "You got me. What''s your next

    n? Kill me here? If you do so, Hera will riddle you with holes."

    "We''re going to my van." The masked man said. "I''ll take you to your grave."

    "Hera, protect Alice!" Adam screamed and suddenly grabbed the silenced gun, but the

    masked man expected it, and fired a bullet.

    The bullet went straight through Adam''s waist, and the blood sttered across the walls.

    "No!" Alice screamed, but at that moment, a transparent wall appeared between her and the

    two.

    It was a bulletproof wall, created by Hera to protect Alice.

    "Ngh!" Adam looked at his bleeding wound, and tried to move the silenced gun further away

    from him.

    While they struggled to get the control of the silenced gun, the minigun swirled, but Hera couldn''t shoot as there wasn''t a clear line of sight.

    At that moment, Adam leaned back, and then mmed his head against the masked man''s mask. The mask broke, and half of his face was revealed, covered in scars.

 Chapter 257: Greatness

    Chapter 257: Greatness

    ?

    "Argh!" The scar-faced man tried to push Adam away, but was unsessful.

    In the end, Adam managed to p the silenced gun away. The gun slid down the floor till it came to stop by the wall.

    The scarred man kicked Adam in the chest, forced him a few steps back, and then started throwing punches, but Adam parried them away with his forearms.

    As they entered close quarterbat, the scar-faced man clearly used some kind of military- based martial arts as he moved his arms like he was holding a knife.

    Adam pped the attacks away, and kept hisposure, but he could feel the throbbing pain on his bleeding waist.

    If it wasn''t taken care of quickly, it would lead to his death.

    "Whoo!" The scarred man stepped forward and shot his palms forward.

    Adam grabbed his wrists, and front kicked him in the chest, but the scarred man tore his arms off his grip, grabbed the leg, and threw Adam across the hallway.

    He crashed on the wall, and then the scarred man jumped towards him with a knee kick, but Adam quickly dodged it, and watched as the man kneed through the wall.

    The scarred man was clearly an expert with martial arts.

    "Adam!" Alice screamed behind the bulletproof wall, and headed to her parents room, trying to wake them up, but noticed that their door was strangely metallic.

    None of her knocking sounds reached the room, where her parents were still sleeping peacefully.

    Adam threw a wide swing at the scarred man, but he ducked under the fist, and punched Adam in the bleeding waist.

    "Argh!" Adam gritted his teeth, grabbed the scarred man by his shoulders, and threw him across the hallway.

    The man crashed into a wall, and felt the air leave his lungs.

    The throw was much stronger than he expected.

    At that moment, Adam kicked his leg up and tried to kick the scarred man in the face, but he rolled out of the way, stood back up, and threw a low kick.

    SMACK!

    The low kicknded on Adam''s thigh with a force that created an instant bruise.

    ''No...'' Adam gasped in pain, realizing he was outmatched.

    In terms of martial arts, he was clearly outmatched.

    This made him honestly feel scared.

    It made him remember his death, once again, and during that fight, he was clearly stronger fighter, but still, he sumbed to his wounds.

    Now, he was the weaker fighter, and was already wounded with a bullet lodged inside his waist.

    The scarred man came close to him again, and startednding more punches. He was clearly trying to stay close to Adam, so Hera didn''t have any chance to use the minigun.

    "Adam, please!" Alice''s screams finally reached his ears.

    "Argh!" Adam reeled in his fist, and punched against the scarred man''s block so hard that the man stumbled back.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Without further ado, Adam rolled towards the silenced gun on the ground, and picked it up. "No!" The scarred man lunged at him, and grabbed his arm, trying to stop him from using the

    gun.

    He was punching across Adam''s body, trying to make him drop the gun, but for some odd reason, Adam didn''t let go.

    Adam mmed his head against the scarred man''s face, and made him stumble back a single step.

    That was enough.

    Adam quickly raised the silenced gun and fired three bullets. All three of them went through the scarred man''s chest.

    The scarred man stumbled back, blood pouring out of his mouth while he looked utterly stunned.

    "W-wait, I-I tell everything." As he said that, he coughed out blood.

    Adam stood up, aimed the silenced gun at his face, and fired the final bullet.

    The bullet went between the man''s eyebrows, killing him instantly.

    Weakly, Adam dropped the gun to the ground, and coughed heavily, struggling to stand.

    The minigun retreated back inside the wall, and the bulletproof wall vanished.

    Alice immediately came over to him, and put her hands over the bleeding wound while crying.

    "Don''t die, please!" She saw how pale his face was, and feared the worst. "Stay with me, Adam, please!"

    "T-take me..." Adam coughed. "To my room..."

    "We need to take you to the hospital!" She cried, feeling panicked and desperate.

    "C-calm down, t-take me there..." Adam put his arm over her shoulder, and she helped him to walk to his room.

    However, instead of going to the bed like she expected, he went to the wardrobe, and to her surprise, an elevator.

    She thought she had already seen everything from metallic doors, miniguns, and bulletproof walls.

    As he copsed inside the elevator, Alice joined the elevator, and tried to keep him awake with any means necessary.

    After Adam weakly pressed a button, they arrived at the underground base. It was all new to Alice, and she was clearly shocked, but she had other urgent matters, such as trying to keep

    Adam alive.

    "T-take me to the VR Pod..." Adam pointed at the machine in the center.

    "You need hospital!" Alice shouted in a panic. "Y-y-you''re bleeding so much!"

    "H-Hera will take care of me..." Adam said, then stumbled towards VR Pod, and eventually

    climbed inside.

    As soon as he said so, the ss lid closed shut, sealing him inside.

    Alice bit her lip, and wanted to go wake up her parents in case this didn''t work and they would

    have to go to the hospital.

    However, at that moment, she heard a robotic voice.

    [Do not panic, youngdy. I''ve got better medical capabilities than any hospital in Navy

    Town]

    "W-who spoke?" Alice looked around in shock.

    [My name is Hera. Look over to theputer screen]

    Alice looked over to theputer screen, which was ck just recently, but now a face

    appeared there. It was the holographic face of a woman.

    She didn''t really have a face, but she created it so that it was easier for Alice to get used to her

    presence.

    "Will Adam be fine?" Alice asked worryingly.

    [I''ve already managed to remove the bullet from his body. I''ve injected him with some very

    strong healing medicine, and I''ve patched his wound. He''ll be fine]

    "T-thank god..." Alice felt her legs give up, and copsed on the ground. "W-who were those

    men? Why were they after Adam?"

    [Adam is a special person, and it looks like there is a bounty on his head in the dark web]

    "W-why would anyone want him dead?" Alice asked. "He''s just a regr guy, isn''t he?"

    [Far from that. In the Mortal Online, he is one of the greatest talents-S-ranker to be specific ¡ªand he''ll do great deeds in the future]

    [People have started to notice his unusual level of growth. They feel afraid. He is bing too powerful too quickly, and no one has found a way to control him yet]

    [Therefore, they''ve ordered his assassination]

    "S-ranker?" Alice looked at the VR pod with an amazed look. "I didn''t know he was someone

    so special..."

    She had, of course, heard about S-rankers. They were extremely popr people; even outside the game, all of the S-rankers were extremely well known.

    The most known of them all, Konrad Moriarty, was in the top three of the most popr

    people in the world.

    [Adam is low-key, so the outside world doesn''t really yet know about his existence, but I have

    a feeling that during this war, everyone will know his name]

    "I see..." Alice looked at the man inside the VR pod with a soft look. "You see greatness in

    him?"

    [Yes]

 Chapter 258: Boss Room

    Chapter 258: Boss Room

    ?

    While his real body was still healing, Adam''s virtual body appeared in the dimly lit attic of the 50th floor.

    After a short moment, his eyes fluttered open, and he groaned as if he could still feel the pain on his waist.

    "W-what the hell..." Adam rubbed his waist, and sighed. "I was close to dying, huh..."

    He didn''t know how to react to that since he had already died once, but knowing that he was so close to dying again made him feel a sense of relief that it didn''t actually happen.

    "I''ll find out where those bastards came from..." Adam coldly stated. "And you, Kang Saruza, if you helped them..."

    With a crack of knuckles, he rose back to his feet, and stretched his limbs.

    Since he couldn''t go back to the real world, because he was on heavy medication, he nned to do some grinding.

    After leaving the attic, he started heading back to the ce where he stoppedst night.

    It was quitete already, but he definitely didn''t feel like sleeping anymore. It was fine since his real body was sleeping in his stead.

    However, since his mind wasn''t really sleeping, he would definitely still feel sleepiness, but it was fine.

    After returning to the game room of the strange creature, he walked through it, and found himself in the ce with countless rotting corpses.

    Once he ventured even deeper, he came across an enormous temple-looking area with rock pirs holding up the ceiling, leading him to believe he had stumbled upon an ancient burial ground.

    It was sorge and spacious that one would think that it belonged to the giants.

    At that moment, lights lit up across the pirs and the ceiling.

    As soon as that happened, a loud rumbling sound could be hearding from deep within the tomb.

    Through the ground, and from the coffins, thousands of creatures came back to life. Their eyes glowed blue, and they let out a deafening screech that echoed through the tomb.

    Adam picked up his greatsword and rubbed his neck.

    "Good grinding ground."

    With a lunge, he started a long fight.

    ...

    Back in the underground base, Alice let out a few yawns, but she didn''t want to leave Adam''s side.

    It was nearing morning, and at that moment, she remembered something.

    "Right, all those corpses!" She cried out. "My mother will freak out!"

    [I''ve already taken care of them. I''ve also cleaned the blood, fixed the broken walls, and made sure everything is in order. Don''t worry, she won''t suspect a thing]

    "Ah, thank god..." Alice touched her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

    [I might be a machine, but I am also curious. You two foughtst night. Why?]

    "Uh..." Alice lowered her head and pursed her lips. "He told me something I didn''t like."

    [Yes, I heard. He is in love with another woman]

    "Yes..." Alice nodded in sadness. "I thought he loved me."

    [What''re you talking about? He loves you very dearly]

    "How would you know that?" Alice looked at the holographic face on the screen.

    [Every night, before he goes to bed, he gives me an order to make sure that you''re safe for the entire duration of the night. I might not be aware of human feelings, but I''ve had a few other masters before, and I haven''t seen them care about anyone else as much as he does]

    "..." Alice lowered her head and said. "But he still has someone else."

    [That doesn''t mean he loves you anyway less. It only means that his heart had ce for someone else. Maybe he loved that person before you, but ended up falling in love with you as well]

    "I don''t know..." Alice kicked her legs up and down. "I just wanted him to be just mine, y''know..."

    [Are you curious about her?]

    "Yes," Alice said.

    [I checked the dark web database. Apparently, she is a rather popr person. However, she isn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    not what you think she is]

    "What do you mean by that?"

    [You expect her to be a yer, don''t you?]

    "Yes, she is not?" Alice raised an eyebrow.

    [She is an Original. Non-yer Character, a creation of the game''s code]

    "What?!" Alice looked surprised.

    [Does that make you feel worse or better?]

    "I don''t know..." Alice said. "I was worried that one day Lady Yu wille knocking on the door, and take Adam away from me..."

    [You should talk with Adam. If you are so hard against him being with Lady Yu, I am sure he would choose you over her]

    "I-I don''t want to make him choose..." Alice said. "It sounds like a shitty thing to do..."

    [Mm. I think the best thing to do is talk openly and honestly with him about your feelings]

    "Honest..." Alice looked at the person inside the virtual reality pod and nodded. "Alright, I''ll be honest with him..."

    ...

    "Haah..." Adam limped down the gigantic temple area, a sea of corpses surrounding him from all sides.

    He was filled with small and some bigger wounds.

    His health bar was blinking red as he was nearly dead, and his mana reverses werepletely

    depleted.

    It was an extremely difficult fight thatsted the entire night.

    However, he was happy because now he had reached level 21!

    It was level of Archwarrior!

    It already made him a powerhouse among mercenaries, as this could already make him a core member of Crimson Hounds.

    However, his real strength was still a mystery; it might be way above Archwarrior.

    It wasn''t a long way to go anymore for level 25.

    As he headed down the gigantic ce, he soon came across an enormous pair of double doors

    at the end of the temple.

    Its color looked like rusty gold.

    As soon as Adam saw the gigantic double doors, he halted his steps and took a deep breath.

    ''The boss room...''

    He didn''t think he was ready to go to that room, not yet.

    Adam quickly gulped some of the sks to recover some of his health.

    After that, he took a seat by one of the fallen pirs and just waited as his health slowly

    recovered.

    A couple of hourster, he reached his maximum health once again, which was 1,500.

    His mana reserves had recovered as well, meaning he was now back to his strongest state. However, he was still slightly tired from the entire night of fighting, but he was feeling extremely curious.

    His gaze was lingering in the direction of the double doors.

    "Fuck it!" Adam stood back up and stretched his arms. "Might as well check just how far I am

    from the boss''s strength!"

    He made his decision.

    He was going to try the boss fight, but he nned to retreat as soon as it became clear that he was still too weak to try.

    As he walked towards the double doors, he pushed them open with brutish strength, and slowly stepped through the entrance.

    The boss room''s dimly lit interior was intimidating, filled with ominous shadows and eerie

    sounds echoing off the walls.

    Then, a blue me flickered across the circr tform. The tform was seemingly

    hovering in the air, and it was possible to fall off the tform to the dark depths below.

    As soon as the blue mes appeared, a figure appeared in the center of the tform. He was just sitting there, a cane in hand, and draped cloak trailing behind him.

 Chapter 259: Xerxus

    Chapter 259: Xerxus

    ?

    Above the draped figure, a name bar appeared.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    [The King of the Night, Xerxus]

    [HP: 100%]

    Adam twirled his greatsword around as he approached the figure, but when he took his first steps on the tform, a figure emerged from a green mist right in front of him.

    After the green mist cleared, the figure was clearly a skeleton with rattling bones, and it raised its bony arm to stop Adam from moving any further.

    "Only one?" Xerxus raised his gaze, and narrowed it. "You dare challenge me, solo human?" "I dare," Adam said, cutting through the skeleton with a single swing.

    "Humans grow more foolish with each passing winter." Xerxus rose to his feet, and picked up his cane. "I remember all the fights I''ve been through. Hundreds of them. Some I win, some I lose, but this is the first time I''ve been challenged by a solo human."

    Adam wryly smiled. ''This is a floor that is extremely difficult for solo yers to clear. It''s because his annoying ability.''

    "I ept this foolish challenge, human!"

    Xerxus tapped his cane on the floor, and dozens of skeletons appeared all around him.

    Unlike the skeletons outside the boss room, these skeletons were holding weapons and shields.

    The skeletonsunched their attacks, but Adam cut through them like a hot knife through butter. They were all soon just piles of shattered bones.

    Xerxus waved his cane, and all those broken bones began to reform intoplete skeletons once again.

    Just like that, the skeletons were back alive.

    Adam''s eyebrow twitched in annoyance, and he smashed his de through them once again.

    However, just like before, the skeletons rose back up and continued to attack.

    This was one of the reasons why fighting Xerxus alone was extremely difficult.

    With a party, Tank could easily attract the aggro of the skeletons, and keep them busy. It was quite easy since these skeletons were quite weak.

    While Tank kept the skeletons busy, the other members of the party would attract Xerxus.

    Now, he couldn''t do any of that because he was all alone.

    Adam backed off while parrying the attacks, and when the skeletons came close enough, he shed past them all, and cut through them effortlessly.

    The skeletons crumbled to a big pile, but Xerxus was already waving his cane.

    However, Adam instantly used Little God''s insane speed to cross the difference, and smashed his sword against the cane.

    The spell got disturbed.

    However, Xerxus didn''t look surprised even the slightest and pushed Adam back effortlessly with a powerful force.

    Adam rushed back at him, and continued swinging his heavy-looking sword, but Xerxus blocked all strikes with his cane. None of the strikes came even close to hitting him!

    At that moment, Adam did a step forward, and shouted. "Chi Strike!"

    With his Chi Strike flying forward, Xerxus pped his hand away with the cane, and then smacked it across Adam''s face with a loud crack.

    It sent Adam flying some distance away. A part of his skull suffered a fracture.

    He quickly used one of the sks to heal that, and rose back up, but he felt like he was a child fighting against an adult.

    The strength difference was crazy high.

    Xerxus tossed his cane straight at him, and stabbed the ground right between his legs.

    It started glowing bright red, and then it multiplied into multiple canes, surrounding Adam in a ring of canes.

    "The Corruption of the Night."

    Starting from his feet, Adam started to slowly turn into a skeleton, as if his flesh were peeling off his bones. It was a grotesque scene.

    The health started dropping at an rming rate.

    At that moment, Adam lifted his sword high, and cut through the ground, making big enough crevice for the canes around him to fall into.

    The spell got disturbed.

    Xerxus summoned the cane back to him, and swung it straight at Adam.

    Adam ced his greatsword above his head, and blocked the cane, but the ground under him cracked, and he was forced down on his knees.

    It didn''t help that his legs were all bone and no flesh, so he was weak and easily overpowered by the force of the blow.

    At that moment, wings sprouted from his back, and they smacked Xerxus off from him.

    Xerxus spun around the air,nded on the ground, and slid across the tform.

    Adam quickly drank some sks to recover the flesh back on his legs, and once he did that, he took flight, and soared towards Xerxus to continue the battle.

    Xerxus jumped straight at him, and smacked him off the air with his cane.

    Adam crashed into the ground, but the wings took care of most of the impact, and without further ado, he went back to the air.

    "Aahhh!" With a loud scream, he fell straight down at Xerxus and smashed his sword down.

    "Great Skeleton Arm!"

    Xerxus smashed his cane on the ground, and behind him, a gigantic skeleton arm manifested and appeared in the path of the greatsword.

    Once the greatsword mmed into the hand, the bony fingers wrapped around the sword''s de, and stopped its movementpletely.

    At that moment, Adam looked Xerxus straight in the eye, and a hint of green began to appear

    in Adam''s eyes.

    For a moment, Xerxus saw the ground behind him vanish, and he looked surprised for a second, but the illusion soon broke apart, and he noticed that the tform was still there.

    However, that one moment of surprise was enough.

    Adam flew past the skeleton arm, and shed through Xerxus''s chest with ease.

    [HP: 88%]

    Xerxus stumbled back, and looked at his bleeding chest, but it just frowned, and summoned more of the skeletons to attack Adam.

    This time, there were about fifty of those skeletons, attacking Adam from all angles.

    They surrounded him, and started tugging on his clothes, trying to drag him down on the ground, but Adam just took flight, took some of the skeletons with him, and then cut through their arms so they would let go of him.

    Xerxus twirled the cane around him, and then summoned a skeleton-made chain from the

    ground.

    The chain shot through the air, and stabbed straight towards Adam, but he quickly ced his strong wings in the way, but the impact was still strong enough to push him back towards the double doors of the boss room.

    "Argh..." Adam coughed out. ''How disgustingly powerful is he?''

    He tried to use his Kiryoku to anticipate all the attacks, but his attacks just came so quickly

    and unexpectedly.

    ''I don''t want to give up yet. I''ll try something crazy!''

    Adam fell back to the ground, made the wings shrink back to his body, and then rushed

    through the army of skeletons, cutting through them like nothing.

    Eventually, he reached Xerxus once again, who gave off pressure so overwhelming that the

    ground was almost shaking.

    With his greatsword, he jumped to the air and shed it down.

    "Ground King!"

    Xerxus ced his cane in the way, and as soon as the greatswordnded on it, the ground

    under Xerxus broke and shattered.

    While Xerxus was upied by the greatsword, Adam mmed his feet against his chest and

    shouted. "Chi Strike!"

    The Chi Strike broke through Xerxus'' defenses and wreaked havoc inside his body.

    [HP: 83%]

    The health was slowly, but steadily lowering!

    "Heh." Adam grinned, but at the same moment, one of the skeleton chains smacked him away

    like a fly, sending him flying across the room.

 Chapter 260: Awaken

    Chapter 260: Awaken

    ?

    "Cough!" Adam stood back to his feet, and used the back of his hand to wipe the blood off his lips.

    ''I still have a long way to go before he is dead. Not to mention he has a second and third phase left. How fucking troublesome!''

    At that moment, Xerxus summoned more of the skeletons and also Reborn Knights.

    With their rattling bones, they headed straight towards Adam like an army of dead.

    The wings came from Adam''s back once again. He ignored the army of the dead, flew over them, and headed straight to Xerxus instead.

    However, he wasn''t in control of the air anymore.

    Dozens of chains made out of bone wrapped around him, and threw him straight back to the ground.

    Arge crater appeared around him, but Adam took instant flight and headed to Xerxus, but it was useless as those chains smacked him down again.

    Adam stopped being stubborn, made the wings retreat back to his body, and started running towards Xerxus instead.

    However, the skeletons and Reborn Knights appeared in his path, protecting their master from any attackers.

    "Haaa!" Adam took arge swing with his sword, even d the de with the ck Kraft, and then smashed his sword through the creatures in his way.

    As he ran over the creatures, Xerxus waved his cane to make them reform back together, and as soon as they were back standing, they started running after Adam like a pack of hounds.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    One of the skeletons jumped, and grabbed Adam''s leg. It made him trip, and all the skeletons pounced on him, trapping him under their weight.

    Xerxus looked at the scene and shook his head. "If you think you can defeat me with this measly strength, you''ve greatly underestimated my capabitilies."

    "RAH!"

    With a scream, wings sprouted from Adam''s back, and tossed all the skeletons off him.

    He instantly took flight, but those chains came straight back at him, but this time, Adam used his Kiryoku at full force, and dodged all of them with amazing precision.

    Soon, hundreds of chains moved across the air, trying to smash Adam down to the ground.

    However, he moved at amazing speed, zigzagging past the chains, and when he was trapped, he just cut through them with his greatsword.

    At that moment, with a burst of speed, Adam flew past the skeleton chains and appeared right in front of Xerxus.

    The greatsword moved down and smashed straight at Xerxus, sending him flying across the boss room.

    Xerxus crashed against one of the pirs that soon copsed, burying him beneath the rubble.

    "Whoo..." Adam breathed heavily.

    [HP: 50%]

    At that moment, the flickering blue me changed colors to gold.

    The rubble exploded, and from there, Xerxus emerged once again, but this time, his skin had turned scorched ck.

    He was giving off much more murderous aura, as if he had grown twice as strong!

    ''Yeah, I am not ready for this.''

    Adam unfurled his wings, and they carried him straight back to the double doors. Xerxus, and the hundreds of skeletons just watched at him while the double doors closed between them. It was clear that the skeletons and their master were going to remember Adam''s face for all eternity!

    ''How scary...'' Adam wryly smiled.

    THUMP!

    The double doors closed.

    Adam copsed on the ground and shook his head.

    He was extremely exhausted.

    ''Yeah, I am done fighting for now.''

    He dragged his feet as he started heading back to the attic.

    ...

    As soon as the evening fell, Alice returned from the school, and immediately took off her shoes, and hung her backpack by one of the hangers.

    She ran all the way from school to home as she wanted to make sure that Adam''s health hadn''t deteriorated.

    She could barely focus on school, and she didn''t want to even go to the school, but if she didn''t, she was going to be in big trouble.

    "Alice, why in such a hurry?" Serah asked from her sweet daughter as she watched her run

    upstairs.

    "It''s nothing!" Alice just shouted, and headed straight to Adam''s room, there she took the elevator to the underground base.

    After arriving there, she noticed that the virtual reality pod was still closed, and the holographic face was still on the screen. It looked like Hera had just been staring at the virtual reality pod without moving for hours.

    "Is he alright?" She asked softly.

    [Yes, I think he is about to wake up]

    "Wait, for real?!" Alice looked thrilled.

    [I was waiting for you. Let''s wake him up together]

    With that, the ss lid opened, and inside the pod, Adam''s eyes fluttered as he slowly regained consciousness.

    "Ah..." He moaned in pain slightly, but it wasn''t anywhere close to the pain he had been

    feeling before.

    "Adam!" Alice arrived next to him, holding his hand tightly. "Are you alright?"

    "Alice...?" Adam smiled weakly, and slowly sat back up.

    The waist throbbed in pain, slightly, but it wasn''t bad.

    "Be careful." Alice held his shoulders, and kissed him on the cheek. "How''re you feeling?"

    "Good, good..." Adam looked at him softly, and said, "I am sorry."

    "For what...?" Alice tilted her head in confusion.

    "They were here for me, and you got in trouble because of me..." Adam gritted his teeth. "I''m

    sorry for putting you in danger."

    "No, it was my fault." Alice shook her head. "I shouldn''t have gone outside. Hera would''ve otherwise taken care of them otherwise. Right?"

    [Yes, mydy]

    Adam raised an eyebrow, wondering when the two of them got so close.

    "How''s your wound?" Alice asked.

    Adam touched his bandaged waist, and said, "It''s healed. There''s some pain left, but nothing

    serious."

    "That''s good..." Alice breathed a sigh of relief. "It was so scary."

    "You alright?" Adam asked softly.

    "Mm, I will be." Alice smiled. "We''ll get through this together."

    "Together..." Adam looked at her and said, "About Yu..."

    "No need." Alice shook her head and put her finger over his lips. "I know. I honestly expected you to have someone in that other world, but I still went and tried to seduce you, because I do

    love you, so I am also a very selfish person."

    "..." Adam scratched the back of his head.

    "I just want you to promise me that I am the only one you will have in this world." Alice said.

    "Please?"

    Adam chuckled. "I promise, you''re the only one for me in here."

    "Yay!" Alice giggled and kissed him before hugging him tightly.

    "Hera, did you take care of the aftermath?" Adam asked while enjoying her warm hug.

    [Yes, master]

    "Did you find out their identity?" Adam asked.

    [No]

    "So they''re from Red Thread?"

    [Most likely. Born and raised there, if I had to guess, would make a sense how I couldn''t find

    their faces from any database]

    "Hmm, it could mean that they indeed found out about you from Kang Saruza."

    [Or from other members of the Saruza family. It''s a possibility we can''t ignore]

    "Hmm..." Adam nodded. "Keep checking the dark web to see if there is more information about the bounty on my head. Try to find out who is behind it."

    [I''ll do my best, but something like that is impossible to find. The dark web is good at hiding

    those things]

 Chapter 261: Resurrection Altar

    Chapter 261: Resurrection Altar

    ?

    Within the depths of the crypt, the eight-petaled wings cut through the rows of undead skeletons with ease, as if they were slicing through butter.

    Adam was in the middle of the grinding for experience points.

    After the fight with Xerxus, he realized that he was stillcking in level, but not only that, hisbat skills with his wings were mediocre at best.

    When he was trying to go to sleepst night, he kept thinking about what he should improve before facing Xerxus once again.

    He came to the conclusion that his wings were his trump card in fights.

    Tobat the skeleton chains that were protecting Xerxus, he had to use his wings to fight more efficiently. Thus, he began training and finding ways to fight with them.

    The eight-petaled wings cut, pierced, stabbed, and smashed into the skeletons.

    Since their tips were very sharp, they could be used for stabbing. They also had very sharp edges that could be used for cutting and slicing.

    They were like perfect weapons.

    So far, he''d been using them mostly for defensive purposes, where the wings also excelled perfectly, but he knew they could also be deadly in an offensive attack.

    After heading deeper into the crypt, leaving behind destroyed skeletons in his wake, he noticed that the temperature suddenly dropped.

    It felt like the air around him was thick with an icy chill that seemed to seep into his bones.

    At that moment, the walls started closing it.

    Two of the petaled wings stabbed into the wall and stopped it from closing any further. The doors in the wall disappeared within the wall. The wall looked dusty and smooth. However, at the end of the short hallway, a strange altar appeared.

    It had already some sacrifices of blood, skulls, and bones on it, but there was also a single candle that flickered against the cold air.

    ''I feel like the altar is trying to talk to me. I wonder what''s this...''

    While he''d been reading about the 50th floor on the inte, he hadn''t heard anything about any strange altars appearing from nowhere.

    At that moment, the walls stopped trying to close in, and Adam retracted the wings back to his body and took a short breath before approaching the altar.

    However, when he was only one meter away from the altar, his eyelids turned heavy as if he had suddenly turned sleepy.

    ''stor... of course...''

    His body copsed right in front of the altar, sumbing to the overwhelming exhaustion that had suddenly overtaken him.

    ...

    The crimson waves crashed against the shore as Adam appeared by the cliff, his eyes slowly opening wide enough to see the entirety of the horizon stretching out before him.

    "What did I say about this?" Adam clicked his tongue. "What if the walls start to close in again? I would get crushed while we''re chit-chatting about!"

    "Haha, calm down." stor walked over to him, his dark coat fluttering around him. "So, you found the altar, huh?"

    "What''s the altar about?" Adam asked.

    "It''s Resurrection Altar." stor said with a glint of greed. "A very rare thing, y''see. With that, you could resurrect me back to the world of living."

    "Hah," Adam scoffed. "I must destroy it then."

    "Don''t be like that." stor looked at him with a smirk. "Don''t you want me out of your head? You finally have a chance to do so."

    "I would rather not want the entire New World to be destroyed just to get rid of you," Adam replied.

    "Heh." stor shook his head. "Y''know, we can make a deal. If you resurrect me, I''ll make you the king of the New World."

    "The king?" Adam frowned.

    "Yeah, the king." stor grinned. "Wealth, fame, power-it''s all yours if you resurrect me. You can have everything your heart desires, everything!"

    "And you would do what exactly?" Adam raised an eyebrow. "You won''t destroy the world, will you?"

    "Like I said, we can make a mutual deal." stor said. "Once you die out of old age, your belly fat, and your pockets full of riches, I''ll take the throne and return the New World back to its former glory."

    "You''ll make the Old World return, huh." Adam looked around the disgusting, deadndscape. "Why in the fuck would I want that?"

    "Because it doesn''t involve you." stor said. "You''re already dead. You can have, what, fifty to sixty years of happiness, and you''ll leave the world with everyone remembering your name.

    "You will earn your ce in the history books.

    "Sounds like a fucking good deal to me. Also, don''t you-yers-have another world to go to? If the yers of the future don''t like the Old World, they can always fuck off to their own

    world."

    "So, abandon the future of the New World for my own happiness." Adam chuckled.

    "No one will know." stor said. "In the eyes of the other yers, you gained sudden strength and won the throne. With you as King, you can choose what you want to do." "You must think I am stupid." Adam looked straight into his eyes. "I refuse."

    "So be it." stor shrugged his shoulders and waved his hand. "Think about it, there mighte a time when you wish you would''ve epted my deal."

    With the wave of the hand, Adam disappeared from the Old World, leaving stor alone there

    once again.

    Crack...

    stor put his teeth together so hard that they cracked slightly, and he then threw a punch that split the crimson ocean in two.

    It was a punch of anger.

    ...

    After returning from the sleend, Adam rose back to his feet, looked at the altar, drew his sword from its sheath, and smashed it through the altar, shattering it into pieces.

    He then sheathed his sword once again.

    As he turned around to leave, he heard a sudden click and saw that behind the altar, a hidden

    door emerged.

    It seemed to have emerged straight from the wall with the doorknob and all.

    ''A hidden door?''

    Adam, with a frown, approached the door, turned the doorknob, and found stairs leading up

    somewhere.

    After opening his inventory, he brought out antern and lit it up with a matchstick.

    With the yellowish glow illuminating the way, he stepped onto the stairs, and headed up.

    After about thirty steps traveled, he reached the top of the stairs, and there was a dirt-made

    ceiling stopping him from traveling any further.

    There wasn''t a door, hatch, or anything else in sight.

    Adam touched the ceiling, and it was clearly made out of dirt, as if this ceiling was actually

    ground on the surface.

    ''The surface? Could it be that this is the way to leave this crypt?!''

    Adam felt his breath turn erratic.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He hadn''t heard about anyone leaving the 50th floor''s crypt before, as everyone expected that

    to be the floor and nothing else.

    The wings sprouted from his back, and he started stabbing them through the dirt ground to

    get to the surface.

    After a short moment, a moonlight peeked through the path, and Adam immediately returned

    the wings back to his body and jumped through the ceiling.

    With the jump, he went straight through the dirt ground and appeared outside, but was

    instantly hit by a cold chill of night air.

    With his feetnding on the grass, he looked into the sky and saw a beautiful moon shining

    over him.

    The moon was big, as if it were right next to this bubble of the world he was in.

    ''Amazing...''

 Chapter 262: King of the Slavery

    Chapter 262: King of the very

    ?

    ''Where am I now?''N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Adam looked around the strange, new ce where he doubted any yer had ever been before.

    The ce around him was a forest.

    It was dark and eerily silent, except for the asional rustling of leaves in the wind caused by the cold air of the night.

    At that moment, he noticed that mist hade from the mountains of the distance, slowly creeping towards him, shrouding everything in its path in a thick nket of fog.

    He then heard a strange sound.

    A rhythmic creak of wooden wheels turning, crunching softly over the packed dirt road, punctuated by the asional tter of loose stones being kicked aside.

    Behind the trees, an eerientern flickered in the darkness, moving by like a will-o''-the- wisp.

    Adam headed straight to the light, when past some of the trees, and soon found himself on a one-way dirt road that had plenty of loose stones scattered across it.

    When he turned his head to the right, he saw a wagon wheeling away in the distance, the horses kicking dust and stones into the air.

    At the rider''s seat, a ck-cloaked individual with a wide-brimmed hat with a feather in it was holding reins in one hand and a silver sword in the other.

    ''Maybe I should ask him for a ride. Maybe I can find out what the hell this ce...''

    However, he then noticed a sight that made him drop all his thoughts.

    The p of the wagon opened because of a gust of wind, and Adam saw inside.

    There was a cage with ragged-clothed people inside, their limbs chained together, and all looked like they had given up on life.

    ''ves? That is a ve wagon?'' Adam thought it was shocking.

    Usually, it was yers who participated in the very, and while it was frowned upon, it was stillmon practice among yers as it made them a lot of money.

    However, in this ce, there wasn''t supposed to be any yers.

    It meant the fellow Originals were ving their own people.

    It was honestly something Adam hadn''t seen before, as Originals were oppressed race, not oppressors.

    The beautiful wings sprouted from Adam''s back, and he took flight. He wanted to see where the wagon was going, which could help him to understand what the hell was going on.

    ...

    Inside the wagon, the chained people stayed silent and groaned in pain every time the wheels of the wagon hit a bump in the road.

    "It hurts..." A boy, about fifteen years old, said quietly.

    His mother looked at him with a painful look, but there was nothing she could do.

    They were heading straight to the chopping block, where their future would be decided.

    Those who weren''t deemed worthy would be killed off-the men would be sent to the mine of Magick Energy, and women would be sent to the crimson castle of their ruler to be his servants for the rest of eternity.

    "Silence your boy!" An angry-sounding man shouted.

    The boy flinched.

    "Don''t talk to him that way!" The mother shouted back. "It''s not his fault that we''re in here. It''s yours, isn''t it?!"

    "What do you say?" The angry-sounding man pulled the chains as he looked at her. "You all agreed. All of you!"

    Everyone turned their gazes away, not wanting to participate in the worthless argument, but both were right. It was the man''s idea of going to the fields of moon food, and everyone agreed.

    "What else should have we done?" The angry-sounding man asked. "We were going to starve otherwise. That fucker ruler of ours stole all of our food and left behind nothing but dust and ashes!"

    "Calm down." The old man said with a cough. "The fields of the moon food would''ve had enough food to feed us for the next couple of years. It was a risky bet, and it didn''t pay off. Now, we''re going to be living as ves."

    The angry-sounding man looked at the old man and sighed heavily.

    No one spoke it aloud, but they all knew that the old man''s life wasing to an end. There was no way the vers would find the old man useful, so they would likely leave him behind to die.

    The wagon steered away from the dirt road and went slightly offroad that had barely a road, but just two wheel marks in the grass.

    It headed up a small hill, and then rolled through an open gate as the wagon arrived at the ver camp.

    The pitched-roofed tents were built around the camp, which was surrounded by a tall wooden fence. In the center of the camp, there was arge bonfire crackling and throwing off sparks

    into the night sky.

    Near the tents, dozens of cages were lined up, chained people inside all of them, and all of them were freezing, their exposed skins turning red, and they were huddled together for

    warmth.

    Laughter came from the tents, and the smell of roasting meat filled the air.

    From the head tent, arge figure emerged, wearing a crown of thorns and a cruel smile on his face. The figure looked like he would be able to lift a boulder.

    "So, what do we have here?" Fakhir approached the wagon and hugged the wide-brimmed rider, who had been traveling for days on end.

    "New ves." The rider said. "They were discovered in the fields of the moon food, trying to steal some food."

    "Haha, thieves." Fakhir opened the p open and looked inside at the group of frightened individuals huddled together.

    He was looking for something in particr, but soon a look of disappointment shed across

    his face.

    "They all look malnourished." Fakhir said with a disappointed sigh.

    "Yeah, they seem to be from Sevenfold." The rider said.

    "Ah, that exins." Fakhir grinned. "Our new ruler took all their food, and they were forced

    to steal. Oh well, I am sure they will do well enough in the mines!"

    None of the chained people dared to look him straight in the eye, as they all knew who he was

    after seeing the crown of thorns.

    Fakhir, the King of the very.

    After their new ruler emerged and took control of Sevenfold, there were some Originals that fought back, trying to overthrow him, but they were quickly defeated.

    In the end, four Originals emerged, who were already infamous criminals, and made a deal with the ruler¡ªa deal that was very profitable for both sides-and thus, four more rulers

    emerged.

    King of the very. Queen of Pleasure. King of the Bloodshed. Queen of Gambling.

    High in the air, Adam looked down at the vers camp, a cold wind tousling his hair.

    ''There must be hundreds of them.''

    Adam crossed his arms, and he had used his Kiryoku but couldn''t find a single yer there. It was only Originals there, and all of their strength was only at human levels.

    However, the man wearing the crown of thorns was different.

    He seemed strangely powerful for Original, but still within the limits of humanity, and Adam had already transcended that.

    ''I don''t consider myself to have the heroplex that I have to save everyone, but this seems easy enough to do so. I also need answers from them to know what the hell is going on here.''

 Chapter 263: I Have Standards

    Chapter 263: I Have Standards

    ?

    The cage with chained people inside was lowered to the ground, right next to other cages. The cold chill of the night sent immediate shivers down their spines, and they wondered whether they would even survive through the night.

    "Y''all will be sent to the mines tomorrow morning." The rider said. "Those who the King doesn''t seem fit to be there will be executed."

    "How does it feel to betray your own race?" A sharp-tongued man asked.

    "It was either that or be a ve like you." The rider said with a scoff. "I clearly chose correctly."

    "I guess the weight of money in your pockets covers for yourck of heart." A dirty-faced woman called out.

    "I''d rather have weight in my pockets than chains on my wrists." The rider said. "You should be happy that you are malnourished; it took flesh off your important parts because you could''ve been sent to the crimson castle to serve our new ruler."

    "Tch, I wouldn''t mind getting close to him so I can kill him!" The dirty-faced woman shouted.

    "Foolish," the rider shook his head. "He will know your intent to harm him way before you do. That''s his power, and you can''t reach him, let alone attempt a kill on him."

    A silence fell on the people in the cages.

    The rider just scoffed and headed to the drinking tent. He felt quite parched from the long journey, and wanted to quench his thirst before maybe having some alone time with one of the female ves.

    While he''d been guilt tripped by other Originals for a long time now, he didn''t think he chose incorrectly.

    He was making more money than in his wildest dreams. He was abovemonborn folk in every possible aspect, and he had ess to all the luxuries he could ever desire.

    ''They''re just jealous. If they were in my shoes, they would''ve chosen the same path!''

    While believing that to be the case, he pushed open the p of the tent and entered into thevish party that awaited him.

    By the ve cages, the people felt a multitude of emotions, mostly pain and sorrow.

    While they all believe that there was evil in the world, such as Fakhir, they never expected one of them to betray them.

    The rider was like them, just an ordinarymonborn in Sevenfold, but because of his upation as carriage driver, Fakhir thought that he could use him to deliver some goods, so The offered him a job.

    It was an extremely well-paid job, but he would abandon his soul in the process.

    In the end, the rider epted the offer and became the delivery man for Fakhir, delivering everything from ves to illicit drugs across thend.

    "How''d all of you end up in here?" A person in the neighboring cage asked.

    He had a habit of talking with new ves, knowing what they did and how things were going on back home.

    "We tried to harvest the moon food."

    "Ah..." the person in the neighboring cage responded knowingly. "How''s the things in Sevenfold? The same as a month ago?"

    "Worse," the old man said. "Everyone outside the crimson castle is starving."

    "Is this the end of our race?" The person thought aloud with a heavy sigh. "Destined to be miners till our bones crack, and even then, we''ll still be expected to work."

    It made every other ve silent.

    They knew that their new ruler cared about them less than about an ant, but they still hoped that they would have their uses so that they were allowed to live, but it looked like their hopes were in vain.

    "I hate the ruler with passion!" The angry-sounding man shouted. "I just need to get in the same room as him, and I''ll make sure he regrets the day he was born!"

    "Didn''t you hear the rider? He will know if you have any intention to harm him." The person said. "Also, you can''t kill him in a frontal fight. He decimated our army single-handedly."

    "I don''t mind if I die, but as long as he dies with me!" The angry-sounding man said. "He might underestimate me!"

    "Sigh..." the old man shook his head.

    At that moment, someonended on top of the cage.

    The ves looked up in surprise and saw a very tall young man looking at them with his navy- blue eyes wide open.

    "Who is this ruler you''re speaking of?" Adam asked curiously. "I''d like to know."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "W-who are you?!"

    The ves huddled closer to the corners and looked at the young man in fear.

    If he were a ver and he heard about their tantly disrespectful talk about the ruler, he might execute all of them!

    "Oh, I am not with them." Adam pointed around the ve camp and said, "I am just a traveler passing by."

    "Young man, you chose a terrible ce toe to." The old man said. "You should leave before you''re discovered, otherwise you''ll end up in chains like us!"

    "No one will put me in chains." Adam stated confidently.

    At that moment, an rm bell reverberated across the ve camp, and the tents immediately opened. Some vers picked up their closest weapons and left their tents only half-dressed.

    From the head tent, Fakhir stepped out with his very own battleaxe in hand and looked around with a wicked look.

    "Oh no, they discovered you!" The old man shouted. "You should go now!"

    However, Adam didn''t move an inch and watched as the vers headed in their way and soon surrounded the cages with their menacing weapons drawn.

    The ves paled.

    Fakhir pushed through his men and looked straight at the young man.

    "Who the hell are you? Do you know where you are?!"

    "A ve camp," Adam said. "And my name''s Adam Palestar."

    "You came here willingly?" Fakhir frowned. "You''re looking for a job or something?"

    "Haha." Adamughed and waved his hand. "Why the fuck would I want to be a piece of shit ver? Please, I have actual standards."

    Gasp~

    The ves gasped as they hadn''t heard anyone talk this way towards Fakhir.

    With suchnguage spoken, once Adam bes a ve, he wouldn''t be just thrown into mines-he might be outright killed instead!

    "Haha, I see now." Fakhir pointed his battleaxe at him. "You came here to rescue the ves, but we discovered you. Thus, all you have left is your sharp tongue to keep your dignity, but don''t worry, after I am done with you, you''ll be my very own dog."

    "Is that so?" Adam chuckled.

    "It is so." Fakhir said and waved his other hand. "Men, capture him!"

    As the vers took a single step, Adam''s eyes turned cold, and the pressurended on the shoulders of every ver, feeling like a heavy weight pressing down on them.

    The ves looked in shock as every ver just stopped moving and was sweating heavily. They didn''t feel the heavy pressure, as Adam didn''t use it on them.

    "Grr..." Fakhir gritted his teeth and felt like his eyeballs were about to burst out of his skull. ''W-w-what the hell is this? T-this reminds me of something... this reminds me of him!''

    At that moment, he realized he had fucked up.

    ''A-another yer...'' Fakhir''s legs turned weak, and he stumbled to the ground in fear.

    It was a shocking sight to the ves, as he was always acting as high and mighty, but now he

    was on the ground, kneeling in front of a higher power.

    From Adam''s back, eight-petaled wings sprouted out and filled the surroundings with a beautiful red and orange glow that enveloped the ves in warmth andfort.

    It felt like it was morning, the sun shining over the horizon.

    The old man looked at him in amazement and spoke. "Winged Angel hase to save us!"

 Chapter 264: Bringer of Calamity

    Chapter 264: Bringer of Cmity

    ?

    The eyes of the ves reddened, and they started to feel one thing that all of them thought that they had already lost-hope.

    None of them was feeling cold anymore, but warmth andfort, like they were back in their mother''s warm embrace.

    It made them remember the times when they were free, the carefree days, and happy days.

    Back then, no one was hungry. No one was poor. Everyone was happy. It was a feeling that they longed to experience again.

    "M-mercy, oh great yer!" Fakhir cried out and knelt on the ground. "W-we can work for you. T-the money we''ve called in the past month is all yours!"

    Adam looked silently at him, but the corner of his lip lifted up as if he could hear Fakhir''s current thoughts.

    Fakhir thought. ''I just need to buy some time. I just need to inform him that there is another yer, so he''ll eliminate this threat for me. Then we can return to what we were doing before!''

    One of the petals of the wing lifted Fakhir''s chin so that he would stare straight into Adam''s eyes.

    Fakhir''s eyes were wide open, a terrified look in them.

    "Like I said, I have standards. You, and your men are below my standards."

    "W-wait!" Fakhir cried out.

    However, Adam was done listening and cut through his pleas without a second thought.

    Fakhir''s head rolled off his shoulders andnded on the ground.

    Gasp~

    This time, both ves and vers gasped.

    One of the rulers of the underground market had died just like that!

    The King of the very, Fakhir, was dead so suddenly!

    The vers had no loyalty, and as soon as their boss died, they turned around and started running away, but Adam flew after them, and with his sword in hand, he cut through them till none of them was left breathing.

    Within seconds, all the versy dead on the ground.

    It was shocking just how easy it looked to him.

    It reminded some of the ves about the scene that happened around a year ago.

    Their new ruler, single-handedly, destroyed their mightiest army, and it looked as effortless as breathing.

    Now, simr sight opened up in front of them.

    While it was on a much smaller scale, it looked as easy.

    ''Someone that can challenge the ruler has appeared!'' The old man''s eyes lit up in expectation.

    He wasn''t the only one.

    Every ve looked at the winged young man with looks of hope for a better future.

    With the beautiful petaled wings, Adam cut the cages open and removed the chains that were chaining the ves down.

    The ves, weak with their legs, stumbled out of the cages and entered the chilly night air with a foreign feeling.

    Some of them had already forgotten how it felt to be without chains. Some of them had already forgotten about the times of freedom.

    All of them had given up on hopes of ever feeling freedom again, but now they were standing once again as free men and women of the night.

    The angry-sounding man went to Fakhir''s dead body and kicked it in frustration, but then the old man touched him on the shoulder and shook his head.

    "That''s enough. He is dead."

    "Sigh..." the angry-sounding man''s expression softened, and he nodded. "I hope he''ll rot in hell."

    "He will. He will." The old man nodded.

    Some of the ves headed to the tents to free the ves there, where they found the ves chained to wooden poles; some had been whipped till their backs had turned bloody, and others had marks of severe malnourishment.

    As soon as they were freed, they let out tears of happiness, and after all that, they stepped outside, all looking in the direction of Adam.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "What''re all of you looking at me for?" Adam asked with confusion.

    "We''re lost, sir angel." The old man kneeled on the ground and prayed. "Show us the path."

    Adam looked at his wings and made them return to his back.

    "Uh, that''s the path." He pointed at one of the tents. "There''s some food and drinks there, uhh, go eat?"

    The old man''s eyes brightened. "We shall do that!"

    Without any hesitation, the ves headed to the tent, started filling their bellies with delicious food, and got rid of their thirst by drinking refreshing beverages.

    It felt like heaven to them.

    After months of barely having any food and water, they enjoyed every bite and sip.

    Adam pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time before pocketing it again.

    ''Once they''ve eaten, I should ask them questions.''

    At that moment, a short-haired young woman wobbled out of the tent and took a seat by one of the campfire logs. She had found some cigarettes and lit one up before taking a deep drag and exhaling a cloud of smoke into the night air.

    "You''re not going to eat and drink?" Adam approached him and took a seat on the other side

    of the campfire.

    "I already have." She said.

    With her short hair and rebellious attitude, she was still quite beautiful, and even though she was wearing some old rags, it didn''t diminish her natural charm.

    She didn''t look as malnourished as others, and instead a healthy glow started to return to her

    skin.

    "You have?" Adam looked curious.

    "Yes, Fakhir was feeding me." She said before taking a drag.

    "Why?"

    "He wanted for me to look all pretty before taking advantage of me." She said. "I felt like I

    was a pig that was being fattened up for ughter."

    "Did he..." Adam didn''t know how to ask it properly.

    "No, thank god." She said. "Probably would''ve tonight if you hadn''t shown up."

    "What''s your name?" Adam asked out of curiosity.

    "Raquel," she said. "Starborn."

    "Ah..." The old man came from the tent, his stomach full, and joined them in the campfire. "A

    royal princess..."

    "Princess?" Adam raised an eyebrow.

    "Yeah, I am the daughter of the former King of the Sevenfold." Raquel shook his head.

    "Before he arrived, that is."

    "Who is this he?" Adam asked. "I heard some of you talk in the cages."

    "About a year ago, a man arrived here." Raquel said. "A man unlike no other. He had godlike

    powers, and he was able to decimate our armies with ease."

    "A yer, that''s what he called himself." The old man said. "We only know him as the Bringer

    of Cmity."

    "Apparently he is bigshot back in the New World." Raquel said.

    "You all know about the New World?" Adam asked.

    "Our ancestors came from the New World." The old man said. "However, because of the constant danger from Chaosbeings, they wanted to find a safehaven for all Originals, and thus

    they created Sevenfold."

    "I see." Adam nodded.

    "Are you yer?" Raquel asked.

    "I am," Adam said.

    "Can you kill the Bringer of Cmity?" she asked.

    "It depends how strong he is." Adam said. "If you know his actual name, I might know how

    strong he is."

    "We don''t know. He never said it aloud." The old man said. "What if we take you to the crimson castle? You could find out more information about him there."

    "Hmm, alright." Adam said. "If it''s too much to chew on, I am sorry, but there won''t be anything that I can do. However, I promise that I''ll try to return and kill him for you all." "That''s all I ask." Raquel said. "Five or ten years, it doesn''t matter as long as we can get our

    freedom back!"

    ''It sounds like this yer found this ce by chance and realized that everyone here is just Originals. That yer became greedy and wanted to be king of this ce.

    ''Thus, he did.

    ''His very own paradise.

    ''I wonder who this person is.''

 Chapter 265: Absolute Monster

    Chapter 265: Absolute Monster

    ?

    Adam patted the horse on the back, and looked over to the old man, who was climbing to the riders seat.

    The former ves climbed inside the wagon, but since it wasn''t big enough, most of them had to walk alongside it.

    After filling their bellies and getting rid of their thirst, all of them came to the conclusion that they wanted to return home-return to Sevenfold.

    Even though it was already dark and night, they were aware that if they stayed in the ver camp, more of Fakhir''sckeys would eventually find them.

    After all, hisckeys were still traveling across the 50th floor in search of more ves.

    Thus, they decided to head out right away, travel over the night, and reach Sevenfold before the sun''s first rays hit the ground.

    "Are you sure you got this?" Adam asked from the old man.

    "Yeah, I used to be a farmer, y''see!" The old man said. "I drove wagons all the time."

    "Oh, farmer?" Adam nodded. "You said you got caught trying to steal from fields of moon food. Whose fields were those?"

    "Heh..." The old man shook his head. "Mine! However, ever since our new ruler came to the city, he took all farms for himself."

    "I see." Adam climbed to the secondary rider seat, right beside the old man, and said, "Shall we go?"

    "Right away, sir angel!"

    With a grin, the old man gently made the horses move into a gallop, and they soon headed out of the ver camp, going down the grass road until they reached the dirt road.

    Knowing exactly where he was going, the old man steered the horses to head in the direction of Sevenfold.

    Behind the wagon, around a hundred ves walked behind, mostly men, as women and children took their ces inside the wagon as most of them weren''t strong enough to survive this journey back.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Where''re you from, sir angel, if I may ask?" The old man hit up a conversation.

    After all, it was going to be a long journey, and they had more than enough time to get to know each other.

    "Where from in the New World or the Other World?" Adam turned to look at him.

    "Mm, New World." The old man said. "I am rather curious about that ce."

    "Dawnwatch, originally." Adam said. "Now in Ebonreach."

    "I wonder if you''ve met this our new ruler there," the old man said and rubbed his beard.

    "You should stop calling him our ruler." Raquel peeked his head from the wagon''s small window. "He is not our ruler. He''s a tyrant."

    "Ah, my bad, royal princess," the old man humbly smiled.

    "I''d like to know more about that person." Adam said. "Anything else you know about him?"

    "A rather good-looking man with crimson eyes and long red hair," the old man said. "However, whenever he smiles, I feel disturbed."

    "His smile is that of a demon''s." Raquel said, "You just know that he is evil. He doesn''t even try to hide it."

    "Apparently there''s war in the New World, and he can''te here as often." The old man said. "However, he still visits this ce rather frequently."

    ''A king of a small world.'' Adam thought. ''I wonder who it could be. The description sounds eerily familiar...''

    ...

    A lonely wagon made his way down a dirt road, the wheels bouncing over the small pebbles. Following the dirt road around a bend, the old man''s eyes lit up as he noticed a walled city in the distance.

    Its high, pitched roofs peeked behind the wall, and he quickened the horse''s pace. Exhausted ves looked over to the city and teared up. They never thought they would be able to see this ce anymore, and if they did, it would be in chains.

    Adam uncrossed his arms and looked at the unfamiliar city with a deep look.

    It looked big, walls surrounding it, and a strange mist shrouded it, but something about it felt like home.

    A river that flowed from the mountains of the north went below the walls and split the city in half, but it was possible to cross the rivers with bridges and boats, making the city rather lively and bustling with activity.

    At that moment, Adam caught sight of the crimson castle. It was located in the higher ground, overseeing the city like a looming guardian, but there was something malicious about it.

    Instead of guardian, the crimson castle now looked like an evil deity, grinning and waiting for its next victim.

    The wheel rattled across the dirt road, heading to the city''s gates.

    "Right, what will we say to the guard?" The old man asked and looked behind at the former ves. "They will recognize them as ves!"

    Adam looked behind towards the ves.

    While they found them some warm clothes to cover their nearly-naked bodies, they were still all dirty-faced and mostly malnourished. It was clear that they were ves.

    The guards were working for their new ruler, so they would obviously want to know how these ves were now unchained and free.

    "Leave it to me." Adam said, and a hint of green tint appeared in the depths of his navy-blue eyes.

    The old man nodded and, for some odd reason, felt much more rxed as he hadplete trust in Adam''s abilities, even though there should be no way of reaching Sevenfold without a

    fight.

    If they fought, the city would go on lockdown, and all of them would be criminals. There''s no way they would be able to live in Sevenfold without being caught.

    After the wagon came to a stop near the tall, lofty gates, a side door opened, and a pair of guards emerged, their weapons already drawn.

    The ves paled, but since there were so many of them, there was nowhere they could hide, so they just stood behind the wagon, awkwardly.

    However, the guards seemed oddly oblivious to them and just came to talk to the rider.

    "What''s your business in here?" The first guard asked.

    ''Eh?'' The old man cleared his throat, and before he could say anything, the young man beside

    him spoke first.

    "Moon food delivery for our ruler." Adam said.

    ''What?'' The old man''s eyes showed slight panic. ''Because he said that, they will definitely check the back of the wagon and see that we have no moon food!''

    "I''ll check the back." The first guard said, and ignoring the hundreds of ves, he opened the p of the wagon, and instead of seeing about twenty ves there, he saw crates filled with

    moon food.

    With a nod, he closed the p and, to the surprise of everyone, said. "Looks clear. You''ve

    granted permission to proceed."

    The tall gates slowly opened.

    ''What?!'' The old man looked shocked and made the horses move through the gates.

    Hundreds of ves awkwardly followed after them, and when they looked at the guards, they

    noticed that they didn''t pay them any attention.

    It was as if they were invincible!

    "W-what did you do?" The old man asked.

    "A power of illusion is powerful against the weak." Adam crossed his legs.

    "Illusion..." The old man realized now the real depth of Adam''s abilities.

    He felt like he could do anything.

    To fool the guards, who were at the top echelon of strength among Originals, with such scale

    was scary.

    ''If he wanted to create an illusion on me, there''s no way I would be able to tell whether it was

    real or not.''

    It made him scared but also filled him with hope once again.

    While he was doubtful whether he would be able to fight their ruler, who was an absolute

    monster, he was gaining more faith in Adam with every passing second.

    Adam was also an absolute monster!

 Chapter 266: Reunion in the Misty City

    Chapter 266: Reunion in the Misty City

    ?

    The sun appeared on the sky, and the coldness of the night slowly dissipated, but it was still rather chilly.

    Walking along a misty street, the old man could see his breath in front of him with each step.

    Adam, and Raquel walked after him, trying to keep up with his brisk pace.

    It was clear that he was anxious to reach his home.

    After taking the horses to the stables, all the ves dispersed and headed to their own homes with faces full of smiles.

    However, before they left, they all thanked Adam with tears running down their eyes, and it left quite asting impression on him.

    "We''re here!" The old man arrived by one of the three-story buildings at the corner of the street.

    It was a brownish house with square-shaped windows, a pitched roof, and a chimney in the middle. It looked like a cozy home for a family.

    He rummaged through his pocket and found his key. It was his only possession during his days of being a ve, and he clutched at it every night before sleeping, hoping that he would one day return to the front steps of his home, holding this key.

    With a gulp, he inserted the key in the hole and twisted it till a click sounded.

    His heart raced as he pushed the door open and entered his home, Adam and Raquel slowly following after him.

    Raquel looked around the cozy living room, taking in the warm atmosphere created by the flickering firece.

    She didn''t have anywhere to go as her entire family was killed by their new ruler, so she decided to follow after them instead.

    Adam didn''t have anywhere to go as well, so the old man invited him to stay in his home for as long as he needed.

    Thump, thump.

    Footsteps came from the second floor, and soon, a gown-wearing old woman stumbled down the stairs, and when she saw the gray-haired old man, her eyes reddened, and she burst into tears.

    "Otis!"

    "Agnes..." Otis''s eyes reddened, and he then hugged his wife, whom he''d been longing to see for quite some time now.

    After somemotion upstairs, several young men and women appeared at the steps, and eximed.

    "Father!"

    "He has returned!"

    Seeing his family after so long brought tears to his eyes, and they all barraged him with questions.

    It had been one month since he went to the fields of the moon food, and he should''ve returned almost immediately after, but he didn''t, and they didn''t hear a word from him.

    They were terrified about what could''ve happened.

    Otis went to the living room, his family following, and after sitting down, he talked about what happened in the past month.

    When he reached the ve part, his family was genuinely terrified.

    Then he reached the part of his rescue, and all of them turned to look at Adam with looks of great gratitude. They were shocked to hear that this young man possessed the same godly powers as their ruler.

    It brought them a newfound hope that they''d thought they''d lost.

    Perhaps...

    The age of suffering was going to be over.

    "I am going to take a smoke. You want one?" Raquel asked and offered a cigarette.

    "I''ll pass," Adam said.

    Raquel shrugged her shoulders, stepped outside, and lit one up before cing it between her lips.

    She looked across the misty city and towards the crimson castle. Her hate burned like a thousand fires.

    "Your hate is strong." Adam stepped outside as well.

    "Yeah, he killed my entire family." Raquel said with hate. "ughtered them like pigs!"

    "I hope you don''t do anything foolish." Adam said. "He will know your intention to harm him if you don''t control your emotions."

    "Good. I like for him to know that his time ising soon!"

    "You don''t get it." Adam said. "To him, it feels like an ant is pissed off about something. Nothing you do can make him serious."

    Raquel bit through the cigarette and spat it out. "Then what should I do? Nothing?"

    "Yes, nothing." Adam said. "If you n on assassinating him, you can''t if you can''t control your emotions, and even then, if his Kiryoku level is higher, he can sense your aura from a

    mile away.

    "Also, you have no way of doing Instant Kill on him. Originals just don''t have the power to do so if the ruler is as strong as you all say he is."

    "Why the hell are we so powerless?" Raquel looked at her hands and clenched them. "Why did the gods give you all the power and leave us powerless? We''re the children of this world, not

    you!"

    "Calm yourself." Adam said. "Those words lead you to the path of the corruption."

    "I don''t care as long as I earn power to kill that motherfucker!" Raquel said, clenching her fists so hard that her knuckles turned white.

    At that moment, Adam touched her in the temple, and tapped his finger against it. That single tap was strong enough to push her down to the ground.

    "W-why did you do that for?" Raquel whispered, pain and confusion evident in her voice.

    "Corruption doesn''t help you get any sort of revenge. It is a lie. It tempts you with the illusion of revenge, but in the end, once you get corrupted, your revenge gets further and further away

    from you.

    "That will make you angry. That makes the corruption stronger. Once you fall into the spiral

    of anger and frustration, you can never go back.

    "The corruption has already made you its ve!"

    "T-then what is there to do?" Raquel asked, tears streaming down her face.

    Adam scratched the back of his head, gave her his hand, and said. "May I get a cigarette?"

    "Eh..." Raquel took one cigarette and gave him one.

    After lighting it up, he took a short drag, and said. "Leave it to me. I can''t promise you that I would be able to kill him, but I can promise that I will try."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Aren''t you scared of dying?" Raquel asked with teary eyes. "I''ve seen what he can do. The entire Starborn army was like a bunch of babies, unable tond a single scratch on him." "Mercenaries are always bncing between life and death." Adam said. "This is nothing new. Who knows, maybe I am stronger than the ruler already. I just need to find out who the hell he

    is."

    At that moment, the front door mmed open, and Otis stepped outside.

    Once he found the two there, he sighed in relief and said, "Adam, my wife told me rming

    news!"

    "What is it?" Adam asked.

    "The Bringer of Cmity will return tomorrow!" Otis said. "Apparently the city has been

    preparing for a festival to honor his name!"

    Raquel''s eyes turned cold.

    "So, tomorrow..." Adam hummed.

    "He will ride a horse, through the streets of the city." Otis said. "And at the crimson castle,

    the citizens of the city will gather there, and he''ll do a speech."

    "Alright," Adam said. "We should be there then."

    Otis grinned, and shook in excitement.

    ''Tomorrow... we only have tost until tomorrow, and this nightmare might be over!''

    ''His very own festival, hah.'' Adam shook his head. ''This guy sounds really shy. Crimson eyes, and long red hair. This guy sounds very familiar.''

 Chapter 267: Three Legendary Scrolls

    Chapter 267: Three Legendary Scrolls

    ?

    The night''s lonely colors fell over the fog-shrouded city of Sevenfold.

    Through the streets, hanging like a heavy nket, suffocating the faint glow of the streetlights.

    New decorations were hanging from thempposts, and the city was ready for tomorrow''s festivities.

    However, the atmosphere among the citizens was heavy and bleak, as if the festival was nothing to celebrate about.

    At the brown building''s top floor''s balcony, Adam leaned against the door while watching as the city went to sleep.

    The asional people that still moved in the fog were workers, returning from long hours of overtime.

    They had no choice as they had to somehow support their families as everyone''s pay had been cut short, thanks to their new ruler.

    "Nice decorations, right?" Otis knocked on his door and walked to the balcony.

    "I guess," Adam said.

    "Well, because of the cost of those decorations, everyone''s pay was cut." Otis said. "Or at least that''s what most people think, but we also think that our new ruler is pocketing the money for himself."

    "What a charming fellow," Adam said. ''If that person became king of the New World, he would be overthrown day one.''

    It made him chuckle, thinking about what would happen if that person became the king of the New World.

    Unlike here, New World was full of strong powerhouses, and it didn''t matter if that person was also strongest there. He couldn''t possibly stop the full might of thousands of

    mercenaries.

    That''s why tyrants would never thrive in the New World.

    King Moriarty was smart in that aspect.

    He was able to keep the mercenaries happy.

    "I have something to give you," Otis suddenly said.

    "Hmm?" Adam raised an eyebrow but followed after him out of curiosity.

    They headed out of the room, stepped down all the way to the basement level, where Otis picked up a dimly litntern, and opened a heavy, rusty door there.

    After it was open, they entered the dimly lit room, and Otis ced thentern on a small table in the corner. It illuminated the ce well enough.

    The room was dusty and covered in cobwebs, but there was a strange treasure chest sitting in the center of the room.

    Otis kneeled in front of it and said. "My family''s ancestors were part of the first group that came to Sevenfold and made it their home.

    "It was just a small camp back then, barely five tents, all of them ragged and filled with holes, but slowly, through the decades, it became a vige, then a mighty city.

    "When my ancestors came from the New World, they brought with them three family treasures."

    Otis opened the chest.

    Inside, there were three scrolls that seemed to glow with a dim golden light.

    Adam''s eyes widened in shock, and his breath stopped momentarily.

    "Apparently, these scrolls can give a person power beyond their wildest dreams. However, my ancestors, my grandfather, my father, and even my children, all tried to learn these scrolls but to no avail.

    "Even I was unsessful."

    "Yeah, no wonder." Adam said. "To learn these scrolls, you need an insane level of mastery in Magick, and since you Originals can''t learn Magick, learning these scrolls is impossible."

    "I see..." Otis sighed with sadness. "These are yours now. Maybe they can help you defeat him."

    Adam crouched in front of the treasure chest and said, "The thing is, even I cannot learn these at my current level."

    Otis'' eyes widened in shock.

    It made him very surprised that someone as strong as Adam was also unable to learn these scrolls. These scrolls must be incredibly valuable!

    ''Three legendary spell scrolls.'' Adam gulped.

    "Even if I had high enough mastery in Magick, it would still take me months to learn all these three scrolls."

    Adam said and picked them up.

    "I see..." Otis sighed. "Well, they''re still yours. Maybe they can help you in the future."

    "I appreciate it very much." Adam said, and out of curiosity, he opened the scrolls to see what

    kind of spells they were.

    [Spell: Weak Force]

    [Rank: Legendary]

    [Progress: 0%]

    [Description: Obliterate everything in your path. The spell allows the user to destroy

    everything in their path to ashes, dust, and nothingness]

    ''Weak Force...'' Adam''s eyes opened wide. ''One of the three Force spells. I used to have Strong

    Force in my past life, and it was one of my strongest abilities.''

    He then opened the second scroll, and again, surprise awaited him.

    [Spell: Gravity Force]

    [Rank: Legendary]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [Progress: 0%]

    [Description: Control the heavy and light. Grants the user the ultimate control of gravity]

    ''Second Force skill!'' Adam''s breath quickened. ''I remember a certain someone from the Death faction having Gravity Force. They were fucking menace on the battlefield!''

    His gaze thennded on the final third scroll, and with a gulp, he opened it wide.

    [Spell: Strong Force]

    [Rank: Legendary]

    [Progress: 0%]

    [Description: Grants the user mastery over the nuclear forces of the star]

    ''That''s it!'' Adam smiled. ''Strong Force...''

    He never thought he was going to find it ever again.

    Back in his previous life, he found it on a battlefield after salvaging through the remnants of powerful mercenaries that died in the bloody battle.

    It was a stroke of luck!

    However, the Strong Force was only epic-ranked when he found it, but now it was Legendary-

    ranked.

    It was possible for the same skill to exist and for the same people to have the same skills, but there was not going to be a second legendary-ranked skill of the same type.

    While there might be epic-ranked Strong Force spells, this was the only legendary one in the

    entire game!

    ''Since this is legendary-ranked, it will be even mightier version. This is crazy, and I would

    love to learn it right away, but my level of Magick is not enough!

    ''I need to reach level 4 first before attempting to learn.''

    "I hope the spells satisfied you." Otis said with a smile, but seeing the look on Adam''s face, it

    was clear that he was extremely pleased.

    "Yeah, I am very pleased." Adam stored the spells inside his inventory.

    "That''s good." Otis said. "What''re your ns now?"

    "I''ll need to prepare for tomorrow," Adam said.

    "Prepare, how?" Otis asked out of curiosity.

    Adam d his hand in ck Kraft and said, "I feel like I am ready to advance my Kraft, and I

    also need to craft some poison bombs. It''s better to be ready for everything."

    "You should rest as well," Otis said.

    "Yeah, I know," Adam said.

    ''I am already at the level that when I fight someone of equal level or stronger, the fights

    mightst hours if not days. I hope the ruler is weaker than I expect, but my luck is not that

    good.''

    After leaving the basement, Adam returned back to his room and sat cross-legged on the bed. With his eyes open, he stared straight at the bookshelf in the corner.

    To advance through Kraft levels, he needed to imagine some kind of forcefield around

    objects, and to advance to the third level of Kraft, he needed to imagine big.

    Thus, the bookshelf was a good target to try.

    The bookshelf slightly started to turn ck, but only some of the books.

    Adam gritted his teeth, and his nose started to slightly bleed, but eventually, a little bit of the

    bookshelf started to turn purple!

 Chapter 268: I Am S-Ranker!

    Chapter 268: I Am S-Ranker!

    ?

    When the sun appeared back in the sky, the citizens of Sevenfold headed out to the streets, and since the fog had now dissipated, they were able to see the decorations in their full glory. While they forced themselves to smile, their mood was still all-time low.

    If they didn''t look happy and satisfied, they would get beat up by the guards who were patrolling the area.

    On one of the balconies, near the crimson castle, Otis and his family, alongside Adam and Raquel, gathered close enough to catch a glimpse of the stage, where the new ruler would do his speech.

    From here, Adam would finally be able to see the ruler''s identity.

    "See those smiles?" Otis said to Adam. "All forced, and fake."

    "Why''re they forcing themselves to smile?" Adam asked.

    "Well, look." Otis pointed to the corner of the street, where an elderly man was looking extremely bleak, but then a couple of guards stopped him and kicked him down to the ground, where they started beating him.

    "It''s because of what the guards will do." Agnes said with a sad look. "The ruler is extremely blind to his own ways. He believes that the citizens are extremely happy to be under his rule, and if they show any sort of displeasure, they are swiftly dealt with."

    "How can someone be so blind?" Adam asked. "It''s like he''s living in apletely different reality."

    "I think he wants to be a good ruler, but deep down, he is just an evil person." Otis said. "Evil exists in the world. He might think he is righteous and kind."

    ''I don''t think he cares about what Originals feel. He most likely thinks that they are just some programs created to serve yers. It''s not that umon a view of thinking.''

    At that moment, loud celebrations reverberated across the city,ing from the gate of the city.

    Near there, all the citizens started pping their hands while forcing smiles on their faces. It was because a man, on a horseback, had entered the city, waving his hand with a smirk on his face.

    "He hase." Otis said coldly.

    Raquel dug her nails into her palms, trying to contain her rage.

    ''I can''t see him yet.'' Adam said while narrowing his eyes. ''I have to lower my aura''s strength to resemble that of Original so that I won''t get discovered.''

    Soon, his aura had the strength of ordinary Original. To any mercenary, he would seem like just any Original.

    The man rode across the streets of Sevenfold, slow enough, and just kept waving his hand while he was showered with cheers.

    The citizens kept pping. Some even teared up, but those weren''t tears of happiness. They were tears of frustration and anger.

    This man on the horseback was the main reason why all of them were starving and suffering.

    However, he had shown his strength more than enough times already so that none of the citizens ever dared to challenge him.

    And they didn''t dare.

    The man seemed drunk on this feeling. He felt like everyone around him was worshipping him like a god, and he loved this feeling.

    To him, it was the world''s greatest feeling.

    ''The crowd of people is making it hard for me to see him.'' Adam thought with crossed arms. ''However, when he arrives at the stage, I should be able to see him.''

    The white-maned horse galloped down the streets, and once he arrived near the crimson castle, he was weed by the castle''s servants, who were also smiling and pping.

    All the servants were female. Beautiful and dressed in bright colors, they surrounded the horse and its rider in a whirlwind of excitement.

    However, like the citizens, their excitement was fake. Their smiles were fake. Their pping was fake. All of them were performing for show, hiding their true feelings behind a facade of joy.

    "My beautifuldies, I''ve returned!" The man hopped off the horse, grinning from ear to ear. The drums sounded from some distance away, creating a celebratory atmosphere.

    With a grin, he stepped up the stairs to the stage, and took the spot at the center, smiling at the excited crowd.

    In the balcony, Raquel said. "That''s him!"

    "Do you know him?" Otis looked over to Adam.

    However, to his surprise, he saw that Adam looked to be genuinely in shock, unable to speak a word.

    "Young Adam?" Agnes, and her children looked at him.

    "Adam?" Raquel didn''t like that look. "Could it be that he is... someone more powerful than

    you?"

    Adam took a step forward and leaned against the railing, ring towards the stage with a strange look.

    "Oh, yes, I know him. I know him very well!"

    "What now?" Otis asked. "Can you take him down?"

    "Wait!" Raquel grabbed Adam by the shoulder and asked. "Who is he?"

    "His name is..." Adam took a deep breath. "Cmity!"

    At the stage, Cmity continued grinning, his handsome face twisted into a sinister expression. His long, red hair was flowing in the wind, making him look like a royal prince of some fairytale, but his eyes told a different story.

    Evil, malicious, and sinister.

    That''s who Cmity was.

    "Is he strong?" Raquel asked. "Even in the New World?"

    "Yes, powerful indeed." Adam said. "He is S-ranker. One of the most talented people in the

    entire world."

    "So, he is that special..." Otis thought aloud, feeling a shiver run down his spine.

    "Young Adam, is there nothing you can do?" Agnes asked with a look of concern in her eyes.

    Adam inhaled deeply and softly opened his eyes.

    ''I can gauge his strength. He hadn''t reached level 25 yet. However, he is close, probably only two thousand experience points away, but his strength is already at Royal Mercenary or

    above.

    ''While I can fight against mercenaries that are higher-ranked than me, so can Cmity. After all, he is S-ranker, and since I am a couple of levels below him, beating him is nearly

    impossible.

    ''However!''

    Adam cracked his knuckles and said, "I will give it a try."

    "If you think you can''t do it, don''t!" Otis held him back. "We appreciate you, but you don''t need to kill yourself over this!"

    "Wait, Otis." Raquel said and looked straight at Adam. "If you lose the fight, Cmity will be hundred times worse. He will believe we were plotting against him and will start

    ughtering all of us.

    "I would like to see Cmity dead, and I wish I could just cheer you on, but if you can''t beat

    him now, we''re fine waiting another year or two."

    Adam just smiled and said, "That won''t do. I have to kill him now."

    "W-why?"

    There were many reasons.

    This was the only time when Cmity would be alone.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    In the New World, he was always with Mauricio and killing him there was impossible.

    Cmity also hadn''t reached Royal Mercenary yet. Once he reached that level, his strength would have another insane jump.

    It would be very difficult to keep up with Cmity''s level of talent, and Adam wasn''t sure if

    he could do that.

    Also, next time Cmity was alone, like this wouldn''t be any time soon because of the war, and he would definitely be in the New World for the next couple of years.

    "It''s not just him, y''know."

    "?" Raquel looked at him with wide eyes.

    At that moment, Adam hopped on top of the railing, and the wings grew from his back.

    Those wings were so bright and beautiful that every citizen below was able to see them.

    Cmity slowly turned his gaze over to the winged young man, and his eyes widened in an utter shock. He recognized the young man.

    "I am also S-ranker!" Adam jumped off the balcony and took flight.

 Chapter 269: Thousand-Arm Monster of Armageddon

    Chapter 269: Thousand-Arm Monster of Armageddon

    ?

    The citizens watched as the winged young man soared across the air.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    Cmity''s eyes kept widening more and more as the winged young man kept approaching him.

    It only took one second for him to fly from the balcony to the stage.

    With the greatsword in hand, Adam put the strength of his very being on the first sh, smashing it down towards the red-haired man without holding back even the slightest!

    On Cmity''s left hand, shield appeared out of nowhere, and it was immediately d with deep purple color.

    He was using Kraft immediately as he realized the danger of this strike!

    After swinging his shield towards the sword, they collided, and the stage below them shattered and broke.

    A strong shockwave traveled across the ground and knocked the citizens off their feet. As soon as they returned from their shocked state, they all started running away in panic.

    "How did you find this ce, Adam?!" Cmity asked in rage.

    "Secret!" Adam gritted his teeth and smashed his sword down once more, but it slid past the shield and smashed into the ground with a thunderous impact.

    Cmity used the shield''s smooth surface to deflect the blow!

    "You attacked me, why?" Cmity asked with a mixture of confusion and anger.

    "To kill you, simple." Adam said and lifted his sword back up, then rested it against his shoulder.

    "Why?" Cmity was full of questions.

    "The citizens of this ce aren''t very happy with you." Adam said. "I thought about giving them a hand in exterminating you."

    "Those ungrateful bastards!" Cmity screamed. "I''ve done nothing but protect them!"

    "Protect from who?" Adam asked.

    "From other yers!" Cmity screamed. "If they find out about this ce, it would be just like the New World!"

    "Then who will protect this ce from you?" Adam asked.

    "THIS IS MY PARADISE!" Cmity rushed in and threw a straight punch. "I WON''T LET YOU RUIN THIS PLACE!"

    Adam blocked the punch with therge de of his sword, but the ground behind him still cracked and shattered because of the impact.

    Back at the balcony, Otis'' breathing quickened, and he quickly said. "We need to leave! This ce will turn into a battlefield!"

    Agnes helped her children put their coats back on and quickly led them towards the exit.

    However, Otis then saw that Raquel wasn''t moving and said, "Royal Princess, we should really leave."

    "I want to keep watching." Raquel said. "I want to see him die with my very own eyes."

    "This is a battle beyond our control," Otis said, trying to reason with her. "You''ll risk your life for nothing if you stay."

    "If I die, I''ll be reunited with my family; I am fine with it." Raquel said and looked at him. "You should go to protect your family."

    Otis clenched his fists, but eventually nodded and ran after his wife and children.

    Raquel took a seat by the balcony and watched as the fight raged on.

    "Please... kill him."

    ...

    Cmity made his shield disappear and summoned a sword to his hand. It looked like a katana with a curved de, and its hilt was adorned with spades.

    As the heavy-looking greatsword came crashing down, Cmity sidestepped past it and cut through Adam''s waist.

    It was a very nice and quick move.

    However, at that moment, he noticed theck of blood on the katana''s de and then noticed that below Adam''s clothing, there was nice-looking armor that was d in purple.

    ''Purple Kraft?'' Cmity frowned. ''Hasn''t it been only one year since he came to the game, and he has already achieved such a feat? His Kiryoku and Magick must be weak then, so I must use them to my advantage!''

    He switched his sword grip. He was now holding the sword in a reverse grip and slid the katana''s de inside his scabbard.

    With his one hand on the hilt and the second on the scabbard, he slowly said.

    "Quickdraw of Rage, Rage, Rage!"

    When the first rage was spoken, the katana started glowing. When the second rage was spoken, the katana transformed into a zing sword of fire, and when the third rage was spoken, the sword emitted a deafening roar that echoed through the city.

    Adam turned over to look at him, and a slight hint of green appeared at the depths of his eyes. With a lunge, Cmity moved as fast as fiery fire and cut through Adam''s Kraft, through the armor, through the body, and through the soul.

    Behind him, Adam got caught in a fire and was consumed by the mes.

    "Disappointing." Cmity said with a smirk. "I guess you really were a fake S-ranker."

    However, since his back was turned on Adam, he didn''t notice that the burning man disappeared into thin air, as if he didn''t exist.

    In that moment, the greatsword stabbed through Cmity''s back, causing him to cough blood in a panic.

    As the sword headed towards his heart, Cmity quickly moved his heart just a few centimeters to the left, which was enough to avoid the lethal blow.

    However, the sword still went through his entire body.

    ''I didn''t hit the heart. He managed to avoid it?'' Adam stared in disbelief.

    "Ember Spark!" Cmity coughed and turned into embers before Adam''s eyes.

    A slight distance away, Cmity appeared on top of a roof and immediately gulped down a

    sk to heal the massive wound on his chest and back.

    However, the damage was still done.

    [Cmity - HP: 1005/1650]

    By the balcony, Raquel trembled in excitement. "Yes, yes!"

    Running across the streets, Otis heard somemotion among the other Originals and also

    turned around to look towards the fight.

    He just managed to see the confrontation.

    "H-he actually wounded him!"

    The Originals looked at each other with an equally stunned expression. They started hoping.

    Could it be that their days of pain and suffering were over?

    Agnes teared up and covered her mouth. "Little Adam is actually doing it."

    However, at the grand balcony of the crimson castle, three rulers of the underground looked incredibly displeased.

    After Cmity''s speech, they were supposed to have a meeting to discuss the future of the underground business.

    "What the hell is Cmity doing?" Khashifa, the Queen of Pleasure, asked in anger. "If he

    falls here, we fall!"

    "And where the hell is Fakhir?" Waleed, King of Bloodshed, asked. "He should be here by

    now!"

    "That clearly doesn''t matter now!" Yusriyah, The Queen of Gambling, said. "Another yer has clearly appeared. If Cmity loses..."

    "What if that second yer also wants to work with us?" Waleed asked. "The underground business is making more money than ever before. He might be tempted."

    "True, this fight might be about the throne." Khashifa said. "Whatever happens, we''ll need to

    secure our future. If Cmity loses, let''s talk to this yer."

    "Sounds like a deal."

    At the fight, Cmity shook his head. "No, no, no, no!"

    On his hand, the katana still burned, but its de had already turned ck, and its power was

    fading.

    As soon as the mes died down, the de turned to ash and fell through the gaps of his

    fingers.

    "Hahahaha!" Cmity jumped off the roof and pointed his right arm randomly towards the

    right.

    ''Don''t lower your guard!'' Adam said to himself. ''This is Cmity, one of the greatest talents to have ever been born. He''ll be now more dangerous than ever before!'' Within Cmity''s right arm, his muscles started to twitch and turn a deep shade of crimson.

    Under his mortal flesh, hundreds of arms started to sprout, making his right arm look like a

    horrifying monster from a nightmare.

    "Transformation Magick, Thousand-Arm Monster of Armageddon!"

 Chapter 270: Special

    Chapter 270: Special

    ?

    Four years ago, the first tutorial group of the year.

    "You''re special, Cmity!" A beautiful, bob-haired handler said with a sweet smile. "You will do great things in the future."

    The young Cmity looked up from a book and looked at her with his fiery gaze. "You think so?"N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "I know so." She said with a beautiful smile and touched Cmity''s short but beautiful red hair. "You can be the next king."

    "I don''t want to be a king." Cmity turned his gaze back to the book on hisp. "Sounds like a bother."

    "Is it?" She asked with a giggle. "It sounds like a perfect job for me. I mean, you can do anything as you are the King, and everyone will know and worship you."

    "Why would I need that?" Cmity asked. "As long as I have you, I am happy."

    "Haha, you''re so cute." She said with a giggle and kissed him on the cheek. "But I can be your queen. You just need that ambition."

    "Mmh..." Cmity muttered under his breath and shook his head.

    "Look at this." The handler took out a shinecoin and showed it to him. "Look at the face on the coin. That''s King Moriarty. Just imagine how popr he is. Everyone knows him so that even his face is on the coin.

    "Everyone will remember him for centuries. Don''t you want to be remembered?"

    "I guess," Cmity said. "I want to be remembered as powerful and kind."

    "And you will." She hugged him from behind and smiled. "You''re special after all~"

    ...

    A few weekster.

    Through the portal, Cmity and a dozen other yers stumbled out. All of them were heavily injured, as they had just finished the third floor.

    "Look." The other tutorial group yers whispered as they pointed in Cmity''s direction. "That''s Cmity. Apparently the third floor''s boss defeated his entire tutorial group until Cmity finally managed to find it.

    "Instead of running away, he fought the boss all by himself and defeated it!"

    "Wow, that''s amazing!"

    "Indeed, Cmity is really a special yer!"

    The yers looked at him with a look of respect and reverence.

    Cmity felt all those gazes but just lowered his head and headed to the third floor to meet his handler.

    He didn''t care about the attention and praise from others, but only cared about her.

    As soon as he reached the third floor, he headed straight to his room, ignoring the whispers and stares from his peers.

    However, before he could reach his room, he found one of the doors open, and there she was, his handler standing by the doorway while clearly talking with another yer.

    As Cmity was about to call out towards her, he heard what she was saying.

    "You''re really special." She touched the cheek of the yer, who was clearly blushing and embarrassed. "You will do great things. I can see the aura of a ruler within you."

    Cmity''s expression fell, and his heart sank to the depths of his stomach.

    At that moment, the handler turned her head to look at him, and she looked shocked briefly before she tried to put up a facade.

    "Cmity~" She bowed as courtesy. "I heard what you did on the third floor. Good job~"

    "Who is this?" The yer asked with a frown and jealous gaze.

    "I am also his handler." She said with a slightly forced smile.

    "Oh, nice to meet you." The yer nodded briefly towards Cmity and then turned back to her with a smile. "Should we meet again tonight or what?"

    She kept smiling, but inside she was extremely furious.

    ''How dense can he fucking be?'' She had to resist the urge to p him across the face. ''Didn''t I tell him to keep what we''re doing a secret? Men are all idiots!''

    She realized why he was doing this.

    Out of jealousy, he was trying to show his dominance over Cmity.

    At that moment, Cmity stepped closer to her until he was standing right in front of her. He

    looked straight down at her, his gaze cold, and his mouth set in a firm line.

    "Was everything you said a lie?" Cmity asked.

    "W-what?" She awkwardly twirled her hair and said. "Of course not!"

    "Hey, you''re making her ufortable." The yer put his hand on Cmity''s shoulder and pushed him a step back. "Keep your distance."

    GRAB!

    Cmity''s hand grabbed the yer by the throat, lifting him off the ground.

    "GRH!" The yer''s face turned red. "L-let me go, bastard!"

    "What''re you doing?!" The handler tried to make him drop him, but she couldn''t even make him flinch. "Cmity, stop it!"

    "Am I not special?" Cmity asked coldly.

    "Just let him go, Cmity!" She screamed and punched him in the arm, but he just didn''t let

    go.

    "Answer!" Cmity asked in anger and identally snapped the yer''s neck.

    The handler screamed and covered her mouth. "Y-y-you killed him!"

    Cmity backhanded her across the face, knocking her to the ground. He then tossed the yer''s corpse away like trash and stood over her.

    She touched her cheek and teared up. "C-Cmity, w-why?"

    "Haha, I get it now!" Cmityughed. "This is your program, right?"

    "P-program, what?" She didn''t understand what that meant.

    "You go and tell how special the yers are, sleep with them like a whore, because that is

    your program, isn''t it?" He asked. "It is in your code."

    "I-I don''t understand, and no, I didn''t sleep with anyone else than you. You have to trust me,

    I really think you''re special!"

    "I should''ve known." Cmityughed. "You fucking Originals. None of you are real. I am

    stupid to fall for a fake person; what the fuck is wrong with me?"

    Heughed to himself and retrieved his sword from his inventory.

    She paled and shouted. "Don''t!"

    At that moment, footsteps came from the end of the hallway, and a man with a ck mohawk

    walked over to them with a cold glint in his eyes.

    "Mauricio, pleasee save me!" She shouted. "He is trying to kill me!"

    Cmity''s eyes narrowed as he watched the current caretaker of the tutorial walk over to

    them.

    "Bothersome." Mauricio saw the dead yer and sighed. "More paperwork, fucking great."

    "Don''t you dare to stop me." Cmity warned.

    "Stop you? Why would I do that?" Mauricio asked.

    "Eh?" Cmity frowned.

    "M-Mauricio." She looked stunned. "Your duty is to protect me!"

    "No, it ain''t." Mauricio scoffed and turned around to walk away. "I suggest hiding the bodies

    in that yer''s room. That room might stay unused for a couple of years until one

    unfortunate yer happens to get it."

    "MAURICIO!" She screamed, but then a sword came falling down and hacked her head off.

    "Wait!" Cmity called out towards him. "Who''re you?"

    "Mauricio ughter."

    Mauricio came to a stop and turned to look at him.

    "I''ll remember it." Cmity started dragging the bodies inside the yer''s room.

    "Scary guy..." Mauricio grinned and walked away.

    ...

    The present day.

    With the hundreds of arms growing from his right arm, Cmity formed hundreds of fists,

    and they all started raining down on Adam.

    With his eyes narrowing, Adam weaved through the raining fists while using his Kiryoku at

    full strength. It looked like the fists were raindrops, falling at such intensity that it was

    almost impossible to keep up with.

    Raquel, and thousands of Originals just watched as he kept dodging and dodging, doing something that all of them thought was impossible.

    They couldn''t understand how Adam was able to keep dodging!

    At that moment, Adam jumped through a small gap between arms and appeared right in front

    of Cmity, a cold re in his eyes.

    "I see the hate in your eye!" Cmityughed. "What did I do for you to hate me such?"

    Adam swung his sword down, but hundreds of more arms sprouted from Cmity''s body and

    acted as a shield.

    The sword cut through about fifty arms before getting stuck in the flesh.

    The two men locked gazes.

    This was a start of the fight that would change the future of the New World, drastically.

 Chapter 271: The Cheers

    Chapter 271: The Cheers

    ?

    Cmity reached out his hand forward, and more arms started to sprout from his palm, over and over again, and he did the same with his left arm.

    The chaos of limbs continued to grow until he waspletely engulfed in a writhing mass of appendages.

    With random mess, Cmity''s limbs iled wildly in every direction, causing destruction and panic wherever theynded.

    Adam weaved through the iling limbs, using every bit of flexibility in his body to dodge the chaos.

    The fingers of the appendages were long and thin, reaching out like tentacles towards Adam as they tried to grab a hold of him.

    A few fingers were close, barely scratching his skin and clothes.

    ''His level of Kiryoku is insane as well!'' Cmity had to admit. ''I am also using Kiryoku to predict his moves, but he moves before I do. It only means his Kiryoku is higher than mine!''

    It made him stunned.

    He couldn''t believe that Adam was able to grow strong to such an extent under everyone''s noses. It only meant that he was hiding himself from the public eye to hide his insane growth.

    Cmity''s eyes narrowed, and he cut off his extended limbs.

    The extended limbs fell to the ground and turned into a pool of disgusting blood with a sickening squelch that flowed down the pavement-covered street.

    Then, hundreds of arms sprouted from his right arm, writhing around his arm and contorting in unnatural ways. It was like those arms didn''t have any bones, causing them to move in a fluid and grotesque manner.

    Soon, his right arm looked huge and muscr, dwarfing the rest of his body.

    The wind circled around the arm, creating a deafening howling noise that could be heard for miles.

    "Per Du Mon De Su!" Cmity screamed and jumped towards Adam.

    When he punched his grotesque arm forward, the twisting of his muscles created a wind that whirled with a force that was so strong it shattered all the windows of the crimson castle.

    The beautiful, eight-petaled wings sprouted from Adam''s back and shielded him from the grotesque arm, but still, the shockwave of the punch went straight through.

    "Argh!" Adam coughed out in pain.

    The shockwave smashed through his body and traversed across the streets until it finally crashed into a building at the end of the street.

    The building got smashed into pieces and got flung across the city.

    All the Originals watched as the building flew across the city andnded on top of a roof of a medium-sized restaurant that crumbled under its weight.

    The destruction was scary and massive.

    Raquel got thrown into an air and crashed into a wall, but she just wiped the blood off her lips and walked back to the balcony.

    She looked palefaced, but her gaze stayed cold, and she sat back down.

    A distance away, Otis shielded his family from the shockwave, which wasn''t as strong as near the fight but still strong enough to send everyone into a panic.

    "The streets are not safe," Agnes said in worry.

    "We should get on the roof of the Observatory building!" A man shouted among the Originals. "It''s built from moon rock and should be the most durable building in the city!"

    "Otis?" Agnes looked at her husband.

    "That man is right. It''s also the tallest building in the city, so we could see the fight from there..."

    Otis said and immediately headed in that direction, with his family following closely after him.

    Back at the fight, Adam wiped the blood off his lips and lifted his sword high.

    "You shielded your innards with your Kraft." Cmity chuckled. "A difficult technique to learn. If you do it wrong, you might identally crush your heart."

    ''That attack was designed to attack my insides. It''s like Chi Strike, but far more powerful.'' Adam thought with cold sweat falling off his face.

    "Well, let''s see if it was a fluke." Cmity did the same with his right arm and created a whirlwind of wind around his arm.

    Adam stabbed the ground with his sword and shot his eight-petaled wings forward. They stabbed through the air like javelins and headed straight at Cmity.

    "Armageddon Smash!" Cmity punched into the eight-petaled wings and created another shockwave that crashed into Adam.

    The shockwave sent him flying, and his body smashed through a nearby building like a cannonball.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "No!" Raquel screamed.

    "Oh?" Cmity raised his gaze towards the balcony and grinned. "A fangirl of yours? That''s adorable."

    He then aimed his overgrown arm towards the balcony and said, "Goodbye~"

    Raquel spread her arms around and said. "Mother, I will join you."

    The wind whirled around his arm, and as his attack was about to strike, a greatsword came from nowhere and stabbed into the grotesque arm.

    "Ngh?" Cmity frowned and turned his gaze to the left, just in time to see Adam flying towards him.

    "Push!" Adam controlled the greatsword so that it would stab deeper and deeper into the flesh.

    Cmity pulled the greatsword off his arm and flung it away into the air.

    The greatsword flew across the city of Sevenfold and stabbed into the ground near the front

    gate.

    The guard spat out his cigarette, put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and looked around in

    shock.

    "Where the hell did this sworde from?!"

    ...

    At the roof of the Observatory building.

    Otis opened the door and ran to the edge of the building. There he had a perfect view of the fight that was happening in the distance.

    Agnes and her children came also, following them more and more Originals came to watch.

    "Who is winning?" Agnes asked.

    "I don''t know," Otis answered hesitantly. "However, Adam is the first person to survive this long against him. He might actually have a chance!"

    Otis'' oldest son held his little sister''s hand, and they all held their breath in anticipation.

    Hope.

    A rare thing in their daily lives, but at this moment, it was all they had.

    ...

    "Whoo, whoo..." Adam kneeled on the ground, panting heavily as he looked at his health bar

    in front of him.

    [Adam - HP: 925/1500]

    ''I am now under disadvantage.''

    He then looked over to Cmity, who was standing tall and mighty, his grotesque right arm growing thinner and appearing longer than before.

    [Cmity - HP: 995/1650]

    "You''re panting already? Not much of a stamina man, huh." Cmity chuckled. "That won''t

    do~"

    Adam shook his head and stood back up.

    ''It''s not my stamina. This is all about mental warfare.'' Adam wiped the sweat off his brows.

    ''I''ve had to overuse my Kiryoku. Otherwise, I would be dead already!''

    All of Cmity''s attacks had been lethal and extremely dangerous.

    Without Kiryoku, he would''ve already been hit and killed.

    "If this is all you can do, this fight will end sooner thanter!" Cmity grinned and lunged

    straight at him.

    With a twist of his muscles, his grotesque punch moved at an incredible speed.

    Adam gritted his teeth, lifted his arm, and punched against the grotesque punch.

    CRACK!

    The ground broke under them!

    Spurt!

    Adam''s muscles swelled with power, and his veins popped out, bleeding profusely!

    "Heh!"

    Cmity smirked, and his arm grew one more time. It gave him enough strength to just punch

    through Adam''s fist.

    Adam''s arm broke like a twig, turning bruised and twisted!

    Raquel''s eyes widened in fear. "No..."

    However, Adam then nted his feet back on the ground and swung his left fist across

    Cmity''s face.

    The blood spewed out of his mouth and knocked a few teeth out.

    "I won''t lose!" Adam screamed.

    ...

    "Yes, beat him!" Otis trembled in tension as he watched the brutal fight unfold before him.

    The rest of the Originals were also cheering. Not a single person was cheering for Cmity.

    Not a single one. "Please..." Agnes put her hands together. "Win!"

 Chapter 272: The Peak

    Chapter 272: The Peak

    ?

    Mauricio stood on top of a hill, the shielded vige below him, where his and the Nightshade faction had gathered to group up before heading to the first big battle.

    However, he wasn''t caring about any of that for now, but instead just kept staring towards the sky like he was searching for something that only he could see.

    At that moment, a member of his guild headed up the hill, and greeted him with a bow.

    "Guild master."

    "What is it?" Mauricio asked, not looking away from the sky even for a moment.

    "Sir Ambrose said about heading out in a couple of days. He was wondering whether Sir Cmity would be joining us."

    "I don''t know." Mauricio said. "He is doing his own thing most of the time. Even I don''t know where he is currently."

    "Isn''t that dangerous? Especially with the rising tension across the New World. If enemies from other factions find him, he could be in serious trouble."

    "Nah, he''ll be fine." Mauricio said. "He won''t take a fight that he can''t win. He''s too smart for that."

    ...

    "You sacrificed your arm for that pathetic punch!" Cmity grinned and punched across Adam''s face with his grotesque arm. "A bad choice!"

    Adam''s face got twisted to the side, and half of his face looked like he''d been hit by a sledgehammer.

    "Shield Charge!"

    Using his body as a ramming shield, Adam tackled Cmity with full force but only managed to make him slide back a few inches.

    Cmity went for a punch, but Adam then slithered around him like a snake and put him into a strong headlock.

    He wanted to force Cmity on his knees, but he just tore his headlock away and escaped from Adam''s grasp.

    One of the petaled wings swung down and smacked Cmity across his face. Cmity stumbled backwards, feeling the sting of the impact.

    However, his flesh continued distorting and growing. His newly-grown flesh blocked the majority of the impact and caused him to only lose very small amounts of health.

    At that moment, Cmity''s grotesque arm returned to its ordinary state. However, like at the start of the fight, hundreds of arms sprouted from under his mortal flesh and, like branches of a tree, spread across the street.

    "Haa, haaa..." Adam breathed heavily and started using his Kiryoku once more.

    It made his breathing turn more and more rapid.

    "This is my very own technique I created, y''see." Cmity grinned and punched all of the hundred arms to the sky. "Enjoy it!"

    "The Shower of Bloody Armageddon!"

    The arms turned around in the sky and started falling towards the ground like a rain of deadly des. There were hundreds of them, and it didn''t look like there was any way to dodge those!

    However, Adam jumped into a motion and started weaving through the falling arms like a professional dancer.

    There were some arms he couldn''t simply dodge, and he used his wings to parry them away before they couldnd a hit.

    At the Observatory building roof, the Originals looked frightened as they watched the hundreds of the arms fall from the sky and destroy everything theynded.

    They could barely see Adam in the midst of the fist rain, still dodging and weaving through the chaos.

    "Adam!" Otis grabbed the railing and squeezed hard. "Don''t get hit!"

    With his entire being, he hoped that he would be able to dodge all of them, even though it looked impossible.

    There was nothing else he could do but hope!

    Agnes teared up and kept shaking in her boots.

    For the future of her family and the Originals, Adam had to win the fight!

    "Mom, is he alright?" Her youngest daughter asked as she tried to peek over the railing.

    With her innocent eyes, she could only see arms falling from the sky and a blur of movement below.

    She couldn''t see the young man that brought her daddy back to her.

    Agnes grabbed her youngest daughter''s hand, but she didn''t have an answer for her. All she could do was hold her tight and pray that he would be safe.

    Near the fight, Raquel couldn''t sit still anymore and just watched as the arms kept raining down that sounded like lightning bolts crashing into a ground over and over again.

    The mood was dipping down among the Originals.

    Since the start of the fight, it looked like Adam could hold his own, but the longer the fight went on, it became painfully clear that Cmity was the stronger one!

    Within the fight, Adam kept weaving through the falling arms, but his nose and eyes were bleeding furiously as he was overusing his Kiryoku!

    ''See further, further, further!'' Adam grinded his bloodied teeth together. ''Into the future and beyond!''

    He tried pushing his Kiryoku even further to help him ovee this obstacle. He wanted to reach the territory of the future sight that should still be beyond his current abilities.

    However, he was incredibly desperate!

    He shouldn''t be able to use Kiryoku any longer as he was suffering from serious brain damage already, but he didn''t have any other choice.

    If he stopped using it right now, he would get hit by these arms and would be killed instantly.

    At that moment, Adam looked straight ahead and saw an opening. A small opening between falling arms and a way to reach Cmity.

    Without the slightest hesitation, he used the Little God''s insane speed and jumped through

    the opening between falling arms towards Cmity.

    It looked like he had escaped the area of falling arms!

    However, Cmity then grinned and spread his arms wide as thousands of arms appeared around him like the tentacles of a monstrous octopus.

    At that moment, Adam realized that he''d fallen right into Cmity''s trap.

    The opening was a trap created by Cmity so that he could lure him towards a spot where dodging was indeed impossible.

    The thousands of arms came crashing down on Adam, and it felt like the time had stopped for

    everyone watching.

    No one could dodge this many.

    It was simply impossible.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Adam''s eyes almost burst as the gears of Kiryoku turned faster and faster. He was able to see

    everything around him.

    Every dust in the ground, every sweat on his opponent''s forehead, every muscle movement, every twitch of a finger on those thousands of arms.

    Literally everything!

    ''Motionless!'' Adam stood still, and the thousands of the arms just flew around him like

    deadly bullets, moving at an impossible speed.

    Each one of the arms aimed to hit him, but for some odd reason, they phased right through him like Adam was just a ghost!

    The Originals didn''t dare to watch anymore. They all expected that Adam had just lost, and in their minds, they realized that it was impossible for them to go back to their previous life

    styles.

    No one could defeat Cmity.

    That was the harsh truth.

    However, at that moment, Adam took a step forward and just walked through the thousands

    of arms like they were just a minor obstacle in his path.

    ''Why can''t I hit him?'' Cmity''s eyes widened in shock.

    Adam moved forward, his fist flying forward, and thennded a blow on Cmity''s chest,

    right at the spot of his heart.

    "Chi Strike!"

    An invisible blow broke through Cmity''s flesh defenses and went through his insides until

    it finallynded on his heart.

    A twist appeared in his heart, and Cmity immediately coughed a mouthful of blood.

    In that moment, Adam reached the peak of the Third Level of Kiryoku!

 Chapter 273: Rain of Blessings

    Chapter 273: Rain of Blessings

    ?

    Against impossible odds, Adam managed to dodge all the falling arms and evennded a beautiful counterattack!

    The Originals grew wild with their cheers.

    "Come on!"

    "How the hell did he dodge all of those arms?! He is crazy!"

    "Go, kill that bastard, please!"

    With the cheers growing louder and louder, Cmity snapped his head towards Adam and wiped the blood off his mouth.

    "You have surprised me, Adam, but still, you''re inferior."

    Cmity pulled out another katana from his inventory and swung it, but Adam sidestepped to dodge. The katana missed.

    However, Cmity continued swinging the katana, and after each swing, the katana''s speed increased until it was a blur of silver in the air.

    Missed, missed, and missed.

    It was as if Adam knew where the katana was heading before Cmity himself knew and dodged each strike with room to spare.

    At that moment, Adam reached out his hand towards the sky as if he were summoning something.

    Without allowing him to do that, Cmity rushed at him and stabbed his katana worth, but without moving from his spot, Adam just slightly twisted his waist to the side and made the katana miss him by mere inches.

    A greatsword then came crashing down from the sky and fell straight down towards Cmity.

    Cmity sensed the iing sword and dodged out of the time, just in time as the greatsword only a secondter embedded itself into the ground where he had just been standing.

    Snap!

    Adam snapped his fingers, and the greatsword moved up, hovering above the pavement like it was hanging from some invisible strings.

    He then wrapped his fingers around the greatsword''s hilt, and pointed its tip towards Cmity.

    As Cmity''s eyes narrowed, Adam swung the sword up, barely, but an invisible shnded a cut across Cmity''s face, leaving a thin trail of blood in its wake.

    "?!" Cmity jumped away and clutched his bleeding cheek, stunned by the unexpected

    attack.

    ''How did he manage to hit me from so far away?''

    The cold sweat rolled down his face, and once again, he put his katana back to his inventory.

    While he would''ve liked to keep battling with katana, it was too risky, as it seemed like in terms of swordsmanship, he was outssed!

    ''I just have to keep using my Transformation Magick!''

    Within the depths of his mind, he checked the condition of his mana ocean, and while he still had some reserves left, he knew he had to conserve them wisely.

    Instead of creating arms this time around, he created hundreds of fingers on both of his hands and shaped them into sharp ws that could pierce through flesh like butter.

    ''Good...'' Adam thought to himself. ''The illusion worked.''

    Without Cmity realizing it, he''d put him under an illusion. It was a very simple illusion. He made it seem like he was standing further away from Cmity than he actually was.

    It was so that it would look like he could cut Cmity from further away to give off the wrong sense of strength.

    He didn''t want to do a sword battle with Cmity.

    He wanted him to keep using Transformation Magick, even though Cmity was clearly stronger in the fight when he was using it.

    The hundreds of fingers extended outward and approached Adam from all directions. It looked like hundreds of tentacles trying to snatch him up.

    With his greatsword, he shed through them but couldn''t all of them, and the rest of the fingers grabbed onto him.

    "Ice Breath!" He breathed cold air and made all of the fingers turn into ice.

    Then, he just flexed his muscles and managed to break free from their grip.

    Within Cmity''s right shoulder, more arms sprouted, and he then jumped forward and mmed his punch forward.

    Adam ced his greatsword in the way, and once the several punchesnded, the ground quaked, and a shockwave rippled outwards.

    They exchanged a nce and then entered an explosive fight.

    With greatsword cutting through arms, more arms sprouted, and their fight rocked the earth and changed the weather.

    The rain started falling as if the world was reacting to the battle between two S-rankers.

    In the entirety of the Mortal Online, fights between two S-rankers were extremely rare. These Originals had no idea just how rare of a treat this was.

    Any mercenary would payrge sums of money to witness this battle!

    While there''d been many sparring matches between S-rankers, a proper deathmatch had never happened before!

    Adam and Cmity stopped fighting for a moment as the rain drenched them, both looking up at the sky in awe.

    While none of the Originals knew the meaning of the rain, Adam and Cmity knew.

    It was raining season, so it shouldn''t be surprise that it rained, but this rain was different.

    It was only raining around the area of the fight.

    The rest of the city stayed dry.

    "Haha, the world is indeed blessing me!" Cmity allowed the rain to soak him as he just

    laughed.

    It was a rain of blessings.

    The fight had now been blessed, and whoever emerged victorious would be rewarded.

    ''Blessing...'' Adam tightened his grip on the sword.

    "Whoo!" Cmity flexed all of his muscles, and from his back, hundreds of arms sprouted that soon resembled some grotesque wings.

    "The Wings of the Monster!"

    Adam also made his wings reappear, and he then put his greatsword back in his inventory.

    In this fight, he needed speed, and his greatsword would hinder him.

    Cmity grinned.

    Adam looked stoic.

    At the same moment, both men rushed forward and mmed their fists together.

    The ground cracked and tipped over likeshattered ss, sending debris flying in all directions.

    -

    With the hours flying by, night soon fell over the city of Sevenfold, and the fog of the mountains rolled in, cloaking the streets in an eerie mist.

    On top of the Observatory building, some of the Originals were getting some sleep despite the constant sounds of battles that sounded like thunder was rumbling in the distance.

    However, most of the Originals stayed awake and kept watching the fight unfold. "They had been fighting the whole day now." Otis said. "And it seems like the fight is far from

    -over still."

    Agnes walked over to him after putting their children to sleep and said, "I don''t think any of us will be getting any rest tonight."

    "As long as the fightsts, I won''t sleep." Otis said. "If Adam can''t sleep, neither will I. It would be disrespectful to rest while he''s still fighting."

    "How do you think Raquel is doing?" Agnes asked worriedly as she looked towards the scene

    of the battle.

    Around the battle, every building was in ruins, except one. The one where Raquel was staying.

    "I don''t know, but I''ve got a feeling that Adam had been protecting that building just because Raquel is there!" Otis said.

    "He is able to do that while also fighting?" Agnes asked in shock. "Those shockwaves could easily destroy that building, but none of them reach it!"

    "Yes, because Adam is steering those waves of shockwave away from that building somehow!" Otis said in amazement. "He''s just full of surprises!"

    Agnes took a deep breath, leaned over the railing, and shouted. "Adam, you can do it!"

    "Calm down, you''re going to wake up our children." Otis said with a wry smile.

    Agnes blushed slightly in embarrassment, but then said. "This frustrates me. Is there nothingn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    we can do to help him?" "Unfortunately, there isn''t." Otis said with a sigh. "It is a battle between gods."

 Chapter 274: Another

    Chapter 274: Another

    ?

    At a small bar, in the corner table, a group of mercenaries filled their throats with the finest ale in thend.

    They didn''t mind wasting their money now before the war, as they might just die in the war and lose all their money either way!

    "Alright, I got one!" Vidar shouted in a drunken manner. "Who will win in a fight, King Moriarty or Mauricio ughter if they''re on the same level?"

    "Easy, King Moriarty." Sigmund said. "I can''t see him ever losing, and as we all know, he''d never lost a fight!"

    "I don''t know. Mauricio is one tough sonovabitch." Randel said with a grin. "However, if I had to gamble on one of them, it would always be King Moriarty!"

    "What about Sapphira or Arkham?" Vidar asked. "Sister versus brother!"

    Randel and Sigmund looked at each other before answering. "Arkham."

    Not a single inch of hesitation.

    It was widely known that Arkham was one of the greatest fighters in the entire world. There was no doubt in their minds.

    Sapphira was a charismatic leader and would definitely be a contender for throne in the future, but when it came to battle power, Arkham was the sword and shield of Sapphira.

    "Mauricio or Cmity?" Vidar asked a slightly harder one. "That could be an amazing fight to watch!"

    "Ouch, tough one!" Randel said. "Mauricio was the second S-ranker to have ever existed, but he had to fight extremely hard odds to be one."

    "Yeah, definitely." Sigmund said. "King Moriarty showed the world the requirements to be an S-ranker. To follow in his footsteps was an extremely difficult challenge."

    "Yet, Mauricio did, and he proved to everyone that he was truly worthy of the title."

    "I would say Mauricio wins the fight," Vidar said with a shrug.

    "I don''t know~" Randel said teasingly. "Cmity is truly a special person. When he fought Mauricio in the tutorial, he shocked the world by not getting knocked down even once!"

    "He couldn''tnd that one hit against Mauricio, but not to get knocked down even once is an amazing feat by itself." Sigmund said. "Cmity is truly special."

    "You guys have to choose one of them!" Vidar said with augh.

    "I would still say Mauricio," Randel said.

    "I will go with Cmity," Sigmund said.

    "Alright, final one!" Vidar grinned. "Cmity or Adam."

    "Ouch." Randelughed. "We''ve not seen much from Adam, honestly. He is quiteckluster, I would say."

    "True." Sigmund said. "All the S-rankers did something shocking in their first year in the New World, but not Adam. Instead, he''d been very quiet."

    "However, he did defeat tutorial''s caretaker, the first one to ever do it." Vidar said.

    "Yes, but it was against some Grandeur mercenary." Randel said. "Cmity fought S-ranker Mauricio. That''s a whole different beastpared to what Adam had to face!"

    "Yeah, this is easy. Cmity wins hundred times out of hundred." Sigmund said.

    "Agreed." Randel nodded.

    "Yeah, I am with you on this one." Vidar said. "Maybe the council of mercenaries made a mistake. Maybe Adam isn''t really S-ranker."

    ...

    With arge grin on his face, Cmity mmed his fist deep into Adam''s gut.

    Like a cannonball, Adam crashed through several buildings before finallying to a stop in a pile of rubble.

    "Cough!" Adam coughed out heavily and felt like his whole ribcage broke from impact.

    His health bar also had a drastic drop.

    [Adam - HP: 275/1500]

    From the air, hundreds of falling arms started raining down on him.

    Adam desperately shielded himself behind his beautiful wings, but the falling arms began to overwhelm him as he struggled to block all of them.

    Cmity stepped over the rubble, slowly approaching him with a grin.

    His health was looking better than his opponent.

    [Cmity - HP: 555/1650]

    "Argh..." Adam grunted in pain, and for a split second, a beautiful face of Lady Yu shed by across his eyes.

    At that moment, he remembered that if he died, she would die as well!

    ''Should I escape? I''ve done everything I can...'' Adam thought for a moment. ''No. I haven''t done everything!''

    As he struggled to stand back to his feet, one of the falling arms bypassed his defenses and punched him across the face.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Because the falling arms had velocity from dropping from the sky, it hurt more than usual punch.

    His health kept dropping further and further down!

    "You''ve lost." Cmity said with a grin and created more arms that immediately started pummeling Adam down to the ground.

    "To be honest, not a bad fight. You fought valiantly. However, I am special, y''see."

    Cmity stepped even closer to him andughed. "I won''t start belittling your aplishments in this fight. You''ve be incredibly strong in such a short time, but you were never going to beat me."

    Adam stood up enough to fall back to his knees. He couldn''t properly stand up because the

    falling arms kept mming against his wings.

    Again, a sh of memories shed by his eyes.

    He again remembered his death.

    After one year, the pain of the death had never left him but only grew stronger whileying

    dormant inside him.

    The anger was something he''d never forgotten.

    ...

    Previous timeline.

    One second after Adam''s death.

    "Haah, haah..." Cmity breathed heavily andughed. "That''s it, I suppose."

    As he looked at the beheaded head, he just kicked it away and scoffed. "Who is pathetic now?" "Cmity..." Amelia touched him intimately and said, "That''s enough. Don''t bother with the

    dead."

    "We did as you asked!" Liam said. "You will fulfill your end of the deal, right?!"

    "Yeah, yeah." Cmity wrapped his arm around Amelia possessively and grinned. "You did

    your job well, but it isn''t over, y''see."

    "What do you mean?" A rough-looking Nikhs asked.

    "Haha, nothing for you to worry about." Cmity said with a grin. "Once I have received confirmation that the job has beenpleted on the other world as well, you''ll get your

    reward.''

    ''On the other world?'' Amelia frowned.

    Lisa went, and picked up Adam''s head, looking into his dead eyes, and then carried it back to

    his corpse.

    "What''re you doing?" Cmity asked.

    "I wanna bury him." She said with a soft voice. "He was still our father."

    "Leave it. He''ll just turn into pixels either way in a moment." Cmity said coldly.

    "B-but."

    "Lisa!" Amelia screamed. "We''re listening to Cmity''s orders now. If he said to leave the

    corpse, you''ll leave it!"

    Lisa sighed and ced the head on top of the corpse''s stomach, then she closed his eyes and

    walked away.

    With Cmity in front, they left the chamber and left the corpse behind that slowly started to

    turn transparent.

    ...

    Back in the present.

    STAB!

    "Argh!" Cmity groaned in sudden pain as a knife stabbed through his back.

    He turned around and saw teary-eyed Raquel holding a bloodied knife.

    "You bitch!" He screamed and grabbed the knife from her hand.

    As he was about to stab it through her face, Adam suddenly screamed like an inhumane

    monster, used his wings to jump forward with insane speed, and tackled Cmity down to the

    ground.

    "Raquel, leave!" Adam screamed in anger and punched Cmity in the face!

    Raquel stumbled back, but then turned around and started running away with tears running

    down her face.

    She didn''t look behind.

    She kept running and running down the destroyed street.

    ''Please, finish him off!'' She begged in her mind.

    "Cough!" Cmity coughed out blood.

    Another punchnded in his face.

    Then another.

    Another.

    Another.

    Another.

    Another.

    Another!

 Chapter 275: Hundred Men Army

    Chapter 275: Hundred Men Army

    ?

    After another punchnded on Cmity''s face, he just grinned with his bloody teeth and pushed Adam off with monstrous strength.

    Adam slid backwards a little bit beforeing to aplete stop.

    "You''ve earned my respect, Adam, but you''ve made one mistake." Cmity spread his arms wide. "My health is now below 100!"

    [Cmity - HP: 99/1650]

    ''Why does that matter?'' Adam just frowned.

    "Thousand-Arm Monster of Armageddon is a legendary-ranked transformation!"

    Adam''s eyes widened.

    ''The legendary-ranked transformations have special ability that is only usable when the user is extremely near death...''

    Adam was wondering why Cmity didn''t seem afraid or even in a slight panic. He kept sensing his emotions, and he seemed quite carefree.

    Now it made sense.

    Cmity was extremely confident in surviving because of his special ability.

    The wind suddenly ceased, and the air grew still around them.

    Cmity put his hands together, and then around a hundred arms sprouted around him like celestial rings. These arms didn''t look ugly like the others, but smooth-skinned and ended in elegant fingers that moved gracefully.

    "The Hundred Man Army!"

    Within his body, hundreds of men jumped out and stood behind Cmity like an army of loyal soldiers.

    These men were ck-haired, bare naked, and armed with only their fists.

    "This is the first time I am ever using this, haha!" Cmityughed. "You''re the first to aplish that. Be proud of the fact. Maybe it will bring youfort in your death!"

    ...

    On top of the Observatory building.

    "Where did all these mene from?!" Otis cried out.

    Hearing themotion, most of the Originals woke up after a few hours of nap and came to check on the fight and how it was going.

    However, a shocking sight unfolded before them.

    It wasn''t only one-versus-one fight anymore, but instead one-versus-army!

    "Adam is in trouble!"

    A weak-legged Original fell on his knees and whispered. "It''s over. No one can defeat him." "Davy, get up. The fight is not over yet!" Otis cried out.

    "Yes, it is." Davy said. "Look at the others."

    Otis nced around the Originals and saw that all of them had lost their hope. Their faces were filled with defeat and resignation.

    At that moment, the door of the rooftop opened, and teary-faced Raquelle stepped through, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

    "Miss Raquel." Agnes ran to her side and embraced her,forting her as she sobbed uncontrobly.

    "Raquel..." Otis called out softly. "What happened?"

    "Nothing..." Raquel said, wiping away her tears and trying topose herself. "How''s the fight going?"

    "..." Otis turned his gaze away. "Not good."

    Raquel frowned and walked to the railing, but to her surprise, the sight below was not what she expected.

    "Who''re they, and why''re they protecting Cmity?"

    "No idea, but they appeared from his body." Otis said. "It must be a special ability of his. It looks like Cmity has not shown his true power yet."

    Raquel grabbed the railing hard, and her heart raced with fear.

    ''Adam...''

    -

    "Huff, huff..." Adam panted heavily and wiped some of the blood from his eyes.

    It was getting hard for him to see as his eyes were bleeding so much. It was because he''d been overusing Kiryokutely as well.

    The situation looked dire.

    Since the start of the fight, Adam had not been holding down and was fighting at full strength, but it looked like Cmity had been fighting with one hand tied behind his back.

    ''I don''t remember Cmity having this ability in the past life.'' Adam thought. ''Maybe he simply never showed it. It must be his final trump card.''

    Cmity pointed his finger at Adam. Fiddled it left and right. Then the bare, naked men behind him rushed forward.

    Adam reeled in his fist and unleashed his full strength punch.

    Itnded in the jaw of one of the men and sent him flying, but then a second man grabbed Adam from behind and restrained him.

    The third man punched Adam in the gut.

    "Ngh..." Adam kicked the third man away and smashed his head against the face of the second

    man.

    He was freed again.

    With his wings, he started slicing through the army of men, but as soon as they were cut, their wounds mysteriously healed, and they just kepting.

    ''They''re healing as well?'' Adam paled slightly, but he kept cutting them.

    He even tried cutting their heads off, but as soon as their heads fell to the ground, their bodies grew another head, and continued attacking without showing any signs of pain or weakness.

    At that moment, around a hundred arms flew around him and took a hold of him, pulling his limbs in different directions topletely bind him.

    Cmity stood with a grin on his face, the arms growing from his back.

    As he waspletely bound, the men rushed forward and pummeled Adam with inhumane fury. They seemed like a bunch of zombies, mindlessly attacking without any thought going through their heads.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    With his body getting destroyed, Adam coughed out blood and used his Minor Healing to stop most of the bleeding, but his health was dropping dangerous amounts.

    [-10 HP]

    [-10 HP]

    [Adam - HP: 80/1500]

    The Originals, who were watching, felt like they were dropping to the pits of hell. They looked

    desperate and terrified.

    It was over.

    The fight was over.

    Raquel covered her eyes, hiding the tears that were falling.

    Otis averted his gaze, unable to bear the sight of their defeat.

    Agnes trembled and looked behind, where her children were sleeping, and closed her eyes.

    At that moment, Adam screamed and ripped his arms from the bounds.

    As he fell back to the ground, amidst the men, he reeled in his fist and punched through them

    all.

    With a powerful shockwave caused by the punch, the men got sent flying away, and then Adam stepped forward and stopped only two meters from Cmity, gazing up at him.

    Cmity was standing on top of a pile of rubble, a cold look on his eyes, staring down at

    Adam.

    "Your health is not looking good."

    "..." Adam checked his health.

    [Adam - HP: 1/1500]

    The whole health bar was blinking red.

    At this moment, he kind of wished he would''ve bought some stronger healing spells to

    increase his health, but those kinds of spells need a lot of time to chant.

    In one-versus-one, using stronger healing spells was impossible.

    That''s why tanks were incredibly important in protecting the healers during the raids so that

    they could use their healing spells to heal the party members.

    Cmity picked up a small pebble from the rubble under him and tossed it in his hand.

    "This pebble would be strong enough to kill you."

    With a flick of a wrist, he threw the pebble at Adam.

    Adam didn''t move an inch, but the pebble still missed him, as if it phased right through his

    forehead.

    Motionless!

    "Such confidence." Cmity grinned. "You weren''t even the slightest bit afraid that you would fail in dodging that? Anyone else in your shoes would''ve just jumped out of the way."

    The men had recovered from the shockwave punch, and were surrounding them like a pack of

    hungry wolves.

    They were only awaiting Cmity''smand.

    "These wings are treacherous." Adam looked behind him at his wings, and made them return

    to his back. "I''ve forgotten my roots, y''see."

    "?" Cmity frowned.

    "I am a tank!" Adam picked up a shield and his greatsword from his inventory.

    "Tank''s job is to tank damage." Cmity said with a grin. "You can''t do that. If you get hit

    even once, you''re dead."

    "I am not your usual tank." Adam said. "Watch and learn."

 Chapter 276: Adam vs. Calamity

    Chapter 276: Adam vs. Cmity

    ?

    "Alright, my men, kill him." Cmityughed.

    Instead of standing still, Adam jumped over the army of men andnded in an alleyway between two destroyed buildings.

    He walked backwards, into the alleyway.

    "Follow him!" Cmity ordered.

    Since the alleyway wasn''t that wide, only three men were able to stand side by side. The rest had to trail behind in a single file line.

    Cmity knew what he was attempting. Attempting to pick off the men one by one as they followed him into the narrow alleyway.

    However, he didn''t care about that, as they only needed tond a single hit.

    As the first menunched their punches, Adam blocked them with his shield and redirected the impact of their punches to the side.

    When he blocked the punches with the shield, he was able to masterfully parry their attacks. It was one of the basics of being a tank, but Adam''s parrying skills had reached the top of the world a long time ago!

    After parrying the fists, Adam swung his greatsword and hacked the heads off the men. However, the heads grew back again, and the men kept rushing forward.

    This was why Cmity was so confident.

    The men couldn''t be killed so Adam only trapped himself in the alleyway!

    Adam didn''t show any sign of defeat but instead jumped against a wall, then used it as a springboard to jump over to the crumbled roof.

    The men, who filled the alleyway, wanted to climb after him but couldn''t climb the smooth wall.

    With a smile, Adam pulled out several poison bombs from his inventory and tossed them into the alleyway.

    As soon as the poison bombs came into contact with one of the men, they exploded and covered the entire alleyway with the poison gas.

    Instead of dying right away, all of the men copsed and began writhing in pain on the ground.

    It wasn''t poison that would kill, but instead it was a powerful paralytic poison that wouldst from a few hours to an entire day!

    Cmity''s hundred-man army had beenpletely defeated!

    "What?" Cmity frowned. "He has prepared poison?"

    This was not what he expected and took himpletely by surprise!

    Adam jumped off the roof andnded at the bottom of the rubble, then gazed back up and looked deviantly at Cmity.

    "So, a tank now uses poison?" Cmity frowned. "I am disappointed."

    "Like I said, I am not your usual tank." Adam said and ced his shield in front of him. "However, I will defeat you as a pure tank."

    "You sacrificed your speed over strength. A big mistake!" Cmity screamed and summoned hundreds of arms from his back.

    However, immediately his head started aching and his nose started bleeding furiously.

    His mana ocean had beenpletely depleted!

    ''It''s depleted?!'' Cmity''s eyes widened in shock. ''I''ll need to finish him off quick!''

    ''Finally,'' Adam smirked.

    This was his n all along!

    He wanted to push Cmity to use his Transformation Magick, and because of his arrogance,

    he forgot that his hundred-man army skill was so taxing that his mana ocean emptied almost instantly!

    Now, whenever he used more of his Magick, it was going to hurt him badly!

    [-5 HP!]

    Slowly, Cmity''s health started to drop.

    "Fuck!" Cmity waved his hand, and the hundreds of arms flew forward at Adam like a swarm of angry bees.

    "Whoo..." Adam moved his shield and greatsword in perfect synchrony.

    It looked like they were mending together.

    With the arms swirling around him, he suddenly swung his shield and parried several of them away as he sensed with his Kiryoku that they were going to attack him soon.

    However, immediately after, dozen arms attacked him from behind, but he quickly spun

    around with his greatsword and cut through those arms.

    Without giving him even a second to rest, the rest of the arms rained down on him

    relentlessly.

    Yet, the shield and the greatsword moved in perfect harmony, and he kept blocking, blocking, and blocking!

    Not a single one of the arms managed to even touch his clothing!

    When he finished blocking, the greatsword came in like a whirlwind, cutting through the arms with ease.

    This was peak Adam fighting, and his current skills were even surpassing his old self with the shield and sword!

    The Originals cheered till their voices turned hoarse. Since they were so loud, not a single Original was able to sleep, so they also came to watch the fight.

    "You can do it!" Otis screamed.

    "Adam!" Raquel screamed.

    "It''s going to hit!" Davy flinched, but then rxed after seeing that Adam managed to defend

    in time. "How is he able to keep up with all of those arms?!"

    Agnes held her children''s hands, and her heart slowly swelled with hope. She was able to see something others weren''t.

    While defending against those arms, it looked like Adam was slightly smiling.

    ''Is he going to win?''

    The corner of her eyes was filled with tears.

    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

    The greatsword smashed through the arms, and an opening to Cmity opened up right in front of him like a door.

    Cmity''s eyes widened in shock, and he wanted to summon more arms as he noticed that there weren''t many left, but immediately after, he felt like his head was splitting in half.

    Adam jumped through the opening and appeared right in front of Cmity.

    With thest remaining drops of mana ocean, he summoned onest arm from his back andunched it at Adam with all his strength.

    However, Adam tilted his head to the side, allowing the arm to just fly past him, and then he swung his greatsword up.

    The greatsword came up, and as Cmity had his real arm raised to summon another arm, Adam''s greatsword sliced cleanly through his arm and severed it from his body.

    "Ah!" Cmity coughed out in shock and watched as his arm fell to the ground with a

    sickening thud.

    This was his real arm, not like those fake arms!

    Thus, losing the real arm hurt much more than he had ever imagined.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Cmity was stunned. His mind was empty. He knew that he had to do something, but he

    didn''t know what because his mind stayed empty!

    With another swing, Adam sliced across his chest, leaving a deep gash that poured blood

    across the ground.

    "?!" Cmity coughed out blood.

    With one more attack, Adam reeled in his greatsword, and stabbed it through Cmity''s

    chest, through his ribcage, and into the heart.

    The greatsword exited from his back and nailed him to the ground.

    It all happened so quickly.

    "Wha..." Cmity looked at the sword in his chest, scared and shocked. "No, this can''t be..."

    On top of the Observatory building, everyone turned silent as their words got stuck in their throats, but their tears of happiness continued to flow.

    Adam also felt emotional as he watched Cmity''s life slowly leave his eyes.

    This was a moment he''d been dreaming of for the past year, every night of every day.

    With his body finally stopping moving, Cmity''s eyes turned lifeless.

    One of the S-rankers.

    One of the greatest talents in the history of the Mortal Online.

    Cmity ck of the Death Mercenaries had died!

    Ding, ding! Adam heard the dinging and thought it was just usual notification about his kill, but no, it was

    something that he had never seen.

    It was something that no one in the world of Mortal Online had seen yet.

    Across the skies of every dungeon floor and the New World, a strange announcement appeared

    in the sky for the first time.

    [WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT: yer Cmity ck has been killed by yer Adam Palestar!]

 Chapter 277: The World Announcement

    Chapter 277: The World Announcement

    ?

    Inside a bar, it was mostly empty except for a few regrs scattered around the room. The bartender wiped the counter while one customer drank his sorrows away.

    "One more..." Rafael raised his whiskey cup.

    "You''ve drank enough." The bartender said. "You''re leaving for the frontlines tomorrow. You should go get some sleep."

    "What are you, my mom?" Rafael mmed the cup down. "Give me one more drink!"

    "Sigh." The bartender poured him one more drink and said, "That''s thest one. You better leave after this."

    Rafael gulped down the drink and then mmed the cup down on the counter.

    "Fine, fine. The drinks here stink either way."

    The chair toppled over as Rafuel stood up, and he stumbled out of the bar, cursing under his breath.

    However, when he walked down the street, he saw that everyone was staring towards the sky. It seemed like they were frozen in time.

    "Huh?"

    Rafael raised his gaze to the sky, and to his shock, there was holographic message- immensely big-hovering in the sky.

    "World Announcement..." Rafael read what it was about, and slowly his eyes widened in shock.

    He quickly took off his coat and checked the symbol on the back. It was a Nightshade symbol, as he was one of the foot soldiers of the Nightshade faction!

    Their faction had just lost one of their most valuable assets!

    Across the vige, the mood dipped to all-time low numbers.

    After joining the Nightshade faction, most of them held arrogance and pride about their strong faction. They believed that Ambrose had strong chances of bing the next king.

    However, losing one of their most valuable assets this early in the war was extremely detrimental to their chances of sess.

    ''The big guys must be furious,'' Rafael gulped.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ...

    Shock, disbelief, and panic spread throughout the Nightshade faction as they realized the impact of their loss.

    They could barely believe their eyes.

    By the center of the vige, arge tent had been set up, serving as a center of headquarters for the Nightshade faction.

    Currently, at the entrance of the tent, everyone was staring up at the skies.

    The first-ever world announcement was already shocking enough, but why it happened was even more shocking.

    "Send a raven to Mauricio!" Ambrose screamed and stormed inside the tent, where he took his seat at the fur-covered throne.

    The Raven Master headed out to deliver the message.

    Inside the tent, the strong members of the faction and strategists had gathered. It was a solemn mood within them.

    ''How sad.'' Akuji Dark crossed his arms. ''Cmity wasn''t that strong, but in a couple of years, with his talent, he would''ve surpassed me easily. Oh well, I guess there is someone more talented than him~''

    Persephone didn''t look at anyone. She had her eyes closed. It was unclear what she was feeling, but everyone could sense the tension in the air.

    The p of the tent opened, and a man stepped inside, his presencemanding attention from everyone in the room.

    He wore a heavy, ck cloak that seemed to be drenched from rain. However, strangely enough, it hadn''t been raining near the vige for thest week.

    "Nishimura!" Ambrose said sternly. "You''vee atst!"

    Nishimura took off his hood, revealing ck hair that seemed to swallow the surrounding darkness.

    "Now that all my Hands have gathered here, we''ve got serious decisions to make." Ambrose pointed to the ceiling of the tent. "The world announcement."

    "Whenever S-ranker is killed, a world announcement will happen." Nishimura, the First Hand of the Ambrose, said.

    "Are you sure it''s only that?" Akuji asked with a grin. "What if it only happens when S-ranker kills another S-ranker?"

    "That''s fine for us either way." Ambrose said. "We need to get our revenge. We can''t let our enemies think we''re weak. We must make Mauricio kill Adam to restore the honor of our

    faction!"

    ''Will that bring honor to Nightshade or Death?'' Persephone sighed and rolled her eyes.

    ...

    The cheers erupted in a certain vige, the mercenariesughing and raising their cups in celebration.

    While dancing like drunken fools, they pointed the sses towards the sky at the world announcement andughed at the absurdity of it all.

    "Haha, the war''s first proper victory is ours!"

    On the garden roof, Morial kicked his legs up to a table andughed. "Atta boy! Haha, what a fucking crazy guy!"

    Lucette giggled and spread her arms wide. "How the hell he managed to do that?!"

    Digby sat on the railing, enjoying his drink while looking towards the world announcement. However, even he cracked a smile, and shook his head because this felt absurd.

    It had only been one year since he came to the New World!

    One year!

    In one year, he crossed the three year gap between him and Cmity.

    Cmity was also S-ranker, and considered one of the most talented ones to have ever stepped on the New World''s soil!

    Yet, it only took Adam one year to cross the gap.

    While the S-rank was the highest level of talent anyone could achieve, something like this made Digby wonder whether there should be an even higher rank.

    Only reserved for those with god-given talent.

    So far, he''d only thought that only King Moriarty could be on apletely different level of

    talent, but now perhaps even Adam could be considered for that rank.

    A few floors below then, Knoxx, Hana, and n stood at the balcony, looking towards the world announcement with their eyes full of wonder.

    This was an absolute shock to them!

    ''In only a year.'' Knoxx wryly smiled. ''I thought I maybe could keep up with him, but who am I kidding? S-rankers are different frommon people like us.''

    ...

    Zephyr poured himself a drink. He filled the cup only half-way and then closed the bottle,

    cing it back on the shelf.

    He returned to the cup, took it into his hand, and sat on top of the table, looking out of the window towards the sight in the sky.

    After raising his cup, he gulped it down and let out a soft sigh of contentment.

    "First done, many left to go..."

    ...

    A wheelhouse rolled down the dirt, bumpy road, its creaking wheels echoing in the silence of

    the night.

    The knights of the Imperial Order rode on horseback beside it, their armor glinting in the

    moonlight.

    However, their attention was on the sky as the holographic image created a light bright enough that made it very visible in the darkness of the night.

    ''So, killing S-rankers will create a world announcement.'' King Moriarty sat inside the wheelhouse, looking out of the window towards the light in the sky.

    ''Bothersome news.

    ''Cmity dead, huh. I expected him toe challenge me one day, but for his journey to end

    like this is quite a disappointment.

    ''Adam, however, in just a year has reached this level. A dangerous young man.''

    ...

    Mauricio sat on top of a hill, his lifeless gaze looking up to the announcement.

    At that moment, a dark ravennded on his shoulder, a note tied to its leg.

    However, without doing anything, the raven gasped for air before dying right on top of his

    shoulder. It looked like the life got sucked out of it.

    "Cmity..."

    A cold voice.

 Chapter 278: Not the End

    Chapter 278: Not the End

    ?

    Navy Town, Kindforth residence.

    Walking down the stairs, Serah wiped her drenched hair with a towel and then saw her

    husband, John, sitting by the television, flipping through the channels while looking for something to watch.

    "John, are youing to bed?" She asked.

    "Soon." John pressed the TV remote one more time, and it changed into a channel that specialized in the Mortal Online news.

    Since it was such a huge thing in the world and many non-yers were curious about its on goings, it had quite popr news broadcasts that attracted a wide audience.

    However, John was about to switch channels as he knew that Serah wasn''t the biggest fan of it, but then he heard a voice.

    "Don''t change." Serah sat next to him on the couch and crossed her legs.

    "Are you sure? You don''t really like it." John said.

    "Isn''t the war happening?" Serah asked. "I heard from one of my customers. She has apparently a son that is ying it..."

    "Oh, you''re worried about Adam?" John said with a yful tone.

    He expected her to snap at him, but instead, she just kept staring at the screen as the news started.

    The news reporter started with flipping through some papers, and at the screen behind her, a picture of the world announcement appeared.

    "Today, around one hour and twenty minutes ago, the world''s first-ever world announcement appeared." She said. "It has taken the world by the storm."

    "World announcement?" Serah frowned. "What''s that?"

    "Uh, it''s something that happens in other games when an important thing has happened." John said. "Like if a yer defeated a very strong boss or if an event is about to start."

    "Oh, I wonder what it is about." Serah put her hands down on herp.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    At that moment, the picture of the world announcement appeared on the television screen, only showing that and nothing else.

    "One hour and twenty minutes ago, S-ranker, Cmity ck, was yed."

    The news reporter took a moment to catch her breath and then continued.

    "He was yed by a fellow S-ranker, Adam Palestar, who has only been in the gaming world for about one year.

    "He is a person that has not been talked about in this channel that many times because of theck of information we have on him, but this is the first time that he has done something publicly, and it was the killing of S-ranker.

    "We''ve also received a picture of his. It was taken a few weeks ago at the walled city of Ebonreach."

    On the screen, Adam''s picture appeared. It wasn''t the most high quality picture, as it looked like someone took the picture from far away, but his face was still very clear.

    John dropped identally his TV remote.

    "I-Is that who I think it is?" Serah asked, her voice trembling.

    "Yep..." John gulped. "S-ranker, him? What the fuck..."

    "What is S-ranker?" Serah asked.

    "I have a lot to teach you..." John said and looked upstairs.

    He couldn''t believe that right at this moment, in the upstairs, one of the world-famous S- rankers happened to be staying in his house!

    "Does Alice know..."

    ...

    In Alice''s room, she was sitting t on her stomach while rolling through her phone. She had studied all night, but she wasn''t feeling tired yet, so she was texting some of her friends.

    She was feeling slightly lonely as Adam wasn''t with her, but she knew that he must be quite busy right about now.

    At that moment, she received a phone call, and it was from her close friend, Laura.

    ''Why is she calling me thiste?''

    She turned around toy on her back, epted the call, and put it against her ear.

    "What is it?" She whispered in case her parents were already sleeping.

    "Are you checking the news?!" Laura, on the other hand, was shouting.

    "Lower your voice, please." Alice giggled. "Aren''t your parents sleeping?"

    "No, they''re also checking the news!" Laura said.

    "What''s so interesting in the news?" Alice asked while twirling her hair.

    "Adam is in the news!" Laura shouted.

    "Adam? My Adam?" Alice asked.

    "Your Adam...?" Laura''s voice turned yful. "Is there something you aren''t telling me?"

    "Please tell me, is it my Adam?" Alice sat on the bed with a worried frown.

    "Yes, it is your Adam!" Laura said excitedly. "I didn''t know he was someone so great. Why didn''t you tell me? I thought we were best friends!"

    "Someone so great... What exactly is going on?" Alice asked.

    "I will send you a photo!" Laura said, quickly took a photo of the television screen and sent it

    to Alice.

    After she received the text, she checked the image and read through it.

    "World announcement?" Alice put the phone against her ear. "What''s up with that?"

    "Adam is apparently S-ranker!" Laura said excitedly. "He killed another S-ranker!"

    "S-ranker? I don''t really know any of these gaming terms." Alice scratched the back of her

    head.

    "All you need to know is that S-rankers are crazy strong and popr!" Laura said in

    excitement. "You know Konrad Moriarty, right?"

    "Yes, obviously." Alice said. "Everyone knows him."

    "Well, Konrad Moriarty is also S-ranker. Your Adam is on the same level as him! He might

    be the next king. Who knows!"

    "King..." Alice gasped in surprise. "So what did he exactly do?"

    "He killed Cmity ck. That guy is another S-ranker and apparently crazy talented!" Laura

    said. "The whole gaming world is in shock!"

    "Oh my..." Alice covered her mouth in a surprise.

    "My parents didn''t believe me when I said that I''d met Adam." Laura said with a pout. "They

    don''t even believe that he is currently living in Navy Town!"

    Alice had to calm her breathing as these news came so suddenly.

    "Navy Town will be so popr!" Laura said with a giggle. "The town where Moriarty

    was born is now a tourist location. If Adam bes next king, Navy Town will be even more

    famous than ever!"

    "Is that a good or bad thing?" Alice asked.

    "Very good!" Laura said. "The whole town will benefit from that. When our mayor finds out

    about Adam, he''ll definitelye knocking on your door to kiss his feet!"

    "S-rankers have that much influence?" Alice asked in surprise.

    "Of course they do!"

    Alice bit her lip and felt her heart beat against her chest like a drum.

    "Agh, I gotta go!" Laura said. "I gotta take the dog out."

    "See you tomorrow..." Alice disconnected the call and sat absent-mindedly in the bed.

    ...

    Somewhere in the world.

    A ragged, red-haired man climbed out of his virtual reality pod and stumbled across the

    ground before falling beside bottles of alcohol.

    "Argh, damn it!" Cmity grabbed some of the bottles and threw them into the wall.

    He sat back up, looking around his enormous mansion with an empty gaze. This whole ce seemed incredibly lonely and empty because he was the only resident of this ce.

    However, he was now going to lose all of this because of his death.

    At that moment, his head started aching as he started to remember the fight. "That motherfucker!" Cmity screamed and threw another bottle of alcohol against the wall. "Why the hell did he want to kill me so much? What the fuck have I ever done to him?!"

    To him, this felt extremely unfair.

    "You think I am done here, Adam?!" Cmity gritted his teeth together and went back to his

    virtual reality pod.

    He had lost four years of progress.

    However, he was Cmity ck, one of the S-rankers!

    ''He caught up to me in a year? Fine, I''ll do the fucking same!''

    And like that, he pressed the button and returned to the Mortal Online.

    This setback wasn''t the end of Cmity ck!

    He was a man on the mission.

    A revenge-fueled mission!

 Chapter 279: Transcended

    Chapter 279: Transcended

    ?

    A few hours ago, a few seconds after the appearance of the world announcement.

    ''I guess there is no hiding it.'' Adam thought to himself. ''This will bring some heat in my direction, but fuck it.''

    After his thoughts, Cmity''s body evaporated into pixels, and on the ce of his corpse, a couple of skill and spell scrolls appeared.

    One of the scrolls was the Thousand-Arm Monster of Armageddon transformation skill!

    It glowed with a slight hue of gold as it was a legendary-ranked skill.

    Then, there was a brownish pouch filled with shinecoins.

    After picking it up and transferring them to his interface, a shocking amount of shinecoins appeared on his ount!

    [+1,675,566 Shinecoins!]

    ''Why was he carrying so many shinecoins?'' Adam wondered and then thought about a possibility.

    ''He must''ve gone and taken his share of very/underground money beforeing here to do the speech. Lucky me, I guess.''

    After storing the scrolls, he decided to check them outter.

    He wasn''t sure whether he was going to use the Thousand-Arm Monster of Armageddon skill for himself.

    It was powerful, sure, but it didn''t work with his fighting style.

    ''I could use it and have it as my trump card.'' Adam thought with a shrug of his shoulders.

    However, his share of surprises didn''t end.

    Ding, ding!

    [The Rain of the Blessing has rewarded you after your victory!]

    ''Oh right, the reward.'' Adam looked in the air, awaiting the reward.

    [You have killed Cmity ck!]

    [100,000 XP Acquired!]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 21 ¡ú 22]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 22 ¡ú 23]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 23-24]

    [LEVEL UP!

    [Level 24 ¡ú 25!]

    [You''re transcending!]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [Calcting your strength...]

    [1%...]

    [2%...]

    ''100,000 experience points?!'' Adam''s heart started beating in excitement. ''I''ve achieved level 25! Now, the system will calcte my current strength and give me a rank befitting of my strength.''

    It would take some time for his strength to be calcted, but still, his excitement didn''t die down.

    ''Prime Mercenary, maybe?'' Adam grinned.

    There was a possibility that his strength was now on the same level as his past life self.

    It would be astonishing!

    Ding, ding!

    Another notification appeared before his eyes.

    [Your luck has increased 100% for the next 24 hours!]

    ''The Rain of the Blessing gives rewards that the yer needs the most.'' Adam thought with a smile. ''I got two rewards? How kind of you. First, enough experience points to reach my goal, and now luck for...''

    After opening his inventory, he took out a silver chest that he found on the ind of the crying woman.

    There was another way of increasing his luck, but that would''ve only increased his luck by 50%.

    He nned to seek that out after he finished with the 50th floor, but now he had a great opportunity, and he couldn''t pass that by!

    Without further ado, Adam ripped the chest open, and like a lottery wheel, thousands of items shed by his eyes in a holographic disy.

    After a short moment, it stopped on a golden pill.

    [You received the enlightenment pill!]

    ''No way...''

    The pill appeared on top of his hand, and it felt warm and holy.

    He cracked a smile and wanted to swallow it right away, but he put it back in his inventory as he didn''t want to waste a single second of enlightenment.

    He wanted to do it behind closed doors.

    ''With this, I could perhaps reach level 4 of Magick. I''ve got to focus on that because those three legendary skills I''ve got to try to learn!''

    He was already extremely happy with his current score, but then he heard some loud pping. Three figures walked over from the crimson castle. They seemed well-off with jewelry adorning their bodies and fancy clothing.

    Unlike the rest of themonborn Originals, none of them seemed like they''d seen a moment of hunger in their lives.

    "Impressive, most impressive." Waleed said with a smile. "You killed our ruthless ruler, I

    apud you."

    With his back bending, he bowed like a proper gentleman.

    The beautiful-faced Khashifa bowed in courtesy, a gentle blush spread across her cheeks, making her look even more radiant than usual.

    Yusriyah didn''t share her looks, but her bow was just as graceful and respectful.

    "Who''re you three?" Adam asked with a frown.

    "My name''s Waleed, the King of Bloodshed." He said. "I am themander of Cmity''s

    army." "Khashifa, the Queen of Pleasure." Khashifa said with a beautiful smile. "I rule the pleasure district. I''m sure you''ll find my kingdom quite enjoyable."

    "Yusriyah, the Queen of Gambling." The short-haired woman said. "I am in control of Sevenfold''srgest gambling district. My faction is the biggest earner of the four ruling

    kingdoms."

    Waleed and Khashifa didn''t change their expressions, but their eyebrows clearly twitched. They didn''t like that she was already boasting about how useful she was. "There''s also Fakhir, the King of the very, but unfortunately, he seems to bete to the meeting." Waleed said. "Now that you''ve taken the throne for yourself, we could discuss

    some business."

    "I saw that you took Cmity''s share of our business." Yusriyah said. "That''s only the pleasure district''s share. He felt exhausted after his journey here, so he went there to rx

    and took his share as well.

    "With all four kingdomsbined, your share would be immense, and that shall be yours, as long you''re willing to offer us your protection."

    "Oh, is that so?" Adam chuckled.

    "By the way, that''s only a month''s worth." Waleed said with a proud smile. "In a year''s time,

    you could make more money than you ever dreamed of."

    "Hmm..." Adam stood silently, thinking about something.

    At that moment, he heard a thrilled voice. "Adam!" Raquel came running in, a giant smile on her face. "You did it!"

    However, her bubbly excitement slowly died down as she noticed the three people, and

    quickly hid behind Adam.

    "Traitors!" Raquel screamed. "You betrayed my family and our entire race!"

    "Raquel Starborn, still alive," Khashifa giggled. "I heard that Fakhir captured you. You were supposed to be my new toy in the pleasure district. How did you escape?"

    "Grr..." Raquel turned to Adam and shouted. "These three betrayed everyone for profit and money. They''re also culprits of everyone''s misery!"

    "Silent down, kid." Waleed said coldly. "Adults are talking. Like I said, if you give us your protection, we can give you anything you want."

    "Adam..." Raquel looked at him in shock. "You couldn''t possibly be thinking about..."

    From the end of the street, the Originals walked, excitement in their faces as they all believed

    that their misery was over.

    The days of the pain were over!

    "So, what''s your answer?" Waleed asked with a smile.

    "Hmm..." Adam looked over to the street and saw Otis returning with his family, all smiles.

    At that moment, Raquel grabbed his arm and pleaded. "Please don''t betray us too. If you do, I don''t think any of us can handle that."

    Adam smiled, shook his head, and patted her on the head. "Come on. I just gave them a chance

    to say their final words."

    "S-sir?" Waleed''s eyes widened in surprise.

    Raquel looked at him starry-eyed and then saw him pull his greatsword.

    With a swing, the three rulers of the underground got cut into million pieces. Not a single

    piece of them was left intact.

 Chapter 280: Surpassed

    Chapter 280: Surpassed

    ?

    The kid Originals roamed across the empty, lonely hallways of the crimson castle. However, for the first time in a very long time, the castle at least had some kind of joy.

    The servants slightly teared up as the crimson castle had been a ce of suffering for thest year, but now, with the children''sughter, they knew that things were finally starting to look up.

    At the throne room, Raquel traced her hand across the throne''s armrests and sighed heavily.

    She could still remember times when her father was sitting on the throne with her on thep, telling her stories of their kingdom''s history.

    She loved most the stories about the New World, as those kinds of stories were passed on in the Starborn family, as the creator of Sevenfold was Starborn.

    His tales about the New World were passed on in the family, and Raquel remembered every story.

    In the future, she would also pass those stories onto her children.

    "Well, the throne is yours..." Raquel turned her gaze to Adam, who was standing by the tall window. "You deserved it."

    "Mine? No." Adam shook his head. "I don''t want it."

    "You don''t want to be a king?" Raquel asked.

    Adam shrugged his shoulders. "The throne doesn''t have my name on it. It''s yours."

    "Mine...?" Raquel turned to the throne and said. "I am not powerful enough to keep this kingdom protected. What if another yer stumbles upon here?"

    "I''ll give you a way to contact me." Adam said. "If anything happens, I''lle back immediately."

    "But why? You don''t owe this ce anything." Raquel asked.

    "I feel responsible for it now." Adam said and yawned. "Also I like this ce. A paradise for Originals. I think you guys deserve a paradise."

    "Originals of the New World... Are they treated well?" Raquel asked hesitantly.

    "Not really..." Adam sighed. "Better than you guys were, but still not great. There''s a war happening, and unfortunately, many Originals will die."

    "If you have a chance, can you lead the Originals here?" Raquel asked. "My father once said that the Originals of the New World are also our family."

    "I''ll do my best." Adam said. "If a chance arises."

    "That''s fine." Raquel turned to the throne and hesitantly sat on it.

    She thought that the throne felt unfamiliar, as she had only been on her father''sp when she was sitting on it.

    Now, the throne felt somewhat cold and hard.

    "I''ll be in seclusion for a moment. I don''t want to be disturbed." Adam said, and headed out.

    "Is everything alright?" Raquel asked.

    "Yes. It is just time to be stronger." Adam said, and checked the interface. [44%...]

    ...

    Inside the castle''s basement, Adam hovered in the air like some kind of deity. He was surrounded by the glowing aura of enlightenment, and quickly, his mastery over Magick increased.

    It didn''t take him long to reach the peak of the third level, and immediately after, his mana ocean started pushing against the gate.

    The gate was bronze in color, covered in intricate symbols that seemed to writhe and twist as the waves of the mana ocean crashed against it.

    However, slowly, the gates creaked open, and the water started rushing through.

    And just like that, the gates mmed open, and he officially reached level four in the Magick!

    A level of Magick that only a handful of mercenaries had ever reached!

    He was almost at the level of Magick Masters, who had only mastered the Magick, and he did that while juggling all of the Three Powers.

    If those Magick Masters heard about it, they would definitely cough up blood!

    "Huff..." Adam opened his eyes and dropped back to the ground.

    The enlightenment ended, and it left his clothes soaked.

    ''That was close. The enlightenment was almost not enough...''

    Adam scratched the back of his head and then felt warm light touching his face. When he looked around, he noticed that some morning light peeked through the basement''s small windows that were near the ceiling.

    It was already morning.

    He spent the entire night in the enlightened state, and he didn''t even know about it.

    ''Let''s check the calction.''

    Adam opened the interface and was pleasantly surprised.

    [98%...]

    Soon, he would know his current level of strength!

    It waspletely a mystery to him.

    ''It would''ve probably already finished calcting, but now that I reached level four in the Magick, it has to recalcte some things.''

    He chuckled slightly.

    [99%...]

    One more percent left.

    ''Cmon...'' Adam narrowed his eyes. ''Don''t be weak. Don''t be weak.''

    [100%]

    [The calction has finished!]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 25-26]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 26 ¡ú 27]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 27 ¡ú28]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 28 ¡ú 29]

    [LEVEL UP!]

    [Level 29 ¡ú30]

    [You have be Prime Mercenary!]

    ***

    [Name: Adam Palestar]

    [Level: 30]

    [Percent: 21%]

    [HP: 2500/2500]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    [Rank: Prime Mercenary]

    [Weapon: Greatsword of Forgotten King]

    [Shinecoin: 1,681,577]

    [¡ª¡ª SKILLS¡ª¡ª]

    [-The Little God-]

    [¡ªAdvanced de Handling-]

    [-Ground King-]

    [-Shield Charge-]

    [-Pull-]

    [-Push-]

    [-Ice Breath-]

    [-Poisoned de-]

    [-Minor Healing-]

    [-Chi Strike-]

    [-Knowledge Master-]

    [Inventory]

    [Log Off]

    ***

    "Hahaha..." Adamughed and smiled in happiness. "I''ve reached it...''

    During the time of his death, he was also level 30.

    He was at the peak of Prime Mercenary. However, he was only 15% done with the level 30.

    Therefore, he had already surpassed his old self!

    Back then, his strength was already crazy enough to be one of the generals of the Star faction. However, while he wasn''t one of the strongest members of the faction, he received general rank because of his usefulness and talent.

    Sapphira truly believed that he would be a great man one day, and she wanted him to be

    his righthand man when she would take the throne away from the King Moriarty. However, Adam wasn''t aware of all that.

    He received quite a bit of scrutiny because some members of the faction believed that they

    deserved the role of general more than him.

    However, time and time again, Adam proved all of them wrong.

    Adam stood to his feet and punched through the air, but he felt like he punched through

    something solid and real.

    It felt like the air was thick and heavy, as if he were fighting against an invisible force.

    However, when his punch finished, the whole basement shook, and so did the entire crimson

    castle.

    The sleepy-eyed Originals woke up in shock, believing that an earthquake had just struck them, but the shaking soon stopped.

    ''This is the feeling.'' Adam smiled. ''I''ve forgotten how it feels like to punch through the Mana Air.''

    What he felt was Mana Air. It was something that surrounded everything in the world, and only those who''ve transcended past the human limits were able to see and feel it. Strangely enough, his current strength was equal that of Digby, his guild master. While he

    still had a higher percent, around 85, Adam could still give him a hell of a fight.

    Maybe even win!

    "Is everything alright?!" Raquel mmed the basement door''s open. "I felt the shaking

    coming from here!"

    "Yes, sorry." Adam clenched his hand into a fist, and that alone created another shake.

    Raquel''s eyes almost popped wide open. She could feel that the young man in front of him

    wasn''t human anymore. He had transcended that!

    "Adam..."

    "You got any breakfast? I am hungry." Adam patted on her shoulder with a smile, and left the

    basement.

    ''That strength. Is he really an angel?'' Raquel frowned.

    Last night, during thete hours, Otis was trying to convince every Original that Adam was the

    Winged Angel, ordered by the God Almighty toe here to save them.

    While Raquel thought it was foolishness, many Originals believed that, and slowly, she also

    began to believe it.

    ''The Winged Angel...''

 Chapter 281: The Rematch!

    Chapter 281: The Rematch!

    ?

    "You''re really leaving?" Otis asked as he watched Adam pack some food from the kitchen and stuff into his backpack.

    "Yeah," Adam replied. "The things are heating up in the New World, and I need to be there to help my guild."

    "I see..." Otis nodded and reached out his hand for handshake. "Thank you for everything."

    With a smile, Adam shook the hand and headed out, exiting through the back of the castle, and entered fog-shrouded streets.

    Through one of the crimson castle''s windows, Raquel watched as he walked away.

    "Not even a proper goodbye, huh..." She turned back to her throne, and sat down with slight awkwardness.

    Now that he was gone, she became more nervous because it was now up to her to keep this kingdom safe from any harm.

    She wasn''t sure whether other Originals would ept her as their new ruler after what happened with Cmity.

    Perhaps they didn''t want anyone to rule over them ever again.

    "Sigh, what to do..."

    She wished she had Adam to give her some guidance, but she knew that he had his own things to attend to.

    She felt troubled, but at that moment, she became morefortable in the throne, and she felt like someone touched her on the shoulder.

    When she turned her head around, she didn''t see anyone, but it felt strangelyforting.

    ''Weird...'' Raquel pped herself in the cheeks and shouted. "Alright! I need to focus! What should I start with? Right, the food. Moon food fields should be ready for harvesting by

    now..."

    She then rummaged through her pockets, and found a small piece of paper. It was the only thing Adam left behind for her.

    Apparently, if she ripped the paper, Adam would find out, and he woulde immediately back to help.

    ''I hope I don''t need to use this...''

    ...

    Click, click, click!

    The Singing Skeletons clicked their teeth together as they danced together in the eerie hallways of the underground crypt.

    At that moment, they all heard footsteps, and turned their skulls to see who was approaching.

    It was a young man, a backpack slung over his right shoulder, and he had greatsword strapped to his back.

    At first nce, he looked like an ordinary adventurer, but the Singing Skeletons felt that something was terribly wrong with this young man.

    It was like he was not entirely human.

    However, still, the Singing Skeletons clicked their teeth in a song, andunched themselves at the young man.

    Adam waved his hand, and all of the Singing Skeletons got sent flying across the hallway in a whirlwind of bones and dust.

    Soon after that, he came across the heavy-looking double doors of the boss room.

    He''d arrived by the boss room to challenge Xerxus one more time!

    With a strong push, the double doors swung open, and Adam entered the boss room with long steps.

    The blue mes surrounded the tform like a fiery barrier, casting an ominous glow across the room.

    At the center of the tform, Xerxus twirled his wooden cane around, and slowly stood back up. Its back arched, but then it straightened as he let out a sigh.

    "You''ve returned. I didn''t think you would." Xerxus said and narrowed his eyes. "However, something has changed within you. I wonder what that is."

    Adam suddenly pointed his hand at Xerxus, and formed a fist with it.

    The fist slightly moved forward as if he threw a punch. However, there wasn''t any swing behind it, so in theory, it should''ve been harmless.

    However, Xerxus'' eyes suddenly widened, and he got hit in the stomach by something.

    With a grunt of pain, he crashed down on his knees, and seemed to have plenty of difficulties with breathing.

    "?!"

    "Chi Strike..." Adam whispered under his breath.

    Realizing that something was horribly wrong, Xerxus whirled his cane around him, and summoned nearly three dozen of his undead minions.

    The undead minions took a protective stance right in front of their master, and eyed Adam with an increasing hostility.

    "I don''t know what you did, but you won''t seed again." Xerxus wiped the blood off his lips, and waved his hand. "Attack him!"

    The undead minions only took one step, but then Adam retrieved his greatsword and swung it only once right in front of himself.

    The sword swing created an air sh that smashed through the undead minions, and approached Xerxus with deadly force.

    However, at thest possible moment, Xerxus lifted his wooden cane, and blocked the air sh, but his legs kept sliding backwards.

    Soon, his feet reached the edge of the tform, but luckily for him, the air sh''s strength faded away beforepletely disappearing.

    "Huff, huff!" Xerxus panted heavily and waved his cane to restore the undead minions to their former condition, but suddenly, Adam leaped across the room without using his wings.

    He moved so quickly that he crossed the gap between them in half a second!

    "The Chains of the Despair!" Xerxus lifted his wooden cane, and chains made out of the bones shot out like snakes, trying to wrap themselves around Adam.

    Adam moved his greatsword and, with an effortless swing, parried the chains away, but it helped only for a short period as the chains turned around in the air, and headed straight back

    to him.

    However, it gave him enough time to leap forward, and he arrived right in front of Xerxus.

    Xerxus lifted his wooden cane to block the greatsword, but Adam didn''t n to use his weapon, and instead mmed his left fist deep into his gut.

    "Chi Strike!"

    The strike broke through Xerxus'' defenses and wreaked havoc deep inside his body.

    "Cough!" Xerxus coughed out blood, and fell down on his knees.

    The chains came falling down, but with a swing of the greatsword, the chains got cut into

    pieces.

    The shattered bones fell back to the ground with a sickening crunch.

    "Huff, huff!" Xerxus breathed heavily.

    At that moment, something inside him started to change.

    The blue mes turned golden, and the room started shaking like a violent earthquake.

    Xerxus'' skin turned scorched ck, as if he were on fire currently, but it didn''t seem to hurt

    him as his grin kept stretching wider and wider.

    [HP: 50%]

    He had reached the second phase!

    ''Now the proper fight begins.'' Adam thought with a calm look.

    He didn''t consider the first phase as a fight even. It was going to be easy for him to beat the

    first phase Xerxus without any effort.

    However, the second and third phases were different.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Yet, Adam didn''t look worried, as he just smiled and raised his greatsword high.

    "The Fire of Corruption!" Xerxus grinned, and his right arm started to burn with golden

    mes.

    With a swing of his arm, the golden mes shot forwards towards Adam, who was standing

    only a few meters away from him.

    Adam opened his mouth wide and shouted. "Ice Breath!"

    The cold, freezing breath mmed against the golden mes, and shockingly enough, he was

    able to stop it!

    The freezing cold and scorching hot elements collided in a dazzling disy of power. Another half of the tform turned into a hellishndscape of ice, and the other half became

    engulfed in golden mes!

 Chapter 282: Tortured Ones

    Chapter 282: Tortured Ones

    ?

    "Rise my minions of the fire!" Xerxus screamed.

    From the golden mes, hundreds of undead minions rose from death, and strangely enough, they were all d in golden mes.

    While the golden mes were scorching hot, it didn''t seem to hurt any of those undead minions, but instead helped them to be more dangerous and strong.

    "Ice Breath!" Adam breathed out the cold, and created a wall of ice in front of the undead minions so they would be trapped.

    However, the undead minions put their hands on the wall of ice, and started melting it with their scorching hot touch.

    Xerxus jumped over the wall of ice, and with his wooden cane that was lit on fire, he struck down at Adam with all his might.

    However, Adam blocked it with his greatsword, but still, the ice-covered ground under him started melting because of the insane heat.

    Xerxus jumped back to the air, and swung his fire-covered wooden cane. With that swing, he created spears of fire that rained down towards Adam, setting his surroundings aze.

    With his Kiryoku, Adam weaved through the spears of fire, and then he summoned his wings that immediately took him high in the air.

    In the air, he exchanged blows with Xerxus.

    It was a thunderous exchange, but shockingly enough, Adam won the exchange, and sent Xerxus flying down to the ground.

    With strong momentum, Xerxus smashed through the wall of ice, and crashed in the middle of his undead minions.

    The undead minions didn''t like that and created their very own spears of fire. Then, after taking a couple of running steps, they hurled their spears at Adam, who was floating in the air.

    With his insane speed, Adam evaded the spears of fire, and started flying down towards the minions.

    "Ground King!"

    As he crashed on the ground, the tform shook, and the undead minions got thrown into the air. They started to fall off the tform into the deep abyss below.

    "The Magma Opys of-" Xerxus lunged at him with his fire cane, but Adam suddenly swung his greatsword, and cut right through him.

    It was such a strong swing that another air sh flew out of the sword, and destroyed the left wall of the room. On the wall, there was only a mark of an insanely big-looking sh.

    Xerxus crashed on the ground in two pieces. He was cut from waist down. The force of the swing was surprising even for him.

    "The y time is over!" Adam shouted. "It''s time for you to unleash your third phase!" [HP: 27%]

    [HP: 26%]

    [HP: 25%]

    The golden mes turned ck, and the air around him began to chill.

    "The Torture Chamber!" Xerxus snapped his fingers, and on the walls of the tform, thousands of people appeared, all chained and screaming in agony.

    It looked like those people would do anything to escape their pain.

    The lower half of his body connected back to his torso, and he again climbed back to his feet. At that moment, chains shot out from the wall, and headed towards Adam. It looked like this ce also wanted to put Adam on the torture wall just like the rest.

    However, Adam grabbed the chains without any effort, and ripped them out of the wall with a single tug.

    "What an evil technique." Adam stepped towards Xerxus and punched him across the face. The punch was so strong that Xerxus'' face got pushed to the side, nearly dislocating his jaw. The punch also created a shockwave that destroyed another wall behind Xerxus.

    It was part of the torture wall, and some unfortunate ones got hit by the shockwave, and died. However, as soon as they died, it looked like their bodies turned holy, and transparent with angelic wings, and they started to slowly ascend towards the heavens.

    With thest murmurs, they thanked Adam with all their hearts.

    As the rest of the tortured witnessed the sight, they started to beg for help, and soon, the whole boss room was deafening loud.

    To defeat thest phase of Xerxus'', Adam had to free the tortured, and help them to get to the heavens.

    "No, they''re mine!" Xerxus looked enraged, and swung his cane at him, but Adam grabbed the fire cane, and threw an uppercut thatnded on Xerxus'' jaw.

    The force of the punch was so strong that a shockwave rippled through the room, and killed another dozen poor tortured souls who were trapped in the chains.

    Like before, they all turned angelic, and started to head towards the heavens. With their final words, they thanked Adam.

    However, Xerxus wasn''t receiving any damage.

    His health was still stuck at 25%.

    It was because he was transferring his pain to some of the tortured souls.

    Xerxus hatefully gritted his teeth, and summoned thousands of his undead minions all around him. They were all wielding weapons.

    Then, from the ground, chains of the bones also shot out, and there weren''t many ces left

    to stand safely!

    However, Adam just grinned and threw another uppercut that just went through empty air. He felt like he was punching through the Mana Air.

    It was because he could feel it solidly that he could create shockwave punches. Another shockwave punch flew throughout the torture chamber, and killed another hundred tortured souls. They turned angelic, and headed straight to the heaven''s gates.

    "Stop him!" Xerxus screamed.

    The chains and the undead minions headed in Adam''s direction.

    Adam, with a grin, punched his fist forward, and created another shockwave that smashed

    through the chains and the minions.

    With just a single punch, he destroyed Xerxus'' entire army!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "H-how..." Xerxus gasped in shock. "How has he be so strong?!"

    With Little God''s speed, Adam appeared right in front of him, grabbed him by the arm, and smashed his fist into Xerxus'' chest.

    The punch was so powerful that it sent shockwaves throughout the room.

    Xerxus'' eyes widened in shock, and he quickly transferred the pain to the tortured people.

    Another two hundred souls died, turned angelic, and headed to the heavens.

    If he didn''t transfer that pain, he might''ve died!

    "Keep going!" Adam grinned, and again punched into Xerxus'' chest.

    The ground shook under them violently.

    Xerxus gritted his teeth, and again transferred the pain to the tortured ones.

    Another couple of hundred souls died.

    The number of the tortured ones was growing low!

    However, yet again, Adam reeled in his fist and punched into Xerxus''s chest. There was nothing he could do!

    He waspletely helpless under Adam''s strength!

    This punch was the strongest one so far, and the tortured ones died rapidly. It looked like every tortured soul was going to die from that punch, but somehow, only one soul survived. The soul looked to be in great pain, and was begging for Adam to save him.

    As he reeled back his fist, Xerxus tried to stop him, but Adam just punched into his face.

    He transferred the pain to thest tortured soul, who immediately died, but couldn''t transfer

    all the pain away, thus most stillnded on him, and it hurt.

    A lot!

    [HP: 2%]

    [HP: 1%]

    "Huff, huff!" Xerxus copsed on the ground, and breathed heavily.

    However, his chest copsed, and, then his eyes turned lifeless as the health reached the end.

    [HP: 0%]

 Chapter 283: Zestruction Vs. Battle Maidens

    Chapter 283: Zestruction Vs. Battle Maidens

    ?

    The lonely wind whooshed through the empty streets of a vige.

    It looked abandoned, and it felt like time had stood still for years.

    At that moment, one of the doors opened, and the braided-haired young woman stepped out, carrying a rusty bucket, and headed to the well in the center of the vige.

    It waste at the night, and fog was starting to roll in.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    As she started to draw water, she looked around the empty vige that was just full of life only a day ago. The silence was deafening.

    She felt slightly nervous about the fate of her friends, and prayed for their safety.

    As she finished drawing the water, she started carrying it back to the building, and looked at the symbol on the door.

    A symbol of Zestruction.

    The symbol gave her warmth, and safety.

    ''With Sir Zephyr, there''s no way they would lose.'' She thought to herself, stepped inside the building, closed the door behind, and took her seat behind the desk.

    She was assigned the task of taking care of the vige.

    It wasn''t what she wanted, as she also wanted to be part of the army, but someone had to do it, and while it was a boring and lonely job, it was important nheless.

    As she ced the rusty bucket next to the desk, she started going through the letters, and separated them into several piles-the important war business went directly to Zephyr, and the private letters she would put in a separate ce to be dealt withter.

    The door suddenly opened.

    She jolted in surprise, and quickly picked up her weapon. "Who goes there?!"

    As she looked over to the door, she saw a figure dressed in all ck standing in the doorway, holding a torch.

    "This is where Zestruction camps, is it not?" The figure asked.

    "Who''re you?" she asked with a gulp. ''I might be Grandeur-ranked, but I can''t fight against an attacking force! Couldn''t they have left behind a single group of guards at least?!''

    "Name''s Adam." Adam removed his hood, and fixed his hair. "I thought Zestruction was supposed to camp here."

    "Y-you''re part of Zestruction?" She asked to make sure.

    "A part of the faction, yes." Adam entered the building, and closed the door, then took a seat by the desk.

    "Well, you''rete!" She said, and sat back down. "They''re already en route to war. It''ll happen at dawn."

    "Oh..." Adam sighed. "What way?"

    "To the north," she said.

    "Against who?"

    "Battle Maidens!"

    "I see." Adam stood up, and said. "I guess I must get going then."

    "What''s your name?" The braided girl asked. "I must register your name on this sheet of paper I''ve got!"

    "Adam Palestar." Adam said, and then headed out.

    She only heard pping of the wings, and then he was gone.

    As she heard that name, her mind went nk for a moment.

    "A-Adam Palestar..." Her voice shook. "The yer of Cmity?"

    ...

    Near the mountains of the north.

    A ten-thousand strong army marched up a small hill. Their steps shook the earth, and the war drums boomed through the valley below.

    With horseback riders in front, they arrived at the top of the hill, and they all stared down towards another army in the distance.

    Silver-d armoreddies of the Battle Maidens stopped a distance away.

    At the front of the army, Athena Battleborn sat tall on top of her armored horse, her gaze fiery, and unrelenting.

    She had one of the most powerful followings, as her followers would do anything for her, and as they saw their leader sitting on the horse like a beautiful goddess, they were filled with confidence and determination.

    "Strong-hearted as always." Zephyr took off his helmet, and beside him, three other horseback riders also took off their helmets.

    They were Zestruction''s Three Stars of War-Zephyr''s strongest allies in battle.

    "A proper fight, at least." Taurus said with a grin.

    He was a wide-shouldered man with a bushy beard and a deep voice that carried across the battlefield. It was like he was born for a war.

    "Mmh." Andromeda softly agreed.

    She seemed more timid with soft features, and arched eyebrows that gave her a perpetually surprised look.

    The army of women made her quite surprised, and she wondered whether in another timeline, she would''ve also joined Athena''s Battle Maidens.

    Athena, of course, tried to recruit her, but she was loyal to Zephyr, so she politely declined the offer.

    It made her feel slightly sour to face them on the battlefield, but she wasn''t going to fight

    softly.

    "Wohoo!" Sagittariusughed in excitement. His bright blond hair shed in the sunlight. On his back, arge bow with a quiver of arrows strapped securely.

    Zephyr put his helmet back on, and turned his gaze to the front lines of his army. They were all Originals, and all fear-struck.

    It was a must done.

    The Originals were also part of the kingdom, and they had to do their duty to decide the future. Thus, in this case, they were fodder for the war.

    Same with the Battle Maidens army.

    They also had Originals on the front lines, but instead of the fear-struck men, they had

    women, and they looked determined.

    It was because Athena managed to convince them to join her side. They all had now a purpose

    in the war other than being just fodder.

    Thus, in terms of morale, Battle Maidens had enormous advantage!

    Zephyr took a horn from his belt, and blew loudly into it. The sound traversed across the

    mountains and the valley.

    "Onwards to battle!"

    With a shout, the Originals started running down the hill, also screaming, but out of fear.

    Athena swung her sword, pointing it at the approaching army, and the army of women also started running with a powerful war cry.

    After both sides ran for about thirty seconds, the frontlines smashed into each other, and the blood started spewing like a fountain.

    The steel shed loudly, against other steel-d weapons, and sometimes into a fleshy body. From the first second of the fight, it was already extremely bloody.

    However, the mercenaries of both sides didn''t make a single move. They were waiting for the battlefield to clear up before they could make their move.

    If they attacked from the very start, their attacks could kill their own Originals.

    In the midst of the war, a short-haired Original from Zestruction cut through his own kind without a shred of pity, and he looked like someone with prior fighting experience.

    The ones without any fighting experience were powerless in front of him. However, the short-haired man then tripped on one of the corpses, and got immediately

    skewered through the heart by a spear that suddenly appeared.

    Within the first minute of the war, both sides have already lost hundreds of soldiers.

    "Do the signal." Athena said and steeled her expression. "Retreat signal." Desire nodded her head, and put her lips against the horn before blowing into it. The sound

    echoed across the battlefield.

    Their soldiers suddenly started retreating back to the surprise of Zestruction''s soldiers!

    Athena immediately kicked her horse into a gallop, and following her, Battle Maiden''s mercenaries rode their horses, and charged through the Zestruction army.

    "They''ve made their move!" Taurus called out.

    "Alright, head out." Zephyr kicked his horse into a gallop, and headed to the battlefield.

 Chapter 284: The All-Seeing

    Chapter 284: The All-Seeing

    ?

    In the middle of the battlefield, Zephyr and Athena shed with their swords.

    BOOM!

    The nearby Originals got blown away like leaves in a strong wind.

    Ordinary Originals would already be in a lot of danger when average mercenaries were fighting near them. Now, two Grand Lords, near the peak of the mercenary hierarchy, were fighting right next to them!

    If the two of them had used even more strength, all the nearby Originals would''ve just exploded!

    "T-this is crazy!" Leo said while evading the horses that were running across the battlefield.

    He was just an ordinary Original. A farmer. Yet, he was thrown into this war without even knowing how to use a proper weapon!

    He felt like an ordinary human standing on the battlefield of gods!

    At that moment, the ground shook violently as wide-shouldered Taurus smashed his axe into the ground. The nearby Battle Maidens got thrown away.

    "Haha, sorry about that,dies, but I''ve got to kill you!" Taurus grinned, and wanted to make another attack, but four Battle Maidens suddenly appeared in front of his path, and pushed him back.

    They were nimble-legged, using their curved daggers to strike at Taurus with speed, and precision.

    "Agh!" Taurus grunted slightly as a few cuts appeared on his arms, but he then swung his axe with a mighty force, and pushed the Battle Maidens away from him.

    Taurus grinned widely. His eyes were shrinking so much that they were barely visible, revealing his immense joy and satisfaction in battle.

    With that scary look of absolute joy, he smashed his axe into the ground, and created a wide crater in the earth.

    Leo, and several others got also thrown away high into the air. They screamed from the bottom of their lungs, and then fell straight to the ground.

    A few of those Originals died from impact, but Leo survived. However, he could barely breathe as he felt like his ribs were broken.

    ''W-what''s even the point of us participating in the war? There''s nothing we can do!''

    Leo cursed his shitty luck. He wished that he would''ve been born as a yer instead!

    A distance away, Andromeda danced across the battlefield, her sword cutting through the members of Battle Maidens like a hot knife through butter.

    At that moment, Desire and Florence stopped her in her tracks, and entered an intense battle of swords shing and sparks flying in every direction.

    "Shame, you could''ve been Athena''s righthand woman!" Florence said while swinging her sword fast and powerfully.

    "Maybe in another lifetime!" Andromeda said, and kicked Desire in the chest, sending her flying.

    She and Florence entered a fiery duel, their swords moving faster than lightning.

    On the horse''s back, Sagittarius released his arrows, and hit the retreated soldiers of Battle Maidens. They tried to hide behind their shield wall, but Sagittarius arrows were coated in his Kraft, making them impossible to stop.

    "Haha!" Sagittariusughed. "Nah, nah, you guys aren''t escaping!"

    Suddenly, a blindfolded woman jumped out from behind the shield wall and caught all of Sagittarius'' arrows in mid-air.

    "Eh?"

    The blindfolded woman then swung her sword three times around. Each of the swings created a sh made out of wind. Those shes flew through the air, and smacked Sagittarius off the horse.

    Sagittariusnded on the ground with a thud, and immediately several Batlte Maidens tried to skewer him with their spears.

    However, he quickly backflipped back to his feet, weaved past those spears, and hopped back on the horse, then kicked the horse into a gallop and headed towards the blindfolded woman.

    "A blindfolded woman. Haha, you must be her!"

    "..." The blindfolded woman didn''t speak a word, and instead swung her sword upwards.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The wind sh cut through the ground with incredibly force, turning over the ground like it was nothing, and headed towards Sagittarius.

    The wind sh was the size of a small house.

    Sagittarius jumped over the wind sh, but unfortunately, his horse got hit by the full brunt of the attack and copsed to the ground.

    While falling, Sagittarius pulled his bow, and shot a couple of arrows towards her.

    The blindfolded woman moved her sword, and cut through the arrows with ease.

    "Heh." Sagittarius grinned.

    ''He didn''t coat those arrows in Kraft...'' The blindfolded woman frowned, and jumped away from the arrows.

    The arrows suddenly exploded, and scorched the ground where she had just been standing.

    "Oh, she expected that?" Sagittarius clicked his tongue andnded on the ground. "You''re as impressive as rumors say, huh."

    "..." The blindfolded woman didn''t answer.

    "The All-Seeing, Wrath Battleborn."

    "..." Wrath stayed silent.

    "I heard you can see days to the future." Sagittarius said with a grin. "Is that true? Have you already seen the oue of this fight?"

    "The future is never set in stone," Wrath said. "But I can say it won''t end well for you."

    "Haha." Sagittarius grinned.

    ''She has reached level 4 in Kiryoku, a rare milestone. However, she has abandoned the usual path of Kiryoku for future-seeing.

    ''She cannot see my attacks or sense my aura or my attacking intention. The usual way of using Kiryoku, she cannot use any of that.

    ''It''s because she abandoned those to be able to see into the future. Level four Kiryoku users can see into the future, usually only a couple of seconds.

    ''However, they can''t use that all the time.

    ''Wrath, on the other hand, can see days into the future.''

    ''She had to sacrifice things to achieve that, such as portions of her strength and her eyesight.''

    "Well, I''m not afraid of you. You''re one of the most valuable members of Battle Maidens. If I kill you here, your faction will be in lots of trouble!"

    Sagittarius grinned, and darted forward like an arrow released from a bow. He retrieved a pair of daggers from his belt, and swung them down.

    Wrath moved her sword into a sheath.

    Spurt!

    "?!"

    The blood spurted out.

    Sagittarius looked frozen in shock as his chest was bleeding heavily. There was a sh wound

    across his chest, with blood pouring out in a steady stream.

    ''How did she...''

    "I''ve already seen this encounter happen." Wrath said. "I know how it ends."

    Sagittarius copsed on the ground, unconscious and barely breathing.

    "I can''t go for the final kill because..." Wrath jumped backwards, and right at where she was

    standing, an axe appeared.

    "You future-seeing witch!" Taurus, covered in bleeding wounds, charged forward, and

    picked up his axe from the ground.

    He''d clearly been through a lot based on the amount of his wounds, but on his path, he left

    behind dozens of Battle Maiden corpses.

    None of them was able to stop him!

    Wrath sighed, and retreated behind the shield wall.

    Taurus looked at the shield wall, and thousands of Originals that were now between him and

    Wrath.

    Usually, he would charge in without hesitation, but he couldn''t because Sagittarius.

    "Tch." He picked the unconscious man, and jumped across the air, thennded in front of one

    of the shocked Originals.

    "Take him to the Medicine Master!" Taurus ordered.

    The Original picked Sagittarius up, barely able to carry his weight.

    Behind the shield wall, Wrath looked towards the sky.

    ''The stars are aligning, and a storm ising. A future is not set in stone, but if we don''t find

    a way to stop him, we''ll be losing this fight.''

 Chapter 285: Gold Kraft

    Chapter 285: Gold Kraft

    ?

    In the midst of the raging battlefield, Zephyr and Athena looked straight at each other.

    The atmosphere around them was intense and suffocating, and everyone around them felt like someone was covering their faces with a pillow.

    Athena''s pretty eyes squinted, and then she kicked up some rocks from the ground. Those rocks flew like bullets through the air.

    Zephyr moved his vambrace-covering arm and smacked the rocks off the air. Those rocks were stronger than ordinary rocks, as they had a deep crimson hue on them.

    ''When she kicked those rocks, she infected her own Kraft into them. If I hadn''t coated my vambrace with my own Kraft, those rocks would''ve shredded through and destroyed my arm. ''What a tricky maiden. She isn''t known as one of the most skilled mercenaries for nothing.'' Athena started moving. Her feet rapidly covered the distance. She stabbed her sword forward, and it met with Zephyr''s de with a loud ng.

    However, Zephyr''s eyes bulged wide open as if he got surprised by something.

    The small area around him turned incredibly heavy, and his knee buckled under the immense pressure, forcing him down on his knees.

    "The Gravity de." Athena ethernally said and ced the blunt side of the sword on Zephyr''s shoulder.

    Zephyr crashed on the ground, t on his stomach, and felt the weight of the world crushing down on him.

    Those from Zestruction who saw it happen were surprised and wanted to go help their guild master, but the gravity around that area was too intense for them to even take a single step forward.

    A distance away, fighting the allied forces of Battle Maidens, Digby and the rest of Crimson Hounds didn''t have time to pay attention to the ongoings of other fights.

    However, they both felt the immense aura of power emanating from their fight. The whole area around the two Grand Lords was inessible to anyone else.

    Digby smashed his de through his enemies, carving a path of destruction through the battlefield.

    Somewhere else, Knoxx and other newbie mercenaries from the faction fought smaller scale battles with other weaker mercenaries.

    There were parts of the battlefield where they couldn''t just go. If they did, they might encounter an enemy that they would just die in a matter of seconds.

    Thus, they had to carefully n their movements and choose their battles wisely.

    "Damn, Knoxx!" n finally reached his friend after having to fight countless enemies. "This ain''t working!"

    "What do you mean?" Knoxx asked while looking around the battlefield with a heavy expression.

    The battle seemed extremely even, but they were running out of stamina.

    "This fight might seem even, but we''re losing!" n said. "The frontline army of Battle Maidens is still standing, and some of their strongest mercenaries have yet to fight!"

    "That''s why it is our job to carve a path there!" Knoxx pointed to the distance. "See what Digby is doing? He is trying to make a path to there so we can include them in a battle."

    "But it ain''t working!" n said. "Maybe retreat is in order."

    "We''re just foot soldiers!" Knoxx angrily shouted. "We''re in no position to make orders. We listen to orders. Period. And our orders are to keep fighting!"

    "Cursed!" n swung his sword and entered another painful duel with a member of Battle Maidens.

    At the center of the battlefield, the heavy gravity kept breaking the ground.

    With a groan of pain, Zephyr rose back to his kneeling position, fighting against the increased gravity that threatened to crush him into the earth.

    Athena swung her de, but Zephyr grabbed the de with his bare hands and, with a roar of defiance, started standing up.

    Soon, he was standing tall and strong, head-taller than Athena.

    "Hmm, I see." Athena said with her pretty voice. "It seems I underestimated you."

    "Underestimating fellow Grand Lord? I never expected you to be so foolish." Zephyr said

    coldly.

    "I honestly consider you the weakest Grand Lord." Athena said nonchntly. "However, you indeed have the strongest will. I have to give you credit for that."

    "Hmph!" Zephyr raised his fist, and a halo of gold light surrounded his fist.

    ''Gold Kraft...'' Athena looked serious. ''With his strongest will, he was able to put himself under torturous training. In the end, he managed to reach Gold Kraft. However, that''s all he

    has.''

    Zephyr''s arm extended forward, and his fist punched through the Mana Air; it didn''t hit Athena in the face, but still, the air bent around her as if she were struck.

    Her nose started bleeding, and her pretty face started caving in on itself.

    Boom!

    She got thrown high into the air like a rag doll and looked like she got seriously hurt.

    "Lady Athena!" The women of Battle Maidens screamed in fear.

    They felt furious and couldn''t believe that someone would dare to hit their beautiful guild master.

    ''What a powerful Kraft!'' Digby thought from far away. ''He doesn''t even hit the target to hurt them. It must be difficult to fight someone like that.''

    ''Athena is a very experienced fighter and has been in thousands of fights, but even she was taken off-guard!''

    In the air, Athena twirled and swung her sword down. A wave of gravity shot out from her sword and mmed down at Zephyr, forcing him back on the ground.

    "Argh!" Zephyr punched through the gravity, and the air started bending like it was stretching like rubber.

    Beautifully, the increased gravity shattered like ss and freed Zephyr from its oppressive hold.

    A small distance away, Athenanded back on the ground and wiped the blood off her nose. She then smiled, and her beautiful smile made the hearts flutter of everyone around her.

    ''Sis, don''t exhaust yourself.'' She heard a voice inside her mind. ''I''ve seen the oue of a fight, and it isn''t worth it so early in the war.''

    Athena looked over her shoulder and saw her sister, Wrath, speaking through telepathic spell.

    ''Alright, sis.''

    Wrath let out a breath of relief. She was aware of how stubborn Athena was, but luckily, they had already discussed the n for today.

    She had seen the future and knew how the fight would go.

    However, she was only able to see one future.

    It was too exhausting to see multiple futures, and while they were able to change the future

    she saw, they couldn''t know the next ouepletely.

    They had already changed the future, and things had headed in an unknown direction more and more. She didn''t know whether they would win in this new future, but at least they knew

    what to expect.

    ''We need Athena''s strength.'' Wrath thought. ''I hope this new future doesn''t end worse than

    before.''

    Zephyr watched as Athena walked away and frowned. ''Why would she stop fighting? This is not the Athena I know. What''re they nning?''

    -

    The wind picked up speed and almost unrooted the trees from the ground.

    At that moment, a winged shadow flew over the forest with insane speed and headed towards

    the mountains of the north.

    As soon as the winged shadow flew past, the wind stoppedpletely, leaving the forest

    eerily silent.

    A deer jumped out from the bushes, nippled the grass, and then turned towards the sky. It saw

    the winged creature flying away, and immediately scurried back into the safety of the trees.

    ---

    The fight kept raging on, but there was strange sensation in the battlefield. It looked like the strongest mercenaries from both sides had stopped fighting.

    It was only the foot soldiers fighting, who were usually Mercenarymen to Grandeur-ranked. The wind whooshed from the south, and moved Wrath''s short hair side-to-side. She slightly moved her blindfold to hide her eyes even further.

    ''What''s with this suffocating air?'' Desire wondered as she touched her throat.

    She felt like she had some difficulties with breathing, as if every time she tried to breath,

    something was blocking her lungs.

    Athena walked back to her soldiers, d in her armor, and then turned around to look towards

    the sky.

    "Hmm..." She turned around again, and arrived by her sister''s side. "The air is stuffy."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Yes, I haven''t encountered something like this before." Wrath said.

    "I have." Athena squinted her eyes. "With King Moriarty."

    "..." Wrath lowered her head slightly.

    "Has he already reached that kind of strength?" Athena asked.

    "No." Wrath said. "However, his strength has increased exponentially. We underestimated

    him. Everyone did."

    "I thought he wouldn''t be able to impact the war in any way..." Athena frowned. "If we allow him to grow further, Zestruction will be incredibly dangerous."

    "It''ll be up to you whether we will win this fight or not." Wrath said. "Unfortunately, I can''t

    tell the oue."

    "If I cannot kill some newbie, why the hell have I been training?" Athena said.

    At that moment, the wind stopped as if the time had frozen.

    A distance away, within heavy clouds, a winged creature soared through the clouds.

    "?!" Zephyr turned around and looked over to the sky. "Who?"

    The aura seemed familiar, but also unfamiliar because of the strength of the aura. It was the

    strangest kind of strength he''d ever sensed.

 Chapter 286: Clever!

    Chapter 286: Clever!

    ?

    Hidden behind some trees, a long-dressed woman stared out towards the sky with her round eyes, her lips slightly parted.

    However, there was something odd with her eyes.

    Her pupils looked like a pair of zooming lenses, constantly adjusting and refocusing on something far away.

    "Lucia, you see him?" Behind a tree, Chloe asked while holding a heavy-looking bow.

    The bow was resting on the ground, on her hand, and it was arched like a moon during a lunar eclipse.

    She also carried only one arrow. It was all she was able to carry. It wasn''t a wooden arrow, but a sleek, metal one with a sharpened tip.

    It was definitely not made out of just anymon metal that one could find from any metalwork shop, but a rare, otherworldly alloy.

    "I do." Lucia said, and her pupils zoomed in once again.

    With her amazing eyesight, she was able to see the winged figure fly over the clouds. It was like she had binocrs attached to her eyes.

    "Give me it." Lucia blindly moved her hand in Chloe''s direction.

    She handed her the arched bow and the sleek arrow.

    Lucia ced the arrow in the bow and pulled the string taut. It seemed very difficult to pull it, but she didn''t look like she was struggling and even made it easy.

    ''Haha, the best archer of thesends has arrived in the battle!'' Chloe said with a grin. ''Lucia, our very own marksman, never misses!''

    She idolized Lucia with her entire heart.

    The whole Battle Maidens were putting their trust in Lucia''s hands. She would most likely decide whether they would win or lose this battle.

    Ever since finding out the ending of the fight, Wrath made some ns and gave Lucia her order-to kill the winged figure that would arrive in the middle of the fight.

    While Lucia didn''t know who she would be ordered to kill, she trusted Wrath''s judgment and followed through with the n.

    It was because they all knew about her ability to see through the future.

    However, with this, she was changing the future, and Wrath didn''t know the oue of her altered vision.

    Thus, she didn''t know whether Lucia would actually hit the winged figure or not.

    However, it didn''t matter.

    Through the years and through hundreds of battles, Lucia had never missed!

    It didn''t matter whether one had Kiryoku or not!

    The string shook under the weight of the pull, and Lucia''s eyes zoomed in on the target. She licked the air, calcting the wind quickly, and then moved the bow slightly.

    With a short stop of breath, she released the arrow, watching as it flew straight towards the clouded sky.

    The arrow went through the clouds, disappearing into the unknown.

    It turned silent.

    Lucia lowered her bow, and at that moment, the sky exploded, and the clouds burst open with a dazzling disy of color.

    "A direct hit!" Chloe screamed in excitement.

    At the battlefield, there was a moment of silence as everyone stared out towards the sky.

    "She did it!" Desire called out with a brilliant smile.

    Athena smiled.

    ''Is it really that easy?'' Wrath wondered with her eyebrows furrowing. ''They haven''t seen things I''ve.''

    "They attacked the winged creature?" Zephyr frowned. "Who was it?"

    "Sir!" Digby arrived by his side, panting. "I think it was Adam!"

    "What?" Zephyr turned to him with a frown.

    "That winged figure. I think it was Adam!" Digby shouted. "He has the ability to use wings. I think it is some kind of Transformation Magick he''d unlocked!"

    "Then that means..." Zephyr turned to the exploded sky. "I can''t sense his aura anymore!"

    "Fuck, they''d been waiting for him!" Taurus rushed past the soldiers while carrying his axe.

    "This is what I feared." Zephyr frowned. "Wrath''s ability to see the future. It''s not something we can''t counter, and we couldn''t avoid this battle with them."

    "Is he really dead already?" Andromeda asked as she walked over to them. "The yer of Cmity dead like this? I am dis-"

    "Andromeda, silence." Zephyr''s tone turned so cold that she turned speechless.

    ''He couldn''t possibly die...'' Digby thought to himself, feeling a sense of dread creeping over him.

    At that moment, the explosion cleared up, and something started falling from the sky. Everyone turned their eyes towards it, witnessing a figure dropping from the sky.

    However, the figure was bare naked, and on his back, he had grotesque arm wings that looked like they belonged to a demon. He was severely burned and unconscious.

    "Who the hell is that?" Zephyr asked. "That ain''t Adam!"

    ''Who?'' Digby frowned.

    Back by the trees, Chloe jumped in excitement. "You''re amazing, Lydia~"

    Lydia turned her gaze to the falling figure, used her zooming eyes, and saw that it was just some naked man, ugly, and burned.

    ''That''s how Adam looked? I haven''t seen his picture before, but I swear I''ve heard stories about him being much more handsome than this.''

    Stab!

    At that moment, arge-ded sword went through her chest, and she coughed out blood.

    Slowly turning her head around, Chloe saw a ck-haired young man stabbing his sword through Lucia''s body.

    Her lips trembled, and then she screamed. "Lydia, no!"

    "Mm~" Adam cut through her entire body like butter, and she copsed on the ground in two

    pieces.

    "Bastard!" Chloe jumped at him, but Adam locked his aura on her and made her copse to

    the ground in agony.

    ''W-what?!'' Chloe thought with a pale face. ''Commanding Aura of Royal Prince?! There is no way he is at that level yet!''n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    True, Adam hadn''t reached the Royal Prince yet, but the peak of Prime Mercenaries was able to tap into that power even if it was just a little bit.

    "So, she really saw the future. Whew." Adam wiped the cold sweat off his brows. "That

    could''ve ended badly.

    "Y-you knew about Wrath?" Lydia asked while lying on the ground, only her upper body still

    moving.

    "I did." Adam chuckled. "I expected you to use her power to see the oue of the fight. However, I didn''t expect her to find a counter for me. I should be honored."

    When he was flying towards the battlefield, he tried to remember everyone that belonged to

    Battle Maidens during the Great Guild War.

    However, since the war started earlier this time around, there could be other wildcards that

    other factions didn''t have beforehand.

    Just like Wrath.

    He felt incredibly lucky that he happened to remember her. After all, there weren''t many that could see the future like she could in the entirety of Mortal Online.

    At the Second Great Guild War, Death and Star Factions both only had one person that was

    able to see further than 24 hours into the future.

    Both of them were one of the most important members of their respective factions.

    Back in the previous life, Wrath didn''t participate in the Great Guild War because, unfortunately, she was killed before the war officially started.

    Because of her importance, she was considered a valuable asset, and her death was a major

    blow to her faction.

    Thus, she was targeted and eventually killed.

    Now, because she was still alive, Battle Maidens were much more powerful than in the past

    life!

    ''I created a clone out of myself with the Thousand-Arm Monster of Armageddon skill, and luckily, I was able to trick her future-seeing, but I still didn''t expect her to target me

    specifically.

    ''What did she exactly see me do in the future?''

    When he departed from the 50th floor, during his travels, he learned the Thousand-Arm Monster of Armageddon transformation spell.

    In the end, he decided to use it for himself because of how incredibly useful the skill was.

    He was able to create just one clone out of himself. A very poor clone. It wasn''t able to move, but he was able to create wings for the clone and was able to move the clone with them. Lydia coughed out blood one more time and then fell silent as she died out of blood loss.

    "N-no, Lydia!" Chloe tried to crawl towards Adam to bite him in the ankle, but he stabbed his sword through her heart, also killing her off.

    As he stood by the tree line, a powerful gazended on him that immediately made him sweat

    buckets.

    Athena''s furious gaze burned into his soul.

    ''She wants to kill me...'' Adam took a deep breath. ''Don''t fear now, Adam. Step forward.''

    With a racing heartbeat, he stepped forward and started walking towards the battlefield.

    "He tricked Wrath!" Taurus spoke out loud in amazement. "A smart fucker, isn''t he?!" "That''s what he is..." Zephyr smirked and turned his gaze over to Athena. "I''ve got to keep her upied. I don''t like the look on her eyes."

    Digby, and the members of the Crimson Hounds just smirked at their young talent. The pride

    in their hearts bloomed like a beautiful flower.

    ''That strength...'' Digby touched his own chest. ''He has already caught up to me. I guess it is

    about time to pass the torch to the new generation...''

    ''He tricked me.'' Wrath lowered her head and smiled. ''My sisters believe that my ability is all- powerful. It isn''t, and he attacked its weakness. Very impressive, very clever.''

 Chapter 287: New Recruits

    Chapter 287: New Recruits

    ?

    "Sis, what should we do?" Athena approached Wrath and asked. "Is there still a chance?"

    "Unfortunately, no." Wrath said. "The oue is worse than before. Lucia and Chloe were still alive for the fight that was about toe, but now they''re dead."

    "I can attempt to kill Adam," Athena suggested.

    "Zephyr won''t let you." Wrath said, and even though she was wearing a blindfold, she could feel the gaze. "He is looking at you right now, isn''t he?"

    Athena looked over her shoulder and saw Zephyr standing in the midst of the battlefield, staring in their direction like a hawk.

    "Yes..."

    "We need to retreat," Wrath said. "The battle is lost."

    "Alright..." Athena waved her finger.

    A horn sted throughout the battlefield, and Battle Maidens, while dispirited, turned around and started retreating from the battlefield.

    ''This is a big blow to the morale.'' Athena looked towards Adam with a frown, then turned around, and followed the retreated forces.

    "Should we go after them?" Taurus asked.

    "They''re not retreating over to the mountains, why?" Andromeda asked. "Instead, they''re heading to Nightshade territory."

    "Wrath must''ve seen also the future of what happens at the mountains." Zephyr said. "It seems they''ve chosen a less dangerous path to follow."

    "Should we follow them?" Taurus asked. "With Adam here, we''ve got upperhand!"

    "No," Zephyr shook his head. "We''ve already got what we''ve wanted. Extended territory. Battle Maidens have other worries now with Nightshade."

    ...

    Adam walked in the midst of the soldiers, and everyone just moved out of his way. They also bowed their heads in respect and whispered between each other.

    "The yer of Cmity..."

    After a while, he reached the Crimson Hounds, who''d grouped up and were waiting for him. "Sorry, I amte." Adam said.

    "Nah, I call that perfect timing." Digby said and shook his hand, but at the same time, tried to calcte Adam''s current strength.

    ''There''s no gap between us anymore...''

    "Doesn''t this make us peak tier 2 guild?" Lucette whispered to Valora. "With Adam here now that he is at Digby''s level."

    "Yes, it does..." Valora said with a smile. "Give it a year, and we might even be tier 1 guild." "Whoo..." Lucette inhaled cold air.

    To think that they were in the danger of dropping to tier 3, but now they might even be tier 1 guild!

    They would be a proper powerhouse, and it would be way easier for them to recruit more members.

    "Adam!" Zephyr walked over to them.

    The mercenaries bowed in respect to his status.

    Digby also arched his back into a bow, and so did others, but Adam didn''t, and Zephyr didn''t seem to mind.

    "May I have a word?" Zephyr asked.

    "Sure," Adam said.

    The others dispersed to give them privacy.

    "I know you just came back, but I have a mission for you." Zephyr said.

    "Oh?" Adam crossed his arms and nodded. "What is it?"

    "I need you to visit the Border Vige," Zephyr said.

    "It is the vige where you appear once the tutorial is over. A new group of tutorial takers are about to be done with their tutorial, and I think you can reach it faster than any of us can with your wings.

    "We, members of the Council of Mercenaries, have contacts within tutorial as we work together with them. I''ve received some news that this group has quite a few talents.

    "One of them might''ve been good enough for S-rank, but we did a vote, like we did with you. The vote ended in 4-3 against."

    "?!" Adam looked surprised. ''There''s not supposed to be another S-ranker in a while. Who could it be?''

    "While that person is A-ranker in status, he might as well be S-ranker. There''s also other quite incredible individuals, and it is one of the best tutorial groups in a long while." "We can assume that other factions will also send recruiters?" Adam asked.

    "That''s correct, and while I doubt it will escte into a fight between recruiters, you need to be prepared for anything. I''ve faith in your strength to take care of yourself and try your best to get us some new talent."

    "Alright."

    Zephyr patted him on the shoulder and then went to organize the ranks for the return trip back to their base.

    ''Recruiter...'' Adam scratched the back of his head. ''It''s only been a year since I was the one being recruited.''

    "Adam." Digby walked over to him and followed Zephyr with his eyes as he walked away. "What did he want?"

    "I''ll need to go to the Border Vige to be a recruiter." Adam said. "Apparently there''s some good new talent."

    "You? Alone?" Digby asked with a frown.

    "I am the fastest one with my wings." Adam said and shrugged his shoulders. "I can also escape easily whenever I want to."

    "Mm..." Digby nodded. "There''re some new reinforcementsing up soon from Dawnwatch, but I suppose Zephyr is also thinking about the future in case this warsts

    years."

    "Mm, we can catch up on things once I return from there." Adam unfurled his beautiful wings. "Alright, there''re some important matters I need to discuss with you." Digby patted him on the shoulder. "A very important matter."

    Adam nodded and then took flight, disappearing within the clouds in an instant.

    ...

    Geoffrey stood in front of a still baby-faced recruit, who were giggling andughing with

    each other.

    They had just finished the fourth floor and were sitting on the front steps of the cottage in the

    warm fifth floor.

    They were in very high spirits and were all smiling.

    However, Geoffrey didn''t share the same look of joy as the others.

    It was because he didn''t know that they had justpleted the easiest part of being

    mercenaries, especially during these dangerous times.

    ''They''ve no idea that when they step through that door, they enter a world that is in a war.''

    He pinched on his forehead and shook his head.

    While he was caretaker for this tutorial, once he returned to the New World, he would be sent

    straight to the front lines. It wasn''t something he was anticipating with eagerness but

    dreaded, but it was his duty.

    "Alright, everyone, quiet down!" Geoffrey said with amanding tone.

    The recruits quieted down.

    They hadn''t forgotten about the beating they received in Geoffrey''s hands. However, one of

    them managed to break one of his fingers.

    By the bottom step of the porch, Nathaniel looked rxed, with a smirk on his face, and

    looked quite confident about his score.

    With his dark blue hair tied back in a ponytail, he looked like a mischievous elf.

    A group of recruits sat around him like in a protective circle. They were his "friends" of the tutorial, but in reality, they were all just his followers.

    After witnessing Nathaniel''s strength on the first floor, they started following him like sheep, believing they would have much easier time on the tutorial if they followed him.

    "Let''s start with the scores!" Geoffrey shouted. "Harry Wise!"

    "That''s me!" A young man behind Nathaniel eagerly said, and stood straight with a nervous

    smile on his face.

    "C-score!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    A few snickers sounded.

    "C..." Harry looked dispirited. "So low..."

    ''Trash.'' Nathaniel thought to himself.

    "Skye Hunt!"

    "Mm..." Skye niddled on her finger nervously.

    She was sitting beside Nathaniel and was quite pretty with her round face and curly hair.

    "B-score!"

    The heads nodded in approval, while Skye let out a sigh of relief.

    ''She received a better score than me? Shit!'' Harry''s face turned red in embarrassment.

    "How did I do, Nathan~" Skye asked with a shy smile.

    "Good." Nathaniel said with a handsome smile, but inside, he thought. ''Another trash.''

    "Ida Kinsman!"

    Ida uncrossed her arms, and she looked like a cold princess. She didn''t follow Nathaniel during the tutorial and instead moved alone throughout the entire tutorial.

    "B-score!"

    A few heads nodded again.

    Ida crossed her arms again and moved her gaze away, not looking like she cared much about

    the score.

    ''Pity, she could''ve been A-rank if she just bothered to work with others.'' Geoffrey shook his

    head. ''No one wants a mercenary that is unwilling to work with others.''

    "Nigel Kennedy!"

    A broad-shouldered man took a step forward. He didn''t look like he was in his early twenties,

    but looked to be in his early thirties!

    He had a bushy beard with a rough visage, and his skin looked tough, and weathered like a

    bark of a tree.

    "A-score!"

    Gasp~

    A quite few gasped at the amazing score, but they weren''t really surprised because Nigel was

    very impressive during the tutorial.

    There was quite a heated rivalry between Nigel and Nathaniel.

    "Hmph." Nigel just scoffed.

    ''Sadly, he is old.'' Geoffrey thought to himself. ''His talent is amazing, but his age is turn off

    for many.''

    "Nathaniel Whetzer!" Geoffrey shouted and looked at the dark blue young man.

    Nathaniel smirked and sat straight on the steps.

    The surroundings turned silent.

    "It must be S-rank, right?" "Definitely. Nathaniel is amazing!"

    "He broke Geoffrey''s finger too, and he is a Grandeur-ranked mercenary!"

    Geoffrey sighed and said. "A-score!"

    Gasp!

    The recruits were shocked.

    While it was an amazing score, it seemed too low for him!

    Nathaniel''s eyes turned cold. ''A-score? I am on the same level as that trash?!''

    "If he didn''t receive S-score, just what kind of monsters are S-rankers?!"

    ''A pity. If it was me, I would''ve given him an S-rank.'' Geoffrey thought and looked at his

    broken finger. ''After all, he is the most fearsome recruit I''ve ever seen!''

 Chapter 288: Favorite Daughter

    Chapter 288: Favorite Daughter

    ?

    Through bright light, the new recruits of the 33rd tutorial group of year 2151 appeared in the cozy, little inn.

    Pitter-patter!

    The rain pattered against the window, and the scent of warm meal hit their nose like a wave of nostalgia.

    "This is the New World..." Skye thought out loud with a smile and gazed out of the window.

    She could barely make any sense of surroundings because of the heavy rain, but the cozy interior of the inn made her feel right at home.

    Geoffrey went to the innkeeper, and talked something with him. It looked like a serious conversation as Geoffrey''s expression turned stern.

    As the new recruits looked out of the window, Geoffrey suddenly pped his hands, and attracted everyone''s attention.

    "Because of the heavy rain, the wagons that take you to your new cities haven''t arrived yet. It might take a couple of days before they can, as the heavy rain makes moving difficult.

    "You all have rooms ready in this inn."

    "I guess I''ll go back to the real world then-" Skye stretched her arms. "I haven''t seen my family for a while.

    "Me too!"

    "Right, it''s been nearly a month since I''ve seen my parents. I wonder if they will even remember me!"

    "Fool, it is only a month; rx."

    "I haven''t ever gone without a single day of not seeing my parents; now it was nearly a month!"

    Nathaniel looked at the anxious recruits and scoffed under his breath.

    "What''s with you?" Nigel spoke to him. "Is it a sign of weakness to show desire to see your family?"

    Nathaniel shot a re at him and scoffed. "Why''re you talking to me like an equal? Know your ce, old man."

    "Haha." Nigelughed. "From what I heard, we''re equal, are we not? Mister A-rank."

    "I am more than eager to show that we''re not." Nathaniel said coldly.

    "Hah." Nigel smirked, "I''d like to see you try."

    Nathaniel''s gaze turned cold, and he slowly pulled out his knife from his belt.

    Squeeze!

    Nigel squeezed his right hand into a powerful fist.

    "Alright, everyone calm down." Geoffrey pped his hands again.

    Everyone turned silent once again.

    "Unfortunately, none of you can log off just yet."

    "What, why not?!"

    "The tutorial is over, is it not?!"

    "It has already been a month. Don''t tell me there is something else!"

    The recruits all looked annoyed and angry.

    "You all will have some visitors!" Geoffrey screamed.

    The scream was so powerful that the recruits didn''t dare to say one more thing. They felt like their ears would start bleeding.

    "Who?" Nigel asked.

    "The representatives of Seven Major Factions!" Geoffrey said respectfully. "Nightshade, Children of Fair, Battle Maidens, Smilebacks, Dying Star, Zestruction, Darkstar. All of them will send one representative!"

    "Why?" Nathaniel asked with a frown.

    "To recruit some of you!" Geoffrey said. "You guys have no idea how lucky all of you are. To join one of those factions is the greatest blessing you could ask for!"

    "Is this because of the war?" Ida asked with her usual cold tone.

    "Yes," Geoffrey said.

    Some of the recruits looked nervous. They didn''t want to participate in the war.

    "Why would we join in their war?" Nathaniel asked. "To be some cannon fodder, fuck that!"

    "If you make a name for yourself in the war, your future will be extremely bright!" Geoffrey shouted. "This is your chance to show what you''re made out of. Don''t be a coward; seize the opportunity!"

    "What if I don''t want to participate in the war?" One recruit asked.

    "Then you should quit being mercenary, right now!" Geoffrey screamed. "This world does not need cowards like you. This is the rarest kind of opportunity. Most other recruits end up joining some shitty guild where they will make absolutely zero impact in the world."

    Gulp~

    A few recruits gulped.

    "What faction are you part of?" Skye asked.

    "..." Geoffrey raised his chin proudly. "Zestruction, led by the great Lord Zephyr himself!" "What, you''re from Zestruction?" The innkeeper said in surprise. "Have you heard about what happened?"

    "What happened?" Geoffrey turned to him and became nervous. "Something bad?"

    "No, haha, something great!" The innkeeper rubbed his belly. "Your little genius Adam killed the Cmity of Death Mercenaries. I expected you to have not heard about it since you were in the tutorial!"

    "He did what?!" Geoffrey''s jaw almost dropped to the floor.

    The recruits whispered with each other. They didn''t know about who this Adam and Cmity were, but it sounded something amazing.

    ''Adam, and Cmity...'' Nathaniel frowned. ''My handler mentioned them. S-rankers!''

    At that moment, the door of the inn opened, and everyone heard the pattering of the rain.

    Then, through the door, came a figure dressed in dark blue robes with a hood pulled over their

    head.

    "What a rain, aye." The figure said in a deep voice and shook the rain off his shoulders.

    The recruits looked at the figure, and looked nervous suddenly.

    "Sir, may I help you?" The innkeeper asked.

    "Yeah, uhm..." The figure showed a card. "My name''s Lionel Holloway. I am a Smilebacks representative. I heard there''s some new recruits here."

    Gasp~

    The recruits started whispering with each other.

    In their eyes, this Lionel guy seemed quite ordinary with short hair and a medium build. To

    them, Nathaniel and Nigel looked far more impressive.

    "Ah, sir, yes, they''re here." The innkeeper pointed in the direction of the new recruits.

    Lionel looked over and smiled. "Am I the first one here? Lucky me~"

    The recruits looked slightly disappointed, as it looked like Smilebacks sent some weaklings. They wanted to meet some powerful mercenaries and maybe befriend them.

    However, while they looked disappointed, Geoffrey''s eyes were round like saucers.

    ''Lionel the motherfucking Holloway!'' Geoffrey panicked. ''A legendary figure in the field of mercenary work!''

    ''A rumor has that he haspleted over five thousand quests, more than anyone else. He is also the one who led the party that was the first one to clear the 70th floor!

    ''Considered as the greatest party leader ever, Lionel Holloway!''

    "So, who is the highest-ranked recruit here?" Lionel asked with a smile.

    "Me."

    "Me!"

    Nathaniel and Nigel stepped forward at the same time.

    "You?"

    "You?"

    They repeated each other and turned to look at each other with ugly frowns.

    "You really think you''re better than me?" Nathaniel asked with an angryugh.

    "Well, of course, I am." Nigel said it like it was obvious.

    "I am younger and more talented." Nathaniel said with augh. "If I were your age, I would''ve be S-ranker, no problem!"

    "Yet, youck in the intelligent department." Nigel touched his temple. "With my experience,

    I would crush you in any fight."

    "I''d like to see you try." Nathaniel twirled the knife in his hand. "You''re slow, like a turtle.

    When you fought Geoffrey, you moved like a fucking ape."

    "It all needs one punch." Nigel kissed his fist.

    "Hah!" Nathaniel rolled his eyes.

    "Mm~" Lionel shook his head and went to a cold-looking woman. "What''s your name."

    "Ida." She said coldly.

    "That ain''t good~" Lionel shook his finger. "You should smile more and be more

    approachable."

    "Why?" Ida asked. "All I need to be is strong, no?"

    Lionel shook his head and went to another young woman by the window.

    "What''s your name?"

    "Skye!" She saluted with a smile.

    "That''s better!" Lionel pped his hands. "Your score?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "B!"

    "Not bad, not bad..." Lionel rubbed his chin. "I was also B-score. But through hard work and

    dedication, I became Bartholomew''s righthand man!"

    "Hah, so you''re B-score?" Nathaniel said with a smirk. "So, I am more talented than you."

    "Oh, in traditional sense, yeah." Lionel turned to him and smiled. "What about it?" "Nothing." Nathaniel said and shrugged his shoulders. "Disappointed, that''s all. I expected the top of the mercenary hierarchy to be... stronger, that''s all."

    "Oh, but you''re mistaken." Lionel approached him and grinned. "Talent doesn''t equalize

    strength. Y''know, A-rankers die like flies these days, and even S-ranker have already met

    their doom."

    "I am not worried." Nathaniel crossed his arms. "I won''t join your faction, even if you beg me.

    If you''re the best Smilebacks have to offer, then I am greatly disappointed."

    "What a shame." Lionel smiled.

    Knock, knock.

    At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

    Without anyone opening the door, the person outside opened the door and stepped through,

    shaking the rain off their umbre as they entered the room.

    "Mm-"Lionel turned to the person with a smile. "Wee~" "Thank you~" Removing the hood, the First Sister smiled cheekily. "Lionel, what a

    pleasure~"

    "I didn''t expect Alistair to send his favorite daughter!" Lionelughed. "The First Sister."

    "My daddy thought I would be good at persuasion~" The First Sister giggled, and turned to Geoffrey. "Who might you be~"

    "Geoffrey, the caretaker of the tutorial." Geoffrey said with a serious expression. "Nice to

    meet you, the First Sister."

    Before, he was nervous in Lionel''s presence, but now he was worried.

    ''The First Sister?! Why the fuck is every faction sending their scariest people!''

    "So, mind giving me the numbers?" The First Sister asked with a smile. "O-okay..." Geoffrey checked his notes. "Two A-rankers. Twelve B-rankers. Twenty-seven C-

    rankers. Fourty-two D-rankers."

    "Oh, not bad~" The First Sister looked around the inn that was filled with the recruits.

 Chapter 289: The Gathering of the Strong

    Chapter 289: The Gathering of the Strong

    ?

    "The First Sister?" Kevin said out loud. "What kind of name is that?"

    "A name of my new born self." The First Sister interlocked her fingers and smiled beautifully. "My old self has a weak person''s name. I no longer am weak."

    ''She is pretty.'' Skye thought with a smile and raised her hand. "You''re the First Sister. Does that mean there are more sisters?"

    "Of course." She said with a smile. "I''ve got nine sisters and ten brothers."

    "Who you with?" Nathaniel asked with a frown.

    "Children of Fair." The First Sister turned to look at his rude expression and continued. "Led by the great Alistair Fairchild."

    "You don''t look that strong." Nathaniel stepped forward. "Are all mercenaries of this world bunch of weaklings?"

    The First Sister tilted her head adorably and smiled. "Such a foul mouth. I don''t like that." "Nathaniel." Geoffrey said coldly. "Mind your manners. Show some respect!"

    They''d been trying to force Nathaniel to respect the hierarchy back in the tutorial because they knew if he didn''t, he wouldn''t survive in the New World.

    They knew about his immense talent, but they also knew that talent alone wouldn''t be enough to make it in this harsh environment.

    However, no matter what they did, Nathaniel never listened to them as if he were deaf. "Haha, it is fine." The First Sister reached her hand to him. "Can we shake hands?"

    Nathaniel looked at the ordinary, soft-looking hand. It had five fingers, small and delicate. There didn''t seem to be anything strange about the hand, so he agreed and reached out to shake it.

    As he grasped her hand, he noticed that her squeeze was very gentle and even weak.

    ''There''s no strength in her squeeze.'' Nathaniel thought with a scoff. ''She is weak.''

    With strength flowing through his veins, he squeezed her hand so hard that he could feel her bones creaking beneath his grip.

    He didn''t hold back and used all of his strength.

    Yet the First Sister didn''t lower her smile and kept looking at him.

    ''If I squeeze any harder, her hand will definitely break.'' Nathaniel thought while his veins started to bulge with effort.

    Kyaa-

    At that moment, some screams echoed.

    "Calm down; I ain''t breaking her hand." Nathaniel said to others.

    "N-no, Nathaniel, look at your arm!" Skye screamed.

    The others were also bleached like they had seen a ghost.

    "?!" Nigel''s eyes were almost open.

    Nathaniel turned his gaze to his arm, and a panicky gaze shed past his eyes. His right arm, which he was using to squeeze the First Sister''s hand, had no flesh on it!

    It looked like the flesh had peeled off, showing his bones and sinew.

    "?!" Nathaniel wanted to pull his hand out of the First Sister''s grip but couldn''t!

    "What''s wrong?" The First Sister asked as she squeezed on his hand. "We''ve only touched hands so far. We haven''t shaken hands yet."

    ''What the hell is this?!'' Nathaniel thought, feeling a sense of dread creeping over him.

    At that moment, she lifted their hands and then shook them slowly. When she finished the shake, Nathaniel''s arm suddenly got ripped off his shoulder.

    The blood spewed from his shoulder and colored the nearby walls red.

    "Ahhh!" Skye screamed.

    The other recruits also panicked.

    "Argh!" Nathaniel copsed on his knees, clutching his bleeding shoulder in agony. "What the fuck did you do?!"

    "I shook hands." The First Sister winked her eye and looked at the other recruits with an innocent smile. "Now, who is interested in joining our guild?"

    The recruits looked pale-faced, and not a single one spoke a word. There was no way that they would like to join her guild, as she clearly had some issues!

    "Y''know, I don''t like to get rejected." The First Sister''s smile disappeared. "Don''t reject me."

    Gulp-

    A few recruits stepped forward and nervously approached her.

    "Good-" The First Sister pped her hands excitedly. "You''ll all make wonderful additions to the guild."

    Thump!

    At that moment, the front door opened, and every gaze turned to see who it was this time around.

    A ck hat-wearing man stepped through, shaking off the raindrops from his shoulders. On his back, he had a banjo that was also drenched in rain.

    "Oh man..." Lionel scratched the back of his head. "Aria, she really wants to have all the recruits for herself."

    "Ah, it looks like I am not toote~" Oldman removed his hat and bowed.

    ''What the hell is going on?!'' Geoffrey screamed inwardly. ''Now it is fucking Oldman, a monster of Darkstar faction!''

    "Huff, huff..." Nathaniel stood back up with a pale face. ''What''s this feeling? Why do I feel like that old guy is more dangerous than this bitch?''

    The First Sister''s eyebrow twitched, and she turned to look at him. "Did you say something?"

    "M-me? N-no..." Nathaniel backed off in fear. ''She can hear my thoughts or what? Fucking witch!''

    Her eyebrow twitched, and she put her hands on her hips. "My senses are tingling. Are you speaking badly about me?"

    "N-no, I wouldn''t dare!" Nathaniel gulped.

    "Come on, the First Sister, you''re scaring the new recruits." Oldman chuckled.

    "I am not!" The First Sister looked at her new recruit, who looked pale, and asked. "Am I

    scary?"

    "N-no, miss!" His voice quivered as he spoke.

    "See~"The First Sister smiled. "We''re all friends here~"

    "Hmm?" Oldman turned to look at the ceiling. "Who is hiding there?"N?v(el)B\\jnn

    On top of the chandelier, a thin, long-legged man was sitting, grinning mischievously, with a twinkle in his eye.

    When the recruits saw him, they all jumped in shock. They wondered since when he''d been

    here!

    Lionel scratched his neck. "I thought I sensed someone here when I first came. It looks like I was not the first."

    "Oh, I knew he was there, but I didn''t want to embarrass him-" The First Sister giggled. "I thought he was going to make some cool entrance, but he just kept sitting there."

    "You''re that Akuji boy, are you not?" Oldman asked.

    "Your factions sure sent scary people, aye." Akuji smiled hideously. "I feel outssed-"

    "Mou." The First Sister pouted. "I would have loved to meet Nishimura. Is he busy by any

    chance?"

    Akuji''s eyebrow twitched. "Yes, he is busy."

    ''Akuji Dark, another lunatic.'' Geoffrey sighed. ''Nishimura that, Nishimura this, I am also strong!'' Akuji clicked his tongue.

    ''However, it does look like I will be in trouble here. Every faction sent one of their strongest

    members.

    ''It looks like this is not just any ordinary recruitment mission anymore. There''s only a handful

    of actually good recruits, and that doesn''t require so many powerhouses toe to recruit

    them.

    ''There''s something else going on.''

    Swoosh!

    The wind blew the door open, and the floor started freezing into ice.

    Through the door, a hunched-back man entered the room. He had to hunch down because otherwise his head would''ve hit the top of the door frame.

    He was as tall as a tree with hair that looked like it was made of ice and eyes that shimmered

    like diamonds.

    As soon as he made through the door, he straightened his back, and his head was touching the

    ceiling.

    "So tall!" The recruits eximed.

    ''This guy looks strong.'' Nigel thought with a serious look.

    "Huff..." Nathaniel checked his health and saw that it was below hundred already.

    If he didn''t heal soon, he would die of blood loss.

    However, the air suddenly turned freezing, and the wound on his shoulder started to feel

    numb.

    In that moment, ayer of ice appeared over his skin, sealing his bleeding wound.

    "?!" Nathaniel looked shocked. ''It''s cold, but I am not losing health anymore. That guy stopped my bleeding!''

    "Oh, long time no see." Oldman smiled. "Sepheron the Great, I didn''t expect Orion to send his

    top man." "Hmm." Sepheron nodded, looking at Oldman with a hint of recognition in his eyes. "I could

    say the same about you. I thought the Darkstar faction finds you too valuable to send you to a

    mission like this."

    ''Sepheron!'' Geoffrey gulped in admiration.

    While he admired and respected many mercenaries, there was one that he absolutely

    idolized.

    That was Sepheron!

    Back in the real world, he even had his poster on his room wall!

    ''I never expected to see him!'' Geoffrey freaked out. ''I thought he was beyond the wall, but I

    guess Orion summoned him back for the war...''

    "I was the fifth one here, I see." Sepheron said. "Two remaining." "Yeah, Battle Maidens and Zestruction''s representatives hadn''te yet."

    "They had a fight, didn''t they?" Lionel said. "Maybe they busy~"

    "True, we should already start the recruitment process!" Akuji said.

    "Mm~" Oldman perked up his ears. "Someone ising."

    SMASH!

    The door exploded off its hinges, and a ragged-looking woman appeared in the room.

    Her hair was disheveled like he''d suffered a bomb, and her eyes were as round as saucers. It

    looked like she was on drugs or something, as it didn''t look like there was much going on up

    there.

    "Oh..." Oldman raised an eyebrow. "I didn''t expect Athena to send you of all people. Shouldn''t you be in ck Keep?"

    ''No, no, no!'' Geoffrey panicked. ''Why is she free? Shouldn''t she be in the ck Keep? Who the fuck let her out! Everyone here will be in danger!''

    "Hahaha!" Sheughed and jumped at Oldman as if she were about to attack him. Oldman shook his head and was about to pull out his banjo, but at that moment, the air turned

    freezing cold, and the woman got encased in a block of ice that appeared out of nowhere.

    She was frozen entirely.

    "Huff..." Sepheron breathed out cold air with half of his face covered in frost. "The Torturous

    Healer, Nerezza."

    Crack...

    The block of ice exploded.

    "Hahaha!" Nerezza turned her psycho gaze over to Sepheron. "This will be fun!"

 Chapter 290: The Last Arrival

    Chapter 290: The Last Arrival

    ?

    A few days ago.

    The waves of the Blind Sea crashed against the shore of a heavily fortified ind.

    On the ind, the infamous ck Keep loomed ominously over thendscape. It was a tall, cylinder-shaped structure with ck stone walls that seemed to absorb the sunlight.

    Through those ten floors, winding staircases led to dark, torch-lit corridors that echoed with the sounds of distant whispers.

    Those ten floors had criminals of all kinds locked away, but that was not all the ck Keep had to offer. The tower went another ten floors below the ground.

    In those underground floors, the most dangerous kind of prisoners were kept in istion.

    In total, there were ten prisoners. Each prisoner had their very own floor, with minimal light and food provided to them.

    It was because of the danger they possessed.

    At this very moment, the metallic door of the first underground floor creaked open, and the prison warden stepped inside, carrying antern.

    A short whileter, he came across a prisoner hanging above the ground, right in the middle of the room, her limbs chained to the ceiling, wall, and floor.

    "Ah, a visitor." Nerezza lifted her head and grinned. "A prison warden, what a pleasant surprise~"

    "Nerezza, prisoner number 1874, you''ve been therefore released from captivity, and your crimes have been forgiven."

    "Oh?" Nerezza tilted her head. "I thought I had five more years of captivity."

    "Your crimes have been forgiven by the King himself." The prison warden said with a bored gaze.

    "Oh?" Nerezzaughed. "Why is that? What is he after?"

    The prison warden didn''t answer and took out the key to the chains, then unlocked them, setting Nerezza free.

    She copsed on her knees but slowly stood back up, her lips curling into a big closed-mouth smile.

    "That''s dangerous, y''know." Nerezza looked at him and said, "I haven''t killed anyone for such a long time~"

    The prison warden looked at her with the usual bored look, as if he wasn''t scared of her. "You''ve been living a life of confinement." He said. "Back in the real world, you''re serving life sentence. This is the only ce where you can be free, so this is your final chance."

    "Hahaha~" Nerezza licked her lips and then kicked her leg up, aiming at the prison warden''s square jaw.

    The prison warden caught the kick. He didn''t say a single word.

    Nerezza kept kicking and punching, but he parried them all like it was nothing.

    At that moment, her kick got blocked by the prison warden''s arm, and her eyes widened into round balls as she noticed the cold gaze on his eyes.

    "I don''t have time to entertain you. Fuck off." The prison warden mmed his fist into her stomach and sent her flying across the floor.

    She smashed through the metallic door, got flung out of the underground floor, and went through the ck Keep''s ck stone walls, ending up outside the prison walls in a crumpled heap.

    "Ah~" She touched her stomach andughed in pain. "What a tsundere~ I am sure he will miss me."

    She stood back up, patted the dust off her prison pants, and started walking towards the rocky cliffs of the ind.

    When she reached the cliffs, she looked at the raging ocean that looked far from safe to travel in.

    ''How the hell am I supposed to reach the New World like this?'' She clicked her tongue, but at that moment, she heard footsteps behind her and turned immediately around.

    "Who''re you?"

    A yellow-haired man dressed in all white smiled and bowed. "My name is not important, but it is very nice to meet you, Nerezza."

    "Oh, how mysterious." Nerezza cocked her head side to side. "What do you want?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "I have a mission for you." The yellow-haired man said.

    "Not interested-" Nerezza turned back to the sea. ''Should I swim? But how far am I from the maind, and which direction should I go to...''

    "You don''t have a choice." The yellow-haired man said with a squinted-eyed smile. "You were freed from your confines to do the mission. If you refuse, you''ll be sent back to the ck

    Keep."

    "So, a mission from the King?" Nerezzaughed. "I wonder what kind of suicidal mission he wants me to do."

    "If you sessfullyplete the mission, we can also help your real world self." The yellow- haired man said with a smile. "You''re prisoned in the Maximum Security Prison of Shadehaven, aren''t you?"

    "Oh, you guys know a lot about me~" Nerezza said yfully. "How could you guys possibly release me there as well?"

    "That is an easy thing to do." The yellow-haired man said with a smile. "So, how about it?" "What is the mission?" Nerezza asked.

    The yellow-haired man smiled.

    ...

    In the present time.

    The atmosphere inside the inn turned very tense, and the recruits could sense it as well, as

    they suddenly had difficulties breathing.

    ''Wait, isn''t she?'' Nigel looked at Nerezza and gulped. ''I''ve seen her on television. Isn''t she the Shadehaven Butcherer? A serial killer...''

    Through the open door, another person stepped through. This time around, the other

    representatives were very stunned.

    They expected the next person to be Zestruction''s representative, but instead it was someone

    they didn''t expect.

    "Hmm, only six have arrived so far." Mikael said with a low tone. "Zestruction''s

    representative hasn''te yet."

    "Mikael of the Imperial Order?" Oldman frowned. "What is the Imperial Order doing here?"

    "I''ll exin once thest person arrives." Mikael said, and took a seat by the table. ''Now it is Mikael?!'' Geoffrey felt like passing out. ''What is going on here? I know the current tutorial group is pretty talented, but with these people around, I would''ve thought that there were S-rankers among the new recruits!''

    It made him frown and wonder whether there were more reasons for them to be here.

    "You''re of Imperial Order?" Nathaniel asked.

    "Correct," Mikael said.

    "King Moriarty''s guild?"

    "Correct."

    Nathaniel nodded and stepped forward. "I would like to join your guild."

    "We''re not recruiting," Mikael said.

    "I am A-ranker; in a couple of years, I will be extremely useful for your guild!" Nathaniel said.

    "We''re not recruiting." Mikael repeated.

    Nathaniel gritted his teeth and asked. "Why not?!"

    "Nathaniel, keep your voice down..." Geoffrey whisper-shouted.

    He felt like pping Nathaniel across the face for being so disrespectful!

    "We just don''t." Mikael said, and let out a short yawn.

    "Tch..." Nathaniel went back to his seat, seething with anger and frustration.

    "Hmph." Nigel smirked at his embarrassing behavior. ''You think it is that easy to join King

    Moriarty''s guild? Every aspiring mercenary would love to join his guild, and I wouldn''t be surprised if he had hundred A-rankers under him.''

    At that moment, Mikael''s ears perked up, and he smiled slightly. "Thest one is arriving."

    The heads turned over to the door, and then someonended on a puddle of water. A soft ssh sounded. It sounded like someone fell from the sky and into the puddle. Through the door, the final person stepped through, shaking the water off his boots. He looked young, in his early twenties, around the same age as the new recruits.

    ''He is young.'' Nigel frowned. ''There is no way that he would be on the same level as these

    others, right?''

    Nathaniel frowned, and other recruits looked equally surprised by the appearance of thest

    representative.

    The First Sister licked her pink lips and said, "Oh my~"

    "Oh..." Akuji narrowed his gaze. "Zestruction sent their big guns, huh."

    Oldman just stared silently, a small smile ying on his lips. He was immediately checking out his strength and became more surprised with each passing moment.

    The air around Sepheron turned colder. It was because the floor below him was turning into

    ice, bit by bit.

    It was because his Magick was running out of control.

    Strangely enough, it happened as soon as he saw the new arrival. Something about him made

    Sepheron lose control of his Magick.

    ''What a line-up of people.'' Lionelughed nervously. ''I feel slightly out of ce, especially

    now.''

    "Who is this?" Nerezza asked from Mikael.

    She hadn''t seen him before.

    "The new S-ranker." Mikael stood up from the table. "d to have you, Adam."

    ''What the hell is this?'' Adam looked around the cramped inn. ''I thought this was just a recruitment mission. Why did all factions send their powerhouses, and why the hell is Mikael

    here?''

    "S-ranker?" Skye whispered in shock, and the recruits looked star-eyed as they stared at

    Adam.

    During their time in the tutorial, they kept hearing about S-rankers and how amazing they were. Now, one of those S-rankers was in the same room as them!

    Also, it wasn''t just any S-ranker, but thetest one that they heard a great deal about!

    ''Muriel talked about him...'' Skye thought with a nervous gaze.

    Her handler during the tutorial was Muriel, and during thete hours, she talked with her

    about Adam.

    Because of Adam''s sess in the tutorial, Muriel became one of the top-ranked handlers and was handed some of the most impressive recruits to train.

    "S-ranker? Him?" Nathaniel narrowed his gaze. "I wonder what makes him have greater rank

    than me."

    ''S-ranker...'' Nigel flexed his muscles. ''Seeing the look on other representatives faces, he must be as impressive as the rumors say.''

    "Now that you''re all here, let''s talk about business." Mikael said. "You all thought you were here to recruit new members, but that is not the case. You''re all here for a mission!"

 Chapter 291: Door of the Sickness

    Chapter 291: Door of the Sickness

    ?

    "A mission, hah." Akujiughed. "Did our guild masters know that you Imperial dogs are making us do the dirty work?"

    "Of course," Mikael said. "King Moriarty told them to send a representative to do this mission. While this war continues raging on, it is still our duty as mercenaries to keep the safety of the New World intact."

    "What''s the rank of this mission?" Oldman asked.

    "X-rank." Mikael said. "Might upgrade to EX. We don''t exactly know what will be awaiting us."

    "That''s just freaking wonderful!" Akuji dropped off the chandelier and headed to the door. "I am out; I ain''t dealing with this shit."

    "You''re not going anywhere." Mikael said with his arms crossed. "If you step out of that door, you''ll find yourself in the door steps of the ck Keep."

    Akuji came to a stop, and his eyes turned cold. "How dare you threaten me?"

    "The only reason the Mercenary Guild is not interfering with the war is because we''re still doing our mercenary job. That includes keeping the New World safe from outside threats." Mikael said.

    "That''s why, to keep things bnced in the war, each faction sent their representatives for the mission. Also, the representatives couldn''t be weak. If any of them were, that faction would suffer from a punishment."

    "What is this mission?" Sepheron asked.

    "Follow me; we shall talk somewhere more private." Mikael walked over to the dungeon door.

    "What about us?!" Nathaniel asked. "Aren''t we getting recruited?!"

    "I am sorry, but that was just an excuse." Mikael said and opened the door. "You''re free to leave."

    The recruits looked surprised and watched as they all followed behind Mikael, stepping through the door that led back to the fifth floor of the tutorial dungeon.

    ''I thought it would be weird for so many powerhouses toe recruit them.'' Geoffrey thought. ''Sure, Nathaniel and Nigel are very impressive, but not nearly as impressive as someone like Adam.''

    ...

    After stepping through the teleporting door, they found themselves near the cozy-looking cottage of the fifth floor, with the crystal clearke shimmering right beside them.

    The air seemed fresh, like they were in a different world altogether.

    ''I never expected toe back here.'' Adam thought and inhaled the fresh air to fill his lungs. Mikael retrieved some small, round pearls from his inventory and handed everyone one. "Crack the pearl, and they''ll teleport you to the tutorial''s safe room."

    "Why the hell are we going to the safe room?" Akuji asked.

    Others also raised their eyebrows.

    They hadn''t been there since they finished their tutorial.

    "That''s where the mission takes ce." Mikael said, and he destroyed the pearl under his grip.

    Following his lead, others also cracked their pearls and traversed through the space that shimmered and twisted until they found themselves in the safe room.

    They appeared right in front of the mission board, and the safe room''s familiar mall outline greeted them.

    However, they weren''t alone, as the surprised tutorial-takers looked over at them with curiosity.

    A quick-stepped woman approached them, and to the surprise of the tutorial-takers, she bowed with humbleness.

    "Sir Mikael, I heard you wereing." Dakota said with a few cold beads of sweat rolling down her face.

    "Is the auditorium empty?" Mikael asked.

    "Yes, it''s all yours," Dakota said.

    Mikael nodded and walked past her without acknowledging her existence any further. He and the rest headed straight to the auditorium.

    At that moment, Adam walked past her and said, "Long time no see."

    "?!" Dakota''s eyes widened in shock, and she turned her gaze to him. "Adam... w-what are you doing here..."

    At that moment, she happened to catch a glimpse of his strength and felt her chest tight, and her head started spinning. She couldn''t believe it.

    "Y-you''re part of the mission?"

    She heard that powerhouses of other factions wereing to do some kind of important mission, but she never expected to see Adam, who had just taken his tutorial a year ago, to be part of it as well!

    "Yes, do you know anything about this mission?" Adam asked.

    "N-no." Dakota shook her head. "However, we informed the Mercenary Guild about certain strange urrences happening in the safe room."

    "Like what?"

    "The tutorial-takers have been getting sick," Dakota said.

    "At first, it is just coughing and sneezing. Then they start getting fevers and experiencing fatigue.

    "A couple of days after that, their fever reaches dangerous levels, and they be delirious. Then they start vomiting blood and eventually enter 3-day long sleep.

    "When they finally wake up, their eyes are as ck as night, and ten minutes after waking up, they die. I have never seen something like that before!"

    "That''s strange..." Adam said with a frown.

    He didn''t know what could cause that either. It could be poison, but with his current poison knowledge, he didn''t know what kind of poison could make such longsting effects.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Adam!" Mikael''s shout resounded. "Hurry up!"

    "Oh, gotta go." Adam waved his hand and walked away. "Nice to see you again."

    "You too," Dakota said with a bow. "Good luck with your mission."

    ...

    In the safe room''s auditorium, the representatives of the mission took their seats around the auditorium. Everyone was sitting far away from each other.

    At that moment, Mikael took his spot at the very front of the auditorium.

    "Before we go to the mission, it is important for you to know your rules and what to do!"

    Behind him, a holoraphic picture of a heavy-looking door appeared. It was closed shut tight and looked as though it hadn''t been opened in years.

    "This is the Door of the Sickness. It''s located in the depths of this very safe room. It is a ce where no tutorial-takers are allowed to enter, so I am not surprised if none of you know about

    its existence.

    "A decade ago, when King Moriarty took his tutorial test, he discovered this mysterious door. He was the first one to do so.

    "However, when he touched the door, he became sick, very sick. He touched that door only a second, but that was almost enough to kill him.

    "He quickly left and managed to survive through the sickness. Only barely. If he had touched the door one second longer, he would''ve died, and he wouldn''t have be the legendary

    figure you all know today.

    "Yet, Moriarty kept investigating the door. He was very interested about it. Then, without his knowledge, someone else found it and tried to open the door.

    "He couldn''t open the door, but he touched the door approximately ten seconds. Nine

    seconds longer than Moriarty did.

    "Obviously, he died.

    "However, he was suffering from coughing, sneezing, and fever. His symptoms worsened

    after a few days, and he ended up coughing blood before entering 3-day long slumber. "After those three days, he woke up with his eyes as ck as the pit of the darkness, and ten minutes after that, he died.

    "I heard that the same symptoms have been found among the tutorial-takers!

    "We thought they had found the Door of the Sickness, but it is heavily guarded, and none of

    them could''ve found it.

    "However, even the door''s guard became sick for some odd reason and also died. He didn''t

    touch the door; he promised us all.

    "We believe him.

    "Thus, for some odd reason, the sickness of the door has be airborne and is infecting

    everyone that walks anywhere close to the door.

    "It is extremely dangerous because if it worsens, then everyone in the safe room will just die. We have to find what is causing it and stop it!"

    "We can fight any monster, no problem, but fighting disease itself?" Lionel shook his head.

    "What could we possibly do?"

    "We''ll need to enter the realm beyond the Door of Sickness." Mikael said. "While our main goal is to stop the spreading of the sickness, we also need to investigate the ce on the other

    side."

    "What if we get sick?" The First Sister asked with a smile. "Do you have a way to cure us?"

    "No, we don''t." Mikael said. "However, we have Nerezza with us. She has the ability to make

    you more immune to the sickness. You can still get sick, though."

    "Now, what is our role in this mission?" Lionel asked.

    "You all have specific roles just like in any party." Mikael said, and controlled the holographic

    image.

    The faces of everyone part of the mission appeared with text under each.

    "The first role is the leader, which will be assigned to you, Lionel."

    Lionel nodded.

    He was already world-famous for his leadership skills.

    "Oldman, you shall be one of the party''s damage dealers."

    Oldman nodded.

    "Akuji, you as well, and the First Sister as well."

    Akuji scoffed, and the First Sister nodded with a smile.

    "Sepheron, you will be support." Mikael said. "Use your ice Magick to slow down any and all

    enemies. Protect those that are in need, as well."

    "Mm." Sepheron nodded. "Nerezza, healer." Mikael said.

    "Okay" Nerezza grinned in an ominous way.

    "Then, Adam..." Mikael looked over to the ck-haired young man and said, "You will be the

    tank. Keep Nerezza safe, no matter what happens."

    Adam nodded.

    Nerezza looked over to him and smiled. "Yeah, keep me safe~"

    "I will be part of the damage dealing squad." Mikael said. "However, I will be more versatile.

    I can also work as support. Now that everyone has their roles, let''s go to the Door of the

    Sickness."

 Chapter 292: The Mist Vultures

    Chapter 292: The Mist Vultures

    ?

    Walking through the hallways of the bottom floor of the safe room, they all could feel that there was something in the air.

    Something evil and ancient.

    "Did the new recruits get infected by the disease by walking over this ce?" Lionel asked and pointed at the ceiling.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "That''s what we thought so as well." Mikael pointed at the ceiling. "The cafeteria is directly above us, so you can tell why it has been such a wide-spread problem."

    "The sickness seeps through the ceiling and infects everyone that happens to walk directly above the door."

    With thentern in hand, Mikael looked ahead and saw that their destination was just up ahead. At the same time, the air turned heavy, like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the

    room.

    "We''ve arrived."

    Up ahead, they saw a rusty, old door that had been standing since the beginning of time. It looked like it had survived through the destruction and rebirth of the world.

    It also had four chains-three of them were wrapped tightly around the door handles, while thest one was dangling by the side, nearly broken and rusted.

    It looked like the chain would break at any moment.

    "Nerezza, do your thing." Mikael said.

    Nerezza rolled her eyes, and as her hair started floating like gravity had flipped upside down, she gently spread her arms around and gave a certain buff to everyone present.

    They all could feel that their resistance against the sickness'' corrupting force had increased. "How do we open the door?" Oldman asked. "If we touch it, don''t we automatically get sick?" "While the weak may not be able to open it..." Mikael stepped towards the door and mmed his hands against it. "...We can!"

    With a strong push, the door slowly creaked open, and even though it was quite a heavy door, Mikael was still able to open it like it was just any ordinary door.

    As soon as the door opened, a strange view opened right in front of them.

    Steps led deep into the mist, and those steps seemed to be hovering in the air, as if defying gravity. Those led somewhere very deep.

    ''Wait, mist?'' Adam''s eyes turned serious. ''Don''t tell me we''re going to the world of the mist!''

    "Come on, everyone, enter quick!" Mikael shouted. "If I don''t close the door soon, the entire safe room will be infected in a matter of seconds!"

    Everyone quickly ran through the opening, and Mikael mmed the door shut behind them.

    The First Sister leaned over the steps to look at the mist-covered ground below. She couldn''t tell whether it was actual ground below them or whether they would just fall down into an endless misty abyss.

    "This is now unknown territory." Mikael said. "No one has traversed beyond these steps before."

    "Why not?" Akuji asked. "I thought King Moriarty was investigating this ce. Wasn''t he curious enough to check what is on the other side?"

    "We thought it would be better to keep this ce locked." Mikael said. "There are legends of a powerful entity that dwells there, and we did not want to risk awakening it."

    "But we''re taking all the risks, fucking great!" Akuji scratched the back of his head in frustration. "This sounds more like a suicidal mission with each passing moment."

    "That''s what mercenaries are for." Mikael said and waved his hand. "Let''s move. The longer we stay, the more certain we are to be infected by the powers of the sickness."

    With that, they started moving through the mist, and after a short while, thentern on Mikael''s hands died.

    It became suddenly dark, and it became quite difficult to follow the steps, but then Lionel took the front, and using his Kiryoku, he was able to move seamlessly through the world.

    Others followed closely after him.

    Kyikaa...

    Kyikaa...

    Adam stopped moving and perked up his ears.

    Behind him, Sepheron identally collided into him and asked. "Why did you stop?"

    "Didn''t you hear that? There is something making noise." Adam said.

    Hearing their discussion, the people at the front also stopped.

    "I can''t sense anything with my Kiryoku." Lionel said. "You must be mistaken."

    "It sounded like ''kiyaak'' or something." Adam said. "It was very quiet, but I definitely heard

    it."

    "Oldman," Mikael said. "Make the mist disappear for a moment."

    "I''ll try." Oldman picked up his banjo and started strumming a soft melody.

    As the soundwaves collided with the mist, it slowly started to dissipate more and more. However, after two hundred meters of clearing the mist, there was still nothing but mist

    ahead.

    Oldman stopped ying the banjo and shrugged his shoulders. "There is nothing."

    The mist started to gather in front of them again, even thicker than before.

    ''Weird, I swear I heard something...'' Adam frowned.

    "Let''s continue then." Mikael said.

    However, after taking a single step, his ears perked up as he heard the sound of wings pping.

    With his right arm, he drew his Sword of the Morning Sun, and shed through the air above

    them.

    "Sky Splitter!"

    With his masterful control and strength, the sword cut through the mist, splitting it in two, and even slicing through the dark clouds above.

    Through the cut between the mists, they were all able to see misty creatures pping their wings, and they were looking straight at them, as if they were preparing to attack!

    "Vultures!" Oldman eximed. "However, they''re made out of mist?"

    "A new breed of creatures." Mikael said. "We shall call them Mist Vultures. This is already a groundbreaking discovery. I wonder what else we will find here!"

    Kyikaa!

    With a loud scream, the Mist Vultures descended upon them with ferocious speed. There were

    around four of them.

    "Sun sher!" Mikael swung his sword through the air.

    Within the sh, the power of the sun radiated outwards, incinerating one of the Mist

    Vultures in an instant.

    The other three Mist Vultures managed to barely evade the sh, but they were still

    descending upon them.

    "Ice Mortuary!" Sepheron summoned a chilling storm that encased one of the Mist Vultures in a block of ice.

    With his clenched fist, he jumped towards the block of ice and punched straight through. The Mist Vulture let out a deafening screech as its frozen body shattered into a million pieces.

    Akuji summoned a simple dagger to his left hand and threw it at the Mist Vulture. Itnded directly at the center of its chest, but it didn''t look like it was in pain as it kept descending

    down.

    "Dagaheru." Akuji snapped his fingers.

    The daggers multiplied a hundred times, and the Mist Vulture was quickly shredded into a cloud of feathers and blood. It looked like a porcupine, but instead of quills, it was covered in

    sharp des.

    Only one Mist Vulture was left, and it was heading straight to Nerezza, its eyes filled with rage

    and hunger.

    "Reverse Healing..." Nerezza grinned, showing her sharpened teeth.

    The Mist Vulture started bleeding from its eyes, nose, and ears, writhing in pain as it

    plummeted to the ground.

    It got infected with the corrupting sickness!

    The Mist Vulture was clearly in immense pain, but the pain just got worse and worse. Its screams sounded like someone was dragging their nails across a chalkboard. However, Nerezza enjoyed listening to these screams, and her smile kept getting bigger.

    But, at that moment, a greatsword smashed through the Mist Vulture''s head, ending its

    misery.

    "What did you do that for?" Nerezza turned her angry gaze at Adam.

    "I was getting headaches," Adam said with a frown. "You think it is fun to keep hearing the sounds of torture? Give me a break."

    "Oh, you can''t handle some screams?" Nerezza said with a sneer. "What a baby."

    "If he didn''t do that, I would''ve!" Akuji screamed. "It felt like someone was stuffing needles

    into my fucking ears!"

    "Hmph." Nerezza rolled her eyes.

    "Enough." Mikael said. "Let''s keep moving. I don''t think we''re that far fromnd."

    "Why do you think there isnd?" Sepheron asked with his cold tone.

    "These steps must be going somewhere." Mikael said and started walking behind Lionel.

    "I''ve learned one thing about this game-if there are stairs, they will always lead

    somewhere!"

    ...

    In the safe room''s auditorium.

    On one of the chairs, Dakota sat with her legs crossed, looking at the information of the

    current tutorial-takers.

    Unfortunately, another couple of tutorial-takers got infected by the sickness. It was never nice to see such things happening because they would be in quite a lot of pain for the next couple of days before dying.

    They couldn''t log out to escape the pain either, so they had to suffer through the sickness

    phase.

    "Sigh... I hope they find out what the hell is causing it." Dakota pinched on her be.

    At that moment, the auditorium''s door opened, and a sweet-looking woman entered with a

    stack of papers in her arms, snuggled close to her chest.

    "Miss Dakota, you requested these?" Muriel asked.

    "Yes, thank you, Muriel." Dakota said with a smile.

    Muriel handed them over, bowed, and was about to leave, but then heard Dakota''s voice

    behind her.

    "By the way, did you see him?"

    "See who?" Muriel turned around.

    "Adam." Dakota looked at her and saw her eyes widen in surprise. "He is here, part of the

    mission."

    "He is... here?" Muriel looked genuinely surprised. "Hasn''t it only been one year? Isn''t it risky for him to take part in the mission?"

    "I thought the same, but he..." Dakotaughed. "He is truly S-ranker; what a monster. He has

    already surpassed me in every way. I am sure he is more than strong enough to take care of himself now."

    "I see..." Muriel turned around and walked away, a small smile ying on her lips.

 Chapter 293: Rawkshawn

    Chapter 293: Rawkshawn

    ?

    Through the auditorium''s door, the tutorial-takers swarmed in and took their seats. Several groups had already formed within this specific tutorial group, and some wererge while others were small.

    In the front of the auditorium, Dakota entered with stacks of papers in her hand and a stern, teacher-like expression on her face.

    "Wee to your first lesson." Dakota said. "You all just finished with the first floor, and I am sure all of you are exhausted, but there are some important things all of you need to know!"

    However, before she could continue, one person raised his hand.

    "What is it?" Dakota asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "Who were those guys that came through the door?" He asked. "I talked with other groups, and none of them seem to know."

    "They''re mercenaries, here to do a mission." Dakota said, and before she could move on from that topic, another hand was raised.

    "What kind of mission are they here for?"

    "A secret kind." Dakota scratched the back of her head.

    "Are they strong? They looked strong." A young man asked without raising his hand.

    "Yes, they are." Dakota said. "In the vastness of the Mortal Online, it is hard to find a stronger party of yers than that one. You all were lucky to catch a glimpse of the top of the mercenary hierarchy."

    The new recruits eximed in surprise and whispered with each other in excitement.

    "Cough, cough!" At that moment, one of the new recruits coughed uncontrobly before looking normal again.

    She didn''t seem to think that there was anything wrong with coughing.

    "Are you alright?" Dakota asked with a serious look.

    "Yes, just a cough!" She smiled.

    "..." Dakota stayed silent.

    "What if they fail the mission?" A person asked. "I assume it is quite important for sending such a strong party to deal with it."

    "Oh, there is nothing to worry about it. This mission is nothing to them, and the party is strong for security reasons, to protect all of you."

    "Oh, is there a chance we might be attacked?"

    "A small, but we also don''t know." Dakota said. "However, that''s why they sent the strongest possible party they could gather on such short notice. You all will be fine."

    "B-but, what if they fail the mission?"

    "They won''t."

    "What if they do?"

    "Hmm..." Dakota paused, contemting the possibility.

    She then shook her head and smiled. "No need to waste your breath on thinking such things. This mission is not that dangerous for you to worry about."

    That gave some relief to the worried people.

    However, Dakota knew that if that party encountered a foe that they couldn''t defeat, there was nothing they could do as well.

    They could run, but they would not be able to escape.

    ''Well, luckily there is nothing to worry about.''

    ...

    The party of eight made their way up the long, never-ending stairs.

    The sunless, mist-shroudedndscape stretched out before them-a barren wastnd that seemed to go on for eternity.

    Adam and Sepheron kept their gazes fixed on the air above them.

    Since they couldn''t sense the Mist Vultures using their Kiryoku, for some strange reason, they had to use their other senses, such as hearing, eyesight, and even smell.

    They noticed that the Mist Vultures had a strange scent-a scent of decay and sulfur.

    While paving the way forward, Lionel squinted his eyes and saw something beyond the mist.

    "I think I see something!"

    Mikael looked forward and, like Lionel, was able to see something amazing.

    With his banjo in hand, Oldman started strumming a soft melody, and soon, the mist cleared ahead of them.

    In the distance, they finally saw something other than endless sets of stairs.

    Andscape ¡ª a floatingndscape-hovering in the sky like a heavenly pce.

    It was unclear how it was floating, but it looked like an ind. Its ground was covered in lush greenery and colorful flowers, with sparkling waterfalls cascading down its sides.

    The mist gathered under it in a thick nket, as if it were holding the ind up in the sky, and the ground of the ind was soft and spongy.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "What a beautiful ce..." The First Sister eximed.

    "There was indeed something..." Mikael thought out loud.

    "Look!" Akuji pointed beyond the ind. "There''re more stairs. Are there more ces such as this one?"

    "Let''s focus on this ce at first." Mikael said. "If we''re lucky, we might be able to discover the source of the sickness!"

    With their steps bing faster, they soon left the stairs and stepped into the soft ground of the ind.

    It felt like they had entered a whole new world with its own gravity, air, and sounds. "Something is weird here." Lionel touched the Mana Air around him and said, "The Mana Air is very thick here. However, all of that air is also flowing in one direction. To the center of the

    ind."

    "Well, let''s go see where it leads us." Mikael said and nudged his chin forward.

    Thus, they all started heading to the center of the ind.

    ...

    The Door of the Sickness.

    The three chains stayed firm, wrapped around the door handle. However, the fourth chain

    started slowly cracking more and more.

    It looked like ss, as if one tap of a finger was enough to shatter itpletely.

    Somewhere in the world of the mist, the sound of chains clinking kept echoing throughout the

    dark ce.

    "Urgh..." A deep sound shook the walls, the ceilings, and the ground itself.

    Within the depths of the darkness, a person breathed, chains rattling around him, but they

    were not binding him to anything.

    They were only wrapped around him, and whenever he moved, they clinked together loudly.

    With his enormous right hand, he grabbed a brown, big-bottomed bottle and took a long swig of the liquid inside, feeling the familiar burn as it traveled down his throat.

    "Ah, the Alcoholy of the Gods." He smacked his lips together in satisfaction.

    The bottle was now empty.

    "Is there any left..."

    With an annoyed groan, he stood up, standing tall and mighty, then made his way up the

    stairs till he made his way back to the surface.

    The light of the mysterious origins touched his face-a face that had seen countless battles

    and defeats.

    A rough face hardened by time and experience, yet still bearing the scars of past victories.

    It was clear that he was over ten meters tall, as the trees around him looked small. The biceps

    of his massive arm were bigger than most boulders, and his shoulders were as wide as a barn

    door.

    The chains draped over his figure, looking like mere essories.

    "There is nothing here!" A shout came from some distance away.

    "Huh?" He cleaned his ears. "Did I hear a voice? That didn''t sound like one of my brethren,

    but who else could it be?"

    "Go look further there!"

    Another shout sounded.

    "Strange..."

    Through the rustling of leaves and cracking twigs, a woman that looked like a midget in his

    eyes appeared from behind the trees.

    She slowly raised her head and locked gazes with him. She looked frightened and truly

    shocked.

    "A-ah..." She let out a small gasp, her eyes widening in disbelief.

    "Humans?" He smirked. "No, could these be the yers? The same kind as him..."

    The First Sister turned around and started running away, but then he grabbed her body as if

    she were nothing but a doll.

    She tried to break free, but it was impossible.

    He moved her closer till she was right in front of his face, looking directly into his eyes.

    "How did you get in here?" He asked. "Could it be that the seal is that weak already? Haha, I

    am soon free!"

    The breath was disgusting and almost made the First Sister puke out her breakfast, but with her incredible willpower, managed to hold it in.

    "The First Sister, where have you gone off to?!" Mikael walked through the forest, but at that

    moment, he saw the giant.

    "Mikael, save me!" The First Sister screamed, and as the giant squeezed harder, she could feel

    all of her bones breaking.

    She had never felt so powerless before, maybe when she was just starting as a mercenary, but

    she was now a powerhouse among the mercenaries, and she didn''t think she would feel

    powerless ever again.

    It felt like she was just an ant.

    "Shit!" Mikael drew his sword and swung it. "Sky Splitter!"

    The ground got split in hand, and the cut went through the giant, ending up splitting the mountain behind him in two, and the mist that had gathered across the skies also got cut in

    half.

    "Hmm?"

    However, the giant looked perfectly fine, except a few hair strands dropped.

    "Thanks for the haircut; can you cut my nails too?"

    ''Impossible!'' Mikael thought in shock.

    The other members of the party heard themotion and came to check it out. They could

    barely believe their eyes.

    "Chaosbeing?!" Akuji asked.

    "Maybe, but he looks very human; don''t you think so?" Oldman said with a frown.

    "It seems very intelligent. If he is Chaosbeing, he is a very high ranked one." Lionel said with

    a serious look.

    ''I have a bad feeling about this.'' Adam thought with cold sweat gathering on his forehead.

    "What is your name?" Mikael said.

    "My name?" The giantughed. "My real name is too much for your mortals to bear. However, you can call me Rawkshawn."

    "Rawkshawn..." Mikael frowned. "Are you hostile or friendly?"

    Rawkshawn used his eerily long tongue to lick his own tongue and smirked. "I haven''t eaten

    in a very long time, y''see. This ce had wild animals, and they were tasty, but all of them

    have gone extinct.

    "I can''t eat those mist creatures either!

    "However, now all of you are here, and you all look very tasty."

    ''What the fuck? It wants to eat us?'' Mikael''s expression turned serious.

    "Save me!" The First Sister screamed.

    "Shh, littledy." Rawkshawn said. "I don''t like when my food is misbehaving!"

    At that moment, the air turned cold around Rawkshawn-a freezing cold.

    "Ice Mortuary!" Sepheron shouted.

    Rawkshawn''s arm turned stiff as it got encased in a block of ice. It made him loosen his grip

    on the First Sister, who managed to break through the grip.

    She quickly jumped away to safety, gasping for air.

    Rawkshawn rolled his eyes and flexed his muscles slightly. It was enough to shatter the block

    of ice and free his arm.

    "I see how it is." He scratched the back of his head. "A fight is what you all want? Then a fight

    is what you get."

 Chapter 294: Crazed Angels

    Chapter 294: Crazed Angels

    ?

    The air turned suffocating, as if the oxygen was slowly being drained away.

    As the party of eight gazed upon Rawkshawn''srge eyes, they saw an unlimited amount of malice and knew they were in grave danger.

    "Sepheron, slow him down!" Lionel screamed. "Once he is encased in ice, Mikael, cut him into pieces!"

    A half of Sepheron''s body turned into ice, and he then swung his ice-d arm at Rawkshawn, sending a wall of freezing ice hurtling toward him.

    "Ice Permafrost!"

    Rawkshawn grinned and kicked his right leg up. It looked like an ordinary kick. However, then his big toe and only that touched the iing wall of ice.

    Since he was gigantic, his big toe alone was already big enough as a regr human.

    The big toe kick shattered the wall of ice.

    It was one of Sepheron''s most powerful skills, but Rawkshawn took care of that so easily that it seemed like he was ying games with a child.

    "Sun sher!" Mikael, even though Sepheron''s attack failed, still sent his own attack.

    The wave of the sun''s burning strength headed in Rawkshawn''s direction.

    If the cold didn''t work, perhaps the heat would!

    Rawkshawn opened hisrge mouth wide and blew a gust of icy wind at the heat wave that was approaching him.

    In any ordinary circumstances, there was no way that would work, but Rawkshawn was no ordinary being.

    The breath of ice-which was just Rawkshawn''s ordinary breath-was so powerful that the heat wave dissipated instantly, leaving the surrounding area feeling chilly and refreshing.

    "That''s not possible..." Mikael couldn''t believe his eyes.

    The ground under Oldman cracked, and he then leaped into the air, the banjo already in his

    arms.

    His fingers moved like possessed spirits, and as they strummed across the banjo''s strings, the sound of powerful music echoed throughout this strange world.

    The music was powerful, and it seemed like there was an echo of thousand voices harmonizing together.

    "Hmm?" Rawkshawn frowned at Oldman.

    He didn''t know what Oldman was doing, as this was the first time he encountered someone who used music to attack. Thus, he believed that he was just ying music to distract him.

    Yet a few blowsnded on his face.

    Those blows were soft, and he didn''t really feel anything.

    However, if those blowsnded on ordinary humans, they would definitely die.

    ''Who is punching me?'' Rawkshawn felt like some tiny, invisible humans were punching him in the face.

    Dozens, hundreds, and even thousands of times.

    A rain of blowsnded on his face.

    However, to Rawkshawn, those blows felt like pillows werending on his face-soft and gentle, barely even noticeable.

    "He didn''t even flinch, huh." Oldman frowned.

    Mikael frowned, but at that moment, he heard a cough behind him and turned around.

    To his surprise, Nerezza was kneeling on the ground, her eyes and nose bleeding furiously. "Nerezza, what the hell happened to you?"

    "I..." Nerezza gritted her teeth. "I am using that damn resistance magic on all of you. Don''t you feel it?!"

    "Feel what?"

    "The sickness ising from that gigantic piece of shit!" Nerezza pointed at Rawkshawn. "He is the source of the sickness. Thus, now that we are close to him, if I stop using resistance even for a second, we will all get sick!"

    "So..." Mikael turned to Rawkshawn and gulped. "He is our mission? X-rank my ass; even EX- rank doesn''t do this justice."

    "W-we can''t defeat him!" Nerezza shouted. "I can keep using resistance a little bit longer, but not long enough to have any fighting chance against him. We need to leave!"

    "Lionel, you''re the leader of the party." Mikael said. "What do you think we should do?"

    "I am thinking..." Lionel gazed above Rawkshawn''s head and said. "His health bar hasn''t shown yet. Why?"

    "Huh?" Mikael checked the top of the giant''s face and noticed theck of a health bar. "Yeah... why isn''t it showing?"

    "It is because he isn''t treating this as a fight." Nerezza said with augh. "Y''know when Chaosbeings are sleeping or in a rxed state, their health bars won''t show."

    "He isn''t treating this as a fight..." Mikael gritted his teeth. "We must abandon this mission."

    "What about the tutorial''s safe room?" Lionel asked. "Without that, what the hell are we going to do about the future recruits? Once they appear in the safe room, they will just die out of sickness immediately."

    "I really don''t know!" Mikael shouted. "We need to retreat, tell the King what we discovered, and join forces with the Ancient Guild Masters to defeat him!"

    "That seems to be the only way." Lionel said, and touched his temple with his index finger.

    ''Everyone, do you hear me?''

    Lionel''s voice traversed across everyone''s mind. He had telepathic abilities that allowed him tomunicate with anyone.

    The others nodded their heads briefly.

    ''We must retreat.

    ''Adam, you''ll stay behind to slow down Rawkshawn. You''re the tank, so try to buy us a minute

    or two.''

    Adam nodded, but he didn''t know what the hell he should do to try to stop Rawkshawn. It would be a miracle if he managed to buy them even a second!

    ''Let''s move!''

    Without a moment of hesitation, everyone except Adam turned around and started running

    away, using the full strength of their transcended bodies.

    "Oh, running away?" Rawkshawn grinned and wanted to go after them, but at that moment, a winged young man appeared in front of him, a sword in hand.

    "A fake angel. Out of my way!"

    The shout created a powerful shockwave that sent Adam flying towards the mist-shrouded

    sky, but barely his wings were able to stop his momentum.

    However, that shout brought his health down.

    ''What a monster.'' Adam lowered his gaze and saw that Rawkshawn started chasing the party.

    With just tworge steps, he was able to catch up.

    "Fuck, he is fast!" Akuji screamed.

    Lionel touched his temple again.

    ''Adam, hurry!''

    "Damn!" Adam descended down like a vulture and appeared above Rawkshawn''s head,

    bringing his greatsword down.

    The greatsword smashed against his ck hair, but his hair strands were as sharp as his de

    and managed to block his attack!

    ''That''s just ridiculous.'' Adam''s eyebrow twitched.

    "Go away, fly." Rawkshawn swatted him away, but Adam quickly ced his wings on the way.

    However, as Rawkshawn''s gigantic hand mmed against his wings, a power like no other sent him flying right away, and he crashed through the ground with a thunderous force.

    The ground shook violently.

    "Cough!" Adam coughed out blood, and his whole body was aching.

    The ground under Rawkshawn shattered as he leaped high into the air. He crashed into the ground some distance away, right in front of the steps that led away from his ind.

    The party came to a stop as they noticed that Rawkshawn was now the gatekeeper of the

    escape route.

    There was no other way around.

    "Where the hell is Adam?!" Akuji asked in anger.

    "There is nothing he could do against Rawkshawn." Mikael said. "None of us can. We are

    trapped on this ind."

    "W-we must hurry!" Nerezza noticed that her blood started to turn ck. "I can''t hold this resistance much longer!"

    "y''know, this brought back some memories." Rawkshawn said with a grin. "I thank all of

    you."

    ...

    Millenniums ago.

    At the garden of the heavenly pce.

    "I''ll be a great warrior one day!" A young child said while puffing his chest and threw a

    punch with his small fist.

    Rawkshawn, as a teenager, caught the fist andughed. "You must do better than that if you want to be father''s angels."

    A group of young children in front of him nodded sternly and puffed their chests. There were around eight of them. They circled Rawkshawn like they were eyeing their prey and thenunched their attacks at the same time.

    Their small, weak fists barely made a dent in Rawkshawn''s muscr frame.

    "Hahaha," Rawkshawnughed as those punches tickled him more than anything.

    The children kept punching, and punching, but before they could hurt Rawkshawn even

    slightest, their fists started aching.

    "Ouch..." The children blew into their hands as they had turned numb.

    "How can we get as strong as you, Rawk?"

    "Train for another thousand years maybe!" Rawkshawn replied with a grin. "I''ll ept your

    challenge whenever!"

    ...

    "Mm~" Rawkshawn let out a contendedugh. "Yes, this feels very familiar."

    Through the destroyed ground, Adam flew through andnded beside the others.

    "Tank, my ass." Akuji scoffed at Adam. "You couldn''t stop him for even a second?"

    "You try and see how fucking easy it is." Adam said. "He treated me as a fucking fly, just someone that buzzes in his ear."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "What should we do?" Lionel asked. "I am honestly out of options here."

    "We still try to run away." Mikael said. "Those steps are not big. If we get there, that monster

    cannot follow us."

    "Hmm?"

    At that moment, Rawkshawn gazed up to the sky and smiled. "It looks like they want to have

    some fun too."

    "?!" Lionel''s eyes widened in shock. "Something ising!"

    Everyone turned their gazes to the sky, and through the mist, at first, a couple pale-skinned

    creatures flew in.

    They had wings made out of feathers and long, thin tails that trailed behind them in the wind.

    One, two, three, four, ten, hundred...

    Soon, thousands of those winged creatures came through the mist.

    "They''re my army," Rawkshawn said with a smile. "My Crazed Angels."

    Crazed Angels!

    "All of their strength..." Lionel gulped. "They''re all at the level of Royal Prince!" "That''s not even funny at this point." Mikael said out loud in pure desperation. "An army of

    thousand Royal Princes..."

 Chapter 295: Fight Back

    Chapter 295: Fight Back

    ?

    ''That cannot be real.'' Adam thought with shaking eyes. ''If there was such a powerful army somewhere in the world of Mortal Online, howe they never revealed themselves in my past life?''

    He had so many questions, especially about this whole mission.

    This meant that some other party had to do this mission in his past life, and since neither Rawkshawn nor the Crazed Angels appeared in the New World, they must''ve seeded somehow.

    However, seeing the army of Crazed Angels, he knew that the mission was simply impossible.

    This army would be enough to decimate the entire mercenary world. It didn''t matter if every mercenary worked together.

    "Ahh!" Nerezza copsed on the ground, holding her head like she was in great pain. "My mana has depleted!"

    "Hold on!" Mikael raised his sword high, and on the tip of his de, a ball of fire appeared. It wasn''t just any ball of fire.

    It was miniature sun!

    "Morning Sun!"

    The Crazed Angels looked down at them, filling the skies like a swarm of locusts. Their numbers seemed endless, and at that moment, they started clicking their tongues.

    It was their way ofmunicating.

    "I''ll pave a way forward!" Mikael jumped towards Rawkshawn. "Escape once there is an opening!"

    The other members of the party prepared themselves to make a lunge for the stairs.

    Mikael pointed his de of the Morning Sun towards Rawkshawn and screamed. "Launch and tear-Morning Sun!"

    With explosive force, the miniature sun shot out of the de and headed towards the gigantic figure of a muscr man standing in front of the steps.

    However, at that moment, Rawkshawn''s mouth descended upon the miniature sun and swallowed it whole.

    As he ate it, he just let out a simple burp as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

    "My ultimate attack... how..." Mikael''s eyes widened in shock.

    With arge grin, Rawkshawn smashed his fist into Mikael and sent him flying through the ground.

    The ground shattered and toppled over like a broken table. The surrounding trees and rocks were sent flying in all directions, and the scene was all-around absolute destruction.

    The party got sent flying as well, barely able to survive the impact.

    As the dust cloud cleared, Mikael appeared from the ground, but half of his body was missing, and the rest looked like it was barely hanging on by a thread.

    "How can this be..." Mikael asked for himself, and as he looked towards the flying army of winged creatures, he closed his eyes.

    After letting out his final breath, he entered the blissful afterlife.

    Near the destroyed ground, Lionel pushed a boulder off him and paled significantly. The rest of the party also climbed back to their feet.

    "You guys felt it as well, right?" Akuji asked.

    "Mm, Mikael is dead." The First Sister said. "One punch, that''s all it took to kill Grand Lord."

    "What the hell should we do?" Akuji asked. "We''re all going to die!"

    Everyone turned towards Lionel as he was the named leader of the party, but even he was out of answers. He had never been against such horrible odds.

    There were times when he was facing certain death, but with teamwork, they were able to survive through impossible odds.

    However, this wasn''t just impossible, it was beyond impossible.

    "Right, you have wings right?" Akuji pointed at Adam. "Just fly us out of here!"

    "You don''t see them there?" Adam pointed at the sky. "They will never let me enter the air. The air is their territory now."

    "I would rather fight against those winged creatures than that gigantic monster!" Akuji shouted. "Who knows, you might be faster than them!"

    "I won''t be if I am carrying someone." Adam said. "Alone? Doubtful. Y''see, looking at their physique, they''re designed for speed and agility."

    "So, we will give up and die?" Akuji kicked a pebble off the ground. "This fucking sucks!"

    At that moment, Adam picked up his greatsword and shield from his inventory.

    "We will fight."

    "It''s worthless." Akuji said in anger. "We don''t stand a chance against those monsters." "Aish..." Oldman scratched the back of his head and picked up his banjo. "If we defeat those winged monsters, the air will be free again. That could be the way out."

    "We would need to defeat a thousand Royal Princes!" Akuji screamed. "Thousand, fucking, Royal Princes!"

    "We heard you." Adam said. "Pick up your weapon. The time for talking is over."

    "Tch..." Akuji pulled out a simple knife from his belt and twirled it in his hand.

    Adam then looked at Nerezza, who was holding her head in her hands, still in extreme pain. It surprised him that she was still able to grit through the pain and keep the resistance going.

    "Nerezza, remove your resistance." Adam said shockingly. "We need your healing."

    "We''ll get infected by sickness then!" Akuji screamed.

    Nerezza looked up with a look of shock.

    "The sickness is honestly the least of our worries now." Adam said. "Nerezza, try to recover some of your mana, and when you''re ready, start healing us."

    "Adam is right." Oldman said. "If we survive through this mess, we''ll worry about sickness."

    Lionel nodded. "That seems to be the only way."

    "Alright..." Nerezza removed the resistance, and her pounding headache started to slowly

    disappear.

    Everyone in the party felt like there was something on their throat. As if something was scratching at it, trying to get out.

    They could feel the sickness trying to consume them.

    "What''s the n?" Adam asked Lionel.

    "Oldman, this time around, you''ll bring the aggro of those winged monsters." Lionel said.

    "Use your banjo to attract them here. We''ll use wide-range attacks to injure them. We can''t expect them to die. They''re Royal Princes, after all.

    "This fight is going tost a long time, so reserve your Magick. If you have ordinary skills with wide-range attributes, use them.

    "Akuji, me, Sepheron, and Oldman will take care of that.

    "Adam, you''re the tank, and your usual duty includes taking the aggro of the enemy, but not

    this time. There''re too many of the enemies for you to do it, and you would just get

    overwhelmed.

    "Instead, focus all of your resources to protect others. Nerezza is the priority."

    "What about me?" The First Sister asked.

    "I''ll need to you go find another way out." Lionel turned to her. "Akuji said that there are other steps that lead away from here. Maybe they lead to another ind or away from this

    ce altogether."

    "Alright." The First Sister nodded.

    "Oldman, start it. The First Sister, keep your aura low so that Rawkshawn won''t notice you."

    "Mm!" The First Sister lowered her aura as much as she could and then started running in the

    opposite direction.

    Oldman started ying his banjo loudly and created soundwaves that traversed throughout

    the air.

    A few invisible punchesnded on the faces of the Crazed Angels. They did not like that one

    bit.

    With crazed shrieks, they started flying down and surrounded the party like vultures circling

    their prey.

    "The Long sh!" Lionel screamed.

    "Ice Blizzard!" Sepheron screamed, causing a blizzard to form around the Crazed Angels.

    "The Song of Death and des!" Akuji tossed one of his knives that suddenly multiplied into thousands of small des.

    Oldman''s fingers danced across the strings of his banjo, and hundreds of invisible sword cuts went through the air, harming the winged creatures.

    From Adam''s back, the eight-pedaled wings sprouted and kept Nerezza well-guarded while she was sitting on the ground, meditating.

    She was trying to use meditation to recover as much of her mana as possible.

    It was an effective strategy as the mana ocean inside her mind started filling up once again.

    The Crazed Angels came down to the ground, and from their hands, a pale-skinned sword

    emerged from thin air.

    With a lunge, they attacked the four humans and entered a fearsome battle.

    Some distance away, Rawkshawn watched the fight happening with a smile, but at the same time, he was focusing his attention on the one woman who was running away.

    While she lowered her aura to avoid possible detection, Rawkshawn''s senses were way too

    honed to fool him.

    Thus, he could tell where she was at all times.

    However, he didn''t seem to care or even the slightest bit of a hurry as he saw her heading to

    the steps that seem to lead up and not down like the steps where they originally came from.

    In the midst of the fight, Sepheron screamed. "Ice Age!"

    Under him, the ground turned to ice, and so did all the surrounding environment. A several Crazed Angels got encased in ice, unable to move or break free.

    "The Basic sh!" Lionel cut through those ice-covered Crazed Angels and happened to kill

    them!

    ''Lionel is just using basic skills?'' Sepheron thought with interest. ''Is he reserving his true strength forter stages or...''

    Oldman weaved through the swords of the Crazed Angels while ying his banjo. He sent invisible attacks that sent the Crazed Angels flying away.

    At that moment, one Crazed Angel appeared behind him and stabbed his sword forward, but

    Oldman sensed it, evaded it with a single step, and then d his banjo with his Kraft before smashing it through the Crazed Angel''s face.

    The Crazed Angel''s face shattered into a million pieces, leaving behind a trail of glittering

    fragments.

    It seemed like the Crazed Angel''s weren''t really made out of flesh and blood but rather of

    some kind of crystal.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    ''Interesting...''

    Oldman thought, but the Crazed Angels didn''t allow him to keep thinking as they kept

    swarming him like never-ending swarm of flies.

    While they had sessfully killed a couple of Crazed Angels, they still had thousand more to

    deal with.

 Chapter 296: Ice World

    Chapter 296: Ice World

    ?

    Running out of the forest, the First Sister came to a slow stop and saw the new set of stairs that seemed to lead up somewhere.

    They were shrouded in a mist, so she couldn''t urately tell where they were going.

    ''Please be the exit.'' She hoped and stepped onto the stairs before disappearing into the mist.

    ...

    A few Crazed Angels crashed down from the ground, right in front of Adam, and wielded their swords with a crazed glint in their eyes.

    Adam looked over his shoulder at the meditating Nerezza and tightened his grip on the sword.

    With the Crazed Angels lunging forward, Adam met them head-on and shed swords with them with all his might.

    As his strength was still at the Prime Mercenary, he was no match for Royal Princes, ording to the system.

    The system calcted his strength to be Prime Mercenary, and usually that calcted strength was correct, but there had been instances when Prime Mercenaries had defeated Royal Princes.

    How?

    Royal Princes should be stronger.

    The system calcted the strength, skill, and abilities of the user, so the calction was usually very correct.

    However, the system didn''t count one thing-a very important thing that could make the user stronger.

    The willpower and the desire to win.

    Prime Mercenaries who defeated Royal Princes had, in most cases, a greater desire to win. That closed the gap between their ranks.

    Shriek!

    The Crazed Angels released a deafening shriek.

    "Haaa!" Adam screamed and smashed his sword forward, trying to push the Crazed Angels away.

    However, the Crazed Angels had greater physical strength, and since there were three of them facing him, they started pushing him back.

    His feet started to slide on the dirt-covered ground, and he was soon pushed all the way to where Nerezza was standing!

    ''Let''s try this!''

    From Adam''s right shoulder, a strange muscle mass emerged that slowly shaped to be an arm. A disgusting, disfigured arm.

    Thousand-Arm Monster of Armageddon!

    The disfigured armunched forward and punched one of the Crazed Angels across the face. Within Adam''s body, dozens of disfigured arms protruded like grotesque tentacles, iling wildly and striking anything in their path.

    The arms smacked the Crazed Angels away with brutal force.

    Since his level of mastery in Magick was above Cmity''s, his Transformation Magick was also stronger!

    The arms were stronger, and his abilities with the Transformation Magick had evolved. The Crazed Angels shrieked in annoying fashion and jumped after him. While quite a few attacked Adam, a few went straight for Nerezza!

    With his eight-petaled wings, he defended Nerezza while simultaneously attacking the Crazed Angels.

    It felt like he had to fight two battles at the same time!

    It was like his wings acted on their own, perfectly countering the Crazed Angels.

    With his greatsword in hand, he shed swords with the Crazed Angels. It was a heated battle with the sparks flying and the ground shaking under them.

    At that moment, out of nowhere, another group of Crazed Angels descended upon them. There were around ten of them!

    ''That''s just too much!'' Adam thought in a panic, but saw that no one was able to help him either.

    Lionel and the rest had to fight about a thousand Crazed Angels, so they had much greater worries than helping him.

    "Thousand-Arm Monster of Armageddon, extend!"

    Within his back muscles, hundreds of arms shot out-all of them were disfigured and ugly- they headed towards the dozen Crazed Angels and stopped them from reaching Nerezza.

    He was now fighting three battles!

    With his greatsword, he was fighting three Crazed Angels. His eight-petaled wings were fighting a small group of Crazed Angels. His disfigured arms were fighting around ten other Crazed Angels.

    The Crazed Angels effortlessly sliced through the disfigured arms, but more arms sprouted in their ce. It was soon two hundred arms.

    This strange ability seemed to even take them by surprise. However, they kept slicing and slicing.

    At that moment, one of the Crazed Angels dodged the greatsword and stabbed his pale- skinned sword through Adam''s thigh.

    The blood spewed from the wound, but Adam''s eyes turned wild as a small hand sprouted from the wound and sealed the bleeding wound.

    "Haaa!" Adam swung his shield and smacked it across the Crazed Angel''s face.

    Then, another Crazed Angel thrust his sword forward, but Adam manifested another disfigured arm from his stomach and made it grab the pale-skinned sword.

    The de went through the disfigured arm''s hand, but it didn''t reach Adam.

    With his greatsword, he swung it with all his might and shed towards the Crazed Angel''s face to cut it in half, but he managed to pull his head back, and only a small scratch appeared

    on his cheek.

    Thest Crazed Angel jumped over him and appeared behind Adam. However, instead of shing at him, he slowly sheathed his sword.

    As soon as his de was fully inside the scabbard, hundreds of sword cuts appeared across Adam''s body, all gushing with blood!

    "Argh!" Adam coughed out blood and saw his health plummet down to dangerously low

    levels.

    "In the name of Lord Rawkshawn, you shall die." The Crazed Angel said with a crazed grin. ''They can talk after all? Or is this one special one?'' Adam gritted his teeth.

    The situation looked extremely dire.

    Another group of the Crazed Angels were about to break past his eight-petaled wings. The ten-strong group of Crazed Angels had already destroyed about five hundred of his disfigured arms, and they were now destroying them faster than he could create.

    It didn''t help that his mana ocean was getting depleted at dangerous speeds. However, he had

    to keep creating more arms; otherwise, they would reach Nerezza in a matter of seconds and

    kill her.

    However, while his situation looked bad, it wasn''t as bad as the situation with Lionel and the

    rest.

    Surrounded by a thousand Crazed Angels, Lionel, Oldman, Akuji, and Sepheron were covered in wounds. They were using all of their might to keep the winged creatures away, but to no

    avail.

    "This is not going to work!" Akuji screamed and kept tossing his knives, but the Crazed Angels had already learned all about Akuji''s abilities and knew how to counter every move hen/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    made.

    Oldman noticed that the Crazed Angels were evolving. Their movements were bing more coordinated and strategic.

    ''It seems that they aren''t army just because of their strength. They know how to work

    together, and they can evolve to surpass our abilities.

    ''If thissts any longer, we''ll be overwhelmed and killed.''

    "Ice Mortuary!" Sepheron summoned a freezing cold storm and encased around a dozen

    Crazed Angels inside.

    With the perfect opportunity presented, Lionel jumped towards the frozen Crazed Angels and wanted to sh through them to kill them once and for all.

    However, at that moment, a strange thing happened.

    Within the block of ice, a fire started to burn, and it was soon so hot that the ice melted away.

    Shockingly enough, a few of the Crazed Angels didn''t look pale-skinned anymore. They were red-skinned, and they were on fire with crazed grins on their faces!

    They had evolved to counter Sepheron''s abilities!

    "You think fire is enough to stop my ice?" Sepheron''s whole body turned to ice, and his frozen

    lips slowly moved.

    "ICE WORLD!"

    Within the depths of his body, the full power of his ice Magick shot out and turned the whole

    ind into a dead world of ice.

    Within the frozen ground under them, a spiraling tower of ice emerged, reaching higher and

    higher until it pierced the dark clouds above.

    When the tower touched those Crazed Angels, they died right away, and some of them immediately froze due to the extreme cold.

    Those with the fire abilities were also unable to stop the freezing cold. Their evolving

    abilities hadn''t reached Sepheron''s yet!

    "Whoo!" Sepheron breathed out cold air, and returned back to his human form, but still

    feeling the chill on his bones.

    The rest of the party members looked fine. The freezing cold wasn''t effecting them strangely enough. They were now safe inside the pir of ice.

    "What about Adam?" Oldman asked. "He is still outside."

    "This wasn''t the end of my attack!" Sepheron crossed his arms in front of his body, and then

    the pir of the ice started cracking.

    CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

    "Ice World''s Copse!"

    The pir of ice shattered, but a wave of freezing cold swept throughout the ind and killed

    about hundred Crazed Angels.

    The rest that survived flew high enough in the sky to avoid the freezing cold, but they still

    kept grinning and smiling.

    Slowly but surely, they started to evolve.

    It wasn''t just a few of them anymore.

    All of them were evolving! Within their bodies, their dead hearts started beating with fire, and their pale skins turned

    scarlet-red, like glowing embers.

    Their evolution had reached a whole new level!

    "Whoo..." Sepheron breathed out cold air.

    "They seem to have somehow evolved." Lionel said. "Sepheron, your abilities won''t have as

    great of an effect as before."

    "Yeah, I am aware of that. Luckily, ice isn''t all that I have."

    Sepheron clenched his right hand into a fist, and a fire slowly began to form around his fingers, contrasting with the cold air that surrounded them. "Those who only have one trick in their book are weak."

    The fire wasn''t red like the others, but blue, as if it were ice fire.

    ''They''re also struggling, it seems.'' Adam thought to himself while struggling to defend

    against the Crazed Angels.

    The Ice World didn''t effect him but worked against the Crazed Angels, and they were slightly injured over it, but not enough for him to kill them instantly.

    ''I don''t know what to do. I am Tank, and my sole duty is to protect her, but I don''t know if I

    manage to do that!''

    He gritted his teeth.

 Chapter 297: Greater Evil

    Chapter 297: Greater Evil

    ?

    The greatsword shed against the pale-skinned swords. It was a fight between strength and speed.

    The pale-skinned swords were lighter, thus faster, while the greatsword was greatly heavier, so it mostly focused on the strengthy swings.

    CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!

    Adam and one of the Crazed Angels fought back and forth, their weapons smashing into each other, sending yellowish sparks flying across the air.

    At that moment, Adam swung his greatsword, but it went over the Crazed Angel head as he quickly ducked. With the pale-skinned sword, he cut across Adam''s armor.

    His armor-Deceased Pdin Armor-was in tatters with scratches stretching across its chestte.

    Its durability was not looking good.

    [Durability: 15%]

    After all, his armor had been cut at least over hundred times in this fight already. All of those attacks were by Royal Prince ranked monsters.

    While the Deceased Pdin armor was good, it was not going to hold against such powerful enemies for much longer.

    However, he didn''t want to stop using it, even though it was almost destroyed. There were a few reasons for it.

    First, it was the only thing protecting from much greater damage. Also, the armor boosted his strength and resilience, something he desperately needed.

    Also, it protected him from dark magic and curses.

    While he wasn''t sure, he believed that the sickness that was guing thisnd was some kind of dark magic. Thus, he believed this armor was the only reason he wasn''t infected with the sickness yet.

    However, even with the armor, it was just a matter of time before he got infected!

    ''I can''t stop using it. Hold it in!'' Adam gritted his teeth and entered another heated exchange with the Crazed Angel.

    At that moment, he felt his head slightly ache, and he used his Kiryoku to see what was happening.

    Within his disfigured arms, they were all destroyed, and the group of Crazed Angels walked through. They were approaching Nerezza with crazed grins on their faces.

    "You think you can protect anyone with your pitiful strength?"

    Adam''s eyes widened in surprise, and he turned his gaze to the Crazed Angel, whom he had been fighting for some time now.

    The Crazed Angel was still grinning in a crazed manner, but there was some clear intelligence behind his dark, emotionless eyes.

    "You all can speak?" Adam asked.

    "Of course." The Crazed Angel said with a smirk. "We just rarely waste our breath speaking your inferiornguage."

    "What do you all want?" Adam asked with a low tone.

    "Rip. Tear. Destroy. Shatter. End." The Crazed Angel smiled wickedly, revealing rows of sharp teeth.

    Adam frowned and brought his greatsword down on his pale-skinned sword.

    BOOM!

    The ground shattered under them, but they still kept smashing weapons together in a heated exchange.

    At that moment, with his Kiryoku, he sensed that Nerezza was in grave danger.

    "Damn!" Adam stopped using his wings that kept a certain group of Crazed Angels busy and instead used them to fly towards Nerezza with a blitzering speed.

    He appeared in front of the ten-strong Crazed Angel group and spread his wings wide to protect Nerezza behind him.

    "You..." One Crazed Angel said.

    "Can''t..." Another Crazed Angel said.

    "Protect..." Another Crazed Angel said.

    "Her..." Thest Crazed Angel said.

    "Oh? Fucking watch." Adam grinded his teeth and took a single step forward.

    But at that moment, his eyes rolled back to his skull, and he copsed to the ground. It happened so suddenly.

    The Crazed Angels looked down at him and noticed that he was sleeping.

    ...

    The crimson waves crashed against the shore in a hypnotic rhythm. It seemed like the ocean''s surface level had increased by a few inches.

    It was the high tide.

    By the cliff, a ck-haired young man suddenly opened his eyes and looked around in surprise.

    "No... not now!" Adam screamed. "You chose the worst moment!"

    "Did I?" stor walked over to him. "I sensed a familiar presence. You met him, huh?"

    "I don''t have time to talk. Send me back!" Adam screamed.

    "Why? So you can die?" storughed.

    "Huh? What do you think will fucking happen to me now that I am absolutely defenseless?" Adam asked. "Those Crazed Angels will tear me apart!"

    "Those Crazed Angels don''t harm those who can''t fight back." stor said. "It''s not because they''re some honorable folk. They just don''t find enjoyment in killing those that don''t know how they die."

    "They want to torture and rip their opponents apart to make them suffer until their final

    breath."

    ''So, they won''t kill Nerezza, but wait for her meditation to be over.'' Adam frowned.

    "Whatever, send me back, now!"

    "You''re in the presence of the Disease Warlord."

    "Disease Warlord?"

    "Yes, Rawkshawn, a former subordinate of mine." stor said. "He will kill you."

    "You don''t know that." Adam climbed to his feet. "I''ve grown stronger."

    "Yes, but in his eyes, you''ve only be a slightly stronger insect." stor said. "You will

    die. Thus, that means I will die. That is not happening."

    "I am not resurrecting you." Adam said. "I would release greater evil."

    "If you resurrect me, I will kill Rawkshawn for you." stor said. "You and your little party will be able to return home safe. I am still willing to offer you the previous deal."

    "You might fool someone else, but not me." Adam said as he looked at stor. "You''re liar. Maniptor. But most of all, you don''t have a hint of honor in you."

    Squeeze!

    Suddenly, stor grabbed Adam by his throat, his grip tightening with each passing second.

    Adam''s face turned pale as he couldn''t breathe. He struggled to break free, but stor''s strength was overwhelming.

    "I was truly unlucky." stor clicked his tongue. "To have someone so ignorant to be my vassal, what a shitty luck. I wish literally anyone else had found me, but it had to be you. A

    piece of shit."

    Adam kicked and punched stor, but he didn''t even flinch. It was like his punches and kicks were nothing but wind breezes to him.

    "Y''know, I can keep you here forever if I wish so." stor said.

    Adam gritted his teeth.

    "With you here, maybe they will spare you. Thus, sparing me. Why the fuck would I let you return just to die?" stor scoffed and lifted Adam from the ground with his inhumane

    strength.

    "We shall go on a memory trip. You will see why you need me to stop Rawkshawn or the New World will enter the new dark age!"

    With a jump, they appeared high in the air, right above the crimson sea.

    stor stopped squeezing Adam''s throat and instead grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

    Then, they started falling down, and with feet first, they crashed through the crimson waves

    and got submerged.

    ...

    Back on the mysterious ind.

    Oldman yed a powerful symphony of a song with his banjo and kept killing the Crazed Angels around him while the ground around him was in aze.

    The Crazed Angels started to use fire-based skills, making them way more lethal. It also

    didn''t seem like they had to worry about running out of mana.

    They were creatures of pure mana. It was why the Mana Air was getting sucked into their bodies as if their bodies were vacuums.

    While ying his banjo, he saw a strange scene.

    A group of Crazed Angels were surrounding Nerezza. Crazed grins on their faces. However, they weren''t doing anything, just standing and staring at her.

    ''Where is Adam?'' Oldman wondered and then saw that he was lying on the ground, seemingly

    unconscious.

    He was also surrounded by another group of Crazed Angels. They were also grinning and just

    waiting for something.

    "Lionel, we''re in trouble!" Oldman shouted.

    Lionel and the rest checked the scene out. They were equally confused.

    "What the hell?" Akuji screamed. "Adam had one job, but he is now fucking sleep? The hell!"

    "Without Nerezza, we''ll be as good as dead!" Sepheron said. "We all need her healing!"

    "Oldman, go save her!" Lionel shouted.

    "Alright..." Oldman jumped past the encirclement of the Crazed Angels, and while in the air,

    he yed his banjo and sted all the Crazed Angels away from Nerezza. However, at that moment, one of the Crazed Angels appeared in front of him.

    "Go y your songs elsewhere, elder man." The Crazed Angel kicked across Oldman''s face

    and sent him flying.

    ''They can speak?'' Oldman coughed out blood and crashed through the ground, but he quickly jumped back to his feet and wiped the blood off his lips.

    Rawkshawn''s shadow stretched across thend, and whenever itnded on top of a flower, the

    flowers died instantly.

    "Hmm?" Rawkshawn touched his nose and frowned. "I smell a familiar scent. Why is iting from that weak human?"

    He looked over to the sleeping Adam and shook his head.

    "Must be my imagination."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ...

    Adam and stor were falling through the air. The ground rushed over to meet them while

    the crimson sky stretched around them in a never-ending horizon.

    However, before they met their demise in the hands of the earthy ground, they came to a stop

    in the air and safelynded in the ground.

    "Where are we...?" Adam asked.

    "This is the Old World." stor looked around the dead wastnd. "An old memory of what

    the world used to be. We''re just visitors here, but everything that is happening here happened

    back then."

    "Why did you take me here?" Adam asked with a frown.

    "To show you..." stor whispered. "The dangers of the Warlords."

    "?" Adam frowned, and then stor pulled him to his feet. "Sometimes to defeat an evil, a greater evil is needed."

 Chapter 298: Divine Ranks

    Chapter 298: Divine Ranks

    ?

    With the ck and red soil, the Old World looked harsh and lifeless.

    It didn''t have the beauty of the New World or its strange charm that drew people in and made them feel at home.

    This was a world that was ruthless and forced people to fight for survival every day.

    Adam and stor walked across the destendscape, walking through a vige of stone huts that had been abandoned a long time ago.

    "If you''re trying to convince me to resurrect you, you''re doing a poor job." Adam touched the ground and took a handful of ck soil. "This world is dead. Why would I want this?"

    "You will be long dead before this happens." stor said. "You need to be selfish sometimes. This doesn''t concern you; it''s about your own survival."

    SHRIEK!

    "What the hell was that?" Adam turned his gaze to the sky and saw a small white dot flying across the sky.

    His eyes widened in shock.

    Without further ado, he hid inside one of the stone huts and watched as the white creature flew away.

    stor didn''t move away from the middle of the street and said, "Crazed Angel, Rawkshawn''s own private army."

    He looked in the direction of where the Crazed Angel flew and said, "It is heading to Rawkshawn''s region. We need to follow it."

    "Follow why?" Adam left the stone hut and asked.

    "I''ll show you what happens when you let Rawkshawn roam the world you love so much."

    stor said and started walking towards Rawkshawn''s region. Adam quickly followed after him.

    While it looked like they would have a long walk ahead, the space somehow shrank, and it felt like they were teleporting through thend.

    It didn''t take them long to reach the entrance of Rawkshawn''s region.

    Past the trees ahead, they saw pirs of smoke rising high into the sky. They went to investigate the source of the smoke and found themselves standing in front of a vige.

    It was slightly bigger than an ordinary vige with tall, well-designed rock structures. It had narrow streets, plenty of rock buildings, and at the end of all that, a rock castle.

    "Follow me, and open your eyes." stor said, and with his hands behind his back, he walked down the narrow streets.

    Adam narrowed his eyes and walked behind him, but like he was instructed, he kept his eyes open and surveyed the surroundings.

    "Cough, cough!" In a narrow alleyway, sitting on dirty rock pavement, was a young girl with long, tangled hair.

    She was coughing, her body shaking with each breath. Slowly, her breathing worsened, and she started coughing blood.

    In the same moment, her eyelids seemed to turn heavy as she slowly slumped over onto her side, unconscious.

    "That''s..." Adam murmured.

    "The sickness." stor said, and he spread his arms wide as if he were embracing the vige around him. "Every mortal in this vige has been infected with sickness."

    "What?" Adam looked around and saw coughing men and women.

    Everywhere he looked, people looked very sick, so sick that they were barely able to do their daily chores. The sickness had spread like wildfire.

    "Why''re they still in this vige if they get sick by being here? Don''t they all die?"

    "Rawkshawn is the ruler of this ce. That''s his castle, y''see." stor pointed to the rock castle. "He won''t let anyone leave. Also, this sickness isn''t as deadly as it is now. These mortals can survive, but it is uncurable, so they''re in pain forever."

    "The sickness isn''t as bad...?"

    "Rawkshawn has a unique type of power-Disease Spreader." stor said. "When he infects someone with his sickness, the sickness slowly eats away their strength and gives it to Rawkshawn.

    "That''s why he won''t let anyone leave, as they''re basically his food to acquire more power. The sickness bes more powerful alongside him.

    "Thus, his current self that you''re fighting is much stronger than the one in this time."

    "..." Adam scratched his chin.

    "That''s why the Angel that sealed Rawkshawn away made sure the Door of the Sickness was able to contain his sickness so that he didn''t have anyone to infect sickness with."

    "Then, how is it possible now?" Adam asked.

    "One of the seals had been broken." stor said. "The door should have four seals on it, and one of the must be broken."

    "Oh, the chain..." Adam nodded. "It has been broken."

    "Only someone from outside can do it." stor said. "Someone is helping to free Rawkshawn, and it is working. Now that he can acquire more power, it is only a matter of time before he frees himself.

    "He might be able to destroy the remaining seals all by himself."

    "Why the hell would anyone want to do that?" Adam asked.

    "I don''t have answers to everything." stor said. "However, you humans are still pretty lucky."

    "And why is that?"

    "The other warlords still have their seals intact." stor looked at him and grinned. "News sh, Rawkshawn is the weakest of the five Tyrannical Warlords."

    "What..." Adam frowned. ''Rawkshawn alone is the greatest danger to mercenaries since the dawn of Mortal Online. Yet, there are four more powerful beings than him?"

    stor grabbed Adam''s shoulder and said, "I''ll show you something."

    With a sh of light, they appeared in the basement of the rock castle. They were standing on

    the ceiling''s nks that extended across a vast chamber.

    The shadow concealed them nicely, and they were able to see below.

    Through the darkness and flickering lights, they were able to see hundreds, maybe thousands,

    of chained individuals. Malnourished and barely clothed.

    All looked sickly, and they kept coughing a wet, phlegmy cough.

    "This is awaiting mercenaries." stor said. "These are just Originals, so the strength that Rawkshawn gets from them is minimal. However, imagine mercenaries being chained

    instead."

    "Rawkshawn would be stronger, insanely quickly."

    "So, how strong is he currently?" Adam asked. "Y''know human ranks, right? How much

    stronger is he than High King?"

    "We, gods of thend, have ranks higher than that." stor said. "Above High King, there is Divine Temr. That''s the first rank of the divine."

    "Can humans achieve that?"

    "Yes," stor said. "This King Moriarty of yours is close. Yet he is still too much of a mortal."

    "I assume Rawkshawn is above that of Divine Temr?"

    "Yes," stor said. "After that, Titled Angel."

    "Titled Angel?" Adam thought it was a strange name.

    "Yes, everyone who has reached this rank has their own title." stor said. "Rawkshawn had Disease Angel. If you reach this rank, you would have your very own title."

    "Hmm..." Adam nodded. "Is Rawkshawn that rank?"

    "During the time of the Old World, yes, but he has evolved one level further." stor said.

    "Next one, Archangel of something."

    "Archangel of something?"

    "Yeah, more titles." stor smirked. "Rawkshawn is the Archangel of Disease and Suffering."

    "Fitting," Adam mockingly said.

    "That is his current rank of strength," stor said. "Above Archangel is Exalted Lord. I heard

    one Tyrannical Warlord managed to reach that rank."

    "What is yours, if I may ask?" Adam asked with narrow eyes.

    "After that, you be god." stor said. "Thest rank."

    "Are all gods as strong or...?"

    "Of course not." stor said. "However, we just don''t bother giving us more ranks. It is

    meaningless at this point. We''re already gods."

    "Who is the strongest?" "God Almighty." stor said. "If he wasn''t, he''d already been overthrown."

    "I see." Adam said. ''To think that humans are still so far from reaching godhood. We have always thought that High King is the absolute peak. We''re naive.''

    "Now..." stor''s voice turned low and deep. "You still see the danger that Rawkshawn possesses? With the whole force of mercenaries, do you think you can defeat Rawkshawn?

    "He also has his army of Crazed Angels. That army alone will be bringing humans to the brinkn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    of extinction."

    "Fight against Archangel and his army of undefeated beings or let Dark God free of his

    shackles."

    Adam shook his head with a wry smile.

    "A shitty situation."

    "You''re out of options." stor said. "It''s time to make a choice."

    "..." Adam clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and said. "I won''t resurrect you."

    "Tch." stor clicked his tongue and shook his head. "You still don''t get it? Rawkshawn will definitely try to free other warlords, and when he does, humanity is doomed."

    "Please." Adam lowered his head. "Teach me instead."

    "?" stor frowned. "Teach you?" "Teach me to stop Rawkshawn." Adam closed his eyes and knelt on the ground like a loyal follower. "Teach me how to seal him away for good. Help me get stronger."

    "Why would I do that?" stor asked. "You''re foolishly going to die. You''re human, after all.

    You don''t stand a chance against him."

    "If you help me now, I promise..." Adam took a deep breath. "One day, I will free you from

    your shackles."

    "Why would I believe you?" stor asked. "Your promise means nothing to me."

    "I am ready to make a pledge." Adam raised his gaze to him. "I''ve read that breaking a

    promise with Dark God means death..."

    "..." stor looked at him deeply and said, "We''ll add another use. You must free me

    within the next five years. None of that fifty-year bullshit. Five years." "Alright... five years." Adam bit on his thumb and made it bleed. stor did the same, and then they pressed thumbs together to seal the deal.

    RUMBLE!

    High above the dark clouds, the thunder rumbled as if the gods were banging their fists

    against drums of war.

    "Now..." stor grinned. "I''ll make you stronger. But first, you must endure the pain."

    As stor put his palm against Adam''s forehead, Adam felt like every cell in his body was on

    fire. The cells were splitting, rearranging, and rebuilding into something new and powerful. "Aaaargghghhh!" Adam foamed from the mouth because of the insane pain that he had never felt before.

    The pain was supposed to be only one tenth of real pain, but it felt worse than any real pain he

    had ever faced.

    A pain worse than death!

 Chapter 299: Gabriel

    Chapter 299: Gabriel

    ?

    "Huff, huff!" Akuji looked around with panicky eyes.

    The Crazed Angels moved everywhere in his vision, surrounding him and the other members of the party.

    With their crazed grins and bloodthirsty expressions, it felt like they were standing right in the middle of a nightmare.

    "TCH!" Akuji smashed his teeth together so hard that a few of his teeth chipped off. "Do I have to do fucking everything?!"

    As he spread his right arm wide, a thin, silver de appeared in his hand, and it soon multiplied by ten. It looked like he was holding a long string with eleven silver des attached to it.

    With a swing of his right arm, those silver desunched into the air, and they pierced through the Crazed Angels around him. They created stabbing wounds in their bodies, but it was far from enough to take any of them down.

    "Armament Manifestation!" Akuji pointed at the ground with two of his fingers and then lifted them high up.

    Through the ground, below the Crazed Angels, an enormous silver de emerged and stabbed through one of the Crazed Angels. It cut him half, and it was enough to kill him!

    Akuji retrieved a couple of ordinary-looking knives from his belt and then shredded through the Crazed Angels.

    Within his mouth, an even crazier grinned stretched across his face. Akuji looked more crazy than those angels!

    "Die, die!" Akuji made his way through the Crazed Angels, a crazy glint in his eyes.

    It seemed like he had lost his mind!

    "Akuji, where''re you going?!" Lionel shouted. "We need you here!"

    "I am going to take down the boss!" Akuji''s gaze lingered in Rawkshawn''s direction. "That bastard shall taste steel when I shove the silver de down his throat!"

    "You can''t defeat him alone!" Lionel shouted.

    "Watch me!" Akuji leaped off the ground and made his way past the Crazed Angels.

    However, even though they had wings on their backs, not a single Crazed Angel went after Akuji. Instead, they just grinned and watched as if they were enjoying the show.

    Atst, Rawkshawn lowered his gaze down to the ground, where Akuji was running towards him. It was like he was just looking at a mere ant moving across the ground.

    It didn''t make him feel in any particr way.

    Akuji grinned, and as he jumped off the ground, the ground cracked beneath his feet with an impressive explosion.

    Like aet, he shot up into the sky, and soon he had jumped so far that he was above Rawkshawn''s head.

    Akuji pointed his head to the sky and shouted. "God''s Silver de!"

    Through the mist and the dark clouds, an enormous silver de stabbed through them and seemed to hover in the sky, Rawkshawn right below it.

    It looked so big that even Rawkshawn wouldn''t be able to wield it with his massive frame.

    "?" Rawkshawn looked up to the sky at the gigantic sword, and still, he didn''t change his expression.

    "Fall down!" Akuji ordered at the sword. "Stab. Kill. Destroy!"

    The gigantic weapon started falling. Around it, the de got caught in the wind, creating a deafening roar.

    The ground around Rawkshawn was already shaking, as if the ground were shaking in fear. It was like an apocalyptic force was heading down.

    The Crazed Angels looked over withrge grins in their faces; some of them were evenughing.

    Oldman, Lionel, and Sepheron looked over with narrow gazes. They were impressed by Akuji''s ultimate attack, but they still wondered whether that would be enough.

    As the gigantic sword was about tond on him, Rawkshawn lifted one finger and ced it at the tip of the gigantic sword.

    The gigantic sword came to an instant stop.

    One finger. It only took one finger to stop it.

    "?!" Akuji''s eyes widened in shock.

    Crack... crack... CRACK!

    Slowly, cracks spread across the gigantic sword''s silver de, and then it shattered into a million pieces.

    Akuji''s ultimate attack was ultimate failure!

    "Impossible..." Akuji couldn''t believe it and grinded his teeth together.

    With thest bit of his strength, he pointed his hands towards the sky and screamed. "God''s Silver de!"

    Within the clouds, another gigantic sword appeared. This time, it was even bigger than the previous one, and slowly, a purple color spread across its de.

    It was even d in Purple Kraft!

    "THIS SHALL DESTROY THE WORLD OF THE WEAK!"

    "..." Rawkshawn clenched his right hand into a fist, and he then threw an uppercut. "Ordinary Uppercut."

    The uppercut''s impactnded on Akuji, and he coughed out blood as he was sent flying to the ends of the inds. He crashed into a mountain some distance away, and it was unclear whether he survived or not.

    The rest of the uppercut''s impactnded on the gigantic silver de and smashed right through it. The Purple Kraft couldn''t protect it, and like the previous de, it also cracked and shattered.

    The remnants of the gigantic de scattered across the ind.

    The Crazed Angels startedughing wildly as if they had been holding it in. They thought it was extremely hrious that a mere mortal thought that he would be able to defeat their Lord

    Rawkshawn.

    They felt like it was the greatest joke of them all!

    However, Oldman and the rest weren''tughing. They looked as serious as a heart attack.

    While fighting the Crazed Angels, they slightly forgot about Rawkshawn''s overwhelming power, but now they would never forget it.

    It didn''t matter how much they would resist and fight; they doubted they would be able to make a scratch on Rawkshawn.

    They would need the entirety of the mercenary world to attack him!

    "This is bad..." Oldman turned around and saw that Nerezza was still meditating and Adam was sleeping soundly.

    "Hopefully the First Sister has found another way out." Lionel whispered. "It is our only

    hope."

    ...

    Walking up the long sets of stairs, the First Sister made her way carefully through the mist. It

    was somehow difficult to see any of the steps.

    Thus, to not identally fall off, she had to be careful.

    However, soon she started hearing strange ringing of bells. It sounded like church bells were

    ringing in the distance, echoing through the foggy air.

    She looked surprised and increased her pace slightly.

    To her slight surprise, she reached the end of the sets of stairs, and there was another door in

    her way. This time, it had four intact chains tightly wrapped around the door.

    ''Another Door of Sickness? It looks simr...''

    She frowned. "Maybe this is another exit? I should check this out..."

    With her left hand, she slowly twisted on the doorknob and pushed it open.

    However, instead of seeing the hallways of the safe room, she was met with a rocky ind in

    the middle of a raging ocean.

    The ind looked dead. It was just one big rock, smooth and dull gray in color. It was so even as there wasn''t a single hill, mountain, or even a bump to make it uneven.

    The First Sister shook her head, not wanting to go there, but as she was about to leave, the

    door shut behind her with a loud bang, trapping her inside.

    "No!" She tried opening it but to no avail.

    "Who may you be..."

    In that moment, a world-shaking voice sounded, and with a pale face, she turned around to

    see a man sitting in the middle of the ind.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The man was almost bald with just a couple plucks of white hair, as if he had tugged all his hair out, and he was as tall as Rawkshawn, standing over ten meters, but instead of a bulky body, he was lean, and on his face, there seemed to be an eternally sorrowful expression. "Who are you?" The First Sister asked, and she didn''t have her usual cheery, grinning expression on her face.

    She could tell that this man was not someone to smile at.

    "I asked first." The man said with almost childish tone.

    "Everyone calls me the First Sister." She said.

    "A strange name." The man said. "My name is Gabriel."

    With creaking bones, he stood up, and with a couple of long steps, he was towering over her,

    his face almost shrouded by the fog that was hanging over the rocky ind.

    "Why are you here, the First Sister?"

    "I-"The First Sister gulped. "I want to go back home..."

    "Home? Where is home?"

    "New World..."

    "I see." Gabriel nodded. "You''re going the wrong way then. There is only one way out, and it''s

    through Rawkshawn''s ind."

    "O-oh..." The First Sister felt heavily depressed.

    It meant that they had to somehow fight through Rawkshawn.

    "T-then, I suppose I''ll get going. I-It was nice to meet you." She turned around and touched

    the doorknob, but she wasn''t able to twist it!

    "Why leaving so soon?" Gabriel tilted his head. "I''ve only been around my sister and brothers for so long. Finally, someone else. Why don''t you stay here? Forever, maybe?"

    "P-please..." The First Sister muttered. "I want to go home." Gabriel smiled. "This will be your new home; what do you say?"

 Chapter 300: Loneliest Existence

    Chapter 300: Loneliest Existence

    ?

    "Huff, huff!"

    Lying on his back, Adam breathed heavily as his cells just finished dividing and rearranging.

    The pain of that happening hadn''t yet subdued, and it was crippling him.

    "W-why did you do that?"

    "A shortcut to power," stor said.

    "Shortcut..." Adam groaned in pain and whispered. "Interface."

    [Percent: 35%]

    When he became level 30, he had 22 percent, and after learning the Thousand-Arm Monster of Armageddon, it increased to 33 percent. Thus, the cell rearranging only increased his percent by two!

    "Are you sure about that?" Adam asked with a twitching eyebrow. "I didn''t be any stronger."

    "Of course that does not make you stronger." stor said. "It was preparation for your training. With this, you''ll be able to sponge the things I am about to teach you much quicker..."

    "Alright..." Adam sat up with a great struggle and took out three scrolls. "I''ve got these scrolls... I want to learn these, but in ordinary circumstances, it would take me months."

    "You will learn them." stor pulled out his pocket watch and said. "We''ll start your training in an hour."

    "In hour? Why?" Adam asked. "We don''t have time to waste. What if Rawkshawn decides impulsively to kill me? I am currently defenseless."

    "If I start training you now, after the cell rearrangement, you will die." stor said. "Your new cells need to get ustomed to your body first."

    "Sigh, fine..." Adam put the scrolls back in his inventory and asked. "Can you tell me more about the other warlords? They''re also out there, are they not?"

    "What do you want to know?" stor asked as he looked down below to the basement.

    The chained people below hadn''t moved since they came here. It didn''t seem like any of them were alive.

    "Anything really," Adam said.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "Hmm," stor murmured. "After Rawkshawn, the next sealed person should be Gabriel." "Gabriel..."

    "The world of mist is a bunch ofyers." stor put his hand forward, and on the top of his palm, the crudeyout of the world of mist appeared.

    It had fiveyers, the stairs leading up through the mist to anotheryer.

    "The weakest will be sealed on the bottom, and the strongest on top. That''s called Sealing of the Five Realms. It''s a sacred sealing technique that they must''ve used to seal the warlords. "It''s very powerful sealing magic.

    "At the firstyer is Rawkshawn. The secondyer is where they must''ve sealed Gabriel." "Because he is second weakest?" Adam asked.

    "Yes." stor nodded. "However, you cannot describe any of them with a word ''weak.'' If they want to, any of them could decimate the New World."

    "Tell me more about Gabriel."

    "Him..." stor scratched the back of his head. "A loneliest existence."

    ''Loneliest?''

    "Since he was born in the heavenly kingdom of the God Almighty, he''d always been alone." stor started with.

    "He was a son of concubine, and his father happened to be the most lecherous man in all nine heavens, the God of Debauchery and Lust.

    "Thus, it was obvious he was never going to have any sort of fatherly love in his face. Also, his mother abandoned him. shortly after his birth, leaving him to fend for himself in a world that showed him no mercy.

    "In a world of gods, he has been alone since he was a baby. No one was there to help him. Thus, he had to feed himself and find shelter.

    "A baby, surviving on his own. Even though he is Demi-God, not a single soul believed that he would survive through one winter, let alone make it to adulthood.

    "Yet, there was something about him. A desire to survive that was stronger than the weakness of his baby body.

    "Survived, he did, and stronger he became. When he reached adulthood, he had an opportunity to be a White-Winged Angel.

    "A high honor.

    "Through countless trials, in the end, he became a White-Winged Angel, a servant of God Almighty!

    "With that status, he was already higher-ranked than some of the gods. He had higher status than even his father!

    "Thus, he believed that his father would finally show some love to him. Thus, he went to meet him and introduced himself as his son.

    "Yet, there was zero love in his father''s eyes. His father''s cold indifference shattered his heart into a million pieces.

    "However, he still believed that someday his father woulde around and show him the love he craved.

    "But, when he asked where his mother was, as he also came to see her, the God of Debauchery and Lust said, ''Your mother? She turned old and ugly; thus, I got rid of her.'' "Hearing that, Gabriel turned angry. He asked, ''What do you mean getting rid of her?'' The God justughed and ignored the question altogether, amused by Gabriel''s innocency.

    "When he didn''t get his answer, Gabriel punched God in the face. Touching a god was considered a grave offense in the heavens.

    "Angered, the God attacked him. Yet Gabriel, through years of suffering and pain, overwhelmed his father. Bang, bang, bang. The fists broke through his father''s face and

    eventually killed him.

    "Gabriel had killed his father, God of Debauchery and Lust.

    "When God Almighty found out, he was angry. Thus, he took away Gabriel''s white wings and his power. The white wings gave him a power beyond that of Exalted Lord, a power that allowed him to go head to head with the gods.

    "After getting his powers taken away from him, God Almighty exiled him from the heavenly kingdom and sent him down to the mortal world!"

    stor took a deep breath and continued.

    "I found out about him. I thought he showed great potential. Thus, I tempted him with power and to fill the hole of loneliness that was guing him.

    "Using his weakness against him, I made him my very own Satanic Angel. He became one of

    the Tyrannical Warlords

    "The Empty Warlord, Archangel of Loneliness and Emptiness."

    "Damn..." Adam said. "I kind of feel bad for him."

    "Well, don''t." stor said. "Sure, his tale was tragic, but he is not a good man. He''d been trying to fill the gaping hole of loneliness, but he just can''t. I''ll show you something."

    With a wave of his hand, they disappeared from the rock castle, traversed across the Old World''s crudendscape, and appeared in the basement of another castle.

    This castle was simpler, and all of its hallways were empty. There were no paintings, vases, or

    anything that would make it homely.

    The whole castle seemed very lonely.

    After getting rid of the dizziness of sudden travel, Adam looked around the basement and was surprised at what he was seeing.

    There were shelves, many of them filled with snow globes, seemingly thousands of them. Maybe even tens of thousands.

    The snow globes were beautiful. It was clear that whoever made them took a lot of time and

    care with each one.

    stor walked to one of the shelves and picked up one of the snow globes. "What do you

    see?"

    Adam looked inside the snow globe. "The snow falling on top of a city?"

    Inside the snow globe, there was a Christmas cityscape with twinkling lights and a giant tree

    in the center. There were few sharp mountains here and there, all covered in a thick nket of

    snow.

    "Look closer."

    Adam leaned closer and looked inside the snow globe with a sharp gaze. However, his eyes

    started to slowly widen as he saw small, very small people walking in the snowy streets of the

    city!

    "People? What?"

    "They''re real people." stor said. "Originals. Gabriel put them inside the snow globes so

    that they would always be with him.

    "He had probably abducted millions of people and put them inside these snow globes. He did

    all that to fill that hole of loneliness, but he just can''t.

    "Do you feel bad for him anymore? He is a son of a bitch like the rest of the warlords."

    "Can we free them somehow?" Adam asked.

    "Yes, but it is not our job to do that." stor put the snow globe back on the shelf. "We''re

    only tourists in this memory. Nothing we do will actually change what happened thousands of

    years ago in the Old World."

    "Oh, right..." Adam touched his head. "Fuck!"

    "What?" stor frowned.

    "We sent a person to find another exit from the world of mist." Adam said. "Lionel told her to

    go check the other set of stairs. That leads to the secondyer, doesn''t it?"

    "If she has already found Gabriel, you cannot save her."

    "What will he do with her?" Adam asked.

    "I don''t have any idea." stor said. "Back in the Old World, he was already gued with

    loneliness. Now he has been sealed away for thousands of years, only apanied by other warlords. I have no idea how much worse his loneliness is.

    "I do have a feeling that he won''t kill her, but I don''t have any idea what he will do to her."

    "..." Adam frowned. "Now, you have to focus on getting stronger." stor checked the pocket watch, and

    shrugged his shoulders. "Twenty minutes has passed. Oh well, that should be enough. Ready

    for pain?"

    "Fuck it." Adam rubbed his neck. "Do it."

    stor grinned.

 Chapter 301: Mask Collector

    Chapter 301: Mask Collector

    ?

    Leaving the dark basement behind, Adam and stor appeared on the rocky cliffs of crimson

    ocean.

    The crimson ocean was rageful as ever. Some of its waves were over ten meters tall, just crashing into the cliff with never-ending rage.

    They left the memorynd behind, as they had already seen enough of life during the Old World days.

    "Take a seat by the cliff." stor said.

    Adam sat down and stared out at the crashing waves below.

    "Take out the spell scrolls you want to learn."

    Adam took out the three legendary spell scrolls, and they suddenly flew out of his hand and started circling him like the crows around a dead body.

    stor put his hands on Adam''s shoulders and said. "This will hurt, but it will make you strong. We call this the Rebirth Ritual."

    "Rebirth Ritual?"

    "Yes, it''s a sacred ceremony that happens in the heavenly kingdom when a man or woman reaches adulthood.

    "It is a ritual to shed your mortal shell and emerge as a new being.

    "This is honestly the first time I''ve done this to a mortal before. While we do this usually to gods and demi-gods to shed their "mortal" selves, it''s rare to do it to a human."

    "Will I survive at least?" Adam asked.

    "Hmm," stor thought about his answer.

    That didn''t give Adam the confidence he desperately needed.

    "Are you serious?" Adam asked with a twitching eyebrow. "You know that if I die, you die, right? You should take this more seriously!"

    "Rx; I think you will survive." stor said and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe."

    "W-wait!" Adam shouted. "Since this is dreand, can you create anything here?"

    "Yes."

    "Then create plenty of sks of the Setting Sun and Rising Moon, please."

    "Mortal healing instruments." stor shook his head. "I''ll give you something stronger." With a snap of his fingers, in front of Adam, thousands of sks appeared all around the cliff.

    Those sks had a strange kind of liquid. It looked transparent like water, but it was sparkling like diamonds.

    "What is that?"

    "Ambrosia!" stor said. "A drink of the gods. It has great healing capabilities, so drink it when you feel like you''re about to die, okay?"

    "Alright..." Adam took a deep breath and then said. "You may begin."

    Within stor''s hands, a powerful surge of energy flowed and pierced Adam''s flesh around his shoulders.

    Instantly, Adam''s skin started peeling off like paint, revealing the bloody muscles and tendons underneath.

    "What the fuck?!" Adam gritted his teeth. "ARGH!"

    The skin peeled off his arms, then his chest, and finally his legs. The peeling ended with his face, showing the bloody skull underneath.

    With his peeled, bloody hand, he grabbed one of the Ambrosia drinks and gulped it greedily down.

    The skin returned immediately, and his health returned to him.

    "Huff, huff!" Adam panted heavily. "The hell?!"

    "Not bad," stor said. "Still gotta do that about a thousand times."

    "W-wait, what?" Adam turned to him with wide eyes. "A-another thousand times?"

    "Yeah, no worries, I will be quick with it." stor smirked almost sadistically. "We don''t have all day, so I''ll pick up the speed. Keep drinking Ambrosia; I don''t want you to die, okay-" Within that second, all of Adam''s flesh peeled off, and the blood spewed out like a fountain.

    However, after drinking another Ambrosia drink, the flesh returned, but Adam could still feel the pain. It was hideously unbearable.

    "W-wait."

    "Nope." stor smirked.

    Again, the flesh peeled off, and after drinking another bottle of Ambrosia, the flesh returned like a never-ending cycle of agony and torment.

    This time, stor didn''t wait for Adam to speak another word as again his flesh peeled off in a disgusting matter. Another secondter, the flesh returned.

    That kept happening.

    Over and over again.

    Pain.

    More pain.

    And even more.

    However, without noticing it, his spell scrolls started to hum a strange divine song. Their percentage count was also slowly increasing.

    Slowly, yet surely, he was learning all three of the spell scrolls at the same time!

    That wasn''t all.

    He was nearing the next level.

    [Percent: 36%]

    [37%...]

    [38%...]

    [39%...]

    [40%...]

    With unbelievable speed, Adam started to inch closer and closer to the rank of Royal Prince, a level of strength that he never reached in his past life!

    ...

    "Ice Trident!"

    Within Sepheron''s hand, an ice-made trident appeared, and he pierced through three of the Crazed Angels.

    However, the Crazed Angels started burning from inside out and melted the ice trident into a

    puddle of water.

    However, within Sepheron''s right hand, the ice-fire emerged, and when he reeled his fist back, he punched forward and shouted a mighty cry.

    "Prometheus Wrath!"

    Within Sepheron''s right fist, the ice-fire shot out like a powerful beam, striking the angels

    with devastating force.

    The Crazed Angels first got encased in solid ice, but when they were inside the solid ice, they began to melt and burn simultaneously.

    At first, they tried to just melt through the solid ice, but before they managed to do it, they

    got burned into an ash.

    While they had abilities rted to the fire, they were able to get hurt by a fire.

    The rest of the Crazed Angels saw what happened, and slowly, but surely, they started to

    evolve even further.

    They started to ovee Sepheron''s new ability!

    At that moment, Oldman''s music started to traverse across the air, and Crazed Angels who heard the music turned nk-eyed for a moment before they all exploded!

    It was a powerful strike!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    However, most of the Crazed Angels still survived through the attack, and they turned their gazes over to Oldman, and shockingly enough, they also started to evolve to ovee Oldman''s abilities!

    To ovee Oldman''s abilities, they had to increase their intelligence to understand the trick behind Oldman''s abilities, and thus they did; they became smarter!

    As soon as they turned smarter, they realized that only those who heard Oldman''s music got

    hurt. Thus, the solution was extremely simple!

    The ears of the Crazed Angels slowly disappeared, one by one.

    They decided to get rid of their ears so they wouldn''t hear Oldman''s music!

    ''They figured it out, huh.'' Oldman d his banjo with his Red Kraft. ''The music is not all I

    have!''

    A distance away, Lionel moved around the Crazed Angels and kept cutting through them like butter. However, he soon noticed something strange.

    Their bodies were turning harder! ''They''re also evolving to counter me...'' Lionel thought to himself.

    Just like he expected, the Crazed Angels bodies were turning more durable so that Lionel''s

    sword wouldn''t be able to cut through them!

    However, Lionel suddenly cracked a smile, and from his inventory, he picked up a mask. It was

    a mask of a scared rabbit.

    Through his body, something changed.

    "Mode: Rabbit!"

    With his enhanced leg muscles, he lunged past the Crazed Angels with a speed that was vastly

    beyond his human self.

    With his sword, he stabbed into the heart of one of the Crazed Angels. While they had turned

    more durable, Lionel used his enhanced leg muscles to increase his momentum to deliver this

    deadly blow!

    The Crazed Angel coughed out blood, and his flesh started burning, hoping to push away

    Lionel using those mes.

    However, at that moment, Lionel removed his scared rabbit mask and put another mask on.

    This time it was a mask of a ferocious lion.

    "Mode: Lion!" "Predator Bite!" Lionel''s lion mask opened up, revealing rows of sharp teeth.

    With arge bite, Lionel sank his teeth into the mes and extinguished them with a roar.

    With that bite, he ate the Crazed Angels head cleanly off.

    The Crazed Angel copsed on the ground.

    With bloodied teeth, Lionel removed his lion mask and put on another mask.

    This time it was a mask of a shapeshifter!

    "Mode: Shapeshifter!" With the shapeshifting mask, he licked off the blood of the Crazed Angel off his lips and then

    started to slowly transform.

    His flesh turned pale, as if he were painted snow white, and then, from his back, feathery

    wings sprouted out, growingrger and more magnificent with each passing second. When he licked the Crazed Angel''s blood, he gained the ability to transform into one!

    That''s why he used Lion''s predator bite previously to kill the Crazed Angel and left behind the

    blood on his lips so that when he used the shapeshifting mask, it was easy for him to

    transform into one!

    That wasn''t all.

    He wasn''t only Crazed Angel right now.

    He was the evolved version!

    ''So, that''s why Lionel waited.'' Oldman chuckled. ''He waited for the Crazed Angels to evolve

    on all of us before using his shapeshifting.''

    However, Lionel had a slightly different evolved version. Unlike the other Crazed Angels, he

    still had his ears left.

    It was because he didn''t have to hide his ears because Oldman was on his side!

    ''He is a mask collector.'' Sepheron thought to himself. ''There''re ancient masks that can give

    powers of specific animals. However, there are some incredibly rare masks-legendary masks ¡ªthat can give powers of mythical creatures.

    ''Such as the Shapeshifter!''

    "An interesting ability." Rawkshawn crossed his arms and justughed.

    While everyone was upied by Lionel''s strange abilities, Nerezza''s eyes slightly twitched,

    and then slowly, she opened her eyes to see the destruction around her.

    ''I was so deep in the meditation that I didn''t pay attention to anything happening around me.

    They''re still fighting them...''

    At that moment, she saw many shadows ovepping with hers. When she looked up, her eyes

    widened into shock as she saw a group of Crazed Angels looking down at her with their creepy

    grins.

    "Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead..."

 Chapter 302: Mankinds Trickery

    Chapter 302: Mankind''s Trickery

    ?

    "My god!" Nerezza backed off, but soon she backed into another Crazed Angel.

    She was surrounded from all sides, and all she could see was those creepy, eternal grins that didn''t have any sense of mercy orpassion.

    The Crazed Angel at the front leaned forward to her and said, "Your blood is far from pure. A murderer. However, we''re hungry!"

    Nerezza looked up at him and suddenly started grinning as well. "You think I will cower in fear? You shall learn to fear me!"

    "Arrogance of mortals never ceases to amaze me." The Crazed Angel formed a fist with his right that soon started burning with dark mes.

    ''How can he hold conversation with Nerezza without ears?'' Oldman wondered. ''Is there another way they can hear? If I can find how, maybe I can still use my music Magick.''

    "I know what you''re thinking." Lionel walked next to him, looking like one of the Crazed Angels.

    "These Crazed Angels aren''t able to hear anymore. However, they''ve evolved to know what we''re talking about."

    "They immediately realized that without hearing, they had arge weakness that can be easily exploited. Thus, they evolved yet again, and they''re now able to lip read."

    "Lip read?" Oldman raised an eyebrow. "I see now. Therefore, we can''t really talk our ns aloud without them knowing what we''re after."

    Sepheron walked over to them and crossed his arms. "With Nerezza here, it will be easier for us, but we still need Adam."

    "Yes, what''s up with him?" Oldman looked over to Adam and saw that he was still sleeping soundly on the ground.

    "Crazed Angels aren''t attacking those who can''t fight back." Lionel said. "Sepheron, encase Adam in ice, just in case. When he wakes up, we''ll need his help."

    Sepheron nodded and lifted his finger up. "Ice Pod!"

    Around Adam''s sleeping body, a thickyer of ice formed, sealing him inside some kind of pod-looking thing. It looked simr to the virtual reality pods, but made of ice.

    "What about Akuji?" Oldman looked towards the mountain where he was thrown at. "Did he die?"

    "I can''t sense anythinging from there, so I don''t know." Lionel sighed. "We''ll must focus on this fight ahead."

    "Nerezza!"

    "What?" Nerezza looked at Lionel with a crazy look.

    "Kill them already!" Lionel shouted.

    "Hah, it''s my pleasure!" Nerezza grinned widely and spread her arms wide. "You Shall Not Touch Me!"

    The Crazed Angel punched forward with his fire-coated fist, but when his fist neared Nerezza, it was met with an imprable force field that knocked him back.

    "What?" The Crazed Angel frowned.

    "Those Who Think Of Harming Me Will Die!" Nerezza finished, her voice booming with

    power.

    All of the Crazed Angels near Nerezza coughed out blood and copsed in heaps. It was such a sudden thing that the rest of the Crazed Angels, who didn''t have much of fear in their bones, felt a chill run down their spines.

    "Voice Magick?" Oldman frowned. "No, these Crazed Angels shouldn''t be able to hear her, so is it reality-shaping Magick?"

    "It is nowhere that powerful." Lionel said with crossed arms. "She is tricking their evolving powers."

    "Tricking?" Sepheron looked over with a curious expression.

    "These Crazed Angels think that she has some kind of reality warping power. They believe she can kill with a word, but it is all trickery."

    "Then how..." Oldman rubbed his chin. "Her ability is foreign to me."

    "First, You Shall Not Touch Me." Lionel raised a finger.

    "A mere barrier Magick. She created a thinyer of barrier in front of her. It''s a very basic skill, and in ordinary circumstances, Crazed Angel would be able to punch straight through her.

    "However, she used some extra mana to make the barrier stronger. It was all to trick him. The Crazed Angel began thinking that she was able to stop him with just a word.

    "Mental warfare."

    "What about killing them all?"

    "They were already injured." Lionel said. "Nerezza has a unique ability of sucking away the life force of her opponents. She is basically a human vacuum."

    "Those Crazed Angels were already low at life force." Oldman nodded in understanding. "She can only take away a limited amount of life force."

    "Can''t the Crazed Angels evolve to the reality-warping powers and make themselves even more powerful?" Sepheron asked.

    "No." Lionel shook his head. "After bing Crazed Angel myself, I now know more about them than before. They can''t evolve based on their beliefs. Their powers are limited, and thus, to evolve, they have a few restraints."

    "Those are?"

    "First of all, the power they''re evolving against must be true. In this case, it isn''t. I am sure Crazed Angels will understand that soon, but they will only think that she is using other variants of reality-warping powers.

    "Second, they can''t evolve against powers that they don''t simply understand. However, they can be smarter to bypass this restraint, but without knowing that they''repletely wrong about Nerezza''s powers, they can''t increase their intelligence either!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Third, theirck of understanding of human nature. With their arrogance and ego, they''re underestimating Nerezza, not thinking about the possibility that she is tricking them. Thus, they''ve dug themselves a hole that they cannot escape!"

    "However, how did Nerezza know about their evolving powers?" Sepheron asked.

    Lionel smirked. "I told her. With my telepathic ability, I conversed with her while she was meditating. It was hard to find her consciousness during her meditation, but when I did, I told

    her to do this."

    "It will give us a slight advantage over these monsters."

    "I see, you''ve thought far." Oldman smiled. "Not bad."

    Nerezza stood back up and patted the dust off her hands. She then walked forward, and all the Crazed Angels just moved out of her way.

    It was like she was a walking gue, and they wanted nothing to do with her!

    The trickery of her actions was powerful indeed!

    Soon she arrived next to the other members of the party, and she asked. "So, what the hell

    happened to my protector, Adam?"

    She looked over and saw that she was encased in ice. She narrowed her eyes slightly, not liking about the fact that she waspletely unprotected.

    "Beats me." Lionel shrugged his shoulders. "As far as I know, he was protecting you against hordes of these Crazed Angels, but he suddenly passed out."

    "What will we do now?" Nerezza asked.

    "Fight." Lionel rubbed his neck. "Focus on healing us. Reserve your mana; we''ll need it."

    "Okay~" Nerezza looked towards the Crazed Angels and grinned.

    When the Crazed Angels saw her crazy grin, they flinched and took a step back. They were utterly confused because they''d been trying to evolve but were unable to!

    For some odd reason, they weren''t able to evolve to ovee Nerezza''s strange abilities!

    They looked at each other with looks of confusion. Every single Crazed Angel was trying to evolve to different kinds of reality-warping powers but was unsessful in every try!

    "§¯§¡§¯§¡§¯§¡§¯§¡!"

    At that moment, the ground started shaking, and the four members of the party froze in fear. The Crazed Angels lowered their heads and knelt on the ground, bowing before their mighty

    lord.

    Rawkshawn wasughing so hard that his face turned red and tears streamed down his cheeks. "Nice, trick, haha, nice indeed!" He pped his hands whileughing.

    When he pped his hands, the ground shattered, and the faraway mountains broke apart.

    It was world-shattering power!

    "..." Lionel''s expression looked ugly as cold sweat rolled down his face. ''Did he figure out our trick? I thought he was just a muscle-headed freak. Did I miscalcte?''

    "I''ve not seen my army being outsmarted before." Rawkshawn grinned. "Nice trick, but you

    forgot about one thing-Me!"

    "W-what''re you talking about?" Lionel asked.

    "Those who think of harming her will die." Rawkshawn said. "That''s what that littledy

    said, no?"

    Nerezza''s eyes narrowed.

    "I was thinking about harming her." Rawkshawn grinned in amusement. "Yet, I did not die."

    The Crazed Angels raised their heads, and they slowly turned to Nerezza with looks of

    hostility.

    While all of them believed that even if Nerezza''s abilities were true, it wouldn''t be able to kill

    Rawkshawn.

    However, now most of them realized that they also thought about harming her but didn''t die.

    It was only those that were already injured that died!

    With their enhanced intelligence, they quickly understood what was going on.

    Trickery!

    Maniption!

    They became angry as it was the first time ever that they''d been tricked like this.

    "Hah, the n failed..." Nerezza chuckled. "The tables have turned."

    "Hmph!" Lionel stomped the ground and shouted. "I am now Crazed Angel. Thus, I can

    evolve. I will evolve to ovee this!"

    With his human intelligence and enhanced intelligence, he was much smarter than any Crazed

    Angels. Thus, he was able to think of hundreds of ways to evolve.

    Yet he wanted to choose the best one.

    "Evolve!"

    ...

    In the dreand, by the cliffs of the raging crimson ocean.

    "It''s done." stor said as he looked at the young man in front of him andughed nervously.

    "It worked wonders, better than I could have ever imagined."

    Hisughter was full of nervousness because he realized one thing. With this, Adam didn''t really have any limits shackling him anymore.

    ''What have I done?'' stor frowned as he looked at the young man.

    ''Did Adam y me? I''ve created a monster. A monster that will be a threat to me. I didn''t

    expect him to reach this level. Did he know he would? I feel like I was tricked, but one thing is sure: he might actually survive this mess.''

 Chapter 303: Blue Winter

    Chapter 303: Blue Winter

    ?

    Within the ice pod, Adam''s frozen, sleepy body started to have a transformation.

    His body became stronger, denser, and it also looked like he was getting taller, strangely enough.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    No one on the battlefield noticed anything different except one person-Rawkshawn.

    Rawkshawn stared down. Whenever his gazended on one of the members of the party, they felt increased anxiety and difort.

    This time, his gazended on the ice pod, and when it did, the ice slightly cracked from his gaze alone.

    However, it didn''t take long for him to look away. It wasn''t interesting enough for him to keep his stare on Adam for longer than one second.

    In the midst of the battlefield, the fire and ice raged on. The whole climate of the ind had already changed.

    From the sunny ind of dreams to a hellishndscape of destruction and chaos.

    "ICE PERMAFROST!"

    The ice wall smashed into the bodies of the Crazed Angels, but with the increased durability in their bodies, they weren''t really hurt.

    With the fire, they melted the ice.

    They then aimed their fists at Sepheron, who was some distance away, andunched hundreds of fire fists at him all at once.

    "ICE PERMAFROST!"

    He swung his right arm up and created a thick ice wall right in front of the fire fists. He managed to block about fifty of them, but the rest went straight through the melted ice.

    Sepheron jumped over the rest of the fire fists, and while in the air, he turned upside down with his arms crossed across his chests.

    He then twisted two of his fingers on both hands and the mes of the ice fire. They shot forward, and when theynded on the ground, the ground froze.

    Some of those mesnded on the bodies of the Crazed Angels and started burning, but then, within the bodies of the Crazed Angels, ayer of ice emerged that protected them from the mes.

    They had perfectly evolved topletely counter Sepheron!

    There was nothing he could do to them anymore!

    When the ice fire burned, they would respond with their ice defense. When the ice fire started freezing, they would respond with their fire defense.

    Sepheron nimblynded back on the ground and realized that his Magick was useless.

    "What''s next, ice man?" The Crazed Angelsughed as they surrounded him. "You''ve run out of tricks."

    "How hot is your fire?" Sepheron asked, his lips lifting into a smile.

    "Hmm?" The Crazed Angels frowned.

    Sepheron jumped into the air, and as half of his body turned to ice, he turned to face the Crazed Angels, and on his right hand, a ball of ice appeared.

    It looked like a frozen snowball.

    "Blue Winter!"

    With his throwing arm, he sent the frozen snowball towards the ground. Itnded right in the middle of the Crazed Angels, and when the frozen snowball cracked, a wave of freezing cold air spread out in all directions.

    At the same time, Sepheron created another frozen snowball, and this time, he threw it straight to the sky.

    When it reached high enough altitude, the frozen snowball cracked, and a thick nket of freezing-cold clouds appeared.

    Within those clouds, snow started falling in thick kes, covering everything in ayer of white.

    The Crazed Angels immediately tried to protect themselves from the freezing cold with their mes, but a shocking sight happened before them.

    Their mes started to freeze!

    It was too cold even for their mes!

    Slowly, all the Crazed Angels started to freeze over. They didn''t have any chance to try to even evolve through this harsh winter storm because they werepletely frozen solid in a matter of seconds.

    While fighting the rest of the Crazed Angels, Oldman and the rest started to also tremble in cold.

    Sepheron was expert at only targeting his enemies with his ice skills, but Blue Winter was something that he simply couldn''t control.

    "We need to avoid Sepheron!" Lionel shouted while battling the Crazed Angels.

    "We''re going to leave him alone?" Oldman asked.

    "He seems to be doing well for himself!" Lionel shouted, and with his wings, started flying away. "We will be in danger if we stay near him!"

    Oldman and Nerezza quickly followed after Lionel; the rest of the Crazed Angels followed after.

    In the midst of the battlefield, Sepheron stood alone with the frozen Crazed Angels all around

    him.

    "Is that all?" Sepheron breathed out cold air and smiled.

    At that moment, the ground under him shook him as if the earth itself were rebelling against his wintery powers.

    However, then arge, cold shadow fell over him, and Sepheron''s body turned colder than the freezing air around him.

    With shaking eyes, he turned around and saw Rawkshawn standing over him, a gigantic grin on his face.

    "You were left without a ying partner?" Rawkshawn smirked. "I''ll be more than happy to y with you."

    Lionel and the rest looked shocked as they saw Rawkshawn finally move away from the entrance of the ind!

    "The stairs!" Nerezza pointed to the set of stairs where they originally came from. "It''s

    unguarded!"

    "Focus on the fight ahead!" Lionel shouted. "This is another of Rawkshawn''s tricks. He is confident enough to battle Sepheron and guard the entrance at the same time."

    "What about Sepheron? He can''t defeat that monster alone." Oldman said.

    "I don''t know." Lionel said. "However, Sepheron is strong! Perhaps he can do some damage!"

    In the midst of the winter hellscape, Rawkshawn was standing barefooted. The freezing snow and ice biting at his skin, but it didn''t look like it bothered him at all.

    Anyone else would''ve already been frozen solid.

    "You''re the strongest foe I''ve evere across." Sepheron created another frozen snowball.

    "Yet, I do not fear you."

    "You should." Rawkshawn grinned so much that his eyes squinted. "You have no idea what

    I''m capable of."

    "Maybe you will show me!" Sepheron threw the frozen snowball at Rawkshawn and shouted.

    "Blue Winter!"

    Rawkshawn put his hand up to block the attack. The frozen snowball hit his enormous palm. The full power of the freezing winter exploded, covering Rawkshawn in a thickyer of ice.

    It worked!

    Rawkshawn was frozen!

    "Sepheron did it!" Nerezza shouted.

    "Good!" Lionel clenched his fists. "There is no way Rawkshawn wille unscathed from

    that!"

    Crack...

    The ice started cracking.

    CRACK!

    The ice exploded, revealing Rawkshawn, breathing out cold air.

    Everyone knew that it wouldn''t be enough to stop Rawkshawn, but they wondered what kind

    of damage he suffered from Sepheron''s all-out attack.

    "Ouch..." Sepheron touched his head as the pounding headache returned.

    After using Blue Winter three times, his mana ocean depleted rapidly. He would be lucky to be

    able to create just one more spell before passing out of mana exhaustion.

    ''This is bad.'' Sepheron wiped the sweat off his brows. ''I hope the attack at least hurt him.''

    ''Come on!'' Oldman looked over and stared at the air above Rawkshawn''s head. ''Show your health bar. There is no way you don''t consider this a fight anymore!''

    Yet, nothing seemed to change.

    Rawkshawn, with a smile on his lips, lifted his hand. His palm was so big that it seemed like it

    could easily cover the surrounding area.

    "Ordinary p." He said with a chuckle and then brought his palm hand down.

    It came crashing down on Sepheron.

    Sepheron quickly jumped away to the safety and watched as that simple, seemingly powerless

    p just decimated the ground beneath it.

    That ordinary p seemed like an absolute force of destruction at this point! ''What insane power!'' Sepheron thought. ''However, why isn''t his health bar showing? If he

    lost health, it should show it automatically. Could it be that my attack didn''t do anything?!''

    A depressing reality sank in to every member of the party.

    "This is nothing, y''know." Rawkshawnughed. "Look at your faces. Despair, and

    hopelessness."

    Sepheron, Oldman, Lionel, and Nerezza showed the same look. An utter hopelessness and

    defeat.

    "Yet, I''ve not shown everything that I can do. Are humans this weak-willed?" Rawkshawn

    laughed and then spread his arms around.

    A wave of deathly energy spread throughout thend and went through the four members of

    the party.

    "Cough!" Sepheron coughed out blood and copsed on his knees.

    Lionel''s nose and eyes started bleeding.

    "Argh!" Oldman touched his chest and copsed on his knees.

    Nerezza touched her nose that was bleeding.

    "W-what is this?" Lionel asked and coughed out blood.

    "It is the sickness." Nerezza said with a painful tone. "We forgot about that, didn''t we?"

    "Cursed..." Lionel gritted his teeth. "How can anyone beat him? If the fightsts long enough, the sickness will eventually kill us!"

    Crack... a faint sound of crack sounded from the direction of the ice pod.

    Within the ice pod, Adam''s eyes slowly fluttered open. Those eyes looked different than only

    an hour ago. It was as if the color had changed from navy blue to darker blue.

    "Hmm?" Rawkshawn looked over as he sensed something odd.

    CRACK!

    The ice pod shattered, and Adam copsed on his knees, panting heavily, but slowly, he

    forced himself to stand, and as soon as he did, his newly-acquired aura swept across the

    ind.

    "T-this..." Lionel''s eyes widened. "That aura... how?"

    "Wasn''t he Prime Mercenary?" Oldman asked. "This aura is way beyond that. This is the aura

    of Grand Lord!"

    "There is no way he is Grand Lord." Nerezza wiped the blood off her nose. "That is

    impossible."

    "Grand Lord?" Sepheron frowned. "How can he be that strong?"

    "Oh~" Rawkshawn smirked. "He has shed off his mortal shell. That brings me some

    memories of when the old man used to train us. As demi-god, it was already painful enough

    to wish death."

    "I never expected a human to survive that."

 Chapter 304: Play a Game

    Chapter 304: y a Game

    ?

    A group of Crazed Angels were waiting for Adam to return from his sleeping state. Now that he had, they came flying down at him with their pale-skinned swords in hand.

    "Whooo!" Adam breathed out cold air and pointed his index and middle fingers down to the ground.

    "Gravity Force!"

    The Crazed Angels turned heavy, and their wings were unable to keep them aloft. Thus, they crashed into the ground with an earth-cracking sound.

    Their bones twisted, and their bodies crumpled under the force of impact.

    "Reverse Gravity." Adam turned his index and middle fingers to point at the sky.

    Those Crazed Angels turned weightless and started floating gently upwards, but they were barely alive.

    They were trying to quickly think of ways to evolve and make their bodies adaptable to the changing gravity levels.

    Rawkshawn watched with the corners of his lips curling upwards slightly. He was enjoying the show like it was just some casual entertainment for him.

    Adam pointed the two of his fingers at Rawkshawn and sent the Crazed Angels flying at him.

    They crashed into Rawkshawn''s broad chest, and when they did, the Crazed Angels just exploded from the impact.

    Rawkshawn kept smiling while his chest turned crimson with blood. It wasn''t his blood. It was the blood of the Crazed Angels.

    ''Not even flinching.'' Adam narrowed his eyes. ''Will he be able to survive Weak and Strong Force?''

    "I like this game." Rawkshawn said with a smile. "Why don''t you try to increase my gravity?" "Tenfold Increase!" Adam pointed his hand at the gigantic creature and used Gravity Force to increase the gravity around him.

    Slowly, the ground under Rawkshawn started cracking, and those cracks reached the edges of the ind. If this kept going, the whole ind would just shatter, and they all would plummet into deep, misty nothingness below.

    "Haha." Rawkshawn grinned. "It''s not that much different."

    While everyone else would already be on their knees, begging for their lives, Rawkshawn felt like it was just slightly more heavy.

    To him, it felt like he was just wearing slightly heavier clothes than usual.

    "SHRIEK!"

    The Crazed Angels jumped at Adam from all sides, shrieking with their pale swords extended.

    They seemed slightly different. These Crazed Angels had already evolved to survive slightly heavier gravity environments.

    However, it didn''t matter to Adam.

    "Gravity Force!"

    Adam''s hair started floating upwards as the area around him turned so heavy that the Crazed Angels couldn''t move an inch.

    The gravity was now heavier than even before!

    The Crazed Angels only evolved to survive the increased gravity, which Adam used to defeat the first group of Crazed Angels.

    That increased gravity was only a three-fold increase from the original gravity. Now, it was five-fold!

    However, the Crazed Angels started to quickly adapt to the five-fold increase, and slowly, they started to slowly move through the heavy gravity!

    ''Their evolving capabilities are top-notch. However, it doesn''t matter to me.''

    Adam swung his left hand in front of the Crazed Angels. The fingers didn''t touch any of them. However, a strange powernded on the Crazed Angels, causing them to stagger.

    "Weak Force!"

    Their faces ballooned up, and then their bodies began to twist and contort in pain. As they tried to scream, no sound came out, except the sound of an explosion.

    In the blink of an eye, the Crazed Angels disappeared without a trace.

    Without a second thought, Adam used his eight-petaled wings, took flight, and appeared close to Rawkshawn.

    Through his left and right shoulder, disfigured arms of the Thousand-Arm Monster of Armageddon emerged.

    There were soon hundreds of them, each one poised, and their hands clenched into fists. Each fist was pointing at Rawkshawn.

    Rawkshawn just kept smiling out of amusement.

    "Weak Force Punches!"

    All of the hundred arms moved simultaneously. They smashed into Rawkshawn''s bloody chest. Each fist carried the strength of the Weak Force.

    However, whenever the fistsnded on the chest, they snapped and broke.

    SMACK, SMACK, SMACK, SMACK!

    Countless hitsnded.

    Adam didn''t hold back on his attack and punched with all of his might.

    Weak Force was a skill that allowed him to destroy everything on his path, so it was clear that

    he didn''t hold back even the slightest!

    Yet Rawkshawn still stood, unharmed, and with that stupid smile on his face.

    ''I''ve grown stronger-so strong that I am now in the upper echelons of the mercenary hierarchy-yet I can''t even harm him?''

    Adam felt like he was truly humbled by the power of Rawkshawn.

    ''I suppose stor was correct.''

    "Sigh, I expected that." Further away, Oldman sighed heavily. "Not even he can harm him."

    "None of us can." Lionel said while battling the Crazed Angels, but noticed something odd. "Hey... doesn''t it look like there aren''t many of these monsters left?"

    When they looked around, it looked like there were only fifty or sixty of these Crazed Angels

    left.

    After hours of countless fighting, they managed to lower their numbers by so much!

    The Crazed Angels shrieked in anger. They also noticed theck of numbers. Thus, they stopped attacking momentarily.

    They realized that if they kept going like this, soon all of them would die. That couldn''t happen as they still had ways of increasing their numbers, but to do that, they also need

    survivors.

    With their evolving ability, they could create new members of their species. It was to evolve

    their army.

    After all, that''s what they''re-Army.

    "Mm~" Rawkshawn waved his hand. "My army, you may retreat. I''ll handle the rest."

    The Crazed Angels, while pissed off, nodded to their lord''smand and flew away into the

    misty, cloudy sky.

    "Let''s y a game, shall we?" Rawkshawn looked at Adam with a smile. "You''re protector, are you not? I try to kill your friends here; you try to stop me. How does that sound?"

    "Strong Force!" Adam snapped his fingers with a thunderous sound of snap.

    Around Rawkshawn, miniature stars appeared, circling around him like thes around a

    sun.

    "EMBRACE THE FULL STRENGTH OF MIGHTY STARS!"

    Adam shouted and snapped his fingers again.

    The stars expanded slightly before exploding like nuclear bombs.

    KA-BOOOOM!

    The whole area around Rawkshawn was engulfed in a blinding light. The fire and smoke

    covered the gigantic creature and drifted away into the sky.

    It was an incredibly destructive attack!

    SWOOSH! At that moment, the fire and smoke got blown away like a leaf in the wind.

    The ground had turned ssy and scorched, but the gigantic person was nowhere to be seen.

    Without any warning, an enormous shadow fell over the other party members. When they turned around, they saw grinning Rawkshawn, unscathed, and had his fist pulled back.

    "You shall be first!"

    Rawkshawn looked at Nerezza with an amused grin and then punched down.

    "Ordinary Punch!"

    Nerezza''s eyes widened in shock and fear as she watched the enormous fist fall down towards

    her.

    Swoosh!

    With the eight-petaled wings and Little God''s enhanced movement speed, Adam crossed the distance in just a second.

    He appeared in front of Nerezza and then covered himself with his beautiful eight-petaled

    wings.

    BOOM!

    The punchnded on the wings and sent Adam flying away.

    Crack!

    Several of those wings cracked under the weight of the punch, and to Adam, it felt like he

    broke a bone. It hurt quite much.

    "Oh~" Rawkshawnughed. "You protected her. Not bad."

    "Ice World!" Sepheron suddenly shouted, summoning a blizzard that enveloped the entire

    area.

    At that moment, his head started pounding as if his head was splitting apart.

    "Oh, you want to be next?" Rawkshawn blitzed through the area and stood over Sepheron like

    a towering god.

    With his clenched right fist, he punched down.

    Sepheron summoned ice walls to protect him, but before the fist evennded on those walls,

    they shattered into a million pieces.

    The shockwave around the punch was enough to destroy those measly ice walls! However, before the punch couldnd, Rawkshawn''s eyes narrowed as he looked at his arm,

    which turned jet ck and began to grow spikes.

    ''What is this?'' Rawkshawn wondered and stopped his punch for a moment.

    In just a split second, the strange illusion vanished like a fart in the wind, and his arm turned

    normal.

    ''An illusion?''

    Swoosh!

    Adam swept in, grabbed Sepheron, and flew to a safe distance before putting him back on the

    ground.

    "Hahaha!" Rawkshawnughed in amusement. "You used illusion on me to stop my punch,

    and I fell for it!"

    "Huff, huff..." Adam breathed heavily. ''I almost passed out! To think it is so taxing to use

    illusion on him. What a monster!''

    "The game is not over yet." Rawkshawn turned to Oldman and grinned. "Can you save this elderly man next?"

    With a single step, he crossed the distance between him and Oldman.

    "Oh, please." Oldman took out his banjo and started ying it. "I am not of retirement age

    yet. I can still protect myself."

    "I''d like to see you try!" Rawkshawn grinned and punched down towards him. "Ordinary

    Punch!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 305: Serious

    Chapter 305: Serious

    ?

    Oldman''s fingers moved slowly across his banjo''s strings. It didn''t look like he was worried for the iing doom.

    The fist that wasrger than his own house back in the real world came crashing down towards him, but he kept ying the banjo without pausing for a single beat.

    When it was about to crush him like a bug, Oldman yed the final note, and the fist came to a sudden stop.

    Behind Rawkshawn''s gigantic body, a creature that was even bigger than Rawkshawn emerged from nothingness.

    "Summoning Magick, the Puppeteer of the Ancient World!"

    The creature had a long, thin body with a head that was way too big for its body. It had long,

    thin fingers that were as long as Rawkshawn''s arms, and from each fingertip, strings extended into Rawkshawn''s punching arm.

    Those strings managed to stop Rawkshawn''s punch.

    At this moment, the Puppeteer''s chest opened up. A sword came from within. It headed towards Rawkshawn''s back.

    The sword looked like it was big enough to slice Rawkshawn in half.

    At that moment, Rawkshawn''s back changed colors. It turned gold like he had been touched by Midas.

    When the sword collided with his gold back, the sword shattered, and splinters of metal flew everywhere.

    ''Gold Kraft!'' Oldman frowned. ''It means he can also use the Three Powers. Just how strong are his Kiryoku and Magick then?''

    Rawkshawn backhanded across the Puppeteer''s face and destroyed its face with a single powerful blow.

    Oldman''s powerful summoning creature had been defeated in a single blow!

    THUMP!

    With one step, Rawkshawn appeared above Oldman and immediately brought his fist down.

    As it was about to smash into Oldman, a winged young man appeared and smashed into therge fist with the eight-petaled wings.

    BOOM!

    Without any effort, Rawkshawn sent the winged young man flying through the ground. The ground flipped over, and the winged young man was buried under a pile of rocks.

    "Adam!" Oldman jumped away to safety. "Shit..."

    Rawkshawn took another step and appeared behind Oldman. Since he was so big, all he had to do was take a step or two to catch up with anyone!

    Oldman turned around with his eyes slowly widening.

    "You''re not part of this game." Rawkshawn lifted his fist high. "Ordinary Hammer Fist!"

    The hammer fist came crashing down.

    Oldman rested his banjo on his shoulder, then jumped over the hammer fist andnded on Rawkshawn''s arm.

    The hammer fistnded on the ground and created a big crater in the dirt. The whole ind shook, and it even seemed like the ind was falling down into the nothingness below!

    Oldman ran up Rawkshawn''s arm, and his banjo slowly changed colors. It turned crimson-red, emitting a bright and fiery light.

    BOOM!

    Adam punched through the destroyed ground and appeared back on the surface. He looked over to Rawkshawn, and saw that his lips curled into a smile as Oldman approached him.

    "Shit, he is about to die!" Adam unfurled his beautiful wings, and using Little God''s speed and even Gravity Force to make him weightless, he moved faster than ever before!

    Oldman jumped up the arm, and with his banjo, he swung it like a baseball bat.

    "The Crushing of the Weak World!" Oldman screamed and smacked the banjo across Rawkshawn''s face.

    Crack... CRACK!

    The banjo shattered into pieces.

    ''No way...'' Oldman thought, looking down at the broken banjo in disbelief. ''It was d in Red Kraft. How could it have broken so easily?''

    "Try to stop this, little man!" Rawkshawn''s thunderous voice traversed throughout the ind.

    Those words weren''t meant for Oldman or Nerezza or Sepheron or Lionel.

    Those words were meant for Adam, and only for him!

    "Ordinary..." Rawkshawn moved his two hands and was about to swat Oldman like a fly. "p!"

    Between the two hands, Oldman realized there was nothing he could do. Rawkshawn was treating him like he was nothing but a fly.

    It was humiliating for someone who had done so much in the mercenary world. He was considered a legend, a hero of the battlefield, and yet here he was, being swatted away like a

    fly.

    ''How could it end like this?'' Oldman closed his eyes and awaited his final moments with a sense of bitter resignation.

    "No!" Adam headed towards Oldman, moving as fast as he humanly could, but as he reached

    his hand towards Oldman, he noticed that he was too slow!

    Slowly, Oldman''s body vanished as Rawkshawn''s hands came together in a loud p.

    That loud p sent Adam flying backwards like a ragdoll.

    Rawkshawn removed his hands from the pping stance and looked at his hands. They were

    bloody, with the mangled corpse of Oldman all over them.

    "Mm~" He cleaned his hands across his pants, as if he were just cleaning off some dirt.

    "Oldman is dead..." Nerezza couldn''t believe it. "I never expected to see a legend die one

    day."

    "This is bad..." Lionel''s face looked ugly.

    ''I failed...'' Adam gritted his teeth as his wings kept him aloft. ''That''s what Rawkshawn wants. To crush our spirits and break our wills.''

    "Should I make it easier for you?" Rawkshawn''s annoyingughter filled the air. "If one of you manages to survive one punch from me, I let all of you go; how''s that?"

    Hearing that, others looked shocked but suspicious. Would Rawkshawn really just let them

    go?

    Lionel put his hand over his mouth and coughed slightly, but he coughed identally some blood. When he looked at his hand, he saw that his blood had turned ck.

    ''Even if we get out, there is no cure for this sickness. We might still die.''

    Adamnded near them and said, "I''ll do it. I might have the best defensive capabilities."

    "Are you sure about that?" Sepheron opened his mouth. "Look at your wings. They might not survive another hit."

    Adam looked behind at his wings and saw that they were filled with cracks. Two punches from Rawkshawn were the maximum his wings were able to deal with.

    There was a time when he thought his wings were unbreakable, but that was clearly not the

    case.

    If he used his wings to protect himself from the punch, his wings would definitely break.

    ''Rawkshawn will definitely not use any of his ''ordinary'' attacks this time around.'' Adam thought. ''He''ll put some effort into his punch.''

    "This is most likely another trick by Rawkshawn." Lionel said. "To give us some hope before

    ripping it apart."

    "I thought of the same," Adam said. "I still think I''ve got the best chance of surviving that

    punch."

    "I don''t think so." Lionel said. "Rawkshawn seems to be targeting you. It is like he wants you

    to be the one."

    "If it is not me, who then?"

    They all looked between each other.

    "I will," Lionel said.

    "You can''t survive his punch." Adam said with a frown. "Your rank is Royal Prince, is it not?"

    "Haha, it is indeed." Lionel looked at him with a grin. "A kid like you''ve already surpassed

    me. How sad. Oh well, my true strength nevery on my level."

    "I can also do it." Sepheron said, but then touched his head with a look of pain.

    "You can''t." Lionel said. "You don''t have any mana left. I have to do it."

    Sepheron weakly nodded.

    Lionel reached out his hand to his inventory and took out another mask. The mask was that of

    an armadillo.

    "The mask of armadillo." Lionel removed his shapeshifter mask and put the armadillo mask

    on. "It is a mask with the greatest defensive ability I''ve found. It has been a great help for

    me."

    As soon as he put the mask on, his back slightly hunched, and on his back, armadillo''s shell

    appeared. It looked strong and durable.

    That wasn''t all!

    Slowly, he d the shell in his Red Kraft!

    Lionel stepped forward and approached Rawkshawn. As soon as his shadow fell over him, he

    felt like he was facing a giant, angry god.

    "Oh, you''re the one they chose to die?" Rawkshawn grinned. "I expected him to do it. Was he

    scared?"

    "My name''s Lionel Holloway!" Lionel screamed. "Remember my name!"

    "I don''t remember every ant I crush." Rawkshawn lifted his fist high. "Have you?"

    "Mmh?" Lionel frowned.

    "When you were a kid or young adult, when you walked down your backyard and stomped

    over some ants, have you remembered them?"

    "Are you saying that we''re as insignificant as some backyard ants?" Lionel asked with a heavy

    expression.

    "Yes!" Rawkshawnughed. "You didn''t answer my question."

    "No..." Lionel said. "I don''t remember any ant I''ve stepped on." "Then, y''see my dilemma." Rawkshawn grinned. "If you survive, you might evolve from an

    ant to a cockroach. I do remember some cockroaches because they''re disgusting." Lionel hid his entire body behind his armadillo shell. He then closed his eyes, and the

    memories of his mercenary life shed across his mind.

    It was a fulfilling life.

    He loved every moment of it.

    The real world wasn''t that kind to him, but this world, while it had problems of its own, he

    still loved it. Walking down the streets, talking with the Originals, and making friends with

    other mercenaries, it was all very fulfilling.

    Lastly, he remembered the 70th floor of the dungeon, and when he and his friends cleared it,

    it was the happiest moment of his life.

    The memories stopped as the ground started shaking.

    Rawkshawn stomped down on the ground and then brought his fist down hard, unleashing the

    strongest attack he had done today.

    Before this moment, he had only been using his ordinary moves. This was the first time he

    went beyond that.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Rawkshawn grinned.

    "Serious Smash!"

 Chapter 306: Overpowered

    Chapter 306: Overpowered

    ?

    As the fist came crashing down, the air around Lionel tightened, and it looked like the space around him was moving in strange ways.

    It seemed like everything was spinning around him.

    ''This might''ve been a mistake...'' Lionel thought and closed his eyes.

    BOOM!

    The fist smashed into Lionel''s armadillo shell, and the ind started to fall even further.

    Whatever was keeping it aloft before was desperately trying to stop the ind''s falling. It seemed to work as the ind soon came to the stop, but it had already dropped ten meters from its original spot.

    After the dust cloud cleared up, everyone turned their gazes on the spot where the fistnded.

    They hoped to see Lionel still standing, but when the dust cleared, the broken pieces of the armadillo shell could be seen scattered around the ground.

    Among them, broken limbs, separated from the body,y in twisted and unnatural positions. The blood was oozing from multiple wounds, staining the dirt a deep crimson red.

    Lionel was more than dead. His body got destroyed beyond recognition.

    "No..." Adam gritted his teeth. ''His ''Serious'' attacks are far more powerful than ''Ordinary'' attacks. I didn''t expect the difference to be so enormous. If I were at Lionel''s ce, I would''ve also died.''

    Sepheron copsed on his knees and coughed out some of the ck blood. The sickness was slowly killing him.

    "Sorry, boss..."

    When he looked ahead, he saw Orion''s face smiling back at him. He was trying to say something, but Sepheron couldn''t understand a single wording out of his mouth.

    "I can''t help you to be the king, after all."

    At that moment, Nerezza touched him on the back and injected him with some of the healing magic.

    The sickness got slightly suppressed, but it was still looming over him like a shadow of death. "We need you," Nerezza said. "We must make a run for the exit."

    Sepheron wiped the blood off his lips and stood back up. "Alright. I''ll try to slow him down for a moment."

    Nerezza nodded, and she then turned to Adam. "You ready to start running?"

    "Yes..." Adam replied, but he didn''t stop looking at Rawkshawn.

    Standing like a god of the old world, Rawkshawn seemed unfathomable, endless, and utterly terrifying.

    ''To think that he is the weakest warlord.''

    "Now!" Nerezza shouted, breaking Adam''s trance, and then grabbed his hand.

    "Blue Winter!" Sepheron threw a frozen snowball at Rawkshawn, which ended up cracking against his chest.

    The full power of the Blue Winter struck Rawkshawn, but he only shrugged it off as if it were minor inconvenience.

    Sepheron also grabbed Adam''s hand while ignoring the pounding headache that came from doing another Blue Winter attack.N?v(el)B\\jnn

    With Little God''s speed and his wings, he took flight and started heading towards the exit as fast as he humanly could.

    He also used Gravity Force to make Nerezza and Sepheron lighter.

    THUMP! THUMP!

    At that moment, the ground started shaking.

    When Sepheron turned around, he saw Rawkshawn running after them with a grin on his face.

    He didn''t look like someone with a runner''s physique, but because of his gigantic frame, with each step, he was able to cross a veryrge distance.

    Quickly, Rawkshawn neared them!

    Adam saw the steps getting closer and closer. It would only take a couple of seconds for them to reach it!

    From his feet, phasing through his boots, small stars flew out and appeared in Rawkshawn''s path.

    "Strong Force, Star Allignment."

    However, Rawkshawn just charged through the stars, and as the stars exploded, he came out of the explosion cloudpletely unharmed.

    Strong Force''s incredibly ability for destruction had zero effect on Rawkshawn!

    "He is getting closer!" Nerezza shouted.

    "Shit!" Adam swung his arms and threw Nerezza and Sepheron towards the stairs.

    Theynded on the stairs, rolling a couple of meters beforeing to a stop.

    After turning around, Adam smashed straight into Rawkshawn''s chest and used his wings to slice and sh at his chest, hoping to tear through his skin.

    However, it was like Rawkshawn''s skin was made out of steel. No single scratch appeared.

    "We must go!" Nerezza tugged on Sepheron''s sleeve and started running away.

    Sepheron quickly followed after him, but then arge shadow fell over them. As they turned to look above them, an enormous hand started falling towards them.

    "No!" Adam tried to lift Rawkshawn''s arm to stop his attack, but it was to no avail.

    "Ordinary Smashing of the Ants!"

    Rawkshawn''s hand came down on Nerezza and Sepheron, crushing them effortlessly. It was like he was just taking care of some ants he found crawling on his kitchen counter.

    When he lifted his hand up, Nerezza and Sepheron were dead on the stairs, their bodies

    crushed and lifeless.

    Adam''s eyes shook, and he copsed on the ground.

    Everyone, except him, was dead.

    "I won the game," Rawkshawn chuckled. "You failed to protect them, mister protector."

    "Huff, huff..." Adam closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and stood back up.

    The weight of the failure hung heavily on his shoulders.

    At that moment, someone grabbed him on the leg.

    He quickly turned around and saw mangled Nerezza grabbing his leg, and as her legs were crushed, she had to crawl the distance to do so.

    Rawkshawn''s smile froze over. "She survived? Hmph, barely alive. She will die in a couple of seconds."

    Adam quickly picked up the sk of the Rising Moon and the sk of the Setting Sun from his

    inventory.

    He crouched in front of Nerezza, wanting to pour them into her mouth, but at that moment,

    she picked up a knife from her inventory and started stabbing Adam''s leg.

    Spurt!

    The blood spurted out like a geyser, staining the floor red.

    "?!" Adam frowned and watched as she kept stabbing his leg for some strange reason.

    "What''re you doing?"

    "P-please..." Nerezza coughed out ck blood. "Die for me, please..."

    "Why do you want me dead?"

    Nerezza''s vision turned hazy.

    ...

    A few days ago in the Blind Sea.

    A ship smashed through the tall waves, its ck sails billowing in the wind. The crew was frantically moving around, some of them using buckets to dump the water overboard, others

    trying to repair the damaged hull.

    Sitting on the railing, Nerezza watched as they neared the heart of the storm. There seemed to be some kind of tornado in the middle of the ocean, and they were heading straight towards

    it.

    The water of the ocean was spiraling around the tornado and heading towards the dark cloud above like a scene from an apocalyptic nightmare.

    "You should go indoors, Miss Nerezza." The yellow-haired man said. "It''s not safe out here with that storming."

    "Mm-" Nerezza looked at him and then followed him inside the captain''s quarters.

    The yellow-haired man put his coat hanging from a hook, took a seat by the captain''s chair,

    and turned to face Nerezza with his legs crossed.

    "What is the mission?" Nerezza asked while looking at the paintings on the wall. "It must be

    something important~"

    "We need you to kill someone." The yellow-haired man said. "His name is Adam Palestar."

    "Oh, why would you need him to die?" Nerezza asked with a chuckle.

    "You don''t need to know that." The yellow-haired man said. "You shall participate in a

    certain mission as Battle Maidens representative. Adam should also be there."

    "Does it matter how I kill him?"

    "It would be preferable if you do it discreetly." The yellow-haired man said. "From what we''ve gathered, the mission itself should be easy enough for all of you. Take your

    time, try to find Adam alone, and then swiftly finish him off.

    "If you seed, we will help with your imprisonment."

    "Alright, it should be easy-" Nerezza grinned like a little child.

    ...

    "I don''t know..." Nerezza said in pain and dropped her knife. "Someone wanted you dead..." "Who?" Adam narrowed his eyes. "Nerezza, stay with me. Please tell me."

    "I don''t know..." Nerezza said, and as Adam was about to offer him the healing sks, she

    pushed them away and said. "Don''t wanna..."

    Adam put the sks down and asked. "What can you tell that could help me?"

    "A yellow-haired man..." Nerezza coughed out blood. "I think... I think..." "You think what?" Adam hurried with his words as he noticed that she would die in a couple

    of seconds!

    "Conspiracy...

    "Youing here was all nned... Who told you toe here?"

    "Zephyr..." Adam frowned.

    "You should ask from him..." Nerezza said weakly. "He might know more... I was in the ck

    Keep... Only someone very powerful could free me...

    "They said... they can free me from my prison in the real world as well... someone influential...

    "Someone... like... the King..."

    With that, she let out her final breath before copsing on the ground.

    ''Like the King?!'' Adam frowned and stood back up.

    THUMP!

    Rawkshawn suddenly sat down on the ground, and it caused the whole ind to shake. He

    lowered his head so low that he was right in front of Adam, staring at him with his one,

    enormous eye. "You don''t look like someone who has given up yet. You want to keep fighting?"

    "Yes, I do." Adam picked up his sword and pointed it at Rawkshawn''s enormous eye. "I don''t

    think every body part of yours is indestructible. Such as your eyes."

    "Haha." Rawkshawn let out azyugh. "Do you know the feeling of being overpowered?"

    Adam frowned.

    "Haha, silly me, of course you wouldn''t." Rawkshawn sat straight and embraced the air

    around him.

    "There are only a couple of people in the whole New World that are overpowered; I am one of

    them.

    "Being overpowered is strange feeling. I know that I can win against all of you mercenaries so easily. It feels weightless, as if I am floating.

    "I know that with a single punch I can kill all of you. That''s why I am always holding back.

    Thus, it feels weightless."

    Rawkshawn let out a deep sigh and turned to look at Adam. "I really don''t want to hold back anymore. I want to fight without holding back!"

    Adam looked horrified as the aura of Rawkshawn''s powers locked into him. "However, I know that if I stop holding back, you would die in an instant." Rawkshawn sighed. "A dilemma. I don''t want to end this fight so soon, but on the other hand, my body is trembling. It wants to release this pent-up strength within me!"

 Chapter 307: God of the Skies

    Chapter 307: God of the Skies

    ?

    Rawkshawn looked at his own hand. It was trembling uncontrobly.

    "This whole fight has been unsatisfying." He said. "My body is telling me to punch. Punch with all my strength behind the swing."

    "Let''s make a deal, shall we?" Adam slowly turned to him. "If I manage to give you a satisfying battle, will you spare me?"

    "Haha." Rawkshawnughed. "You never stood a chance from the start, Adam. How could you possibly-"

    As he was about to finish, he saw Adam''s flesh turn red. It looked like ayer of some kind of protective shell appeared around his skin.

    It covered him from everywhere, and the shape of his head changed. The tip of his nose turned into a long beak, and his mouth stretched wide with razor-sharp teeth.

    It looked like he was turning into some kind of winged creature!

    His arms turned into wings. Instead of the feathers, there were red des that looked like they could slice through anything.

    His back wings disappeared. It looked like they entered his body.

    No.

    It was as if he was bing his eight-petaled wings!

    ...

    While the torturous shedding of the mortal shell was going on, stor saw that Adam was slightly recovering his consciousness.

    For thest twenty minutes, he''d been suffering so much that he couldn''t focus on anything.

    However, it looked like he was able to react to the things around him.

    "By the way, your Innate Ability, I want to know more about it." stor said.

    "How... do you know... about that?" Adam asked through painful grunts.

    "I wasn''t born yesterday." stor said. "I might help you to learn more about them."

    "I''ve... learned three powers so far." Adam said with a struggle.

    "First, Physical Movement Enhancement. It allows me to move faster.

    "Second, Illusion Creation-like the name suggested, I can create illusions.

    "Third, The Wings of Berserker. I can grow those wings out of my back..."

    "The Wings of Berserker..." stor murmured. "Angry God of Tantrums, you''ve received his power."

    "Yes..." Adam said with a grunt.

    "You''ve not unleashed its true power yet." stor said. "The Wings of Berserker belong to the Godly Beast of the Skies, Berserker. You can transform into that creature."

    "You mean... it is a transformation skill?" Adam asked. "How can I... turn into that?"

    "With faith," stor said. "You must believe."

    -

    "Kuuuuuui!"

    Adam, with its stretched-wide mouth, let out a godly howl towards the skies.

    The dark clouds in the sky started to turn red. It was like the whole world was reacting to the current transformation!

    He spread his wings wide, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his eyes looked like pools of liquid fire.

    The fire spread between his ded feathers, and soon he looked like a mythical creature straight out of a fairy tale.

    Beautiful! Truly beautiful!

    -

    Somewhere in the New World, inside a small yet cozy home, a little boyy under a thin nket, pulling it tight around him to almost shut out the chill.

    Beside the bed, with the storybook in hand, his mother read through a story about a certain mythical beast that used to roam thesends.

    "Berserker, was its name." The mother said. "The godliest creature of the skies. No one was its match. In the sky, it was the strongest creature of them all!"

    "Show the picture, mom!" The little boy begged.

    His mother giggled and turned the storybook around.

    There, right in the middle of the page, a drawn picture of Berserker, the God of the Skies, was depicted in all his glory.

    With its ded feathers, ming eyes, and a trail of smoke following after it, it looked both terrifying and magnificent.

    "Cool..." The little boy eximed with a smile.

    ...

    "What a nice present!" Rawkshawn grinned and cocked his head to the side. "Is that all? Transformation and mes. Show me your strength! Now!"

    "The Supreme Flight of the Berserker!"

    Swirling through the air like a ming drill, Adam crashed upon Rawkshawn with a force that silenced the skies and shook the ground.

    Rawkshawn tightened his chest and tanked the attack with a grin on his face. The attack

    already almost made him feel something!

    Something very faint, but still, there was something there!

    After his attack failed, Adam spread his wings wide, and as those wings caught the wind, he floated away from Rawkshawn.

    At that moment, the pair of wings sprouted from his back, keeping him aloft while his arms turned back to his human arms.

    However, his human arms were still covered in those red de-looking armory.

    Within the palms of his hands, a pair of ming chains appeared. He swung them at Rawkshawn. They wrapped around the gigantic man''s shoulders, and then with a strong pull, he forced Rawkshawn down to his knees!

    The ground shook as Rawkshawn''s knees crashed into the ground.

    "Mm-" Rawkshawn kept smiling.

    He didn''t bother fighting back, as he wanted to see what Adam was nning.

    "The Supreme Chains of the Berserker!"

    Adam threw the ends of the chains down to the ground. They stabbed through and melted

    through the ground till they exited on the other end of the ind.

    At the bottom of the ind, the ends of the chains got stuck.

    "Die alongside this wretched ind!" Adam screamed, and then he crashed into the ground, stomping his feet through the ground.

    As the whole ind started shaking, it also started falling down to the nothingness below!

    "You n on trapping me with these chains while the indes crashing down?"

    Rawkshawnughed. "You know that won''t work."

    "..." Adam didn''t speak a word.

    "Sigh."

    Rawkshawn shook his head, and as he stood up, the ming chains around his shoulders

    shattered into pieces.

    "If that was the ultimate attack of yours, I am greatly disappointed."

    Rawkshawn clenched his right hand into a fist.

    "My body is still trembling. I can''t hold back anymore. I must punch."

    "The Supreme Flight of the Berserker!"

    With a ming trail following after him, Adam flew out of the ind, heading straight down

    to the nothingness below. It happened so quickly!

    ''He ran away?'' Rawkshawn frowned. "I am so disappointed!"

    With his Kiryoku, he quickly locked into Adam''s aura. He didn''t n to allow him to leave the

    world of the mist.

    However, with his Kiryoku, he noticed that Adam was flying to the bottom of the ind.

    By the bottom of the ind, Adam grabbed the chains that were stabbing out of its ground.

    He wrapped them around his hands and started flying back to the surface of the ind.

    However, while holding on to the chains, the ind started tilting to the side.

    This was his n all along!N?v(el)B\\jnn

    He nned to flip the ind upside down with the help of the chains!

    Realizing that, Rawkshawn smiled. The most genuine smile of his life.

    "Haaaaaaa!"

    With a roar of the Berserker, he tugged on the chains, and the ind flipped over.

    It was now upside down, and the broken pieces of the ground, the trees, the broken mountains, and everywhere between started falling towards the misty nothingess below.

    Rawkshawn as well.

    He started falling down, looking towards the ind with a gigantic smile.

    "Hahahahahaha!"

    With hisughter fading to distance, he fell through the mist and disappeared.

    Adamnded on the upside down ind. It was in a very unstable condition right now.

    ''Did I do it?'' He asked while breathing roughly.

    SWOOSH!

    A windy shockwave broke through the ground in front of him. It looked like a hurricane, sting through the ind, and even pierced through the red clouds above.

    The whole ind shattered to the pieces, and there was barely any stable spots to stand on.

    Through the windy shockwave, Rawkshawn jumped through with genuineughter escaping

    his mouth.

    "Divine Smash!"

    Atst, he was forced into a position where he had to use all of his strength. It made him

    happy.

    The trembling and weightless feeling disappeared.

    His body was very satisfied and fulfilled. Rawkshawnnded on the destroyed ind and looked at Adam with a grin.

    "You''re the greatest!"

    "Monster..." Adam lowered his stance with pools of liquid me dripping off his eyes.

    "The promise is promise!" Rawkshawn turned around with his grin, stretching his muscles to their extreme. "I''ll spare you!"

    "Huff, huff..." Adam breathed heavily.

    As soon as Rawkshawn reached the stairs, they surprisingly turned wider. Wide enough to

    allow Rawkshawn to walk on them.

    "However!" Rawkshawn lifted his finger up to the skies. "You aren''t allowed to leave the same way you came from!"

    "Why not?" Adam asked with a frown. ''Is he forcing me to go through other warlords? That is

    suicide.''

    "My seal has just been undone." Rawkshawn said. "Only one person is able to go through before the seal is fixed once again. Thus, only I can go through!"

    "Fuck..." Adam clicked his tongue. "Can you tell your warlord friends to spare me?"

    "Hahaha!" Rawkshawnughed. "Since when did older siblings listen to their inexperienced little brother? Unfortunately, you must do other deals with them. No worries; if you y your

    hands properly, maybe you don''t need to fight them!"

    With that, Rawkshawn walked away.

    "Damn..." Adam turned around to look at another staircase that led to the second ind of the

    world of the mist.

    The home of the second warlord, Gabriel.

 Chapter 308: Traitor!

    Chapter 308: Traitor!

    ?

    The unsealed door stayed tightly shut, but at that moment, Rawkshawn arrived right on the steps of his freedom.

    However, the door was clearly too small for him to just walk through.

    At that moment, Rawkshawn''s height started to change. He became smaller and smaller until he was barely two meters tall.

    With his right hand, he twisted on the door knob, and pushed the door open.

    It opened like it was supposed to.

    Rawkshawn smiled and walked through, and when he passed fully through, he appeared in the long hallway of the safe room.

    The door behind him got mmed shut.

    Strangely enough, now all four sealing chains are broken. Before, only one of them, so in the span of a few hours, thest three chains got broken as well!

    Rawkshawn made his way out of the basement level, and after making his way up, he stepped through another door that led him straight to the front lounge of the safe room.

    There he watched as the new tutorial-takers moved along between the teleporting doors.

    ''This ce wasn''t here before.'' Rawkshawn smiled. ''They are all yers. Insanely weak. Is this the ce where the yers are born?''

    "The third group, you have a lesson to attend to!" A voice came.

    It seemed toe from wall-mounted speakers.

    At that moment, a group of yers immediately headed towards the auditorium, and as they walked by, one of the young women of the group wasn''t paying attention and bumped into Rawkshawn.

    However, to her, it felt like she bumped into a brick wall, and she fell down to the ground instead.

    "Hey!" She rubbed her butt and looked at him angrily. "Watch where you''re standing!"

    "Hmm?" Rawkshawn looked at her with a confused expression.

    He didn''t even know that someone identally walked into him. It felt like a faint wind had just breezed past his body. It was something that no one would pay attention to!

    "Moron!" She walked past him angrily and bumped shoulders with him to show her displeasure, but she only hurt her own shoulder.

    She grabbed her shoulder and moaned in pain. "Ouch, the hell..."

    "Rude." Rawkshawn said, but he didn''t really care.

    It didn''t make him have any kind of reaction.

    The young woman was just so insignificant in his eyes that her whole existence didn''t matter. ''A lesson? I am curious, though.'' Rawkshawn followed behind the group, and when he reached the auditorium behind the group, he took a seat in the back row and crossed his legs.

    "Wee everyone!" Dakota shouted. "Today''s lesson, Chaosbeings and the New World!" Everyone quieted down as they started to listen.

    As the lesson went by, Rawkshawn kept listening and was intrigued by a few things.

    ''Wall of the Living? Hmm, they created a wall to keep them safe from the Chaosbeings? Interesting. I would like to visit this wastnd.''

    While listening to the conversation, the rude young woman looked in his direction. She was clearly still angry but also surprised to see him on the lesson.

    She would remember if someone like Rawkshawn was in their group.

    It wasn''t like he was hard to miss.

    With his bare-naked torso, chains dangling across his body, and ragged leather pants. It made him look like the king of the delinquents, but one thing was for sure: no one here was dressed like him.

    The lesson slowly came to an end, and while most of the yers headed straight out to do their own things, the rude young woman walked towards Dakota.

    "Miss Dakota!"

    "Hmm?"

    Dakota was in the middle of packing her backpack when she heard her name called.

    She turned around and asked. "Yes?"

    The rude young woman leaned to a whispering distance and said. "Do you see that man in the back row?"

    Dakota looked over and saw Rawkshawn slowly stand up, preparing to leave. There was something extremely odd about him.

    "Who is he?"

    "I don''t think he belongs to our group. I am not even sure whether he should be in the tutorial."

    ''Mercenary?'' Dakota nodded and said. "You may leave. I''ll have a talk with him."

    The rude young woman nodded and used another exit to leave the auditorium so she wouldn''t have to walk past Rawkshawn.

    She didn''t know why, but he kind of scared her.

    "Excuse me, young man!" Dakota walked up the stairs towards Rawkshawn.

    ''Young man?'' Rawkshawn, who was about to step out of the auditorium, turned around.

    "I don''t think I''ve seen you here before." Dakota said with a puzzled expression. "Who may you be, and what group are you part of?"

    "Rawkshawn." He said. ''Third group, I think it was...''

    "And what group?"

    "Third."

    "Hmm." Dakota opened her backpack and went through some sheets of paper until she found the correct one.

    She slowly went through it. It showed the participants of the tutorial, and Rawkshawn''s name

    was not listed on the sheet.

    ''He doesn''t belong here.''

    Dakota calmly slipped the sheet back to her backpack and unzipped it.

    She then discreetly used her Kiryoku to gauge his strength and didn''t feel anything. Absolutely nothing. It could only mean that he was only a Coinfeeder.

    "Why did you use your Kiryoku on me?"

    Dakota''s heart suddenly did an extra beat, and then she turned to look at him.

    "I didn''t."

    After the words of lie left her lips, Rawkshawn grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the

    ground.

    "You humans do nothing but lie, and lie."

    "Argh!" Dakota gasped for air and tried to pull his hand off her throat, but she couldn''t.

    With her strength, she would be able to easily push Coinfeeder away from her, but she quickly

    realized that this strength wasn''t Coinfeeders.

    It was something much, much stronger!

    Swoosh!

    Invisible, wind sh came, and smashed into Rawkshawn''s back. It looked like it could slice

    through his body, but not a single scratch appeared.

    "Hands off her." Marvin growled.

    He was this month''s caretaker of the tutorial.

    ''Marvin!'' Dakota thought to herself while her air supply was running low. ''H-he is...

    Archwarrior...''

    Rawkshawn let Dakota go, and as she copsed on the ground, she greedily tried to gasp for

    air.

    "Okay, I am sorry." Rawkshawn raised his arms and said, "Take it easy~"

    "Who are you, and what are you doing in the tutorial?" Marvin asked as he slowly neared him

    with his sword ready.

    "I want to contact someone." Rawkshawn said and looked at Marvin. "And you will help me to

    do so."

    "As if!" Marvin shouted. "You just attacked Dakota. You won''t stay another second in the

    tutorial!"

    "Sigh." Rawkshawn turned Dakota. "Are you the more reasonable one?"

    "Eh?" Dakota looked at him with a look of fear.

    Within a fraction of a second, Rawkshawn appeared in front of Marvin. He moved faster than

    he could blink his eyes.

    Rawkshawn pped Marvin across the face, and his head ruptured upon impact. The head

    whipped to the side, and his neck muscles couldn''t handle it; thus, his head flew off his

    shoulders and smashed into the wall.

    "Ahhh!" Dakota screamed.

    "Don''t scream." Rawkshawn appeared in front of her and covered her mouth, then looked at

    her terrified eyes.

    "I want to contact someone. Is there any kind ofmunicating device here?"

    Dakota nodded like a chicken pecking for feed.

    "Take me there!"

    ...

    Through a door, Dakota stumbled through and fell on the ground.

    Rawkshawn followed after her and closed the door behind him. He then looked around the

    conference room.

    This room was usually used for them to contact the Council of Mercenaries, but there were

    also other people that could be connected with.

    "I''ll need you to connect me with someone." Rawkshawn sat down with his legs crossed.

    "W-with who?" Dakota stumbled to the "keyboard"-looking thing.

    "Moriarty, I think he was called."

    "The King..." Dakota''s eyes widened. "Why do you want to contact him?"

    "None of your business. Do it!" Rawkshawn shouted.

    Dakota, shaken with fear, quickly did as she was ordered, and soon the ck screen started

    showing the blue screen.

    It was waiting for the person on the other end of the call to answer.

    Dakota stepped aside with a nervous gulp.

    After a short while, the blue screen vanished, and King Moriarty appeared, sitting on aving

    throne.

    It was clear that the Royal Castle of the Imperium City was destroyed, so he''d must''ve found another castle for himself meanwhile.

    ''King Moriarty!'' Dakota thought with happiness.

    She hoped that their awesome ruler woulde to save them. It was clear that Rawkshawn had nefarious intentions, and the whole tutorial would be in danger.

    However, at that moment, on the screen, King Moriarty stepped off the throne and kneeled

    instead!

    Seeing that broke Dakota''s mind.

    "Lord Rawkshawn." Konrad Moriarty said with a humble tone. "I''ve been waiting for your

    call."

    ''Lord?!'' Dakota''s eyes shook. ''What in the hell is going on?!''

    "I am free now." Rawkshawn said. "Thank you for those sacrifices. They were finally enough

    to break the final sealing chains."

    ''Sacrifices?'' Dakota''s eyes opened wide.

    She remembered Adam and the rest that went beyond the Door of the Sickness. They were

    sacrifices?

    ''No... that can''t be.'' Dakota looked over to the screen.

    ''King Moriarty is working with him? Sacrifices... Is the sickness the doings of Rawkshawn, and

    everyone who died by the sickness was nothing more than mere sacrifices?

    ''Why would he...

    ''Why would king Moriarty help him?!''

    "Good." Moriarty said. "I will be visiting you there shortly."

    Then, on the screen, Moriarty turned his head slightly to look straight at Dakota.

    "Hello, Dakota."

    "..." Dakota gritted her teeth. "How could you... How could you betray humanity?!"

    "You will actpletely normal." Moriarty said. "If youmunicate with anyone outsideN?v(el)B\\jnn

    the tutorial, Rawkshawn will kill everyone in the tutorial. Act like nothing is wrong, and you all shall be spared.

    "Rawkshawn will stay in the tutorial. Act like he doesn''t exist. Simple as that." "Hahaha... simple..." Dakota looked at him hatefully. "Traitor!"

    "This ce is nicely hidden from the eyes of the gods." Rawkshawn said with a smile. "Thus,

    I got to stay here. Until my siblings are free as well."

    "I''ll be there shortly." Moriarty said. "I hope you have my reward ready."

    "Yes, it is." Rawkshawn crossed his arms. "Don''t make me wait."

    Dakota lowered her gaze and started to tear up.

    If she went to the Mortal Online forums and exposed everything, no one would believe her.

    They would just call her a liar.

    After all, King Moriarty was loved by everyone.

 Chapter 309: Inside Snow Globe

    Chapter 309: Inside Snow Globe

    ?

    Heavy feet.

    Adam made his way up the stairs that led to the second ind, but he was utterly spent. The fight had taken a toll on his body, and he could barely move his feet up and down.

    ''What to do?'' He wondered as he made his way up. ''If Rawkshawn really is the weakest of the warlords, what chance do I have against the others?''

    The thought made him grit his teeth.

    ''I don''t know much about some of the warlords, but based on stor''s words, Gabriel might be someone I can reason with.

    ''Well, who am I kidding?

    ''Gabriel sounds like he has a few screws loose.

    ''If Rawkshawn is the most reasonable one out of them all, I am going to lose it!''

    Atst, after another ten minutes of struggling to make his way up the stairs, he reached the doorsteps of the second ind.

    The door was closed with the four chains tightly wrapped around the doorknob.

    Without further ado, he pushed open the door and entered the ind, but he was immediately greeted with cold wind.

    The ind looked crude, like one big block of rock, with no vegetation or signs of life.

    However, in the distance, there was a man sitting on the ground, his back facing Adam, and it looked like he was doing something with his hands.

    ''He must be Gabriel.'' Adam gulped as he took his first step towards the unknown man.

    Gabriel looked at the small object in his hands and smiled.

    It was a snow globe.

    Inside, a small vige stood still, encapsted in a winter wondend. The vige was strangely enough standing on top of a mountain.

    The mountains around the sides were very steep and covered in thickyers of snow, making it seem as though the vige was floating in the clouds.

    Anyone with brains on their heads wouldn''t dare to live there, no matter how beautiful it was. It was simply too dangerous.

    He shook the snow globe gently and watched as the snowkes fell, covering the tiny houses and trees in a nket of white.

    "Beautiful." Gabriel smiled softly.

    In that moment, his ears perked up as if he heard something, and he then raised his hand.

    "Don''t move whoever you are."

    Adam came to a stop. A sudden chill attacked him. A strange feeling attacked him, which he couldn''t shake off.

    Gabriel turned around and looked straight at Adam.

    "A human male. Perfect. I needed someone like you."

    "?!" Adam frowned.

    At that moment, Gabriel pointed the snow globe at Adam and smiled.

    Like a vacuum, Adam started to get sucked inside the snow globe!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "W-wait!" Adam screamed. "I want to talk to you!"

    Gabriel didn''t listen, and soon the human male got sucked inside the snow globe. "Perfection!"

    ...

    Swoosh!

    Adam appeared in the sky, falling down into a world of swirling snow, but before falling to his death, his wings sprouted and greatly slowed down his fall.

    He softlynded on the snow, right in the middle of the snowy vige that looked very cozy. Most of the wooden huts seemed empty as there was no lighting from anywhere.

    Except from one hut.

    A wooden cottage at the core of the vige had smoke rising from the chimney and warm light spilling out of the windows.

    It looked to be the heart of the vige and the only ce that felt alive.

    "Damn it..." Adam looked to the sky where the snow was falling, and beyond the sky, he saw an enormous face looking down at him with a smile.

    It was Gabriel.

    ''I am inside that fucking snow globe. What tremendous power! How can anyone fight against that?''

    He kept looking around the vige, and since there was nowhere else to go, he headed to the wooden cottage, and after reaching its porch, he knocked on the door.

    ''There is light, so there must be someone living here, right?''

    The door opened quickly. It seemed like the person inside the cottage was in a hurry to open

    the door.

    A familiar face greeted him.

    "It''s you..." The First Sister eximed. "Adam!"

    "Oh, it is you." Adam took a deep breath. "I wondered what happened to you.

    "Come inside, quick!" The First Sister immediately pulled him inside the cottage and closed

    the door. "That freak is watching us!"

    "Yeah, I saw." Adam looked around the warm cottage and saw that there was already a firece crackling. "Have you found a way to exit this ce?"

    "No, not yet." The First Sister shook her head and went to sit down on a couch.

    She was dressed in a warm sweater and thick wool socks. It was to keep her warm from the

    outside world''s coldness.

    She found these clothes in the cottage.

    "What happened to the others?" she asked. "What happened with Rawkshawn?"

    "Everyone is dead."

    The First Sister''s eyes widened in shock, and she then softly said. "I see... So, we are doomed,

    you''re saying?"

    "Not necessarily." Adam said. "Rawkshawn told me that there is another exit. Unfortunately, we need to go through other warlords to get there."

    "Why would he tell you that?" The First Sister asked with a frown.

    Adam shrugged his shoulders. "Things happened. I only survived because he spared my life."

    "Hmm..." The First Sister kicked her legs up and down. "He could be lying."

    "Yes, he could." Adam said. "I am not in a mood to think about such things. We must find a way out of this ce."

    "You could try to break the ''sky'' of this ce." The First Sister said. "It is made of ss, is it not? I can''t reach it, but you could."

    "Mm." Adam nodded. "I wouldn''t like to anger Gabriel. If we destroy his snow globe, I am afraid what he would do."

    "He is the weirdest guy I''ve ever had displeasure of meeting!" The First Sister shuddered. "If we can escape, we must at least try, right?!"

    "I suppose so..." Adam narrowed his eyes, and as he walked over to the window, he looked to

    the sky.

    There, Gabriel was still staring down towards them with his enormous eyes. It was creepy as

    hell.

 Chapter 310: Unreasonable Gabriel

    Chapter 310: Unreasonable Gabriel

    ?

    "Let''s do it then."

    "Really?!" The First Sister jumped to her feet with a smile and said, "I can help you. If you carry me, we can both send our attacks at the ss dome."

    "Mm." Adam nodded.

    ''Will it be really that easy? Maybe. Gabriel used to keep Originals inside these snow globes, not yers. These Originals most likely didn''t have any way of reaching that ss dome to break it.

    ''Even if they reached it, maybe they couldn''t break it.

    ''There is a good chance that we could.''n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The First Sister picked up her warm, winter coat and then stepped out to the cold air. She looked towards the sky, where Gabriel was staring down at them with a smile.

    She shuddered.

    ''Creepy.''

    Adam followed after her and closed the cottage''s door after him. Then he walked next to her and sprouted the wings from his back.

    "Ready?" he asked.

    "Yup!" The First Sister said with her heart skipping a beat.

    Adam put his hands under the First Sister and lifted her into the air. He was holding him in a princess carry.

    They then took off into the sky, soaring higher and higher while the snow piled on their clothes.

    However, they moved so quickly that they soon reached above the clouds, and the face of Gabriel got closer and closer.

    As the ss dome got closer, the First Sister reached out her hand towards it and soon touched its cold surface.

    "Crack!"

    CRACK!

    The ss dome cracked.

    "Go!" The First Sister shouted.

    Adam retrieved his greatsword, and stabbed at the cracked spot. The de went straight through, and the ss sky shattered.

    The ss pieces started falling down, and it quickly became dangerous for two.

    However, Adam quickly moved the wings over them and covered them from the ss shrapnels.

    At that moment, their bodies got sucked out of the snow globe, and they appeared back in the rocky, harsh environment.

    While in the snow globe, they were miniature versions of themselves. However, as soon as the ss sky shattered, they returned to their original forms.

    "We did it!" The First Sister hopped off Adam''s arms and smiled hugely.

    "No!"

    However, their celebrations came to a standstill as Gabriel shouted while looking at the broken snow globe in his hand.

    In anger, he smashed the snow globe to the ground. It broke like a fragile piece of ss, shattering into a million tiny pieces.

    The First Sister''s expression turned serious.

    They might''ve escaped their prison, but they had now entered the jaws of death.

    ''Maybe Gabriel is not as strong as that monster from the first ind.''

    The First Sister thought, trying to bring some hope back to her.

    "Why did you do that?" Gabriel turned to them with a hurt gaze. "It was the world just for you two."

    "You trapped us in a prison!" The First Sister shouted.

    "Prison? No!" Gabriel shook his head. "That world was paradise. An escape from this world''s injustice and evil. I gave you peace and happiness, but you only saw confinement?"

    "I am sorry for breaking your snow globe, but I need to talk to you!" Adam shouted. "About your brother, Rawkshawn!"

    "I got to fix this..." Gabriel started picking up the broken ss pieces. "I am sorry, little human girl. You must''ve been lonely to be there, but I thought with another person with you, that loneliness would be gone!"

    ''What the hell is he mumbling about?'' Adam frowned. ''Everything is not right with him.''

    "I-I can''t fix this..." Gabriel looked at the ss pieces and again angrily threw them to the ground. "I can''t fix it!"

    "Should we just go?" The First Sister whispered into Adam''s ear.

    As if he heard that, Gabriel turned his head to them with a look of anger. "You want to leave?" "Rawkshawn, your brother, told me that there is an exit." Adam said. "Can you please show us

    it?"

    "He told you that, huh?" Gabriel put some of the ss pieces inside his mouth and started munching on them as if they were candy.

    ''He has lost his mind.'' Adam thought with a gulp.

    He didn''t know how to deal with people like Gabriel. It was clear that he was someone that couldn''t be reasoned with.

    "Has my brother left?" Gabriel asked with squinted eyes. "Did he finally get his freedom that he had been craving for so long?!"

    "Yes, he left." Adam said.

    "Good for him!" Gabriel turned around and started making another snow globe from scratch.

    "I''ll make a new world just for you two!

    "And I''ll make it stronger, so you misbehaving brats can''t break it!

    "You two will be that world''s Adam and Eve. You must procreate, make life bud, and ensure that this world thrives!"

    "P-procreate?" The First Sister looked shocked and turned to Adam with a slight blush. "This guy is crazy!"

    "His hobby is making new worlds, it seems." Adam said. "He is ying god. It looks like he is copying what God Almighty did. I wonder how He would react to this sphemy.''

    "We must leave, now." The First Sister said. "This guy is the embodiment of creepiness. I don''t want to be anywhere around him!"

    "But where are the stairs?" Adam asked while looking around. "I haven''t seen any."

    The First Sister had noticed that too. There weren''t more stairs anywhere in sight!

    "M-maybe you can carry me again, and we''ll fly up." The First Sister said and looked up.

    "Maybe there is another floating ind somewhere."

    "You''re..." Gabriel turned to them. "Plotting something, aren''t you?"

    ''How is his hearing so good?!'' The First Sister panicked.

    Gabriel stood up and showed the new snow globe. It looked brand new.

    "Your new home is ready..."

    He then pointed the snow globe at both of them.

    "Wait!" Adam shouted. "Let''s make a deal. We just want to leave. What is it that you want?!"

    Without listening a word, Gabriel started sucking them inside the snow globe.

    As they were about to get trapped inside the snow globe again, a person touched Gabriel''s

    shoulder, and the whole sucking process came to a sudden stop.

    "Hey, Gabriel, I''d like to have a word with these humans."

    Gabriel blinked innocently and turned around. "Big bro?"

 Chapter 311: 999

    Chapter 311: 999

    ?

    ''Big bro?'' The First Sister''s eyebrow twitched. ''Why is that creepy guy now acting so innocent and cute? Creepy!''

    ''Who?'' Adam looked fascinated.

    The person stepped past Gabriel. He looked very strange-the strangest person either of them had evere across.

    He had three heads. One facing ahead, one to the right, and one to the left. Each face looked exactly the same, except the left head had a scar running down his left eye.

    From the center face, a long tongue darted out, and he had ck hair on all three heads. The right head had a patch of white hair, and the left head had a bald spot.

    He was copper-skinned with squinted eyes and was enormous. Much taller than Rawkshawn and Gabriel. He was around twenty meters tall, twice as big as Rawkshawn!

    As he adorned his ck leather jacket and shirt with spikes protruding from arms, legs, and shoulders, he looked like a rascal biker.

    "I haven''te across humanstely." Adelram said with a yful grin. "These two made past Rawkshawn, huh."

    "Big bro, why''ve youe here?" Gabriel asked and then showed his snow globe. "I just created their new home. Does it look good?"

    "It''s your finest work yet, Gabriel!" Adelram patted Gabriel as if he were a child.

    Gabriel smiled like a child and looked at the snow globe with his round, innocent eyes.

    "And I''vee here to inform you about the game." Adelram said. "We were missing you and Rawkshawn."

    "Rawkshawn is apparently gone!" Gabriel said. "He got his long-awaited freedom. I was busy with these two misbehaving brats!"

    "Oh?" Adelram rubbed his center head. "Rawkshawn has always been wanting his freedom. I guess this means our freedom is not too far either. I miss taking strolls down the Old World''s hell road."

    "I''lle to y the game once I''ve put these two inside my new world!" Gabriel pointed the snow globe at the two humans.

    "Not again!" The First Sister lowered her stance.

    This time she wasn''t going to get trapped without a fight!

    "Wait a second, little brother." Adelram lowered Gabriel''s arm. "The game has been bing slightly dull. These two could y with us."

    "y?" Gabriel looked at them with narrowed eyes. "They look dumb. I don''t know whether they know how to y it!"

    Adelram crouched on the ground but was still as big as Gabriel. He looked down at the two humans with a yful smile.

    "You two."

    His voice was thunderous.

    "Do you know a game called Killer Marbles? Do you two know how to y it?"

    ''Killer Marbles?'' Adam gritted his teeth. "Yes, I do."

    "Yes." The First Sister replied as well.

    "That settles it." Adelram pped his hands. "You two will y with us."

    When he pped his hands, the whole ind started shaking, and to them, it felt like they were traversing through space and time.

    Everything was spinning around them.

    As soon as the spinning stopped, they were standing inside a room. It was a human-sized

    room.

    Adam held his head and shook his head, and at that moment, he noticed that Adelram and Gabriel were also human-sized. They looked so much different than when they were gigantic. At the center of the room, there was a table. Two people were already sitting there. This room resembled Adam of a tea room of some little girl, ying pretend. It was because all of the tea pots and saucers looked so small and delicate, just like toys.

    "Who are they, and where is Rawk?" Kol asked.

    Strangely enough, his head seemed to be facing backwards. Well, it was currently facing Adam, but it looked like his body was facing the wrong way, and it looked like he was sitting the wrong way on the chair.

    Kol had the face of a teenager, the body of an adult man, and the hair of an elderly man with his graying, balding head.

    "Rawkshawn is gone." Adelram sat down and said. "He got his freedom. These two humans are ying with us today."

    "Oh?" Pandora raised one of her eyebrows and looked directly at the First Sister.

    She had long legs that seemed too long for her body, giving her an almost spider-like

    appearance. She had very regal posture, with red hair cascading down her front in waves and a massive chest that stretched the fabric of her dress.

    Currently, she was in her human form, but if she were in her giant form, it would definitely be sight to behold.

    "Come on, sit down!" Gabriel ordered them as he sat down as well.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The First Sister and Adam sat next to each other.

    On the First Sister''s left side was Adelram, and on Adam''s right side was Gabriel. Ahead of them were Kol and Pandora, staring at them in silence.

    At that moment, Adelram took out marbles from his pouch and juggled them in his hand.

    "Shame, I was waiting for this match because of Rawkshawn." Adelram chuckled. "He was close to dying~"

    Adam gulped. He wasn''t sure if he dared to speak, but he wanted answers, and felt like this was perfect chance to ask.

    "W-what do you mean by that?" Adam asked. "Have you all yed Killer Marbles more than once? If so, how are all of you alive?"

    "Well, y''see, we warlords have multiple lives." Adelram said with a chuckle. "We all started

    with 999 lives."

    ''What?!'' Adam felt like his world was crashing down.

    999 lives was just absurd!

    ''999...'' The First Sister just looked like she had given up on life. ''I fucking hate whoever made this game. 999 lives is a cheat code.''

    "Of course, none of us have that much anymore." Adelram said. "I''ve got 15 lives left. The end

    is getting near!"

    ''15...'' Adam wryly smiled. ''Killing him once would probably take every mercenary in the

    world.''

    "I have 9 lives!" Gabriel shouted.

    "6 lives," Kol said with a yawn.

    "31 lives," Pandora said.

    "Y''see, we were excited for this game because little Rawkshawn has only one life left!"

    Adelramughed. "He had shitty luck, y''see. Well, maybe he is lucky now that he received his freedom at the day of his potential death!"

 Chapter 312: Killer Marbles

    Chapter 312: Killer Marbles

    ?

    ''1 life,'' Adam thought. ''So there was a chance. Who am I kidding? Killing a warlord even once is an impossible task. Whoever gave them 999 lives, I hope that person burns in hell!''n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Alright, let''s start." Adelram rolled the marbles for everyone at the table.

    These marbles were slightly different than in Mad Marbles. They were blood-red in color, as if they''d been soaking the blood of their victims.

    "Adam..." The First Sister whispered. "Both of us can''t survive this. Isn''t there only one victor?"

    "Focus on the game." Adam said. "If we''re thest ones standing, maybe we can make a deal to ensure that we bothe out of this alive."

    "Mm..." The First Sister looked at the marble and feared for the oue.

    "Let''s roll!" Adelram said.

    With the flicks of wrists, they hurled the marbles to the center of the table. The six marbles collided and rolled back to their thrower.

    "9," Adelram said his own number.

    "11." Pandora said with a flirtarious look.

    "1..." Gabriel mumbled.

    "14," Kol said with a yawn.

    "5..." The First Sister clenched her hands.

    "16," Adam said.

    All the eyes turned over to Adam.

    ''Whew...'' The First Sister sighed inwardly.

    They were the only humans in this table, and they would obviously work together. In this style of game, cooperation was key for survival.

    She wasn''t sure whether the other warlords were going to band together to eliminate the two of them, but as long as she and Adam worked together, maybe they could survive!

    Adam grabbed his marble and rolled it in his hand while thinking about who to attack.

    ''Based on the number of lives, it sounds like Pandora is the best yer out of them all.'' Adam turned to stare at the flirtarious, voluptuous woman. ''It would be wise to attack her first.''

    Seeing his look, Pandora just kept smiling and touched her marble as if it were a good luck charm.

    "I''ll attack Pandora," Adam said.

    "A bold choice." Adelram said with a smile. "You chose to attack the embodiment of malice. I didn''t expect humans to have such bravery."

    "Embodiment of malice?" Adam asked.

    "Aha, you didn''t know?" Adelram grinned. "Pandora is the Evil Warlord. Commonly known as the Archangel of Evil and Malice. She harbors every malice that has ever existed among humans."

    ''What the fuck?'' Adam squeezed his marble.

    "Alright, you two, throw." Adelram said.

    Pandora grinned and tossed her marble across the table. The throw was quite interesting, looking like she only used one of her fingers to flick it.

    Adam rolled the marble across the table''s smooth surface. The marble came to a stop at the center of the table.

    Pandora''s marble spun for a little while longer before stopping next to Adam''s.

    "Pandora''s score is 12." Adelram then turned to Adam''s and smiled. "Adam''s score is 9."

    "Yes!" The First Sister eximed but quickly covered her mouth.

    She didn''t want to identally anger Pandora, who was apparently the embodiment of human malice!

    The winner of the first bout was Adam!

    Pandora needed to double Adam''s score to win, but unfortunately for her, she was unsessful!

    "Oh~" Pandora took her marble back. "Unlucky~"

    Crack...

    Her marble cracked softly.

    Her marble was two cracks away from being destroyed.

    ''I felt worried for a moment.'' Adam breathed a sigh of relief. ''In the end, this is a game of luck. She can''t change the oue.''

    "Second round, throw your marbles." Adelram said and tossed his marble to the center of the table.

    Everyone else did the same, and as soon as the marbles came to a stop, numbers appeared within them.

    "18," Adelram said with a smile.

    "17." Gabriel scoffed.

    "1..." The First Sister pouted. ''Why does my luck stink?!''

    "10," Pandora said.

    "7." Kol rolled his eyes.

    "15," Adam said.

    The eyesnded on the three-headed Adelram.

    "I guess it is my turn-" Adelram looked around the table, looking for his target.

    ''Will he target us two?'' The First Sister wondered with a gulp.

    ''Hmm...''

    Adam looked at the three-headed man, who was able to look at every person at the table at

    the same time with his three heads.

    Nothing went unnoticed by his watchful gaze.

    ''I am most worried about Adelram. A very smart, very careful man.''

    ''The most obvious choice is to go for Pandora, right?!'' The First Sister thought.

    It seemed like the obvious choice, as if he attacked Pandora and won, she would only have one

    life left.

    It was obvious that she wouldn''t be able tost long!

    Maybe Adelram would be able to force her to use a skip as well!

    Just like in the Mad Marbles, everyone was entitled to one skip. They would be able to skip being attacked just once.

    However, even if Pandora skipped her turn now, if someone else got the next attacking turn and attacked her, and if she loses that, she would be in a horrible position.

    "Hmm~" Adelram hummed thoughtfully and then smiled. "You, little human girl, I''ll attack

    you."

    "?!" Adam frowned. ''Why? Could it be that the warlords are targeting us after all?''

    ''Why me?!'' The First Sister''s eyes teared up.

    She then tossed her marble clumsily across the table. It was about to fall on Pandora''sp, but

    it then steered away from her and came to a stop at the center of the table.

    Adelram threw his marble and shed with her marble.

    "13..." The First Sister whispered. ''Good score!''

    Adelram watched as a number appeared on his marble and then said. "20."

    The First Sister''s eyes widened in shock and she watched as her marble cracked.

    It was impossible to win!

    ''Unfortunate. This is bad.'' Adam looked at the other warlords and saw how their eyes

    brightened up.

    She would get heavily targeted from now on.

    ''Will this really be four versus two?'' Adam clicked his tongue.

    "Third round." Adelram said, picked up his marble, and tossed it to the center of the table.

    Everyone did the same, and six marbles ttered across the table.

 Chapter 313: Lady Fortune

    Chapter 313: Lady Fortune

    ?

    The numbers appeared on the six blood-red marbles.

    "9," Adelram said.

    "13," Kol said, but it didn''t look like he was satisfied with his number.

    "16," Pandora said, and she licked her rosy lips.

    "9," Gabriel said, and mmed his hands on the table. "I want to be the attacker!"

    The table shook, and some of the marbles were about to fall to the floor, but eventually turned around and came back to the center of the table.

    "11," the First Sister said with a sad smile.

    "19," Adam said, and smirked.

    With a look of thrilled happiness, the First Sister looked at Adam. This was really good for them!

    "Lucky, aye." Adelram chuckled. "Who will you attack?"

    ''I''ll make a statement. If you dare to attack us, brace for death!'' Adam menacingly thought and said. "Adelram, I will attack you!"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Oh?" Adelram''s all three heads smiled.

    "Hmph, stupid brat!" Gabriel crossed his arms.

    "Bold." Kol rolled his marble in his hand.

    Pandora narrowed her gaze with a mysterious smile.

    "Throw." Adelram said and tossed his marble to the center of the table.

    Adam did immediately the same, and as soon as they shed at the center of the table, numbers showed up.

    "18," Adelram said with a smile.

    "14." Adam leaned back on his chair with a smile.

    Crack!

    Adelram''s marble slightly cracked.

    "Uh-oh." Heughed. "I lost."

    The First Sister clenched her hands tight. This was really good for them!

    ''Isn''t Adam afraid that he will attract all of their attention?'' She wondered. ''Or is that what he wants because I already have cracked marble, so that will put their attention away from me?''

    She didn''t know the truth, but she smiled nevertheless. It felt like they had a small chance of victory!

    "Fourth round, throw your marbles!" Adelram shouted.

    The six marbles flew to the middle of the table and collided there. Everyone''s numbers appeared.

    "3," Adelram rubbed the back of his neck.

    "17," Kol said with a nod.

    "6," Pandora shook her head.

    "20," Gabriel stood up andughed. "Two attacking turns, haha!"

    "6..." the First Sister looked at Gabriel in fear. ''Two attacking turns?!!

    "10," Adam turned to Gabriel. ''Cursed.''

    The eyesnded on Gabriel, and everyone waited for his target.

    Gabriel immediately turned his head to Adam and pointed at him. "You broke my snow globe. I''ll attack you on both turns!"

    ''In the first turn, if he loses, he can get damaged, but if he loses his second turn, his marble will stay intact.''

    ''Right, I forgot about one thing.'' The First Sister thought. ''I thought losing a round would cause one to get hurt. I didn''t...''

    Out of curiosity, she checked her interface, and a frightening scene appeared. She had lost plenty of health!

    She was pretty much two attacks away from death!

    She then turned to Adam and prayed for his luck to be at the best it was ever going to be.

    "Roll your marbles." Adelram said with a smile.

    Adam flicked his wrist and tossed the marble to the center of the table. There, it came into contact with Gabriel''s marble.

    As soon as both marbles stopped, numbers appeared on them.

    "16," Adam said.

    Gabriel looked at his number and grinded his teeth. "1..."

    The First Sister beamed.

    Crack... Gabriel''s marble cracked.

    "Your luck..." Adelram looked at Adam with a curious smirk. "Is very good today, isn''t it?"

    "I guess thedy fortune is on my side today." Adam picked up his marble.

    "Throw again!" Gabriel shouted. "I''ll win this time!"

    They tossed their marbles again for Gabriel''s second attacking turn.

    The two marbles shed at the center of the table as if they have a feud with each other. With each collision, sparks flew in all directions.

    In the end, they came to the stop, and numbers appeared deep inside the blood-red marbles.

    "3!" Gabriel gritted his teeth. "No!"

    "9." Adam let out a sigh of relief.

    SMASH!

    Gabriel smashed his hand on the table. If the table wasn''t made out of the toughest material

    of the universe, it would have shattered into a million pieces.

    Since this was Gabriel''s second turn of attack, he didn''t get hurt.

    However, Adam''s marble was still in perfect condition.

    ''Where the hell has this luck been?'' Adam wondered with a chuckle.

    In every Mad Marble game he''d yed, his luck had been horrible. Always he had lost!

    He had never won a single game!

    That''s why he was horrified for this match, but so far, it has been incredibly smooth sailing!

    "Time for the fifth round." Adelram said, and as everyone took their marbles, they tossed them to the center of the table.

    They came to a stop, and numbers emerged once again.

    "15," Adelram chuckled.

    "15," Kol raised an eyebrow.

    "14," Pandora twirled her hair.

    "14," Gabriel gritted his teeth.

    "7," the First Sister frowned.

    She was wondering what the hell was going on with her luck. She even thought that Adam

    must''ve sucked all the luck out of her!

    However.

    "1..." Adam looked at the number and had a bad feeling about this.

    "Alright, two attackers." Adelram said. "Me, and Kol."

    Kol looked at his marble and then said. "You, human girl, I shall attack you."

    ''It''s over...'' The First Sister gulped. ''Should I skip? Maybe I should!''

    "And I will attack Adam." Adelram chuckled. "Let''s see whether your luck can survive this

    one!"

    "Adam..." The First Sister whispered into his ear. "Should I skip? I should right. If I lose, I am

    doomed!"

    "Don''t." Adam said. "You don''t know the future. You and I have still good chances of getting

    attacking turns. Save the skip; you will need it."

    "A-alright..." The First Sister trusted his judgment.

    "We will go first." Kol said and tossed his marble to the center of the table.

    The First Sister followed after him and tossed the marble right next to his marble.

    When the marbles stopped, numbers emerged.

    "15," the First Sister said with a smile.

    It was a good score!

    She immediately checked Kol''s, and as soon as she saw the number, she looked more

    depressed than ever.

    "18." Kol smiled.

 Chapter 314: Childish Warlords

    Chapter 314: Childish Warlords

    ?

    "I knew it," the First Sister grabbed her hair. "I should''ve skipped!"

    "Calm down; we still got this." Adam tried to reassure her, but it didn''t seem to work.

    She was utterly and thoroughly panicking!

    Crack!

    Her marble cracked for the second time. It now looked like it could break from a single touch. She was one loss away from dying!

    "Now it''s our turn." Adelram said with a chuckle.

    Adam looked serious, nodded, and rolled his marble to the center of the table.

    Adelram did the same.

    After the two marbles stopped, numbers appeared.

    "11," Adam said.

    "10," Adelram chuckled. "Not so lucky anymore, aye?"

    Crack!

    Atst, Adam''s marble cracked.

    He had suffered multiple attacking attempts, but finally he lost!

    ''Cursed!'' Adam frowned.

    "The sixth round, let''s do it."

    After he said so, everyone except the First Sister threw their marbles to the center of the table.

    The First Sister looked at her almost destroyed marble and carefully rolled it across the table. She was worried if she threw it, it would break!

    However, her worries were unfounded, as the marble would only break if she lost the game. After the numbers appeared, everyone spoke their numbers out loud.

    "12," Adelram said.

    "16," Kol said.

    "15," Pandora said.

    "4," Gabriel scoffed.

    "2," Adam massaged his temples.

    "17!" The First Sister eximed.

    ''Good!'' Adam thought with a sigh.

    Everyone turned to look at the human girl, who was closest to death. If she lost this battle, she would die!

    She realized that as soon as she picked up her marble.

    ''Right, I can die!'' The First Sister paled. ''Was it good that I won after all? It would''ve been better if Adam won, but without my good score, Kol would''ve won, and he would''ve attacked me!''

    The realization dawned on her.

    If she was really unlucky, she could actually die!

    It horrified her!

    ''What to do?'' She wondered. ''There is nothing else than attack. I must attack!''

    With gritted teeth, she looked straight at Pandora, and shouted. "Pandora. I''ll attack her!" "Heh..." Pandora rolled her marble in her hand and said, "Don''t want to. I''ll skip."

    The First Sister''s eyes widened in shock, and she copsed on her chair. She was both angry and terrified.

    Her life could''ve ended right there, but she was also angry at the skip. It was clear that the warlords were trying to push her to the corner.

    They were enjoying seeing her suffering!

    ''This is horrible. I feel like they will just keep using skips to waste our attacking turns. It''s effective strategy since there are four of them.''

    "Well then, seventh round!" Adelram shouted.

    After picking up their marbles, they tossed them to the center of the table. Once again, the

    First Sister took real good care of her marble and carefully rolled it.

    When all the marbles were in the center of the table, numbers appeared.

    "14," Adelram said.

    "4," Pandora said.

    "3," Kol said.

    "11," Gabriel said.

    "2," the First Sister swallowed her saliva.

    "17," Adam said with a serious look.

    ''Whew...'' The First Sister turned to look at Adam. ''I wonder what he will do.''

    "Kol, I''ll attack you." Adam said.

    He wanted to go after him because he still had all his three lives. It was clear that he had the greatest chance of winning at the current moment.

    However.

    "I''ll skip," Kol said.

    ''Skip?! Why!'' The First Sister thought it was stupid.

    ''Thought so.'' Adam thought.

    He had a hunch that they were nning to use skips to waste their attacking turns. Thus, he wanted for Kol to waste his one so that it would be easier to beat him at theter rounds.

    "Hmm~" Adelram chuckled. "Eight round."

    After rolling their marbles, the numbers appeared for the eighth round.

    "5," Adelram shook his head. "Bye bye, luck~"

    "13!" Gabriel shouted.

    "9," Kol sighed.

    "14," Pandora smiled.

    "15," Adam said, and he turned to the young woman beside him.

    "15..." The First Sister looked at the number and turned to Adam with a genuine smile.

    It was great!

    They were now both able to attack!

    ''This is good, but...'' Adam frowned. ''I am still worried.''

    "Who will you two attack?" Adelram asked.

    The First Sister gulped. ''Should I go for one of the two that had already used their skips?''

    At that moment, Adam leaned close to her and whispered something. Her eyes widened in

    surprise, but she eventually nodded.

    "I-I will attack you, Adelram!" She said.

    "And I will attack you, Gabriel." Adam said.

    "Heh." Adelram shrugged his shoulders but didn''t throw his marble. "I''ll skip."

    "I''ll skip too!" Gabriel flexed his muscles.

    ''They actually skipped...'' The First Sister looked at Adam. ''He realized what they were plotting, and now we''re the only ones with skips left!''

    ''These four don''t care about winning.'' Adam thought. ''They just don''t want us two to win.''

    Therefore, they were nning on ruining their own game just to waste their attacking turns. It didn''t matter to them if they lost as long as Adam, and the First Sister was going to lose! Whether it was pride or childishness, they didn''t want to lose to two mortal humans! "Ninth round!" Adelram announced and tossed his marble to the center of the table.

    At the same moment, everyone rolled their marbles to the center of the table.

    The numbers appeared.

    "6," Adelram rolled his eyes.

    "9," Kol said.

    "14," Gabriel grinned.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    However, at the next words, his grin vanished.

    "16," Pandora giggled.

    "9..." The First Sister''s face paled, and she hoped for Adam to get the attacking turn.

    However, Adam shook his head. "13."

    "Ah, finally my turn-" Pandora''s purple eyes turned evil, and she looked straight at the First

    Sister like she was nothing but a prey.

    ''It''s over.'' The First Sister''s lips curled down into a sad look. ''I must skip... I must!''

    "You!" Pandora pointed straight at her. "I''ll attack you, little girl!"

    "S-s..." The First Sister took a deep breath and said. "I''ll skip!"

    Adam lowered his gaze, his heart heavy.

    He didn''t have to look to know that the warlords were grinning with happiness. She was now

    defenseless, and if any of them got another attacking turn, she would most likely die.

    She realized that as well.

    ''Brothers and sisters...'' the First Sister bit her lip.

 Chapter 315: One Down

    Chapter 315: One Down

    ?

    Red Thread, Orphanage.

    At the bedroom with dozens of beds, young men and women were lying on their own beds, some browsing through phones, and some were on theirptops.

    They were either watching some videos, live streams, or checking out Mortal Online''s forums. "She is still there?" The Third Brother walked past one empty bed. "That''s worrisome."

    "Master said she will be fine," the Fourth Sister said while she was on her phone. "First Brother, how does it feel to be separated from her? You''re close like real siblings!"

    The First Brother didn''t answer to her. He was on his bed, which was right beside the First Sister''s bed, and he was busy reading his book.

    However, after hearing her question, he looked at the empty bed and frowned.

    The mission should''ve been brief and over already, but it didn''t seem like she wasing back anytime soon.

    It made some of the sisters and brothers worried.

    "Anyway, we should trust Alistair," the Tenth Brother said. "She''ll be back soon; just watch."

    ...

    "Alright, tenth round." Adelram smiled. "It looks like certain someone is about to be the first loser~"

    When his gazended on the First Sister, she had a massive chill.

    "Throw your marbles!"

    They rolled their marbles across the table.

    "5," Adelram said.

    "6," Gabriel said.

    "14," Kol said.

    "1," Pandora said.

    "14," Adam said.

    "19..." The First Sister looked back at Pandora with a look that could kill. "I''ll attack Pandora!"

    Pandora smirked and whispered under her breath. "Whore."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Without having to say a word, both women rolled their marbles across the table. They shed right in the middle of the table, and numbers immediately appeared.

    "19!" Pandora shouted.

    "13!" The First Sister, as soon as she said her number, she also let out a breath of relief.

    She was almost resigned to defeat as soon as she heard Pandora''s score, but luckily, as long as she got above 10 as attacker, the victory was guaranteed!

    Crack!

    Pandora''s marble cracked the second time.

    She was also only one away from losing!

    "Eleventh round!" Adelram didn''t waste time starting another round, and everyone rolled their marbles to the center of the table.

    "18!" Adelram shouted.

    "19!" Kol smiled.

    "4," Pandora rolled her eyes.

    "5," Gabriel pouted.

    "4," the First Sister frowned.

    "19!" Adam shouted.

    It was a shocking shout. Everyone turned to Adam in surprise.

    Everyone expected Kol to have an easy victory, but surprisingly enough, there was going to be two attackers!

    Warlords versus Humans!

    "I''ll attack this human girl!" Kol immediately announced.

    ''Don''t fear...'' the First Sister looked at her blood-red marble. ''Please give me luck!''

    "I''ll attack Pandora!" Adam shouted.

    He was going for one of the warlords!

    It was something he had to do.

    If the First Sister survived, there would only be three warlords left. It was only going to be three versus two, which was much more manageable.

    However, if she happened to die and Adam still got rid of Pandora, it would be three versus one, which would be horrible but not as bad as four versus one.

    Four versus one would definitely be the end of him.

    Kol and the First Sister rolled their marbles.

    They came to a contact at the center of the table.

    "6!" Kol shouted.

    "15!" The First Sister screamed in excitement.

    She had never sounded so excited before.

    Crack!

    Atst, Kol''s marble cracked for the first time. His advantage crumbled.

    With this, Adam had the best advantage over everyone, as his marble only had one crack, and he still had his skip left!

    At that moment, Adam and Pandora exchanged nces. Without further ado, both rolled their marbles to the center of the table.

    There they shed.

    Numbers appeared.

    "14..." Pandora narrowed her eyes.

    Adam looked at his number and smiled. "15."

    Crack... CRACK!

    With that, Pandora''s marble shattered to pieces, and an invisible spear stabbed through her

    chest and impaled through her heart.

    With that, she died!

    In the eyes of Adam and the First Sister, the scene looked absolutely impossible.

    A warlord died in front of them!

    When they looked at their marbles, they wondered who created them as they were able to kill

    the warlord like it was nothing!

    However, in that moment, Pandora opened her eyes again, and she sighed. "30 lives left..."

    It was three versus two!

    ''Good!'' The First Sister smiled. ''This is looking way better now!''

    "Twelfth round!" Adelram announced, and thus, everyone rolled their marbles to the center

    of the table.

    With a click, every marble came to a stop, and numbers appeared inside all of them.

    "15!" Adelram shouted.

    "19!" Gabrielughed.

    "15." Kol frowned.

    "16..." The First Sister gritted her teeth.

    "10." Adam frowned.

    The eyesnded on Gabriel.

    "Haha!" Gabriel turned to the First Sister and grinned. "Ready to meet your maker?!"

    The First Sister paled.

    Adam frowned and leaned on the table with a smirk. "By the way, Gabriel, your snow globe was fucking horrible. I''ve seen better craftsmanship from a blind toddler!"

    Crack! Gabriel grinded his teeth together, which made them crack. "What did you say, human?!"

    "You heard me!" Adam shouted. "I said it was fucking horrible!"

    "Alright, good, good!" Gabriel grinned. "I''ll attack you, Adam!" ''Simpleton.'' Adam grabbed his marble and kept ridiculing him with his smirk.

    ''He did that for me...'' the First Sister put her hands together. ''Please, Lord, help him.''

    Gabriel threw the marble at Adam. It looked like he was going to kill him with the marble. It

    was also moving with the speed of a real bullet!

    Adam also threw his marble and made it crash into Gabriel''s marble. Bothnded on the table

    and came to an instant stop.

    "13," Adam said.

    "17!" Gabrielughed. "That''s what you get, fool!"

    Crack... for the second time, Adam''s marble cracked.

    ''No!'' The First Sister gasped, watching in horror.

    This pretty much meant that if the First Sister was at Adam''s ce, she would''ve died!

    ''Ourbined lives are two. Theirs are six. This will be an uphill battle.'' Adam thought to himself as it looked like this was a battle they were unlikely to win.

 Chapter 316: Flashing Images

    Chapter 316: shing Images

    ?

    The warlords rolled their marbles in their hands. They were seemingly enjoying this game. Unfortunately for Adam and the First Sister, there was nothing enjoyable for them. If they lost, they would die while warlords still had many lives to spare.

    "Alright, let''s continue with the next round." Adelram said with a whistle and rolled his marble to the center of the table.

    The rest did the same.

    All the marbles shed in the middle of the table.

    "11," Adelram called out.

    "8," Kol said.

    "13," Gabriel said.

    "5," the First Sister sighed.

    "11," Adam narrowed his eyes.

    "My turn again!" Gabrielughed and again looked straight at Adam. "I''ll crush you!"

    ''This is bad!'' The First Sister thought with a pale face. ''Adam must use his skip now!''

    ''What to do...'' Adam took his marble, and rolled it in his hand. ''Skip or no...''

    Anyone sensible would use the skip right now.

    If he didn''t use his skip now and lost, he would regret it forever.

    "What''re you waiting for? Skip!" The First Sister whispered into his ear.

    "I don''t want to..." Adam whispered back with a pale face. "If I do, we are going to lose. If I win now, Gabriel will also only have one life left, and he doesn''t have a skip left."

    "What if you lose now?!" She asked. "I will be all alone!"

    "To win this, risks must be taken." Adam said with gritted teeth. "I let thedy luck decide my fate."

    "..." The First Sister looked at him and nodded, but her heart was racing like a wild horse.

    If she were in his shoes, she was certain that she wouldn''t dare to gamble her life like this. It was absolutely absurd and borderline insanity.

    There was a much bigger chance of Adam losing than winning.

    "Alright, let''s roll." Adam said and squeezed his marble.

    "Y''know you have a skip left, right?" Adelram asked with a smile. "Bold choice; I respect that."

    "Heh~" Gabriel grinned. "Now you will die~"

    The marbles rolled to the center of the table, and the tension in the room grew as they waited to see who would be victorious.

    Atst, they came to a stop, and numbers appeared in both of them.

    "6..." Gabriel frowned.

    Adam looked at his marble. A silence fell over him. Then he took a deep breath and said. "13."

    "Yes!" The First Sister cheered and pped her hands, but then Gabriel''s furious gaze made her stop.

    It looked like he was ready to kill her if she hadn''t stopped pping.

    "Lucky," Adelram chuckled.

    Crack!

    Gabriel''s marble cracked for the second time.

    It was one attack away from breaking apart. He also didn''t have his skip anymore!

    Everyone took their marbles and rolled them to the center of the table for the next round. As soon as they collided with each other, numbers appeared with a mist-like glow.

    "17!" Adelram shouted.

    "2," Kol shook his backwards-facing head.

    "9..." Gabriel, still angered by his previous round''s loss, said.

    "13..." The First Sister immediately turned to see Adam''s marble, hoping that he had much better luck.

    However.

    "11," Adam shook his head.

    "Mm~" Adelram turned to the First Sister and smiled. "I''ll attack you."

    ''This is it...'' The First Sister grabbed her marble, and saw that her hand was shaking

    uncontrobly.

    ''Please. Please! PLEASE!''

    "..." Adam looked at her silently, and he was also quite nervous.

    If she lost now, he wouldn''t be able to beat three warlords all by himself.

    ''Please, win. That would help us greatly.'' Adam put his marble against his forehead to calm his forehead slightly.

    For a strange reason, he''d been having this headache for the past minute. It appeared as soon as he decided to gamble everything to beat Gabriel.

    shes of images continued to cloud his mind. It was images of the people around this table. It was still unclear to understand what those images meant, but he had a feeling they were trying to warn him of something.

    ''What''s happening?'' Adam grabbed his head in agony. ''It hurts...''

    "Let''s roll."

    At that moment, Adelram and the First Sister rolled their marbles across the table.

    Cling!

    With a nice-sounding cling, they stopped right in the middle of the table.

    "5." Adelram raised an eyebrow.

    "19!" The First Sister cried out in excitement.

    She was feeling so much adrenaline that her body quivered like a leaf in the wind.

    "Huh..." Adelram watched as his marble cracked for the second time.

    The warlords weren''t leading by such an overwhelming margin anymore after two impossible victories from humans!

    "Maybe we can do this after all!" The First Sister whispered to Adam with a sweet smile, but

    she then noticed that something was odd with him.

    He was literally shaking, and it looked like he was sweating buckets by the amount of

    perspiration on his forehead.

    "Is everything alright?"

    "I-I am not sure..." Adam gritted his teeth.

    "Alright, next round!" Adelram shouted, and without further ado, the warlords rolled their

    marbles to the center of the table.

    The First Sister, still worried, did the same, andstly, Adam rolled his marble weakly. It

    looked like his throw didn''t have any strength behind it.

    The marbles came to contact in the middle of the table.

    "15," Adelram said.

    "15," Kol nodded.

    "4," Gabriel scoffed.

    "16!" The First Sister smiled in excitement.

    "6..." Adam said weakly.

    ''Hmm, this can still be dangerous for me, but I should''ve much greater odds of winning!'' The First Sister thought. ''Who should I go after? Adelram or Gabriel, definitely. We can make this

    two versus two!''

    "Ugh..." Adam almost copsed on his chair while the pounding headache kept getting worse.

    The images became more vivid and clearer. Atst, he saw something that made his eyesn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    bulge.

    "Adelram, I attack you!" The First Sister shouted.

    "Heh," Adelram took his marble. "I''ll ept that challenge."

    With flicks, they tossed their marbles to the center of the table, and they came to a stop

    almost immediately.

    "No..." Adam whispered and turned to the First Sister.

    "12!" Adelram shouted.

    The First Sister looked at her marble with a smile, but as soon as the number appeared there,

    her smile froze.

    The marble''s number was 1.

 Chapter 317: Flow State

    Chapter 317: Flow State

    ?

    "N-no..." The First Sister jumped to her feet, and she felt suddenly weak with terror.

    As she turned to Adam, she grabbed his arm and said, "P-please, help. Don''t let me die!"

    "No one can escape the power of the Killer Marbles." Adelram said with a smile. "It chips, shatters, and destroys!"

    Adam looked at her with trembling eyes. "I saw it... your loss... beforehand..."

    The First Sister didn''t hear him, but instead she copsed on the ground as her breathing got tight.

    At that moment, spears that only she could see appeared in the air above her.

    "D-don''t."

    She tried to beg for her life, but then those spears went through her body, and thest bits of her health reached rock bottom.

    With tears in her eyes, she stopped breathing, and her eyes turned dull.

    "Hahaha!" Gabriel jumped to the table and pointed at her. "How pathetic! Why bother begging when you lost fair and square?"

    "Go back to your seat, Gabriel." Adelram said with a smile. "We still have the game to finish."

    The four warlords turned to Adam. They started grinning, and their eyes looked like the pits of darkness.

    "One ant down." Pandora giggled and looked at Adam. "One to go."

    Adam held his head. It felt like it was spilling. However, suddenly the pain subdued and eventually disappeared altogether.

    "Haaah..."

    With a deep breath, Adam opened his eyes again, and his whole body started smoking!

    It wasn''t smoke out of a fire. It was smokeing straight from his inner being. That smoke was light blue, and it looked like all his impurities were being purified from his body.

    "Huff..." Adam''s tongue stuck out of his mouth as he tried to catch his breath.

    It was a strange state.

    None of the warlords seemed to notice anything going on with him. After all, in their eyes, nothing had happened to him.

    They couldn''t see the strange smoke.

    It was a state of strength that even the warlords hadn''t reached. It was something that was never-before-seen among yers as well.

    Flow State!

    Through the dawn of this world, it was something that only a handful of people had ever reached.

    At that moment, something else also started to change inside his body.

    Breaking through barriers!

    With brute force, his level of Kiryoku broke through the barrier like it was nothing and reached fourth level!

    It was already at the level of superhumans!

    However, that wasn''t the end of it all!

    As if his whole being was making a joke out of the Three Powers, his mind pushed closer, and closer to the fifth level.

    It wasn''t stopping at mere level four!

    And just like that, his mind broke into a whole new ne of existence.

    Fifth level of Kiryoku achieved!

    Snap, snap!

    Adelram snapped his fingers in front of Adam and said, "Hello? Have you stopped daydreaming? Are you ready for the next round?"

    "..." Adam looked straight at him and smiled. "Oh, yes. I am."

    "Hmm..." Adelram could feel that something had changed within Adam.

    Curious, he used his Kiryoku to take a peek at Adam''s thoughts, but as soon as he tried that, he hit a wall.

    His Kiryoku couldn''t break that wall.

    It was trying to go around it, over it and under it, but nothing worked.

    Adam''s mind was fortified beyond any measure!

    ''What the hell? I can''t read his emotions anymore?'' Adelram looked genuinely surprised. ''What''s going on with him?''

    Adam took his marble, and said. "Shall we roll?"

    "Sure." Adelram narrowed his eyes, and then everyone rolled their marbles to the center of

    the table.

    "14!" Adelram shouted.

    "3," Kol said.

    "1," Gabriel said.

    "15," Adam said with a deep gaze.

    "Who will you attack?" Adelram asked with a smile.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "Gabriel, I''ll attack you." Adam said.

    "Bastard!" Gabriel gritted his teeth.

    Without further ado, both rolled their marbles to the center of the table. They came into

    contact and stopped.

    "17!" Gabrielughed.

    "5..." Adam whispered with shaking eyes.

    "Hahahaha!" All the warlords startedughing. "Goodbye, ant!"

    Pandora giggled with ridicule.

    Adelram mocked him with augh.

    Gabriel grinned like a child.

    Kol smirked.

    Thousands of spears stabbed through Adam and made him look like a porcupine.

    "N-no..." Adam''s tears rolled down his eyes. "This can''t be happening. Is this how it all

    ends?"

    At that moment, everything turned dark and cold. It was like he was taking a dip in an icy

    abyss.

    "No..."

    ...

    Adam mmed his eyes open, and he was back at the table, the four warlords seated around.

    The seat next to him was still empty as the First Sister was gone.

    ''So, choosing Gabriel will mean my death.'' Adam thought with a scoff.

    He used Future Sight!

    He could now use it freely as he was on level five in the Kiryoku. He started to unlock it during the match, which caused his head-splitting headache!

    "Shall we roll?" Adam asked again.

    "Sure." Adelram narrowed his eyes, and everyone rolled their marbles to the center of the

    table.

    "14!" Adelram shouted.

    "3," Kol said.

    "1," Gabriel said.

    "15." Adam said with a deep gaze.

    He had already seen this happen with his Future Sight, so nothing with this surprised him.

    However, now he had to make a choice.

    Gabriel was no-no.

    These marbles already had their "designed" number that would appear with the next throw.

    So, nothing was changeable.

    Gabriel was going to get 17 again, and Adam''s number was going to be 5.

    ''I need to hope either Adelram or Kol gets below 10 score.'' Adam said with a frown.

    "Adelram, I choose you!"

    "Heh, will I get to kill the second human as well?" Adelram grinned.

    Both rolled their marbles to the center of the table, and numbers appeared as soon as they

    stopped.

    "13!" Adelramughed.

    "5..." Adam frowned.

    The warlords startedughing.

    ...

    The future''s images cracked and shattered.

    Adam looked at the marble in the center of the table. It still showed number 15. The warlords

    were waiting for him to choose someone to attack.

    ''Only Kol left. Cursed.'' Adam gritted his teeth. ''Is my luck really this bad?''

    "Who will you attack?" Adelram hurried him.

    "Kol, I''ll attack you." Adam said as he stared straight at the silent warlord.

    "..." Kol frowned.

 Chapter 318: Red Threads Orphanage

    Chapter 318: Red Thread''s Orphanage

    ?

    ''Why did he choose me?'' Kol wondered. ''It should''ve been better to reduce our numbers. What is this human trash nning?''

    "Alright, roll your marbles!" Adelram shouted.

    Kol and Adam tossed their marbles at the same time. They came into contact at the middle of the table.

    "5," Adam said with a serious gaze.

    Kol looked at his marble, and scoffed. "9..."

    CRACK!

    Kol''s marble cracked for the second time.

    Everyone in the match now had only one life left, but Adam still had his skip left!

    ''Close, really close!'' Adam took a deep breath. ''I realized something. These warlords can''t use Future Sight.''

    He could tell that their Kiryoku wasn''t on the same level as him. A level below him. However, it could still allow them to use Future Sight.

    It would''ve been easy for them to cheat on this match.

    That''s why, back in the New World, those with Future Sight were banned from participating in any Killer Marble matches!

    It was so incredibly hard to tell whether someone was using Future Sight. The warlords couldn''t tell that he was using it either!

    ''I don''t care that I am cheating. They''re nothing but bullies, and in the end, it is my survival in the line. I''ll do everything in my power to survive!''

    "Let''s continue with the match." Adelram said with a smile. "It is getting quite interesting." They all rolled their marbles to the center of the table, where they collided.

    "1," Adelram scratched the back of his head.

    "20!" Kol grinned.

    "13," Gabriel shrugged his shoulders.

    "7..." Adam frowned.

    Pandora giggled. "Kol with two attacks. This will be interesting."

    Kol turned to Adam and seemed to be staring right into his soul.

    ''This human trash has one skip left. There''s a few choices for him. He could gamble and try to get me killed in the first attack or use skip.

    ''However, there''s a second attack, where I cannot get killed. A logical decision would try to get me killed.

    ''If I die on the first round, I can''t do my second attack either.

    ''That''s why I believe he won''t use skip!''

    The rest of the warlords had the same thought process.

    "I''ll attack you!" Kol pointed at Adam.

    "Skip," Adam said with a cold look.

    "?!" The warlords looked stunned.

    ''Why would he do that?'' Kol''s eyes shook. ''Is he stupid? I still have a second attack, and if I lose this, I won''t get killed, so why...''

    It didn''t make any sense to him!

    Because of the skip, the "designed" numbers inside the marbles changed. It wasn''t going to be the same as they were going to be during the first attack.

    Adam crossed his legs. "Do your worst."

    "Hmph!" Kol rolled his marble to the center of the table.

    Adam tossed his marble to the center as well.

    "7!" Kol shouted.

    "18," Adam said. "I guess I survived, lucky me."

    ''What?!'' Kol''s eyes shook.

    ''This doesn''t make any sense.'' Adelram thought to himself. ''He could''ve gambled and got Kol killed.''

    The warlords couldn''t understand it.

    They knew that Adam wasn''t a fool. Even though he was human, they did respect his intelligence and cunning. That''s why this made them very confused.

    Adam took his marble, and rubbed it against his temple.

    ''Whew...''

    He used Future Sight again.

    In the first attack, without skip, he would''ve lost!

    Luckily for him, the Future Sight saw that he was going to be victorious in the second round.

    It made him slightly frustrated that his luck wasn''t good enough for the first attack to get rid of Kol, but he didn''t mind.

    At least he wasn''t dead!

    "Let''s continue..." Adelram said, and everyone rolled their marbles to the center of the table.

    ...

    Red Thread, Orphanage.

    As the night turned darker, the lights were about to be killed off for tonight, but then, a door opened, and the First Sister walked into the bedroom with her head hanging low.

    "You''re back!" The Fourth Sister jumped to her feet in excitement. "How did the mission

    go?"

    The First Brother looked away from his book, and his eyes shook as he saw the First Sister tearing up while she made her way to her bed.

    "What happened?" he asked.

    She plopped down on her bed, put her face in the pillow, and sobbed quietly.

    Every brother and sister looked over, shocked. They had never seen her so vulnerable before.

    It made them wonder what the hell happened!

    "What happened?" The First Brother asked seriously.

    "I-I..." The First Sister looked to him with teary eyes. "I got zeroed!"

    "What?!" Everyone eximed.

    "Tell everything that happened!" The First Brother said with a furious expression.

    ...

    With the moonlight filtering through the window, Alistair rubbed his forehead as he finished some of his paperwork.

    He wasn''t spending his nights at his antique shop anymore, as he already got attacked there once, but instead, he was spending his time at his second home.

    The Orphanage.

    It was his as he purchased it, and he was responsible for everyone.

    Knock, knock!

    Suddenly, loud knocking came from the door.

    "Come in." Alistair frowned and put his sses down on the desk.

    The door mmed open, and the First Brother entered with a furious expression. The rest of the sisters and brothers were peeking outside the office, clearly curious about the

    conversation that was about to happen.

    "What''re you all doing?" Alistair asked. "Shouldn''t you all be at the bed?"

    "Where the hell did you actually send her?!" The First Brother mmed his hands on the desk.

    "I want answers!"

    "What''re you talking about?" Alistair asked and pointed at him with a cold look. "Mind your

    tone with me, young man."

    "The First Sister!" He shouted. "That mission... she died, y''know!"

    "What?!" Alistair jumped to his feet, and he looked out of the door.

    There, he saw vulnerable-looking First Sister, her head hanging low in embarrassment. She

    was one of the most important powerhouses of the Children of Fair faction.

    Now she went and died!n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "What the hell happened?" Alistair asked angrily.

    She opened her mouth and recalled everything that happened. Everything without leaving a

    single detail out.

    "That''s..." Alistair''s eyes shook. "King Moriarty. He tricked us!"

 Chapter 319: Crushed Pride

    Chapter 319: Crushed Pride

    ?

    The marbles shed with a forceful impact.

    "16!" Adelram shouted.

    "13!" Kol shouted.

    "12." Gabriel clicked his tongue.

    "16," Adam said with a slight hesitation.

    This was pretty bad, wasn''t it?

    ''Not good.'' Adam frowned. ''Future Sight isn''t some all-powerful tool that I''ve. I don''t have a skip left to avoid Adelram''s attack!''

    "I''ll attack Adam!" Adelram shouted. "Come one, who will you attack?"

    He didn''t want to give Adam any time to think. It was now or ever.

    "Kol!" Adam''s mind was racing.

    Adelram was about to throw, but Adam then raised his hand.

    "Wait!"

    "?!" Adelram frowned and stopped his throw.

    "I want to attack Kol first!" Adam tossed his marble towards Kol.

    "Tch!" Kol clicked his tongue and rolled his marble.

    ''Why him first?'' Adelram frowned. ''Did I already fall into Adam''s trap? I''ve got a bad feeling about this!''

    The marbles came to a stop in the middle of the table.

    "3!" Kol''s expression looked ugly.

    "2!" Adam shouted.

    ''If I were against Adam, I could''ve killed him most likely!'' Adelram thought. ''Such a shitty score. How lucky is that bastard?''

    "No!" Kol screamed, and his marble shattered.

    During almost the whole match, he had the greatest advantage over them. Surprisingly, he was only fourth ce finisher!

    The spears came through the ceiling and stabbed through Kol''s heart. He died. However, only a few short secondster, he woke back up.

    "Fuck, that was refreshing!" Kolughed.

    "You and me now!" Adelram shouted. "You can''t escape this one!"

    "No one is escaping!" Adam rolled his marble across the table.

    Adelram did the same.

    The two marbles smashed into each other. They looked like they were trying to push each other off the center of the table.

    In the end, both marbles lost momentum and came to a slow stop.

    "6..." Adelram''s eyes shook.

    "16!" Adam shouted.

    "You lucky, motherfuck-

    CRACK!

    Adelram''s marble shattered, and at the same time, an enormous spear went through his heart and impaled through him, pinning him to the ground.

    With a weak breath, he died, but again, a few short secondster, he woke back up, his body repairing itself as if he hadn''t just been killed.

    "What the hell is happening?" Pandora asked from herself. "There is no way this human trash is beating us!"

    The smoke surrounded Adam''s body. His Flow State was stronger than ever before, a power that even he couldn''t fully understand.

    All the distractions escaped off his mind, and all of his attention was solely on the marble in his hand.

    This was thest round.

    His Future Sight didn''t matter anymore.

    It was all about luck.

    Adam stopped using his Future Sight. He didn''t want to spoil the result for himself.

    After all, if he lost, there was nothing he could do to stop that from happening.

    Escaping was out of question.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ''Bring it on...'' Adam narrowed his eyes.

    Gabriel licked his lips.

    Whoever gets thest attacking turn will have immense advantage!

    "Last round!" Adelram shouted. "Roll your marbles."

    Gabriel and Adam rolled their marbles across the table.

    CLING!

    With a loud cling, the two marbles came to a stop.

    "11!" Adam shouted.

    "19." Gabriel grinned so much that his skin started tearing. "Ready to die?!"

    The warlords smirked. This was an immense advantage.

    ''Fuck!'' Adam bit his lips so hard that they started bleeding. ''Come on!''

    Gabriel wiped the sweat off his marble, and rolled it across the table.

    ''Lady luck, do not betray me!'' Adam rolled the marble as well.

    The two shing forces met at the center of the table, creating a loud clinking noise that

    echoed through the room.

    All the eyesnded on the marbles.

    "What the hell is that?!" Gabriel screamed. "One?!"

    The marble showed pitiful number 1.

    "..." Adam grabbed his marble, and showed it to everyone. "20."

    Crack!

    Gabriel''s marble cracked and shattered against his face. Immediately after, the spears went through his body cleanly and pierced through every organ of his.

    It was a brutal death.

    However, only a secondter, he woke up, angrier than ever before!

    ''Thank you,dy luck.'' Adam pocketed the marble.

    It was now his lucky charm!

    "This is..." Pandora hid her face that looked demonic. "A joke."

    Their pride had been crushed by none other than a mere mortal, who was as big of a threat to

    them as an ant was to a human.

    Ridiculous! Laughable!

    "You won, congrattions." Adelram pped his hands. "Whoever wins usually receives

    some kind of reward. What do you want, human? No, Adam?"

    This mortal in front of them wasn''t anymore just any ordinary human. They remembered his name and face. The highest honor that they could give to anyone.

    "I just want to leave this ce." Adam said. "I want to return to the New World."

    SNAP!

    Adelram snapped his fingers, and a door appeared behind Adam. It was a door with tons of

    chains, locks, and magic spells.

    "That''s the exit. Your reward!" Adelram stood up. "You''ve earned it!"

    Adam stood up and walked over to the door. He didn''t want to spend another second with the

    warlords.

    He just wanted to leave.

    "We will see you again." Adelram said. "In the New World."

    Adam turned around and watched as all the warlords stood up. They were all staring at him.

    They all wanted to crush and destroy him!

    To restore their pride.

    ''It feels like four Rawkshawn''s staring at me.'' Adam thought with trembling eyes. ''To think that he is the weakest warlord. If they break out of their prison, the world of mortals will die.'' Turning around, Adam opened the door and stepped through the light.

    ...

    Swoosh!

    Adam copsed on his knees as he stepped out of the door. He appeared back in the tutorial''s

    safe room''s basement.

    The Door of Sickness was right behind him.

    "Cough!" Adam coughed out ck blood and gritted his teeth. "Right, I''ve got to deal with

    this fucking sickness now."

    After a long day that seemed to never end, he finally managed to leave that wretched ce!

    However, he was all alone.

    He was the only survivor.

    ''Whoever sent us to this fucking mission will suffer.'' Adam wiped the blood off his lips and

    walked away.

 Chapter 320: Darkness

    Chapter 320: Darkness

    ?

    Adam, dragging his feet behind him, walked down a long hallway of the safe room. The exhaustion from the endless fights came crashing down.

    He was also mentally exhausted.

    The torturous training session with stor.

    The marble match with the other warlords.

    There was nothing that he would''ve liked more than to justy down and sleep on a soft bed.

    ''Right, Rawkshawn? Is that bastard here?'' Adam thought. ''I don''t hear screams. Maybe everyone is already dead?''

    With those thoughts, he finally stepped out of the hallway and arrived at the safe room''s front lounge.

    Instead of chaos and panic, he saw all the new tutorial-takers spending time with their friends in the nearby cafeteria,ughing and chatting.

    It was quitete, so there weren''t that many around as they had gone to sleep, but it didn''t look like Rawkshawn had done anything.

    ''Everything is fine here?'' Adam frowned and touched his injured waist as he made up the stairs to find out if anyone had seen Rawkshawn.

    When he reached the top of the stairs, he identally tripped, and almost crashed into a wall. He barely managed to hold himself up, but the day''s exhaustion was really getting to him.

    "Are you alright, mister?"

    A voice came.

    It sounded very familiar!

    Adam''s eyes widened, and he turned around to see a sweet-looking Handler holding stacks of papers. She seemed to have also recognized him, even though he had changed quite a lot since the tutorial days.

    "Muriel!" Adam eximed.

    "A-Adam." Muriel whimpered in shock and looked at his sad state with a stunned look. "What happened to you?"

    "Have you seen a gigantic man walk here?" Adam asked.

    "N-no." Muriel shook her head and asked. "Do you need medical care? You don''t look to be in good shape..."

    At that moment, she noticed that he was bleeding ck blood-the blood of the sickness.

    "Oh no..." Muriel''s eyes shook. "You caught the sickness?"

    "That doesn''t matter." Adam said with his teeth gritted. "Dakota, where is she?"

    "Sleeping, I guess." Muriel said.

    "Take me to her, please." Adam begged with urgency in his voice.

    "Uhmn, alright, follow me!" Muriel said as she led Adam to Dakota''s room.

    It was outside the tutorial-takers quarters, on a separate floor where the Handlers, and the staff of the tutorial slept.

    She knew where Dakota''s room was and led him straight there.

    Without caring about noise, Adam knocked loudly at the door.

    Muriel looked around, worried that other people would wake up.

    Slowly, the door opened, just barely ajar. Dakota peeked through the gap, as if she were afraid of someone.

    However, as soon as she saw Adam, she almost teared up.

    "Adam!"

    Shockingly, she pulled him inside and did the same to Muriel before mming the door shut.

    "Dakota, what is going on?" Muriel asked in worry.

    "Adam..." Dakota hugged him tightly and grabbed his shirt tight. "You made it..."

    "What is going on?" Adam asked. "Have you seen a person named-"

    "Yes!" Dakota knew exactly who he was talking about. "I did!"

    "Where?" Adam''s expression turned cold.

    "He is here." Dakota whispered into his ear. "He is keeping everyone here hostage. I don''t know where he is currently, but I can feel his presence everywhere!"

    Muriel was stunned. She was quite out of loop, but she had never seen Dakota so scared before.

    "He is still here?" Adam frowned. "Why?"

    "You will be in danger!" Dakota shouted. "That guy can tell immediately that you''re here. His Kiryoku is everywhere."

    "No need to worry; he can''t tell that I am here." Adam said. "After all, my Kiryoku is superior!"

    Dakota''s eyes shook, and as she tried to test him with her Kiryoku, she could tell that his Kiryoku was the strongest one she''d evere across!

    ''How? Just in a short year...'' Dakota gulped.

    "Now, tell me everything!" Adam said.

    "That guy is waiting..." Dakota gritted her teeth. "He will meet with King Moriarty!"

    "With the King, why?" Adam asked with a frown and immediately remembered the thing that happened with Nerezza.

    It sounded a lot like it was the King who put the hit on him.

    "King Moriarty has betrayed humanity!" Dakota said in anger. "He is working with that

    bastard!"

    "W-what?!" Muriel''s mind almost exploded.

    She couldn''t believe it.

    Among the Originals, King Moriarty was a legendary figure-almost like a god in their eyes- and if anyone even suggested him of treason, everyone would have thought it was a joke.

    "..." Adam''s face turned pale. "That is not good."

    With King Moriarty on their side, he thought that Rawkshawn could be beaten. However, if he

    worked alongside him, humanity was doomed.

    "T-that can''t be..." Muriel copsed on the ground.

    "King Moriarty ising to here." Dakota said. "He might already be here. Who knows!"

    "I need proof..." Adam said. "Do you have Pearl of Recording?"

    "Y-yes..." Dakota nodded. "It should be in the watch room."

    "Get me it." Adam said. "I''ll go watch their little meeting."N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "What if they discover you?" Dakota asked. "They will kill you and everyone else!"

    "They won''t see me." Adam closed his eyes, and his presence vanished.

    His aura, and everything between, was just gone.

    Dakota and Muriel looked shocked. If they looked for a brief second away from Adam, they wouldn''t even know that he was in the same room as them!

    It was almost like he waspletely invisible!

    "A-alright, I''ll get you the Pearl of Recording!" Dakota headed out of the room to get it as

    soon as possible.

    She knew what Adam was nning, and she waspletely on board with the n. It could be their only chance of exposing King Moriarty for what he really was.

    "H-how can you stay so calm?" Muriel asked. "You just found out that the man that everyone

    loves is actually a traitor."

    "Everyone has two sides to themselves." Adam said. "I always knew that King Moriarty couldn''t be the hero everyone believed him to be. I was sure he had also his darkness, but this

    did take me by surprise."

    "Do you... also have darkness inside you?" Muriel asked.

    "Of course," Adam said. "Everyone does."

 Chapter 321: New Power

    Chapter 321: New Power

    ?

    Through the ajar door, Dakota slithered back inside her room with the Recording Pearl in hand.

    It was hard to call it a pearl because it was as big as basketball, but luckily enough, it was quite light to carry.

    "Here!" She handed it over to Adam. "This is what you wanted, correct?"

    "Yes." Adam nodded. "Do you have any idea where Rawkshawn is currently?"

    "No..." Dakota shook her head. "Can''t you use your insane Kiryoku to locate him?"

    "He''ll know that I am here if I do so." Adam scratched the back of his head. "Do you have an overall idea where he could be?"

    "Hmm..." Dakota paused, deep in thought. "It must be somewhere he cannot be discovered. He doesn''t want anyone to know where he is."

    "Auditorium." Adam concluded. "It is always empty unless there are some lessons."

    "Mmh," Dakota nodded. "That seems like a logical ce for him to hide."

    "You two, just keep living your life normally," Adam said. "I''ll suggest stopping any new tutorial groups froming. You can put the tutorial on a pause, can''t you?"

    "Yes, I do have the power to do that." Dakota said. "But the Council of Mercenaries might contact me over it."

    "No need to worry. Once I am done gathering good enough evidence, I''ll go visit the Council of Mercenaries myself.

    "I''ll tell about Moriarty''s betrayal and about Rawkshawn."

    Dakota and Muriel nodded.

    It made them feel better after hearing Adam''s words. They trusted him to handle the situation.

    "Cough..."

    At that moment, Adam covered his mouth with his hand and coughed a little bit of ck blood.

    ''Fuck.''

    "The sickness..." Dakota''s expression looked ugly. "I had hope that only the weak will be infected, but to think that even you did..."

    "It was because I was at the heart of the sickness." Adam said, and he wiped the blood off his lips.

    "If the tutorial-takers received 1% of sickness'' corrupting power, then since I was at the heart, I must have received 100%.

    "Now, Rawkshawn is here, so y''all should also be receiving that amount, but he doesn''t want that. It''ll make him obvious that he is here.

    "That''s why he isn''t using his sickness on any of y''all anymore. Not that he needs to do that either way because everyone here is weak."

    "What do you mean by that?" Muriel asked.

    "Rawkshawn infects others with sickness to suck away their power and to give it to himself." Adam said. "That''s how he gains power."

    "Because everyone here is pretty much Coinfeeders, the power they give is minimalistic."

    "Yes." Adam looked at the Recording Pearl, and said, "I must go. When King Moriarty arrives here, he will definitely arrive stealthy. I must already be in the auditorium with Recording Pearl in hand to not miss a single second!"

    "Be careful!" Dakota said. "And do not get caught."

    "I won''t." Adam''s eyes narrowed.

    ...

    Auditorium.

    At the stage, Rawkshawn, in his human form, sat with his eyes closed as if he were having a nap.

    At that moment, the door let out a singr creak sound.

    SLAM!

    Rawkshawn''s eyes mmed open, and he stared straight at the door. It was closed. He then used his Kiryoku to scan every inch of the auditorium but couldn''t sense anyone.

    Rawkshawn let out a yawn and leaned his head on his hand as he waited for King Moriarty to arrive.

    While most people would be bored out of their minds, Rawkshawn was used to waiting for anything to happen.

    After all, he''d been mostly alone for thousands of years in the world of the mist.

    assionally, he yed some games with his siblings, but mostly, he was alone, sitting, and just waiting for the day of his freedom.

    There was a part of him that wanted him to break through these walls and go straight to the New World¡ªa ce he''d been dreaming of going for a long time.

    However, if he did that, the beings beyond the heavenly gate would definitely react to his presence.

    ''Wait, wait, wait, wait...''

    Thus, Rawkshawn kept waiting.

    The day slowly rolled past. The second day rolled past as well, and still he waited patiently.

    By the ceiling, hidden behind the ceiling nks, Adam sat patiently, a cold, calcting gaze in his eyes.

    The Recording Pearl had been recording Rawkshawn for two whole days.

    He was pretty lucky that the ceiling wasn''t one smooth, unbroken surface. It was nks, with small gaps between, enough to see below.

    There were some renovations happening in the auditorium, but since it hadn''t been finished yet, he had the perfect hiding spot.

    The third day rolled over.

    Adam was infinitely bored already and considered just letting the Recording Pearl record while he went to visit the real world.

    However, when that thought came to his mind, the door of the auditorium opened.

    Rawkshawn''s and Adam''s eyes immediately went to the door to see who entered.

    A hooded man with straight, proud posture stepped through the door and closed it firmly

    behind.

    As soon as he was inside, he removed the hood and revealed his gold-blond hair of royalty. "Finally!" Rawkshawn''s voice quaked across the auditorium.

    "My bad for beingte; it isn''t easy for someone of my status to leave without anyone

    noticing."

    King Moriarty said.

    ''Now.'' Adam moved the Recording Pearl to perfectly record the two. ''Expose yourself, fucker!''

    "Do you have my reward?" King Moriarty asked as he approached the stage.

    "Yes, I do, you greedy human." Rawkshawn stabbed his hand into his body and took out a

    heart that was shaped like a fruit.

    "This is yours, one of my three hearts."

    King Moriarty took it to his hand and weighed it. "So, I''ll just eat this?"

    "Yes..." Rawkshawn narrowed his gaze. "It will grant the power you''ve so desperately

    wanted."

    "The power, huh." King Moriarty stared at the heart in his hand. "It will make Divine

    Temr, right?"

    ''Divine Temr? He did all of this to be more powerful?'' Adam frowned. ''High King has been the strongest any human has ever been. Now he is about to step into a territory of gods!''

    ''This is bad!''

    King Moriarty looked at the heart, opened his mouth wide, and swallowed it whole.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 322: Done Recording

    Chapter 322: Done Recording

    ?

    "Argh!" Within the auditorium, a loud, painful scream bounced off the walls.

    King Moriarty fell down on his knees and started trembling uncontrobly.

    The skin started to turn bruised-purple, and his eyes rolled back into his skull. When they came back from his skull, his eyes looked like pure ck voids, devoid of any color or emotion.

    All of the resemnce of humanity was slowly disappearing.

    The clothes ripped apart, and his legs, which used to be muscr and firm, turned something entirely different.

    Something monstrous.

    He wasn''t standing on two feet anymore. Instead, his legs had turned into the centipede''s legs. The protective shell was bruised-purple and oozing a strange green liquid.

    While from torso and above, he still resembled somewhat of his former self, his bottom was disgustingly monstrous.

    "Argh!" King Moriarty howled in pain.

    He turned taller because his centipede legs became longer. He was now about five meters tall, if the centipede legs were fully extended.

    His gold-blond hair flowed over his shoulders. That was the only thing that was still beautiful about him. The rest of him was nowpletely transformed into something monstrous.

    "What is this?!" King Moriarty screamed as he looked at his centipede legs. "I am... a monster!"

    "That''s the price of strength. This is what you wanted, was it not?" Rawkshawnughed. "Humans are weak. To ovee that weakness, you became an evolved lifeform."

    "How can I be a King, looking like this?" King Moriarty gritted his teeth. "My wives will turn their backs on me. My men will ridicule me. My enemies will fear me."

    "That''s good, no?" Rawkshawn asked with a smirk. "There is not a single one who can challenge you anymore."

    "If this is the price of strength, so be it." King Moriarty looked angry. "So, what am I? Chaosbeing?"

    "A physique of Chaosbeing, mind of the human." Rawkshawn said. "If you wish so, you can always keep the front that you''re still the same, handsome king."

    "..." King Moriarty narrowed his eyes and moved his arm right.

    There, a human formed out of nothingness. The human looked just like former King Moriarty, handsome with gold-blond hair. It was a clone!

    Near the ceiling, Adam''s eyes widened in shock.

    ''King Moriarty has a power of cloning? Wait...''

    At that moment, he remembered Ryan from Eldertree Institute. A clone.

    ''While they looked vastly different, I always expected Ryan to be a clone of someone

    powerful. There is no one more powerful than Moriarty.

    ''He has also been hiding that cloning power. It must be because his clones are everywhere. That''s how he has always been one step ahead of everyone else.''

    Adam looked at the Recording Pearl. That was also recorded.

    "Now, you must continue what we''ve agreed on." Rawkshawn said. "My siblings are still locked. Bring strong humans here. Their strength will help to break other seals."

    "I understand." King Moriarty took out a timepiece and checked the time. "Was the previous ones a nice treat?"

    "Mm, they were." Rawkshawn grinned. "One especially. Adam, I think was his name." King Moriarty''s eyebrow twitched. "Oh? Is that so? Well, good that he is now dead, right?" "..." Rawkshawn smiled. "Well, y''see, he was such a good treat, I spared his life." "What?!" King Moriarty looked enraged. "You told me you killed everyone!"

    "Hahaha!" Rawkshawn erupted inughter. "Calm down. I never said I let him leave that ce. He must go through my brethren first. They''ll tear him apart before he even has a chance to see the light of day."

    "Better so." King Moriarty pocketed the timepiece. "They were sent there to give you enough strength to finally leave that ce. In the end, it was up to you whether you didn''t want that strength!"

    "After killing the others, I already had enough strength to break through the shackles of the world of the mist." Rawkshawn said. "Thus, Adam would''ve just been some extra."

    "I told someone else to do the job if you didn''t." King Moriarty said. "Nerezza. What happened with that?"

    "Oh, it was you." Rawkshawn smirked. "Yes, she tried and failed. From the start, you thought I wouldn''t do it?"

    "I have always n A, B, and C." King Moriarty narrowed his eyes. "Every n failed. Thanks to you, I assume."

    Rawkshawn shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever. It''s not like that human will ever be able to leave that ce."

    "You better be right," King Moriarty said coldly. "I''ll now have to deal with the pain of the Council of Mercenaries shouting in my ear that I sent their best mercenaries to their doom."

    "Oh, you''re in trouble~" Rawkshawnughed.

    "Hardly," King Moriarty said.

    "They voluntarily signed up for this mission. After all, it is still mercenaries duty to keep the New World safe from any threats. The deal had been made long time ago that while in war, they must still put the safety of the New World above their own.

    "I received a word from the worried tutorial caretaker that there was something odd happening in the tutorial. The sickness. Thus, I had every right to make the Council of

    Mercenaries send a party to investigate.

    "It happened to be a greater threat than anyone could''ve expected. Not my fault. They died doing what they were supposed to-protect the best interest of the New World."

    "I see." Rawkshawn grinned. "You''ve thought far."

    "Hmph, some of the Ancient Guilds were also being cheap." King Moriarty said. "I told them to send their best mercenary to do the mission, but some of the Ancient Guilds were being

    cheap and sent their third or fourth best.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "It is their fault for not taking the mission seriously!"

    "What about this Adam?" Rawkshawn asked. "Was he the strongest?"

    "No. He wasn''t even part of Ancient Guild, only part of the faction." King Moriarty said. "I gave a special request to send him to the mission. Zephyr, of course, wanted to refuse but he

    couldn''t.

    "Even though it was pretty obvious that I wanted him to die here, what can Zephyr do about it? Fight me? Other Ancient Guilds must be thrilled that Adam is dead, so no one would care

    except him.

    "Zestruction, the weakest faction, is of no threat, but Adam could''ve been a pretty dangerous one in the future. I''ve now killed that threat."

    "Mm~" Rawkshawn smiled.

    At the ceiling, Adam stopped recording with a cold look.

    ''I have everything I needed.''

 Chapter 323: Everything Is Not Fine

    Chapter 323: Everything Is Not Fine

    ?

    The inn at the Border Vige had been strangely quiet today.

    Behind the closed doors, the innkeeper was lying dead, a pool of blood spreading around him.

    It looked like he had been killed not too long ago, as the warmth of his body had not yetpletely dissipated.

    Through the front door, a worried viger stepped through and dinged the bell at the front desk.

    "The innkeeper?" She called out. "Where could he be..."

    It was strange to her. She always expected to see the innkeeper standing behind his desk when she walked past the inn during her morning walks.

    He was always there, for the past five years, but now he wasn''t, for the first time in forever! ''Having dinner? Coffee? A nap?'' She thought, but she quickly shook her head.

    ''It isn''t his break time.''

    At that moment, one of the inn''s mysterious doors started glowing under, as if some kind of mysterious portal was opening on the other side.

    ''Someone ising from that wretched dungeon!'' She thought with wide eyes. ''It must be a mercenary!''

    Her heart started beating with excitement. She wanted to tell the mercenary about the innkeeper''s mysterious disappearance.

    When the door opened, a figure walked-no, slithered through the doorway.

    The viger was about to introduce herself, but then her expression turned into a look of disgust as she saw the centipede legs.

    It made her skin crawl in disgust.

    At that moment, her disgust was reced by fear.

    ''Chaosbeing?! Here?!''

    As she was about to scream, King Moriarty looked straight at her and moved his hand. His fingers closed around the woman''s throat, crushing it with a sickening squelch.

    The viger copsed on the ground, also dead.

    Without any change in look, King Moriarty slithered out of the inn. To him, killing the innkeeper and the woman was as same as crushing an ant.

    It really made no difference to him.

    ...

    A couple of minutes after.

    The dungeon door again glowed, and through it, Adam emerged. He immediately used his eyes to scan the ce for any signs of danger.

    Instead of danger, he discovered a corpse with a crushed throat.

    ''Moriarty''s handy work.'' Adam frowned as he kneeled down to examine the body further.

    After closing the corpse''s eyes, he left the inn, and using his beautiful eight-petaled wings, he took flight and started soaring across thend.

    ''I must take the recording to Uncle and make him show it to the other council members!'' After having an immense leap in strength, he moved across the air with a record speed. It wasn''t far-fetched to say that he was currently the fastest mercenary alive!

    It allowed him to move between ces at an incredible pace that no one else could match.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ...

    At the vige that was currently acting as the Zestruction faction''s headquarters.

    "Is there really no word about him?" Digby asked with his veins bulging around his forehead.

    They were inside the big tent that was situated in the middle of the vige, and their shouts easily reached the other members present in the area.

    "No." Zephyr shook his head. "I''ve contacted his phone, but no word from him yet. It must mean that he is still doing the mission."

    "A mission that takes this long?" Digby frowned. "I thought it was a mere investigation mission."

    "Themunication is tight between other Ancient Guilds at the moment." Zephyr said.

    "If something had happened, such as deaths among other mission members, it''ll take a while before I''ll get a word about it.

    "We don''t have any reason to panic just yet. Just calm down; I am sure everything is fine." "Why Adam, though?" Digby asked. "I''ve been thinking about it. Why the hell did you send him?"

    "Wasn''t my call." Zephyr said. "They wanted him there."

    "And you let him?" Digby asked. "It is obvious that other factions want nothing more than to see Adam dead!"

    "I hardly believe that this mission was orchestrated between other guilds to kill Adam." Zephyr said. "The rtionship between them is horrible. They wouldn''t work together to aplish something like that."

    "This mission wasn''t orchestrated by them, right?" Digby asked. "I received a word from my father. It was King Moriarty''s doings, was it not?"

    "..." Zephyr sighed and nodded. "Yes, it was."

    "And are you sure that he wouldn''t like to see Adam dead? We all know that he can be a contender for the throne in the future!"

    "King Moriarty is a great man," Zephyr said. "A selfish, proud man, but great. I don''t believe that he stoops low enough to assassinate Adam."

    "Maybe you don''t know him well enough." Digby said. "You really don''t think that King Moriarty will do everything in his power to keep the throne?"

    "..." Zephyr tapped his finger against the stone table. "I don-"

    Before he could say another word, there wasmotion outside the tent, and soon, a person seemed tond in front of the tent with a loud tent.

    "What is happening there?" Zephyr asked.

    At that moment, the tent''s p opened, and a man, they didn''t expect to see today, stepped

    through.

    "Adam!" Digby''s eyes shook.

    "Huff, huff..." Adam panted heavily with sweat dropping from his face.

    "See?" Zephyr smiled and stood up. "Everything was fine, after all."

    "Whew..." Digby let out a rxed sigh and smiled. "Nice to meet you-"

    At that moment, their eyes widened as a wave of strength washed over them. They finally managed to get an understanding of Adam''s new strength, and it truly shocked them to the

    core!

    "G-Grand Lord!" Digby''s teeth shook.

    Zephyr waspletely speechless.

    "Everything is not fine!" Adam suddenly shouted and ced Recording Pearl on top of the

    stone table.

    "Recording Pearl?"

    Adam activated the Recording Pearl, and the scene started to y out. It was between King Moriarty and Rawkshawn.

    The tent turned otherwise silent as the three kept watching and listening to the recording.

    Slowly, Zephyr''s and Digby''s expressions started changing.

    They were listening to something so shocking that they couldn''t believe their ears.

    Every sentence was more shocking than thest.

    "He is talking to Rawkshawn." Adam said. "The monster that killed every other member of

    the party."

    "?!" Zephyr looked shocked.

    "I was thest survivor," Adam said.

    At that moment, the recording reached the moment when King Moriarty talked about

    assassinating Adam.

 Chapter 324: Traitor of Humanity

    Chapter 324: Traitor of Humanity

    ?

    The silence.

    After the recording finally ended, the three men sat around the stone table inplete silence.

    "A traitor." Digby finally said something. "A traitor of humanity!"

    "I must..." Zephyr took a deep breath. "Digby, mind leaving us two alone?"

    "Why?" Digby asked.

    "I must contact the council." Zephyr said. "I only need Adam here to answer some questions. If you don''t mind."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    "..." Digby nodded and stood up, but before leaving, he turned to Adam. "Adam, we must talk about something after you''re done here."

    "Ok." Adam nodded.

    After Digby left the tent, Zephyr cleared his throat and took a special kind of pearl from his inventory. It was amunication device to contact other council of mercenaries members. He put it in the middle of the table, right beside the Recording Pearl, and activated it.

    It started letting out a strange beeping noise. It happened because it was waiting for other council members to ept the call.

    Ding!

    One person joined the call.

    Ding!

    Second.

    Ding!

    Third.

    Ding.

    Fourth.

    Ding!

    And fifth.

    As soon as the fifth joined, five holographs appeared around the stone table-they were Alistair, Bartholomew, Athena, Ambrose, and Orion.

    ''Not Aria?'' Adam raised an eyebrow. ''Zephyr didn''t call her?''

    "Why have you called us, Zephyr?" Ambrose asked.

    "Good that you have." Alistair said. "We must talk about something."

    "Before any of you say anything, I must show you all something." Zephyr grabbed the Recording Pearl.

    "Wait." Athena raised a hand. "Aria is not here yet."

    "I didn''t contact her."

    "Isn''t this meeting between council?" Orion said. "Based on the rules, we must include her. Otherwise, this isplete corruption."

    "No, this is not a meeting between the council." Zephyr said. "This is a meeting between six guild masters."

    "Is this about the mission?" Athena asked.

    "As you all must know, your members have already died there."

    Alistair, Ambrose, Orion, and Bartholomew nodded. They''ve received a word from them already.

    "Wait." Athena''s expression looked ugly. "Nerezza died there as well?"

    "Oh, you didn''t know." Zephyr said, and looked to his right. "Adam here was the only survivor."

    Everyone turned to look at Adam and narrowed their eyes in suspicion. They wondered how he could be the only survivor, as he should be the weakest one!

    Through the holograph, they couldn''t use their Kiryoku to sense Adam''s new level of strength.

    "Before your judgment, listen to this." Zephyr activated the Recording Pearl, and sat down.

    The silence fell over the tent as everyone started listening to the recording.

    Throughout the recording, everyone''s faces changed colors and expressions. They were listening to something unbelievable!

    The recording ended.

    "This is unbelievable..." Bartholomew said with his voice even shaking quite bit.

    "Who is the person Moriarty was talking to?" Athena asked.

    "Rawkshawn, a warlord." Adam said. "He is the one we fought during the mission. We were very unsessful. If I have to guess, we''ll need every avable mercenary to defeat him."

    "And with Moriarty on his side, this is really a dangerous threat." Alistair said. "Has this Rawkshawne to the New World yet?"

    "From what I know, he cannot, yet." Adam said, and stood up. "King Moriarty is now trying to break the seals to free other warlords. All of those warlords are as strong as Rawkshawn, if not

    stronger.

    "With them, King Moriarty will have the strongest army possible."

    "We must stop him then!" Ambrose shouted. "We also must share these findings with everyone else. I doubt the Imperial Order will follow Moriarty after this!"

    "Moriarty also sent his right-hand man, Mikael, to be food for this Rawkshawn." Orion said. "He will lose Imperial Order, that''s for sure. With him alone, we can take him down." "Athena, you have some pull with the news channels." Alistair said. "Can you use them to show the recording to everyone around the world?"

    "I can," Athena said. "Adam, send the recording, please."

    Adam opened his virtual reality interface. Something that wasn''t included in the Mortal Online game. Then, he added Athena as a friend before sending the full recording.

    A whole three days worth of recording.

    "Most of the recording is just showing Rawkshawn sitting and not doing anything else. At the ending of the recording, King Moriarty makes his appearance."

    "That''s fine." Athena said. "It makes this recording seem even more believable."

    "Do it tonight, Athena." Alistair said, and stood up. "Tomorrow dawn, we, guild masters of

    the Ancient Guilds, will meet Moriarty personally and take him down."

    "Should we contact Aria?" Ambrose asked with his legs crossed. "If she knows about what he did, I think she will work with us."

    "Zephyr, you didn''t contact her for a reason." Alistair said. "Should we inform her?"

    "No." Zephyr said coldly. "This is just the perfect chance for Aria to show her loyalty to King Moriarty. That''s all she cares about. She won''t work with us."

    "I thought so." Alistair nodded. "She will see the news, but before she can make a move, we will already be at Moriarty''s doorsteps."

    Bartholomew tapped at something, and a holograph of ck castle appeared. It seemed to be standing on top of rocky cliffs.

    "This is Moriarty''s new home, Castle Rock." Bartholomew said.

    "I cane with you." Adam said. "An extra hand wouldn''t hurt."

    "Sorry, but this is something we, as ancient guild masters, must do alone." Alistair said.

    "..." Adam narrowed his eyes as he didn''t want them to go only with six of them.

    They knew, and he knew that King Moriarty had be even more powerful.

    It was true that they were all the most powerful Grand Lords of their time, but even that might not be enough to defeat the King.

    "I need you here." Zephyr said. "Without me here, you will be the temporary leader of this faction. If there is a small chance that we lose to Moriarty, you must act ordingly."

    "I understand." Adam nodded and crossed his arms.

    ''Can they lose? I am sure there is possibility. We should just send all of our armies to kill him.

    ''No, gathering an army takes time. If Moriarty catches even a whiff that we''re about to make a move, he will go hiding while secretly helping warlords free from their shackles.

    ''It is now the best time when Moriarty isn''t suspecting of anything. The six guild masters can also move more stealthily.''

 Chapter 325: New World Order

    Chapter 325: New World Order

    ?

    The tavern''s pping door opened with a creak as a young man stepped inside, casting a long shadow across the worn wooden floor.

    At the bar counter, Digby was enjoying a strong whiskey drink. He was all alone.

    The tavern wasn''t officially even open, as Zephyr needed for the mercenaries to stay sober during the war.

    "So, this is where you went?" Adam took a seat by him.

    "Yeah, I felt like I needed a drink." Digby softly sipped down the strong whiskey. "It is not every day you get news about someone betraying humanity."

    "Yeah." Adam nodded heavily.

    "So, to what conclusion did the high and lofty councile?"

    "They''ll make a move on Moriarty at the next dawning morning." Adam said. "The real world will also hear about his betrayal."

    "Oh?" Digby took another sip. "He''s not getting out of this one."

    "You wanted to talk to me about something?" Adam said. "What is it?"

    Digby put the ss down and looked at him. "What do you think about bing guild master yourself?"

    "Guild master?" Adam frowned and remembered the days of him being the guild master of tinum Mercenaries.

    While he enjoyed it, it was also quite stressful.

    After all, everyone counting on you to make the right decisions and keep the guild running smoothly was very challenging.

    "I''ll tell it to you straight." Digby said. "I have a few years left. I am past my prime. You, on the other hand, have already surpassed me. You''re the best candidate to be the new Crimson Hound guild master.

    "With you at the front, we would also be officially tier 1 guild."

    "I see." Adam grabbed his ss cup. "May I?"

    "Go for it." Digby waved his hand.

    Adam raised the ss cup and swallowed the rest of the whiskey.

    "Alright." He said, and put the ss cup back down. "I''ll ept."

    "Heh," Digby bowed his head down. "Guild master, I am at your service."

    ''It has been so hectic that I''ve already forgotten about my revenge,'' Adam thought. ''Amelia. What to do with her. I feel like just putting a sword through her heart, but that feels anticlimatic.

    ''Nikhs is somewhere in the New World, acting as Dying Star''s foot soldier.

    ''Lisa and Liam are a few years short of joining this game. Maybe I could hurry them up somehow? I can find out where they live and maybe tempt them into joining the game.

    ''However, I''ve already ordered the tutorial to be on pause, but I can still make it so that when it is unpaused, they can immediately join the tutorial.

    ''I already know how to have my revenge on Liam and Lisa. Yes, I could start with them.''

    ...

    The night fell over the real world, and as families gathered at the dining table to have their dinner, the news started ying on nearby television.

    It was quitemon urrence for many of the families to watch the news while enjoying their dinner.

    However, today, a shocking piece of news yed on the television.

    The recording of King Moriarty''s deeds was leaked to the public. It was cut quite short, amounting to about a minute of feed, but it only included the most important parts.

    "Konrad Moriarty, wasn''t he that King of Mortal Online?" A woman in herte forties said. "Yes, I''ve heard of him." The dad of the family said. "He is very famous. I''ve seen him starring in some movies as well."

    "No way!" The daughter of the family looked shocked. "He is a traitor? I wanted to be mercenary just for him!"

    The simr scenes happened in millions of different households. Moriarty wasn''t only popr in Mortal Online, but he was known worldwide!

    Shock! Disbelief! Anger!

    After the news was over, people were angry at him. To many of them, betraying humanity was the worst kind of offense a person could do!

    Even though it happened inside a game. He had crossed a line that many believed should never be crossed.

    The most angriest kind was all the mercenaries, whoever happened to be watching the news. They were raging, punching their walls, and shouting at the television.

    The man they thought was the embodiment of the best that humanity had to offer ended up being a filthy traitor!

    ...

    The morning started dawning.

    Castle Rock''s tall, ck walls glistened in the early light, casting a shadow over the town below.

    At that moment, six shadows moved through the air, moving towards Castle Rock. Those shadows moved over the tall walls and headed straight to the castle.

    CRASH!

    They crashed through Castle Rock''s tall windows andnded inside the grand throne room.

    By the throne room, a high-end rock throne stood over, and on the throne, a handsome gold- blond man was sitting, looking directly at them with a smirk.

    "Unexpected visitors." King Moriarty said, and crossed his long, muscr legs. "May I ask why you came unannounced?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Stop with your games, traitor!" Ambrose shouted with a cuss sword in hand. "Show your true self, and get rid of this clone!"

    "Hahaha!"

    Aughter echoed from behind the curtains.

    The King Moriarty, who was sitting on the rocky throne, disappeared like the fading sunlight.

    Clitter, clitter, clitter!

    Strange tapping footsteps echoed throughout the throne room, and then, from behind the curtain, a slithering man revealed himself.

    Its disgusting, centipede legs dragged across the stone floor as it approached the throne.

    "You''re truly now looking like you''re supposed to." Ambrose said with a ridiculingugh. "You look like the traitor of humanity is supposed to look like!"

    "Traitor of the humanity?" King Moriartyughed. "That''s what people call me these days? Please tell me, how did all of you find out?"

    "Adam," Alistair said. "Unfortunately for you, he made out of the world of mist and recorded everything that transpired inside the auditorium!"

    "I see." King Moriarty''s eyes turned cold. "If only that moron had killed him like he was

    supposed to!"

    "Your reign of evil is over." Bartholomew pointed his battle axe at the disgusting creature.

    "Surrender!"

    "Surrender? Why?" King Moriartyughed maniacally. "I have already won!"

    The six guild masters lunged forward, and King Moriarty''sughter never ended as they surrounded him with their weapons drawn.

    "The new world order is upon us!"

    King Moriarty shouted and summoned six of his strongest clones, who immediately drew

    their weapons and blocked the guild masters'' attacks with ease.

    "Isn''t Pro-Strong order all about the strongest ruling and the weakest obeying? Well, news

    sh, humans aren''t the strongest!

    "Thus, humanity''s only role in the new world order is to serve as the subjects!"

 Chapter 326 Twisted Game

    326 Twisted Game

    The six guild masters gritted their teeth and shed against the six clones. With their overwhelming strength and speed, the entire throne room was trashed in an instant.

    "Hahahaha!" King Moriarty keptughing.

    With a single-sheathed sword, Alistair cut his opponent into tiny, bloody pieces. The clone died.

    "You traitor!" Alistair shouted and jumped at the creature. "You made my daughter cry. You''ll die."

    "Alistair, I always hated you." King Moriarty retrieved his own sword from the inventory and shed des with Alistair.

    "The feeling is mutual!" Alistair shouted.

    CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!

    With just a couple of seconds, they shed des hundreds of times. They moved so fast that it was impossible to keep track of their movements.

    "Sea of Dead Clones!" King Moriarty put his hand against Alistair''s face, and from the palm of his hand, thousands of clones shot out.

    However, all those clones were dead. They were clones that had once died.

    Along with them, one of the clones looked strangely simr to Ryan from Eldertree Institute.

    Those dead clones all fell over Alistair and drowned him in a sea of lifeless bodies.

    At that moment, all of the dead clones got cut into tiny cubes. Through the cut corpses, Alistair jumped through with his de drenched in blood.

    "Hahahaha!" King Moriarty roared inughter, dirty saliva flying out of his mouth.

    It seemed like he hadpletely lost sense of his humanity!

    Previous Moriarty was prince-like, who acted with grace. His skills and techniques were all graceful, and something that a proper King should possess.

    Now, like a monster, his techniques and skills were all ugly, bloody, and something that monster would use.

    ''This is not Moriarty that I know.'' Alistair thought. ''He has truly fallen. Shame. I used to actually respect him!''

    At that moment, the rest of his clones died to other guild masters. They all immediately lunged towards him and sent their attacks hurling at him.

    "Wall of Dead Compatriots." King Moriarty raised his hand, and a wall made of dead corpses appeared at the path of those attacks.

    The corpses got destroyed, but managed to block the attacks.

    "What a monster," Athena said.

    "I don''t see any ounce of humanity left in him." Zephyr said. "His mind has gone over the edge. I wonder if this has affected his real-life self as well."

    "Doesn''t matter!" Ambrose shouted. "Let''s just kill this fucker and be done with it!"

    "I am getting too old for this." Orion rubbed his back.

    "Do you guys want to see a sneak peek at what this world will be?" King Moriarty asked with a grin. "Look outside the window!"

    The guild masters frowned and carefully made their way over to the window, then looked out towards the town below.

    A shocking sight opened to them.

    There were cages. Hundreds of them. Inside, mercenaries were being held prisoner, stripped of their weapons, armor, and clothes.

    "What¡­" Athena looked over to the disgusting creature. "They''re all members of the Imperial Order. What are you actually doing?"

    "The warlords need food!" King Moriarty shouted. "I will feed them."

    "You''re sending your own men and women to their deaths?!" Ambrose shouted.

    "Hahahaha!" King Moriartyughed raspily. "So what? Why does it matter? That is awaiting all of your subordinates as well!"

    "What then?" Alistair asked. "You''re getting rid of all mercenaries. Then what?"

    "The new world order!" Moriarty dered with a twisted smile. "Warlords, and their armies will force the Originals to their knees. The gods beyond the heavenly gate can''t do anything either.

    "Y''see, they''re weakened when they walk down the mortalnd. Here, they will be even weaker than the warlords. Nothing can stop us!"

    "¡­" Alistair remained silent, but he opened a messaging app and sent a message to someone.

    "What''re you doing, Alistair?" Bartholomew asked.

    "n B." Alistair said coldly. "If we fail here, someone must stop this madman."

    ¡­

    "Everyone, Adam is now the new guild master!" Digby shouted at the members of the Crimson Hounds, who''ve gathered in the same room.

    The looks were shocked at first, but then everyone started pping. They all could sense Adam''s power that seemed almost endless. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    He was the greatest choice for the new guild master, so everyone was very happy to have a new guild master that was as strong as him.

    Valora pped with a slight sad smile. It made him sad that it was the end of an era. It meant that Digby was almost ready to retire.

    ''Guild master, him?'' Amelia pped with a surprised look. ''Does that mean he has already be stronger than Digby? He will definitely be a great man in future.''

    It also made the gears in her head turn wildly. She was trying to find ways of bing Adam''s woman so she could also profit from his future sess.

    ''What to do. He is being pretty hard to get, but I know I''ll find a way eventually.''

    Amelia''s eyes narrowed as she formted her next n of action.

    Ding, ding.

    ''A message?'' Adam thanked everyone who''d gathered in the room and then moved to the corner of the room before checking out the message.

    The message shocked him.

    [Alistair Fairchild: You must kill Konrad Moriarty. He is living in Chastity Land, Gold Road Street 34. He mustn''t be allowed to continue existing]

    ''He wants me to kill someone? Is he nuts?'' Adam frowned.

    He had killed people before, but it shocked him that Alistair thought that he was ready to kill someone over a game.

    While Mortal Online was just a game, it was something that people would kill over for. After all, there was a lot of money involved, and greed was a dangerous motive.

    ''Attacking Moriarty in the real world is almost suicide. His home is one of the most fortified ces in the world. How could he possibly think that I can do that?''

    Ding, ding!

    Another message suddenly appeared.

    [Alistair Fairchild: I know you were attacked in your home not too long ago. Those men were hired by Moriarty. I also know that you killed them, so I know you have skills to do what needs to be done!]

    ''I see, that''s how¡­'' Adam gritted his teeth. ''So, Moriarty had been trying to kill me many times. That fucker. Alright then, I''ll fucking y their twisted game!''

 Chapter 327 Beating Heart

    327 Beating Heart

    With a cold look, Adam walked down a hallway lined with pictures of ancient-looking men, and women.

    This vige had been inhabited for centuries by the same families, passing down stories from generation to generation. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    This was the first time in probably thousand years that they had left their home because of the war.

    ''Kill¡­'' Adam snapped his fingers while clicking his tongue. ''Is Alistair not confident in killing King Moriarty with the other guild masters?''

    When he thought about King Moriarty''s newly acquired power, he also wasn''t that confident.

    However, they were still the six most powerful guild masters in the New World. While stronger, King Moriarty was only one man.

    "Wait, Adam!" A voice came behind him.

    Adam stopped and turned around to see Knoxx running towards him.

    "Knoxx, what''s wrong?"

    "Uhm, Adam, I mean guild master." Knoxx scratched the back of his head. "I''ll need to get used to calling you that. Congrattions, by the way."

    "Thank you. Is something wrong?" Adam crossed his arms.

    "Just wondering if you know the next step in the war." Knoxx said. "We''ve all been waiting, and honestly, we hate that we''re left in the dark."

    "¡­" Adam looked at him and said, "You''ll find out soon."

    "Alright¡­" Knoxx sighed.

    "I''ve got some stuff to do back in the real world. I won''t be back in a couple of days. Mind telling that to others?"

    "Huh?" Knoxx looked surprised. "You just became guild master. Everyone is in need of your leadership."

    "Digby is still here with you all." Adam said. "You can count on him to help out in my absence."

    "Okay¡­" Knoxx nodded and watched as Adam walked away with some hurry in his steps.

    ''In just a year, he became guild master¡­'' Knoxx sighed. ''S-rankers¡­ no, his feat is above that of S-rankers. He''s truly a legend in the making.''

    ¡­

    With the virtual pod''s ss lid sliding open, Adam climbed out.

    "Ah, you''re awake!"

    "Huh?" Adam turned to the side and saw Alice sitting by the pod with a book in hand. "What''re you doing here?"

    "Ie here to read and keep youpany," she said with a smile.

    "O-oh¡­" Adam nodded and then said. "Hera, you here?"

    [Hera: What do you want, master?]

    "Order me a ne ticket to Chastity Land," Adam said. "I want to leave as soon as possible."

    [Hera: Right away]

    "Eh, you''re living?" Alice asked in surprise. "Is something wrong?"

    "Business that needs to be dealt with, don''t worry." Adam kissed her on the forehead. "I am going to take a shower."

    Alice watched as he went inside the small elevator and headed up.

    "Hera, why would he go to Chastity Land?" Alice asked. "It is so far away."

    [Hera: It is his business. You shouldn''t worry about it so much. You have an exam ahead; you should study]

    "Hmm¡­" Alice nodded and turned her attention back to the book.

    ¡­

    The gold halo glowed around Zephyr''s fist.

    With a scream, he punched through clones.

    However, more of Moriarty''s clones swarmed him from all sides.

    Zephyr crossed his arms in front of his chest. It made an X shape. The gold light engulfed his arms, and as he cut the air, an invisible force sent all the clones flying back.

    A slight distance away, Orion stepped around the clones, dodging their failing attacks. His level of Kiryoku was clearly much higher than anyone else''s in the throne room!

    The clones tried to desperately hit him, but their efforts were futile as Orion kept dodging and dodging. It was almost like he knew where to expect the attacks toe from.

    "Younglings, begone!" Orion swung his sword and sent the clones crashing through the castle walls.

    "Haaah!" Bartholomew, with his battleaxe in hand, smashed it through one of the clones.

    With a frown, he looked ahead towards the throne, where the monstrous King Moriarty was fighting against Alistair.

    It was easy to tell who was winning as King Moriarty was ying around with Alistair.

    ''That monster is just toying with us. What is his n?'' Bartholomew thought to himself.

    ¡­

    Within the world of the mist, the chains that were tightly wrapped around the door were loosening. It was only one of the many chains, but it was a threatening sight.

    Within the sealed world, the warlords looked towards the misty sky with smiles on their faces. They could feel that their freedom was inching closer.

    ¡­

    King Moriartyughed as he shed swords with Alistair.

    "How futile," he said. "I held you council members in high regard, but now that I''ve reached a new level of power, I can see how insignificant you truly are."

    "¡­" Alistair kept swinging his sword, but King Moriarty blocked, blocked, and blocked.

    "You''re pathetic, Alistair!" King Moriartyughed.

    "Am I now?" Alistair smirked.

    "?"

    Behind him, Zephyr smashed through a swarm of clones, and with his gold-glowing fist, he punched towards the back of King Moriarty''s head.

    At that moment, King Moriarty''s body turned around while his centipede legs were still facing forward. It made him look like a disgusting owl monster!

    King Moriarty grabbed that punch and, with a sinister grin, threw Zephyr down to the ground.

    THUMP!

    The throne room shook as Zephyr smashed through the floor, leaving a massive hole behind him.

    "Was that your ultimatum? I am disapp¡ª"

    SWOOSH!

    A sword sh cut through the air, interrupting King Moriarty''s sentence. The cutnded on his chest, leaving a deep, bleeding gash.

    "Moron." Alistair said with his sword-wielding hand trembling.

    "¡­" King Moriarty looked at his bleeding chest before smiling.

    The bleeding gash started to slowly close. The skin started to stitch back together, healing miraculously before their eyes.

    ''What the hell?'' Alistair''s eyes narrowed. ''This is not a human''s power. Has he truly gone to the side of Chaosbeings?''

    "No matter how much you sh, cut, stab, and tear my flesh. I will always be fixed back together!"

    Deep in the buried ground, Zephyr groaned and looked around the darkness around him.

    However, he then heard something behind him. It sounded like a heartbeat.

    As he turned around, his eyes widened in shock.

    Within the castle''s basement, there was a heart connected to tree roots that was still beating. Those tree roots were pulsating, as if they were the heart''s arteries.

    Those tree roots headed deep into the ground, going who knows where.

    "This¡­" Zephyr''s expression looked ugly. "This is beyond unsettling."

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!