《Gaming Sword Magician》


 Chapter 1: The child found in snow

    Winter Season, The tenth month of Snow Goddess, Day 25th.


    It was the middle of the day when the residents of the Elihu town experienced something strange. Rain clouds suddenly emerged in the skies, shunning the rays of light that the Sun usually blesses the town at this time. Darkness descended along with the Rain clouds.


    Cold winds bellowed from the north, a man stretched his hand to get his cap but it was long blown out of reach by the feisty wind.


    The winds bellowed aggressively. The cold rain droplets prickled the skin of the people roaming in the open street of the town without an umbrella. Unable to bear the cold, the resident of the town jogged towards their houses and took shelter against the rain.


    Soon after, the streets of Elihu Town were empty of any signs of life.


    The town of Elihu was a very unique one; For it was located near the edge of the boundaries of the Human Realm. Barely anyone visited this town, only some would that too due to official reasons such as to fulfill certain tasks granted by one of the many officials of the Water kingdoms. This town was a backwater place, lacking in technology and magical Academies.


    The town of Elihu came under the judiciary of the Water kingdom.


    The kingdom of water was located on the land of Flood Dragons in the continent called Awakened continent, which is a massive piece of land that inhabits different kinds of monsters, and races.


    Rivers extended thousands of miles from the towns north and connected to a single ocean. The ocean was now frozen. The ocean was entitled DarkNorth, as beyond the ocean laid a massive piece of unexplored land called Dark-North continent.


    The ocean remains eternally frozen during Winter and Autumn. Anyone who can cross this ocean can enter into the Dark-north continent and vice versa, but only a fool would dare. The temperature was sub-zero, freezing to death in the middle of crossing this frozen ocean had a very high probability of happening.


    Though a gorgeous maiden trekked this frozen ocean, her snowy white feet enduring the harsh cold showed signs of being frostbitten. Her toes had swelled, taken over by a deadly pink color. Her pale skin didn''t fare any better, bluish it was, the same color as the sea. She was bleeding from her chest and back, as a sword had been impaled in her heart. Each of her footsteps left a blood mark on the frosty sheet of ice.


    The maiden had a newborn child in her embrace. The little cutie was wrapped in towels. Hidden from the cold by his mother''s embrace, the child didn''t feel cold. It wasn''t just because of his mother''s embrace. A black pendant was worn by the child, it emitted a warmness that soothed the newborn child.


    He yawned falling into a deep sleep, unaware that this was the last time he would be embraced by his mother.


    Silver drops of blood dripped down the chin of his mother, staining the edges of the towels.


    The maiden crossed the ocean and the rivers. She entered into the human realm. She didn''t know where it was, but soon she encountered a town.


    She found no one as she trudged the snow surrounding the streets of Elihu town.


    The maiden muttered between breaths, "One person, just someone good."


    Her vision had gotten blurry due to the deep wounds. She knew that she wouldn''t make it out alive. Strength had left her body a long time ago, but for her child, she mustered an unbreakable will and traveled thousands of miles. She had accepted death but was unwilling to let her innocent child die. The pain she felt was nothing when compared to her burning will.


    Her icy blue eyes shined with a frosty gleam. Her blurry vision faded away. The world in her eyes was shown in three colors of blue, red, and green.


    Red meant Dangerous!


    Blue meant Neutral!


    Green meant Good and Kindness!


    Placing the newborn child in front of a door that was highlighted in green, she knocked twice on the door.


    After knocking on the door, the body of the snowy-haired maiden melted like butter and so did her clothes, and the sword impaled in her heart. Everything that she was in touch with changed into twinkling snowflakes that drop around the newborn child.


    By the time the door was opened, the gorgeous snowy-haired maiden was nowhere to be found. Only a newborn child laid there surrounded by snowflakes.


    He slightly shivered in a protest.


    The child demanded the warm embrace that left his side.


    The person that opened the door was a middle-aged woman, a mother of two. She looked left and right, not finding anyone she was gonna go inside when a cry came from below her and she saw the bubbly face of the gorgeous child.


    Immediately picking up the child, she muttered, "This is so weird, who would abandon a child in the middle of the night?"


    The child found himself held in a warm embrace, hence he stopped protesting. Totally aware that this embrace belonged to someone entirely new, he intently gazed at the new face with his big crystal white eyes.


    The woman positioned her finger in front of the child''s face. The child took her finger in his hand as if it was a toy.


    "You are such a gorgeous little one, aren''t you? hehe," Said the middle-aged woman as the newborn child played with her fingers.


    The child had crystal white eyes, bigger than almonds. His chubby white cheeks were asking to be squeezed.


    The rainy night turned into snowy heaven, as the cries of the gorgeous child resounded through the newly found household of Miss Lin. His cheeks were pinched, not by just Miss Lin but also by his new brother and sister!


    "Mother, Mother, can we keep him, please," Elisha said with pleading eyes. She always wanted a cute little brother. But God gave her a smelly older brother, who never plays with her.


    "Mom, where did he come from?" Hera, the responsible older brother who was working every day to financially help his family asked.


    They both wore heavy clothing made out of sheep fur.


    "The boy was placed outside the door," Miss Lin explained to them. "If his mother doesn''t come by then we will keep him."


    "Yay!" Elisha, who is six years old, danced around the room with happiness. Thinking that with her killer move ''puppy eyes'', she just scored a little brother!


    "It''s a little weird," Hera scratched his chin. Someone abandoning a child on a snowy night is not normal. What''s more abnormal is the fact that no one visits their town, quite literally. In the past three years, there had only been ten visitors. They all came by for town''s inspections under official order.


    Anyways, he didn''t refuse to keep the boy. He didn''t have the heart to abandon the newborn child out in the cold. And it''s not like they can''t feed another mouth.


    He said, "What should we name him?"


    "Hmm, he was found in the snow, wrapped like a dumpling. So it''s gotta be Mu shu," Miss Lin said after thinking for a while.


    "Pff," Elisha laughed uncontrollably.


    "Mom, are you serious?" Hera asked with widened eyes. He couldn''t believe what he heard. Mu shu is a dish his mother will usually cook by wrapping fish in a thin pancake. The name made some sense, as Mu shu was found wrapped in a towel, but Hera didn''t want his little brother to be named as such. Thankfully, Mu shu supported him by crying out in protest.


    "Mother, see, even this child doesn''t like this name," Hera said.


    Miss Lin didn''t know what to say, she was trying to calm down the crying child.


    Picking up the child from Miss Lin, Hera said, "We will call him, Whittaker. Is it okay with you Whittaker?" The child stopped crying as if agreeing with the name.


    Elisha jovially pinched his checks while calling out his name. The boy''s eyes threatened to tear.


    Miss Lin lightly knocked her head. She kindly said, "Little Eli, be good to him and protect him," She patted her head.


    Holding her chest high, Elisha replied with utmost confidence, "Mother I will do my best!"


    Then she started to play with the child, squeezing his cheeks, now and then. Her actions caused Miss Lin to sigh and Hera to look at Whittaker in guilt.


    Whittaker cried out, as he was unable to bear the pain. He couldn''t protest with words, but his eyes said it all, ''Stop playing with my cheeks!''


    Unable to comprehend who in their sane mind will abandon such a gorgeous child, the Lin household decided to take care of Whittaker.


    They didn''t mind raising the Child, as they could afford to feed another mouth.


    Elisha was very affectionate to the newborn baby. She took on the role of his knight, staying together with the unhappy child every single day. Everyday Whittaker cheeks will be ruddy due to the loved-filled squeezing they received.


    .

 Chapter 2: The child who had grown.

    The townspeople didn''t know why the weather suddenly changed that day, turning from a sunny day to a snowy night, but they did know that that night a new member had joined their Town.


    Whittaker was the talk of this small town. The boy was the cutest they have ever seen in their lives. He was also very unusual in the eyes of the commoners. His intelligence was very high for his age. Furthermore, Whittaker''s hair couldn''t be cut off no matter what kind of object is used. In the past two years, Miss Lin had used many sharp objects to cut off hair but to no avail.


    When she used her treasured scissor to cut Whittaker''s hair, not even a single strand of his hair suffered any points of damage. Rather, It was her Treasured scissor that got destroyed, its metal blade bend at an unusual angle.


    When she used an iron ax under the permission of Whittaker, the ax was deflected by his overgrown snowy hairs and almost butchered Miss Lin, like a chicken. Even Whittaker didn''t know why this was happening. In the end, Miss Lin and Whittaker gave up on trying to cut the snowy hairs.


    The strands of hair reached his ankles, sadly there was no way to cut them off. Soon, Whittaker found greater use of his hair. He simply started using his snowy hair as a scarf.


    Elisha taught him about various stuff, from different kinds of monsters to different kinds of races. Sometimes, Miss Lin would prepare snacks for them and teach them about the history of the Water kingdom.


    Hera didn''t have much time to bond with Whittaker. In winter, he would be off to the nearby frozen rivers to do labor. He would break the ice and sell it in the town. In the summer, he would be hunting animals. Both were dangerous tasks, hence he couldn''t bring Whittaker with him.


    Just like that, twelve years passed by.


    Whittaker was now twelve years old. His birthday was on the same day Miss Lin found him. His birthday was held on the 25th day of the month of the Snow Goddess.


    Whittaker was sitting near the window of his room that he used to share with Elisha. "A lot has changed in the previous twelve years." He muttered in a slightly sad tone.


    Whittaker missed his elder sister Elisha that departed to a faraway place six years ago.


    She didn''t die. She was just studying at a faraway place.


    Today was his birthday, but Whittaker wasn''t in the mood to celebrate. His annoying sister didn''t send his birthday letter... and a gift!


    Sadness has enriched his little face. He refused to talk with anybody. Gazing at the snowy night clouds, he was going to doze off when Florence entered his vision. Florence was the familiar of his sister, a homing pigeon. More specifically, the letter delivery bird.


    His sleepy state was discarded right away and excitement enriched his face. Taking the letter from Florence, Whittaker started to read it.


    "Dear little Brother,


    My cute little brother,


    My sweet �C


    Was I crying for this? Whittaker was embarrassed by the childish introduction.


    Whittaker directly skipped the introduction and went to the main part.


    "I am sorry, please forgive me. I won''t be able to visit home for your birthday, but I did parcel a gift for you. It will probably arrive after your birthday. Damn, those Livreur are so slow. Ah, I went off the track. Little brother, I hope you the best in the awakening ceremony. Please don''t awaken a physical class weapon like me. This school is so tiring. All the teachers here are bald old men and sturdy ladies. They sweat every day In the track, along with the unwilling me and other students. Will I become like them one day? I guess so, but I still can''t imagine myself as a sturdy female. Though, I had already developed some bulking muscle so I guess that day isn''t too far off. Damn, I went off the track once again. Anyway, I hope you awaken a Spellbook and become a mage. Even a cleric will be better than joining this Academy.


    Goodbye, little brother.


    With love, Elisha."


    "Sister has a bad habit of going off track. Looks like she added whatever was in her heart when writing the letter." Whittaker muttered.


    The letter ended here and Whittaker carefully wrote his reply at the empty back of this letter. He attached the message in Florence''s leg and threw it towards the sky. Florence flew back from where it came.


    _


    _


    _


    Going out of his room and down the stairs, Whittaker dropped to his knees. Looking at Mother Lin, he begged for forgiveness, "Mother, please forgive me!"


    Whittaker also activated his legendary skill. He had learned this legendary skill from his sister. The name of this skill was ''Puppy eyes''.


    Miss Lin wasn''t gonna forgive this ungrateful brat, but her heart melted because of Whittaker''s legendary skill. Looking at those puppy-like eyes she felt defeated.


    Pinching Whittaker''s cheek, she said in a light tone, "I forgive you, on your feet now. Go and eat dinner. You better finish up all the cake."


    Like an obedient child, Whittaker went away giggling. Miss Lin lit up the candles. Whittaker blew it. They sat on the wooden chairs of the dining table and started to feast.


    Hera was out of town, as he had accompanied a passing-by merchant to the city to make big bucks. Hence, he couldn''t join in on the feast.


    Miss Lin was forty-five years old and a mother of two. She was plump but beautiful. Her hairs weren''t long, as age had caused her to lose her long hair strands. She was totally unlike Whittaker. Her skin was like honey while his skin was pale white comparable to snow. She also had small eyes and black hair.


    From all these signs, Whittaker already identified that he wasn''t her son. Miss Lin never talked about this and Whittaker never raised this topic either. Lastly in his heart, she was his mother.


    Sitting at the dining table, the black-haired mother and her snowy-haired child ate while laughing and playing.


    Sometime later, pieces of cake and cream were all over Whittaker''s face, as he ran away from the deadly clutches of his mother that dared to tickle him!


    Two months passed by, bringing an end to this year.


    The town of Elihu didn''t hold the awakening ceremony. More specifically, they couldn''t afford it.


    Elihu town was a small town sitting on the border between the Darknorth continent and the Water kingdom. It was night time, yet some people remained awake.


    Every kid in the town, around the age of twelve, was getting ready to head out with their guardians to the Frost fall City, as the awakening ceremony is to be held in Frost Fall city. Anyone could join after they pay a small price of 10 silver pieces.


    In this world, copper is the cheapest currency, ten copper pieces equal one silver piece while ten silver pieces equal 1 gold piece. A typical hard-working person could earn 2 to five silver pieces a day. So the price of participating in the awakening ceremony wasn''t too high or too low.


    Whittaker played with Hera, who had returned home a week ago. He had come back home to take Whittaker for the awakening ceremony.


    "Go get ready, I will be waiting for you in the carriage," Hera said to Whittaker. He didn''t want to play anymore with Whittaker as he had suffered ten losses in a row in rock-paper-scissor.


    Whittaker won so easily as if he could read his mind!


    Whittaker took off to his room to get dressed while Hera ate the last Mu Shu and went to feed his steed and prepare the carriage.


    It was the middle of the night, but they needed to leave early, or else, they will miss the awakening ceremony that is to be held in the nearby city, tomorrow.


    Mother Lin was preparing a suitcase for her little Mu shu while Whittaker was prancing around the closet and getting dressed.


    Soon after, a solemn environment surrounded the Lin household. Mother Lin placed a black pendant on little Whittaker''s hands.


    The black pendant had words carved on its surface. The words said "Sin Clair".


    Whittaker took hold of the black pendant. He asked, "Mom, this is?"


    "This is probably a memento that can help you identify your real family." She said by gently ruffling his hair. "Whittaker, you are my son but I didn''t give birth to you. I didn''t mean to hide this from you." As Mother Lin exposed the truth to Whittaker, some tears appeared in her eyes. She was afraid that Mu Shu will be broken-hearted.


    "Mom, I already know," Whittaker calmly said. He already knew that he wasn''t blood-related to the Lin household.


    His words cleared out all her concerns.


    "Eh?" Mother Lin was surprised. Looking at the pretty young boy, she confusedly asked, "How did you know?"


    "Well, it wasn''t hard to identify that I am not your child. My facial features are vastly different from brother, sister, and you." Whittaker wiped the tears off her face. "Mom, there is no need to cry. You will always be my mom, even if I am fifty years old."


    He bear-hugged her as if he was a bear child.


    Mother Lin chuckled due to his silly words. She deepened the hug. Her Mu Shu is going to a faraway place for the first time, she was a little sad and worried.


    "Go, don''t keep your brother waiting." Kissing his forehead, she sends him off.


    Whittaker wore the necklace around his neck while walking towards his brother, who was sitting inside the carriage.


    Hera helped him into the carriage. Then they took off towards their destination, Frost Fall City.


    The night passed away. They didn''t meet any bandits or monsters and safely arrived in the Frost Fall city without any accidents.


    The guards at the entrance gate demanded two copper pieces for each person. Hera didn''t rebuke the guard as this was the city entrance fee. He had visited this city many times, hence he knew about this information.


    Placing four copper pieces in the guard''s hands, they entered the city.


    Hera had already booked a room in the flower blossom inn. He carried his sleeping little brother into the inn room and dropped him on the bed.


    Tomorrow was young Whittaker''s big day. If he awakens a class weapon then just like his sister, he will be accepted into an Academy.


    Looking at his sleeping brother, he was reminded of his past, a sad one. He couldn''t awaken a class weapon during his awakening ceremony, that day he cried a lot.


    "I hope you will awaken a weapon class," Hera said to his sleeping brother. He had seen the desires he once possessed in Whittaker''s eyes, the desire to adventure the world, and climb up the social ladder, thus he hoped that tomorrow Whittaker will be one of the gifted children.

 Chapter 3: Frost Fall City.

    Frost Fall city was a massive city that housed many Noble houses. This city had a lot of academies. It also consisted of a department of the Awakened Association.


    Today, the city streets were packed with carriages as if an occult was going to initiate its massive brainwashing event.


    Numerous people residing in the Awakened continent possessed something called a class weapon. The class weapon was a mystical object that granted its owner with obvious power that exceeded mortals imagination. Whether a person possesses a class weapon or not could only be found out after they are at the age of twelve or above. Only people at the age of twelve or above were qualified to participate in the awakened ceremony.


    Through the means of an awakening ceremony, people could awaken their class weapon and become awakened.


    The Birth of Phoenix and Dragon ceremony being held today in Frost Fall city was precisely for this purpose, to awaken the class weapon of the masses. The ceremony is held only once a year, on the second day of the first month of each year.


    A class weapon is a mystical object. If someone''s class weapon is a sword then they can become a Swordsman and advance into a mighty Blade Dancer. If instead, they had a spellbook then they are qualified to become a mage and other magic related profession.


    An awakened was respected by the society, and possessed a great deal of authority over the commoners. Due to this, even the children of commoners had attended this event. If they awaken a class weapon then their lives would be transformed, benefitting them and their whole family. As a newly born awakened receives a monthly stipend of 1 gold piece every month from the Awakened Association.


    Time passed by, the sun took its rightful place. People''s left their comfy bed and appeared in the streets in front and nearby the Hall of Awakening. The streets were packed with parents and their children who had come to participate in the Awakening ceremony.


    It was so cold that even breathing calmly produced vapor, hence everyone was dressed heavily.


    It was only at noon when the Hall of Awakening commenced the Birth of Dragon and Phoenix ceremony.


    One by one, kids went into the awakening Hall to undergo the awakening ceremony. Dragon or Phoenix, let fate decide. Most came out with sad faces, as they didn''t awaken any class weapon. They cried in their parent''s embrace, rubbing sticky snots all over their parents'' clothes.


    Seeing this, Whittaker felt troubled.


    "Bro, do you think I will be able to awaken a class weapon like elder sister?" Whittaker said to Hera. His small hand gripping Hera hand''s tightened up due to anxiety.


    Today, just like every other day, Whittaker stood out from the others due to his extremely unique looks even though he was wearing commoners clothing. Many people were attracted to his silver crystalline eyes, especially his snowy hairs that are being used as a scarf. Whittaker had wrapped his hair around his neck in circles. Nonetheless, the snowy hairs still reached his ankles.


    His brother was a young man in his twenties, who didn''t share even a single bit of resemblance with Whittaker. He had an average face, brown hair, and a standard built with sub-par muscles. His best features were definitely his sub-par muscles.


    "Whitaker, you probably don''t know this little secret, but intelligence determines whether a person can awaken his class weapon or not. You had been intelligent since birth, so there is a huge chance of you awakening a class weapon." Hera said knowingly. He had earned this knowledge because of his years of hard work. He has a certain amount of belief that Whittaker will awaken a class weapon. If he did then his future life will be filled with riches and glory. He would be a dragon among commoners. Even if he didn''t, he would still be able to have a pretty good future. Fortunately, in the kingdom of Water, technology had made great advancement, and those who were unable to become awakened were still able to have a decent future.


    Hera word''s comforted the pretty young boy on this cold wintry day. Due to which, Whittaker anxiety took a swift turn and vanished from sight, his eyes were now filled with enthusiasm.


    "I will definitely awaken a spellbook!" Whittaker declared with innocent eyes. What''s more, professions related to magic was far more respected than another profession.


    Hera ruffled his snowy hairs and said with a light smile, "You surely will!"


    Hera and Whittaker were standing in line in front of the Hall of Awakening, awaiting for Whittaker turns. A massive garden that was frosting was laid in front of them.


    Many children walked in and out of the Hall of awakening. Some returned to their parent''s embrace with a wide smile, as they had successfully awakened a class weapon. While others cried out in the middle of the packed streets.


    As time passed, the day turned to night. The night''s frigid aura was chilling to the bones, affecting everyone in the surrounding.


    Soon after, Whittaker''s time to take the awakening ceremony arrived.


    "Whittaker Lin! Follow the guideline and appear in the Hall of Awakening" A feminine voice tinged with traces of gentleness announced through the speaker.


    "It''s me!" Whittaker said in excitement. He was still twelve years old. The very thought of undergoing the awakening ceremony was enough to fill him up with bubbles of excitement.


    After walking through the massive frosting garden, Hera brought Whittaker into the massive Hall of awakening. In front of them was a massive door.


    "Sire, please wait here. Only those meant to undergo the awakening test are allowed to go ahead." A handsome and dashing man brimming with humbleness said.


    Hera Lin nodded his head in compliance and told Whittaker, "Good Luck little bro. Go ahead and awaken your class weapon! I will be waiting here for you."


    Whittaker turned to look back with a raised fist. In reply, Hera also extended his fist.


    Fist bumping with Hera, he said with utmost confidence, "I surely will awaken a powerful class weapon!"


    Saying that Little Whittaker entered the door.


    Inside laid massive sculptures. Literally, they were statues of the Seven Gods. Numerous Inscriptions were craved all over the god''s statue. These inscriptions extended all the way downwards and reached the center of the room. At the center of the room, these inscriptions joined together to form one very massive symbol.


    Whittaker was taking all this information with a single glimpse. His silver crystalline eyes weren''t a mere decoration, they had mystical powers. The limits of which, even he wasn''t sure of.


    In front of the symbol stood a middle-aged man with a very kind face. He was a professor at the Frost Fall city royal Academy and was sent here to supervise the awakening ceremony. He had a very high position in the Frost Fall Academy as he was a Master Awakened.


    Glimpsing at the kind-faced old man, Whittaker confidently said, "Hello."


    The Master Awakened wore a gentle smile on his face. "Come here, child. Stand on top of the symbol."


    Without any further delay, Whittaker Lin excitedly walked his way to the mystical symbol inscribed in the middle of the room.


    "Remember, Be silent, or else the ceremony will be disturbed." the Master awakened gently reminded.


    "Okay, old mister!" Whittaker innocently replied in confirmation.


    The Master awakened was old, but he didn''t like to hear that from others. His eyes twitched scarcely.


    "Stand still and close your eyes. I''m about to begin!" The kind master awakened said.

 Chapter 4: Awakening Class Weapons and a system. I am not a heathen!

    Whittaker stood calmly on the awakening symbol with his eyes closed. He was an intelligent young man, following the master awakened instruction was necessary if he wants to successfully undergo the awakening ceremony.


    The Master awakened was impressed by the prompt action of Whittaker, who wore commoner clothes. Normally, the children will curiously ask him some questions before doing as he said, but not in the case of Whittaker!


    The Master awakened placed his palms on the insignia in front of him. A wave of divine energy surged from his palm into the wide magic symbol. Traveling through the magic symbol, it reached the inscription craved on God''s statue.


    The inscription absorbed the divine energy and then they activated!


    Right at that moment, a gentle seven-colored light blinded the Hall of Awakening. It shone on the magical symbol upon which Whittaker stood with eyes closed.


    Whittaker''s eyes remained closed, yet he found himself standing in a seven-colored plane. Around him, elemental particles of different colors hovered.


    "Don''t panic. Do your best to concentrate on the elemental particles. Absorb any particles that willfully move towards you!" The Master Awakened advised Whittaker.


    Following his instruction, Whittaker concentrated his attention on these particles.


    Unknown to all, the black pendant hidden beneath Whittaker''s snowy-hair shone with a mystical glint. The mystical glint shoved itself into Whittaker''s body.


    [Night''s Will Gaming System Successfully Bound With Host] To Whittaker''s surprise, an alarming alien screen opened in his vision.


    "Who are you?" He internally said as his eyes opened up.


    A reply came in the form of a notification pop up, [Night''s Will system]


    He was troubled yet kept his calm while facing this alien, as he didn''t want to disturb his awakening ceremony.


    He was keeping his calm when a character screen popped up in front of his eyes.


    [Character: Whittaker Lin (Human/??)]


    [Level: 0]


    [HP: 40/40 (Recover 2 Hp per second)]


    [Mp: 200/100 (Recover 5 Mp per second)]


    [Physical attack damage:8 ]


    [Physical Defense: 8]


    [Magical Defense:20]


    [Magical Attack Damage: 10]


    [Attributes: Strength 4, Endurance 8,


    Intelligence 10, Agility 2, Vitality 4]


    [Ability:


    Mana devouring hairs. (Passive ability)]


    [Special Traits:


    Gamer-like body (Passive), Photographic memory (Passive), Exceptional vision (Passive)]


    Whittaker was gazing at the stats screen in marvel. When his gaze reached the Mana devouring hairs, a detailed description of the ability popped up.


    [Mana devouring hairs. (Passive ability) Requirement: Strands of hair. Effects: Hardens the hair under threat. Stores mana in the hairs which increases total MP. Max mana store able in hairs is 100 units.]


    ''So that''s why Mother Lin couldn''t cut my hair shorts!'' Whittaker understood why nothing could cut his hair.


    As he thought that a new message popped up.


    [Detected! The user is undergoing an awakening ceremony. Do you want to awaken another, a very special Class weapon?]


    [Yes/No]


    Enticed by the Night''s Will Gaming System message, he intently gazed at "Yes". A free class weapon, who wouldn''t want one?


    The system took his gaze as an answer and the awakening of another Class weapon initiated.


    To his surprise, every single one of the particles in his surrounding rushed towards his body.


    A mellow, soul rejuvenating, and body comforting energy filled up his body. His body sucked in all the elemental particles in the surrounding. A seal seemed to have broken, and a piece of the void emerged within his mind. The void is commonly called Soul space. He could slightly feel the soul space.


    ''It''s probably because I opened my eyes'' And so, he closed his eyes. Now, he could see what his soul space looked like. His soul space was a vast expanse of deep blue sea, inside of which, two Class weapon shone with their enchanting lights. A snowy book and a seven-colored sword.


    The light of the inscriptions dimmed in the awakening Hall, in turn, Whittaker body produced a seven-colored light.


    The Master awakened was disappointed at this turn of event. The kid in front had absorbed all seven types of elemental particles. This was an utter disappointment!


    In this world, a class weapon that possesses a single elemental attribute is classified as the best. More specifically, it''s classified as an S-rank class weapon. The rank decreases with the increase in the element they possess. A weapon that possesses two elemental attributes is classified as an A-ranked class weapon. This goes on and on, until the F-rank.


    The kid in front has absorbed all seven elemental particles. So, he is sure to give rise to a class weapon that possesses seven elements. More specifically, an F-ranked Class weapon.


    The Master Awakened has already lost all interest in the kid in front of him. A person with an F-ranked class weapon didn''t fare better than mere mortals in the awakened continent.


    Before the Master awakened could continue with his assumptions, his class weapon materialized in front of his eyes.


    Right then, the young boy silver crystalline eyes also open. Reflected in those jewel-like eyes were a snowy spellbook and its effect.


    [Class Weapon: il Gelo Libro Delgi incantesimi]


    A side message pooped up. [Main class unlocked: Frost mage]


    [Stats increased,


    Int +1


    Endurance +1]


    [Due to becoming a frost mage an F-ranked Spell is awarded to the User.]


    [Spell: Frost bolt (F-ranked)]


    [To see info please intently gaze at the name of the spell]


    He was lost in bliss as he saw the beautiful class weapon that identifies him as a mage. Furthermore, he felt another Class weapon in his soul space.


    The Master awakened mouth opened in shock, his white beard dangles in mid-air just like his saggy balls. "How is this possible? The boy absorbed all seven types of elemental particles, yet he awakened a frost spellbook. Did my eyes played a trick on me?" He exclaimed.


    "Frost spellbook, old mister, is this the name of my class weapon?" Whittaker inquired. The name written on the notification message was not comprehensible by him, since it was written in a completely different language than English.


    "Yes, it''s an A-ranked Class weapon. Among the A-ranked class weapon, it''s one of the rarest. Frost is a Rare Fusion element made by fusing Ice and Storm. A frost spellbook will allow you to cast Ice and Storm-related spell as you become stronger. Young boy, your future is extremely bright." The Master Awakened replied after a moment of silence. His beady eyes kindly stared at Whittaker. Internally, Whittaker had already become his prey. It was as if he was gonna gobble up Whittaker at all costs.


    "Wait here for a moment," the Master Awakened said to Whittaker, who stood still in confusion.


    The kind-faced old man patted his hand in his pockets and internal robe in search of a letter.


    "Ah, where did I put it?" he muttered. Whittaker didn''t pay any attention to the old man, as he was preoccupied with something else.


    "Here it is!" The Master Awakened pulled out the latter from his breast pocket.


    Wanting to somehow give it to Whittaker, he said, "Boy, this is a recommendation letter. You can directly join the Frost Fall Royal Academy without the need to follow any procedure. And yes, you don''t even need to pay the admission or the yearly semester fee. You will study free of course, for the next three years!"


    "Really? I really don''t have to pay any kind of fee?" Whittaker asked in glee.


    The old man nodded.


    Excited, Whittaker instantly snatched the recommendation letter from the old man''s hand.


    "Good kid, the First-year semester of the Royal Frost Academy will start tomorrow. So you better deal with your matters today. The Frost Fall Academy is a boarding school. No tardiness will be tolerated!" The kind-old tone remained calm, yet it carried mightiness in it.


    "Yes, Old mister! I will immediately head out to the Royal Frost Academy after I leave here." Whittaker replied. His family didn''t have the money to send him to an Academy as prestigious as the Royal Frost Academy. So this meant a lot to him.


    The innocent Whittaker was intelligent, yet he couldn''t match up with the foxy old man, who had years of experience. The crafty old man was impressed with his own intelligence as he had managed to rope in a once in a hundred years genius.


    The kind-faced old man didn''t tell Whittaker one important fact. A frost spellbook wasn''t only an A-ranked Class weapon. In terms of power and its multitude of uses, it went toe to toe with an S-ranked Class weapon. Anyone that awakens an S-ranked Class weapon is sought after by many prestigious Academy of the Water Kingdom. They are granted a scholarship and a lot of resources.


    Happily, Little Whittaker danced in joy, little did he know that he had sold his talent for a little amount of profit.


    Happily, the Kind-faced old man smiled as his insidious intention will be fulfilled. His smile made him look even gentler in the eyes of Whittaker.


    "Ok, you can go." The Master Awakened said as he gently patted Whittaker''s head.


    Before going away, Whittaker had an important matter to deal with. The kind-faced old man seemed extremely experienced in the matter of Awakened. So, he can probably help him.


    "Old Mister, can a person awakens two Class Weapons?" Whittaker asked.


    The old man shook his head in refusal, but then he nodded. "Yes, they can, but since the early years of the Awakened continent, only a blessed few had awakened more than one Class Weapon. They can be counted on one hand. Actually, there are only five, and one of them was the founder of the Water Kingdom!"


    "Then from now on, everyone will have to use two hands if they want to count the number of Awakened who had awakened Two Class weapons," Whittaker said as he extended his right hand.


    A seven-colored sword formed in his hand. This was probably the super-rare weapon given by the system.


    New notifications popped up!


    [Class Weapon: Rusty sword]


    A side message pooped up, [Side-class awakened: Rainbow swordsman]


    [Stats increased


    Strength +1


    Vitality +2]


    [Due to becoming a rainbow swordsman, an F-ranked skill has been awarded to the User]


    [Skill: Chop (F-ranked)]


    [To see info please intently gaze at the name of the skill]


    "Eh?" the Master Awakened gazed down. For the second time in a single day, his mouth opened in shock.


    With a shocked face, he said, "Two... you have two class weapons!"


    Contrary to the old man wild actions, Whittaker gave a simple reaction, a simple nod. At the time of Awakening, Whittaker had awakened two-class weapons. A Frost spellbook, an A-ranked class weapon, and A seven-colored sword, an F-ranked class weapon.


    The Master Awakened shock died soon. He was glad that he didn''t die. He was an old man with a fragile heart, but this young boy was intent on shocking him, again and again.


    "Boy, it''s extremely rare for a person to awaken two-class weapons but your sword has seven elemental attributes. It''s an F-ranked weapon. You should focus on your Frost spellbook, and forget about this F-ranked class weapon. Your prospects will be brighter if you focus on the best that you have. Furthermore, it will be best if you don''t expose your seven-colored second class weapons to others. That way you will avoid embarrassment." The kind-faced old man said.


    Whittaker had some common-knowledge about Class weapons. He knew that F-ranked weapons were held in disdain by every awakener.


    He agreed with the old man''s words and decided to not show the sword to anyone so that he can avoid embarrassment but he was internally sad. After all, the seven-colored sword was also his class weapon, even if it''s an F-ranked.


    Anyways, he was dead set on his decision to not tell others about his F-ranked class weapon.


    "Okay, now you can go!" The master-awakened sends Whittaker away.


    "Goodbye, Old mister," Whittaker said while waving his hand at the old man. The old man waved back.


    "Frost spellbook! Seven-colored sword!" Whittaker yelled calmly.


    With his shout, both of his class weapons became incorporeal and came back to his newly formed soul space.


    Unknown to both the old man and Whittaker, there was a four-block seal on the handle of the sword. Some words were written between the seal. intently gazing at them, one could read, "Sin Clair!


    As he was walking away, a hint of worry has cropped upon his face. The worry was caused by the system. Whittaker was an intelligent child. He knew that telling someone else about this alien in his head will cause him and his family a lot of trouble. He could also be labeled as a Heathen who is possessed by a demon by the church of light. Anyone who is possessed by a demon is hunted down by the holy paladin. Their end fate is being burned at the stake, a mesmerizing public display.


    That''s why he didn''t expose Night Will''s system to the Master awakened.

 Chapter 5: To the Academy!

    Whittaker walked out with a pleasant smile, seeing which, Hera confirmed that his little brother has awakened a Class Weapon.


    They exited the Hall of awakening, making their way back to the carriage.


    "Your class weapon, which one is it?" Hera asked in anticipation.


    "A-ranked class weapon, Frost spellbook!" Whittaker announced his results in glee, certainly enjoying the shocked expression on his elder brother''s face.


    Shocked, Hera said, "R-really?"


    Whittaker materialized the Frost spellbook.


    Hera got so shocked that he stumbled and nearly fell when Whittaker saved him from this embarrassment.


    After settling himself he said, "Since you have awakened a magic type class weapon, what magical Academy do you want to join? I say, there are many Academies in Frost Fall city, it''s also near our town Elihu. So how about you join an Academy in this city. This way you can visit back home every holiday. Though the decision is totally up to you to make."


    Everyone in the awakened continent is independent the moment they undergo the Awakening ceremony. They are allowed to make decisions about their future with no interference. Simply, their lives their decisions. So, Whittaker had the right to make his own decision.


    "There''s no need to worry about that. I have already made up my mind to join the royal Frost Fall Academy." Whittaker said, with not a single care in this world.


    Hera blushed in embarrassment. "Cough, younger brother, I don''t have money to afford the yearly fee of the Royal Frost Fall Academy. How about the Waesrarts Academy. I heard that it has a cozy environment and great teachers."


    "Brother, there''s no need to worry about financial problems. I got a recommendation letter from the Old man who held the birth of Dragon and Phoenix ceremony this year. He said that everything will be free for me in the Royal Frost Fall Academy." Whittaker hid the fact that this remained true for only three years. After that, he will have to pay his fees.


    He didn''t want to trouble his elder brother with his problems. That''s why he didn''t tell him that.


    Whittaker pulled out his recommendation letter that was hidden beneath the third layers of his shirt and showed it to his elder brother.


    "Free... Like really free?" Hera said as he saw the recommendation letter which is decorated with real golden flowers.


    He didn''t doubt the validity of this letter because of its luxury design. From the looks of it, this letter could be sold for 100 Gold pieces.


    "Yes brother, it''s free. There will be no Admission fee or yearly tuition fee. The old man said that the classes will begin tomorrow and I need to get admitted today." Whittaker replied. He carefully tucked the letter back to the treasure vaults. This recommendation letter meant a lot, he didn''t want to lose it over a foolish incident, hence Whittaker was being over cautious.


    Then they ride the carriage, heading towards their fateful destination, the Royal Frost Fall Academy. Hera Lin didn''t need the guidance of a map. He had visited this city more times than he can count. He also underwent an awakening ceremony here, so did his little sister and little brother. In merely twenty-five years, he had traveled a lot. When he was a kid, he used to travel with his father, who is now unfortunately dead. As he grew up, traveling became a source of income. That''s why he knew every knock and corner of this city and many others.


    The carriage was traveling to the City northern part. The Frost Fall Academy was located at the base of a snowy mountain there. The snowy mountain that had many glacial ice caves, the types which mesmerize a person''s soul, awakening deep feelings of amazement and wonder.


    The journey ahead was met with silence. For some reason, Whittaker was oddly quiet.


    He was busy inspecting the Night''s will system in his mind. There were four menu bars.


    Whittaker selected the first one, the Character bar. A screen pooped up. It showed a 3D avatar of himself and listed out his Class and stats.


    [Character: Whittaker Lin (Human/??)]


    [Main class: Frost mage. Level 0 (0/20 XP)]


    [Secondary class: Rainbow swordsman. Level 0 (0/200 XP)]


    [HP: 60/60 (Recover 3 Hp per second)]


    [Mp: 210/110 (Recover 5.5 Mp per second)]


    [Physical attack damage:10 ]


    [Physical Defense: 9]


    [Magical Defense:22]


    [Magical Attack Damage: 11]


    [Attributes: Strength 5, Endurance 9,


    Intelligence 11, Agility 2, Vitality 6]


    He opened the second menu, the skills bar. A screen pooped up. It showed his abilities, spell, skills, and special traits.


    [Abilities]


    [Mana devouring hairs. (Passive ability)


    [Spells]


    [Frost bolt (F-ranked)]


    [Skills]


    [Chop (F-ranked)]


    [Special Traits:


    Gamer-like body (Passive), Photographic memory (Passive), Exceptional vision (Passive)]


    He gazed at his new F-ranked spell. A notification screen containing detailed info of the spell was shown to him.


    [Frost Bolt (F-ranked)


    Cost: 15 mana.


    Effect: Hurls a Frosty Bolt towards your desired destination. Directly deals 15 (+ 50% MAD) damage and frost the target. The frosted target movement speed is slowed by 5% every attack. The frost effect can be stacked up to six times. At Max Stack paralyze the target for some time depending on their strength. The effect is stackable on a paralyzed target]


    He gazed at his new F-ranked skill. A notification screen containing detailed info of the spell was shown to him.


    [Chop (F-ranked)


    Cost:0


    Requirement 5 strength.


    Effect: Swings the sword. Deals 5+( 50% physical damage) to the target. Can butcher chickens and pigs!]


    Whittaker was excited and a smile formed on his face. It''s because he had learned an F-ranked spell and F-ranked skill without buying a skill book.


    He thought, ''It''s all thanks to the Night Will''s system.''


    The other two menus were named as Quest Bar and Profession Bar. Nothing was shown on them.


    He noticed that in just a while, his attributes had increased by some points.


    He inferred through the system popups that his strength has increased due to becoming a frost mage and a rainbow Swordsman.


    Whittaker began to examine how an increase in his attributes affects his Mana point, Health point, Damage, and defense. While experimenting, his finger was fidgeting, an act he usually does while he is thinking deeply.


    "Little brother, what thoughts are you lost in?" Hera, who is driving the carriage, asked wondering what his baby brother is thinking about.


    Intelligently, Whittaker said, "Brother, focus on the road before we meet an accident." He shut Hera up and continued with his task.


    "Uh, Sure." Saying that Hera focused more on driving carefully. Internally he thought, ''Ah, my little brother has grown up. It''s probably that period when young boy rebel.''


    After a while, Whittaker calculations finished.


    He concluded that,


    Strength increases the physical attack damage by two times. If Strength is 1 then physical damage is 2.


    Endurance is equal to Physical defense. 5 endurance is equal to 5 in physical defense.


    One point in Vitality is equal to ten health points. While health recovery per second is half that of Vitality.


    One point in Intelligence is equal to 10 Mana points. It also increases Magic defense by two times. Magical attack damage is the same as the intelligence points. While mana recovery per second is half the intelligence points.


    By the time he finished, they had arrived in front of the massive black-iron gate of their destination.


    The Frost Fall Academy was a massive seven-story building, made by magic and amazing craftsmanship. Ahead of the building laid formal gardens and lawns created out of the mountainous landscape by magic. Even in this cold winter, the grass was green as ever, and the trees remained vibrant, brimming with energy. Massive magical barriers surrounded the Academy.


    Whitaker, along with Hera, walked towards the iron gate of the Royal Frost Fall Academy!

 Chapter 6: Fighting Barbarian Luo.

    The iron gate was also the entrances of the Royal Frost Fall Academy. Currently, Whittaker saw that a guard wearing heavy armor was standing before the gates of the Academy.


    The iron gate behind the guard was sealed shut. The gates had been meticulously forged. Many types of defenses and offenses magical runes had been inscribed on the iron bars of the gate. If a person tries to force their way through then he will be badly hurt or worse, even die.


    Through the iron bars of the gate, a winding path could be seen. To Whittaker''s surprise, everything inside was brimming with life.


    Outside, it was so cold, yet inside it seemed to be warm. He felt the warmness coming from inside the Academy.


    At the upper ends of the Iron gate, four words were written majestically. It said "Royal Frost Fall Academy".


    The words alone gave off an oppressive aura that kept the coldness of the world away. It was as if the dust of the mortal world could never reach those inside the boundary of the Academy.


    The guards saw the two commoners coming up to the gates and stopped them in their tracks. He identified them as commoners because of their simple winter wears. He held a Long-Shaft Spear in his hand, one with a very sturdy black blade.


    "Speck of dust are not allowed inside the Academy ground. Scram back to where you came from, beggars. Ptooey!"


    The guard spits at the ground, giving Whittaker and his elder brother a disdainful look. In this era, many aristocrats and people in power treated commoners as dust. A single disagreement and the commoner will be beheaded. The guard was one of them.


    He had already positioned his long-shaft spear at their heads. If they refused to leave then he will immediately attack.


    Hera gave the guard an apologetic smile, grabbing Whittaker''s hand he turned around. Seeing that, the guard said, "It''s good that you know your place. Hmm, get to live another day."


    Hera muttered to Whittaker, "Let''s return sometime else. This bastard seems obnoxious, maybe he will kill us if we don''t walk away."


    Whittaker was totally pissed off at the attitude of the trashy guard, "Brother, I say we bust his balls and spit on his face. So that next time he won''t act arrogantly in front of a commoner."


    "Little brother, your sense of justice is higher than the heavens, but this guard is bulky, just like a bull. While we are scrawny when compared to him. His thighs are bigger than my waist. If we attack him then he will probably Jab our asses with his horn. It will be better if we just wait for his guarding shift to end. Then we can enter the Academy" Hera replied.


    "But I have the recommendation letter and that brainless bull has no rights to stop me from entering the academy!" Whittaker replied in irritation.


    A new notification appeared.


    ?Main Quest: Teach a lesson to the guard dressed in Heavy armor?


    ?Rewards: 20 XP?


    "Halt" Suddenly a loud shout was heard from behind them. Turning around they saw the guard brimming with anger. The guard was a powerful warrior with exceptional hearing sense. He heard everything they said about him.


    "Do you trash know that I can hear everything you say? Today, no one can save you from dying!"


    Just like a bull, the guard charged ahead, running towards them.


    "Run!" Hera immediately rushed ahead without any further adieu. One tackle by the guard and they will be crushed to death under his weight. Especially Whittaker, who will be crushed into a meat paste if the guard crash into him.


    Wait... where''s WHITTAKER! Hera finally noticed that Whittaker wasn''t with him.


    He turned around and saw his little brother facing off against the sturdy hunk with bulking muscles that are stacked on top of each other and excluded an overwhelming aura.


    [Barbarian Luo


    Power Level 2.49


    Hp: 379]


    Whittaker had already positioned his hands towards the prideful guard. His Frost spell book had long since appeared atop his head.


    Pointing his hands at the bulky bull that was charging at him, Whittaker called out [Frost bolt].


    The spellbook lit up in icy light and launched a frost bolt at the guard.


    Barbarian Luo was caught by surprise. The frost bolt smashed into his face and erupted into a frosty layer that coated his entire body. Due to the difference in power and the fact that Barbarian Luo has an impressive defense, the damage caused by Frost''s bolt decreased tremendously. A notification explaining that he was dealt with only 10 damage and had his speed slowed down by 5% popped up.


    Whittaker gulped in tension. This was his first time engaging in a fight but the spell he just cast provided him with enough confidence to take down this raging bull.


    "You are courting death, punny bastard. Don''t let me catch you or else I will flatten you!" Barbarian Luo bellowed and the entire surroundings shook.


    Using the battle Skill Overload, his muscles pumped up and his strength doubled. With giant strides, he rushed towards Whittaker.


    He kept on casting his spells to slow down the barbarian speed.


    [Frost Bolt]...[Frost Bolt]...[Frost Bolt]


    Within an instant, Barbarian Luo was covered in an icy blue aura from head to toe. What''s worse was the fact that he was paralyzed because of the frost bolt max stack effect. Even then the young boy frost bolt didn''t stop smashing into his face, again and again.


    The frost bolts bitch slapped him to freeze.


    Being beaten black and blue by a little kid was enough to embarrass barbarian Luo. He was seething with rage. Without any delay, he also called upon the help of his class weapon, Will Of Barbarian!


    Flame Burst


    E-ranked skill


    Effect: To Dispel binding and frost debuffs.


    Searing flame blasted out of his body and dispelled the icy blue aura that covered him from head to toe. Now, he was free from the Frost bolt paralysis effect. His feet plunged into the ground and he leaped ahead like a panther.


    Frost''s bolts crashed into his body yet he wasn''t hurled backward.


    After some seconds, his shadow loomed over the little body of Whittaker, who didn''t hesitate to call out [Frost Bolt].


    Barbarian Luo was already affected by Five new stacks of frost bolt!


    The spellbook charged up a frost bolt while Barbarian Luo assaulted Whittaker with his weapon. Flame wisp whirled around his long-shaft spear, and he crashed it atop his body.


    To dodge the heavy spear, Whittaker rolled to the side and successfully evaded the attack. He managed to dodge it because Barbarian Luo was slowed by 25%!


    Right then, the Frost spellbook also hurled a Frost bolt and it crashed into his head. The last Frost stack was added.


    Six Frost stacks caused him to be paralyzed once again!


    The heavy armor Barbarian Luo wore covered most of his body except the face, joints, and the private region with metal. His armor didn''t cover his joints with metal: For the sake of increasing the body movement.


    "Eat this!"


    At that moment, Whittaker stood up and harshly kicked at his exposed and defenseless groin. A seething pain traveled from the barbarian''s private path and cruised all over his body. In this frigid environment, he felt hot as blood rushed to his brain.


    This was the last straw for the sturdy bull. He used the E-ranked battle skill, Wind Burst. His body trembled as the wind bursts out and crashed into Whittaker. He was flung away like a ragdoll and fell at the back of his head over the snowy ground. Whittaker marveled at the fact that he didn''t feel any pain. It''s because his snowy-hairs has hardened before his body slammed on the snow.


    The battle was still on-going, so Instantly, he rolled on the ground and stood up. He stood face to face with Barbarian Luo whose head and exposed neck bulged with thick veins.


    Suddenly, a terrifying roar bellowed out from the pits of his stomach.


    Barbaric Taunt


    E-ranked (4-star)


    Effect: Utters a Warcry that shocks the senses and attracts the attention of mobs.


    Due to the roar, Whittaker found his vision blurring and consciousness fleeting.


    By the time his vision cleared up, the long-shaft spear was already crashing towards him. There was no time left to dodge.


    Due to fear, his eyes shut down.


    "Whittaker!" Hera called out in horror. No!


    Bomb! Flaming wind rippled outwards and diffused with the surrounding.


    "Headmaster?" Barbarian Luo muttered in shock.


    Just when Whittaker thought that it was his end, he hears a voice of disbelief from barbarian Luo. Realizing that he didn''t die, he opened his eyes to take a look and his eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets. He petrifies on the spot because of the spectacle in front.


    He saw that Barbarian Luo''s incomparably powerful attack was stopped in the midst of its swing and what is stopping it is the two wrinkly fingers of the old man.


    He glimpses at a familiar hunched back... It is the kind face, old man!


    The old man blocked such a powerful attack by pinching it between two fingers!


    The Headmaster shook his head in disappointment and flicks his forefinger which gently touches the long-shaft spear.


    "Kuah" Barbarian Luo is lifted off his feet and hurled backward as if a train had crashed into him.


    Bang! He crashed into the iron gate of the Academy. His internal organs get messed up and blood trickles down from the corner of his mouth.


    To Whittaker''s glee, a notification popped up.


    Main Quest complete, 20 XP has been rewarded!


    "What a mess this is. Little boy, tell me, are you hurt anywhere?" The Headmaster said by turning towards Whittaker.


    Immediately concluding that the danger has passed away, he beamed a smile to the headmaster and pridefully declared,


    "No, I am all fine. It''s the guard who you should be worrying about. See his face, it''s bruised all-over, beaten black and blue by my hands!"


    "En, you were very impressive indeed, as expected of a frost mage. Though, if I hadn''t arrived then the ending would have been adverse for you. Next time, don''t attack without knowing the power of your opponent. Be more cautious or else you might lose your life." The old man, who is also the Headmaster of this academy warned Whitaker.


    Hera rushed to hug his little brother. His heart had almost jumped out of his mouth when he saw the long-shaft spear crashing towards Whittaker.


    "Elder Brother, I am totally fine. Let go, you are embarrassing me." He said while blushing.


    Hera reluctantly let go of his brother.


    "Barbarian Luo, I personally invited this kid to join the Academy. So, how could you fight a little kid with your class weapon? What''s worse is the fact that you got beaten at the hands of a kid. Do you still have any shame left!" The old man scolded. He had seen everything that transpired. He was gonna intervene at the very first second but held back to check what Whittaker will do. To his surprise, the boy impressed him by casting instant magic multiple times in some seconds.


    "I am sorry Headmaster. I will accept any punishment you deem suitable for my rash action." Barbarian Lou said by positioning himself in a kneeling gesture. His eyes lowered low. He held absolute compliance with the principal.


    "Go to the disciplinary department, take 30 lashes, and reflect on your action for the next three months." the Headmaster commanded. His gentle demeanor has entirely changed into that of a strict military man.


    Even Whittaker was impressed and scared.


    "As you command!" Barbarian Luo boisterously replied. He stood up and opened up the gates of the Academy. Then he walked towards the disciplinary department.


    The Headmaster turned towards Whittaker, he humbly said, "I am sorry about what you have to face. The ideology that nobles have about commoners is hard to change. Sigh, come let me walk you inside the Academy."


    The old man extended his right hand towards him to take him inside.


    Understanding the underlying meaning, Whittaker held onto his hand.

 Chapter 7: Enrolling in the Academy!

    The Headmaster of the Royal Frost Academy and Whittaker, a commoner, walked hand in hand and went inside the magical Academy ground through the open Gate.


    Unlike the winter world outside, the academy ground was filled with a warmth that eased Whittaker into this newfound environment.


    With a bang that startled him, the Academy gate automatically closed after they went inside.


    Hera was left stranded in the cold, unsure about what to do, he stood still but this lasted only for a short while.


    A shiny snowy owl token appeared in front of his eyes, without conscious thoughts, he grabbed it into his hand.


    Feeling the surface of the token on his thumb, Hera marveled at its smoothness. The Snowy owl token emitted a warmness that soothed his entire body.


    "You can use this token to enter the Academy grounds once a year for only one day to meet Whittaker. As for the rest of his matters, it''s now the Academy''s responsibility. You can go now, the boy is in safe hands." Hera, who stood outside the Academy ground, heard the kind voice of the Headmaster, who was inside the Academy ground, in his head.


    He was startled only for a second since he knew that this was the famous magical communication used by mages. It''s also called telepathy.


    Glimpsing one last time at the Frost Fall Academy, he wished Whittaker all the best and left with a back straightened due to pride.


    His little brother has officially enrolled in the most famous Royal Academy of Frost Fall City. This matter has filled his heart with Pride.


    _


    _


    _


    The academy ground was unusually peaceful, unlike what he had expected. No soul wandered in these Lush Greenery, except them. Was he the only one who enrolled in the Royal Frost Fall Academy today? If so, why? Such thoughts wandered in Whittaker''s mind.


    The headmaster attentively replied to satisfy the curious nature of the new student, "Most of the students in this Academy are of noble lineage. Unlike you, they enrolled in my Academy before the Birth of Dragon and Phoenix Ceremony. And yes, today you are the only one to enroll in the Academy."


    Whittaker halted his steps, Startled he said, "How did you read my thoughts?"


    The headmaster naturally also stopped, lowering his head to look at Whittaker, who stood beside him. He saw the boy''s crystal eyes gawking at him, and the wide-open mouth of the young boy.


    "Read your thoughts? Haha, young boy, no need to be frightened. I can read people''s minds, every mage can do that, you will be able to do it too. As for when it depends upon the teacher who will be tasked to teach magic in your classroom." With a light chuckle, the headmaster said to diffuse Whittaker mild tension.


    He was excited at the prospect of learning the magic that will enable him to read minds. Along with that, Whittaker also took extra notice of what he should be thinking at all times, as any mage could read his thought if they wished too.


    "Old Mister, can I ask you something?" Whittaker said.


    The tree leaves fluttered with the calm and warm breezes. In this serenity, someone was fed up at being reminded that he was old.


    "Call me Headmaster from now on since you are a student. And yes, you can." the kind old man gently said. He still kept his calm as to not frighten the little boy.


    "Headmaster, you were still in the Hall of Awakening when I left to reach the Academy. I also didn''t saw the carriage you drove to reach here. So, how did you suddenly appeared out of nowhere when I was fighting Barbarian Luo and stopped his attack?" Whittaker asked. Previously, he was too occupied with the magical environment in his surrounding that''s why he just asked this important question.


    "I don''t drive carriages, they are too slow to be a part of my liking, and don''t be surprised, I was still in the Hall of Awakening when you started to fight with Barbarian Luo. I suddenly appeared because I wanted to." Headmaster didn''t tell Whittaker that he has been eyeing him all this time or the fact that he appeared to save his life.


    Did he hear it, right? Whittaker was very puzzled, he felt like either he had gone crazy or Headmaster was speaking in an alien language that was identical to English. If so then headmaster words held a completely different meaning.


    Before the young boy intelligent brain fries with questions, the headmaster muttered to himself.


    "Space Split, Location Rifts, Dean''s office!"


    His long robes with wide sleeves began to move as mana wafted from his body. His heart fluttered even though there was no wind and his beard oscillated.


    Whittaker could see an indistinct thread moving in circles in the space beyond them.


    A black spiral formed��a spatial tunnel that connects to the Deans'' office.


    The black spiral devoured Headmaster and Whittaker without their consent.


    Whittaker world was shrouded in darkness as if the shining bright lights of the street lamps had been shrouded in a muddled layer.


    The next second light entered his vision. He found himself standing in a completely unfamiliar environment.


    "Don''t be confused. This is the power of space magic, moving from one place to another within an instant. Currently, we are at the dean''s office located on the first floor of the Academy''s main building."


    "Oh!" He was surprised as they have traveled a distance of 100+ meters in an instant. Thoughts about the wonderful Space magic filled his mind, unaware that it was all a distant dream.


    In the dean office, there was only one person.


    "Headmaster, welcome back. How has your day officiating the Birth of Dragon and Phoenix ceremony been?" A young handsome and dashing man, who sat behind the desk, said. His lustrous black hair flowing down from each side like a waterfall. Long bangs that stretched out to his eyes covered his forehead. His eyes were as unusual as Whittaker''s, crystallized gold they were, glittering like a piece of jewelry under the limelight of the room. Weirdly enough, he was wearing a navy suit as if it was his wedding.


    "Ah, Frankenstein, just the usual, like every year, you know. However this year I came across this prodigy. Meet Whittaker, he awakened frost spellbook just some while ago and have already grasped a frost spell." He said while pointing at Whittaker.


    "Nice to meet you, Whittaker." Frankenstein smiled while staring into the pretty young boy''s eyes. For Whittaker, Frankenstein sparkling white teeth and jewels like eyes was too shiny for his little heart.


    How can a man be this handsome? Whittaker used to believe that he is the most handsome man in the world, but after seeing Frankenstein his mind changed. Frankenstein was the most handsome man he had ever seen in his entire life.


    "Nice to meet you too, Dean Frankenstein," he replied while shying away from his gaze.


    The headmaster placed some certificates correlating information about Whittaker and the recommendation letter on the desk.


    "Frankenstein, I will trouble you to help him register. Please do this at once."


    Frankenstein understood the importance of this matter due to the headmaster''s urgent tone.

 Chapter 8: Getting an Identity Card.

    One by one, Frankenstein grabbed the certificates correlating information about Whittaker and the recommendation letter from the desk for a look.


    His handsome face showed amazement as he glared at Whittaker. Smilingly, he said in praise, "Good! You are from a humble background but managed to awaken the A-ranked Frost Spell Book. With your potential, there is no need to worry about your humble background. Don''t be troubled by it no matter what the other students will say to you. Sooner or later, you will surpass your peers with a distinguished background in the Academy, as long as you work hard enough."


    Being praised has made him happy. "Thank you, Dean. Coming from a humble background has never troubled my heart, and I don''t care what the others will say to me or think about me. I will prove my worth with my actions!" Whittaker knew that this was a Royal Academy where mostly everyone belongs to a distinguished background. From the way Barbarian Luo acted towards them, he had inferred that nobles disdain commoners. This has been further confirmed by what Headmaster had said before and what Frankenstein just said.


    The headmaster thoughtfully stroked his white beard while glancing at Whittaker, ''A headstrong and decent personality. He has the making of a hero but only time will tell.''


    Frankenstein said by directing his hands towards a Black Globe placed on the Desk. "Now, please place your hands on the power level detector and direct mana into it."


    "Okay." Following his directions, Whittaker who stood opposite to him placed his hands on the Power level detector.


    The power level detector shone and released a light that scanned the young boy from head to toe, even every inch of his hair strand to detect the total amount of mana he has.


    The scanning light thinned until it was no more and immediately the number 1.21 appeared on it.


    Seeing that, Frankenstein''s jaw dropped in surprise. This gave him such a shock that he stood up from his chair. "H�CHow is this possible. Head�CHeadmaster! Do you also see what I am seeing, The number on the power detector that is showing 1.21! Is it broken????"


    Headmaster didn''t fare any better than him, but he managed to retain his graceful pose. Touching the crystal, he replied, "No, it''s not broken. His power level is with no doubt 1.21!"


    The boy that had caused these two high classed personalities to be shocking thought that a power level of 1.21 was pathetic. He asked in internal turmoil, "Headmaster, Dean Frankenstein, am I too weak?"


    It was as if they had heard a universal joke. They cracked up in laughter.


    "Whittaker, be honest, did you take a high-grade Mantra potion on your way to the Academy?" The Dean asked.


    Mantra potion was a mana point increasing potion. It can only be taken after a person becomes a mage by awakening a spellbook. This potion couldn''t be purchased by commoners.


    Whittaker did know about potions as even commoners could purchase Health Recovery potion, but he didn''t know about potions that commoners couldn''t purchase.


    Without any guilt, he innocently replied, "Uh, what''s Mantra �C"


    "Hahaha!" The Headmaster standing beside him cracked up because of what the Dean said.


    "Haha, Frankenstein did your mind take a hit? Have you forgotten the basic principles of mana increasing potion? Any type of Mana increasing potions take days to be fully consumed. He didn''t have that much time." Saying that he turned his attention towards the boy. "Boy, you are not weak, but too strong for a newly awakened mage. Normally, everyone that awakens a spellbook only has a maximum of 100 mana units. This is a universal rule that also affects S-ranked Spellbook awakeners. In this world, a mage power is determined by the amount of his maximum mana. 100 mana point equates to 1.10 power level. From then on, an increase in mana point by 10 increases the power level of a mage by 0.01. Your power level is 1.21 that means that you have a total of 210 Mana poinst!!!!"


    Wasn''t this just mana points? What''s so special about having a lot of it! "Oh, Okay!" Whittaker said, unimpressed as he knew that the increase in his mana point was because of his mana devouring hair.


    The headmaster and Dean Frankenstein were put off by his casual reply.


    "Maybe you don''t understand the importance of this matter. This has never happened in history before, you are the first one to break this universal rule!" Dean said.


    "Boy, you have shattered one of the universal rules just by existing!!" The Headmaster exclaimed.


    "Okay." Whittaker was sleepy, hence he really couldn''t reply as anticipated by the eager oldies.


    Because of his humble reply, Frankenstein finally understood why Headmaster has personally escorted this boy into the Academy. The young boy wasn''t just a Frost mage, but also modest and unpretentious.


    "Hurry up and finish his enrollment, he has to wake up early tomorrow." Headmaster reminded Frankenstein to complete the work at hand.


    "Ah, yes!" Frankenstein said by walking away to a nearby clothing rack.


    Whittaker thought, ''Why do I have to wake up early tomorrow?''


    The headmaster shamelessly read his mind and said, "Classes for mage starts at 7��clock. You will have to wake up early in the morning if you want to take classes. Attending a class is totally up to you. Though, skipping classes will leave a bad impression on your teachers, especially on the first day."


    Whittaker glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "It''s already 12." He became a little impatient.


    "Whittaker, this is your Student Identity card. This will identify you as a student at the Royal Frost Academy. Remember, you must never lose it as it costs a lot to make it. This card will grant you a lot of privileges and let you bypass some rules. Using this card, you can also purchase Magical potions that are sold in the Academy markets or by the merchants that are officially registered by the awakening Hall."


    "Thank you, Dean." Whittaker took the Student Identity card and over cautiously stored it behind the third layers of his heavy clothes.


    Right after, Frankenstein handed out a bunch of things to Whittaker. "While these are your things, provided for free by the Academy. You will live in the boy''s dormitory room 7. It''s the first building located on the Western Side of the Academy. Ah, you also have a roommate, his name is Shadow. Try to get along with him."


    "Thank you once again." Taking the thing Dean Frankenstein handed, Whittaker after making his courtesies turned to leave the office.

 Chapter 9: Special Uniform and a free ride back home.

    The things that Dean Frankenstein handed over to him included a set of uniforms that is assigned to all other Freshmen of the Academy, a map of the Academy, his schedule, and a soft leather book with the title "Beginner''s guide to mana."


    The uniform was white, texture soft to the touch, looking very clean, a hint of extravagant was added at the chest pockets, small blue gems signifying the Frost Fall Academy was fixed on the chest pockets.


    To his surprise, a system message popped up and notified him that the uniform contained mysterious properties.


    [Frost Fall Academy Freshman Uniform]


    [Durability: 200]


    [Effect 1, Durable Cloth: Hard to Destroy]


    [Effect 2, Refresh: The uniform Automatic clear itself from dust and other substance once per day, or by activating the Refresh rune in-laid in the clothes]


    [Effect 3, Size modification: The clothes size is automatically adjusted to a measurement suitable for the wearer. The size can increase or decrease by a maximum of 3 inches]


    This was a magical Academy. Even the most basic uniforms here possesses mysterious properties. One of them had caused his troubles to wane. Whittaker had never learned the way of washing clothes, now that his uniform automatically cleans itself, he didn''t need to learn how to wash.


    His crystal white eyes blazed with an interest in magic as he ran in the empty halls of the main academy building. Running in the hallway was forbidden. This was a common rule but he didn''t know about that. Furthermore, he ran so that he can reach the boy''s dormitory faster.


    The headmaster and Dean Frankenstein stood face to face. The facade they had put on for the newly enlisted student was no longer necessary to them. Hence, they ripped it off their faces, revealing their true nature.


    "Headmaster, this is my first time seeing you treat someone with so much kindness and generosity. You escorted that boy inside the Academy and oversaw his admission. Is that Kid your bastard child? No wonder why you never married and are still single." Dean Frankenstein said in amusement. His words betrayed the handsome look of his face. Whittaker would have rubbed his eyes in confusion if he was here.


    "Haha, don''t worry, in this entire Academy, rather, in my entire life, you are my only bastard child," Headmaster said with a smirk that stabbed into Frankenstein''s heart.


    No one would believe that even the Kind Headmaster who looks like a buddha can spew out such vulgar words, yet he did.


    Frankenstein gazed back at him with a smile that was not a smile. This secret was known to everyone who has been a part of this academy for a certain amount of time, and he has heard others calling him Yeon bastard son a lot of time. But this was actually a huge misunderstanding that he couldn''t correct as he wanted to live peacefully. Now, this old man was using this to his advantage!


    "Joke aside, old man Yeon, what is in that boy that caused you to personally move?" The Dean said, referring to Whittaker.


    The headmaster crinkled his nose. In the entire Academy, only this person dares to disregard respect and directly call him by name. Yeon was the name of the Headmaster.


    "Well, he..." A mysterious expression appeared in the kind face of the old man who was a crafty old fox with a silver tongue. The Headmaster leaned in and whispered some words in Frankenstein''s ears.


    "What!" Frankenstein exclaimed while smashing his hands on the table. Under the impact of his hand smashing on the table, it cracked up from the middle and shattered into two parts.


    Frankenstein''s reaction was as anticipated by the Headmaster. It really pleased this old fox, who caressed his beard and said,


    "Haha, guess we will have to replace the table. It''s mana conducting table so it cost 1000 platinum bars. The cost will be deducted from your monthly salary, so don''t complain, later on."


    "Headmaster! The table smashing into two doesn''t matter!! What''s more important is that boy. He really has two Class Weapons??!!!!!" Frankenstein said in one breath.


    The Headmaster nodded with a hearty laugh after he saw Frankenstein''s face full of disbelieve. He was laughing because Frankenstein suffered a massive monetary loss.


    In this world, one platinum bar was equal to one thousand gold pieces. So, one thousand platinum bar was equal to 1000000 gold piece. With this much fortune, Whittaker could buy a massive piece of land in the city, and make life comfortable for his family.


    Frankenstein pondered for a while and then exclaimed to Headmaster who was looking out the window of the office, "Him having two class weapons is probably the reason why he has a lot of mana even though he just awakened!"


    "Maybe but I don''t think that''s it... his second class weapon is seven attribute sword." The Headmaster who was looking out the window replied. In his eyes, the closed gates of the boy''s dormitory were reflected.


    "Ah, so it''s an F-ranked weapon," Dean Frankenstein calmed down as the second class weapon of the snow haired boy was not to fret over since it was legit trash.


    _


    _


    _


    Whittaker had barely left the main Academy building when Headmaster''s voice echoed in his brain. "Boy, the Dorm gate should be closed by now, since it''s midnight. So, you won''t be able to enter it even if you go there now."


    His footsteps halted, troubling thoughts filled his mind. ''What should I do now? The dormitory gate is already closed. Would I have to sleep on the ground tonight, or should I break into the dormitory?''


    The Headmaster peaking at his mind was certainly amused, laughing out loud, he mentally transmitted his words to the young boy.


    "Haha, Don''t fret, Let me give you a ride back to your dorm room." Along with those words, a spiraling portal opened in front of him. "Take this portal, it will take you to your designated dormitory room."


    Whitaker, whose footsteps had halted for a moment, saw the spatial portal opened up in front of him, he then proceeded to leave after expressing his gratitude with a bow.


    Haiz! The Headmaster was the second kindest person he has met in his life. He helped him awaken, recommended him to join an Academy meant for Royals and Nobles, saved him from financial trouble, saved his life, and eventually gave him a free ride to his new home. As for the kindest person, it was his mom. The kindest person he had ever met was none other than Mother Lin.


    Entering the portal, he found his vision blank, but he continued to move as instructed by the principal. Eventually, he will reach the room where he will be staying for the next several years.


    The portal didn''t only open outside the Dean''s office, but also amid room number 7.


    Inside the room, a black-haired young kid around Whittaker age was reading a book on martial arts when he sensed a source of disturbance emitting from behind him.


    Turning around, a spatial portal reflected in his deep black eyes.

 Chapter 10: A dangerous misundersting.

    Shadows eyes widened in alarm, ''Is someone invading into the Academy Grounds?'' Was the very first thought of our young Assassin.


    In the depth of the night, a suspicious portal has opened in his room, he was certain that mysterious and dangerous enemies are invading the Academy grounds, and he was unlucky to be involved in this mess. Spatial portals are costly and not just anyone could have access to them. Shadow had misunderstood the situation as so because of his unusual upbringing.


    His widened eyes returned to their usual stillness as the reasons for his worries got lessened by recalling the teachings of his Assassin guild.


    [Shen Ze Yi Guild! Ancient Records; Chronicles of Assasins]


    {6.7: In an unknown situation, hide within the veil of darkness to cover your tracks. Danger shan''t know how to reach in the way of those who hide within the shadows and remain unseen!}


    Without a second delay, the young black-haired boy wearing shorts and a white T-shirt jumped out from the chair placed next to the table. A second later, he was nowhere to be seen. It was as if his body blended has blended with the darkness of the surrounding area and he had become a part of the veil of night!


    Inside the portal, Whittaker took three steps, the next moment, he was standing inside a room with scarcely any light. Right after he entered the room, the portal closed.


    The person that came out of the portal was just a boy and not the great enemy he thought but Shadow still didn''t put down his guard because of what is written in the records of Assasins.


    [Shen Ze Yi Guild! Ancient Records; Chronicles of Assassins]


    {1.3: Never judge a book by its cover!}


    Whittaker was taking in the surrounding. The entire room was mostly dark, slightly illuminated by the yellowish faint lights of a lamp placed on a table spotted a few inches ahead of him. The lamp was far more unusual than any he had ever seen.


    It didn''t have a candle, rather an orb was placed on it. The faint yellowish light was produced from within the orb.


    A book was placed on the table and it was illuminated by the lights of the lamp. He concluded that someone was reading this book before he came. Maybe it was his roommate, Shadow!


    ''I wonder where he is now?'' He gazed left and right, finding nothing because of his limited vision.


    The room was dark so he couldn''t see much of the surroundings. That''s why he moved towards the lamp placed on the table. He will be able to see what''s in his surrounding after he turns up the intensity of light shining out of the orb.


    He reached the lustrous orb and tried to turn up the intensity of light but he could not as he did not know how to do that. He didn''t know what to do to increase the intensity of light as this was his first time interacting with such an object.


    Gazing and inspecting the orb, he noticed inscriptions drawn on the orb. Maybe these inscriptions held the key to the working of the lustrous orb. Whittaker started to get around this newly seen object.


    While Whittaker was doing that, a pair of black eyes gazed at his back with scrutiny from within the darkness. From head to toe, Shadow examined every inch of Whittaker''s silhouette.


    [Shen Ze Yi Guild! Ancient Records; Chronicles of Assassin]


    {2.8: When your target is off guard then sneak in like a predator and hold them at gunpoint. A threatening situation of life and death will make them blunder more than ever, demons shall expose their true natures, so will the cowards!}


    With light steps, he who was blended with the darkness sneaked his way towards the snowy-haired boy. Shadow slowly and steadily made his way towards Whittaker. He was moving steadily just like a mighty predator, his footsteps giving rise to not even a single sound.


    A cold glint shined in his hand as a sharp dagger had materialized and was held in his hand!


    Whittaker didn''t notice the scary kid behind him as he didn''t have eyes behind his head. Furthermore, all his attention was focused on the light orb.


    "Don''t move!" A voice of a young boy who hadn''t hit puberty came from behind him, suddenly, a cold thing was held up to his neck.


    Whittaker stared down and thanks to the faint light emitting out of the orb, he managed to see what the thing was. It was a freaking dagger. He didn''t dare to move as the dagger was touching the skin of his neck, a single swipe and he will die. He gulped in fear but after a few seconds managed to muster up some courage to ask the predator,


    "Who are you and what do you want?"


    The predator recalled the teachings of his guild.


    [Shen Ze Yi Guild! Ancient Records; Chronicles of Assassin]


    {3.17: Question the unknown obstacle after putting them in a disadvantaged position If they are a threat to you then immediately disarm them or better, kill them without mercy. Do kill them without mercy if they are useless to your situation. If they aren''t then make your own decision.}


    Following the teachings of his guild, Mercilessly, Shadow whispered into Whittaker''s ears, "First, you answer my questions! Who are you and what''s your goal in coming here through the spatial portal. If you don''t reply honestly within five seconds then this dagger will have a taste of your blood!"


    "1


    "2


    "3�C"


    "I am a new student at this Academy and this is my dorm room! The gates of the boy''s dormitory were closed so Headmaster used the Spatial portal to send me here. You can check out my identity by the things held in my hands." Whittaker replied, explaining everything without taking a breath in between.


    He also slightly moved his hand and held up the stuff in his hand so that they can appear in the vision of the person behind him.

 Chapter 11: Shadow.

    Shadow noticed the stuff held in his hands. One of which was the identity card that proved Whittaker innocence. His hand that held the dagger around Whittaker''s neck loosened up. He moved the hand that held the dagger up to Whittaker''s neck away. Then he put the dagger back into the weapon soul space and took the identity card placed upon the uniform held within Whittaker''s hand for inspection.


    After a while, he coughed in embarrassment as he realized that he fucked up and all of this was a massive misunderstanding. He had inspected the identity card and knew that the boy he just threatened was a student!


    "Cough �C I am sorry!" Saying that he moved back to give the Snowy-haired boy some space.


    Whittaker regained freedom and turned around to glared at the boy in anger and wonderment. The boy had black hair and eyes as deep as an abyss, with red-lips and a sharp face, he looked extremely refined and graceful and his features threatened his position as the second most handsome man he had ever seen!


    Under his glare, the young assassin blushed harder in shame. He didn''t want to live under the same roof as a person who hates him. That''s why he wanted to immediately mend the relation between them.


    Half bowing to Whittaker, he said in an apologetic voice, "I am so sorry! I mistook you as an invader. That''s why I did what I did. I hope you won''t feel bad and come to hate me."


    While bowing to him, he extended his hand that held Whittaker identity card towards him.


    Whittaker took back the identity card. He scratched the side of his neck in confusion. One moment this black-haired boy was threatening him, the next moment he is apologizing. He was unable to understand the thoughts of the boy in front of him.


    Whittaker was tired and he didn''t have the heart to trouble another person, so he forgave him, "Okay, it''s fine, I forgive you, you can stand up."


    Hearing the reply, Shadow stopped bowing and straightened his back.


    Whittaker asked, "Well then, can you tell me now, who you are?"


    Shadow answered back, "I am Shadow, your roommate!"


    Saying that he extended his right hand towards Whittaker.


    Whittaker''s eyes widened in realization. This weird guy was his roommate. The roommate with whom he will spend a lot of time!


    Whittaker gave a smile but withheld from shaking hands with this weird person yet, Shadow was adamant about this. He believed that after a handshake, all negative feelings will go away!


    His hand remained in that position, under his adamant gaze, Whittaker was forced to shake hands. Courtesy followed and he said, "Nice to meet you, I am your roommate, Whittaker!"


    Shadow beamed a smile at him, "Nice to meet you too. I saw that you were examining the Light Orb and probably don''t know how to use it. I can tell you about it if you want to know."


    Whittaker was certainly interested in this matter, so he nodded.


    Shadow explained everything about the Light Orb to Whittaker.


    "Oh, so by putting mana into the inscriptions of the Light Orb the light of the orb will increase in intensity, and if you pull out the mana from the Light Orb the intensity of the light produced from the orb will decrease!" Whittaker exclaimed as he surmised the way this light orb way


    Shadow was impressed as Whittaker understood everything he said.


    "Yes, that''s the way this thing works and a lot of mana-related technology follows the same rules. They are activated through the use of mana and deactivated after mana is used up or pulled out of them. Anyways, Light Orb is a widespread household object that every mage uses. Its primary features are to brighten up rooms, just like the lamps commoner use." Shadow asserted what Whittaker understood.


    Shadow put some mana into the lamp and the entire room was brightened up by a yellow light.


    "Wow!" Whittaker was amazed.


    The room was bigger than what he had expected. Two beds and two closets were placed on the left and right covers of the room.


    The youngster continued to talk about different topics. Thanks to this the unease atmosphere between them has eased up and they became friendly.


    "I saw that you are a mage from your identity card. Mage classes begin early 7 in the morning. It''s already 12:45, so, you should set up your things and go to sleep, or else you will be late tomorrow. I am using the left bed and closet so you will have to take the right one." Shadow reminded Whittaker.


    He remembered that his class will begin early in the morning so he decided to go to sleep.


    "Sure," Whittaker nodded. He started to store his uniform, the Academy map, identity card, and all the stuff into the closet.


    While Shadow sat on the chair placed next to the table. He started to intently study the books placed on the table.


    Whittaker was done with setting things up, he jumped onto his new bed and sat down.


    Glancing at Shadow, he asked, "Are you not going to sleep. Don''t you have classes, tomorrow?"


    Shadow turned around and answered, "Classes for physical attributes Class weapon awakeners starts after 10. So, we don''t need to go to bed early. In the Royal Frost Fall Academy, it''s only the mages that have to go to bed early."


    Saying that Shadow decreased the intensity of light of the Light Orb. The room dimmed down and now, Whittaker wouldn''t be bothered.


    Whittaker laid down on the bed. He was so tired that he fell into a deep sleep the moment his head hit the mellow pillow.

 Chapter 12: Battle Energy. Shadow is a Young Adult!

    Whittaker slept while Shadow studied. In the entire Academy, he was the only student awake at this time of the night. He was the only one that had decided to work hard from the very first day.


    Sitting in the chair placed in front of the table, he intently gazed at the postures drawn on his A-ranked (5-star) skill book.


    In the awakened continent, skill and spell books were divided into seven different ranks. They are F, E, D, C, B, A, and S. These ranks could also be further divided into 9 different levels, 1-star to 9-star. 1-star being the weakest and 9-star being the strongest. F-ranked (1-star) book was of the lowest level and S-ranked (9-star) was the highest level of any skill or spellbook.


    Generally, the merchants and even stores registered under the awakened hall only sell spell or skill books up to C-rank (9-star). Higher-level books on spell and skill books aren''t for sale in the land of water as it''s forbidden by the Water kingdoms itself. It''s because of the Royals, Nobles, Guild, and the military. They hog all books that are ranked higher than C-rank(9-star). Their purpose is to force others to make a choice�CIf a person wants to become powerful and learn higher-level spells or skill�Cthey must enlist into the military or join under one of the above-mentioned groups. Otherwise, they won''t be able to grow stronger safely and will have to take extreme risks to become stronger.


    The reason why Shadow, an apprentice assassin, managed to get his hand on this high ranked book was his unusual and influential background. He had taken this book from Shen Ze Yi Guild library that''s why it was so high-ranked!


    Different postures were demonstrated on the very first page of the A-ranked (5-star) book.


    Each of these postures emitted a mysterious aura that distracted Shadow from concentrating but he fought back this mysterious aura and tried his best to memorize even one of the postures demonstrated on the first page by gazing at them with wide-open eyes.


    All this hard work was in vain, three hours passed by and he didn''t even manage to memorize even a single posture. However, he didn''t give up learning even one posture will become his ticket to becoming powerful with ease. Since performing these postures will increase his battle energy in the shortest time possible.


    In this world, all non-magic related class uses battle energy to fight while magic-related class uses mana to fight.


    When mana merges with the body a special type of energy called battle energy is formed.


    There existed different types of ways to merge mana with the body. The first one is to undergo hardcore physical training that lasts for hours every day while breathing in mana.


    The second one was the method in front of his eyes.


    He had tried the first method and it was very taxing on his time. Since he wanted to become powerful, he trained six+ hours every day and that puts a strain on his body. While performing these postures demonstrated in the book can lower the time taken to form battle energy and will also not put strains on his body.


    Tonight, Shadow was intent on learning at least one posture from the book and so, he kept on trying to memorize a posture from the book. He didn''t give up as the first posture was already somewhat clear in his eyes. One more hour passed by and a smile formed on his face, he has memorized the first posture!


    His eyes blurred due to dizziness. He had exhausted all brain cells to memorize a posture from the A-ranked (5-star) book. Realizing that he was tired, he closed the book.


    He stored the book in the spatial wristband that he wore and decreased the intensity of light of the Light Orb to 0.


    He looked at the time. It was already 4:45 am.


    Like a responsible adult, he gazed at Whittaker. His roommate was a mage and classes for mage will begin after 2 hours 25 minutes. Whittaker had slept late, so he probably won''t be able to wake up by himself.


    While he was going to sleep as he also had to attend his classes that begin after 9, so he won''t be able to wake him up, either.


    Shadow was worried that his new roommate will miss the first day of the Academy and the teachers will perceive him like a rotten apple. More specifically, a bad student.


    He decided to lend a helping hand to his sleeping roommate. He walked towards the windows above the Snowy-haired boy bed and opened them wide.


    When the Sun rises at 6 pm, rays of light will surely be drawn on Whittaker''s face as the windows were no longer closed. This way, he is bound to be shaken up from his sleep!


    Even the Academy teacher would be amazed at the cleverness of this child but no one was around to witness his action.


    Shadow turned around and laid on his bed placed on the left side of the room. Just like Whittaker, the moment his head hit the mellow pillow he fell into a deep sleep.

 Chapter 13: Leveling up!

    As time passed away, the Moon enchanting the night skies sets, and the Sun rose in its place.


    The light of the Sun scattered and filtered through the atmosphere of the Awakened continent. The skies brightened up telling everyone that a new morning has begun and it''s time to work.


    Naturally, rays of lights sprinkled on the face of the snow haired boy. Whittaker wasn''t a heavy sleep and this little bit of Sunlight was more than enough to shook him out of his state. He groaned due to the annoyance that brightened his face and tried to go to sleep, once again.


    But before that, he decided to sort out the disturbance that has brightened his vision even though his eyes are closed. Hence, he opened his eyes to locate the source of the disturbance.


    His closed eyes opened up. Since the eyelid was no longer there to provide cover from harm, the Sunlight prickled his crystal-white eyes. He frowned due to the pain.


    This little pain was more than enough to get his brain working. Looking through the window he realized that the Sun was up and that it''s morning already. Before Whittaker went to sleep the windows were closed. He had seen that. He concluded that it''s his black-haired roommate who opened the windows thanks to which he woke up at the appropriate time.


    He felt slight gratitude in his heart but what happened last night had still left a scar that will take a while to heal. Shadow had to perform some more good deeds before Whittaker befriends him.


    Anyways, remembering that he has a class to attend, he forgot all about wanting to sleep again.


    "Yawn~" Yawning like a cub tiger, he gazed at the clock to check the time.


    The Sunlight has also brightened up the room and the interior could be seen by naked eyes so he managed to see the clock.


    A relief expression took place on his face, as the time right now was 6:05 am. The first class for a mage in Royal Frost Fall Academy starts at 7.am. He still had around an hour before the class that he has to attend starts.


    Gazing at the sides, he also found his roommate sleeping soundly on the bed. Shadow body and face was buried under the warmness of the white and fluffy blanket.


    Looking at his roommate, he muttered in jealousy, "Life is so good for non-mages. They can sleep till late morning! While I have to wake up early in the morning to study magic. Sigh~"


    A young boy sighing was something to marvel and laugh at.


    The Headmaster of the Royal Frost Fall Academy believes that a person''s brain is most active in the morning. An active brain can absorb information just like how a sponge absorbs water and an apprentice mage needs an active brain to understand what they are learning. That''s why the class for mages begins so early in the morning.


    He had an hour and could sleep for a while but he decided against his desires. The first day of the Academy was the most important, this much even he knew.


    He stood up from the bed, took the clothing out from the closet, and went to freshen up in the bathroom connected with room no.7.


    After rinsing his face with water, he put on his new clothes, the academy uniform!


    The bathroom had a Big Sparkly Mirror. In the mirror, he gazed at his reflection. If before he looked like a handsome country bumkin because of wearing commoners thick winter clothing then now after adorning the graceful Academy uniform he looked like a noble or like a young master from an influential family!


    Except for the fact that his hairs were too long, from head to toe, he looked perfect.


    Only ten minutes have passed by the time he was done with dressing up and came out of the bathroom.


    Whittaker took out the Academy map. He noticed that the walk to the Academy will only take five minutes if he sprinted. He decided to leave the room at 6:45 am. It will be 6:50 by the time he reaches the academy and the remaining ten minutes will be used to locate his classroom.


    The name of the classroom was written on his student identity card. It said, 1-D.


    Since he had more than twenty minutes left, he focused his attention on the Night''s Will system.


    Yesterday, he had completed a quest by teaching Barbarian Luo a lesson and received a reward of 20 experience points.


    He knew the literal meaning of experience but didn''t know what experience point did. He has never played an RPG, after all. Only System can answer his questions.


    Sitting on the bed, he opened the character Screen!


    Character Menu


    [Character: Whittaker Lin (Human/??)]


    [Experience point: 20]


    [Main class: Frost mage. Level 0 (0/20 XP)]


    [Secondary class: Rainbow swordsman. Level 0 (0/200 XP)]


    [HP: 60/60 (Recover 3 Hp per second)]


    [Mp: 210/110 (Recover 5.5 Mp per second)]


    [Physical attack damage:10 ]


    [Physical Defense: 9]


    [Magical Defense:22]


    [Magical Attack Damage: 11]


    [Attributes: Strength 5, Endurance 9,


    Intelligence 11, Agility 2, Vitality 6]


    He gazed at the experience point and a notification popped up.


    [Experience points: Can be used to advance a Class by one level at a time. The higher the Class level the more powerful the User will become.]


    "Oh!" Due to excitement, he almost exclaimed but muffled his sound as he did not want to disturb Shadow and appear suspicious to anyone. The system was his must keep secret. A secret that will go down the grave with him!


    The Frost Mage Class only needed a total of 20 experience points to advance to by a 1 level. Twenty experience points were all that he had and he decided to put them all to advance his Frost Mage class.

 Chapter 14: Level 1 Frost Mage鈥揂ttributes points and Skill Development points.

    With a "Bee!" sound, Whittaker became level 1 Frost mage, and multiple windows popped up.


    Before checking them, he cautiously glanced at Shadow laying on the opposite side. Seeing him still sleep, he excluded a breath of relief.


    Goddamn, no one told him that leveling up would cause a "Bee" sound to be produced!


    This time he was lucky that no one heard the sound but the next time he might not be as lucky. From now on, he must find a safe and secure place first before leveling up, or else his secret will be exposed in no time.


    Right after, his attention turned towards the new notifications.


    [Frost Mage Class: 0?1]


    [Gained 4 Attributes Points]


    [Attribute points: Can be used to increase the attributes of the User. An increase in Attribute will increase the strength of the User.]


    [Recommended attribute to strengthen for Frost Mage: Intelligence]


    [Gained 2 Skill development point]


    [Skill Development point: Can be used to learn a skill book or a spellbook. Can be used to Advance existing spells and skills by a small level!]


    [Levelling up for Frost Mage class is set on a 24-hour cooldown period. The User can not level up Frost Mage Class as long as this period remains]


    On the character screen, a ticking clock appeared before the Frost Mage Class. The system messages were detailed and he understood much of it.


    Delighted with such rewards got from just leveling up, he decided to save his skill development point for future use and first sort out his attribute points.


    Focusing his gaze on the intelligence stat, he put all the four attributes points into the intelligence stat.


    His intelligence attribute was connected to four different characteristics. The increase in his intelligence also increased the other four characteristics.


    [Intelligent increased: 11?15]


    [Mana point increased: 110?150. Total mana points 250/150]


    [Mana Recovery per second increased: 5.5?7.5]


    [Magic Defense increased: 22?30]


    [Magic attack Damage increased: 11?15]


    He was head over the moon because of a single level up his power level has increased to 1.25. Before it was 1.21!


    The time on the clock was ticking away with every breath. He stood up and picked up the book he received yesterday from Dean Frankenstein. The black pendant, he wore around the neck, and the map of the Academy, he stored in the inner pockets of his uniform. The map wasn''t big and fit into his inner pocket just perfectly.


    He did not want to leave the black pendant behind as he didn''t want to lose this item at any cost because this was the only clue he had to locate and find his real parent. He was curious about who his parents are and why they abandoned him but he didn''t tell that to Mother Lin.


    Lastly, he wrapped up the long snowy-hairs around his neck and shoulder like a scarf, and before he knew it, it was already 6:45 am. He stood up and left the room to reach the Academy main building where the first class will take place.


    He wasn''t alone while leaving the boys dorm as another student, Ruth had decided on the same plan as him, to leave the dormitory at 6:45 am.


    Ruth''s body frame was quite small, even for a kid, but it suited his small facial features. He had the classic characteristic of a water kingdom civilian, blue eyes, and hairs. Because of the baby fat on his face, he looked chubby and cute, like a harmless hamster.


    Ruth was wearing the same uniform as Whittaker, as he was also a new student in the Academy.


    Coincidentally, Ruth bumps into Whittaker while leaving through the open gates of the boy''s dormitory building.


    He lowered his head and ignoring Whittaker he moved ahead without saying anything to him.


    "Hey!" Whittaker yelled and Ruth flinched nervously and halted in his tracks. Whittaker caught up to him and said the rest, "Since you are going to the Academy, let''s go together."


    "Okay!" Saying that one word, Ruth started to sprint lightly.


    Whittaker followed behind with an amused look. He thought,


    ''So this is the anti-social type person that Sister talked about a lot in her letters!''


    Side by side, the two kids headed to the main building of the Academy.


    Along the way, Whittaker was very talkative while Ruth barely replied.


    "Hey, I am Whittaker Lin. What''s your name?"


    "Ruth."


    "I am 12 years old. How about you?"


    "13.."


    "You are so short that you don''t look thirteen..."


    "I haven''t hit puberty, yet," Ruth replied slightly annoyed by the endless pestering. By that time, they had reached in front of the Academy main building.


    They walked into the Academy.


    "Let''s split up to find our classroom," Whittaker said.


    "Sure," Ruth replied. He was relieved to be free from this schoolmate. He definitely wished to never meet someone like Whittaker, again. He didn''t know what he will do if someone so talkative becomes his classmate.


    Whittaker dashed to the left side hallway to locate his classroom while Ruth, with stable steps, walked to the right side hallway to locate his classroom.


    Whittaker dashed through the Hall of the Academy since he didn''t know the rules of the Frost Fall Academy and tried to locate Class 1-D.


    A teacher with a stern face happened to be walking the same Hallway as Whittaker. He chided, "Hey, Boy, stop right there! Running in the Hallway is forbidden! Do you not know?"


    Whittaker halted and turned around. When he saw the teacher''s scary face he was reminded of a goblin.


    "I don''t know," he replied honestly while scratching the back of his head.


    The teacher happened to notice that Whittaker was a freshman because of the badge on the uniform. Thus, he continued with a lighter speech, "Since you are new here, I will let you off. Next time, it won''t be so simple and you will be punished by the disciplinary hall."


    "Okay, I understand," Whittaker said that and flashed his white teeth to the stern teacher, this teacher could help him to locate the classroom. This way he won''t have to keep on wandering like a dumb fool to locate Class 1-D.


    "Teacher, can you please help me with finding my classroom? It''s classroom 1-D."

 Chapter 15: Teacher Ruka

    The scary-looking teacher blinked in thoughts and after a while, he replied, "1-D... hmm, It''s the first room right around the next corner. Now go, and remember the rules, no running in the Hallways!"


    "Thank you for the help!" Whittaker said with a humble posture and turned around to walk towards the next corner with light steps.


    Taking a left around the corner, he saw Class 1-D. And so, Whittaker managed to reach the classroom before the homeroom teacher, and evaded a very grim face of being lectured till ears ache!


    The moment his hand touched the door, it automatically slid to the sides vanishing within the walls. When he entered the classroom, the doors slid out of the walls.


    ''This must be a magic door!'' he thought while admiring the creator of this technology.


    He silently walked inside and saw many students. All of them were freshmen but their age varied. Some were 13 years old while the other looked 15. Three to four looked even older than that.


    He wondered why these old students are still in the classroom meant for the newly enlisted student. Though, he didn''t voice out his thoughts, as that would be very rude and might be offensive to some.


    There were no empty seats except at the corner of the classroom. At the corner of the classroom, two seats were empty as no one sat there.


    Whittaker calmly walked there. While he was walking there, a 14-year-old blue-haired girl, Lily, who was sitting in the second last seat of the middle row, managed to glimpse at his refined and handsome face.


    She had unique features. Her Light blue, shaggy hair covered her forehead with cute bangs, and below laid a skinny, lively face. Her wide ocean eyes set rooted within their sockets, watch lovingly over the snowy-haired boy that has captivated her heart.


    "Omo Omo Chincha, is this real? Girls look at that boy." A girl from Lily group exclaimed while pointing at Whittaker.


    The friends around glanced at Whittaker and got taken by surprise.


    "Damn! He is already so hot at such a young age. He is bound to become a lady killer after he grows up!"


    "Yeah, he looks just like a prince charming that saved me in my dream last night!"


    "Liar! You were playing with me the whole night and didn''t get a wink of sleep. Look, even the black bags under your eyes are more honest than you!"


    A blonde with braided hair pointed at the boys sitting on the side and said in relief, "I thought that we will be stuck with these ugly muffins again for the year. Thankfully, prince charming appeared at the last minute and saved the day!"


    A green-haired boy, Peter, with a face full of pimples grunted in displeasure, "The more handsome a man the weaker and trashy he is bound to be. Che, you don''t know the way of the world."


    Charlotte glared at him and the pimple face boy flinched away in fear. He didn''t dare to annoy this blonde cause once she raged his ass will be whooped.


    The blue-haired girl was still relishing the experience called love at first sight. She placed her hand on her chest to calm down the exploding heart. Her face was beet red and she just couldn''t look away from Whittaker.


    "Lily, you are all red. Are you alright?" Charlotte, her best friend, placed her hand on Lily''s forehead to check her temperature."Damn, you are burning up. Do you have a fever, should I take you to the nurse?"


    "No, Charlotte, it''s no fever, it''s love. Ah ~ I am in love!" Lily said while staring at Whittaker.


    Charlotte followed her gaze and finally understand that her best friend has lost it.


    Whittaker heard it all but choose to ignore all the remarks. But his blushing face said otherwise.


    Damn, being handsome is a sin. No wonder why mama said I must be careful when I go outside. Mother Lin, your son is already being preyed on!


    Intentionally he pulled the chair to produce a screeching sound. Due to the screeching sound, Lily broke her gaze and the other crazed girls also looked away.


    Then he peacefully sat down on the empty seat that was next to the window.


    By that time, the classroom door opened for the second time in the same minute. A chubby face boy with a small stature walked inside.


    He was none other Ruth.


    "Ah, Shit" He smacked his forehead as he saw Whittaker sitting at the corner of the classroom near the window.


    His "Ah, Shit" meant "No way, this can''t be. My worst nightmare has come true."


    "Ruth!" Whittaker waved his hand at him.


    There was no empty seat except the one placed beside Whitaker, with no choice, he sat there.


    At that moment, the classroom door opened for the third time in the same minute, and the homeroom teacher strides in.


    Clank! Clank! Her high heels produced a noisy sound that attracted the attention of the students chatting with each other.


    She had red, shoulder-length hair and an oval face that suited her slender figure. She wore the standard outfit for a teacher, a tailored black skirt with a coordinate blouse. The blouse was covered by a black jacket. Her thighs covered by high knees white socks. A badge detailing that she was a teacher of the Royal frost fall academy was worn around her upper hand.


    "Hi students, My name is Ruka and you all can call me as Teacher Ruka. I will be your homeroom teacher for this year." Her red lips and black eyes slipped into a smile as she announced her name and status.


    The eyes of the youth were enthralled because of their homeroom Teacher exceptional figure.


    "Yes, Teacher Ruka!" the students shouted in unison.


    "I have met my Goddess."


    "Now even a sudden death doesn''t feel bad to me."


    "To gaze at Teacher Ruka, I will attend magic classes every day!"


    The boys in the class had different thoughts raging in their minds. And these thoughts were reflected on their face.


    Charlotte gazed at them and felt revulsion rising from the depths of her heart. She muttered, "Lovesick fools."


    Miss Ruka continued, "Students, open your textbook, Beginner''s guide to mana. Today, we will learn about..."


    She lifted her forefinger:


    "A: Basic ranks of a mage and their power level.


    She lifted her middle finger and said:

 Chapter 16: Power system

    "B: Mana.


    She lifted her Ring finger and said:


    "C: The basics of Pure-mana spell and the preliminary requirement for their release.


    She lifted her pinky and said:


    "D: Class weapons."


    Her voice was pleasant to hear even Whittaker felt that. The attention of every student, male and female, was directed towards teacher Ruka as if captivated by her voice.


    Her smart black eyes watched over every student and she was pleased that every student was concentrated on the studies.


    Teacher Ruka started explaining, "Students be attentive and listen carefully. I will start explaining to you all about the basic Mage ranking and their power level."


    "Mages are divided into three basic ranks. They are D-rank, E-rank, and lastly F-rank.


    "An F-rank mage can use F-rank spells and has a power level between 1-2.


    "An E-rank mage can use E-rank spells and has a power level between 2-4.


    "A D-rank mage can use D-rank spells and has a power level between 4-7.


    "Currently, all of you are F-ranked mages with a power level between 1 to 2. You can learn F-rank spells. Students, do you understand?"


    Mages are those that had awakened the class weapon called "Spellbook". A newly awakened mage has 0 mana but as they breathe, the mana present in nature starts to fill up their body. Anyone that possesses a spellbook, even a newly awakened mage, can absorb mana. Depending on the rank of the spellbook, a person mana point can range from 10-100.


    Normally, it takes a day or more for 100 units of mana to fill up the body but Whittaker took less than a minute, moreover, he already has 250 units of mana in his body. His power level has already reached 1.25 but no one in the classroom knew.


    "Yes, teacher!" All of the students bobbed their heads, including Whittaker who was gazing at the screen in front.


    ?Main Quest activated: ?Advance into an E-rank mage?


    ?Rewards: 200 XP, E-ranked spellbook?


    Surprised at the sudden notification, he didn''t lose attention and listened carefully to what Teacher Ruka was saying. She had continued the next topic "Mana"


    "As you all already know, Mana is a form of energy that exists in nature and within the body of every mage. This energy has existed in our world since the beginning of time and is found everywhere including in our current environment. Remember, Mana is the most important aspect in the life of a mage as every mage utilizes it to cast spells.


    "Mages can absorb Mana just by breathing but the amount they can absorb varies according to their training time. The amount of mana a mage possesses determines his power level. For example, A mage that has 500 units of mana has a Power Level of 1.50 and is classified as an F-rank mage. Students, if you want to ask any questions related to this topic or the next ones then do not hesitate to stand up and state it." Teacher Ruka announced so that the students won''t feel shy about speaking out their thoughts.


    Ruth and everyone else in the classroom had somewhat of a distinguished background and some of the students in this class are repeaters. They had learned about mana and related information in their childhood so they didn''t ask any question. Whittaker also understood all of it and this newfound information has cleared up most of his confusion.


    Though, a young purple-haired boy around the same age as Whittaker stood up and asked, "Teacher, how do we increase the amount of mana that we can possess." His voice was feeble and shaky but everyone heard what he said.


    Whittaker heard the boy question and realized that he didn''t know about the normal ways a mage utilize to increase power level but he didn''t feel any curiosity to know about it, as with the use of the system, he could advance anyway.


    The teacher happily glanced at Yato and replied with a smile, "The amount of mana a mage possesses can be increased through four ways. The most basic way is to meditate. The second is combatting against monsters or sparring with fellow mages and gain experience. After that comes eating mana cores that monsters drop after they die, and drinking mana increasing elixirs that a potion-maker can create."


    She was happy because the class was more lively when students actively engage in the study and ask what they are curious about.


    "Thanks for answering my questions teacher, " Yato bowed while expressing his gratitude, then he sat down on his seat. He was a noble yet didn''t know anything about mana and magic. His knowledge about this subject was as blank as Whittaker. It''s because he wasn''t treated well in the family and didn''t receive any education related to mana and magic before the Class awakening ceremony.


    His malnourished face, sunken eyes and slender body that seemed to only have skins and bones showed that he wasn''t well off.

 Chapter 17: Pure-mana spells!

    Whittaker didn''t know what difficulties Yato has faced to look so beaten up. He cared as he was his classmate and they are gonna be together for a year. But right now, he couldn''t invest himself in helping others, first, he must find a solution to the financial troubles that will begin after three years.


    He understood very well that he must start earning money as soon as he can because he can only study for free in the Academy for only three years.


    The class continued after Yato sat down.


    Teacher Ruka explained the next topic.


    "Pure-mana spell is defined as a spell that lacks an elemental attribute. The preliminary requirement for their release is mana control. A mage, even an F-ranked, only needs to know how to control Mana and then he will be able to utilize Pure-mana spells. Pure-mana spells are plenty and also very strong. Especially, the world-wide popular spells called telekinesis and Mana shield."


    Saying that she wrote their definition on the blackboard.


    [Telekinesis: It is the power to manipulate matter using magic]


    [Mana Shield: A mage creates a coating of mana that protects them from harm]


    Then Teacher Ruka said:


    "Through telekinesis, an F-ranked mage can use magic or magical energy to telekinetically push, move, lift, or otherwise manipulate matter in general. While Mana shield of an F-ranked mage is strong enough to block two to ten sword slashes.


    I advise you all to learn "Telekinesis" and "Mana shield". Telekinesis is the essential spell that one must learn to learn the Pure-mana spell "Flight". The Flight spell will let a mage be as free as a bird. A mage can dash through the skies as they will. And, "Mana shield" will save your life''s in many life and death moments."


    Whittaker felt hyped up as he listened to the lecture, his experience was further enhanced by the pleasant voice of Teacher Ruka that was too clear to the ears. He would love to be as free as a bird and fly in the sky and through the clouds.


    He wasn''t the only one that was hyped. The entire class was, including the students that have taken such lessons before and the repeaters. But the disappointed look in the depth of their eyes betrayed their expression. They knew that it wasn''t easy to learn such a spell!


    "Teacher, how do we control mana to utilize pure-mana spells?" Yato, the purple-haired boy, inquired. This was something that even Whittaker didn''t know.


    Teacher Ruka sweetly smiled at him and said, "Ah, I was just about to tell you all about it. The most popular way to control mana is called Somatic movement. Every mage in all the six kingdoms learns this way to manipulate mana and cast Pure-mana spell. Remember, this is the essential way to cast Pure-Mana spells. It''s hard to learn but mastering it would be worth the hard work you put in, I promise."


    "Somatic movement is a measured and precise movement of the hand. Through hand signs, the mana in your body will move to generate a spell. Somatic movements are performed by two hands but some rare geniuses only need one hand free to perform the somatic movement. This year, every student must master the 32 basic hand signs to pass one of the most important First-year graduation exams."


    Teacher Ruka continued with this topic by drawing multiple hand signs on the blackboard.


    Whittaker was intently looking at what she was drawing. Her drawing wasn''t bad and it could be compared to a professional artist.


    Every time she finished with fleshing out a hand sign on the blackboard, he would memorize it just by intently glancing at one time. He had Photographic memory and its uses were apparent. Unlike other students, who have to use their brainpower to memorize each hand sign, he just had to glance only one time.


    With his innate ability, he just needs to recall the images and he will see all the hand signs with high precision for a brief period.


    After drawing thirty-two hand signs on the blackboard below teacher Ruka turned towards the students and said in a serious tone,


    "I will perform the 32 hand signs. Look carefully at my hands."


    Every student gaze focus focused on her hand as real-life experiences are better than drawings. Whittaker gaze also moved at her hands, and his face blushed as his gaze got attracted to her massive Jugs. A boy undergoing puberty he was, nothing wrong with a casual blunder. Coughing silently, he truly focused his attention on her hands.


    After Teacher Ruka noticed that everyone was looking at her hands, she started performing the thirty-two hand signs in succession while stating their names.


    "Earth, fox, hare, Snake, Bear, Kangaroo, Wolve...."


    After performing the hand signs, she said to the attentive students, "Students, this is how the basic thirty-two hand signs are performed. Next, I will show you the hand signs necessary to perform the pure-mana spells ''Telekinesis'' and ''Magic Shield''. Be attentive and if you want then note down the hand signs for ''Telekinesis'' and ''Magic Shield'' and the order in which they must be performed."


    Naturally, the snowy-haired boy didn''t feel any need to write down the hand signs or the order in which they must be performed. His photographic memory has helped him memorize all of it, furthermore, he didn''t have a notebook on which he could write it down. The rest of the students, however, really wrote down the hand signs of the two Pure-mana spells and the order in which they must be performed as they saw teacher Ruka performing the hand signs with utmost precision.


    "Oh, Wow!!!!!"


    "So this is Telekinesis!"


    "Holy fuck, the tables are flying!!!!!!"


    "I want to learn it too and one day I will be able to fly." Among the excited exclamations, Whittaker also shouted.


    Every student lost their minds as their eyes followed the flying tables roaming above their heads and around the classroom.


    Teacher Ruka smiled as if she had expected such reactions from them.


    "Okay, quiet down." The teacher placed the tables back in their places and the students chill out. "I will perform the hand signs for Magic-shield."


    She started performing the hand signs and Whittaker active mind started to memorize them.


    By the time she stopped, a chirping sound was heard but nothing else happened.


    Whittaker stood up and attracted the love-filled eyes of the female students and the envy-filled eyes of the male students. One even thought, ''What did he eat to look so handsome???''


    "Teacher Ruka, where is the mana shield?" he asked to clear his confusion. He only heard a noise but didn''t notice anything else happening. That''s why he was confused.


    She smiled at the cute boy whose cheeks asked to be pinched, "Mana shield are invisible in nature. They cannot be seen by naked eyes and can only felt through physical touch."


    "Oh!" Understanding the properties of Mana-Shield, he sat down.

 Chapter 18: Elemental Spells!

    The students weren''t impressed by the spell Ruka just cast. Mana-shield was a low-key Pure-mana spell and it didn''t even have a cinematic effect, only a bird chirping sound. Children love flashy moves but this was simply too plain and failed to attract their attention. Some didn''t even want to learn this move.


    Whittaker thought otherwise. He will learn this spell because it had many uses defined in simple words. It will protect him from harm and also save his life!


    The Students of class 1-D had different reactions to Mana-shield.


    Being the sweet woman she is, Ruka smiled and didn''t patronize her words. She wanted the students to make a decision about this matter on their own.


    She continued with the last topic. "With that said, Let''s learn about Class weapons!"


    Peter, the green-haired student stood up from his seat, and She looked at him,


    "Miss, I know about Class weapons and their properties. Can I please leave? I have made an appointment with my friends to go to the wilderness, today. They are waiting for my arrival at the Academy''s Quest Hall. If I don''t go right now then they will go hunting monster without me. Please!"


    ''Quest Hall?'' Whittaker''s ears perk up in attention. The Quest Hall sounds like a legit name and it might be the way to earn that he was looking for. He thought, ''After class, I must check it out.''


    "Well, Sure, since you already know about Class weapon I won''t force you to remain in the classroom. Go, good luck on hunting beasts, and be careful. Don''t get hurt!" Ruka replied with a graceful smile and wished him well.


    All of the Academy promoted battles. Battling was the fastest way for a student to grow stronger. That''s why most teachers encourage every student to start fighting monsters and beasts or spar with fellow students as early as possible.


    After Peter went away, she continued her lesson, and her expression was the same the entire time. It was a sweet smiley face as she had a lot of interest in this topic. This was the most interesting topic about mages.


    "As you all know the Class weapon of a mage is Spellbook, so we will talk about it. A mage Spellbook has a lot of functions.


    "The most basic function of a Spellbook is to convert Pure Mana into elemental attribute mana pretty quickly. This allows a mage to cast Elemental spells.


    "Spellbook also generates an elemental version of Pure-mana spell that a mage manages to grasp in the form of a page. There are two ways to cast these elemental spells. The first one is the Somatic method."


    "Any students who know the second method can stand up and state it."


    Whittaker knew it as he had already utilized the second method but he didn''t know the name.


    "Here," Lily stood up. Many others also wanted to stand but Charlotte shot them down with her menacing gaze. They did not dare to defy her.


    "Well, you can answer it, Lily Carter," Ruka said.


    After glancing at Whittaker, who was looking at her, Lily blushed and continued, "Yes, there are two ways to use Elemental magic. The first one is Somatic and the second one is Verbal, a spoken incantation.


    "By calling out the name of the elemental spell written on the page of a spellbook, a mage can cast an elemental spell." Realizing that she had made a blunder, she corrected herself, "More specifically, a mage commands the spellbook to cast the spell. The spellbook will absorb appropriate mana present in the mage body and release an elemental spell. It''s the easiest method among the two, and most mages only use this method to use Elemental spells."


    "That''s right, Good work!" Ruka praised Lily, who sat down after glimpsing at Whittaker one more time. Her looks didn''t escape the eyes of Ruka. She understood that Lily was trying to impress Whittaker.


    Whittaker didn''t understand what Lily was trying to do and he was weirded out by her glances. He thought, ''Is she planning something against me? I should try to avoid her!''


    "As Lily said, the verbal method is far easier when compared to the Somatic method. It''s because the hand signs of elemental spells are ten to twenty times more complex than Pure-mana spells. But a mage can cast elemental spells himself if he learns the somatic method." Ruka detailly explained.


    The snow-haired boy thought, ''Somatic method is so easy to learn. What''s the difficulty in memorizing hand signs? I will master both.''


    Most of the students wanted the easy way out. So they decided to use the verbal method.


    Due to intently listening to what Ruka and Lily had said with full attention, Whittaker and the other students now had essential knowledge of Spellbook.


    Ruka continued explaining about the class timing and stuff.


    "The class will be held from seven to ten every day. Well, it will only be three days a week. The class for the next three months will only focus on the basic hand signs and Pure-mana spells. It''s up to the students if he wants to attend the class or not. A competition will be held after three months and all students must join."


    Just as she finished saying that, a pleasant melody resounded. Whittaker felt refreshed as he listened to the melody, this was a magical melody.


    Hearing that melody, Ruka announced, "This melody signifies that the class is over. Follow me if you want to, I will take you guys on a tour around the Academy ground!"


    Whittaker, Ruth, Lily, Charlotte, Yato, and three others followed Ruka while the rest of the students went on their way.


    Whittaker, Ruth, and Yato didn''t know much about the Academy. That''s why they followed teacher Ruka. Lily wanted to stalk Whittaker and Charlotte wanted to accompany her best friend.


    While the other three students joined in on the tour so that they can stare at the wonderful back view of teacher Ruka.

 Chapter 19: Difference between F-ranked and S-ranked Class weapons.

    The first place that Ruka showed them was the Royal Library that stored a lot of information. It had three floors, each connected through teleportation portals, a common sight in the Awakened continent. But Whittaker has never used one, as a city to city trip costs 10 Gold pieces, a price he and his humble family don''t dare to afford.


    The Royal Library was located at the center of the academy''s main building. Currently, many students could be seen studying while sitting on the desk upon which an illuminated Light Orb was placed.


    "The Academy library stores a lot of information about our world, and you can come here to self-study about history, dungeons, beasts, races and learn about the seven lands. Now, let''s go to the next place!" Teacher Ruka glanced at the students, and on her face appeared a happy smile.


    Her happiness was bursting out as she was living her dream life. Spending time with the little and cute muffins every day and seeing their reactions was all that she wished for.


    The newly enlisted students marveled at the artistic concept of the Library as they followed teacher Ruka out of the hallway. Whittaker decided to visit this place often so that he can learn more about dungeons and races. He was homeschooled and knew some about the history of this world, somewhat about the water kingdom, and a handful about the basics of Class weapons.


    What he lacked was the knowledge about dungeons and the way to earn money. His goal was to become rich enough to buy a mansion in the city for Mother Lin and of course himself. So he wanted to start earning money and amass a fortune to buy a house in the city.


    They walked out of the Royal Library and entered the Hallway.


    As they walked through the hallways, Yato remembered to ask a question.


    "Teacher Ruka, I have a question related to Class weapons that I forgot to ask during the class but can I ask now?" Yato asked teacher Ruka.


    Teacher Ruka said:


    "Feel free to do so,"


    "The Class weapons, why are they classified into different ranks. Why are F-ranked spellbooks considered useless and S-ranked spellbooks considered as the best?" Yato asked with an anticipated expression.


    "Have you been living under a rock all this time, or are you acting like an idiot to attract attention?" Charlotte said. "Even flies and the commoners knows why F-ranked Class weapons are considered trash, so there''s no way that you do not know about this basic information!"


    The anticipated expression on Yato''s face waned because of the blonde tigress.


    Whittaker didn''t like how she used the words flies and commoner in the same sentence, he wanted to retort but someone was faster.


    Teacher Ruka flickered her fingers on Charlotte''s forehead.


    "Ouch!" Charlotte shouted reflexively due to the stinging and rubbed her ruddy forehead.


    "No vulgar words allowed in the academy!" Ruka warned Charlotte with a stern face.


    "Teacher, I am not lying for attention. I really don''t know." Yato protested with a trembling voice. He stared at Ruka with his wide innocent eyes filled with hope. He hoped that the teacher will believe him.


    Having always been without experience with society, as at home Yato was shunned by his family and not allowed to learn how to read or write, right now he was oblivious to what occurs in the outside world. He was treated so badly that he didn''t know the information that even flies know!


    Ruka didn''t mind answering the question that Yato asked, educating the student was her profession, a responsibility that comes with living her dream.


    "It''s pretty simple. F-ranked Class weapons, such as spellbooks have seven elemental attributes. A mage with an F-ranked spellbook can cast seven types of elemental spells, but it comes with a massive disadvantage. A mage who awakens an F-ranked spellbook can only cast F-ranked elemental spells. While a mage who awakens an S-ranked spellbook can cast F-ranked to S-ranked elemental spells. F-ranked elemental spells are only good enough to take down normal animals and beasts with a power level between 1-3. Animals that even classless can kill."


    "Thank you, teacher." Yato expressed his gratitude to the kind homeroom teacher, who believed in him.


    By that time, they have walked out of the Academy''s main-building and stepped upon the winding path.


    The winding path was packed with students. Their Students Id hung around the neck. Whittaker was gazing at their IDs while following teacher Ruka to the next destination. He noticed that there are only First-year, second-year, and lastly, third-year students in the Academy. That means that graduation from the academy comes after passing third-year classes!


    At this time, a clear and melodious voice came from beside him,


    "Hello, I am called Lily Carter, Lily as in flower, an F-ranked Smog mage. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand out.


    Smog Spellbook was classified as a B-ranked Class weapon, and her announcement certainly attracted the attention of those in the surrounding, and the students who walked past them. Well, everyone, except teacher Ruka, who knew that Lily was the young treasured princess of the Carter family that ruled the Frost Fall City. Her father was the Mayor of this city!


    Charlotte held a smug expression on her face as if saying, "Grovel at the feet of my friend and worship her like a goddess!"


    Whittaker noticed that it was Lily Carter, the blue-haired girl that kept on looking at him during the class. Looking closely, he noticed that her face was lovely, like a riped peach tempting others to bite into. To say the least, she is bound to be a gorgeous beauty.


    He obliged with basic courtesy and replied while shaking her hand, "Hi, I am Whittaker Lin, an F-ranked Frost mage. Nice to meet you too!"


    The moment he announced that everyone in the surrounding received a shock!


    The students walking in the distance stopped.


    Teacher Ruka''s eyes widened in surprise. The smug expression on Charlotte''s prideful face faded away.


    Yato and Ruth''s eyes shined with different thoughts as they gazed at Whittaker.


    The star of this show, Lily, was lost in bliss. The warmth traveled from Whittaker''s hand into her own, and feeling this warmth was enough to make blood rush to her head. Her first love has touched her hand, this thought was enough to drown Lily in a wild fantasy of her own, and the fact that the man she had decided to "Marry" was also a Snow mage, caused her heart to thump super fast.


    Due to the blood rush caused by excessive excitement, her nose started to bleed. Her scarlet blood dripped down from her nose and stained the white academy uniform.


    Whittaker''s eyes widened as he saw blood, "You are bleeding!", he said to Lily.

 Chapter 20: New Quest.

    Whittaker exclamation pulled Lily out of her wild fantasy in which she has already become a mother of his children. His shout also alerted the nearby classmates.


    When she saw the blood, Charlotte wide eyes narrowed to a marginal degree, "Oh, shit, here we go again," she muttered as if something was about to happen.


    "B-blood!" As Lily caught sight of the blood dripping out of her nose, her ocean eyes widened in a moment with extreme fear, a flare of sudden overwhelming emotion rose in her heart as the trauma of the past surfaced from the depth of her mind to haunt her.


    "Student Lily, is something wrong?" Teacher Ruka asked, her tone tinged with worry.


    In response, tears appeared in Lily''s eyes, and her vision blurred. Seeing those tears in her eyes, Whittaker did not know why but he felt unsettled. He didn''t like it. He didn''t want to see her in pain.


    Lily''s legs got soft and she moved back unsteadily, her feet stumbled on a rock and she slipped!


    In Whittaker''s heart, an innate desire to wipe away her tears and save her from any harm arose, and he reflexively stepped forward to save her from being hurt.


    He grabs her by the slender waist and hauls her closer to his embrace. His heart beats frantically.


    Innocent first love sprouted in the air!


    As he breathes he take in her smell that is as fresh and intoxicating as a blooming flower.


    On the other hand, Lily felt herself against his chest and blushed even harder than before, and her nosebleeds more.


    "Are you feeling fine? How can I help you?" Whittaker asked with a worrisome expression while wiping her tears.


    She gazed into his icy eyes filled with worry for her and managed to muster up some strength to say, "I am sorry."


    Her head slumped down and she fainted.


    Whittaker: "."?


    "Lily!" "Lily!" He and teacher Ruka shouted simultaneously.


    "Don''t worry about her, she has an extreme phobia of blood. Her fear of blood is so extreme that she faints every time blood is in her sight. After some rest, she will be fine." Charlotte explained before matters got out of her.


    "Oh!" Whittaker''s unsettled heart calmed down but he still gazed at the unconscious Lily with eyes filled with worry. Yesterday, he had seen the Academy map and knew where the nurse office was. He thought, ''I should take her there to rest!''


    "What are you doing?" Charlotte asked him while blinking her eyes and blushing slightly.


    He lifted Lily and placed one arm around her back and the other arm around the bend in her knees. Bridal carrying Lily, he innocently replied to Charlotte.


    "Taking her to the nurse office." With that said, the snowy-haired boy hurriedly dashed back to the Academy''s main building, and Charlotte followed behind.


    Teacher Ruka and the rest were left in the dust. She didn''t know whether she should continue the tour or not as she was a new teacher. Though, Ruth, a young noble with a social disability, turned around and walked away. When the teacher asked where he was going, he replied with a single word, "Dorm."


    The tour ended as everyone split up and went on their way. Following his motto, ''Work hard every day'', Yato went to the mage training ground and started practicing the thirty-two basic hand signs.


    The crowd that has gathered due to Lily and Whittaker announcing their spellbooks is also dispersed.


    A teenager around 14 with rosy lips and white teeth wearing a breastplate and a warrior style headband with an azure emblem was walking alone to the market to buy some potions.


    Due to his wear, anyone could tell that he was the second-in-command of the "Azure Dragontooth guild", a guild famous in the academy for its frantic dungeon hunters.


    "Senior brother Long, I have found a frost mage in the academy." He said.


    No was around him. He was communicating with the leader of the guild, Ding Long, by using a device called mana comm (communicator).


    The Water kingdom is advance in magical technologies and has created a network system called Mana net. Devices such as Mana Comm and Mana watch could be used to connect to this Mana net to communicate and hold an instant trade worldwide. Devices like this usually cost 10 platinum or more.


    Lin Dong was communicating with the Guild leader by using a Mana comm.


    "Hah Hah!" Ragged breathing and clanking of metal were heard from the other side. A while later, Ding Long replied, "I am in the middle of a dungeon. Wait for me at the quest Hall, I will come after slaying the Minotaur. Until then, notify the others and tell them a meeting will be held in the Quest Hall."


    "Urroooooarrrrrrrr!!!!!!"


    Lin Dong cut off the mana comm after hearing the monstrous roar. He thought, ''What an unpleasant voice!''


    ___


    In the nurse office.


    Dean Frankenstein''s hand was placed on Lily''s forehead and it was glowing with healing energy. The nurse couldn''t attend to her duties today, so he had to take over under her endless pestering.


    "Dean, how is she doing?" Whittaker said while gazing at Lily, who laid upon the white sheets of the bed.


    He replied with a smile exposing his sparkling white teeth, "Don''t worry. She is just sleeping and will wake up in six to eight hours. Don''t waste your time here. You should go and train." He leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Or go to the Quest Hall to earn money. Also, there are some dungeon doors there, you can make a lot by completing the first layer."


    Saying that he pulled his face away.


    "Really?"


    Dean Frankenstein winked in agreement.


    He stood up but remained still. Money was important and Lily was also important. Money or Lily, which one to choose? He couldn''t make up his mind.


    Seeing his troubled expression, Charlotte told Whittaker that she will take care of her friend and that it would be better for him to go away before she wakes up. Thanking her, he left the nurse''s office after glancing at Lily one more time.


    While he was walking in the hallway, a notification popped up,


    ?Daily Quest Activated: Learn a Pure-Mana spell with your efforts.


    ?Rewards: +1 Skill Development point, +1 intelligence?

 Chapter 21: Training

    Whittaker''s eyes blinked because of the new quest. After glancing around and making sure that nobody was near, he thought, ''No doubt, training comes first, hunting and competing quests can be done later.''


    His footsteps changed directions and he stepped towards the training hall of the academy.


    The pure-mana spell Telekinesis and Mana shield seemed impressive. He expected to learn both of them today, before going out to hunt and complete a quest. Moreover, his spellbook will form two new elemental spells if he manages to learn the two Pure-mana skills that teacher Ruka has taught them in the class.


    When he reached the training hall, he saw something that couldn''t be overlooked.


    There was a 100-meter wide sprinting field outside the training hall. Students his age carried 3 meter wide boulders on their back and with ragged breathing sprinted back and forth under the vicious command of the Goblin teacher he had met in the hallway. The Goblin teacher would occasionally shout his lungs out, lashing at any student that fell on the ground.


    P.S: The teacher wasn''t a goblin but he looked like one.


    He thought, ''Are they humans or donkeys that are used to carry heavy cargo? This is so inhumane.''


    His roommate, Shadow, was among those students.


    To maximize the effectiveness of the One-limb Horse Stance posture, Shadow came here to exhaust his stamina. According to the A-ranked (5-star) battle energy creation manual, when the body is depleted of stamina, if a person executes the one-limb Horse Stance posture then the maximum capacity of his battle energy will increase by a unit every hour.


    He sweated a lot more than others, as he utilized more strength to run, and he ran faster than all. He was completing two laps while the other student only did one or half a lap.


    Whittaker noticed that in this field his black-haired roommate was the fastest hard-working donkey. Compared to the others, his roommate didn''t stop even once to catch his breath.


    "Hey, Whitaker." Shadow excitedly waved his hand at him as he noticed Whittaker.


    "Hi!" Whittaker responded, his mind still hasn''t got around what he saw. He thought, ''This is why Elisha complained about how cruel the training is in every single letter. Is this training or torture?''


    Thump! Thump! Thump! With heavy footsteps that left an imprint in the ground, Shadow came near him while carrying the boulder.


    "What are you doing here?"


    Whittaker nudges his head to the Training Hall and said, "I came to practice Pure-mana spell before I go to the quest hall." He pointed at the back, "Your teacher is glaring at us."


    Shadow flinched.


    "Get back here, no slacking in the training field!" The goblin teacher roared, his eyes glaring daggers at Shadow''s back.


    "Coming!" Shadow turned around to return to the track. "I wanted to complete a quest too. Whittaker, after you finish training, let''s go together to the quest Hall." He shouted out.


    "Sure!" Replying loudly, he entered the training Hall. The training Hall was a large circular dome-like building. A lot of items were placed inside. The items ranged from varying size Balls to Wooden and iron statuettes. The latest training technology present in the water kingdom were placed at the edges of the room.


    Around thirty mages practiced their spells on the shooting targets, and some trained their hand signs on the huge space in the middle. One of them was Yato, who glanced at Whittaker when he entered. He wasn''t the only one. Many others glanced at the snowy-haired boy as his presence was hard to ignore.


    Whittaker didn''t have any idea what they did but he will find out with time. The training hall was vast and could house around three hundred students at a time. Thirty students barely filled 1/10 of the entire space inside. A lot of space was still vacant.


    In the entire training hall, he was only familiar with Yato. Whittaker subconsciously went to an empty area near Yato and started training.


    After a casual greeting, they both concentrated on their objectives.


    Yato would perform one hand sign and then glance at his notebook. The hand signs drawn on the notebook couldn''t be considered hand signs. The drawing was so bad that at best, the hand signs sketches could be considered to be drawn from a person''s feet.


    Yato maintained his cool and continued with his honest hard-work. It''s because his beautiful mother used to say, "A person can reach the other shore as long as he keeps on paddling. If you work hard every day, then a day will come when you are rewarded for your hard work."


    While Whittaker stood still a buddha meditating under a waterfall. The scenes of teacher Ruka performing the hand signs to cast Mana-shield played in his mind.


    His foremost goal was to learn the Pure-mana "Mana-shield" spell as he didn''t have any defensive spells. According to the teacher Ruka''s words, with the help of this spell, he will avoid a lot of pain. He wanted to learn it before the telekinesis spell.


    According to the scenes playing in his mind, teacher Ruka has performed a total of five hand signs to cast Mana-Shield. They are,


    Earth ? Sky ? Earth ? Sky ? Bird.

 Chapter 22: Learning

    The teacher had performed two signs simultaneously. At first, she had simultaneously performed the Earth sign from the right hand and the Sky sign from her left. Then she had simultaneously performed the Earth sign from her left hand and the Sky sign from her right. Lastly, the bird sign required both hands to perform, so she had used both of her hands.


    So hand signs could be performed simultaneously as long as they don''t disturb the order in which they are to be performed.


    Understanding that only training will make him realize how difficult or easy it so to perform hand signs, he starts to perform the hand signs for mana shield.


    To perform the Earth sign, he stretches the ring finger and the pinkie of his right hand while curling the rest of the fingers and the thumb. Simultaneously, to perform the sky sign, the forefinger and the middle finger of his left-hand stretches out while the other fingers and thumb remain closed.


    He realizes that the Earth sign is harder than the sky sign��Curling finger and the thumb was harder than simply closing them.


    As he performed the hand signs for the first time, his hands slightly shake, and he feels mana circulating in his body. This was enough to prove that he has performed legit hand signs.


    A gleeful smile enacted his face when he felt the mana circulation. He thought, "It isn''t as difficult as I thought it to be. It''s rather simple. I might master the Pure-mana spells teacher Ruka taught today in some minutes!"


    The 32 basic hand signs didn''t need a lot of practice to perform. They are simple to perform hand signs, except some that compelled training but such hand signs are only required for advanced Pure-mana spells.


    Performing pure-mana spell leaned heavily on the memorization ability of a person. That''s why the Magic Scholars says:


    ?For a mage, training matters not, wisdom is all that is needed?


    He has Photographic memory, a skill that allows him to remember even the minute details of what he had seen. His ability to memorize given knowledge far exceeds his peers.


    After a moment of delay, he performed the Earth sign from his left hand and the Sky sign from his right hand. In response, the mana circulating in his body sped up.


    ''The last hand sign will complete the mana-shield spell.'' Thinking that he forms a cage by arching the middle fingers and pinkies while making the ring fingers and forefingers intersect.


    The mana stopped circulating in his body.


    His eyes open wide in excitement but for a while, nothing happened. He didn''t hear the chirping sound, neither did he feel a spell being cast, and there were no system pop-ups.


    The excitement faded from his eyes, replaced by a momentary disappointment.


    He had failed!


    For the first time, he faced a setback, but immediately his crystal clear icy eyes shone with a thoughtful flicker.


    He failed but why?


    He didn''t let failure put him down, finding the reason for his failure and remedying the mistakes was more important than being disappointed.


    Soon after, he realized that there was not even a single problem in the hand signs!


    While lost in thoughts, his eyes wandered around the hall.


    The Training Hall had a lot of famous sayings from mages and warriors alike. He glimpsed one of the sayings that were written on a wooden board fixed on the wall right in front of him.


    ?Don''t mistake gaining knowledge as gaining wisdom. Knowledge is gained from textbooks but wisdom is gained through the analysis of information. Knowledge helps you understand how a spell is cast, but wisdom helps you cast it. With wisdom, a mage can pierce through the skies of the awakened continent and reach the ocean of mana!?


    "Oh!" A thoughtful expression appeared on his face, acting like an old man, he scratched his chin.


    Closing his eyes, he recalled the information and started to analyze the clear images of teacher Ruka performing the hand signs.


    Time tickled away but he stood still like a stone sculpture. His foolish actions didn''t escape the eyes of some trainees.


    "What a waste of a handsome face." A senior student shook his head thinking that Whittaker was mentally handicapped.


    Another Student moved to throw Whittaker out of the training hall. For the student, the handsome boy was already irksome to his eyes, now that he has closed his eyes as if sleeping, the disgruntled feeling increased. The training hall existed as a sacred place in the heart of this student, and anyone acting like a fool wasn''t allowed here!


    As the senior student stepped closer, Whittaker eyes opened up. In those eyes, eagerness and dedication were shown.


    With swift movements, his hand started to move to perform the hand signs required to cast mana-shield.


    Earth ? Sky ? Earth ? Sky ? Bird!


    In less than a second, he performed the hand signs to cast the Pure-mana spell "Mana-Shield"


    Chirp!!!!!!!


    A high pitched bird chirping noise resounded in the training hall.


    Hearing the sound coming out of Whittaker, the senior student footsteps only halted for a moment, then, with a downcast expression, he passed by him and proceeded to leave the training hall.


    Due to jealousy, he has almost disgraced the Sacred Training Hall!


    Along with the chirping sound, his spellbook rushed out from his soul space and materialized in the physical plane. The spellbook shone with an icy light, attracting the attraction of everyone inside and outside the training hall.


    Mana rushed into the shining Frost spellbook from all four corners of the world. The spellbook absorbed the mana to condense the elemental version of the Pure-mana spell "Mana shield" in the form of a page.


    The senior student halted at the door and turned around to glance at the snow-hired boy. Yato, who was engrossed in training, was pulled out of his thoughts by the commotion caused by Whittaker. The rest of the students in the training hall also glanced at Whittaker. Some turned away after a single glance while the others kept on glaring at him.


    The shine released from the spellbook graced the face of the snowy-haired boy making him look even more soul captivating.


    Whittaker smiles due to happiness, he smiles so wide, it stretches from almost ear to ear.


    The main reason why he failed was time. The hand signs have to be performed within a certain time limit. Only then will the spell will be successful. The time limit of the Mana-Shield was 3 seconds. The five hand signs must be cast within three seconds or else the spell will fail even if the hand signs are completed. He realized that only after intently examining the knowledge present in his mind.


    The hearts of the females mage trainee was captivated by that innocent smile and his shining face. The only thought that filled their mind was to pinch those bubble cheeks that have are showing two cute dimples. Some unconsciously stepped forward and then halted with an embarrassed cough. Disturbing a mage when his spellbook is in the midst of forming an elemental spell existed as the worst crime in the Water Kingdom.


    Whittaker didn''t notice their reaction as the notifications of the Night Will''s system has popped up and filled his vision.


    [The User has Learned Pure-Mana spell "Mana Shield"]


    [Mana Shield (F-ranked)


    Cost: 20


    Effect: A strong coating of mana covers every inch of the body and protects the body from harm. The mana coating can Absorb a total of 125 physical damage, draining mana instead. It Drains 2 mana per damage absorbed. The mana coating lasts for a whole minute.]


    ?Daily Quest Completed: Learn a Pure-Mana spell with your efforts.


    ?Rewards obtained: +1 Skill Development point, +1 intelligence?


    [Intelligent increased: 15?16]


    [Mana point increased: 150?160. Total mana points 260/160]


    [Mana Recovery per second increased: 7.5?8]


    [Magic Defense increased: 30?32]


    [Magic attack Damage increased: 15?16]

 Chapter 23: A student one cant get.

    "Hey... Come back here! you... you.."


    The warriors training on the sprinting track ignored the shouts of the goblin teacher and rushed to take a look at the spellbook.


    Grasping a pure-mana spell and creating an elemental version of it wasn''t impressive to these nobles and working students, as any mage can do it. Still, a rush of excitement was fervent on their face, and their uncontrolled actions highlighted it.


    These nobles and working students weren''t illiterate. They identified his class weapon as the famous A-ranked Frost spellbook through the glacial shine.


    High-ranked Ice related spellbooks were really rare in this continent. In the entire Frost Fall Academy, dozens of students have an A-ranked class weapon, but only one person except Whittaker has an Ice spellbook.


    That student was a third-year senior, and these students couldn''t even meet him face to face. So, this was the first time, these students saw a high-ranked Ice-related spellbook, and they got awed by it.


    The students around were doing what anyone else would do in their position. Using their Scrying Devices, they excitedly recorded this act of Whittaker and posted it on the Mana Net. Sooner or later, every student in the Academy is bound to know of his existence, as everyone in the academy has access to the mana net.


    The senior student that wanted to kick him out of the training hall couldn''t even leave the training hall in shame, as the bulky trainees from the sprinting field have gathered around the entrance that was also the exit and blocked it. He could only stare at the snow-haired boy and discreetly feel envious.


    Yato felt as if his eyes has been blinded by the Sun. He could only gape at this classmate, who happened to be a dark horse with grand potential.


    As time passed, the Frost spellbook shine lessened until it was no more.


    The elemental version of the Pure mana spell "Mana-Shield" has condensed as a page decorated with silvery patterns and became a permanent part of the Frost spellbook.


    Its description appeared in his vision.


    [ Frost Shield (F-ranked) (Aoe)


    Cost: 50


    Effect: Materializes three Frost walls on an area around you. Frost walls create a 3 Square meter chilling field that absorbs a certain percentage of the total damage( 5% elemental and physical damage). Enemies in the chilling field have their movement speed decreased by 5% and are inflicted by a frost stack. The Frost walls can shatter under heavy impact. The chilling field lasts for 2 minutes.]


    In his eyes, the elemental versions of mana-shield seem far better than the basic version. His daily quest was shaded in grey and a ticking clock was placed above it.


    Until tomorrow, he won''t obtain the reward for learning a pure-mana spell. Realizing that he decides to learn one Pure-mana spell a day


    As the elemental version of the spell was formed, the spellbook was recalled into the soul space. No longer engrossed in training, he sees everyone glaring at him.


    He thought anxiously, ''Why are so many people staring at me? Am I an exotic beast caged inside a zoo?''


    Ignoring the ruckus around him, he adorns a fake expressionless face to hides his anxiety. Then he turns around to leave the training hall with an expressionless face.


    The students blocking the entrance opened a path for the snow-haired boy by moving sideways.


    After walking out, he saw Shadow sprinting with a boulder on his back. With sparkling eyes, he beamed a wide smile at him. He was saying��"I am done with my training. Let''s go hunting!"��through facial expression.


    Seeing that smile, he thought, ''Oh, so it was Whittaker who learned the new spell. How fast do you train! It''s only been a handful of minutes!''


    Immediately, Shadow placed the boulder down and turned to the Goblin teacher and asked for permission to leave the class with a pleading expression. "Teacher, can I go hunting?"


    The Goblin teacher has an ugly face and a stubborn personality but his heart isn''t ugly. He was kind-hearted and, if possible, didn''t like to make life difficult for students. So he replies to Shadow with a smile,


    "You are my most talented student, so I won''t stop you from going out to hunt, but only for today. Remember, for those dependent on Battle energy, training and hunting go hand in hand. Training your body to produce battle energy is as important as the experience gained through battling with magical beasts. I hope you will not forget my words. Now go, your friend is waiting."


    The Goblin teacher smiled kindly but a hideous expression was seen on his face. His kind words didn''t match the expression on his face.


    For those standing far away, it was as if the goblin teacher was giving Shadow an earful.


    Whittaker was standing far away, and he felt sorry thinking that Shadow has gotten in trouble with the teacher due to him.


    Shadow respectfully salutes him, "Thanks teacher, I will change my training timing and start training early in the morning with the senior students from now on."


    The sophomore students'' physical training class starts at 6��clock. They didn''t train on the sprinting track near the training hall. The sophomore students trained in the training ground located in the back mountains.


    "Sure!" The teacher feels pleased with his words. He glances at the back of the black-hair boy and thinks that such a thoughtful, hard-working, and responsible student, one can only beg for but never get. As luck would have it, I scored one.


    Shadow and Whittaker meet up and walking side by side they head towards the "Quest Hall".


    He has never hunted as his elder brother Hera didn''t take him to hunt. He also didn''t know what they are gonna hunt.


    "Shadow, are we gonna hunt Deer or Antlers?"


    Along the way, Whittaker asked�Cwith an excited expression and an innocent tone�C Shadow. He was beaming his signature wide smile.


    Shadow chuckled after covering his mouth with his hand. Seeing his innocent smile that highlighted the pearly teeth, he thought back to the old days, once he was also ignorant and, on his first time hunting, he said the exact same words to his stepbrother. His past was reflected on the snowy-haired boy''s face.


    He says, "Whittaker, we awakened don''t hunt animals."


    _


    _


    P.S: For those that don''t know:


    Aoe means Area of effect.


    Area of effect spells affects a wider field. A commonly known spell is meteorite fall that can be used to destroy a city.

 Chapter 24: Frog in a well.

    Whittaker''s head turned towards him in confusion, but his smile didn''t vanish. In excitement, he asked, "If not animals then what... what do we hunt?"


    Shadow hastened his footsteps and his black eyes burned with battle intent as he replied:


    "We hunt magical beasts. They are dangerous monsters that eat peoples. Though a lot of people still hunt them because they drop a lot of treasures. A single F-ranked book can be sold for around 1-10 platinum bars, and an E-ranked book can be sold for 10-100 Platinum bars. Naturally, these prices are the average. The price varies according to the desperation of the buyer!"


    These words, he said with a laugh.


    Whittaker''s eyes opened wide in shock as he chased behind him. Platinum bars, did he hear it right?


    He said, "Did you say platinum bar, or are my ears playing a trick on me?"


    "It is platinum bars!" Shadow grinned and added, "Books are just one of the stuff that the magical beasts drop on their death."


    One by one, he extended his fingers. Each time he did that, Whittaker will learn more about the treasure troves that are called magical beasts.


    "The magical beasts drop Beast cores, crafting resources and beast equipment after their death.


    "After the process of purification, an awakened can absorb the purified portion of the beast core to increase his stats.


    "Resources can be used to craft items or magical potions.


    "Beast equipment has three categories, weapon type, armor type, and accessory type. But the chances of these equipment dropping are slim. Beast equipment can be sold for a very high price."


    By the end of the explanation, drool drip down Whittaker''s mouth due to greed. In an instant, he seemed to have transformed into a greedy and cunning merchant that was crazy for gold. In his case, it is platinum.


    After dozens of minutes, they reached the Quest Hall. Students casually chatted on the footpaths and the staircases as they waited for the arrival of their party members.


    The Quest Hall was located behind the back mountain. The back mountain stretched from behind the seven-story Academy. It was big enough to hide the Grand Quest Hall, and, every day during sunset its shadow will loom over the main-building of the Frost Fall Academy. The Quest Hall was a subsidiary of the Adventure Association. Every Academy for awakened, as long as verified by the Awakened Association, has one Quest hall.


    Passing by them, the two youngsters walked up the dozens of stairs and entered the Quest Hall. They had a different expression on their faces, one had a calm face: the other held a startled expression.


    The Quest Hall hall had the same building design as the training hall. It was also a Dome-shaped building, but it was far grander than the training hall. The Quest hall had seventeen floors. It seems that this place was more important than the Academy main-building.


    Shiny tables that have a lot of cables were positioned symmetrically such that there would be a wide walkway in the middle and the sides of the Quest Hall. Near the table, many students sat on the chairs, some chipped in the cables in their mana com to accept quest while the others drank Magic-colas.


    Occasionally, A portal will open near the students that accepted the quest, and they will be teleported to the adventure association of their desired city, town, or tavern.


    Five of the "Dragontooth" guild members had already gathered on the second floor of the Quest Hall. They waited for the arrival of their leader and vice-leader Ding Long and Lin Dong. They were unaware that the topic of their conversation was just beneath their eyes.


    Technology that Whittaker hasn''t seen was placed in the central area of this place. A wide pillar surging with visible mana reached up to the peak. Holographic screens, in his case, the system notification that he sees was floating in mid-air, and all around the pillar. He received a shock to the very core of his being.


    Humans feared the unknown, but Whittaker had a wide smile on his face. He was excited because of everything he was witnessing. He was like a frog in the well, but one day, he will Pierce the sky of the awakened continent to take a dip in the ocean of mana.


    His eyes wandered all around, and a silly thought popped up in his mind, ''Is that pillar the long-lost parent of Night Will''s system. Are these screens his distant cousins?''


    "Come here," Saying that, Shadow stepped towards the pillar. He knew that Whittaker has just joined the Academy, and has not registered in the Quest Hall. He was going to help him register.


    Like a puppy, Whittaker followed behind. He was ignorant of this place. Thankfully, his roommate seems to possess all the knowledge that he lacks.


    Shadow took Whittaker to the pillar to get registered. Following the protocols, he had him place his hand on the pillar to get registered. A spell matrix formed beneath his palm. Time ticked by, sixty seconds later, two items were delivered to Whittaker by a light that shone out of the spell matrix.


    Really interested, Whittaker gazed at these items, and system notifications popped up.


    [Mana com: Use to access mana net and communicate with other awakened worldwide.]


    [Hunters ring: Use to store stuff. Maximum Weight capacity 3000 Kg. Storage limit, 69 items. The user will feel 0.03 percent of the total weight.]


    From the side, a clear voice warned him,


    "These items aren''t permanent, and after completing a quest, you have to return them within 24 hours, or else, you will suffer under the hands of the Sadist belonging to the Disciplinary Hall. You have to complete 100 quests, If you want to obtain them permanently"


    "Oh!" Whittaker had heard about that place before. Headmaster had sent Barbarian Luo to get punished there. He will surely return these items, as he didn''t want to be spanked. How embarrassing would getting beaten up without a chance to fight up will be? He didn''t know and didn''t want to know.


    Shadow has chipped the cables in his and Whittaker mana com. On the other hand, Whittaker was curiously scrutinizing this place.


    Behind the pillar, there stood a lot of doors. Pointing at them, he inquired, "Shadow, what are these doors?"


    Shadow glanced up to take a look at them. Then he replied, "Dungeon doors. Depending on which door you choose, you will be taken to a monster or magical beast dungeon. Dungeons are hard, and I advise you to learn more than five basics Pure-mana spells before challenging them."

 Chapter 25: Accepting quest.

    Whittaker nods his head in thoughts,


    ''Safety comes first. If I get hurt or die then there will be no more opportunities to earn money. So, I will follow his advice and learn some more pure-mana spells before entering a dungeon.''


    Shadow swiped the holographic screen one after another in dissatisfaction. All of the high-risk quests had low rewards for completion or demanded a higher power level awakened. He won''t do quests with low rewards and high risk. He was trying to find a suitable quest with reasonable rewards.


    For a while, Whittaker sat still on a chair placed beside Shadow. However, as time passed, he got impatient. Suddenly, he inquired, "What are you doing?"


    "Surfing the mana net to search for quests suitable for us." He swiped one more time, and his lips thinned into a smile, "Look, I found it."


    Whittaker gazed at the screen and saw the details of the quest.


    [Quest: Slay a pack of Snow Wolves, and collect the body of their alpha.


    Danger level: F-ranked


    Rewards: 100 Royal credit points, 2 F-ranked (1-star) Health potions, 5 F-ranked (2-star) Mana potions.]


    He knew about potions, so he asked Shadow the most important question. "What are Royal credits points?"


    ''How to explain it, hmm...'' He tapped his fingers on the table. Soon after, Shadow replied, "Royal credit points can be exchanged for money, items, potions, and books. 1 Royal credit point can be exchanged for 1 Platinum bar."


    Whittaker thought, ''100 Royal credit point can be exchanged for 100 platinum. 50 platinum was enough to buy a big house in the Elihu town, another fifty for a piece of land. So, earning a thousand platinum bar should be enough to purchase a piece of land and build a house in Frost Fall City.''


    Shadow continued, "The Royal credit points you earn from completing a quest will be stored on the backside of your student Id card." Saying that he pulled out his Student Id card and flashed its backside on Whittaker''s face.


    The snow-haired boy was dazzled, he said while rudely pointing and staring at Shadow,


    "You... you... you are really rich!"


    The number reflected on the backside of his Id card was 2765 Royal credits.


    Shadow smiled and didn''t explain much, and said while feeling slightly embarrassed,


    "Hey, I can''t accept this quest using my mana com. So, I will use your mana com to accept it before someone else does."


    In response, the snowy-haired youth excited crystal eyes blinked and he asked, "Why?"


    Shadow replied, "In the Academy Quest hall, there are a lot of rules. A student can only accept one quest a day, and the type of quest has to be changed regularly. There are two types of quest, hunting, and gathering. Yesterday, I completed a hunting quest, so today, I can only go on a gathering type quest."


    Shadow could hide this information or tell a lie but he told the truth that earned him more of Whittaker trust.


    Whittaker replied, "Sure, go ahead and accept it before someone else does."


    ''Honesty is the best policy!'' With a subtle smile on his face, Shadow thought while accepting the Snow wolves quest from Whittaker mana com. Then he started surfing the mana net by using his personal mana com.


    In the meantime, Whittaker pondered on his words. He was far intelligent than others his age and understood the essential meaning of his word.


    ''Yesterday, Shadow has completed a hunting quest so today, he couldn''t go for a hunting quest, unless he uses the loophole in the system, that is to party up with a person that can take a hunting quest! That''s why he took hold of me.''


    He didn''t feel bad, rather he felt happy as he had learned a great tactic to constantly take hunting quest every day. He looked down and saw Shadow rummaging the mana net for a gathering quest.


    Shadow was searching for a gathering quest that goes hand in hand with the Snow wolves hunting quest. In the end, he found one and accepted it.


    [Quest: Gather 12 stalks of Silver Moon grass


    Danger level: F-ranked


    Rewards: 10 Royal credit points, 1 F-ranked (2-star) Mana potion]


    The reward for gathering quest was noticeably more than ten times less than the hunting quest.


    "Sadly, I can only accept this low pay high-risk quest, as Silver Moon grass are usually grown in Silver Soul Forest, the place where the dens of the Snow wolves are in abundance," Shadow muttered, but it was loud enough for Whittaker to hear.


    He unplugged the mana coms, returned one to Whittaker, stored the second in his storage ring, and stood up. Finally, he pressed some buttons on the table, and a holographic screen popped up,


    [Opening a teleportation portal to Adventure Association building located in Swadehash City requires 10 Royal credit points]


    [Pay ten credits]


    ''No! That''s ten platinum!'' Whittaker thought in his heart while Shadow swiped his Student ID card through the slot on the card reader installed in the shiny table.


    A portal opened up beside them, along with a message that said,


    [The portal will close in ten seconds]


    "Let''s go in before the portal closes," Shadow said to Whittaker who was saddened, mulling over the loss of his ten platinum bar.


    They stepped into the portal. The moment they vanished from the Quest Hall of Frost Fall Academy was also the moment when they got transported to the Adventure Association building located in Swadehash City.

 Chapter 26: GRS & Arcs.

    The teleportation portals in the Water Kingdom are so advanced and stable that a person won''t feel dizzy even after nonstops teleporting one hundred times. In the magically advanced kingdom, teleporting was just like breathing, and even commoners could use these teleporters. Well, as long as they have the money to pay for the teleportation bill.


    Whittaker took a look around and noticed that this place had the same design as the Quest Hall, just that the building was three times bigger than the other one, and it was packed with awakened of all ages.


    Then there''s more of Night''s Will system relative, the huge pillar was placed beside him and more notification panels hovered around the pillar.


    "Does every Quest hall and Adventure Association building has this huge metallic pillar?" Whittaker asked Shadow. In his crystal white eyes, a huge brown pillar tiled with black metal and surging with mana was reflected.


    "Yeah, since these pillars are the main source behind the reason why teleportation from one place to another is made easily accessible to anyone," Shadow said, his words ignited the curious nature of Whittaker. Shadow continued after glancing at his sparkling eyes, "Do you wanna know more about it?"


    "Yes!" Immediately, he shook his head in wild fervent, displaying intense passion about this topic.


    "Pillars like this one is called GRS, short for Global Relocation System. The GRS is made after combining different types of mana-conduction metals and Etherwood obtained from an Ether tree. Ether tree is a popular material whose timber is used as a central component in many magic constructs, one of them being the GRS." Shadow explained, to the person beside him, while walking through the central path to get out of this building. "If you want to know more about the Ether tree then you can search for information about it through the mana com."


    ''He seems to know just about everything. Is Shadow a living encyclopedia? Or maybe these are just basic knowledge for the awakened!'' Whittaker thought. He was still interested in the GRS, so he took out the mana com.


    The mana com had a built-in explanation mode that explained to a newly registered user how to use it through the help of arrows. A screen panel with a search feature opened in his vision. In the search feature, he added in the name of the Ether tree by thinking about it.


    [Ether trees are more than a thousand years old trees that have absorbed a lot of Mana during their growth and lifetime. The timber obtained from them are able to conduct Mana very well and is therefore used to create high-quality scepters, magical spell scrolls, parts of magical weapons, and components of magic constructs. Their leaves are so full of vitality that eating a single piece can help an amputated person grow their limb. A single Ether tree is worth more than a million platinum.]


    Ding... Ding... Dong... His head exploded. ''More than a million platinum'', he has never held more than ten gold coins at a time, this amount was astronomical enough to shock the soul and the five mortal senses.


    The Adventure Association building in Swadehash City was located on a cliff, approximately a few inches within the boundary of the City.


    Outside of this boundary, Whittaker saw many Awakened riding on chained winged beasts and huge pieces of metal... his head tilted and eyes widened in shock, ''Metal could fly!''... ??? But his footsteps didn''t stop in their tracks.


    He was stepping ahead while gaping at the beasts and metals in the skies, his head tilted back, his body moving ahead, a walking posture that earned him many glares. The people around felt sorry thinking that fate was cruel to this pretty boy.


    "God gave him a pretty face but in return, took away his intelligence." A bystander said to his friend.


    The friend heaved a huge regretful sigh, "Sigh~~, Fate is cruel, and it is not in our power to help him. A person can only move on after witnessing the cruelty of fate."


    Soon after, Shadow and Whittaker stepped out of the city boundary, right at that moment, Shadow pulled out an identical metallic slab from his spatial ring.


    It was forbidden to fly within the boundaries of the City of Water Kingdom. Anyone that breaks this rule will be punished. A lightning bolt will strike them down to the ground. At best, they will crash on the ground and suffers from some broken bones and charred skin. At worst, they will pass away from the pain. That''s why no one was seen flying in the cities.


    Shadow comfortably placed his butt on the "Arc".


    "What is this?" Whittaker cautiously stared at it. His actions were enough to label him as a pumpkin from the countryside.


    "A flying object called Arc. It will help us reach the Silver Soul Forest faster." He answered and with a slight glance at the skies continued, "You probably don''t have one, so Hop onto my Arc."


    He only took caution against the unknown, but not the known. Such was his personality.


    "Thanks!" Whittaker exclaimed, walking up to the hovering Arc, he tried to sit down on it, but he couldn''t as the Arc floated over his head. A real-life struggle began for the young boy trying to place his butt on the "Arc".


    "Pfft" Shadow turned around to laugh at what he just saw. Then he turned back to say with an extended hand, "Take my hand, I will help you up."


    "Thanks once again, " He grabbed his hand and Shadow hauled him up and placed him on the arc.


    Then the Arc truly started flying.


    He was flying!


    Feeling the rush of wind ruffling his air, a beaming smile appears on his face. He asks the living encyclopedia with eyes opened wide in excitement, "How was this thing created? How does it work??"


    Shadow explained, "The Arc and other Flying objects are made by fusing mana conductors with a metal called "Common". Just like its name, the metal alone has no properties, but once combined with mana conductors, it becomes Special."


    "How so?" Whittaker said. He continues, "How can metal that is named "Common" because of possessing no properties become special because of combining with mana conductor???"


    With a smile on his face, Shadow continues his chat with the excited roommate.


    "Its metal is pushed by gravity instead of pulled, but only when a mana current runs through it. No one knew that until the Great Professor Heimerdinger while performing one of his experiment, found out about its special properties,"

 Chapter 27: Bustling Forest edge.

    Whittaker''s curious nature could only be satisfied after he memories the shape of this metal and learn how much an Arc is "Worth". So, he started surfing the mana net for the information while thinking, ''Who knows, maybe one day, I will be lucky enough to get my hands on this stuff!''


    Soon after, due to his innate memorization skills, he learned all that there was to about the Arcs, flying object, and the metal called "Common".


    Although Shadow didn''t have the guidance of a map, he was still on the correct route to their destination. He had visited the Silver Moon forest three times to hunt wolf''s pack all alone, so he knew his way around this place. The Arc continued on its intended path until they reached very close to the Silver Soul Forest, then the Arc descended from the clouded skies.


    The Forest was a hunting ground from which the nobles of the Swadehash City earned a passive income every month. Entering the forest without undergoing inspection was considered illegal, and any person caught illegally entering the forest will have to pay a certain amount of fine or spend a certain amount of time in prison.


    After the Arc landed on the ground, Shadow and Whittaker stepped away from it, then he stored it into his Spatial ring. Yesterday, it had snowed here. The remains of the snow decorated the ground so much that the two boys could be seen walking on Snow.


    At the edge of the forest, Whittaker saw large houses, each with a different name. Looking closely, he realized that all of the houses are shops selling a wide variety of items ranging from potions to beast weapons. He could see and hear a group of people trying to form a party.


    "Looking for an E-ranked Battle-mage to hunt black panther. Total Profit will be split equally between the members. Must have an explosion and defensive spells."


    "Looking for a D ranked Assassin to steal lightning python egg. Total Profit will be split 40/60."


    Similar shouts could be heard by both the boys. This place was bustling with people and polluted with noise, making Whittaker''s head hurt which caused him to frown. He thought, ''Was this a forest or a marketplace?''


    Understanding that everything is his first time, Shadow said to Whittaker, "Do you wanna know why a forest''s edge can be this bustling?"


    "Yeah, why is that?" Whittaker asked, his gaze roaming about.


    Shadow explained while leading him to the forest entrance gate, "It''s easy to understand, where there are magical beasts, there is profit. This is the marketplace set up by nobles to make a lot of easy profit. Never buy anything from places like this because it is a massive scam. The prices of all the items being sold here are sold for double or triple their actual price. It''s always better for us students to buy hunting supplies from the Academy marketplace."


    Pointing his finger at the group of peoples buying the overpriced items, Whittaker asked, "But why are they purchasing the overpriced items?"


    "Most adventures only have access to marketplaces like this. Do you remember what I told you about buyers?" Shadow said.


    Whittaker nodded and replied,


    "The price of an item depends on the desperation of the buyer."


    "Yes, adventurers are a wealthy group of people as hunting even a single magical beast is worth more than what a normal civilian earns while working for a week. Some of the Awakened don''t really care about how much they spend or waste while buying the items they are desperate for. That''s why these people are buying them. Come on, follow me."


    Saying that Shadow hastened his footsteps, and like a hamster, Whittaker chased his back.


    Just as they moved away from the disturbing chaos of a market, Whittaker could not help but be shocked by the majesty in front.


    There were a lot of tall and large trees, older than fifty years, at the forest periphery, encircled by immense steel fences that faced the forest. The fence height exceeded 20 meters, looking very robust.


    Hundred of law enforces patrolled the area, each wearing full body armor, grasping high ranked beast spear in their hands. All the guards here are above D-rank and have bathed in the blood of many. They gave a dangerous feeling to Whittaker.


    There were two entrances to the Silver Moon forest. One was vacant while many people stood in line in front of the other entrance.


    The vacant entrance could only be used by VIPs. The second gate was for commoners.


    One by one, the commoners underwent inspection. They handed over some platinum bars to the guard, and he allowed them entry.


    "Do everyone have to pay an entrance fee to enter the Silver Moon forest?" Whittaker asked.


    Shadow said to Whittaker while heading directly towards the VIP entrance, "Well, we don''t have to."


    Whittaker eyes blinked and he asked, "Why?"


    "Hmm.. how to explain it... As you can see, not anyone can enter the Silver Moon forest to hunt as the entrance is guarded by soldiers. To hunt, a person must have a hunting warrant given by the Awakened Hall or has to possess a student ID that identifies them as a part of a Royal Academy. Only then will the guards allow them to enter the forest to hunt. We are students from a Royal Academy, that''s why we don''t have to pay a fee."


    "Then, what about students from normal academies?" Whittaker asked. He was curious about normal academies because his sister studied in one.


    Shadow replied, "Students from normal academies can not legally hunt magical beast until they graduate. While entering magical beasts forest illegally is possible but those who enter illegally usually fare a bad ending. Do you understand?"


    Whittaker nodded.


    Thanks to Shadow explanation, he also realized that his sister has probably never hunted a magical beast as she was studying in a normal Academy and she needed to graduate before she can start hunting. That''s why she never sent home any money.


    The VIP entrance was covered by some guards that stood before a steel fence.


    "Kids, stop right there. Who are you?" They shouted when they saw Shadow and Whittaker moving closer to the Vip gate.


    In reply, he simply handed over his and Whittaker Student ID card to one of them. The guard casually glanced at the IDs to fulfill basic formalities but his eyes widened in surprise.


    ''Students from a Royal Academy!''


    On his face immediately appeared a respectful look, and he hurriedly shooed away the other guards. He returned the IDs to Shadow and Whittaker. Then he let them enter the forest by opening the vacant VIP iron gate.


    Just like that, Whittaker and Shadow entered the Silver Moon Forest under the envious glare of the other adventures. They thought, ''Che, it''s really good to be born with a silver spoon!''''

 Chapter 28: Slaying Snow Wolves Pack

    A few minutes after entering the forest, Shadow took out two small vials of a yellowish powder. He extended his hands to give one vial of powder to Whittaker.


    When Whittaker gazed at it the effect of the powder in the vial was revealed as a system notification popped up.


    [Scent concealing powder


    F-ranked (1-star)


    Effect: Hide the scent of the User from beasts, humans, and animals alike. The effect lasts for ten minutes.]


    He thought in excitement, ''So this is a magical powder!''


    Whittaker happily accepted it after promising to Shadow that he will pay for these items after the quest is completed and the reward is obtained. Shadow smiled at his word and said,


    "Sure, but if you change your mind, then there is no need to pay."


    Whittaker was gonna pay as his mindset didn''t allow him to take advantage of a good person. He asked,


    "Are we gonna use this?"


    He replied to the sparkling eyes snowy-haired boy, "Yes! The snow wolves are found a little deeper into the forest so we will have to walk for a while. Along the way, there will be many magical beasts but the Scent concealing powder will help us avoid them. Follow my actions to sprinkle it evenly around your body."


    The Silver Moon Forest inhabits different kinds of Magical Beasts, each with their unique habitats. It is divided into different hunting grounds according to the Power Level of the magical beast found there. The deeper a person goes into the forest the higher the level of the hunting ground, and the stronger the Magical beast he will encounter. The snow wolves are found near the second hunting ground, so they needed to travel for a while.


    "Sure," Whittaker nodded. Following Shadow''s actions, he opened the vial and scattered the scent concealing powder on his body.


    "Follow closely behind me," Shadow said and the adventure continued. He knew the best shortcuts to reach deeper into the first hunting ground of the Silver Moon forest. The shortcut will let them arrive near a snow wolves pack before ten minutes.


    The forest was not peaceful or quiet, roars of magical beast rose and fell one after another. Amidst the roars of magical beasts, two young boys sneaked their way deeper into the forest. The scent concealing powder worked its wonder as stated in the description as not even a single magical beast sensed them.


    After many twists and turns, they reached a place filled with a nauseating smell.


    Whittaker nose crinkled due to the stench, he asked the living encyclopedia, "What is this disgusting stench?"


    "This is the smell of Snow wolves piss. They use their piss to mark a place as their territory."


    "So, a pack of Snow wolf is somewhere near our current location. Right?" Whittaker said, excited about the hunt.


    Shadow replied with a nod, "Yeah! I will bait them here, but first, take these items!"


    Shadow gave three blue vials and a ball with many mystical symbols to Whittaker. The ball had a hole in the front and a soft rear with a button in the middle.


    Whittaker''s eyes lowered to take a look at them and system notifications popped up.


    [Mana Potion


    F-ranked (1-star)


    Effect: Restore 100 Units of mana]


    [Diabolical Flintlock (Reloadable) (Max limit:1/1)


    F-ranked


    Effect: Shoots out the steel arrow stored in it. Can pierce the body of 1-star and 2-star magical beasts]


    Magical beasts are divided into different stars according to their power level. A magical beast with a power level of 1 is called a 1-star beast.


    Shadow said, "This is the killing trap I was talking about. You can press the button at the back of the ball to arose the symbols and activate the trap. A sharp steel arrow will shoot out from the front hole. This item will help you deal with the Alpha of their pack.".


    Right then, Whittaker stored these items in his hunter ring. Along the way, Shadow had explained to him a lot about Snow wolves and their intelligent pack leader, the winter wolf. The snowy-haired boy understands all of it but he still found some misconceptions with his plan.


    "Are you sure that the Winter Wolf is gonna attack me and not you?" Whittaker asked.


    The alpha of the snow wolf pack was a Winter Wolf. Winter wolf has human-like intelligence, and they usually attack the mages of a party, since mages have frail bodies.


    Shadow replied, "Yes, and you will only have one moment to fight back, you remember it, right?"


    Whittaker nodded his head. The Winter wolf was very fast and it could easily evade the steel arrow. His crystal eyes brightened with a glint of wisdom. There was one way to accurately hit the Winter wolf. It was a single moment. He thought, ''Everything will go well during the hunt as long as I don''t mess up and miss that moment to take down the Winter Wolf.''


    While he was thinking that, Shadow has moved some paces ahead.


    "I am about to start!"


    Shouting that Shadow opened the vial of Three Red Feathers Chicken Blood and tilted it. The blood dripped out from the vial and dropped on the snowy ground.


    The Three Red Feathers Chicken Blood was commonly used as bait to attract Snow Wolves.


    The scent of the blood diffused in the surrounding area and spread in the surrounding. Soon after, the howling of snow wolves resounded!

 Chapter 29: Hunting

    Whittaker and Shadow summoned their Class weapons. The Frost spellbook materialized over the head of the snow-haired boy while Shadow gripped the Dark Thruster Dagger in his right hand.


    Last time he wasn''t able to see Shadow class weapon clearly as the room was dark, this time Whittaker saw that the dagger has two attribute lines, a purple one and a dark one.


    Purple attribute line defines Space! Dark attribute line Defines darkness!


    Whittaker seems to recall the saying of his sister,


    "Whittaker, in this world, the rank of melee class weapons is determined by the amount of the attribute lines they have. The more the attribute lines the lesser the rank. Your sister has four attribute lines, so I have a C-rank class weapon, ah you probably won''t understand until your awakening ceremony." This was what his sister had said in one of her many letters.


    He was born intelligent and definitely understood what she meant at that time, but now he has seen it with his own eyes!


    Shadow Class weapon was the same rank as his, an A-ranked class weapon!


    Whittaker crystal snowy eyes showed more interest than ever in Shadow who utilized his battle skill, Defense Break!


    "Effect: Ignore all types of defenses and deal true damage to the enemy."


    The Dagger glowed all over with a life-threatening purple glint. Shadow took a cautious stance while his eyes opened wide and his ears flinched.


    Having trained in the ways of Assassins since the age of three, over the last 9 years, his senses have surpassed even D-rankers. He could hear the sounds of twelve snow wolves coming towards their location. One crouching extremely near, hiding behind a tree.


    But its breathing couldn''t escape his extreme hearing senses!


    The snow wolf jumped out from the tree beside Shadow. The wolf, as soon as it landed on the ground, leaped towards Shadow''s exposed neck in one go.


    "Roar!" Its jaw wide open threatened to reap Shadow''s life in the most gruesome way.


    He had been getting for a sneak attack like this one, so almost immediately, he swung the dagger in the direction of the rustling sound.


    It was a perfectly executed reply to the sudden attack.


    Swish! The sharp edges of the dagger stabbed in the wolf head, blood gushed out immediately. The wolf stopped in it its track!


    Snow wolfs are fearsome magical beasts that have very strong defensive furs and they were feared because of their sturdy bones and hard flesh, but this dagger shattered through all three defenses and pierced into its head!


    The Snow wolves spat out a pained howl but this was just the beginning of its misery.


    Right then, Whittaker called out multiple times, [Frost Bolt]... [Frost Bolt]... [Frost Bolt]


    The Frost Spellbook brightened up with glacial lights multiple times and spat out three frost bolts, one by one.


    The three frost bolts cost him 45 Mana, but his mana regeneration was too strong, 8 points of mana were restored every second. In six seconds, the mana point bar would be refilled.


    One by one, the frost bolts crashed on the back of the snow wolf. It was nudged ahead and Shadow dagger shoved deeper into its head. The wolf wriggled around and threw a seizure-like fit as if it was under a great deal of pain. In the same instant, it died due to the sheer pain. Shadow pulled out his dagger from the head of the snow wolves, it crashed on the ground, lifeless but still twitching.


    Blood gushed out of its wound and decorated the ground, scarlet.


    Shadow reflexively shook the purple dagger and the blood tainting it scattered on the nearby snow.


    Some meters behind him, Whittaker stood in a slight daze. A system notification has popped up, [User Killed 1-star snow wolf. Gained 100 XP]


    Whittaker''s eyes opened wide in surprise, a 100 experience points were so easily obtained. He didn''t even do much to kill the snow Wolf! Just three Frost Bolts and that''s all. He thought in glee, ''So, hunting magical beast was really the way, the fastest way to grow stronger.''


    Shadow shouted, "Good work. Even though it is your first time, you''re still better than many others that I have teamed up with."


    Shadow has teamed up with many fellow students. But most of them ended up disappointing him so much that he had started to hunt solo unless necessary. His Class weapons and personal strength allowed him such freedom.


    In response, Whittaker beamed a wide smile.


    However, the joy of victory was temporary!


    He saw two Snow wolves with heavy fur coats rushing towards them.


    [Exceptional vision: User sense of sight is ten times stronger than normal humans. It can be used as a defense versus certain types of illusion and deception] Such was the skill description. Due to these skills, he saw the snow wolves 50 feet away from them, rushing 10 yards (30 feet) per second.


    He alerted, "More are incoming!"


    Shadow replied with a slight smile, "I have already sensed them!"


    The snow wolves bared their big fangs and closed the distance in an instant.


    Shadow''s expression hardened exponentially.


    Thick killing intent, that was all that filled his eyes.


    One of the Snow wolves faltered under the stare while the other targeted his face and leaped up.


    It shot straight towards him, but he was expecting it and evaded the attack by sidestepping at the last second, leaving the wolf wide-open and defenseless, a purple dagger stabbed into the chest, and almost immediately, three Frost Bolt smashed into its face!


    A red line was drawn on its stomach as the snow wolf drifted back due to the Frost Bolts. It crashed into one of the many trees, cracks immediately formed in the tree trunks and it shook. After the initial impact, the snow wolf plunged into the snow and some leaves fell over the corpse.


    The system notified Whittaker, [User Killed 1-star Snow wolf. Gained 100 XP]


    The other wolf, taken over by rage, attacked almost immediately at the defenseless neck of the black-haired boy whose back was turned towards it.


    But Shadow has sensed it moving, and a killer smile formed on his face.


    Who was the hunter, and who is the hunted?


    That''s totally up to bloody glinting purple Dagger to decide!

 Chapter 30: Luna

    The bloody dagger glinting with a Purple aura moved faster than the enraged Snow Wolf. It didn''t even know what happened to it, but by the time it realized what happened, a red line has been drawn on its neck.


    The snow wolf head detached from its torso, and Shadow sidestepped the blood squirting out of the headless body.


    Whittaker crystal eyes opened very wide and he stared dumbfoundedly at Shadow.


    ''He is insanely fast. He is so fast that I didn''t even get the chance to attack!''


    This time, no notification popped up.


    ''My experience points!!! Next time, I got to hit the Beasts at least once, or else I won''t get any experience points from their death,'' he thought while smacking his lips, realizing that a bundle of experience points has just escaped his grasp.


    Right now, several wolves were rushing towards them. Each of them had a ferocious face because they smelled the blood of their family. The alpha wolf, an 8-foot winter wolf, considered each member of the pack as important as a son, even one wolf''s death was sufficient to enrage it.


    "ARH-WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"


    Snow dust was raised by the stomping of the wolves in the area in front of their eyes. Now, within the snow dust, only a big black silhouette followed by varying size silhouettes could be seen.


    Shadow ears flinched. "1... 2... 3... 9, a total of nine wolves, eight of them are snow wolves and one is the Winter wolf!"


    "Whittaker, it''s here!"


    The plan was to taunt the winter wolf so that it will attack him while Shadow stall the rest of them.


    "I am on it!" Whittaker crystal eyes opened very wide as if peering through the fog and he shouted,


    [Frost Bolt]...[Frost Bolt]...[Frost Bolt]...


    The Frost spellbook hurled ten Frost bolts directly at the silhouettes in the snow dust. The winter wolf leaped left and right to evade the Frost bolts but the same couldn''t be said for the snow wolves behind it. The Frost Bolts crashed into them. The wolves hit by the Frost bolts rolled about until they slammed in the nearby trees.


    The winter wolf was successfully taunted because of his attacks. It ignored Shadow and flew over his head. Then rushed straight at Whittaker.


    The others wolves whimpered due to pain, and shakily stood up and rushed to Shadow. Then they surrounded him in the middle, taking faltering steps ahead. Two leapt and attacked him, but Shadow sidestepped and chopped off the head of one.


    Seeing that, the snow wolves growled at him but didn''t attack. This became a passive situation for the assassin as he couldn''t rush in to attack.


    Meanwhile, a notification alerted Whittaker, [User Killed 1-star snow wolf. Gained 100 XP]


    The winter wolf rushed to kill him but Whittaker kept his cool and stood still. It seems like he has given up on living but the Diabolic Flintlock was hidden in his hands.


    The winter wolf covered the distance of few paces and then leaped as it wanted to tear apart his neck. Right then, with a wide smile, he pointed the ball at the winter wolf and activated it.


    Swosh~ The Winter Wolf only saw a glint before it was smashed away by an arrow that stabbed into its chest!


    The winter wolf rolled about, raising a lot of snow dust.


    "Phew!" The job has been successfully done, almost immediately, he shouted Frost Bolts to help Shadow.


    "It''s still not dead!" Shadow warned as he felt the breath of the winter wolf!


    ''Eh?'' Whittaker turned to take a look at the Snow dust.


    Sure enough, before long, the wolf''s shrill ululation resounded from the midst of the dust and smoke, and a huge fluctuation of wind and ice magic could be sensed.


    All the snow dust was blown away, and Whittaker saw what was going on. He saw the sight of the half-dead winter wolf half squatting body, condensed in front of its mouth was a powerful fluctuation of ice elemental mana. Its eyes glaring at him were filled with resentment.


    Even after seeing Winter wolf''s actions, he was not afraid nor worried about anything. A beaming smile enacted his face as he started to perform a set of hand signs.


    Earth ? Sky ? Earth ? Sky ? Bird.


    Mana-shield!


    His body was surrounded by a coating of mana, ready to protect him from any harm.


    To his surprise, instead of targeting him, the winter wolf turned its face towards Shadow and released the Cold Breath.


    "What?" His eyes opened wider, almost immediately, he warned,


    "Shadow, look out!"


    Shadow had already sensed the blast of freezing cold air. He bends around to dodge and the cold air blasted into the snow wolves. At the same moment, while still bend Shadow saw two bright blue points of light approaching Whittaker from behind the trees.


    Such bright and mesmerizing eyes could only belong to the Luna!


    Damn! How could a Luna be here?!!!


    His eyes opened wide in alarm and he shouted, "Whittaker watch out for the Luna wolf, I saw her coming from the trees right behind you!"


    ''Luna wolf?'' Whittaker felt a massive threat to his life.

 Chapter 31: The Guardian

    The threatening feeling was coming from right behind him!


    Whittaker turned around and saw a wolf, the same size as the winter wolf, whisking towards him while revealing her sharp and shiny Fangs.


    The Luna wolf had silently slinked her way to the mage. Among the low-level magical beasts, Luna wolf knew how to hide and mask her presence very well. "To sneak up at a prey and suddenly kill it," this was her way of hunting, far different from the rest of the packs.


    With a distance of three meters between them, nothing was stopping her from going all out.


    She pounced towards her prey. In response, Whittaker shouted with a smile hung low on his face,


    [Frost Shield]


    Almost immediately the Frost spellbook converted 50 mana into frost elemental mana and three Frost Walls materialized right between them, separating him from the sight of the Luna Wolf.


    He wasn''t gonna go down without putting up a fight. Eyes reflecting his determination, he thought, ''I will utilize everything I have to take down the Luna! Even if it means exposing my embarrassing side to my roommate.''


    The Luna wolf was in mid-air, and she couldn''t change her directions. The only path left for her was to break through the Frost Walls. Behind the Frost Walls, Whittaker steadily stood with a sword in his hand.


    While still in mid-air the Luna Wolf bright eyes shine brighter as she used her ability,


    [Three-Clawed Ice Swipe!]


    Three lines of Icy energy shoot out from her claws and shattered two of the three Frost Wall. While her 5-meter wide-body crashed into the third Frost Wall.


    "Smash!" Under the heavy impact, the last Frost Wall immediately shattered. Some of the icy shards stabbed into the flesh of the Luna, while others grazed past her skins but her momentum propelled her ahead.


    The bleeding Luna Wolf believed that, after breaking the Frost shields, she will see the terrified face of the defenseless mage but reflected in her eyes was something entirely else.


    It was a confident smile and a will to fight!


    Two Frost Bolts smashed into her face and before she knows it, a seven-colored light blinded her vision.


    This was the perfect opportunity to attack as the Luna wolf could not change her direction.


    "Chop!" Whittaker chopped down with his sword.


    "Swish!" The seven-colored edges of the sword sliced into her neck as if it was a hot knife passing through butter. Blood was drawn as the head of the Luna wolf was chopped off. Blood sprinkled on the seven-colored sword and Whittaker, who didn''t have time to marvel at the sharpness of the sword, cause her headless body knocked him down!


    [User has killed an E-ranked Luna Wolf. Obtained 200 Experience points]


    The Winter Wolf was already on his last breath. Seeing his mate die, he breathed his last.


    [User has Killed an E-ranked Winter Wolf. Obtained 200 Experience Points]


    Pressed beneath her body, he didn''t feel any pain because of the mana-shield. Only a handful of mana was detected from his mana bar, leaving him with dozens of mana points that regenerated over time.


    The system notifications brightened his mode even more so than before.


    He pushed the Luna Wolf body to the side and sat up in a slight daze. "Eh?" To his surprise, all the blood of the Luna Wolf from the nearby surrounding has been rushing to the seven-colored sword held in his hand!


    One by one, the seven colors of the sword vanished, replacing them was a pure black blade with a Scarlet attribute line that stretched from the handle of the sword to its edge.


    A single attribute line means an S-ranked class weapon!


    Multiple system notification popped up and filled his vision,


    [Detected! The User has initiated the bonding ceremony with his own free will. Seal of the Class weapon shattered!]


    ''Own free will???'' Whittaker''s eyes opened wider due to the sudden surprise and he remained still in a daze.


    [Class Weapon: F-ranked Rusty Sword has been upgraded into S-ranked "Blood Drinker"]


    [Class: Rainbow Swordsman has been upgraded into rank-1 Guardian of Night]


    [Endurance increased by 2]


    [Endurance Increased: 9?11]


    [Night Guardian Basic Passive skills unlocked:


    A: Skill Duplication: Class weapon "Blood Drinker" produces a skill after devouring blood and from knowledge in your mind�CFor Night has said, "Blood is Life".


    B: Blood Link: The Guardian will be linked to the selected target by blood. Max target (0/1)]


    Whittaker''s eyes rapidly blinked as he barely understood what''s going on. This time even his intelligence wasn''t enough to help him understand the sudden surge in power.


    All the blood rushed faster into Blood Drinker!


    [Blood Drinker absorbed Luna wolf blood!]


    [Passive Skill Activated: Skill Duplication]


    The spellbook started to absorb mana from the surrounding while shining brightly. A new spell page formed in the air and became a part of the book.


    [Learnt spell: Three-clawed Ice swipe]


    [F-ranked Skill "Chop" upgraded to Rankless skill "Three-Clawed Blood Slash"]


    [User has successfully become the Guardian of Night. Please become stronger as soon as possible.]


    ?Main Quest Activated: Preparation to becoming stronger. Advance into an E-ranked Battle master in a month?


    ?Rewards: 200 experience points, rankless skill book?


    ?Penalty: -20 Intelligence?


    Whittaker: "..."????????!

 Chapter 32: Title!

    He asked, not out loud, the system, ''System! What''s a guardian?''


    Just like every other time, no reply came~


    His curiosity was at its peak, but he didn''t have any method to find out except talking to the system who has been unresponsive. Just as he was about to give up, a notification popped up.


    [If the Guardian wants to satisfy his burning curiosity then complete the task at hand and become stronger.]


    ''But I barely have any knowledge about battle masters!''


    Whittaker smacked his forehead, realizing that at first, this was a blessing but in the end, it became a misfortune disguised as a blessing. In a month, he must become an E-ranked battle master, or else he will lose most of his magical powers.


    ''Thinking is not helping! Since the situation is as such, I will give it my all to become an E-ranked Battle master in a month! For now, let''s help Shadow.''


    Determination filled his eyes and he stood up, with Blood Drinker gripped in his hand and the Frost Spellbook above his head, from the snow piled up to his sides to slay the rest of the snow wolves that circled Shadow.


    With Whittaker assistance, Shadow started to take down one snow wolf after another. This is where their instinct kicked in!


    They turned tail and tried to run away while growling threateningly, but Whittaker was not gonna let his wealth escape. Six Ice Shields formed in the surrounding area, trapping the wolves and the two boys. Then Frost Bolts followed by the slashes of a Sword and a Dagger rained out on the Snow wolves.


    When they killed the tenth wolf, a strange message popped up in Whittaker vision,


    [You have acquired the ''Title: Magic Beast Slayer (F-ranked)]


    A title that is given to a Guardian who is skilled in hunting beasts. When Facing magical-beasts, all of your stats will increase by 5%]


    [Kill 100 Magical beasts to upgrade the title to E-rank: 0/100. ]


    ''A 5% bonus boost to my stats when fighting magical beasts, it''s good indeed, and it''s only F-ranked! If the damage increase by 5% every time the title ranks up then how much would it be?'' He felt excitement just by thinking about it. The hunt continued.


    Some minutes later, Shadow and Whittaker sat upon the snow, gasping for breath while laughing.


    "I am sorry. I didn''t think a Luna Wolf would hunt in the winter, otherwise, I would have given you another Diabolic Flintlock." Shadow expressed his apologies to Whittaker, who was slightly dazed.


    Normally, during winter, the winter wolves mate with Luna wolves, and impregnate them, due to which, the Luna wolves don''t join in on the hunting. This time was simply an unfortunate event.


    "Everything is fine, so it''s alright, anyway, we took them down in the end. Let''s get the things you were talking about." Whittaker said, staring at the headless and bloody carcasses of the wolves with love-filled eyes. Thinking, ''Treasure equates to money. Oh wealth, here I come!''


    "Before that, you should hide your sword, as it will bring you endless trouble if someone is to see it," Shadow said with a stern face and a mysterious vibe. His head turned to stare left and right, in his eyes, a black dot was flaring with a baleful aura that diffused in the surrounding. Just looking at it caused chills to crept up on Whittaker''s spine. Shadow was using a top-notch innate ability that only pure-blooded descendent of the Shen Ze Yi Guild possesses.


    [Dark eyes (One-Dot): Detect all signs of life in 100 meters around the User. The range increases with the usage of the ability.]


    The way he said that and his actions were too serious for Whittaker to ignore the warning, so he recalled Blood Drinker into the Soul space.


    After a while.


    "Phew ~ luckily, there''s no one near our surroundings," Shadow exclaimed, feeling relief filling up his body.


    Whittaker asked Shadow with uncertainty,


    "Care to explain?"


    Shadow''s eyes thinned in melancholy, "The Temple of light won''t allow an irregularity like you to exist."


    Whittaker felt confused and surprise. He pointed at himself and asked, "How am I an irregularity? Is it because of possessing two Class Weapons?"


    Shadow looked him in the eyes and said with an angry tone,


    "Nope, it''s because your weapon has a blood attribute. Because of the ''Ruined King'', the templars hate people who have blood attributes class weapons, and you have the highest degree of it. If they somehow know about it, the templars will either imprison you or publicly execute you with your family in the name of hypocritical justice!"


    The temple of light was the number one righteous group in the world, a holy place, and they only hunt down the bad guys. While templars are those who enforce the rules of the temple of light and execute the command of the higher-echelons in the name of justice.


    Whittaker gulped his saliva, his heart palpitated with concerns. Shadow''s words would have traumatized him but his passive ability helped him stay rational and calm.


    [Gamer''s Body (Passive): Helps the guardian stay rational. Grants the Guardian with a body that allows him to live the real world like a game. After sleeping in a bed, it restores HP, MP and cures all status effects. The guardian can still feel pain or lose his limbs.]


    "Just possessing a blood attribute weapon makes me a bad guy?" Whittaker muttered with a downcast face. He looked at Shadow and asked, "Who is the Ruined King?"


    "One of the seven great Evils!" Shadow placed his hands on Whittaker''s shoulders to comfort him for what''s to come. Then he continued,


    "This temple of light is just one of your troubles! For three of the Seven Great Evils of the awakened continent will do anything to obtain you!"

 Chapter 33: The three Great Evil!

    Whittaker''s head started to ache so much as if horses were stomping his face. The temple of light was enough, but now, three more have joined in on the fun. "...."!


    For a split second, he thought that Shadow is pranking him, but the sadness and other emotions in Shadow eyes were too real to ignore. He thought, ''Probably, something sad happened to Shadow in the past. Sigh ~ Who did I offend in my previous life? Maybe it was wrong to use the sword to kill the Luna wolf with my rainbow sword. I should have followed the skill description and only butchered chickens and pigs!''


    Whittaker didn''t get the chance to visit the library as he wanted to make money, so he also didn''t know anything about the seven great Evil.


    "Obtain me... it is also because of my sword, right? More importantly, what even are the seven great Evil?" Whittaker wanted to know about the dangers to his life, as it was clear from Shadow words that he was a mere item for three of the Seven Great Evil!


    Shadow''s eyes showed a mixture of complicated emotions and he replied after a nod, "Let me explain. The Seven Great Evils are the worst criminals in the world. The Seven Great Evils refers to Four Guilds, two palaces, one terrorist organization, and one person who is also called the Ruined King! All of them are criminals wanted by all the Associations in the Awakened continent. Their hands are tainted by the blood of the innocents. They have killed a lot of people whether it be nobles or commoners!"


    Shadow gaze intently at Whittaker and continued by saying, "Listen carefully! You need to look out for the terrorist organization, Sypinxz, and the two palaces, the Demon Palace and the Palace of the Seven Sins more than the temple of light! If they found out about your blood attribute class weapon then they will relentlessly chase after you. To obtain you they will even attack the Academy or go as far as to take hostage everything you cherish!" Shadow said, hinting at the bigger picture. His hand was trembling as rage and sadness swelled up in his eyes. From the depth of his heart, he hated the two palaces and Sypinxz!


    Whittaker thought, ''Because of me, my family can be threatened! I will never allow that!''


    Looking right into Shadow eyes, he asked,


    "Can you tell me why they would want to obtain me?"


    Shadow replied, "You are the perfect candidate for the Sypinxz to recruit as the Brainless demon vessel as you are a commoner with two High-ranked Class weapons. While the two Palaces has a business of trafficking S-ranked Class weapons. They are supported by peoples in power! They capture peoples like you who have S-ranked Class weapons, and by using their demonic methods, they permanently withdraw the Class weapons from the Soul space! Moreover, you are a commoner with no backing. So, your life will be threatened the moment information about your S-ranked Class weapon is exposed."


    The demonic method could only work on S-ranked. Using the demonic method, a person can extract S-rank Class weapons from another person''s soul space. While this demonic method can not work on Lower ranked Class weapons as they will shatter during the extraction process.


    Whittaker finally comprehended the dangers he can be exposed to if the information about his class weapon spread. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind!


    "Wait, how did you know that I am a commoner?" Whittaker exclaimed, gazing at Shadow with apprehension.


    Shadow''s eyes blinked, oh, I said too much!


    "It wasn''t hard to realize it as you are like an open book. You joined the Royal Frost Fall Academy one week after the others and you don''t know much about this world. Only mistreated son of nobles that are born out of wedlock or commoners that live in the countryside don''t have basic information about the world." Shadow hurriedly said that to instantly curb any misgivings that Whittaker has about him.


    Whittaker felt a stab of pain, was he so dumb that his background was obvious to Shadow, or is it that Shadow is a genius? There''s no way he is dumb so it gotta be the other way around!


    He counter-attacked as he still had one last suspicion, "Hmm, why do you believe that I am a commoner and not a mistreated noble born out of Wed��whatever?!"


    Shadow''s rage disappeared because of the dumb yet smart kid. The two kids sat face to face and chilly snowflakes started to descend from the clouded night skies.


    Shadow replied, "They will never trust another person and will be cautious about exposing even a tiny bit of advantage that they have. But you had acted differently from them."


    Whittaker thought, ''Hell no, I have a bigger secret that not even you know, not even the academy headmaster know!''


    But his emotion remained the same, one of shock. He was shocked at Shadow''s intelligence. His roommate connected dots from the tidbits of information and found about his humble background!


    "Anyways, You don''t need to put a guard against me. I am the Son of Water Dragon Region Duke, Shadow William. You are a subject of this kingdom and as a royal, I will perform my responsibility and do everything in my power to keep you away from harm!"


    Whittaker exclaimed in surprise while pointing at Shadow, "You are a royal?!"


    Shadow replied with a slight smile, "Yeah, I am!"

 Chapter 34: Loots

    The temple of light will hunt down anyone with a blood attributed Class weapon, but the same mentality can not be applied in the case of the royals and nobles of the Water kingdoms, especially those with a sane mind that can differentiate evil from good.


    Whittaker had an S-ranked Class weapon, which means he can become an S-ranked Battle master. In the entire world, S-rankers are considered to be the most powerful beings in existence. The Frost Fall Academy headmaster was one, while the other was Shadow''s father. Whittaker had the potential to become an S-ranker! Plus, Whittaker was also just an innocent civilian of the Water kingdom. So, Shadow had decided to officially treat him as a treasured subject of the kingdom and unofficially treat him as a good friend.


    A single S-ranker increases the power of the entire kingdom as a whole. An S-ranker is said to be able to fight an entire army by himself!


    Whittaker was recalling memories of the past.


    Water Dragon Region is the Southern region of the water kingdom. According to the words of his sister, that Whittaker didn''t believe, the Water Dragon Region had mermen, Merfolks, mermaids, and all the other aquatic creatures, humanoid or not, not found in the northern region, the place where he lives.


    "Shadow, are there really mermen, Merfolks, and other creatures in the Southern region?" Whittaker was really curious about this matter. He was so curious about this matter that the bad emotions filling up his mind has subsided. He coincidentally ended up evading something really "Bad".


    Shadow nodded his head and replied,


    "Yeah, we are in a peace treaty with their central kingdom, Atlantis. Most of the goods found in the water kingdom are products of the underwater kingdom. And most Atlanteans also live in the southern region of the Water Kingdom."


    Whittaker''s eyes lit up in excitement! He thought. ''I will become rich and then will go to the Southern region to witness the wonders of the aquatic world. I will also take mother Lin there!''


    Shadow said while standing up, "For now, don''t show your Class weapon to anyone except for Headmaster Yeon. He is an S-ranker working directly under the previous Water Emperor. So, he will try to find a solution to your problem." Shadow casually exposed a hidden secret to Whittaker, a secret so deep that not even the current officials of the royal court of Water Kingdom know!


    Whittaker nodded his head. In this situation, the kind-faced old man might very well be the only one with a solution!


    "Let''s get the beast''s core and complete the last quest. Then we can return to the Academy." Shadow said while feeling the coldness in the forest increase by a level.


    Staying in this cold place is definitely not a good idea.


    "Sure!" Whittaker stood up. Then he patted the snow dust off his butt. The two kids started to loot the treasures they deserve to obtain.


    Feeling happiness bubble over them, Shadow sliced open the snow wolf''s stomach, one by one, and Whittaker did the same after learning from his actions.


    Magical beasts in this world all possessed one, or sometimes, several, mana or battle energy crystals. If one gets lucky, a skill book might drop, too. That''s why many people can be seen risking their lives to hunt magical beasts. It was not an exaggeration to say that the reasons why adventurers participate in a battle against magical beasts were not just because of the promised payment for completing the quest, but also these magic crystals, as well.


    Anyways, among F and E ranked magical beasts, Snow wolves had one of the highest chance to drop at least one magical beast''s core.


    In the end, Shadow and Whittaker obtained eight battle energy cores from the corpse of the snow wolves and two mana cores from the luna wolf. They also stored the corpses of the snow wolves in their spatial ring. To their disappointment, the Luna wolf didn''t have a skill book!


    A notification detailing the information of the battle energy core and mana core popped up in Whittaker''s vision when he gazed at the core.


    [Battle Energy Beast core (F-ranked)


    Consumption time: 1 Hour or instant if converted to experience points.


    Effect: Gain 0.1 Battle energy or 10 XP.]


    [Mana beast core (F-ranked)


    Consumption time: 10 minutes or instant if converted to experience points.


    Effect: Gain 10 Mana or 10 XP.]


    Mana and battle energy crystals could be used for a variety of purposes and they alone exchanged hands for princely sums; no need to even mention the skill books, which could be used to learn brand new skills and spells. A person only needs to pour some drops of his blood on the book, and they will learn it. There was basically no hard work required to learn a skill through the use of skills books. That''s one of the why they went for such high prices in the market.


    Whittaker exclaimed with joy, "Let''s get to the real prize of our battle!"


    "Yeah, maybe it will have a skill book!" Shadow said that while walking towards the Winter wolf.


    Under the expectation-filled eyes of Whittaker, the winter wolf was sliced open.


    When the gut of the winter wolf was sliced open, a piercing glittering light shot out from within. Gazing at which the eyes of the boys widened in joy!

 Chapter 35: Spiritual world!

    "It''s a skill book!!!!" They exclaim in joy!


    They were successful in killing these monsters, so being heavily rewarded for their work kind of felt a bit like they were blessed somehow.


    Shadow sat down and skillfully dugout the skill book and the beast cores. Not even a single drop of blood tainted his hand covered in a dark aura. After taking out all the precious item from the Winter Wolf body, he stored it inside the storage ring.


    He got two beast core from the Winter Wolf: one was a mana core the other is a battle energy core. Suddenly, Shadow handed everything over to Whittaker!


    "Huh?" Whittaker was surprised. ''Why did he give them all to me? Do he want me to keep it because his storage is full? or is there another meaning to his action?''


    Shadow said, "Consider this as a congratulatory gift for being successful in hunting for the first time!"


    Normally, handing over every loot to the person who undergoes hunting for the time was called "Reaching Adulthood Ceremony", but this tradition was ancient. This was a rare sight nowadays, but Shadow still performed it as following the ancient traditions run deeper in the family.


    Whittaker thanked him for the gifts and turned to take a look at the skill book with glittering eyes. The skill book was a piece of crystalline rock with icy magical lines that connected at each side of the book to form a drawing of fangs.


    A notification containing the skill book information popped up.


    [Icy breath (F-ranked)


    Cost: 15 Mana


    Effect: Releases a sharp blast of cold wind against the targeted enemy. Can cause a bleeding effect.]


    This skill certainly felt familiar. He thought, ''Hmm, It is the ability that the winter wolf has used against Shadow. Interestingly, I have obtained this same skill!''


    "You will learn this ability if you drop your blood on the stone. Furthermore, this can also be sold in the online market for a good price of about 15 or so platinum as ice-related skills are rarer than other elements." Shadow said, pulling out the arrow stabbed in the winter wolf and storing it in his storage ring, he stood up.


    On the other hand, Whittaker stored all the stuff in his hunter ring while thinking, ''Once I return I will buy this ring and the mana com!''


    He was sure to have enough money to buy these items after he obtains the rewards from the quests.


    The two boys dusted their hands and decided to complete the last quest. The last quest was to gather 12 stalks of silver moon grass.


    Silver moon grass is usually found in or near snow wolves dens. It''s because the wolves set their dens around silver moon grass or collect them for use in winter. The grass was their typical meal in Winter, especially in desperate times, when they find no humans or beasts meat. Typically, a hunter could track the footsteps of Snow wolves and reach their layer, but such a way was not possible right now, as it was snowing and the tracks of the wolves had been covered by it.


    "It''s not possible to complete the next quest, is it?" Whittaker said while standing beside Shadow. The tracks of the wolves had thoroughly been covered by snow!


    Shadow replied with shaking his head with a smile, "It''s possible, wait for a while."


    Whittaker blinked his eyes while gazing at Shadow. His classmates might really have a way to get to the world den as he was a royal!


    Saying that he closed his eyes and soon after opened them. There was a dot in his eyes. This time it was purple rather than black. The world in his eyes was so much different than Whittaker and other humans. He was using an innate ability of his guild.


    [Spiritual eyes: Once used, the spiritual world overlaps with the physical world.]


    The first thing he saw was sun-like lights dancing before his spiritual eyes. This slightly blurred his vision and it took some seconds before he could see clearly.


    The sun-like lights are known as the innocent spirits of the spiritual world!


    He blinked and he saw a blue light appear in the forest two hundred meters in front of him, getting closer and closer to him by each passing second. The blue light was also morphing form, changing from a ball of light to a huge winter wolf!


    There existed several blue lights chasing behind the big blue light.


    "Guide me towards the place I desire!" Shadow said while gazing at the innocent spirits of the spiritual world.


    The sun-like lights started to drift with the wind, going ahead very fastly.


    "Follow me and stay close!" Shadow shouted and turned to chase behind the sun-like lights.


    Whittaker couldn''t see what he was seeing as the physical world and the spiritual world were separated by a veil, but he understood that something has happened. He followed behind Shadow, silently.


    Shadow ran straight into the blue lights that have morphed into a Winter Wolf and snow wolves. He passed right through them and chased after the innocent spirits of the spiritual world.


    Half an hour later, Shadow and Whittaker reached a place whose beauty was enchanted by grass glowing with moonlights!


    Silver Moon Grass!!!!

 Chapter 36: Moonstone

    In Whittaker''s eyes, a beautiful garden was reflected. It could only be described as a clearing in the spring.


    Patches of Silver Moonlight grass are flanked by huge towering trees. A lone ornamental piece stands in the back, it evokes the image of the God of magical beasts.


    Each tree was thicker than five meters and thick vines circle their trunk. The trunk of every tree had a wide circular hole. The insides were big enough to house tens of Whittaker. He presumed that these are the homes of the snow wolves. He curiously thought, ''Shadow had found the den of the snow wolves, but how? There were no tracks whatsoever on the snow.''


    He turned to Shadow and asked to satisfy his curiosity, "How did you find�C"


    "Don''t be surprised, the spirits guided me here," Shadow answered with a mysterious smile. He couldn''t tell him more than that, as it is in for Whittaker''s own good to be privy to this information.


    "Spirits are real!" Whittaker was surprised and had his beliefs shaken by his words. He didn''t believe in ghosts and stuff like that. He was an intelligent child and understood that stories of ghosts are told to kids just to scare them, but now it seems like they are real!


    The entire place was filled with Silver Moon Grass. Magical beasts are said to possess wisdom and human-like intelligence, so they must have found a way to farm this grass in winter or so Whittaker thought.


    Glancing one time in all four directions, Whittaker calculated that there are around 3000 stalks of Silver Moon grass of varying sizes ranging from 2 inches to 4 inches. The thinking wheels in his mind started to run faster than a dark horse. His thought process hastened so fast that after a second he calculated that they can earn 2500 Royal credit points from these herbs.


    "We have struck it rich!" The mouth started to salivate as greed took control: For 2500 Royal credit points equates to 2500 platinum bar. With so many bars, he could buy a piece of land and a mansion in Frost Fall City!


    Standing beside him was the knowledgeable royal, Shadow, who was as astonished as Whittaker but for a completely different reason. Had the spirits guided him to a treasure cave?


    Shadow observing gaze examined every inch of this place with interest and soon after he started to laugh like a maniac. Whittaker was horrified by his sudden loud laughter. Perhaps the treasure had shocked him too much?


    He asked what''s wrong and Shadow replied with sparkling eyes, "So many Silver Moon Grass can''t be cultivated in a single place, especially when it''s winter. And, it seems like some of these Silver Moon Grass are around 2-star, some even have reached 3-star. There must be a treasure somewhere here, a treasure loaded with vitality. A treasure so unique that it can stimulate the process of magical herbs!"


    Whittaker eyes also started to sparkle. He thought, ''A treasure that can help grow so many treasures must be a greater treasure!''


    Normally, if it was an average hunting group, a huge blood bath would have already begun. No one would give up on such huge wealth, even if it means butchering other humans and committing it all to cause a bloodbath, but the same didn''t go for Whittaker and Shadow.


    Shadow was a royal while Whittaker wouldn''t kill someone for "treasure". For Whittaker, a human life worth more than a million, such has become his mentality under the teachings of Mother Lin. While Shadow was very rich, his pockets so deep that the cash could fill even the deepest of rivers. To witness the wonders of the world and form memorable relations are some of the reasons why Shadow do quests.


    Gazing at each other with sparkling eyes, the two boys nodded and dashed to each side of the wolf den entrance. Words weren''t needed as both knew what they should do to loot the place in the fastest time.


    Whittaker chooses the left side while Shadow chooses the right side. Both had a smile on their faces as if what they were about to do wasn''t a robbery but an act of gratitude. One by One, they entered the homes of the wolves to look out for treasures.


    And, they really did find many!


    The treasures they found were of the same name but their quality varied and the treasure cost 100 platforms and more apiece. To say the least, the spirits had blessed Shadow. The treasure they found was the famous Moonstone.


    [Item: Moonstone (low-rank)


    Description: A stone that has absorbed the essence of the moon.


    Units of moon essence: 10


    Effects: Can be used to stimulate the growth of a magical herb. Can be used during the brewing process to enhance the effectiveness of a potion or an elixir. Can be used to increase the rank of a magical herb up to rank two.]

 Chapter 37: Melted the heart with one roar!

    Whittaker found two types of Moonstones from the snow wolves'' houses. The first was classified as Low-rank by the system. The second one was classified as medium-rank by the system. The difference between the moonstones was that the medium-rank one had a Milky liquid in it. The description of the medium-rank moonstone is as below


    [Item: Moon Stone (medium-rank)


    Description: A stone that has absorbed the essence of the moon and condensed it into a liquid form.


    Units of Moon Milk: 50


    Effects: Can be used to stimulate the growth of a magical herb. Can be used during the brewing process to enhance the effectiveness of a potion or an elixir. Can be used to increase the rank of a magical herb up to rank four.]


    He stored all the moonstones found in the houses of the snow wolves in his hunter''s ring.


    Ten minutes after the looting started, Whittaker and Shadow stood before the last unchecked tree. The tree was the biggest of all others in the area. From the looks of it, this was the place where the alpha, Winter Wolf lived with his wife, the Luna Wolf.


    Shadow announced his findings, "I found 45 Moonstones with varying grades. How many did you find, and what grade?"


    Whittaker answered with a white lie, "Ah~so these are called moonstones. I found 35 of them, but I don''t know about the grade of the moonstones."


    Whittaker knew the grade but he couldn''t say them out loud, as that will give rise to suspicions. He definitely didn''t want to expose the NIGHT Will''s System to anyone, who knows what trouble that might bring.


    Maybe the Water kingdom itself will turn against him?


    Shadow was fooled by his perfect acting, and he explained,


    "The Moonstone that has gaseous moon essence are classified as low-rank. While the Moonstones that have condensed moon essence are classified as medium-rank. The condense stone will have a milky-white liquid in it"


    Whittaker nodded his head as if he didn''t know of this information.


    Shadow said while walking towards the last wolf house, "Let''s get it over with. It won''t be good for us to remain in the Silver Moon Forest for the night is falling."


    At night time, many powerful magical beasts get out of their layers to hunt for food. Kids like Shadow and Whittaker were definitely their favorite target. Moreover, Dusk hasn''t approached, yet the forest was being covered under the veil of night. It''s because of the clouded skies and the snowfall.


    They needed to leave soon!


    Silently, Whittaker also agreed with his decision with a nod. They entered the Alpha wolf house.


    Inside the house of the alpha wolf, there were four very dangerous magical beasts, sleeping while snoring cutely.


    The moment they set foot inside the tree, the eyes of the four very dangerous magical beasts opened. Whittaker, for the very first time, received a red-colored system notification.


    [Special warning! Detected a huge danger!]


    [Threat Level: 10 Stars!]


    In his vision, there was no danger that the system talked of. Is this alien malfunctioning? or so he thought...


    The four beats that have sensed unfamiliar intruders in their layers immediately stood up and took guard. Their little paws pressed on the soft bed made out of Silvermoon grass as they roared towards Shadow and Whittaker.


    Their roar was so powerful that the heart of Shadow and Whittaker melted due to pure bliss. "Ah~my heart is fluttering!" They thought.


    For no reason whatsoever love filled their eyes and they ran towards the open mouth of the magical beasts. It seems like they have been possessed by the dangerous magical beast.


    When they went near to the dangerous magical beasts, a very detailed system notification popped up in Whittaker''s vision.


    [Magical Snow Wolf Pup]


    [Power level: 1-star]


    [DESCRIPTION: A very dangerous beast. Very dangerous beasts. A very dangerous beast. Note: Important stuff is said thrice. With a single roar, they melt the heart of merciless and heartless demons. With their cuteness, they can enchant the hearts of any female, and even males and cause them to spend all of their parent''s hard-earned money to take care of them]


    Whittaker finally understood what the system is saying.


    When they reached the small bed, Whittaker and Shadow dropped to their knees. Their eyes gazing at the very small wolf pups, looking ever so cute with their canine teeth pointed out. The wolves gazed at the towering giants with dread, but they roared mightily to highlight their powers!


    The roar sounded like a melody in the ears of Whittaker and Shadow. Whittaker extended his hand to pet one of them. In response, the four wolf pups swiped their claws at him, but Shadow saved him from being clawed at the last second.


    Shadow warned while gazing at the wolf pups that have gathered in the center of the grassy bed, "We must first bond with them or else they will feel threatened to you and will fight back!"


    "How to?" Whittaker asked.


    "By using the legendary beast taming method!"

 Chapter 38: Capturing wolves!

    "The legendary beast taming method? What is it?" Whittaker intently gazed at Shadow, displaying his curiosity about this legendary method.


    "The legendary way to tame a magical beast is to reach its heart. The way to a magical beast heart is through its stomach!" Shadow smiled and pulled out four wrapped beast snack bars from his spatial ring.


    "This method only worked with some magical beasts. There are many other methods to induce a magical beast to submit to a person, such as gratitude, enticement, and overwhelming force. But for puppies, the best method is the legendary method. Feed them with ultimate delicacies till they submit to you." He handed two to Whittaker and held on to two bars. He said to Whittaker, "Follow my actions!"


    "Sure!" At this time, Whittaker realized that knowledge is what he must obtain.


    Saying that Shadow unwrapped the snack bar with one swift movement and a delicious aroma started to diffuse in the surrounding.


    The puppies, who stood guard, smelled it. One of them, as if it was enchanted by the smell of the snack bar, started to move towards Shadow. No, it moved towards the snack bar with wide-opened eyes and a salivating mouth.


    The other pups saw their littermate going away, so they gazed at it with worrying eyes.


    Right then, Whittaker opened the second snack bar. The delicious aroma smell filled the room once again, this time the strong-willed puppies couldn''t stop their instincts from acting up.


    Mother and Father had said that they will come back with foods, but they still aren''t here, these puppies were really hungry!


    They jumped out to reach toward the snack bars to take a lick out of it.


    Then a war between Snack bars and wolf puppies started.


    The puppies drilled their sharp canines into the soft beast snack bars and shattered it into small pieces. Then they started to eat the small pieces, one by one.


    Soon after, the four pups finished their snacks and gazed at Shadow and Whittaker with hopeful eyes.


    Shadow smiled and pulled out more snack bars from his spatial ring. Sharing it with Whittaker equally, they started to feed the pups.


    Five minutes later, the wolf pups have exposed their vulnerable sides to the two towering giants. The rolled-over, exposing their white furry and soft belly as if asking for a rub.


    The belly rub was giving to them without a doubt. They purred in bliss and started to close their eyes while thinking ''Nothing is better than sleeping after a full stomach.''


    And so, they went off to sleep without a care in the world.


    The two boys looked at each other, Whittaker said, "What should we do with them?"


    He was feeling a tad bit guilty for killing their parents.


    Shadow replied, "Snow wolf pups are considered a rare treasure in the market. They have many desperate buyers, who would do anything in their power to obtain them. According to the official market rate, snow wolf pups are sold for around 100-1000 platinum bars each. The higher the quality the higher the price of the pup. And, these fours are of top-notch quality, so there will be a lot of buyers! So, we will either keep them or sell them."


    By the time Shadow finished with his know it all speech, Whittaker guilt had increased. He had a guild-ridden expression enacted on his face. He said, "But we Killed their parents and family members!"


    Shadow said to the guilt-ridden Whittaker, "There is no need to feel bad. My mother used to say "Crying over split milk is useless". What''s done is done and we can''t change it, no matter what. Anyway, If we leave them here then they won''t be able to live for another day. They will either starve to death or get eaten by other magical beasts." While saying that Shadow handed over two scrolls to Whittaker, while he held two more scrolls in his hands.


    "I don''t want either event to happen to them, let''s keep them," Whittaker said, gazing at the cuties who had fallen asleep.


    Shadow said, "It''s better if we tame them as our pets and then, later on, if we don''t want to keep them, sell them to a suitable buyer."


    Whittaker stared into his eyes and in the end, took two beast taming scrolls from Shadow''s hands. He had decided to take responsibility for two of the four puppies.


    "Pour your mana into the scroll and it will activate. Then choose the pup you want to tame and it will become contracted to you." Shadow said while doing what he just said.


    He put his battle energy into the scroll and it activated. A magical blue circle opened beneath two of the pups and they were contracted to him. With a poof, they vanished.


    They vanished! "Where did they go?" Whittaker asked, his head turning left and right as if trying to locate the puppies.

 Chapter 39: Beast Tamer Profession!

    Shadow held a light smile on his face when he saw his confused face. He replied to the alarmed and wide-opened eyes snowy-haired boy, "Contracted magical beasts live in the soul space of an awakened. People with contracted beasts are called a beastmaster, a very famous profession in the awakened continent. Currently, the puppies are in my Soul Space. With a thought, I can summon my contracted magical beasts in the world or put them in the soul space from the world."


    "Oh!" Whittaker immediately activated his scroll as he was also interested in understanding how it feels to become a contracted beastmaster.


    He put his mana into the beast contracting scroll and it activated. A magical blue circle opened beneath the last two pups. Right then, System notifications popped up.


    [Detected! Guardian has initiated a beast taming ceremony]


    [Profession unlocked: Beast Tamer]


    [The Guardian has successful completed a Hidden Quest completed!]


    [Inventory has been unlocked. The Guardian can store and take out equipment and items from the inventory. The guardian can open the inventory by saying out loud "Inventory"]


    [Profession-related Quest Activated! Successfully Tame a beast!]


    [Rewards: Loyal points increasing Candy��3, Super Snack Bars��3, Beast Tamer Link Skill]


    [Loyal Points increasing Candy: Increases the loyalty of magical beasts. The spiritual connection between the Guardian and his contracted beasts entirely depends upon loyalty. The more the loyalty the stronger the spiritual connection!]


    [Super Snack Bars: A food meant for magical beasts, a single bar can satisfy the hunger of a beast for a month.]


    [Beast Tamer Link skill: Beast Tamer''s Link Skill allows the Guardian to form a spiritual connection with his contracted beast. The guardian will understand their emotions, language, and command them depending on the amount of loyalty the beast have towards the Guardian.]


    Whittaker stood there in a daze. The system notification kept on popping as if someone was making popcorn in an oven.


    Pop! Pop! Pop!


    Right then, the two sleeping pups were contracted to him.


    [Guardian has successfully bounded with two magical beasts.]


    [Contracted Beasts: Snow wolf pups]


    [Winter Wolf Pup 1]


    [Loyalty: 54]


    [Classification: Rank: 1-star, Nature: Ferocious and Cute. Can Evolve ]


    [Battle Energy:1]


    [Stats: Hp: 10/10, Mp: 1/1, Attack 2/2, Dexterity 1/1, Intelligence 1/1,


    [Skills: Class swipe]


    The second Pup also had the same description, except for two differences. The first difference was gender, it was a Luna wolf, a female. Secondly, Whittaker noticed that its loyalty point was 20 points less than Snow Wolf Pup 1. He thought, "Is it because it is harder to tame or it is simply ungrateful?"


    Right then, the system notified him of more good news.


    [Reward obtained: ��3 Loyal points increasing Candy��3. Super Snack Bars��3, Beast Tamer Link Skill]


    [Rewards have been successfully stored in the inventory.]


    In a single moment, Whittaker felt that his system was the greatest of all, suddenly handing out so many rewards to him!


    "Wow!" He exclaimed in glee.


    Shadow thought that he is amazed because of forming a contract with magical beasts, unaware that the Wow came out from his mouth for completely different reasons.


    Whittaker gazed at his contracted magical beasts with a smile. He wanted to try out what Shadow had said. He imagined that the sleeping puppies has entered his soul space


    Almost immediately, with a Poof, the two wolf pups vanished.


    Right then, Whittaker felt that something new has appeared in his soul space. He closed his eyes to feel his soul space, and he saw that the two wolf pups were slumbering beneath the silver shine released by his Frost spellbook in his soul space.


    "Let''s head back to the Swadehash City," Shadow said.


    "What should we do about the Silver Moon Grass? Should we return tomorrow to store it?" Whittaker said. It was snowing outside, so coming here tomorrow to collect the Silver Moon Grass was the best strategy. Doing it right now will be harder.


    Shadow shook his head in disagreement. What if someone else passed by this place? Even though reaching this way is hard, and they could only do so because of the guidance of the innocent spirits of the spiritual world, but anything can happen.


    Maybe a lucky person might come across this place before they come here tomorrow. Shadow was not willing to take any chances.


    "Nah, I have a powerful storing scroll that will store all the Silver Moon Grass in a second. We will split the amount afterward." Shadow said.


    The storing scroll was classified as a 3-star item, and it costs a lot to buy such auxiliary items, but he was willing to use it for the huge amount of treasure outside.


    After going outside the winter wolf, Shadow took the storing scroll out of his spatial ring.


    He opened the scroll wide, the scroll was blank with only three lines of inscription. Then putting his battle energy into the scroll, he activated it.


    A vortex opened in the center of the scroll, and a powerful suction force pulled all of the silver moon grass in the surrounding into the scroll.


    By the time the land was clear, a beautiful picture of a clearing in the spring was formed in the storage Scroll, and it shone with Silver moonlight.

 Chapter 40: A treasure trove.

    After storing the scroll in his spatial ring, Shadow pulled out another item from his spatial ring. It was tiny, black, and slightly round, releasing a speck of blue pulsing light every second.


    Whittaker leans forward to gaze at it. Gazing at it, he found out what it does, it was a mini tracking device.


    [Mana Pulser MTD #654999 (Auto Rechargeable)


    Effect: Shoots out pulses of mana to the connected receiver code number #654999. Can be used to landmark a location with treasure and track down the location of an enemy, or a friend.]


    Whittaker asked curious about why he pulled it out, without stating its name, as he is supposed to not know anything about the world, "What are you doing?"


    Instead of answering his question, Shadow posed a question of his own to Whittaker,


    "Where do you think the snow wolves got so many moonstones from?"


    "Where indeed!" Whittaker''s head tilted as he thought while resting his hand on the chin. His eyes widened as a thought flashed by his eyes. "Undoubtedly, there must be a place with a lot of Moonstone in the Silver Moon Forest!"


    Shadow smiled while thinking that his roommate was the best teammate he got so far�Cfar better than the previous five pig teammates. Giving him a thumbs up, he said, "Yes, you are right on the point! The moonstones we found, there has to be a lot of it nearby this location. According to my knowledge, moonstone can only be created in enclosed places with a lot of moonlight, such as caves with an open hole at the top... what I am trying to say is there might be a small or medium size Moonstones mine! But that place is probably covered by snow, so we won''t be able to locate it until winter finishes. That''s why I am placing this thing here as a location marker. When summer starts and the snow melts away, we would be able to locate the Moonstone mine for sure, and that will become a huge source of money for us."


    In the awakened continent, the density of mana can be different from place to place. Locations with strong mana can have unusual climates, such as the Dark-north continent, which is known to have radically distorted and hazardous environments and is thus very difficult to survive in safely. Similarly, Silver Moon Forest has a six-month-long winter cycle. The Silver Moon Forest is located in the northern region of the Water kingdom. During winter, it snows a lot, at least twice a month in Silver Moon Forest. The snow gathers up and blocks a lot from view, including but not limited to places with treasures. So, they will have to wait for the summer to arrive and the snow to melt to find out the treasure trove.


    Whittaker was staring at the pictures of Moonstone flashing by his mind while muttering, "Huge source of income!"


    "Even a small Moonstone mine can bring about a profit of 10000-100000 Platinum, a medium would be around 100000-1000000!" Shadow further explains while placing the Mana Pulser deep in the snow burrow that he had created while talking with Whittaker.


    Three imaginary stars revolved around Whittaker''s head, as he stood stunned. He thought, ''Will I become a millionaire soon? I should change my name to platinum man.''


    Shadow was done with placing the Mana Pulser. He stood up, patted his butt, and turned to get out of the forest with Whittaker.


    They got out of the forest without any trouble as they have used the magical beast repellent powder. Outside, the guards still stood on guard.


    Normally, a person will be forced to undergo inspection at the defense line. They will have to give away 30% of their earnings to the guards that work under the nobles of the nearby city, but the same didn''t go for students of the Royal Frost Fall Academy.


    They were privileged and didn''t need to undergo an inspection, hence Whittaker and Shadow swagged their way out of the Silver Moon Forest with all their treasures.


    It was snowing and using the Arc while it''s snowing is usually the most dumbest and painful way to commit suicide. The Arc has a certain chance to malfunction under certain unfavorable conditions. Furthermore, taking flight will increase the coldness they have been feeling, so they decided against using the Arc. Instead, the boys decided to get a laid back land ride back home.


    Nearby, in the market area, there were many carriages with drivers waiting on the toe. They reached that place.


    As they went up to the carriages, drivers for the sides came to ask where they want to go. Some declined after they found out that they want to go back to Swadehash City, while some wanted to haggle over the price.


    Ignoring them all, Shadow walked ahead and said to one of them to drive them back to the City.


    No doubt the driver happily accepted this job after he saw the uniforms they were wearing. It seems like the Royal Frost Fall Academy held a certain amount of power in its grasp, and Whittaker certainly understood it.


    The driver didn''t even ask for payment or haggled over the amount. From his smile and the hands that rubbed together, it seems like he was even willing to give them a free ride back home.


    To Whittaker, it seems like Shadow can somehow determine a person''s nature? or was it the spirits helping him?


    Thinking that he entered the carriage along with Shadow.

 Chapter 41: A Creepy ride.

    The driver introduced himself as Uncle Barum to the two boys after they sat down inside the carriages. His Silver hairs almost fully cover each side of his lean, menacing face. With beady hazel eyes, a face full of moles, and a kind smile, he seemed to be the perfect model of a bard. Surprisingly enough, his main profession was a "Bard", a tale-teller, but to make extra money to eat luxurious food, he had to drive some days a month.


    Along the way, they chatted about many stuff, ranging from personal life to the matter of the World. The driver of the carriage, Uncle Barum was the most talkative among the three as he was a jolly type of person and a Bard. Due to these two traits, it was certain that he couldn''t remain quiet. Almost entirely of the ride he was smiling and talking boisterously, and Whittaker got to understand how big the Water Kingdom really is.


    The Water Kingdom was divided into five Great regions. Each region had many towns and cities, one Great City, one ruling family entitled as "Duke", and one "Guardian" at the King level (S-rank). The first one is the central region which is ruled by the Imperial family, and the Mage King is the guardian of the Central region. Then there''s the Water dragon Southern Region which is ruled by Duke Williams, and Sword Saint Louis.


    The other three are the Northern, Eastern, and Western regions, each region had different neighbors and all of them held distinct importance''s to the Water Kingdom.


    Uncle Barum''s cheerful nature certainly helped to brighten up the gloomy atmosphere. The carriage seems totally different in contrast to the outside world. Outside the carriage, snow was falling. What was once a busy roadway that led to Swadehash City was now a gray screen of silence, grasses, trees, grounds, and roots had been taken hold of by the cold nerve catching snow.


    The ride continued with cracking laughter and loud chatters. Fifteen minutes later, Uncle Barum, almost suddenly, said something terrifying while whipping the carriage steeds harshly, "The neighbors of our Northern Region are hostile races. They are none other than different types of magical beasts and... corrupted beings called Abaddon Shamans and Savage." At this moment, an eerie smile formed on his face, and a baleful red light flashed by his clear brown eyes. He continued with a laugh, something no sane will do while talking about a subject like this, "According to the reports, they are said to be baleful humans with four arms and steel legs, some don''t believe in their existence but many adventures who step out of the boundaries of the kingdom have proclaimed to encounter them. It is said that they love to eat humans, especially young children as it is easy to tear them apart limb by limb and their flesh is softer and purer than adults."


    As he said the last sentence, Uncle Barum''s gentle face has started to change shape. Two desolate eyes burning with infernal madness stared at the road ahead, and bizarre bulges crawled on beneath his pale skin hidden from sight by the heavy winter clothing.


    Whittaker and Shadow were sitting inside the carriage, separated from Demon Barum by a wooden wall with a small window, so they weren''t able to witness it at all... his face that seemed horrifying like that of a demon belonging to long-forgotten tales.


    For some reason, Uncle Barum suddenly started talking about creepy stuff, but Whittaker and Shadow stayed calm. Whittaker noticed that his tone didn''t match his words, usually, a human tone will be tinged with disgust while talking about such things but Uncle Barum tone seemed to be tinged with happiness. ''Maybe Mister Barum lack common sense or his goal is to scare us and get a good laugh!'' he thought innocently unaware of the thing called Arakazan.


    A disturbing emotion was shown on Whittaker''s face, seeing which Shadow said, "Mister Barum, I know you are a bard and you would love to talk about such things but it''s making us feel uncomfortable so stop!"


    Demon Barum wasn''t gonna listen to the words of a shitty boy and he continued with laughter, "The ride is longer than you may think," He whispered between breaths�Calmost endless it might be!�C, and continued loudly while his demonic face started to rotate towards the boys, "Talking will shorten the time and coincidentally, I have a lot of tales to tell! Let me tell you about the story of two little boys�C"


    "Barum!" Shadow exclaimed, he hurriedly stood up from the seat and went nearer to the open window to block the view of his face from Whittaker.


    Shadow successfully blocked the small window before the Demon Barum neck turned a total of 180 degrees. He and Shadow stood face to face.

 Chapter 42: Arakazan!

    Barum stared into his eyes, and noticed that Shadow didn''t have a hint of fear in his eyes, suddenly, the boy whispered something in his ear with a barely audible sound tinged with an exposed threat, "I choose you for a reason. Arakazan, if you keep on blabbering then don''t blame me for being merciless!"


    According to his spiritual senses, all the drivers at the market place gave off a dangerous vibe. Shadow was certain that they were cooperating with Bandits. Well, except for Barum, who had integrated with a demonic spirit from the spiritual world. Such humans are called Arakazan.


    Anyways, by the last sentence, Shadow''s eyes have changed form. His black eyes burning with a purplish aura reflected the true spectacle opposite him, it was a face, half that of a demonic spirit, and half-human.


    Shadow gave off a dangerous vibe, sensing which, Demon Barum or "Arakazan" flinched. These eyes, he has seen them in legend, remembering the legend his demonic face immediately changed form to the gentle persona of a human being. His neck also returned to its rightful place in one swift movement and Barum apologized loudly, "I am sorry for not considering your feelings, do forgive me, and as you wish, I will stop telling tales, and as a token of forgiveness you guys can ask me whatever you wish."


    AnArakazanis a demonic being whodraws psychic nourishmentor power from another person''s emotions, and will usually do what they can to instill those emotions in others. Naturally, the emotions they draw nourishment from are fear, hate, envy, or lust, and mostly Arakazan has the same strength as a normal human. Most low-level Arakazan like Barum are harmless but have a horrifying face. They don''t kill their targets, just scare them until they are knocked unconscious.


    Barum wanted to have a taste of the food he was missing, so he was trying to instill fear in Shadow and Whittaker, but he had failed miserably. He thought, ''Why am I so unlucky, encountering a greater.... Damn!"


    "No problem!" Saying that Shadow also stepped back with a smile on his face, and sat beside Whittaker who was slightly confused and extremely curious.


    Whittaker turned his head to look at Shadow, he asked, "Are they real, the Abaddon Shamans and Savages? Do they actually eat humans? Are children really their favorite meal?"


    Whittaker didn''t entirely believe Mister Barum words, but he knew that he could trust Shadow as he was a Living encyclopedia.


    Shadow nodded his head and replied, "But there''s no need to worry about those creatures. There are many Mage castles and Armored Knight Fortress at the northern outermost boundaries, acting as a great line of defense, and occasionally vanguard troops are sent to hunt down any Abaddon that might be wandering near the boundary of the kingdom, so there''s no chance for these savages to enter our kingdom."


    Whittaker started to understand that his Kingdom was really powerful and really rich. Really rich because a single Mage castle costs 100000 Platinum to build from scratch.


    Uncle Barum gulped as he hastened the ride. It was cold and it was snowing, yet Uncle Barum clothes seemed to have been covered by a layer of sweat. He didn''t want to stay together with the people in the ride for another moment, but he must complete the ride, or else who knows what the greater one will do.


    By the time they reached their location, Uncle Barum was drenched in a cold sweat. He was wetter than the underwear of a newborn baby.


    Barum announced, "We are here. The Adventure Association is only fifty meters away from our location. I can''t go ahead as that would be illegally entering the boundary of the City."


    The cities in Water Kingdom could only be entered through the main entrance, and a commoner will have to pay the entrance fee too, but this rule didn''t apply for Royal Frost Fall Academy Students.


    Shadow and Whittaker stepped out of the carriage. Shadow took out some gold coins from his spatial ring and extended his hand towards the Arakazan, "Here you go, a total of seven gold pieces."


    Barum extended his hand automatically when he saw the Gold piece, such was the nature of an Arakazan. They couldn''t decline glittering stuff. Barum took the coins, shouted "Thanks!" and made a run for it, leaving Shadow and Whittaker in the dust.

 Chapter 43: A Valuable lesson (1)

    Mister Barum has hurriedly bolted as if a dog was chasing after him, leaving the two boys stranded on a desolate road. Standing beside each other, they gazed into each other eyes and cracked up in a fit of laughter for some reason.


    Whittaker said, "Maybe the milk shop is about to close, and he needs to buy milk for his baby?"


    Shadow replied, "That might be it."


    Winter Smog covered their vision by a certain amount, but they could see the towering Adventure Association building. Taking the stable grassy pathway decorated with lit lanterns on each side, the two boys took off towards the Adventure Association building to return to the Frost Fall Academy.


    It was cold and all, but because of mana and battle energy, they barely bore the frontal assault of the chill. Such was the mystic nature of magical energies.


    A few minutes later, they entered the building under the "Welcome" exclamation made by the GRS spirit Doro. Inside, it was far cozier than outside. Seems like a lot of magical spells have been used to control the temperature and make it suitable for human-liking.


    "It will be better to hand in our quest here, before we return to the Frost Fall Academy. The transaction time in the Adventure Association building is faster than our Academy Quest Hall." Shadow said.


    The second floor of every Adventure Association building is generally used as the transaction area. The rewards for completing the quests are also handed out in the transaction area by the staff.


    "Okay!" Whittaker answered back with a beaming smile while thinking ''Finally, I am going to get my platinum.'' His mind was only filled with the thoughts of swimming in gold.


    Shadow took Whittaker to the second floor of the Adventure Association building. Whittaker saw that there were manyservice counterson this floor. All of the counters were empty. It was a snowy day, not many like to hunt when it''s cold, with peoples returning to their homes to nuzzle in the warm embrace of their bed or the soft body of their wife, most of the staff had also taken an early leave.


    All the counter were empty except for one, it was located at the end of the line. Shadow and Whittaker started to walk up to the counter located at the end of the line.


    With sadness enriching her heart, silently, Abigail cried. She was just a commoner with a sick mother to take care of and two children to feed. Because of her beautiful face, intelligence, and diligent nature, she passed the interview and managed to successfully become a full-timer in the financial department of the adventure association, last month, but the good news came with a bad one, her mother illness has spread and the situation has taken a turn for the worse. If her mother doesn''t get treatment within a month she will be paralyzed for life or might even die.


    Her mother needed urgent treatment under the hand of multiple healers, but the healers demanded an extravagant price to heal her mother, Abigail still needed some more platinum bars before she could afford the price to treat her mother, even though she had sold all her precious items.


    Her wet eyes dropped low as she remembered that no one was willing to give her such a huge sum, except her colleague, who was willing to pay her 2 Platinum, if she becomes his plaything for a week!


    ''My dignity or my mother''s life, which one is more important?'' She thought.


    Her fist clenched so tight that the nails slightly cut into the skin. She huffed and huffed, ''It''s only a week!''


    In the end, she decided to sacrifice herself so that her mother could live to see more beautiful days.


    Right then, she heard the sounds of footsteps coming closer to her location. ''Who could it be at this time?'' She dabbed the tears away from her face and eyes and turned around to take a look.


    She saw two cute little boys coming towards her. The snowy-haired boy waved his hand towards her,


    "Welcome customers, how can I help you?" Abigail said, displaying a professional level work ethic by beaming a wide smile to the customers.


    The pain she was feeling a moment ago was hidden beneath that forced smile that she had put on to not disturb others.


    Abigail was really beautiful. With her Silver, shoulder-length hair and her fantastic face whose beauty was enhanced by her shining blue eyes, set deep within almond-sized sockets, she looked stunning and kind.


    The moment she smiled, Whittaker felt like he had seen an angel.


    "Miss, we are here to turn in the quest!" Whittaker said, he pulled his mana com and handed it over to the counter Lady.


    He knew how the transaction system work as Shadow had told him about it.


    Abigail, the counter lady took his mana com and placed it on an empty crystal screen that was as blue as an ocean.

 Chapter 44: A valuable lesson (2)

    After placing it on the blue crystal screen, she connected the mana com with a cable, almost immediately, a screen opened up. The screen showed a lot of things including the quest that Whittaker had accepted.


    With one glance at the reward of the quest, she turned to look at the two boys, "Mister Whittaker, please provide me with your Student ID card, and place the evidence on the table."


    The reward could only be obtained by the person who accepted the quest. The mana com used to accept the hunting quest was registered on his name, so only Whittaker could accept the reward.


    Whittaker passed his Student ID card to her while Shadow placed the winter wolf carcass on the table, behind which the counter Lady stood. A grey light shoot out from the table and examined the corpse, afterwards, a holographic screen detailing the time of the wolf dead and many other aspect popped up.


    The adventure associations have set up certain measure to take action against people who uses unfair means to complete a quest. For example, the winter wolf quest could also be completed if a person bought its carcass. A carcass of winter wolf only costs one platinum while the reward of the quest is 100 royal credit points that equals 100 Platinum. A person could reap a lot of profit through unfair means. To take action against such unfair means, an automatic system had been created that checks certain aspects to determine whether the hunter has hunted a magical beast or just bought its carcass.


    Abigail read the information with scrutinizing eyes. With a serious attitude, she looked three times more charming.


    Successfully determining that the winter wolf has been killed recently, Abigail proceeded to complete the transaction process by placing Whittaker''s student ID card on the blue crystal. The transaction process started, as money in the form of Academic point started to load up on the back of his ID card.


    While money was loading in his ID card, Abigail said to Whittaker with a pleasant smile, "Mister Whittaker, would you like to permanently buy the mana com and the storage ring?"


    Remember, people in this world become independent when they awaken their class weapon, so hearing a kid being called "Mister" was pretty normal.


    Anyways, from the information provided by the holographic screen, Abigail had analyzed that the mana com and the hunter''s ring weren''t permanent on Whittaker''s name. If he buys these two items then she will get a 10% sale bonus from it, it might be worth nothing for an awakened, but for a commoner like her, that commission was a month worth earning.


    "Yes, Miss Abigail," Whittaker said, he had found out her name after glancing at the name tag fixed on her chest pocket.


    In reply, Abigail nods her head, and press some buttons due to which the status of Whittaker''s mana com and hunter rings changes to permanent. At the same time, two royal credit point is cut off from the ID card. A few seconds later, the transaction process also finishes.


    "2 F-ranked (1-star) Health potions and 5 F-ranked (2-star) Mana potions have been successfully deposited to your hunter ring," Abigail said while handing back the Student ID to Whittaker, who happily accepted it, and the first thing he did was to turn around the card and look at the total number. It was 98!


    He thought, ''Altogether, the two items had cost me a total of 2 Platinum.''


    Even though he has lost 2 credit points he still had 98 left. 98 Royal credit points equaled 98 Platinum bar. After the split with Shadow, he will have around 40 Platinum bars.


    On the other hand, Shadow handed his mana com and other necessary items to Miss Abigail to complete the second quest.


    When Abigail saw the Royal credit points on the back of his ID card she gulped her saliva.


    Even the combined amount of money that the three-generation of her family has earned over a hundred years cannot compare to the little boy in front of her. The young boy has more money than what she could ever earn in her entire lifetime.


    ''Should I beg him... no! I am not shameless enough to snatch something from a young boy''s hand!'' she righteously thought while performing her duties.


    Soon after, the transaction process was completed, and his royal credit point increased by another ten.


    Shadow''s total royal credit point once again became a whopping 2765!


    When Shadow got his ID back, Whittaker hurriedly said,


    "Let''s split up the amount!"


    His honesty was thinning every second as he really wanted to keep such a huge amount, but Mother Lin has said, "Honesty is the best policy!" He won''t give in to greed!


    Shadow replied, "Wait,"


    Saying that, he handed over several platinum bars to the shocked, surprised, and astonished Abigail.


    "I hope this helps!" he said, walking away with Whittaker in toe.


    While they were walking away, tears warmed up her eyes, and as their silhouettes vanished from her vision, they started to leak from the corner of her eyes.


    ''Has God send a messiah to help her in her time of misery? Otherwise, how could she be so lucky?'' she thought while crying due to happiness!

 Chapter 45: A valuable Lesson (3)

    While walking down the staircase, Whittaker asked with innocent curiosity,


    "Shadow why did you hand her seven platinum bar?"


    He didn''t have even a single hint of jealousy or other negative feelings rather he was thinking whether handing out some of the total sum to the service provider is a basic courtesy of some sort. ''If it is then I messed up!" he thought.


    Shadow smiled and calmly said the famous quote while walking down the staircase, "Don''t judge a book by its cover."


    "Eh? I am not dense but you make me feel like one~ Can you explain the reason in words I can comprehend?" Whittaker finally said what he wanted to say for a long long time, but he had been controlling himself as first, they weren''t close acquaintance and later, Shadow announced his identity as a Royal!


    "Pufahahah! My bad, my main profession is an appraiser, so I can''t help it." He said while halting in his tracks. Clasping his hands behind his back and closing his eyes while facing the confused Whittaker Shadow said,


    "Years ago, the mage king composed ten songs on life in the form of scrolls decorated with calligraphy that sings, in the first scroll he wrote, "What you see from your eyes is what the world wants to show you not what you wish to see. Use your senses to see the world, and the truth hidden beneath the veil of light and night will be exposed". It means that nothing is as simple as it may seem to be."


    Shadow opened his eyes to take a look at Whittaker when he said the last sentence. "Do you understand?!!!!!!!!!! What!" Shadow saw that his dear classmate has vacant eyes. Inside of those crystal icy eyes, mana was rotating.


    Surprised and shocked, Shadow mouth opened wide, so wide that it threatened to touch the ground.


    He closed his eyes once again, rubbed them, and quickly opened them to take a look at Whittaker. Due to the shock he received, his eyeballs almost popped out from their sockets.


    "WTF! How the hell can someone enter a state of comprehension while casually chatting with another person!" Shadow mumbled as to not disturb Whittaker. Shadow shook his head, ''The Mage King has indeed said the truth, nothing is as simple as it may seem to be,'' he thought while staring at Whittaker, who had entered a state of comprehension.


    Soon after, waves of mana rushed from all four sides into Whittaker body, after it was all absorbed, Whittaker''s eyes opened. They shone with the light of wisdom, and he thought, ''I was too hasty in thinking that my parents had abandoned me. Maybe other factors forced them to discard me! Whatever it is, one day, I will find out!''


    Whittaker was pulled out from his thought by the system notifications.


    The words of the mage King worked its wonder on Whittaker. The growth he obtained thanks to mage king words was highlighted by the system notifications that filled his vision.


    [Guardian has entered a state of Comprehension]


    [Guardian has successfully comprehended a certain truth of life]


    [Intelligent increased: 16?21]


    [Mana point increased: 160?210. Total mana points 310/210]


    [Mana Recovery per second increased: 8?11.5]


    [Magic Defense increased: 32?42]


    [Magic attack Damage increased: 16?21]


    Whittaker''s eyes opened as wide as a peanut. He could feel the influx of mana in his body. He has become stronger than before just because of the Mage King words. ''Hehe, my power level has increased to 1.31! Only 0.69 more and I will advance into an E-ranked mage!'' he thought.


    Shadow eyes had been wide opened for some time. When he saw the roommate has the same reaction as himself, he smiled and said, "Don''t be surprised by the sudden increase of your powers. You entered a state of comprehension, something uncalled for during casual chatter. Are you really human?"


    Whittaker nodded his head, he surely was a human, but whatever else he was, he didn''t know himself.


    "How much time passed?" he asked. For Whittaker, it seemed like ten hours has passed.


    "A minute!" Shadow replied and starts to descend the staircase.


    ''In a minute, my power increased by so much?'' Whittaker felt the second wave of shock, but he controlled himself and also went down the staircase.


    When they reached the first floor, Whittaker asked to fulfill his reawakened curiosity, "I didn''t rather couldn''t hear you clearly, what did you saw in her?"


    Shadow answered back while walking towards the pillar, "I saw the pain hidden beneath her eyes. I don''t know what trouble she is facing nor do I need to. At least the money I gave her will help her out a little."


    ''So she was in trouble! I get it, she has been using her smile to hide her pain! Lastly, my guess has been verified by a 100%. Shadow can sense other people''s emotions and tell the nature of a person!'' Whittaker thought as they walked towards the Global Relocation System.

 Chapter 46: Ding Long!

    "To help her," this is the answer Shadow gave to the innocent Whittaker, but who helps others for free in this world?


    The real reason why he helped her is buried deep in his heart.


    ''I am the "Afterlife Dagger" of the Shen Ze Yi guild, the guardian that keeps a balance between the world of men and spirits. The Arakazan feeds on negative emotions and Abigail was drowned in them. Sooner or later, an Arakazan would have targeted her, or she might have become "one", hence I helped her to fulfill my duties as the Guardian Sin of Wrath.''


    The human world and the spiritual world existed as two sides of the same coin. Most awakened didn''t know about the existence of the spiritual plane and those who knew were forbidden from disclosing any information about it: for if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. Shadow couldn''t talk about such stuff with anyone who wasn''t a balance keeper.


    As Shadow was thinking that Whittaker exclaimed, "I will pay for the ride back to the Quest Hall!"


    "Ah, sure, go ahead," Shadow replied, seeing the adamant posture of the snowy-haired boy, he knew that he won''t allow him to pay for the teleportation cost.


    Previously, Shadow had paid the cost for using the GRS, that''s why this time Whittaker wanted to pay for the cost of the teleportation. Whittaker wanted to keep a balance with his friend, a balance in which both sides equally contributes.


    Shadow inquired, "Do you know how to?"


    "Yes, I memorize what you did last time," Whittaker replied while pressing some buttons on the table, and a holographic screen popped up,


    [Opening a teleportation portal to Frost Fall Academy Quest Hall requires 10 Royal credit points. A special discount of 99% for new customer will be applied for the very first portal wrap.]


    [Pay one credits]


    [Yes] [No]


    "Oh, so I will only need to pay 1 royal credit points, lucky!'' Thinking that Whittaker hurriedly swiped his Student ID cardthrough the slot on the card reader installed in the shiny table.


    Just like the previous time, a portal opened up beside them, along with a message that said,


    [The portal will close in ten seconds]


    With a triumphant smile on their young and fresh faces, they stepped into the portal and the very next second they appeared on the other side.


    The Adventure Association building was vacant of life while the Quest Hall was filled with it, students of the Academy could be seen everywhere here.


    "Hey, I say let''s split up the credits points right away, or else my mind is gonna change!" Whittaker exclaimed, he was finally unable to fight the greed that salivated his mouth.


    Shadow smiled in agreement. With that said, an equal distribution of the total amount they had earned started.


    In total, the two boys had earned 110 Royal credit points, 6 F-ranked (1-star) mana potions, and two F-ranked (1-star) health potions from the quest. Out of the 110 Royal credit points, Whittaker had already utilized 3, hence after the split, he obtained 52 Royal credit points and all the potions, as Shadow forced them into his hands while saying, "Mana potions are useless to me as I use battle energy to fight while I have higher-ranked health recovery potions, so you can keep them."


    Shadow intentionally phrased his words like that, so that the other party won''t feel bad. Just like he thought, Whittaker happily stored them all in his hunters ring.


    "Hey useless dragon face, just where is the frost mage you promised to show us? Had you been messing with all of us?!" blabbered Prideful Emma, a D-ranked battle master.


    Some hours ago, under the command of the guild leader, most of the members of the Azure Dragontooth guild had gathered in the quest hall for the meeting. Naturally, the leader was the last to arrive.


    "Guild master, pay no heed to my sister. This girl has a stinky mouth. It''s not worth picking a fight with her!" Her brother respectfully denounced her.


    "Don''t worry, why would I pick up a fight with a muscle for brains, for no reason, anyways, did you not hear what Lin Dong said?" Ding Long said, pointing at Emma who was preparing to punch her brother''s face. He continued, "According to the informant, the boy with the frost spellbook has left Academy ground to complete a quest. By tonight, he is bound to return to the academy, so we just need to wait."


    Emma smashed her fists on the table, "But we have been waiting for the last two hours!"


    "Young Emma, learn patient, be patient, and act patiently." Lin Dong, the second-in-command of the Azure dragon guild said philosophical words with closed eyes.


    "What bullshit are you spewing, Lin Dong!" Emma shouted, ''crazy bastards of the Azure Duke Family,'' she thought.


    ''Indeed, it''s hard to teach a barbaric woman.'' Lin Dong shook his head in disappointment, almost immediately, he said "He is Here!" to the Azure Dragon tooth guild members, as his sharp eyes locked upon two young boys on the first floor!


    "Eh?" All the members of the Azure Dragontooth Guild followed his gaze, and finally, they saw the person that had created this hype.


    The young boy that can help them complete the C-ranked dungeon ?Two-tailed Salamander?

 Chapter 47: Important announcement

hey guys, I will be going premium from tomorrow, thanks for all the support you have shown me.


    If you appreciate my efforts and would like to see more of this world and Whittaker adventure, then do support.


    Thanks once again!

 Chapter 47: Guild Invitation

    Guild master Ding Long, second-in-command Lin Dong, the two main-tanks, and the two mages of the Azure Dragon Tooth Guild stood up and shouted at the top of their lungs, "Whittaker!"


    The voice was so loud that it echoed throughout the Quest Hall and startled the young boy, who was happily chatting with his new friend. All eyes turned towards them.


    Tracing the source of the sound, the snowy-haired boy head tilted upwards and he saw a majestic and wild-looking teenager jumping towards him from the second floor!


    The teenager had rosy lips and he was beaming a smile towards him, exposing all his sparkling white teeth. He wore the Academy uniform for third-year.


    The teenage descension halted as the wind rippled around him and he started to step on air to walk towards them, just like an immortal descending from the heavens. Now that he got to take a closer look at Ding Long, he saw two sword-like eyebrows and Azure eyes, but most importantly, he had horns and scales of a dragon!


    ''Who did I offend?'' Whittaker thought while starting at the human-dragon teenager.


    The other seven members shook their heads while staring at the back of their Guild master. One by one, they also jumped down the second floor of the quest hall. The two mages utilized their unique techniques to slow down their plunge. The mages used the spell telekinesis to slow down their descend.


    Step by Step, Ding Long reached closer to the boys who stood still. His feet touched the ground and he lunged towards Shadow.


    Caught off guard, Shadow was grasped tightly in his grasp, "My cute little brother, it has been a long time since I last met you, how have you been doing. Did you make new friends, should I introduce you to some of my female friends? My mother has been asking about you, do you want to eat her handmade pancakes, I can order them for you!"


    Ding Long said, his hands roamed about and pinched Shadow on the bubbly cheeks.


    Where was the imposing Assassin that kill with one slash? Where was the Afterlife Dagger that scares the Arakazan with one glare? Where was the Know it all Shadow?


    The only thing Whittaker saw was a blushing young boy. He received a shook as he saw the tomato face Shadow. The boy who he had started to look up to had such an embarrassing thing happening to him.


    The students nearby and far away looked at Shadow while thinking, ''Who is this young boy that garnered the attention of Ding Long!''


    Some rubbed their eyes, unable to believe that the mighty Dragon would actually be chummy with a kid!


    "Elder cousin, I am no longer a child, it''s embarrassing!" Shadow wiggles and escaped from the vicious grasp of Ding Long.


    The Duke of all regions call each other brothers and their descendants follow suit and refer to each other as cousins. The purpose behind it is to show everyone the unity and harmony of the four regions and their absolute loyalty to the Water Emperor, who rules the central Region.


    The Ding Family rules the Eastern Region of the Water Kingdom. They have been ruling the Eastern Region for the past 1000 years. Shadow and Ding Long were childhood friends. Ding Long has known Shadow since he was seven years old.


    "Call me brother!" Ding Long attacks once again, but Shadow sidestepped to the back of Lin Dong, escaping his grasp at the last second.


    Ding Long followed suit but was stopped by Lin.


    "Leader, look around!"


    "Eh!" All eyes were on them, especially the eyes of Elder Farhan!


    Quest Hall Elder Farhan had a furrowed head and an annoyed face, seeing which, Ding Long flinched. "Ding Long!!!!!! This is the tenth time you have broken the rules of the Quest Hall! Get out before I send you flying!" the elder shouted!


    "My bad, geezer, I will choose the first option. See ya never."


    One of Elder Farhan''s hand clenched into a fist, but before he could take any actions, Pokemon "Ding Long" escaped into the grass.


    People started laughing.


    "This is so embarrassing," muttered Emma while clenching her fists and gritting her teeth.


    You can''t clap with a single hand. The hostility she held for Ding Long was no doubt caused by his superficial actions.


    Shadow stepped out from the Shadow of Lin Dong and walked till he reached beside Whittaker.


    "Lin Dong, Why are you guys here, and.." Shadow pointed his thumb at Whittaker, who continued, "Why did you shout my name?"


    Lin Ding coughed twice as he saw the snowy-haired boy weirded out by their sudden appearance. Who wouldn''t be?


    "Please don''t think of us as someone weird, Whittaker. Ranked no.1 on the D-ranked dungeon hunter list, we are the Azure Dragon tooth Guild." Announcing that, Lin Dong pulled out a contract paper and continued with a smile, "And, we would love to invite you to our guild as a Legacy member."

 Chapter 48: One Week.

    Emma got over the embarrassment caused by Ding Long to take a better look at Whittaker. She thought, ''Holy shit, what did I saw! this young boy is going to become a lady killer when he grows up! Why don''t my guild members look as good as him!''


    The rest of the members also curiously stared down at the boy. In the entire Academy, except Grey, there was not a single ice-related mage whose potential exceeded D-rank. Grey, an S-ranked ice mage had outright refused to join them. This is why they wanted to rope in Whittaker, no matter what it takes.


    Lin Dong forced the contract into Whittaker''s hands. Under the hopeful eyes of the guild members, Whittaker didn''t or couldn''t decline the offer.


    The best time to seduce someone with a very high potential into a Guild was when they were at their weakest. Whittaker had the potential to become an A-ranked Frost mage. Due to his potential, Lin Doing wanted to rope him in.


    "A Legacy member receives a lot of benefits from the Guild, every month. The guild will go its best to help the legacy member in their growth. We will provide a lot of resources necessary for that purpose. If you become a legacy member then we will hand out 100 Platinum bar, 5 Mana increasing Potions, and a magical ice-related book of your choosing."


    Lin Dong held utmost confidence that Whittaker won''t refuse this offer as it was a once in a lifetime offer.


    "Wait a second," Whittaker replied. He snatched Shadow by wrapping his hand around his neck and turned around, he whispered, "Is what he saying the truth?"


    Whittaker couldn''t believe that these weird senior students have such a massive and impressive guild, first impression matters, especially for a country bumkin like Whittaker, who was weirded out by the childish Ding Long.


    In reply, Shadow simply nods his head, "Yeah!"


    While his eyes shouted "No". He wanted to denounce the entire Azure Dragon tooth guild, but they stood right behind him, hence Shadow didn''t say anything more.


    The guild had created a lot of mess since their creation. Destroying harbors was an everyday accident, and looting aristocrats and donating money to the commoners was their sub-profession. These guys weren''t dungeon hunter but troublemakers.


    That''s why Shadow does his best to keep away from them.


    Whittaker didn''t get his eye signal, as he was deeply complementing about this matter.


    Soon after, he turned around to give his reply, "I will need some time to make my decision."


    Internally Lin Dong sighed, but externally he replied with a smile, "No problem, you can take your time, but the contract will be valid for only one week."


    "Okay, then before next weekend, I will hand out my response," Whittaker stored the contact paper in his hunter''s ring.


    He wanted to make a decision after finding out about what other options he has. For that reason, he had decided to head towards the Royal Library after talking with Headmaster Yeon.


    "Let''s exchange our contact information." Lin Dong took out his mana com, and Whittaker followed.


    The mana com scanned each other, and Lin Dong''s number was added to his mana com. Now, Whittaker could easily call out to him whenever he wants to.


    "Well then, we will take our leave. Take care Whittaker, Shadow."


    Saying that, the members of the Azure Dragon tooth Guild left, well, except one.


    Smited by his looks, Emma didn''t follow her guildmates.


    "Little handsome, would you like to exchange contact information with me?" Emma said, her bulging muscles were enough to scare Whittaker into Submission.


    He finally realized the horror his sister has to face every day! How can a woman be so thick! he thought innocently.


    "Young friend, Please ignore her!" Her brother said while turning Emma''s face around. Then he pulled her along, taking her out of the Quest Hall.


    Outside they teamed up with Ding Long, who stood behind a tree, in case, Elder Farhan chases him down to beat the shit out of him, as even he knew that he deserved a beating.


    Lin Dong told everything to him, then they went to their Guild Hall!


    Left behind were Shadow and Whittaker, who after exchanging information went on their way.


    Shadow took towards the training ground number 36 of the Academy. While Whittaker went to the main-Academy building to meet Headmaster Yeon.


    For the past few days, Shadow had been trying to learn the posture in his A-ranked skill book. Yesterday, he had mastered one posture. Today, he wanted to start performing it to hasten the growth rate.


    Shadow reached the vacant forest ground. He knew that nobody uses training ground no.36 as an accident had occurred here.


    Students say that this place is haunted by a ghost!


    Shadow didn''t fear ghosts, rather he was on friendly terms with them, hence he didn''t mind training in this place.


    He didn''t want to expose this posture to anyone, after all, it was a treasure granted to him by Master Ze!


    Shadow performed the posture and he started to create 1 battle energy every hour.


    On the other hand, Whittaker entered the Academy main-building!

 Chapter 49: Headmaster is away.

    With the help of the Almighty map that he had entirely memorized, Whittaker reached the office of the Royal Frost Fall Academy Headmaster.


    There was no door to the office, rather a large corridor brightened with something not visible to the naked eye. On each side, paintings decorated the walls.


    Nothing was visible behind the other end of the corridor. Walking past it all, Whittaker stepped past a teleportation barrier that teleported him to the office.


    Inside he saw a pristine table, placed upon which was a three-dimensional model of the Awakened continent.


    The globe showcases a massive ocean of mana revolving around a piece of land. The land was 1/10 the size of the ocean, 90% of it was the ocean of mana while the other 10% was the awakened continent!


    A pristine chair was placed behind the table. It was decorated with Snow wolf King (S-ranked) furs.


    Sitting in the Headmaster chair was Frankenstein, who patted the head of his contracted magical beast, Infernal Moon Fox while gazing at the portrait of Ashram.


    The painting showed the secluded dwelling of a sage.


    The chair was turned around, it''s back facing Whittaker, but he certainly saw a head full of shiny golden hair locks.


    He was confident that it was Dean Frankenstein, because of how the hair was arranged.


    Whittaker had halted in his steps, as he was weirded out. He thought,


    ''Yesterday, I saw him in the Dean''s office. Today, I saw him in the nurse''s office. Right now, he is in the Headmaster''s office. Is Dean Frankenstein a jack of all trades?''


    Feeling amused, Whittaker took some steps ahead.


    On the other hand, the moment he entered the office, Frankenstein found out about him.


    Without turning around to face him, he said in his honeyed tone, "Whittaker, what brings you here?"


    What other reasons could it be if not to meet the Headmaster?


    Frankenstein didn''t use mind-reading as that was rude. Only Headmaster Yeon was shameless enough to do that. In the entire world, a mage using mind reading on other Awakened was considered as a spit on the face.


    Such actions lead to fights that can have dreadful consequences, such as death!


    "Dean Frankenstein, I wanted to meet with the Headmaster. Can you tell me where he is right now?" Whittaker asked. The secrets of his S-ranked class weapon could only be talked about with Headmaster, and no one else.


    From the looks of Frankenstein''s angelic features and the fact that he can cast light magic to heal others, Whittaker held a certain belief that Dean Frankenstein had some relations or was a member of the Church of light. That''s why he will never disclose sensitive information to the handsome man.


    With an angelic smile on his face, Frankenstein replied, "Ah, you have come too late, under the decree of the Emperor of Water, Headmaster Yeon has left the Academy to go to the Central Region and heed the Emperor''s call."


    At this moment, the Inferno Moon Fox that had been purring under his pats escaped from his grasp and jumped towards Whittaker.


    With one swift movement, its paw hit the table, and then it reached in front of Whittaker, gazing at him with pitiful Puppy eyes while extending its paws.


    It was saying, ''Pick me up, Daddy!''


    Whittaker scratched the sides of his face and picked it up in his embrace. The fox with golden and silver furs rubbed its soft face against his cheek while Frankenstein turned around to face Whittaker.


    Under his breath, he swore, ''Shameless betrayer! Discarding the old in the face of a new treasure!''


    Foxes were the hardest to contract magical beasts. They will choose death over becoming someone''s contract magical beasts. In general, foxes only formed contracts with handsome and beautiful beings, humans or not, as long as their beauty captivated the fox then a contract was certain.


    Gashina had been with Frankenstein for a long time, and she has taken him for granted, plus, she was used to his handsome appearance. Whereas Whittaker was certainly a never-seen-before commodity, so she went to play with him.


    Whittaker asked while patting the cozy fox, "When will the headmaster be back?"


    Seeing the little muffin troubled face, Frankenstein replied, "He probably won''t be back for another week or a month. He has handed over the responsibility and authority of Headmaster to me. If you have any trouble or if someone is bothering you, then just tell me and I will take care of it."


    From this point, Whittaker determined that the kind-faced Headmaster trust Frankenstein a lot, but he''s still troubled over whether he should expose his truth or not, cause if Frankenstein hates blood attribute users with a heart then he will die right away.


    ''I certainly cherish my life more than power.''


    Choosing the second option, Whittaker shakes his head left and right, "No troubles, I just had something personal to talk about with the headmaster. I will take my leave, Dean."


    "Sure, good night." Dean Frankenstein replied, gazing at the clock it was already 7:59 p.m.


    Putting down the furry fox against her will, Whittaker walks away in distress.


    The fox ran back to her man, who she has shamelessly abandoned some seconds ago, no trace of remorse could be seen in her eyes, only tears as the man declined to put up with her.


    Tears made his hardened heart softened, and he picked up the shameless female fox in his embrace.


    The fox smiled craftily while rubbing against his chest.


    Whittaker got out of the Academy''s main building. He thought after exhaling a troubled sigh~ ''One month later, the system punishment will come!''


    Eyes closed and deep thoughts. Right now, this was his state.


    ''Headmaster Yeon would have somehow found a way for me to train in the way of battle masters, but now he has gone far away! I need to find a way on my own. The best place to gain knowledge would be..."


    His eyes opened and a smile formed on his face, "The library!" He exclaimed and made a run for that place.

 Chapter 50: One-Hundred Seconds!

    Ten minutes later, Whittaker arrived on the first floor of the Royal library located at the center of the academy''s main building.


    It was mostly vacant, but some students could still be seen studying. These students were deemed as Nerds by their classmates.


    Most of the hardcore intelligent students passed most of their Academy life in the library: For they chased after professions such as Alchemist, Appraiser, and Magic teacher. These professions could only be obtained by reading hundreds of books about the related subject.


    Whittaker was slightly nervous, there were lots of towering bookshelf in this place, after all. Each bookshelf has 12 rows. In each row, at least 150 books were placed. Basically, a single bookshelf had 1800 books.


    The first floor had 180 bookshelves. From calculations, Whittaker found out that there will be around 324000 books on this floor.


    Locating what he wants to read will take forever, as the first floor itself had dozens of bookshelves. Hence, he walked back to the entrance of the library to talk with the young librarian for some guidance.


    The librarian told him about the basic information of this place, such as the whereabouts of the books on Battle energy, basic knowledge of the world, and how the service items of the library functions.


    From the librarian, Whittaker found out that the books about mana and battle energy are found on the second floor. The first floor has detailed books about Professions, History, Newspaper, Novels, and some miscellaneous stuff.


    First of all, Whittaker decided to read books on the first floor, later on, after he had read some necessary books on the first floor, he will target the second floor to learn about the battle energy.


    Whittaker pulled out his Academy Map. The Academy map was a mystical item graded as 2-star. It was modeled after the 10-star treasure Celestial Mirror of Ten Hundred thousand Truth.


    Anyways, at a time, this magical Academy map can reflect the answer to one question. Naturally, it was ranked as only 2-star because there was a certain limitation imposed on it.


    The Academy Map could only be used for finding locations inside the Academy and the books located in the Royal Library.


    Using the prowess of the Academy Map, Whittaker located certain books he had a keen interest in.


    The books ranged from "Awakened Association and Professions" to "Magical Beasts, Herbs, plants, and items". Along the way, a book adorned in black gems and weird inscription has also caught his eyes. Curiously, he pulled it out from the bookshelf


    The dark book was named, "Book Of Gossips!"


    Most of his interest evaporated after reading the book title. He shook his head while extending his free hand to place the jeweled book back on the bookshelf.


    ''Gossip is a really fun tool for people who have nothing better to do, but I am busy!'' he thought while suppressing his desires. He remembered the cracking waves of laughter of the gossiping aunties in the open market. Just like an ancient sage he thought, ''From the looks of it, Gossiping is extremely fun, but alas, one can''t hope for everything!''


    With closed eyes and a disappointed look, he placed the book on the shelf. The moment he placed the book back, a system notification popped up,


    ?Weekly Quest Activated: Knowledge is power (1)


    Description: Some Gossips are lies while the other truths that can save lives. Utilize the Book Of Gossip to peek at other people''s secrets.


    ?Rewards: +5 intelligence?


    Whittaker''s head tilted in shock, but he picked up the book of gossip, as now, it was fun with a plus free +5 intelligent points. The same amount of intelligence points he gained from the words of the mage king. And the thing he needed to earn that was peeking at other people''s embarrassing information!


    It was a win-win situation!


    With ten or so books in his tiny embrace, Whittaker seemed like a legit troll who strolled through the library for fun as no one would believe that a person can read ten or so thin books in a single day.


    But Whittaker could!


    He wasn''t feeling sleepy or hungry, hence he decided to spend the night in the library, learning about various stuff and battle energy was his main goal.


    Walking past some students, who were too busy studying to spare a glance in his direction, Whittaker searched for an open environment. Ever since he was a child, while studying he liked quiet places with little to no distractions.


    After going to a dark table placed at the corner of an inauspicious area that was vacant of any signs of life, Whittaker sat down.


    After placing all the books in his hand on the table, Whittaker swiped his ID card through the slot on the card reader installed on the table. The Light Orb immediately lit up, illuminating the dark table, and a magical formation formed around the table.


    Now, even if Whittaker shouts at the top of his lungs or smashes his head, his voice or actions couldn''t be heard or seen by the people outside.


    Such was the effect of the magical formation installed in every table under the pressurization of the Studen Council Members, especially, their hard-headed and over-cautious President, who believed that Nerds deserved privacy from prying eyes.


    Whittaker left the Book Of Gossip for the finale as it seemed to be the most fun among all the others.


    The First book he opened was the book on Awakened Association. It was only 100 pages long.


    He glanced at the first page, which introduced a person to the definition of "Association", only one time, and it was memorized. Then he flipped the page.


    With one glance he memorized the next two pages, Whittaker chuckled dumbfoundedly as he realized that increasing the intelligence stat didn''t only increase his mana, but also strengthened his memorization ability!


    Since birth, he could only memorize one page with a glance, but now he could memorize two pages with a glance!


    That means that he could read and memorize 100 pages in fifty seconds.

 Chapter 51: Association and Professions!

    Silently, a young snowy-haired boy flipped through 100 pages of a book in 50 seconds.


    Right after, he picked up the book on Professions. It''s because the book on profession and association was associated with one another.


    The book on profession was read and memorized by Whittaker in 100 seconds.


    There were many kinds of associations established throughout the awakened continent. The most popular''s ones are Adventure Association, Alchemist Association, Dream World Association, Magic Teacher Association, Beastmaster Association, Gourmet Association, and lastly Awakened Association.


    Then there were the less popular ones such as the appraisers Association, Bard association, etc.


    Only people with a related profession can join the Association after undergoing a test.


    The profession related to Alchemist Association was Forge master, Weaponsmith, Elixir maker, Talisman, and potion maker.


    While Magic teacher Association is meant for people with a teaching profession, such as Miss Ruka and Dean Frankenstein. A degree was needed to join the Magic teacher Association.


    Whittaker was extremely familiar with the Adventure Association as he had hunted once before, but even the adventure profession was divided into many sub-professions, some of which are,


    A: Bounty Hunter: Adventure who hunts down criminals.


    B: Beast Hunter: Adventure who hunt down rare and exotic beasts.


    C; Beauty Hunter: Adventures who locate wonderful, beautiful, and enchanting places such as the forest of elves!


    D: Treasure Hunter: Adventure who locate ancient treasure lost in the ocean or hidden in the depth of land such as a volcanic mountain.


    This world didn''t only have a single road to glory. Hunting and killing weren''t absolutely necessary to gain status or earn a lot of money. Right now, Whittaker had realized that.


    At the end of the book as a chart page that placed Association according to their rankings, the top of the chart was the Dream World, followed by Gourmet and Adventure Association.


    ''I don''t know anything about the dream world!''


    Whittaker calmed the frantic beating of his heart by inhaling and exhaling deeply. He thought that the book of Gossip will be the most fun among all the books, but the first two books were enough to give him a shock. He wanted more knowledge.


    Thereafter, a young boy could be seen flipping through books nonchalantly, it was as if the boy has never come in contact with a nook before and didn''t know how to read, and hence had decided to put up a pretense to fool the masses, but if one looks closely then they will realize the wisdom flashing through his crystal white eyes!


    100 seconds! 200 Seconds! ....


    This situation continued until Whittaker read and memorized nine of the ten books, only the book of gossips was left.


    Whittaker had gained knowledge about various magical items, herbs, plants, beasts, and a lot of other stuff.


    After flipping through the rest of the books, he couldn''t continue anymore as he felt his blood flow increasing due to the sheer excitement he was feeling. The excitement shivered throughout his body, especially in his stomach. This was the feeling of excitement eating him up. He had finally realized that this world had another side, after all.


    The Dream World as they say it is created by the use of Mana Net, certain magical formations, and GRS, it is a virtual world that is used for various purposes.


    The Dream World is also called the second world as a person can live in that World, but it was only accessible by Students whose ID card has reached privilege Tier 3-star


    Whittaker ID card privilege Tier was 1-star. Privilege tier can only increase through successfully passing the exam that takes throughout the year and the year-end exam.


    Moreover, the Student Identity Card provided them with a lot of authority. One of which was to ask help from, command, or work together with the local authority of any City, town, and village. The level of authority entirely depends on the privilege tier of the card. The privilege tier ranges from 1-star to 10-star. 1-star being the lowest while 10-star being the highest level of authority.


    Dean Frankenstein has indeed said the truth, the Student Identity Card was made out of rare substances. It had a lot of functions and granted a lot of authority to the Students of the Royal Frost Fall Academy.


    ''I must not lose it at all costs!'' Whittaker thought.


    He had also found out why the Students from Royal Frost Fall Academy had such a high hand in authority.


    The Headmaster Yeon was not an old man.


    He was an ancient man that had existed for 500+ years.


    He had survived the test of time and managed to retain life by reaching the peak of powers.


    Headmaster Yeon was an S-ranked awakened.


    The S-rank was a vague term that was divided into three levels.


    The first level was Saint Awakened


    The second level was Master Saint Awakened


    The third level was King Awakened


    Headmaster Yeon was a Master Saint Awakened, who had served under the previous Water Emperor.


    To Whittaker''s surprise, at his prime, the kind-faced old man was the Greatest Grand General of the Water Kingdom history, who halted the advances of the Savages from beyond the boundary of Water Kingdom Northern Region with a single spell.


    The book described this scenario with pictures, pictures in which space has shattered, shards of which dropped to the land.


    Anything it passed through was separated into two. Anything the spatial shards remained in contact with vanished into smithereens.


    A single move was all that Headmaster Yeon utilized to halt the advance of ten hundred thousand strong men, women, and their warmongers(Magical Beasts).


    As time passed away, an era of peace has descended on the ever-growing Water Kingdom, leaving the Headmaster jobless.


    Finding newfound interest, he created the Royal Frost Fall Academy to nurture the new generation. For that purpose, the Inheritance Dungeon was created by him and other mages across the land followed suit.


    The Dungeon doors in the Quest Hall were an inheritance dungeon, a treasure vault as long as a person was powerful enough to finish it, otherwise, he will have to escape the dungeon by using an escape crystal or die.


    But death hurts, after all!

 Chapter 52: Book of Gossips

    Whittaker had felt astounded when he realized that "Death" in the inheritance dungeons of Royal Frost Fall Academy doesn''t mean death.


    He had finally realized why Dean Frankenstein held a casual expression when he told him to enter the dungeons to earn money. It''s because a person can''t die in real life, even if he faces death in the dungeon, but each dungeon is so hard that a newbie mage will be smacked to death in some minutes!


    ''Maybe Dean Frankenstein forgot about it, ah, well, in the end, he was saying the truth. Dungeons precisely exist as a popular source of income among the students. It''s because killing even one monster will increase the royal credit points by 1.'' Whittaker thought with an amazed expression, as he didn''t expect dungeons to exist in this world.


    Naturally, the inheritance dungeons of the academy are hard to complete as there will be waves of monsters everywhere in every dungeon. That''s why Shadow had told him to learn at least five basic pure-mana spells, before taking on a dungeon.


    He had decided to do a dungeon after he learns four more basic mana spells.


    Whittaker''s hands rubbed together in anticipation.


    "Now that I had gained essential knowledge about the Awakened continent," Whittaker picked up the Book of Gossips, placing it in front of him, he continued, "It''s time to peek at other peoples embarrassing events, truth or not!"


    Intently staring at the book of gossip, he wondered what surprise this book will bring him. ''Would it be better than the other books I have read or not?'' While thinking that Whittaker opened the first page of the book.


    "Eh?" He was met with utter disappointment as there was not a single word written on the first page, and he couldn''t open any other page. It was as if the pages were glued to each other by an invisible force.


    As he was about to close the book in disappointment, black and red words started to form on the first page of the book.


    "Lucky Reader, congratulations, for you have opened the book of gossip, please read the following rules and consent to the rules before continuing to the actual page of gossips.


    A: Once opened, the book cannot be closed until the reader reads a page.


    B: A reader can only read one page a day.


    C: The existence of this book must not be intentionally revealed to anyone in any way, or else the reader will have to bear some seconds of slight pain.


    E: After reading the book must be placed in the same place from where it has been picked up or else the reader will become a part of the book for a whole day.


    F: The book of gossip can only be utilized once a month, and the cycle of reader and writer changes each time the book is utilized by the reader or writer. A reader will become the writer while the writer will become the reader.


    D: After a month, the reader must act as a writer and jot down a minimum of one gossip in the book, otherwise, the reader will become a part of the book for one day.


    G: If the reader fails to fulfill rule number D and E three times then he will be banned from ever reading the book.


    ?Consent to the rules?


    ?Yes or No?


    Put mana into the words to prove that you consent."


    ''Hmm, it seems like someone corrected the order of the rules. Anyways, I am an expert in hiding secrets, creating fake and true gossip is also easy and I can also fulfill all the other rules. This is simply too easy.''


    The book seemed eerie yet gave off an indescribable mysterious feeling that attracted Whittaker. He felt so much attraction to the book that he didn''t mind being bound by its rules.


    He put his fingers above the Yes word, as he didn''t have any problems with consenting with the rules of the book of gossips. Stretching his forefinger, he directed the mana into the word "Yes".


    Right then the words on the page changed.


    ?Congratulations Reader for you are the seven hundred seventy-seventh person to lay his hands and consent to the rules of the book of gossip since the beginning of time. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do?


    When Whittaker finished reading that, the page automatically turned over.


    There should be two pages, but the other page was replaced by the veil of night. It was totally dark, and Whittaker could only stare at the information jotted down on the first page.


    With one glance at the page, he memorizes all the information. Some of it was pure bullshit while the other shook his heart.


    ?Year 4010, Month of the Dragon and Phoenix (First month of the Awakened Calendar).


    "Out of nowhere, this Frankenstein appeared in the Academy and Headmaster also promoted him to the position of Dean in two years. I have never seen him fight so he must not be strong at all. if he is not the bastard son of headmaster then who else could he be?" William Shakespeare?


    Whittaker thought on this matter: ''Bastard of headmaster Yeon? It seems plausible.''


    ?Year 3980, Month of the Rat (sixth month of the Awakened Calendar)


    "The blood of the Devansha people runs in my veins, I can''t believe it, I must hide these eyes!" Grey Feirenheat.


    Whittaker thought on this matter: ''From the looks of it, this person seemed distressed and excited because of his eyes.''


    ?Year 4015, Month of the Dragon and Phoenix.


    "Yeon, with one move I defeated their Sword, so why would their words matter. Let them think what they like." Nemredilth nietsneknarf?


    Whittaker''s thoughts on this matter: ''This person seems arrogant.''


    ?Year 3860, Month of Aphrodite. (Last as long as spring)


    "HAHAHA, I have found the secret treasure that all men crave. Located behind the Women''s open bath spring lies the hole of heavenly blessings. These voluptuous vixens~Ah~ My eyes, they are in heaven. Oh shit, my nose is bleeding! Damn, they have detected me! Kuhack!" Neon Ciradyl?

 Chapter 53: Dizziness.

    Whittaker understood that the man was peeking at beautiful sisters bathing through a hole. In the end, the man was caught and received the punishment he deserved.


    Whittaker''s thoughts on this matter: ''This person is a depraved pervert, and also stupid.''


    These were the only gossip written on the first page of the book of gossips, so Whittaker closed it.


    Right then, a notification popped up.


    Weekly Quest Completed: Knowledge is power (1)


    ?Rewards Obtained: +5 intelligence?


    [Intelligent increased: 21?26]


    [Mana point increased: 210?260. Total mana points 360/260]


    [Mana Recovery per second increased: 10.5?13]


    [Magic Defense increased: 42?52]


    [Magic attack Damage increased: 21?26]


    [Endurance Increased: 10?11]


    ''My power level has increased to 1.36! I just need to increase my mana by 640 points and then I will become an E-ranked mage." Whittaker had a beaming smile on his face. He didn''t want to hide his happiness as he was surrounded by a magical barrier that will hide everything happening inside from the people outside the barrier.


    Whittaker thought of leveling up, but his Frost Mage Class Leveling up was on cooldown while the experience points needed for the guardian class has increased to a whopping 1,700 from a mere 200 points.


    ''I only have 1400 experience points, so leveling up the guardian class is out of the question for now. Hmm, there''s still around 8 hours before the cooldown on the mage class finishes, until then let''s study and gain more knowledge.'' Whittaker thought while looking at the status screen.


    He stacked the book, one upon another one, and placed them all on the table. Then, he connected a cable attached to the table with his mana com to gain deeper access to the mana net.


    He was going to search the name of these people he just read about in the book of gossips in the mana net to better understand who these people are and if they are real.


    He knew about Dean Frankenstein and the teacher who ought him as a bastard is bound to be a jealous teacher of the same Academy, so he searched for Grey Feirenheat.


    In the holographic screen, information about this person appeared, but the information was so less that it felt surreal as if someone is intentionally hiding all information about this person.


    ?Grey Feirenheat: Third-year student in the Frost Fall Academy. Potential to become an S-ranked Ice Mage. Age 15. Mage King has taken a liking to him. Keep your hands away.?


    That''s was all the information present about him in the mana net. Five sentences, that''s all. What''s more, is the fact that two out of those five sentences were a legit threat to anyone who has bad attention, especially the Great Evils.


    The next person Whittaker searched about was Nemredilth nietsneknarf.


    On the holographic screen, information about this person appeared, and the information was so amazing that Whittaker''s eyes widened due to astonishment.


    ?Nemredilth nietsneknarf: Crown Prince of the Flame Kingdom. Rank: Unconfirmed. More than a decade ago had gone missing in action. Certified by the kingdom of light and the Awakened hall as dead.?


    ''So this arrogant person was the Crown Prince of the flame kingdom!'' Whittaker thought while remembering the arrogant words that were said by the crown prince just five years ago.


    Right now, it was the year 4020. The crown prince of the flame kingdom said his arrogant words to Headmaster Yeon or someone with the same name in the Year 4015. That means!


    ''He is not dead but alive!'' Whittaker thought that with excitement, but who knows whether the book of gossips is true or not, so he searched about this item!


    On the holographic screen, information about the book of gossips appeared, and the information was more amazing than the information about the Crown Prince of some kingdom. Whittaker''s eyes widened enough to fill two nuts in them.


    ?Book of Gossips: Rank: Mysterious. Unlocatable. The Mage King and the other Kings had expended years to locate this book but gave up after a decade. This book cannot be found only be obtained by a fateful reader. This book contains a lot of knowledge and can corrupt the mind of the User. The first protocol to follow after coming in contact with this book is to notify the Awakened Association.?


    ''I won''t notify anyone about the book~'' he thought with a sly grin.


    He wasn''t gonna break the rules of the book of gossips and get ousted from using it, after all, this book has exposed him to a "Truth". For example, the Crown Prince of the Flame Kingdom was certified as dead, but he was still alive, hence this book of gossips is bound to one day provide him with greater and more useful knowledge.


    And so, Whittaker decided to search for the pervert, Neon CIRADYL.


    This time, the holographic screen shoots up a warning in red colors.


    ?User is Underage. The content USER is trying to access can only be accessed by people who are above 18 years old. Please go back before the member of the cyber department knock on your doorsteps.?


    Feeling slightly scared as he knew what the cyber department was, Whittaker gulped his saliva. Then he disconnected the mana com from the cable and stored it in his chest pocket.


    Then he pulled out his Student ID card from the slot of the card reader. The barrier vanished, and he stepped out of the place after picking up the books.


    He placed them back to the place where he picked them up from.


    Right after, he started to walk towards the portal that connected the first floor of the library to the second floor of the library.


    As Whittaker passed through the portal he felt a tingling sensation all over his body. The light from his eyes vanished, and his head throbbed so much that it started to deeply hurt him. The world around his body started to wrap and displace and his mind felt like it was melting!


    It was a horrible feeling! He wanted to puke his guts out!


    ''Why did it happen?''

 Chapter 54: Battle Energy.

    Under duress caused by mental and physical pain, Whittaker was transported to the second floor. Due to the head-splitting pain, he dropped to his knees and breathed roughly.


    There was no one nearby, just him in this area, so he could only endure the pain until it goes away.


    A few moments later, the pain was shooed away and clarity returned to his opened eyes. Whittaker found himself at his destination, covered in sweat from head to toe. He noticed that this floor was the same as the first floor, but the bookshelves were blue and Red.


    Blue shelves store books related to mana!


    Red shelves store books related to Battle energy!


    After glancing around, Whittaker wiped the sweat off his puffed face that still has baby fat. Afterward, he stood up from the floor as he felt better than before.


    Whittaker scratched his head in confusion and thought, ''This is the first time that I felt so disturbed and pained while using a teleportation portal. Was it because it malfunctioned or is there a completely different reason behind it?''


    Right then, a system notification appeared in his vision.


    ["DARK SPIRIT" Has consolidated the shaky mana pool of the Guardian. Dark Spirit has exhausted all its energy and fallen into a deep slumber, once again. Message from the Dark Spirit, "Please don''t disturb me the next time I wake up." The Guardian mana pool has been successfully stabilized. The Guardian condition has been partially stabilized]


    The place where the mage gathers mana into the body is called the mana pool. The mana pool is intangible in nature and only mana can interact with the mana pool. Mana pool is established in the body of any awakened who awakens a magic Spellbook during the Class weapon awakening ceremony.


    "Eh, Who is dark spirit, and why did my mana pool become shaky?" Whittaker exclaimed. He knew what the mana pool was. He also knew about a lot of stuff. It''s because he had read a book on mages and mana.


    In reply to his questions, a system notification popped up,


    [Dark Spirit is a being from the Spiritual World. In the past, it had served under "Night", but now it will serve you, the Guardian of the ancient oath of Night. And, your mana pool became shaky because of your reckless action. Guardian, stop rapidly increasing your mana pool, or else you will enter mana deviation. Malovent beings that you can''t face will be attracted if you enter the state of mana deviation. Also, an excessive and rapid increase in the mana pool can lead to a crack in the mana pool, or worse, it can shatter entirely.]


    "Spirit? It''s the thing Shadow was talking about. I guess it''s really real, and they also have a world! Anyways, no wonder why system has put a one-day cooldown on Frost Mage level Up." Whittaker realized the reasons behind system actions, and he also realized how stupid he was to take everything for granted.


    Normally, an average mage will need one whole year to increase his power level by 1, some can''t even do that, but he had increased his power level by 0.31 in one day. This was bound to have certain side effects. ''Thankfully, mister dark spirit helped me.''


    Thinking about this unknown entity, Whittaker asked in his mind, "System, is there a way to help Mister Dark spirit? Something I can do to help awake from his deep slumber?''


    Whittaker wasn''t an ungrateful brat. That''s why he was gonna help someone who he didn''t know about, but he knew that that being has helped him. This was more than enough for him to try to repay the favor.


    [Nope, you can''t help the dark spirit. Also, only your main conditions have been stabilized. The shaky mana pool is not the only reason why the Guardian had felt pain. An excessive increase in the mana pool leads to multiple side effects. For example, you have been feeling energized and not hungry because of the excessive increase in the mana pool. It''s because Guardian''s brain has misinterpreted the feeling of mana repletion and increase in the mana pool as Satiety]


    "Oh, that''s why I felt full, even though I have not eaten anything for a whole day," Whittaker exclaimed, understandably he had thought that he was somewhat special because of the system and didn''t need to eat, but now it proved otherwise.


    Two more system notification popped up.


    ?Mission Activated: Go eat something before going to bed.


    Reward: Pain killers (S-ranked).


    ?Mission Activated: Go sleep like a good kid.


    There was no reward for the second quest, anyway, it couldn''t even be considered a quest. This was definitely the system''s way of taking care of Whittaker.


    Whittaker had already reached the second floor of the library, so he decided to first read a book on battle energy. It would only take him two to three minutes, after all. Then he can go and eat some food.


    With the help of the academy map, he located the basic book on battle master and battle energy. Picking it up, he went to the nearest lightless table to read the book.


    Then he took out his Student ID card from the chest pocket and installed it in the slot of the card reader. The magical table functions were activated


    The light bulb was turned on, illuminating the table with gentle light. Also, a barrier was erected around the table.


    Whittaker sat down on the seat placed next to the table with the book in his hands.


    Then he opened the book to read it.


    The first page started with a heavy line.


    ?The battle king has said, "The battle core is the fifth limb of the human. It is a treasure that lies in the depth of the mortal body, a treasure that can grant us strength so superior that with a single punch a mountain can be destroyed, and with a single slash ocean can be split."?


    Glancing at the content of the pages, Whittaker summarized the information as follow,


    ?The fifth limb is generated when a person awakens a battle-related class weapon. Battle-related Class weapons are those weapons that have a single or multiple attributes line?

 Chapter 55: Battle energy (2)

    ?The fifth limb is called the battle Core. The battle core is located at the pit of the stomach. The battle core is the ultimate treasure that can store an unlimited amount of battle energy, which is produced by physical training or through executing rare physical postures that are modeled after magical beasts while breathing in Mana. It can also be obtained by drinking battle energy elixirs.?


    When Whittaker had read the first, second, and third pages, he felt awe for battle masters, but the next two pages diminished the thoughts in his brain.


    ?The potential of the battle core cannot be fully utilized by humans as our body will break down under the pressure generated by the battle energy stored in the battle core. To bear this pressure a battle master must open the blood vessel and energy passage. A newborn battle master can only generate ten strands of battle energy through training. After that, the energy passage and the blood vessel must be opened, only then should a battle master generates the eleventh strand of battle energy, otherwise, the body will start to break down!?


    Whittaker understood that through physical training he could generate ten strands of battle energy. Then, he must open one of the many blood vessels and energy passages in his body, otherwise, his body will feel pain due to the pressure radiated out of the battle core.


    The book only described two methods to open blood vessels and energy passages. The first method was to carry heavy luggage on the back like a donkey and the second method was to drink opening elixirs.


    Opening elixirs can be used to open blood vessels and energy passages!


    These elixirs could only be brought at a hefty price. The cheapest one cost 100 platinum bars. Whittaker came to a certain understanding that his cute and slender sister, Elisha has to chose the first method because they couldn''t afford the second one.


    That means his sister is bound to become a burly and bulky woman like the goblin teacher.


    ''No, I must never allow that at any cost!'' Whittaker thought that with a full-passion determination that couldn''t be shaken up by any means.


    He wasn''t going to let his sister suffer an ugly fate!


    Whittaker didn''t ponder too much about the matter of money and his sister as he knows that he should be focusing all his attention to read the entire book first.


    That''s just what he did, reading the book, and gaining more information about battle masters and battle energy.


    Out of the next few hundred pages, these were the following important information.


    ? A: Ranking ?


    The battle Core determines the rank of a battle energy master. The rank of a battle core increases with the number of battle energy strands present in it. The order for basic battle energy master goes as follows.


    F rank battle master = 1-20 battle energy strands.


    E-rank battle master= 20-49 battle energy strands


    D-rank battle master= 50-100 battle energy strands.


    ? B: Usage ?


    Battle masters enhance their bodies with battle energy, allowing them to possess incredible strength, defense, and agility. Moreover, a person can use battle energy to reinforce the Class weapon. According to the attribute line/s of the Class weapon, a special effect will be added to the attacks. A person with a fire attribute line can generate a swirling flame dragon through his weapon while a person with a space attribute line can blink by using the special effect of his class weapon!


    Out of the hundreds of pages, this was the important and necessary information that Whittaker had summarized.


    With the final task done, it was time to satisfy the hunger that he couldn''t feel because of mana overdose. In a sense, mana acted like a drug. The sudden increase of it or soaking in too much of it can lead to the brain misinterpreting a lot of things about the physical body. For example, Whittaker''s young body certainly needed food to satisfy its hunger and to grow up, yet his brain didn''t feel the need to eat food.


    Whittaker certainly wasn''t gonna follow the signals of his brain as the pain he had felt some moments ago was unbearable and had almost caused him to collapse and weep like the kid he is.


    He pulled out his Student ID card from the slot of the card reader and put it back in his chest pocket. The magical table functions were deactivated.


    Taking the portal, he descended to the first floor and calmly stepped out of the Royal Library. Since it was night, he believed that no one will be in the hallway, hence he started to sprint out of the Academy''s main building.


    Just like he thought, no one was in the hallway to reprimand, stop, or scold him.


    Some teachers are still in the main building. They are giving a late-night lecture to the studious group of students. They have sharp senses and they heard the hurried footsteps of Whittaker sprinting, but they didn''t have the heart to trouble another student so late at night.


    Therefore, Whittaker stepped out of the main academy building without meeting any problems.


    There were only three ways a student can get food in the Royal Frost Fall Academy. The first one was to go to the food court and purchase Starred Dishes that are cooked by students with a Magic Chef profession.


    The food court was a big club that was created by the students with the Magic Chef profession to earn money and improve their craft. The academy has allowed it too.


    In a sense, the food court allowed students to have a better sense of what they are getting into. The students will not only improve their cooking but will also understand how to deal with financial matters related to the Magic Chef profession. That''s why the Academy actively promotes food court.


    The food court also sells Starred dishes at a cheaper price compared to other places. Though the food court closes at 8 p.m. and it was far beyond that time.


    So, Whittaker had to choose one of the other two options.

 Chapter 56: Cafeteria.

    The second method was to cook food, but ever since his birth, Whittaker hasn''t shown any interest in cooking, so he didn''t know how to cook food. He could learn but that will take time.


    The second method has failed to impress or attract Whittaker attention, miserably!


    The last method to acquire food was to go to the cafeteria, which was far away, has good food but it''s pricey. ''Never the less, I have enough money to purchase 1-star food.'' he thought.


    The cafeteria closes sharp at 8:45.pm, so Whittaker didn''t have much time left. The cafeteria was far away and he had to run at his fastest to reach the cafeteria before it closes.


    Hence, some people witnessed a short young boy whisking through the winding path of the Academy grounds to reach the cafeteria.


    Twelve minutes later, Whittaker reached the staircase that connected to the cafeteria. Trees and colorful flowers decorated each side of the staircase, and tall grasses enriched the nearby landscape. He was breathing rapidly to catch up with his breath.


    As he was walking up to that place, he saw three people in front of him. Two females and one male. The male seemed to be older than 18 and he was talking to the brunette.


    His appearance attracted the attention of the three upperclassmen, but two of them continued with their chat in excitement. When teenage blonde Patricia turned to look at him she was given a surprise attack.


    ''How could such a cute little hamster even exist in this world? Can I keep him as a pet, but then I will be punished for kidnapping a living human!'' She declined her insightful and dangerous thoughts.


    After walking up to him, she patted his soft head and pinched his cheeks, and asked, "Little cutie, what are you doing here so late at night?"


    Whittaker didn''t decline her touch as this lady was really pretty and has enchanted his heart.


    The pretty sister was a head taller than him. She was wearing a skirt and black stocking that went well with her pale skin, this sister has a charming feel about her. Also, it attracted Whittaker, who has been immune to such feelings.


    Starting back into her deep brown eyes, he replied, "I came here to eat!"


    Her knee-length, lank, blonde hair fluttered with the wind as she replied, "Oh, so you came here to eat! But little cutie, you came a little late, the cafeteria is already closed for the day, so come by tomorrow, and I will cook a free meal for you." Patricia was a 2nd-year student working in the cafeteria to improve her craft.


    She wanted to feed the boy, but today, a competition was going to be held between Magic Chef Jennifer and Senior Christopher Nolan, and she was the judge. They are the two people chatting behind her. Bringing this little hamster might annoy them, and she really didn''t want to cause a commotion or disturbance, hence she suppressed her heartfelt feeling while facing Whittaker, who still hasn''t utilized his legendary ability "Puppy eyes", otherwise it would have been a done deal.


    "Ah, the cafeteria is already closed!" Whittaker sighed in disappointment. His eyes dropped low in sadness and the two girls found it cute. The cafeteria and the food court was already closed, and he didn''t know how to cook, ''how will I eat today!'' he thought in distress and turned around to leave when a voice called out from behind.


    "Hey, underclassman, stop! Meals on us." Christopher Nolan exclaimed to the boy who was going away with shoulder dropped low in disappointment.


    Whittaker turned to look at him with the biggest eyes he could ever make, Jennifer and Patricia felt the sweet taste of cuteness overload. He walked up to them, as only these three could cook a meal for him at this time of the day.


    Pointing at the closed iron shutter of the cafeteria, Christopher continued. "Let''s go inside."


    "Senior, you sure?" Jennifer asked, and Patricia had the same question in her heart.


    Christopher nods and replies, "Since we are going to hold a competition and decide whose dish is better than this boy can judge with Patricia. Jennifer, you have no issue with my decision, right?"


    Whittaker glanced at the sister who will decide his fate today. Jennifer has an angular face with a square jaw, a narrow nose, small ears, rosy cheeks, and thin lips, but she looked like a dangerous person to Whittaker.


    It''s because of her piercing.


    She has many piercings on her face. The most eyes catching ones were in her nasal septum, three in her left eyebrow, and four in her right ear and he saw one more on her tongue as she opened her thin lips to talk.


    Jenny glanced at Whittaker and thought,


    ''From the looks of his behavior and actions, the boy seemed humble and innocent, so he will judge fairly and without any subtle wicked intentions.'' Making up her mind, she replied to Christopher, "I guess it''s okay to let him be the judge."


    "Yea!" It wasn''t Whittaker, but Patricia, who was more excited than the boy in question.


    Christopher gently looks at the surprised Whittaker and says, "Is it fine with you, little one?"


    Christopher was 6.9", so Whittaker was like a dwarf in comparison. That''s why him saying "Little one" didn''t feel wrong to Whittaker.


    Christopher was wearing a hand strap that identifies him as a 3-star Magic chef. No one is gonna decline free food from a 3-star chef, especially Whittaker, who will eat free food no matter what it''s rank.


    "Yes... Yes, it''s absolutely fine!" Whittaker eagerly replied to the handsome brother. The man wasn''t handsome and he could be considered a man of average looks, but Whittaker judges a person based on their attitude, behaviors, nature, and looks.


    Christopher has topped the chart of the first three.


    The group of four went up to the closed gate of the Cafeteria. The automatic shutter of the cafeteria was sealed shut, but it opened in a second as Christopher Nolan swiped his ID card on the slot of the card reader.


    They went inside!

 Chapter 57: Magic Chef!

    ''It smells better than anything I have ever smelled. This dish smells far better than my mother''s cooking!'' Realizing what he had said, Whittaker immediately apologized, "Sorry Mother Lin but the smell...!"


    The cooking competition between the two magic Chefs has started. Christopher was a certified magic 3-star Chef and a C-ranked battle master. He was a peak 3-star Chef, who was planning to take the Magic Chef Association test for a 4-star Magic chef. He has been the head of the Royal Frost Fall Academy Cafeteria for the previous three years. Today, Jennifer came to him and issued a challenge. Jennifer was a D-ranked mage and also a 3-star Magic Chef.


    Naturally, the nature of this challenge was friendly and Christopher and Jennifer had known each other for years. They were once boyfriend and girlfriend but broke up because of their schedule. They both wanted to chase after their dreams and hence couldn''t remain together with each other, as they both had become a disturbance to each other.


    Patricia sat beside Whittaker but her attention was solely focused on the cooking of her senior, so she didn''t hear what he mumbled.


    Their delicate movements were filled with grace. Christopher Nolan and Jennifer were producing their 3-star Dish with all their efforts. Both wanted to prove to each other that they had surpassed their past. Coincidentally, they both wore a matching apron, signifying long lost memories of love.


    Christopher was a battle Master so he used his excellent mastery over the battle energy to cook the chicken pieces in hot oil poured in a pot with mystical symbols and Jennifer, who is a mage, used her excellent control over mana to instill mana into the dish she is preparing.


    The cooking utensils they used were inscribed with magical symbols that control heat, temperature, flame power, and much more.


    A burst of smell had been drifting from the kitchen and lingered around Whittaker and Patricia''s nose. The smell was coming from the dishes that were nearly complete!


    The mana and battle energy had mixed with the seasonings of the dishes and produced a smell that had solidified and dispersed in the air. Jennifer''s dish smell slid across Whittaker''s face like a piece of silk. It felt like a lover''s caress, causing his entire body to shiver in pleasure.


    On the other hand, Christoper''s dish was made by using Battle energy. Battle energy is violent in nature, just like its name. The smell has taken the form of two dragons and they seemed Almighty and Arrogant as their whiskers moved about.


    The aroma filled dragons whisked into the noses of the two judges.


    Their mind felt clouded by the sudden attack of the furious aroma filled Dragon. Patricia felt that her clothes were ripped apart and everyone was staring down at her petite figure and blushing pale skin. Ironically, she liked this feeling.


    While Whittaker could no longer control what he was thinking. He was an honest boy and mother Lin cooking couldn''t compare to these two magic chefs, especially Chef Christopher.


    The smell itself was enough to fill his desires of nine lives. Also, the side effects caused by mana overdose has been dispelled by the aroma of the dragon. Whittaker felt "Hunger" which he previously could not, and his stomach thundered in protest.


    The thundering voice astonished the three others in the cafeteria!


    They turned to look at the source and saw Whittaker starry eyes with an open salivating mouth. They chuckled hard while Patricia pinched the hamster cheeks, as she couldn''t control her hands.


    The two Magic chefs weren''t going to keep their customers waiting, so they gave the dishes a finishing fiery flip!


    The flames nearly reached the floor and returned down the ceilings, as it was controlled by Magic and Battle energy. Then, Christopher decorated two palates with six Fried Chicken and garnished them with sauces, such as 3-star ketchup and 2-star garlic.


    On the other hand, Jennifer had filled two porcelain bowl with egg-fried rice, but everyone knew that these aren''t mere egg-fried rice!


    At last, the sources of the smell has been completed and were ready to be served. The two judges looked into the open kitchen.


    A slim figure holding a porcelain bowl in her fair hands emerged from the kitchen, as waves of rich fragrance continuously wafted from the bowl. She placed the bowl in front of the two judges, almost simultaneously, Christopher placed the two palates with six pieces of Golden fried chicken in front of Whittaker and Patricia.


    "Dig in!" Christopher said with a big grin on his face.


    Jennifer crossed her arms across the chest and exclaimed,


    "ENJOY!"


    The aroma of the dishes tempted Whittaker''s and he stared at them. The moment he looked at the dishes, two system notifications popped up.


    [Egg Friend Rice. System rating 3.99 Star]


    [Ingredients: Two-star Chilli, lemon Rice, eggs of the three-feathered chicken king, chopped tender breast of the chicken king, all seasoned with several magical condiments and gentle mana of Jennifer. Each bite will bursts inside the stomach and produce a flavourful aroma that will massage every sore spot of the body.


    Effect:


    1: Healing Effect: Heals cut wounds.


    2: Energizer: A person won''t feel tired for seventy-two hours.]


    [Fried Chicken. System Rating 4-star]


    [Ingredients: King Chicken leg and breast pieces, onions soaked in vinegar, Sunset sunflower oil, all seasoned with battle energy and several magical condiments. Every inch of the Friend chicken is packed with a rich aroma that contains battle energy and energy from magical herbs.


    Effect:


    A: Strengthen: Increase the strength of a D-rank Battle master by 30%. Strength multiplies for lower-ranked battle masters.


    B: Battle Blessing: Gain +1 Battle Energy!]


    This was what it means by Magical dishes, and Whittaker finally understood that Magic Chef and normal Chefs weren''t on the same footing, so he was stupid to compare mother Lin cooking with theirs.


    "Thanks for the meal!" Whittaker expressed his gratitude to the two seniors, who have offered him such a heavenly meal, and started to dig in like a bear cub.

 Chapter 58: Magic Chef (2)

    Whittaker picked up the porcelain bowl and scooped up spoon after spoon of Egg-Fried Rice. The heat from the chili rushed up to his nose making him sneeze, but he was unable to stop.


    "Nom nom!"


    His face was almost buried into the bowl as he ate, it was somewhat similar to how Goku ate.


    "Boy, the food isn''t gonna run anywhere. Slow down." Christopher Nolan, the giant kindly reminded the snowy-haired boy.


    Whittaker lightly glanced at him in protest, ''The food has legs and it will go away if I slow down!''


    He didn''t say anything as he knew that the rice will fly out of his mouth if he did that.


    Afterward, he buried his face in the bowl again. He took bigger mouthfuls to satisfy his hunger and desires.


    "Be careful," Patricia said as she saw his reckless actions, "In case you choke on the rice!" Jennifer added. In a sense, she was simply stating the truth, but Christopher and Patricia glared at her. She was a sharp tongue woman who didn''t hold back on her words, even if she''s talking with a kid. That''s her nature and they knew it.


    The kid in question was lost in bliss!


    Whittaker has never had such a feeling that he was feeling right now, he didn''t care about embarrassing himself, the food was just that good. He ate as fast as he could while drooling all over the place.


    The fiery spiciness of the chili and the bitterness of the lemon rice mixed with the mellow smell of the egg and the umami flavor of the chicken bursts into his mouth with every bite. The energy rushed into the pit of his stomach and spread out. All the soreness caused because of hunting and learning started to dissipate.


    Normally, a 3-star magic chef can only a 2-star egg fired with the same ingredients Jennifer has used. The reason behind the dish being high-leveled was because of the work she had put in to master the dish. Jennifer has improved her dish by a level. Rather than simply adding fish sauce into the egg-fried rice, she smoked the soft and tender chicken pieces with fish sauce to increase the umami flavor of the chicken which has led to the creation of a peak 3-star egg-fried rice with maximum efforts and low-level ingredients.


    The three adults worriedly gazed at Whittaker, hoping he won''t choke. They were already prepared to rush at his side the moment he shows signs of distress. But they didn''t know that Snowy-haired people could swallow a chicken whole if they so wish to, and Whittaker was secretly one.


    Under the eyes of the three adults, he used his tongue to lick the entire bowl clean and swallowed the last grain of rice. Putting the bowl down, he finally breathed out with a satisfied expression on his face.


    He had broken a record by finishing the porcelain bowl of egg-fried rice in under a minute without choking even once!


    "How was it?" Jennifer was secretly feeling anxious. She wanted to know how the young boy felt about her dish, a dish she had put in all her effort and heart to prepare.


    "It was absolutely delicious~ Burp~~" Whittaker replied with a blushing face that enticed the two women to glare at him, a bashful face on a snowy pale boy. That was what they both stan!


    Jennifer slightly blushed because of Whittaker remarks. She felt proud and happy because of being praised.


    He wasn''t done yet, and right after burping, he picked up the glittering golden fried chicken. Whittaker didn''t look left or right, he simply started to dig in, one bite at a time.


    Krunch ~ Krunch! The thick and creamy juices splattered out of the Crunchy Fried Chicken and filled his mouth.


    Christopher, Jennifer, and Patricia came to an understanding that nothing will happen to him, the two magic chefs gazed at her, telling her to start eating and judge their food, as Whittaker wasn''t a qualified judge.


    The first thing to judge is how the palate is decorated. Patricia stared at the two dishes with wide scrutinizing eyes.


    On top of the white porcelain bowl were Scarlet rice grains. Every single grain was wrapped in fiery chili flakes and golden egg liquid. The lustrous blue hue of mana was sprinkled evenly on every rice grains. Adorned with chunks of chicken that wafted out an umami flavor, Jennifer''s dish looked perfect to the eyes. Whereas Christopher''s dish glinted with a golden radiance. Some of it was shunned by the sauces, but the sauces created waves that swirled with battle energy.


    She glanced closely and found out that the fried chicken seemed to be swimming over a lava lake with a sandy slide.


    Patricia opened her enticing lips and announced in her angelic voice, "Both of the dishes are shining... Full marks!"


    Christopher and Jennifer glanced at each other and smiled. It seems like there is a high chance that their relationship could mend, but someone needed to give them a push!


    "Go on, taste it!" They said.


    The second thing to judge is the taste and effect of the Dish. Staring at the bowl of Egg-Fried Rice and the palate of fried chicken in front of her, Patricia decides to first dig in the egg-fried rice, as the fried chicken can overwhelm the taste of rice.


    She dug into the intoxicating rice. Her fair-skinned face flushed red. Her angelic face once flushed red seemed lustful to the eyes of many, it was tempting enough that others would want to take a bite of her.


    One bite... Two bites... Three bites and done!


    She couldn''t continue otherwise, she won''t have a place in her stomach to eat the fried chicken.


    She continued with a fried chicken. A single bite and she couldn''t stop herself. After a while, she licked the crystal clear bone and placed it down.


    "So, how is it? Who won?" Christopher asked Patricia.


    "Is my dish better than his?" Jennifer asked Patricia.

 Chapter 59: Judging!

    Under their excited glares, Patricia replied, "I can''t decide. Both of the dishes tasted excellent and were decorated beautifully. But I can say for sure, it was the best dishes you both have ever cooked!!"


    As a famous prodigy daughter of the Head Magic Chef that serves the Northern Duke of the Water kingdom, Patricia has eaten a lot of different cuisines. She was capable enough to decide the quality of a dish with some bites, hence her words were right on the mark.


    But they were not true!


    "Next time, I will defeat you!" Jennifer said, proudly posing as a Queen by puffing up her chest.


    Christopher smiled and replied to Jennifer, "Sure, you know where to find me. Come anytime and I will be waiting for you with open arms."


    He intentionally phrased his words like that, to tell her that he was willing to get back together with her, as long as she was also willing.


    The two chefs believed that the match ended in a draw, but the real judge hasn''t made his decision yet!


    The real judge stuffed his face with the last Fried Chicken. He has eaten a bowl of egg-fried rice and six pieces of fried chicken, even he was surprised at his ability to eat so much.


    When Whittaker placed the last bone on the palate, system notifications popped up and covered his vision.


    [Guardian has gained +1 Battle energy]


    [A new stat has been Unlocked: "Battle Energy". Guardian can use attribute points to increase Battle Energy]


    [Guardian has successfully become an F-rank Battle Master. Missions related to Battle Master will commence from tomorrow]


    Whittaker knew that this was going to happen as gaining battle energy was the effect of Christopher Magical dish.


    He gazed at the two Magic Chefs that had believed that the match has ended in a draw. Hewas an honest person and wanted to clear their confusion. He wanted to tell them that Christopher''s dish was better than Jennifer''s, but he had heard Patricia''s remarks. She was a professional judge while he was just a young boy, and also a mage. He couldn''t tell them that his battle energy has increased by eating the fried chicken, now can he? Unless he wants to expose the fact that he is a Battle Master. He didn''t want to expose it to anyone, not until he talks with Headmaster Yeon. So, he could only remain silent, regretfully.


    [Do not fret Guardian, you can make judgments on their dish. If you want to avoid trouble then just don''t tell them about the increase in battle energy.]


    "Heh?" To his surprise, the Night Will''s system actively took part in his life to solve his problem.


    ''So, does it mean that I can tell them that my physical condition has improved?'' Whittaker thought.


    [Yes!]


    "Are you full? Did you enjoy the meal?" Patricia lovingly asked Whittaker, who was going to announce the real winner.


    "Yes, the meal was good, and I think I... Never mind." Whittaker wanted to eat more, but he controlled his shameless desires with a blushing face.


    "I what?" Patricia asked while lovingly pinching his cheeks.


    "I want to make an announcement!" The two chefs were casually chatting with each other when Whittaker attracted their attention.


    "What is it?" Christopher, Patricia, and Jennifer were startled by his sudden exclamation.


    Successfully gaining their attention, Whittaker continued, "The egg fried rice melted in my mouth and refreshed me as if it was a magical spring bath that can heal cut wounds. While the fried chicken was crunchy and the meat was soft, the combination of the crunchiness and the softness thoroughly addictive. After eating the six fried chicken, I also felt improvements in my physical conditions!"


    "What did you say at the end?" Jennifer and Christopher stood up in shock, unable to believe what he just said!


    Whittaker beamed a smile to the magic chefs and repeated what he had said,


    "My physical conditions improved after I licked clean the last Fried chicken piece!"


    "No way! It''s elixir cooking?" Jennifer blurted out in shock while staring at Christopher.


    Even Christoper was shocked as only a 4-star Chef could cook food that increases a person''s Physical condition. He was sure that he still needed some weeks to step on that peak. He was still a peak 3-star chef, so how could his dish have such a mystical effect?


    From the looks of his honest crystal clear eyes and beaming twinkling smile, the snowy-haired boy didn''t seem to be lying.


    If he is not lying then what''s the truth?


    "Only Patricia can tell!" Christopher shouted. He stared at Patricia with a look of excitement tinged with apologies.


    "Yes, can you?" Jennifer asked her.


    "I will all five of them, and check out the actual effect," Patricia replied.


    She has complied with the wishes of her dear friends and was willing to be merciless to her tummy. She started to eat the other five pieces of fried chicken, one by one, as the last one finished, her eyes closed, a while later, she opened them and exclaimed,


    "This definitely isn''t a normal Fried chicken! I can feel the battle energy within my body increasing! This is�� is an elixir cuisine for sure, but why didn''t I notice it at first?"


    4-star and the above Magic dish were described as "Elixir Cuisine", as they had the properties to permanently increase a person''s strength.


    Christopher and Jennifer also felt confused.


    "I know it!" With a snap of his fingers, Whittaker said. Words to words, he announced what was written in the system description, "The ingredients used to cook this dish are King Chicken leg and breast pieces, onions soaked in vinegar, Sunset sunflower oil, all seasoned with battle energy and several magical condiments. All of these ingredients are rich in energy. Every inch of the fried chicken was packed with a rich aroma that contains battle energy and energy from magical herbs. Once a person eats six pieces of it, the energy is enough to permanently increase the strength of a person. Pat only ate a piece, so she judged incorrectly, as the strength eating effect only occurs after six pieces are eaten."

 Chapter 60: Gourmet tongue!

    His words astonished the two Chef and Patricia. A dish that increases strength after it is eaten as a whole could only be described as a dish between 4-star and 3-star but in a sense, Christopher has breakthrough the peak of 3-star chef, but he was still not a 4-star.


    "Congratulations, Christopher, you have become a half-step 4-star Chef!" Jennifer said. Rivalry aside, she was genuinely happy for him. She turned his face around and stood on her petite toes to arch herself to Christopher''s level. She was unable to control her excitement and kissed the surprised Christopher on the lips.


    His eyes opened wide, soon Jennifer followed the same reaction while thinking,


    ''Damn! Habits... they were hard to die!''


    Realizing how inappropriate her actions are, she was gonna move back when Christopher tugged her closer by pulling on her waist. The kiss tightened and their tongue mingled.


    The final push they needed to reconcile their relations happened due to a coincidence caused by Whittaker, who was staring intently at the scene in front, almost immediately, his vision darkened as Patricia placed her soft palm on his eyes.


    "Ahem, there is a little boy here!" Patricia coughed to remind the two horny beasts.


    They broke off the French kiss while slightly blushing due to embarrassment caused by negligence and excitement.


    "Let''s get back together?" Chris asks. In reply, Jenny nods with a bashful look. In his eyes, she looked like a lost bunny that needed guidance at every turn. The proud brunette with a sharp tongue had such a cute side to her, it was almost unbelievable.


    "Let me see? I wanna see!" On the other hand, Whittaker was doing his best to move Patricia''s hand away from his eyes, but she was a D-rank Battle Master. How could the strength in his tiny hand match hers? Hidden beneath her luxurious clothing was an abdomen with well-defined muscles, and her stockings hid her calves with outlined muscles. To the disappointment of the curious snowy-haired boy, Patricia only pulled her hand back after the adult scene ended.


    Christopher and Jennifer had made up with each other, and their relation was gonna start anew. They also know the credit entirely goes to Whittaker, who has listed out all the ingredients used in his dish!


    When vision returned to Whittaker''s eyes, the first scene Whittaker saw terrified his heart and it started to beat rapidly. Three pairs of eyes stared down at the little Whittaker, scaring him, causing him to think negatively, ''Are they going to demand money from me? But I don''t have enough to pay for such a luxurious meal!''


    A 1-star food cost 1-10 Platinum. A 2-star food cost 10-100 Platinum. A three-star food cost 100-1000 Platinum!


    He had less than 50 Royal credits points. ''I guess I will have to mortgage my treasures,'' or so he thought in sadness. No youngster wanted to give away his treasure, the same goes for Whittaker.


    Contrary to his thoughts, Patricia and the two magic chefs glared at him because of interest. The boy had listed out the ingredients used in a Magic Chef dish after tasting it, and he could also eat a lot.


    This boy was a treasure that every Gourmet house would want to take hold of. Also, all the Magic Chef will start a war over him, quite literally, the Chef Saint might just come to adopt him as his Grandson.


    "Little one, can you pull out your mana com?" Christopher Nolan said with a smile as he wanted to exchange his contact information with Whittaker, but Whittaker felt that this smile belonged to a loan shark.


    He felt that this person wanted to blackmail him!


    Distress and under pressure, he handed out his mana com to Christopher. He took it, exchanged information, and handed back the mana com to Whittaker, and said, "If you don''t mind, come to the cafeteria anytime to try out my cooking, it will be free of charge for you!"


    Christopher was certain that this boy had the Gourmet tongue. Christopher was certain that Whittaker didn''t have a magic Chef profession, as a magic chef will cook food for himself. He didn''t have a magic chef profession but can list out more than five ingredients of his dish after having a taste, so he is certain to possess a Gourmet tongue.


    "Eh?" Whittaker misunderstanding was cleared up. After the initial hesitation, he nodded his head like a trainwreck, "Sure!" ''Free food: who would deny it?''


    Patricia wasn''t gonna let only Christopher take advantage of Whittaker. So, she exchanged her information with the cutie and Jennifer followed suit.


    This is how Whittaker obtained the friendship of three people with massive backgrounds, each being the descendent of a noble family or the child of a powerful person.


    ''I no longer need to waste money on food!'' Whittaker thought with an uncontrollable beaming smile as his happiness was bursting out.


    ''A bowl of 3-star Egg-Fried Rice costs 100-1000 Platinum! A plate of 4-star fried chicken costs more than a thousand platinum! Normally, an F-ranker will need to loot a bank or hunt for a month to earn enough to buy a single 4-star dish: as luck would have it, the giant has allowed me to come to the cafeteria at any time to eat food!''


    He has obtained a free source of Godly food, hence a lot of his income will be saved. That''s why his happiness was bursting out, and it turned into an enchanting smile that went well with his great looks, and it fascinated the eyes of two women and even Christopher, who ate vinegar and he turned Jenny''s face around!


    ''Look at me only,'' that''s what she read from his deep eyes.


    One thing''s for sure, Christopher was an over-possessive Magic Chef.


    "Thanks for the food! Goodbye, " Whittaker happily stood up to leave.


    "Let''s go together," Christopher said. The competition has ended and it was time to close the cafeteria.


    As Whittaker was walking past the entrance, he paused and glanced at the empty cafeteria.


    His eyes reflected an interest in the Magic Chef profession. For the first time in his life, he was interested in cooking!

 Chapter 61: Barbarian Luo sad past

    The lively Frost Fall Academy Cafeteria returned to its former desolate state as everyone left to go on their way. Christopher and Jennifer had left together to celebrate their happy reunion with a blast and ahem, while Patricia walked with Whittaker till she split up with him in the middle of the path to go to the girl''s dormitory. While Whittaker headed towards the Service Hall to exchange his royal credit points for currency and use the delivery service to send money to his family.


    Service Hall is located nearby the Punishment Hall. Punishment Hall is the place where Barbarian Luo was sent to receive 30 lashes, a punishment deserving of his misbehavior.


    Excitedly, Whittaker was skipping while walking on a stable path. The Royal Frost Academy was very vast, and it had dozens of places, each place had its specific purpose.


    He thought, ''There are a lot of professions in the world, and Magic Chef might not be the most suitable for me. I should first learn the one that can help me make fortune at the fastest rate possible.''


    Whittaker was interested in the magic chef profession, but it didn''t curb his interest in money. His interest is bound to be laid on the profession that has the greatest income rate, no matter how boring or interesting other professions be.


    As he was skidding, in some minutes, he reached someplace nearby the service Hall.


    There he heard some people talking about Barbarian Luo, and he understood what happened to him.


    "The whips used to punish him was made out of 4-star Dark Iron Cobra King Skin. A 4-star whip made out of its skin can seep into the body of a C-rank Battle master while Barbarian Luo isn''t even a peak D-rank Battle master. A single whip had lead to him receiving a skin branding that can''t be healed or erased by normal means." A man wearing the punishment hall badge said to the woman beside him while waving his tongue over his lips, revealing his twisted sadistic nature.


    "The punishment was so cruel that Barbarian Luo has been taken to the Medic Center of the Royal Frost Fall City, as he couldn''t recover otherwise. Levi, why was Headmaster so angry? I haven''t seen him so angry in the past three years." Shelly asked in confusion.


    Whittaker felt bad for Barbarian Luo, but this feeling lessened as he remembered that Barbarian Luo was going for his life, and he would have died or gotten hurt badly if Headmaster didn''t interfere.


    "I heard it''s because he obstructed the path of a commoner that Headmaster personally invited to the Academy. You know how he is, he hates commoners because he lost his family in the hands of Syphinxz." Jordan replied to Shelly in place of Levi.


    ''Could it be that his hatred for the terrorist organization led him to hate commoner as well?'' Whittaker thought. He was right on the mark. Nobles feared and hated the Syphinxz. Their fear turns into hatred, and this hatred is directed towards the only option plausible, the commoners!


    Barbarian Luo has lost his family in the hand of Syphinxz, an organization made up of commoners. His suppressed hatred for that Organization was directed towards all Commoner, and Whittaker was the unlucky outlet. An outlet where he decided to burst out all his emotions upon.


    "Che, he didn''t shout even once when he was getting whipped, just like the day when Headmaster brought him to the Academy." Levi, the sadist said. Barbarian Luo didn''t moan in pain even once, even though the whip has seeped into his skin. Such was his hard-headed personality. Everyone in the Punishment Hall was amazed by his tenacity.


    When Barbarian Luo lost his family and felt lost in the snow, he trained to one day fight against the Syphinxz, but his potential was low, so was the rank of his class weapon, a soul type orb with four attributes. When hatred has clouded his soul and he was wandering aimlessly in the cold and training. He was trying to find redemption by becoming strong or salvation by death, it was Headmaster Yeon that came to save him.


    Headmaster Yeon and Barbarian Luo path crossing together was a simple coincidence, yet this encounter became a fortunate blessing for him. Before going away, Headmaster has told him,


    "It''s a cruel world, but life is not what it seems, not at all. If you can curb some of your hatred then come to the Royal Frost Fall Academy, and I will bestow you a direction, a path that you can tread on. If hatred still clouds your eyes then forget you ever met me."


    Walking for ten-day with his words in his mind, Barbarian Luo came to a decision. And his decision gave meaning to his life.


    Headmaster has shown him light that''s why he was eternally loyal to him, but the hatred was still suppressed in his heart. The hatred he held for Syphinxz that slaughtered the noble family of Gajin. He hated the bastards that killed his newborn son, and butchered his wife, parents, and siblings!


    "Let''s not talk about him, he''s no fun!" Levi added as any topic that didn''t contain the depression of a victim was boring to this sadist.


    Silently, Whittaker walked past them. The three punishers weren''t interested in a kid as children below 14 couldn''t be punished harshly for their actions.


    After a minute or so, he reached the service Hall. There were many machines in the service Hall. In the racks, many pamphlets explained how these things work.


    Each machine had its own property and provided distinct service to a customer. The alchemists are the mastermind behind these technologies. Also, the mage king is the greatest backer of the Alchemist Association.


    Whittaker already knew the way some of them work as he had read about them in books, but he was still excited because of witnessing these machines in real life.


    He went to a nearby currency trading machine: For short it''s CTM.

 Chapter 62: Family man young Whittaker!

    Whittaker inserts his Student ID card on the slot of the card reader installed in the metallic box, and a holographic screen pops up,


    ?Greetings, dear customer. Please select the service you wish to utilize?


    ?Exchange??Deposit??Withdraw??Transfer?


    Whittaker knew what these four services of the metallic box do. By using the exchange service, he can change Royal Credit points into platinum bars. By using the deposit service, he can store a certain amount of platinum bar in the bank. By using the Withdraw service, he can withdraw platinum bars. By using the transfer service, he can transfer any amount of money to anyone he wants to, including but not limited to his mother, brother, sister, and friends, old or newly made, hence he used the exchange options. A new menu opened up,


    ? Insert the amount here ?


    Whittaker put in 20 and a blue light shined from the metallic box and 20 platinum bars materialized. He picked them up. He wanted to send some money to his family, so he activated the transfer service. A holographic screen opened up, and a sweet girly voice came from the other end,


    "Hello Sir, how may I help you?"


    This was a recorded voice that plays whenever a person uses the exchange service.


    "I want to deliver 20 platinum bars!"


    "Please enter the name of the receiver. The name of the City, Town, or residential area of the receiver. House number, flat number, or room number is also required?


    Whittaker did just that. He knew the house number of his mother, and the name of the town his family lived in. He sent 10 Platinum bars to his lovely, kind, and lonely mother. At the last thought, Whittaker''s eyes dropped low. Right now, his elderly mother had no one beside her as he and Elisha were studying in two separate academies while brother Hera mostly works away from home. She must be feeling lonely, especially in this cold winter.


    He sends 5 platinum bar to Hera, as most of his expenses to date were born by him. The last five platinum bars were transferred to Elisha, as he didn''t want to see a horrifying nightmare.


    The machine notified him that the transaction process will take a minimum of 72 hours to a maximum of one week to complete. Whittaker was okay with it, as he wasn''t pressed by time.


    With that said, he went to a nearby machine that is owned by Delivery Association, whose postmen and women are famously known as "livreurs".


    There were many white sheets placed in a rack connected to the machine, and he picked three sheets. A pen with unlimited ink was also connected to the machine. He used the pen to jot down the emotions he holds for three different people on the sheets.


    "Mother, I have missed you. I have sent a small sum your way. Please use it immediately to buy some jewelry." He wrote with a teary-face. In the past, there were many times when Mother Lin had to sell her jewelry for money to afford daily expenses. Now, Whittaker wanted her to be decorated in jewelry from head to toe, just like aunty Zhang and Selena from next door. He continued, "I will be buying a big house for you in Frost Fall City next month, so we will become close neighbors. That way, I will be able to sneak out of the academy to meet you. Love you, mom, ~"


    "I have made it rich bro, and nothing is stopping me from getting richer. Also, I have sent a surprise on your way. Anyways, soon, I will have enough, we will be able to open our dream shop!" Whittaker wrote this letter to his brother.


    Among the commoners, Hera was a good trader, and he could run a shop perfectly. He could become rich, but Whittaker knew that his hard-working family would still want to "Work". That''s why he will let them do as they please. Whittaker was protective of his loved ones, but he didn''t want to break their wings just to keep them by his side.


    The last letter was sent to Elisha, "Sis, I will be able to support your growth expense by next week. I have sent some allowance, it''s not much but next time for sure, I will send a lot! Take care of your beauty, and don''t become like Teacher goblin~ I don''t want to see a bald Eli that looks like one!"


    Even he felt horrified while writing this letter. He felt goosebumps from just thinking about seeing an Eli with thick, bulky muscles and no hairs. He won''t allow that!


    All the thoughts that have remained stagnant in the pit of his stomach have been expressed thoroughly. He put the three letters in the letter delivery machine, and new words formed on the screen.


    ?Dear customer, the delivery fee will cost you 1 gold coin or 0 Royal credit points?


    This was the basic service cost, and it was zeroed for people belonging to the Royal Frost Fall Academy. It''s all because of Headmaster Yeon. Everyone wanted to form or strengthen their relationship with him, especially the head of the Delivery Association.


    The service machine demanded a fee, which is free of cost, and Whittaker happily paid for it by using his Student ID card. A swipe of the hand and the mission was done. Afterward, the machine automatically played a recorded message.


    ?Our livreurs (postman) will deliver these letters within three days. Thanks for using our services. Dear customer, please visit us soon?


    From the looks of it, Whittaker determined that the delivery association was as humble as him.


    He walked towards the beast''s core purifiers to purify his beast cores. Suddenly, a notification popped up


    [There''s no need for the Guardian to purify these beast cores. You can convert them into experience points or directly absorb them!]


    Whittaker wasn''t interested in converting them into XP, as the best way to gain experience points was to kill magical beasts. Though, he was really curious as to why he didn''t need to purify the beast cores.


    ''Eh, why? As far as I know every mage or battle master purifies beast cores before absorbing them, otherwise, there will be bad side effects. Could it be that I am special?'' In reply, he thought in confusion.

 Chapter 63: Fates wheel turn (1)

    Absorbing beast cores without purifying them can lead to weird mutations. Human ears could be covered by furs or they may grow a tail. They will look like beast people if they don''t purify the beast core. If an F-rank awakened absorbs more than ten beast core then there''s a high chance of death.


    In reply, a notification pops up to clear his confusion, [Guardian has the bloodline of Devansha and Night. Guardian also has me, the greatest treasure that Night created in his lifetime. Guardian can rest assured, nothing bad will happen to you if you absorb beast cores without purifying them.]


    Whittaker''s lips pressed together and his crystal icy eyes opened wide in thoughts, ''Devansha, isn''t this the same word Grey has said in the book of gossips? I also have the bloodline of Devansha and Night, but who are they? Hello, System, can you tell me?''


    Some second later, a new notification pops up, [Devansha is the ancestor of your mother''s family while Night is the ancestor of your father''s family.]


    Whittaker knew that this was his chance to find more information about his parents. "You know who my mother and father are, right? Can you tell me? Please! Why did they leave me?" He was feeling slightly sad while asking this, but also an unquenchable desire to know the truth.


    The system was recovering and it could only reply after a certain time lag.


    [Night''s will system can''t say more as I am in a pact with the guardian of your mother clan that binds me to certain rules, but don''t be disappointed. If you grow stronger and reach E-rank mage and E-rank battle master, then I will be able to let you meet Kathleen, the Starry Skies Snowy Dragon]


    Whittaker''s eyes blinked rapidly as he was lost in thoughts. ''First, it was the Dark spirit, and now it is Kathleen. Just who are my parents? Why did they have to leave me?"


    The young boy''s heart was distress, and his head furrowed, but no one could comfort him.


    He asked, ''Kathleen, is she the guardian of my mother clan?''


    [Yes]


    ''You won''t tell me anything else about my parent, right?'' He asked with a disappointed look.


    [Yes]


    ''I guess I will have to become stronger.'' he sighed. Then turned his attention towards the system, once again.


    "How though?" Whittaker asked while pulling out a beast core. "When the purifier is used, the crystallized beast core is converted into an elixir, so an awakened can drink it. The thing is, how am I gonna absorb a beast core raw? It''s harder than a rock!"


    [Guardian just needs to place the beast core in his mouth and the beast core will be melted into a gaseous state. This privilege comes from your mother side]


    Whittaker feels a tinge of annoyance at the system as it kept on talking about his parent without revealing anything more. Was it fun to tease a troubled young man? Anyways, his gratitude for the system was overwhelmingly more than the emotion of annoyment, so he forgave it.


    Whittaker walked out of the service hall, as he didn''t want to show his special trait to anyone. He might just get labeled as a weirdo who is actively trying to mutate.


    Whittaker walked back to the boy''s dormitory, along the way, he didn''t meet anyone he was familiar with. Silently, he came back to room no.7. He didn''t see Shadow in the room, so he guessed that he was still training.


    ''What a hard-working guy!''


    Since no one was in the room, he could do as he wished. First of all, he swiftly took off his uniform and changed into more comfy clothes. Then he pulled out nine battle energy cores and three mana cores from his hinter''s ring.


    ''Will there be a problem if I absorb them, right away?'' he asked the system.


    Previously, he has suffered from a lot of pain because of increasing his mana without considering the stability of his mana pool. This time, he wanted to be sure whether it was safe or not.


    [Today, Guardian can absorb the battle energy cores but don''t absorb the mana cores, otherwise, your mana pool will lose its stability. It already took the Dark Spirit a lot of effort and energy to stabilize it, so don''t cause trouble. From now on, Guardian should only increase his mana by a maximum of 50 a day. Battle energy can be increased without limits]


    Whittaker didn''t want to face the same pain again, as a matter of fact, he didn''t want to take any actions that will lead to the harm or destruction of the mana pool. He was very willing to follow the System''s prescription.


    Whittaker started to absorb the battle energy cores. Just like what the system said, the moment he placed the core into his mouth, it melted into battle energy, and this battle energy rushed towards the pit of his stomach and was absorbed by the battle core.


    One by one, he absorbed all nine of them.


    [Guardian Battle energy has increased by 0.9 points. Total battle energy 1.9!]


    Whittaker was beaming a smile as he felt really happy. There were no side effects. Lastly, he has benefited by 100% from the beast core, unlike other humans.


    Normally, after the purification process, only 10% of the total amount would be left. For example, F-rank mana cores can increase the mana of mages by ten units, but after purification, a mage will gain only 1 mana unit.


    The same goes for battle energy beast cores.


    He was happy because he could absorb the entire benefit that a beast core provided without facing the side effects of such actions. It''s all thanks to my mother''s bloodline. ''My birth mother must really be pretty as she gave birth to the handsome me. Will I ever see her in my life?'' he thought while staring at himself in the mirror.


    The snowy-haired boy was really proud of his handsomeness!

 Chapter 64: Fates Wheel turn (2)

    Whittaker was standing inside the bathroom because things were about to get messy. He pulled out his S-ranked class weapon and clutched it in his right hand.


    Very carefully, he made a very small cut on his little pinkie, causing some blood to pour out. He pulled back the Blood drinker and dropped the blood on the skill book placed on the basin. The crystal turned scarlet and then vanished into thin air. It appeared in the Soul space and sank into the Frost spellbook, becoming one with it. Inside the frost spellbook, the crystal morphed into a page.


    Right then, a system notification popped up,


    [Guardian has learned "Icy breath"]


    [Icy breath (F-ranked)


    Cost: 15 Mana


    Effect: Releases a sharp blast of cold wind against the targeted enemy. Can cause a bleeding effect]


    Whittaker has learned the spellbook that Shadow has gifted him. Icy breath was nearly as impressive as Frost''s bolt. But, he had another reason that forced him to learn this skill.


    "Hey, system, you sure that I won''t be facing any repercussion for upgrading my spells to E-rank and above?" Whittaker asked.


    The system replied, [There''s no need to fear. The spellbook and the mana pool won''t be damaged even if you upgrade all your skills and spells to S-rank.]


    In this world, an F-rank mage can only cast F-rank pure-mana and elemental spells. A spellbook only forms elemental spells according to the rank of the mage.


    The only way for a normal mage to cast a spell higher ranked than his rank was the somatic method. The somatic method can be used to cast a higher-level elemental and pure-mana spell, but a mage will need a very stable mana pool otherwise, they will suffer a backlash, but Whittaker didn''t need to follow the same rule. According to the system, once the skill development mind is consumed, the spell page in the Frost spellbook will be upgraded.


    It''s because the Night Will''s system, his Frost Spellbook, and his S-ranked class weapon "Blood Drinker" weren''t normal. His class weapons could learn higher-ranked spells and skills without any problem.


    "System, upgrade Icy breath!" Whittaker said in excitement.


    [It will cost 2 Skill development points to upgrade Icy breath into Icy blast]


    ?Utilize two skill development points??


    ?Yes or No?


    Whittaker had three skill development points, so he didn''t hesitate and said,


    "Yes!"


    [Icy breath ? Icy blast]


    [Icy blast (E-ranked)


    Cost: 30 Mana


    Effect: The spellbook releases a sharp blast of cold wind that morphs into sharp and long needles made of ice. The needles can pierce deeply into the flesh. Cause Frost poison and bleeding effect]


    It was already ten p.m, so Whittaker went back to his bed to sleep. He wasn''t feeling tired but as he tried to sleep, he started to feel sleepy. Soon after, he fell asleep.


    A black-haired boy, on the other hand, was training in the vacant training ground of the academy. His body was somewhat upside down and bend from the middle as if he was a spineless snake. Executing this dangerous posture, he has increased his battle energy by 2 units. Right now, his closed eyes opened up and he straightened his back as his battle energy has increased by another point.


    Shadow gazed at the half-moon that has enchanted the clouded skies. In his eyes, some drops of tears appeared, "Mother, two years, and I will avenge you!"


    He clutched his fist in anger and lowered his head. With his eyes burning in resentment, wrath, anger, and disappointment, he continued, "Duke William, one day, with my own hands, I will kill you!"


    There was so much hatred in his eyes that they burned with a purplish and abyssal hue. The memories of that night played in his eyeballs. A mother and her son being chased by Warlords and powerful killers, in the end, the mother died, and the son followed in her footsteps.


    His negative emotions attracted "Demonic spirits" from the spirit world. Dozens of them came to integrate with him, but Shadow glared at them with his eyes that no longer looked like human eyes. It was as if something was gonna burst out from those eyes, something that has scared all the demonic spirits.


    With one gaze, Shadow sends them packing!


    Shadow came ten minutes before the gate of the boy''s dormitory was going to be closed.


    Seeing the snowy-haired boy wearing baggy clothes and sleeping messily, his anger and wrath hid back in the depth of the heart.


    Shadow plopped on his bed and closed his eyes. A single thought accompanied and soothed his soul, just like the comfort a child feels when his mother sings a lullaby.


    Shadow believed that one day, he will be able to kill his father, the person that abandoned his mother and him, and let them die!


    The only reason why he was alive was because of Master Ze Ye, Master Yen Ye, and Master Yi Ye. These three were the relatives of his mother, Binghe Ye. Master Ze Ye was his grandpa, Master Yen Ye was the Magic teacher of his mother, and also his Godfather, Yi Ye was the brother of his mother, and also his uncle.


    Ten years ago, the three Masters of the Shen Ze Yi Guild has forcefully integrated the King of Demonic Spirit "Wrath" in his body to bring him back to life. That''s the only reason why he was alive.


    Shadow''s hatred was boosted by the action of his father. His father didn''t care about the death of his wife or the life of his son. William has even kicked a three-year-old Shadow out of the Water duke mansion. Over the past ten years, he had gained enough intel to ascertain that the enemy that attacked them that night was the enemy of his father!


    With these thoughts in his mind, Shadow, a young boy with a mighty heart that suppresses deep hatred has fallen asleep.


    The heavy burden he was bearing was only known to him. To be the vessel of a King''s Spirit, especially wrath came with a hellish pain and mental destruction that reoccurs on every full-moon night.


    The cold moon day was only some weeks away. A full moon enchants the night''s skies on the Cold moon day!

 Chapter 65: Devansha eyes.

    The next morning Whittaker woke up at 6:30 A.M. A system notification was apparent in his vision.


    ?Mission Completed: Go eat something before going to bed.


    Rewards obtained: Pain killers (S-ranked).


    [Pain Killers (5 pieces): Provide relief from pain, once used even the pain of losing a limb will be numbed.


    The first thing he did was head to the bathroom. He locked himself inside the security that the bathroom provided.


    The cooldown on the frost mage class has ended, hence it was time to level up!


    The Frost Mage Class only needed 100 experience points to advance to level two while he had 1400 experience points. He gazed at the character screen and a system notification followed.


    [Consumed 100 Experience points. Total XP 1300]


    With a "Bee!" sound, Whittaker became a level 2 Frost mage, and multiple windows popped up.


    [Frost Mage Class: 1?2]


    [Gained 4 Attributes Points]


    [Gained 2 Skill development points]


    [Leveling up for Frost Mage class is set on a 24-hour cooldown period. The User can not level up Frost Mage Class as long as this period remains]


    On the character screen, the same ticking clock appeared before the Frost Mage Class.


    ''I have three skill development points. Which skill should I develop? Let''s first increase my stats.'' Whittaker thought.


    Focusing his gaze on the intelligence stat, he put the four attributes points into the intelligence stat.


    [Intelligent increased: 26?30]


    [Mana point increased: 260?300. Total mana points 400/400]


    [Mana Recovery per second increased: 13?15]


    [Magic Defense increased: 52?60]


    [Magic attack Damage increased: 26?30]


    Whittaker should be happy as he was one step closer to E-rank mage but his eyes showed a vacant look. Mana inside his body rushed towards his head as if wanting to explode him. Whittaker''s ears ringed and he felt that he had lost his hearing abilities. All the mana rushed towards a certain part of his brain and crashed into a sealed gate. For a while, this situation continued. Every time the mana crashed into the sealed gate, Whittaker would feel like he had been hammered by an Orge.


    Bam! Bam! Bam! A hammering sound rang in his head and he fell to his knees. The pain didn''t stop and he curled up into a ball. Tears leaked out of his closed eyes as he clutched his head in his hand. His long and wavy snowy hairs laid scattered over the tiled floor of the bathroom.


    1 second... 2 seconds... 3 seconds...


    In the fifteen seconds, the seal in his brain was forcefully opened up by the mana, almost immediately, all the pain vanished.


    Whittaker blinked his eyes, long and white eyelashes moving up and down. Vision has returned to his eyes, so did the strength that has left him. Multiple system notification has long since appeared in his vision, seeing which, he realized why it happened.


    ?Hidden Inheritance mission Completed: Awakening of Devansha Bloodline (1)?


    Description: Enhance the spiritual senses to a short level by reaching thirty points in intelligence.


    ?Rewards: Devansha vision.


    [Guardian has increased intelligence to 30. Guardian has completed the first inheritance mission of Devansha clan]


    [Guardian''s eyes are being modified. Please stay calm and allow the mana to rush into them]


    Mana from his mana pool and the nearby surrounding rushed into his wide-open crystal icy eyes. The mana rushing into his eyes created a tingling feeling and Whittaker really wanted to rub his eyes, but he controlled himself. Whittaker didn''t resist and allowed the mana to modify his eyes.


    Ten seconds later, he got used to the tingling feeling.


    "Phew~" Whittaker breathed a sigh of relief. ''I nearly thought that the mana pool has destabilized, once again, but it seems like it''s just because of my bloodline.'' He shifted his attention towards the system, ''Though, System are you something like an inheritance dungeon that Headmaster Yeon invented?''


    System replied,


    [Yes, in a way you can consider me as such]


    Right then, another notification popped up,


    [Guardian''s eyes have been modified. Exceptional vision (passive) upgraded into Devansha vision (Active)]


    [Devansha vision: The guardian can pour mana into his eyes to enhance his vision, allowing him to see with amazing clarity and with a wider vision. Guardian will be able to see minute detail of every object irrespective of their distance, or color. Guardian can also see everything clearly in the darkest of environments. Low-level illusions do not affect you. There''s a certain chance to peak into the spirit world. Guardian can see everything in front of his eyes and behind his back.


    Cost: 1 Mana every minute]


    Whittaker didn''t need to ask Night Will''s system how to pour mana into the eyes. It felt like this information was present in his blood. He immediately poured mana into his and he felt amazed. It felt like there were eyes behind his head!


    He could see the bathroom door and the mirror, even though they were placed in opposite directions, and Whittaker was facing the Mirror.


    Whittaker was curious about the spirit world. Shadow had initiated this curiosity and the system has fanned the flames. ''System, what''s the spirit world?''


    Soon after, the system replied,


    [A dimension that closely overlaps with the physical plane. In the spirit world, different beings live. They are demonic spirits, divine spirit clans, elemental bodies, and much more. The physical world and the spirit world are only separated by two moons. And when these moons overlap, this separation ends.]


    The system words have led him to another thought, and he hurriedly asked the system to clarify it.


    ''So is devansha Clan a divine spirit clan from the spirit world? Are my parents from the spirit world?


    [For the first question, Yes. The rest will be told to you by the guardian of the Devansha clan]


    The system ended the talk with that.


    Whittaker realized that he was covered in sweat from head to toe, and it seems like he really needs to take bath otherwise, he would feel slimy. Hence, he took a bath and then got dressed in his clean academy uniforms.


    By the time he left the bathroom, Shadow was already awake. Shadow woke up early as he had changed his class timing.


    Whittaker casually chatted with him. Shadow told him that he was trying to find a merchant who would purchase their 3000 Silver Moon Grass.


    By the time Whittaker left the boy''s dormitory, a beaming smile has enacted his face. During the talk, Shadow had told him that the profit from the sale of the Silver Moon grass will be split equally between them. He estimated that each person will earn more than 700 Platinum bars!

 Chapter 66: Breakfast with Lily.

    Ruth and Whittaker left the dormitory at the same time, but Ruth had hidden behind a wall and was waiting for Whittaker to leave. In the truest sense of the word, he was anti-social. He didn''t want to mingle with another person, especially in the morning.


    But he wasn''t lucky enough to escape the gaze of Whittaker, who has been using the eyes of Devansha to get used to them. When using the eyes of Devansha, there was no visual difference in his eyes, just a mana flicker that appears once every minute. Remember, mana is not visible by naked eyes, as long as it''s not thick, so there was not even a single visual difference in his eyes.


    Ruth was happy seeing Whittaker leave, but his expression immediately fell as he saw Whittaker taking a turn and running towards him while waving his hand. ''Oh my god, how did he notice me?'' he thought in disbelieve.


    Just like that, Whittaker and Ruth met up and they walked towards the main building of the academy. Along the way, Whittaker ate up his ears, and Ruth was feeling complex emotions.


    The snowy-haired boy was trying to pull him out of his shell! He loved that but also hated it. He has been anti-social since a young age, and now someone was trying to change that. He didn''t have words to outline his emotions for Whittaker, but a like-hate emotion would be the most suitable word.


    In the class, teacher Ruka, who wore high-heels and tight clothes that outlined her curves, taught hand signs to the young student. Hand signs were the essential basis that a mage must master. Many popular elemental spells are created by the spellbook after a mage learns Pure-mana spells, after all. That''s why she was putting utmost importance on this subject.


    Yato seemed to be the most engrossed in studying about hand signs while most of the other male students ogled at the curves of teacher Ruka with scrutinizing eyes. Every time she would turn towards them, their eyes would lower, and every time she turns towards the blackboard, their eyes would examine and praise her perfect curves.


    This situation lasted until the humble and innocent snowy-haired boy notified teacher Ruka. He didn''t know what these classmates were doing, but he felt that they needed immediate care from the health center. Their expression was rapidly changing, going from a lecherous face to a humble one, after all.


    "Out all of you!" A voice thundered through the classroom. Miss Ruka was a B-ranked mage, and she didn''t fear these young nobles or their backgrounds!


    Soon after, the Students saw the horrifying sight of Miss Ruka and found themselves stranded on the ground. A gentle breeze blew and they realized that they had failed their parents and newfound goal.


    On the other hand, Whittaker wasted his time in the classroom. On the very first day, he had memorized all the hand signs. Right now, the things Miss Ruka was teaching were useless to him.


    Hours passed by, and the class ended, bringing an end to his boredom. All along, Lily has been throwing glances to his side, and whenever he glanced back, she would blush away. Her face red, her eyes misty, and her ears burning.


    Whittaker felt that Lily was like an innocent bunny that needed guidance at every turn, he wondered why she kept on glancing at him.


    The moment the class ended, Lily mustered up all her courage and stood up with a box wrapped in a pink scarf in her hand. She stepped towards Whittaker, who was gazing at her. No, it wasn''t her, but the breakfast in her hand.


    [Egg-toast (4-star). System rating (5-star)]


    [Ingredients: The first golden egg laid by the fifth-grade magical beast, Flamewing Pigeon, after its gestation. It contains a huge amount of battle energy and mana. The bread toast is made from grain rich in Earthly energy. It can only be obtained from abord, the land of Earth. Most importantly it''s filled with heart conquering determination of your first love, even though she isn''t the only one who cooked it. But there''s no need to worry as the other person is your mother in law.


    Effect:


    A: Energizer: A person won''t feel tired for 2 weeks.


    B: Greater Battle Blessing: Increase Battle energy by 2.


    C: Mana Blessing: Increase mana by 10. Mana blessing only activates when an entire egg-toast is eaten.


    ''Bullshit! When did I say I am in love with her? And when did you start keeping tabs on my private life! Moreover, how did you know who helped her?'' Whittaker didn''t know what he felt for Lily. Though, he was sure that he didn''t love her.


    System utilized the rights to remain silent!


    Lily came near him with a bashful look and extended the box towards him. She wanted to thank him for his help. Charlotte had told her and Lily''s mother that Whittaker has princess carried Lily to the nurse''s office. Lily''s mother has helped her cook a meal for Whittaker, the knight in shining armor. Today, she was gonna use this magic food to conquer Whittaker''s stomach. Then she is bound to one day conquer his heart!


    She asked in her docile and sweet voice, "Whit- Whittaker! Would you like to eat breakfast with me?!"


    She wanted to say this in a light voice, but due to anxiety, she announced it to everyone in the classroom. Everyone turned to take a look at her confession.


    In the awakened continent, a girl asking a boy for a breakfast meant that she is expressing her love to the boy!


    Whittaker didn''t know that, and he wasn''t gonna decline a 4-star breakfast that will increase his battle energy by two units. Also, he was really happy because he hasn''t eaten anything in the morning, and now Lily was offering him an invitation to a meal.


    Lily blushed harder when she saw Whittaker gazing back at her with a look of interest and a beaming smile that sparkled with enchanting lights. "Sure!" Whittaker replied.


    "I want to take you to a special place. Do you mind?" Lily said while extending her petite hands towards him. Whittaker didn''t mind but he still hesitates for a while. Last time, Lily has fallen unconscious because of his touch, after all.


    "Don''t worry!" Lily said while staring at him with adamant eyes. She knew that Whittaker was hesitating because of what happened yesterday.


    Whittaker heard her confirmations and he stopped hesitating. He held her hand and realized that it is really soft and warm, just like his mother.


    Whittaker and Lily left the classroom hand in hand. All the way, Lily was blushing, but she wanted to take him to her special place. Her special place was the window below the rooftop, a place from where the entire Academy and the snowy mountains beyond could be seen!


    Whittaker was amazed by the view while Lily opened the box to serve him breakfast. Whittaker wasn''t gonna eat by himself and he told her to eat with him.


    In the romantic scenery, a snowy-haired boy and an ocean haired girl sat side by side, expressing innocent first love. They sat near the window and started to eat the 4-star egg-toast that Lily''s mother has cooked.


    On the other hand, good news spread throughout the Frost Fall Academy. Class 1-D had three members who belonged to the News sub-profession of the Cyber profession. They immediately published this news on the mana net.


    [Hot News!]


    ?The princess of the Carter family has confessed her feeling to Whittaker, a Frost Mage! And without any hesitation, Whittaker has accepted her confession?

 Chapter 67: Gifting the ungrateful Pup!

    There were two egg-toast in the lunch box. One was meant for Lily while the other for Whittaker, but Lily wanted him to eat both of them. Though Whittaker had split it equally with Lily. He was using Devansha''s eyes, so splitting the egg-toast in two equal half by using a knife wasn''t a hard task, rather too simple as in his eyes, even the egg beneath the bread could be somewhat seen.


    Whittaker and Lily ate the egg-toast, each lost in a world of their own. Lily was just staring at him, wondering whether he liked the food or not. His expression will tell her all. That''s why she was staring at him with her ocean eyes.


    After taking two small bites, Whittaker''s battle energy increased by 0.1. Happiness bubbled out from his satisfied stomach as his total battle energy increased to 2 points, almost immediately, a notification popped up,


    ?Daily Quest activated: ?Preparation for becoming an expert battle master.


    Level up the Guardian Class.


    ?Rewards: 1 Battle energy per level up?


    ''Nice!'' Thanks to Lily, his battle energy has increased to 2 points and had activated a system quest. He felt grateful to her.


    Reflexively, Whittaker gazed at his secondary class on the character screen.


    [Secondary class: Guardian Level 0 (0/1700 XP)]


    He needed 400 more experience points to level up the guardian class as his total amount of XP was 1300 points.


    Seeing the happiness bubbling up in his face, Lily fist-bumped her heart while shouting "Yahoo!" in her mind. Her mother had advised her, "Strike when the iron is hot!".


    She wanted to deepen her relationship with Whittaker, so she shyly asked the snowy-haired boy with expectation filled eyes,


    "Um, Whittaker, if you don''t mind then I can bring such a breakfast for you every day! My mother is a great cook, so am I. You won''t be disappointed at what we cook for you!"


    Without any hesitation, Whittaker instantly replied while staring right into her mesmerizing eyes,


    "I would love it!" Simultaneously, he thought, ''A single 4-star breakfast that she and her mother has cooked can increase my battle energy by 2 points. This 4-star breakfast wasn''t as tasty as Christopher Crispy Golden Fried-chicken, but it was still higher ranked. I only need to eat such breakfast twenty times, and I would become an E-ranked battle master!''


    In the awakened continent, Whittaker''s reply meant that the man has accepted to take the woman''s hand in marriage!


    While eating the egg-toast, Whittaker gazed to the side and saw her staring blankly at him with an amazed expression. She thought, ''Mother was right, indeed!''


    Lily didn''t know that Whittaker was a "Commoner" so she was certain that Whittaker had accepted her proposal. Now, Whittaker only needed to give her a gift, and this proposal would be certified. She was staring at him with wide-opened eyes filled with high expectations and in her heart, she held intense curiosity about his gift. ''What will he give me? The better the gift the greater our future will be!''


    In the awakened continent, the last step of this proposal was a boy handing over something to the girl. It is said by the Divination King, "The more a girl likes the gift the better her love life will be with her chosen one!"


    Whittaker pulled his gaze away from her, gazing back at the enchanting scenery, he wondered why she used the legendary skill "Puppy eyes" on him.


    Soon after, he blinked his eyes as a thought crossed his mind, and he turned towards Lily, and said,


    "Oh yeah, the class are only held three days a week, how will you�C"


    Reflexively, Lily extended her hands towards Whittaker before he could finish his words. In between her petite and soft palms, a mana com was placed, taking it in his hand, Whittaker exchanged his contact information with her.


    Right then, he sensed something happening in his soul space. Whittaker closed his eyes to feel his soul space. Soon after, he saw the two adorable wolf pups making heart-melting noises. From their eyes and actions, Whittaker inferred that they were trying to say, ''Papa, we are hungry!''


    The egg-toast was only half-eaten and he decided to share some of it with the wolf pups. It''s cuz, later on, he was gonna feed them the snack bar the system has given him.


    With a single thought, he immediately summoned the two wolf pups in front of him. With a poof, the two pups appeared in the world, and Lily found herself instantly attracted to them.


    Whittaker tore some of the bread and fed them to the winter wolf pup and the luna wolf pup. These magical pups have genes that allow them to digest carbohydrates, so there wasn''t a problem with feeding them bread.


    The two pups opened their tiny mouth to devour the bread crumbs instantly. This was the most energy-filled food they have ever eaten in their life. They instantly purr in bless.


    ''Can I touch them?'' Lily asked. Touching someone else magical beasts without permission was an action that leads to an instant fight. A magical beast only allows its owner and the people allowed by its owner to touch them, after all.


    Whittaker nods given her his permission, and Lily immediately pat the cutest one. Right after, she gives some love to the other pup that gave her puppy eyes. The cutest of the pup was naturally the Luna wolf, and Lily was attracted to her cuteness.


    [Luna wolf pup Loyalty point dropped to zero. The Luna wolf pup has a desire in her heart and mind. She wants to break off her contract with you to become Lily''s magical beast pet]


    ''????'' Whittaker was amazed by the notification that suddenly popped up. He has never seen such a shameless magical beast before. He was feeding her, yet her loyalty laid elsewhere.


    Right then, Lily asked, "Can I keep her?"


    Lily was feeding him a 4-star breakfast that is worth 1000+ platinum bar, so he didn''t hesitate to give away the shameless pup that ignored the hand that fed her.


    Lily was all smile as she received her token of love. A cute luna wolf pup, this was the best gift she could ask for!


    By the time Whittaker finished his breakfast, his battle energy has increased to 3.5 points. During the meal, he casually chatted with Lily and found out some important information.


    Lily was the daughter of the Master of Frost Fall City. Frost Fall City Master was the youngest son of the Northern Duke. Northern Duke and Headmaster Yeon were once general serving under the ancient Water Emperor, who is said to be dead. Northern Duke was the most beloved and aggressive son of the Ancient Water Emperor, hence he joined the army against the will of his beloved father to fight against the Abbadon savages hundreds of years ago.


    Headmaster Yeon was called the great general of dusk while the Northern Duke was entitled the Divine Warrior blessed by the Sun.


    In his peak, the Northern Duke was classified as an A-ranked battle master, but he went toe to toe with a 7 chaos leaves Abaddon Shaman.


    Lily was also his most favorite granddaughter!

 Chapter 68: Learning new spells (a)

    Seven chaos leaves Shaman are comparable to S-ranked mages, yet the northern duke was able to fight one, even though he was just an A-ranked battle master.


    Lastly, he found out that Lily awakened at the age of 14 cuz the higher your age the better chance of awakening a class weapon. Also, Lily didn''t like fighting. Her interest lay in cooking mostly. She wanted to become a magic chef that''s why she underwent the awakening ceremony at the age of 14.


    Charlotte, on the other hand, was leaning on a wall and eavesdropping on them. She was Lily''s childhood friend and her guardian. Also, she was a secret agent working under the Northern Duke. Her job was to keep an eye on Lily and the people she meets and report it to the Northern Duke!


    Whittaker has certainly noticed her because of his Devansha vision, he could see what''s happening behind his back and what''s happening in front of his eyes at the same time!


    "Well then," Whittaker stood up from his seated position. He continued by shaking her petite hand, "I will be going to the training hall, see ya later!"


    "Bye. I hope you have a good day!" Like a faithful fiancee, Lily replied to her fiance, who didn''t know the storm he has stirred up in the mana net.


    Saying that Whittaker dashed past Charlotte, who couldn''t hide someplace else in time. He gave her a knowing gaze, telling her that he knows that she was here all the time.


    ''What a pesky brat!'' Charlotte, the blonde thought while gazing at his back with a look of interest. She walked up to her princess, Lily, and they together set out to go to Yeon''s private office.


    Yeon was her godfather, and she could use his teleportation portals as she wishes. Lily had a massive room in the academy, and she could return home at any time she wishes. This was a given privilege as she was the granddaughter of the northern duke, and Headmaster Yeon was her godfather.


    Lily and Charlotte were going back home to announce the good news to Lady Sandra, Lily''s mother, and the only wife of the Mayor of the Frost Fall City.


    Soon after splitting up with Lily, Whittaker went to the training ground to once again surprise and amaze the senior students and dear classmates.


    The senior student that wanted to reprimand him and Yato glanced at Whittaker when he entered the training hall but they didn''t say anything. Yato wasn''t close with Whittaker but he was secretly an admirer of the snowy-haired boy while the senior student didn''t even want to think about him. It took a whole day for him to forgive himself, only he knew the trouble Whittaker has caused him.


    Ignoring the outside world, Whittaker engrossed in thoughts walked towards the combat training area of the training hall.


    There were many wooden figurines with metallic limbs in the combat training area. Dozens of square storage boxes filled to the brim with balls of varying sizes were placed near the walls of this area. Ten or so 2nd year and 1st-year students perfected the aim of their spells on the wooden figurines.


    Today, Whittaker has come here to learn the pure-mana spells telekinesis. Unlike the previous time, he didn''t need to close his eyes to picture the memories in his brain. With a single thought, the memories of that day played like a vivid dream in his crystal white eyes.


    According to the scenes playing in his mind, teacher Ruka has performed a total of five hand signs to cast telekinesis. They are,


    Earth ? Sky ? Snake ? Sky ? Earth.


    Whittaker performed the hand signs, just like an expert mage that has gained master-level proficiency in hand-signs.


    Mana circulated in his body as Whittaker gazed at one of the many balls placed inside the square boxes, almost immediately, he felt a connection with a ball, and it started to float according to Whittaker''s will. Right then, the long-awaited notification of the Night Will''s system popped up and filled his vision,


    [The User has Learned Pure-Mana spell "Telekinesis"]


    [Telekinesis (F-ranked)


    Cost: 0-1000


    Effect: The Guardian can move an object at a distance by using mana. The Guardian can decide the trajectory of the object, its speed, and its target by thoughts and mana usage. The mana cost will be decided by the weight of the object. Max number of objects (1/1)]


    Right after, another notification popped up.


    ?Daily Quest Completed: Learn a Pure-Mana spell with your efforts.


    ?Rewards obtained: +1 Skill Development point, +1 intelligence?


    [Total Skill Development points: 4]


    [Intelligent increased: 30?31]


    [Mana point increased: 300?310. Total mana points 400/310]


    [Mana Recovery per second increased: 15?15.5]


    [Magic Defense increased: 60?62]


    [Magic attack Damage increased: 30?31]


    [System estimates that there will be a lot of problems if the Guardian increases his intelligence by another point as Guardian''s mana pool will start to destabilize by the addition of ten more mana units. The system advises Guardian to purchase mana pool strengthing elixirs. The system advises the guardian to stop increasing his total amount of mana for today]


    Whittaker decides to stop increasing his max mana points for today while his face was illuminated by a celestial blue hue. His spellbook had rushed out from his soul space and materialized in the physical plane right when he performed the pure-mana spell telekinesis. The spellbook shone with an icy light, attracting the attraction of everyone inside and outside the training hall. Once again, the peoples were attracted by the Frost spellbook that has mastered the art of seduction.


    Moreover, it even seduced mana in the surrounding. Mana rushed into the shining Frost spellbook from all four corners of the nearby surrounding. The Frost spellbook absorbed the mana to condense the elemental version of the Pure-mana spell "Telekinesis" in the form of a page.


    This time every single one of the students got amazed. Just yesterday, Whittaker has learned a pure-mana spell, and his book created an elemental version of it. Now today, he had learned another pure-mana spell, and now, his Frost spellbook was condensing the elemental version of it.

 Chapter 69: Frost Elemental Control.

    Normally, a mage needs half a week or so to learn pure-mana spell. That''s why they were so impressed.


    Yato still hasn''t learned one, and he was amazed by his idol, who learned both the spells that teacher Ruka has taught them.


    Soon after, a page was successfully condensed in the Frost spellbook.


    Whittaker, on the other hand, received another notification from the system.


    [Frost Elementals Control (F-ranked)


    Cost: 35 Mp per projectile


    Effect: The Guardian can control a projectile''s trajectory path once it is fired or thrown, whether it be a Frost bolt or Ice needle. The velocity of the object can be increased, so can its piercing power. Guardian can also reposition Ice Shield as he wishes. Max amount (0/7)]


    The elemental spells were bound to be more impressive than pure-mana spells, especially if the mage spellbook belongs to a higher-rank, just like Whittaker''s Frost spellbook. He was impressed by the elemental version of the pure-mana spell Telekinesis, even though it cost more mana.


    Whittaker decided to practice the elemental spell. Everyone was staring at him with amazement, but Whittaker wasn''t gonna shy away from their gazes. He was feeling proud and shy at the same time, but he only decided to show a proud face.


    He gazed at his targets, the wooden figurines, and positioned himself to battle!


    "[Frost Bolt]...[Frost Bolt]...[Frost Bolt]" He chanted the name of his first elemental spell.


    The spellbook shot out several Frost bolts towards wooden figurines, and Whittaker shouted out "[Frost Elemental Control]", almost immediately, he felt connected to these frost bolts.


    All of the Frost Bolts were targeted at the chest of the Wooden Figurines, Whittaker controlled them and changed their directions. Two Frost Bolts whisked past the wooden figurine that was modeled after a human body and smashed it on the back of the head while the other targeted its vital points: two smashed on the nether region, two on the ankles, and one on the neck. The poor wooden figurines have transformed into a snowman as it was entirely covered in a frosty hue.


    Whittaker nods his head in thought as he stroke his imaginary bread. He was beaming a smile and looked a little silly because of his actions, even though he was trying to appear to be wise. Whittaker was summarizing the strength of this elemental spell.


    Soon after, he gave him remarks, internally.


    ''This elemental-spell allows all types of Frost projectile to curve around barriers and obstacles to reach targets.'' Whittaker''s eyes blinked in insidious thought as he further concluded that, ''I can attack others at unsuspecting angles and blind-spots, confuse opponents by keeping moving the frost bolts around them until I decide to make the unexpected strike. The Frost Bolts can also gain momentum and piercing power by flying around.''


    With each thought, the grin on his face widened. In the end, his smile was stretching from ear to ear. The happiness was certainly caused by Frost''s elements control, a spell that has increased his battle power by a dozen times.


    Whittaker believed that he could even take down an E-ranked magical beast by himself.


    With such thoughts in his mind, he stepped out of the training facility under the admiring and love-filled eyes of some boys and girls and the envy and burning with jealousy stares of some students.


    The place where he headed towards was the quest hall. Shadow had sent a private message to his mana com, telling him that he would solely train for some weeks so he can''t go questing.


    Anyways, Whittaker didn''t want to quest himself. He wasn''t going to the quest hall to complete a quest.


    He was heading towards the quest hall to complete a dungeon.


    "The dungeons in the Frost Fall Academy is definitely the greatest source of income. Every monster kill increases the royal credit points by a fraction of a point or more. Even though it''s hard to complete a dungeon and the death rate is high but I have a lot of confidence in my powers. I believe I can do it!'' Whittaker thought while gazing at the character menus.


    __________


    Character Menu


    [Character: Whittaker Lin (Human/Spi?)]


    [Experience: 1300]


    [Main class: Frost mage. Level 3 (0/200 XP)]


    [Secondary class: Guardian Level 0 (0/1700 XP)]


    [HP: 60/60 (Recover 3 Hp per second)]


    Mp: 410/310 (Recover 15.5 Mp per second)


    Physical attack damage:10


    Physical Defense: 11


    Magical Defense: 62


    Magical Attack Damage: 31


    [Attribute Menu


    Attribute points: 0


    Attributes: Strength 5, Endurance 11,


    Intelligence 31, Agility 2, Vitality 6, Battle energy 3.5]


    [Skill Menu:


    Skill Development points: 4


    [Passive skill]


    Mana devouring hairs


    Skill Duplication


    [ACTIVE Spell:


    Mana shield (F-rank)


    Telekinesis (F-rank)


    Frost Bolt (F-rank)


    Frost Shield (F-rank)


    Icy Blast (E-rank)


    Ice elemental control (F-rank)


    Three-clawed ice swipe (Rankless)


    Devansha vision (active)


    [Active Skill:


    Three-clawed blood slash (rankless)


    Blood Link (F-rank)]


    [Special Traits:


    Gamer-like body (Passive), Photographic memory (Passive)]


    ________


    On his way towards the quest hall, Whittaker thought back to what the system has said. He was advised to strengthen his mana pool. He was too engrossed in thoughts and training that he forgot to ask the system about important stuff.


    Whittaker''s lips parted as he asked, "Hey system, what does strengthening mana pool do?"


    [The Guardian would be able to increase his max mana by more than fifty points a day if he strengthens his mana pool. Once the mana pool is strengthened to perfection then Guardian can level up as he wishes to. The guardian growth will not be "Restricted"!]


    Whittaker asked the system how to attain a perfect mana pool, and the answers he received horrified his heart. There were only two ways.


    The first one was to obtain an A-ranked or above treasure that strengthens the mana pool. Whittaker thought in refusal, ''It''s easier said than done!''


    Even a single F-ranked mana pool strengthening elixir costs more than 1000 platinum bars. How could he so easily buy an A-ranked or above treasure? He would have to probably slave away his life for ten or so years before he can make enough to purchase such a treasure that strengthens the mana pool to perfection.

 Chapter 70: Dungeons.

    Though, Whittaker wanted to buy one and use it to strengthen his mana pool to perfection. His potential was being halted because of his mana pool and he couldn''t increase his max mana units by 50 because of the same reason!


    "I will complete dungeons to make money. With money, everything can be easily obtained and many problems can be easily solved, hence my interest will always be with money. Also, my dream has evolved. I want... No, I will become the richest man in the entire awakened continent!" He exclaimed in glee, his happiness is caused by pleasant thoughts.


    He stepped inside the Quest Hall.


    Several meters behind the GRS, there were four square, door-like structures. ''These door-like structures are how a person can enter a dungeon.''


    There was a small crowd in front of the dungeon door, and every student and party was entering the dungeon after swiping their Student ID card on the slot of the card reader installed on a metallic board placed near the dungeon. He walked towards the dungeon doors that were surrounded by many students.


    Dungeons could be completed with a party or solo, but the danger level increases with each member. A few teams were wearing shiny gears in order before heading into the dungeon through the door. Whittaker saw the effect of their equipment suit. The magical and shiny equipment that they were wearing could block 10-20% of physical and magical attack damage.


    Though the thing that caught his eye was none other than a scarlet crystal.


    A notification containing the information regarding the crystal popped up,


    [Return Crystal (Consumable)]


    Effects: Once used, the Guardian will be instantly evacuated out of the dungeon. He will return to the nearest place with a GRS. The Guardian will return to the Quest Hall of Royal Frost Fall Academy after using this crystal as the nearest GRS to goblin dungeon is located in this place]


    Everyone going inside the dungeons was buying this crystal from the nearby counter.


    Dungeons were life-like. A person could experience true death if he dies in a dungeon that''s why most of the students, especially nobles will never go inside a dungeon without a return crystal. No one wanted to experience death and the pain that comes with it. That''s why they buy this crystal worth 50 platinum to complete a dungeon with a maximum profit of 50-1000 platinum bars.


    Whittaker wondered why these students were wearing all of their items and preparing for war while they were just going to complete a dungeon. He doesn''t have any equipment or return crystal, unlike the other students. He thought, ''Actually, I don''t even have enough money to buy such stuff. A 1-star equipment suit costs 1000-10000 platinum bar, a 2-star cost 10000-100000 platinum bars, and the price just increases to insane height with each star.''


    Loosening his muscles and suppressing his overconfidence, Whittaker stepped towards the metallic board.


    A few people were standing around the dungeon door looking to either form parties or invite others to their party.


    Those in a group can enter the dungeon together as long as they pour mana or battle energy into the dungeon door at the same time. Mana and battle energy can be poured into the dungeon door by touching the door.


    There was a party prepared to go into the dungeon in front of him already, so he reigned in his curiosity about the other students around me and stood a few feet away from the on-going party.


    It didn''t take long before a group noticed the lone Whittaker waiting by himself.


    "Heh, is that kid thinking of going in alone? To solo a dungeon that''s just courting death!" A senior student said with an evil laugh.


    "Bro, another one with a death wish has enlisted in the academy. After a single death, he will learn better." The second student didn''t have any intention of warning Whittaker about the danger of the dungeon.


    "Just ignore him, who knows, maybe he will let us see a devastated face. We should wait for his return. It will be nice to see him screaming his guts out." A female student whispered into their ears.


    "Hahahahaehe," the three students laughed evilly.


    Death was life-like, so was the mental trauma that comes with experiencing the pain that led a person to die. There were many ways for a person to die in the dungeon, each one was worse than the other. These students with distinguished backgrounds wanted to see the devastated and weeping look on Whittaker''s face. They were probably jealous of his good looks.


    Ignoring the laughs around him, Whittaker wait patiently as the entire party in front of him disappeared in a flash. Right after, he swiped his student ID card on the card reader and paid the required amount to enter the dungeon.


    He went near the black-color monster dungeon and placed his hand on the square door. In an instant, Whittaker was transported into a large dark place.


    He was using Devansha''s vision, and could clearly see in this darkness. Without even a single glance, he determines what this place is, "A cavern and a boss?!"


    The very first monster he encounters after entering a dungeon is a big, bulky, and ugly Goblin, whose hands clutches a massive bone pick.


    "Gwagh!!!"


    The cave lightly shakes from the scream so does the tummy of the goblin that was five-meter tall. Seeing that, a beaming smile form on Whittaker''s face, almost immediately, the Frost spellbook immediately materializes over his head.


    [Frost Bolt]...[Frost Bolt]...[Frost Bolt]...


    Seven Frost Bolts are hurled towards the Giant goblin that is charging towards Whittaker. Right after, Whittaker shouts, "Frost elemental Control!" to gain control over the seven frost bolts.


    Whittaker let the first hit its chest, slowing its movement. The second and third whisk past its shoulder and smashes on the back of its head causing it dizziness. Due to this, it is knocked backward. The fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh Frost Bolt smashes on the exposed and defenseless nether region of the fat goblin without mercy.


    The Frost bolts explode the nether region, blood gushes everywhere dying the ground scarlet in seconds!


    "GwahGHHhHHHH!!!!!!!"


    The painful scream of the monster resounds as it opens its mouth wide.


    Right then, Whittaker says Frost Bolt for one last time and the Frost spellbook hurls one Frost bolt at its open mouth to effectively end its life!

 Chapter 71: Inheritance dungeon!

    Just then Whittaker received a message from his system.


    [Guardian has slain 2-star Bone-Pick Giant Goblin. Obtained 200 Experience Points]


    It was unexpected but Whittaker had received Exp for slaying a monster in the dungeon. Suddenly a large grin appeared on his face.


    This was a large surprise to him as Whittaker didn''t expect that slaying a monster in the dungeon will give him experience points. According to the books and mana net, the dungeon in the academies wasn''t real, after all. They were only life-like!


    "This is great news! I can hunt in the dungeon to make big bucks and increase my strength at the same time!" Whittaker exclaimed.


    On the other hand, right after the ugly and fat goblin breathed its last, a blinding light flashed from its body and a green number rose from the middle of its head. The number said ten. Seeing it, Whittaker''s eyes widened in glee and he dashed to the number while pulling out his Student ID card from his chest pockets.


    He touched the green number with his Student ID and the ten points were absorbed into the back of the ID card. His Royal credits point increased by 13 points. He has earned thirteen platinum bars in some seconds, even though the monster he slew was classified as an E-ranked monster, it''s still impressive to earn so much in a little bit of time.


    Just then though Whittaker had received another message from this dungeon system.


    ?Congratulation, you are the first F-ranker to complete the F-rank floor of dark door monster dungeon in less than 15 seconds?


    ?You are awarded the earring of the city in the sky?


    "City In The Sky?" Whittaker blurted out in amazement, and his eyes widened in shock when he thought of this well-known city of the Wind Kingdom. The city in the sky is the imperial land of the Wind kingdom. The elder brother of the mage king rules this place, and the mage king supports him by paying the expenses necessary to keep this piece of land afloat in the sky.


    After the announcement, a light shone from the rooftop and an earring shining with blinding azure lights materialized in front of his crystal white eyes.


    Dungeons were the same for everyone, but the entry point varied. For a normal F-ranked mage, being teleported right before the boss of a dungeon meant certain death, but for Whittaker, it was child''s play. First of all, he could see in the dark. This gave him a massive advantage over the boss of the first floor of this dungeon. Secondly, not everyone would choose to target the nether region of their opponent but Whittaker likes to hit where it hurts the most. For that reason, he had made the perfect plan to effectively make the 5-meter tall zombie fall and expose its defenseless area, attacking which earned him a clean victory. Because of these two reasons, he managed to clear the dungeon in less than fifteen seconds and obtained a hidden reward from the inheritance dungeon.


    Whittaker gazed at the earring, and the system''s notifications popped up.


    [Item: Azure Sky Earring


    Rank: B-rank


    Accessory Requirement: 30 intelligence


    Effects:


    A: Mana storage. Automatically store mana. Can store 500 units of Mana.


    B: Flight: With a single thought, the Guardian will be able to activate the power of the earring, enabling him to fly while wearing it. Once the spell is invoked, the guardian will kick off the ground and start flying in the air. The effect will end anytime the guardian wishes it tom


    C: Boost speed: The spell will increase the flying, walking, and running speed of the guardian by 100%. Decreases with the increase in rank. (Useable once per day)]


    "This is way better than any earring a person like me can get from the market," Whittaker exclaimed in awe. Normally, to buy a B-rank item, a mage will have to join one of the following: a noble family, the army, a guild with a lot of influence, become a high-ranking association member, lastly join a special group otherwise it was simply impossible to get one hand''s on a treasure like such.


    No doubt, he snatched the shining earring as fast as he could. A B-rank treasure, whether it be equipment or accessories cost more than 100000+ platinum bar. He thought like a true merchant,


    ''If I am to sell it then hehe, becoming a millionaire is longer a pipe dream. But I will get in trouble if I did that!''


    Selling it will attract unwanted trouble and since he has no backing, a person can even frame him for stealing a treasure. Whittaker has read a lot of novels and he knew that treasure attracts unwanted attention.


    Right after, a return portal opened by his side.


    He can leave the dungeon by taking the return portal. Just as Whittaker was about to leave, a white-bearded old man with hairs longer than his own suddenly appeared.


    "Young adventurer, I am Zachary from the City In the Sky." The old man''s voice was filled with vicissitudes and wisdom. The sudden appearance of the old man shocked Whittaker into a jump. He had even thought the old man was some expert that had appeared to steal his treasure. However, he let loose a breath after noticing that the old man was merely a holographic image but this image seems to possess intelligence!


    "Zachary... elder are you the famous wine-brewer from the Wind kingdom?" Whittaker respectfully asked with an innocent smile on his young face.


    "Indeed, it is I, Zachary the celestial wine brewer!" The white-bearded elder shook his head in agreement. He continued with a smile, "You are the first person to pass my hidden trial. If you wish to get more impressive treasures and become stronger then I can help you with that, but are you willing to accept the inheritance trials of mine? If so then bind with the earring and I will open up a portal, taking which you can go to the hidden part of this dungeon, my trials! If not then you can take the return portal to return to my old friend Yeon''s home. The decision is yours to make."

 Chapter 72: Zachary initial trial

    This old man was chummy with Yeon as they both used to save each other hides before the ancient emperor of water and wind.


    The Wind Kingdom is the neighbor of the kingdom of the Water. The land of wind is ruled by the kingdom of Wind. The Water kingdom shares deep ties with the Wind Kingdom, so deep that the prince and princess of the Wind and Water kingdom usually marries each other.


    Whittaker knew that elder Zachary was a famous Magic chef, and even a weak chicken can evolve into the king of chicken by taking a sip of his celestial wine (10-star). This elder can turn a weakling into a Dragon king by just feeding them.


    The treasure in elder Zachary inheritance trials are bound to be high-ranked, so Whittaker replied instantly with burning curiosity, "Of course, I''m willing to undergo Elder''s inheritance trial."


    ''If it''s too hard then at most I will die. It doesn''t matter as I won''t die in real life even if I die in the inheritance trial.'' Whittaker thought while dropping his blood on the earring to bind with it. The earring absorbed his scarlet blood and soon after, a connection was formed between Whittaker and the earring. He wore it on his left ear which is covered from sight by long, wavy snowy hairs.


    Happily, the elder nods his head in satisfaction as he sees his actions and announces,


    "Alright, I have left three inheritance trials in this dungeon, each harder than the others. The first one is the easy difficulty. After you pass it you''ll get an F-ranked Treasure Chest. The second one is the Normal difficulty, passing it will net you a thousand platinum and an E-ranked treasure chest. Also, you can get additional rewards depending on your rate of completion. The third option is the Hard difficulty, where you''ll be rewarded a D-ranked treasure chest, but that''s not all, you will also receive a "Tarot card". Moreover, you will also receive additional rewards depending on your rate of completion." Elder Zachary waved his hand and three portals opened up.


    Each portal has a different color. The first one was colored green. The second one was colored blue. The third one was colored red.


    "The choice is yours to make!" Elder Zachary says to the excited Whittaker.


    ''A total of three inheritance trials. Each with treasure ranked higher than the other, and each harder than the other.'' Whittaker purse his lips in thought, ''Hmm, It will cost a lot to purchase F-D-ranked treasures, I still need money to buy a piece of land, a mansion, a shop, elixirs, and a lot of other stuff. I will not go of this chance to make it big! But first, let''s confirm some things.''


    Whittaker Whittaker turns his attentions towards the image of elder Zachary and asks,


    "Elder Zachary, can I ask two questions?"


    Instantly, Elder Zachary replies, "Go on!"


    Whittaker asks, "Elder, can you see what I do in the inheritance trials? Also, Is there a chance for an F-ranked mage to complete a Hard difficulty inheritance trial?"


    "For the first question, it''s Yes. I am the judge, after all. As for the second one, if an F-ranked mage makes an active and effective response to the situation at hand then he will pass the hardest difficulty trials!"


    A flicker of thought passes through his crystal icy eyes. After a three-second delay, Whittaker says, "Elder, I choose the hard difficulty inheritance trial!"


    As a newly awakened Whittaker had the courage to face Barbarian Luo, hence he dared to challenge the Hard difficulty.


    "Go ahead!" Elder Zachary excitedly points his hand at the Red portal while staring at the young boy. While the other two portals close.


    Whittaker reaches nears the portal and halts in his step,


    "Elder before I go in, can I ask one more question?"


    "Yes, what''s it?" Elder Zachary was a good man and he didn''t mind answering some questions to clear the doubt of a young awakened. He was among the ones who have fought to give better lives to the future generation, after all.


    "Elder Zachary, do you hate blood attribute users?" Whittaker used his legendary skill "Puppy eyes" while asking this question. He wanted him to answer honestly. Also, he wanted to use his S-ranked class weapon to glorify his performance in the inheritance trial to earn better rewards


    That''s why he asked this important question.


    Depending on the answer, he will either utilize his S-ranked class weapon or not!


    "No, why would I? I am not a retarded, jealous, and envy-filled member of the church of light. Actually, If I see one, especially one with a high-ranking blood attribute class user, I will immediately befriend them. Though, young adventurer, why do you ask?" The elder excitedly replies as he knew the prowess the owner of a blood attribute class weapon holds.


    "Elder, you won''t mind befriending a young boy, would you?" Whittaker says with a smile while stepping into the Scarlet portal.


    The elder eyes widened to take a clear look at what suddenly popped up in Whittaker''s hand stretching out of the Scarlet portal and his eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets!


    "S-ranked!!!!" Elder Zachary chuckled dumbfoundedly and his white beard and long brows dangled in mid-air. Light of wisdom flickers in his eyes as he rubs his beard thoughtfully, ''Could it be that Yeon has exposed the way to my inheritance trial and intentionally send this boy here to conquer it? No! The boy''s expression was too pure and real for it to be pre-planned. Whatever, a young one with the potential to become an S-ranker obtaining a part of my inheritance does seem like a blessing, ehehehehehaaha!"


    The elder didn''t specify who was the one being blessed but from his expression and roaring laughs, one can infer that it is the elder who is blessed to have the owner of an S-rank Class weapon enter his inheritance trials.


    Whittaker passed through the Scarlet portal, almost immediately, his vision shifted as he found himself in a completely different environment.


    A very dangerous environment!

 Chapter 73: One boy against an army

    Whittaker stares at the enemies he was gonna face. He was appalled by the sight in front, but an instant later, he grasped his calm tightly in his palms.


    "This inheritance trial sure seems hard. From the looks of it, there are more than a hundred goblins in total. Oh, more are appearing from behind the towering doors!"


    Whittaker thought while gazing at the enemies with his precise eyesight.


    On the other hand, the moment he appeared in the inheritance trials, many small and grotesque creatures with an outright malicious smile turned to take a look at him. A hundred pairs of monstrous eyes seething with cruelty stared down at the snowy-haired boy.


    Goblins are creatures that bullied the weak and feared the strong. Whittaker was small and seemed docile, just what they like to hunt. They showed him a fearsome smile as they waited for the wall separating them to vanish!


    Whittaker and the hundreds of goblin were separated by a thin yet powerful Mana wall which was gonna disappear in some seconds.


    "Young one, this is the initial stage of the Hard difficulty inheritance trial. The automatic prompts will explain the rest to you." Elder Zachary''s voice rang beside his ears. Right then, a wide holographic notification appeared in the middle of the open ground.


    [Conditions to pass the trial: Kill all the goblins!


    Rewards:


    A: Opening to the next stage


    B: Return Portal


    C: Low-level mantra elixirs or Blood vessel and energy pathways opening Elixirs.]


    [The Mana Wall will disappear in ten seconds]


    Whittaker gazed at the hundreds of short goblins with a malignant smile of his own. He thought with murderous intent, ''The faster I am done with them the greater my end rewards will be!''


    The monsters were merely a treasure vault for him. A source of experience points and costly elixirs. Whittaker didn''t waste the ten seconds provided by the trial grounds. In less than ten seconds, he had calculated the most appropriate response to this situation.


    ''Fighting against all of them would lead to death. I only have two hands while there is more than a hundred enemy, some of them will surely reach me and land hits on my body and I might even bleed to death. I need to separate them into many groups! The best spell would be Frost Shield!''


    Whittaker could fight a dozen of them: however, against an ocean of goblins, even an E-ranked mage will start to panic. The best way to effectively kill them all was to fight them, one group at a time!


    The ten seconds ended and the waves of goblin rushed towards him, each clutching a mace or bone-pick in its greenish hand.


    He knew that the goblin will rush towards him so he immediately casts [Frost Shield] three times. Nine Frost Shield materialized in an area around him, encircling him from all four sides, just a narrow pathway was opened in the middle: from there only five to six goblins could pass at a time, more specifically, Whittaker has created a small arena in the open field.


    Dozens of the goblins rushed into the narrow pathway to show Whittaker what pain feels like: However, they were blocking each other as the pathway was too narrow. Just like he calculated, Whittaker only had to face 4-6 goblins at a time. Moreover, enemies in the chilling field created by the Frost Shield have their movement speed decreased by 5% and are inflicted by a frost stack. This effect stacked three times and these goblins were nearly frozen by the time they reached the arena!


    Heck, these greenish goblins have become blue and they moved slower than snails!


    They were defeated before they even reached their target!


    Whittaker beamed a smile and performed some hand signs, soon after the Blood Drinker that was clutched in his hands started to shake.


    Facing the goblins and their relative, the snowy-haired boy''s Reddish black Sword raised to the air. Struck by the gleaming Frost, the sword glistened high up in the air. With a single thought, Blood Drinker whisked ahead and butchered the goblins that had come out of the narrow pathway.


    A red line was drawn on their neck, a second later, their heads separated from their body and rolled on the ground!


    In a sense, Whittaker showed them mercy as Sword Saint Louis has said,


    "To show mercy to one''s enemies was taking away their lives in a single strike."


    On the other side of the battlefield, a lot of goblins shattered the Frost shield acting as towering walls that separated him from the others, but Whittaker chanted Frost''s shield and reinforced the defense lines every time.


    Each time the Frost shield shattered, the snowy-haired boy would cast it again to reinforce the defense lines. Whereas the goblins treading the narrow pathway to reach him were butchered like pigs and chicken.


    _____


    Outside the open field.


    "With regards to his battle strategy, this young boy has exceeded my expectations. If he just came up with this battle strategy then he will become the next Great general of the Northern border." Elder Zachary has been witnessing his performance and he was impressed by Whittaker. The young boy has lived up to the expectation of Elder Zachary.


    Elder Zachary strokes his white beard in thoughtfulness and exclaims in glee,


    "Hahahaha, Abaddon has found its vessel, yet a bright gem has been birthed in the Water kingdom. Hahahaha!"


    His eyes shine with a sharp glint as he gazes down at the F-ranked mage, "If he successfully passes all the trial then I will let him have a bath in the Celestial Wine formation."


    The old man was grinning because of the thoughts revolving in his mind. Celestial Wine formation, a formation that is used to strengthen a mana pool was among the top ten Formation of the entire Awakened continent. Once Whittaker uses it, his mana pool will take one wide step towards the greatest form of a mana pool, "Perfect Mana Pool!"


    ______


    Inside the open field!


    Whittaker''s strategy was extremely effective. The Frost Shield effectively blocked, slowed, and froze his enemies before they could reach him. Also, the deadly combination of telekinesis and Blood Drinker butchered the goblins.


    All along Whittaker was standing in a single place, easily multitasking in this grand battle and killing the goblins.


    Two hours passed and the entire open field was filled with the scent of blood and death.


    All the goblins had dropped dead only a snowy-haired boy remained standing!

 Chapter 74: Initial trial ends

    When the battle finished, a lot of system notification popped up in his vision, but he didn''t have the time to check them out as the automatic prompts of the trial ground started to make announcements,


    ?Conditions to pass the initial inheritance trial: Kill all the goblins.


    Progress: 100%


    Estimated time for an F-ranked dual awakened: 45 hours.


    Time taken by the challenger to complete the initial inheritance trial: 7 hours?


    Whittaker''s thoughts on this matter: ''So seven hours has passed. The day will end in six or so hours. Maybe, I won''t be able to return to the dormitory in time.''


    A huge holographic screen opened up in the middle of the open ground, and Whittaker saw it. Right then, the announcement game began.


    ?Style points!


    Judgment:


    A: During the trial, the inheritance trial "Challenger" didn''t take a single step away from his position, gained one S style point.


    B: The trial challenger has showcased the potential to wear the mantle of a legendary class, "Magic Swordsman" by using Flying Sword attacks to kill the goblins. Gained one more S-style point.


    C: The trial challenger completed the initial trial in less than half the time estimated. Gained one A style point. Plus, the spirit of the reality management formation (10-star) wants to say that the challenger is extremely handsome. The Reality management formation spirit calculated that in the future the trial challenger will become the most handsome man in the entire awakened continent. Gained one more A style point for extremely handsome looks. In total, the challenger has gained one more S style point. A+A=S?


    Whittaker''s thoughts on this matter: ''Who said that looks don''t matter in inheritance grounds? It matters more than strength. Hehe, I always knew that I am handsome, but being the most handsome man in the entire world? This is news for even me!''


    ?Final Rating: SSS (Super Sexy Style)?


    ?Rewards are tripled?


    ?Select your rewards:


    C: 3 sets of Low-level mantra elixirs or Blood vessels and energy pathways opening Elixirs.


    A light shined down from the roof and 30 tubes of blue Elixirs and 30 tubes of Red and yellow bottles materialized in front of him.


    Whittaker gazes at them, and a system notification containing their details pops up.


    The blue tube was the low-level mantra Elixir while the Red and Yellow bottles were opening elixirs.


    [Low-level mantra (3-stars)


    No time required: Effect is instant. Consider the state of your mana pool before using it.


    Effects: Increase Mana in the mana pool by thirty points.]


    [Low-level Blood vessel and energy pathways opening Elixirs (3-stars)


    Requirements: Physical training


    Effects: Opens one blood vessel and one energy pathway in the body. One must train physically to completely absorb the effect of this elixir otherwise, the energy will be wasted as it will leave through the pores and holes of the body]


    ''No doubt, it''s gonna be the opening elixirs,'' he thought. Mantra elixirs cost less than opening elixir in the market, hence his choice laid with the opening elixirs. He could use them after he reaches E-ranked battle master or sells them to earn a huge sum.


    Whittaker selected 3 sets of low-level Blood vessels and energy pathways opening Elixirs.


    He obtained 30 pieces in total, with a happy smile, Whittaker stores every single one of his newfound treasure in the hunter''s storage ring.


    ?The Mana Wall to the intermediate level trial ground has disappeared. The intermediate trial will start when the challenger passes through the towering gates. A return portal to Yeon''s home has been created. The trial challenger can leave this place by taking the return portal. P.S: Returning to the inheritance ground is not possible?


    Whittaker naturally decides to remain. He was gonna challenge the next trial. Though, he has to wait first as Blood Drinker was drinking blood!


    Whittaker asks the formation spirit: "Can I wait for a while?"


    It replies: ?As long as you wish, if you feel hungry then tell me and I will provide you with lots of food?


    Whittaker already knew that this place was no longer a false reality as Blood Drinker was absorbing the blood of the goblins and unlike the bone-pick goblin, these goblins didn''t glow with a mystical glow or produced Royal credit points, hence he will feel hunger with time. But thanks to Christopher, Patricia, Lily, and Jennifer, he wasn''t feeling hunger even though he has been fighting for the previous seven hours. May the god of light bless them all.


    He wanted to confirm something, so he asks,


    "Formation spirit, will I get hurt for real or die for real if I die in the upcoming inheritance trial?"


    It replies: ?You will get hurt and feel the pain but won''t die even if you die. At most, you will feel the pain of death. The inheritance trial is held within the boundary of Zachary Palace, after all. This entire place is covered by me, the Reality management formation (10-stars). As long as I don''t allow, no being can actually die?


    So It says, stunning the confused and awestruck Whittaker.


    Whittaker''s eyes blinked rapidly in thoughts as he said, "Formation Spirit, isn''t Zachary palace located somewhere in the Fauns kingdom? Am I... Am I in the Land of Wind!?"


    ?Yes?


    Bang! To reach the land of Wind from the Land of Water, the emerald ocean has to be crossed, the other way was to use magi-craft or utilize GRS a hundred or so times!


    Due to taking Elder Zachary Portal, he has reached the Land Of Wind, a place separated by a very long distance from the Royal Frost Fall Academy.


    He thought with determination, ''The awakened world is mystical, and I am still a frog in the well. One day, I will witness all the corners of this world!''


    Right now, he is still a kid, who recently awakened. His talent was so great that Headmaster Yeon was only able to realize a part of it. However, one day Whittaker will definitely shine. In the eyes of others, Whittaker is still an ignorant boy, but his ability, bloodlines, and potential is far beyond the imagination of other people. Whittaker will definitely become a King ranked awakened in the future. He also has the potential to become an even more powerful existence!


    While waiting for Blood Drinker to suck the corpses of the green goblins dry, Whittaker turned to take a look at the system notifications,


    [Guardian has slain 470 1-star goblins. Gained 47000 Experience points]

 Chapter 75: New skills & spells

    Now, Whittaker''s total experience point was around 48500 points. He thought in anticipation,


    ''I will start leveling up my Guardian class after I reach a secure place.''


    In this place, Elder Zachary could witness all his action, after all, and he knew that. If he levels up then his body will glow, suspicion and questions may be raised, and the truth he is trying to hide can be revealed. He didn''t want to expose the Night''s Will system to anyone, hence why he wants to reach a secure place first and then level up.


    ____


    ____


    During the battle, the S-ranked Class weapon Blood Drinker didn''t absorb the blood of any of the goblins in the surrounding, and hence no skills were formed, but the battle has ended a while ago. When the battle ended, all the blood immediately rushed into Blood Drinker as it released a powerful suction force!


    The System notified Whittaker that the Blood Drinker has finished its task!


    [Blood Drinker absorbed 470 Goblins blood!]


    The goblins corpses have been sucked dry of blood, left behind were bloodless and dried corpses that looked eerie to the eyes as if a malignant spirit has ravaged them.


    Elder Zachary and the Formation spirit didn''t mind the actions of the Class weapon Blood-drinker, even though the goblins could be recycled. It''s because the goblins were merely 1-star, and with a wave of his hand, Zachary can enslave thousands of them.


    [Passive Skill Activated: Skill Duplication]


    [Learnt Skills: Jump Up, Sprint, Leap, Side Step, and Sure Feet.]


    Whittaker chuckled dumbfoundedly because all of these skills were useless. He had read their description as system notification popped up. According to the description, even a normal human can perform them. The sidestep skill was basically moving sideways. Jump up was simply jumping. Leap was jumping forward while sprint was running fastly. Only sure feet provided him with better stability.


    All the goblins in the initial trial ground were small, green, and rough-skinned humanoids with pointy ears, claws, fangs, and long noses, and all the goblins were bald with no hair. Such characteristics defined them as the lowest of goblins, hence they didn''t even have much wisdom to learn better skills.


    The Frost spellbook also hasn''t reacted even though last time it did, last time when he killed the Luna wolf and Blood Drinker absorbed her blood.


    As Whittaker was feeling disappointed, the mana in the surrounding started to rush towards the Frost spellbook that floated nearby his body. Whittaker''s attention was attracted to his Frost spellbook.


    Zachary was sitting on a wide, soft, and warm sofa. In front of him, a very big holographic screen was opened. On the screen, Whittaker and the trial ground could be seen. When the Frost spellbook shined, the real Zachary, who was chilling in his palace, also got attracted to the shine. The same goes for the spirit of reality-management magic formation.


    The Frost spellbook absorbed the mana from the surrounding while releasing its frosty shine which just got brighter with time.


    Soon after, under the beaming smile and excited eyes of Whittaker, a new spell page formed in the air and became a part of his Frost spellbook forever.


    [Guardian has learned spell: Frost elemental shift]


    [Frost Elemental shift (rankless)


    Cost: 70 Mp


    Effects: The guardian can replace himself with a block of ice or something similar as long as it''s related to the element of Frost and ice. Guardian will switch places with the Icy object, just as if it''s teleportation. Guardian can switch places with an icy or frosty object, whether it is a projectile or not, moving or not moving. The effect is instant.]


    This spell formed after knowledge contained in the blood of 470 goblins combined into one and the Frost spellbook gained comprehension from it.


    ''The description itself is amazing to the point that I can''t believe it, even though the description is comprehensible. In a sense, I can literally teleport by using this spell. I don''t have a space-related attribute, yet I can teleport!'' he thought in glee. His disappointment was instantly lifted off by the creation of a new Frost spell.


    On the other hand, Elder Zachary came to a conclusion of his own, "That boy has a very high level of comprehension. To be able to create a spell without the need for a book, only the top prodigy of our race can do that!"


    In the awakened continent, a mage spellbook can create a spell if its owner has enough knowledge about the said spell. Such people are number one in ten thousand, and hence they are called prodigies. In his heart, the elder classified Whittaker as an ultra-level prodigy. It''s because Whittaker had two class weapons, both high-ranked!


    Such a person, even without a prodigy-level comprehension, can be labeled as a godly prodigal.


    Shaking his head left and right, he said with a tone tinged with regret, "The boy is too young. Not emotionally developed and too innocent. He can become a great weapon for our kingdoms, but Yeon would not allow."


    The spirit of the magic formation says: "Still, let''s push his growth. The Ancient water Emperor has called for Yeon, after the talk, his mindset may change."


    Elder Zachary replies to It, "It might, but there''s a high chance for his mindset to not change."


    He gazes at the skies from the open window and continues, "For years, he has shouldered all responsibilities, especially so after "She" died. Will he allow the younger generation to carry the burden of the old or would he not?"


    Feelings of melancholy crept up his heart as he remembered the past, a time when five close friends fought side by side, shared their happiness and sorrow, but those days will never return.


    It says, "Don''t feel sad, you are making me feel bad and sad. You know that we are connected to each other by soul, and I can feel what you feel!"


    "Haha, my bad!" Elder Zachary laughs to forget the past. He throws sand over old talk and buries the memory of the past in the depth of his heart.


    His attention focuses on the holographic screen.


    Soon after, excitedly, he says while staring at the holographic screen, "Look, the young adventure is moving towards the intermediate level of the inheritance ground!"

 Chapter 76: Amazed Elder

    Whittaker started to walk towards the Grand towering door, or Gates as the spirit of the reality management formation had said.


    As he reached closer, suddenly, his eyes got attracted by a flickering glint and he halted in his tracks. Tilting his head towards the roof of this open ground, he asks It, "Um, can I take the cores from the goblin''s body?"


    It replied, ?Yes?


    Hearing Its reply, Whittaker beamed a happy smile.


    ___


    In the central command room of Zachary palace!


    Elder Zachary chuckled in amusement. He was amused at the actions of the snowy-haired boy, who have decided to unearth dirt. For him, a mere 1-star goblin was the same as dirt, but for Whittaker, it was a treasure trove. He thought, "Is that boy simply greedy or did he came from a poor background? Or else, why would he unearth dirt? Nina, can you check what''s his background is?''


    Nina was the name of the reality management formation. She had already obtained all information about Whittaker before Elder Zachary even asked her because she was interested in the boy, who will become the most handsome man in the entire Awakened continent according to her database. Her database was very wide, and she had a lot of information about different races of the seven land located in the Awakened continent.


    Instantly, Nina replied to Elder Zachary: ?He come from a humble background with the surname of Lin. He recently awakened and is only registered as a mage with an A-ranked Frost spellbook in the awakened hall?


    As he heard her reply, a glint flashed through his elderly emerald eyes filled with wisdom that can only be gained through the passages of time. He says while stroking his beard thoughtfully,


    "It seems like my old friend, Yeon wants to hide his S-ranked blood attribute weapon, but why? Nina, tell me what has changed over the past few years?" Elder Zachary said.


    For the past hundreds of years, Elder Zachary has been creating "It" to fight against "Abaddon", so he didn''t have time to care about the outside world. Today, he stopped working and it''s all because Whittaker, an F-ranked mage who managed to complete the monster dungeon in less than 15 seconds and activated the inheritance trial of Elder Zachary. Since an inheritor to his things has arrived, Elder Zachary has stopped working. He wanted to know who the person is, and whether he found him or her worthy for his inheritance.


    Nina replied: ?Over the past hundreds of years a lot of things have changed. The Flame kingdom is split into three-part as the emperor of Flame suddenly died, and the crown prince had gone missing in actions. The relation between the Kingdom of light and our two kingdoms has worsened over the years due to a lot of reasons. 12 years ago, the Greatest of all Evils, Battle Progenitor was slain and the mantle of the greatest evil was taken by a merciless man covered in black armor. He was entitled the Ruined King as everywhere he goes, Death and Ruins follows!?


    One by one, Nina started to list out all the important happening in the past.


    Soon after, Elder Zachary furiously slammed his right fist on the sofa arm. "I was preparing It for Abbadon but seems like It may just get used on someone else. Damn! I never thought that our kingdom will be embroiled in an internal struggle. Fuck! I fucking advised the emperor of Water and the Emperor of Wind to annihilate any trace of the church of light and their believers from the kingdom and they disagreed, but now that decision has caused such a big problem. Sigh!" Elder Zachary shakes his head left and right while heaving because of old age.


    P.S: The Emperors he is referring to are the father of the current emperors.


    Nina advised pitifully: ?Calm down. Your heart conditions are barely stable because of sharing a part of your soul with me, excessive anger will lead to the worsening of your condition. Calm down please!?


    Elder Zachary calmed down after hearing her words. He understood why his old friend, Headmaster Yeon had to hide information about Whittaker class weapon from the world,


    "It indeed is a good method to protect his life. Sigh, the Water Kingdom and the Wind Kingdom seems peaceful on the surface, but a lot of internal struggle is going on. There''s also outside problem as Abbadon, our old enemy has chosen his devil vessel!"


    ____


    ____


    ____


    Inside the inheritance ground;


    Hearing Nina reply, Whittaker''s eyes brightened in glee and he started plowing out the cores from the body of the dead goblins. In the end, he got 297 cores from 470 corpses. All of them were battle energy cores.


    "Damn!" He tried to store all of them in his Hunter''s ring, but it has become full. He was only able to store less than 1/4th of the total amount of the battle energy cores.


    He regretfully thought, ''My hunter''s ring can only store a maximum of 60 items. I should have upgraded it! Should I use the system''s inventory? But then again, they might notice something if I do that. I better not! Even though no one knows how strong Elder Zachary is, yet everyone knows of his deep and distinguished background. He is said to be friends with the Mage King! Plus, he is said to be an alchemist, who will do anything to achieve what he wants!''


    Whittaker decided against using his system inventory. Out of the dozen or so books that he had read, he had gained knowledge about the famous personalities of the awakened continent. Also, one of them was Elder Zachary, an alchemist that has mastered Five different sub-professions related to Alchemy. He was an expert in forging, creating magical formations, creature forging, and creating elixirs and potions!


    "Sigh~ my precious, I got to leave you all behind!" He said while mournfully gazing at the battle cores. It was as if his first love has denied his confession, and he had become heartbroken!

 Chapter 77: Ring of genesis

    Whittaker was saddened as he got to let go of more than 200 battle energy core. His storage ring was full and he couldn''t store it in the inventory that opens up a spatial screen before him. He had to let it go.


    "Sigh!" He sighed due to sadness, almost immediately, a small metallic ring decorated with a grayish silver wing on each side dropped from the roof and hit his head.


    "Ouch!" Reflexively, his hand moved towards the top of the head where something has crashed. It hurt him because the small ring was made of something heavier than metal and it was dropped from a height, hence it gained momentum. Also, Whittaker bore the frontal brunt of this momentum.


    Thanks to the ring dropping on his head, Whittaker also gained deeper knowledge about his Devansha vision.


    ''Although by using Devansha vision, I can see everything in front of my eyes and behind my back, but I can''t see what''s above my head. This is a blind spot! There might be more, but only time will tell!''


    While thinking that, his hand touched the thing that was so heavy that it bypassed the defense line of his mana-devouring hair and hurt him. The moment his hand touched the thing, he blurted out, "A ring?"


    He picked it up by pinching it up from the top of his head by pinching it between his finger and lowered both his hands. Placing the right hand which pinched the ring between two fingers, he gazed at it, almost immediately, a notification popped up in his vision.


    [Ring of genesis


    Treasure Rank: Rankless


    Treasure creator: The creator of this treasure is the most eccentric magical formation Grandmaster, Elder Zachary. He is also a member of the Mage Council, and the Guardian life will become easier if he gains his friendship. He is one of the five grand elders of the magic council, after all.


    Treasure Description - A mystical ring created by Elder Zachary with the assistance of Headmaster Yeon. This ring outline the friendship between Headmaster Yeon and Elder Zachary. The ring has a pocket dimension inside it. With a mere thought, the Guardian can store items inside it and retrieve them at will. The ring of genesis is inscribed with the Magic of Space - Spatial Genesis, hence it has a minor world contained within a spatial ring. This type of spatial ring has the ability to contain living beings!]


    ''Holy shit! This ring has a characteristic that no other F-D ranked spatial ring can have.'' Whittaker was shocked but his facial expression remained the same. Thanks to which, no suspicion was raised.


    Whittaker knew that this ring can only belong to Elder Zachary. Moreover, in this place, there was no except Elder Zachary and the spirit of the reality-management formation.


    So, he stares at the roof of the open-ground and extends the hand that held the spatial ring upwards. "This is?" He asked innocently while pointing out the spatial ring


    Nina says ?Take it. It''s a gift from me. The ring in your hand is a very precious item. You can bind with it by using your breath. You will be able to store the rest of your treasures in it?


    Elder Zachary had chuckled at Whittaker''s situation, but Nina didn''t like what she saw. No young boy should sigh in regret or any other negative emotions, hence she gifted him this thing that no one uses.


    "Thank you very much, Formation Spirit!" Whittaker replied while bowing in a respectful posture to express his deep gratitude.


    On the other hand, Elder Zachary was staring at the formation circle which was also located in the central command room. He was dumbfounded by her actions.


    Nina felt his emotions as they were interlinked to each other by soul. She says: ?Oh, come on. This thing has been staying in your storeroom for the past 447 years. You have abandoned it for so many years and it has been suffering loneliness for hundreds of years. Can you feel it? It''s happiness in finding an owner!?


    Nina was a thing that has gained sentiment, so she believed that items have emotions, but Zachary does not have the same thoughts as her. He says, "Come on, items can''t have feelings or thoughts as a matter of fact. You are the only unique one as I am sharing a part of my soul with your artificial soul. But I don''t mind handing over this ring to the young adventurer."


    Nina was an artificial soul of the reality management formation that Elder Zachary has created. Moreover, to remain alive, Elder Zachary has fused his soul with the formation spirit. The side effect of his actions caused the formation spirit to feel his emotion. That''s why Nina, who felt what humans feel, gained human emotion.


    ___


    Inside the inheritance ground:


    Whittaker used his breath to bind with the rankless ring of genesis, almost immediately, he felt a surreal connection with the item. It was as if the ring was alive. With one thought, Whittaker was able to haze what lay inside it. A huge rocky, somewhat grassy but mostly barren place, that''s what he saw.


    But the land was extremely wide


    "Wow! The size of the pocket-dimension is comparable to a big and wide island." He exclaimed like a foolish boy while internally, he thought like a crafty fox, ''Moreover, this ring has characteristics that no other spatial ring has. I will be able to grow things in this place. I can also enter it, right system?''


    The system replied: ?Yes?


    Whittaker says, "It''s simply amazing!"


    Storing the rest of the battle energy core into the pouch, he walks towards the open Gates with a beaming smile on his face. On his way, he carefully wore the ring of genesis on his index finger.


    He walked to the towering gates and crossed it. Right outside, a dazzling array of multicolored light burst out and enveloped his tiny body. Soon after, he gets teleported to the next inheritance trial by the dazzling lights.

 Chapter 78: intermediate trial

    After a fraction of a second, Whittaker appeared on the next trial ground. He didn''t feel dizzy or suffered any side effects that come with teleporting. Also, due to Devansha''s vision, he saw what this trial ground looks like. There were two fields in this place. One field was a 100-meter long and 60-meter wide grassy ground. While the other was a 60-yards-long and 30-yards-wide field.


    On the first field, there was only a single magical beast. Behind that enemy was the second field, clear of everything.


    Whittaker has been staring at the enemy he was gonna face with eyes opened wide due to apprehension. At first, he was appalled when he saw the towering magical beast, but an instant later, a system notification popped up and crushed the remaining calm he had somehow managed to take hold of.


    [Iron-clawed tailed beast, Spiked-Shell Earth rager.


    Rank: 4-star


    Attribute: Earth-type


    Innate ability: Earth Spike, tail swipe, trembling land, intimidating gaze]


    The beast has the head of an elephant and on its back was a massive shell from which a spike protruded out. Its hind hooves were black and shiny, reflecting a metallic sheen that slapped Whittaker''s cheek. A scorpion-like reddish-gray tail extended from its back and reached a height of dozens of meters in the sky.


    Its eyes seething with cruelty stared down at the snowy-haired boy, disdainfully. It was a fearsome sight for Whittaker, who was just an F-ranked mage. Just like the first trial, both sides were separated by a thin yet powerful Mana wall which was gonna disappear after dozens of seconds.


    Currently, Spiked-shell Earth rager slammed its tail on the ground, which raised dust and caused massive cracks to form on the ground. Its eyes scarlet and seething with cruelty stared down at the snowy-haired boy, disdainfully.


    From its gaze and actions, Whittaker inferred, ''It will use its tail to end my life, won''t it? Is this a joke! How can an F-ranked mage fight a 4-star magical beast all on his own? This will be my end! Let''s leave!'' Whittaker thought while turning around, but there was no door or return portal behind his back. He was met with disappointment through and through.


    ''The only way out is to die or fight till I die. Either way, I am gonna die. But it''s still better to fight!''


    While thinking that with a mournful face, he turns around to face the magical beast, almost immediately, he puts on a fighting stance. He was ready to duke it out with the beast that is 30 times bigger than his size. On the other hand, the magical beast was waiting for the wall separating them to vanish so that it can smash Whittaker into a meat paste!


    "I won''t give up without a fight!" He exclaimed to boost his downcast morale.


    "Well said, young friend. This is the intermediate level of the Hard difficulty inheritance trial. There''s just one enemy, easy, isn''t it? Your task is to kill it, cross the next field and you will obtain a D-rank treasure chest. The automatic prompts will explain the rest to you." Elder Zachary''s voice rang beside his ears.


    In reply, Whittaker internally thought, ''Easy, my ass! If I become stronger then I am gonna put Elder Zachary in a cage with three S-ranked magical beasts!''


    Whittaker''s revenge will come after a long period, but revenge is a dish best served cold, after all. He was certain that this wasn''t a trial, rather a path that leads to certain death.


    Right after Elder Zachary''s words, a wide holographic notification appeared in the middle of the grassy field.


    [Conditions to pass the trial: Kill the 4-star magical beast Spiker-shell earth rager!


    Rewards:


    A: Opening to the advanced stage of Zachary trials, treasures-heaven.


    B: Return Portal


    C: D-ranked treasure chest]


    [The Mana Wall will disappear in 35 seconds]


    Nina and Elder Zachary didn''t give him any hints on how to defeat the monstrosity. The rules of the inheritance trial which Elder Zachry has set up does not allow anyone to sneak a helping hand to the challenger.


    Whittaker''s heart rate accelerated with each second. Only 25 seconds were left before the mana wall vanishes. ''I have decided to fight, but how will I defeat such a massive and powerful magical beast.''


    His sulking emotions were visible for the viewers to see.


    Elder Zachary muttered in disappointment while gazing away from the screen, "If he fails then so be it. It would mean that he just wasn''t fated to obtain my inheritance."


    Some seconds later, Nina says: ?He won''t. Can''t you see the beaming smile on his face??


    "Huh?" His gaze returns to the holographic screen and he saw the boy, who was just sulking, smiling. "So weird!"


    As for the person in question, he was smiling because Night''s Will system has decided to intervene in this unfair fight. It was gonna help the Guardian!


    [Guardian, this trial isn''t as hard as it seems. It''s as Zachary said, you will pass this trial as long as you make active and effective responses]


    ''Really?'' Whittaker couldn''t believe the system.


    [Yes!]


    ''Easy for you to say! How will I slay a 4-star magical beast when I am just an F-ranked mage. Can you tell me how can an F-ranked mage kill a 4-star beast that requires an entire party of D-ranked awakened to handle?''


    In the awakened continent, one party = 5 members.


    [Guardian, I will be guiding you throughout the battle. As for now, listen carefully, the spike-shell Earth rager physical attacks are restricted by range, so you will be fine as long as you are far away from it. Its innate ability Earth tremble only affects the ground, so you will be fine as long as you are not touching the ground. Also, its tail can only extend up to a maximum of 30 meters in the air. Plus, it only has one ranged attack that you have to look out for. I believe Guardian will be able to actively respond to its attack as battling is in your blood. You are a Devansha, after all!] The system replied mysteriously. Its voice monotone.


    A flicker of thought passes through the crystal icy eyes of the snowy-haired boy.

 Chapter 79: Killing four-star magical beast.

    The system tells him some more stuff about the beast.


    Internally, he says to the system, ''Thanks!''


    Externally, he had a calm and thoughtful expression. After a three-second delay, Whittaker calculated the best course of action. ''The spike-shell Earth rager will not be able to attack me if I can reach 31 meters above the ground,'' he thought while touching the earring in his ear. The Azure Sky earring had an ability that can let him fly. ''Hehe, maybe the Azure Sky Earring was handed over to me for this very purpose!''


    This earring was purposely set as a reward by Elder Zachary, a reward that anyone can obtain if they complete an F-ranked dungeon as an F-ranked awakened in less than 15 seconds. Also, this reward was something that can help the inheritance trial challenger fight against the 4-star beast.


    With a single thought, the snowy-haired boy activated the power of the earring. The Flight spell was invoked and he felt weightless, almost immediately, he started to float upwards. As he reached some meters above the ground, the countdown ended so did the mana wall which separated Whittaker and the 4-star magical beast spiked-shell earth rager.


    The distance between Whittaker and the 31-meter mark was narrowing, the monster discovered him speeding upwards and It widened its mouth and let out an ear-piercing battle cry. It raised its gigantic metallic hind legs, using the "Rush" battle skill, it charged towards the boy, who gulped his saliva but his hopeful eyes said it all.


    The beast was too far away, and it didn''t want Whittaker that was moving towards the clouded night sky to escape. The sky of this place was fluffy silver. A full moon shone, scattering faint silvery rays throughout the intermediate trial that shook from the loud and ear-wrenching roar of the magical beast, whose tail whisk towards the petite body of a young boy. Although the tail swipe was so fast that wind waves were generated but before it could even reach closer, Whittaker had taken to the skies, as he was using both spells of the Azure sky earring, "flight" and "boost speed"!


    The scene was like a fantasy from a children''s fairy tale combined with the horror of real-world ugliness. A single-action decides life and death. One wrong decision could have meant the end of Whittaker''s life at the start of this trial ground.


    The beast swiped his tails some more times at Whittaker, but it didn''t reach him. On the other hand, an icy-colored glow came out of the Frost spellbook, illuminating the young boy, and from the Frost spellbook, six frost bolts came flying out. Whittaker intentionally placed one Frost bolt on Its forehead while the other five Frost bolts crashed on the elephant-like sinister eyes of the magical-beast that cried out in pain as they pierced the seething scarlet eyes, tearing apart some of its vision.


    Like always, Whittaker was merciless in his actions, and he attacked where it hurts the most. The beasts should thank the heaven that Whittaker couldn''t locate its nether region otherwise, it would have felt what 2000 years of pain feels like.


    Whittaker didn''t give it any time to recover, his Frost spellbook kept on hurling Frost bolts towards Its eyes while Whittaker used Frost elemental control, and executed some hand signs to also use telekinesis on the Frost bolts to increase their speed and love them some of them according to his own will.


    In reply, the beast waves his tail in front of its face to break the Frost Bolts, but some of them move according to Whittaker''s thoughts and successfully evade the tail attack. Right after, they crash in Its eyes causing it to bleed. Its eyes turned more scarlet than before as blood seeped out.


    This situation continued and the one-sided beating lasted for a while.


    Feeling pain and losing its vision, the 4-star magical beast gets enraged. Its shell tilts �C and the rocky, sharp spike is targeted at Whittaker who hears system mechanical voice.


    [Guardian, get ready! The spike-shell earth rager is gonna use its most powerful innate ability!]


    When he heard the system notification, a beaming smile formed on his face. ''Finally, I can end this battle.''


    He has been waiting for this moment for a while. He immediately called out the name of his new spell, Frost Elemental shift. The target he decided to switch place with was a frost bolt that he had planted near the forehead of the beast.


    On the other hand, a magic formation forms around the shell of the magical beast, right after, the 9-meter long and 5-meter wide spike came storming towards Whittaker, who was no longer there.


    The Frost spellbook had released an unnoticeable flicker, and Whittaker had switched places with the frost bolt right when the Earth spike shot out of the shell. In his place, a Frost bolt appeared while Whittaker appeared in the same position where the frost bolt was placed.


    Furthermore, he held a thirsty Blood Drinker in his hand!


    Elder Zachary''s eyes opened wide in surprise,


    "Nina, did he just teleport?"


    Nina replied: ?Well, yes, in a sense, he literally teleported ahead by some meters!?


    He thought, ''Frost mage and blood swordsman teleporting are unheard of. He shouldn''t be able to do it unless he possesses a unique type of bloodline! Maybe, he is from her clan." His eyes opened wide due to a realization. "Yes, he has snowy-hairs, just like her, just like the member of her clan!"


    Whittaker raised his sword and brandished it in a downward slash. His S-ranked sword fired out three streaks of Scarlet sword light shaped like a claw, which pierced Its forehead and drilled 10-meters deep, splitting the head into the three, just like a half-peeled banana.


    Blood gushed out like a flood dirtying Whittaker, who starts floating away under the mournful deathbed cries of the magical beast.


    The magical beast''s with injured eyes could not even notice what was happening before it met its end. It didn''t have the time to dodge as it still hasn''t noticed that Whittaker wasn''t in the place where it saw him just a second ago!


    A second after, It dropped dead to the ground. The blood gushing out of its opened head formed a small pool, upon which Whittaker gracefully landed.

 Chapter 80: Mana Blast & Frost Missile

    The S-ranked sword, Blood Drinker starts to absorb the blood of the dead beasts while Whittaker stares ahead with a beaming smile.


    Right then, a notification popped up in his vision,


    [The Guardian has slain a 4-star magical beast. Gained 400 Experience points]


    The experience points were good and all, but he was more interested in the shiny stuff in front of his eyes. Multi-colored shines could be seen coming out from the split-open head of spike-shell earth rager. Also, the system notified him about all of them when he gazed at them.


    [Energy Beast core (C-ranked)


    Consumption time: 10 hours or instant if converted to experience points.


    Effect: Gain 3 Battle energy or 300 XP.]


    [Mana beast core (C-ranked)


    Consumption time: 10 hours or instant if converted to experience points.


    Effect: Gain 80 Mana or 80 XP.]


    After Whittaker picked up these two items, the real treasure showed its face.


    Eh? Wow! This is an item that only 4-stars and above magical beast can drop. Also, 4-star beasts only have a 1% chance of dropping it." Whittaker said in awe and happiness. Slightly shocked at his good luck, He picked up the dusty-yellow crystal stuck in between a mess, once called the brain.


    [Earth spike rune (low-level)


    Description: A rune which can be in-laid in equipment slots.


    Nature: Ranged attack


    Cast time: Instant


    Effect: Conjure forth a sharp spike of earth element that inflicts physicals damage. Useable (4/4) times a day.]


    Runes were a treasure that only 4-stars and above beasts dropped. Plus, the chance of it dropping was extremely low. The price of runes in the market was extravagantly high. As long as an Alchemist-forger creates equipment with rune slot/s, the Effect of this rune could be activated. Even "Unawakened" can utilize the power of these "Runes". A 1-star forger can create equipment with 1 rune slot. The higher the professional level of a forger, the more rune slot the equipment he created will have.


    Rune slot determined the rank of equipment. For example, a D-rank treasure chest can contain 1-4 star equipment which will have at least 1 and at most 4 rune slots.


    Though the drop rate of runes was extremely low and the price extremely high, and it was extremely hard to gather runes to complete the rune slots of a 3-star or above equipment.


    Whittaker happily stored all these items in his new ring with a big and wide ring dimension.


    A young boy''s heart beats frantically in anticipation as the real price of this battle was yet to come, but it will take some time, as the S-ranked class weapon, Blood Drinker has just started to suck the 4-star beast dry.


    ______


    Outside the inheritance trial, Nina excitedly cheered: ?Zachy, he passed the first step of the intermediate level inheritance trials within an hour! He has far exceeded the prodigy level. Should we take him in as our student or maybe a guest for some weeks??


    Elder Zachary also nods his head in respect, "I didn''t think that this stupid boy would be intelligent. It''s hard to believe that his knowledge far surpasses peers his age, but I will only make my judgment after this trial. His S-ranked sword was the main reason why he passed the first stage of the intermediate trial, after all." He says.


    Any F-ranked prodigy could kill this magical beast in dozens or so hours if he knows about its weakness and has a treasure that can let them fly 31-meters above ground. That''s why Elder Zachary wasn''t as excited as Nina. Also, Whittaker utilized his S-ranked sword. S-ranked swords are the sharpest weapon to exist in the entire world. The spike-shell earth ragers are known for their excellent defense that can negate 40% physical damage dealt by physical weapons and 35% magic damage dealt by magical weapons, but Blood Drinker was so sharp that it easily pierced through its skin, especially because Whittaker used the battle skill, three-clawed blood slash.


    [Three-clawed sword slash (rankless)


    Battle energy: 1 to unlimited


    Effect: Releases three sharp Scarlet lights of the sword which is shaped like a claw. The range, strength, speed, and sharpness of this attack increases according to the amount of battle energy poured into the attack]


    Whittaker has used all of his battle energy to deal the final blow. That''s why the brain of the 4-star magical beast opened up like a peeled banana.


    Also, although the 4-star beast has been killed, the real challenge of this trial was yet to begin.


    _____


    Inside the intermediate-level inheritance trial:


    Blood Drinker has feasted upon the scrumptious blood of the spike-shell earth rager. The System notified Whittaker that the Blood Drinker has finished its task.


    [Blood Drinker absorbed the blood of 4-star magical beast, spike-shell earth rager!]


    The beast''s corpses have been sucked dry of its blood. A grotesque sight of its distorted head, face, a bloodless body was left behind, which even gave Whittaker the chills that caused his fine-hairs to stand on end.


    [Passive Skill Activated: Skill Duplication]


    [Learnt Skills: Mana Blast]


    [Mana Blast (rankless)


    Cost: 500-1000-2000-4000-8000


    Cast time: 5-10-20-40-80 seconds.


    Effect: The selected amount of Mana from the Guardian Mana pool will rush into his palm to create a massive influx of mana. Once unleashed, a barrage of energy will shot out effectively putting an end to all life in its path. The damage, range, speed, and size of Mana blast depends on the amount of mana used]


    Whittaker chuckled insidiously because of this skill effect. As he was feeling excited, the mana in the surrounding started to rush towards the Frost spellbook that floated above his body. He already knew that this was gonna happen. While the eyes of Elder Zachary open wide enough to pop out of their sockets. He exclaimed, "Comprehending about spells and skill through battle! He is certainly from the Divine battle family, Devansha!"


    Nina added: ?His hairs and eyes are just like Ashley?


    Ashley is the first wife of the Ancient Water Emperor, who is said to be dead.


    "I have finally found a member of her clan. If he passes the Heaven-reaching trial or even completes half of it then I will hand this over!" Zachary said while staring at a pendant. It was like the pendant that Whittaker was wearing except its color which was the polar opposite of his pendent!

 Chapter 81: Race against time!

    Nina, Elder Zachary, and Whittaker, all three of them had their attention focused on Frost''s spellbook.


    Soon after, under the beaming smile and excited eyes of Whittaker, a new spell page formed in the air and became a part of his Frost spellbook forever.


    [Guardian has learned spell: Frost Spike]


    [Frost spike (Rankless)


    Cast time: 10 seconds


    Cost: 700 Mp


    EFFECT: The Frost spellbook creates a frosty magic formation around itself. Once the magic formation is completed, 9-meter long and 5-meter wide Forst spike with sharp edges will storm in a single trajectory of the Guardian choosing. Anything in its pathway will be affected by Frost. Beings effected with Frost has their movement slowed by a certain % depending on their power level]


    ''My arsenal of spells has been increasing ever since I entered Elder Zachary''s trial ground! So had my treasures." Whittaker thought while walking towards the next field. "Let''s complete this trial and earn the D-ranked treasure chest!"


    Whittaker tiptoed his way to the 60-yards-long and 30-yards-wide field which was clear of everything. There were no signs of danger in this place.


    Every single part of Elder Zachary''s trial was filled with danger. The inheritance trials were so hard that normal F to D ranked mages would have died at the initial trial. So, why would there be such an easy part of this trial?


    Whittaker was certain that this clear field is hiding something insidious.


    ''It''s suspicious, hey, Night''s will system is something wrong with this place?'' he asked to confirm his suspicions. Lately, the System has been helping him a lot so he believed that it will answer his questions.


    [Yes, the moment you step on the initial boundary of the next field, a 4-star killing formation and a 7-star silent strength suppressing magic formations will be activated. The silent strength suppression formation will decrease your strength while the killing formation will activate hidden traps. Guardian is only ten steps away from the initial boundary of the next field.] the system replied.


    ''I knew it!'' Whittaker halted and he stared at the insidious open-field 5 feet away from him. ''Say, the magic formations will not activate as long as I don''t step on the ground, right?'' he asked.


    Whittaker was an F-ranked mage. F-ranked mages can''t fly, but he had the azure sky earring. He can fly over this field!


    [Nope, the formation will activate whether you step on the grassy ground or fly over the field]


    ''Why? Are the formation inscribed in the air?''


    [The formations are inscribed on the ground but Zachary has installed many mana detectors and life-energy sensors in the formation. The formations will activate the moment they sense life-energy or fluctuation of mana]


    ''Guess I will have to force my way through this field and reach the other end as that''s the only way!''


    Whittaker started moving forwards. Elder Zachary and Nina didn''t felt anything suspicious about his actions as he had only halted for several seconds.


    The trial he was about to take was famous in the Kingdom of Wind. Every awakened, who focus on specializing speed and mental fortitude, take this trial once they reach D-ranked mage or battle master. Some overconfident F and E ranked awakened will also take part in this trial.


    The trial was called "Race Against Time!"


    The Race Against Time trial could be considered a testing ground for an awakened physical capability and mental fortitude. It was a very famous and dangerous open inheritance trial located at the summit of the Zen mountain of the Wind kingdom. Anyone could go there to challenge this trial and earn impressive awards.


    Once Whittaker entered the second part of the intermediate trial ground, all his attributes suffered a hit as the suppression magic formation activated.


    [Guardian attributes have been suppressed to 10 points. Guardian mana pool has been suppressed to 100 points. Guardian battle energy has been suppressed to 1 point...]


    ''I didn''t even notice or felt the suppression. My power got silently suppressed, just like the name of the formation. I wouldn''t have noticed the shift in my power if it wasn''t for the system!'' Whittaker thought.


    The 7-star magical formation has suppressed all of his attributes to a mere 10 points. Now, Whittaker only has 100 mana points in his mana pool and 100 mana points in his hair. ''I can''t use my new skills or spam the old ones. Actually, I can spam them by using the mana stored in the earring!''


    Fortune never arrives in pairs. Disaster never strikes alone. Disaster is always followed by misfortune. The moment he thought that he could use the mana in his earring to fight off whatever is coming, a notification popped up in his vision, [Guardian equipment has been rendered useless by the silent strength suppression formation!]


    He didn''t even have the time to chuckle dumbfoundedly before the cruel reality came crashing down. Another holographic screen had opened up in the clear field. This one belonged to the formation of this place.


    ?Challenger has initiated the Trial "Race Against Time".


    The Silent Strength Suppression magic formation has been activated!


    The killing magic formation has been activated!?


    Along with the announcement, the killing formation was activated. Some square boxes appeared in the clear field, each placed at the end opposite to Whittaker. Basically, the place where he needs to reach!


    A system notification containing the detail of these magic tech popped up in his vision,


    [Item: Mana shooter (7-star)


    Classification: Magical War Item!


    Ver1: Bullet shooter (3-star)


    Ver2: Missile shooter (5-star)


    Ver3: Laser beam (7-star) ]


    ?The challenger is only allowed to block or dodge the incoming bullets from the mana shooters. Damaging the Mana Shooters will lead to automatic disqualification. A victory would ensue once the Challenger reaches the finishing point!?


    It wasn''t easy to create a Mana shooter. Also, it was a technology that Elder Zachary had come up with hundreds or so years ago. And so, he specifically added this rule so that his precious babies won''t be hurt by the challenger.


    In the open field of the "Race Against Time" trial, the automatic prompt started counting down.


    9��


    4��


    1�� 0


    Challenge Start!!!!

 Chapter 82: Conquering the Intermediate trial! (a)

    The instant the countdown ended, the mana shooters started powering up. There were a total of three mana shooters placed at the finishing line, each steamed up as a hole opened at the front side of their construct. All aimed at a young rabbit.


    [Guardian, hurry up. The earlier you reach the end the easier it will be] System reminded Whittaker, but there wasn''t a need to.


    The instant the countdown ended, Whittaker''s legs bent and his body leaned forward. Just like a cheetah, he dashed away from the starting line with explosive force by using the newly learned skill "Sprint".


    [Skill Sprint: Movement speed increased by 10%.]


    10% wasn''t a lot but at this moment even a single second increase in speed matters.


    The useless memories of 400+ goblins have become useful for Whittaker whose power was suppressed by the formation. These basic abilities that cost no mana and battle energy have become useful in a time where his powerful abilities have become useless. It''s as the Rouge King had quoted bluntly,


    "There''s no useless skills or magic spells, just a useless person. Get ready to die!"


    By the time the mana shooters had powered up, he was already three yards away from the starting line, almost immediately, a thundering sound that would distract any normal person rang out from the mana shooters.


    Bomb! Bomb! Bomb!


    The three-mana shooters shot a total of nine bullets formed from the condensation of pure mana. They shot towards the young snowy-haired boy''s path. Several wind lines indicating the trajectory of the bullets whisked towards Whittaker, who was staring ahead with wide-open eyes. Occasionally, an unnoticeable flicker will appear in his eyes and disappear in the very second.


    He thought with a gulp, ''I would become a sieve if my reactions are not keen. The nine mana bullets were shot at the same time and their trajectory is also the same. Yes! With one move, I will be able to dodge all of them''


    Just as the nine mana bullets were about to hit, Whittaker utilized the skill "Sidestep" and dodged to the left. The mana bullets whisked past his shoulder slightly grazing his bloodied academy uniform. The moment his feet touched the ground, he rushed forward once more.


    To dodge at the very end, normally, this would be considered the actions of a suicidal maniac. There was a 99% chance of dying if a person misstepped, after all, but Whittaker executed it naturally.


    Mana bullets whisked past him consistently as the three Mana shooters continued to aim at Whittaker and thundered about. However, he avoided them easily with the use of a single skill, every single time.


    It was as if a pro gamer was using a controller to move him left and right at the appropriate time. Moreover, the way he sidestepped at the last moment made it seem as if he had bribed the magic construct ahead of time...


    Seeing Whittaker taking less than ten seconds to cross 20-yards, Elder Zachary couldn''t help but be shocked. "Hahaha. To put one''s life at risk in a battle of life and death to achieve success. He really has the blood of the Divine battle King in his veins! He''s already at the 25-yard-mark. Even Avalon took more time than that!"


    Avalon was the name of the Ancient Wind Emperor, who took the real trial at the summit of the Zen mountain when they were young, about 400+years ago. Elder Zachary still remembered it to this day because It was an important event. Also, his trial was based on the real trial.


    Nina proudly says ?Zachy! It took the boy only half the time Avalon needed to cross half the race. He is one of the best "Inheritor" that you can get]


    Elder Zachary knew that. The boy was a treasure, and he wanted to grab him, lock him by his side until he passes over everything to him.


    In silence, they watched him advance. The speed and accuracy Whittaker just displayed were like that of a battle veteran who had tempered himself for countless years through war. Every move of his was straightforward and efficient, something a twelve-year-old boy couldn''t pull off. Even Elder Zachary himself, who also participated in the "Race against Time" trial didn''t perform any better than Whittaker.


    Actually, he was eliminated at the 35th second... As for why?


    After reaching the 30-yard mark, the repel formation will be activated!


    [Repel Formation (4-star)


    Effect: Deflect projectiles and double their speed!]


    Nina announced: ?Zachy, he went past 30 yards!?


    Elder Zachary quickly utilized his A-rank wisdom skill Absolute Focus to focus all his senses on Whittaker. He wanted to see how an F-rank mage will handle the situation that he couldn''t as an E-ranker. Nina, on the other hand, had started to record Whittaker''s actions.


    The moment Whittaker went past the 30-yard mark, the mana shooters fired eighteen bullets. The target of these bullets was no longer Whittaker, himself. Instead, It was a wide wall with a magical symbol right behind him. It had silently appeared when Whittaker crossed the thirty-meter mark, but it didn''t escape his Devansha vision.


    ''System, what is it?''


    [A repel formation. It can repel the mana bullets and increase their speed. Guardian, be careful!] The system warned.


    Right away, the three mana shooters pumped out twice the amount of mana bullets as Whittaker had stepped past the 30 yards of this field. The eighteen mana bullets were no longer entirely aimed at Whittaker as many shots to his left and right.


    A normal challenger would consider this situation to be lucky!


    "The Mana construct has malfunctioned. Hooray~" But only after death would they realize how wrong they were.


    From the bullet trajectory within his sight, Whittaker determined that only three bullets would hit him: however, dodging to the left and right wasn''t possible either. As the rest of the bullets will pass by there at the same time. Also, it was game over if even a single mana bullet crashed on his petite little body.


    The mana bullet spewed by the mana shooters is a D-rank pure-mana spell while he was merely an F-rank battle master. One hit and his bones will be crushed!

 Chapter 83: Conquering the Intermediate trial (b)

    "In the Race Against Time trial held at the summit of Zen mountain, I have passed 34 steps on my first challenge and my bones were crushed at the 35th step. I wonder what he will do to pass the hardest part of this trial!" Elder Zachary murmured as he felt a rush of excitement creeping up his old bones.


    The thirty to the thirty-five-yard distance of the Race Against Time inheritance trial was nearly impossible to pass. It was a bar that tested the mental fortitude of an awakened as physical capabilities can increase through training or the use of the treasure, after all, but the same doesn''t go for mental fortitude.


    If a person passes this part of the trial then he could be considered to have prodigy-level mental fortitude. It means that he will perform ten times better under adverse conditions.


    Currently, Whittaker was undergoing the thirty-yard test. Three mana bullets were about to hit the center of his forehead, the heart side of the chest, and his right leg, three locations, each more vital than the other in this trial.


    Elder Zachary and Nina saw him rushing towards the bullets with the S-ranked sword in his hand. A single mana bullet was capable enough to kill Whittaker. Well, only if they hit his vital spot!


    A wisdom glint had been flashing in Elder Zachary''s emerald eyes as he calculated the outcome. "Hmm, is he planning to do what I did? Sacrifice a limb to remain alive and continue the trial?" He thought with a smile.


    At a time, Whittaker could only dodge two mana bullets with his sword otherwise, he will be pushed back by the impact of dodging three mana bullets at the same time. Also, his wrist will probably break by the rough movements he would have to make to dodge the mana bullets shot at three different points.


    Contrary to Elder Zachary''s thoughts, Whittaker leaped forwards to evade the mana bullet shot at his right leg, the very moment, he waved his S-ranked Sword, creating a red and black streak of light.


    Teng! Sparks were created as his sword collided with the mana bullets that were shot at his forehead and heart. Whittaker had brandished Blood Drinker in mid-air at the perfect second, effortlessly deflecting the bullets that were aimed at his vital point.


    There were also mana bullets all around that swiftly moved past each side of his body. So swiftly that his ears could even hear the air being split. His pale ears flinched, turning scarlet as blood rushes to them.


    Without sacrificing anything, Whittaker successfully passed the 30-yard mark, and he was leaping towards the 36-yard mark.


    Just like Headmaster Yeon, Elder Zachary was also shocked. His mouth remained open-wide just like his eyes. Though this time the shock was because of Whittaker''s actions. "Is he suicidal? The boy clearly has shown a high level of intelligence then why would he make such a foolish mistake?"


    Nina says: ?Maybe, he hasn''t noticed the repel formation?


    "That might be it. My expectations were too high!"


    The bullets that swiftly went past Whittaker crashed on the wall of the Repel Magical formation. Fifteen mana bullets shot reflected with twice their initial speed, five heading towards the unguarded back of the snowy-haired boy, who was reaching the ground.


    From Elder Zachary''s estimate, the bullets will crash on Whittaker''s back the moment his feet touch the ground. There was no way to move his body out of the way of the upcoming dangers as there were mana bullets on each side. Also, the mana shooters were charging up a new volley of mana bullets. The S-ranked sword could only be used to dodge one side of mana bullets, after all.


    Elder Zachary and Nina became extremely nervous when they saw the scene and they couldn''t help but hope that he will somehow pass. One didn''t have a lot of time left: the other liked the young boy.


    Facing the hail of bullets from the front and back, Whittaker''s situation seemed grave with no chance of survival, but he was beaming a smile even at this moment.


    Happily, he thought as his feet touched the ground,


    ''All''s going according to my plan!''


    Right after, Whittaker bent his knees and leaped forward like a bulldozer. He darted headfirst towards the nine mana bullets that shot towards him, leaving his lithe back unguarded.


    Upon the wider surface area of his unguarded back, the mana bullets crashed into, propelling his body faster towards the barrage of upcoming mana bullets!


    A burning sensation travels throughout his body and numbed his five senses, a distasteful metallic taste rushed up to his throat, but he gritted his teeth to bear the pain. At the same time, he felt a surge in energy as his body triggered Adrenaline.


    Whittaker will die the moment the adrenaline rush dies down, but his eyes burned with high hopes. He had taken a gamble without knowing whether he will win or not.


    The mana bullet crashing into his back increased his speed, and he swiftly passed the 47-yard mark. Suddenly, the Frost spellbook appears above his head and he shouts, "Frost bolt!"


    Right after, he waved his sword like a battle maniac, simultaneously creating three slashes.


    Teng! Teng! Teng!


    Evading the nine mana bullets with three slashes, his body passed through the storm of bullets, but eighteen more bullets shot towards him to end his life once and for all.


    Just as the bullets were about to crash into his body, Whittaker shouts, "Frost elemental shift!"


    Blood gushed out of his mouth, dying his red lips in a redder hue, as the frost spellbook released an icy flicker, in the very next moments, eighteen mana bullets crashed into a Frost bolt that has switched places with Whittaker, who appeared one step behind the finishing line.


    He was standing side by side with the mana shooters that barely notice him before he took the last step and completed the trial.


    At that moment, an announcement was made,


    ?Conditions to pass the intermediate-level inheritance trial: Completed


    Progress: 100%?

 Chapter 84: Death and Reset

    ?Estimated time for an F-ranked dual awakened: Uncalculatable.


    Amount of time taken by the challenger to complete the initial inheritance trial: 31.2 seconds!?


    Along with this announcement, Whittaker''s Adrenaline rush started to slow down. The painful feeling that has been partially numbed finally spread throughout his bones and veins.


    "Ahhhhhhh!" A seething pain burned his wounded back, almost immediately, he reflexively gritted his teeth as if his Devansha and Night bloodlines felt that it was embarrassing to moan painfully. Streams of crystal white tear leaked out from the four corners of his crystal white eyes that has turned red.


    Once his back was pale white like snow, now though, it was darker than ash, redder than scarlet and fuming black clouds. His skin was like cornflakes, cracked all over: from which blood squeezed out like a fountain. The last few movements have taken a toll on his young body, which caused the cracks to spread to each side, reaching just five inches beyond the lung. Also, his right-hand wrist has cracked, shards of bone protruding out of the place once called wrist. Each time he breathed, the shards will stab into his veins. At the moment, his body was extremely sensitive. So he felt that ten thousand needles were piercing him!


    The automatic prompts continued:


    ?During the start of the trial, the inheritance trial "Challenger" responded immediately to the situation at hand, hence outlining his knowledge about magical beasts. The trial Challenger has also singlehandedly defeated the 4-star beast spike-shell earth rager without getting damaged. According to the formation analysis, the 4-star beast died without knowing how it died. It died while believing that the trial Challenger had died. Gained one S-points.


    B: The trial challenger has showcased the potential to wear the mantle of a beyond legendary class, "Battle Mage" by using both magic and sword attacks to kill a beast while power exceeds Challenger by 3-stars. Gained one more S-style point.


    C: The trial challenger completed the Race Against trial in thirty seconds. Considering the fact that the trial challenger is only F-ranked, the amount of time taken is extremely impressive. Gained one S style point. Also, the spirit of the reality management formation (10-star) wants to say that the challenger has done the impossible. The Reality management formation spirit calculated that in the future the trial challenger will become the most powerful Soul power user in the entire awakened continent: For your mental fortitude has shocked the heavens.


    ?Congratulations, the trial challenger has scored a book on Soul Power, an award earned for showcasing mental fortitude never seen before. The trial Challenger had died gracefully, gained one more S style point for his determination. In total, the challenger has gained 4 S style points. S+S+S+S=Z?


    The first part of the intermediate level inheritance trial checked the knowledge and strength of an awakened. Those who have plentiful knowledge and greater strength would be able to take advantage of the weakness of a 4-star magical beast and beat it with strength. Whittaker was helped by the system and he had an S-ranked sword, hence he easily butchered the 4-star beast. The second part of the intermediate level inheritance trial checked the mental fortitude and reflexes of an awakened. Whittaker had shown excellent mental fortitude, even though his reflexes were just good when compared to professional awakened, who had trained their craft for more than a decade. But once compared to people his age or F to D ranked awakened, he was far impressive than both categories. His mental fortitude is so impressive that Nina has handed over a Soul power book to him. She believed that he can become an excellent soul master, just like her master, Zachary.


    All of these announcements were made for the snowy-haired boy, who had dropped on his knees some times ago, but he didn''t fall headfirst. His back was slightly bent but more straight. His head was held slightly low, and his eyes have lost their shines. He was dead!


    Whittaker would be happy to know that he was getting so many style points, but he was no longer alive, hence he didn''t have any thoughts on this matter.


    "Cough~ Nina, when are you going to revive him?" Elder Zachary asked Nina, who was so shocked that she forgot to do her task.


    A clinging sound was heard as a light shot down from the clouded night sky and struck the dead body. The glowing light was absorbed into the boy''s body.


    Soon after, the snowy-haired boy''s body resets to peak condition. The skinned and bloody back could no longer be seen. His torn uniform also recovered. All the wounds vanished as he has undergone reset. Also, his still heart started to beat.


    Right after, long snowy eyelashes moved up and down as the boy opened his eyes. He seemed a lot more mature than before, probably because he had faced death for the first time.


    A system notification also popped up,


    [The formation has used reset on guardian. Guardian has revived]


    [Skill reset: Skill reset is an involuntary special phenomenon exclusive to the areas affected by the Reality-management formation. It allows the formation spirit, Nina to revive a person against their will. As long as a human or magical beast hasn''t died for more than ten minutes, they will be revived if Nina wishes.]


    "I guess my gamble worked!" Whittaker exclaimed while dropping on his butt. Looking at the widescreen that dutifully explained his glorious action, he exhaled a long breath of relief. He believed that the trial death after the trial would not lead to the failure of the trial which has been completed.


    Beaming a wide smile that stretched from ear to ear, he thought,


    ''I had calculated my death. The only thing I couldn''t estimate was the pain that will come with it. It was freaking painful! I certainly don''t wanna die another time.''


    The last few memories were etched in his soul. A shiver raised in his spine as he shook his head left and right to forget that dreadful moment.


    _____


    In the central command room:


    Nina said to Zachary: ?It''s done?


    Zachary replied with a slight grin: "I can see!"


    After a slight pause, he couldn''t hold back the words in his heart, "The moment he reached the 31-yard mark, my young friend had passed the intermediate level trial. I can''t believe that he completed the entire race, even though he died in the end." He closed his eyes and the last few actions of Whittaker replayed in his mind.


    "Using the burst from the mana bullets to quadruple his speed, an amazing tactic indeed!" He exclaimed while laughing wildly.


    Whittaker''s tactics would never work in the Zen mountain trial, as at that place, injuries and death were real, unlike his home ground, where the reality-management formation was set up.


    Nina added: ?At his age, who had the guts to sacrifice their life to complete a trial? He is the perfect candidate for the "Heart of hope!"?


    "No, now''s not the time." Elder Zachary said while staring at Whittaker through the holographic screen. "He is too young and his body is too small. At most, his mana pool would only be able to inherit the basic part of the Heart of Hope... And there''s still the last trial left!"

 Chapter 85: 4-star equipments!

    Inside the intermediate-level trial ground:


    The automatic prompts started to make more announcements as Whittaker had revived.


    ?Final Rating: Super Sensational Sexy Style=Z?


    ?Basic Rewards are Quadruple?


    ?The rewards will be obtained in turns:


    First reward: 4 sets of D-ranked treasure.


    A light shined down from the clouded night skies and 4 chests, each with a different color materialized in front of him. The first chest was white. The second box was yellow. The third box was blue and the fourth one red.


    Whittaker gazes at them, and no system notification containing their details pops up.


    ''I will probably have to open them up first,'' he thought while touching one of the four chests. The moment his hand touched the silver chest, a burst of blinding light shot out as it opened. Right away, a system notification also popped up,


    [Azure-Sky Wrappings (4-stars)


    Description: Made from the elastic-skin of King Cobra, wrapping is extremely durable and elastic. It can stretch for more than 100 meters. Created the day after the mysterious-ranked wandering donkey kicked Elder Zachary in the head, causing him to effectively lose his memories and powers, but not his 10-star alchemist talent.


    Elemental Nature: Wind


    Rune slots: 4


    First rune slot: Wind Control rune effect: By using the powers of this rune, the Guardian can control this weapon with his thoughts. The guardian can mold the wrapping into various kinds of forms. This 4-star can be used in every way. It can be used for offense, defense, or auxiliary means


    Second rune slot: Free


    Third rune slot: Free


    Fourth rune slot: Free]


    After gazing at the equipment only once, Whittaker followed the rule of the awakened continent and dropped his blood on the Azure-Sky wrapping, right after forming a connection with it, he equipped it. His thin yet somewhat muscled arms were now adorned with white bandages sparkling with Silverish runes.


    Afterward, he opened the other three chests, one by one. All of them were made when the mysterious-ranked wandering donkey kicked Elder Zachary on the head. He created these pieces of equipment when he forgot who he was.


    The equipment Whittaker received from the following three chests were Rindmon Gauntlets (4-star) (Earth attribute), Blaze Chaser spear (4-star) (Fire attribute), and Azure-Sky dragon boots (4-star) (Wind attribute).


    Rindom Gauntlets were created when Elder Zachary was kidnapped by the mountain demi-humans of the Earth kingdom. Blaze Chaser spear was created for Warlord "Scarlet enchantress" that ruled over the state of Gin, a female dominant state. Azure-Sky dragon boots are the last item he created before he remembered who he really was.


    Normally, 4-star equipment are bound to not have ordinary effects, but these four pieces of equipment had effects that were way beyond the boundary of 6-stars equipment. It''s definitely because Elder Zachary has created these low-level pieces of equipment.


    Whittaker decided to equip all of the Azure-Sky equipment. After wearing the Azure-Sky boots that let him jump a long distance, he stored the rest of the pieces of equipment in his rankless ring of genesis while thinking, "I will sell the rest afterward,"


    He wasn''t interested in using equipment with the Earth attribute of flame Attribute as the fire attribute clashed with his frost attribute. Whereas, the earth attribute was useless when compared to his Frost element. The best use these pieces of equipment could have was being traded for platinum bars. Whittaker was certain that he was on his way to becoming a multi-millionaire, ''But I need to be careful. I have too many treasures and am not powerful enough to protect them. I will be safe in the academy grounds, but bad things can happen in the world outside.''


    He was intelligent enough to understand that.


    He thought, ''If I become friend with Elder Zachary, won''t I have a great backing? Who would dare to trouble me?''


    These were his wishful thinking. For now, he still needs to complete all of the trials in this place!


    Right after he stored the equipment in his storage ring, another light shone down the clouded night skies, just like the new lights that come every morning. A colorless book with silver patterns materialized in front of Whittaker


    ?B: Book on Soul Power?


    A system notification popped up when Whittaker gazed at it,


    [Book on Soul power (Rankless)


    Description: A book from another world beyond the awakened continent. The book contains knowledge about how to train Soul force. Guardian can use soul Force to dispel basic and advanced illusions. Guardian can also bombard another''s person mana pool or battle energy core directly by learning Soul energy skills. The soul force of the guardian will determine the damage done. The mana pool and battle energy core might be directly destroyed or slightly cracked depending on their strength and the amount of soul power Guardian puts behind his soul energy attack]


    "An awakened becomes a cripple once his mana pool or battle energy core is destroyed! Soul power is so powerful!" He exclaimed in glee while picking up the book and storing it carefully in his Azure-Sky ring.


    Right then, two portal opened up. One in front, and one in the back, but he could see both because of Devansha''sa vision. One portal was clouded while the other was completely black.


    ?The Clouded portal connects to the advanced level trial ground. The advanced level trial will start when the challenger passes through the summit connecting portal. The black portal is the return portal that will take the challenger back to Yeon''s home. Also, returning to the inheritance ground is not possible?


    The distance between the two places was very wide. Elder Zachary will go bankrupt if he allows Whittaker to go back and forth as he wills. That''s why even after his outstanding performance, the last rule did not change.


    Without any hesitations, Whittaker decided to partake in the advanced level inheritance trial, but before entering the cloudy portal, he turned to the reality-management formation spirit.


    He respectfully asked, "Formation spirit, how long will the next trial take?"


    He wasn''t absolutely confident in completing the next trial, so he only asked that.


    Nina replied: ?It will take at least six hours or some days?


    Whittaker nods and tells her that he needs to notify some people about his whereabouts.


    Elder Zachary and Nina have no problem with him doing that, so they allow it.

 Chapter 86: Advanced level trial " Treasure heaven"

    Once Whittaker passes the next trial, this information will spread throughout the continent, anyway. It''s not because Elder Zachary wanted to make this announcement, but because many prying eyes were already trying to peek at what''s happening in Zachary''s palace. Although Elder Zachary has used a formation to block their sight, they will still found out about his inheritor by using divination and other methods.


    The reasons for their blatant and disrespectful actions were pretty simple. First of all, Zachary can''t leave his palace. Also, Zachary has been near his deathbed for the past five years. It is estimated that he will die anytime, soon. Once he dies, the treasures filled palace will have no master, and it will be ready for taking. Due to these reasons, some powerhouse has decided to show no respect to Zachary, who was more than five hundred years old, and an A-ranked expert.


    ___


    "Teacher, I won''t be able to attend class tomorrow. I am in an inheritance trial, and it might take days to complete!"


    "Shadow, we probably won''t be able to hunt together for a while, as I am in the land of winds. But I will return stronger than ever, and we will hunt powerful magical beasts!"


    "Lily, don''t prepare breakfast for me! I am currently stranded someplace far away, and I really miss your food."


    "Senior student, Lin Dong, I might not be able to give an affirmative answer to you by the end of this week. I need some more time to decide. I will appreciate your patience."


    He sends some more messages to others, who have mana coms registered in their name and shared their contact information with him. Sadly, he didn''t know about the contact information of his sister, and his brother and mother didn''t have one, so he couldn''t notify them.


    In the end, Whittaker notified Miss Ruka, Shadow, Lily, Christopher (his food supplier), and the vice-commander of Azure Dragon Tooth guild about his whereabouts. It was nighttime so no reply came back, as everyone was sleeping.


    Soon after, he braced himself and walked towards the clouded portal, entering which, he found his vision clouded. It wasn''t because of a headache or dizziness, but because the place where he was transported to was misty and cloudy, just like the clouded portal.


    "Devansha vision!" His eyes started to flickers as his vision penetrated through the thick mist, right after, the true view of this place was witnessed by Whittaker.


    He was standing atop a grassy hill which was part of a vast, misty, and diverse forest. Its canopy was competed for by pine, ash, and sycamore, and the occasional beam of light that made its way atop the crown of the tree pierced through the mist and scattered on the colorful jaded flowers, which reflect the sunshine, creating a dazzling show of light.


    Thin and thick vines held onto a couple of trees, just like vipers and king cobra coiling around branches and trunk of a tree. A wide range of jaded flowers, which Whittaker has never seen till now, adorned the otherwise misty forest grassy floor. A system notification popped up in his vision when he gazed at the jaded flowers.


    [Item: Spirit Flower (Low-grade)


    Effect: Increases the size of the mana pool by 1 Km in area. Currently, the guardian mana pool is 100 km wide and long, and he can at most increase the mana points in his mana pool by a total of 1000 Mana points.]


    ''So basically if I absorb one of these spirit flowers the size of my mana pool will increase by 1 km, and I will be able to increase the mana in my mana pool by a total of 1010 points?'' he internally asked the system. A thoughtful expression could be seen in his eyes, as this was the first time that he had heard about this object.


    The peak of the F-ranked mage was 1000 mana points in the mana pool. Whittaker had 310 units in his mana pool, and 100 mana units in his snowy hair strands, a total of 410 mana units.


    P.S: 100 Km increase in mana pool size (both in width and length) = 1000 mana units.


    [Yes! I advise the guardian to use this treasure right after collecting it. The guardian mana pool will strengthen and it won''t be destabilized as easily as before. You will be to become stronger as a mage way faster than before. If possible then get some spirit flower for Katherine too.]


    ?Mission Activated: Collect 1000 spirit flowers


    Rewards: Fasten Katherine recovery time, Magic spell: Frost Healing Touch?


    ''Is Katherine in the pendent?'' he asked to confirm his suspicion.


    After a short while, the system replied, [Yes! She is slumbering inside the pendent...]


    ''I will do as you say,'' Whittaker has felt the pain of mana pool destabilizing, which was somewhat comparable to the pain of death, and he didn''t want to undergo such painful moments, once again. Also, he wanted to meet Katherine, the guardian of his mother''s family, also knowns as Devansha peoples.


    He muttered while gazing around the misty forest, "Surprisingly, this time no announcement was made..."


    Right after his vision focused on a wide holographic notification which has silently appeared in the middle of the grassy field. If he didn''t have Devansha eyes then he would have never noticed it. This was the first test of this carefree trial.


    [Conditions to pass the Advance level inheritance trial: Reach the Summit of the heaven-reaching misty mountain of Zachary palace!


    Rewards:


    A: Opening to the last stage of Zachary trials, Heaven-reaching trial.


    B: Return Portal


    C: One Card of A Deck


    Rewards won''t be increased no matter how fast you complete this trial. This is a simple trial with rewards spread throughout the trial grounds. The challenger can feel free to take all the spirit flowers he wants... If he can?


    Due to the last sentence, Whittaker felt that this trial isn''t as simple as it seems, but he didn''t feel any danger, at all, hence he started to pick up spirit flowers while wandering towards the summit of the mountain that was visible to his vision, but it was simply too far away. If he just walks then it will take some days...

 Chapter 87: Spirit flowers, and the hidden danger.

    Whittaker had found himself standing very far away from a wide and majestical mountain, upon which a palace was placed. Whittaker found out that that''s the place he needs to reach when he saw the wooden board affixed atop towering gates that extended to the open sky.


    Calligraphy in mandarin was drawn on it. In his childhood, he had learned mandarin as Mother Lin ancestry was Eastern.


    "Hill atop Heavenly mountain!" The calligraphy said.


    He saw blue light expanding outwards from the zenith descending till reaching the mountain''s summit, swirling around Its entire body creating the form of a mystical being. The blue light at the zenith resembled a dragon, and as Its Blue Wings expanded outwards, it descended downwards, giving the impression of a celestial descension.


    The blue light was thick mana. A single breath at that place will instantly restore all mana in the mana pool. Whittaker felt no doubt in comparing this mountain with a mountain in heaven. He could see a wide sparkling staircase that started from the summit of the mountain and reached its peak. Whittaker stood some thousand kilometers away, yet he could see the mystical route in the middle that connected the mountain summit to its top.


    While moving towards the mountain summit, he encountered no difficulties, just a lot of treasures. Right now, he witness said treasure, once again, and he made a sprint towards it, ''If possible, I would love to become a farmer in this place and cultivate these flowers,''


    With such thoughts, he dropped to his knees.


    The system has told him a good method to separate the spirit flowers from the root. These flowers liked to be treated gently. They were so weak that a single rough treatment will cause them to wither into dozens of light sparkles, a waste in Whittaker''s eyes.


    By using his left hand to gently pour mana into the jaded flowers, he dug two inches below the grassy and sandy ground by using his right hand, with a swift yet gentle movement of the hand he pulled the spirit flower from the soil. The spirit flower was two times the size of a strawberry, with many veins of the same color shades of red on its surface. When he''d taken it out of the soil, the spirit flower had even been surrounded by a faint layer of mist, from which, a fresh smell lingered in the air. Sniffing it, his mind felt at ease and a sense of peace enveloped his body.


    Along the way, he collected a lot of spirits flowers, around thirty-five so far. Without knowing when, six hours passed away, and dusk arrived, right away, he heard a medley of wild noises, belonging mostly to critters, which brightened up the forest.


    Whittaker walked forwards towards his destination as the critters sound strangely synchronized with the sound of the wind blowing gently through the misty forest producing a melody that caressed his heart and soul. Slowly and steadily, the initial thought of this place being dangerous left his mind. He recalled the class weapons in his soul space. He would have stopped using Devansha eyes, too, but he didn''t... rather couldn''t. This was a misty forest and he would not be able to reach his destination if he is to stop using Devansha vision.


    Very mystically, Whittaker was, in a sense, somewhat hypnotized by the comfort provided by this two-faced place. Just like that, six hours passed. Placed in the dimension of his Azure-sky ring was more than a hundred spirit flower of the lowest grade, but even these low-grade spirit flowers were a treasure that a normal awakened could only hope to acquire.


    As he was walking on the trail in the middle of the forest, a plentiful harvest once again appeared in his sight. Dozens of spirit flowers surrounded one massive tree decorated with green vines. No doubt, his feet shifted towards that place way faster than a two-faced person changes his attire and attitude.


    Dropping low, he starts to collect the precious treasure with a beaming smile, all the while leaving his defenseless back exposed to the scrutinizing gaze of a magical beast coiling around the thick tree. No one could notice it, for it has become one with the surrounding due to its innate ability. It awaited for the best time to strike and swallow the young snowy-haired boy whole.


    Soon after, the entire area was swept clean of its natural treasures, left behind was just normal grass.


    "As a gentleman, how can I leave something so precious to be wasted?" Whittaker defended his greedy nature. ''I am a gentleman indeed, for the spirit flowers didn''t wilt because of my touch. No doubt about it...''


    Afterward, he stood up to once again reach the trail in the middle of this forest, and head towards the mountain summit.


    Nonchalantly, he took one step ahead, in the very moment, all around suddenly grew quiet, and a slight rustling sound clearly reached his ears, vaguely. He would have taken the rustling sound like the wind blowing grass and tree leaves gently, but the system instantly notified,


    [Guardian, look out!] A system notification popped up in his front vision. Also, thanks to Devansha''s vision, he also had a vision in the backside, hence he noticed a flash of purplish light darting towards his back. He didn''t even have the chance to take out his Class weapon from his soul space, as the attack was too sudden and too fast. He could only use the newly acquired equips to defend against this insidious attack.


    An Azure light lit up, as the wind Control rune inscribed on the wrapping equipped around his arms activated. By using the powers of this rune, Whittaker instantly created a white shield while turning around.


    Bang! The wrapping which was molded into a defensive shield suffered a massive frontal brunt and bend low, but it had provided enough time, and both of Whittaker''s Class weapon has materialized in the physical world, almost immediately, he bent his waist, head shifting backward, somewhat like how Shadow did to evade the winter wolf attack shot at his face.


    Something flew past his face, its sharp scales threatened to disfigure his handsome and snowy white face with smooth skin. Thankfully, by using his S-ranked sword, he blocked the glinting purplish scales of the thing that flew from right above him.


    Right away, a voice resounded beside his ear, [Guardian, make a run for it!]

 Chapter 88: Running away...

    Teng! Teng! Teng!


    Sparks fluttered about as Blood Drinker collided with the sharp metallic scales of purplish sharp scales. Whittaker left hand supported the back of the handle while his right hand supported the middle area of the sword surface that faced his face. Furthermore, his body was bend, such that his upper body was horizontal to the ground. This was the perfect stance otherwise, his fingers and face would have been chopped into pieces by the scale of the magical beast.


    On the other hand, the Frost spellbook released an icy flicker and shot a Frost bolt to the side. After the Frost Bolt reached some distance away, Whittaker shouted Frost elemental shift and switched places with the Frost Bolt. The amethyst silhouette of a beast instantly fell to the ground and let out a hiss, tongue waging about in a threatening manner, as it focused its gaze on the large surrounding, trying to locate its meal.


    Several meters away, behind a thick tree, a snowy-haired boy carefully studied the insidious beast that has attacked him. Curiosity was a common nature found in every young boy, Whittaker was no exception. Reflected in his crystal icy eyes flickering with mana was the majestical figure of a 10-meter tall beast whose body was wider than his waist. Its dark purple triangular snakehead towered tall, held upon it was a golden horn with mystical runes.


    At the same time, a system notification popped up,


    [Magical beast: Venomous Dragon-Scaled Horned Python.


    Rank: A 7-star magical beast with the bloodline of a Black Dragon. Its combating ability far exceeds 10-star beasts. Make a run for it.


    Attribute: Poison


    Innate ability: Poison breath, ???, lunge, Dragon-Scale, ???, enhanced senses, ???]


    Beasts with a power level of 1-2 stars are classified as F-ranked magical beasts. 2-4 star beasts are classified as E-ranked magical beasts. 4-6.99 star beasts are classified as D-ranked beasts, above that power level are magical beasts that can only be defeated by a team of C-ranked awakened. Also, the beasts he was facing has such a strong defense that Whittaker Blood Drinker only made some dents on the purplish scales of the Horned Python.


    ''Blood Drinker couldn''t penetrate its defense. Furthermore, this is the second time that the system has warned me. Also, there''s no way that I will be able to put up a fight with it, It''s freaking huge!'' he thought in astonishment while breathing silently to calm his frantic heart.


    The magical beast had a strong sense of smell, hence It didn''t take long to sniff out the young boy, who leaned on the thick trunk of a tree nearby and was gazing at him.


    A smirk formed on the magical beast face as it gazed right in his direction, in the very moment, Whittaker felt threatened; for a pair of purplish eyes with vertical slit looked straight at him, right after, poisonous battle energy started to bubble up in the mouth of the Venomous Dragon-Scaled Horn python.


    [Guardian, it''s charging up its innate ability, Poison Breath, make a run for it otherwise, you will melt away!]


    [Poison Breath (AOE): The Horned-Python breaths out venom in an arc in front of him, which creates toxic clouds that spear far and wide in the surrounding. The toxic cloud has the property to melt the skins and bones of anyone in the cloud. Low-level mana and battle energy shielding are ineffective against the venom clouds!]


    A voice resounded beside Whittaker''s ears, and he reacted immediately by shouting out Frost Bolt. The Frost Spellbook, hidden from Its sight by the thick and towering tree, shined with an icy light and shot out a Frost Bolt upwards.


    The young snowy-haired boy thought, ''Since the beast doesn''t have wings, the safest place will be the skies!''


    Although the forest was covered in a cloud of mist, his Devansha eyes could see through them, he has seen no danger in the skies, so that''s the place he chooses to go. Several seconds later, the horned python breath out venom in Whittaker directions, instantly venom clouds were created, swallowing everything in its way. The venom clouds overwrite the cloudy mist of the nearby surrounding. Everything in its path melted away, be it the trees or the grassy ground. All the fauna of this place was also corrupted when the venom clouds graced them with a touch. As they reached Whittaker, he shouted Frost elemental shift and switched places with the Frost Bolt that has gone well beyond 15-meters into the skies.


    Right after, the venom clouds swallowed the place where he was once standing, melting the frost bolt while Whittaker found himself high up in the air. Right away, with a single thought, Whittaker activated the Flight ability of his Azure-sky earrings and went even high up the skies.


    "See ya later, big baddy. You can eat the leftover dust!" While flying away, he stuck his tongue out at the ten meters tall Venomous Dragon-Scaled horned python, but the battle was far from over.


    The horned python hissed in amusement, a dazzling golden light shone from in-between the mystical symbol inscribed on its golden horn. Following that, the golden light instantly expanded downward from his horns and spread to the scales on the backside of its body.


    Two purplish dark-gold wings glinting with a shiny purplish hue formed on its back. When they flapped it started to fly, right away, it chases after Whittaker, who witnessed it all with the help of Devansha''s eyes.


    [The Venomous Dragon-Scaled Horned Python has used its bloodline ability, Scaled Wing of Dusk!] A system notification popped up in his vision.


    "It isn''t just humans who can use bloodline abilities but also magical beasts!" This simple notification caused Whittaker to have a completely new understanding of magical beasts.


    The beast was two times faster than Whittaker. He instantly utilized the third ability of the Azure-Sky earring, Boost Speed to increase his flying speed by 100%, almost immediately, he shouted the names of many Frost spell.


    [Frost Bolt]...[Winter''s breath]...[Frost shield]


    Each time he shouted the name of a Frost Spell, his Frost spellbook would shine with an icy glint, and obstructions will be created for the magical beast.

 Chapter 89: The safe-zone!

    While flying away from the magical beast, Whittaker performed some hand signs to use telekinesis on the Frost shield, simultaneously the frost spellbook used Frost elements control on his command.


    Among the barrage of attack, two of three Frost-shields rushed towards the 10-meter wide python, almost instantly, purplish smoke emits out of its body and defensively covers all its parts, right after, his attack crashed on its face, but the difference between their strength was very wide. The Frost Bolt barely did any damage, and Its innate ability "Poison Cloak" rendered all his attacks and their effect useless.


    It was a game-changer for Whittaker, who always used to have an upper hand because of his amazing Class weapons. This time, he had faced an opponent with the bloodline blessing.


    "What is that?" Whittaker asked slightly surprised.


    [It''s the innate defensive ability of the Horned Python. The innate ability is called Poison cloak. Guardian F-ranked attacks will be ineffective until the cloak vanishes] the system replied to the surprised Whittaker.


    Things weren''t looking good for Whittaker, as meter by meter, the Venomous Dragon-Scaled Horned Python covered the distance between them.


    ''In a few minutes, It will catch up to me!'' Whittaker thought as nervousness started to enact all over his heart. People make mistakes when they are nervous and he knows it. He looked left and right, gazing through the misty forest to look for a safe spot, but found no cave.


    "Even a cave with a small entrance would have become my life-saving charm at this moment, but there''s none here!" He exclaimed in disappointment. Only a measly distance of 60-meter separated him and the Horned Python. After sixty-seconds, he will probably get eaten by it.


    ''Will I have to die, once again?'' He thought. Disheartened, he broke down in cold sweat as the painful moment of death replayed in his mind. Remember, he was still a young boy, and the pain of death was the least to his liking, vegetables came next.


    At the moment of his despair, a monotone voice rang beside his ears,


    [Guardian, do not give up and don''t be disheartened. Did you forget what Zachary said? All the inheritance trial can be completed as long as you actively respond to the situation at hand]


    ''But there''s no F-ranked awakened in history, who can take down a 7-star and above Magical beast!'' he responded while continuing with his flight tactics. He hasn''t given up for a single moment, and the barrage of spells was still being thrown at the Horned Python to slow its speed by some fractions of a second. Just that, his attacks weren''t working, and use his S-ranked sword to attack the Horned Python was purely suicidal. Not only was it covered by a poisonous mist, but its scales were also hard enough to negate the sharpness of his sword otherwise, he would have butchered it a long time ago.


    The system said, [I am not saying Guardian to fight it]


    Whittaker''s eyes flickered with a thoughtful glint, ''Could it be that there''s a safe-place here?'' He immediately declined this thought. He had gazed all around by using Devansha''s vision but found no such spot unless he missed one. "System, do you know of a safe place near here?" He internally asked.


    [Yes. I have analyzed that this trial ground is separated into two zones. A green-zone that can only be accessed by the challenger of the advanced trial ground and a red-zone that is infested with 6-star and above magical beasts.]


    "System! Can you please tell me about that place?" Whittaker asked in a pleading tone as this can very well be the saving grace he needs to make it out alive in this trial and earn the rewards in the end.


    The system didn''t forget its trademark. Only after a short while did the system replied in its monotone voice, [There is no need for the Guardian to plead while asking or demanding about something from me. As for now, the safe-zone is the trail in the middle of the forest. You will be saved from the threatening jaws of the horned python as long as you return to that place]


    Night''s will system''s sole purpose was to guide Whittaker on his journey. It wanted him to experience the beauty and joy of life while also facing the flip-side of the world. ''Only dangerous life and death moments will truly make the young guardian aware of the danger hidden masked by the beauty of nature and the honeyed words of creatures!''


    Only a distance of 30-meters separated Whittaker from the open jaws of the horned python, who just wanted to bite into the snowy white and ruddy flesh of the young boy who smelled like fresh meat.


    A meal which has not been tasted by it for many years, especially so, after it was kidnapped by Elser Zachary and placed in this hellhole!


    Whittaker didn''t hesitate before making his way to the trail in the middle of the forest. He hasn''t felt any safety in that trail, but since the system has said so and he didn''t have any other means to escape the Horned python chase, he decided to put all his luck on that location. At the same time, Whittaker didn''t proceed to launch any more attacks. He solely focused on retreating rapidly, three blue-tube appeared in his hand, and he drank them all at the same time to recover his mana points. He was flying so fast that using the combination move Frost bolt+Frost elemental shift was simply useless.


    Only a distance of 15-meter separated him from the Horned Python, whose body trembled lightly producing a melodic hum.


    [Guardian, the horned python is gonna use its bloodline ability, Dragon Rush, it will immediately catch up to you!] The system notified Whittaker, who has already sensed that something was wrong.


    He instantly called out Frost Shield, which materialized some meters below him, almost instantly, Frost''s elemental shift was activated. Right then, a mesmerizing purplish hue burst out as the Horned Python straightened body proceeded to powerfully smash through the frost shield and it had instantly become fragmented.


    It was only because of a last moment instant decision thanks to which Whittaker managed to evade disaster.


    It was at this moment when the Venomous Dragon-Scaled Horned Python displayed its wisdom nature. Its body suddenly halted out in midair, and it swung its tail, whipping its purplish tail at Whittaker, who was right beneath, but beneath the boy was a Frost Bolt that has been released a moment ago.


    Instantly, the Frost spellbook released an icy flicker and he switched places with the frost bolt, but the tail still brushed past his face and released a powerful wind gale that crashed on his chest, hurling him downwards to the surface; the home ground of the Horned Python.


    The Frost spellbook moved down together with its owner, in the very chaotic moment, Whittaker released a whisper through his gritted teeth, and a Frost Bolt shot towards the ground, the Frost bolt reached the ground five meters before his body smashes into the ground.


    Another Whisper was released out of his lips, instantly, he switched places with the frost bolt, right away, his feet touched the ground, almost immediately, his footstep turned illusory in the amethyst eyes of the horned python that descended from the skies.


    Whittaker''s body turned into consecutive a blur, as his body whisked towards the open trail; he has used the ability of his Azure-sky boots!


    Before it even knew it, its prey has escaped towards an open trail and was beaming a taunting smile towards its direction while playfully waving his hands.


    ''How dare a meal play with me?'' The beast rushed towards Whittaker, but it crashed into the mana walls that are effective for only magical beasts. The mana walls were enacted all around the open trail in the middle of the forest.


    Before it even knew it, its prey has escaped to the safety intentionally created by Zachary, and the little prey was making fun of It by sticking his tongue out.


    Whittaker kept on making fun of the ugly triangular head snake while it continued to glare right back at him with eyes tinged with venom. From the looks of it, the Venomous Dragon-Scaled horned python would have swallowed Whittaker whole if the mana wall wasn''t separating the two.


    After teasing it for a while, Whittaker continued on his path.

 Chapter 90: Reaching Heaven-reaching mountain (a)

    The encounter with the Venomous Dragon-Scaled Horned Python was a valuable lesson for Whittaker. He understood that Fortune never arrives in peace, and danger is hidden within the beauty of nature. He also realized the importance of strength. ''If I was powerful enough then I would have been able to surely thrash It until the horn atop its triangular face breaks!''


    He was angry at the shameless python that refuses to go away.


    Elder Zachary and Nina were impressed as Whittaker has managed to successfully escape the danger which was hiding in plain sight but was not easy to locate.


    "Now, he only needs to suppress his greed, and the advanced level inheritance trial will be completed without any problem" Zachary murmured while intently staring at each of his actions.


    ___


    Three hours passed by as Whittaker kept on walking in a straight line through the smooth trail in the middle of the wide, misty forest. He wasn''t alone as the Horned Python has decided to accompany him. It was following him everywhere he goes, separated only by the mana wall that kept them both off each other. Whittaker hasn''t stepped outside the mana wall formation to look for treasures in the forest, fearing that he would be instantly attacked by the stubborn python the moment he steps out of the protective trail.


    The mana wall formation acted as a defense line for both sides. Whittaker, who was inside of the mana wall formation couldn''t attack the magical beast that was outside the mana wall formation. The same goes for the Venomous Dragon-Scaled horned python, it couldn''t attack Whittaker, either. If he could attack It, then the Python would have been facing a shower of Frost Bolt.


    Curiously, he asked the system, ''Hey system, why won''t it just go away? Also, is there any way to send it packing?" The forest was a treasure ground, yet he couldn''t explore it because of the proudful snake glaring intently at each of his movements. It has climbed up the mana wall and was literally right above Whittaker''s head, ready to pounce at him the moment he leaves the trail.


    [You have hurt Its pride and It won''t give up without taking revenge. Also, Magical beasts have a long lifespan, stalking you for some months on a row isn''t a hard task for the venomous dragon-scaled snake.] The system replied. Everything it said was true, and a high-ranked magical beast, such as the snake outside really can live for thousands of years.


    "What an insidious creature!" Whittaker felt somewhat angry at the triangular head, but he felt more sadness at the loss of the treasure that could have been potentially his!


    "Do I need to give up on all the treasures? Night''s Will System, isn''t there a way to somehow dupe it?" He internally said to the system with a downcast feeling dwelling in his empty stomach.


    [The horned python is a very powerful magical beast, you managed to escape its jaw because It wasn''t aware of your true abilities, next time you won''t be as lucky. There''s no way to dupe it, either. I advise the guardian to just complete the trial. Later on, there will be a lot of chances for the guardian to obtain these miscellaneous treasure]


    "Miscellaneous treasure?" Whittaker was shocked at the system''s words. These treasures that he was willing to get hurt for were merely classified as miscellaneous by the system�� "Whatever, I shouldn''t think about what I can''t get. It''s better to complete this trail as fast as I can and complete the inheritance trial!" Whittaker exclaimed while inhaling and exhaling deeply for a few seconds. He was trying to suppress his greed for treasures.


    Soon after, the uneasiness caused by not being able to obtain the treasures starts to go away, and clarity filled his mind and soul. He sprinted for the finish line while ignoring all thoughts of obtaining the glittering treasures laying somewhere in the surrounding forest which laid outside the trail.


    Whittaker hastened his journey while sprinting ahead and the python slithered on the grassy ground beside him to continue onwards with its shameless stalking. He felt a disturbance in his soul space and stopped to check what it is. He found out that Wolfie has awakened. Wolfie is the name that Whittaker has given to the Winter wolf pup. With drowsy eyes, the puppy was crying for some attention and possibly food. Whittaker pulled it out of the soul space so that it will breathe some fresh air, but he held on to it somewhat tightly as there''s a high chance that Wolfie will run out of the mana wall and get attacked by the magical beast outside. Wolfie also didn''t cause any hindrance to his master, as its loyalty has increased to 70 points. Like a good child, it remained seated in Whittaker''s embrace after shifting his body in a comfortable position. Occasionally he would move about but would stop in fear of troubling his master, what a sensible child. Whittaker was using everything he could use to increase his speed so that he can reach the other end in a short amount of time.


    Just like that, a day passed by...


    Whittaker hasn''t stopped for a single second, yet the summit of the heaven-reaching mountain still seemed far, far away. "Huff! It will take about three more days to reach that place!" Whittaker estimated by using his kneen eyes and high level of intelligence. To continue this journey without getting treasure was simply boring. This trial tested a person''s emotional stability. Normally, an awakened won''t be able to estimate the time needed to reach the summit of the heaven-reaching mountain, hence they will probably break down or commit suicide while thinking that they will never reach the end.


    Along the way, Whittaker had only given that Venomous snake a single glance, then continued on his path without any opinion. Right now, to release some stress, he turned around to take a look at it.


    "Mister pervert, aren''t you tired? Maybe, go back to your home and leave me alone. You won''t be getting to eat me anyway no matter how long you stalk me." Just like yesterday, the damn snake still stubbornly glared at him in silence and continued with the stalking.


    Distressed at the childish nature of the python, Whittaker shook his head left and right and continued with his journey. He exclaimed with a huff, "Three more days and I will get out of this place!"


    But how could the creator of this trial allow a challenger to pass so easily?


    This trial was about the choices a person would make when facing different situations. Also, Whittaker has only satisfied just one part of Elder Zachary''s burning curiosity, which is to know about Whittaker''s character as a person.


    Zachary wasn''t gonna hand his hard-earned stuff to a random person, after all. With a wave of his hand, a command was activated, and the terrain of the forest changed, such that, the grassy ground upon which the spirit flowers grew moved nearer to the trail in the middle of the forest!


    An evil grin was enacted on Elder Zachary''s face as he awaited the choice that the young snowy-haired boy will make!


    ___


    In the face of the horned python, Whittaker has suppressed all his greedy desire; however, sadly, soon after, he saw spirit flower right in front of his eyes, almost as if they have popped out of nowhere to tempt him to take some step out of the safe zone, but he didn''t dare to. He had stopped moving and was looking left�Cat the spirit flower and right�Cat the purplish python.


    Glaring at the spirit flowers and the purplish python, he muttered with a gulp, "To get the nearby treasure or not?" This was also the first time that worry had appeared on his charming face and he faced an internal turmoil that gave him constipation like feeling. ''System, will I be able to get some spirit flower if I use the combination of Frost Bolt and Frost elemental shift?''


    In reply, a notification popped up,


    [At this distance, no! The beast is too close to you]


    The triangular head python was extremely crafty. Its thousand years of living in the wild had caused it to possess a certain amount of intelligence related to trapping, baiting, and killing preys. The actions of Whittaker didn''t escape its eyes, and it had understood that the boy wanted to go out and obtain the spirit flowers...


    Since it was unable to harm its prey because of the mana wall formation then It will bait him out of the formation. With these insidious thoughts, It suddenly spat out a mouthful of venom clouds towards Whittaker, before turning around to run away. After taking dozens of turns left and right in few seconds, it came behind a thick tree, drilled into the ground by using an innate ability and silently made Its way back to the spirit flowers.


    On the other hand, the venom cloud was blocked by the mana wall formation while a faint light was flickering in Whittaker''s crystal icy eyes, and he clearly saw that the python has turned tail and shamelessly made its escape, going who knows where!


    Pearly white teeth made their appearance as a loud crackle rang out, so loud that Wolfie, who was sleeping atop his head, woke up and protested with a slight cry. Whittaker put him in his soul space and decided to get the spirit flowers as the danger was no longer outside.


    Just as he was about to move outside the formation, a manly yet melodic voice rang beside his ear,


    "Young boy, I advise you against it. There''s danger outside!"

 Chapter 91: Reaching Heaven-reaching mountain (b)

    Night Will System''s voice was monotone while this voice was manly yet melodic. ''I have never heard such a voice before. This isn''t my system but someone else.'' Whittaker thought while halting just one inch away from the Mana Wall boundary, evading a disastrous encounter. He internally asked, "Who are you?"


    "Someone who saved you once��" The same voice rang beside his ears. Slightly, the tone of this melodic yet manly voice was seductive and carried hints of laziness within.


    ''Someone who saved me once?'' Whittaker recalled dozens of instances of being saved. Mother Lin used to save him from the insidious crab-like hands of Elisha, who kept on pinching his cheeks when he was too young to retaliate. Brother Hera used to save him from the marketplace aunties and dangerous slave traders and the list goes on...


    "Not those occurrences! After you awakened, I saved you once." The voice said as if feeling embarrassed at being compared to such mortal affairs.


    Whittaker''s eyes blinked as he instantly recalled the two times when he was saved from danger. The first time he was saved by the kind-face old man, Headmaster Yeon, and the second time he was saved by the mysterious, Mister Dark spirit!


    ''Headmaster Yeon is old and his voice archaic, so this person�Cno, this being must be Dark spirit!'' He concluded in a second.


    "You are dark spirit, right?" He asked internally to confirm his suspicion.


    "Your conclusion is spot on. I am him. Also, call me Lord Dark Spirit!" It said to the young boy, hints of pride evident in its words.


    "Thanks for saving me. I am guessing that you are living in the pendant just like Miss Katherine. Though, do you know about my parent? If so, Can you tell me about them?"


    "Do not try to gather information about your father or mother otherwise, you will regret it in the end." the dark spirit mysteriously replied.


    Although it refused to admit it, the Dark Spirit was really living in the pendent of the night just like Katherine.


    "Dark spirit, Why do say so!?" He felt mildly annoyed and frustrated because of his words.


    "Your father has become the polar opposite of what you are and your mother, she..." Lord Dark Spirit didn''t have the heart to continue what he was gonna say. He wasn''t good with dealing with kids, and he knew that Whittaker will start weeping if he told him about what happened to Grace Deva. It continued by saying, "It''s better if we don''t talk about this subject anymore."


    "I still want to know about them!" Whittaker was adamant about his decision. It wasn''t because of the curiosity that he held for his unknown parents, he was demanding his rights. A right that every child has. A right to know about who gave birth to him. A right to know whose blood is running through his veins. ''Why should information about my father and mother be hidden from me? Lord Dark spirit, why won''t you tell me who they are!?" Whittaker was still respectful as he had saved him from pain, once. Also, it was Lord Dark Spirit who stabilized his shaky mana pool.


    "You are too weak. Grow stronger and I wouldn''t mind telling you. For now, don''t step out of this Mana Wall Formation otherwise, you will die!" The dark spirit said to effectively end this conversation.


    Whittaker knew that Lord Dark Spirit wasn''t gonna answer any more of his question as he was as stingy as Night Will''s system. He gave up on trying to extract information from him, but if he gets the chance to extract information about his parents from the Dark Spirit then Whittaker will abuse it to the best of his ability. Also, he wanted to grow stronger faster than ever.


    Right after the talk with Lord Dark Spirit, Whittaker''s attention turned towards the treasures in the beautiful nature covered by a cloudy mist that slowly moves about with the gentle breezes. Though, he was able to see through the blinding mist because of Devansha''s eyes.


    A hundred or so spirit flowers dazzling in a multicolor glow enchanted the wonderful scenery outside the mana wall formation, the young snowy-haired boy squinted his eyes and observed the treasure-filled terrain with scrutiny, finding no danger whatsoever he felt confused. The Venomous Dragon-Scaled Horned Python has gone away, and there was not a single enemy in sight, he could easily get the spirit flowers, yet he didn''t as Whittaker has recently learned an important lesson. He knows that the world isn''t as it seems. There could be extreme life-threatening danger hidden in the beauty of nature. Also, Lord Dark spirit has warned him.


    That''s why he internally asked Lord Dark Spirit


    "What kind of danger is outside? I can''t see any."


    "The Venomous Dragon-Scaled Honed Python is hiding right beneath the spirit flower ground. If you take even one step outside the Mana Wall Formation then It will pounce at you right away by using its innate ability, Dragon Rush!" Lord Dark Spirit alerted the young and cautious snowy-haired boy.


    ''What an insidious snake! Thankfully, Lord Dark Spirit has alerted me otherwise, I would have become dead meat!'' Whittaker has seen the speed at which the horned python moves when it uses Dragon Rush. It covers ten+ meters in an instant, just like teleporting.


    Whittaker regretfully glanced at the twinkling spirit flowers for one last time, right away, he turned away and continued on the trail by closing his eyes. ''Now, I can no longer be distracted!'' He has already realized that these treasures were a distraction created by the insidious magical beast or the creator of this inheritance trial. The purpose of these distractions was to bait the trial challenger into the danger-zone where they can be "Killed".


    ''I am no longer gonna fall for these petty tricks, hmm!" Whittaker huffed and puffed in anger as he sprinted ahead by using telekinesis, Azure Sky boots, and Azure Sky earrings. The cooldown of the Boost ability has ended as a day has passed by a long time ago. He activated the third ability of the Azure-Sky earring, increasing his speed by twice as much.

 Chapter 92: The Summit of Heaven-reaching mountain (a)

    Soon after, a boy with eyes closed could be seen sprinting through the trail in the middle of the forest. He was heading towards the summit of the Heaven-Reaching Mountain at a very high speed, much faster than 6-star Cheetahs and 5-star Young Saber-Toothed Tigers. His eyes remained closed, yet he didn''t step out of the Mana Wall Formation as the Trail was straight without any left or right turns.


    On the other hand, legend has it that the dumb snake was still waiting for its prey...


    _____


    "Glad he didn''t make a foolish choice for those cheap treasures otherwise, I would have been disappointed!" Elder Zachary said with closed eyes while a smile hung on his elderly, wrinkled face.


    [It''s weird. His low-level Devansha eyes shouldn''t be able to detect the location of the Venomous Dragon-Scaled Horned Python that has an innate ability and many tactics to blend in with the environment, yet he changed his decision at the last moment as if he could detect danger outside the Mana Wall Formation. Maybe... someone alerted him] Nina felt slightly suspicious at Whittaker''s action. Also, she had detected the mana flickers in Whittaker''s eyes, so she determined that the boy with Devansha bloodline has awakened Devansha eyes, but his crystal icy eyes lacked crystalline dots which represent medium level Devansha eyes, and Devansha eyes without crystalline dots could only be considered low-level Devansha eyes.


    "Do you think that just anyone is able to cheat under our supervision?" Instantly, Elder Zachary refuted her suspicion. "Nina, his decision changed because of a change of heart. We, humans, are complex beings, and our decision can change on a whip because of a single moment or feeling." Elder Zachary conveyed some words of wisdom to Nina, who accepted it without a single word of refusal.


    Right after, he focused his attention on the snowy-haired boy.


    ____


    Three days passed by. Whittaker had calculated that it will take three days to reach the summit of the heaven reaching mountain and his calculation was spot on. Although it was only possible as he was able to keep on going without resting. He didn''t feel tired as the Energized effect of the 4-star meal he had eaten wasn''t gonna end before one week. Along the way, he had gotten more closer with Wolfie. While his relationship with Lord Dark Spirit wasn''t met with any improvement.


    Currently, he stood before the staircase of the majestical mountain. One more step and he will step on the staircase but Whittaker couldn''t take that step; they were separated by the Mana Wall Formation. At that moment, the reality-management formation started making the automatic announcement,


    [Conditions to pass the Advance level inheritance trial: Completed


    Progress: 100/100%!


    ?During the start of the trial, the inheritance trial "Challenger" defended perfectly against the sneak attack of the Venomous Dragon-Scaled Horned Python. The Challenger also didn''t fight It in vain and chose to leave, outlining his excellent knowledge about high-level magical beasts and decision-making skills. The trial Challenger has successfully escaped from the deadly jaws of the 7-star magical beasts who can fight against the 10-star magical beast?


    ?B: The trial challenger has showcased the entry-level skills of a Magic Swordsman by using the peak extent of magical and physical capabilities to escape the 7-star magical beast whose power exceeds Challenger by 6-stars. Gained one more S-style point.?


    ?C: The trial challenger successfully suppressed his greed and evaded life-threatening disaster. In the face of hundreds of spirit flowers, the challenger didn''t take Its bait. According to the formation analysis, the 7-star beast is still foolishly hissing in the treasure ground in an attempt to scare and locate the challenger. The Challenger gained one S-point for his amazing self-control. The Challenger completed Zachary''s treasure ground trial in less than six days. Considering the fact that the trial challenger is only F-ranked, the amount of time taken to reach the summit of the heaven-reaching mountain is beyond impressive. Gained one S style point?


    ?As said before there will be no additional award earned for excellently completing this trial in a short amount of time but the inheritance trial challenger has shown excellent self-control and decision-making skill, which in turn has impressed Elder Zachary and Nina. They have decided to let you choose the type of Scared Order Card you want to choose!?


    Whittaker was certainly surprised. ''I still got rewarded for my performance, even though I shouldn''t be. Hooray~'' Realization dawned on his young and smooth face as he understood the impressiveness of his actions.


    Why was he so impressive? Because a young boy around Whittaker''s age will make dozens of mistakes when under pressure which can be easily caused by facing a life-threatening situation but Whittaker''s reactions were smooth, almost spot-on. He had executed his abilities in the best way possible to escape the Horned Python whose Dragon-Scales can easily negate damage caused by low-ranked awakened.


    Four beams of light shone down from the Heaven reaching mountain, right away, four cards, each with a different color, materialized in front of Whittaker.


    "They look just like the playing card I have seen the gamblers using to play a game!" Whittaker said after taking a look at the four cards. Each card was a specially prepared card. They were made with the thin yet heavy hide of different types of and distinct high-ranked magical beast. Whittaker saw that each card was marked with distinguishing motifs in the front and detail about the usage of the card was written on the back. He could see both the back and the front of the card as the cards were spinning slowly.


    The four cards were,


    A red card; King of hearts


    A silver card; Queen of diamonds


    A black card; Ace of spades


    A pristine card; two-face of the same man.


    Whittaker was attracted to the fourth card which showed two faces of the same man. One face showed a crying Emperor burning in flames while the other side showed a Joker laughing while daggers shot out from its eyes.

 Chapter 93: The Four Cards (a)

    ?The inheritor trial challenger can only choose one card as his award. Once the decision is made you can not change it. Please wisely choose one of the following four-card as your reward!? An automatic announcement explained to Whittaker, who was intently gazing at the back of each card to read their detail.


    Multiple notifications containing detailed information about the cards popped up in Whittaker''s vision as he gazed at them.


    [Mission Card: King of hearts Card


    Rank: Priceless treasure


    Description: A card especially made by high-level alchemists serving the Emperor of the Wind kingdom and the Emperor of the Water Kingdom. Once selected, the Guardian will have to complete a random mission to become a part of the Royal branch of the Sacred order who serves the Imperial family. After becoming a member, the guardian will be carefully nurtured by the Scared order to become a Royal Guard that serves the Emperors. The Emperors are the leader of this branch]


    [Premium Card: Queen of Diamonds Card


    Rank: Rankless treasure


    Description: Generally, this card is handcrafted by the prince, princess, sons, or daughters of City Lord or Marquis. Each card is made under the supervision of alchemists serving their families. Once selected, the Guardian will have to complete a random mission to become a part of a certain Royal or Noble house of his choosing. After becoming a member, the guardian will be carefully nurtured by the said house until he is matured. Then he will have to return the favor by marrying into the said family. This branch is diverse and follows a political way of leadership. The dukes of the water and wind kingdoms are the head of this branch]


    [Premium Card: Ace of spades Card


    Rank: Rankless treasure


    Description: Typically, this card is crafted meticulously by expert alchemists serving B to S ranked awakened lords. By using this card, the Guardian can join under the ranks of a B to S ranked lord working in the Ace branch of the Sacred order. Once selected, the Guardian will have to complete a random mission to become a part of the Water Ace branch or Wind Ace branch of the Sacred order. The Ace branches of the sacred order work with the military of the Water and Wind Kingdom. After becoming a member, the guardian will be carefully nurtured and trained by a certain lord of the Ace branch. Headmaster Yeon is the creator of this branch.]


    [Premium Card: Twilight Walker''s Card


    Rank: Rankless treasure


    Description: A card especially made by peak level powerful experts. They don''t serve the Emperor of the Wind kingdom and the Emperor of the Water Kingdom. They protect the kingdom and keep a balance between the world of mortals and the world of spirits. Once selected, the Guardian will have to complete a random mission to become a part of the mysterious Twilight branch of the Sacred order. After becoming a member, the guardian will be trained by a high-level expert suitable for Guardian. Once the Crown Prince of Flame, Nemredilth Nietsneknarf is the head of this mysterious branch]


    Each one was more tempting than the others. Whittaker was not able to make up his decisions. ''What should I do? Which one should I pick?'' He wondered in glee as all four were certainly treasures. He would be trained for free by high-level experts, after all.


    Although all four were treasures, he was attracted to the Ace of spades card and the Twilight Walker''s card. He was familiar with Headmaster Yeon, who was a kind and innocent person in Whittaker''s eyes. Due to familiarity, his heart was tugged towards the Ace of spades card.


    On the other hand, he also felt attracted to the Twilight Walker''s card. It was because of curiosity. He was curious about the spirits and the world in which they reside. Also, this branch seems to have the least amount of restriction as they don''t serve under anyone, rather they righteously protect everyone in the kingdoms.


    Unable to decide, he stood still while gazing at the card, soon after, a system notification popped up in his vision.


    [Guardian should pick up the King of Hearts card. Your life will be smooth sailing as long as you train every day in the Royal training ground of the Royal Academy. In the end, the Guardian will acquire power, status, and wealth. And if Guardian earns greater merit then becoming a Marquis or a city lord before the age of thirty will not be a pipe dream] the system enticed Whittaker with its honeyed words.


    Being a young and innocent boy that didn''t have any knowledge about society, Whittaker did not know that Honeyed words were most of the time baseless. Anyways, the system was right about him leading an easy and chill life to success if he chooses the King of Hearts Card.


    Whittaker was already wealthy but he wanted power and status. He was gonna pick up the first card when a manly yet melodic voice rang beside his ears.


    "I advise you against it, young boy."


    This single sentence stopped Whittaker from picking up the King of spades card.


    "I will explain to you the use each of these cards can provide you." The Dark spirit continued and Whittaker intently listened.


    "If you want wealth, status, and power then you can pick up the King of hearts card. But if you choose this card then you will never be able to realize the full potential or become someone worthy of your bloodlines. Do you want that?" The dark spirit said to Whittaker, who shook his head left and right in refusal.


    "No, I don''t want that!" He replied internally.


    Elder Zachary and Nina were slightly confused because of seeing Whittaker shaking his head for no reason. Was the treasure too blinding for the boy, they thought with a laugh.


    "Good boy, you made a correct choice and you will not regret it in the future!" The dark spirit praised Whittaker''s decision.

 Chapter 94: The Four Cards (b)

    "If you want to live a life full of luxury, delicious and sumptuous food, thousands of servents and hundreds of guard, also, with dozens of beautiful women that will warm your bed at a single command for you then choose the Queen of Diamonds card. Then again, you will become a puppet for the nobles to control as they wish. In the end, you will just become a useless bumkin. Do you want that?" The dark spirit said in a carefree manner.


    Whittaker''s handsome face with bubbly cheeks turned tomato red. He blushed at Lord Dark Spirits'' words because he had enough knowledge to understand what he meant by his words. Also, Whittaker did not want to become a useless bumkin so he turned his gaze to the third card, refusing to give even a single more glance or second of his life to the trashy Queen of Diamonds card.


    Right away, Lord Dark spirit understood the meaning behind his action and continued by explaining the real use of the third card,


    "If you want to become involved in a world where violence lords over words of wisdom then choose the third card. You will make lots of enemies both in and outside the kingdom of water but you will grow faster. Within twenty years, you will have a lot of say in the military matters of the Kingdom of Water. Now, tell me, do you want to choose this path filled with violence, bloodshed, death, betrayal, and misery?


    "No!" Whittaker instantly declined. "I believed that the Headmaster Yeon Branch was good but it seems like I have made a wrong judgment." Whittaker was just a young boy, a young boy who was not ready to live in a world of violence. Whittaker paused for a second before continuing,


    "Lord Dark Spirit, tell me about the fourth card!" He was excitedly staring at the mysterious Pristine card, Twilight Walker with glittering eyes.


    "If you select the Pristine Twilight Walker''s card then you will be exposed to the truth of this world. You will witness both the good and bad sides of this world. Not only this world but also the spirit world. You will become a Guardian, true to your title, who saves and help humans, demi-humans, and spirits, alike. But in this path, you will be met with hardship, and only brave men can take this path. Lastly, if you want to know who your parents are, why they abandoned you in the care of good peoples, and why they were not there for you during your entire life then pick this card. If you join the Twilight department then you will be able to know more about your parents! Decide, the decision is entirely up to you to make." The dark spirit said as carefreely as ever. It was as if nothing in the world could disturb him.


    Whittaker, on the other hand, felt far more than just disturbed by his words. ''I want to know about my parent. I want to know why they abandoned me. I want to know who they are. I want to know where they are!'' Whitaker internally exclaimed. He has always wondered about who his real mother and father are and whether they wanted him or not. Now, there was a way of knowing it all.


    He was willing to endure all hardships. No matter how arduous the future will be, he was willing to take this path. He was righteous; he wanted to know more about his parents. Also, he was interested in the spirit world and the beings that reside there. These three reasons were enough for him.


    Just like Lord Dark spirit thought, Whittaker instantly picked up the Twilight Walker''s card without any hesitation. Right when Whittaker picked up the pristine card, a message rang out from it.


    ?Please place your Awakened Identity Card or Student Identity card on the Pristine, Twilight Walker''s card?


    Whittaker was stunned but this was not the first time he had heard something that shouldn''t talk, talk. He was able to maintain his calm. Right then, Elder Zachary''s archaic voice resounded within the entire boundary of Zachary''s palace.


    "Young friend, do as it says. There''s no harmful effect; Instead, you will become an unofficial member of the Twilight Walker''s department of our kingdoms." Elder Zachry explained, even though he was disappointed at Whittaker choosing this card. ''Nevertheless, the boy''s potential will truly shine in the Twilight Walker''s department, especially because the crown prince of flames is the leader of this department.''


    Elder Zachary has said it and Whittaker believed his words. Whittaker thought, ''There''s no reason for him to harm me, after all''


    He took his student identity card out from the safe chest pockets and placed it atop the other card. A voice rang out from the pristine card as it notified Whittaker: ?Detected that the target, Whittaker is still not privileged to access the dream world and is thus, not able to join the Twilight Walker''s Network and chat group in the dream world. You will need to upgrade the Student ID card to join them. Currently, the target can only become an unofficial member of the Twilight Walker''s department by getting an imprint inscribed on the body. Do you want to activate an imprint??


    "I need to upgrade my student ID card to Tier 4 before I can access the dream world. That will take a lot of time." Whittaker said while scratching his head. "What other choice do I have, imprint it!" He said while thinking, ''It would take months to become an unofficial member if I choose otherwise.''


    It needed a lot of royal credit points and some achievements to upgrade the privilege level of the student ID card. Whittaker really did not have any other choice.


    Following protocols, the pristine card asked again for confirmation. Whittaker replied with a Yes!


    Suddenly, the pristine card released a thick wave of mana that formed a small cloud, right after, the cloud dabbed into his right hand. He felt a strange power flow through his right hand as if something was gently coursing through the veins of his hand.

 Chapter 95: First Quest to become an official member!

    His right hand felt warmer than ever as if someone has embraced it. This warm and sensational feeling only existed for a while, disappearing as if it never existed after few seconds; however, when Whittaker gazed at his right hand whilst using Devansha eyes, he discovered that there was a cloud-shaped tattoo on the back of his hand. He could also sense an influx of mana from the cloudy tattoo as mana gathers on the back of his right hand.


    Soon after, system notifications popped up in his vision,


    [Guardian has gained the symbol of Twilight Walker''s. Guardian has become an unofficial member of Scared order''s most mysterious department Twilight Walker''s. Guardian has gained the blessing of the Twilight spirits. Guardian has unlocked the blessing bar]


    [Blessing: Twilight spirits blessing (low-level)


    Rank: Rankless


    Effect: Creates a symbol of twilight on the body which can absorb a certain amount of mana. The Guardian can use this mana as he wishes. The level of the blessing will increase according to the Guardian merits, which can be earned by gaining the favor of the twilight spirits. The total amount of mana will increase according to the level of the blessing]


    [Mana point increased: 400?500. Total mana points: 500/310]


    [You have unlocked reputation with the righteous spirits residing in the spirit world and the guardians residing in the mortal world. Your reputation with the Twilight Department is 10 points.


    Twilight Walker''s. Department: Unofficial relationship (Neutral)]


    Whittaker was amazed as his power level officially increased to 1.51 points but he was far stronger than that. Although the increase of 100 mana point was nothing too impressive, he still beamed a smile at becoming somewhat powerful. Also, he was curious about the reputation system.


    Suddenly, the twilight cloud on the back of his right hand released a shine, and warm energy spread throughout his body. Whittaker blinked his eyes and gazed at the mysterious twilight blessing on the back of his hand, wondering what''s happening. The warm energy rotated throughout his body and rushed towards his brain, right away, a wave of the information entered Whittaker''s consciousness. It was detailed instructions about what he needs to do to become an official member of the twilight spirit department.


    ?You will need to complete two quests to become a member of the Twilight Walker''s department located in the Water Kingdom.?


    ?Detected! You are in front of the heaven-reaching mountain located in Zachary palace. You have triggered the first quest to become a member of the Twilight Walker''s department!?


    ?Quest Name: A young Seedling in the mortal world?


    Quest description: The truth of the world is priceless, and you have earned a chance to witness, but you will need to first prove yourself worthy. Twilight Walker''s department wishes to see how worthy you are. You will need to walk up the heaven-reaching mountain. You will pass this quest if you manage to reach the second level of the staircase.


    Quest Reward: Completing this quest will earn your Twilight department contribution points. You will be rewarded with contribution points which are necessary to form a friendly relationship with the Twilight department and the spirits. You can initiate a trade with the spirits and purchase items unique to the Twilight department by using contribution points. The contributions point earned will increase based on the number of steps you manage to take towards the Zenith of the heaven-reaching mountain


    Current Quest Completion rate: 0%


    Warning: You must never lose the card in your hand otherwise, you will have to pay a massive penalty fee for losing it because of a. careless attitude. If you fail to complete to become an official member of the Twilight Walker''s department within three years then you will be deemed unworthy. Your memories related to the spirit world and the Mysterious Twilight department will be wiped out?


    Generally speaking, the Twilight Walker''s Department did not accept outsiders, especially so, if they came from a humble background, just like Whittaker. The members of this department only consist of a selected group of peoples. These peoples are the descendent of the families that have been keeping a balance between the spirit world and the awakened continent since the early ages. Only their descendent were allowed entry into this department; only if they pass certain tests and a very hard task.


    The Twilight walker''s department plays a major role in the Awakened continent. They are spread all over the continent. There''s at least one such department in the six official Kingdoms and the unofficial Kingdom located on the land without mana.


    This department did not exist in the eyes of the other department of the Scared order. Low to high-level members of the other department of the Sacred order did not know that they existed. The information regarding the Twilight Walker''s was heavily guarded for reasons a lot. Only peak-level experts knew who they were; however, most of them did not know who the leader of this department was or the name or faces of their members. It was only Headmaster Yeon and Elder Zachary that knew that the current leader of this department is the crown prince of flame.


    This secret was also guarded against the Mage King! He likes to blurt out secrets, after all.


    Currently, Whittaker was given an invitation to become a member of this department. He will not only witness the spirit world but also come face to face with the danger hidden in plain sight, a danger called Devilized Arakazans.


    But first, he needs to become an official member within three years otherwise, an inquisitor will give him a visit, effectively wiping his memories related to this department without any remorse.


    Whittaker gulped because of excitement! He felt the Mysterious vibe that this department gave him, and he was looking forward to becoming a member of this department. "Now, I just need to complete this last trial. I will complete the first of the two missions to become an official member of the Twilight Walker''s department, and also earn the rewards for completing the trial. Though, what''s the reward?" Whittaker wondered while storing the pristine card and his student Id card in his rankless ring of genesis.

 Chapter 96: Deadly trial, Heaven Reaching Mountain!

    After he had chosen his reward, the light which shone down from the sky above started to dissipate, so did the other three Sacred order invitation cards. They went back to who knows where. Right after, the reality-management formation made an announcement.


    ?Congratulations, the trial challenger has gained the rights to participate in the Heaven-Reaching trial, a great fortuitous encounter that many youths of the Wind Empire dream of participating in?


    Along with these words, the Mana Wall Formation separating Whittaker and the Heaven-Reaching mountain started to change. Many thin White and Black lines stretched from each side of the Mana Wall, interjoining in the middle to create a circle divided into two halves by a curved blue line. The upper half of the circle was black, representing the calm and gentle side upon which Whittaker stood. The other side of the circle was white, representing the arduous future he would face if he decides to participate in the trial. Also, a black portal opened behind Whittaker, who could see both because of Devansha''s vision.


    ?The Mana Wall Formation separating the inheritance trial challenger and the Heaven-Reaching Mountain will vanish when you put your hand on the Yin and Yang symbol. The Yin and Yang symbol will be activated by the use of your handprint. The Heaven Reaching trial will start in the very moment when the Mana Wall formation vanishes while the black portal is the return portal that will take the challenger back to Yeon''s home. Also, returning to the inheritance ground will not be possible?


    The automatic prompts of the Reality-Management Formation stated while Whittaker intently listened to each word. Then, it continued announcing with the help of a holographic screen that has opened up on each side of the Mana Wall Formation, leaving only the Yin Yang symbol in the middle.


    [Conditions to pass the Advance level inheritance trial: Cross the first level of the Heaven-reaching staircase of the Heaven-reaching mountain located in Zachary palace!


    Entitlement:


    A: Friendship of Zachary Zeolite.


    B: Becoming an inheritance Student of 7-star Magic Teacher Zachary Zeolite.


    B: Azure-Sky Zachary Palace Return Card.


    The rules of the Heaven-Reaching trial are as follow:


    A: The staircase in the middle of the Heaven-Reaching Mountain is divided into three-level according to the number of footsteps taken. The challenger will have to climb up the mountain whilst facing the pressure of the mana dragon. The pressure borne by the Challenger will increase with every step. The first level is classified as the lowest level, in which, the challenger will only have to endure a total of 33% of the pressure of the Mana Dragon. The percentage of pressure will increase with each level.


    B: The trial challenger will be considered to have passed the trial if he crosses the 333 steps of the first level and takes one step into the second-level of the heaven-reaching staircase.


    C: Rewards will be increased according to the number of steps the inheritance trial challenger can take.?


    "Surprisingly, this time the announcement related to the trial was made beforehand..." He muttered while gazing at the holographic screen, as a Scarlet, blood-deep prompts popped up. As his vision focused on the Scarlet holographic prompt, the reality-management formation started to make automatic announcements.


    ?Warning!: Elder Zachary holds extreme respect for the Zen Mountain. This trial is based on the trial of the Zen mountain. In respect to the Elders of the Zen mountain and the valiant spirits of all those who have died in the heaven-reaching trial, Elder Zachary does not allow the use of Reality-management formation in this trial.


    This is a deadly trial and death here means certain death!


    The choice to participate in this trial is totally up to the inheritance trial Challenger. Do continue with caution!?


    "Gulp!" Whittaker swallowed his saliva. He was certain that the information provided to him was not false. Death means certain death. ''Elder Zachary and the Reality-management formation have no reason to lie to me, after all!''


    And as this was the last trial, he believed that it will be the hardest one. Each trial was harder than another. Also, He had already faced death in the intermediate level trial so Whittaker was certain that the last trial isn''t a joke and will not be as easy as taking a walk in the park. It might very well be the hardest trial.


    ____


    Inside the central command room of Zachary Palace


    Elder Zachary and Nina intently stared at the young boy. They didn''t force him to make a choice, as in this trial, death was as certain as it could be.


    Nina said: ?Zachy, why don''t you make an exemption this time? The young boy has shown the potential to become a Saint-level expert, he only needs to learn an intent to reach the King-level. Also, he has already shown great wisdom, mental fortitude, bravery, flexibility, and judgment making skill. He is certainly worthy to become your inheritor-"


    "I know." Elder Zachary said with a full confident look on his face and continued by saying, "Nina, don''t beat around the bush and come straight to the point."


    He knows what she wants but still asks to confirm it.


    Nina responded: "Should I breach the boundary and govern the Heaven-reaching mountain?"


    If she governs over the heaven-reaching mountain then Whittaker will not die even if he gets crushed by the pressure. She can simply use reset on his dead body, after all. But she could not make such a decision on her own and needed permission from her master, who is also her creator.


    "No!" Elder Zachary shook his head left and right in outright refusal.


    ?Why? He is the perfect candidate that you have been waiting for! Moreover, Rules are meant to be broken!" Nina replied, baffled at the stubbornness of her old man.


    "This time I have various reasons for my decision. First, if I allow you to manage the reality of the heaven-reaching mountain then it would be disrespecting the elders of the Zen mountain and my Ancestors. Second, no one is forcing him to undergo this trial. Third, I have already decided to take him as my inheritor even if he does not pass this trial, moreover, I will save him when he is one inch away from death. Lastly, in my last moments of life, I want to see the bloodline awakening of the Descendent of Devansha, The Great!!!" Elder Zachary concluded this matter by stating four different reasons. A hint of a smile appeared on his wrinkled face as the edges of his lips slightly stretched to each side.

 Chapter 97: Divine Battle King Blood!

    The Devansha clan has only existed in the tales of Devansha, The Great. A historical book that dutifully explains the deeds of a man wanted by heaven, itself. A man who fought in a thousand wars and won every single one of them. A man who chased off the nemesis of humanity with his army. A man who once unified the entire continent of Awakened. A man who along with his clan have disappeared from the face of this world thousands of years ago.


    In his entire life, Elder Zachary has only seen one person with the bloodline of Devansha, that was none other than the wife of the Ancient Water Emperor, Ashley, who has handed over a key to her inheritance to him.


    Today, a person with the bloodline of Devansha has appeared on his doorstep as a Challenger, who he very much approved of.


    "I, Zachary have already considered Whittaker as my sole inheritor and I only wish for the best for my inheritor."


    The heaven-reaching trial was a way to forcefully ignite the divine battle king blood that runs through the veins of the snowy-haired boy. There was a high chance that Whittaker will awaken his bloodline due to pressure and he wanted to witness that. He wanted to witness the awakening of Devansha''s bloodline!


    Nine said: ?Since you have given me your words, I am at ease? Gazing at the handsome and dashing snowy-haired boy, she muttered, ?I also hope that he will awaken his bloodline...?


    Whittaker only had Devansha''s vision because his bloodline was slightly aroused. He didn''t truly awaken even one percent of his bloodline. Today, he just might come out as a real descendent of Devansha!


    On the other hand, the young boy was wasting everyone''s time while speaking with Lord Dark spirit.


    ___


    "What''s troubling you, young boy." Lord Dark spirit said.


    ''To continue or to not, that''s my dilemma!'' Whittaker internally replied. He was standing just before the Yin Yang symbol. The moment his hand touches the symbol, the mana wall formation will vanish and the trial will begin.


    But the mana dragon that wafted from the mountain Zenith and crashed on the mountain Summit was really scary. Just a single look and he determined the pressure he will have to bear.


    "Go against the grain and you will suffer by drowning in the endless sea of torment but you will awaken. Refuse to conform to the societal norm and you will awaken. Taking the road less traveled instead of the marbled path, the Devansha''s awakens. Beaming a smile in the face of adversity, a single divine battle king (Deva=Divine, N=Battle blood, Sha=King) battle a thousand. A single snowy-haired man with a single weapon, dancing in the battlefield against a thousand." The Lord Dark spirit sang for a mysterious purpose.


    Whittaker who was standing before the Yin Yang symbol shuddered. This song felt so familiar as if someone had sung it in his ear, a long time ago. The recollection of a long lost past crept up from his subconscious.


    He remembered someone''s warmth but he could not remember who that person was. Her face was blurry as she sung a lullaby to a newborn baby gently embraced within her warmth. Warm tears appeared in cold Icy eyes, as the young snowy-haired boy stood still trying his best to remember the blurry face in his memories.


    "Just who is she? Lord Dark Spirit, what song did you sing?" He internally asked while lost in thoughts.


    "Young boy, this is the song of glory that is sung in the ears of every newborn of the Devansha. The person who sang it in your ears was your mother. She is also the blurry face in your memory. If you want to obtain more answers to your questions then climb up the mountain. Complete what I wish and I will tell you about it." Lord Dark spirit mysteriously said. His purpose was to help Whittaker awaken the bloodline of Devansha but he could not outright say it otherwise, the reason behind his mysterious actions will.be completely wrecked. There was a high chance of Whittaker failing to awaken his bloodline if he knows about it beforehand, after all.


    Similarly, there is a high chance for Whittaker to awaken his divine battle king bloodline if he did not know about this purpose beforehand.


    Nina felt a tinge of pain stinging her soul as she glanced at the pitiful face of the lost puppy, who was unable to decide what he should do.


    ?Zachy, should I tell him that you will save in when he''s near dead?? Nina asked.


    "No, that will disturb my plans and he will not be able to awaken his divine battle king bloodline." Elder Zachary replied while thinking that the boy is saddened for having to face a trial with a chance of real death.


    Although he was wrong about the reason, Whittaker was really feeling sadness caused by a long lost warmness. Sometimes it''s better to not remember something, especially if the mind has suppressed those memories in the subconscious part of the brain. Remember, Whittaker has an inhumane ability to remember stuff forever after just glancing at them once. He has the ability to recall an image from his memory with high precision for a brief period after seeing it only once, and he should have remembered who his mother was.


    Shaking his head left and right, he fought off the melancholic feeling that was hurting his heart emotionally, depressing him mentally.


    He thought internally, "Following reasons, the only way to find more about who my parents are to complete this trial and fulfill Lord Dark Spirit''s wish!"


    Left with no choice, the descendent of the Devansha put his hand on the Yin Yang symbol, prompting the Mana wall separating him from the Heaven-Reaching mountain to disappear.


    Wheels of destiny started to rotate, producing churning noises, as providence called for it. Also, because the snowy-haired boy decided to take the Heaven-reaching mountain trial located in Zachary''s palace.


    Will the wheel of fate crush him or will he awaken his bloodline to obtain what''s fated?

 Chapter 98: Mana Snakes

    The blue light expanded outwards from the zenith of the towering mountain and descended to the mountain''s summit, at the very moment, the mana wall vanished.


    Bam! A resounding sound echoed as heavy wind waves brushed past Whittaker''s face. Due to newfound determination, he remained unfazed; however, his snowy-white hair fluttered wildly with the bluish wind gales.


    Understandably, he wasn''t able to detect the severity of the trial because of the mana wall formation. Right now, he understood that this trial will be the hardest one he will be facing.


    He had not stepped on the wide sparkling staircase that started from the summit of the mountain and reached its peak yet he could still feel the pressure.


    "Young boy, I advise you to take each step on the staircase, slowly and steadily. Later on in the trial, it will help you." Lord Dark spirit advised Whittaker.


    "I was gonna do just that!" Whittaker internally replied. Humans are being that can adapt to different environments with time. Whittaker planned to experience the amount of pressure on each step, adapt to it, and then move on to the next step.


    ''I will have to expend a lot of time but it will be worth it. Slow and steady wins the race, after all!'' He thought about what Mother Lin had said during one of the many bedtime stories, a beaming smile formed on his face as he turned to take the first step.


    There was no time limit in this trial. The only thing that matters was climbing up the staircase. There were a total of 333 steps in the first level and Whittaker needs to reach the start of the second level to complete this trial.


    With a single thought, his Class weapons materialized in the physical world. ''I am not gonna take any chances.'' Whittaker believed that danger lies hidden from the open. Danger could attack for his life at any time, hence he has must be prepared for it.


    He thought, ''Bearing the mana pressure might not necessarily be the only danger in this trial!''


    That''s why he had taken out his Class weapons from the soul space. He was all set and ready to meet the unexpected danger.


    Bracing himself with a thump on the chest and clutching the S-ranked sword, Blood Drinker in his hand, he stepped on the mystical marbled staircase in the middle route that connected the mountain summit to its top.


    At the very first step, he faced obstructions, more specifically, the hidden danger that he was already on guard against. Three snaked suddenly shot out from within the mana pressure, aiming for his life. Although there were three thick waves of visible mana morphed into thick bluish snakes trying to obstruct his way, Whittaker showed no hesitation and smashed them with Frost Bolts. They instantly exploded. Right away, an automatic notification popped up,


    ?First step challenge completed: Kill 3 1-star mana snakes!


    Rewards received:


    A: Increase in the size of mana pool


    B: Can take the next step?


    The mana wall formation placed at the entry point of the second step of the staircase dissipated. Also, the thick mana bluish snakes that have exploded turned into tiny flickering lights and whisked into Whittaker''s forehead. Right away, a system notification popped up,


    [Guardian has killed mana snakes. Successfully absorbed mana pool shards. Guardian mana pool increased by 1km. The total area of mana pool = 101 km]


    Whittaker was wide-eyed at the sudden surprise. "Oh Wow! My Mana Pool increased by a total kilometer. Amazing, even absorbing an entire spirit flower only increases the mana pool by one kilometer. Mana pool shard, this treasure seems even better than spirit flower! There are 332 steps left. If every step is a challenger then won''t my mana pool increase by hundreds of kilometers by the time I complete the first level of this trial!" A happy smile formed on his face. The sudden reward has dispelled the previous depressing feeling surrounding his young and naive heart. Now, he just wanted to dominate this trial.


    Even in the face of the blinding rewards, Whittaker did not forget what he had planned and what he must do to ensure his win!


    Normally, the trial challengers who had reached this part of Zachary''s trial would hold their head highs in pride. Blinded by their boosted pride they have arrogantly walked up without a pause, resulting in death; however, after smashing the mana snakes, Whittaker didn''t continue onwards. Rather, he stopped and closed his eyes, just like a monk meditating under a waterfall. He exhaled in and out after closing his eyes, trying to adapt to the mana pressure bearing down on his slender yet power-packed body.


    Only after a total of thirty breaths did he took the next step to climb upwards. Just like the previous time, he was met with three snakes in the second step.


    Although he effectively finished them off with a single wave of his sword. The rewards he received were the same as the first step. Instantly, he continued to the third step, as the mana pressure acting on his body remained the same.


    The mana pressure acting on his body remained the same so he continued to climb without a pause.


    System notifications kept on popped up as Whittaker cleared one challenge after another in the heaven-reaching staircase.


    [Guardian has killed mana snakes. Successfully absorbed mana pool shards. Guardian mana pool increased by 1km. The total area of mana pool = 111 km]


    ...


    ....


    [Guardian has killed mana snakes. Successfully absorbed mana pool shards. Guardian mana pool increased by 1km. The total area of mana pool = 121 km]


    ...


    ...


    [Guardian has killed mana snakes. Successfully absorbed mana pool shards. Guardian mana pool increased by 1km. The total area of mana pool = 131 km


    ....


    ....


    The mana pressure remained the same until he reached the ninety-ninth wide step of the heaven-reaching staircase. Now, the pressure he was facing increased to a total of 1% of the total mana pressure. The total mana pressure can only be felt at the Zenith on the heaven-reaching staircase and Whittaker was 900+ steps away from it.

 Chapter 99: Flame Puppet!

    Just like the previous times, three bluish mana snakes whisked towards Whittaker, who showed no hesitation and killed them with a single effective move. A system notification popped up in his vision.


    [Guardian has killed mana snakes. Successfully absorbed mana pool shards. Guardian mana pool increased by 1km. The total area of the mana pool = 199 km. Guardian mana pool has successfully stabilized.]


    Now, the mana pool of Whittaker was so wide that he could absorb up to 1500+ mana without facing any problems.


    "At first I thought that this trial would be hard but it seems and feels more like a walk in a park filled with endless treasures." He exclaimed in glee, unaware that he was facing 1-star magical beasts, mana-snakes because he was only classified as an F-ranked by the trial formation.


    Whittaker could fight a 4-star magical beast and run away from a 7-star magical beast, hence he did not even break a sweat while facing 1-star magical beast, mana snakes.


    He had butchered around 300 mana snakes and his mana pool has increased in size by about 100 km. "Sadly, I did not receive any experience points from killing them otherwise, it would have been a win-win situation for me," Whittaker muttered in slight disappointment.


    After killing the mana snakes, he took his time to adapt to the mana pressure acting on his body. After making sure that he has adapted to it, Whittaker continued to climb upwards, directly breaking past the mana restrictive force of the ninety-ninth stair of the heaven-reaching staircases and heading beyond dozens of steps, just like a raging bull charging through the open mulberry fields.


    But this win-win and easy situation was not gonna last forever. A trial like this was meant to push a person to its limit, Whittaker was not an exception; he was just so overpowered that the early stages of the heaven-reaching trial have become a walk in the backyard.


    Several minutes later, he broke through the restrictive force of the one-hundred thirty-two heaven-reaching step. Suddenly, a red teleportation portal appeared in front of his body and swallowed him all. He did not even get the chance to dodge it for it was too sudden. Right after, Whittaker arrived at the one-hundred thirty-three heaven-reaching step of the first level of the heaven-reaching staircase but this place seemed far different than what it should be like.


    With the help of Devansha''s vision, Whittaker adjusted and advanced eyesight instantly focused on the unknown land he had just entered and he was met with a vast view of an empty arena, whose ground was decorated with many patterns, joining together in the middle to create two sides and at the edges to create a boundary.


    "A battle stage?" He muttered while blinking his eyes at the enemy.


    He was standing on a wide circular field with patches of grasses, dust fluttering about. The circular field was divided into two parts, each side with one combatant. On one side, Whittaker stood while on the other, an iron puppet modeled after a human sat cross-legged and closed eyes as if in deep mediation. The puppet was bald and had four dots on its forehead signifying its relationship with the monk of the Zen mountain.


    ''At least, the mana pressure I am feeling in this place is still the same as the ninety-ninth step but this step is far bigger than all the previous 132 steps combined.'' He made his judgment within two seconds and focused his vision on the unmoving puppet that clutched a spear with a flame attribute line.


    When Whittaker''s snowy crystal eyes focused on the puppet, a system notification popped up,


    [Zen Flame Puppet: Agni Jalal (offline)


    Power level: 4-star Battle Energy master


    Battle style: Demonic berserker]


    Before Whittaker could further continue with his investigation, a weird sound rang out as something drop from the top, in the very moment, an announcement was made.


    ?Congratulations on reaching the 1/3 part of the first level of the heaven-reaching trial. Your task to complete this challenge in challenge is to successfully defeat the Zen mountain puppet. The faster you are the better for your name will be inscribed in the cube of glory?


    Whittaker tilted his head to take a look at the cube of glory. A giant cube floated right above them, twirling around. Names of different people who have taken this challenge before Whittaker was written on it.


    [Inheritance trial challengers - time took to reach this step.


    1- Edward Agni - F-ranker - 4 months - Defeated Agni Jalal (4-star) in 30 minutes


    2- Varlet black- A-ranker - 1 month - Defeated Agni Jalal (16-star) in 35 minutes


    3- Daniel brian- B-ranker - 8 months - Defeated puppet Agni Jalal (14-star) in 2 hours


    4- Yuriel Agami- E-ranker - 16 months - Uncompleted.


    ��


    More than hundreds of names were written on the wooden-cube. Only those challengers that have reached this place were honored by having their names inscribed on the giant cube. Whittaker was not the only one who has been lucky enough to participate in the inheritance trial challenges of Elder Zachary to reach this place; Instead, there were thousands of others, but each one of them had died in the end.


    F-rankers only need to pass the first level of the heaven-reaching trial and they would be considered to have passed but they can choose to continue; a decision which Edward Agni an F-rank mage with an S-rank potential made resulting in his death. While high ranked challengers will have to pass the second or even the third stage of the heaven-reaching mountain to pass the trial. That''s why there has never been an inheritor to his name.


    A new announcement was made, shifting Whittaker''s attention to the offline battle puppet!


    ?One hundred thirty third step challenge incompleted - Kill Flaming Monk puppet 4-star battle energy Master to complete!


    Rewards received will depend on the amount of time taken by the challenger to defeat the creation of the Zen Mountain!


    10...


    7...


    4...


    1...0


    Let the battle commence!?

 Chapter 100: Memorizing Battle Style

    The moment the countdown ended the Zen flame puppet opened its eyes. Scarlet eyes gleamed as battle force burst out of its eyes, raising a strong wind which bellowed towards Whittaker, who has started to perform hand signs.


    The strong wind raised a dust of storm which swept up some patches of grass and his snowy-white hair; however, a thin bluish skin invisible to the eyes has appeared all about Whittaker body. Not a single speck of dust entered his eyes for Mana-Shield as activated; his devansha vision pierced through the dusty clouds and stared right at the Scarlet eyed puppet.


    "Young boy, this battle puppet has learned a compiled battle style while yours isn''t taught but learned through experience, moreover, your battle style is somewhat lacking in many ways. I advise you to not kill it in the initial moment of the combat as you will be able to learn a lot from its battle style; however, do so only if you wish to." Lord Dark spirit voice rang beside the battle-hardened expert.


    Battle styles are defined as different ways of fighting. The way of battling is different in every Academy. Military Academies will teach their students to be brutal and fight with vigor, temples like the Zen temple would teach one of their many battle styles to their high-ranking disciples; however, these battle styles are only taught to their life bound members.


    Life bound members are those awakened who have sworn to serve their chosen temple, military, royal, or noble house for life. They are branded with magic symbols that bound them to this oath. Except for death nothing can separate them from then on.


    Whereas, Frost Fall Academy has an open library filled with hundreds of books on battle styles. A student can self-study the type of battle style he wishes to learn. There was no limitation as Headmaster Yeon just wished for the young ones to grow strong, hopefully, one of the many talented ones will be able to replace his old bones, shouldering the responsibility of the northern border for his sake. Even though Headmaster Yeon has retired from his military duty, his presence will still be sought whenever there''s a problem in the northern border as he was still the most strongest in the Northern region.


    The Dark spirit was certain that Whittaker will be able to smash the Zen Flame Puppet within a minute if he gave his best even though the puppet has learned a battle style. This wasn''t a boastful thought.


    The Zen Flame puppet was outmatched in every single way when compared to Whittaker''s strength. His class weapons, Azure-sky equipment, and legendary Magic Swordsman battle style far surpassed the battle puppet in every single way. His S-ranked sword was sharp enough to break the 4-star defense of its metallic body.


    In the awakened continent, power levels didn''t matter too much on the outside. The power high-ranked class weapon and magical equipment gave were much more useful. The way a person utilizes his pieces of equipment and class weapon in battle was more important than the personal mage or battle master ranking of an Awakened.


    Ranks of equipment went from 1-star, all the way up to 7-star. Whittaker was equipped with three 4-star equipment and possessed boss-level class weapons. Because of the way the power system worked, Lord Dark Spirit was easily gauged that Whittaker an F-ranked awakened will be able to beat the dents out of the Zen battle puppet within a minute but that would be giving up a grand opportunity of stealing a battle style from the "Zen Mountain".


    Whittaker''s eyes narrowed in thought as he calculated that the benefits of following Lord Dark spirit advice outweigh the disadvantages. "I have good memorization ability, hence learning the way it attacks and uses its battle ability to attack will be easy for me to entirely memorize during this battle," he thought in glee. After a momentary pause, he internally asked, "But will it not be considered theft, stealing other people''s battle styles? Won''t there be problems, later on?"


    "Nope, they can only silently blame themselves even if you outright provoke them by smashing their disciples or students by using their battle style. Moreover, when you pass this trial you will have the backing of Elder Zachary so the Zen mountain will treat you as their own." The dark spirit said mysteriously. It seems like it knew the deep relationship Elder Zachary shared with the Zen mountain.


    "Since there''s no need to worry about future repercussions then I don''t mind memorizing and learning its battle style." Whittaker thought with a smile, a hint of passion at becoming a battle style thief apparent in his eyes.


    Although there was no need to, he still swayed his S-ranked sword, Blood Drinker, and swept away the dusty clouds with the gales of wind, in the very moment, crackling sounds were produced as the Zen Flame puppet stood up from its seated position.


    In response, Whittaker, who was positioned in his signature battle stance with eyes flaring up in battle intent and a beaming smile on his face, shouted Frost Bolt three times.


    The Frost Spellbook flickered in bluish icy light, releasing three Frost Bolts towards the 4-star puppet, each shooting towards its vital position.


    Keng! Keng! Keng!


    The Flame-attribute spear clutched in the hands of the Zen Flame puppet thursts out three times, just like the most thirsty and poisonous snake, effectively shattering the three frost bolts shot at his heart, ball of steels, and forehead in the same second.


    [Frost Bolt]...[Frost Bolt]...[Frost Bolt]...


    Right after, around a dozen of Frost Bolt rained downed on it, in the very moment, the Flame spear of the Zen mountain puppet was set ablaze as it poured its battle energy into the attribute line.


    SHUA! SHUA! SHUA!


    In the perfect moment, the Zen Flame puppet spun the spear in its hand, creating blazing circles upon which the Frost Bolts crashed, melting away furiously and leaving behind no trace.

 Chapter 101: One slash to break a puppet

    Under the flame, the icy crystal eyes of a snowy-haired glistened as he memorized the way it moved to execute such a technique. An exquisite skill it was and now it has become a part of Whittaker''s memory!


    The Zen Flame puppet built was quite muscular and two times bigger than Whittaker. Also, it felt more intimidating as it walked towards Whittaker while spinning its blazing spear blazing to melt the onslaught of Frost Bolts.


    Suddenly, Whittaker stopped chanting Frost Bolt. ''It''s no longer necessary as I have memorized its technique!''


    Whittaker has memorized the awesome technique the puppet just utilized, hence there was no need to use Frost Bolts anymore. Now, he could do the same with his sword after a little bit of training. Also, he realized that Flame was the nemesis of his Frost elemental nature attack. He needed to train the technique he just learned because memorizing something was different than mastering it. A person can not directly execute a technique he has just gained knowledge of, after all.


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


    "One learns more from physically executing the knowledge than from reading ten thousand books. Gaining and memorizing knowledge is only the initial step, executing the knowledge physically is the advanced step. Only through practicing one''s knowledge about a certain field can one master the way to fight, learn the way to live a life, learn the way to reach the most glorious of heights" Master Zen had said during his once in a decade Magic teacher lesson.


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


    "What type of skill will I create?" Whittaker wondered but instantly focused his attention on the Zen Flame puppet walking towards him.


    Suddenly, it stopped twelve meters away from Whitaker. Its chest leaned forward and Its metallic legs bent, as it arched up on the sole of its feet, whilst pouring battle energy into its iron toes and flame spear.


    [The Zen Flame Puppet is charging up the battle skill, Demonic flame rush] the system notified Whittaker, who was able to witness how the battle energy is being poured into its legs. He memorized every single detail of this technique while beaming a smile, happily allocating the time It needed to charge up this skill.


    Boom!


    Suddenly, It charged ahead. The force behind Its leap was so explosive that the stage broke apart, spider-like cracks spreading outward reaching towards Whittaker but something appeared before the cracks on the ground could spread towards Whittaker''s location.


    In one swift movement, the Zen Flame Puppet has appeared face to face with Whittaker, almost immediately, It thurst its spears at the boy''s heart to slay him with a single strike, in the very moment, Whittaker used Azure-sky Earring ability "Boost Speed" to increase his speed and used a sidestep to effectively shift his lithe and little body parallel to the spear.


    Parallel lines never meet, hence he evaded the flame thurst by moving parallel to it by a single inch; however, flame rained down on Whittaker as the Zen Flame puppet suddenly twisted its spear. Whittaker''s eyes opened wide as it was too late to use frost bolt+frost elemental shift combo!


    "Boom!"


    The flames crashed on him producing a little blast that raised dust, debris, and a black cloud.


    ------------+


    "Whittaker!" Nina screamed for everyone but finding Zachary still sitting on his throne, her worries died down. Elder Zachary has said that he will interfere if Whittaker is gonna die. He did not move to save his life which means Whittaker is well and alive. As she didn''t have any authority over the heaven-reaching mountain, she couldn''t sense what''s happening there; only see what''s happening through the holographic screen opened in the central command room.


    ---------


    The puppet crackled a smile as its scarlet eyes gleamed in glee for killing the challenger; however, the smile instantly left its face as fast as it came as it saw the snowy-haired boy emerging out of the debris of dust and smoke.


    A clear look at him told It that the boy was completely unscratched, except his school uniform was partially burnt and tears have formed in various places of the well-linen fabric.


    [Mana shield blocked 200 Damage. Mana Dropped by 200. The total amount of mana left 350]


    The Zen Flame Puppet stared at what just happened in astonishment, its eyes and mouth wide open in shock. The Zen Flame Puppet had taken the personality of a senior disciple of the Zen Mountain. It wasn''t a soulless being otherwise, its emotion wouldn''t have been spot on but it wasn''t a real person either.


    A chip containing the date about a disciple of a certain person, battle puppets can gain their abilities and personalities. Such was the truth of the Zen Flame puppet. It did not want to believe what its eyes have seen. From its prediction, there was no way in hell that an F-ranked awakened would be able to come out unscathed from its ultimate move, a sudden surprise attack that packs massive power.


    Surprise attacks were the demonic part of the demonic berserker battle style and it was also the most powerful one in it; however, Whitaker has defended against this sudden attack with Mana-shield and Azure sky wrapping.


    "I have not predicted this sudden attack and could not evade it in time. Thankfully, I was already using Mana-shield and used Azure-sky wrapping at the last moment to defend against this attack otherwise, I would be dead!" He exclaimed in glee whilst walking out of the smoky cloud nonchalantly. He thought, ''Lord Dark spirit really said the truth. I had learned a lot from this puppet Battle style!''


    The puppet didn''t say anything and attacked without hesitation. It wanted to ask him, "Just who are you" but it couldn''t as it was just a basic model that could not speak.


    Whittaker had learned what he deemed as good enough. ''There''s no need to prolong this battle any more!'' He did not want to sidestep, dodge, or parry its attack anymore. Continuing with this battle would just be a waste of time as the gap between their strength was just too huge and he couldn''t learn anything good from it either. Whittaker �C with a power level of 1 �C was far too strong for the Zen flame puppet �C with a power level of 4 �C to handle.


    The Zen Flame Puppet only had one command, battle till one side dies. He had no plans to let this challenger live. It used Demonic Rush to charge at Whittaker, raising its giant flame spear along the way. The way it raised the weapon was as if it were picking up a leaf, effortless yet these skills mattered not in the face of absolute power!


    Whittaker also charged toward it, reaching one meter away from it in a split second, almost immediately, he brandished Blood Drinker at the Puppet!


    Three-Clawed Blood Slash!


    Within an instant, the Zen Flame Puppet who was swiftly rushing at Whittaker was blinded by deep-scarlet lines arced like a wolf claw. They passed through it and the flame spear. It could not move even change Its position as the attack was too sudden.


    It could only helplessly stare at Whittaker as its spear broke into three, following the same end was its body.

 Chapter 102: Third!

    The battle puppet and its weapon dropped to the ground. Its Scarlet eyes gradually lost their gleam as it remained unmoving. Scattered on the ground of the arena were three pieces of its metallic black body and three pieces of its heavy red spear, looking just like the petals detached from a black and red rose in the eyes of Whittaker, who shifted his head towards the cube of glory as a ding sound rang out from it.


    ?Ding! Challenger has killed Flaming Monk puppet 4-star battle energy Master.


    One hundred thirty third step challenge completed in 1 minute 9 seconds.


    Receive your first reward:


    A: Zen Battle Puppet with an attribute of your choosing.


    Suddenly, the lower surface of the giant cube of glory floating above the center of the battle stage opened up and a staircase connecting the battle arena and the cube of glory was created. Right away, seven battle puppets�Ceach clutching a different magical beast weapon�Cappeared on the staircase, gazing towards Whittaker with their weird multicolored eyes with vertical, horizontal, and spherical pupils.


    Whittaker gazed at them and the system handed over their detail to him. Every single one of them was a 4-star battle energy puppet, having different kinds of the attribute but Whittaker instantly selected the green and cloudy eyed battle puppet. It was named as Zen Azure-Sky puppet. The Azure-Sky battle puppet had a 10-star magical beast weapon while the other battle puppets only had a 4-star magical beast weapon. There was no reason to even compare them as the difference between their strength was vivid and huge.


    [Zen Azure-Sky Puppet (4-star)


    Battle Style: Null


    Equipment: Cloud Drake Spear (10-star)


    Description: An upgradeable battle puppet created by Zachary when he was kicked in the head by the mysterious-ranked wandering donkey. The Azure-Sky puppet is without a master and the Guardian can bind with it by using his blood. The Guardian can chip in a language and battle style card on the empty slot at the back of its head and the battle puppet will learn them] the system notified.


    The Azure-Sky Puppet started walking down the marbled staircase and came towards Whittaker, respectfully bowing down to its new master, instantly, a drop of blood landed on its head. Soon after, a connection between Whittaker and the Azure-Sky puppet was established and Whittaker stored it in the Ring of Genesis.


    Right then�Cwith another ding�Can announcement was made.


    ?The challenger has been ranked as number one on the first stage of the first level of the cube of glory located in Zachary palace. The challenger has completed this challenge in 1 min 9 sec, earning the third spot in the main Cube of Glory located in Zen Mountain!?


    The cube of glory in every heaven-reaching mountain was connected to the Main Cube Of Glory in the heaven-reaching trial of the Zen Mountain!


    Whittaker stared at the holographic prompt and suddenly a flash of glorious light burst out from the cube of glory. The light was golden signifying how great his casual deed was. By the time, the blinding lights that had forced Whittaker to close his eyes due to a stinging pain receded, a cloudy and massive bluish mist have enveloped his surroundings and blanketed him.


    The bluish mana cloud rushed into the cube of glory and Whittaker''s name was engraved on the first position of the cube of glory. Right after, a humming sound was produced by it, deafening Whittaker''s senses.


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


    In a place far, far away, a commotion started as many elderly monks with bald shiny heads were startled out of their meditation by a burst of blinding light and the shift of mana waves. They gazed towards the source of the blinding light. It wasn''t just them, every life bound disciple of the Zen Mountain activated their Zen vision, a cloudy aura surrounded their eyes as they stared at the neighboring the real Heaven-Reaching mountain.


    The Zen mountain taught their ultimate pure-mana and battle skill only to life bound disciple. Also, the Zen eyes�Cthe nineteen ultimate battle skill and pure-mana spell�Cwas one of these ultimate battle techniques. This skill can be used by both mages and battle master!


    Anticipation started bubbling in their hearts as their vision pierced through the misty clouds and stared right at the main cube of glory. In some seconds, the blinding light of glory receded, and everyone was shocked!


    Even the eyes of the elderly monks opened as wide as they could, a shocked expression formed on their wrinkled faces as their eyeballs threatened to pop out of their eye sockets. The same went for the disciple of the Zen, who stood still, feeling like an electric current was passing through their heart and soul.


    They saw that Saint Lord Gerald�Cwho held the 3rd position�Cwas pushed down by a rank, in his place, a new name clouded in an icy glow formed.


    "Impossible... How can this be?" An elderly monk muttered. The people ranked on the top three positions of the Main cube of Glory were all godly prodigies of their generation. Currently, each one of them has surpassed the A-rank, standing proudly in the world as an S-ranked awakened.


    The first one was Master Zen, the second one was the Ancient Emperor of Wind, the Last one belonged to the County of clouds, Grand general Gerald, the cloud weaving supreme!


    Now, the cloudy weaving supreme was pushed down by a rank and a new name replaced his third position!


    [No.3: Whittaker Lin. F-ranker...


    "Is it a bug?" The elder''s thoughts as "...." filled the cube of glory.


    ''What a joke! How is it possible for an F-ranker to perform such a glorious deed? Slap me thrice and I still won''t believe it!'' many people had decided that the cube of glory was bugged and this situation arose due to a problem in its system.


    Right then, their eyes popped out of their sockets as the dot turned to gold and joined together to form a single.

 Chapter 103: Master Zen is interested.

    A single word tinted in sun gold hue blinded the eyes of every elder and senior life bound disciple.


    Dual Awakened!!!


    [No.3: Whittaker Lin. F-ranked Dual Awakened! Competition time: 1min 9 seconds.


    The sixth dual awakened that the awakened continent has ever seen has made his name spread like a wildfire throughout the upper-echelon of the Zen mountains.


    "Go notify Lord Zen!" A grand elder said to his inheritance disciple. With a respectful salute, Chen Zu made a rush for the peak of the real Heaven-Reaching mountain, towering over the tallest clouds of the skies of the awakened continent.


    Outside the Zen mountain and atop the Heaven-reaching mountain, there was a floating island named Zen Palace. The place was condensed packed with small mountains and temples everywhere, and there didn''t seem to be a place of open land that could be seen. The small mountains and temples housed young war orphans from the land of flame, street children, and beggars. Basically, atop the skies, a paradise for the poor was created by master Zen, who was currently using his pool to fish with an emerald hair girl.


    A 7-star mana-wall formation acting as the first wall of defense surrounded the floating land, each bluish wall was around a hundred meters high. A 6-star floating formation was also running, making the piece of land remain afloat.


    Alchemist sub profession - Formation master only had 7-ranks, divided into 1 to 7 stars. A 1-star formation master can create a 1-star formation, similarly, the higher the rank of a formation master the greater his formation will be. Also, the higher the level of a formation, the more costly it will be. A formation requires resources such as pure mana or elemental crystal or magical beast blood to remain running. A 7-star formation could easily consume hundreds of Mana-crystal in some minutes. Basically, this 7-star formation speaks of how wealthy Master Zen was.


    Around the thick mana walls, there were several magi-tech and stone-soldiers and powerful monks standing guard day and night patrolling for any possible threat danger.


    Because of these things, the Zen palace could be considered as one of the safest places to live in; however, a deep and dark secret promoted the creating of this palace.


    In the center of this piece of land, beneath the blue gem pool engraved with mystical symbols, an ancient evil was sealed. The guards were guarding against the threat posed by otherworldly creatures of another world, who wanted to free their master from this place and wreak havoc in this world.


    The seal used to suppress the ancient evil used the power of good karma. That''s why parentless kids, homeless people, and peoples with an overall sad life was provided heaven to live in. Thanks to them, Master Zen obtained the good karma needed to keep the ancient evil sealed.


    Nearby the blue gem pool, on the marbled floor with a sandy surrounding, a bald man with a white beard longer than Headmaster Yeon sat on a wooden armchair. He was wearing a common white robe. He was Master Zen. The leader of one of the greatest powerhouses the awakened continent has ever seen. This year, he was more than 800+ years old yet not a single wrinkle could be seen on his face.


    Just then, Chen Zu wearing luxurious attire made his appearance.


    "Lord Zen, I am here to report an important happening in the secular world."Chen Zu respectfully said.


    Master Zen didn''t associate himself with worldly matters. He did not like politics. Also, his main task was to oversee the seal of the ancient evil, never allowing him to escape. He was the last line of defense.


    "Go on!" Master Zen said. He sat there and thought about it what an unusual surprise. It was unusual for him to get reports from others, the last time he was reported about a matter was hundreds of years ago.


    "The Cube of Glory has announced that someone beat Lord Gerald''s time limit! A new awakened called Whittaker has taken on the third position!"


    "What Rank is that boy?" Master Zen asked. He wasn''t shocked as he had seen and experienced many things in his long life.


    "Rank F sir."


    "What did you say? How can a Rank F complete even reach the first stage of the heaven-reaching trial? Wait... Did you forget to tell me something important?" Zen asked, spewing out all the words in one breath.


    "Well, Lord Zen, the boy is a Rank F dual awakened!" Chen Zu replied, excitedly.


    Boom! Master Zen felt the shock that his underlings have been feeling. The emerald haired lady was busy playing with the fishes in the pool, she found it more interesting than a dual awakened boy so she wasn''t interested in the topic.


    Although Master Zen was shocked it didn''t show on his face that held a calm as the sea expression; however, his actions said otherwise. He was interested enough to meet the dual awakened in person but he had his duty to fulfill.


    To satisfy his interest, Master Zen decided to see information about Whittaker.


    "Use your modern thingy and hand me info about that boy. I''d like to take a look." He ordered Chen Zu like a slave, who a model student in everyone''s eyes.


    Like an obedient disciple, Chen Zu pulled out his advanced mana com, put in Whittaker''s information, and clicked the search button in the middle of the device, and in an instant, a holographic screen containing Whittaker''s info appeared in front of them.


    Master Zen used his hands to navigate through the pages, all the while quickly reading through the information.


    "A commoner son? His siblings look way different? Maybe he is adopted?" Master Zen said while looking at the pictures of Whittaker and his family. "Snow like hairs and icy eyes... Could it be that he''s a Devansha? But they have left for a world beyond ours eras before my birth...


    "Let''s look at what''s he doing," Master Zen excluded the aura of a stalker as he used his magical All-seeing eyes to gaze at Zachary palace thousands of miles away. His vision turned hazy, with eyes dreamy, he could see what''s happening at a place far away, then he spotted the snowy-haired boy who has interested him. His vision started to zoom in on Whittaker''s eyes. Soon after, he noticed mana flickering in his eyes. "He is a Devansha albeit not a pure-blooded one..." He muttered.


    "Chen Zu, if the boy passes the first level today then go make this announcement. Tell the entire world that this boy is under the protection of your master. Don''t state my name..."


    Master Zen has a lot of otherwordly enemies so he couldn''t use his name. Anyways, Whittaker still has to pass the first stage before he can be associated with a high ranking expert of the Zen mountain, and only two hundred steps were left before the first level is completed.


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


    Inside the haven-reaching trial.


    A pink portal opened in the center of the battle stage as an announcement was made.


    ?The passage to the second stage of the first level of the heaven-reaching mountain trial has been opened?


    Immediately, Whittaker jumped into the pinkish portal, appearing in a hellish place!

 Chapter 104: Flip Side of heaven~Hell (a)

    The moment he entered the second stage of the first level of the heaven-reaching trial, Whittaker felt like someone had placed a mountain on his back. Instantly, he had felt an even higher level of mana pressure that pressurized him so much that cracks form on the ground below.


    His bones started to shake, involuntary creating a rhythmic sound as his muscles contracted. The hand that held the sword flung down fast, Blood Drinker crashed on the ground roughly while the Frost Spellbook that was hovering above his head dropped on top of his head, adoring his snowy-haired head with a book-shaped cap. Tremors and trembling occurred throughout his body. Starting from the face, eyes, teeth, vocal cords then occurring in the torso, hands, and legs.


    In his vision, the world was undergoing an earthquake, quaking five times in a second.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The spider-like cracks slowly spread far and wide as his back started to bend because of the pressure. The mana pressure was forcing him to kneel but he refused to bend, he refused to give up.


    [-8 HP. 52/60 ] the system notified as blood trickled out from the corner of his mouth and Whittaker felt that his internal organs were a mess.


    His head may be cast low; his back was bending yet he hadn''t given up, not at all. The light of hope shining in his crystal icy eyes said it all. With gritted teeth, he bore it all.


    Even though he was carrying a mountain-like pressure on his back, he still pressed on, taking a step forward.


    [Guardian has gained +2 Endurance!]


    [Endurance increased: 11?13]


    [Physical defense increased: 11?13]


    Under the notification, he took another step forward.


    [-5 Hp. 48/60. (Recovered +3 Hp) 51/60]


    Whittaker auto health regeneration effect came into effect at the opportune time. Without hesitation, he took a step forward. One step after another, the pressure decreased and his back started to straighten.


    [Guardian has gained +1 Endurance!]


    [Guardian has gained +0.5 Endurance!]


    [Guardian has gained +0.4 Endurance!]...


    Some minutes later, Whittaker had perfectly adapted to the 20% mana pressure. His endurance has also increased to 15 points, the same goes for physical defense. Furthermore, he had reached the 140th step.


    ''Looks like there''s no challenge in these steps,'' Whittaker thought.


    Contrary to his expectation, this trial was far more insidious than the others. He just hasn''t witnessed it, yet. A system notification popped up, highlighting the danger of this place.


    [Death force touched Guardian: -3 HP]


    "What''s the death force?" Whittaker internally asked in a worried tone.


    [A force harmful to every living being. The Guardian has entered an area that is filled with the particles of the essence of death. The essence of death has combined with the thick waves of mana to create Death-Force. The death force will cause gradual destruction to the Guardian body. The higher up Guardian go the denser the death force will be. You will first wither, become weakened then slowly and steadily rot till your eventual death. The system advice the Guardian to use his defensive ability]


    The essence of Death is present in all living beings; however, it is released only after their death. It was the complete opposite of the essence of life which gives birth to life, allows it to flourish, and become something great. When the essence of death combines with mana, a very destructive force that is extremely deadly to humans is created. Currently, this place had some of the Death Force. Also, if someone can sense and manipulate the Death force then they can easily cause destruction. A young teen will become a skeleton with a single death force spell called decay. Similarly, if someone can sense and manipulate the Lifeforce then they will be able to reinvigorate an old person dying of old age causing them to become young.


    Without a single hesitation, Whittaker reacted instantly by performing hand signs, right after, his body was protected from insidious harm by a strong coating of mana.


    [Ding! The system has sealed Guardian mana regeneration. Now, the deadly force in the environment won''t be able to enter the Guardian''s mana pool and destroy it. Ding! The system has enacted a seal on Guardian battle core. Now, the deadly force in the environment won''t be able to corrupt it]


    Normally, an awakened won''t be able to seal their mana pool or battle core. They will have to fight off the mana pool or battle core corruption with sheer determination and will but it wasn''t easy and hundreds of awakened had died in the past.


    ''I need to get out of these staircases filled with Death force before my mana runs out!'' Whittaker thought while hurrying up the stairs. He had also stopped using Devansha''s eyes to reserve as much mana as he could.


    [The guardian has been touched by death force: -10 mana] The system notified.


    Whittaker didn''t feel this death force that Night Will''s system spoke of; however, as he continued his climb, a thick smell of death entered his nostrils. The smell was disgusting, almost putrid as if it was a breath from a grotesque demon. The environment was humid, hot enough to magnify this putrid smell range and effect on the mind.


    Whittaker''s vision distorted and his mind felt hazy as the Death force in the surrounding thickened. Normally, a challenger would have his mind played till he died but Whittaker had Devansha''s vision.


    Mana rushed into Devansha''s eyes, clearing his vision.


    Turning his head around to take a look, he saw corpses. Whittaker was not the only one who had come to become Zachary''s trial, there were many. These were also people already here; rather, mortified corpses on the staircase.


    Horrified, Whittaker''s eyes opened wide as he glanced at the corpses of humans in this path. There were at least a hundred or so corpses in this wide staircase. The staircase was so wide that a hundred people could step on it at the same time yet still not feel stiffened; however, this scene caused Whittaker to be stiffened.

 Chapter 105: Flip Side of heaven~Hell (b)

    These corpses were none other than past participants of Elder Zachary''s inheritance trial. Although this was the first time that Whittaker has seen so many dead bodies and he was shocked at this scene, he managed to get a hold of himself and continued on his destination without a pause. ''There''s no going back and the only way to get out of this place before death is to pass the trial. My mana is quickly running out and I would become one of them if I don''t complete this trial, soon."


    Once again, he realized how cruel and dangerous this world can be. Occasionally, his eyes would reflexively dart to the corpses, who came here as challengers just like him but now, they have become dried corpses seething with the essence of death. Also, the people who have died here were the source of the essence of death, and Whittaker understood that.


    "They were living humans just like me!" His hand clenched tighter with each second passing by. ''Why did these people have to die? Why was Elder Zachary so cruel? We are all humans so why kill them?'' He wondered while bearing the mana pressure that increased as he stepped on the 177th step of the heaven-reaching staircase.


    "Young boy, don''t be surprised. These humans are all challengers like you who have come here to become Zachary''s sole inheritor but how could it be so easy to obtain the legacy of a 10-star formation master! They simply courted death by ignoring the deadly warning given at the start of this trial." Lord Dark Spirit laughed causing uneasiness to creep up Whittaker''s heart.


    Over the past hundred years, several people of the seven land of the awakened continent, including the central land of light have come to Zachary''s place as a challenger. They all came with a proud back eager to become Zachary''s inheritor and student. Although every challenger knew that the chance of winning his trial was slim; however, there were many who gave it their all to complete the inheritor trial of Elder Zachary and become his inheritor. Each one of the corpses in this heaven-reaching trial was an extraordinary character that could attend the banquet of any Emperor and marry their daughters. Heck, the emperors would beg for each one of them to become his son or daughter in law. Yet, they met their end in this path. Zachary was the only one who knew how to create formation in thin-air. 7-star was the peak of formation master but Zachary could create the 10-star formation. As a formation master, he was three steps ahead of the entire world, even Master Zen had referred to Zachry as his equal.


    One trial, if they were able to complete the heaven-reaching trial at Zachary''s palace then they would instantly become the sole inheritor of a true hegemon, a title given to those people who are ranked beyond S. To the extraordinary character of the Seven Lands, this was a once in a millennia opportunity to ascend beyond the peak of life.


    Although in the end, they failed miserably!


    "Then what about me? What makes you think that I won''t die before completing this trial?" Whittaker exclaimed with clenched teeth. At the same time when he said these words, he stepped on the 189th step, right away, the system notified, [The Guardian is running out of mana at a very fast rate. At this rate, the mana shield will run out in 5 minutes]


    Whittaker couldn''t absorb the mana in the surroundings as it was mixed with the Death force. Absorbing mana mixed with the Death force will lead to a painful and ugly death in which a person bleed from all of his orifices whilst becoming a cripple. For an awakened, death was far better than losing all powers and becoming a mere mortal; However, death and becoming a cripple was going hand in hand in this place.


    After a momentary pause, Lord Dark Spirit''s answer rang beside his ears, "You young boy wouldn''t be one of them, you are extraordinary and born lucky. You have more than enough to pass this trial and become Zachary''s inheritor. Believe in yourself, just like I believe in you. Just like your real parent and elder brother believed in you."


    Whittaker felt frustrated. Today, he realized that he even had an elder brother related to him by blood; However, he has never seen him nor had he ever seen his real parents. "If they believed in me then why... Why was I abandoned! I have never met them. All my life they were never there for me! And, I don''t need others to tell me to believe in myself, I have never given up on myself!" He internally shouted at Lord Dark Spirit while stomping his way ahead.


    "The reasons are too complicated to explain to you..."


    "Then don''t say it. I will find out on my own!"


    Hearing his words, Lord Dark Spirit turned silent, realizing that he had initially mistaken the boy''s word and angered him.


    Whittaker''s initial plan was to experience the mana pressure, adapt to it, and then move onwards; however, the situation didn''t allow for this plan to work. He needed to reach the end as soon as he could possible, hence he has been charging through the Death Force filled area and climbing to his end goal.


    Currently, he has reached the 233rd step and only 1 minute was left.


    "One minute is more than enough for my plan to work!" Whittaker said with a thoughtful grin. From the moment the system explained to him about the death force, he has been planning to do something outrageous


    He wanted to perform a suicidal act, once again. Now, the time has come to execute it.


    In a single moment, Whittaker activated the runic effect of Azure-sky boots and Azure-Sky earrings.


    With a single step, he crossed five stairs, his speed increased by two times and he was slightly hovering over the ground.


    Occasionally, tiptoeing instantly at the end of the flight to make an immediate jump pushing himself forcefully through the death force filled area. Just like the system said, the higher he went the more obstruction of death force he faced. Although there seemed to be an invisible and formless destructive energy trying to kill him to stop him from reaching his goal, Whittaker showed no hesitation and continued to climb upwards as fast as he could, directly breaking past the Death force. Along the way, the expenditure of mana was too much. His mana reached zero and the mana-shield vanished, leaving his body unprotected.


    He was only six steps away from the 333rd step; however, on the 327th step, Whittaker could sense an overwhelming destructive force heading towards his way, ready to envelop him whole but there was not a hint of fear in his calculative eyes. With a single thought, the bandages of his azure-sky wrapping extended long enough to cover his entire body in bandages, in the very moment, his feet heavily pushed against the ground to hurl his body directly towards the 333rd goal!


    "Boom!"


    The Death Force crashed on the defensive layer of bandages; however, Whittaker successfully broke through it. In his vision, the 333rd stair appeared. Suddenly, as he was passing over the 332nd step, he crashed face-first on a bluish mana wall formation.


    A mana wall formation was separating the 332nd step from the 333rd step!

 Chapter 106: The last challenge!

    He was just one step away from the 333rd step. Now, it felt like he was one world apart.


    Releasing a heavy sigh of regret, Whittaker closed his eyes. Maybe his life was just a step apart from death as his Azure-Sky equipment runic effect ended; however, there was not a single trace of the Death force in this area. Not just that, there wasn''t even a single trace of mana or any kind of mana pressure in the 332nd step.


    Releasing a breath of relief, snowy eyelashes fluttered as Whittaker''s crystal icy eyes opened wide to instantly perceive his surrounding. He didn''t have mana to use his Devansha eyes, hence he had to manually move his body to look at each side of the 332nd step. His body rotated in a circular motion, following which his eyes scrutinized the entire surroundings. In a single second, he has glimpsed at each side of this place.


    The first impression he got was that this step seemed far out of place. The 332nd step was far different than the other steps. The marbled surface of the 332nd step has cracks all over its surface as if something really heavy has smashed on it. At the front and backside, there was a bluish mana wall formation, separating him from the entire world. Above him was an inky, black holographic screen that was tinted with tens of thousands of white dots. With a glimpse, Whittaker memorized what was above. It seemed like something useless that might turn out to be useful, later on.


    At his right, he could see the skeleton of a teenage boy dressed in a simple red robe. The skeleton was sitting cross-legged on the cracked marble ground while clenching something tightly in his right hand. That something released a faint red glow which attracted Whittaker intensely.


    "I might as well check it out." Whittaker wanted to examine the thing in the skeleton hand as there was nothing else to do.


    He walked up to the skeleton while an unpleasant feeling crept up his heart; However, he still opened the fingers of the bony hands�Cone by one�Cafter reaching the skeleton. This was his first time touching a skeleton and he really didn''t like this. The fingers were jade-like and rusty, a weird combination.


    The thing held in the right hand of the skeleton was a Scarlet-Jaded tablet that was releasing warm energy. When Whittaker gazed at it, a system notification popped up.


    [Zen Mountain Jaded Pass (High-tier) (Rankless)


    Status: Bounded to Edward Agni�CDisciple of Monk Agni and the core disciple of the Zen mountain located in the land of flames.


    Effect: A mystical tablet which allows Edward Agni to freely move between the mortal world and the flame elemental world. By using this card, a spatial portal connecting to the Zen mountain realm can also be opened with a single thought. This pass can be even used to escape the Heaven-Reaching trial or from within a high-ranking enclosing formation. Only Edward Agni can use this pass]


    The mortal world could be described as the seven lands of the awakened continent while Whittaker didn''t know anything about the flame elemental world or the Zen mountain realm. There were three Zen Mountains in the awakened continent. Each one was hidden inside a realm hidden from the sights of mortals and awakens with the help of a mystical formation. Even the emperors of the seven Kingdom couldn''t locate the entrance to the Zen mountain.


    A person can only enter the Zen mountain if he possesses the "Zen blessing mark" or the "Zen jaded Pass" otherwise, no one can simply enter the Zen mountain. Moreover, it was extremely hard, nearly impossible to locate the entrance of the Zen Mountain.


    However, every ten years, experts of the Zen mountain will descend to the seven lands to recruit people with good potential or a lot of patience. It is also said that if a person is fated then he will locate the Zen mountain while simply walking through a forest.


    As Whittaker finished with his investigation, a nerve-calming melody played along with an announcement that explained what Whittaker has to face.


    ?Congratulations on reaching the 332nd step part of the first level of the heaven-reaching trial. One more step and the challenger will complete Zachary''s inheritance trial, becoming the inheritor to the treasures stored in his treasury, Zachary''s palace, and his knowledge!?


    Whittaker''s mouth salivated as he finally realized what becoming an inheritor really meant. He wasn''t getting a part of Elder Zachary''s treasure instead, he was getting everything that Elder Zachary has earned in his entire life. This was the meaning of becoming a "Sole Inheritor". This was the reason why many awakened, young and old, have come to Zachary''s palace to become his inheritor; However, they have all died because of overestimating their abilities.


    ?There are only two things the Challenger has to do to pass the challenges of the 332nd step. The first challenge is to remain alive for one minute. After one minute, the mana wall formation will disappear. The second challenge is to step on the 333rd step of the heaven-reaching staircase. However, the challenger will be facing 100% mana pressure of the heaven-reaching trial throughout the challenge?


    ?Tip: The closer you are to the 333rd step of the heaven-reaching staircase the more advantageous your situation will be!?


    ?The Challenge of the 332nd step will start in 1 minute!?


    The very first time when Whittaker examined this place, he was certain that something heavy has crashed on the marbled floor. It was an easy judgment to make. The marbled floor was cracked all over, after all. However, being told that it was 100% of the mana pressure that crashed on the marbled floor and will soon crash on him gave him chills along with the worst fright of his life.


    ''I was barely holding on under 33% of the total mana pressure. Now, I need to withstand 100% of it! What a joke!'' This was a death sentence rather than a challenge.

 Chapter 107: Bloodline Awakening (a)

    "My bones were shaking, teeth clattering and waist bending because of only facing 33% of the total mana pressure. Wouldn''t I be crushed while facing 100% of the total mana pressure? Please, get me out of this place!" Whittaker exclaimed for Elder Zachary and the spirit of the reality-management formation to hear but no one replied.


    In Zachary palace central command room:


    If Nina had the ability to then she would have already pulled him out of that place but she couldn''t. She didn''t even have an ounce of authority over the heaven-reaching mountain, after all; however, she was without a worry.


    Nina thought: ?Since Zachy has promised me, he would naturally not go back on his word. As soon as little handsome is near one inch away from death, Zachy will surely save his life. He has not only promised me but has also considered Whittaker as his student. However, I really wish that he has an extraordinary talent, which father has been looking for all his life?


    She hopes that Whittaker will pass this trial and fulfill one of Elder Zachary dying wishes. Zachary was dying and he wanted to accept someone worthy as his inheritor. He didn''t have a single descendent of his own. Even if the Great Formation master had some if he doesn''t like him, he would make arrangements to keep their unworthy hands off of his things.


    Currently, Elder Zachary''s face was tinged with anticipation and happiness. ''Before the end of my life, I have found someone great.''


    The tiptoeing skill which Whittaker had utilized �C to pass through hundreds of steps of the heaven-reaching staircase filled with Death Force �C contained traces of the Zen Flame Puppet, Demonic Flame Rush battle skill!


    He was extremely satisfied with Whittaker. The boy was far more impressive than he initially thought. He wanted to go down himself and invite the boy up the palace; however, Whittaker will lose a miraculous opportunity to awaken his Devansha bloodline. As a master, how could he ruin the fortune of his student?


    Although it might necessarily not be a fortune for Whittaker; Instead, a deadly misfortune. But Elder Zachary was certain that he could save Whittaker from the vicious clutches of death, itself.


    Anyways, fortune cannot be obtained if one does not have the guts to face loss, pain, or life and death moments.


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


    On the 332nd step of the heaven-reaching staircase.


    "Calm down. Young boy, you can not escape this place and you don''t have enough power to destroy the mana wall formation. The only thing you could do is face the trial head-on, just like Edward Agni. Save your energy and strength for what''s to come." Lord Dark spirit voice resounded beside Whittaker, who was smashing his S-ranked sword, Blood Drinker on the mana Wall formation. His mana was still zero, hence he couldn''t utilize Mana Missile or Frost Missile.


    Hearing his words made him realize that he should really save all his energy and strength to face the death sentence that was about to drop in 48 seconds.


    While thinking rationally, his eyes wandered to the skeleton at the right side of this place.


    The very first time when Whittaker stared at the skeleton he felt that its posture was weird. The skeleton eyes were focused on its right hand which held the jaded pass; however, Edward Agni didn''t utilize it to open the portal or get out of whatever the danger is in this place.


    "Lord Dark spirit, why didn''t he use the Zen Mountain Jaded Pass to escape the heaven-reaching trial. Was the mana pressure so strong that he died in a single moment?" Whittaker internally asked. He felt curious because Edward Agni was also an F-ranked awakened with an S-ranked class weapon.


    Although Edward Angi wasn''t as strong as Whittaker, he could still be considered a prodigy of the human race.


    "Nope. From the looks of it, he had time to pull the jaded tablet out from his spatial pockets so he certainly had enough time to use it to make his escape; however, he chooses not to!" Lord Dark Spirit''s voice rang beside Whittaker''s ears.


    "Why though? Did he wanted to die?" Whittaker was confused at Edward Agni''s decision. ''Maybe, he was insane?''


    "It''s because of pride. He chose death over regret." Lord Dark spirit said.


    Edward Agni was someone who was hailed as a genius and godly prodigy since birth. He came here to win and return to the land of flame gloriously as Zachary''s inheritor. He has announced his boastful thoughts throughout the Land of Flame. The land of the flame is thousands of miles wide, hence billions of beings had heard his word. In the end, under pressure, he didn''t even have the guts to return to Zen mountain and could only choose death over life, otherwise, he would have to live a life full of shame.


    A single decision made due to overconfidence and heaven reaching pride led to Edward Agni''s doom.


    Although, only Whittaker should be able to hear Lord Dark Spirit''s voice; however this time someone else felt it too. Naturally, it wasn''t clear in his ear and he couldn''t even make out a single word of what he heard �C rather, he felt the voice.


    As for the person who felt Lord Dark Spirit''s voice, he was in a realm where people of the seven lands weren''t allowed entry. In that place, mana and other types of mystical energy permeate the air. He was none other than Master Zen.


    In his vision, a clear projection of Whittaker standing one step away from the 333rd step could be seen. Following the tip, Whittaker has decided to stand just one step away from the 333rd step. ''If I manage to somehow survive until the mana wall formation disappears then I would only need to take one step to win the last challenge!'' Whittaker thought in glee.


    If he does not believe in himself then why would someone else? With such thoughts, Whittaker supported himself emotionally and mentally and he stood straight, ready to face whatever was coming with a beaming smile.

 Chapter 108: Divine Battle Bone (a)

    The moment the countdown ended, an explosive force suddenly burst out instantly from above. All of it crashed on top of the snowy-haired boy standing on the ground


    BANG!


    Instantly, Whittaker was smashed onto the ground. All his muscles and joints crackled as he was mercilessly crushed. Sprawled on the ground, his body stretched out as a great pressure started to crush his spine and crack all of his bones; However, Whittaker looked at the bluish mana wall ahead of him with eyes sparkling with hope. Sadly, the mana pressure was too much, too forceful and even his mana-devouring hair couldn''t keep up with the brutal assault.


    Bursts of soul-tearing pain pulsed through Whittaker''s head as the mana pressure tore apart his last line of defense and crashed on top of his head, squeezing his brain. His head felt heavy, crystal icy eyes blurred as dizziness and tears starting to kick in; Moreover, the pain only seemed to get worse and worse every second. With the passing of each moment, he was being hammered into the ground; his bone squishing into one another.


    One by one, with the passage of every second, dozens of his bones cracked under the pressure producing crunchy noise.


    The pressure felt like an icy cold needle and he could feel it piercing every microvessel, vessel, organs, and bones �C from the tip of his head to the end of his feet. It was that intense. Every bit of pain was clear for him as Whittaker''s head was very clear as if he had put his head in icy cold water. Even at this moment, he retained enough rationality to feel all the pain.


    ''Cough!'' Blood kept on spurting out of his mouth and he thought, ''I won''t make it out alive!'' Whittaker''s eyes started to close, believing that eternal sleep will bring an end to this pain. He didn''t even have the strength to shout. He desired relief no matter what form it came in, even if it was death. He even contemplated killing himself by biting on his tongue as it seemed far better than being crushed to death while feeling all the pain.


    There didn''t seem to be a hopeful, happy end in sight. On the other side, Elder Zachary stood up in order to save him at the very last moment.


    However, before his eyes closed; before he could give up before Elder Zachary could make his move, a carefree voice resounded beside his ear.


    "Young boy, you aren''t allowed to die as you aren''t living for just yourself. Furthermore, the time for you to awaken has come. Didn''t you want to know why your parents abandoned you? Why they weren''t there for you? Well, here you go!"


    Lord Dark Spirit was residing in the pendant of night. He has been slumbering for the past few years. Lord Dark Spirit had spent 12 years slumbering in this pendant while absorbing every drop of mana that he could from the world. He has just recently awakened. However, he was met with satisfaction as the young boy was chosen as the inheritor of Night. Although he was disappointed at the other turn of events, he still followed the will of Night to hide deep secrets from the chosen inheritor. Right now, a shadowy light flickered out from the pendant of night and shot into Whittaker''s head at a speed so fast that it went unnoticeable under the eyes of Elder Zachary, Nina, and even Master Zen.


    The shadowy light drilled itself into Whittaker''s head and reached a seal that has been sealing precious memories in his subconscious. The black light touched the intangible, not feel able and invisible seal, in the very moment, the seal that seemed almost nonexistent dissipated. Along with its dissipation, memories rushed out, just like water rushing out from an open dam. And, Whittaker remained unmoving as if he was struck to death by thunder; however, he was fighting off death while trying to summarize the rush of information exploding his brain.


    "Before your birth, you were perceived to be a calamity for your family yet your mother still went ahead and gave birth to you, and the calamity descended. Three people, your mother, father, and elder brother sacrificed their lives to let you live. Young boy, your mother cherished you more than her life, your father went to the Heaven Fall Endless Cliff to get the Rebirth Fruit for you. Because of you, your elder brother is suffering in the mortal world! So how can you die?!! How can you even think of giving up?!!!" Lord Dark Spirit''s voice was no longer carefree. Even he, the servant of Night, was moved by the sacrifices made to kept Whittaker alive. His desperate and anger-filled voice rang out, echoing like thunder in Whittaker''s ears, arousing something hidden deep in Whittaker.


    Memories that have been sealed inside of the depth of his brain rushed out, memories that were bound to be painful, memories of an event happening long ago, a distant past.


    Whittaker entered a dazed state as memories poured out from the depth of his subconscious and he absorbed them while being crushed to death.


    Tears glistened in his eyes as he remembered the face of his mother�� as he remembered the sword that pierced into her heart�� as he remembered her warm embrace�� as he remembered her last moments... as he remembered the glowy snowflakes decorating the dark and cold night, becoming one with the snowy grounds.


    Before death, Grace has sealed Whittaker''s memories as she knew that her son, Whittaker�CRather, Sin Clair was born with innate perfect memorization ability. An innate ability that allows a person to remember everything from the moment they are born. She didn''t want her son to be consumed by hatred and thoughts of revenge.


    "I remember�� mother and the black-masked assassins!" Whittaker said through gritted teeth and for the first time in his life, he felt anger at someone. Emotions started to run wild in him and he swore to not give up. His hands clutched into a fist tightly, tight enough for the nail to cut into the skin.


    Before Elder Zachary could make a move, he saw Whittaker pushing himself against the ground, trying to stand up!


    ''I will not give up!''


    At this moment, the youngling of the Divine Battle King Clan started to go against the grain!

 Chapter 109: Divine Battle Bone (b)

    In the awakened continent, many Royals possessed something special that separated them from the commoners and nobles. That special thing was their bloodline. When an awakened reaches S-rank, their blood undergoes mutation. This mutation gives rise to Bloodline. Nearly all the royals are descendent of an S-ranked Saint realm, Saint Master or King.


    Every descendant of a Saint ranked or higher ranked awakened can inherit his bloodline. However, not every descendant would be able to awaken the unique power hidden in their bloodline. Most won''t be able to arose their bloodline in their entire lifetime, only some would be able to. The reason behind it is the dilution of their Ancestor bloodline. After a few generations, the bloodline would thin. Moreover, marrying outside the family also causes the bloodline to be thinned and diluted. In the past, marriage within the family was used to offset the dilution of bloodline; However, that led to their children being born with abnormalities, hence they have to marry out of family which led to the inevitable dilution of their bloodline. However, there were still some ways to keep the quality of the bloodline intact. One of these ways was to marry someone with an equal quality or higher quality bloodline. The child birthed between two people with high-quality bloodline will also possess a high quality mutated bloodline; however, the child will have to meet certain conditions to awaken the bloodline.


    Whittaker used to be one such child. He had high quality mutated bloodline until everything that belonged to him was mercilessly stolen from him; however, there were still some traces of blue blood left in his scarlet blood.


    The Blue blood existed in the veins of every Devansha. This was the signature mark of Devansha, The Great, and his descendent!


    The condition to awaken Devansha''s bloodline was to go against the flow. Go against the ocean waves and reach the other shore and you will awaken. If you are gonna die then defy death and you will awaken.


    Whittaker went against the grain. He fought against the 100% mana pressure which was crushing him to death. He fought against death. In the face of death, he utilized all his strength to try to stand back to his feet. His eyes were filled with defiance. He wanted to defy death!


    Right then, the blue blood in his vessel ignited, almost immediately, Whittaker''s body was surrounded by a thin icy misty that fought off the mana pressure for him. He also felt a massive increase in his energy that was restoring all his wounds and he stood up. However, his Devansha bloodline was too thin and he could feel the energy running away as soon as it came. He calculated that in some seconds, this newfound energy will vanish and he will once again be crushed under the mana pressure.


    [Ding! Guardian has successfully arisen Devansha Bloodline. Do you want to spend 40000 Experience points to successfully become a Devansha bloodline descendent and possess a bloodline ability?]


    [Yes / No]


    Suddenly, a system notification popped up in front of his face.


    "Say yes, young boy. Accept your bloodline!" Lord Dark Spirit''s voice range beside Whittaker''s ears. His tone was tinged with happiness as this was the moment he has been waiting for. Not just him, even Elder Zachary, Master Zen, and Nina were awestruck by the situation. Thinking about something was one thing but seeing was another. Elder Zachary smiled, lips stretching from ear to ear. "The boy has exceeded my expectations!"


    Yes, Elder Zachary wanted an inheritor who will exceed his expectations and he has finally found one after 300 years.


    ''Seems like Lord Dark Spirit can also see system notification!'' Whittaker thought while beaming a smile of his own. There was no need to ask whether he wants to awaken his bloodline or not. He could feel the power of his bloodline. He was easily crushed under the mana pressure yet he could barely feel it now because of his powerful Devansha bloodline.


    Without any hesitation, Whittaker gazed at "Yes". Internally, he also exclaimed "Yes!"


    He had around 50000 experience points so he didn''t mind expunging them. He didn''t feel sad at the usage of 40000 XP as he could easily gain it back by fighting magical beasts.


    [40000 Experience points have been successfully consumed. Merging all of Devansha blood with Guardian''s spine]


    Right then, all the blue blood in Whittaker''s blood vessel rushed towards his spine, fusing with it. His spine released a lustrous blue, right away, the Night''s Will system announced.


    [Guardian''s Have successfully awakened Devansha bloodline (A-ranked)]


    At that moment, a large amount of information flooded into Whittaker''s mind. Right after, he found out what types of bloodline abilities he have been bestowed with!


    [Divine Battle King Bloodline ability 1: Elemental Avatar (low-level): The Guardian defenses would be strengthened as an icy avatar will form around you. This avatar will resemble you and its size will depend on the amount of Devansha bloodline in your blood and bones. The icy Avatar also have the ability to use any ice-related spells. It''s also capable of becoming one with the Guardian and it will follow your movement. Expend one year of Guardian''s lifespan every use.]


    Basically, Whittaker needed to increase the quantity of his Devansha bloodline to increase the power of his elemental avatar. If he can absorb more blue blood then his elemental avatar power would explosively surge, becoming even more terrifying than right now.


    This wasn''t the only bloodline ability he got. There was another one. One more terrifying than the elemental avatar.


    [Divine Battle King Bloodline ability 2: Defy: Once this bloodline ability is activated, the Guardian will devour all type of energy from the environment, living beings such as humans, plants, a tree within a 10-meter radius in his spine for a short duration]


    [System advises Guardian to release the energy before if he uses this Bloodline ability otherwise, your bones will break under pressure!]


    Defy was a self-harming ability if used nonchalantly. According to his memories, once he used defy, all types of energy will rush towards his spine. He could use that energy to make one powerful attack that could very well exceed everyone''s imagination

 Chapter 110: Defy

    One of Elder Zachary''s final wishes were completed as he witnessed the bloodline awakening of the descendent of the Divine Battle King. Master Zen, on the other hand, was as calm as water; However, a complicated swirl of emotions could be seen in his eyes. Nina was the happiest and she had already started preparing the best banquet Whittaker would ever have. Also, she dressed her mechanical body in luxurious clothing made by the most famous female dress designer from the Enchantress Song state, Miss Sophia.


    Lord Dark Spirit smiled while thinking that this boy has taken after his father although he is too naive, too innocent, too pure and that must change otherwise, he won''t survive.


    "Good boy, now that you have awakened your bloodline, it''s time I explain somethings to you. Bloodline bestows different types of supernatural ability/s on a person. A person with a higher quality bloodline will be bestowed with a high-ranked bloodline ability. Your Devansha bloodline is of higher quality, hence you have awakened high-ranked bloodline ability. Do you understand?" Lord Dark Spirit explained to the clueless boy.


    Each Bloodline ability was distinct and unique. Someone might possess tremendous amounts of strength in their body, enough to shake a mountain with a stomp while others could call upon a rain of fire.


    Waves of mana pressure crashed down on Whittaker but the Elemental Avatar blocked all of it, not even a single hair on his head shifted its place. That was just how powerful an A-ranked Bloodline ability is. Standing right before the mana wall, Whittaker''s eyes blinked in agreement.


    After a momentary pause, Lord Dark spirit continued, "Blood Divine state Imperial physician had said, "Depending on the rank of their class weapon, the quality of a person''s bloodline can be determined �C if he has any." You have awakened an A-ranked high-quality Devansha bloodline because of your A-ranked Frost spellbook. The Frost spellbook didn''t only decree your end potential as a mage but also the quality of your bloodline. That isn''t the only benefit you have received as high-quality bloodlines can be fused with certain class weapons to increase their rank."


    "Does that mean?" Whittaker blurted internally. According to Lord Dark Spirit''s words, he could increase his A-ranked Frost Spellbook to S-ranked Ice spellbook by using his blue blood.


    "Yes, it''s as you are thinking. Your Devansha bloodline and Frost Spellbook are extremely suitable for each other. You could use your Devansha bloodline to increase the rank of your Frost spellbook; However, you barely have blue blood in your body so I advise you against it otherwise, you can say goodbye to your newfound bloodline powers.


    "Okay!" Whittaker was already happy with what he has. Furthermore, he couldn''t upgrade his Frost spellbook unless if he wants to lose his Devansha bloodline. And, Whittaker certainly didn''t.


    Anyways, 37 seconds were left before the mana wall formation separating him from conquering Elder Zachary''s inheritance trial disappears. His Elemental Avatar could easily remain apparent for the next 37 seconds. He could easily pass this trial; However, Whittaker wanted to release the mixture of emotions in his heart.


    A dog barks when it is bullied. Even a rabbit bite back when it is cornered. Whittaker thought, ''So, how can I not release my wrath after being nearly crushed to death. Moreover, I want to check out what Defy does!''


    The target of his wrath was naturally the creator of this sure-death trial but first, he needs to reach him. Whittaker didn''t want to waste 35 more seconds to go out of this place. He wanted to immediately get out and smack some senses into Elder Zachary but the mana wall was blocking his way. That''s why he decided to obliterate the mana wall with overwhelming power.


    He had already tried his best to remain calm at every dangerous trial as they could be completed with accurate judgment and outstanding skills; However, he was certain that this trial couldn''t be completed by any means by an F-ranked awakened.


    Elder Zachary felt a shiver rising his spine when he saw the icy stares of the snowy-haired boy and he gulped his saliva. "Nina, is he thinking of beating me up?" He muttered, right after, crackled a laugh. Even he knows that he deserved a beating as the last trial couldn''t be completed by anyone. Reaching the last trial in itself was winning his inheritance. Edward Agni has reached it by using a lot of A-ranked treasure; However, his personality was too obnoxious for Elder Zachary to have any interest in taking him as a student, hence he didn''t save him.


    To say it in simple words, Edward Agni has failed the personality test while Whittaker has passed it.


    ''Anyways, everyone had the right to refuse the last trial, yet they never wanted to refuse. They died because of their choice. So I wasn''t in the wrong.'' Elder Zachary thought to reduce his guilt.


    "Let''s begin!" Whittaker''s hands clenched tightly and he closed his eyes. With a beaming smile on his face which hinted a little insanity, he followed the newfound information in his mind and chanted,


    "Devansha Bloodline Ability... Defy!!!"


    He didn''t know how but his mind, soul, and spine resonated with his words. The only thing he wanted to do now was defy everything. He wanted to reach the 333rd step yet the mana wall was blocking his way.


    Swoosh... the mana in the surrounding whisked into his body with a very high intensity as Whittaker''s body seemed to become a dark hole capable of devouring anything. Even the cracked marbled floor made out of condensed mana evaporated into a gaseous mana form and rushed into Whittaker''s body. All the Mana from his environment rushed into his body.


    All of the mana was poured into his spine shining with a bluish luster. Whittaker felt a massive surge in his power.


    He was only an F-ranked mage yet the total amount of mana in his body has surpassed 1000 and it was only increasing with the passage of each second. Three seconds later the units of mana in his body increased by another thousand. Five seconds later, he was almost at the D-rank; However, he felt a piercing pain at the very moment when his mana unit exceeded 5000 points. Whittaker''s face contorted as he internally asked, "What''s this pain?"


    "Young boy, only your spine has metamorphosed into a Devansha bone. You only have one Devansha bone whereas the rest of your body is still pretty much mortal. So you better not abuse this ability to its limit otherwise, your body will break. For now, the piercing pain will go away when you release your attack." Lord Dark Spirit explained.


    Whittaker understood that this bloodline ability was taxing on his body and he shouldn''t continue with his initial plan. He wanted to destroy the entire mana wall formation by releasing a single attack with more than twenty thousand mana units; However, he couldn''t do so anymore as his body will break.


    Whittaker stopped absorbing the mana before the Bloodline Ability-Defy could reach its peak. At that moment, his F-ranked power level has been promoted to the peak of the D-rank. A total of 6999 mana unit was stored in his Devansha bone!

 Chapter 111: Breaking the MWF

    By using bloodline ability �C Defy, Whittaker''s power level immediately surged to the peak of the D-rank.


    "Z-Zachy, Wh-what has just happened?" Nina asked as even the system of her artificial couldn''t calculate what has happened. It only showed an error three times.


    ?"Error"??" Error"??" Error"?


    Seeing little handsome suddenly becoming a peak D-ranked awakened at a very fast speed, Nina''s physical body mouth turned into an O-shape. Although she is impressed by little handsome for doing the impossible, she is just as distressed. There''s no such information of an F-ranker becoming a D-ranker in her system, after all. However, Nina is well aware of the fact that her Master has more knowledge than her, hence she believed that he will be able to answer her question.


    "How did his Mana Power become so strong?"


    Just when she thought that her confusion will be resolved, she hears her master speaking in a similar voice of disbelief. Taking notice of his face, she realizes that her master''s mouth has opened wide and his white beard tangled faster than ever.


    Elder Zachary was just as shocked as Nina. There was no mention of Devansha being able to do something like this. Even the wife of the first Ancient Water Emperor didn''t have this bloodline ability. "Maybe, his Devansha bloodline is purer than hers?" he muttered while slumping down on the chair.


    "Defy! H-how the fuck could it be? Chen Zu, tell me, am I blind?" Master Zen exclaimed while cursing out, unwilling to believe the truth right before his eyes. Amazingly, Master Zen knew what bloodline ability Whittaker has received. Defy was one of the main reasons why a single person, Devansha, The Great managed to conquer the Awakened continent.


    Chen Zu''s heart was shocked into fear by his sudden shout. He hasn''t seen Master Zen so surprised in his entire life. He didn''t know what has caused Lord Zen to become so excited as he couldn''t see Whittaker''s action otherwise, he would have been so shocked that he would have started to question whether he is in a dream or real life, but with a single pinch, he determined that he isn''t in a dream. Also, he didn''t dare disrespect Lord Zen and immediately answered, "No, Lord Zen, your eyes are sharper than the heavenly eagles. One look and you can witness all the happenings of the mortal world!"


    Hearing his words, Master Zen was certain that he wasn''t blind and what he saw was certainly the unbelievable truth. "There''s barely any Devansha blood in Whittaker''s body. Nevertheless, he was still bestowed with the highest quality Devansha bloodline ability. Plus, I can also sense the mark of twilight on his body, just who is this boy and how is he connected to the Twilight Walkers?"


    All those watching Whittaker were in awe. Although only three peoples were witnessing his outstanding deeds. Thankfully, it wasn''t the entire continent otherwise, he would have become a target of an insidious plot and an object to be desired by many.


    If one looked closely enough, they would find that all the marbled floor within several meters of Whittaker has vanished.


    Whittaker looks have changed completely. His eyes were burning with bluish battle intent whereas two blue marks extended from beneath his eyelids to each side of his face, right above the ears. His face has gotten sharper outlining his handsomeness. His height has also increased by some inches. He has grown older by a year or two in some seconds. He was not aware that using the bloodline ability Defy would do so many great changes to his body otherwise, he would have exclaimed at the remarkability of this ability.


    Anyways, Whittaker had to end this fight as quickly as possible as his bones were clattering because of the mana stored in his blue luster spine. According to his memories, all the mana stored in the spine can be directed at a single point such as the finger.


    Following the newfound memories, he directed all the mana energy into his forefinger. His right hand shone in blue as a spherical glow swirled around it; however, it started to tremble due to the pressure.


    "Just punch out!" Lord Dark Spirit exclaimed.


    "Kill!" Whittaker''s right fist soared out and the mana wall trembled due to the mere pressure emitting from his fist. Suddenly, an overwhelming blue light shone, blinding everyone witnessing the scene.


    BANG! A deafening sound echoed throughout the Heaven-reaching mountain and spread to Zachary''s palace. The surrounding hummed with a remarkable tone, and a magnificent light shot out into the skies.


    Whittaker''s fist boosted by 6999 mana units crashed heavily on the mana wall of the heaven-reaching mountain peak and the mana wall in front of him was instantly blown away.


    A cold gale whisked out from the 332nd step of the heaven-reaching staircase, dust and stones were raised.


    At this moment, only the clanking sound of Whittaker Azure-Sky''s boot hitting against the marbled floor resounded as he walked out from within the dusty clouds and heroically stepped into the middle of the 333rd step of the heaven-reaching staircase. By this time, his power level receded to F-rank, once again.


    He has only used one move to blast open the wall of a high ranked mana wall formation!


    The bloodline ability, Defy was just that powerful.


    Whittaker defeated the last challenge in a single move. He was already going to win anyway but he completed it in an extraordinary way amazing everyone, and the eyes of the elderly people nearly popped out of their eye sockets.


    At that same moment, the reality-management formation started making the automatic announcement,


    [Conditions to pass the Heaven-Reaching trial: Completed


    The Challenger has completed the first level of the heaven-reaching trial. As the challenger is only F-rank, passing the first-level of the heaven-reaching mountain means completing Zachary''s inheritance trial.


    Progress: 100/100%!


    ?The inheritance trial "Challenger, Whittaker" has performed far better than what could be deemed possible during the trials. The talent and potential the Challengerhase showcased has surprised the souls out of Master Zachary himself. As it stands, the Challenger deserves a round of applause?


    Along with this announcement, roses and petals started to fall all around him. A sweet scent spread in the 133rd step and Whittaker''s leftover injuries healed when he breathed them in.


    Along with the loud cheering and jeering, the formation started to announce his performance. Everything deeds that he did since the start of Zachary''s inheritance trial.


    Happiness budded in his heart and he beamed a smile which stretched from ear to ear. However, he still wanted to avenge himself. Old Man Zachary was endangered!


    ?There''s no reward earned for completing all of Zachary''s inheritance trial as the inheritance trial challenger has earned the ultimate reward, becoming Zachary''s inheritor''s. All his treasures are yours to take?


    Only during the announcement did they realized what the boy had intended to do.


    "This is too broken to even think about." Blood trickled down the corner of Elder Zachary''s mouth. He has been surprised so many times that his frail heart couldn''t keep up. He spurted out a mouthful of blood.


    Someplace far away:


    "Ahahahahahah! Chen Zu, go to your master and tell him what I told you; However, add this. Tell your master to announce to the boy that he will be accepted in the Zen mountain as a core disciple but make sure that he doesn''t accept this offer!" Master Zen said to Chen Zu, who stood more confused than ever.

 Chapter 112: Master Chen and Chen Zu

    For a while, Chen Zu''s brain froze trying to understand what Master Zen said. Only after a few second, he understood that Master Zen didn''t want Whittaker to join the Zen mountain.


    Understanding what Master Zen words implied, Chen Zu clasped his fist on his hand while nodding his head. "So that''s it!" he exclaimed.


    "You are still here? Stop dilly-dallying! This is a matter of grave importance. Go now and inform Lord Chen!" Master Zen said, annoyed at the fact that Chen Zu still hasn''t dashed towards Lord Chen.


    "As you command, Lord Zen!"


    Swoosh! At this moment, a beam of light stretched from the floating land above the heaven-reaching mountain to the Ninth Peak of the Zen mountains. Everyone who saw this instantly understood that this technique was utilized by a life bound disciple. Only they had the permission to learn the Zen Rush Movement Battle Skill, after all.


    Swoosh! Wind and dust raised and the white sheets of Lord Chen''s bed fluttered, along with that, the flowers that have recently bloomed lost their beauties as the heavy wind caused their petal to scatter about; However, with a single snap of a finger, the heavy wind caused by Chen Zu stepping into his master room at an ultra-fast speed calmed down.


    The source of that snap was a seemingly frail old man but his look could outsmart many handsome men. The old man had a head full of grey-white hair. Contrary to one''s thought, his hair shone with a silvery luster, seemingly unaffected by his age. Although he had a wizened face his back was straight like that of a young man. His face was sparkly, bright like light from the flames. Not even a single wrinkle could be seen on his face until Chen Zu arrived, wrinkle boring deeply into his skin as he frowned, frustrated at the nut head that refused to learn.


    "Master~am back with a �C!" Chen Zu said after bowing down in front of a slim old man; however, he was cut off before he could continue with what he has to relay to him.


    "Little Zu, how many times must I tell you, impatience is your worse shortcoming, especially when you are in a panic, you tend to do things as fast as you can. When will you learn!" Master Chen started to blab and scold his inheritance disciple, whose head lowered and lowered as all his shortcomings were announced loudly for everyone in the entire mountain to head.


    Chen Zu was an orphan adopted as a student by Master Chen eighteen years ago. He had great potential and Master Chen happened to chance upon him when he set out to the mortal world to convince a young and talented youth to become his disciple. Master Chen believed that it will take two or so years to find one. Luckily, Master Chen encountered orphan Zu two days after traveling in the mortal world. At that time, Zu was only three years old. Zu didn''t have any place to call home and he was suffering from hunger; However, the peoples of the Wind Kingdom were kind and they would feed him ever so often. Since he was poor, Master Chen only needed to use meat buns and more meat to bribe Zu to become his inheritance disciple. Zu was fine as long as he received lavish people every day, hence he entered a temple of the monk and was forced to become a vegetarian; however, he would sneak out of the temple to eat meat, ever so occasionally. This is how they met and became a master and disciple. Master Chen also knew every fault of Chen Zu as he has been living with him for the past eighteen years.


    Nearly feeling that he will puke out blood if this situation continues, Chen Zu shouted,


    "I have an important matter to relay! Lord Zen wants my master to send Whittaker an invitation to become a core (life bound) disciple of Zen mountain; However, it must be an invitation that he won''t accept!"


    "Oh!" Master Chen stopped scolding his disciple. Nevertheless, he was thinking of scolding him after the talk. After a momentary pause, he continued, "Lord Zen hasn''t shown interest in anyone but Emerald. It has been a decade since then and now he is interested in someone else. Little Zu, tell me more about this fella called Whittaker."


    Chen Zu explained everything about Whittaker to him. The talk continued as Master Chen investigated deeper.


    Master Chen instantly took out a piece of paper, a brush, and green ink from his spatial treasure. He started to jot something down. He had enough wisdom to create an invitation that Whittaker will have to force otherwise, he will regret it.


    Master Chen made sure that accepting the invitation and becoming a member of the Zen Mountain will not be possible for a person like Whittaker. After writing the letter in ten seconds, he sealed it in an exquisite envelope and turned to take a look at Chen Zu, who was still half-kneeling.


    "It''s been eighteen years since you have been cooped up in this mountain. Little Zu, it''s time you experience freedom. I allow you to enter the mortal world, once again. Also, take this letter and hand it to Whittaker. At the same time, I want you to witness the world and its wonder. Return home when you feel like it." Master Chen said, at the very moment, he handed over the invitation letter to Zu, who accepted it and stored it in his spatial pot.


    Zu respectfully bowed before taking his leave. He dashed out of the mountain while laughing, thinking that his master still doesn''t know about the times he had sneaked out of the mountain; However, Master Chen knew about this. That''s why he had emptied Zu spatial pot from all treasure, money, and necessities except three things.


    A return tablet so he will be able to return home at any time.


    A life-saving talisman so he won''t die in the dangerous world outside. And lastly, Whittaker''s invitation letter.


    This was the punishment that Zu had courted.

 Chapter 113: Formation

    A wide golden portal shaped like a door opened in the very moment when Whittaker was hailed as the conqueror of Zachary''s inheritance trial. He had become a champion and was drowned in a sea of sweetly scented rose petal. Now, it was time for him to meet the man behind it all, Zachary, himself.


    Whittaker was extremely excited to meet a legend like Elder Zachary in real life, and he also wanted to beat him in a battle hence, after enjoying himself in the field of victory, he walked towards the door-like golden portal; However, someone beautiful and sweet came out of it from the other end just when he was about to enter it.


    At the very first glance, Whittaker discovered just how beautiful the elder sister is. After a second, he found something weird with her figure. Soon after, he had determined that the beautiful elder sister that had just appeared is definitely not a human being. The girl had snow-white skin; However, it was glowing with an undeniable luster. Her scarlet hair fell from each side and the back of her face, just like a waterfall. Whereas her luxurious clothes outlined her wonderful curves. Also, she had a perfect set of facial features as if meticulously crafted by a forge master.


    She was just too perfect to be human. Moreover, Whittaker had another reason to classify her as a non-human.


    The elder sister was dressed in a velvety sleeveless dress. Her body was slender and she was flickering in and out of existence, just like a holographic image. Her long and slender arms were like a willow tree. Currently, she was staring at him with a pair of bright star-like eyes filled with delight and happiness.


    Whittaker felt no sense of danger from her and a beaming smile immediately emerged on his immature face as he determined who she could possibly be. In her eyes, little handsome appearance seemed quite meek and friendly, as he waved his hand at her and said, "Big sis, nice to meet you. Are you the spirit of the formation who gifted me the ring of genesis? You are her, aren''t you?"


    "Big sis?" Nina thought in happiness as her lips curled into a smile. She had dressed well just for this occasion and it worked.


    "You guessed it right, I am the spirit of the formation. You can call me big sis Nina. I will be calling you little brother, do you mind?" Nina stated in a proud manner.


    Whittaker was fine with being called little brother. He was just 12 years old, after all. Plus, he confirmed that she really is the person who gifted him the ring of genesis because of her voice.


    "Follow me," Nina said while extending one of her hands to the snowy-haired boy.


    Whittaker reflexively extended his hands to hold her own. To his surprise, he managed to touch her. Her hand was soft almost like air. Although Nina was certainly a holographic image, Whittaker could still touch her because she had materialized a part of her body by condensing mana into a solid-state.


    Side by side, they both entered the golden portal, right after, Whittaker found himself in a completely different but just as magnificent place.


    "What a wonderful place!" Whittaker gazed at the surrounding by opening his eyes as wide as he could. This was a treasure trove. He had appeared in a quiet and peaceful place with a lot of ancient trees. Their shadows towering over him. These giant trees thrust into the cloudy night sky, while their dense leaves fluttered as gentle wind bellowed from the east. Dozens of stone and steel steles were placed all around them.


    With a single glance, Whittaker had determined that this was the world-famous formation grounds of Zachary''s palace. It''s because hundreds of magical runes were inscribed on the ancient tree trunks, stone steles, and steel steles.


    Memorizing magical runes and learning how to flesh them out was the basis of formation master; However, magical runes were one of the rarest things in this world. The knowledge about magical runes was scarce and formation master was the least in number as compared to others profession as it was a very difficult profession to master. A person needs high intelligence, memorization ability, excellent calligraphy skills, good hand dexterity, and must know how to stably input mana. Plus, costly items were also necessary to build formations.


    Moreover, formation masters are people with extreme prestige and pride as their connections and pockets run deep. They don''t work under others. Their teachings are hardly passed down to others. First of all, most formation masters don''t like to give away the design of their runes. Secondly, it takes a mind with very high intelligence to memorize a single rune design.


    Even the Royal Frost Fall Academy only has four rank-4 and two rank-5 formation master, who teaches only excellent students about magical runes, the way they are constructed and formation creation. Also, the formation masters are working as a magic teacher in Royal Frost Fall Academy on behalf of their very close relationship with Headmaster Yeon otherwise, they wouldn''t bother themselves and teach snotty-brats of the nobles and royals.


    They were once brother in arms. Now, they are all old men enjoying a calm and peaceful life although they were a little bit too old and the cruelty of time was upon them.


    Magical runes were costly, rare, and scarce. What''s worse is the fact that most information about many types of magical runes designs and formation creation is hidden by other experts.


    "Monopoly comes at a price, after all." For their greed and a sea of profit, most formation masters refused to publicize their knowledge. And, they weren''t wrong in their actions.


    In simple words, it was nigh impossible to see more than a hundred magical rune designs in a single place; However, Whittaker was currently at the world-famous Formation ground of Zachary''s Palace. All around him were the rarest of magical runes waiting to be memorized by him!

 Chapter 114: Memorizing rune designs

    This was the first time Whittaker had come in contact with magical runes designs, hence he was completely unable to recognize what level these runes were. Magical runes were divided into three levels. The first was basic runes. The complexity in their design lacked a lot in comparison to intermediate, advanced, and peak level magical runes. With his current understanding of magical runes, he wasn''t even sure what type of runes they are; However, he didn''t care much about it as he was just trying to memorize these runes in his mind.


    Whittaker''s expression grew calmer as gentle winds bellowed past each side of his face, gently fluttering the locks of his snowy-white hairs. Excitement surged in his eyes as he gazed at the runes inscribed on the steles of rock and steel and the trunks of the ancient trees.


    A certain ritual has been passed down since ancient times. Every formation master that wanted to leave his mark on the world would come to a certain place to inscribe his magical runes for the future generation. The place can be a barren land, a magical forest, or a hidden cave. One of such places was Zachary''s palace practice ground. Most formation masters aren''t even able to find a suitable student in their entire life, hence they jot their knowledge in this place so that someone worthy will learn it. This was a way that has been truly helping in flourishing the formation master profession for the past several decades.


    In several seconds, Whittaker has memorized a considerable amount of magical runes design, surprising even the rank-10 reality-management formation spirit, Nina.


    She was able to discern that he had learned them because the steles exploded into particles of multi-colored light after Whittaker memorized them. Furthermore, the runes on the tree trunks also vanished after Whittaker memorized them.


    Since someone worthy has managed to memorize them, there was no reason for them to exist. One of the reasons behind this occurrence was so that two peoples won''t learn the same magical runes that a single person created otherwise, it can lead to trouble in the future if both were to become enemies.


    "Little brother, you can memorize these runes later. For now, let''s go meet the owner of this place, Zachary. He is waiting for your arrival." Nina Zachary said to Whittaker, whose gaze has been sweeping back and forth, his icy crystal-like pupils memorizing the magical runes at an abrupt rate. If this continues, she believed that this entire ground will be cleared of their magical runes designs in several hours.


    Whittaker walked up to her and said, "It isn''t good to keep a guest waiting for long so elder sis, let''s go meet him!"


    An honest smile had emerged on his immature face when he said that. It was because he had already considered himself to be the master of this place. This was his inheritance, after all. Plus, he wanted to tease Elder Zachary.


    "Pfft!" Nina cracked and sweet laughter roared out. Elder Zachary, who was positioned at the central command room, also cracked. "What a brat. He even knows how to play others with words!"


    After holding his hand, Nina led Whittaker deeper into the forest with ancient towering trees. The place was surrounded by a mysterious formation and Whittaker will be lost if he isn''t touching Nina. As Whittaker followed, he saw many more complicated magical runes designs amidst the lingering misty clouds. They were so far above that clouds and land had become one. They walked through the cloudy land, passing by tablets that belonged to people close to Elder Zachary''s. One by one, his relatives and friends had died, leaving him all alone.


    In the end, her steps paused right after they reached the palace doors. The towering palace doors were closed and chained by many golden locks. As a safety measure, the doors could only be opened by Nina.


    Rumble! A rumbling noise was immediately heard when Nina placed her hands. Whittaker watched in astonishment as one by one, the layers of golden locks opened. Soon after, with a very light touch, the heavy and thick palace door slowly cracked open revealing a mesmerizing magical beast and the interior of the palace. It was rather dark but the mysterious beast''s flaming tail illuminated the deep darkness. Magical runes decorated the walls and various magic constructs were placed nearby the walls. In the middle was a marbled staircase that reached the top of the palace. The palace was very huge and its top thurst it''s way to the sky.


    All in all, this place appeared very mysterious to the young boy.


    Nina glanced at the flame steed after walking up to it. Light orbs activated the moment Whittaker stepped inside the palace, illuminating the place with yellow lightning.


    Nina sat on the Scarlet unicorn with two-small and one large reddish horn. She smiled as she witnessed the overexcited boy, who hurried over when she said, "Come on. You can sit on it."


    [Cassandra, The lofty Sky-Steed


    Rank: A


    Description: Tamed by the beauty of the Scarlet enchantress, this beast has been serving her husband even after her death. Lofty Sky-steeds are a type of magical beast that does not like to fight or form soul contract with others unless they are exceptionally beautiful or handsome. They can only be found above lofty mountains with conditions hazardous to humans.


    Skill: Gallop on land, Gallop on water, Gallop on clouds]


    "So this beast only knows how to run!" While thinking that Whittaker sat on its back.


    After Whittaker mounted it, Nina slightly patted the side of Cass''s face coated with furs and said, "Let''s go, Cassandra, to the central command room."


    The Central command room was located at the peak of the palace. There was a distance of 99999 stairs between them. If they were to run up then it would take them days to reach that place; however, the same couldn''t be said for Cass.


    She galloped so fast that Whittaker had to fasten his hand around Nina''s waist otherwise he would fall over. Nina, on the other hand, was able to maintain her balance very easily as she was a trained rider.

 Chapter 115: One finger (a)

    In his heart, Whittaker had named Cassandra, the lofty-cloud steed as a mere horse. She only knew how to run, after all. Plus, she was a girl so he named it horsie.


    During the entire ride, Whittaker and Nina did not speak as horsie ran too fast. Whittaker had taken cover behind Nina''s back otherwise, the wind would have smacked him off its back. Only the clanking sound of horsie footsteps filled the staircase as it ran towards the top of the staircase. After galloping for about a dozen minutes, horsie footsteps finally stopped. In just some minutes, they had reached the top of the staircase.


    "We will have to get off here to enter the central command room," Nina said.


    Magical beasts weren''t allowed inside that place. Their bodies were too large and with a single misstep, they could destroy a thing very precious to Elder Zachary.


    Whittaker and Nina got off Cassandra''s back, who was positioned one step away from the room. The room couldn''t be seen because the invisible formation hid it from prying eyes.


    They took one more step and Whittaker felt that he have crossed a barrier. Right after, they had reached the central command room.


    As his vision focused on the surrounding, he noticed an old man sitting on a wheelchair placed right in front of a Sculpture of a woman. The Sculpture was placed in the middle of a silvery fountain. Occasionally, streams of moon milk will shot out from each side, sprinkling on the sculpture.


    This was a costly method developed by Elder Zachary to keep the sculpture of his wife, the Scarlet enchantress fresh!


    Night''s will system notifications containing information about the things in front popped up in his vision.


    ''What a waste!'' Whittaker thought. According to the system''s notification, the sculpture was made from high-quality moonstone and the old man was none other than Elder Zachary; However, the sculpture was really precious to Zachary and he didn''t mind wasting his wealth on keeping it fresh.


    A stone platform was erected on an area some meter away from the old man. With a glance, Whittaker discovered that numerous magical runes were inscribed onto the surface of the stone platform. These runes formed a certain word written in the runic language. He didn''t know what it is, but the formation has many uses. Also, it was a formation necessary to become one with the Heart of hope.


    Whittaker and Nina headed straight towards Elder Zachary; However, Whittaker''s steps paused after he reached some meters away from the Elder.


    "Hmm?" Elder Zachary had great hearing senses and he could hear the sound of footsteps. He noticed that Whittaker has suddenly halted so his hands reached out to turn the wheelchair towards Whittaker.


    "Little brother, what''s wrong?" Nina asked while Elder Zachary stared at him.


    "Elder, I would like to have a spar with you! Can I?" Whittaker asked. Honestly, at first, he wanted to battle it out with him; However, his battle intent and anger died down after he noticed that the number one formation master of this world was using a wheelchair.


    He didn''t have the heart to bully a weak old man with a crippled lower body. His morals and consciousness didn''t allow him.


    That''s why he opted for a simple spar with the elderly man. In a sense, Elder Zachary had killed Whittaker and cruelly tortured him. There''s no way he was gonna let go of this matter without seeking some compensation. He wanted to teach some manners to the shameless old man, who was shocked, once again.


    "Nina, did the young boy just said that he wanted to fight me?"


    ?Yes! It''s as you heard, little brother wants to fight you?


    "Hahaha!" Hearing the snowy-haired boy''s words, Elder Zachary started to laugh in a wild manner as if this was the greatest joke he has ever heard in his life.


    "Do elder believe that I won''t be able to spar with you?" Whittaker''s brows raised in displeasure. According to the info on the mana met, Zachary was the number one formation master in the world but his true power level was around B-rank peak.


    With the power of ice elemental avatar, Whittaker was certain that putting up a fight with the elder will not be much of a problem; however, he was wrong.


    "Boy, you are a Devansha and battle is in your blood but learn to control it otherwise, you will meet a dreadful end. As for your question, young friend, you are too young to face me." As Elder Zachary said these words, a change occurred in his body. Previously, he was like an old man that seemed to be halfway into the coffin, now, however, a majestic aura seemed to adorn his every action.


    Whittaker didn''t know what to do, Elder Zachary was being too courteous. Also, his aura and words have caused him to think twice. When Whittaker heard Elder Zachary speaking with him casually as if they were friends, he was reminded of the talk that had taken place at the start of the trial. He thought, ''At that time, I was the one who told Elder Zachary to not shy away from befriending me and now we have become friends.''


    Elder Zachary continued with an important lecture, "Besides, the act of a low-ranked awakened challenging a High-ranked awakened is considered very rude in the awakened continent, and can lead to dreadful consequences. Today, it''s me so nothing will happen to you as we are friends. But If it was some other strong being then you being humiliated would have the least probability of happening while you being attacked and killed would have the highest probability of happening."


    "I won''t crush an ant if it''s not bothering me but if it does then I don''t mind stepping over it." That''s the temperament that most high-ranked awakened have. Whittaker had foolishly acted as a silk pant young master but Elder Zachary only reprimands him.


    Whittaker''s eyes blinked in thoughts. The old man had lived for a very long time so his words are bound to be right; However, Whittaker was still curious and he wanted to know how powerful a B-ranked and above expert is.

 Chapter 116: One finger (b)

    "Umm, since we are friends, can Elder Zachary show me how powerful you are?" Whittaker said indifferently.


    Hearing his words, Elder Zachary crackled an indifferent smile but instantly concealed it, and his majestic aura soared.


    "Oh well, since you are my student, I don''t mind showing you what a B-rank peak expert can do." He said while moving his hand and extending it to the skies on the right. He continued by pointing his forefinger at the peak of a mountain draped in snow, "Do you see that mountain up there?"


    "Yes, elder," Whittaker followed the direction of his finger and nodded his head. "Okay, continue to look at it!" The elder said.


    At that moment, one of his hands underwent a surprising change, so shocking that even Whittaker was surprised and his attention focused on it. He has never seen anything like that before, after all, and he was extremely curious about it and excited at the same time for witnessing something new.


    He was shocked to discover that Elder Zachary''s five fingers extended into what seems like wires of liquid metal. And, these wires conjoined to form the opening of an inky, black cannon.


    ''Wow, is he a human being or a magic construct?'' Whittaker thought, at the very moment, a system notification popped up in Whittaker''s eye to clear his confusion.


    [Equipment: Death Beam Cannon (rankless)


    Requirement: Becoming a cyborg by undergoing an infamous self-modification mech-magi experiment.


    Description: A unique piece of equipment created after thousands of years of experiments and researches. It can become a part of the flesh.


    Equipment abilities: Sundering Night Death Blast, Titanic Slam, Death flare, Lifeforce discharge, mana beam...]


    In the past, technology wasn''t a famous topic and barely anyone was interested in creating a magic construct; however, there was an evil genius�Cwith low-potential as an awakened, only D-ranked�Cthat invested all his time in creating magic constructs but as death neared him, he went mad. He sacrificed a lot of lives in the name of eternal life and science while trying to create a method through which a person can combine with the deadly machines. He was titled as an evil genius because of what he did, killing thousands of humans, animals, other races to just create a method.


    Although he was killed before even succeeding part ways, his works and research papers allowed people of the modern era to create never before seen magic construct. Most of the peoples were only interested in creating the evil genius magic construct but Elder Zachary and some others were different.


    Elder Zachary chooses to dive deeper into evil genius researches and created a successful method to combine technology with the human body, hence creating a profession unique solely to him; However, eternal life wasn''t a possibility but he had succeeded in becoming far powerful than his destined rank.


    Gentle winds bellowed in their surrounding, signifying the start of a calamity whereas the cherry trees'' pinkish leaves trembled in awe and fear.


    Rustle!


    Suddenly, with Elder Zachary as the center, all the leaves and trees around him suddenly started to age at a visible speed, even the grassy ground under his feet turned gray and yellow. The cherry petal dried up and vanished with the wind while the cherry trees in the surroundings seemed to have been kissed by death, and they wrinkled into thin papers.


    More and more leaves and trees died releasing waves of death essence, and these waves of death essence drifted slowly towards Elder Zachary as they were controlled by his cyborg''s hand. On the other hand, the grassy ground in the surroundings seemed to have been destroyed by something. Numerous cracking sounds echoed while the land started to drift apart, a line stretched from the middle of the room reaching Whittaker''s feet, who stepped to the side, afraid that he will fall inside the ground that was slowly opening.


    For a time, the entire scene in the surroundings was slightly dusky as death essence mixed with mana to create death force whose very appearance permeate into the bright and lit surrounding to darken it mysteriously.


    Whittaker could smell the scent of the Death force and he could see it too; However, he couldn''t feel it as if he was protected by something invisible.


    Although he was still in the physical world, Nina has altered the reality to keep Whittaker in a separate boundary called the Spirit Boundary. Right now, due to the Spirit Boundary, all that was happening outside was ineffective to him otherwise, he would have shriveled into a dried corpse.


    Buzz buzz! The Death Force started to converge at the center of the cannon. It was at this very moment that blinding sparks exploded in the area, visually cracking even space. Elder Zachary has used technology and magic to gain control over the death force, even though it wasn''t permanent and harmful to even himself. The magical runes drawn all over his body lit up, protecting him from being self-harmed by the death force.


    Several seconds after, a dark light converged like dark, inky water, expanding while rapidly spinning.


    Buzz!


    Blinding light flooded Whittaker''s eyes, as a black beam shot out towards the snowy mountain whose peak reached the skies. The mountain draped in the snow has existed as a neighbor to Zachary''s palace for a long, long time. Nothing bad has happened to it before but today, it was hit by vertigo force, something that shouldn''t belong to this world!


    "Bang!"


    The death beam crashed upon the peak of the snow-draped mountain, instantly expanding into a whirlpool that swallowed the entire peak and sundered the cloudy, night skies in a pitch-black sea.


    Half of the mountain body was blown away by the impact, crashing heavily on the ground, causing snow dust to rise on the ground. Whereas, the peak was forcefully pulled towards the whirlpool and got absorbed by it.


    By the time the whirlpool in the sky dissipated, Whittaker saw no signs of the mountain peak ever existing. It was met with an ultimate-level demise, being annihilated out of existence, itself.

 Chapter 117: Banquet

    He hastily looked towards the snowy mountain and watched in shock as half of it vanished into thin air. Although Whittaker''s crystal icy eyes gazed at the dissipating mountain peak unwaveringly, he could see everything happening in his surroundings due to Devansha''s vision. He was fully aware of who, how, and what caused the snowy mountain to be destroyed.


    The snowy mountain was comparable to mountain Everest in length and size; However, half of it ceases to exist because of Elder Zachary''s attack. Awestruck, the heart of the young snowy-haired boy beats thunderously as he thinks,


    ''This much power could only belong to an S-rank awakened!''


    What happened already was stunning enough but Whittaker was even more surprised by the power Elder Zachary just executed. Whittaker was having the taste of his own medicine. He had always been surprising others but now it was time for him to be surprised!


    Elder Zachary was really at the peak of the B-rank. His potential has peaked as his class weapon was only a B-rank Cursive Spellbook. Although his spellbook was unique, it was still B-rank, hence he couldn''t break the universal rule of class weapon.


    The rank of an awakened class weapon didn''t only determine the peak rank of spell they will be able to use in the future but also their peak potential.


    For example, a person who awakens an F-ranked class weapon will never be able to reach E-rank. Similarly, Elder Zachary, who has awakened a B-rank weapon, was never able to reach an A-rank due to the limitation imposed on him by his class weapon. Moreover, he was never able to upgrade his class weapon rank either. It''s because he needed the blood of a divine-ranked underworld being such as Abbadon to upgrade his class weapon, which he never did, hence his current plight.


    Although the rank of class weapons could be increased by feeding them divine ranked blood, a suitable type of blood was also required otherwise, the rank will decrease rather than increasing.


    Elder Zachary''s peak power level should be B-rank. However, he learned and dabbled in many arts to increase his damage output. He created magical technology modeled after humans and their organs that will help him control the death force. He grafted the unique magi-tech parts with his organs and limbs with the help of the rank-10 reality management formation, Nina to increase his lifespan and utilize the death force as his weapon. A detailed version of his glorious deeds is also stored in his cyber-protected computerized central command system. All of it was waiting for his inheritor to learn if Whittaker ever wishes to.


    Whittaker stood still in amazement yet his lips curled into a pout. ''I am still too weak!''


    In merely three weeks, he had become powerful enough to fight D-ranked magical beasts yet he was still unhappy.


    "Young boy, why the long face and how long are you gonna stand still like a statue? Come here already, Nina prepared a grand feast for you. Let''s sit and drink together. I won''t mind sharing some of my treasured wine with you!" Said the old man with a smile when he saw the awestruck descendant of Devansha, The Great. Elder Zachary was really pleased with himself.


    "Wine? Will I be able to drink Elder''s Celestial win?" Whittaker asked in glee. The tales of Elder Zachary''s celestial wine was spread long and wide, even across mountains and rivers. Rumors about its capability echo daily in the courtyards of many experts and royal families but none is lucky enough to have a sip of it.


    To say the least, Elder Zachary was more popular because of his celestial wine rather than his formation mastery.


    "Haha, why not?" Elder Zachary replied with a carefree laugh but someone was not happy!


    "Zachy, he is still a child so no wine for him. At most, he is only allowed to drink fruit juice." Nina chided her master while raising her lithe hand to use her magic, in that very moment, the magic circle expanded and released a blinding light.


    When it disappeared, Whittaker noticed that the ground has healed. The trees that have wrinkled into thin papers were vibrant, their cherry petal as lovely as ever. Furthermore, they appeared fresh, releasing a sweet-scented smell that permeates the surrounding.


    By altering reality, Nina has healed all the damages in the surrounding caused by her old man. Plus, the invisible spirit boundary enclosing Whittaker also vanished.


    Whittaker walked up to Nina and grabbed on to her floral dress. "Eh? Elder sister Nina, can I please have a sip? Pretty please?"


    At that moment, Whittaker utilized his ultimate ability, Puppy eyes and Nina''s heart melted. "Only a sip." A sweet voice entered Whittaker''s ears and he beamed a smile at her.


    "Thanks!" He said to her as they walked up to Elder Zachary, hand in hand.


    As they were walking towards him, the scenery in the surrounding started to change into something completely new.


    Dining tables, sheets, marbled rocks, pots, fresh ingredients, silvery plates, soup cups, and wine glass materialized from thin air.


    They floated in front of Whittaker''s eyes. With a single snap of Elder Zachary''s finger, the ingredients, and furniture started to move after.


    Soon after, two peoples and one magical beast could be seen sitting at the dining table. Whereas one person started to cook excellent dishes for them, one by one.


    The banquet started with the serving of Azure King Crab Deep Emerald Ocean Soup. A rank 5-star soup with a very heavy Umami Broth.


    Whittaker could see and smell the thick umami azure fragrance emitting out of the 5-star soup and his mouth watered. Before he could even examine it or use his spoon to taste the broth, the smell of 5-star food had caused a disturbance in his soul space. The moment Wolfie smelled the food, he woke up and demanded a taste of it, asking his master to let him chow down on King''s crab meat.


    "Umm, will it be okay to let my contracted beast join us on this feast?" He asked.


    "No problemo!" The master of the palace replied in a friendly manner.


    "Woof! Woof! (Thank you, papa)" Wolfie expressed his gratitude to Whittaker as he appeared in the physical world. Right after, the puppy big eyes turned to the piece of hard-shelled meat inside a luxurious bowl filled to the brim with 5-star soup bursting with an umami flavor.

 Chapter 118: Bang & Bomb

    After pulling out Wolfie from his soul space, Whittaker excitedly gazes at the soup with Puppy eyes, along with his obedient pet that didn''t pounce on the meat but only stared at it while wagging his tail, awaiting permission to start eating. Nina helped them with some of the King Crab Soup. By using a fragrance-retaining ladle, she scooped up some creamy broth�Cwith several pieces of vegetable and nine kinds of meat�Cand poured it on three bowls, and handed over one to each kid on the table. For her, Elder Zachary was also a kid as he didn''t know how to take care of himself and she has been providing for his need, taking care of him for the past few hundred years.


    Whittaker finally came face to face with the color of the soup. It was green and it was thick almost creamy. A system notification swiftly popped up when the emerald broth of the 5-star soup reflected in his crystal icy eyes.


    [Azure King Crab Deep Emerald Ocean Soup. System rating 5.99 Star]


    [Ingredients: The soup is thickened by using the coral of the Queen Crab Shell. Many awakened eat it and many especially love this part of the queen crab. Mixed with Five-star deep Sea Plankton, eggs of the 7-star Queen Crab, the meat of her husband, the 5-star king crab, and seven more types of distinct shellfish, this big bowl contains the work of heaven. Even the system is briefly unsure which type of aquatic shellfish is used to create this dish. This soup is no less than a luxury that the Guardian would only be able to savor once in his lifetime.


    Effect:


    1: Warming Soul: Keeps the body warm for weeks. Before training, there''s no need to exercise. After a single bite, the Guardian will feel like being embraced by his mother in a warm, homely hug.


    2: Mediator: A person''s heart remains calm as the ocean and mind as stable as the sea deep surface. Increases the power of comprehension and boosts the effect of meditation techniques by 3 times.


    3: Reflex boost: Hasten the natural reflex of a person. All three effect remains until the Warming Soul effect ends.


    System remarks: [King Crab Soup(5-star)]


    Whittaker licked his red lips as he received the porcelain bowl from elder sister Nina, ready to chug it all down in one breath; however, an urgent warning stopped him from eating this prized dish in a barbaric manner on time.


    "Little brother, wait, smell it first to increase your appetite and heart desire, only then eat it to your heart''s content. That''s the way to eat it," Nina said. She was a master of cooking and had learned various ways and techniques to cook magic dishes. Plus, she had also created different manners of eating for her prized collection of dishes.


    Following her advice, Whittaker lifted the porcelain bowl to his nose and inhaled deeply. Immediately, his nostril was assaulted by the thick Azure fragrance, and his naive expression changed to one of a seduced maiden�C red like a ripe tomato. Furthermore, the fragrance spread till it entered the pendant of Night.


    Lord Dark Spirit had plopped on his bed to sleep; however, he had only closed his eyes for some minutes when something intoxicating assaulted his nose and his eyes blinked open in an immediate response. His looks were currently in a messy state as long locks of black hairs�Cthe curled part of which were tinged Scarlet�Cdropped on his forehead, covering his eyes.


    However, if one looked carefully enough, then they will see a very enchanting man upon whom married or unmarried women will reflexively fawn over, praising him endlessly for his stunning looks. Lord Dark spirit licked his cupid-bow like red lips and inhaled forcefully, sucking in all the azure aroma in the surrounding whilst closing his eyes.


    "What a rich aroma of the sea and it''s spiritual in nature, just who in this mortal land is capable of such a feat?" Lord Dark spirit divine sense spread out of the pendant of night, landing upon a wonderful sight. He nodded his head, pleased by the dish and its contour. "Through an extensive boiling process, the vegetables packed with umami flavors and the meat of nine different kinds of crabs has been melted into one to create this broth. Oh, she used battle energy and mana to crystallize the very soup into finger-sized vegetables and blocks of meat�Ctruly exceptional creativity!" Lord Dark Spirit''s stomach grumbled due to the untouchable delicacy in front of him.


    Hearing his words, Whittaker internally asked, "Lord Dark Spirit, do you want some?"


    Whittaker hadn''t even tasted it yet Lord Dark Spirit praise and his own senses told him how great the dish will be. Anyways, he wasn''t greedy enough to not share some of the delicacies with his life savior.


    "Nah, they will get suspicious. And, if they get suspicious then it might not end up good for you or me." Lord Dark Spirit warned while clutching his fist as tight as could to control his gluttonous desires; however, the sparkly droll trailing down the corner of his mouth showed how much he wanted it. ''Sadly, I can only stare at it.''


    After inhaling the emerald fragrance of the soul, everyone''s appetite has reached its peak. Wolfie and Elder Zachary started to eat whereas, Nina prepared the main course.


    Whittaker could no longer control himself. He used the silvery soup spoon to scoop up some broth and shoved it into his mouth.


    His tongue tingled as a rich fragrance wafted out of the broth.


    Bang!!!!


    His eyes open wide and the glow in them gradually brightened up as the warm broth slid down his throat and plopped on the empty stomach. The warm broth heated up in the pit of his exhausted body and exploded.


    Bomb!!!


    Mana and battle energy rushed out like a tidal wave, drowning Whittaker in an endless sea of pleasure. The scent of the fragrance was released out of his mouth as he burped and started to scoop up the soup one sip after another without any pause in between.

 Chapter 119: One-step away from E-rank

    With every sip, the flavor-packed warm broth kept on bursting forth and he drowned deeper and deeper into the warm embrace of the sea filled with seashell creatures and aquatic plants.


    "Eat some meat and vegetables, too!" Elder Zachary said to Whittaker while squinting his eyes in immeasurable pleasure. He turned towards the chef and praised, "Your cooking is as delicious as ever, hasn''t got tired of it for the past hundreds of years nor will I ever. Good work!"


    Elder Zachary has complimented her more than thousands of times yet even now, she was happy at being praised by her father.


    Whittaker followed the elder''s advice and scoped up some creamy broth with pieces of meat and shoved it into his mouth.


    The vegetable was crunchy and once they cracked, a massive wave of battle energy supported by a small wave of mana rushed into his guts. Whereas, the meat melted into thin lines of battle energy and mana, at the very moment when the block of meat touched his hot tongue.


    [The Guardian has consumed Azure King Crab Deep Emerald Ocean Soup (5.99 stars). Gained multiple status effects.]


    [Battle Energy increased: 3.5 Battle energy strands?20 Battle energy strands]


    The system notified the young snowy-haired boy that he has reached the peak of F-ranked battle master. At first, his battle energy core only had 3.5 strands of battle energy, now, however, Whittaker could feel that there were twenty strands of battle energy in it. The battle energy that his body could store has already reached its maximum capacity, hence the rest of the battle energy was released out of his pores and holes such as nostrils, ears, etc. Whereas his mana unit kept on rising and the Night Will''s system kept on notifying him about it.


    [The Guardian has consumed Azure King Crab Deep Emerald Ocean Soup!]


    [Mana point increased: 600?899. Total mana points 999/2000. The Guardian must learn a mana meditation method to continue to grow stronger and reach E-rank!]


    The size of the Whittaker mana pool has increased considerably a lot thanks to the heaven-reaching mountain early challengers. Currently, he could absorb 2000 mana units; However, they won''t be able to remain in his body as he hasn''t learned a mana meditation method. The Mana meditation method is used to absorb, store, control, and compress the mana unit depending on its rank and the needs of the mage.


    Whittaker needed to learn a mana-meditation method to control his mana from surging out of his body. The mana in the mana pool of every mage surges out of their body if it is one point above 1000 units. This effect applies to all, hence everyone learns a mana meditation method. Now, he needed to learn one too otherwise, he will be stuck at the peak of F-rank forever.


    Whittaker was too engrossed in the food to spare a look at the system''s notification.


    Nina Scarlet-Heaven Phoenix''s cooking method melted the ingredients of the dish to create an unfathomable broth. The broth contained a mixture of high-ranked oceanic creatures and unique aquatic plants. Plus, she used mana and battle energy to coalesced the broth into meat and vegetable chunks, just like a phoenix taking rebirth from the ashes.


    The recipe for this broth was only possible because she could use mana and battle energy at the same time to cook this dish. Only Whittaker and Nina can cook it but two magic chefs of a similar level can also cook it if they are in sync and one is a battle master while the other�Ca mage.


    The deliciousness of the dish was unfathomable, and Whittaker couldn''t help but admire the person who cooked it. The taste, texture, and literally everything about this dish has exceeded what he has ever tasted in his life. Even Christopher''s or Lily''s dishes weren''t comparable to this soup.


    ''Plus, this is only the appetizer!''


    Whittaker thought in pleasure as the scent and warmness of the broth permeated every corner of his mouth. Most of the mana and battle energy was released out of his pores as his body wasn''t able to store it.


    Nina''s cooking method was unique and very high ranked. She had melted the meat of nine kinds of crabs and various deep-sea vegetables to create a heavenly broth. Thereafter, by using mana and battle energy, she has combined the flavor-packed broth into solid forms of meat and vegetable, hence creating one of the most immersive delicacies in the land of mortals. This dish has already reached the pinnacle in terms of creativity and control of battle energy and mana within the dish.


    This dish was as immersive as the emerald ocean, itself. And Whittaker found himself lost in it.


    "Little brother, how is it?" Nina only asked Whittaker. Zachary was used to her cooking, after all.


    "The meat is chewy. The broth is super tasty! The dish is fulfilling! All in all, elder sister you are the best cook I have met in my life!" Whittaker exclaimed after swallowing the pieces of meat he had stuffed his face with


    "Can I get one more serving, please?" He said while extending the bowl towards her.


    "Sure!"


    His eyes widened in glee as he received one more bowl filled to the brim with the hot soup.


    Gurgle! Kuch! Gomp!


    Soon after, little hamster''s ruddy cheeks bulged as he chewed the soft meat, chomped down on the crunchy vegetables, and swallowed the creamy broth.


    After some moments, only an empty bowl could be seen on the table as Whittaker and Wolfie patted their stomach in satisfaction but they still desired to show their dreadful teeth and abyssal stomach to the main course.


    The Dish that Nina was about to serve was ranked ninth on the empire cuisine �C the empire that no longer exists in this world.


    The dish outlined the cultural significance of the Devansha peoples. The Awakened continent has only seen one empire in its entire history, and that empire was created by Devansha, The Great. However, before the next dish could be served, Elder Zachary stopped her.


    "Wait," Elder Zachary said to Nina, who was gonna serve the pinnacle level main course to the people.

 Chapter 120: Grand Moon Chalcedony Empire

    Elder Zachary had four types of Celestial wine, each stored in four distinct jaded jars according to the level of intoxication and its effect. The green jar had the least amount of alcoholic content and the weakest mystical effects while the red jar had the highest. The price of the Celestial wines was determined by their color, effect, and intoxication level, and red was priced the highest. In the past three hundred years, Elder Zachary had only sold two types of Celestial wines and both were sold for millions of mana crystals! High-ranked awakened typically use Pure-mana crystal as the main source of currency in trades or to buy and sell stuff. Also, pure-mana crystal can be used to hasten the growth of an awakened as it contains pure mana essence.


    With a thought, Elder Zachary materialized a single green jar of Celestial Wine to complete an important ritual. The moment the celestial Wine Jar materialized in the physical world, the pressure in the surrounding got oppressive. Whittaker even felt that suppression, and the ground slightly cracking and lightly shaking below his feet confirmed that gravity had increased by some times.


    He grabbed the jar of celestial wine with a smile before two cups of wine were placed on the table. Then he proceeded to open the seals on the jar by using an incantation.


    The moment he unsealed the wine jar, four types of fragrance spread in the air around them even though the crystal cap was affixed in its place. The four types of fragrance �C Emerald, Sapphire, Amethyst, and Rose Quartz �C were visible to Whittaker''s naked eyes, and incomprehensible words were drawn all over the fragrance.


    The moment the emerald jar was unsealed, a system notification containing detailed information about the wine popped up.


    [Celestial Wine. System Rating 7-star]


    [Ingredients: Four types of 18-star magical beast''s blood were distilled by using a rank-7 formation which utilizes soul force then battered with mana and battle energy to create the base of this Elixir wine. Untainted Yang Ginseng�Conly grows in the depth of Forbidden Lava Lake�Cwas blended with the fruits of the Five Elemental Fruit Tree�Ca treasure that can assist A-ranked awakened in creating an elemental avatar to reach S-rank�Cto create its texture. Every inch of the wine is packed with condensed mana and battle energy that has taken the form of words.


    Celestial Effects:


    A: Increase soul force or give birth to soul force in a person''s, mortal or awakened, body.


    B: Increase Mana by 1000 points every sip


    C: Calm the nerves, stabilize the heart, soothe the soul, and increase the efficiency of the mind.


    D: Increase Battle Energy by 80 points every sip.]


    The wine was far more than just fascinating to look at for Whittaker after the system notified him about its various effects.


    Elder Zachary, on the other hand, cracked open the crystal cap with a finger jab and instantly they were hit with a burst of wine fragrances as its aroma surged out of the green jar. The four types of aromas took the shape of the 18-star beasts whose blood was used to create it, right after, they entered the nostrils of Elder Zachary and Whittaker, gushing up and clouding their minds while making their taste buds tingle.


    "Being able to make friends with you who might very well be the last descendent of the Grand Moon Chalcedony Empire left in the Awakened continent is an honor for me! Cheers!" Elder Zachary said while grabbing the jar of wine from the table. He then filled his cup to the brim with the crystalline four-color liquid and only filled Whittaker''s wine cup with some drops and handed it over to the snowy-haired boy.


    Whittaker''s glanced at the stinky old man beside him and asked. "Elder Zachary, can I get some more of it? It''s too little to satisfy me. And, the Grand Moon Chalcedony Empire, was this empire ruled by Devansha, The Great?"


    Elder Zachary rubbed his beard very calmly and said, "Young boy, you are still an F-rank awakened so you can only drink a single sip of the Emerald version of the Celestial wine. I can only give you about this much otherwise, your body would surely explode from the sudden surge of mana and battle energy."


    Each sip of the Celestial wine was packed with a thousand units of mana and dozens of units of battle energy. Whittaker''s body won''t be able to release so much energy through the pores and holes and will explode if taken in excess, hence he could only drink one sip.


    Whittaker gulped, understanding that not everything could be taken for granted. With a grateful expression on his face, he picked up the wine cup and brought it closer to his face. The wine fragrance gushed up his nose like sea overturning the lands. His brain was already cloudy yet this time, the fragrance traveled throughout his body, warming his limbs and making him all the more exhilarated to take a sip but he wanted to know about the Grand Moon Chalcedony Empire.


    After successfully warning him about the dangers imposed by the excess of celestial wine, Elder Zachary continued by explaining, "The Grand Moon Chalcedony Empire was established when the Divine Battle King United the entire Awakened continent under his rule; However, more than several thousand years ago, the Grand Moon Chalcedony Empire suddenly vanished from this world. No one knows why. In some historical records, it is said that your Ancestor defied the heaven and was punished with the annihilation of the entire Empire while the other historical records say that the Divine Battle King was so powerful that he ascended to the heaven with his Empire!" Elder Zachary was enthralled by just explaining about the history of the Awakened to the equally enthralled snowy-haired boy.


    There are seven kingdoms in the Awakened continent yet not even a single one had dared to proclaim itself as an Empire even though their land stretches for tens of thousands of miles. Not even the central Kingdom of light had dared to proclaim itself as an Empire!

 Chapter 121: Boasting While Drunk.

    It''s not because they don''t dare to but because of the respect rooted deep in their heart. The respect they hold for the Grand Moon Chalcedony Empire that once ruled the entire Awakened continent. The seven kingdoms came into being after the Grand Moon Chalcedony Empire vanished from the face of the world. According to history, the Ancestor of the seven kingdoms used to be citizens of the Grand Moon Chalcedony Empire. That''s why they respect the Empire. It''s their roots.


    The seven kingdoms had a silent agreement. Only after a kingdom manages to unite the entire continent under its rules will it be worthy to be named an empire. Each kingdom wishes to become the next empire of the awakened continent; However, not even a single emperor was capable enough of achieving such a task.


    Whittaker had the bloodline of Devansha. Devansha was the Ruling Imperial family of the Grand Moon Chalcedony Empire, so in a sense, Whittaker could be considered as the Prince of the Grand Moon Chalcedony Empire!


    Hearing his words, Whittaker finally realized how great his ancestry is. ''Holy, I am nobler than the princes of the Kingdoms, even the Emperors had to be respectful to me if I tell them about my ancestry!''


    "Although you have the blood of Devansha the great, don''t think that it will be okay to tell others about it. Most people will target you to take your blood if they find out about it. From now on, it will be better to hide your bloodline and limit the use of your bloodline ability to only life and death encounters. I will use my personal connection to hide your ancestry too, anyways, let''s cheers!" Elder Zachary exclaimed.


    Just like he said, Whittaker had divine quality blood in his body. Divine blood could be used to upgrade the Class weapon! He was a Royal with the blood of the Ruling Imperial family of the only Empire; However, he was also the solution to the problem that has depressed many awakened. Whittaker was a medicine that could be used to upgrade their class weapon to reach a higher rank.


    The higher the rank of an awakened, the longer they can live. So many B-rank and A-rank experts were desperate to upgrade their Class weapon and what''s better than divine quality blood?


    Whittaker would become their prime target if his ancestry is exposed!


    "Gulp!" In a single move, he drank the little bit of celestial wine provided to him by Elder Zachary while thinking, ''I just need some years. Within a decade, I will reach the peak of S-rank! Then the world will witness how I spank everyone that dares to trouble me. Be it, Barbarian Luo, with a sad past or anyone else!''


    The moment the four-color crystal liquid entered his mouth, a bitter and burning sensation burst forth in his mouth, scalding his mouth without burning it. The rush of heat added a layer of red flush on his snowy skin. Right after, the wine nectar glided down his throat and the flavor changed into the sweetest he has ever had. Plus, the temperature of the wine turned chilly.


    The wine bitterness came from the magical beast''s blood while its sweetness came from the fruits of the Five-fruit tree. The momentary transition from bitter to sweet was controlled by the formation laid within the content of the wines.


    "Burp! Burp! Burp!"


    Whittaker tongue licked the scorching parts of his inner cheeks while letting out burps, and releasing a sweet-scented breath. His vision was hazy and his eyes unfocused, blurred by drowsiness.


    From the looks of it, he was completely drunk. Right then, Night''s will system notification popped up.


    [Guardian has consumed the Emerald version of the Celestial wine. Gained multiple status effects]


    [The Guardian has Gained 1000 units of mana. Guardian hasn''t learned a mana meditation technique. The mana will be released from the pores and holes, one hundred units per second!]


    [The guardian has gained 62 Units of Battle energy! The Guardian hasn''t opened his Blood vessel and the energy pathways, hence his body can''t retain more than 20 strands of battle energy in the body. The 62 units of battle energy will be used to open the Blood vessels and energy pathways!]


    Right then, a thundering voice echoes out from inside his body, attracting Nina and Elder Zachary''s gaze. From them, it was pretty clear that Whittaker has just opened ten Blood vessels and energy pathways in a single second!


    "One day I will unite the entire continent under one rule and become the King of my empire!" Whittaker exclaimed as the wine burst in his stomach, a bitter-sweet sensation rushed up


    The wine had changed flavor once again. The third burst was far more marvelous and intoxicating than the initial two bursts. Like rising ocean waves, the wine in a gaseous form permeated in all parts of his body, leaving not even a single corner untouched.


    "Bang!" Right after his overwhelming exclamations and awestriking deeds, Whittaker''s head crashed onto the porcelain table as he entered a deep state of slumber.


    At that moment, the system notified: [Night''s Will system has detected Soul Force in the Guardian body. Consuming 2000 experience points to initiate the process of creating Soul Force seed in the Guardian body!]


    [1%....


    [The guardian will wake up after the process is completed]


    He was completely wasted and didn''t listen to what the system said.


    "Hahahahahaha! Good dream! I will be gazing at you from the underworld. Make my name shine. From now on, we are friends!" Elder Zachary cracked up as even he was under the influence of his celestial wine.


    Celestial wine... A wine that will even intoxicate a King ranked awaken. So how could a child like Whittaker have enough endurance to remain clear-headed after taking even a single sip?


    With a single sip, he was so badly drunk that he fell unconscious. Elder Zachary, on the other hand, emptied the content of the entire emerald jar. Once a jar is opened, it has to drink to the very last drop, or else it will be wasted. The mana and battle energy essence will be lost with the passage of time, whether the wine jar is sealed once again or not.


    The best quality of ingredients has been used to complete this wine, each more costly than another. He wasn''t gonna waste even a single sip of his treasured celestial wine.


    The Emerald version of the celestial wine was 7-star but drinking it all was enough to cause him to get drunk. Elder Zachry was a B-rank peak expert, after all. He also started to get drowsy while laughing.


    Wolfie licked the wine glass of his master as he was seduced by the fragrance of the Celestial wine. With a single lick, his eyes rolled about, feeling weak in his limbs he fell unconscious right on top of his master''s head.


    One by one, the three babies had fallen asleep. So Nina started to clear up the mess.


    Sometime later, she carefully tucked Whittaker and Wolfie under the blankets of an extremely large bed of a wide bedroom. Whereas Elder Zachary slept nearby the statue of his wife, the Scarlet enchantress.

 Chapter 122: Star Soul Visualization Technique!

    Whittaker woke up with the resounding notification of the system notifying him about some important matters.


    ?The Guardian has successfully condensed an F-rank soul seed in his mana pool. The soul seed can store soul force obtained through meditating in the visualization soul technique. The soul seed can absorb soul force through live combat. Guardian F-rank soul seed maximum capacity is 1000 soul force units?


    ?The Guardian has successfully opened 23 Blood Vessels and Energy passageways. The Guardian can absorb 23 strands of battle energy in his battle core?


    ?Ding! Lord Dark spirit has relapsed into a slumbering state. He wishes to not be disturbed for some weeks.


    ?Ding! Night''s Will System recommends the Guardian to learn mana meditation techniques, visualization soul technique, and battle energy breathing techniques?


    Hint: Elder Zachary''s Royal palace is bound to have a library greater than Royal Frost Fall Academy!?


    The Royal Frost Fall Academy is bounded by the rules of the Water kingdom, hence it only allows students to learn F to D rank skills and spells. Above that is forbidden unless an awakened enlist into the army or become a member of an organization, noble or royal family, but Elder Zachary''s palace doesn''t have such rules and Whittaker could learn the highest rank techniques.


    He was still sleepy-eyed, hence rubbed them with the back of his hand while yawning. After his vision cleared up, he noticed that he is in a vast room with a lot of magical runes designs on the wall. From the looks of it, each had a different use to it; However, Whittaker wasn''t able to tell what they could be used for as not a single magical rune design was labeled with a name nor was their use defined.


    ''I finally realized what Brother Hera meant by his friend becoming wasted after drinking wine!'' Whittaker thought. He didn''t even realize how he reached this place but at least he remembered the boastful announcement he made while under the influence of alcohol and his face blushed red. ''Whatever, I should first read the book on the soul that elder sister Nina gave me as a reward!''


    When he moved to sit up, Wolfie rolled about on the warm sheets. Even after that, the little fella was still fast asleep. He immediately recalled it into his soul space�Cso that its sleep won''t be affected�Cwhile touching his ring of genesis to pull out the Book on Soul Power.


    Right after a colorless book with silver patterns materialized in front of Whittaker. Whittaker opened the book and realized that it was written in the runic language, a language he hasn''t learned before.


    He couldn''t read the book but Whittaker was very curious about soul force and soul technique. He wanted to learn them because soul techniques can be used to directly destroy an enemy mana pool or battle energy core. Soul force is very powerful and he wanted to start dabbling in it or even master it. In the awakened continent, there aren''t many books on soul power, and he was lucky enough to find this book; however, no matter how curious, Whittaker couldn''t learn it if he doesn''t understand the runic language.


    "I can''t read the runic words in this book. Should I go to the library and learn the runic language? But it will take a lot of time!" Whittaker muttered while holding the book. It was easy to memorize information but it was hard to learn a new language. He would need to memorize the runic language words, learn the way they are pronounced, and understand the meaning of each word. Plus, the Runic language had more than 120000 characters in it. It was a hard language to master.


    Before he could give up, a system notification popped up in Whittaker''s vision.


    ?The Guardian can learn the entire Book on Soul Power for 1000 Experience points. Does the guardian want to??


    ?Yes/No?


    Whittaker still had 6000 Experience points left so he immediately made his decision and gazed at the Yes word. What''s a mere 1000 experience point in comparison to learning something as powerful as soul force? Nothing...


    Soon after, one thousand experience points were consumed and a lot of information flooded his mind.


    "Soul Force


    Explanation: When soul energy mixes with mana, energy called soul Force is created. The Book on soul power is divided into seven levels. The first three levels are called the basic level. It is divided into F-rank soul force, E-rank soul force, and D-rank force. All three levels are comparatively easy to practice; however, the creation of soul seed in a person''s mana pool is necessary to store and produce soul force. The last four-level are far harder to practice when compared to the basic level?


    ?A person who has strengthened his soul force to the peak of F-rank (1000 units of soul force) will be invincible while facing any F-ranked awakened who haven''t dabbled in soul force. With a single soul force attack technique, a peak F-rank soul force master can shatter the mana pool of an F-ranked mage or battle energy master. With the breakthrough of each level, the same benefit follows. A peak E-ranked soul force master can shatter the mana pool and battle energy core of any E-ranked and D-ranked awakened with a single move?


    Whittaker was successful in creating a soul seed thanks to Elder Zachary and Night''s Will system otherwise, it is hard to say whether he will be able to or not. Even Elder Zachary wasn''t sure whether his Celestial wine will help someone as talented as Whittaker to form a soul seed. Although a soul seed was formed in his mana pool while he was sleeping, a task simply impossible in the entire awakened continent. Whittaker was the only one who can snore at night and form a soul seed by morning. Other people''s who train in the path of soul master needs to take dozens of months, some even several years to form a soul seed

 Chapter 123: E-rank battle master!

    Furthermore, the book on soul power didn''t only explain about soul force and soul techniques but also contained a soul visualization technique, a technique that can be used to increase the total amount of soul force in the soul seed.


    ?The Guardian has learned the Star Visualization soul Technique!


    [Star Visualization soul technique!


    Description: A meditation technique used to produce and increase the total amount of soul force in the Guardian soul seed.


    Effect 1: Gain one soul force every one hour of mediation.


    Effect 2: The soul speed transform into stardust when breaking into E-rank soul force master?


    The system notified Whittaker of the skill he learned but this was only the beginning of his happiness as Elder Zachary''s palace was filled with treasure; However, he was more interested in cultivating the soul than rummaging through his soon to be palace.


    ?Ding! The Guardian has utilized the Star Visualization soul technique for an hour. Gained +1 soul force?


    ��


    ��


    ?Utilized Star Visualization soul technique for an hour. Gained +1 soul force?


    ��


    ��


    Whittaker started cultivating the Star Visualization soul technique by closing his eyes and picturing an endless, blank sky with extremely bright stars of silvery lights that permeate into the blankness to give birth to lives. Just like that four hours passed by. By that time he had 4 units of soul force in his soul seed, he felt stiff in his butt and legs and stopped cultivating.


    The soul master followed the same ranking as mages and battle energy master.


    1-1000 soul force units=F-rank


    1001-3000 soul force units=E-rank


    3001-7000 soul force units=D-rank


    Whittaker was in the early stages of the F-rank but it was only a matter of time until he reaches the peak of the F-rank. For the past six hours, no one disturbed him so he wondered where Elder Zachary and Elder sister Nina is but he continued with absorbing the rewards he received.


    Currently, reaching the E-rank battle master was his main goal. He was at the peak of the F-rank battle master and has opened 23 blood vessels and energy pathways thanks to the system utilizing the energy from the celestial wine in a favorable manner.


    With a single thought, all of the treasures stored inside the spatial rings popped up in his vision. Whittaker took out 12 battle energy cores stored inside the ring of genesis space. He had a C-rank battle energy core but it will take 10 hours to absorb it; However, Whittaker only wanted to complete the system''s mission and head to the library.


    [Battle Energy Beast core (F-ranked)


    Consumption time: 1 Hour or instant if converted to experience points.


    Effect: Gain 0.1 Battle energy or 1p Xp]


    Pop! He dropped the magical beast core in his mouth and it melted into a wave of energy that rushed towards the battle core located inside the center of his body. Only Whittaker was able to absorb magical beast''s cores without purifying them, as he had the blood of Devansha and Night running through his veins. No matter how minimal, the two bloodlines still provided him with a lot of benefits.


    One by one, he absorbed all twelve of them. Two hours later, he finished absorbing the 12 pieces of battle energy and opened his eyes. At that very moment, multiple system announcements were made, causing him to beam a smile in happiness.


    ?Guardian Battle energy has increased by 1.2 points. Total battle energy 21.2!?


    ?Main Quest Completed: Preparation for becoming stronger.


    Description: Advance into an E-ranked Battle master in a month


    Rewards Obtained: 200 experience points, rankless skill book!?


    ?Rankless Skill Book: Night''s Avatar has been stored in the system''s inventory.


    Whittaker was left with a total of 5900 experience points. The addition of 200 XP increased his total XP to 6100. Moreover, he has received a rankless skill book. He was really happy but he didn''t let that affect his cautious nature.


    "System, will it be safe to access the system inventory and level up in this place?" Like an international spy, Whittaker internally asked the Night''s Will System while scrutinizing his entire surrounding, once again.


    ?Ding! The Guardian is in the safest spot of the awakened continent. Plus, no one is spying on you so you can level up and use system features without any hesitation. The system will notify the guardian if there''s anyone nearby or if someone''s trying to spy on you? The mechanical voice of Night Will''s system rang by his ear.


    "Open inventory!" Whittaker commanded the system.


    Suddenly, a semi-transparent screen appeared in front of his face as soon as the words left his mouth. It was similar to the inventory of any game. The inventory looked just like bag slots in an RPG game or the equipment slot box of the famous game "league of legends".


    He could see around 100 boxes on the inventory screen. However, that wasn''t the limit. At the end of the screen, he saw page number 2, 3, 4, 5... The last page was 100. The pages could be accessed with a single touch. Each page had 100 empty slots that are used for storing stuff.


    The first five boxes of the first page stored the things he had received from the system. The rankless skill box was one of them.


    "System, how can I take the skill book out of this screen?" Whittaker asked after observing and checking out the inventory which looked strikingly similar to the inventory of other games but there was no store, use, or equip button. Furthermore, he has never played an online RPG game in his life so he didn''t know the way this thing works.


    ?The Guardian only needs to tap an item on the box and it will materialize in the physical world. The Guardian can also use mana, battle energy, or soul force to take out an item from the inventory. The Guardian can inform the system of the item he needs and I will instantly materialize it in the physical world for you. According to my memories, these are the only way to take the item out of the inventory. Similarly, the gamer only needs to touch the inventory screen with an item he wants to store and it will be stored in the inventory?


    Whittaker''s eyes rapidly blinked in thoughts as he memorized different ways of using the inventory and felt that the system felt humane.


    "System, do you have a name?" He asked.


    ?Nope but the Guardian can give me one? It replied.


    "Then from now on, you are Noah!" Whittaker named the Night''s Will system Noah. Noah has made his life easy by letting him increase his strength through level-ups, items, skill books, and various other stuff. That''s why he named It was Noah which means comfort. The system provided him with a lot of comfortable services.


    ''Plus, calling it system, again and again, felt cringy!'' he thought.


    After naming the system, he double-tapped on the fifth box and an inky, black book started to materialize in the air. At first, it was in a blurry form, but in a second, an inky, black yet shiny skill book floated in front of him.

 Chapter 124: Nights Avatar!

    The book was of a pitch-black shape. It was not too big nor was it too small; However, its edges were lustrous, producing silver water like shine.


    A system notification popped up when Whittaker gazed at the book.


    ?Night''s Avatar of Darkness (Rankless)


    Cost of creation: 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% Battle energy per avatar


    Cost of living: 1 Battle energy per hour


    Effect: Creates the avatar of night. The avatar of the night contains 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% of the Guardian battle master powers. The power level of the avatar depends upon the amount of battle energy used for its creation. The avatar of the night is life-like. While walking, it can produce sounds of footsteps. It can speak humane snd other languages and also emanate scent. It will be purified by holy water but the Night Avatar can swim or bathe in normal water. Also, do not let it be exposed to the holy light if you don''t want your avatar to blow. The avatar of the night can learn skills and gain knowledge independently of the host. Once it merges back with the original body, all its memories will become yours.


    Amount of Night''s Avatar: Unlimited?


    ?Cost to learn: 16 Skill Development points?


    It was an overpowered ability! This book was so special that Whittaker''s eyes popped, his mouth gaping. Awestruck and surprised, he wanted to instantly learn it but he didn''t have enough skill development points. ''No worries, I got enough XP to level up my frost mage class!'' Whittaker thought while gazing at the character screen.


    The Frost Mage Class needed a total of 200 experience points to advance from level 3 to level 4. Whereas Whittaker had 6100 experience points. He decided to use all of his XP on leveling up the Frost Mage Class


    Continuous "Bee!" sound resounded as Whittaker Frost mage class kept on leveling up. Whittaker had made sure that he was in a safe and secure place before leveling up, as he didn''t want his secret to be exposed to anyone. Subconsciously, he believed that bad things will happen to him and others who know about the existence of the Night''s Will system or simply Noah.


    His experience points dropped at a rapid speed. Some minutes later, the last "Bee!" sound resounded and Whittaker became a level 12 Frost mage. At that moment, multiple windows popped up. Whittaker''s attention focused on the amount of XP that has been used to level up the FM Class. It took a total of 5400 XP points to reach level 12 Frost Mage from level 3 Frost Mage.


    Right after, his attention turned towards the multiple semi-transparent screens floating right in front of his eyes.


    [Frost Mage Class: 3?12]


    [Gained 36 Attributes Points]


    [Gained 18 Skill development point]


    [Levelling up for Frost Mage class currently is not set on a 24-hour cooldown period as the Guardian mana pool is far bigger than the amount of mana stored inside of it. Ding! The system recommends the Guardian to learn a mana meditation method to reach E-rank mage]


    Whittaker nodded his head in agreement. ''I have tried to absorb mana from the surrounding into my mana pool to reach E-rank mage but it just rushes out whenever the threshold is crossed''


    A mage needed to form something called a mana seed in his mana pool to store more than 1000 units of mana in the mana pool. Mostly everyone would have one before reaching the peak of F-rank but Whittaker had never learned a mana meditation method.


    Anyway, he was delighted with the riches he got from leveling up nine times. Whittaker decided to save his attributes points for future use as increasing his intelligence stat won''t help in reaching E-rank mage. As for the skill development points, he used 16 of them to learn the rankless skill book grasped in his hand and learned it.


    Character Menu


    [Character: Whittaker Lin (Human/Spir?)]


    [Experience: 700]


    [Main class: Frost mage. Level 12 (0/1100 XP)]


    [Secondary class: Guardian Level 0 (0/1700 XP)]


    [HP: 60/60 (Recover 3 Hp per second)]


    Mp: 999/2000 (Recover 15.5 Mp per second)


    Physical attack damage:10


    Physical Defense: 11


    Magical Defense: 62


    Magical Attack Damage: 31


    [Attribute Menu


    Attribute points: 0


    Attributes: Strength 5, Endurance 11,


    Intelligence 31, Agility 2, Vitality 6, Battle energy 21.2]


    [Skill Menu:


    Skill Development points: 2


    [Passive skill]


    Mana devouring hairs (rankless)


    Skill Duplication (rankless)


    [Blood line Skill:


    Ice Elemental Avatar (rankless)


    Defy (rankless)


    Night''s Avatar of Darkness (rankless)]


    [ACTIVE Spell:


    Mana shield (F-rank)


    Telekinesis (F-rank)


    Frost Bolt (F-rank)


    Frost Spike (rankless)


    Mana blast (rankless)


    Frost Shield (F-rank)


    Icy Blast (E-rank)


    Ice elemental control (D-rank)


    Three-clawed ice swipe (Rankless)


    Frost Elemental shift (rankless)


    Devansha vision (active)


    Frost Missile (]


    [Active Skill:


    Three-clawed blood slash (rankless)


    Blood Link (F-rank)]


    [Unfromed skill: ???]


    [Special Traits:


    Gamer-like body (Passive), Photographic memory (Passive), Devansha vision (passive)]


    [Blessing: Twilight Spirits blessing.]


    [Profession Menu: Beast Tamer Professional]


    [Inventory: 3 loyal candy, 2 snack bars, pain killer (5 pieces) (S-rank), Beast Tamer Link Book]


    "Noah, what''s unformed skill?" Whittaker asked while pulling out the beast tamer link book from the inventory.


    [A skill that Guardian is about to create from getting inspired by other skills or spells] the system replied.


    "Oh!" Whittaker remembered that he had memorized many skills from the Zen Flame puppet and even utilized a similar footstep to rush up the heaven-reaching staircase. ''These unformed skills are certainly the skills I have memorized but not mastered!''


    While thinking that he used the last two skill development points to learn the Beast Tamer Link skill!


    Suddenly, Whittaker felt something poking his soul very gently but the pain was apparent on his contorted face. Some seconds later, he felt connected to Wolfie as a spiritual connection has been formed between them.


    [Ding! A spiritual connection has been formed between the Guardian and his magical beast, Wolfie. As a first time bonus, the Guardian can peek into Wolfie thoughts. Do you want to?]


    ?Yes/No?


    "Peeking into someone''s privacy is a crime but I am really curious about what goes in Wolfie''s mind. Ah, well, whatever, only this one time. Noah, I want to!" Whittaker''s vision instantly changed when he agreed to peek into wolfie''s mind. He was currently insides Wolfie dreamscape, a world filled with meat, broth, and a hell lot of food. In the middle of it was a fat giant wearing a cap and a towering wolf...

 Chapter 125: Forming mana seed (a)

    In the middle of it was a fat giant wearing a cap and a towering wolf, both devouring the world of meat and drinking the ocean of soup.


    "Bang!" Whittaker''s vision changed and the real world was reflected in his eyes.


    [Peeking time has ended] the system notified.


    "Why was the giant entitled as Wolfie Father?" Whittaker muttered in shock. He shook his head left and right to dispel the image of the ugly towering giant in his mind.


    "My Wolfie is so weird!" Whittaker thought while standing up from his bed.


    "Next, I should find sis Nina or Elder Zachary to reach the library of this palace!" Whittaker thought.


    Stepping out of the room, Whittaker found himself in between a hallway. He could go left or right but Whittaker decided to go right.


    "Little brother, you are awake. I brought some snacks for you!"


    Just as he was about to take a step to the right, a voice resounded from behind his back. Whittaker instantly identified her as Nina as no one else is gonna call him "little brother" in this place.


    A delicious and sweet fragrant of something warm and fresh entered his nostril, melting the soreness away, soreness caused by sitting for hours to form four units of soul force.


    This was the effect of 3-star Honey Milk infused with "Sky Patterned Golden Honey."


    This sweet and warm drink is considered to be the most lethal tool that wives and concubines of the emperors and warlords use to silence their crying babies and naughty children. This milk was extremely effective and addictive to young ones!


    In an instant, Whittaker forgot all about the important stuff and happily followed Nina, reaching inside the room and sitting on the bed. Only after did he start drinking the milk while occasionally dipping dry cakes and cookies in the warm milk to soften them up then gobble them.


    "Hick!" Whittaker patted his belly while thinking, ''At this rate, if I keep on eating everything offered to me; I will get fat at a rapid phase! But the food that sis cook is too enticing!''


    While he was thinking that, Nina meticulously wipes the white mustache on her little handsome face, all the while she was smiling.


    "Sis, do you know where''s the library at?" Whittaker asked after he finished what was offered to him, very satisfied.


    "Yes, I came here to take you around the palace. And, explain to you about the training timetable father has set for you." Nina took Whittaker near the magical rune designs inscribed on the walls of his room.


    "This bright magical rune design here is the spatial gateway to the library. This pink one will take you to the mana paradise, a garden where mana meditation techniques have their effect boosted by three times. This yellowish rune is also a gateway to the practice ground where you can train your skills and spells. Plus, from next Sunday to Wednesday, Elder Zachary himself will teach you about magical rune designs and how to create talismans, formations, and a lot of other stuff!" She excitedly explained to the amused snowy-haired boy, curious about another topic.


    When Nina asked what thoughts he is lost in, Whittaker utilized Puppy''s eyes in return.


    "Elder sister Nina, can I learn how to cook delicious food from you?" He asked while staring into her eyes with his big almond-sized eyes.


    [Ding! The Guardian skill "Puppy eyes" is extremely effective!]


    The system notified! Nina, the soul of the rank-10 reality management soul was instantly mesmerized and she nodded her head very forcefully while squeezing someone''s chubby cheeks.


    "Sure! Just tell me whenever you want to start learning, I will teach you!" Nina replied.


    ....


    Some minutes later, she left the room, leaving Whittaker to his device.


    "Damn, this skill is a double-edged sword!" Whittaker thought while rubbing his ruddy cheeks. Puppy eyes is a skill that has both favorable and unfavorable consequences, Whittaker tasted both first hand. "From now on, I gotta limit the usage of this legendary skill!"


    While thinking that, he walked up to the portal and pulled out a cyan card. Before Nina went away, she had handed over the Master Card to Whittaker so that he can roam throughout the palace without activating traps or facing limitations set by her father, elder Zachary.


    [Item: Master Card


    Description: A special card created by elder Zachary for his inheritor. It offers access to the different locations and places located inside Elder Zachary''s palace and the nearby ground. The Guardian can also use this card to activate the magical runes designs in his room to instantly reach faraway places]


    The palace of elder Zachary''s was pretty wide and Whittaker didn''t even know how wide it was. There were more than a hundred floors in this place.


    He touched the bright rune design with his master card, in that very moment, a spatial gateway opened up in the wall and Whittaker entered it.


    He arrived at the doors of two buildings, each with ten floors. One was called Battle Masters World; the other, paradise for mages.


    As Whittaker approached the paradise for mages, an old and rusty golem with Scarlet eyes sitting nearby the door was startled awake. "Who are you and why have you came here??" He questioned while blocking Whittaker''s way.


    Meet Mister Goguard, a golem Elder Zachary created two hundred or so years ago to guard the entrance of his treasured library but this place hasn''t seen any visitor for the past few decades so It was left to wat dust. Occasionally, Nina would visit him to provide some mechanical care on its rusty body. That was the only interaction in his life.


    Goguard didn''t know that someone has defeated the challenges of his master and has become an inheritor to Zachary''s inheritance so he acted out of place and blocked the young master.


    Whittaker naturally knew of this old and rusty golem, sister Nina had told him about it. She even had a good relationship with Goguard.


    He cupped his hands and honestly replied, "Elder Goguard, I am here to obtain suitable techniques for myself." While saying that, Whittaker pulled out the master card and showcased it to the golem, "You don''t need to guard against me, I am the next master of this place!" He said with a beaming smile.


    "The next master of this place?" The Scarlet eyes of the golem instantly turned green and coldness gradually faded away from his face. "Young master, since you are the inheritor of my master then you can just call me by my name. There''s no need to be respectful to me. Also, If you want to enter the building, then please do." Goguard spoke earnestly with good intentions. A master shouldn''t deeply respect his slave, after all. He should be authoritative and commanding but Whittaker wasn''t someone who changes face with the gain in status.


    He whispered something in the golem''s ears while revealing a smile before turning around and entering the paradise for mages.


    "What a great inheritor. I don''t mind serving him with all my life!" Left behind was Goguard who was filled with respect for a long period of time.

 Chapter 126: Forming mana seed (b)

    A young snowy-haired boy could be seen climbing one floor after another. From his expression, one could infer that he wanted to reach the very top.


    In the awakened continent, the meditation Skills were classified as rare treasures. Not only were these skills not sold in the open market, but many noble houses, academies, and sects also didn''t teach mediation techniques to outsiders who have become a part of their family.


    A person doesn''t get such a skill unless he performs a great deed.


    Mana meditation techniques were necessary to breakthrough from one rank to another. Without one, an awakened will never be able to break through to another realm, no matter how great his potential is.


    The paradise of mages of Zachary''s palace had ten floors, the first four flour stored the low-rank spells and mana meditation skills. Fifth to the eighth floor stored high-rank spells and mana mediation skills whereas the ninth and tenth floor stored the best books in the entire world.


    "Elder sister Nina told me that the tenth floor stores a supreme rank meditation skill, it''s the best treasure in Zachary''s palace," Whittaker said with a smile.


    As he was crossing the seventh floor, a black sheen darkened his gaze, almost as if it was a threatening gaze. When he turned his head to look at the source, the book of gossip was reflected in his eyes!


    "Omg! Did this book chase me here?" Whittaker''s soul shock out of his mouth, surprised by the revelation of having a stalker.


    [Ding! The book of gossip is making it easy for the Guardian to have access to it. In every library, the Guardian will be able to find a book of gossip, hence it doesn''t matter how far away the Guardian is from the Royal Frost Fall Academy!] The system''s mechanical voice rang beside his ears.


    Hearing his words, Whittaker shook his head left and right. "Seems like I will have to fulfill my side of the deal or else, I will face punishment!" He muttered with a disgruntled expression and continued on his journey.


    Soon after, he reached the tenth floor. Normally, this place was forbidden and many traps and restriction formation will be activated if someone entered this place but Whittaker didn''t meet any restriction as he had the master card in his hand.


    Whittaker followed the directions provided by elder sister Nina. He entered the spatial gateways at the right wall, took many left and right turns, walked past dozens of spatial gateways, and arrived at the end hall of the tenth floor of the library. It was a dark place lit up with many light orbs.


    Here he saw a jade scroll placed above a twinkling platform with darkish cyan symbols.


    ?Ding,


    Skill name: Grand Vortex Tree Creation System''s rating: Supreme


    Requirement: Mage


    Type: Spatial


    Description: One of the rarest mana meditation techniques in the awakened continent. It uses both mana and soul force to grow a mana seed. The end form of the mana seed is the Grand Vortex Tree which is capable of devouring mana and soul essence from every beings.?


    Whittaker was staring at the transparent screen with one eye and the book with another; However, his hands have already grasped the book and opened it up.


    The original book was written in ancient and runic language; However, Elder Zachary had translated it into English in three years as even he felt that the original book was too hard to read. In the end, it has benefited Whittaker who rummaged through the first sections of the book in sixty seconds. The book had seven sections but the first section was enough to make a breakthrough to E-rank mage.


    [Ding! The Guardian has learned the first part of the Grand Vortex Tree Creation skill.


    [Grand Vortex Tree Creation skill (Vol:1)


    Effect: Consumes 999 units of mana to form a devouring mana seed in the mana pool. Requires a lot of time.


    Effect 2: The Guardian gains 10 Units of mana every 1 hour of meditation.]


    ?Do the Guardian want to use 999 units of mana to form a devouring mana seed in the mana pool?


    Yes/No


    Warning: The Guardian cannot move from his place and must meditate otherwise, the devouring mana seed won''t be formed?


    He sat cross-legged on the ground because he wanted to fastly reach the E-rank mage. ''Not only will I become more powerful but also obtain a skill from the system!''


    "Yes!" Whittaker silently thought this in his head. Suddenly, he beamed a smile as he felt the mana in his mana pool whisking towards the middle. Feeling the mysterious changes that his mana pool was undergoing, Whittaker closed his eyes to enter a deep state of meditation. He focused all his attention to move the units of mana towards the center of his body.


    ?The Guardian has entered a deep meditation state. The devouring mana seed will be formed in the mana pool before the Guardian meditation ends?


    ?The Guardian will wake up after 72 hours?


    Whittaker was too deep in meditation to listen to what the system has said. His attention was entirely focused on the tiny mana devouring seed forming piece by piece at the center of his mana pool.


    Suddenly, a clinking sound resounded even though no one was nearby Whittaker. And, it continued to grow as the pendent of Night shock viciously, scratching Whittaker skin until it bled, dying the black pendant scarlet.


    From the surrounding, Mana rushed into the pendent of Night that produced a lustrous shine unique to itself. The clinking noise also turned thunderous yet Whittaker wasn''t disturbed awake from his meditation as the thunderous clinking sound was almost inaudible to him.


    The Pendent released a spiritual shine that drilled itself into Whittaker''s mana pool, forming an ethereal seed right beneath the mana seed.


    As Usual, the semitransparent screen appeared in front of his eyes, showing information that will shock him once he steps out of the meditative state.


    [Ding! Congratulations, the Guardian has ignited the Bloodline of Night...

 Chapter 127: New trouble & Lily sadness

    ?Bloodline Quality: Beyond Divine.


    Bloodline Quantity: 1% (Evolvable)?


    ?Ding! Forming Night''s Spirit Seed in the Guardian''s mana pool.


    Night''s Bloodline Abilities Awakened.


    Gained Bloodline Abilities: Summon Undead (Rankless), Unparalleled Will of Night (Rankless)? Noah Notified.


    ...


    ...


    At another continent, somewhere far beyond the ocean of mana


    In a cave-like room that was dark, damp, and lit with light orbs, a gloomy young man was crucified to the wall.


    The black-haired man looked like a fallen angel for he had four slim wings that had lost theirs shines after being impaled by power sealing nails. Just like the man, the wings were also crucified to the wall. His body was slender, almost malnourished. He was motionless, breathless yet a majestical aura of magic and battle surrounded him, making it harder for the imprisoners to even breathe.


    Eight old and young experts used hand sings to cast a spiritual barrier that imprisoned the lifeless man.


    "He has been lifeless like this for years. I can''t even feel his breath. Ancestor, why are we still here? When will we be able to leave?" A young expert asked.


    It has been 12 years since they were tasked to crucify this man and oversee his body whilst using a barrier to seal him. "12 whole years...maybe we will be able to leave soon." The old man muttered.


    Suddenly, the crucified man''s eyes opened and he suddenly started laughing, scaring the soul out of the experts who used hand signs to reinforce the seal as fast as they could. With his waves of laughter, their heart thundered, threatening to hammer their way out of their chest.


    Anyone would be scared out of their wits if a breathless man suddenly starts laughing


    "Hahaha, Grace our son is still alive!" Chains rattled and thunder rumbled as Meifyr cracked a laugh; however, the seal suppressed him so badly that his bone rattled and soon after, cracked under the pressure but he still smiled.


    "Elder brother, what''s the happy occasion that''s causing you to laugh so wildly?" A pretentious voice resounded as a man step inside the cave with a hand fan held in his hand.


    "Dirty rat, you still have the face to call me brother?" The fallen angel, Meifyr laughed at the appearance of the backstabbing sissy.


    "Your Highness!" The members of the sealer clan respectfully bowed to the pretentious young man who entered the dark cave from the outside and they continued with a respectful tone but their voice shivered.


    "This devil son is still alive. Crown prince Sin Clair is still alive. The last remaining root of the family we destroyed 12 years ago is still alive!" The ancestor said, a horrified expression on his face.


    Hearing his words, his highness felt a shiver up his spine.


    "Immediately, summon the divination master! Tell him to use the Nine lock Ancient divination to track down the crown prince, no matter how much lifeforce he needs to spend even if it means his death. If he doesn''t follow my order then execute his entire family!" the young man commanded with a contorted face, jealousy and hatred seethed out of his body.


    "Your end is nigh just as destined, little rat, now is the time you make a run for it. You probably have a decade or so left before he chops off your head!" Meifyr added salt to his injury as revenge for what''s been done to him, in the very moment, ten nails impaled into his body causing him to shut up and fall unconscious.


    "Meyer, you stubborn bastard, if I didn''t need your bloodline, do you think you will be alive?" The young man angrily said while walking out of the cave.


    Currently, he didn''t know where the child is, and only after killing that child will he find peace.


    "Maybe, there''s a chance of obtaining that item from his body too. No, he might very well have the pendant of Night!" The man thought while walking back to his Grand Xie Palace. "The rest depends on old man divination if even he fails then I will wait for the bait to fall in my trap! Hehehe,"


    He insidiously thought while sitting on the throne meant for the destined son of heaven, Whittaker!


    ...


    ...


    In Frost Fall City, not many currently knew that Whittaker was inheriting "Elder Zachary''s Legacy". They just knew that he was inheriting "someone''s" legacy.


    City Master, Lord Carter, and the Northern Duke were shocked when they heard that the most precious jewel of the family has completed the childhood lover ceremony with someone''s child named Whittaker. When they investigated his background, they were more shocked to find out that it was a mere commoner.


    A toad''s thinking of eating swan meat? How could they allow it?


    Lord Carter instantly asked for the help of his father and the northern duke supported him with all he had.


    Many students watched the scene from the side as Lily was escorted out of the Royal Frost Fall Academy by the personal guards of the royal frost fall academy, against her will.


    Lily would have never believed that her father would force her to go to the Northern Duke City for making friends with Whittaker and expressing her love. She was escorted out of the Frost Fall City and was currently heading towards the Northern Duke City with the help of a flying ship.


    "Maybe Grandfather will be able to help me out. Father is such a meanie!" Lily thought, her lips curled into a pout as tears threatened to drop out from the corner of her eyes. She was gazing at the clouds outside the window as sadness kept on welling up in her heart. She has to leave all her friends behind, her first love and precious memories. The Royal Frost Fall Academy has certainly become a home for her, now she has been torn away from that place because of her overprotective father.


    "I am sorry! I shouldn''t have told Lord Duke about her personal life. I am sorry," Charlotte internally thought while walking up to Lily and embracing her in a warm hug. Right then, tears flowed out of her eyes just like a stream and Lily started crying.


    Lily didn''t know that her grandfather was supportive of her father''s decision. Not only that, the hidden mastermind, Northern Duke has already canceled the life of everyone who was spreading rumors about her granddaughter loving a commoner son. Also, all information about this incident was erased from the mana net.


    Lily''s mother didn''t even know this has happened until recently she discovered it from her personal and trustworthy maid.


    Angrily and dissatisfied with the decision of her hubby, she rushed to his study and opened the door with a bang!

 Chapter 128: Three days later

    The Lord of the Frost Fall City was busy reading reports and compiling a new list on tax rates that''s to be given to his father, the northern duke for approval when suddenly a young girl came in directly after bashing open the door.


    Up close, she looked like spiced ginger because of her slender figure, fresh and moon-like face, and attractive curves. At first glance, no one would believe that this maiden was a mother and is in her mid-thirties. Lady Sandra dressed in a blue shirt and skirt with wavy patterns was glaring daggers at her husband.


    "Hubby, I received some information from someone that you have been hiding Lily''s departure from me. When were you gonna tell me about it or did you plan to keep it a secret from me?" She asked with a pleasant smile but Lord Carter detected killing intent from it.


    A single wrong move and a huge war will begin in this study room.


    In the end, Lord Carter was a man and an authoritative figure, he wasn''t afraid of his second wife that has pointed her claws and canine teeth at him. In his eyes, she was just like an angry cat who needed to calm down and he knew just what''s needed to be done.


    "Ahem, baby you''re looking very beautiful today. Dare I say that I want to take a bite of you!" Lord Carter said playfully to avert the topic as he calmly approached her, grabbed her hand, and gently led her to the chair.


    "Don''t avert the topic. If you won''t give me an answer today then forget about ever sleeping with me!" She threatened the man towering over her. Her bright eyes were not only burned with anger and dissatisfaction but also the cleverness of knowledge. "Every awakened is independent and their parents can''t decide the way they should live their lives so why did you meddle in my daughter''s life? She loves who she loves so why would you hurt her by sending her to a faraway place?"


    By the end of her sentence, Sandness swelled up her heart as her daughter was sent to the Northern Duke city which was very far away. Although she could take dozens of teleportation portals to reach her it was still very far.


    Lord Carter said, "I know that it wasn''t a good idea to interfere in My daughter''s life but I won''t sacrifice her lifelong happiness for momentary happiness. The kid she loved was just a commoner, not worthy of her. She will forget about that commoner boy''s soon and her pain will also go away, I promise you," Lord Carter said while trailing his finger down her cheeks and placing it on her lips.


    She wasn''t upset at her husband anymore as she now knows that Whittaker''s a commoner but she still felt really bad for she had, in a way, comprised her daughter happiness for a better future.


    "But�C" Lady Sandra still wanted to argue but Lord Carter cut her off in an authoritative manner, "Enough! Let''s not talk about this topic anymore."


    Her red face was just like a ripe tomato and he wanted a bite of it. Lord Carter kissed her cheeks to express his love.


    Sandra kissed back and Lord Carter placed her on his lap while gently patting the back of her head.


    "If in the future the boy is able to gain great merits and Lily still wants to marry him then will you interfere?" She asked with her head placed on her man''s chest.


    "I won''t as long as he is worthy!"


    "Promise me!"


    "I promise. At that time, I will do as you say and even apologize to Lily and the boy if you want me to. For now, let''s talk about us, shall we?" Lord Carter exclaimed while princes carrying his wife to the bedroom.


    "What about us?" Lady Sandra asked with a bashful face but Lord Carter didn''t give his reply until he placed her on the King-sized bed, "I have been wanting another baby so let''s give it a try tonight!"


    As he said that, Lady Sandra''s face flushed red, and her eyes turned hazy; however, she still spread her arms to embrace her man, who cuddled the cute cat into his warm embrace.


    ...


    ...


    Three days later!


    Inside the tenth floor of the paradise for mages, a young snowy-haired boy opened his eyes which gleam with the light of wisdom; however, his crystal icy eyes also hold the innocence of not knowing the world.


    A beaming smile formed on his face as the devouring mana seed was successfully condensed in his mana pool and its effect was as impressive as stated in the book.


    ?Ding! The Guardian has formed the mana devouring seed in his mana pool?


    ?Grand Vortex Tree Creation skill (Vol:1) ? Grand Vortex Creation skill (Vol:2)?


    [Grand Vortex Tree Creation skill (Vol:2)


    Effect 1: The mana devouring seed continuously releases a strong attraction force that pulls the mana in the mana pool towards the center.


    Effect 2: Consumes 999 units of soul force to form a soul-devouring seed in the mana pool. Warning: Requires a lot of time!


    Effect 3: The Guardian gains 20 Units of mana every 1 hour of meditation.


    Effect 4: The Guardian restores mana from killing other beings? Noah notified.


    "Impressive, indeed. Thanks to the attraction force of the mana seed my mana will no longer travel out of the mana pool, I can finally reach E-rank mage!" Whittaker exclaimed.


    "Also, according to the book and system''s notification, my mana will be restored if I kill magical beasts or other types of beings. And, I can also increase my total mana by 20 points every hour through simple meditation, but the soul-devouring seed is more impressive so I should strive to form it!" He internally thought.


    Soul devouring seed had the same effect as mana devouring seed but it absorbs soul essence from the dead and produces dozens of units of soul force through simple meditation.


    Soon after, his gaze wandered to the other Noah notification and he was surprised to see that he had awakened Night''s bloodline and gained two bloodline abilities.

 Chapter 129: E-rank mage

    [Summon Undead (Rankless)


    Cost: Blood.


    Effect: By using blood as a sacrifice, the Guardian can summon undead skeletons and warriors from the Blood Ritual!


    Guidance: Using more blood results in a far powerful Undead than one summoned through a small amount of blood]


    To his surprise, Whittaker had all information about the blood ritual. It was as if it was a part of his memories. Right after, his gaze moved to the second bloodline ability


    [Unparalleled Will of Night (Rankless)]


    Cost: Soul Force, battle energy, and mana


    Effect: After the skill is used, the Guardian defenses increase to 100% for a certain time limit.


    Guidance: Using more soul force, mana, and battle energy increase the time limit of the skill].


    "Good enough!" Whittaker thought with a smile. Right after he closed his eyes while thinking, "Now, I should try to make a breakthrough to E-rank mage!"


    An hour later, Whittaker exhaled a warm breath filled with impurities while opening his eyes.


    ?Ding! The Guardian has meditated in the Grand Vortex Creation skill for an hour?


    ?The Guardian has gained 30 Units of mana?


    [Mana point increased: 999?1029. Total mana points 1129/2000]


    Due to Mana-devouring hair, Whittaker had 100 units of mana in his hair. That''s why his total mana point was 100 units more than the amount of mana present in his mana pool.


    Whittaker''s legs were numbed so he moved about to let blood flow. Whereas Noah kept on announcing more good news to the young snowy-haired boy.


    ?Congratulations on advancing into the E-rank mage. The guardian has completed the Main Quest activated: ?Advance into an E-rank mage?


    ?Rewards Obtained: 200 XP, E-ranked spellbook?.


    ?Experince point increased: 700?900?


    ?The spellbook has been stored in the inventory!? Noah notified.


    Whittaker opened the inventory and took out the book to take a look at it.


    [Healing touch (E-rank)


    Cost: Mana


    Effect: Once activated, the Guardian''s hands glow with the power of healing. The Guardian can heal bruises and low-level wounds by massaging the wounded area and much more


    Guidance: The effect of the spell increases with the amount of mana used during the healing process.]


    It was a healing type technique that utilized hand signs and body massage to heal injuries such as bruises and cuts. "It''s only E-rank but it has such good healing effects, I wonder what this skill peak healing effect will be. Sadly, I don''t have enough Skill Development points to learn this skill!" Whittaker thought while placing the book in his ring of genesis.


    The book cost 1 Skill development point to learn and Whittaker didn''t even have that. But all hope wasn''t lost as he was only 200 XP points from leveling up once again.


    He returned to his room and entered the bathroom. It was very wide. Plus, it had something that Whittaker really loved.


    A bathtub, very wide and seemingly comfortable. The bathtub had many options. Whittaker could bathe in high-quality milk that whittens and softens the skin or use high-ranked honey to moisturize his skin but he wasn''t so wasteful.


    Filling it up with warm yet rose-scented water, he took a dip inside. After scrubbing his body and cleaning himself, he stepped out of the bathtub that was bigger than a swimming pool in size. Dressing in fresh and high-quality Wind Empire traditional clothes, Whittaker was ready for the training to begin.


    "It is already Sunday so Elder Zachary should start his training!" Whittaker thought while waiting for Elder Sister Nina to notify him about the start of the training.


    It didn''t take long before his mana com started vibrating and a musical tone reached his ears. Picking it up, he activated it and a holographic screen opened up, showcasing Nina''s message.


    "Little brother, Elder Zachary is waiting for you at the training ground. Hurry up and come before he decides to sleep!"


    Whittaker instantly sprang up from the bed, jumping towards the yellowish magical rune degin on the left wall.


    By using his master card, he activated it and a gateway to the practice ground opened up.


    After walking through the spatial gateway, Whittaker appeared in the wonderful practice ground where Elder Zachary was already waiting. Whittaker wondered where Nina is.


    She was preparing brunch for her Little handsome. Elder Zachary didn''t like to eat more than two times a day, after all.


    He was sitting in his usual wheelchair but held a slick stick in his hand. When Whittaker gazed at it, he gulped his saliva in fear.


    [Thunder sparking stick (F-rank)


    Description: A training stick that has been by Elder Zachary''s master to train him in the art of inscribing magical rune designs.


    System''s Rating: S. It''s a very sadistic weapon.


    Effect: On impact, creates tiny sparks of thunder that explode to produce a painful and tingling sensation in the target]


    Whittaker''s footstep reversed as he was ready to go back to his room through the spatial gateway that still hasn''t closed. Elder Zachary was facing in the direction opposite to him, so he believed that he haven''t been noticed by him.


    He calculated the many possible ways that this stick could be used, in the end, he realized that this stick might very well be used on his hand if he made a mistake while inscribing magical rune designs.


    "I am not good at drawing so I am sure to get hit! I will return another day after mastering the way of inscribing magical runes design!"


    Whittaker internally thought; however before he could enter the spatial gateway, it closed letting him only eat the mortal dust.


    "Since you have come then why go away? Come sit, let''s begin our training!" Elder Zachary''s voice resounded in his ear. Even though Elder Zachary wasn''t looking at him, he still noticed his arrival because of the change in mana flow.


    Left with no choice but to face the upcoming training, Whittaker went ahead and sat on the meditation sofa prepared especially for him.


    At that moment, Elder Zachary turned his wheelchair around to face Whittaker.


    They were both surrounded by greenery and calm wind fluttered their long and wavy hairs.


    "Let''s start. First, I will explain to you about rune designs!" Elder Zachary said to Whittaker, who was cautiously gazing at the stick in the Elder''s hand.

 Chapter 130: Profession: Inscriptionist!

    "The magical tune designs are divided into four grades. They are basic-level, intermediate-level, advanced level, and peak level magical rune designs. All grades share 50 percent or more similarities, just their designs get more complex and the required resources increase with the increase in the level of the design. For now, we''ll be talking about the basic-level rune designs. The basic-level rune designs are further divided into 4 levels. Low-tier, medium-tier, high-tier, and Perfect." Elder Zachary said to Whittaker, who calmed down somewhat as he saw the stick being used to point out the knowledge written on the wooden board.


    "Now let me explain what these tiers are!


    "To activate, a low-tier basic rune will borrow 20% necessary mana from the surroundings and 80% mana from the person using it. A medium-tier rune will borrow 50% mana from the surrounding and 50% from its user. A high-tier rune will borrow 75% mana from the surrounding and 25% mana from its user. A perfect tier rune will borrow 100% mana from the surrounding and its user won''t be burdened.


    The better and stabler the design, the better its tier." Elder Zachary stopped to breathe some fresh air. He was old and continuously explaining everything in one breath wasn''t possible for him.


    "I need to practice a lot of times to attain perfecting in inscribing magical runes designs!" Whittaker understood that.


    After a few breaths, Elder Zachary continued, "The basic level runes are divided into several types depending on their attribute. The basic categories of magical rune designs are fire, pure-mana, earth, water, wind, wood, light, and shadow. Each element and pure-mana has its own unique magical rune designs, learning of the way they are drawn is the basic of becoming an inscriptionist. Do you understand?" He asked.


    It wasn''t too hard to understand and Whittaker understood it; however, he faced some complications. Those complicated emotions were shown clearly on his naive face. The basic-level magical rune designs were differentiated into eight types, each with its own unique designs, which means there will be thousands if not tens of thousands of basic-level magical rune designs.


    "Yes, but since Basic-level magical rune designs are categorized into eight types, and the magical rune design of every type is different. Doesn''t that mean that there are endless amounts of basic-level magical rune designs? How long will it take for me to learn them all?" Whittaker replied with a question of his own.


    "As expected of you, you surely didn''t disappoint me." Elder Zachary''s praised the intelligent snowy-haired boy as his eyes gleamed with interest and his lips pressed together, thinning into a wide smile that stretched from ear to ear. He continued,


    "True, there are an endless amount of basic-level magical rune designs. According to Nina''s calculation, there exist more than millions of them, and you can''t possess knowledge of all the basic-level magical rune designs but there''s no need to memorize them all. We will be only learning the good ones that are useful in many ways." Elder Zachary replied while rubbing his beard. Hearing his words, Whittaker internally thought, ''Although I can probably learn all of the millions of basic-level rune designs, it will take up a lot of time so I will just learn the good ones!''


    He turned his attention towards Elder Zachary and said, "Oh, okay. Though, Elder what''s an inscriptionist?"


    "Cough, cough, Ahem," After coughing, Elder Zachary continued with an exclamation, "Inscriptionist is the foundation of a lot of profession and magi-tech!"


    "An inscriptionist is a profession, a person who dwells in it can inscribe magical runes designs on a piece of paper to create a talisman or a piece of normal weapon to upgrade it into a runic weapon. Furthermore, an inscriptionist can inscribe magical runes designs onto various formation carrying objects such as formation disk, formation gems/crystal or stone, and formation flags, etc to create a mystic formation or boost its effect!"


    At this moment, Whittaker''s young face holds a serious expression. This was very funny. Only Elder Zachary knew how hard it was for him to not laugh while staring at Whittaker.


    "So multiple professions are connected to being an inscriptionist. Doesn''t that means an inscriptionist has multiple ways to earn money and become rich! I really want to become one." Whittaker blurted thoughtfully.


    "Yes, so long as you can memorize magical rune designs and flesh them out then you will become an inscriptionist. Once you can inscribe a magical rune design on a piece of paper then you are a talisman master. Once you can inscribe a magical rune design on a formation item then you are a formation master. Once you can draw a magical rune design on a piece of equipment to give it magical effects then you are a weapon refiner. All three of these professions will let you earn a lot more than you could ever dream of. Do you know that even Elixir refiner has to respect us as their cauldrons are inscribed with magical effects under our hands? Even an everyday household item such as a light orbs is only creatable under the hands of an inscriptionist. Our uses are endless and people love to pay us to create something for them!" Elder Zachary said to arouse Whittaker''s interest in this subject.


    However, Whittaker''s interest has already been piqued. Becoming an inscriptionist means becoming a tyrant of the bests of the best professions!"


    Even Magi-Tech required an inscriptionist. So Whittaker was correct. An inscriptionist can create magi-tech with the help of a forger. Sometimes, forgers aren''t even necessary to form a magi-tech but inscriptionists are always necessary to form one. There are a lot of Magi-tech such as mana pistols, Zen battle puppet, Light orbs, Flying Mage castle, and a lot, lot more.


    Moreover, an inscriptionist can also learn other professions easily.


    Right then, Noah''s notification popped up in his vision.


    ?Profession Quest Activated: Learn to inscribe eight types of magical runes designs.


    ?Rewards: 400 XP, Six formation disk, 10 perfect grade talisman?


    "Good! Not only will I become an inscriptionist but also gain extra rewards from the system. I am so lucky, it''s almost unbelievable!" Whittaker was really happy as he was about to step on a path of greatness.

 Chapter 131: Yin-Yang Heavenly Brush

    Suddenly, Elder Zachary took out a brush from his spatial bracelet and gave it to Whittaker.


    "Before we begin, take this as a gift from me. It''s a treasured heirloom that has been passed down from generation to generation. From my grandmaster to my master then this was passed on to me. This here is the best brush created through the combination of various techniques and peak level treasures. I hope that you will take good care of it!" He said while lovingly gazing at the brush in his hand.


    When Whittaker gazed at it, Noah''s notification popped up in his vision


    [Yin-Yang Heavenly Brush (semi-divine)


    Description: Created by using a mystical divine wood and the finest hairs of an S-ranked magical beast, this brush is comparable to an S-rank (Saint rank) weapon but it''s not to be used in a major battle otherwise it can be damaged.


    Effect 1: Can absorb 1000 units of mana.


    Effect 2: With a single thought, the brush can be extended into a pole and its hair can harden into a steel-like substance.


    Effect 3: This brush can be used to inscribe all types of inscriptions.


    Effect 4: With a thought, automatically gathers mana from the surrounding continuously.


    Effect 5: With a thought, the brush refreshes into its finest state!


    Effect 6: Extension


    Effect 7: Contraction


    Effect 8: Concentration


    Effect 9: Effective Warmer


    Effect 10: Helps while inscribing magical rune]


    The Yin-Yang heavenly brush naturally has "intelligence" and could follow Whittaker''s thoughts. Plus, it could also help him in inscribing magical rune designs!


    "Thank you, Elder! I will treasure this brush and treat it good!" Whittaker exclaimed with a beaming smile while taking the brush into his hand. It was like a fine piece of jewelry; however, it was soft yet hard. Plus, an unbelievable feeling spread out of it as Whittaker''s hands warmed up.


    "Okay, let us begin with the training!" Elder Zachary pulled out two [Seven Element Inking Set] and dozens of [Talisman Paper] from his spatial bracelet. He handed one inking set and dozens of talismans to Whittaker.


    A brush, an inking set, and a paper, these three were the necessary tools for an inscriptionist.


    When Whittaker gazed at the inking set, Noah explained all information about it to him. Moreover, Elder Zachary also explained its uses.


    "This is an inking set that contains elemental blood of several kinds of magical beasts."


    Elder Zachary and Whittaker opened up their inking set.


    He pointed at the red inkpot with his forefinger and said, "The red one is a fire elemental blood. An inscriptionist can draw fire type magical rune designs by using this blood."


    He pointed at the blue inkpot and said, "The blue one is water elemental blood. An inscriptionist can draw water type magical rune designs by using this blood."


    Similarly, all the other inkpot contained an elemental type of beast blood. One by one, Elder Zachary explained everything about it to Whittaker.


    Soon after, he dipped his brush into the Flame type inkpot then after three seconds, he pulled it out and started drawing a flame type magical rune on the wooden board.


    Elder Zachary could complete the magical rune design in three seconds; However, this wasn''t a competition but a teaching session, hence he went slow.


    While sketching the design one line at a time, he explained the structure/design of the basic fire type "Fire Wave" magical rune to Whittaker, who stared at it with wide-open eyes.


    Soon after, Elder Zachary finished with inscribing the Fire wave magical rune design on the wooden board. The lines intertwined and heat waves were released from it. These heat waves permeated into the surrounding.


    Right then, the heat waves were absorbed into the wooden board and it shone in a scarlet glow. The flame Wave rune was successfully created.


    Instantly, Whittaker easily memorized the entire Fire Wave rune design.


    [Fire Wave Rune (Low-level)


    Grade: Perfect.


    Effect: With a command, Absorbs 100% necessary mana from nature to activate. Once activated, a sea of flame will converge in a single direction, drowning everything in its path!] Noah notified.


    "Have you learned it?" He asked and Whittaker nodded, "Yes Elder, I have already memorized it!"


    "Good, you really have an exceptional memory!" Elder Zachary praised while picking up the wooden board. "As you can see, this magical rune design is formed from the blood of a fire type beast, hence, it''s a fire type magic rune called Fire wave. I can activate this rune with a single thought or by using mana or soul force. Similarly, you can use this rune by using mana, battle energy, or soul force. Do you get it?"


    "Yup. Elder, should I try to inscribe one myself?" Whittaker asked. He wants to try out and create a rune by himself.


    "Wait, first witness the effect of this Fire wave magic rune!" Elder Zachary told Whittaker to first witness the power of magical rune design then create one himself.


    "Sure!" Whittaker willingly agreed. He too was interested in witnessing how powerful a magical rune design can be.


    They were in a forest and Elder Zachary wasn''t an arsonist, so he used a formation to open a spatial gateway towards the entrance of Monster tower. The Monster tower was located to the East of the Satyr''s State governed by a Duke of the Wind Kingdom. It was 3700 miles away from Elder Zachary''s palace.


    "I will take you to an amazing place filled with treasure. Come, step inside!" Elder Zachary said to Whittaker, who readily agreed the moment he heard the words "Filled with treasures"


    "Elder, I will help pull your chair!" He said and Zachary''s mechanical heart instantly melted and his eyes thinned into slits. What a sensible child, he thought.


    Whittaker helped pushed his wheelchair and they entered the spatial gateway and appeared in front of a huge monolith structure which was guarded by golems and guards, and surrounded by high walls. The Monolith structure was a building with 100 floors and its peak thrust into the skies.


    "Elder, it''s as big as your palace!" Whittaker said. Awestruck, his eyes and mouth were opened wide.


    "Haha, close your mouth before you swallow a bug." Elder Zachary kindly reminded.


    Embarrassed, Whittaker closed his mouth.


    Their sudden appearance didn''t startle many or cause a disturbance. Hundred thousands of people usually visit the famous monster tower, after all.

 Chapter 132: Monster tower!

    The monster tower was a famous inheritance dungeon. It generated billions of platinum of revenue every month, as a large number of awakened enters this dungeon, clear the monsters, and sell the magical beast cores and items they receive inside every day. And yes, the monsters inside automatically spawn after a certain amount of time.


    "This is the Monster Tower, created by an ancient civilization. It has a total of one hundred floors and a king''s throne. However, no one has reached the throne room. The first ten floors are dedicated to the F-rank awakens. It is filled with 1-star to 2-star magical beasts. The next ten floors are dedicated to E-ranker. It is filled with 2-star to 4-star magical beasts. Similarly, every ten floors, the power level of magical beasts will increase." Elder Zachary explained while remembering his childhood days.


    This was the place where his father would usually take him to practice the way of fighting. This was also the place where his master took him to train different ways to use inscriptions and formations.


    After a momentary pause, he pointed at a magical rune symbol located on the base of the monolith structure and continued, "Do you see that magical rune symbol?"


    "Yes,"


    "Go there!"


    Whittaker pushed his wheelchair to the base of the Monster Tower.


    Suddenly, a burly guard used his weapon to block them, stopping them from going ahead, and asked for their ID to fulfill his duty.


    "Sire, Hold up. First, show me your identification card." He said in an emotionless and formal tone.


    This dungeon was controlled by the Wind Empire and everyone entering it must provide an ID to enter. Also, they must agree to hand over 30% of their total earnings after leaving the dungeon otherwise, they wouldn''t be allowed to enter.


    Sadly, the Guard didn''t know that Elder Zachary was the previous Grand Prince and the current King of the Feng Palace.


    The kingdom of Wind and the Kingdom of Water had a tradition of appointing someone as Grand Prince. Grand Prince is a prince who is to succeed the throne in case the crown prince dies. In this era, Although the crown prince didn''t die and became the emperor of Wind, Elder Zachary was still awarded the Feng palace �C the residence of the previous emperor �C for his great merits!


    He was King Feng and could enter any place he wished to without the need of following the Wind Kingdom rules. This was the authority granted to him by the Emperor!


    "You don''t know me?" Elder Zachary asked with a smile and the guard shook his head. He certainly didn''t know who Zachary was, as he hasn''t appeared in public for hundreds of years, only his name echoes throughout the continent.


    "That''s what a person gets for being anti-social," Whittaker added salt to injury with a beaming smile and earned himself a stern glare for the Elder.


    "Old man, who are you? Why would my big brother know a cripple like you? If you don''t have an ID then get lost. You''re blocking the way of people standing behind!"


    Suddenly, a boyish voice resounded from behind as four to five youngsters �C equipped with a full set of equipment �C appeared.


    Instantly, two icy cold eyes glared dagger at him. Without giving Elder Zachary any chance to say anything, Whittaker angrily said,


    "How dare you disrespect my master?"


    He was a hot-blooded youngster that didn''t support disrespecting Elders. Especially because Elder Zachary was his elder.


    "Little pest, do you want a beating?" The young man taunted, once again.


    "Hah, in the end, you will be the one eating the dust and crying "MOMMY!" Whittaker burned Kira so hard that he fumed in rage and pulled out his B-rank Class weapon.


    A battle was about to begin but Elder Zachary stopped Whittaker by intelligently saying,


    "Young friend, there''s no need to bite back when a roadside dog barks at you!"


    This was the last straw for Kira and he was about to rush out when someone grabbed his hand otherwise, they will both be punished because of breaking the law by troubling visitors.


    "Kira, enough. You shouldn''t disrespect Elders!" Simultaneously, the guard scolded Kira. He turned towards Elder Zachary and said in a stern yet gentle tone, "Sir, if you don''t have an ID then I can not allow you to enter. It''s the rule set by the empire and I can''t disobey it. I hope you don''t mind."


    ''He''s a good guard! Following the rules by the book,'' Elder Zachary thought internally. He didn''t want to trouble the guard because of his insolent younger brother so he focused his attention on the spatial bracelet to find his ID card.


    "No worries!" Elder Zachary replied with a smile while pulling out an Emerald card from his spatial ring and handed it over to the guard for inspection.


    When the guard took a look at it, his eyes popped and his mouth opened wide as if he had been struck by lightning that descended from heaven.


    Instantly, the guard dropped to his knees and respectfully cupped his hand in front of Elder Zachary,


    "Grand lord, it''s an honor to meet! Please forgive my brother for his previous offense!"


    "Grand lord?" Kira was shocked. Only imperial royal, Grand general, and retired dukes were referred to as Grand Lord. "Fuck, I just offended a Grand Lord! Goddamn, I am doomed!"


    The so-called friends instantly distanced themselves from Kira, leaving him alone to face Elder Zachary''s judgment.


    "You''re still not kneeling?" The guard angrily shouted him. He pulled the hand of his brother and forced him to kneel in front of the Grand Lord.


    "No need to kneel. You were just doing your duty. And, I forgive him. If youngster wouldn''t be hot-blooded then who would, me? Hahaha," Elder Zachary was known for his carefree and eccentric personality, so he cracked a joke.


    "Hahahaha!" When he laughed, the other laughed as well, including the guard and his little brother. They were following etiquette.


    He was a grand lord, after all, disgracing him means execution!

 Chapter 133: Fire Wave!

    Elder Zachary felt pleased as everyone laughed because of his joke, he took his ID card and carefully stored it. Whereas Whittaker felt weirded out.


    "Elder, why are they laughing so hard? Did some kind of sickness made them mad?" He asked while pushing Elder Zachary Wheelchair to the monolith.


    Realizing that they were merely laughing to keep his heart, the smile instantly vanished from his face. "Sigh, I should have accepted a stupid student. This one is too smart for my good!" He regretfully thought while replying,


    "Maybe, who knows,"


    Soon after, they reached nearby the rune circle.


    "It''s been a long time since I last visited. Tower spirit, do you still remember me?" He muttered while placing his hand on the runic circle at the base of the 100-floor tall monolith structure.


    "How could I forget you. You are the only one who managed to destroy the floor of my home. And, I''m glad that you took some time to visit me. You should visit often!" An angry yet happy tone resounded.


    "Haha, this might very well be my last visit; However, my inheritor will be visiting you quite often. Anyway, Jafar, send us to the 31st floor!" Elder Zachary joyfully replied.


    In the very moment, two streams of resplendent light shone down from the skies and created a gateway that said Floor 31st.


    The spirit of the tower certainly missed this child. "How long has it been?" It wondered. "You used to be an emerald silk pant wearing arrogant young master but you have grown up to be a respectable figure!" Jafar announced Elder Zachary''s embarrassing past to Whittaker, who hid his smile when Elder Zachary gaze at him.


    "I shouldn''t say anything to the spirit unless it exposes all my embarrassing secret to my student"


    While thinking that, he said to Whittaker,


    "Come on, let''s go!"


    The pillars of light contained mysterious space-type magical rune designs, hence Whittaker memorized them. He then entered the spatial gateway with his master.


    The moment Whittaker and Elder Zachary entered the spatial gateway, they vanished from there and were teleported inside the thirty-first floor of the tower, as per Elder Zachary''s will.


    Whittaker brought himself to full attention and curiously observed the legendary creature, a dragon for the first time in his life.


    [Young Water Dragon


    Rank: (C-rank)


    Attribute: Water-type


    Innate ability: Draconic pressure, Water Blast, Water Wave, Water Strike, Waterball]


    At the same time, they caught the attention of the ten-meter tall Young Water dragon. The dragon also turned to take a look at the visitor. It stepped forward, its beady eyes with vertical slits were focused on the small humans that it so desired to eat!


    The dragon scales were shining in a dark blue color. To Whittaker, it felt like a jeweled mountain was gradually coming closer as the beast stepped towards them. Its eyes shined with a terrifying light. Instantly, a Draconic pressure spread out.


    "Huff-huff-huff�� Gulp!" Suddenly, Whittaker''s chest heaved for he was breathless for a while. He swallowed his saliva and drops of sweat rolled down his forehead as he was pressurized by the draconic pressure of the Water dragon!


    As it stood, a crippled old man and a little boy was simply not a threat to it. Its humongous jaws opened wide and it roared powerfully.


    Gahhhhhh!!!


    The sound was grating to the ears but Whittaker was more afraid of its sparkly sharp teeth and its ability.


    When the dragon roared, Blue elemental mana converged at the center of its mouth, and Noah notified Whittaker


    [Be careful, Guardian. The young water dragon is about to use its elemental spell "Water Blast!"]


    The dragon planned to shot out a blast to end their lives...


    "Elder, if you don''t do anything now then we will become its dinner!" Whittaker said between breaths. Moreover, both his class weapons materialized in the physical world.


    "You don''t need to do anything. Just watch and learn!" Zachary said.


    "Eh... Okay!" Whittaker simply stared, trusting that Elder Zachary won''t let him be harmed.


    Whittaker wasn''t calm; However, Elder Zachary did not let himself slip up in front of a mere Water dragon. He merely positioned the wooden board with Flame Wave rune towards the Water dragon and activated it.


    Mana waves from the surrounding rushed into the rune design.


    As it was a perfect-tier rune, Elder Zachary didn''t need to use the mana in his mana pool to activate it.


    [Fire Wave]


    At the same moment, the water dragon released its attack!


    [Draconic Water Blast]


    Fire Wave and Draconic Water Blast, the two attacks clashed in the middle and produced a disastrous blast.


    BOOM! The land shook from the impact as fire, water and stream spread out. Meanwhile, Whittaker''s surroundings glowed and a transparent shield of light appeared around him and Elder Zachary.


    Right after, a wave of flame and water crashed on top of the shield yet the shield didn''t budge even a single inch from its place.


    "It''s time to roast it!" Elder Zachary said with a smile.


    [Fire Wave]


    The fire wave rune activated and a wave of flame crashed on the unprepared Water dragon.


    Boom!


    The flame wave scorched its body. It howled in pain, as its scales were blasted, rupturing the softer skin inside and leaving it defenseless for the next attack.


    Low-level runes could be utilized three times!


    [Fire Wave]


    Continuing with the momentum, a flame wave rushed towards the unprepared Water dragon once more.


    Boom!


    The last attack blasted the already mangled body of the ten-meter tall monster, cutting short its roaring moans of pain as blood and brain matter splattered all around


    Whittaker''s blood was boiling in excitement as he witnessed how easily Elder Zachary has defeated the C-ranked Water dragon by merely using a perfect-tier low/basic-level magic rune!


    "Elder, I can''t wait to start learning inscription and amass a fortune of offensive magic runes!" Whittaker honestly declared his thoughts and Elder Zachary laughed while thinking,


    ''Now that I have shown him the power of magic rune, he will surely invest himself in learning them every day!"

 Chapter 134: Verifying suspicion!

    "Let''s go back to the palace!" He said but Whittaker didn''t move.


    "Wait Elder, let me get that treasure!" He said while pointing at the sparkly gem in the middle of the bloody mess.


    "Sure, go ahead!" Elder Zachary replied


    Whittaker picked up the sparkly gem and gazed at it. At that very moment, Noah notified.


    [Draconic Rapid Water Blast (C-rank) (Rare)


    Charge up cost: 400 Mana


    Cost per shot: 40


    Effect: Fires a group of water balls that explodes on contact and deals water damage to the enemy. Water damage is weak against nature, wood, earth enemies but effective against fire enemies. Cannot be learned.]


    ?Hint: If you want to learn it then upgrade Frost spellbook to S-rank Ice spellbook or sell the Rapid Water Blast book for a good amount]


    "I don''t need to sell it," Whittaker muttered while walking back to Elder Zachary.


    He didn''t need to sell it because he was already too rich. Plus, the palace is bound to have a lot of currency so he decided to do something with it.


    While he was pushing Elder Zachary''s wheelchair to the spatial gateway located at the entrance of the 31st floor, he finally decided on what to do with the book.


    "Next time I meet Lily, I will gift this book to her!"


    Hearing his words, Elder Zachary''s ears perked up and he teasingly asked, "Who is Lily? Is she your little sweetheart?"


    "No, we are just friends!" Whittaker blushed and Zachary laughed.


    ...


    When they reached back to the palace, Zachary announced,


    "The monster dungeon is the training ground I am choosing for you. In two months the higher you climb the better reward I will give to you from my personal items!"


    Although he was gonna give even his personal item to Whittaker on his deathbed, he still thought it was better to let the young boy earn some of it through hard work.


    "Really?" Whittaker asked in glee while thinking, ''Elder Zachary is a rich man. He has so many treasures in his palaces. So his personal items might very well be S-rank treasures. Noah, am I right?''


    ?Yes, the Guardian is completely correct!? Noah replied.


    "Yup!" Elder Zachary, on the other, nodded his head in agreement.


    "Welcome back!" The moment they entered the palace, Nina was notified of their arrival.


    "How has your day been?" She asked.


    "Just fine!" Zachary replied


    "Good! Elder sis, I even earned a spellbook!" Whittaker replied happily.


    "Come, the food is already prepared and is waiting for you guys on the table,"


    "I will go and rest first. Serve my food at night!" He said to Nina. Turning towards Whittaker, he said, "No need to help push my wheelchair anymore. You should go and fill your tummy. And, train your magical rune inscribing skill tonight!"


    "Okay!" Whittaker said.


    Soon after, Nina took Whittaker to the dinner table.


    Nina had already prepared food for two and it was set on the table; However, only Whittaker came as Zachary had declined her offers but there was no need to worry as the young snowy-haired boy devoured food for two pretty easily and fastly.


    In a few minutes, Whittaker ate multiple meaty sandwiches and drank 3 big cups of red cherry without pause.


    After saying his thanks, he entered his room. It was big, but cozy, with a desk, a king-sized bed, a connecting bathroom, and various spatial gateway.


    The magic door automatically shut tight when Whittaker stepped inside. After going back to his room, Whittaker showered and changed into his comfortable night attire.


    He went over to his bed and sat on it. Closing his eyes, he entered a state of meditation.


    After six hours, he exhaled, feeling warm all over his body.


    ?Ding! The Guardian has utilized the Star Visualization soul technique for six hours. Gained +6 soul force?


    [Soul force unit increased: 4?10. Total Soul force in the soul seed: 10/10]


    ?Ding! The Guardian has meditated in the Grand Vortex Creation skill for an hour?


    ?The Guardian has gained 30 Units of mana?


    [Mana point increased: 1029?1059. Total mana in mana pool 1029/2000. Total Mana in Mana-devouring hairs 100/100]


    Noah notified the snowy-haired boy.


    "Wow, it''s as I thought. As long as I can cultivate both meditation skills at the same, I will form both soul force and mana in me. This is crazy!" Whittaker shook his head, back and forth, enjoying the experience with a beaming smile on his face.


    For a while, Whittaker had been wondering whether both meditation skills could be utilized at the same time, and if they can, then would he get their benefits?


    He had obtained his answer. It was possible as long as the person is intelligent enough to meditate on both skills at the same time. It wasn''t too hard for Whittaker as he had an exceptional memory skill.


    He was able to easily visualize the image of the star Visualization technique whilst meditating in Grand Vortex Tree creation skill.


    Whittaker wanted to sleep and the bed was enticing him to. The bed was too soft yet stable at the same time. Moreover, it had a cozy feel to it that was warming Whittaker. It also glued him to the bed


    "But I can''t. As per my agreement with Elder Zachary, I should start practicing inscribing magical rune designs. Otherwise, that stick could be used on me!" Whittaker had a delusion of being targeted by the training stick.


    "Although it will take time to learn to inscribe, it''s better to learn how to make it today instead of learning it tomorrow!" Whittaker convinced himself to learn inscribing.


    He also wanted to learn inscribing for other reasons as well. It''s to complete Noah''s mission and get rare rewards. Plus, in the future, he won''t have to buy other inscriptionists'', talisman master, or formation master services as he would be a master of them all, himself.


    "To complete the profession quest, I need to inscribe eight magical rune designs!" Whittaker muttered as he looked at the semitransparent screen.


    ?Profession quest: Learn to inscribe eight types of magical runes designs ?

 Chapter 135: Becoming an inscriptionist (a)

    Whittaker pulled out the red inkpot from his [Seven Element Inking Set]. When he gazed at it, Noah notified,


    [Blood inkpot


    Type: Flame


    Rank: High-quality


    Effect: Can be used to draw flame magic rune]


    "Let''s start!"


    The Yin-Yang heavenly brush appeared in his hand and he dipped it into the flame-type inkpot then after three seconds, he pulled it out and started drawing a flame-type magical rune on the talisman paper.


    In his vision, the scene of Elder Zachary sketching the Flame Wave rune one line at a time played. He followed his actions to create the design of the basic fire type "Fire Wave" magical rune.


    The creation of a magical rune design depended on the exceptional memory of a person and control over the movements of hands. Whittaker had the first but lacked in the second. He didn''t have exceptional control over his hands.


    Anyhow, half of the magical rune design is quickly inscribed on the talisman, and the young boy could feel the heat emitting out of the lines.


    "This looks easy," He beamed a smile while thinking that he was about to create a talisman for the very first time in his life.


    The process seemed to be going smoothly, hence Whittaker thought it is easy to become an Inscriptionist; However, he was wrong as his rune design that seemed perfect in his eyes, was too shaky. It was bound to end up in a failure.


    Whittaker wasn''t Elder Zachary and he couldn''t complete a magical rune design in a single stroke. His brush was empty of ink before he could complete the design.


    Quickly, he dipped the brush into flame blood inkpot and continued. The fire element converged into the talisman as Scarlet lines were drawn on it, one after another.


    Several minutes after, Whittaker finished with inscribing the Fire wave magical rune design on the talisman.


    "Shaa that!" Instantly, the talisman was set on fire as it started burning and Whittaker rushed to the bathroom, throwing the flaming talisman into the water tub.


    [The Guardian has failed to inscribe the magical rune design!]


    "Noah, am I a failure?" Whittaker felt disheartened at failing his first attempt at creating a talisman.


    ?Guardian, don''t be sad. Most inscriptionist takes several months or more than a year to even memorize a single rune design. Plus, they need several years to learn the technique of inscribing magical rune designs on a talisman paper. Even Elder Zachary needed six months to create his first-ever talisman. Furthermore, he had honed his calligraphy skills for three years, took another three to memorize twenty basic-level rune designs before announcing himself as an inscriptionist. Right after, he went to the talisman hall to take the formal test and become a talisman master. In simple words, he became a talisman master after training for six years and six month? Noah notified the sullen boy.


    But with the help of his exceptional memory, he memorized dozens of magical rune designs within a few minutes.


    Finally, he concluded that he wasn''t bad at inscribing rune designs. Rather, he was extraordinary, if nothing else.


    Hearing Noah''s word, Whittaker understood that he wasn''t the only one who failed while creating a talisman for the first time, hence his mood brightened up and he said,


    "Thank you, Noah. I will keep on training until I inscribe the flame wave rune design on the talisman paper, even if I had to spend the entire night training!"


    Quickly, he took out another piece of talisman, dipped his heavenly Yin-Yang brush in the red inkpot, mixed the hairs of the brush with the flame element blood, and started to draw the flame Wave rune design on the talisman paper.


    ...


    Five tries later,


    Sha Sha!


    As soon as he completed the Fire Wave design, the talisman paper was instantly set on fire and he was hit by a burnt smell suddenly.


    Cough, Cough! While coughing, Whittaker used his hand to cover his mouth and nose to block the black smoke from entering his body through the nostril or the mouth. All the while, he was running towards the bathtub.


    Throwing the blazing talisman paper inside the bathtub filled to the brim with clear water that was slowly but surely turning murky, he exhaled a breath of relief.


    "Why do I keep on failing, again and again?" Whittaker was shocked. This was probably the biggest hurdle he had faced in his entire life.


    He had continuously failed five-time to inscribe even a low-tier Flame Wave design and his hopeful, smiling face turned ugly at the result.


    "Noah, where did it go wrong. I followed the same actions Elder Zachary took and the magic rune design is exactly the same. Could it be that I need to complete it within a certain time limit?" Whittaker dispiritedly analyzed the mistakes he might have made during the inscribing process.


    ?Ding!


    There''s no rule to complete a design within a certain time limit. The Guardian failed because you have used more than the required flame blood, which caused the design to become unstable and the paper to burn into ashes. Moreover, your Flame Wave design is extremely shaky?


    Noah notified the reason for failure to the young snowy-haired boy, who has been wondering about the reason for his five failed attempts at creating a talisman.


    "So it''s because of using an excess amount of flame blood. But what do you mean by my design being shaky?" Whittaker exclaimed. In his eyes, every line was drawn exclusively so how could that be one of the valid reasons.


    ?Normal eyes won''t be able to detect the momentary detail but once Guardian utilizes Devansha eyes, you will find out how much shaky your design is!?


    Once he used Devansha''s eyes, Whittaker was shocked. The design which he thought was perfect seemed like a massive colony of an ant. It may seem straightforward but there were various curves and bumps to it.


    "I will probably have to train for months to become an inscriptionist!" Whittaker muttered after realizing the reason for his failure.


    ?Ding! There''s no need for that!?


    Suddenly, Noah''s monotone voice rang beside Whittaker''s ear.

 Chapter 136: Becoming an inscriptionist (b)

    "What do you mean by that?"


    Whittaker stopped doing whatever he was doing and asked Noah.


    ?There''s no need for the Guardian to train for months. The Guardian can simply increase his agility stat to 30 points and you will receive the passive skill "Dexterous body". With this skill, the Guardian will not make even a momentary mistake when inscribing runes. Moreover, the Guardian inscribing speed will increase. Plus, you will be able to control the amount of flame blood being used to make a rune. In simple words, the Guardian will instantly become an inscriptionist and a talisman maker!? Noah explained.


    Whittaker was surprised by the sudden info dump by Noah. Although he understood all of it, experiencing it was still better than just hearing flowery words.


    "Wow! I don''t know what Dexterous hands do but since you are praising it so much I must obtain it and check it out myself." Whittaker said while looking at the character screen.


    He only had 2 points in agility. That means, he has to spend 28 attribute points to increase his agility stat to 30 points.


    "Noah, increase my agility to 30 points!" Whittaker said.


    ?As you wish. Consumed 28 attribute points to upgrade the state "Agility"?


    ?Agility Increased: 2?30?


    ?Congratulations, the Guardian has gained the passive ability "Dexterous body"?


    [Dexterous body (passive)


    Rank: rankless


    Effect: The Guardian now has far better control over his body than previously. You can control the coordination of your small muscles. Your hands and fingers now have a 100% better synchronization rate with your eyes and mind. You''re agile enough to climb walls without the need to use battle energy or mana]


    "Let''s try it out!" With this exclamation, Whittaker stepped out of the bed to find out how his body and hands have improved.


    He moved the fingers of his hands and they moved up and down just like waves. He could even twist his finger to the back, such that it touches the back of his hand without using his other hand or anything.


    "Hmm, this passive skill is just as great as Noah described it to be!" Whittaker quickly made his judgment.


    "I should be able to create a Flame Wave talisman now. Let''s try it out."


    He quickly took out another talisman paper and repeated the same process of dipping the heavenly Yin-Yang brush in the "Flame elemental blood inkpot".


    This was his sixth time. It could either end in success or failure; However, Whittaker didn''t know which one will it be.


    He started inscribing the Flame Wave magical rune design on the talisman paper. This time, his speed was similar to Elder Zachary.


    Although Elder Zachary had purposely gone slow to complete the perfect grade Flame Wave rune design, he was an old hand �C A person who has reached rank-10 as a formation master �C yet Whittaker was just as fast as him while inscribing the Flame Wave rune design on the talisman paper.


    Whittaker was currently using Devansha''s eyes and he was intently staring at the talisman paper while inscribing the design on it. Each line he draws was perfect, as perfect as it could be.


    If it previously looked like a colony of ants with many bumps and turns then it now looked like a serene and calm ocean without any waves.


    Whittaker noticed that the runic lines have started to mix to form small round shapes, just like what happened when Elder Zachary Flame Wave rune was completed on the wooden board.


    It made Whittaker happy as he believed that he was successful in the sixth try and a beaming smile formed on his face while his eyes closed due to pleasure.


    Sha Sha! Suddenly, he heard the Sha sound resounding in the room, and his eyes snapped open.


    He opened his eyes to see that the talisman was burning into ashes, once again. After rushing to the bathroom and throwing the flaming talisman inside the water-filled bathtub, Whittaker returned to his bed and sat on it.


    "Sigh~Noah, where did it went wrong this time? The runic lines were perfect and I followed what Elder Zachary did yet I still failed," Whittaker was frustrated as he failed for the sixth time.


    ''Ding!


    The Guardian successfully inscribed the perfect-level magical rune design. The runic lines were drawn perfectly; However, the runic lines were not supplied with the right amount of fire elements. The talisman burned into cinders because the flame elemental blood amount was excessive then it could handle?


    Just like before, Noah''s notification popped up in his vision, explaining the reason behind the failed creation of the talisman.


    "Even though I had improved way much than the previous time, I still didn''t know of the perfect amount of flame blood that''s to be used to create the Flame Wave talisman. Noah, can you give me some guidance?" Whittaker asked.


    ?Yes!? Noah explained to Whittaker about the perfect amount of flame blood required to create the Flame wave talisman.


    With the new revelation about the necessary amount of flame blood, he repeated the talisman creation process one more time. This time more carefully.


    "Hahahahhaha," Whittaker continuously laughed when he noticed the lines connecting. "I always thought that the Agility stat was a useless stat that wasn''t helpful in any way. Today, I realized that even it is as powerful as mana. Just because of increasing my Agility stat to thirty points, I have become an inscription master in a single day!"


    In front of him, the talisman paper floated into the air while producing heat waves. These heat waves first permeated into the surrounding, making Whittaker feel hot. Then they were absorbed into the runic lines of the talisman paper.


    The Flame Wave talisman was created!


    ?Ding!


    Congratulations, Guardian you have successfully created a low-tier Flame Wave Talisman of basic-level. Congratulation to the Guardian once again for successfully embarking on the path of Inscriptionist and unlimited glory and respect.?


    ?Ding! The Guardian just needs to create seven more talismans to complete the profession quest. Good luck and fighting!" Noah cheered for Whittaker, who had been beaming a smile for creating a talisman, even if it was just a low-level one.

 Chapter 137: Perfect Grade Talisman paper

    Whittaker felt satisfied with himself and laughed while exclaiming, "I have created a talisman on the very first day I learned about inscriptions. I have also defeated my teacher record by 6+ months!"


    ?The Night''s Will System, Noah is impressed and moved by the Guardian''s dedication to gaining knowledge and mastering difficult subjects. The system has decided to reward the young guardian with a display of mystical fireworks!?


    Suddenly, holographic fireworks that only Whittaker could see exploded in the surrounding. This was Noah''s gift for the young snowy-haired boy.


    "Thanks. By the way Noah, you are more humane than before. Are you a magi-tech or a human?" Whittaker was now certain that Noah has human-like emotions and can feel happy for him.


    ?Ding! I can''t say much now but for now, the Host can consider me as an "Artificial soul"? Noah replied.


    "What''s an artificial soul?" Whittaker asked.


    "It''s like your elder sister Nina, she''s also an artificial soul and the spirit of the reality-management formation!"


    "Oh!" Whittaker knew what Nina was. And, he had always considered her as a human and respected her as a sister. Now that system is also someone like her, he felt more emotionally close with it.


    "It''s already late night," Whittaker said while rubbing his sore fingers, hands, and shoulders. He felt tired because of inscribing Flame Wave magical rune designs seven times.


    Although he was sleepy, the young snowy-haired boy still decided to remain awake.


    "Before sleeping, I should aim to complete the system mission!"


    He had memorized a lot of magical runes designs when he appeared in the famous formation ground. Now, it was time to utilize that memory to inscribe seven more magical runes designs of the talisman paper and complete the system''s mission.


    Whittaker started to inscribe seven kinds of magical runes designs on the talisman paper, one by one.


    An hour after, Whittaker had successfully inscribed eight types of magical runes designs on the talisman paper. He had also formed eight different types of talisman.


    ?Ding! Congratulation to the Guardian for successfully inscribing eight different types of magical runes designs.


    ?Profession Quest Completed: Learn to inscribe eight types of magical runes designs.


    ?Rewards Obtained: 400 XP, Six formation disk, 10 perfect grade talisman?


    ?Experince points increased: 900?1300]


    ?The rewards are stored in the inventory. I''m sure that the guardian will like it once you see their effects? Noah mysteriously said.


    Hearing Noah''s words, Whittaker burned with curiosity; However, the bed was in a mess and various kinds of items could be seen scattered on it.


    "I will check them after cleaning this mess!" Whittaker thought. Looking at the talisman on the bed, he beamed a smile. Noah''s notification popped up, explaining to him about the quality of the talismans he had created.


    "I have created seven basic level talisman and one intermediate one. A Fire Wave talisman, a Wind Wave talisman, a Wind Blade talisman, an Earth Skin talisman, a Water Shield talisman, a Swift Step talisman, a flame shield talisman, and lastly the intermediate level Flame and Wind dual blade talisman!"


    Out of the eight talismans, one was Scarlet and Emerald. It was emitting a hot and Windy aura. This was the intermediate level talisman that Whittaker had created. He was able to create it because Noah helped him. Noah helped by explaining to Whittaker about the perfect amount of Fire blood and Wind Blood necessary. The rest was done by Whittaker himself.


    Looking at the multicolored intermediate level talisman, Whittaker internally thought, "It''s just as Elder Zachary said, low-level and higher levels talismans share 50% or more similarities."


    To create an intermediate level talisman, an inscriptionist needs to first successfully inscribe two magical rune designs in a single talisman paper. One of the magical rune designs has to compliment the others in such a way that it''s power doubles. Only then will it be called an intermediate level talisman.


    For example, the Flame and Wind Dual blade talisman that Whittaker had created will have its power doubled when the Wind blade merges with the flame blade.


    With a thought, Whittaker stored the 8 talismans of various grades into his rankless ring of genesis. He also stored the important tools necessary for inscribing into his spatial ring.


    "Hahahaha!" He couldn''t help but smile. He was very happy and excited as he was able to create an intermediate level talisman in merely 20 minutes and become an intermediate Formation master and an intermediate inscriptionist. He wasn''t just happy because of becoming an intermediate level master at two professions.


    He was happy because a single intermediate-level talisman alone can be sold for more than 10000 platinum.


    "Once I return home after obtaining the max benefit I can from Elder Zachary, I will make sure to create a river of platinum bars in my family backyard. Now, it''s time to look at what kind of treasure I got. Noah, open the inventory," Whittaker gently said to the system.


    A semi-transparent screen appeared in front of his face as soon as the words left his mouth.


    Out of the 100 boxes on the inventory screen, most were already filled with high-quality treasures. Furthermore, the new treasure Whittaker just obtained from completing the quest seemed impressive as well. Their designs were exquisite.


    First, Whittaker gazed at the new treasure, Perfect talisman paper to find out what makes it so special that even the system believed he would be amazed. Suddenly, Noah''s notification opened up in his vision.


    [Perfect talisman paper


    Ranking: Peak perfect Grade!


    Durability: 10/10 ( Can be used a total of 10 times)


    Effect: On this piece of paper, the Guardian will be able to create a perfect-tier basic, intermediate, high, or perfect level talisman irrespective of his magical rune design quality!]


    "Huh? Noah, does it mean that any talisman I create will be a perfect tier one?" Whittaker asked with a surprised look and gaping mouth, amazed by the perfect


    ?In a way, Yes! A perfect grade talisman will be created as long as the magical rune design is stable enough to create a talisman!? Noah replied.


    "Wow!" Whittaker didn''t know how Noah was able to create something do mystical. He felt more excited as he owned ten of these in his inventory.


    He then turned to gaze at the treasure called "Six formation Disk!".

 Chapter 138: Nights treasure - Six Formation Disk!

    [Six Formation Disk


    Rank: Rankless!


    Durability 100/100 (Can be destroyed through heavy impact)


    Effect: A rare treasure that was created by Guardian''s Ancestor, Night. These six disks are spiritually connected to each other. When the guardian inscribes magical rune designs on a single formation disk, the same magical rune designs will instantly appear on the other five disks]


    "Impressive!" This was the only thing he could say. Whittaker didn''t know much about formations, after all, but he could still infer that this treasure is unique.


    After closing the inventory, he wanted to notify his family and friends about his current status. For example, Whittaker can''t return home for now as he wanted to be trained in the path of formation by Elder Zachary, hence he couldn''t return home for months.


    ''But, who knows how long it will take.'' Whittaker internally thought.


    Before he sends them messages or calls them, he checked the time, it was 2 a.m.


    ''I will talk to them sometime later!'' He thought while yawning. His back hit the bed, head drowned in the soft, mellow pillow. Instantly, he fell asleep on the comfortable bed.


    Elder Zachary and Nina, on the other hand, sat under the starry skies, looking at the beautiful silverish Moon that was getting tinted in a red hue.


    "Zachy, should I wake him up? This only comes once a year and mostly it''s hidden from the eyes of the mortals. He will be really happy and mesmerized when he sees the spirit world moon for the first time in his life." Nina asked permission to wake up Whittaker from her father.


    The mystical Full Moon Night has begun. The Moon of the Awakened Continent was currently overlapping with the Moon of the Spirit world. Most people have never been able to witness the truth of this phenomenon. They were not blessed by the spirits of the spirit world, after all.


    Only those blessed by the spirits were able to witness this scene. And, only those existing as a creature no human or spirit could sense that the spirit world moon had overlapped with the moon of the awakened continent.


    "Nah, let it be. He has been training nonstop and has just fallen asleep. Let him sleep and rest. Tomorrow, he got to train too. It''s better if he rests well." Zachary replied. As a responsible teacher, his student rest and health were far important than a momentary joy of life.


    ______________


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


    While Whittaker was comfortably sleeping in his bed, somewhere far away, in the depths of an enormous forest, his best friend was shivering in unbearable pain.


    The forest was dense, flourishing with lives and enormous. A dense canopy of old and huge trees thurst into the skies, blocking out the reddish moonlight, serving as an impenetrable barrier to the spiritual aura being emitted out of the Scarlet Moon. In the depth of the forest, there exists a small lake, in-between which is a grayish cold stone. And, in the depth of the forest, the environment was completely shrouded in the veil of night, darkness.


    The water around the stone was clear yet the part of the lake away from the stone was murky. A young child wearing white robes with silver patterns laid on top of the cold stone whose sides are tinted in moss-like green.His exposed pale hands and feet were covered in many ancient talismans. All these inscriptions were used to strengthen a seal.


    This place was the vacant forest training ground located in the back mountain of Royal Frost Fall Academy.


    Shadow knew that nobody uses training ground no.36 as an accident had occurred here. He also knew that the Negative absorption Stone �C a treasure that will help him to reduce the pain �C is placed in the lake located at the depth of training ground no.36.


    Therefore, he decided to use this place to withstand the pain which reoccurs every year on the Full Moon Night. He didn''t want others to see his miserable state or find the truth he had been hiding for so many years.


    Shadow was certain that no one will come to this place. Every student knows that this place is haunted, after all. And their parents had completely forbidden them from entering the training ground no.36. And, especially the depth of this forest.


    Calm winds bellowed, as the spirit moon completely overlapped with the moon of the awakened continent.


    Inside of Shadow''s body, there was a scroll. To be exact, it was a beautiful picture of a flowery mountain, drowned in a sea of chrysanthemum. Inside the sea of cherry petals, a man sat. He was 6.3 feet tall. His body was decorated with sets of well-defined muscled, chest so wide that embracing three girls at a time wouldn''t be a problem while his skin was tinted in a bronze almost sun-like hue. He wore a golden set of equipment that covered most of his body. His features were extremely gentle and refined. With sword-like eyebrows and full-lips, the man looked otherworldly.


    His eyes were closed, looking extremely peaceful. He seems to have become one with the picture.


    This man was the King of wrath!


    The cherry petal were soul calming leaves. When used in access, they were poisonous to any being. In simpler words, it was a poison used to drown the king of wrath in deep sleep!


    The painting was a seal. And, the man was being sealed inside of it until Shadow becomes powerful enough to control it.


    At that moment, in the physical world, strong winds bellowed from the east, furiously shaking the trees and their branches. The treetops swayed in the wind, creating ample openings that let enough Scarlet beams of moonshine to shine upon Shadow. The pale white youth looked mesmerizing after being dyed in a Scarlet hue, almost demonic.


    When the wind bellowed in the forest, a spiritual wind raised in the painting and it swept past the man''s face. The trees of the chrysanthemum trees rustled in his ears and his eyes snapped open. His eyes were darker than abyss yet dark gold glinted within them.

 Chapter 139: Price of freedom!

    The King of Wrath could only get out of his paralyzed state when the Spirit world moon overlaps with the awakened continent moon. He had awakened!


    The first words that came out of his mouth were, "Let Me Out!"


    An overwhelming and commanding shout echoed from inside of Shadow, resounding in the deep and dark forest.


    "I refuse! I will never set you free not until I have my revenge, not until I kill everyone who conspired to kill my mom and me!" Shadow was adamant about his decision. He will never set the King of Wrath free.


    His answer irked the King of Wrath. He frowned in displeasure. No one declines what the king demands, not even its vessel.


    "It has been 10 years now yet you''re still giving me the same response. Little one, don''t blame me for being merciless!" The king said as one of his hands raised.


    Golden beams of light seemed to shine from his body as a massive hand made out of wrathful energy formed in the sky. The Wrath king hand clenched into a fist and he punched out.


    Whoosh! The massive hand glistening mesmerizing in the flowery sky followed his actions and it straight to the seal of the painting, mountain of beasts.


    Bam! Multiple golden waves of wrathful energy surged out of the painting and crashed on Shadow''s chest!


    "Ahhhhhhh!" A painful moan escaped his mouth as his chest arched up and he felt his rib cage being pounded by a massive force.


    Cracking noises echoes along with the wails of a young boy that was trying to hold on to his consciousness with hands tightly clenched into fists and gritted teeth.


    His chest burned in pain and a metallic taste tingled his tongue. Blood dyed his white teeth scarlet and even breathing has become a hard task yet hope burned bright in his eyes. Looking at the Scarlet Moon, he internally thought, "In five minutes, the moons will separate and the King of Wrath will enter its paralyze state. I only need to survive till then."


    "Little one, I know what you are thinking but this time I won''t be merciful at all. Let this king go before I forcefully break the seal and your body to regain freedom. A little one like you will never be worthy of me. You want to avenge your mother but when the time comes, will you be able to point your weapon at him and cut his head off?" The King said.


    "I know I am unworthy and weak as your host but soon, I will be worthy! I can''t set you free. Your power is the only way I can defeat him and search for the truth!" Shadow replied with a murderous smile.


    He wanted to defeat his father and ask him if he regrets being unkind to him and his mother, Binghe Ye before reaping his life. He wanted to see the regretful look on his father''s proud face. Furthermore, although Shadow had found out that that night it was his father''s enemies that attacked them, he still wasn''t sure who those people were.


    He wanted revenge.


    ''For that, I need strength!''Integrating with the Wrath king power was the fastest way to grow powerful!


    "Little lass," Wrath said and paused.


    The corners of Shadow''s mouth twisted. She suddenly recalled the past and her mood instantly turned sad.


    "Don''t you dare call me that!" Shadow angrily said. The Wrath King has touched Shadow''s lower boundary, saying something he should have never said.


    "Regretfully, I will have to kill you. You are the strongest little lass I have ever seen in my life. Sigh~"


    While he said that, golden beams of light were released from the pores of his body. They shot straight to the flowery sky and joined into one to create a majestical dragon.


    "Destroy the seal!" He commanded the dragon, a smile hung low on his lips.


    "AHHHHHH!" Right then, the second wave of pain dawned on her very soul. A soul tearing mental pain overwhelmed Shadow and Shadow''s body spasmed wildly. Shadow''s mouth was gaped open yet she couldn''t breathe because her mind was clouded by pain.


    Roar!


    The roar of a mighty dragon reverberated throughout the forest ground no.36. And, the forest seemed to have been lit up in gold as waves and waves of golden energy began to spread through the grounds, much like flood waves overturning land.


    In the forest, melodic sounds resounded, containing a mixture of animal sounds, predominantly those of bird songs and the fluttering of leaves. Animals and trees respectfully prayed to the Scarlet moon and the golden flow of god, hence this song was created. This melodic song echoed throughout the depth of the depth, adding life to the somewhat eerie place.


    Soon after, Shadow''s painful wails were also shunned by the melodic sounds. Blood trickled down from the corners of his mouth as his hollow eyes started to close.


    ''I must hold on until the Scarlet moon goes away!'' Shadow thought but five whole minutes were left before the Scarlet moon goes away. And, Shadow was already losing consciousness. Shadow was already at her wit''s end and the wave of pain which had crashed on her body was disastrous, to say the least. She was bleeding from all her pores. Blood leaked down from the corners of his her and mouth as she laid unconscious on the negative absorption stone.


    This time the pain was too much and Shadow wasn''t able to hold on. She instantly lost consciousness.


    This was the best chance the spirit of wrath could ever ask for.


    "The vessel acting against me is no longer conscious and I can certainly escape by using a more powerful move but this lass might die." King Wrath closed his eyes for he couldn''t make his decision. For the past several years, he has been living with Shadow. Her hardworking nature has certainly moved his heart yet it wasn''t enough to curb the desire that fills his heart.


    The desire to obtain freedom.


    "Freedom is more important!" King''s Wrath eyes snapped open as he made his decision to sacrifice whatever he must to free himself. And so, it decided to attack for the fourth time.


    To be the vessel of Wrath, a heavy price must be paid. But, the benefits were equal to the hellish pain and mental destruction that reoccurs on every full-moon night. But will Shadow be able to live long enough to enjoy the benefits of becoming Wrath''s vessel or just die tonight?

 Chapter 140: Prince Saves The Day

    Today, Nightfall in the Southern Region of the Water kingdom was the most enticing and mesmerizing as the streets were filled with a sea of peoples. The sky was dark, enchanted by a scarlet glow. Whereas, the streets were lit with golden lamps and the water was glowing in multicolored lights. Various small lamps placed on small cup-like boats were placed on the water, carried by the waves and scattered here, there, and everywhere on the water nearby the beach, creating this scenery.


    Many people could be seen sitting nearby the river and enjoying a chill time with their loved ones.


    This is how the people enjoy the famous Moon prayer festival which carries historical importance in the Water kingdom, especially in its southern region which is allied with the underwater kingdoms.


    Currently, Southern Dragon City was brightened by the atmosphere. Above the ancient palace of the Southern Region duke, a man �C covered in dirt and wearing a purple Assasins mask �C sitting cross-legged suddenly opened his eyes.


    "Huh? So It''s that time of the year, already." He stared at the vanishing Scarlet moon and he instantly stood up. At the very moment, the dust shook off his body by a purplish force.


    "Wait, I wake up a little late! The spirit of Wrath must have already wakened up. I should hurry and reach Laila before something disastrous happens!" He said with a serious expression on his face.


    His head of purplish hair fluttered against the wind as his body released thousands of units of battle energy and soul force.


    Enormous waves of battle energy mixed with soul force converge into a mystical symbol, out of which a giant bird with wings spanning dozens of meters came out. With a single flap of its wing, the bird rushed thousands of meters ahead, left behind was master Yin Ye who ate dust.


    "Cough! Cough! Birdy, wait for me!"


    Before the bird could go away, he jumped forwards with all his force, cracks stretched from across the rooftop of the palace to its base, as Master Yin Ye shot towards the bird that was already thousands of meters away and landed on its back successfully.


    Instantly, Master Yin Ye marched out of the city. Master Yin Ye was heading to Royal Frost Fall City as fast as he could. If something happens to Shadow then he won''t have any face to meet his student in the afterlife.


    A huge bird traversed the sky above the Southern Dragon City, whisking through the clouds of the night sky.


    They left behind a huge mess that startled all the guards and even the Duke �C who was gazing at the Scarlet Moon with lonely eyes �C had to return to the palace.


    Southern region duke eyes twitched as he stared at the half-destroyed palace in displeasure.


    "Find the culprit!" His advisor shouted.


    "Yes, sir!" The palace guards shouted.


    "No need, you will all die even if you manage to find him. Summon some Earth, metal, and fire mages. Rebuild the palace and reinforce it with A-rank steel." Duke William commanded while walking away.


    "Master, may I ask who''s it?" The advisor, who followed behind him, asked.


    "Yin Ye from the Shen Ze Yi Guild!" William replied while feeling hurt.


    "So it was him. This is the third time he destroyed Master''s palace." The advisor added salt to Williams''s wounds.


    "I am gonna get financially bankrupt in a few decades if this situation continues," Duka William said with a hopeless smile.


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


    The spirit king of Wrath had decided to end it all in one attack, granting Shadow a peaceful death. Golden energy swarmed out of his body, filling the entire world in the painting in a golden sea. The golden sea had many mystical symbols embodied in it. The golden sea was battle energy while the mystical symbols were condensed soul force.


    This much soul force and battle energy were simply��mortifying!


    "Form!" With a shout, the sea started to buzz. It then started to condense into one massive honey bee. Its stinger shimmering in a golden luster held a terrifying might that would scare even the divine.


    The king spirit of wrath raised his hand and uttered a command,


    "God-killing Bee, launch your final attack!!!"


    Buzz!


    With a humming noise, the stinger of the honey bee started to get bigger, stronger, and more lustrous while the honey bee seemed to grow weaker and shorted as its battle energy and soul force was being used to charge up the final attack. Soon after, the giant stinger fell off its body and flew towards the seal!


    The power behind this attack was enormous and enough to break the seal and blast open Shadow ribcage; However, before it could land on the seal, a heavy soul force attack crashed on the stinger.


    Boom!


    The stinger exploded but the soul force didn''t allow the explosion to spread. The soul force was simply overbearing and it compressed the stringer explosion into a dot. The dot was also annihilated by the soul force.


    "What? How could it be?" His expression instantly became grave as he witnessed his godly attack being suppressed and destroyed in one move.


    The same soul force which destroyed his attacked turned into tiny purple swords. They then started to grow bigger and bigger �C turning into broadswords �C as if supplied by an endless amount of soul force.


    This mystical phenomenon caused Wrath''s eyes to open wide as he stared at the power of Mystic Twilight spirit bamboo swords creation art. Then his eyes turned to stare at the holder of this power.


    His divine sense spread out of Shadow''s body, inspecting every corner of the forest to look for the suspect behind the soul force attack.


    "Looking for me?" A carefree voice resounded.


    Right then, in Wrath''s dark gold-tinted eyes, the face of a handsome young man standing on thin air and dressed in a wedding suit appeared.


    "You�� just who are you? What''s your relation with the spirit of twilight and why are you stopping me from being free?" The spirit king of Wrath angrily asked in shock.

 Chapter 141: Power of Swords!

    The man dressed in a wedding suit smirked and replied, "Me? I am just a Dean who loves and cares for his students very much and will kill anyone who dares to harm them. And, I''m here to punish you for nearly killing one!"


    By the end of his lengthy sentence, Dean Frankenstein''s tone has turned murderous. With a gentle flick, the purplish broadswords hovering in front of Wrath whisked towards him. A sword appeared in his hand, deflecting a bunch of them but there were countless numbers of these giant broadswords so he got scratched. Furthermore, at first, the tiny sword flew at a slow pace until they moved so fast that Wrath wasn''t able to keep up with them.


    The swords attacks didn''t stop!


    "I can''t escape!" Wrath internally thought as his bones hardened and his skin got covered in metal. At the very moment, countless sword light rained down on him.


    Swoosh! Multiple swords stabbed into him, puncturing many holes in his hardened body. The swords pulsated, releasing sword intent into his body.


    Sisi Sisi! At the very moment, hundreds of more cuts adorned Wrath''s body. Blood spurted out from all cuts. They were very deep, after all.


    "Sword intent?" Even at this moment, he was pretty calm and rational enough to realize what this was.


    Instantly, Wrath swung his sword, cutting the swords stabbed into him in two.


    Golden Blood seeped out of his wounds and he frowned. Waves of energy poured out of his body and the wounds started to close at a visible rate.


    He then stared at Dean Frankenstein and exclaimed in shock, "Such a powerful person, how come I don''t know of you?"


    According to Wrath''s calculation, the person who saved Shadow''s life was just as powerful as him. He might appear pathetic because of being beaten like a dog by a single move; However, Wrath''s power was suppressed by many ancient talismans, and most of his powers were also sealed by the painting otherwise, it wouldn''t have been easy for Dean Frankenstein to injure him with one powerful move.


    "Just who are you?" He again asked after not receiving a reply.


    "You don''t need to know who I am. Just be happy that I am not gonna kill you!" Frankenstein replied, carefree as ever. But, his eyes were burning with a scrutinizing stare. His eyes twitched as he realized the truth about Shadow. And, he also found out that killing this spirit from the spirit world will be the same as cutting off Shadow''s life support. He was here to save the life of a precious student, not kill Her.


    "What boastful talk. Even though my powers are suppressed, do you think, a mere human like you will be able to defeat this king with techniques of my race?" Wrath face confronted. Frankenstein was being outright disrespectful to a royal spirit of the spirit world.


    "Haha! You like to talk a lot. Let me tell you one thing, in front of power even the greatest of the king and the mightiest of man have to kneel!" In response, Dean''s Frankenstein disdainful laugher echoed in the world inside the painting.


    Boom! Right then, an enormous amount of soul force crashed on the spirit of wrath and it was being forced to kneel!


    "You dare?" Angrily shouted the king of wrath.


    "Dare? why would I initiate a dare with a weak chicken? Just pipe down already before I pound you to death with my soul force!" He taunted.


    "You bastard!" Wrath cursed.


    Bam! An entire ocean of soul force crashed down on the poor spirit king of Wrath, squeezing his body into the ground!


    "Let me out you piece of crap. Do you dare face me, righteously? How can you consider this a victory when most of my strength is sealed. You are an insidious bastard! Ugly human��."


    For the next two minutes, Wrath''s curses flew about, resounding throughout the forest ground no.36 but Dean Frankenstein merely laughed it off.


    The Scarlet Moon started to disappear, replacing it was the normal whitish Moon. Wrath consciousness started to slip as the time limit has been reached.


    "Damn it all! I am gonna enter an unconscious state for one whole year! The day I get out of this place will be your last!" He cursed Frankenstein.


    "Haha, what a night. This is the first time I got to experience Heavenly melody mixed with the Cry of a loser!"


    Before he slipped into a paralyzed state, Wrath was angered to death by Frankenstein words, and he spewed out a mouthful of blood, at the very moment, he fell into a deep slumber.


    Suddenly, Shadow''s body stopped twitching as the spirit of wrath was successfully subdued by the soul force that came out of nowhere. And, the battle has ended.


    The Spirit of wrath has stopped damaging Shadow. However, she was bleeding from all his pores. Blood leaked down from the corners of her eyes and mouth as she laid unconscious on the negative absorption stone.


    The pain was already awful to endure. And, the cold surface of the stone made it worse. Shee was going to die unless someone saves her or she saves herself. But she was unconscious, hence only someone else could save her.


    So Frankenstein decided to give the young lass a helping hand.


    He descended from the skies, just like a celestial, and landed gently on the somewhat murky somewhat clean lake. The lake waters rippled out, but it wasn''t very intense; as Frankenstein made his way towards Shadow or Rather, Laila.


    Laila was Shadow''s true name!


    Laila was slipping in and out of consciousness. In her eyes, the figure of a person with golden locks and long wavy hair. materialized.


    "Mother��!" She weakly said to the figure that stood beside the lake while extending her arms towards it, in fear, if she doesn''t grab her today then she will slip away just like that day


    .


    "It''s all right! I''m right here," Frankenstein replied in a gentle tone after grabbing Laila''s hand and embracing her. They were sitting on the negative absorption stone, which helped her calm down both emotionally and physically.

 Chapter 142: Sword Domain!

    "Mother, don''t leave me alone, please!" Laila believed that the person standing beside her was her mother, and she closed her eyes after embracing her in a tight hug and begging her to not abandon her.


    Peace clouded her and she closed her half-opened eyes, slipping into an unconscious state.


    "Just what have you gone through, having to dress as a boy. Sigh, the life of nobles and royals are messed up!" Frankenstein shook his head left and right. He was born a royal and he has faced messed up situations himself. So he pitied the poor lass with a sad past.


    His hands shone in a golden glow and streams of healing energy were released, drowning the wounded Laila in a sea of comfort.


    A puddle of blood has formed beneath her body; However, the blood floated back into her body as Frankenstein used his healing spell. Moreover, the disastrous wounds mystically started to close.


    Soon after, Laila was completely healed.


    Right then, Master Yin Ye and his spirit beast appeared above the skies of the Frost Fall City, rushing towards Royal Frost Fall Academy. No restrictions were activated and his actions went unpunished, even though Yin Ye has broken the law by flying in the City.


    Suddenly, Master Yin Ye''s eyes glowed in a purplish spiritual hue. Now, he could see everything happening in a faraway place and he was instantly angered.


    A middle-aged handsome man was embracing his little granddaughter!


    He misunderstood Frankenstein''s actions. The Dean was healing Laila but the position they were in was slightly inappropriate, it seems as if he was a predator preying on a young girl in Yin Ye''s eyes!


    How dare he touch her!


    "Use my life force and teleport!" He commanded his spirit bird.


    "Okay!" The spirit bird absorbed Yin Ye''s life force to activate the spirit technique teleport.


    It flapped its wing. Instantly, they were teleported to the depth of training ground no.36. With their arrival, strong spatial energy permeated the surrounding.


    "You... Damn pervert, who the hell are you! How dare you touch my granddaughter in such a perverted manner!" Angrily, Yin Ye scolded Frankenstein, who has already noticed his arrival thanks to the intense spatial fluctuation.


    The Dean''s eyes twitched. He was displeased at being labeled as scum and he was angered at being wrongly accused as a pedophile.


    "I have no such interest!"


    He instantly shouted to clarify his innocence; However, Master Yin and Birdy weren''t interested in hearing any excuse. They were dead set on killing him.


    "Birdy, back me up with Spatial slashes!" Yin Ye instantly commanded his spirit bird while jumping towards Frankenstein.


    Whereas, the spirit bird followed its partner command. Its wing glowed in purple as it charged up spatial slashes to cut the misunderstood Frankenstein in half!


    "Due to a mere misunderstanding, you labeled this Prince as a pervert and are attacking to kill me. Have you gone senile old man!" Frankenstein shouted.


    He was angered at being labeled as a pervert who likes lolis. His mood was further soured as the old man and his contracted spirit attacked him with no intention of showing mercy.


    Instantly, Dean Frankenstein''s true power was in full displayed. He has been considered as Yeon''s bastard son because he never fought and everyone thought that he was a weakling who only knew how to heal. Everyone thought that this person wasn''t worthy to be a dean but how could they know that this person was just as much or even more powerful than Headmaster Yeon, himself!


    On the other hand, with a flap of its wing, birdy released the spatial blade. Controlled by an invisible hand, the spatial blade went past Yin Ye and rushed forward to cut Frankenstein''s head off. At the same time, Yin Ye''s palm glowed in purple as a vortex spanned in the middle of the palm. He thrust the palm towards Frankenstein.


    In reply, the Dean merely gazed at them with the intent to overwhelm, in the very moment, Sword intent surged out, creating a low-level sword domain.


    Rustle! Rustle! Bam!


    Suddenly, with Dean Frankenstein as the center, the world changed. Water raised, turning into swords that shot towards the spatial blades. Tree leaves hardened, becoming as sharp as a sword, and shot towards Yin Ye. Furthermore, the trees around them were uprooted from the ground and they shot towards birdy and Yin Ye, just like an arrow!


    This all happened because of a single glare.


    "Beyond Peak-level Sword intent, a sword domain ranker!" Yin Ye and Birdy souls were shocked out of their bodies when they saw the event which just transpired.


    In the legend, it''s said that after an awakened gains comprehension about his class weapon, he will gain a unique type of power called "Intent". Sword Intent was one such power. Once mastered, with a thought, a person''s palms, and legs will turn as sharp as a sword. A palm strike will be similar to a strike from a sword; a kick will split trees into two. At the peak stages, the body will be as sharp as an S-ranked sword; However, Frankenstein has taken a step beyond the peak of sword intent. He has created his sword domain!


    Inside the sword domain, everything could be used as a sword, even air could be used as a sword at peak mastery; However, Frankenstein hasn''t mastered it, hence he was only able to use a limited amount of substance as a sword.


    Yin Ye was forced to redirect his Yin spatial palm towards the sword-like trees and leaves.


    Bomb!!! Sword intent collided with spatial energy and resulted in a frightening explosion.


    With a bam, the two attacks clashed but both parties remained unharmed. However, Yin Ye jumped back while Frankenstein remained in his spot with Laila still in his embrace.


    Whereas, Birdy also rushed back to its master after releasing dozens of spatial blades to dodge the various attack thrown towards him.


    Yin Ye''s hands were trembling as a stinging pain assaulted him and his hand burst into tears.


    ''I got injured. Damn, it hurts!" He internally thought.


    "Master, should we make a run for it. Since the start of the fight, he hasn''t moved a single step from his place, it''s only us who have been jumping here and there, almost everywhere like monkeys. Provoking this monster anymore might lead to our death." Birdy spiritually communicated.


    Yes, the golden-haired man hadn''t moved a single step away from his place since the start of the fight.

 Chapter 143: Once upon a time

    "No, how can I run away and leave my granddaughter alone in the hands of that monster? I am her godfather! Furthermore, if he wanted to kill us then we would already have died!" Yin Ye replied through the spiritual communication channel.


    Even Birdy realized that it''s the truth. If he wanted them death then they would certainly die without the ability to defend themselves.


    They both cautiously stared at the golden-haired Dean, who said with a greedy smile,


    "Old man, You are her guardian yet you are appearing just after she nearly died. If I wasn''t here then she would have surely died. I helped her, healed her with my life force. You should be grateful yet you labeled me as a pervert and attacked with the intention to kill. How are you going to compensate me?!"


    Realizing that he won''t attack, their nerves calmed down, and understanding that they have misunderstood the situation, the two, human and spirit, stared at each other in the eyes.


    Birdy thought: "It''s better to have enemies than pig-like teammates!"


    Yin Ye replied: "Don''t worry. I will somehow resolve this conflict!"


    His eyes moved towards Frankenstein, eyes thinning into a friendly smile, he said


    "Forgive me, young friend. I have misunderstood you. I will compensate you with whatever you ask but can you tell me, just who are you, able to use Sword domain at such a young age,"


    Frankenstein extended one of his hands and showed Yin Ye the blessing of twilight. He then said,


    "We share the same mark yet you don''t know me?"


    Yin Ye''s mouth gaped, eyes popped in surprise.


    "There''s only one person who could be this talented and is allied with the twilight spirits. Could it be, you are�C"


    "Hehe, normally, I go by the name of Frankenstein but I was also once Crowned as the soon to be Emperor of flame, Nemredilth Nietsneknarf!"


    Yin Ye was cut off in the middle of his sentence by Frankenstein, who was hugged tightly by the unconscious Laila. Even though she was unconscious, Laila had gripped his hand and shirt very tightly, thinking that Frankenstein was her mother who will die if she let go.


    "Crown prince," The moment he revealed the truth of his identity, Yin Ye and birdy instantly turned respectful and beads of sweat start to form on their bodies. They were pressurized as they both have offended someone of a higher status.


    Master Yin and Birdy didn''t want to offend him or the twilight''s spirit because of a misunderstanding, hence they tried to appear meek and friendly to resolve this situation here and now.


    "The Crown Prince!"


    Yin Ye and Birdy would normally not even respect the Emperors but they have to be respectful in front of the crown prince of flame. He was powerful enough to kill them, after all. Plus, everyone working under the twilight spirit and the members of the Twilight Walker department knows that the Twilight spirit princess is deeply in love with the crown prince of flame who mysteriously vanished off the face of the entire continent years ago.


    "So he was hiding here!" Yin Ye and Birdy''s half-kneeling gave a thoughtful look to each other.


    Some also know that the princess of the twilight clan is engaged with him. If the situation worsens then even their guild might be in danger, hence they tried to pacify it instantly.


    "No need to be so courteous. Drop the formalities and come here. Let''s talk about compensation!" Frankenstein commanded.


    Rushing forward, Yin Ye and Birdy stood before him.


    "What would you like, I''m ready to give it to you!" Yin ye said.


    Frankenstein smiled. He slightly lifted his snow-white arms and rubbed his slender fingers on the middle of his palm. He then pointed his forefinger at Birdy.


    "Do you understand?" He asked.


    "This��" Yin Ye was shocked, so was Birdy. The golden-haired man was demanding Birdy as compensation.


    They didn''t dare to defy his order and hence hugged each other for one last time.


    "Master, I will miss you," Birdy said while patting his back with its wings. However, it was very happy, ''I am so lucky, am going to finally get free from my poor master and become a rich man''s contracted spirit!''


    "Me too!" Yin replied while crying in its chest. However, the situation would have been different only if he knew what birdy was thinking.


    He would have stabbed it!


    After sharing their sad goodbye, Yin Ye canceled his contract with the beast, and instantly a drop of deep red bloodshot out from Frankenstein''s hand and landed on its forehead.


    "Eh��?" Birdy mouth and eyes opened wide in surprise because it wasn''t contracted to the rich, handsome, and powerful expert. It was contracted to Laila.


    "What happened?" Yin Ye asked but Birdy was still in shock so it didn''t reply.


    The Dean crossed his legs and beamed a smile towards birdy. "I happen to like this student, she''s very hardworking and caring and deserving of a reward. Birdy, protect her in my place. That''s an order,"


    ''What dumb luck!'' Birdy internally thought. Outwardly, its head was moving up and down, nodding in agreement.


    Frankenstein''s words, "That''s an order" meant if you dare defy then I dare to cook you as my next dish, after all. Birdy believed that it was still too young to die so it followed his order.


    And so, Shadow or Laila obtained a bird from the spirit world as her pet!


    Yin Ye, on the other hand, was very happy. At first, he was very sad at losing the spirit world beast he raised and fed. However, he was now happy as his granddaughter was the one that benefited in the end.


    "Thank you, your highness, for bestowing a gift to my granddaughter, Lord Ze and Lord Yi will surely be happy if they know about this," he said to Frankenstein, who was showing extreme favoritism to Laila.


    "Not a big deal," He replied calmly.


    After expressing his gratitude, Master Yin Ye asked with a face full of worries, "Can I check her conditions?"

 Chapter 144: Shadow sad past (a)

    Master Yin Ye was really worried about his precious granddaughter. He was her Godfather, after all.


    "Sure, go ahead," The Dean instantly handed the unconscious Laila to him.


    After Yin Ye made sure that Laila was uninjured and fine, he once again thanked the golden-haired savior and asked for permission to leave. However, he was stopped by him.


    "I happen to see the King of Wrath in this little girl. Why''s she dressed as a boy. What''s she doing in this academy..." Dean Frankenstein asked a bunch of other questions and continued by saying, "I hope you know what is going on and can give me an appropriate answer otherwise I can''t let her remain in the Academy. I am currently the new headmaster of the Royal Frost Fall Academy. Yeon had personally handed over the Headmaster Seal to me. I must know what danger comes with letting Shadow remain in the Academy. Only after will I make my decision,"


    His voice sounded both calm and cold. Hearing his words, Yin Ye understood that if he doesn''t say anything then Laila will not be allowed to live in the Academy.


    "Your highness, Shadow''s real name is Laila! More than a decade ago, when my precious student Binghe Ye was pregnant, a huge calamity had befallen the Southern Region. A portal to the Demons world had opened there and demons started an invasion. Taking advantage of this, a muddle-headed Cardinal from the church of light announced that if Binghe Ye gives birth to a daughter then the newborn child is to be immediately executed. He brainwashed the populace by saying that if the newborn child is born a female then the child will not be a human but a vessel to a demon who will wreak havoc on the entire continent, and there''s no need to pity a demon. Killing her was the best choice; that''s what everyone thought."


    "Dirty Bastard William agreed with the Cardinal, and they waited for the time the child will be birthed. If the child is a girl then she will be instantly publicly executed. If the child is a boy then he will be allowed to live but how could my student let her innocent child die because of pretentious bastards?


    "Betrayed by her husband, Binghe used a high-end clairvoyant technique to peek into the future, and what she saw was what she feared the most. Her newborn child will be publicly executed, and she won''t be able to do anything. Whereas, her husband, Williams would silently watch as the newborn baby is bound to the stake and set aflame, burning into ashes, under the sounds of rejoices coming from the public!"


    "Not willing to lose her innocent child because of the cardinal future prediction that lacked any basis, Binghe instantly made her move to save her unborn child. She sacrificed a huge amount of life force and hasten the growth of her child to conceive the child earlier. In the depths of the night, the child was secretly birthed, hence Binghe named her Laila."


    Frankenstein''s eyes were shining in purple flame. He was using the skill, "Truth or Lie". This skill allows him to know whether a person is lying or saying the truth. And, Yin Ye''s words were certainly the truth. The Dean also had clairvoyant skills that allow him to peek into the past or future. So he used "Peek into Past" to have a better view of what''s happening. Whereas Master Yin Ye continued explaining about the past.


    "Laila was handed over to Master Ze, who was going to butcher the experts of the Southern Region and the Cardinal of light but Binghe begged him not to. Her love for Williams was too much and she forgave him. She still wanted to stay with him so that her child won''t grow up without a father.


    "In the very same night �C after the child was secretly birthed �C she used the advanced version of our Guild Secret Life Creation spell to create a fake life that will live for only two months. She used the Secret Life creation energy to give birth to a new life in her stomach, fooling everyone the very next day. Eventually, she gave birth to the fake life."


    The Shen Ze Yi guild was famous because of their Secret Life creation spell. By using the most basic version, a mage can create a life-like shadow using only mana. By using the advanced version, a human-like life can be created. However, it will only exist for a limited time.


    "Under her magic, the fake life was birthed as a boy. Once again, everyone was fooled. Since a boy was born, there was no need to carry on with the execution. They then focused more on fighting off the demons. Later on, when no prying eyes were set upon her, Binghe secretly replaced the fake life with her daughter, Laila. However, Laila had to dress up as a boy otherwise, they would be hunted by the church of light, the Fanatic believers of the God of light, and even Duke Williams and his experts until they die. That''s why she had been living under a disguise." Yin Ye finished explaining.


    Dean Frankenstein had a thoughtful look on his face. Many dots seemed to connect and he realized an important historical truth. He said,


    "It all finally made sense. I heard that the day Duke Williams''s wife died, Master Ze went on a rampage. He killed dozens of experts of the Water Kingdom, destroyed the church of light in the Southern region, and chased the Cardinal to the Central Kingdom with Master Yi. It''s related to this, isn''t it?"


    The day his daughter died, Master Ze went on a rampage. Since his precious had died, someone has to be held accountable for her death. Therefore he killed a lot of people who troubled Binghe when she was alive so that they will accompany her in death.


    However, he still kept his promise to her and didn''t kill Williams.

 Chapter 145: Shadow sad past (b)

    Master Yin Ye and Birdy nodded in agreement; However, Yin''s eyes were twitching behind the purple-faced mask. He frowned in displeasure. That night, he was also there and fought against the experts of the church of light. He thought, ''I must correct him!''


    "It''s as your highness said. Although we had to retreat because the pope blessed by the God of light made his move before we killed the cardinal, Master Ze still managed to curse the cardinal mana pool. That''s how enmity between us and the church started. Ever since that day, we have also been falsely accused as one of the top-notch evil of the continent. Moreover that day I also accompanied Master Ye and Master Ze in the battle against many experts," he clarified.


    In response, the Dean''s eyes blinked nonchalantly and he smiled due to happiness. Yin Ye was too irrelevant to the situation. He wasn''t mentioned in the records about the event that occurred years ago. So, Frankenstein didn''t know about him. That''s why he was nonchalant. Also, he was a knowledge seeker, and understanding what actually happened in the past was a pleasant surprise to him.


    "In a way, she has become a vessel of a being that will wreak havoc on the Central kingdom and the church of light. In the spirit world, it''s common knowledge among the royals that the King spirit of Wrath hates the church of light and the god of light with a heart. However, I don''t know what the exact reason is." he said to Yin with a smile.


    His words caused Yin''s eyes to turn. Master Yin didn''t knew that the spirit king Wrath hates the kingdom of light. It was a hidden secret, after all. He wasn''t surprised to know that the crown prince of flame knew about this. Frankenstein had somewhat a respectable position in the spirit world. So he was privy to such deep knowledge.


    "Could it be the Cardinal saw this upcoming?" Yin Ye was far older than Frankenstein. He instantly understood why the cardinal wanted to kill Binghe unborn child.


    "Yes. I am guessing that the Cardinal somehow peeked into the future and saw that the unborn daughter of Duka Williams will become Wrath vessel in the future. So he decided to kill her before she grows."


    It''s as he speculated but the cardinal wasn''t sure of what he has mysteriously "Dreamt". That''s why he could only announce that the child must die if it''s born a girl. Thankfully, Binghe Ye fooled them all otherwise Whittaker''s best friend, Shadow wouldn''t be alive.


    Her past was explained and the Dean was deciding what to do with her.


    Looking at his thoughtful face, Yin Ye dropped to his knees and begged, "Laila has suffered a lot of hardship in her life. I hope that you, a fellow Twilight Walker will pity this child and let her stay in this academy. But I understand if you don''t want her to stay and I will take her away."


    Laila mostly led a sad life. Her father barely interacted with her. Her mother died when she was just a child. She couldn''t make close friends otherwise, there was a chance of her truth being exposed. In her life, only six people knew about her truth. One of them was her dead mother.


    Frankenstein gazed at the pitiful child with complicated emotions. Letting Laila stay in the Academy was offending the church of light. The Church of light is backed by the pope and the God of light. An almighty being that lives among the star. The God of light might not interfere in the matters of the mortal but the same can not be said for the pope, who is blessed by the God of light.


    No one knows how strong the pope is but Frankenstein was sure that the pope of light at least has a domain. According to the secret network of the twilight spirit''s, the pope of the church of light has created the domain of light. It was utilized only thrice so not many know of it. From the same record, it''s said that the light domain allows the pope to sublime into particles of light, achieving a higher state of existence.


    "The pope is extremely powerful and dangerous. He is bound to order the execution of this student if he ever finds out that Shadow is Laila, a girl. He will surely dispatch the templars to get hold of her and publicly execute her under the name of the god of light."


    Frankenstein''s words made sense and Yin Ye understood the trouble that Laila will bring to a lot of people if she remains in the academy. Hearing his words, Yin Ye was downcast. He thought that the Dean wants him to take Laila away from the Academy. He stood up and turned around to leave but Laila was no longer in his hand.


    "Eh, where did she go?" His eyes wandered about to locate her and he noticed that she was back in Frankenstein''s embrace.


    "Your highness?" He asked dumbfoundedly, unable to understand what Laila was doing there.


    To clear his confusion, the Dean replied with a smile,


    "Although she might bring a lot of trouble, it''s only a possibility. As long as we hide the truth well enough, no trouble will come. Plus, she''s a student of this academy and we are responsible for her safety and life. For now, I will try my best to hide her truth and I hope you guys will do the same. Plus, make your guild occasionally cause trouble for the church of light to avert attention on this matter!"


    "Sure!" Master Yin Ye gladly agreed and went away.


    Laila, on the other hand, was placed on the bed of her boarding room, courtesy of the gentleman in a wedding suit.


    "Rest well, Laila. Life''s hard but even those who live in the hardest of conditions strive to live on," Before leaving the room, the golden-haired handsome man said these words for her to hear.


    Laila had woken up but she was pretending to be unconscious. Plus, she heard most of the talk between him and her grandfather.


    Her eyes opened as the door slowly closed and she said,


    "Call me Shadow,"


    Frankenstein didn''t reply. He just proceeded to close the door.


    Click! The door closed, leaving Shadow in the most comfortable place of her life. Since no one was near, she didn''t need to put an act of being stone-hearted any longer.


    Drip! Drop!


    Tears streamed down from the corners of her eyes, falling on the blanket whose mellow edges were gripped in her hands.


    After so many years, she cried. Then she remembered her mother''s last words. The words muttered when she and Laila laid in a puddle of their own blood, life slowly slipping by from their eyes.


    Binhe said at the end of her life, "There are many bad peoples and some good ones. We were unlucky to only encounter the bad ones but don''t let hatred cloud your heart. One day, I''m sure, you will meet a good person. Live on, my daughter, I wish you won''t let hatred cloud your soul,"


    Laila looked out the window, towards the stars glittering in the clouded night skies.


    "Mom, I was lucky enough to meet some good persons, one''s a little bit too innocent." A smile formed on her face as she talked to her mother.


    "But I am sorry. I can''t fulfill your last wish,"


    Saying so she laid down on her bed and closed her eyes.


    The star shined brightly in the skies. Their twinkle couldn''t be supppressed by the clouds. Similarly, the moon was also shining, along with the stars. Their shine lit up the night of the awakened continent.


    Peoples danced in joy while the festival slowly came to an end. Whereas, some just slept through it.


    After so many years, Laila slept without feeling burdened. The hatred in her heart had lessened somewhat because of a good person. But someone still needed to pull her out from the clutches of Wrath. Help her break the endless cycle of revenge. Who will it be, the one who would be willing to stand by her side, even if it means becoming the enemy of the entire world!


    -----


    "Yawn~" Somewhere far away, a boy with a head full of snow-like hair woke up. He had missed the Full Moon festival for sleep was far more important.

 Chapter 146: The Universal store!

    Whittaker woke up with a warm feeling embracing his body. He opened his eyes and saw that the twilight cloud mark on the back of his right hand was releasing a shine. He didn''t receive his promised reward for completing the heaven-reaching trial. Now, it was time for him to receive it.


    Because of the recent events, he has nearly forgotten about the twilight blessing. His attention was wholly focused on becoming more stronger and find the truth about his mysterious and powerful bloodlines. Plus, becoming an inscription master and formation master has kept him so busy that he didn''t have the time to take a look at it.


    ''Is it gonna finally give me my reward for completing the first quest?'' While thinking that, Whittaker blinked his eyes and pulled out the mysterious card from his ring of genesis.


    Whittaker picked up the pristine card and placed it before his eyes. The pristine card absorbed the warm energy from his body, and words started to form on it.


    "Congratulations for completing the heaven-reaching trial and becoming Zachary''s student. You have completed the first quest and taken a step closer to become a member of the Twilight Walker''s department. Furthermore, the youngest princess of the twilight spirit clan is interested in you and she has increased your rewards by ten times.


    ?Quest Name: A young Seedling in the mortal world?


    ?Completion rate: 100%?


    ?Rating: Impressive?


    Quest Reward: Obtained 399 contribution points. The princess has demanded for your reward to be increased by ten times. Contribution points increased to 3999. Your relationship with the twilight spirit has increased to friendly. Now, friendly spirits from the spirit world won''t hesitate before helping you. Also, you have been granted access to the universal store. The universal store is accessible through the twilight walker''s card?


    Universal store could only be accessed by awakened who have attained privilege tier-4 on their IDs. The way to upgrade the privilege level was using royal credit points that can only be obtained by performing deeds with great merits.


    "Wow! I don''t know who you are but thanks for heavily rewarding me." Whittaker exclaimed as the number 3999 appeared in the middle of the pristine card. ''I should check out what kinds of things I can buy with these contribution points,'' Whittaker thought but before he could do so, a new message rang out from the card.


    ??The youngest princess of the twilight spirit has a message for you?


    ?Play it? Yes/No?


    ''Hmm, Yes!'' Whittaker agreed to listen to her message. The princess have rewarded him handsomely and won Whittaker''s heart. He has already considered her a friend so he didn''t mind listening to what she has to say.


    "Even though this princess is interested in you and wants you to become a part of the twilight, you still have to fulfill basic formalities and become a member of the twilight department with your capabilities. You will need to complete one more quest to become a member of the Twilight Walker''s department located in the Water Kingdom. This princess was going to let you directly become a member but the oldies in the Twilight Walker''s Department did not accept my request. It''s partially your fault, you know. You don''t have any connections with the spirits. I was so embarrassed when they declined me outright. Ke Ke told me that my face was beet red from embarrassment! But I forgive you for embarrassing me. You better become a member within the next three years or else I will trouble you unceasingly. Don''t blame the world if you keep on stepping on bird poop. By the way, my name''s Elizabeth. Since you''re special and deserve special treatment, I will allow you to call me Eli," A sweet voice came from the card and his ears tingled in delight.


    Eli''s voice was like the purest song he has ever heard; However, Whittaker felt a shiver up his spine because of her words, he was afraid of stepping on poop. No youngster would like for his shoes or foot to smell like poop and Whittaker was the same in this aspect.


    Hurriedly, he typed back a message to her,


    "I promise I will become a twilight walker within three years so you don''t have to worry. How hard could any quest be when compared to climbing the heaven-reaching staircase?" Whittaker felt bad for embarrassing Eli and he promised to become a member within three years. He was confident of his ability and believed that completing the second quest won''t be a hard task for him.


    In three seconds, a frustrated reply came, "There''s none, that''s why this princess wanted to instantly let you become a member but my request was declined."


    After a momentary pause, she continued by saying sweetly, "Anyway, this princess will be waiting. If you become a member then come to the spirit world and I will share my favorite 7-star cookie with you!"


    ''Seems like Eli was waiting for my reply,'' Whittaker thought after reading the message.


    He typed back, "okay, I''m looking forward to eating that cookie." and ended the chat. He then turned his attention to the word "store" on the pristine card. He wanted to search the store to see what kind of useful things he can get.


    ?The customer needs to create an alias for himself before accessing the universal store. This way your personal information will be kept private and no one will be able to determine what you buy or sell in the central store. However, you can also proceed to the universal market by inputting the information on your student ID card and pressing enter?


    Before accessing the universal store, a person can input the info on his Student ID card or use an alias.


    The information about buying and selling items were automatically recorded in the system of the universal store. The information recorded in the universal store can be accessed by cyber hackers or peoples with authorities. A seller of a very rare item might get targeted by such peoples for his treasures. That''s why many used alias to safeguard themselves against threats.

 Chapter 147: Alias, Life Taker!

    ?Guardian, it''s better to create an alias before accessing the universal market as it will provide you with a great protective cover!? Noah notified.


    ''I know. If I don''t use an alias then people will be able to tell what I am selling or buying, and this might cause me trouble if I sell something rare. It''s better to use an alias," With Whittaker''s intelligence, he easily inferred the uses of using an alias.


    "I want to use an alias!" He said.


    ?Enter alias? A screen with a keyboard popped up before him


    "I''ll use the most threatening alias to scare off anyone interested in my identity." The young boy thought with a smirk. He typed in nine words and his name appeared on the screen.


    ?The user is registered as Life Taker. Welcome to the universal store?


    At the moment, Life Taker was the most threatening name the innocent Whittaker could come up with. Plus, it shared many similarities with his name too.


    In front of him, a holographic screen with many items opened up when he entered his alias. There was a search button on top of the screen and equipment, skills, items, rune, and hot item bars on the side.


    He looked at the items in the shop, and they all required contribution points to be purchased. Contribution points were nearly impossible to earn without completing a quest.


    The starting item were pretty common but he kept on scrolling down. Soon after, he pressed on the weapon item bar and rare items of the shop appeared on the screen. There were various beast weapons and pieces of equipment, each with unique effects.


    The standard price of 1-star to 3-star equipment ranged from 100-10000 contribution points. The price of 4-star to 7-star equipment ranged from 20000-1000000 contribution point. He didn''t find any weapon beyond 7-star. As above that was a grey area, not accessible by Whittaker. He could also put on stuff to sell in this shop and exchange them for contribution points or other currencies. If anyone wants to buy it then he will get a notification from the card. After the trade is completed, the amount will be transferred to his Student ID card or twilight Walker''s card. For now, 4-star equipment was the only thing he could purchase.


    "The value of 3999 contribution points is really huge. Right now, I can purchase one 2-star equipments but I already have a lot of equipment and I can get better ones by asking Elder Zachary for it. Let''s look for something else," Whittaker decided to not waste his contribution points to purchase 4-star and higher-level pieces of equipment. He scrolled down the screen to search for something useful.


    After searching and searching through different, he found nothing useful or interesting. However, the moment when a pitch-black crystal entered his vision, Noah''s monotone voice resounded in his ears.


    ?Guardian, you got to purchase that unidentified pitch-black crystal before someone else does. I can sense an intense energy fluctuation hidden deep inside of it by a high-level runic seal. It''s a very rare treasure!" Noah notified him.


    Whittaker crystal icy eyes sparkled in interest as he finally found something useful with the help of Noah. It was the pitch-black gem. Its quantity number said 1. It was labeled as an unidentified item. The cost to purchase it was 1999 contribution points.


    Whittaker trusted Noah and believed that this item is certainly a treasure. Before someone else buys it, he instantly initiated the purchase process to buy it.


    Right then, a purplish magical symbol formed in front of him. Whittaker wondered what it is.


    ?This is the trade portal. Once you place your hand on it, you will enter the negotiation part of the trade with the seller of the item." Noah explained that he has to place his hand on it to progress to the negotiation phase. He placed his hand on the symbol and it scanned his hand, confirming that the purchase was being made by Whittaker and not someone else.


    Right then, the seller of this pitch-black crystal also received a notification and a trade portal opened by his side. He was a short teenager with a baby face and short scarlet hair. A sword was hugged tightly in his hand as he sat on a chair and browsed through the universal store to purchase something good. He was an intermediate-level appraiser and a trader that made money by purchasing items at a cheap price and selling them for a higher price.


    "Oh, someone''s purchasing the unidentified crystal I purchased for 20 contribution points. Just who''s this that''s paying such a good amount to get that crystal" The trader said. He had inspected the pitch-black crystal but nothing special came up. To the trader, it was just a normal crystal with a pitch-black color.


    He had expected that someone will be interested in the unidentified object because of its high price. A crystal that looked mysterious and sold at a high price, some rich person was bound to get interested and invest to obtain it. Now, he just needed to make that the rich man''s interest lies the same and the trade is completed without any problem.


    With no hesitation, the teenager placed his hand on the trade portal symbol, progressing to the negotiation part of the trade.


    Before Life Taker could say anything, Tera said,


    "I won''t be negotiating the price at all. If you have the money to buy this then buy it straight away otherwise, I will instantly cut off the trade!"


    Behind the screen, Tera was sweating a bucket of sweat because of the threatening name Life Taker. But he was confident in the protection system of the universal store. He was sure that Life Taker will not be able to find his real identity. So he proceeded to sell a normal rock for a high price.


    "I had the same idea. Let''s instantly complete the trade or else, I will cancel this trade," Whittaker wanted to get that item without raising any suspicion. The name Life Taker was extremely arrogant so he decided that the personality of this persona will also be arrogant!


    Tera suspicion wasn''t raised at all and the trade progressed to the final phase.

 Chapter 148: Obtaining mysterious treasure

    Without any further adieu, they both signed the trade agreement paper on the holographic screen. It had appeared in front of them the moment the trade progressed to the negotiation part.


    "Can you tell me what''s the reason you bought an unidentified item for 2000 contribution points?" Tera asked after the trade was completed.


    Whittaker wasn''t gonna tell him that its because Noah identified this item as a very rare treasure but there was no reason to lie. He merely twisted his word and said,


    "Just trying my luck. I believe that it''s gonna be a very rare item,"


    After saying that, he disconnected from the trade portal. Left alone, Tera pondered on his words.


    "So he''s a gambler. Life Taker, this person might become my regular customer," Tera thought while sending a friend request to Life Taker. However, his request was denied.


    For some reason, Life Taker was not registered in the dream world or the mana net!


    "Not registered? He is either overcautious or a hidden agent," Tera said while twirling around in his chair.


    Ding* A new message then popped up on his holographic screen. He then looked at the holographic screen once again.


    "An ancient awakened appeared suddenly and killed this year King Salmon. Many attacked to get the treasures of King Salmon but life was sucked out of their bodies and they died mysteriously. The ancient awakened also took the second life core. Anyways, there''s no King Salmon left in the submarine volcanic dungeon, this the best time for us to hunt. You coming?"


    The message came along with the pictures of human skeletons.


    "Hahaha. Fortunately, I silently escaped yesterday otherwise why I would have become a piles of bone!" Tera laughed his ass off while typing in, "Why wouldn''t I? Get the entire party ready for the hunt,"


    Tera had went to that dungeon yesterday. However, unlike the others, he left the very moment he noticed that the ancient awakened is Zachary from the Wind Kingdom. Although he was surprised for a Wind Kingdom expert has come to a dungeon in the Fire Kingdom, he still made instant judgment, determining what he might have come for.


    On the other hand, Whitaker received multiple universal store system notifications.


    Ding!


    ?You have utilized 1999 contribution points to purchase unidentified Rune. Now, you only have 2000 contribution points remaining. The item is stored in the dreamworld treasury. You can enter the dream world and get it from there? the universal store system notified him.


    Once a person puts up something for sale, it will be stored in the dreamworld treasury. It''s a protection system against any possible scan. For example, without this system in place, a trader can replace his item with something trashy at the end of the trade. Tera pitch-black crystal was placed in the treasury before the trade was initiated.


    "But I don''t have access to the spirit world, my privilege level is still 1," Whittaker said, distressed at the situation.


    ?Dear customer, you can utilize the portal delivery service and the item you purchased will directly materialize in front of you. However, this service will cost you 10 contribution points?


    "Hooray!" He was surprised and happy to find out that the store has a portal delivery service. This service instantly transports an item from one place to another and was considered the best delivery service in the entire Awakened continent.


    "Store, utilize the portal delivery service and teleport the item I just purchased to me," Whittaker said.


    Just like previously, a symbol formed in front of him and he understood that it''s something like a trade portal. He placed his hand to confirm the use of the service.


    After the symbol confirmed that its Life Taker, a spatial vortex opened, and instantly a box was spewed out of it and it crashed on the floor. Right after, the spatial vortex closed.


    Whittaker was laying on his bed, feeling too lazy to move. He used telekinesis and the box floated towards him. He placed it on the bed and opened it up by removing the wooden top.


    When he gazed at it, a notification popped up,


    ?Mysterious pitch-black crystal?


    Status: Sealed


    Energy fluctuation: Space, wind, light?


    ?Noah believes that it''s either a powerful bomb, an advanced-level magical rune design, or a rune?


    He knows what a bomb is. It detonates and produces a huge blast to kill a lot. It was a weapon of mass destruction, commonly used in war. Although it being a bomb will be the best outcome, Whittaker wished that it will be one of the other two. However, he first needs to unseal it.


    "But how do I unseal it? Noah, do you have a way to unseal it?" Whittaker asked.


    ?I can unseal it if the guardian provides me with 1000 units of soul force. But it would be better if the guardian goes to an expert inscriptionist like elder Zachary to unseal it? Noah said.


    "Yes, I should just ask help from Elder Zachary!" Whittaker nodded his head in agreement. He knows when and where to find Elder Zachary. Zachary will be waiting for him on the training ground when it''s 2 p.m. Currently, the day has just begun so he needed to wait for some hours.


    "By the way, Noah do you need Soul Force for other reasons?" He asked.


    ?Yes! The Guardian can upgrade me by using 1000 units of soul force. Once I am upgraded, new features will be unlocked.


    ?System''s Quest Activated: Obtain 1000 units of soul force for the system


    ?Rewards: Night''s shop, Instant Equip, Instant Use Battle assistance mode?


    A new quest was activated!


    His eyes stared at the reward but no notification popped up.


    "Noah, what are these rewards?" Whittaker asked curiously.


    ?The Guardian Ancestor has stored a lot of his high-end and good treasures in the pendant of night for a suitable inheritor. Once I am upgraded, I will be able to access the treasury inside of the night pendant and get items you like. But each treasure comes with a price. By using Instant Equip, the guardian will be able to directly equip any item in the inventory with a single thought. Similarly, with a thought, the guardian will be able to use an item directly from the inventory. While I will be able to help you in a fight once the battle assistance mode is activated? Noah explained.


    Whittaker was interested in trying out these functions of his system. He decided to earnestly train every day and increase his soul force.


    "There might be items that can increase soul force in the universal store. Using them to increase soul force will be far faster than meditating all day long, and I will also help you locate special items with cheap prices if there are any." Noah gently reminded the young boy, who was eager to upgrade it.


    "Thank Noah, you''re the best," Whittaker happily replied.


    He accessed the universal store once again and started to scroll through the screen to look for an item that can increase his soul force. All the while, he window-shopped and gained information about new items. Noah will point out and explain the detail of every item that was beneficial to him.

 Chapter 149: Second-life core

    Along the way, Pure-mana gems and Ice Elemental pet feed caught his eyes. Their standard price was dozens of contribution points. Under the guidance of Noah, he brought the cheapest ones that only cost 10 or so points. The traders were in a hurry to make some buck so they didn''t bicker when he arrogantly stated the same demand he used when trading with Tera.


    Noah told him that pure-mana gems could be used in the Six formation disk to create mana wall formation. He just needs to inscribe the necessary magical rune design on one of the disks. The rest will be automatic. Plus, Pure-mana crystal could also be used to increase and reinforce the strength of the Mana wall formation. Whereas Ice elemental pet feed had no use for him but it was useful for Wolfie.


    Wolfie will become stronger once he eats it.


    As he wandered through the store, he came face to face with an overpriced item. It was a piece of soul equipment. Noah explained to him what soul equipment is.


    Soul equipment are accessories such as Rings and Amulets that can increase soul force once someones wear them. However, their lifespan is limited. For example, a piece of soul equipment will become a normal piece of accessory once a person absorbs the soul force inside of it. Moreover, they were very rare and a single piece with 100 units of Soul force was being sold for more than 10000 spirit world contribution points or 100000 royal credit points.


    Whittaker didn''t have enough points to purchase something so costly. Realizing that he was too poor and surfing through the universal store will just be a waste, he asked the store to transfer all the items he purchased to him.


    Just like previously, he was charged with 10 contribution points. A spatial portal opened up, spewing out a box, and then it closed. He opened up the top of the wooden box and saw it was filled with 100s of crystal. There were different kinds of pure-mana crystal and elemental pet feed inside of it.


    After storing them in his rankless ring of genesis, Whittaker starts to meditate in the Grand star visualization soul technique. Six hours later, he stopped meditation.


    It was time to meet up with Elder Zachary!


    "Good afternoon, come and eat!" Zachary said. He was sitting in his chair and eating a sandwich that Nina just prepared. A blackboard, table, and chair were placed beside him. On the table, a meal for Whitaker was placed.


    "Thanks, you too!" He replied while running up to the table. "The sandwich smells great, what''s used in it?" He exclaimed and Noah''s notification instantly popped up in his eyes. The sandwich was made from scarlet-scale dragon salmon which is only found in the depth of the oceans and a lot of underwater kingdom spices were used to enhance its flavor and crispiness. Whittaker ate a bite. It was filled with energy and gave him a permanent increase in vitality and health regeneration.


    "It''s a grilled salmon sandwich of the highest quality. The fish used to prepare it comes from the depth of the ocean. It''s the famous scarlet-scale dragon salmon. Scarlet-scale dragon salmon is a rare magical beast classified as a mammal fish. They normally reside inside the depth of Submarine volcanoes dungeon. The dungeon is located in the sea of the Flame Kingdom. Only during the first and second months can these fish be captured. That''s why they are also considered as a deep-sea delicacy and this fish is ranked 7th on the best sandwich of the world." Elder Zachary explained.


    What he didn''t tell the young boy was that he hunted the finest Salmon for his sake. He wasn''t interested in telling him that either.


    Whittaker was curious and interested in this subject.


    He asked while eating, "Elder, why can this fish be captured only during winter?"


    "This dungeon isn''t an inheritance type but a nature type. Chances of certain death are pretty high in submarine volcanic dungeon. In the past several decades, the submarine volcanoes dungeon has barely erupted some times during winter but it erupts several times during other seasons. The winter is the safest to hunt for Scarlet-scale dragon salmon. That''s why only during the first and second months do awakens partake in clearing this dungeon." He replied.


    Nature type dungeon exists in particular areas of the world where the density of elemental mana is exceedingly huge than normal level. These dungeons are formed naturally, without the assistance of other parties, and there''s a huge chance of a gruesome death in these types of dangerous dungeons.


    "So death is real. But this place seems interesting," Whittaker was shocked and excited at the same time. "Elder, what''s the minimum power level necessary to adventure into this place?"


    "At least B-rank. Those below will not be able to hold their own against the toxic heat of the hot magma." Zachary said while eating the last bite of his sandwich.


    In response, Whittaker blinked his eyes while thinking, ''I should first focus on the Monster tower, and when I''m powerful enough then I''ll go to the flame kingdom and explore its submarine volcanic dungeon. For now, let''s finish this mean and get the pitch-black crystal unsealed!''


    Whittaker gobbled up the sandwich in thirty seconds. At the very moment, Noah notified,


    [Vitality increased: 6?10]


    ?Stats effect induced?


    [Health point increased: 60?100]


    [Health regeneration increased: 3?5]


    He patted his stomach in satisfaction and stared at Elder Zachary, who was preparing tea.


    Whittaker was gonna show him the mysterious crystal but Elder Zachary handed over the second-life core to him with one hand while pouring tea in two cups in another.


    "Before going to bed, eat this core. It will take 8 hours of meditation to consume it but it will be worth it." He said.


    When Whittaker gazed at the core, Noah''s notification popped up. What he saw surprised him so much that his eyes opened wide in disbelief and he spat out a dumbfounded chuckle.


    "This�� this is too op!"

 Chapter 150: Life force Core

    [Salmon King Life Force Core (rankless)


    Consumption time: 2 Hours or instant if converted to experience points.


    Effect: Gain a chance to revive from near-death as long as Guardian''s head remains intact. Can be converted to 10000 XP. Effect can''t be stacked]


    Whittaker could absorb the core in 2 hours because of his Devansha bloodline.


    ''Amazing,'' Whittaker thought while storing the crystal in his ring.


    "Thank you, Elder," He said while beaming a smile towards the kind-hearted yet eccentric old man.


    Zachary nodded in response, accepting his gratitude. As a teacher, his responsibility was to pass on the greatest of things to his student. Furthermore, Whittaker was also his inheritor. That''s why he made sure that even death wouldn''t be able to take him.


    "Here, drink this, it''s a herbal tea with healing and calming effect," Zachary said while passing one cup of tea to the young boy.


    He drank it.


    "Bitter and hot!" He exclaimed while spewing the bitter tea. It was so bitter that his tongue was stinging.


    "Hehe, you can go to the kitchen to get sweet milk if you want to," the old man laughed while drinking the herbal tea which was ten times more bitter than table seal.


    Whittaker felt that he was taunted but he was a milk lover and would drink it for life!


    He stood up to get his savory drink.


    ------


    Several minutes later, he returned to the practice ground after drinking a cup of milk. Elder Zachary was still drinking tea. This was his fifth glass.


    Whittaker sat back on his soft cushion.


    "Elder, I recently bought a mysterious item classified as unidentified from the universal shop. Can you take a look at it?" He asked with an innocent smile.


    Elder Zachary was an experienced old man who has used the universal store thousands of times. He has been scammed many times because of buying unidentified items from the store. He still felt sad for the losses he suffered and Whittaker was just a child. He instantly felt bad for Whittaker when he heard his words. The poor boy got scammed, he thought.


    "Ah, little friend, never buy an unidentified item from the universal store. Most of the time, it''s a scam. 99.9% of the unidentified item are useless, only 0.1% is useful. To look for a useful item among the junk is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Out of 100 thousand items, only 100 will be a treasure. Even the most professional of appraisers don''t try their luck in this field. I''m guessing you got scammed by an experienced trader who enticed you with words," he replied thoughtfully, giving an earful lesson to Whittaker, who smiled while thinking that before Noah the risk of being scammed is minimum to none.


    With a thought, Whittaker materialized the pitch-black crystal in his hand.


    "Can you please check it once, I felt a mysterious energy in this crystal," he said while extending his hand towards Elder Zachary.


    "Oh, okay," Elder Zachary accepted to inspect the crystal for he was somewhat curious about the mysterious energy Whittaker felt.


    After a single scrutinizing glance at the pitch-black crystal, he was appalled and his beard shook furiously.


    "Space, light, even wind. What a mystical crystal. This�� this is a treasure!" His eyes opened wide in surprise as he stared at Whittaker with a gaping mouth. What a lucky brat, he thought while looking at Whittaker.


    "Elder, what did you find?" Whittaker innocently asked, his purpose was simply to have him solve the seal. He wanted to know what the treasure inside the crystal is.


    "This crystal contains three energy in its depth but they are bring suppressed by five sealing magical rune designs inscribed inside the crystal. While one magical rune design is inscribed on the crystal surface and is reinforcing the seal. From the looks of it, I think it''s a rune obtained through killing an S-ranked magical beast. A very powerful rune that has a skill that combines different aspects of wind, light, and space. Once equipped in an equipment rune slot, the skill use will be known but it''s bound to be overpowered. This seems really interesting. Hmm, even I have never seen such a mysterious seal that utilize six magical rune design. Wonderful!" Elder Zachary was extremely interested in this pitch-black crystal.


    Whittaker smiled in glee. He had hit the jackpot thanks to Noah. Furthermore, he was impressed with Elder Zachary''s. Noah wasn''t sure what the pitch-black crystal was but he instantly determined that its a rune after a single glance.


    "Can the elder unseal it?" He asked curiously while intently staring at the pitch-black crystal.


    "Yes, but it will take some time." The Elder replied confidently.


    Five of the magical rune designs sealed the energy in the depth of the pitch-black crystal. The five magical rune designs combined to form a crystal-like seal that enclosed the energy. Whereas the sixth magical rune design reinforced this seal.


    "I should first destroy the sixth magical rune design," Elder Zachary used his mana and death force to attack the sixth seal to destroy it. After an hour, the sturdy design was finally destroyed.


    Whittaker was intently staring at the process. He was using Devansha vision so he was able to capture even the minute detail of the process. At the same time, he was learning the process of breaking seals.


    "This seal is definitely created by a peak inscriptionist!" He said as beads of sweat formed on his face. The next step was to shatter the crystal.


    "The crystal seal in this crystal is made from the combination of five same types of magical rune design. It may seem very hard to destroy but it''s not, and there''s no need to destroy it. We just need to make a puncture in the seal and give a path for the energy sealed inside to rush out. It can be easily punctured by simply pounding one of the five magical rune designs with a massive amount of Soul force. However, it''s easier said than done. Only a soul master with excellent control over soul force will be able to destroy it. Do you understand?" Elder Zachary said.

 Chapter 151: Unsealing mysterious crystal!

    Soul force can pass through a solid object and it can also crash down on a solid object but the same can''t be said for mana and battle energy. Mana and battle energy can''t pass through solid objects. That''s why only a soul master can do what Elder Zachary is thinking of doing.


    "Yes, Elder, I understand all of it," Whittaker said while nodding his head.


    "Good. Here''s a useful offensive soul technique for you. If you are interested then give it a try. Maybe you will be able to learn it in a short amount of time," he said while passing a jade slip to him.


    Whittaker gazed at it. Instantly, Noah notified him about its effect.


    [Soul-piercing needles


    Rank: Mysterious


    Cost to learn: 2 skill development points.


    Effect: Once activated, the user releases soul force from his soul seed and condenses it into a soul needle, which can be shot towards the enemy intending to pierce their mana pool, beast core, or battle core


    Guidance: The strength of the soul needle increases with the amount of soul force used to create it]


    "Thank you, Elder," Whittaker accepted the jade slip with a grateful smile and stored it into his rankless ring of genesis. He thought, ''Becoming an inheritor is certainly a sure path to obtaining endless riches!''


    Zachary continued the lecture by releasing thousands of units of soul force from his body to create a very thin needle. Whittaker felt threatened by just looking at it.


    "This is the soul-piercing needle. Its main use is to puncture mana pool, battle core of humans, and beast cores of magical beast. It packs a lot of power and can also puncture this seal!" Elder Zachary explained.


    Right after, with a swoosh, the soul-piercing needle rushed into the crystal and stabbed the crystal-like seal. It was instantly punctured and energy rushed out of that hole, just like massive waves of ocean.


    After some hours of working non-stop, the rune was finally sealed.


    The pitch-black crystal was no longer the same.


    Whittaker and Elder Zachary saw flashes of yellow, green, and purple in the black crystal.


    ?Congratulations, this crystal is a rune called flash step? Noah''s monotone voice rang beside Whittaker''s ears.


    ?Flash Step rune (low-level)


    Description: A rune that can be in-laid in equipment slots.


    Nature: Spatial, Wind, and Light. a powerful movement ability.


    Cast time: Instant


    Useable: 3/3


    Recharge time: 10 hours


    Effect: A Flash Step will cause the Guardian to teleport a short distance. In battle, it''s extremely useful. The Guardian can use this rune to suddenly appear right behind his opponent and deal a deadly blow or use it to teleport a short distance past the attack of your opponent.]


    Whittaker was staring at this rune with greedy eyes while Elder Zachary inspected the rune and found out what its effect is.


    "This is a powerful rune called Flash step. It can save your life in dangerous situations and can also be a game-changer in a life and death battle. Here, use it on your boots,"


    Elder Zachary said and passed over the Flash Step rune to Whittaker. He gladly accepted it and instantly equipped his Azure-sky boots with this rune.


    Then the lecture continued.


    Elder Zachary taught him dozens more inscriptions and Whittaker easily memorized all of them.


    By the time the lecture ended, the sun and moon has already changed places.


    The lecture ended and Whittaker asked something important, "Elder, can you help me increase the privilege level of my student ID card?"


    The elder replied, "No can do. Privilege level can only be increased by working hard to earn royal credit points, giving excellent performance in competition or test, or gaining kingdoms merits earned through service in the military. Even the sons of royals and nobles can''t increase their privilege through other means."


    Whittaker knows that royal credits points and kingdom merits can be earned through completing quest and mission respectively. Furthermore, if a rich person uses enough platinum then he can also increase his privilege level. But that person got to be extremely rich.


    "But why is that so?" He asked.


    "The world''s filled with wonder and is secretive. Its wonders can''t be enjoyed by anyone. Similarly, its secret can''t be accessed by just anyone. The higher your privilege the more great stuff you have access to and the more secrets you will know. Moreover, not everyone wants others to share worldly treasures or wonders with others. I can''t help even if I want to, you gotta earn it yourself. The fastest way will be Yeon''s academy or using millions of platinum." Elder replied.


    He understood that this world''s mysterious and strange, and most of the things like the dreamworld can only be accessed by those with a higher level of privilege.


    "There''s a test in three months if I perform well enough then getting an upgrade wouldn''t be much of a problem," Whittaker exclaimed.


    "Ah, three months is it. I will ask Yeon to prepare a long-distance teleportation formation for you after he returns from the central region." He said.


    He knew where Yeon has gone. The emperor has called for him too, after all, but he outright refused, unwilling to take part in any more mess. For now, he just wanted to hurriedly pass on everything to Whittaker before he''s no longer able to.


    "Thanks," Whittaker replied. A long-distance TP formation required a portal to open on both sides. He could also use GRS but it will require him to undergo complicated procedures. Plus, Zachary will have to use personal connections and ask his imperial cousin for a favor. Something he doesn''t really wanna do.


    "Elder, I wanted to ask when will I get key to the palace treasury?" Whittaker asked.


    "Hmm," After a long hum, he continued by saying, "If I am impressed with your performance in the monster tower then I will immediately reward it to you."


    He made his decision to hand the precious key to Whittaker if he impresses him.


    "What will it take to impress Elder?" Whittaker asked an important question that caused the old man to rub his beard in thought.

 Chapter 152: Condition to get key to the palace treasury

    "I''ll be impressed if you can climb to the 31st floor of the monster tower from the first floor within 2 months and kill a Water dragon whilst learning more magical rune designs and formation erection from me!" Elder Zachary answered with a smile while rubbing his beard, a thoughtful look on his face.


    The 31st floor! Whittaker calculated that this will be a hard task. He will have to face peak D-rank magical beasts with a power level between 4 star to 7 star before he reaches the 31st floor. Furthermore, he''ll have to start from floor 0.


    "Don''t think too deeply about it. Let''s go have a meal," Zachary said.


    "Sure," Whittaker replied and pushed the Elder wheelchair towards the dining hall. His mouth had salivated before even entering the dining hall as a delicious aroma wafted from inside the closed doors. His eyes sparkled, he was looking forward to the mystical dish he will have as his dinner.


    Brp!


    Whittaker hurriedly finished his meal while Nina and Zachary continued to eat. It was something simple, a red lobster. Looks like Elder is running out of money, he had thought while eating the lobster with no effect.


    However, it was delicious and he enjoyed it. Therefore, he asked for another serving. Then one more before he felt satisfied and made his way back to his room after wishing everyone well.


    "Now, it''s time to learn the soul needles technique." He pulled out the book from his ring. "Noah, how many skill development points will it cost to directly learn it?" Whittaker asked after he sat down on his bed.


    ?Ding! It will cost 2 skill development points but Noah advises the guardian not to as it''ll be a waste to use them to learn this skill? Noah replied. It has been eating the mana of the world to recover and has become more intelligent. Now, it could help Whittaker better, and also accurately understand how capable he is.


    "Why?" Whittaker asked, mystified by Noah''s word.


    ?Ding! According to Noah''s calculations, the Guardian is very intelligent and will successfully learn the soul needle technique in four hours by merely studying it. Plus, here''s a quest for you? Noah answered and activated a quest for Whittaker.


    ?Quest Activated: Learn a soul technique with your efforts.


    ?Rewards: +1 Skill Development point, +10 soul force?


    ?Fighting? he cheered.


    Whittaker became happy because of being praised as an intelligent boy, and his happiness increased because of the quest rewards.


    "I will try to learn this technique with my efforts. Especially since I''ll be obtaining good quest rewards!" He exclaimed in glee.


    With a thought, the jade slip appeared in Whittaker''s hands. The information stored in the jade slip was written in soul language and can only be read by soul force, and soul force can be moved with Will. That''s what Elder Zachary has told him during the lengthy lecture.


    He willed and was able to sense the soul force in his soul seed. He strongly thought of being able to move it and he was able to grasp some units of soul force under his control. He directed the soul force into the jade slip to read the technique recorded in soul language.


    Suddenly, he felt that he have formed a mystical connection with the jade slip. He wondered what it is.


    ?Guardian, this is called spiritual connection. The jade slip will now automatically transfer the information in it to you as long as you supply soul force to maintain the spiritual connection? Noah clarified.


    Whittaker nods his head, understanding what Noah meant by his words for he felt the jade slip transferring a massive amount of information to him through the spiritual connection. He could hear indescribable murmurs. They echoed in Whittaker''s head but he remained clear-headed enough to supply the jade slip with soul force.


    The murmurs continuously echoed in his mind for four whole hours before silence suddenly returned, and Whittaker could feel the offensive soul needles technique being branded into his mind.


    ''What a surprise. I have not only gained information about it but can also use it,'' Whittaker thought with a pleasant smile.


    ?Congratulations! You have Learned the skill: Soul needles?


    Quest completed: Learn a soul technique with your efforts.


    ?Rewards: +1 Skill Development point, +10 soul force?


    [Soul force unit increased: 10?20. Total Soul force in the soul seed: 20/20]


    "Hooray!" Whittaker was happy since he has gained 10 soul force. This was ten hours of boring effort. Gaining 10 soul forces means meditating for ten hours but he obtained it while learning a powerful soul skill. Plus, he also obtained a skill development point as a bonus. What a great day this is, he thought.


    Whittaker stood up and went to the training ground.


    He came here to practice the foot skill he had learned from the Zen Flame puppet.


    He immediately put his photographic memory to use and now he could clearly see the way Zen Flame Puppet had condensed battle energy beneath its feet to gain a sudden burst of speed. He followed the same thing it did.


    He got in a fighting stance, lifted his right foot, and slammed it onto the ground while at the same time he inputted 3 units of battle energy on the toes of the same foot.


    WHOOOSH!


    His body was blasted ahead, leaving a massive crack on the ground which healed automatically as the Land As Before formation was erected on the training ground.


    He was going to crash right into the trunk of an ancient towering tree. Just before he was gonna crash, Whittaker slammed his left foot onto the ground while at the same time he inputted 3 units of battle energy on the toes of the same foot.


    Boom!


    At the very last second, his direction instantly changed to the right at a rapid speed and he fortunately avoided a head-on crash with the tree.


    "Wow, it''s like I thought. Mastering the movement skill I somehow utilized to climb to the 332 steps of the heaven-reaching trial will bring me great benefits!"


    Whittaker continued to train. He wasn''t merely learning or mastering this footwork, he was modifying it, and at the same time, letting his body adapt to its use.


    After several minutes of practicing the movement technique, he finally had modified it to a satisfying version.


    While following the technique from the Zen Flame puppet, Whittaker was able to add a twist of his own and create a different version. The one that satisfied him the most was 09. The version in which he mixed tiptoeing with the single burst movement skill and created a skill that utilizes sudden bursts of battle energy beneath the feet to rapidly increase a person''s speed again and again.


    But a single-use utilizes one-fourth or even half of his battle energy depending on the amount of burst steps he takes.


    He started to practice more to master it. It was nighttime and the training ground was completely dark. In the training ground, footsteps could be heard but its source could not be seen, almost as if a ghost has haunted the place. Soon after, the echoes of footsteps stopped as Whittaker was tired from executing the skill he created by mixing tiptoeing and demonic flame rush skill of Zen flame puppet.


    ?Congratulations. The guardian has created his skill from the footstep of the Zen flame puppet?


    ?Personal skill created: Ghost step!? Noah notified.


    The description of the skill was simple, and it was separated into nine versions. Using this skill, Whittaker will move so fast that he leaves behind an afterimage or afterimages depending on the version he utilizes.


    Although it cost a lot of battle energy but it was a powerful movement skill, after all, and he liked it too.


    "I am certain that once I master it then not even the sound of footstep could be heard. At that time, the beasts won''t even notice my arrival before I reap their lives. Phew, I''m tired. Time to go back and sleep!" He said while whistling and tiptoeing his way back.


    He has yet not thought that there will come a day when he has to fight and "Kill" other humans. However, he has thought of viciously harming the enemies of his parents. He has missed his mother. This feeling amplified when Lord Dark Spirit sang the song she used to sing to him. He wanted revenge but he still wasn''t tainted by hatred.


    When he returned to the room and sat on the bed, he suddenly felt a disturbance in his soul space.


    He smiled, knowing full well what the reason behind the disturbance is.


    Wolfie has woken up and was howling lightly in the soul space. To his surprise, Whittaker could make out what it is was saying.


    Wolfie said: "Papa, pull me out. I''m bored and want to play!"


    "I''m able to understand what it says, hmm, its definitely because of the beast tamer skill!" He concluded.

 Chapter 153: Wolfie enters growth phase

    He was able to understand beast language because of the beast tamer skills.


    Furthermore, he could still feel the spiritual connection he shared with Wolfie. However, he didn''t dare to play with it otherwise, he might have to witness Wolfie''s eccentric and weird dreams.


    He also understands that he can talk with his beast companion while using the spiritual connection. Just that it will utilize a little bit of soul force but Whittaker was fine with using some soul force to talk with his contracted pet.


    "Okay I will play with you but you have to be obedient and stay near me," Whittaker replied.


    The young wolf cub readily agreed with all his demands by blinking its puppy eyes. He pulled out Wolfie from the soul space, who forgot the agreement and excitedly hugged him and licked his hands.


    He giggled because of the tingling sensation and rubbed the pup in revenge. After playing for a while, Wolfie laid on his lap. It started to act cute while rolling about in his laps.


    Whittaker touched his furry paws that had icy claw marks forming on them.


    "What''s this," he thought.


    "Papa, I don''t know. These had already appeared on my paws when I woke up," Wolfie intelligently replied.


    Because it had eaten a lot of delicious food and even have a lick of Elder Zachary Celestial wine, Wolfie has officially entered the growth phase and is going to officially become an E-rank magical beast as long as he is fed well.


    Currently, he was in the process of forming skills but they didn''t know that.


    "Noah, do you know what these marks emitting a cold aura are?" Whittaker wondered while playing with his soft paws. It felt cold to the touch.


    ?Ding! It''s a visible beast skill mark, and there''s also another skill mark behind its ear. These skills marks only appear on the bodies of royal blooded Winter Wolfs. Congratulations guardian for Wolfie is forming the Royal Icy claw skill mark and is also gonna gain a mystical sound type skill. You can hasten the process by feeding it Ice Elemental Pet Feed? Noah replied.


    Adult Royal Blooded Winter Wolfs can advance to C-rank. Wolfie''s potential has been boosted because of the celestial wine.


    "Will there be any harmful side effects since his growth is hastened?" Whittaker asked Noah worriedly. He was concerned for Wolfie''s sake.


    ?There''s one side effect but it can''t be considered as harmful.? Noah answered.


    "What''s it?" Whittaker asked curiously.


    ?Compared to normal winter wold pups, Wolfie will grow up and become a big wolf faster. Normally, a winter wolf pup needs three years to enter the growth phase and several years to reach maturity but Wolfie has already entered the growth phase and by eating ice elemental pet feed he will reach maturity faster and become stronger too. It''s good as Wolfie is too weak right now and Guardian doesn''t even need his help but if he becomes stronger then he will become a huge help to you?


    Noah explained the advantages of having a big wolfie to Whittaker. He became excited at having an equally strong beast companion in battle. It will make his life far easier.


    Wolfie, on the other hand, has been acting spoiled like a child. He wanted his papa''s attention but Whittaker was busy chatting with Noah. So it felt sad and asked,


    "Papa, play with me please, I''m bored,"


    Whittaker compiled with his pet wishes and give his paws three more light presses. He then pulled out ten ice element pet feed from his rankless ring of genesis.


    Wolfie''s eyes lit up when he noticed the crystal-like substance in Whittaker''s hands. He was innately attracted to them, and their icy sweet scent salivated his mouth.


    "Wolfie, I bought candy for you. Eat and tell me if you like it, I will bring more next time," Whittaker said to entice Wolfie into eating the crystal. However, there was no need to as Wolfie really wanted them.


    "Okay, papa! Woo, Woo, I want them!" Wolfie wagged his tail in excitement. It was intently staring at the crystal in Whittaker''s hand, ready to pounce if he has to.


    Whittaker placed the crystals near him.


    To his surprise, the cub immediately began licking the crystal as if it was the most delicious delicacy in the world. With each lick, the crystal quickly became smaller in size until it was completely devoured by Wolfie.


    The other nine crystal followed the same fate as their brethren and were eaten by Wolfie.


    After Wolfie absorbed the tenth crystal, his skill marks shone in an icy glow.


    ?Absorbing the crystals were extremely effective, and Wolfie is gonna condense the skills marks and create two skills within a week. It will enter a hibernation state soon? Noah notified.


    "Papa, I''m sleepy!'' Wolfie said while stretching its paw and yawing. Noticing his sleepy-eye, Whittaker gently pat his head and told him to go to sleep.


    According to the book on magical beast, there''s no problem for magical beast even if they sleep during the skill creation process. Rather, many magical beasts enter hibernation mode when they condense their skills.


    Whittaker placed the sleeping cub on the bed and covered him with a blanket. He was planning to sleep too but before that, he wanted to level up.


    "Noah level up my frost mage class!" Whittaker said.


    ?As you wish! Consumed 1100 experience points. Remaining experience points 200.


    ? Frost mage class leveled up:12?13?


    ?Gained 2 skill development points. Total skill development points 3?


    ?Gained 4 attribute points. Total attribute points 12?


    Looking at the 12 attribute points, he remembered an important question about attributes and thought of obtaining the answer from Noah.


    "Noah, I want to confirm something," Whittaker said.


    ?What''s it guardian?? Noah asked.


    "Will I obtain a passive skill if I increase my strength or other attributes to 30 points?" He asked. ''If what I''m thinking is possible then I should aim to increase various attributes to 30 points and get some amazing passive skills.''


    "Yes! Furthermore, the Guardian can also gain passive skill if he upgrades his attribute to 100 points?


    According to Noah''s words, he will gain a passive skill when he increase any of his attribute to 30 points. Similarly, he will gain a passive skill when he upgrades any of his attributes to 100 points.


    "Thanks for explaining," Whittaker confirmed his suspicions. ''I will save my attribute points until I have enough to increase a stat to 30 points. I''m guessing that all the skills gained from increasing the stats to 30 points will as impressive as Dexterous hand and Devansha eyes, am I right Noah?" Whitaker thought.


    ?You are correct. Each passive will be useful to you but they''ll be extremely effective in certain situation? Noah replied.


    Whittaker anticipated the future in which all his attribute points will reach 100. He believed that he will be unparalleled at that time. But it was getting harder and harder to level up. To reach level 14 from 13 he needed 1500 experience points. This much amount was nearly the same as leveling up the Guardian class to level 1 from level 0.


    "Let''s first absorb the second life core!"


    He stopped thinking about the future and decided to integrate with the second life core.


    He decided to sleep right after absorbing the second-life core. He pulled the core out of his and placed it into his mouth. Due to his Devansha bloodline heritage, the core melted into streams of fiery hot energy and rushed towards his battle core!


    Whittaker felt the fiery hot energy that was gushing inside his body. The sea of fiery hot energy was scalding his insides yet also stimulated his natural recovery rate. Whatever was burned by the fiery hot energy was instantly healed in the very moment.


    He was healing at an unbelievable rate because the fiery hot energy was the Life Force of the Scarlet-Scaled Dragon Salmon which is also called King Salmon.


    Bam! The fiery hot energy crashed on his battle core to fuse with it.


    "Ugh!" Whittaker clenched his teeth as a terrible pain assaulted his senses. He felt as if his battle energy was being inflated and will explode if he doesn''t focus and meditate.


    With clenched teeth, Whittaker utilized both his meditation techniques. His mind cleared up somewhat because of utilizing the mana meditation technique and soul visualization technique. Furthermore, the mana seed released a suction force and some of the fiery hot energy was pulled towards the mana pool.


    The mana pool took on some of the burden bored by the battle core, and the pain slightly lessened.


    The life force of the King Salmon started to shrink, becoming one with the battle core and mana pool of the boy who felt pain and relief �C both at the same time �C all over his body.


    Dozens of minutes later, a red line was drawn in the middle of his mana pool. Similarly, red lines were drawn all over his battle core. His mana pool and battle core was beautified by the scarlet line.

 Chapter 154: Integrating with Second-life Core!

    The red lines outlined that he has gained second-life in his battle core and mana pool. Now even if someone destroys his battle core or mana pool, they will regenerate but this effect is limited to one use.


    Inside his body, a massive amount of fiery hot life force still wandered about. The battle core and mana pool wasn''t enough to absorb the massive amount of life force of King Salmon.


    The boiling heat of the fiery hot energy didn''t even stay still for a second before it quickly spread though his limbs and bones, surpassing the scortching sensation he had experienced in full earlier.


    The fiery hot energy pierced through every vein and organ of his body. It melded with his stomach, heart, veins, arteries, and all other internal organs. It also melded with all of his bone, including the bluish spine also called Devansha bone.


    It was a very painful process!


    The massive amount of life force was becoming a part of his body by compressing itself into his internal organs and veins. He felt like his organ and bones were being pressed and squeezed by the life force.


    "Ugh!" Even in the face of the heart-wrenching pain, Whittaker continued to clench his teeth and refused to let out a scream.


    This much amount of pain will not make him, a Devansha descendant scream!


    Normally, this painful process lasted for several hours but the life force melded into each part of his body very fastly. From the looks of it, this process will end within two hours, just like what Noah calculated.


    The streams of fiery hot energy continued to shrink at a fast speed for they became a part of his body. In two hours, each part of his body will be granted a second life. Even if someone destroys his heart, he won''t die for the heart will regenerate rapidly.


    An hour passed.


    Whittaker remained silent. The previous hour was enough for him to become familiar with the pain of having internal organs and bones squeezed, crushed, and healed into a perfect state. He had gotten used to the pain that the process gives. That didn''t mean the pain had become lesser. It was as painful as one can imagine.


    However, Whittaker could easily withstand the pain. It''s because he was a Devansha, and they can adapt to different situations and harsh conditions ten times, a hundred times, or more times faster than normal humans.


    The rate of adaptability solely depended on the purity of their bloodline. In simple words, a normal human will break before torture but a Devansha people adapt to it, and their bodies believe that torture is "Normal" �C a part of life.


    Pssh! Suddenly, black impurities began to release out of the pores of his body. The life force melding with his body has squeezed his internal organs and bones with so much force that impurities within them were released.


    This has improved his physical condition and physiques.


    [Endurance Increased: 11?15]


    [Physical defense increased: 11?15]


    He has obtained an extra reward and that caused him to smile due to happiness but he was also in pain. A beaming smile etched on his contorted face, making him look weirder than Jackie the clown. It was as if he wanted to cry yet laughed in turn.


    Another hour passed, Whittaker''s body was wholly covered in black impurities. He looked like a burnt cake. More importantly, each part of his body had a scarlet line drawn on it. The scarlet lines outlined the ability called second-life. He has gained second-life on each part of his body.


    Although each part of his body has gained a second life, there were still a lot of streams of fiery hot energy left in his body.


    The life force of the Scarlet-scaled Dragon Salmon has nowhere left to go except be released from Whittaker''s body. Suddenly, It started to gush out from the pores of his body.


    "Boom!" The impurities caked over his body were blasted by the tyrannical fiery streams of energy that brighten his room in a scarlet hue.


    Bam!


    Fiery hot energy gushed out from his body and forced open the windows. The red hue spread out of his room and reached to the skies.


    Elder Zachary, Nina, Goguard, Earth golem guards, and the magical beast in the palace saw the bright Scarlet glow because a small area of the palace itself was shining red.


    The red color on a dark night was extremely attractive.


    Everyone inside the palace ground could see the scarlet blaze. The streams of fiery hot life force of King Salmon blazed the air and reached towards the clouded night skies, just like a dragon trying to leap over the golden gate.


    They were captivated by its appearance. Furthermore, all of the magical beast lowered their heads, some even knelt. Its because the streams of fiery hot energy was the life force of an S-ranked beast, it contained traces of his presence. Due to this presence, the beasts ranked lower than B faced an innate suppression.


    All of them were shocked by this, especially the horned python which chased after Whittaker.


    Soon after, the suppression ended as the energy was nowhere to be seen.


    Elder Zachary''s mouth gaped open in surprise. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.


    "What? He has integrated with the second-life core in such a short period. How could it be possible." He was amazed by the capabilities of Whittaker''s constitution.


    "Maybe it''s because he''s a Devansha," Nina said.


    Elder Zachary nodded his head in agreement while thinking, ''That can be the only reason.''


    Even though the Devansha clan was the imperial ruling family of the empire, there weren''t many records about Devansha''s in the awakened continent. The Empire existed 1000+ years ago and suddenly vanished one day, leaving behind little to no trace. Moreover, there were no records about what happened that day. That''s why they had bare knowledge about Devansha.


    Whittaker, on the other hand, received Noah''s notification.


    ?Congratulation! The Guardian has fully integrated with the second-life core. Now you won''t be killed even if someone shatters all of your bones!? Noah''s monotone rang besides Whittaker.


    Although Noah''s words sounded eerie, Whittaker knew that he meant well.


    "Haha, even though I have a second life, I''ll try not to die. Death is very painful, after all!" Whittaker said while a pearl of laughers escaped his mouth.


    When he opened his mouth to laugh, a putrid smell assaulted his nostril.


    "Ahh! This smells horrible!" He shouted.


    The Devansha descendent who didn''t release a single shout when drowned in a sea of pain was hopeless in the face of the disastrous smell and was forced to release a moan of pain.


    The smell was horrendous.


    He called Elder sister Nina for help and she cleaned up the room, making it look all sparkly once again.

 Chapter 155: Sudden attack from another world!

    "Thank you for the help, sis," He earnestly thanked her after taking a bath.


    "No problems," she said. She then waved her hand and Whittaker was suddenly covered inside a blanket. "Go to sleep, it''s already late night," she said while patting his head.


    Sleepy, his eyes started to close. He then slept peacefully. Whereas Nina returned to Elder Zachary to accompany him through the night.


    When Nina came back to Zachary, he was frowning in displeasure while looking towards one of the many stars in the skies. Moreover, his eyes were swirling in the Death force. That particular star he was gazing at was twinkling the brightest and a mystical energy released from that star, reaching towards Zachary''s palace.


    Although he was just a B-rank awakened, Elder Zachary has dabbled in the Death force and its techniques. His preception was at an unbelievable level, and he could sense that a clairvoyant''s trying to sneakily divine about Whittaker who is in his palace. Furthermore, that clairvoyant was from another world, and ignorant about himself.


    This angered him a lot. It''s as if an ant is showing disdain to a human who is 1000 times bigger than itself, and the human felt it and got angered.


    The very next moment the ant was crushed. That''s just what he was planning to do.


    Seeing his expression, Nina could not help but ask concernedly, "Father, what happened?"


    Elder Zachary frowned deepened and he was getting angry. He unhappily replied, "Some pests from another world are trying to divine about my student, does he really think that I would let him get what he wishes. Nina, someone''s thinking your father''s a useless piece of rubbish who can''t protect his student from divination."


    Hearing his words, even Nina became unhappy and the sweet smile on her face began to disappear as she sensed a mystical and ethereal golden energy passing through the boundary of the reality management formation and reaching towards the palace.


    Ting! Her hand moved mystically and bell sounds echoed. Right then, ten thousand units of mana and battle energy rushed towards the golden energy.


    A single and tiny wave was facing against a whole ocean. Its fate should be drowned within and become a sort of the ocean forever; However, the golden energy was ethereal and it passed through the ocean of mana and battle energy. It rushed straight towards the palace.


    This surprised and annoyed Nina at the same time.


    "The enemies from the other world are strong," she uttered. Although the enemies were strong, she was still confident in not letting them achieve their intended purpose, "Formation change reality; no one inside the boundary of Zachary''s place can have their fate divined!"


    Ting!


    The same bell sound echoed and an intangible energy covered everyone inside the Zachary palace and its ground. Divination will no longer work on Whittaker and the others in the range of the reality-management formation.


    "Father, who are they and why are they searching for Whittaker, and what''s the purpose behind their action?"


    Her heart was full of questions. Who''s trying to search for Whittaker?


    "I don''t know." Elder Zachary was just as in the dark as her. His brows arched up, "Whoever they are, they must have an insidious purpose behind their actions. Beings from the other world, they can''t be trusted. The last time they helped Abbadon, setting loose an Evil God on our world. Something must be done against them. I won''t let Whittaker be harmed!"


    He was adamant about his decision, and Nina held the same thought as him. In the past, beings from the other worlds had caused a lot of damage to their world, and he detested them with a heart.


    Feeling his boiling anger, Nina''s emotions were also affected, and she became angrier.


    "Father, what should be done with these pests?" Nina said annoyed. Her eyes have completely turned Scarlet, and it was emitting killing intent that permeated into the surrounding causing the land beneath their feet to tremble.


    "What else, punish them till they die!" The old man replied with a smile and the land beneath their feet trembled even faster. This time, however, it was dying, so were the trees and other living things nearby Elder Zachary. They converted into the death essence which was absorbed into his mana pool. The death essence mixed with his mana and the Death force was produced.


    Without any hesitation, Elder Zachary reached into his sleeve and retrieved a pitch-black three-foot-long jade pen. The black pen was made from undead Lich bones, its pointy end was made from the lich''s life force, and it was a pen that can utilize the Death Force to create cursive Magical rune design.


    "Buddy, it''s been a long time since I last used you," he said while staring at the pen in his hand in apprehension.


    Nina also got startled by the appearance of the pen. She knows what it is, and using it is really harmful to its user.


    This is the judgment pen and the weapon of the Tenth Yama, not known to death and unknown to live. The Tenth Yama is missing from the underworld; it''s been more than a thousand years and no one knows where he has gone. Luckily, 500 years ago, Elder Zachary in his youth has ventured into a mysterious cave and obtained the tenth Yama weapon, the Sacred Pen of Judgment.


    "Father, don''t use this pen. You are already weak because of yesterday''s battle, you won''t be able to withstand its aftereffect. Trust me, I will be able to block the divination on my own," Nina worriedly tried to stop him from using the pen but Zachary shook his head.


    "I know what you are capable of. I also know that you will be able to block it but you won''t be able to kill the otherworldly beings. These attacks won''t stop unless the preparators are killed. Today, the young boy is within the boundary of the reality management formation so his fate wasn''t divined but what would happen when he ventures outside?" He said thoughtfully.


    Whittaker will set out to the world to make a name for himself and increase his status, and they couldn''t just keep in locked in the palace for fear of other world''s clairvoyants.


    Hearing his words, Nina remained silent. The enemies were in another world and she don''t have such a huge rank attack. She sadly thought,


    "I can only passively defense against their divination. The only one who can deal a deadly blow to them is Zachy. Since I can''t do anything to help then it''s better to remain silent,"


    Zachary waved his hands and the pen in his hand twirled etching a dark magical rune design on the air itself. Each time his hand moved, lines would be sketched on the open skies.


    Inscribing Magical Rune Design In The World Itself; This was the Peak Of Inscriptionist!


    In some second, an ancient magical rune design has formed above Zachary''s palace before the mysterious energy could even reach near the palace.


    The ancient magical rune design was releasing a kind of formidable aura that was indiscernible from death. It began to expand, covering the Zachary palace. It then expanded outward, heading towards the golden energy which rushed towards the palace.


    The two energy neared each other and crashed.

 Chapter 156: Touch of death rune design!

    Boom!!!!


    This time the ethereal golden energy has met its match, and it was stopped in its track.


    However, this wasn''t the end. The pitch-black magical rune designs began to suck the life out of it. In mere seconds, the golden energy became dull and lacked the glossy luster it had. Soon after, it evaporated in thin air.


    On the other hand, the ancient pitch-black magical rune designs shone with a golden luster.


    "Touch of death!" This was the magical rune design name. Its effect were pretty simple, and this symbol could be used for both defensive purposes and offensive purposes.


    In defense mode, the touch of death magical rune design can be used as a shield that will absorb a person/s energy inside of it. In offense mode, whoever has their energy stored inside the touch of death magical rune design will face a similar fate.


    That''s getting cursed to death!


    "Time to die, whoever you guys are," Elder Zachary snapped his fingers, a murderous smile on his face.


    The magical rune design shattered into pieces, each shotting towards its designated target living on another planet. The shattered pieces traveled through the sea of mana and rushed towards a world that was far, far bigger than the awakened continent.


    Seeing them disappear from his vision, Elder Zachary turned towards Nina and said, "See, I''m completely fine,"


    Nina tensed heart calmed down somewhat and she replied in relief, "I''m glad you''re fine,"


    "Cough, cough, cough!"


    After she said these words, he started to cough violently, throwing a fit.


    "Father," she exclaimed in worry. Instantly, she reached towards him to check his conditions but Zachary moved away from Nina, turning his head to hide the red liquid dripping out the corner of his mouth.


    "Don''t worry about me," he said after wiping the blood away in a swift motion.


    However, Nina has caught sight of the blood and her pearly white teeth bit into her lips.


    "You are bleeding from your nose too," she said. At the moment, her bright eyes contained endless sadness.


    She had lived here with him ever since she could remember, and he was undoubtedly her closest kin. She knows that he''s barely holding on to life and death is just an inch away from him yet he still went on an adventure to get the second-life core for her little brother and got injured in the process, and for his sake, he once again sacrificed his lifespan to utilize the forbidden pen to take down the unknown enemy. All the while, she couldn''t do anything, she couldn''t help him. She might be a powerful existence but her powers didn''t extend being the boundary of the palace and its grounds.


    She felt sad as she knows full well that he doesn''t have long to live. Her sadness was on full display as tears streamed down her face.


    "Don''t be sad. What''s come will come. Moreover, I''m happy that I got a student who will carry on my will and glorify my name before my death," Gazing at the poor lass, Zachary gently said while touching her cheeks and wiping off the tears streaming down her face.


    "But... But you can change it!" She exclaimed, her sweet voice filled with sorrow.


    "I don''t want to," Elder Zachary replied while looking into her eyes. His eyes when he said these words were hallowed as if he has given up on life, he just wanted to die.


    "You still can''t forget mom? Do you think she will be happy at what you are doing?" She said while looking at the statue of the scarlet enchantress.


    His dried lips moved and he replied, "I don''t know but I don''t want her to continue waiting. I have left waiting for far too long. I''m tired, take me back to my room,"


    His face was full of melancholy as he remembered the past with his wife, the Scarlet enchantress. For her, he had tried to live. For her, he did the impossible. For her sake, he obtained the changer of destiny and fate from the Monster Tower yet by the time he returned, she was already dead.


    No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t revive her. A thousand methods he used but all proved to be futile.


    That''s how cruel is Death.


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


    At another world somewhere far from the awakened continent.


    Inside of the Grand Xie manor, the divination ancestor along with the experts of his clan sat around a crystal ball while chanting a weird syllabus. Life force wafted out of their body and was absorbed into the crystal ball.


    Under the order of King Xie, they have to divine where the devil''s child is hiding and locate him unless they want to be killed at the hands of king Xie. Moreover, none wanted for the devil''s child to live.


    ''The devil''s child was the only one left who can control and order the army of night. He must be killed!'' The ancestor of divination thought. He poured more of his life force to boost the effect of the ancient divination technique that required the life force from 51 peoples to be utilized.


    The rest of the 50 peoples felt worried for the ancestors or. He has used a lot of life force for this technique, he might run out of life force at this rate and die.


    "What are you all doing? We are almost there, I can feel it. The location of the devil''s child will no longer be a mystery to us. You guys, pour more life force into the crystal ball!"


    "As you command, ancestor!" The 50 people exclaimed and life force rushed out of their bodies at a rapid speed and was absorbed by the crystal. The 50 people also began to age at a rapid phase.


    They sat cross-legged with their eyes closed as an image of a grand palace that thrust into the skies began to appear on the crystal ball.


    "King Xie, Finally I found him...!" The divination ancestor exclaimed in glee. He has been waiting patiently using the divination technique for the past few days just for this moment.

 Chapter 157: Death of divination ancestor!

    Following an intense fluctuation of spatial energy, a tear appeared in the space. Right after, King Xie, the middle-aged man who taunted Meifyar appeared.


    "Ha, ha, Ancestor, you finally found the youngest devil''s son; the one who escaped with Grace and holds the pendant of night. Show me where he is! Show me how he looks like! If you need my help then I''m willing to use some of my life force to help you out!" The middle-aged man, King Xie entered the room from the spatial portal and said in a commanding yet happy tone. He excitedly stared at the crystal ball that was showing the image of a towering palace.


    Just a bit more time and life force and they will be able to see Whittaker!


    "There''s no need for your highness to trouble yourself. Am I right, children?" The ancestor said.


    "Yes, Ancestor!" The 50 experts who sat closed eyes replied and poured more life force into the crystal ball so that their target face and features could finally be revealed.


    They would know how the devil''s son looks like, and then Whittaker will no longer have a moment of peace in his life. He will be chased by otherwordly experts the moment he''s traced.


    "Gah!'' Suddenly the eyes of the other 50 divination master snapped open and their eyes popped out of their sockets!


    Pop! Pop! Pop! In a single moment, their eyes exploded and they became blind. The next moment, they started to bleed from all their orifices.


    The touch of death magical rune design cursive effect has arrived at the opportune time and saved Whittaker from their hands.


    Hearing the sound of eyes exploding was extremely eerie and attracted King Xie''s attention. He turned around to stare at a scene right out of a horror movie. 50 peak experts of the ancient divination clans have suddenly lost their eyes and become blind and they were bleeding from their mouth, nose, ears, and pores.


    "This... what just happened!" King Xie exclaimed in horror. His eyes wide opening, almost popping out of their sockets while his mouth gaped in shock as he was unable to comprehend the mystical yet deadly happenings in the surrounding.


    Bam! Right then, the divination ancestor also crashed heavily on the ground.


    King Xie turned around and saw the divination ancestor lying in a puddle of blood. His eyes opened wide in sadness and anger. It wasn''t because these guys were drying or were already dead. It''s because the image in the crystal ball has disappeared!


    "I can no longer find out who the child is!" He shouted in anger.


    He stepped towards the ancestor and said by lifting his face smeared in blood,


    "You can''t die, not before telling me the exact location of the boy. Continue with the divination or else I will butcher your entire clan!"


    The blind ancestor pointed at the crystal ball and said between coughs, "Cough, cough! Your highn��ess, the boy''s in the spirit wor�C"


    At the word wor, he breathed his last. The divination ancestor died.


    "Spirit world, that accursed place!" The king shouted in fury. He shared a bad experience with that two-faced world. His body troubled when he remembered the time he was defeated at the hands of a single expert.


    "Fu*k that place!"


    He kicked the corpses nearby him in anger, dishonoring the dead, and again exclaimed in anger and dissatisfaction,


    "God damn, if you weaklings wanted to die then die after showing me the devil''s child face, why die before it!"


    After releasing his anger on the corpses, the king called for his advisor.


    "Yes, your highness," A middle-aged man entered the room that reek with the smell of blood.


    "Activate our sleeper cells in the spirit world, and also hire killers from the assassins guild in that world to kill talented children in the spirit world." King Xie ordered, his mind and thoughts clouded by anger.


    "But we will suffer a massive loss. Do your highness have any defining features?" The middle-aged man replied.


    Hearing his words, the king calmed down somewhat and rationality returned to his mind clouded by anger. King Xie stared at the man with red eyes. "The boy might be wearing the pendant of night. Around the age of 12. His looks will be above subpar. His hair might be snowy-white or black. If you manage to find him then try to bring him back alive but kill him if you have to, and bring that item too if you find it. It''s best to use only the experts best at killing. Hire some of the assassin guild killers and activate our best killers hidden in that world. Find that child at all cost!" He angrily shouted with clenched fists.


    Even King Xie wasn''t sure whether his plan would work against Grace''s child after he saw the way the divination ancestor and his clan 59 experts died. He was feeling afraid and Whittaker''s father''s word resounded in his mind, making him more afraid and his heart trembled in fear. Now, he wanted to take care of the boy early than he had planned.


    "Yes your highness," he said and went away to execute his order.


    Unbeknownst to everything that is going on because of him, the snowy-haired boy slept through the night peacefully.


    For the next few days, Whittaker simply ate battle cores and physically trained in the morning to increase his battle energy. He also studied in the library after exercising and increasing his battle energy. He then learned more about inscriptions from Elder Zachary in the evening and practiced meditation to increase his mana and soul force at night.


    Now, Whittaker''s arsenal of magical rune designs has also increased to 37 useful magical rune designs of different types.


    This was the busy schedule of the young snowy-haired boy. He was so busy that he didn''t even get time to learn cooking from Nina. Currently, Sunday and Wednesday were the busiest day of his life. It''s partially because of Elder Zachary''s lectures.


    He also hasn''t partaken in the Monster tower.


    It''s because Elder Zachary''s lectures were more valuable in his eyes. Moreover, he will only be educated by elder Zachary from Sunday to Wednesday, so he decided to enter the Monster tower on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Plus, he has used the past few days to gain knowledge about the monster tower.


    "It surely isn''t a simple place as I initially thought it to be but I''m confident in my abilities. In the last few days, I have grown a lot stronger!" Whittaker exclaimed while looking at the status screen.


    [Character: Whittaker Lin (Human/Spirit?)


    [Experience: 200]


    [Main class: Frost mage. Level 13 (0/1500 XP)]


    [Secondary class: Guardian Level 0 (0/1700 XP)]


    [HP: 100/100 (Recover 5 Hp per second)]


    Mp: 1459/2000 (Recover 15.5 Mp per second)


    Physical attack damage:10


    Physical Defense: 15


    Magical Defense: 62


    Magical Attack Damage: 31


    Soul force: 37]


    [Attribute Menu


    Attribute points: 12


    Attributes: Strength 5, Endurance 15,


    Intelligence 31, Agility 30, Vitality 10, Battle energy 29]


    [Techniques: Star Visualization Soul Technique, Grand Vortex tree creation technique, Beast tamer technique, Soul needles technique.]


    [Skill Menu:


    Skill Development points: 3


    [Passive skill]


    Mana devouring hairs (rankless), Skill Duplication (rankless)]


    [Blood line Skill:


    Ice Elemental Avatar (rankless), Defy (rankless), Night''s Avatar of Darkness (rankless)]


    [ACTIVE Spell:


    Mana shield (F-rank), Telekinesis (F-rank), Frost Bolt (F-rank), Frost Shield (F-rank), Icy Blast (E-rank), Ice elemental control (D-rank), Three-clawed ice swipe (Rankless), Frost Elemental shift (rankless), Devansha vision (active), Icy healing touch]


    [Active Skill:


    Three-clawed blood slash (rankless), Blood Link (F-rank)]


    [Personal skill: Ghost step, ???, ???]


    [Special Traits:


    Gamer-like body (Passive), Photographic memory (Passive), Dexterous body (passive)]


    [Blessing: Twilight Spirits blessing]


    [Inventory: 3 loyal candy, 2 snack bars, pain killer (5 pieces) (S-rank), 10 perfect grade talisman, six formation disk]


    Whittaker was pleased by the increase in his strength.


    "It''s mostly because I could use Night''s Avatar of darkness to do two or more things at a time. Hmm, it''s 6 a.m, let''s fresh up and join monster tower!"


    He yawned and stood up from the bed to go to the bathroom. It was still morning yet he began to prepare himself.


    It''s because today was Thursday, and he wanted to go to the Monster tower and start climbing it.


    Reaching the 41st floor within two months was the goal he wanted to complete to impress Elder Zachary.


    He felt excited at the thoughts of completing this challenge and obtaining the key to the palace treasury.


    "I wonder what''s stored inside of it,'' he thought before using the spatial gateway to appear in the training ground.

 Chapter 158: Mt-Floor 0

    He appeared on the training ground. Elder Zachary and Nina were already anticipating his arrival.


    Seeing him appear, Zachary pulled out three scrolls of teleportation and handed them over to him.


    "Use them when you want to return to the palace or explore other places in the wind kingdom. You can safely teleport to anywhere within the land of wind by using it but outside of the land there''s a high chance to face spatial disturbance," he explained.


    When Whittaker gazed at the scrolls, Noah notified him of its effect.


    [Teleportation spatial gateway scroll


    Rank: Mid-Mysterious


    Grade: Perfect.


    Useable: 3/3 times


    Effect: The scrolls absorbs 100% necessary mana from nature to create a spatial gateway to a pinpoint location of your choosing. Requires 6 seconds to create a spatial gateway, the spatial gateway won''t be formed if disturbed in the middle of forming. If the spatial gateway is attacked, the teleporting party will suffer mild to disastrous level spatial disturbance. Max amount of people that can travel through the spatial gateway at a time is 6, anymore and it won''t be safe]


    The Teleportation scroll is crafted by combining a piece of talisman, magical rune designs formed from Wind-type beast blood and space-type beast blood, and five or more pieces of stabilizing runic metal to stabilize the spatial gateway. Each cost a lot, especially the stabilizing runic metals, they are rare and their starting price is 1k+ platinum.


    "Thank you, Elder!" Whittaker replied happily while storing the teleportation scroll into his spatial ring.


    He then used a teleportation scroll and opened up a spatial gateway to the monster tower.


    "Elder sister Nina pinky promise you will teach me the way of cooking after I return," he said to Nina while extending his pinky towards her. The last few days, he just didn''t get the time to learn the profession Magic Chef. Now that he had three days off from lectures, he wanted to make sure that he will be able to learn the profession of Magic Chef from Nina.


    "I pinky promise!" She said while intertwining his little finger with hers and shaking it up and down.


    And so, a promise was made.


    "I will take my leave then," Whittaker said respectfully and turned around to leave.


    "Goodbye and take care," Nina wished him well.


    Elder Zachary, on the other hand, silently watched him enter the spatial gateway. Just as he was about to be teleported to the monster tower, he said with a mysterious smile,


    "Young friend, remember my words. The real danger of the monster tower are not the monsters but other races and�� humans,"


    Hearing his words, Whittaker smiled and successfully teleported to the other side. He already knows what danger lies in the monster tower. Not only that, he lots a lot more about that place.


    There''s only one monster tower in the entire world but its entrances are scattered throughout the awakened continent. The entrances of the Monster tower are also called monster towers as they all share the same resemblance with the monster tower. Each entrance has 100 floors above them, each floor stacked on top of each other.


    Since the monster tower entrances are scattered throughout the world, all beings can participate in it. That includes elf that reside within the mystic forest, dwarves that live in the land of the earth, dragonkin''s of the flame land, the barbarians and fauns of the land of wind, and lastly the Abaddon savages and shamans.


    According to legends, Monster tower is a game created by a God. On its hundredth floor, the king''s throne resides the treasure of God. The treasures are said to be able to change fate and destiny. Anyone who reaches the top is eligible to obtain one of the treasure; However, since the beginning of time, there''s no record of anyone reaching the King''s throne.


    "At least, I didn''t find records about one," Whittaker muttered while placing his hand on the log-in mystical symbol inscribes on the base of the Monolith. The symbol lit up and a message that only he could see popped up,


    ?Unregistered contestant detected! Are you sure you want to participate as a contestant in the monster tower??


    A semitransparent screen with a keyboard opened up in front of him.


    Normally, everyone has to register in the monster tower and start from floor 0 to climb up. The last time Whittaker had visited this place with Elder Zachary, a privileged person who was granted the title Ruler in the Monster Tower. Rulers are those people who have completed special missions of the tower spirit "Jafar" to gain "Status" and "Authority". These two, however, are only applicable inside the Monster tower. Rulers are granted different privileges depending on their ranking. For example, Elder Zachary used his authority to being Whittaker directly to the 31st floor without him needing to register.


    "Yes!" Whittaker typed in and pressed enter.


    Suddenly, a welcoming message popped up on the screen and at the same time, a stream of resplendent light shone down from the skies and created a gateway that had a ''0'' drawn on its middle.


    ?Money, Power, Fame, Status, Second-life, family, Friends, Endless treasure, whatever your heart desires can be found inside the Monster power but you have to earn it with your prowess. Now enter the Monster tower and begin your adventures?


    As Whittaker stepped into the spatial gateway he felt a tingling sensation all over his body. It wasn''t a horrible feeling and Whittaker didn''t felt troubled by it. He was pretty calm for he knows that he''s being registered as a contestant.


    "Condense my registration number on the index finger," Whittaker thought, and the tingling feeling traveling through his body condensed at his finger. Right after, the Monster tower registration number formed on his index finger. They were multiple tiny dots, nothing impressive.


    He walked straight through the spatial gateway and a few moments later, he arrived at a damp, dark place. There was a giant lowered portcullis behind him, hidden behind the steel bars was something secretive.

 Chapter 159: MT-Floor 0

    "So this is the zero floor where I can customize my looks and become a ruler,"


    Whittaker said while examining this place, and occasionally his eyes flickered with bluish mana dots. This place was incredibly dark, and he had to use Devansha vision to get used to it.


    Suddenly, blue crystals were released from the ground below, and the incredibly dark place got lit up by them. He witnessed a beautiful show of twinkling sapphire light illuminating the surroundings and exclaimed in excitement,


    "Wow, so many Will O wisp!" The crystal-like substance that he is gazing at is called wisps.


    He had read about these beings in the history book. These little blue beings were completely harmless unless they are harmed or angered. They will all turn malevolent if even a single one of them is accidentally crushed by him.


    Jafar, the Monster Tower spirit also appeared when the wisps illuminated the pitch-black floor. As Whittaker looked about, he entered his vision.


    Jafar was wearing the ancient traditional clothing of the Wind Kingdom. He was holding an emerald staff with two orb-like ends in his hand. Since this monster tower was located in the Wind Kingdom, he wore their clothing''s for fun.


    Jafar''s ethereal-like hair gently dangled as he floated in thin air, purple eyes set deep within broad sockets gazed at Whittaker in remembrance.


    "Ehhh, you are the boy that came with Zachary four days ago. Welcome to the tower child. You have already heard of my name and status from Zachary so I won''t bother introducing myself. How about you introduce yourself, starting from your name," he said in a friendly manner.


    The tower spirit welcomes every new contestant into the tower. There are about thousands of new registration every day. Naturally, Jafar alone will not be able to possibly welcome everyone himself. That''s why he had split his spirit into tens of thousands of personas, each tasked with various chores. The one in front of Whittaker was just one of his many personas.


    "My name''s Whittaker but I would like to go by the name of Life Taker inside the tower," Whittaker replied.


    The 0 Floor was the same as the beginning interference of a game where a person can choose his name, customize his avatar, and then enter the game as a player.


    As for why Whittaker wanted to change his name to Life Taker, it''s pretty simple, he wanted to hide his real-world identity from the templars and the followers of the church of light as he was going to use all his powers to climb the tower as fast as he can, and using Blood Drinker wasn''t just a possibility. He will be using his S-ranked blood attribute weapon.


    "Life Taker�� ha, ha taking your looks and strength into account that''s a very funny name but I will call you that." Jafar laughed, he found it amusing �C a young boy who still hasn''t killed a human calling himself Life Taker. "Is there any customization you want with your appearance?" Jafar asked.


    The young boy initially blushed due to embarrassment. He believed that Life Taker is a very threatening name but the tower spirit said otherwise. Right after, he nodded his head in agreement to the latter sentence and said,


    "I would like to change my hair and eye color to black." He activated his legendary skill Puppy eyes and stared at the handsome spirit with starry eyes, "If possible, shorten my hair and increase my height to that of an adult please?"


    He wanted to completely change his appearance so no one will be able to track who he really is. However, his legendary skill didn''t work on Jafar who has existed for thousands of years.


    "No can do. That''ll require a 1000 tower credit for every inch increase in height, and you have 0. At most, I can change your hair and eye color to black. The latter service is free for all, after all." He said.


    The customization of one''s appearance isn''t limited but to change one''s appearance by a wide margin required tower cash, and Whittaker didn''t have any.


    Knowing full well that he can''t change the tower spirit mind nor can he afford to pay the necessary amount, he confirmed to change his hair and eyes black.


    Jafar emerald staff shone eerily and the young boy''s white hair and snowy eyes changed to a pitch-black color, and at the same time, a mirror popped up in front of Whittaker.


    "Take a look at it. If you like what you see then just press confirm on the screen. If you want to revert to your original appearance then just tell me,"


    He stared at his reflection in the mirror. Although the facial features were similar, the change in hair colors have brought a huge change to him. Previously, he looked like the prince of the moon and shared traits with the Devansha peoples but now, his looks didn''t betray the name Life Taker even one bit. Furthermore, he seemed to look like the Scion of Night. Whittaker covered his forehead with some hair. He then pulled out a dark-gold string from his ring and tied up his hairs.


    He was gifted a lot of jewelry and luxurious clothes by his teacher for becoming his teacher. There were a dozen sets of luxurious clothing sets stored in his ring. This dark-gold string ranked 2nd on the rarest jewelry, he had tens of them.


    After he tied up his hairs, he looked handsome, dangerous, and mysterious, all at the same time.


    "This will do just fine," Whittaker said. His looks were distinguished from his real-life appearance, and that was enough for him.


    If possible, however, he wanted to change his facial features somewhat but he first got to earn tower credit.


    "Since you are done with customization, the next step is to enter the Monster tower."


    While saying that, the end of his staff touched the ground, and a teleportation spatial gateway to the first floor of the tower opened up.


    Clink!


    The spirit of the tower does not hold absolute power but he had the power to open an unlimited teleportation portal between floors of the tower.


    However, the only places where the tower spirit could visit was the hundredth and zero floor. He was forbidden from interacting with the contestants by the "Rules" of the tower. The same rules that allows him to find potential RULER that will help him out to clear the mess and kill off the irregularities within the tower.


    "Enter this portal and you will reach somewhere on the first floor of the tower," the tower spirit said.


    Whittaker didn''t move towards the portal. Taking this portal can land him into a death trap, and death in the monster tower came with two plenty.


    A: Whoever dies permanently losses 100 units of mana or 2 units of battle energy from their real body.


    B: Whoever dies can not re-enter the Monster tower for three days.


    Each floor of the tower was a massive piece of land with different establishments, inhabitants, monsters, contestants, and a lot more. If he teleported into an establishment of an enemy race then he''ll waste an entire day fighting.


    Each floor had many Log-in/entrance and log-out/exit portals. Furthermore, to move from the first floor to the second floor a contestant has to clear certain quests and kill the floor boss.


    ''It will take a lot of time to do either one of them but I only have less than 2 months to reach the 31st floor. I might fail to impress Elder if I climb the tower in a normal way. However, there is a way to climb the tower extremely fast. For that, I need to become a ruler, and this floor has one such chance.'' Whittaker thought.


    "What are you waiting for?" Jafar asked with a low smile, knowing full well what this contestant wanted.


    Although not many knew the secrets of the zero floor �C and those who knew didn''t expose the truth to others �C he wasn''t surprised that the young boy would know about the test of this floor. His teacher was a high-ranker, after all.

 Chapter 160: MT-Cloud Bone Wind Drake!

    In the palace library, Whittaker had found secret records about the monster tower. The writer of which was none other than a High-rank Ruler, Elder Zachary. He had read it all and knew about the secrets of Floor 0. This floor has a test to become a Ruler.


    "I want to take the hidden test of this floor to become a Ruler!" Whittaker said.


    To climb the tower faster, he wanted to become a Ruler. A ruler is granted certain privileges inside the tower depending on their rank. For example, if he became a ruler then he can teleport directly to the fifth floor. This will save a lot of his time but first, he needs to complete the test to become one.


    "As you wish," Saying this, Jafar tapped his staff on the ground harshly.


    Tap!


    Magic circles opened up beneath them and they unleashed a suction force that absorbed all the blue crystal, more specifically, wisps.


    The magical circles continuously expanded, spreading all over the ground of Floor-0 �� the floor beneath them instantly lit in bright blue.


    Right after that, the scenery behind Whittaker changed as well, and now he could see the inside of the portcullis.


    It was a dark tunnel that started to lit up with artificial lights as the magical circle expanded, and he could now clearly see the humongous monster flying within.


    An unbelievably powerful entity was swimming peacefully in the air �C its natural habitat. Crowned as the king of the skies, this magical beast was no doubt one of the fastest in the skies than any other beasts. It was enjoying its morning strtch while having a nice swim in the air when it got disturbed by blue light lit up its dark placae.


    WHOOSH! It flapped its massive scaly wing and landed on the ground with a BAM!


    The young boy even felt the teembling of the ground and his heart papilated.


    The Wind Drake also had a look at him. Its emerald slits threateningly glared at him. It sniffed the smell of the human and a satisfied look appeared on its face. It then puffed out hot winds from its nostrils.


    Drip! Drop!


    Water trickled out of its salivated mouth as it thought while glaring at Whittaker''s back with possessive desire,


    ''Finally, a meal has been sent to my door. What a small portion. Ah well, at least I am finally gonna eat something. Let''s just kill it and then devour it in one gulp!''


    Upon seeing the beast with massive wings, Noah notified its stats to Whittaker.


    [Young Cloud Bone Wind Drake


    Description: Created by the tower as a test to find potential Rulers


    Title: Zero Floor Boss


    Skills: Air rush, Swim like fish, Bone spikes, mirror image, tail swipe, wind howl, wind blast, defensive scale, ???, ???


    Warning: The Cloud Bone Wind Drake can utilize the authority of the tower]


    "This is a Young Cloud Bone Wind Drake the tower created for a contestant seven months ago. Facing this monster in a battle and obtaining its core is the hidden test of this floor. Its core contains the authority of the Monster Tower. Devour the core and you will become a Ruler. For your information, that monster had tasted human blood and flesh yet it only had one fulfilling meal in its entire life, and it hasn''t had a meal for the past several months so it will be extra aggressive. The test will begin once the portcullis lifts. If you pass the test then you can directly teleport to the fifth floor of the monster tower. You will obtain some authority and items. Notify me once you are ready!"


    Jafar explained the rules and rewards of the test. The test was very simple and Whittaker just have to kill the humongous Cloud Bone Wind Drake.


    Whittaker licked his lips and turned around to face the portcullis.


    "I am ready," He said these words while showing absolute confidence in taking down this beast.


    Jafar then tapped his staff on the ground once again.


    Tap!


    The tap sound echoed and the portcullis started to rise from the floor, and at the same time, Jafar raised to the ground and vanished into the roof. Furthermore, on various floors of the towers, several high-rank Rulers sat on their thrones and they stared at the live streaming crystal placed on their tables. It was catching everything that was happening in the Zero floor.


    The news of him participating in the Ruler test has spread to every high-ranker. Most of them were disinterested in even checking it out but some did, and what they saw surprised their very soul.


    An Awakened with Dual Weapons!


    "Facing a beast that can utilize a part of the Monster tower authority, Is he a suicidal fool or will he join our ranks by becoming a Ruler?"


    Lillia �C the daughter of the Agni Raja, the ruler of the human fortress established in the 73rd floor �C said with a slight smile on her face.


    "There''s no need for the princess to set her hopes high. Even though he''s a dual awakened, a surprising matter, he''s just a mere E-ranker. Even if he defeats the Wind Drake, he would still lose when it uses the tower authority," Kayn, her porter said confidently.


    Many contestant partners up with porters when they start climbing the tower or during their climb. Porters usually provides support to the contestant and help them in picking up item that monster drops. Porters are humans born in the tower or created by the tower.


    "Hmm, we will see," Lillia said.


    Silent followed her words for their gazes were intently set on the crystal ball which showed the portcullis rising.


    The battle was about to begin!


    The moment the metal bars were raised, a short passage was created. The cloud bone Wind Drake suddenly flapped its wing, producing massive wind waves that shot out from there.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Simultaneously, Whittaker could hear the sound of heavy wind waves shooting straight in the distance.

 Chapter 161: MT-Cloud Bone Wind Drake!

    He brandished his S-rank sword and slashed outwards by putting a lot of strength in his hand, at the same moment, Frost''s spellbook materialized behind his back.


    Bang!


    The sword clashed with the heavy wind waves and they burst up, spreading into the surrounding and blowing past his face while ruffling his hairs tied into a bun into a mess.


    The Dark-Gold thread binding his hair was blown away and his black hairs were set loose and they fell like a waterfall, covering his ears, grazing his shoulders, and reached below his waist.


    "So sexy," the female rankers were instantly enticed and mesmerized by him.


    ''Remember what you read in the book about Monster tower. Anger the wind drake until it losses its minds and forget about its basic principle of killing a prey before devouring it otherwise, I won''t have a chance to go inside its mouth and land a killing blow.''


    Whittaker thought as his grip on the hilt of his black sword with a scarlet line tightened.


    He knew that this would be a tough battle to win as the Wind Drake is a powerful monster created by the Monster tower. Moreover, it wasn''t a magical beast, and common sense can''t be applied to it. Its attacks and spells will be far mysterious than common magical beasts but there''s a way for Whittaker to defeat it. Although he was an E-rank mage, soul, and battle master, his weapons are ranked S and A facing against a Drake. Plus, he has a trump card �C the main reason for his confidence.


    By the time Whittaker successfully deflected the wind waves, the beast had reached near the short passage which was created when the metal bars were raised. It hunched low to step out and then raised its head to tower over Whittaker.


    "I simply can''t control my urge to consume your flesh and bones at all. Children''s meals smell and taste the best, after all. The last one I ate was also a child, it excites me even now when I even think about it," The young Wind Drake said with a blissful expression on its face and drool dripping from its mouth.


    The dragon then turned around to look at the roof, more specifically, at the tower spirit, Jafar. "Jafar, thanks for sending this wonderful meal towards my way,"


    The Cloud Bone Wind Drake suddenly spoke in draconic language but Whittaker was able to understand its words because of the beast tamer skill.


    He felt disgusted at the mere thought of a beast eating human but he knows that whoever it was didn''t really "die" so he got over it pretty instantly.


    "Big Beast! At the end of the day, you will be the one cooked inside a hot pot!" Whittaker taunted the floor boss.


    GAHHH! Staring down at the weak E-ranker, It gave out a terrifying roar.


    The Young Cloud Bone Wind Drake was a wyvern type large beast that crouched on all four. Furthermore, massive bones protruded out of its hind and back limbs, from the middle of its back to the top of its head. Even the edges of its tails and wings were covered in scale-like white bones.


    Its terrifying figure and roar were heart shaking but Whittaker was excited at the thoughts of battling it.


    [Frost Bolts]...[Icy Blasts!]


    Immediately, Whittaker commanded the Frost Spell to hurl out multiple Frost Bolts and Icy blasts towards it.


    The Frost spellbook shone with an icy light and swiftly executed Whittaker''s command by hurling out Frost Bolts and Blowing Icy blasts.


    Seeing the incoming Frost Bolts and thin needles, the Wind Drake hurriedly swung its blade-like tail.


    Whooosh!


    Bam!!!


    The bladed tail crashed many Frost Bolts and swept away the Icy winds before it crashed on the ground, raising dust and generating heavy winds which scattered in the surrounding.


    From behind the clouds of dust, a blue light shone and dozens of icy needles and Frost bolts once again shot towards it.


    They were aimed directly towards its eyes �C a very deadly attack.


    Fuwah! The dragon moved its scaly wings to cover its eyes and face defensively.


    Clank! Clank! Clank!


    The icy needle and Frost bolts crashed on the scaly-wings and shattered.


    Although feeling no pain from the impact, the Wind Drake was still angered at being attacked by its meal.


    WHOOSH! It suddenly raised its tail and swung it at Whittaker.


    The moment the tail was about to crash into him, he used Ghost''s step and moved to the right.


    Bomb! Actually, he was blasted to the right.


    "Ah, he died," the porters exclaimed.


    "Dumbass, look more carefully," The high-rank rulers said.


    The porters watching this scene gasped in surprise. For them, Whittaker had died. For them, it looked as if the tail had pierced through his body, but the high-rankers �C who were fighting experts and watching more carefully �C could see that he had stepped to the right with so much strength and speed that he left behind a freaking afterimage.


    Whittaker was able to avoid the attack smoothly; However, in the very moment, the scales covering the blade-like tail of the wind drake opened up and thin bone needles shot out from there.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! They moved towards Whittaker at a very fast speed and generated wind. The needles pack so much power that they generated wind waves due to friction.


    "What a sly beast!" He thought while looking at the life-threatening needles closing upon him.


    [Frost shield!] Whittaker shouted, and at the same time, the Frost spellbook flickered with an icy blue light.


    A Frost shield was created in front of Whittaker and the bone needles crashed on it.


    The bone needles shattered the shield easily and their speed didn''t decrease one bit. They moved towards Whittaker nearly catching up to him, he slammed his right foot on the ground, and at the same time, he put 5 units of battle energy on the same foot.


    Bam! He was blasted to the right sides and the bone needles stabbed through his afterimage and crashed on the ground. Not all of them through, some changed direction at the last second and followed after him.


    They were like missiles. The bone needles had targeted Whittaker and they chased after him.


    He once again used Ghost step but this time his body was blasted towards the homing bone needles.


    Ting! He powerfully slashed at the needles with his S-ranked sword and they shattered under the powerful impact. The bone needles were so strong that Whittaker felt his hand vibrate as if he had clashed his sword with C-rank metal.


    "Little meal, you are quite a nimble one but what''s the use of running when you are gonna get eaten in the end anyway," The Cloud Bone Wind Dragon couldn''t believe that a weak E-ranker will block its surprise attack but no worries.


    It had been preparing its Ultimate attack when Whittaker was dancing around to dodge the deadly needles.


    Clouds had spread above them, and they morphed into giant bone spikes with sparkling edges.


    GULP! Whittaker, the high-ranked rulers, and the porters, all gulped at the same time.


    Hundreds of spikes rained down from the skies.


    Whittaker''s mouth gaped at the massive area of effect attack but he had no time to marvel at the power of the spell. He turned around but was still able to look at them because of Devansha vision, and he activated the ability of his Azure-sky boots and earring both at the same time to make a run for it.

 Chapter 162: Rain of Bone

    He pressed his feet on the ground, almost immediately, he dashed forwards with a BAM!


    Boom!


    BOOM!


    BOOMMMMM! The spikes crashed on the ground one by one, each missing Whittaker merely by some inches.


    His footstep turned illusory in the vertical eyes of the Wind Drake. His body turned into consecutive a blur, leaving behind afterimages.


    "What! This black-haired boy is faster than most high-ranker. Is he really a E-ranker?"


    The high-rank rulers and their porters saw how each afterimage of Life Taker was pierced by the sharp bone spikes raining down from the skies.


    Bam! He was dashing towards the opposite end of the floor when a spike suddenly landed in front of him and drilled into the ground. Just before he was gonna crash into the thick and huge bone, he instantly used Flash step once to change direction and began to dance in circles as the bone spikes rained down from the skies.


    However, not even a single droplet of the bone rain touched or grazed past him but he has utilized all chances of Flash step, and now can''t use flash step until the next day.


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


    Hung upside down from the ceilings of his throne room, a handsome man with extremely enticing looks had a deep frown on his face. The frown didn''t dampen his looks even one bit. Rather, it made him look more enticing and mysterious. He was an aristocratic of a demonic world, with an empire of victims to suck blood from.


    Blessed by one of the many powers of Night, Lord Vladimir, the hideous ruler of the demon paradise, received bad news from King Xie and had just read it. The reason behind why his face was contorted, as if he is facing constipation.


    "As prophesied, he has come back from death, the Scion of night. In the end, Sin Clair didn''t die and somehow managed to survive our attack. Damn it all!"


    When the child chosen by Night rises, the time of judgment shall begin and all will be judged without any prejudice.


    Those who used the power of night shall rightfully serve his chosen, the Guardian.


    Those who betray their promise will be beheaded; this is the punishment for betrayal.


    Those who follow their words and fulfill their promise to Night and serves his Scion will rise to glory; this is the reward of servitude.


    The devil''s child was alive and that dampened his mood too much. However, the sudden notification about a contestant challenging Monster Tower floor 0 Ruler test slightly interested him, and what he witnessed through the crystal ball has made his day.


    "A wonderful dance. This is the thrilling sensation I have been waiting for. Life Taker... Oh, Life Taker, there''s a lot of life in this world for you to take, a lot of blood for us to drink. I will be waiting for you in this paradise, my young bride. Come and fulfill what I have destined for you. It''s either you drinking Sin Clair blood or him yours~KehKehKeh!" The mysterious man hung upside down on the ceiling of a throne room inside a grandiose palace erected at the center of the world called paradise of demon eerily laughed. His bloodshot eyes and the red wine glass held within his hand classified him as a Vampire.


    Vladimir has decided to make Life Taker his bride and put him against the Scion of Night, Sin Clair.


    However, Vladimir wouldn''t have such a thought in his mind if he knows that Life Taker and Sin Clair were one and the same.


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


    Floor 0!


    Before it even knew it, its prey has successfully evaded the rain of bone spike and was beaming a taunting smile towards its direction.


    "Little meal, you are quite a nimble one but what''s the use of running when you are gonna get eaten in the end anyway," It said as if it''s obvious for Whittaker to get eaten by it.


    "Big beast, I will surely take your life today," Whittaker yelled while brandishing his sword at it in a threatening manner.


    It immediately slammed its limbs on the grounds and flapped its wind and charged at Whittaker.


    This magical beast was extremely fast and nimble within the air so Whittaker couldn''t allow it to fly. He called out the names of the Frost spells with no chanting time, and multiple frost bolts and icy needles rushed towards the Wind Drake.


    Whoosh!


    It flapped its wings powerfully and blasted everything away.


    His magical attacks were all useless for the beast was too powerful, at most, it was slowed by 1 second. Plus, the Wind Drake has taken flight!


    It had entered its territory. The Wind Drake in the air was just like a fish in water!


    With a roar, the beast reached near Whittaker, who used the skill of Azure-sky boots to make a run for it. He left behind many afterimages and was traveling as fast as he could but the beast was chasing after him at a faster speed, rapidly closing the distance between them.


    Thanks to Devansha vision, Whitaker could see what''s happening behind his back, and looking at the bone-scaled beast that''s closing up to him at a rapid speed, Whittaker also used the third effect of his azure-sky earring, "Boost speed" to double his speed.


    He rushed forward at a rapid speed, leaving the Wind Drake and the Frost spellbook in the dust. To increase his speed, he also recalled Blood drinker.


    This floor was very big, bigger than fifty football stadiums combined. So he didn''t face any problem in running away.


    While running away at a crazy speed, he managed to shout "Frost Bolt" and "Frost Spike" at the top of his lungs, and the Frost spellbook absorbed 700+ units of mana from his mana pool. It first shot a Frost Bolt towards the Wind Drank and then thin icy circles started to form around the book as it created a frost magic formation to conjure a Frost Spike. In ten seconds, the magic formation will be completed.


    The dragon roared as it felt an intense ice mana fluctuation behind it. It felt threatened by it; however, it was too far away to do anything about it.


    The best choice was to kill the owner of the class weapon and the spell will die down by itself.

 Chapter 163: MT- Killing Cloud Bone Wind Drake!

    The Wind Drake speed tripled as it utilized the skills Air Rush and Swim Like Fish. It was like an arrow shot from the celestial bow to destroy the Sun.


    In mere seconds, it got close to Whittaker and suddenly, it stopped and powerfully swung its tail at the young boy.


    Seeing the tail descending from above, Whittaker decided to evade the attack sidewards. As the bladed tail came towards him, he ghost-stepped at the right time, however, the bone-needles dawned on him.


    He parried them with his sword but the force behind the needles was too great, and he was blasted back by the force.


    However, it was at this moment when the Frost Bolt released some seconds ago reached right nearby the Wind Drake, while flying mid-air, Whittaker was able to set his eyes on it, and at the same time, the massive bladed tail that was coming straight at him to pierce his guts.


    He instantly whispered Frost Elemental Shift gently and vanished.


    The Drake had already opened its mouth, for it believed that its tail will pierce through the black-haired boy''s stomach and then it will eat him.


    Bam!!


    The tail crashed on the wall of the floor and cracked it. The dragon lifted its tail to its mouth to eat the red, raw meat it had cooked but it was not there. Replacing his meals were mere chunks of white ice that were scattered all over his tail.


    Just when the tail was about to crash on him, Whittaker had shouted Frost Elemental shift to switch places with the Frost bolt which was released some seconds ago.


    In other words, he had seen this attack coming ages ago!


    His thought processes and mental fortitude surprised many high-rank Rulers.


    "Either his mental fortitude is very high or he has the bloodline ability Foresight," A high-rank Ruler said.


    "Yeah. I''m guessing his ancestor is an S-ranked mage," his porter added.


    The high-rank Rulers watching this scene were impressed by what they saw and they continued to look at the crystal ball. They thought that Life Taker is the descendent of an S-rank mage. It''s because only a descendent of an S-rank mage may awaken the bloodline ability "Foresight" but people with such an ability were less and not many in numbers.


    Whittaker had teleported just beside the neck of the Wind Drake. He was nearby the left side of its neck which wasn''t covered by scales.


    Right now, he was standing on top of the beast''s neck, which gazed around several areas in search of him, and It even thought, ''where''s the boy gone to?''... Unaware that he was standing on its neck.


    It was the weakest part of the beast that didn''t have much skin or any scales protecting it, and Whittaker have noticed this weak point and was going to take advantage of it.


    He brandished his S-rank sword in a downward slash and at the same time poured 10 units of battle energy in his hand.


    Spu!


    Spur!


    Spurrrrrttt!


    A red line was drawn on the defenseless neck of the Wind Drake and the line was getting deeper and deeper as blood spurted out of the wound in waves.


    Gahhhhhhh!!!! The Wind Drake roared in pain as Blood Drinker went deeper and deeper into its neck. It could feel the tearing pain taking over its soul and clouding its mind and thought process.


    ''How can a mere kid have so much strength when he''s only at the E-rank. He has even managed to cut my neck that''s harder than C-rank weapons. This doesn''t make sense! I have to make a sacrifice otherwise, I will die,'' The dragon thought in disbelief. It had decided to use the power off authority it has been saving for months.


    "Hahahaha, nice one. Kill it, kill it. This bastard devoured me whole when I challenged it. Took me three whole years to become a ruler."


    "Life Taker, take its life!"


    "Ah~So climatic. This is totally unexpected. I was never hoping for this but got lucky!"


    "Yeah. I could have never thought that a mere E-ranker will deal a heavy blow to a Wind Drake. Even though it''s a young boy, it still got dragon blood in its vein."


    "Hahahaha, Kayn just hand it over to me already, what more you want to see?" the princess, Lillia laughed while kicking her legs out in excitement. She was gonna win a bet she made with Kayn, after all.


    "Don''t count your chickens till they hatch. It still hasn''t used its authority. Once it uses it, the boy will have no chance to survive." The porter replied confidently. Although Whittaker winning this trial will be a massive event and a huge victory for the human race, he didn''t want to see him win.


    Kayn has made a bet with Lillia that Whittaker will lose this trial and die after he gets eaten by the Wind Drake. He had bet his S-ranked beast weapon with Lillia who bet her 7-star equipment.


    Clank! Suddenly, Blood Drinker hit something metallic and got stopped in its track, this in turn surprised Whittaker very much.


    "Eh?" Lillia''s mouth opened in surprise.


    "Look, it''s like I said. The boy won''t stand a chance against its authority!" Kayn exclaimed in excitement while swinging his Scythe in a circle motion to look cool. Yes, the scythe was an S-rank weapon, and he had bet this for the 7-equipment of Lillia.


    Whittaker was smiling thinking that victory was here but suddenly his smile deflated. No matter how much strength he put behind his hand, the sword remained unmoving, it didn''t move a single inch ahead.


    The Wind Drake has used its authority to create an ivory Defensive Scale to block the advancement of Whittaker''s weapon.


    "Haaaaaaa!" He shouted and pressed his entire weight on the sword stuck inside the neck of the Wind Drake, and at the same time, he poured as much battle energy he can into the attribute line to activate the skill,


    ?Three-Clawed blood slash!?


    Blood Drinker �C still pierced into the drake necks �C fired out three streaks of Scarlet lights shaped like a claw which crashed into the ivory dragon scale and it shattered; However, the blood claw didn''t dissipate and advanced deeper into the neck.


    The claw-like Scarlet light drilled deeper and was threatening to rip its neck apart!


    The Cloud Bone Wind Drake eyes dilated as fear crept up to its heart and soul. It finally decided to use the authority of the tower without limitation.


    Ting! Suddenly, the scarlet lights wrecking insides its massive neck got crushed into pieces by a massive force and then got annihilated. The same forced slammed into Blood Drinker and pushed it out of its neck.


    The tides of the battle were turned in a single second.


    Whittaker, who was standing on the back of its neck, was forced to take three steps back.


    He nearly lost his footing there but held on after doing a flip and grabbing one of the many cloud bone protruding out of its back.


    "What?" This surprised Whittaker, once again but he instantly understood what has happened as the same force crashed on his body and blasted him away.


    60/100


    In a single surprise attack, he lost 40 HP, and blood covered him from head to toe.


    20/100


    The speed at which he was blasted away was very fast. His body moved past the 9-meter long and 5-meter wide Frost spike with sharp edges which stormed in a single trajectory of his choosing and he crashed on the ground with a Bam. After the initial impact, due to inertia his body rolled like a football �C Blood Drinker still clutched in his hand.


    As he was spinning, Whittaker mustered up whatever willpower he could to remain slightly clear-headed and he stabbed his S-ranked sword on the ground as hard as he could. His sword pierced into the ground yet he still didn''t halt.


    Screech! A ten-meter long gash was made on the ground before Whittaker stopped. He felt pain all over his body and dropped to his knees. He felt as if he could no longer move.


    "Cough!" He spurted out a mouthful of blood which sprayed on his chin, shirt, and the ground. He frowned and shivered because of the pain spreading throughout his body and also beamed a smile while looking at the scene in which a massive Frost Spike stabbing into the drake.


    ---------


    Ten-second has passed some seconds ago. The Frost spellbook has finalized the deal, and it had shot out a giant ice spike towards the Wind Drake when it blasted Whitaker away.


    --------


    The Wind Drake noticed the Frost Spike storming towards It when it was merely a very short distance away, and It wanted to dodge it, but it was already too late.


    "GAHHHHHHH! DAMN YOU, LITTLE BRAT!"


    Everything happened too suddenly, and the Wind Drake wasn''t able to release enough pressure of the authority to stop the massive Frost Spike, and its sharp edges stabbed in the back of the Drake.


    Gahhhhhhhhhhh! The Wind Drake shouted in pain as Its wings got impaled by the spike which still pushed forward.

 Chapter 164: Defy!

    "COUHHHH!!!!" The cloud bone Wind Drake sputtered a waterfall of blood from its mouth as it got hurled backward by the Frost Spike.


    BAM! It crashed on the wall. Furthermore, the Frost Spike crushed its wings and stabbed into its body.


    "Gahhhh!"


    Its lungs got pierced by the sharp edges which poured out coldness poison into its body. The Dragon shivered violently as it was suffering from a deadly type of cold poison that could paralyze C-ranker for life if they get inflicted by it. The coldness from its lungs spread all over its body, causing it to lose bodily function, one by one.


    Even though its wings got crushed and its body is impaled by the Frost Spike, the Drake still has the core of authority in its head. Using the power of authority and its sharp claws, the Wind Drake pulled out the Frost Spike in one go.


    PUCHIIIIII! Blood poured out like massive waves of the ocean and created a small pool on the ground below. The frost spike, on the other hand, crashed on the ground with a BAM.


    The tower authority is the reason why contestants revive on the respawn statue whenever they die inside the tower. By using the same power of monster tower authority, it kept itself alive.


    "How dare a weak human like you crush my pride during our fight! Not even a god can save you now, Grrr!!" The Wind Drake growled in anger, and it began running on all four towards Whittaker with a hideous expression.


    The Wings of the Drake are considered as their pride, just like how the family jewels are the most precious treasure for a man. Its anger was justified.


    The Rulers and their porter witnessed how the Drake didn''t die even after the Frost Spike ravaged its internal organs, and now step by step it moved towards Whittaker who was recovering from his massive injuries. Soon after, it started to rush towards Whittaker with a mouth opened wide enough to swallow him whole.


    Whittaker, on the other hand, felt his body being pressed under increasing pressure. The pressure seemed to come from all sides and he felt as if a humongous block of stone was placed on his back.


    It was using the power of authority to stop Whittaker from moving and it was also planning to swallow him alive in a single bite.


    ''It still hasn''t died, it''s just like what I read in his records about monster tower. The only way to kill it is to rip out the authority core in its head.'' Whittaker thought while recalling both his weapons into his soul space.


    It seems like he had given up and wanted the Wind Drake to end his life.


    The authority core was safeguarded by the cloud horn on its head. The cloud horn was the hardest part of the Wind Drake, it was its reverse scale. From the outside, Whittaker couldn''t destroy its reverse scale unless he''s willing to expose his Devansha bloodline but he can easily reach the core from inside its mouth.


    The beast had decided to swallow him alive but there was no a single hint on his worry; Rather, he was beaming his signature smile for this is the moment he has been waiting for.


    He knew that high-ranked might be watching him. This is the reason why he still hasn''t gone all out.


    The Devansha imperial family one day vanish mysteriously, no one knows why nor were there any records about that event.


    From his words, Grey seemed seriously disturbed at finding out that he possess Devansha blood and has awakened Devansha vision. It was as if he''ll face a deadly situation if someone finds out that he has blue blood running in his veins.


    He connected these two pieces of information and concluded that exposing his bloodline to others might bring serious trouble on his head. For now, only Elder Zachary and Nina knew about his bloodline, and he wanted to keep it that way until he finds out the truth of his imperial clan''s disappearance.


    For these reasons, he hasn''t utilized Defy or Ice Elemental Avatar until now but no one will be able to see what''s happening when he''s inside the beast''s mouth. That will be the best time to go all out.


    After he recited the conclusion he came up with in the past in his mind while in the middle of the battle, Whittaker threw a casual glance and a beaming smile in the face of the drake that has stepped up to him and opened its mouth wide.


    Its open mouth crashed on the ground and swallowed the black-haired boy whole with the rocky ground. It was at this moment when he used all of his bloodline abilities at the same time.


    ZOOM!


    A tremendous blast of power erupted outwards of Whittaker''s body and he was surrounded by a thin icy misty that fought off the pressure of authority for him. He also felt a massive increase in his energy that was restoring all his wounds and buffing up his natural recovery rate.


    He then recalled Blood Drinker and utilized Defy, and at the same time, a droning sound rang out as soul force, battle energy and mana moved into his hand.


    The combination of these three resulted in an overbearing energy. He seemed to tremble and shake as an overbearing power that can decide life and death, filled up his body and put a strain on him.


    It was at this moment, the Wind Drake realized it fucked up and has put itself in a deadly crisis by eating its meal without first killing it, and it shouted in fear and anger.


    "GAHHHHHHH! DAMN YOU, LITTLE BRAT! DON''T YOU DARE DO WHATEVER THE HECK YOU ARE PLANNING DOING!"


    Ignoring the cries of the loser, Whittaker raised the sword towards the upper part of its mouth. He then swung it vertically as though he wanted to split the seas and shatter the towering mountain whose peak thrust to the clouded night skies.


    "Heaven Defying Six Clawed Wolf Slash!"


    Three Scarlet beams of light then shot out from his sword, and at the same time, three Icy beams of light shot out from the sword of his Ice elemental avatar, these six beams of light combined and rushed forward, blasting open the beast mouth from the inside.


    WHOOSH! The High-rankers and porter were looking closely at their crystal ball in hopes of seeing a miracle, then they saw the beast bursting into pieces and a Scarlet Icy light shooting towards the heaven, as their eyes opened wide in surprise and awe, they saw the image of a Fenrir within the beam of Scarlet Icy light.


    Before Fenrir crash on the roof and destroy the entire Floor-0, Jafar who was watching everything from inside the roof suddenly appeared to protect the floor from being destroyed.


    His hairs were fluttering in the air as he looked towards the massive amount of three types of energy condensed into the devourer of God, Fenrir and it was traveling right at him. However, he seemed unworried and unhurried.


    His staff shone with resplendent light as he said the words Spatial Lock, and Fenrir stopped in its track the very moment he said, Space Lock. It was as if a massive force has hindered and locked it in space. No matter how hard the Beast tried it could not escape the tight grasp which viciously clutched it.


    Spatial wrap! A wide gap opened up in space and swallowed It whole, teleporting It to who knows where but wherever it was, got blasted into a massive crater as if a celestial titan descending from the heaven has landed feet first on that area.


    ?Congratulations! The Guardian has slain Cloud Bone Wind Drake!!?

 Chapter 165: Ultimate Spell: Ice Rain

    Congratulations! The Guardian has slain Cloud Bone Wind Drake. A beast created by augmenting Elemental Spirits, Magical Beast, and the authority of tower?


    ?The Guardian has gained 0 XP, for the beast lacks essence of life.?


    The magical beast''s with a massively injured body upper body and no mouth or face has met its end at the hands of a young boy. It didn''t even have the time to utter its dying cry before it''s face and head was blasted into smithereens by Whittaker.


    A second after It dropped dead to the ground, blood gushed out of its opened head formed a small pool, and Whittaker gracefully stepped out of the hole in its head with a shiny black core in his hand and the notification of Noah ringing in his mind.


    The item in his hand was the [Core Of Authority], and his mind was filled with questions.


    "Noah, can you explain to me more clearly, why I didn''t receive XP, and what does the essence of life have to do with me gaining XP from killing others, and why do high-rank beasts give more XP than low-rank ones?" Whittaker was full of questions. At first, he didn''t know what XP of the night will''s system even meant but with time he believed that it was something omnipotent and will help him level up to become stronger; However, now a new question popped up making him think otherwise.


    ?It''s an extensive topic but Noah will try to clarify it in simple words. When Noah tried to absorb the life essence of the Cloud Bome Wind Drake, a mysterious force obstructed me and took the life essence away. From Noah''s calculation, it can only be the tower spirit, Jafar. As the guardian already knows every living being has the essence of life in them, when they die, Noah absorbs their essence of life. An F-rank beast gives 100 essence of life. An E-rank beast gives 200 essence of life. A D-rank beast gives 300 essence of life. A C-rank beast gives 1000-2000 essence of life, and so on.


    ?Noah has a spell matrix that can absorb the essence of life. When the Guardia kills someone, Noah converts the essence of life into experience. The Guardian absorbs this energy to increase his strength when he increases his stats. As the Guardian has the bloodline of Night �C Night encompasses all �C he has no problem in using the life essence of other living beings to increase his strength. While Guardian already knows why he obtains XP and reward from quest.?


    Noah has explained why he receives rewards and XP from quests a long time ago. He knows that he is inheriting the inheritance of a being called Night. Every time he completes a quest, he is actually completing an inheritance trials, and the quests rewards are a part of Night''s inheritance. The inheritance is handed over to him in the form of items, skills, knowledge, and power.


    Hearing his words, Whittaker came to know about how the system works, and the truth behind XP points, and also a truth about his Night''s bloodline hidden in plain sight truth. He also came to a conclusion that the mystical matrix inside the pendant might be a reason behind the attack years ago the day he was born.


    This pretty much sums it up but he didn''t know who Night''s is. At least the name of Devansha, the great still echoes around the corners of the awakened continent but Whittaker has never heard anyone mentioning about an expert called Night.


    ''Just who is he?'' Whittaker thought as he confidently strides out of the dragon''s head and lets it Blood Drink absorb all its blood.


    Although Jafar has stopped him from absorbing the essence of life, he thankfully didn''t stop his weapon from absorbing the draconic blood of the Cloud Bone Wind Drake.


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


    "He killed it," Lillia and Kayn muttered in surprise when they saw Its mouth bursting and sprawling a mess of brain juices, organs, blood, and bonds on the floor.


    "Life Taker, killed it!" Lillia exclaimed in happiness and stared at Kayn''s S-ranked weapon. "Hand it over!"


    "Cough~Princess, please let it be. I will serve you like a slave. Message your feet and shoulder whenever you want me. Wake up in the middle of the night to buy whatever you demand. Lastly, I''ll never be mean to you. Please let me keep it!" Kayn said, teary eyes at the thought of his sad future. However, he was more afraid of losing his precious S-ranked weapon.


    It was an heirloom of his family!


    "Nope! Once I have the heirloom of your family in my hand then you will follow my commands unconditionally. I won''t be killing a white chicken that produces golden eggs just because of a momentary greed!" Her tone when she said this was icy cold. It was a command, her words will not be taken back no matter what Kayn does.


    Kayn regretfully handed over his weapon and her petite hands held it carefully. ''Reaper, from now on, I''m your master!'' She said before storing it in her spatial hairpin.


    Right after, a holographic screen opened in front of her and she typed a message, and then she pressed enter.


    "Princess, what are you doing?" Kayn asked mystified by her actions. ''Why did she send suck a message to Sem?'' He thought.


    "Just lending a Lil helping hand to the boy who won me an S-ranked weapon," Lillia replied with a wide grin on her face.


    Hearing her words, Kayn face contorted but he hid his expression with a beaming smile on his face. Lillia''s words hit him right where it hurts the most. Kayn felt as if she had purposely poured salt on his wounds but what can he do about it? He wasn''t strong enough to fight her, especially because he had lost his S-ranked weapon to her.


    Now, he could only do his best to please her, in hopes of reclaiming his family heirloom.

 Chapter 166: Rewards

    In the world of flame sprites, ruled by Lord Agni, a young boy and a young girl moved side by side and returned to the human fortress established in that world.


    The young boy with golden hair and long ears suddenly spat out a dumbfounded chuckle from his mouth.


    "What happened?" The young girl with cat ears asked.


    "Let''s head to the lower floors," Sem said before he headed towards the teleporter established at the very start of the floor he was in.


    "Ehh, just what are you trying to accomplish by getting to the bottom level? Sem, Sem, Please say something!" She asked, her ears perked up due to curiosity.


    "An E-ranked newbie has cleared the Ruler test of the Zero floor and has become a low-rank Ruler with the authority of gravity. I am interested in meeting him. Furthermore, there are high-ranker killing newbies on the lower floor, and I received a quest from Jafar to teach them a lesson." Sem replied while heading towards the portal inside the fortress which connects to the 37th floor of the Monster tower.


    "What? A newbie cleared the test on the first floor? Is this for real????" Neko shouted in disbelief while following behind him.


    "Yes! Lillia personally watched and confirmed it and sent the recording of the video to me." Sem replied.


    Lillia is Sem''s eldest sister and also the darling of their family.


    "Finally, a monster like Darkin has come to the tower but he belongs to our human race! Ah, just the thought of them fighting is making me feel climatic." A playful look appeared in her eyes.


    A battle between Life Taker and Darkin was what Neko was anticipating in excitement.


    -----------


    "How peculiar... Maybe he has a unique body or spell that can absorb the essence of life. I wonder what exactly you will bring to the tower child", Jafar said inwardly as he descended and landed right before Whittaker.


    Though Jafar gazed at the contestant with calm eyes, deep down inside he was affected by what happened and his heart was in turmoil. Why was a E-ranker able to release such a powerful attack? What kind of ability he has to absorb the essence of life from others. Does he not fear or face the repercussion of such actions? It''s a well-known fact that each living has a unique essence of life, and others can''t absorb it even if they have a method to otherwise they will start breaking down.


    Absorbing other''s essence of life is like injecting the genes of animals into a human body or feeding poison to a healthy baby.


    "Umm, why are you not allowing me to absorb their essence of life?" Whittaker inquired confidently. He was certain that Noah''s existence has not been exposed.


    "Boy, I don''t know how you were able to but I can''t allow you to absorb the essence of life from the beasts or humans you kill in this tower as it would cause massive unrest to the rest of the inhabitants of the tower. The essence of life is what sustains this tower and keep it functioning, and I am tasked to protect it. As the spirit of the tower, I must maintain the rules set by the creator and I hope that you will promise and won''t absorb the essence of life willfully otherwise, I can''t allow you to enter this tower and you will have to return the authority core." Jafar stated as he calmly watched the young boy who was pondering on his words with a thoughtful look on his face.


    When a person dies in the tower, the tower absorbs their essence of life and respawn them nearby the respawn statue by using the same essence of life. But this won''t be possible if Whittaker absorbs their essence of life. They would really "die".


    ''Noah, is it possible to not absorb the essence of life from the beings that I kill in the tower?'' Whittaker questioned while gazing at the spirit silently.


    ?Yes, I can make it a possibility. As long as the Guardian is in the tower, Noah will make sure to deactivate the spell matrix so that trouble won''t come your way? Noah replied internally.


    "Alright, I promise to not absorb the essence of life from others. Now, can I get my rewards?" Whittaker excitedly said while his grip on the core of authority tightened.


    "Well, I suppose I''ll just have to take your word for it, young man. As for your second question, yes you can and the reward is in the corpse of the Wind Drake. I believe there''s no need for me to tell you what they are, you can check it out yourself, honored Ruler. " He said majestically before performing a curt bow.


    Whittaker collected the loots from the corpse of the 0-floor boss, Cloud Bone Wind Drake with a beaming smile on his face. Whereas his S-ranked sword, Blood Drinker released a stronger suction force to absorb the blood of the dead beast faster than before.


    The first loot he got was a bone shining brightly in green. It was covered in powerful magical rune designs.


    [Emerald sky bone


    Description: An epic crafting material with wind type magical rune designs inscribed on it.


    Effect: A material necessary in creating elemental Dragonfly Wings.]


    "Noah, what other materials do I need to craft the wings?" Whittaker asked before cleaning the blood off this precious crafting material and storing it in his spatial treasure.


    ?The Guardian needs 11 more wings bone Fragments from flame, wind, light, or space elemental dragon-type creature before you will be able to craft it with the help of a forger? Noah replied.


    Inscriptionists weren''t necessary as the bones were already decorated with magical rune designs, and only a forger was needed to smelt the bones and combine them into a single wing type equipment.


    Right after, Whittaker picked up another loot dropped in the middle of the blood puddle he created by slaughtering the massive beast.

 Chapter 167: Ultimate: Rain of spike

    ?Air Swift rune (Mid-level)


    Description: A rune which can be in-laid in equipment slots


    Requirments: Wings Type Equipment


    Nature: Support type


    Cast time: Instant


    Effect: Condense forth a massive amount of mana or battle energy on the wings. Each time the wings flap, the energies will produce a burst hurling Guardian ahead with impressive speed. Useable (1/2) times a day?


    This was the ability that the Wind Drake used to catch up to Whittaker. Since it has used it once, Whittaker could only use it one more time today but by tomorrow the rune will recharge and he would be able to use this rune twice.


    However, he has no wing type equipments but he believed that he will be able to use it soon as he had decided to purchase wings from the universal store after returning to Zachary palace.


    That''s all the treasure he found from the beast. The rune and crafting material weren''t the real reward, however, it was the ability just created by blood drinker.


    Blood Drinker has finished feasting upon the scrumptious blood of the Cloud Bone Wind Drake, and Noah notified Whittaker that the passive skill duplication jas taken effect.


    ?Passive Skill Activated: Skill Duplication?


    ?Learnt Skills: Blood spike slash?


    ?Blood spikes slash (rankless)


    Cost: 20-50-100 battle energy


    Cast time: Instant-2sec-5sec


    Effect: The selected amount of battle energy is absorbed from the Guardian''s battle core, and it will rush into the blood attribute line of the sword, blood drinker. Once you slash outwards, streaks of scarlet lights shaped like thin and sharp spikes will shot out from the sword effectively putting an end to all life in its path. The damage, range, piercing effect, speed, and size of the skill depends on the amount of battle used?


    ''What an interesting skill,'' he thought and suddenly started laughing.


    "Hahahahaha!"


    Whittaker spat out a dumbfounded chuckle as the mana in the surrounding started to rush towards him, more specifically, his Frost spellbook that floated in front of his eyes. He already knew that this was gonna happen but the same can''t be said for the tower spirit and those watching him.


    Their attention focused on the young man.


    ''Hmm, the Ruined King weapons absorbs blood from others to strengthen himself while this boy, his weapons absorbs blood from others to create or improve skills. This... He is in a world of trouble.'' Every high-ranker and thier porters had the same thought in their head.


    Whittaker was in a world of trouble!


    This time the Frost spellbook wasn''t creating a spell page, all the mana on the surrounding rushed into the Frost spike spell page to upgrade it into something else, something new, a spell far better than its current version.


    Soon after, under the beaming smile and excited eyes of Whittaker who was surprised to know that skills can also be upgraded because of skill duplication, the Frost spike spell page got upgraded into a pristine page glowing in an icy aura. The page showed a blizzard with dangerous spikes within.


    [Guardian spell Frost Spike has been upgraded: Frost Spike? Frost spikes storm]


    [Frost spike storm (Rankless)


    Cast time: Instant


    Cost: Mp


    EFFECT: Once the guardian casts this spell, a massive storm of frosty spikes will rain down over the targeted foes. The longer the Frost spellbook chant the spell, the larger the Frost cloud above the target area is; the more mana will be absorbed from the mana pool. Frost clouds summons frozen spikes that rain down destruction on your foes.


    Guidance: This spell can be particularly devastating when woven with the spell, "Frost morphing". Using this spell, the guardian will be able to change the structure of frost spikes raining down from the Frost cloud into Frost swords, blades, dagger, or even magical beasts such as dragon?


    "When I use this spell then my enemies will be shred into pieces," Whittaker exclaimed in glee before he recalled both his Class weapons into the soul space.


    Hearing his words, Jafar felt a chill rising up on his spine. This brat might become the second Zachary, and destroy my precious floor, he thought and instantly shook his head to forget that bad memory.


    "Okay Ruler Life Taker, you have gained the rights to teleport to the entrance of floor-1 to floor-10 as you wish. But before you can utilize this right start, first please consume the core and become one with it," Jafar said as he pointed his staff at the small round core in Whittaker''s hand.


    According to Noah''s notification, the core will take three days to absorb. Normally, it would have taken seven days even for a powerful existence but Whittaker had devansha bloodline. That''s why he can absorb it in less than half the time.


    "See ya later," Whittaker said before turning around to leave the Moster tower through the exit portal of floor-0 which is the "Log Out button".


    "Wait, I have something for you," Jafar said as he pulled out a small orb seemingly out of nowhere and allowed it to float over towards Whittaker.


    "What''s this?" Whittaker asked curiously even though Noah has explained everything about it to him.


    "That is a new product, an artificial guide, something like a spatial ring you are familiar with but with several other functions. It''s quite a nifty device that has been given to every Ruler. Items within the tower can be stored in it and only you have access to it, others can''t see or touch it unless they are rulers. It also has several more useful functions. Though one of the most important features would be the translator and the chat group. Once you link with it, AG will automatically translate any language to your own. Likewise, you will be connected to the chat group of rulers, there I publish missions, completing which can reward you a free pass to some floors. So, if you''d like, just drop a Lil bit of blood from your finger to link with it whenever you want." Jafar explained.


    In the records of monster tower which he had read, there was no mention of this thing. This was new stuff, after all.


    "Thanks for explaining tower spirit. I''ll link with it afterward," He said before returning back to the awakened continent, and he then used a spatial scroll to teleport back to Zachary''s palace.

 Chapter 168: Sync with Authority core

    Later the same day, the young snowy haired boy decided to bound with AG and the authority core of the monster tower.


    Quickly doing as he was explained; Whittaker dropped a bit of his blood on the small dark orb, and he became slightly amused as the advance guide instantly lit up brightly before turning back its dull dark color; however, now he could feel that he shared a spiritual connection with the orb.


    This was a treasure that utilized soul force to work!


    "I''m guessing that I got to pour soul force to obtain information of how it works." Whittaker internally thought as he had come in contact with spiritual connection many times, and knew the way they work.


    Without any further adieu, he began to pour his soul force into the small orb. By the way, all the battle energy and soul force he has spent in the monster tower was refunded to him when he logged out. As his soul force was consumed by the spiritual connection, waves of information began to be passed over to him.


    ?The advanced guide is an impressive high-tech magic construct created by the tower spirit. It''s still in the beta testing phase, and hence is only available to the rulers. Currently, it offers the following services?


    ?A: Service of Porter: The advance guide will automatically absorb loots for monsters that its owner kills. The loot shall be directly transported to the synced bank of the universal store or can be withdrawn from the limited storage of the advanced guide. Once the limit is breached, the loot will be deposited to the bank of the universal store.


    ?B: Monster Tower Ruler Hub: Connects a Ruler to the Ruler chat group where Jafar and other High-rank rulers place their missions for low-rank and intermediate-rank ruler. By completing the missions, a ruler gets rewards such as a free pass to a certain floor of the tower?


    ?C: Class Weapon Guard: By saying the words ''invisible mode activate'' the owner class weapon will be obscured from sight and if you say ''visible mode activate'' the class weapon will appear again?


    These were the perks the advance guide allocated to the rulers. Although it said it''s in a beta testing phase, one could easily determine that once it''s released to the normal public the advance guide will lack a lot of services when compared to the advance guide handed over to the Rulers.


    In simpler words, the Rulers were given the privilege to have early access to advance guide, and at the same time, enjoy its maximum services. They have been helping the tower and easing Jafar''s workload, after all, that''s why they were given this gift by Jafar, himself.


    "Wow... The third service is the best one", Whittaker said aloud obviously impressed with the entire high-tech magic construct. However, the third service was the most impressive.


    In his fight against the Cloud Bone Wind Drake, Whittaker had nearly faced the trouble of having his Frost spell book attacked but once the book is invisible, no one without mystical eye ability will be able to attack his class weapon directly.


    Although the frost spellbook was an A-rank weapon and could only be destroyed by an S-ranked attack, its spell can still be disturbed during chanting time but the third service of the advance guide was really helpful in this regard.


    Whittaker let it as it is, and pulled out the authority core from his rankless ring of genesis. It will take three days to absorb it, and he will be studying until Friday, so checking out the second and first service of the advance guide will have to wait until next Friday.


    ?MT-Authority core of gravity (Low-rank)


    Rights!


    1: Entitles the user as a low-rank Ruler of the monster tower


    2: Grants the user to directly teleport to the entrance of floors 1 to ten. Can only be utilized once.


    3: Grants the right to control the gravity inside the monster tower floors. The user can externally and internally control gravity. Gravity control depends on the Ruler''s ranking and the spiritual connection shared with the tower?


    ?It will take the guardian around 3 days to absorb it. The core can be absorbed in the same way as absorbing a magical beast core? Noah notified.


    "The beast must have used the ability to control gravity internally to harden its blood into a crystal-like scale that blocked my sword. That was probably its life-saving trump card!" Whittaker determined after he read the details of the authority core. "I will also be able to create scales under my skin after I master controlling gravity. Sadly, it only works inside the tower but it''s all good. The tower is filled with unlimited treasures, after all,"


    Whittaker thought before placing the MT-Authority core of gravity in his mouth. It instantly melted into sticky liquid metal. A yucky metallic taste assaulted his taste buds, and he wanted to puke his guts out so badly but he endured it with gritted teeth.


    The liquid metal was cold, and it chilled him to the bones but in a way that made it possible for him to breathe. His fingers twitched furiously, blood in his veins flowed erratically, as the child permeated in every corner of his body, putting an unbearably amount of strain on his second.


    Every second was challenging the limits of his body and mental fortitude but his mind didn''t give up, and he then mustered up whatever willpower he could to utilize soul force and direct the liquid metal to the pit of his stomach, right beside his battle core.


    Under the guidance of the soul force, the sticky liquid metal seeped right into the center of his stomach. Right then, he pressurized the sticky liquid with every unit of his soul force.


    After three days that felt like an eternity to Whittaker, with difficulty he was finally able to successfully condense the authority back to its original form. Normally, it takes a harsher, more painful, and long process to combine with the authority but due to his bloodline, Whittaker was able to succeed in three days. The pain he suffered could not be compared to some others in both ways.


    ?Congratulation! The guardian has combined with the tower authority core and gained the rights of the ruler and the power to control gravity in the tower.? Noah notified.

 Chapter 169: Learning Formation!

    After finishing his intense battle with the authority core, his three holidays were used up just like that and Whittaker will not able to participate or climb the Monster tower until the next Friday. Although he had wasted his three holidays in becoming one with the authority core, the benefits of being titled a ruler were much better. He felt satisfied just by thinking about them.


    Only a ruler can go instantly go and down the floors of the monster tower. However, there were two conditions. First, they must have reached and explored that floor. Secondly, they have to use the entrance to teleport to any floor they have visited. Moreover, every ruler possesses a cheat-like ability and can crush a normal contestant pretty easily.


    ''Furthermore, as a low-rank ruler, I don''t need to climb the tower one floor at a time. I can directly enter floor-10 from floor-0. That''s gonna save about ten days of my life. Now, I am just 21 floor away from earning the key to the palace treasure and have 7 weeks left!" Whittaker internally exclaimed in glee. Right after, he closed his eyes to try to utilize the authority in real life but no matter what he did, nothing happened. "It probably only works in the monster tower as stated in the records of monster tower otherwise it would have been cool to use gravity magic in real life!"


    He was just trying to confirm whether he can use gravity in real life or not, and he was met with slight disappointment.


    He then laid down on the bed. Exhausted and tired, he fell asleep on his bed without a care in the world.


    Three days passed by. During the past three days, Whittaker has impressed his teacher so much that his teacher has no choice but to teach him about formation. Before Zachary was lecturing only about inscription to his students but when he learned that he can already create an intermediate-level talisman he considered giving him lectures about formation. Lest he be the reason behind the wastage of the young boy''s potential.


    He needed to explain to the boy how formations were created and worked. After all, it would be a first time learning formation for his young student.


    "The creation of formation depends solely upon its fundamentals. Without mastering the fundamentals of formation, one can never hope of creating a formation. There are three fundamentals of formation. The first step to become a formation master is being proficient as an inscriptionist master. The second is to memorize a lot of magical rune designs. The third and the most important is positioning the formation items in such a way that it will become an array once activated. In more simpler words, a barrier that will entrap your enemies inside."


    "You, young friend, are proficient in the first two fundamentals of formation creation, and are just one last step away from becoming a formation master, and today, we will be talking about it!"


    An old man wearing grey old clothes jovially began to explain the fundamentals of formation to a young snowy-haired boy.


    Whittaker listened attentively and realized why not many show any interest in becoming a formation master. First of all, it''s very hard to become a formation master as a person needs to be at least proficient in drawing inscriptions and have had memorized a lot of magical rune designs. Secondly, they also need to learn about positioning formation items to set up a formation. Lastly, they need to be extremely "Rich" to buy formation items.


    "Positioning is a term formation master uses to define the various ways formation items can be placed on the ground, air, water, and other places to create a sync line between them." Elder Zachary began to explain the third fundamental of formations to Whittaker.


    Just like that, three hours passed by. In the past three hours, he has explained a bunch of stuff to Whittaker. Such as why formation items were considered a necessity for formation masters although it was not really necessary.


    Without formation items, it''s very hard to create a formation. Formation items are used to reduce the calculation, inscribing, and setting time.


    For example, formation items have a ready-made magical rune design inscribed on them which is hard to erase by anyone other than their owners. In a battle, Whittaker just need to inflate the formation items with mana or other energy, and bam, the sync lines will link the formation items and they will be activated to create a barrier or array which will encompass him or his enemies in a defensive or offensive formation, respectively.


    But, If he manually create a formation in a battle, he will need to calculate, manually design magical rune design on the ground whilst fighting his enemy and hoping that the enemy is a person with -999 IQ and won''t throw dirt over his magical rune design to disturb the flow of mana or cut the synclines which sync various magical rune designs to form a formation.


    "Without the sync lines, a formation can not be created. Once the sync lines are formed, the formation items will create a formation. Once more than 50% of the sync lines are cut off then the formation will instantly become nulled, more specifically, the formation will be destroyed. Below 50%, and the formation will lose its strength. Do you get it?" He asked.


    "Yes!" Whittaker nodded in reply. It was too easy to understand for him. "But I would still like to read some books on formation. Elder, are there books on formation in the library? If so, where are they placed?"


    One must never be too overconfident. That''s why he wanted to research and study formation by himself too. Plus, Formation has gained his interest, and Whittaker was ready to invest his time in it.


    "There are a bunch of them jumbled together in the library. You will probably have to ask Goguard for help to look for them." Elder Zachary replied. He was happy that his student wasn''t a lazy type, and that his sacrifice wasn''t gonna go down in a drain even after he dies.


    For Whittaker, it was too easy to become a formation master. However, it wasn''t easy for others to become one. He was lucky enough to have Zachary as his teacher and access to Zachary''s palace library with tons of books on formation but the same can''t be said for the others. Even though there exist some books on formations in the kingdom''s libraries, the information on them was sparse. They only spoke of the first two fundamentals. As for the third one which explained how one could set up a formation and how one activated it�� there wasn''t any information at all.


    Just looking at the first two fundamentals and the amount needed to be invested to learn them would cause many to turn around from this profession. Lastly, everyone knows that they will have to become the student of a formation master if they want to learn about the third fundamental. That''s the reason why there barely are any youngsters interested in becoming a formation master.


    "From today on, I will be explaining to you about 1-star to 7-star formation all in the same lectures. It won''t be a hard task to understand it since you have already understood everything about inscriptionist and memorized hundreds of magical rune designs of various grades." Elder Zachary said to Whittaker before the lecture ended.


    "Okay. Elder, I will be heading to the library for some self-study. Please tell that to my elder sister, and tell her to take my lunch there. See ya tomorrow and take care of your health." Whittaker said his piece and went away, leaving the old man behind.


    He was perplexed when he saw Elder Zachry''s complex but wasn''t too worried. As his teacher was an almighty figure in his heart, after all.


    Sadly, the poor boy didn''t know that the time his teacher had left to enjoy the pleasure of the mortal world was lessened. That too because Zachary tried to protect his information from being revealed to beings from another world.


    "Cough, cough, cough..." Elder Zachary began to cough violently after Whittaker went away.


    Fresh black blood dyed his clothes, and some of it trickled down the corner of his mouth.


    "My end is near," he said while calmly looking at the palm of his right hand. It was dyed in black blood and was trying to erode his skin but a mana shield coated it.


    During the war of the two kingdoms against Abaddon and his minions called Abaddon shaman and savages, he was cursed very badly. The curse was no less than a poison that has been corroding his body ever since but he remained alive by using the treasured pen of the tenth King of Death and then connecting his life with the 10-star reality-management formation.


    However, even these two weren''t enough to keep him alive and his end was nigh.

 Chapter 170: Life Guide Skill Book

    "Hello, Elder Goguard. I hope you are having a nice day. Can you help me out with finding some good books on formations with picture and details?"


    After reaching the library of Zachary''s palace, Whittaker asked Mister Goguard to help him out with locating some books on formation.


    As he was a high-level golem with an artificial thought process, he was able to chip in skill books from magical beasts into its skill slots.


    Goguard was the same as a piece of equipment or a weapon in which runes can be in-laid. One of his skills was the best one to locate the best quality formation books or any other books inside the library in mere minutes.


    "Young master, if you may, please wait for some seconds," Goguard replied and Its rocky mind cracked up, revealing 7 glittering gems to the eyes of Whittaker, and Goguard then pulled out one of them and handed it over to him.


    "This skill book is a treasure I received from Master Zachary years ago for my services. This is like a Monster Tower Guide or a map. It records much of everything and every place I have been to in my life with my master. Young master, you can learn this skill book and use it as a guide on all the facilities in the Zachary palace. You can also open up a map of the entire land of wind with this skill. However, it might be outdated in some areas as some terrains and plains might have developed into huge cities or dungeons." Goguard said after passing the "Life Guide" skill book to the boy.


    He already knows that the young master comes from a humble background, and lacks very much knowledge in the common department.


    For example, a young noble or royal son will be taught all about their lands at a young age but the same couldn''t be said for the child of a commoner. Hence, it gave up a treasure that will fill the troublesome hole and let young master gain a skill that contains more knowledge than an experienced adventurer.


    Although a godly treasure was in his hands, the young boy didn''t immediately used it. Rather, he turned to stare at the rusty golem and said with some embarrassment,


    "Elder, Thank you, but do you really want to part with this skill? If not, you can take it back otherwise I will feel bad as if I am bullying you"


    Seeing that the young boy felt bad for taking his treasure, Goguard couldn''t help but smile and assure him, "There''s no problem as long as the young master is the one using it."


    In the end, a single drop of Whittaker red blood touched the skill book gem and he instantly learned it.


    ?Life Guide Skill?


    ?Cost for passive effect: 1 unit of man?


    ?Cost for active effect: Depends on range?


    ?Passive effect: Records the places its owners have visited. The location of these places and their details can be seen in the mini-map or map which can be opened with a single thought?


    ?Active effect: Sketch out the surrounding of the guardian and displays it in the mini-map or map. Also, it shows the general location of humans and magical beast monsters in the mapped area?


    After entering the library, he used the passive effect of the Life Guide Skill, and in the very moment, a Mini Map opened right in front of his vision. As it was blocking his vision, he touched the screen and moved it to the top right corner of his vision. It allowed him to see the entire library as well as the various books present on the bookshelves.


    He entered Formation on the locater and pressed enter, and at the same time, multiple white dotted trails appeared in the mini-map. One end of these trails was connected to Whittaker''s icon while the others were connected to the places where the formation books are stored.


    His icon was the shape of a book and sword as it was also his class weapon. This was due to the Life Guide Skill which displayed the human race according to their class weapon, and if not that then little white dots. Whereas, magical beast were represented by big black dots or a mini version of their ferocious face.


    Following the instruction of the Life Guide Skill, it didn''t take too long for Whittaker to pick some unique books on formation, and right after that, he went to a comfortable sitting spot nearby the opened window of the huge and absolutely empty library.


    Sitting down, he put several big and heavy books on the table.


    One by one, he flipped through the pages of the books, and in dozens of minutes, he had memorized all the books of his choosing.


    This was the first day Whittaker had been taught about formation. He was full of curiosity about formation. Previously, he didn''t learn it because he was waiting to become eligible enough in Elder Zachary''s eyes to learn about formation. Furthermore, he was mastering talisman creation and memorizing hundreds of magical rune designs. Hence, he never got the chance.


    There were many pictures in the books which showcased how the formation master used formation items to trap high-ranked beasts or an army.


    Staring at their actions and reading the details, Whittaker comprehend a lot about formations and smiled while thinking,


    "Civilization is based on knowledge. Without us passing down knowledge from one generation to another, we would be stuck in the stone age. There will be no technical advancement and just like old age, people with greater strength would be committing crimes as they wish even today. Similarly, these professions can be easily learned by anyone as long as they knowledge about them."


    [Intelligent increased: 31?32]


    [Mana Recovery per second increased: 15.5?16]


    [Magic Defense increased: 62?64]


    [Magic attack Damage increased: 31?32]


    Suddenly, Noah''s notification popped up and gave Whittaker happy news. After glancing at them, he concluded, ''This time my units of mana didn''t increase. I guess that effect was only gonna work until I was an F-rank mage. It won''t work now since I have reached E-rank. From now on, I need fo meditate or eat rare items to increase my mana units.''


    Right after, he closed his eyes to summarize all the information''s into the most useful pieces.


    "According to the knowledge I have just gained, once the formation items are successfully laid out, syncing lines would be generated between them. Once the formation items are activated, these lines will generate a unique force field. According to the magical rune designs drawn on the formation items, the force field would display all kinds of unique effects!


    "A defensive formation will create walls around a person, protecting him from all attacks in the surrounding. An imprisonment formation would trap a person. Once it''s combined with wander aimlessly formation, the person would lose their sense of direction and wander aimlessly within it until death or unless the formation is destroyed. An illusion formation would induce hallucination to the target, showing them their worse fear or the happiest of memories. It can be used to leave one''s mental state in disarray or pull someone out from the pit of depression. However, better than all these formations is the latest Magi-Tech kill formation!"


    "The Magi-Tech kill formation combines imprisonment and illusion formation with weaponry magic construct. It only has one purpose, kill like its name. A person or magical beast would be destroyed immediately when facing the fearsome strength of the kill formation!"


    "Tomorrow I will check out the power of formation in the monster tower!" He exclaimed excitedly.

 Chapter 171: Entering the Tenth Floor!

    "Elder sister, I will be going to the Monster Tower. After that, I''ll be exploring the nearby city until late at night so I won''t be back until tomorrow. So, don''t cook for me," Whittaker said and Nina nodded in reply.


    "Okay, make sure to take care of yourself, and here take these with you." She replied, and she then handed over a small pouch and a Jade emblem to Whittaker.


    "What''s this?" Whittaker asked while looking at the things in his hand. This time Noah didn''t notify him of what they are as they were protected from Inspection by magical rune designs.


    "It''s a little pocket change that might come in handy when you are interested in purchasing something. As for the token, it''s the insignia of the King Feng Palace. You can use it when you get in trouble, and your trouble will be easily resolved. You can also use it to get favorable treatment from any Hall in the Kingdoms." Nina explained.


    In simple words, the jade emblem showcased Whittaker''s position as a member of the royal family. His status wasn''t a "Commoner" anymore as he was now the inheritor of Elder Zachary who is the owner of the King Feng Palace in the Wind Kingdom. After his death, Whittaker will inherit the position of King Feng!


    "Thanks, sis but where''s Elder Zachary," he asked.


    "Oh, he''s feeling tired so he''s resting," Nina replied with a smile. However, internally she felt saddened as she felt the pain Zachary was feeling.


    Hearing her words, no suspicions were raised and Whittaker left the palace wearing all of the Azure-sky equipments. However, the equipment was all covered with a luxurious emerald robe that he wore.


    He teleported to the Monster tower and walked towards the base of the monolith. On his way there, he was met with the same familiar guard for inspection.


    He teleported to the Monster tower and walked towards the base of the monolith. It was a busy day today as a lot of people have come to enter the Monster tower. There was a line of people and the guards were making sure to fulfill their duties. They were making sure to check every person''s ID card before allowing them entry into Monster Tower.


    Whittaker was walking towards the monolith to get in line and wait for his turn but the moment the guards saw him, the captain guard himself stepped towards Whittaker. With a light smile, the guard respectfully saluted him.


    "Esteemed Young Lord, the members of King Feng family and their relatives do not need to follow the rules set by the nobles and ruling families of the cities. There''s no need for you to get in line. If you may then please directly enter the Monster Tower otherwise it will be considered as us disrespecting you." The commander guard said with a slight bow.


    Disrespecting a member of King Feng''s house was a serious problem. Even if it''s not a crime, a person with no impressive background will have his life destroyed if such a matter reached the ears of their higher up. They will abandon him at the very moment new of him disrespecting a royal reaches their ears.


    "How do you know of me?" Whittaker asked the guard. However, internally somethings clicked and he then chuckled slightly while thinking, ''It seems like becoming an inheritor of an Elder Zachary comes with these perks.''


    "Everyone in the Kingdom of Wind has been notified about your esteemed self. In every place of the Wind kingdom, guards at or above the rank of captain, members of noble houses, various associations, and owners of big auction houses have been informed about you. Plus, those who see you are tasked with showing you the same respect as king Feng himself." The commander guard said.


    The news about someone becomings King Feng (Elder Zachary) inheritor has already spread in the kingdom of Wind, and this news was currently spreading throughout the awakened continent. It won''t be long before everyone knows that someone has become King Feng''s inheritor.


    Although not many knew the name or appearance of the inheritor, the incident taken place here some weeks ago was more than enough for the guards here to understand who the boy that came with King Feng could be. At that time, the guard was ignorant and at first didn''t recognize King Feng but later on, he did, and then that guard informed the commander of the guards stationed at Monster Tower about it.


    On the same day, the commander guard has received info from the higher-ups about King Feng''s unknown inheritor and he concluded that the boy who appeared with Elder Zachary is the inheritor. Even if he''s not, the boy surely has some relation with King Feng and must not be mistreated.


    That''s why Whittaker is being treated like a Young Lord by the guards surrounding the monster tower. As for those who don''t know who the inheritor is, Whittaker just needs to show them the jade tablet that Elder sister Nina gave him.


    The jade tablet was the insignia of the King Feng palace and intelligent people will be able to understand that he''s the inheritor with a single look.


    "Follow me please." The commander guard said with a smile.


    "Sure, lead on," Whittaker replied.


    He didn''t feel like being hesitant. Now that he''s the inheritor of Elder Zachary, he will happily accept all the benefits that came with it. Actually, there was no need to not accept it, as that will be a foolish choice.


    The commander guards ordered the other guards and peoples to make way for Whittaker, and a line was created in the middle.


    "Is that kid a VIP?"


    "I don''t think so. Look, the commander himself is personally escorting him on such a busy day. Even VIP''s aren''t given such special treatment. That pretty boy is probably a royal child or some important person!"


    "Hey, can you both be respectful! Stop calling him kid again and again. If he hears what you said, you might get in trouble!"


    "Ah, our bad! We will try to be more careful with our words from now on."


    Under the curious eyes and murmurs of the peoples, he stepped towards the monolith and placed his hand on it.


    In the very next moment, Whittaker was teleported to Floor-0 of the monster tower.


    "Welcome, this is probably the last time we will be each other. So tell me young boy which of the first ten floors has you chosen to go to?" Asked the spirit of the tower when Whittaker appeared.


    Although each floor of the tower was a wonder in himself, Whittaker didn''t have the luxury to explore it. Currently, he just wanted to climb the tower as fast as possible and reach floor-31st within two months. Hence, he looked towards Jafar and replied with a smile,


    "Tower spirit, I want to be teleported to the tenth floor!"


    "As you wish," Jafar staff shone and a spatial gateway suddenly opened up right beneath Whittaker''s feet.


    "Good luck with your adventures, young Ruler!"


    That was the last thing Whittaker heard before he was swallowed by the spatial gate. In the very next moment, he got teleported to the tenth floor of the Monster Tower.

 Chapter 172: The Tenth Floor.

    After passing through the gateway that suddenly opened beneath his feet, Whittaker found himself in a vast expanse of greenery. As far as his eye could see, lofty trees and oddly shaped bushes were irregularly strewn throughout the area. All around him were trees, bushes, and some plant but the shrieking voice and roars of magical beast could also be heard by him.


    "This should be the Evergreen Maze Forest of the tenth floor. Unluckily, I have arrived here. What bad luck! I will have to kill the secret boss before I can even hope of stepping out of this maze and search for the boss in the prairie!" Whittaker said after surveying his surrounding.


    The place he got teleported to was a death trap on the tenth floor. A confinement formation was set up in this forest and it''s used to trap a contestant in the forest. The formation effect was to make contestant lose their sense of direction and wander aimlessly within the forest until they are killed by the magical beasts that inhabit this place. He got teleported here because he chose the tenth floor.


    Actually, the choice of freely teleporting to any of the first ten floors was a hidden trap set by Jafar. The higher floor a newbie ruler chooses to teleport, the greater the risk of being exposed to danger. If Whittaker has chosen floor 1st then he would have been teleported to a city or human race fortress in the tower but he selected the tenth floor. Hence, the difficulty he is to face was set at the highest level and he got teleported to the most deadliest place on the tenth floor. Here even a group of D-rankers can die.


    Death in the tower came with plenty. A contestant will drop his equipment and will undergo a total reset. They will have to start climbing the tower from the 1st floor.


    Although this was a deadly place and the chance of dying here was high, Whittaker had come fully prepared.


    "I should search for the Three-Clawed Cursive panther but it''s going to be hard to find it in this vast maze-like forest," Whittaker said while staring at the overgrown bushes and trees around him.


    The way to get out of this tower was to obtain the Formation Dispel token from the corpse of the secret boss of this place. The token allows a person to be free from the effect of the formation. The secret boss was the three-clawed cursive panther. However, it rarely shows itself to outsiders and it wasn''t easy to locate it either.


    Suddenly, he remembered something. Just like other magical beasts, the secret boss of this forest was also attracted to the blood of humans and magical beasts. "I can lure the secret boss by spilling a lot of blood in the surrounding and letting the blood scent permeate the entire forest. For that, I will need to start a bloodshed and kill a lot of magical beast."


    Buzz* Buzz*


    Just as he had spoken those words, an E-ranked giant wasp with a 2-meter copper stinger and a body the size of a football came out from behind the trees and rushed straight at Whittaker. Its stinger was aimed right at his chest.


    Whittaker happily summoned Blood drinker and thought while staring at the giant wasp, ''Think of the devil and it appears! These wasps always comes in a huge group. There should be more heading my way but first, let''s take care of the bug in front of me!"


    His eyes suddenly turned vigilant as he took on a battle pose. The wasp came crashing down on him with its copper stinger but he sidestepped and dodged it, and he then instantly brandished his S-ranked sword in a vertical strike to cut off the stinger of the wasp that flew right past him.


    The stinger fell making the wasp shriek in anger and it took a U-turn to rush towards Whittaker who slammed his right foot on the ground and at the same time inputted 2 units of battle energy in the same foot. With a booming voice, his body was blasted forward and he reached near the wasp in a single second.


    Right then, he cleaved down with the S-ranked sword in his right hand. The sword left a large line in the middle of its body, and in the very next moment, the wasp was split into two clean pieces.


    Blood gushed out and it dropped to the ground just a step away from Whittaker who pulled out the advance guide to loot the monster core from the dead wasp. However, a notification was shown on it.


    ?Killed a normal E-ranked magical beast. Gained 2 tower credits!?


    This was just a normal automated notification from the tower itself. Each time a contestant kills a beast, he receives some tower currency and some type of reward.


    The amount of currency rewarded to a contestant depended on the type of beast he killed. There were five types of beast on each floor. Normal beast, Mutated beast, Area boss, Secret Boss, and lastly Floor boss.


    The amount of tower currency rewarded to a contestant for killing a beast increases according to the type of beast he kills. Normal F-ranked, E-ranked, and D-ranked beasts give 1-2-3 tower currency respectively. Whereas Mutated ones give double that. Area bosses give triple the amount of currency for mutated beast and the tower currency reward for killing secret boss and floor boss is four times that of area boss.


    With a thought, Whittaker commanded the Advance Guide to loot everything useful from the wasp corpse. The orb floated towards the magical beast and produced a mystical absorption force. The wasp heart and beast core was taken out and got absorbed by the orb which floated back to Whittaker. He received a E-ranked beast core and Wind Type beast blood.


    "Now I just need to wait for the scent of blood to spread in the surrounding and attract other monsters. Once I kill enough the three-clawed cursive tiger will naturally show itself. I just need to be patient. I should also set up a surprise attack for the upcoming battles!"

 Chapter 173: The Power of Formation (a)

    Whittaker thought while gazing at the blood pouring out from the corpse of the wasp, and right after, he began to prepare for the battle against the Secret boss of the tenth floor.


    He took out the Six Formation disks from his storage ring and held them within his hand. Each disk was small, round, and almost unnoticeable. They had the mana wall and flame wave magical rune design inscribed on them. This formation can be used to trap a beast and then flay it alive. After measuring the coordinates properly, Whittaker staked them into the ground and covered the ground with some leaves.


    Mere seconds after he finished setting up the formation for the Secret boss, sounds of wings flapping suddenly began to resound in the forest as a group of flying-type magical beast rushed towards his location.


    The scent of blood has successfully attracted dozens of beasts!


    He used Devansha vision to get a clear view of what''s coming towards him. He could see around twenty wasps coming from behind the dense greenery in front of him.


    ''I should half the group before they reach me otherwise it would be a pain to fight dozens of them at the same time!''


    The Frost spell book materialized beside him and Whittaker quickly started shouting [Frost Bolt] and [Icy Blast]. Icy glows flickered out of the frost spellbook as Frost Bolts and Icy needles shoot towards the group of the incoming giant wasps.


    Some frost bolts met their targets and crashed on their bodies while the icy needle went straight through the bodies of the wasps, impaling their heart and internal organs and killing them in the process.


    By the time their group have been halved, only the strongest of the wasp were left. Angrily, the rest of the wasp quickly swarmed towards Whittaker who clutched the sword in his hand tightly. His eyes observed the tens of wasp charging straight at him with their stinger.


    The reason why he hadn''t taken any actions yet was because he wanted to end this battle in a single myself. While observing the wasps coming closer, he began to pour some units of battle force on the attribute line of Blood Drinker to charge up a strike that will take them all down in a single moment.


    The very moment when the wasps were merely 2-meters away from him, he brandished his sword outwards with all the strength he could muster.


    "Three-Clawed Blood Slash!"


    Three Scarlet beams of light then shot out from the sword held in his hand and rushed at the monsters, and if one looked closely, they would be able to see the image of a murderous wolf within the Scarlet beams.


    Most of the wasps simply didn''t have any time to change their direction or dodge this attack. They could only use their metallic stingers as shielders but the scarlet light was too pierce and chopped apart whatever was in its way.


    Most of the wasps were split into several pieces and dropped dead to the ground. The other wasp started to run away as if they knew they stood no chance against Whittaker. However, how could he let this bait go?


    Frost Bolts quickly crashed on to their squishy backs, smashing their bodies and tearing apart their wings. Right after, they dropped from the skies, wounded and badly mutilated.


    Whittaker walked up to the wasps that were still alive and gave them all a merciful strike which ended their lives in a single moment.


    ?Killed 1 E-ranked Mutated Silver-stinger Wasp and 19 E-ranked Normal Copper-stinger Wasps. Gained 42 tower credits?


    His total tower credits has increased to 44 points. Tower credits can be used to purchase various things that can also be used in the real world.


    "Advance Guide, loot all of their corpses and bring them to me," Whittaker said while looking at the corpses of the wasps sprawled on the ground.


    Although he couldn''t absorb the essence of life from the magical beasts he kills, the monster tower was still a treasure field in his eyes. Under his command, the advance guide ripped apart the heart and beast cores from the bodies of the beasts he killed.


    The heart of magical beasts stores the elemental blood which is used to draw magical rune designs. These wasps had Wind Type blood. The blood from their heart can be used to draw Wind Type magical rune designs to create a Swift Wind Talisman, Flight Talisman, or a Wind Slash Talisman. Each one''s useful and Whittaker wasn''t gonna hive up on what he has earned.


    "This much bloodshed should be enough to lure the Secret Boss out of its lair. With the formation I have set up, it won''t be able to escape, no matter how agile it is!" Whittaker thought as he waited for the fish to take the bait. Advance Guide, on the other hand, continued to loot everything useful from the corpses.


    Whittaker was sure that no other beast except the secret boss will come. It''s a simple conclusion to come up to. The wasps were E-ranked beasts and that''s the highest-ranked creature on the tenth floor. The lower-ranked creature won''t dare venture here because of the blood scent while the same goes for other E-ranked beasts.


    They all possess basic instinct and knows that it''s dangerous. However, the Secret Boss is a prideful panther that is agile and has three types of abilities, it would surely come to feast upon the corpses and kill whatever''s gonna stop it.


    "Anyways, even if other beast come, they will face the same fate of death under my sword!" Whittaker said in a merciless tone. His eyes burned with battle intent.


    Just when the Advance guide looted all the corpses and returned to its master, a heart-shaking roar echoed from in front.


    Right after, a massive figure charged out from behind the trees!


    "It''s here!"


    Whittaker''s eyes lit up as he saw the silhouette of his prey. It was several dozens of meters away.


    [Magical beast; Three-Clawed Cursive Panther]


    Rank: A E-rank magical beast with the power of curse and supreme agility. Its combating ability far exceeds 10-star beasts. Make a run for it.


    Attribute: Darkness


    Innate ability: Cursive claws, Swift pounce, Dark steps, enhanced senses, Strong Build Iron Furs]


    This E-ranked Secret boss was around five meters long. Its pitch-black body was covered in fine furs that glittered under the thin sunlight peeking out from the treetops.


    Surprisingly, its tail was shaped like a claw and shone in a dark metallic luster!


    Even from several dozens meters away, Whittaker could still the strong pressure it exerted onto him. However, he remained calm and waited for the beast to enter the range of the formation he had set up especially for this occasion.

 Chapter 174: The Power of formation (b)

    The Three-Clawed Cursive Panther was merely strolling nearby this part of the Evergreen Maze forest leisurely but an attractive odor immediately attracted its attention and it rushed towards the source of the blood scent.


    The blood of Stinger Wasps might be an attractive scent to other magical beasts but it was actually a repulsive odor for a normal human being.


    The stench was so strong that it made Whittaker''s nose crinkle up in despair and he felt lightheaded and nauseous. However, he needed to be at the center of the blood and corpses of the magical beasts he killed. After all, the Three-Clawed Cursive panther was very fast and it could easily escape from him after enjoying the feast to its heart content.


    He had gained a lot of knowledge from the records of Monster Tower and by surfing the mana net for clips on Monster tower. He had found some good videos of different groups hunting secret bosses, one of which was about the panther who''s in front of him.


    The secret boss of the tenth floor might only have the strength of an E-rank beast but the same couldn''t be said for its speed. It was faster than most D-rank beast. Its speed could even be compared to some C-rank beasts. If it escaped after feeling threatened then who knows how long it will take to catch and kill it.


    Hence, Whittaker planned to trap it first before killing it.


    The three-clawed cursive Panther halted in its tracks when it was about thirty meters away from him. It cautiously gazed at the delicious corpses of various kinds of stinger wasps and a young black-haired boy. As the Secret boss of th tenth floor, this magical beast possessed intelligence and its instincts were also amplified. It could sense that there''s something fishy with the situation ahead as it saw a single young boy and dozens of corpses of magical beasts.


    "Grrr!" It growled at the young boy while considering whether to charge straight in or turn around to run away; however, it couldn''t make up its mind. It didn''t charge ahead because it felt that something was really suspicious with this situation. Similarly, it didn''t turn around to go away because of the alluring scent that aggravated its appetite.


    ''It''s really a cautious beast! Seems like I will have to make a fool out of myself to bait It into the trap!'' Whittaker thought with an amused expression on his face. He was looking at the Secret Boss that had stopped just 28 meters in front of the formation.


    He decided to hurl out some weak frost bolt at its direction to enrage it.


    [Frost Bolt!]...[Frost Bolt!]...[Frost Bolt!]


    Whittaker shouted and the Frost Spellbook hovering beside him lit up in icy glows again and again.


    WHOOSH! Several Frost Bolts shot towards the pitch-black Panther threatening to smash into its body but it easily shattered them all with multiple swings of its clawed tail.


    Clank! Clank! Clank! The remains of the shattered frost bolts crashed on its body but the steel-like furs covering its body defensively were so strong that not even a single dent was made!


    As befitting of the title of a Secret Boss, it easily destroyed the attacks of an E-ranked mage in a single move without getting injured.


    It was just as expected. Normally, an entire group of E-ranked awakened will be required to trap and kill the panther but Whittaker was all alone and currently, his best bet was to attract the beast into the formation to trap it and then kill it.


    ''If I fail to do so then it will take days or weeks to get out of this forest-like maze! Furthermore, a contestant and even Rulers can''t log-out of the monster tower unless they reach safe-zones. My precious days will be wasted in this place!'' Whittaker thought.


    Each floor of the Monster tower had two zones. The green zone is also called the safe zone. It''s a zone where the killing of contestants was forbidden and was heavily guarded by guards. In the safe zone, magical beasts can''t enter and contestants won''t dare to kill other contestants. Plus, only after reaching a safe zone can a contestant log out. Moreover, each race had a different safe zone.


    Then there was the danger zone. It''s the area of the tower where contestants can be killed by magical beasts or contestants. Plus, there''s no way to log out in the red-zone except death. However, death came with a heavy penalty that Whittaker wasn''t willing to bear.


    Hence he immediately put his mind to full use and reacted based on his understanding of magical beasts and began to act weak, defenseless, and scared to attract the panther towards the formation.


    He acted surprised and took three steps back with a horrified expression on his face. It was as if he was scared of the big black monster that was more powerful than he initially thought. Right then, he also turned to stare at the panther in the eyes. His clear black eyes sparkled with innocence and screamed powerlessness.


    For the beast, the fragile young boy that was several times shorter than itself seemed to be overtaken by fear!


    "Grr!" With a roar, the beast instantly concluded that the young boy wasn''t a danger but the main course of Its meal.


    Fooled by Whittaker''s legendary skill Puppy eyes and top-notch acting, It decided to just kill the boy and eat him and the other magical beast right after.


    Whittaker saw that after hesitating for a moment, It had once again started heading towards his direction. His lips thinned into an unnoticeable smirk as his plan had worked and he internally thought,


    ''The prey has taken the bait! Now I just gotta activate the formation at the correct time and flay it alive!''


    The panther''s limbs burned in a dark aura as it activated its skill "Dark Step" to rush at Whittaker. Its figure turned blurry in mere seconds but It wasn''t able to escape his piercing gaze. By using Devansha vision, Whittaker''s eyes managed to follow up with its movement.


    ''10 meters!''


    ''4 meters!''


    As the fellow slowly approached him, Whittaker generously counted the distance it was away from the death.


    ''0 meters!''

 Chapter 175: Power of Formation (c)

    Under the dim sunlight, the rustling sound made by a black shadow rushing at Whittaker with an extremely impressive speed resounded. However, the figure of the black shadow was apparent in his black eyes.


    "Mana Wall Formation Activate!" Right when he saw the Three-Clawed cursive Phantom entering the range of the formation, Whittaker activated the formation he had set up with a single thought. He was spiritually connected with the six formation disks and could command them by using thoughts. However, such a method costed a small portion of one soul force unit and could only be utilized by soul masters that were very rare in the awakened continent.


    The mana wall designs inscribed on the six formation disks burrowed underground shone in a mesmerizing blue light, and at the same time, the panther pounced at him with all its strength. Its jaw wide opened in hopes of ripping apart his neck in a single snap.


    "Teng!" However, before it could reach the young boy, a low ringing sound echoed and the Mana Wall Confinement Formation was activated. Mysteriously, bluish walls appeared all around it, confining the beast in a small area of some meters squares.


    Immediately, the beast realized that It had fallen into a trap when it saw the walls confining it. Although it had fallen into the trap, the beast couldn''t change its direction in time and crashed headfirst on the mana wall that suddenly materialized in front of it.


    "Keh!" With a shrill shriek, the panther crashed into the walls of the formation and slid down, seemingly wounded by the heavy headfirst clash. The surprise self-harm first attack really did a ton of damage to it. It was bleeding from its face as if a horde of buffaloes has slammed their hoves on its face. Furthermore, its prideful sharp teeth have shattered because of the impact. Moreover, some pieces have jabbed into its mouth!


    "Pufahahahaha!" Whittaker cracked when he saw that. He still hasn''t even activated the Flame Wave formation yet the beast was already wounded badly. "What a dumbass. Aren''t you a boss known for its speed? Let''s see where you can escape to now!" He taunted while laughing and glancing down at the beast that slid down the wall of the formation, gleefully.


    Unable to bear the taunt, the beast stood up in an instant and glared at him with murderous intent.


    In reply, Whittaker taunted with a smile, "Look, it''s all your fault. Didn''t you want to jab your canines in my flesh but now they have broken in an instant!"


    "Roar!"


    Seeing the taunting smile of the young boy, the three-clawed cursive panther roared furiously. Seemingly completely enraged by his actions, he charged straight toward the wall to crush it. Its claw shone in a black aura as it activated its cursive claws and clawed at the bluish walls with all its might.


    Weng! Weng! Weng! Its sharp metallic claw threatening to tear apart everything crashed on the mana wall.


    Kuah!


    Under the might of its claws, the mana wall furiously shook but the formation item which had been hidden under the ground remained unmoving.


    "It won''t be easy to break free!" Upon seeing the three-clawed cursive Panther struggle in a berserk manner to break free from the formation, Whittaker said in a calm manner.


    He was certain that it won''t be able to break free from the formation and his gaze said it all. He was staring at the beast as if it was already dead and that just made it angrier and its struggle for survival grew more berserk.


    The cursive Panther was ready to expand all its mana and battle energy to break free. With a furious roar, it charged frenziedly at the formation. It used its steel-like fur, strong bones, and claws as weapons to destroy the mana wall but Whittaker seemed unworried.


    There was no reason to panic, after all. The 3-star Mana-Wall formation he activated was a Confinement Formation that can absorb mana from the environment, himself or both to activate. Furthermore, its defense could be augmented and reinforced by the use of mana from his mana pool, the surrounding or even mana stone or crystals.


    The only other way to break free was to destroy the formation item or make them unstable enough to disturb the Sync line; However, the durability of the six formation disk was still 100/100. Unless the durabiliy drops to 50, there was no chance for the sync line to be dsiturbed.


    It seems like there''s no chance for the Panther to break out even if it exhausts itself to death.


    Along with the barrage of attacks, the ground quaked and the formation items shook but Whittaker smiled confidently as currently there was no chance for it to break free from the formation that remained as strong as ever.


    However, under the continlus attack of the beast, a lot of mana was being absorbed from the surroundings and his mana pool to reinforce the mana walls. It there''s no mana left then the beast will break out of the formation.


    ''I have to end it right now! Activate Flame Wave Kill Formation!'' Whittaker thought and activated the second magical rune designs that he had inscribed on the six formation disks.


    Mana waves from the surrounding rushed into the formation items. As he felt that the mana in the surrounding has thinned considerable, Whittaker used mana from his mana pool to activate it.


    The Flame Wave rune design inscribed on the formation items shone in a Scarlet glow, and at the same time, a red cloud with two streaks of light formed in the middle of the formation which confined the Panther.


    "Grrr!" It was threatening by the cloud but before it could do anything, one streak of light dissipated from the cloud, and right after a sea of flame rushed out of the cloud and clashed atop its body.


    BOOM! The sound of a disastrous blast. The land shook from the impact as fire burned inside the mana walls. Only the painful howls of the beast and the sea of flame could be heard and seen respectively. It howled in pain, for its steel-like fur were set ablaze and it felt as if it was being flayed alive.


    As it was an intermediate grade kill formation, it could be activated twice. Whittaker decided to end the misery of the beast early and he activated it for the second time.


    [Flame Wave formation!]


    The second scarlet streak in the cloud vanished and a wave of flame crashed on top of the beast that was struggling to remain alive.


    BOOM! In a single moment, its body burst apart under the sudden impact of compacted flame. The flame wave scorched and melted its body parts.


    ?Contestant Life Taker, an E-ranker has Solo killed the Secret Boss of the Tenth Floor within 3 mins 43 seconds!? A feminine voice echoed throughout the tenth floor.

 Chapter 176: Rewards

    And at this moment, Whittaker saw an eye-grabbing announcement plastered on the skies of the tenth floor: ?Tenth floor Ranking board, Three-Clawed Cursive Panther Secret Boss Crowned Seat: Life Taker No.1 (low-ranked ruler!)?


    He was the fastest to kill this boss as an E-ranker. Hence, he was crowned as the no.1 contestant to kill the secret boss of the tenth floor. This would be forever recorded on the ranking board of the tenth floor and he would be a legend on this tower for every newbie. His name will be known by a lot of contestants until someone manages to kill the phantom in a shorter time than him and becomes the new crowned one.


    Shua! Shua! Shua!


    After this announcement, the remains of the Secret boss of the tenth floor pixelated, and then numerous items appeared in its place.


    In the monster tower, special rewards were handed over to any contestant killing Boss and Floor Boss. Most of the time, the reward was an increase in total mana capacity or an increase in the length of the mana pool for mage. Similarly, it was an increase in battle energy or strengthening of the body for a battle master. However, there was a rank limit.


    An E-ranker will receive a reward if he kill an E-F-D rank or higher Boss or secret boss but a D-rank contestant won''t receive any rewards if he kills an F-rank boss or secret boss. The rules of the tower states that the bosses can only be one rank weaker than the contestant otherwise there won''t be any reward.


    Furthermore, the rewards were handed out to the entire team as a whole according to their contribution. This was extremely beneficial for Whittaker as was an E-ranker who had solo killed an E-rank secret boss with 4 mins. Since he was the sole contributor, all of the rewards were obtained by him.


    It dropped a lot of good things. Excitedly, Whittaker moved closer to the formation walls to see what the Three-Clawed Cursive phantom dropped!


    "Corrosive Fingernails, a crafting material; Steel- Fur Breastplate, a 1-star armor!; Mana Light, Increase the length of the mana pool by 100; Battle Light; Increase battle energy by 2.5 points; Three-Clawed Cursive Sword, a 3-star top quality weapon; Maze Formation control Medallion, the treasure I have been looking for!"


    "Secret boss of the tower is definitely worth a lot of money. A single kill and I got a lot of items. No wonder why the currency of the tower is more valuable than the currency of the real world! No wonder why the peoples are crazy to explore the tower!" Whittaker thought after he inspected all the items that the boss dropped.


    These items can be sold in the real world. The effect of mana light and battle light were also applicable in real life. His mana pool will increase in size after he absorbs the light, so will his battle energy after he absorbs the battle light.


    Lastly, the medallion is used to control the formation set up in this forest. It can be used to open a path that leads directly out of the Evergreen Maze Forest.


    Since the Secret boss was dead, there was no need for the formation to remain erect and he also needed to pick up the loot. In mere seconds, the black-haired young boy retrieved his formation items after he caused the instantaneous collapse of the Mana Wall-Flame Wave Confinement and Kill Formation.


    "The power of formation is simply Incredible! It''s just as Elder Zachary said, Formation master possesses the ability to defeat enemies more powerful than themselves. They can even solo an army all alone." Whittaker exclaimed after recollecting the formations items.


    In an online video, he had seen the strength of the three-clawed cursive Panther for himself. Even a group of D-ranked awakened are sometimes not enough to trap and take down this Secret boss; However, just by using a formation consisting of a few formation items and two magical rune designs he soloed a Secret boss.


    ''But there are three weaknesses of a formation master. First of all, a person needs sufficient funds to purchase formation items. Secondly, they need sufficient time to set up a formation. Lastly, the enemies have to enter the range of the formation!''


    Whittaker''s comprehension about formations reached a deeper level as he stored the equipment and picked up the battle light and Mana light in each hand, and he then absorbed both of them at the same time by putting them in his mouth.


    Gulp! The Mana Light rushed to his mana pool and Whittaker could feel that it was increasing the size of his mana pool. Whereas the battle light rushed to his battle core and Whittaker could feel that the total capacity of his battle energy is increasing.


    After several minutes, Noah''s notification popped up in his vision.


    ?Mana pool total capacity: 2000?2100?


    ?Units of mana in mana pool: 2100/1600. Units of mana in Mana-devouring hair (passive): 100. Total Mana units: 1700 ?


    ?Battle energy increased: 35?37.5?


    Whittaker just needed to eat rare treasure and increase the size of his mana pool to 3000 and then meditate or kill bosses in the monster tower to make a breakthrough to D-rank as a mage. Similarly, he just needed to execute some posture, exercise, ear rare treasures or kill bosses to increase his battle energy and reach D-rank battle master.


    All the situation was a possibility for him but first, he needs to reach the safe zone of the tenth floor. For that purpose, the formation control medallion was utilized.


    ?Formation control medallion (low-rank)


    Condition: Personal item (Bounded to Life Taker)


    Effect: Allows the user to open a safe path that leads out of the Evergreen Maze Forest?


    This item was bounded to Whittaker and others couldn''t steal it. Moreover, personal items couldn''t be sold either. Hence, it could only be used by him.


    He clutched the medallion in his hand. Then, with a slight raise of his hand, the medallion released a twinkling yellowish light and a holographic screen opened in his vision.


    ?Utilize the power of the medallion to open up a path that leads out of the forest??


    ?Yes/No?


    Without a doubt, he choose Yes.


    Hu Hu Hu Hu!


    The surrounding began to shake. To his right, the overgrown bushes and trees drilled into the ground, left behind was an open ground surrounding by greenery on each side. It was a clear winding path, a trail that led out of the Evergreen Maze forest!

 Chapter 177: Scorpion-Kin Desert

    Taking the trail, Whittaker started to head out of the Evergreen Maze Forest. He didn''t know where this path led to but it sure as hell led someplace out of this vast forest. Moreover, there was no danger on this road. If there were any, then he would have seen them. He was using Devansha vision, after all, and even the minute detail of his surrounding was visible to him.


    His plan was to reach a human inhabitant city, village, or community established within the tower. More specifically, he wanted to reach the Redcliff City, a safe zone inhabited by human and human-friendly race. He needed to reach that place if he wants to Log out of the tower but his actual purpose was something entirely else.


    The Boss of the tenth floor was located in the Rocky Canyon, a place that comes to the west of the RedCliff City. He only had that information. Hence, Whittaker decided to reach RedCliff City to gear up, get some useful items, and then directly head to the Rocky canyon to reap the life of the tenth-floor boss so that he can step into the eleventh floor.


    He picked up speed by using boost and covered the clear and open trail with a greater speed. Running and running, a sea made out of uncountable numbers of grains of red sand entered his vision. Up ahead was an endless red desert with no signs of life. At least, he currently didn''t see one.


    "The Scorpion-Kin Desert!" Whittaker concluded when he saw the area in front of him.


    ?Entered a region with sparse Mana. Mana Regen dropped to 0.11 unit per seconds? Noah notified when he entered the outskirts of the desert.


    "This really is the Scorpion-Kin Desert. The mana in the air is so sparse that I can barely sense it!" he glanced at the notification and shook his head. This place was too poor for mages and battle master. Not only was there a hard to walk the desert, even the mana here was scarce. It was no wonder that this place was left unconquered by humans.


    "Should I head back and take a roundabout route to my destination? Or just charge straight in but it will be troublesome and I will lose a lot!" He was hesitant about continuing to the depth of the desert.


    There are various kinds of monsters here. From towering desert slugs to eighteen-legs caterpillar but the worst of them all was the scorpion-Kin race. They were a human unfriendly race and liked to hunt down human beings. They exist in the awakened continent and had entered the tower as a contestant just like Whittaker.


    This desert was actually known as the RedMud Sea. However, in the past few weeks, the scorpion-kin has taken over this desert, and they started to kill any contestant that will pass from this place. Because of their notorious action, the desert was renamed to Scorpion-Kin Desert. The Scorpion-kin has powerful bodies that can match up to C-rank battle master and the mana condition here didn''t have any impact on them. That''s why they were able to terrorize this entire desert.


    Whittaker had seen the news about this in the mana net. Hence, he knew what''s happening here.


    ?Ding!? While contemplating whether to continue or walk away, Whittaker suddenly received a notification. It was a notification coming out from Advance Guide. He wondered what it is and so checked it out.


    ?Jafar Quest: ?Dear Ruler, I hope you are doing just fine. It''s been detected that you are nearby the RedMud Sea. This place is being terrorized by powerful scorpion-kins. Instead of monsters, they are hunting down contestants of the ten-floors. This behavior is unacceptable and a quest has been issued to you to punish these contestants killers?


    ?Kill a group of scorpion-kin: Incomplete


    ?Rewards: 500 Ruler credits. 100 Human Alliance reputation?


    Now even a quest to kill these contestant killers has also been issued by the spirit of the tower!


    500 Ruler credits was a huge sum. Rulers credits can be compared to Cryptocurrency. Whereas, awakened world currency and tower credits can be compared to dollars. One Ruler coin can be exchanged for hundreds of tower credit of platinum bars. Alliance reputation was needed to initiate trade with people that were born, grown, and live or rule the floor of the tower. Completing this quest will bring a wholesome reward.


    "I suppose I''ll have to cross this desert. Now that a quest has also been initiated, I will be able to make up the loss of using my costly talismans!"


    He knew what kind of trouble he will be facing while crossing the desert but he was all set and ready. There were various kinds of talisman stored in his rankless ring of genesis and facing a group of powerful scorpion-kin was the least of his worries. The various talismans with powerful defensive, offensive, and supportive capabilities provided him utmost confidence and he was ready to face whatever comes his way. Moreover, the quest rewards were enough to offset the cost of creating these talismans. That''s why he was left with no reason to hesitate.


    "If they attack me then I won''t hesitate to instantly kill them. Not to mention they are the bad guys and killing them will earn me ruler coins and alliance points of the human race."


    Whittaker decided to kill anyone who has murderous intentions against him before making his way deeper into the Scorpion-kin desert.


    The deeper he went into the desert, the worse the conditions got. Heavy winds bellowed from the east, sending the dust hurtling through the air to cover the sky, forming a thick haze that sundered the Sunlight.


    His clothes also fluttered as the wind swept past him. The wind was a obstruction from nature, trying to slow down his speed but he was charging ahead without any change in his speed.


    Moreover, if one looks carefully enough, then they will notice that his speed was increasing as time passed. Some while ago, Whittaker has used the Wind Swift talisman on his legs. This talisman is effective for 2 hours and every ten minutes his speed will be increased by 10%.


    "Huh?" Suddenly, he halted in his footstep by stomping his right-left on the ground, and at the same time, he poured some units of battle energy in the same foot to push himself backwards hurriedly.


    "Kacha Kacha!" The moment he jumped back, a few scorpion tails stabbed the place where he was standing, and right after that, from beneath the sand, a few figures shrieked and rushed out!

 Chapter 178: Talismans Power

    Whittaker jumped back covering a wide distance away from the contestant killers. The sand scattered left and right as from within came out huge creatures that were a mix between human and scorpion, and at the same time, the sand dunes on each side of the young boy quaked and then scattered revealing dozens of the Scorpion-kin.


    Standing in the middle of them all was Whittaker. He had entered their trap!


    It was a common trap that the race of Scorpion-Kin used to hunt down their prey. They would burrow their entire bodies within the sand just like a scorpion and wait for someone to fall into the center of their trap before revealing themselves and killing the prey.


    "Wow!" Whittaker was excited to see these creatures in real life. He saw that these creatures have the head and arms of human and metallic pincers of scorpion; however, their heads had many shiny scales like those of scorpion, with two giant and pointy teeth jutting out from their mouths. Their lower bodies were covered with the same copper scales, and they all had a sharp, thick, and black tails behind them. They were far larger than himself, about three to four meters each.


    [Humanoid Race; Scorpion-Kin]


    Rank: Their powerful bodies are Comparable to D-rank battle master. Their sharp pincers can even cut E-rank weapons as easily as beaking a twigs in two. These creatures are natural-born warriors and their combating experience has been honed through decades of hunting.


    Bloodline ability: Poisonous tail, Heavy Pounce, Swift Barrage, Greater Hearing, Greater eyesight, Elemental resistance]


    Noah notified Whittaker who cautiously gazed at them as they moved about to encircle him from all sides.


    ''These Scorpion-Kins have a really strong sensing ability and Heat resistance. It''s impressive how they can easily burrow their bodies in this hot scalding sand. Furthermore, since they are classified to have naturally strong senses by Noah then they must have felt the vibrations made by me running on the sand.'' Whittaker thought.


    It''s just as he thought, they were anticipating his arrival for a while with murderous intent. However, these scorpion-kins with ferocious expression and intimidating bodies felt weirded out because there was not even a hint of fear in the eyes of the boy they were about to kill. Rather, he was staring at them with scrutiny and interest.


    They certainly didn''t like the way he was looking at them. Hence, they all brandished their tails towards him.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Dozens of tails dripping in toxic poison that even melted the grains of sand whisked towards him but before the tail could reach him, Whittaker used Flash''s step and disappeared from his position.


    The very next instant, he reappeared right behind a Scorpio-Kin with Blood Drinker in his hand. Each of them was still surprised by his sudden disappearance and didn''t notice where he had flash stepped to.


    Using this opportunity to his advantage, Whittaker surprised attacked the being from the behind.


    "Three-Clawed Blood Slash!"


    Blood Drinker shone in a scarlet light as he activated Three-Clawed Wolf Slash, and it then shot out three scarlet beams of light right at the neck of Scorpion-Kin.


    "Gah!!!!!�C" Before they could notice what''s happening, three scarlet beams of light pierced through the neck of one of their kin.


    Poor guy shrieks were cut-low as the Scarlet Claw ripped apart its entire throat.


    [ +1 Royal Credits] One of them had instantly died under the hand of his stealthy and powerful combo. Angered, the rest of them pounced at him at the same time.


    He was alone and did not have any companions while there were dozens of them.


    ''I will be exhausted of my mana and battle energy if I keep on fighting them like this.'' He thought.


    The mana in the air is scarce and it was a foolish choice to fight them with spell and battle skills. Hence, he decided to finally use a talisman combo to end this fight in an instant.


    "Flame Serpent Talismans! Wind Blast Talisman! Wind Wave Talismans! Elemental Boosting Talismans!" As he watched the Scorpion-Kin pouncing at him, Whittaker thought. With a single thought, multi-colored light flashed in his hand as dozens of talisman with distinct magical rune designs appeared in his hand.


    "Wind Blasts!" He activated multiple Wind Blast talismans in his hand and tossed them out at the Scorpion-Kin pouncing towards him.


    "Swish" With a booming sound, the talismans went ahead and exploded in the air creating giant gushes of wind that blasted all of them away.


    Just like a rag doll hurled away, they crashed on the sandy ground. Painful groans resounded as they tried to stand up. However, this was just the start of their plight.


    "Flame Serpent Talismans!" Immediately after, two red talisman flew out from his hand, and great serpents made out of flame dawned on the group of Scorpion-Kin.


    "Now, it''s time for the combo! Wind Wave talisman, Wind Blast talisman, Elemental Boosting talisman!" With another toss, various talismans rushed out of his hand and activated in midair.


    The Wind Wave and Wind Blast talisman activated in the air to create giants waves and gales of wind. Whereas, the Elemental Boosting Talisman released a mystical energy that boosted the elemental effect of all elemental types attack in the surrounding by 50%.


    "Roar!" The Serpents from before made contact with the gales and waves of wind and triples in size. It became even more powerful when the Elemental Boosting talisman was activated. The Flame serpents seemed as ferocious as Red Dragons as they rushed in the directions of the Scorpion-kin.


    "Talisman Combination Attack��Supreme Serpent Scorching Blast!!!"


    Pushed by the Wind, the great flame Serpents Whittaker had created through using multiple talisman rushed forward and to the surrounding. The great fire serpents engulfed everything in their path, and at the same time, swallowed the entire group of Scorpion-Kin.


    "Chi...chi!" Their natural resistance against fire was not helpful in the face of this devasting attack and the cracking sounds of meat being roasted filled the air.


    "Gulp!" Whittaker gulped excitedly and scaredly as he stared at the devastation he had caused to take down the group of contestant killers.

 Chapter 179: Battle in the desert (a)

    During his stay in the Zachary palace, Whittaker had come across an interesting topic. It was about the forbidden land. More specifically, it''s called the dead land or the land of darkness. It''s a vast place that lacks mana and is always dark. Never once had the light of the sun shone on that place. Moreover, evil creatures such as skeletons and liches roam that place. However, there was a human kingdom there and it has existed for countless eons. Although an unofficial kingdom, it was still established in that deadly place.


    He wondered how they even survive in that place without any mana, how they fight against the evil creatures and his questions were answered as he researched more about this topic. The humans there used a very large number of ways and all of them were connected to professions.


    While researching more about this topic, he came across different battle styles and the one he just used to kill the group of Scorpion-Kin belongs to it. It was called ''Low Cost High Effect''. This battle style uses a combination of cheap and poor formations, talismans, and other offensive items to create powerful attacks.


    Whittaker wasn''t poor or lacking in any way. He was the inheritor of Elder Zachary, after all. He had good and powerful talismans but once he used the combination method with these powerful talismans, a far powerful attack was created. Normally, a Flame serpent talisman is powerful enough to heavily wound D-rank magical beast but Whittaker used a combination of talisman to amplify its effect.


    The Elemental Boosting, Wind Wave, and Wind Blast Talisman amplified the damage of the Flame Serpent talisman by more than 200%. The attack which resulted from such a combination was comparable to high-rank flame spells. C to A rank is classified as High-rank.


    By using the combination method, he produced a huge change in the quality of the flame serpent talismans. Even a high-ranked awakened will have to turn tail and run away in front of this talisman combination attack.


    Furthermore, activating a bunch of talisman was not taxing on his mana pool. They didn''t consume a lot of mana to activate.


    ''Talisman are the most appropriate item to use in the Land of darkness and places with scarce mana!'' He thought while killing any Scorpion-Kin that rushed out of the flame with his flying sword.


    He was using the telekinesis on blood drinker, letting it fly and slash the throat of any Scorpion-kin that managed to get out of the flame.


    ?+1 Ruler Credit?


    ...


    ?+1 Ruler Credit?


    ...


    Those at the center of the attack were burnt to death in mere seconds but the flame kept on roasting their corpses as if saying that it won''t stop burning them until they turn to ashes.


    Those who remained alive witnessed this horrifying scene with gaping mouths and shaky eyes. Fear has taken over the hearts of these natural-born warriors and they rushed to each side to evade the sea of flames and flee.


    Disorder and panic, the worst enemy of anyone who wants to survive!


    Disorderly, they ran here and there with a panic expression on their face; However, the waves of flame chased after them and it was adamant on claiming their lives today. Furthermore, those that managed to get out of the flame serpent range in time were butchered by Blood Drinker.


    Chi*


    Chi*


    Chi*


    In the end, all the Scorpion-Kins were charred and chopped until their flesh and bones melted and bleed into one disgusting mess. Right after, the calming winds bellowed from the east after the chaotic situation announcing the end of the battle. It went away as swiftly as it came, along the way, it promoted the spread of a disgusting smell from within the raging waves of flames.


    Monster tower was extremely lifelike and one couldn''t distinguish it from real life. Scent, pain, vision, heart pulse, strength, abilities, and literally everything was lifelike for every individual present inside it. Even the wind blowing across the grass and other similar sound effects could be heard. However, only the death of contestants wasn''t real but those born in the tower can die if they are killed.


    Anyway, the death of contestants came with heavy plenties. First of all, once a contestant dies, he won''t be able to log-in to the monster tower for the next three days. Secondly, they will lose 1% of their strength and that strength will be equally separated between the tower and the killer.


    The scorpion-Kin didn''t have mana, soul force, or battle energy. They only had strong bodies and their limbs were natural weapons that can be used to kill. Since their strength wasn''t compatible with Whittaker, he received 1 Royal credit per kill from the tower.


    Moving on, he currently stood before the flame with a hand on his nose as a disgusting stink that was ten times worse than before was emitting out from within the flame.


    The putrid smell was the smell of dead and burnt corpses!


    Suddenly, a smile formed on his covered fave as a holographic screen opened up in his vision.


    ?Killed a group of scorpion-kin: Complete?


    ?Rewards obtained: 500 Ruler credits. 100 Human Alliance reputation?


    Multiple notifications popped up in his vision as the flame spread like sea waves and continued to devour, scorch and burn the scorpion-kin to ashes.


    He thought in glee, ''I thought that I won''t get anything from killing Scorpion-kins. Surprisingly, killing these contestant killers gave me 1 Ruler credit for every kill. Plus, the quest issued by the spirit of the tower has also been completed


    In an area nearby Whittaker and the sea of flames, three people ran hurriedly. The sudden appearance of flame has certainly attracted them and what they saw left them awed but they didn''t stop running.


    It was certain Death if they halted in their tracks, after all!


    "A talisman Master! Let''s get to him!" A fair-skinned youth that seems to have never seen the light of day exclaimed. He was as pale as white sand and breathing heavily.


    "Huff* Puff* Young miss, young lord, it''s our lucky day to meet him!" A burly man carrying a huge backpack said as he led two youngsters by the hand towards Whittaker''s direction.


    ''He actually used a combination of 3-star talisman to simulate an attack that''s as powerful as a B-rank spell! He is young but have knowledge comparable to Expert Talisman master! I wonder who his master is?'' The young miss thought as they stepped closer to Whittaker.


    The area behind them was shaking as something terrifying was wriggling inside the sand. They have been running for hours to get away from it but it kept on chasing after them!


    "Young Expert, I beg you, please save the life of my young miss and young lord!"


    Whittaker was about to turn around and continue on with his journey when he heard a shout filled with desperation from behind him.

 Chapter 180: Battle in the desert (B)

    Hearing the desperate shout, Whittaker turned about to take a look, and at the same time, he also activated Devansha vision to get a better look. His vision pierced through the sandy clouds hovering about on the desert and stared right at the group of three who ran towards him at full-speed.


    The group of three was led by a middle-aged man with a huge beard and an overgrown mustache whose each end hung low on his cheeks. From his burly build and weak energy fluctuations, Whittaker could determine that he was a D-rank battle master. Although butler Azan had kind eyes, they were strict yet ferocious.


    He could tell that this man had experienced countless deadly battles!


    Azan was running with Jin and Fiorin each hand. He used all the battle energy he could to run at the maximum speed but the magical beast within the sand was much faster than him.


    Naturally, he wasn''t able to outrun the chaser. It would be a joke if a mere D-rank battle master managed to outrun the magical beast entitled as the king of sand!


    The female amongst them is called Fiorin. She had chocolate brown skin and a cute face and the boy, Jin who seemed to be around Whittaker''s age had refined features and pale skin. Fiorin was an E-rank mage while Jin was a peak F-rank battle master merely one step away from E-rank. Currently, all of them had a distressed expression on their face, and Whittaker was able to see the reason for their worries.


    Behind them, a large visible bump in the sand could be seen and it was crawling up to them. Beneath the sand, Whittaker with the help of Devansha vision saw that there was a huge eighteen-legged centipede and the bumps on the sandy ground extended as it crawled at an incredible speed.


    [Magical Beast; Eighteen-legged Flesh-Eating Centipede


    Rank: D. Known as the King of sand, this beast with eighteen strong legs travels really fast in the desert. Its speed can even match up to C-rank battle master It''s one of the most favorite travel companions of many experts that like to wander in the desert.


    Bloodline ability: Sand burrow, Breath of the Desert, Mighty Shell, Pincer attack, Super Crawling, Tentacle-like Limbs, Flesh Melting Saliva, Elemental resistance] Noah notified him.


    ''King of the desert, I am pretty sure that by using it, I will be able to cross the desert at a faster rate. For that purpose, I must form a companion pact it. To do that, there''s only one way and that way is to beat it until it agrees to become my mount!'' Whittaker thought.


    This was a savage beast that likes to feast on humans. There was only way to tame savage magical beasts like these and that way was to beat them till they submit.


    It was reaching towards Azan and the people he must protect with an incredible speed!


    "KUAHHHHH!!!!"


    Along with this ear-wrenching screech, the towering eighteen-legged centipede lunged out of the sand just like the mythical creature Kunpeng jumping out of the water to take flight to reach the heaven, and it then loomed over them. Its shadow covered them entirely and their heart palpitated in fear as darkness invaded their vision.


    The beast immediately plunged straight towards them. They were still dozens of meters away from the talisman expert and it seems like they will die if no miracle happens.


    In this adverse situation, Azan remembered the promise he made with his sick master. He promised to keep her children safe even at the cost of his life and now the time has come to fulfill his promise.


    Furthermore, In his eyes, even though he was just a butler of their family, he didn''t feel any different than their family. These kids were like his own and he had seen them grown. He wasn''t one to retreat out of fear.


    ''If I let something happen to them then how could I possibly face master? How could I remain regret free? Even after death, regret will haunt me!'' He thought.


    "Young master, young miss, you both must live on. Tell master that Azan is really grateful for the help she bestowed me when I was at my lowest and also tell her that Azan would love to serve her again if there''s another life!'' While saying that, Azan poured some battle energy in his hand and hurled Fiorin and Jin towards the black-haired expert, successfully throwing them out of harm range.


    WHOOSH! WHOOSH! Jin and Fiorin whisked towards Whittaker at an incredible speed.


    With a single thought, green and purple lights flashed in his hand as two talismans with the same magical rune designs appeared in his hand.


    "Weightless talisman!" He activated the two talismans in his hand and tossed them out at Jin and Fiorin. This talisman was used to cushion falls and he used it to so that they won''t get injured by crashing on the ground.


    "Swish" The talismans whisked towards them and landed on their back. It activated, and at the same time, Jin and Fiorin felt as if they were weightless. Rather than crashing on the ground, they gently landed on the sandy ground.


    "Uncle, NOOOOO!" Fiorin shouted after she landed on the ground and her vision cleared up. She saw the savage beast pouncing towards the butler of her house with a wide-open mouth.


    "Savage beast, You are courting death!!!"


    Mustering up all his courage and the last bit of strength from his exhausted body, Butler Azan roars, turns around while summoning his class weapon from the soul space, and clutched it tightly in his hand.


    His entire disposition changed in an instant. From a run of the mill butler, he now seemed like a war veteran that has participated in thousands of battles.


    "Battle Skill, Four Turn Penetrating Wind Strike!" The spear tightly clutched in his hands is released and shot straight at the beast.


    "Hong hong hong hong!!!!" Wind sweeps around his spear as four-golden rings formed about. At D-rank, a battle master would reach the peak strength a mortal body can possess.


    Even before the spear reached him, the continuous sound generated from the friction between the spear and the wind created an oppressing atmosphere, as though it would be impossible to stop the spear and it will pierce through the beast''s body. Furthermore, powerful strength is exerted through the rings and heavy wind waves scatters into the surrounding, shaking the environment.


    This was the ultimate and final attack of a D-rank battle master. Butler Azan''s final thoughts were to injure the beast so much that the kids will be able to escape.


    Peng! A deafening reverberation resounded as the four golden rings fused with the spear, making it shine like a golden dragon, and it then crashed on the hard shell of the King of Sand.


    Ting!


    "What? How could it be?" Butler Azan said.


    His ultimate attack only managed to form a heavy dent on its shell. It''s because multiple limbs of the beast had stretched like tentacles and clutched the end of the spear tightly to halt it in its track.


    Then, the tentacles raised and the spear was flung away like a ragdoll, and at the same time, the beast pounced at Azan. Its open mouth burning with toxic fumes threatened to swallow him whole.


    Seeing his powerful attack doing barely any damage, Jin''s face turned ghastly pale and Fiorin was further horrified.


    "Butler Azan!"


    Frightened, they shriek in fear and their eyes close. They didn''t have the heart to watch the end of their family butler. They were well aware of the fact that the butler Azan has exhausted all his strength and didn''t even have any strength left to evade the beast attack.


    ''This is my end. At least, they are safe and I kept my promise with master!" Azan felt extremely tired and his body didn''t listen to his command. Running for hours while carrying the two kids has not only exhausted all his battle energy but also his stamina and cramped his muscle.


    It seemed impossible for him to evade death, he would surely die. However, even now there was a peaceful smile on his face.


    He was dying without regret, after all, but he wanted to make sure of something. So he turned around to face Whittaker.


    At the very last moment, just before death, he gave Whittaker a look. His eyes said, ''I leave the rest up to you! Please, young expert! Please keep them safe!''


    In return, Whittaker simply returned a smile before the beast plunged straight at Azan.


    "Flash step!" At the very last second, he used Flash step and appeared behind Azan''s back, facing the beast he slashed his sword outwards and clashed head-on with the huge centipede.


    BOMB! The ground creaks in agony as though it is unable to bear the heavy pressure being pressed down on it. His legs seeps in the ground as his sword halts the all-powerful King of Desert in its track!


    A powerful aura surges forth as the desert wind howls in excitement!


    "I will keep them safe but it''s better if you are the one who protect them till the very end!"


    A slightly immature child-like voice that contains a hint of maturity rang from behind him and Azan found out that he didn''t die!


    He turns around and saw that the young expert has mysteriously appeared behind him and saved his life!

 Chapter 181: Enslaving the King of Desert (a)

    Just when they thought that Butler Azan would be devoured by the Eighteen-legged centipede, they heard a calm voice ringing in the environment and the aggravated shrieks of the beast. Jin and Fiorin quickly opened their eyes to take a look and they saw that the incomparably powerful and mighty King of Sand was stopped in midair and what is stopping it is the sword of the black-haired boy who they thought to be just a talisman expert.


    To block a beast ten times bigger than himself with just a sword... this is only possible for B+ ranked awakened!


    "Wow! He is the same age as me but so powerful. Are outsiders all monster like him?" Jin couldn''t help but be amazed by the youth with peculiar handsome features. He seemed to be the same age as them but he''s dozens of times stronger than them.


    Fiorin is also surprised that the seemingly weak figure of the young boy seems to uphold the heaven; However, she''s more concerned for butler Azan. Hence, she shout his name, "Uncle Azan". Then she stood up and runs towards them.


    "Young miss, don''t come near. It''s dangerous here." Azan warns but it''s all in vain as she continues anyway.


    "Impossible... How can a mere child block me! Kuah!" The beast said in its language but Whittaker was able to understand it due to Advance Guide translating its beast language words into a language he understands.


    The King of Sand is also in a state of disbelief. Its meaty eyeballs almost popped out from their sockets when it was petrified on the spot by the sword. Heck, it couldn''t even feel its body. That''s why it still hasn''t used its tentacles to slap the fuck out of then.


    King of Sand could still feel and it managed to sense Whittaker''s strength. According to its accurate senses, the boy was a mere E-ranker, a weakling!


    How could Whittaker possibly stop a D-rank beast with his E-rank strength and also petrify it with just a sword? Well, it was all possible because of the use of talismans.


    In order to achieve such a feat, he used 4 strength boosting perfect-grade talisman, he also used three defense booting talismans. Lastly, he also used a petrifying talisman on Blood Drinker. Just like its name, the petrifying talisman binds someone with an invisible forceful so tightly that they are unable to move.


    This was all possible because of his mental fortitude. To commit such an act, a person needs precise timing, accurate judgment, extensive knowledge about magical beast and talisman, absolute control over one''s thoughts, and many other factors. If there were to be a slight difference in his judgment then it was possible for him to be squashed under the beast''s body due to lack of strength or his bones breaking due to the lack of defense. Lastly, if he didn''t use the petrifying talisman then he would be smacked by the beast tentacle-like limbs


    ''Perhaps not even high-rank experts would be able to achieve such a feat!'' Azan could see what he used to block the entire beast, and through his years of battle experience, he concluded that not even the C-rank and above ranked experts would be able to achieve such a feat!


    ''What a monster,'' he thought in praise and disbelief while looking at his small back that shouldered the towering beast.


    Gir* Gir!*


    The body of the beast started to tremble and Whittaker realized that the effectiveness of the petrification talisman was running out and he didn''t have much time before the beast regains control over its body.


    "Everyone, take cover!" He exclaimed to the people behind him before, with a single thought, a green light flashed in his free left hand and he instantly hurled it towards the king of sand while stepping back.


    "Off you go!" He said to the beast as the Wind Blast talisman activated.


    At the same time, he quickly ran in the direction of the seemingly petrified Butler Azan who didn''t heed his warning, clutched his hand, and used multiple Frost shield to provide them cover from the upcoming blast.


    "Swish" With a booming sound, the talismans exploded in the air creating giant gushes of wind that blasted the beast away and crashed the frost shield. In the face of berserking winds, the mighty king of sand was hurled away like a rag doll. It crashed on the sandy ground and then it wriggled like a worm while letting out a screeching howl, trying to forcefully nullify the effect of the petrifying talisman hurriedly.


    Crack* Crack*! Whereas, the frost shields protected Whittaker and Azan from the blast and kept them out of harm''s ways.


    "Here, drink it" Whittaker passed a healing potion to Butler Azan.


    "Thanks." Azan gladly took it.


    Gulp!" He opened the cap and drank it all in one go. As the liquid went down his throat, it turned into streams of healing energy that diffused everywhere in his body, reinvigorating him and healing minor wounds such as small cuts.


    "Shield of Light!" Looking at the wind waves rushing towards her, Fiorin defensively crossed her arms before her body and chanted the name of a defensive spell.


    Simultaneously, a golden shield materialized around her body and the wind waves crashed on it, breaking it in an instant and throwing her back to Jin who hurriedly ran up to her while shouting,


    "Sister, are you alright?" He asked worriedly.


    "Cough... Cough... I''m fine just some sand got in my face!" She said while standing up and dusting the sand off her clothes.


    "If you say so. Sis, what should we do now," Jin asked. As he was immature and inexperienced, he couldn''t decide anything on his own. The last time he did, he attracted the King of Sand. That''s why he is acting like a tamed beast now, always asking what to do from his sister before making a move.


    The Wind blast had raised huge clouds of dust that encircled a wide area in front of the two kids and blinded everything inside.


    Looking at the sight of blinding sandy clouds in front of her, she replied in a distressed tone, "Let''s first locate Uncle Azan and the young expert."


    "We will do as sister say," Jin replied when suddenly from within the sandy clouds, Whittaker and Butler Azan rushed out.

 Chapter 182: Enslaving the King of Desert (b)

    "Looks like there''s no need to," Jin added when he saw them dashing out of the sandy clouds.


    Fiorin nodded her in agreement with an expression of relief on her face. She was relieved to see them safe and sound.


    Whittaker Flash stepped one time and immediately appeared beside them. Whereas, with huge strides, Butler Azan hurriedly reached them.


    "Sob* sob!" Fiorin instantly ran into his embrace while crying. "Do you know how worried I was, why did you sacrifice yourself for us!"Her eyes were filled with fear and confusion, she balled her hands into fists and hit him on the chest.


    "Ouch�C" he acted like he was hurt by her powerless attacks, making her stop and look at him with guilt in her eyes.


    Young Fiorin thought, ''It''s all my fault. If only I was stronger than there would have been no reason for him to try to sacrifice himself!''


    "Young miss, don''t worry yourself. See, I''m perfectly fine and healthy!" Grinning, Uncle Azan pressed his hand onto Fiorin''s head, and his hands brazenly rubbed her head.


    Feeling his homely pats, Fiorin felt herself calming down and she stopped crying.


    "Uncle, don''t you ever do something like that, again, or else I won''t forgive you!" Jin said while pouting.


    "Young lord, I will do as you command!" He exclaimed.


    ''So touching.'' Whittaker smiled while looking at their happy reunion. ''Sadly, I will only be able to return to my homeland after training with Elder Zachary!'' He also missed his family and the friends he made back at the academy and he wanted to see them so badly but the training with Elder Zachary was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and he didn''t want to waste it.


    After the happy reunion~~


    "Thank you so much for your help young expert!" Fiorin said, bowing slightly towards Whittaker. She couldn''t help but blush as if she has fallen in love with him. Internally, she thought, ''I already embarrassed myself by crying in front of him. Will he still like me?''


    He saved the beauty just like a knight in shining armor. Hence, the feeling of love bubbled up in the heart of the young and developing beauty.


    "Thank you so much for saving my life! My gratitude for you is endless. If little brother wants then Azan will help you out in any way anytime!" The butler also thanked him after her.


    "Thanks for helping us out." Young Jin followed.


    This was too overwhelming for the 12-year-old boy and a slight blush was raised on his milky white cheeks.


    "Don''t mention it. Anyways, don''t call me young expert. You guys can call me Life Taker," Whittaker replied with a slight smile to hide his nervousness.


    "Sure! Thanks once again!" They still thanked him once again. They felt really grateful towards him as he had helped them out by facing a beast feard as the King of Sand in the tenth-floor desert.


    The eighteen-legged Centipede was an anomaly on the tenth floor. It was the mutation of a hard-shelled centipede, a mutation that occurred after it devoured thousands of bodies of humans and magical beast alike. And, it was also the most strongest and feared beast on the tenth-floor.


    "The beast is still alive. And from what I have heard, the King of Sand is a really vengeful beast that won''t let go of its prey or anyone that offends no matter what. Even if we run away, it''ll chase after us. Moreover, the desert is its home ground, the place where it''s best at. Life Taker, what should we do now?" Butler Azan asked while looking at him.


    "For now, you guys can stay inside the formation I create. It will be safe inside and far too dangerous outside so just stay inside here!" Whittaker warned them for their own good before he took out the Six Formation disks from his storage ring and placed them on the ground.


    "We will do as you say," Azan replied to him while feeling surprised. He was surprised once again because Whittaker proclaimed himself as a formation master. He internally thought, ''The boy isn''t just a talisman expert but also a formation master. Just who is he... Since I have never heard of him, he might very well be an outsider!''


    Outsiders are also called contestants. They are humans or other races from the awakened continent. Whereas Azan, Fiorin, and Jin were humans born and raised inside the tower.


    "Wow! You are also a formation master. How did you learn it all at such a young age?" Fiorin''s mesmerizing dusky eyes stared intently at what he was doing.


    "I have a good master," he replied while remembering all the good things Elder Zachary has done for his sake.


    "Can you teach us about it," Jin and Fiorin asked with a heated expression. They were mystified by these formation items. And they know that masters are highly respected and mysterious. Meeting even one is a lucky event that occurs for only some peoples.


    "Sorry, I have no time," Whittaker kindly declined him while inscribing the mana wall magical rune design on one of the small, round disk, and at the same time, the same magical rune design appeared on the other five disks. The mana rune formation can be used to trap a beast or protect oneself from attack and danger. It was a good and most common formation with two properties and they needed the defensive one.


    Since mana in the environment was thin, he needed to provide mana by himself or use a mana stone which will provide mana for the formation to activate, remain running, or both. Hence with a heavy heart, he pulled out six pure-mana gems from his rankless ring of genesis and placed each on one of the six formation disks.


    ''These mana gems are rare treasures but now I have to use six of them. Sigh~'' he thought while measuring the coordinates properly, and he then staked the formation disk into the sandy ground and activated it.


    Blue light shone as they found themselves entrapped within a hexagonal shield.


    After the formation activated, Whittaker stepped ahead, seemingly walking towards the protective boundary of the formation.


    "Um, Life Taker, where are you doing?" Fiorin asked her savior who stepped out of the formation.


    "I want to capture the King of Sand to reach RedCliff City by today. So, I am going out to do just that." He replied with a beaming smile.


    The desert was vast and it might take two days of traveling to even cross it. But, by taming the king of sand, he will easily reach the Redcliff city within a day. That''s why he wanted to tame it.


    "Should we help?" They asked. However, they were too weak to help and Whittaker didn''t want to see others getting hurt because of him.


    "No, you guys can leave the task of taming the king of sand up to me! I will be able to tame it without getting hurt!" Whittaker replied with a confident smile. He was confident that with his various professions and abilities, he will be able to do what he''s planning to do.


    "Then we will just stay inside the formation!" Azan replied.


    Young Jin comfortably lying down on the ground and exclaimed, "I am exhausted!"


    Ignoring her brother actions, Fiorin asked,


    "Is there any other way we can help you?"


    "For now, there''s none but I don''t know my way around this desert. If you guys have a map then it will be helpful after I tame the beast," Whittaker replied while heading forward, right into the sandy clouds.


    "We have one," she cheerfully exclaimed before she couldn''t even see his silhouette.


    "I will be back soon!"


    His confident voice echoes out of the sandy clouds and reaches their ears.

 Chapter 183: Enslaving the King of Desert (c)

    Whittaker went into the sandy cloud that was filled with massive danger. He has seen the Eighteen-legged Centipede breaking free from the fortification talisman and going underground after the Wind Blast.


    He used Devansha vision and opened his eyes as wide as he could to catch the beast swimming within the sand in his vision, and at the same time, he also tried to feel the vibration in the sand to trace it.


    "It''s here," Soon, Whittaker felt the vibration in a sandy area several meters away and his eyes turned to focus on that area. There, he saw the king of sand and it was coming towards him very fastly.


    As if using teleportation, It wormed its way through the sand and reached right beneath him in a mere second and luged out of the sand to swallow him like a bug but he evaded the attack by using Ghost step and jumping back.


    "I really angered this beast." He said after landing on an area some meters away from the King of the sand.


    The beast which is more stronger than the floor boss of the tenth floor was charging up its ultimate attack, the toxic Sandy breath. Although It is very cunning but it have been angered to the limit by being beaten by a weakling.


    ''I want nothing else but the death of the boy that harmed me and the prey that escaped me!'' It thought as green sandy energy began to condense in the middle of its disgusting mouth with dozens of sharp teeth.


    "I guess I gotta use some more talisman. There''s no need to worry. I won''t go bankrupt even if I use ten times more talisman," Whittaker said with a calm expression as he took out a Defensive Holy glow talisman, Poison, and toxic nullifying talisman from the rankless ring of genesis.


    With a thought, he used the poison and toxic nullifying talisman on his body. A green glow enveloped his body. Similarly, he used the holy glow defensive talismans on his body and a holy golden glow enveloped him in a protective cover.


    ''Using the nullifying talisman means that all toxic-based attacks will be completely useless against me till the duration of the talisman ends. Its ultimate attack would lose out on its most damaging aspects, the poison. While the defensive holy glow talisman would negate the physical force behind the attack.'' Whittaker thought.


    He was confident that the beast''s ultimate attack will be useless against him. After all, he has used so many expensive and powerful talisman that counter poison and negates damage.


    King of Sand wasn''t intelligent enough to understand the might of talismans. It was just a D-rank savage magical beast, after all. All at once, It let out a green toxic gas mixed with heavy sand from its mouths and it rained down at Whittaker.


    The sand mixed with toxic energy blasts towards his direction and split into two sides upon touching the green and holy glows surrounding him. It was as if a celestial has slashed his sword vertically and split the ocean apart.


    The toxic sand spread wide and far, covering most of the area around, and even crashed on the walls of the defensive formation that Whittaker has set up. Thankfully, he set up a defensive formation otherwise, Fiorin and the other two would have been disintegrated by the toxic gas.


    Any insect or living creatures that the toxic sandy breath touched immediately either got crushed, rotted, or disintegrated. Even the sand sizzled and evaporated!


    Only Whittaker was able to calmly walk through the toxic Sandy breath like it was nothing. Not even a single strand of hair on his head was misplaced by its ultimate attack. Every damage was negated by the almighty talismans he used.


    Now this... This was the power of being a tycoon. Being so rich that owing pricey talisman and using a lot of them won''t be painful to the heart. This wealth came to him the moment he became Zachary''s student and more was still to come.


    How strong was that attack?


    Even a group of D-rank awakened will die under it. Heck, no one below C-rank should be able to survive yet the boy IT thought to be an ignorant brat was walking within the poisonous sand with a vexed expression and he was stepping towards itself.


    Standing vertically, it stared at him with an expression of lament and extreme caution.


    "Just whose monster child have I offended," the beast internally thought.


    "I should have used a smell dispelling talisman," Whittaker still complained with an irritated expression as the smell was too disgusting and no human should ever smell.


    His nose crinkled and his face distorted due to the stink of its toxic sandy breath.


    What a bad smelly breath!!!!!


    Pu! Kuah!


    Hearing those words, the beast with little intelligence convulsed in anger.


    The heck!


    "Do you have to go so far? You did walk through my attack but that doesn''t mean you can stomp all over my pride!"


    No matter what, it was still the King of sand. The number one and the most powerful beast in the entire tenth floor. It was to be respected and fear not disdained.


    Standing upright, it shouted and sent its tentacle-like limbs straight at the boy nagging after surviving its ultimate attack with little to no harm.


    "Blood spikes slash!"


    Looking at the limbs that were gonna whip him to death, he repeatedly slashed Blood Drinker horizontally, and at the same time, poured up to 20 units of battle energy into the blood attribute line of the sword.


    Sishi!! sishi!!!


    As he slashes outwards, streaks of scarlet lights shaped like thin and sharp spikes shot out from the sword. Just like hot knives passing through buttes, they easily sliced through the limbs of the beast and smashing on its metallic shell, denting it and smashing it on the sandy ground with a heavy "Thud."


    Right after, he summoned his frost spellbook from his soul space and decided to use his ultimate.


    "Damn beast, since you have used a smelly ultimate attack now face my ultimate too! I hope you will be able to survive!" He taunted the angry and awe-struck beast while commanding the Frost spellbook to cast,


    ?Frost Spike Storm?


    Instantly, a massive cloud formed above the King of sand that was surprised to see that its ultimate has been so easily blocked by its prey.


    Suddenly, it found its vision being obscured by the massive cloud that emitting cold icy energy.


    The cloud had cast a shadow over it as if announcing its upcoming doom.


    Shi* shi**! Shi* shi**!!


    The King of Sand didn''t even get the chance to react when dozens of large frosty spikes rained out of the massive cloud.


    Bam! Bam! Bam! The frost spike crashed on its shelled body but the force behind the slam was enough to make it feel like it was going to get pounded to death.


    "It should submit to me anytime soon," Whittaker thought as he watched the show.


    The only thing he was missing right now was popcorn.


    It was a Eighteen-legged centipede. It was crowned as the king of sand. It was one of the most ferocious savage beasts in the entire Scorpion-kin desert. Possessing great might, it was usually the predator. Yet, at this moment, it was being smashed to death by frost spike that rained down endlessly.


    What kind of strength did that youngster possess? It didn''t know.


    The King of Sand spewed out blood. Why did everything have to be so shitty? Unable to eat for a day? Now getting pounded by endless frost spikes that seemingly were gonna smash an insect like magical beast to death.


    Did it wanted to die? There''s no way. It wanted to survive no matter what! It was so hard for a mere F-rank beast like it to reach D-rank. It killed, it struggled for years to survive, and then evolved. So how could it possibly allow everything to end her?


    As Whittaker was merciless watching its end with anticipated gleaming in his eyes, the King of Sand struggled to crawl forward. Under the rain of frost spikes, it took it a little longer than expected to crawl up to Whittaker and prostrate to him.


    "Kuuuuh!" The King of Sand lowered its prideful head and shouted in submission.


    "What?" The young boy was confused.


    ?Ding! This is Voluntary Submission! The Guardian has smashed him so badly that the King of beast got awed by your mystifying strength and is willing to serve you!" Noah notified.


    "I already know!" Whittaker replied. He knows what the beast meant by its action. He was just surprised that it willingly agreed to surrender and serve him so fast.


    He thought that since it''s a powerful beast, it will only surrender at the last breath.


    The King of the desert was clearly sane and somewhat intelligent. It knows that by submitting to him, it will be able to survive and live for another day. Living was better than death, at least to it. Furthermore, it was awed by the boy''s strength and didn''t find it hurtful to serve someone stronger.


    Hence, it didn''t wait to reach near death before shouted surrender. Now that''s something only a fool would do.


    "Since you are willing to submit to me, I don''t mind taking you in! However, you are a savage beast that ate humans in the past. Therefore, I will be forming a slave contract with you. I hope you don''t mind!" Whittaker said to the beast after stopping the continuous Frost spike Storm spell.


    "Kuuuuh!" King of Sand replied. It was as if saying, "I''m willing!"

 Chapter 184: King of Sand advance into C-rank! (a)

    King of Sand was a savage beast that have eaten the flesh of many humans, magical beast, and other races. Unlike Wolfie, Its nature was bloodthirsty. Forming a normal contract with it was dangerous as it could turn on him at any time. However, he just had to use the beast contract method created for savage beast by beast tamers and everything will be fine.


    In any case, making the life binding contract with it shouldn''t pose any problems. Besides, having a peak D-rank savage magical beast as a companion also seemed impressive and will boost his combat ability by several times.


    Doing as the Life Binding Contract method states, he stretched his hand to move it right above the Eighteen-legged centipede head and dripped a drop of blood mixed with ten units of soul force upon its mouth.


    This was called soul blood.


    The moment his soul blood touched the beast''s forehead, a ritual seemed to have been triggered. Simultaneously, the beast trembled in resistance as a weird kind of spell matrix appeared on its forehead allowing the soul blood to penetrate its head.


    "Drop all your mental resistance or the Life binding contract won''t work on you," Whittaker said and the King of Sand stopped resisting.


    Putting aside how it didn''t even have the strength to crawl or stand up straight, how could it defy the order of the person that beat It into this state?


    It was not like it would dare to attack its owner, it didn''t have the strength to do so either!


    ?Guardian have formed the Life Binding contact with the magical beast: Eighteen-legged centipede. Its life is bounded to your will. As its master, if you are to give it an order, the King of Sand would be willing to die for you?


    ?Contracted Beast; Name: King of sand


    Rank: Peak D-rank


    Loyalty: 48?


    Noah notified when the soul blood entirely seeped into the beast.


    A connection seemed to be formed between his soul space with the other party. Through this connection, he could communicate with the beast no matter how far away it is from him. He could also give orders to it through the connection. Moreover, he could summon the beast into his soul space or recall it onto the world.


    "Since you have submitted to me, you should serve as my battle companion and mount. Anyway, listen well, this is a "Life Binding contract". I can control your life and death with a single thought. If you ever betray me then I won''t hesitate to kill you. From now on, if you ever eat an innocent person then the same punishment will ensure. Except for these rules, you can do as you wish. And, we can communicate by using the spiritual connection. Lastly, I hope we will get along!" Whittaker said to the mighty beast.


    It was no wonder that beast tamer was one of the nine professions. Just the ability to communicate with magical beasts and fight alongside them were already considered as fearsome feats. But, one can also force the magical beast to obey certain rules and follow them for a lifetime. This was just broken and extremely useful to keep in check the bloodthirsty natures of savage magical beasts.


    "Okay!"


    The King of Sand was stunned to have so many rules imposed on it but in the end, it still agreed to follow them. Its life depended on it, after all.


    "I''ll be depending on you for the journey to the RedCliff City! Let''s go" he happily said and jumped on its back.


    However, the beast crawled very slowly. Even walking on foot would be faster than using it to travel.


    This was not the feared King of desert but a queen of slow-mo. The beast struggled to crawl faster by putting strength into its sixteen remaining feet, only for its legs to give up and body to sink somewhat into the sand. No matter how much effort was put, it was unable to move faster. Whittaker had gone all out with his attacks and the beast has sustained severe injuries. Thus, it was difficult for it to even stand up, much less serving as a desert horse.


    "What''s wrong?" He asked. Behind the dented armor was a body full of wounds. As such, Whittaker was unable to notice that its wounded pretty badly


    "Master Life Taker, I have sustained severe injuries. I need at least some weeks to heal before I am able to move around freely in the desert" The beast communicated to Whittaker through the spiritual channel while looking at him pitifully.


    ''Seems like I had gone too far with my attacks previously,'' he thought.


    The beast will need weeks to heal but he wasn''t gonna waste so much time. The reason why he tamed it was to reach the RedCliff City today. He was pressed for time. After all, only one month and two weeks were left before the two months time end. If he fails to impress Elder Zachary then he will have to wait for who knows how long to get the key to .e treasure.


    The solution to this problem was to Heal it!


    Except for natural recovery, humans can hasten their recovery through consuming healing elixirs or using pure-mana healing spells. There must be ways to hasten the reviver of magical beasts as well; however, he didn''t know about it.


    "Noah, do you have any ways to heal its injuries swiftly?" He asked. Since he was focused more on talisman and formation, he didn''t invest much time in the time-consuming beast tamer profession.


    Actually, all professions were time-consuming to learn. That''s why many don''t learn more than a single profession. Only some dabble in more than one. And Whittaker was only of those few ones that are mastering three+ professions at the same time.


    "The physical constitution of a magical beast differs from that of a human''s but the methods to hasten their recovery are vaguely similar. There are two ways to heal it. The first method is feeding it. The guardian will have to use the flesh of powerful magical beasts or humans to heal it. The second is using healing elixirs suitable for this particular magical beast consumption. If the right elixir is used, this beast will be able to make a complete recovery within a short amount of time! However, the guardian doesn''t have." Noah explained the ways to heal the magical beast to him.


    Beast tamers had two ways for treating their tamed beast but neither of the two methods could be currently utilized by Whittaker. He didn''t have a healing elixir suitable for the beast nor did he have any flesh of magical beast in his bag. Don''t think about humans, he wasn''t fed humans to his magical beast.


    Anyways he was lacking the materials and resources required to heal the tamed beast.


    "Do I leave it behind and travel on foot?" He thought. Traveling on foot will take two days or so but only if he doesn''t get bothered by the enemies or else, it will take around three to seven days. However, the desert was full of Scorpion-kin and magical beast. So, he was bound to battle again and again.


    But if he uses the King of Sand as his ride then no magical beast will attack him. Why? The reason''s pretty simple... The aura emitting out of the King of Sand will keep all magical beast at bay. Magical beast get pressurized when they are in the presence of some stronger magical beast and their instinct is to not fight a stronger one and avoid death, that''s why they won''t attack.


    ?There''s one more method made especially for the Guardian.?


    Just when he was about to give up and continue the journey on foot, Noah notified.


    "Huh? What''s it?" Whittaker was surprised.


    ?Quest Activated: Great Beast Tamer!


    Details: Advance the D-rank Eighteen-legged Centipede into a C-ranked?


    ?Rewards: Noah will use life essence to restore the beast to peak condition!?


    "How do I help it make a breakthrough when I don''t have any poison or sand type beast elemental crystal!" Whittaker said.


    Mostly, magical beasts need to eat food meant especially for them to advance but this only works for F till D-rank. To advance to C-rank, a magical beast needs to absorb a suitable C-rank beast core so that they can open up the first Mana Channel and advance. However, Whittaker didn''t have any.


    Magical beasts have many closed mana Channels in their body. When a beast reached the D-rank peak then they have to open up mana channels to increase their power. Mana channels are used to store and absorb mana inside them.


    ?The Guardian can help it reach Rank-C by increasing its loyalty to 100 points. At max loyalty, the spiritual connection you share with it will strengthen to its max limit, and then you can help open up one of its mana channels without a problem by using your mana. Noah will explain to you...?


    This was a secret only a few were exposed to. Increasing a beast loyalty to 100 points wasn''t an easy task but there was a mention of this even in one of the books he read in the library of Zachary''s palace. However, it was not explained clearly but Noah explained to him clearly what happens when a beast''s loyalty reaches 100.


    When the loyalty of a beast reaches 100, the spiritual connection becomes so strong that the owner will be able to pour his mana into the beast''s body through the connection. Normally, such an act was harmful and if done in excess will kill the beast but it''s useful when the beast''s loyalty is 100% and the spiritual connection is strengthened to the max.


    "And I just have the items to increase its loyalty!"


    Whittaker had three loyalty increasing pills in his storage. He received them when he tamed Wolfie. He pulled them and said to the beast.


    "I will be helping you to reach C-rank so that your injuries will recover in an instant but first you have to eat these!" he said to the beast and fed it the three pills.


    "Kuah!"


    The Eighteen-legged Centipede cooperated and absorbed the pill as it didn''t dare defy the orders of its master.


    ?King of Sand Loyalty increased by 30 points. 48?78. Spiritual connection boosted from mid-tier to high-tier.


    ?King of Sand Loyalty increased by 20 points. 78?98. Spiritual connection boosted from high-tier to peak-tier?


    ?King of Sand Loyalty increased by 10 points. 98?100. Loyalty increase to max. Spiritual connection boosted from high-tier to Perfect!?


    Each time one pill was devoured by the beast, a notification of its loyalty increasing popped up in Whittaker''s vision. By using the three pills, he increased its loyalty to the max amount.


    And at the same time, he felt the spiritual connection with the least strengthening to its limit. Normally, the spiritual connection was used to command the beast. But once it''s perfected, it can be used to guide mana into the beast''s body without harming it.


    The spiritual connection has been established. The beast loyalty has increased to a fanatic believer level.


    Now the only thing left to do was help open a mana channel in its body!

 Chapter 185: King of Sand advance into C-rank! (b)

    "Master!" Upon seeing the King of Sand looking at him as if he was a reverend Pope from the church of light and it�Ca frantic believer, Whittaker was certain that from now on it will serve and follow his command without a doubt.


    If he tell it to fall in a pit of death, the King of Sand won''t even think twice before doing so. This was the magical effect of 100 points in loyalty.


    Ignoring the frantic expression of the other party, Whittaker said, "King of Sand, look at me. I want you to recover from your injuries instantly. For that, I have a way but I will need to first help you reach rank-C," After a momentary pause, he continued by saying, "I will be using the spiritual connection to pour mana in your body and open a mana channel. Risky, isn''t it? but I hope you won''t resist otherwise, I''ll leave right now. You can remain as the king of this desert, and I will treat it as though you have never submitted to me! Alright, Let''s get on with it."


    He was warning the beast of what''s about to happen. He will be inserting a foreign object into its body to help it, after all, but the beast will no doubt resist if it happens without warning. That''s why he wanted its consent.


    Anyway, the King of Sand will be extremely useful to Whittaker even if it can''t help him today. If there was no way for him to heal it today then he had planned to store it inside the soul space and continue the journey on foot. As for why he said what he did, it was to coerce the beast into acceptance.


    "Kuah!" Hearing his words, the eyelids of King of Sand twitched. It had found its God, its destiny and now it was threatening to go away! How could It allow it? It instantly agreed to his demand.


    ''Loyalty pills are really amazing. Even a bloodthirsty savage magical beast has become subservient and obedient. It''s good that it has agreed'' he thought and turned his focus to Noah.


    "Noah, I got its consent. Now, tell me the location of its mana channels and how do I open its mana channel?"


    Noah had said that It will help guide him. It was time to fulfill what It promised.


    ?I will give the information about the locations of the mana channel in the beast body and the way to open it. The rest''s up to you, Guardian? Noah replied.


    "Ding!"


    A notification containing the information about the King of Sand''s magical internal body appeared in his vision.


    Reading through it swiftly, Whittaker nodded his head in satisfaction. It showed many grey lines inside the beast''s body. These grey lines were its sealed mana channels. To open any one of them, he needed to pour mana at the entrance until the entrance opens up. Moreover, the screen also detail fully explained where the entrance to these mana channels is.


    He just needs to open one of them and the beast will successfully step into C-rank. However, even a single mana channel was very vast.


    ''From my estimate, it will take more than a thousand units of mana. No worries, I got mana recovery potions,'' Although Whittaker didn''t bring an abundance of mana recovery potions with him �C he wasn''t expecting to travel the Scorpion-Kin desert�C he still had more than a dozen high-quality mana recovery potions in his storage.


    With a thought, three of said bottle appeared in his hand and he opened the lid than poured the content insides the tubes into his mouth.


    ?Intantly Gained 300 Mana. Mana recovery boosted to 100 units per second for the next three minutes?


    ?+100 Mana?


    ...


    ...


    ?+100 Mana?


    ...


    ...


    The effect of high-quality doesn''t stack. However, the duration of the effect is increased. One high-quality potion would boost his mana recovery by 100 points for one minute only. Since he drank three, the duration of this effect was increased to three minutes.


    After he finished making his preparation, Whittaker closed his eyes to focus all his attention on pouring his mana into the beast''s body through the strong and stable spiritual connection. It traveled through the beast''s body and reached the mana channel located in the upper body.


    Bam! The wave of mana crashed on the opening of the closed mana channel creating a resounding reverberation but only a tiny opening was created.


    King of Sand''s entire body trembled. Although, it was a fanatic follower of Whittaker, at first even it didn''t believe that its master would be able to help him advance into C-rank. Saying was far easier than doing. However, when it sensed the small opening in its mana channel, the beast was certain that its master really had the ability to help it advance.


    "Kuah (Master, let''s cooperate!)" Guided by its master, the King of Sand understood where its mana channel is.


    Its animalistic words resounded in Whittaker''s mind but he was able to make out what it said thanks to the beast tamer skill.


    "Sure, let us keep on attacking until its entrance entirely opens!" Whittaker communicated back through the spiritual channel.


    If the mana channel entrance isn''t entirely opened then in the future there''s a high chance for it to close automatically.


    The master and its companion beast cooperated. His mana mixed with the mana of the King of Sand and struck the mana channel entrance again and again.


    They weren''t gonna stop until its open up entirely!


    Bam Bam Bam Bam!


    Every single strike that struck the entrance of that very mana channel contained around 200 units of mana. Only after consecutive thirty-three resounding reverberation did the hard struck mana channel opening finally opened. At the same time, pure-mana seeped into the mana channel and began to fill it.


    Previously, the king of sand could only store a maximum of 7000 mana but now it could store a maximum of 7500-8000 mana!


    "KAHHHHHH!" The eighteen-legged stood up straight and howled to the skies enclosed by deserty clouds. Its roar spreading far and wide bring fear to all low-tanked beast in the beast. As it roared, it began to undergo certain changes.


    ?Guardian, congratulations! Your tamed beast D-rank Eighteen-legged centipede has advanced to C-rank!?


    ?Quest Completed: Great Beast Tamer!?


    ?Rewards obtained: King of Sand has been restored to peak condition!?


    "Good work, King Eighteen! It''s time you head out of this desert and witness the wonder of the world! Are you willing?" Whittaker exclaimed while jumping on its back and steadying himself.


    "Kuah! I''ll follow wherever master goes!" The beast excitedly roared back.


    Whittaker has won its eternal gratitude by helping it advance into rank-C!

 Chapter 186: RedCliff city

    "Ahhh!" Jin woke up with a terrified shout. His back was drenched in sweat as if he had seen a nightmare.


    "Uncle, what was that terrifying roar? It sounded eerily familiar!" Fiorin asked. Her heart palpitating in fear.


    "This��" Other people might be confused by the potential shout, but as an expert himself, Butler Azan could tell what it was. However, this was the first time he was lucky enough to hear it.


    He wasn''t excited but a look of fear has etched on his face!


    "This is the roar magical beast''s make after their advancement. The King of Sand had made an advancement to C-rank!"


    "No! Will Life Taker be able to survive against a C-rank beast? Uncle, should we go and help him out? Maybe, he requires it," Fiorin was extremely worried.


    "Miss, there''s no need to worry. If something had happened to him then this formation would have surely shown disturbance or vanished entirely," Butler Azan replied.


    "What do you mean?" Fiorin confusedly asked.


    "Formation items are linked to their owners. At the death of the owner, this link is broken and the formation items become ownerless. Ownerless formation items stop functioning causing the formation to disappear. Since the mana-wall formation is still working and protecting us that means Life Taker is still alive," Jin answered before Uncle Azan could say anything. He wasn''t like the other young master and was trying to become a formation master. Thus, he had shown extreme expert when he learned that Whittaker is a formation master.


    "Huh?" Azan felt the sand beneath his feet shaking.


    "Uncle, what happened?" They asked.


    "Somethings coming! Step behind me" He warned them and stood before them. They all looked beyond the formation wall and saw the terrifying king of sand mostly blurred by sand.


    "Kuah!" With a powerful screech, the towering magical beast stood beyond the protection formation wall and gazed at them.


    From its previous length of ten meters, it had grown to around sixteen or seventeen meters, its shell had changed color to silver. Plus, the aura emanated by the savage magical beast has increased tremendously. It had clearly grown stronger and even more fearsome than before!


    It was clear that the fellow before them had achieved a breakthrough. They couldn''t even hurt it when it was merely D-rank but now that it has reached C-rank all hope was lost.


    Peng Peng Peng!


    The pressure it emitted shook the formation wall and made Fiorin, Jin, and Butler Azan look at it with a pale face. The only thing separating them was a mana wall formation but who knows how long it can last under the attacks of the C-rank beast.


    From the looks of it, it might even break under a powerful blow!


    Shing! Suddenly, the mana wall formation vanished and this brought fright on their heart.


    It didn''t even last a single blow!


    "What the freak!" At the sudden disappearance of the formation, they shouted unfair in their heart which palpitated in fear so fast that it threatened to explode.


    "Retreat," Butler Azan shouted and they rapidly retreated with pale faces.


    Before the breakthrough, it was already as fast as C-ranker. After the breakthrough, its speed has reached greater heights. In mere seconds, it blocked their path.


    Gulp! Looking at the overwhelming beast, they gulped in fear.


    Are we gonna die?


    However, contrary to their expectation, the towering King of Sand laid down rather than eating them.


    "Hop on," A boyish voice resounded.


    Their gaze wandered to the source of the voice and they saw Life Taker sitting at the back of its neck.


    "This�� Life Taker, how did this happened? Why is the beast so obedient?"


    "I tamed it. It is absolutely loyal to me now. Isn''t that right, King Eighteen?" Whittaker asked his tamed beast.


    "Kuah (Yes, master! King Eighteen is eternally loyal to you!)"


    The disdain and resentment it held in those eyes had vanished completely. At this moment, its eyes were filled with admiration and respect.


    Pu!


    What''s this???


    Looking at the beast acting docile and cute like a tamed cat, Fiorin and the others were surprised.


    Where was the mighty King of Sand?


    They only saw a monster acting cute to earn favor from a young boy!


    "Brother, you really are amazing." The two kids excitedly praised Whittaker. Their gaze unable to conceal the fervent admiration they felt towards him.


    Now only was he a formation and talisman expert but also a beast tamer!


    What a... expert!


    "Alright. Get used to this kind of thing, because you''ll be experiencing more surprises in the future," Whittaker had understood that wherever he goes, he was bound to surprise everyone with his talent and actions. That''s why he thought that it was better to warn them. He continued by saying, "I am heading to the Red Cliff city and will drop you guys there if you want to come with me. Do you?"


    Actually, he didn''t want to leave them in the desert. They were weak and meeting a single group of Scorpion-kin could bring about their doom. He didn''t want them to die. Hence, he was lending a helping hand to them.


    "We''ll be coming with you," With a leap, Uncle Azan sat on the back of the beast and gestured for Young Jin and Fiorin to climb on as well.


    She used an incantation to use wind magic and fly to its back while Young-Jin stomped his feet on the ground and jumped on its back.


    "Can you give me the map of the desert?" He asked. He needed the map to ascertain his general location and the path that leads to RedCliff city. Although he knew that by going north-east in the desert, he would eventually reach that city. However, having a map was better than having one.


    "Sure!" Fiorin handed it over to him.


    "Thanks,"


    To take care of everyone, Whittaker quickly led and continued the journey. With the previous experience, he was even more cautious this time. He exercised both effects of the Life Guide Skill to sketch out a map of the desert and his surrounding.


    By using the active effect, he could see the mini-map displaying a sketch of a hundred meters radius of his surrounding. Also, he could see the general location of the magical beasts and Scorpion Kin within the desert.


    By using the passive effect, he recorded the sketch of the desert. The location of these places and their details can not only be sold for a good price but also be used by him if he ever returns to this place.


    He led them in a path where there weren''t any ambush waiting for them. He didn''t want to waste his time fighting with Scorpion-kins.


    Along the way, they met all sorts of strange magical beasts. They came in all shapes and sizes. From Huge Slugs that leaves behind a sandy trail to ants with metallic legs. Some looked like humanoid rats while the others looked no different than a huge version of insects. However, they scattered left and right and made a run for their lives the very moment they witnessed the King of Sand.


    He chatted with them and found out that not only was their home located in the RedCliff City, they were actually the children of the RedCliff city master!


    "Shouldn''t there be a lot of guards escorting you then? What were you guys doing in such a dangerous place without any, can you tell me?" He asked slightly curious about why they would come all the way to this dangerous desert.


    "Um..." They didn''t know what to say.


    They didn''t provide a valid answer until Azan said,


    "It''s okay to tell him. He won''t harm us,"


    Then Fiorin continued by showing him a flower with three hearts, "This is the Desert heart Mystic Flower. It''s the main ingredient needed to make the Heart Rejuvenating Elixirs. My mother is suffering from an incurable heart disease and she doesn''t have long to live. Making this elixir is our last hope of saving her..."


    In the middle of her sentences, her voice cracked. By the last sentence, she was unable to continue hence uncle Azan explained the rest.


    "There were only a handful of people who volunteered to search for the Desert Heart Mystic Flower. Not many had the guts to enter the Scorpion-Kin desert for the sake of master. From that handful of peoples, only we three survived."


    On the tenth floor, the desert heart mystic flower could only be found in the Scorpion-Kin desert. Moreover, it was extremely rare to even find one.


    "What happened to them?" Whittaker asked about the handful of people that came with them.


    "They died in an ambush set up by the scorpion-kin," Jin replied sadly.


    Tears and rage appeared in Jin''s eyes and he was unable to not cry. He was just a young boy, just like Whittaker, and losing someone precious hurts him emotionally. Whereas, sadness also welled up in Uncle Jin''s and Fiorin''s eyes.


    "Now, now..." Hearing her brother cry, Fiorin also started sobbing and Uncle Azan had to calm them both down.


    Whittaker felt guilty for asking a painful question but he didn''t know better.


    The journey continued and they reached deeper into the desert as they head towards the North.


    The deeper they went into the desert, the presence of mana in the environment drastically dropped. However, he still had some mana recovery potions in his storage so he wasn''t pressed by the scarcity of mana in the environment.


    No doubt, the King of Desert was the fastest creature in the sand and that''s why many beast tamer would kill to have a companion like it. As time passed, the group headed further into the center of the desert. Soon, they reached the northern area of the desert in no time and thereafter, stepped out of the desert in the same day.


    Right before them, the RedCliff City appeared!

 Chapter 187: The Sick RedCliff City Lord (a)

    When Whittaker and the others could see the entrance of RedCliff city, it was already late night. The moon shone brightly in the clouded night skies while darkness permeated each corner of the world. However, one could still see an array of white lights twinkling in the ground below.


    By using Devansha vision, he could see that from the entrance to the street, the darkness in the RedCliff City was entirely lit up in white lights by Light Orbs. While guards dressed in heavy armor and holding powerful weapons stood attentively before the entrance walls of the city. The Redcliff city was surrounded defensively on all four sides by towering walls.


    Plus, powerful war type magic construct were erected upon and behind the city towering walls. Wave blasters, mana shooters, laser beams, and even area-wide blasters were placed on the top of the wall. Whittaker had seen them before in books and Elder Zachary palace but now he was surprised to see them in RedCliff City.


    Its wonder is matched by the backdrop of a lush forest with towering trees and the Grand Canyon was also to the north of the city. It''s the place where the boss of the tenth floor resides. The teleporter connected to the eleventh floor is also there.


    Whittaker thought, ''However, to access it, I was a ruler and contestant needs to first kill the floor boss.''


    Considering the fact he was on the tenth floor, this city was really top-notch in its defensive set-up. The Monster tower was filled with monsters and the same goes for the tenth floor. However, he felt that even no matter how many waves of magical beast attack the city, they won''t be able to even break through the entrance of the city.


    "Even the King of Sand won''t be powerful enough to break the city defense and enter it wantonly to cause destruction," Whittaker was impressed by the city defensive system. ''Seems like the city master is a powerful and rich person,'' he concluded. All these items cost a lot, after all.


    "Impressive, isn''t it? My father set it all up when he descended from the above floor and married mom. He was an outsider just like you," Jin said after he found out that the young expert he admired was impressed by their city''s defensive system.


    "What''s the need of so much defense. The tenth floor doesn''t have a monster stronger than E-rank. Only King eighteen had reached D-rank. Isn''t this much defense just going overboard," Whittaker said. Although he was impressed, he also felt that this was wasteful.


    "This much defense is necessary. Without these weapons, this human establishment would have fallen long ago. The RedCliff City is surrounded by enemies on all sides. To its north is the Grand Canyon. To its south is the Scorpion-Kin desert. To its west and east are greenery filled with magical beast. All of them are a threat that looms over our city and wants to consume it. Before death, father set this up to protect the city from harm and mom has been making sure that everything remains the same," Fiorin replied.


    She was the daughter of the current city master and had been taught about geography, war tactics, magic since a young age. This much knowledge was something expected out of her.


    "I''m sorry for your loss," Learning that her father was dead, Whittaker said. Plus, after she explained the various threat surrounding the Redcliff city, Whittaker understood why so much defense is necessary. Now, he didn''t feel like it''s wasteful.


    "Don''t be. He was a hero who died with a smile on his face," Jin said remembering about his mysterious father.


    Their father was a mysterious person and they didn''t know much about him. Except for the fact that he descended from above and was very rich, powerful and fell in love with their mother, at first sight, there wasn''t any other information about Lord Azur.


    As the journey continued and they reached somewhat near the city, uncle Azan said,


    "Young expert, it would be better if you recall your King of Sand in the soul space otherwise the city guard would be startled and misfire in nervousness,"


    His words weren''t wrong. The King of Sand had a threatening presence. Furthermore, humans instinctively hold bias against savage magical beast. At the mere sight of the king of sand, they might charge up their powerful weapons and fire at them.


    "Sure, let''s get off its back first," Whittaker headed Uncle Azan''s advice. He didn''t feel like getting into trouble. Moreover, if he could evade possible trouble by just putting King eighteen inside his soul space then what''s the problem?


    They jumped off its back and landed on the ground.


    "Good work, King Eighteen. Now you can rest in my soul space and don''t bully Wolfie and treat it like a little brother," Whittaker patted the beast and thought of recalling it into his soul space.


    With a puff, the huge beast vanished from the physical world and appeared in the soul space.


    The rest of the journey, they easily covered on foot. They took the winding trail in the middle that connected to the entrance gate of the city. It was smooth with not many bumps.


    Since it was night, barely anyone was walking on the same path. However, they still came across some adventurers who were returning after hunting magical beasts in the nearby forest.


    Walking for dozens of minutes, they reached near the entrance gate. The guards at the entrance looked at them and a respectful expression instantly appeared on their faces.


    "Welcome Butler Azan, Young Lord Jin, Princess Fiorin," At the entrance, Whittaker saw how the guards greeted his companions respectfully.


    It was already clear that Jin, Azan, and Fiorin belonged to the Azur family and Whittaker had already determined it. Although he was surprised that these three didn''t put on airs like most nobles. ''They are just like Shadow. Although noble blood runs through their veins, they still act humble and aren''t pretentious. Furthermore, they were willing to take the risk of saving their mother when everyone refused to. They are good people!"


    Whittaker made his judgment about them before they were led inside the city by the head guard respectfully.


    "It''s already late night. Life Taker, if you don''t mind then you can stay in our home for tonight." They offered him an invitation to stay in their house as a guest.

 Chapter 188: The Sick RedCliff City Master (b)

    At night, fighting the magical beasts wasn''t a suitable option. Furthermore, he felt tired and sore from all the traveling and he choose to rest for the day.


    "Okay, I will come with you guys. Thanks for inviting me," Given an invitation, Whittaker accepted humbly. Internally, he thought, ''Tomorrow, I''ll kill the boss and head towards the eleventh floor,''


    "Brother, there''s no need to be so humble. You saved our lives, after all. You can just treat us as friends. By the way, is it fine if I call you brother?" Jin said to make him feel at ease in his presence. Although he was the son of the family that rules Redcliff city, he doesn''t put on airs and he wants Life Taker to act like a friend or be at least casual with him.


    "Sure, you can call me brother," Whittaker said while following behind them. He didn''t mind befriending a brave youngster.


    Soon after, they arrived at a luxurious palace. Silver-colored tiles decorated the palace entirely. They were shiny, sparkly and so smooth that the moon barely visible in the clouded night skies could be seen reflected within them.


    This wasn''t the first time he entered a palace in his life. He had a fair share of witnessing luxurious palaces and wonderful places. However, he was, more or less, still overwhelmed by the luxurious surroundings.


    It felt like a palace where the God of Moon would reside.


    "This palace was a gift Lord Azur created for master." Uncle Azan explained to Whittaker as they were inside the palace under the greetings of many servants.


    Everywhere they went, every palace guard and palace maid would all hurriedly bow down as soon as they saw them, respectfully calling them "Princess Fiorin" and "Young Lord Jin".


    Because of their humble attitude and not-so luxurious attire, they wouldn''t be recognized by others outside, but within the city, especially the palace, who wouldn''t be familiar with the filial young lord and princess of the ruling family.


    Whittaker detected that all of the guards were around F to E rank. Not a single one of them had stepped into D-rank.


    "Princess, may I," Suddenly, one of the many maids came towards them and signaled towards Fiorin. The maid didn''t say anything as a stranger was in their presence.


    "He is our life saviors. There''s no need to hide anything from him. You can say what you wanted to say," she said.


    "Princess, Master Aliyah''s conditions worsened when she found out that princess and young lord left the palace in search of the Desert Heart Mystic flower. It was only after Elixir Master Benjamin attended her did her condition calmed down somewhat. Master Benjamin has been looking after her for the past four days but her conditions currently are too fragile as she worries about you guys. Even though we alerted her about your return, she still worries and want to see you and young lord Jin with her own eyes. Please go see her and ease her worries,"


    The maid went near them before announcing bad news.


    "What? Mother conditions worsened!" The two brave kids exclaimed in distress and they hurried towards Aliyah''s room.


    "Oh, no!" Uncle Azan also followed with a worried face. Whittaker also tagged along.


    By their sad expression and downcast spirits, Whittaker could see that Fiorin, Azan, and Jin were distressed as they made their way towards the City master room.


    It was guarded by two peak E-rank guards and they were curious about why a stranger has tagged along with their princess and prince.


    "Move, we''ll all be going inside." After arriving before the bedroom of their mother, Fiorin said.


    The guards stepped away from the door.


    With Fiorin and Jin at the front, they brought Whittaker and Uncle Azan towards Aliyah''s chambers.


    As soon as they stepped through the door, they saw an elderly man in a gray robe and his two assistants tending to the needs of a sickly woman with cute features and curly hairs. They were using thin needles to feed mana in her body. More specifically, it was an acupuncture treatment that Elixir Master Benjamin had learned. A treatment used to induce sleep and help relieve pain and stress. She was sleeping but her breaths were heavy as if she would stop breathing anytime.


    Elixir Master Benjamin had a white beard that hung down to his chest. Although this elderly man was clearly very old, his head was full of white hair and he was brimming with vitality, clearly shown on his bubbly ruddy babyface. It was evident that he was an expert in maintaining good health.


    Although still some meters away from Benjamin, Whittaker was able to smell the gentle and strong scent of medicine that fills the room.


    "Your highness the princess, you have finally returned. Thank God," The elderly man said in a low tone the moment he noticed the arrival of Fiorin but his focus remained on the needles.


    Seeing this elderly person and their mother sleeping, Fiorin, and Jin''s worries were greatly lessened and they felt extremely thankful to him.


    They moved near the bed and lightly greeted him with respect, "Master Benjamin, thanks for looking after her. What happen to mother. Why did her condition worsened and how is mother''s condition now?"


    "The day you guys left, I received news that master conditions have started to worsen so I came to take a look. In the previous four-night, she couldn''t sleep at night and kept on looking at the moon worrying about the safety of the princess and young lord. This caused the city master to suffer from stress and tension; with her heart condition, it became a bigger issue. Sigh, her conditions are not good. Master''s heart beast is irregular and it seems like she doesn''t have much longer to live. Because of worry and stress, her heart condition worsened over the last four days. She refused to even sleep and worries kept her awake. Alas, I had to use my secret acupuncture technique to induce sleep in her." The old man said. He continued with a regretful expression, "If she doesn''t receive treatment soon then I with my limited skills in the elixir and medical path won''t be able to keep her alive."

 Chapter 189: Debt of Gratitude

    "Elixir Master Benjamin, please don''t speak in that way, you did your best and there''s no need to blame yourself. My mother already suffered from a heart problem when my father was alive and it worsened when the day he died. If you weren''t here at that time then mother wouldn''t have survived till now. Fiorin representing the entire Azur once again thanks Elixir master benjamin for this kindness." Fiorin hurriedly said her heartfelt feeling when she saw Elixir Master Benjamin blaming himself. She didn''t want him to feel bad for being unable to help her recover as he had helped them a lot already.


    ''Since she had said so, this old mister medical and elixir expertise must be really strong,'' Whittaker thought while staring at the elixir master. Because of his great mental fortitude, he was able to keep calm in this depressing situation and according to his thought process, silence was the best action for him currently.


    "This..." Hearing her words, Elixir Master Benjamin felt his heart warming up. For a while, he didn''t know how to reply.


    "It''s as sister said, our family is eternally grateful to you for the favor you bestowed us," Jin added. He will be the next lord if their mother passes away. In that scenario, he will become the next lord as the only son. As the potential next lord of the city, his words carried more weight than Fiorin.


    "Thanks for always being there for us when our family needed you," Butler Azan also thanked him.


    "Please don''t praise Old Benjamin so much, I was just returning the favor lord Azur bestowed me with. Since Princess and young lord says so, these old bones won''t blame himself anymore." Elixir Master Benjamin replied, and he continued by saying, "Your highnesses, I beg your pardon. Let''s talk after I finish treating City master,"


    His entire attention focused on treating Aliyah.


    "Please," they replied and then silence took over. They all calmly looked on as he used needles to pierce various acupoints of their mother, treating her and reliving her from stress and pain. While his assistants handed over needles and some type of healing white powder to him.


    Elixir Master Benjamin didn''t became a successful healer and an elixir master by himself or his talent. Actually, only 1% of the total population has a chance to become an Elixir master by solely depending on their talent. Becoming an elixir master does not come by through talent but through the use of many cauldrons and magical herbs.


    There''s a high chance of cauldrons to explode upon failure. Similarly, all the magical herbs used in the process will also be waster, turning into ashes that no sane man will eat.


    To increase the chance of successful refinement of an elixir, a person must increase his proficiency in creating an elixir. That can only happen by refining the same elixir by using the same material and process hundreds of times. However, there was a large cost that comes with that and a normal person can''t hope to afford it. Plus, a person also needs to buy the recipe for an elixir. The cost to become an elixir master was too great, thus leading many to give up on this dream.


    Benjamin was able to become a successful one because of the Azur family. To be more specific, Lord Azur sponsored and paid for the old man to become an elixir master. He also paid entirely for all the expenses needed for his growth as an elixir master. Therefore, he was able to use his numerous failures as a stepping stone to becoming a successful elixir master that could create various elixirs with a 100% success rate.


    Due to the favor, Benjamin has sworn enteral loyalty to Azur. Although Azur had died, Benjamin decided to repay the debt of gratitude by serving his family with everything he can.


    In the entire RedCliff City, only the ruling family and the Grand Retired General family were able to give rise to an elixir master, which was mostly because of the fact that they were blessed with riches.


    Furthermore, many know it, that most of the so-called Elixir master can only create health recovery, mana recover snd battle energy recovery potions and nothing else. They aren''t elixir masters just "Potioneer" advertising themselves as "Elixir Master".


    In five minutes, he finished the treatment. Without giving a second thought, he called for his assistant to clean the sweat off his face. The assistants gently dabbed a clean piece of cloth over his face and wiped the sweat off his face.


    "Phew, it''s done. City master will wake near 5 tomorrow. Please be with her in her last moments," Benjamin said to them.


    As none of them said anything about obtaining desert heart mystic lotus, Master Benjamin was in the belief that they have failed to locate it in the Scorpion-Kin and acquire it. He was not one who blames. It was a life-threatening task with little chance of success, after all. He was just glad that they have safely returned home.


    The clever Fiorin instantly understood what he thought. "Elixir Master Benjamin, you''re misunderstood. We didn''t fail but were successful. The Desert Heart Mystic Lotus is with me," she said while taking out a jade box that contained the mystic lotus from her spatial ring and showing it to the old man.


    She continued by handing over the item to him. "You''re our last hope. I hope you will be successful in refining the elixir. Even if Master fails, there''s no need to blame yourself."


    "I have the same thought as my sister. In these couple of years, my mother''s illness has been treated by you. It''s only because you were here that mom has been able to live without pain until now. I won''t blame you even if you fail." Young Jin said and handed the rest of the material necessary for the heart rejuvenating elixir to Master Benjamin.


    "Your highnesses, please be at ease, this old one will definitely do his best to create the elixir," Benjamin said as he carefully stored the three stalks of Silver Moon Grass, Vitality Grass, Flame Glassy flower, and Desert Heart Mystic Lotus in his spatial pouch.


    "As for the payment, this is all we could gather," Butler Azan said while offering a spatial pouch filled with a lot of stuff to Elixir Master Benjamin but he rejected it


    "Don''t worry about the payment. I am not even willing to accept anything unless I succeed. There''s only a 20% chance for me to refine the elixir and only three tries but Benjamin will do his best."


    The old man didn''t treat his benefactor family as strangers. He didn''t chase after wealth. He wasn''t helping them for such a reason. He was helping because of loyalty and that''s the only reason.


    If there''s an afterlife and heaven exist, then Lord Azur would be surely happy to know that his investment and good intention didn''t go to waste.


    "Not to be rude, I wanna ask who this young one is," he said gazing at Whittaker.


    Fiorin explained, "We were being chased by the King of Sand and this expert saved us from death jaws. He beat it back and even tamed it. Life Taker is also a talisman master and formation master,"


    "You praise me too much," Whittaker said with a smile.


    A wisdom glint flashed by the old man''s eyes as he internally thought, ''He must be scion if an S-ranker!''


    "Thanks, young hero, if you''re interested then I won''t giving some elixir refining lesson to you," he said to Whittaker, and he then turned to Fiorin and Jin, "Your highnesses, this old one shall take his leave."


    "Take care, Master Benjamin. We hope you''ll succeed," they said.


    The old man left the chambers with his attendants. They followed him with their eyes until he left. From their actions of following etiquette to the point, one could see the respect they had towards Master Benjamin person. It was only when the elderly man was very far away did their gaze landed back on Whittaker.


    "Sorry for keeping you waiting," they said.


    "No problem," Whittaker replied. He was sensible enough to understand the situation was necessary.


    "You must be famished. Let''s have a meal first," Fiorin said. Since she was feeling hungry and they haven''t eaten anything, she believed that everyone share the same thought as her.


    GURUUUU!


    Just like she thought, at the mention of food, the stomach of the men in the room grumbled.


    "Life Taker, I would like to formally thank you with a reward, please don''t decline," Fiorin handed over the Heart Rejuvenating and Heart Cleansing recipe to Whittaker.


    ?Heart Rejuvenating Recipe?


    ?Description: Lists the material necessary to create Heart Rejuvenating Elixir. Explain the necessary steps needed to be taken to creat the said elixir during the brewing process?


    ?Heart Cleansing Recipe?


    ?Description: Description: Lists the material necessary to create Heart Cleansing Elixir. Explain the necessary steps needed to be taken to creat the said elixir during the brewing process?


    These two recipes were their family secret treasures. Only they had the recipe to make this two elixir and now it has been handed over to Whittaker.


    ''Good is always rewarded! This is the reward I got from saving their life.'' Whittaker thought while accepting the two recipes and storing them in his rankless ring of genesis.


    Then they split up. A beautiful maid took him to his lodging. It was a big room with various pieces of artistic treasures. He couldn''t help but admire them. As he was feeling sleeping, he laid down on the bed after admiring the paintings for a while.


    "I hope that Master Benjamin will be successful in creating the miracle elixir and the City Master will recover," he thought while looking out the open window and gazing at the barely visible lonely moon.


    On seeing their youthful bedridden mother with barely any vitality, Whittaker felt a little sad for them and hoped that Elixir Master Benjamin will succeed in refining the heart rejuvenating elixir and help City Master Aliyah recover.


    "He won''t succeed in making the heart rejuvenating elixir. You''ll have to help her out yourself if you want to save her!"


    Suddenly, just when he closed his eyes, the voice of Lord Dark Spirit rang beside his ear. Thus, his eyes snapped open in confusion and happiness.

 Chapter 190: More about the past, spirit, and spirit world!

    He was happy to hear Lord Dark Spirit''s voice as that means he has awakened from his slumber; However, he was confused because of his words. First of all, why wouldn''t Elixir Master Benjamin succeed in creating the heart rejuvenating elixir? Lastly, why''s Lord Dark Spirit so certain that he''ll not succeed.


    Whittaker thought, ''Can he see the future of Elixir Master Benjamin failing in creating a single heart rejuvenating elixir?''


    "Yes, I can see the future or for now, just a glimpse of it, at least. And that old man isn''t gonna succeed. It isn''t only because I have witnessed his failure but also because it''s his first time refining the heart rejuvenating elixir. The old man only became a successful Elixir master through thousands of failures. There''s no way three tries will be enough for him to succeed in creating an elixir he''s totally unfamiliar with," As if he had heard his thoughts, Lord Dark Spirit gave him an answer.


    Hearing his words, Whittaker''s curiosity was raised to the peak. He asked, "How do you do it, look into the future and you can also witness the past, right? Otherwise, how could you know that Elixir Master Benjamin only became successful after thousand of failures,"


    Lord Dark Spirit was a ball of mystery that any child or adult would be attracted to. As for Whittaker, he was attracted to him like a magnet. The man was full of mystery but also contains the answer to his past. He wanted to explore this ball until all his questions are answered.


    "I can not only look into the past and future but also show them to others, as I wish. As for how, it''s through karma. Every being is connected by invisible threads of karma. I can access them by using my powers and witness someone''s good or bad, past or future." Lord Dark Spirit replied, his tone at this time was as confident yet carefree as ever.


    It was as if what he had said was not something shocking but a normal deed performable by common men.


    ?Quest Activated: Save the great philanthropist; City Master Aliyah?


    ?Description: After the death of her husband, Aliyah has taken the duties of her husband on her shoulder. The City Master of the RedCliff City has overworked herself for the sake of the people. She has provided them with absolute safety against the magical beasts and other dangers of the tenth floor. Her actions have impressed Lord Dark Spirit and he wishes for the Guardian to save her.


    Task: Create the Heart Rejuvenating Elixir and feed it to City Master Aliyah.


    Quest Rewards: 10000 XP.


    Reward from Lord Dark Spirit: Human Mana Channel opening Elixir Recipe!?


    Suddenly, Noah''s notification popped up in his vision, notifying him of a quest with unbelievable rewards.


    "What! Humans have mana channels and they can be opened?" Whittaker exclaimed with a shocked expression, mouth agape, and eyes opened wide in surprise.


    He has never heard of humans having mana channels. Only magical beasts are said to have one. Mages only have a mana pool and they keep on extending it till it reaches big enough to contain 20001 mana. At 20001 mana units, an awakened is said to have reached S-rank.


    F rank mage MMC (Max Mana Capacity) =1000


    E Rank mage MMC = 4000


    D Rank mage MMC = 7000


    C Rank Mage MMC = 11000


    B Rank Mage MMC = 15000


    A Rank Mage MMC = 20000


    S Rank Mage MMC = 20001-+


    However, the size of the mana pool can''t be extended indefinitely. It had a limit. The limit is directly equal to the rank of their spellbook. The owner of an S-rank spellbook can''t expand the size of his mana pool by more than 100 km. Moreover, if an F-rank mage uses a mana pool extending treasure then the mana pool will become destabilized or even "Crumble".


    But if they open up a mana channel in their body then they can store more man than their destined limits!


    By using the mana channel opening elixir, they can defy what''s fated!


    Whittaker Frost Spellbook was ranked A. He could increase the size of his mana pool to 2000 km without any problem. He will only reach his limit at the peak of the A-rank. At that time, he will be able to store a maximum of 20000 units of mana in his mana pool. Adding the 100 units of mana in his hair. He will have a total of 21000 units of mana. This already breaks the universal rules. But now that the mana channel comes into play, he didn''t know what else can happen!


    "Yeah ~ you''re in the awakened continent, hence you didn''t know. Let me explain, people here only use the blessing of Gods residing in the spirit world to shape the potential in their soul into a weapon and open up their body''s hidden treasures �C soul space, mana pool, and Battle core. While in the spirit world and other worlds, humans and other beings open up their mana channels to store energy into their bodies. I will be giving you a method to open up these mana channels and you can then very well start a revolution in this world." Lord Dark spirit said while yawning.


    Suddenly, this casual talk has hyped up into a possible world-changing plan.


    Whittaker already knew that class weapons were a blessing from gods. A person needs to undergo a ceremony with gods'' status all around them to awaken their class weapon, after all. So it was easy to conclude that. However, he didn''t know what determines the potential of their class weapon but now he knew that class weapons are the manifestation of the potential in one soul.


    Whittaker thought, ''That means Frost spellbook is the manifestation of my potential as a Devansha while Blood Drinker is the manifestation of my potential as Night''s descendant.''


    "Spirit world, my father is from that world, right? Is my ancestor, Night a God? And what about you, you also classify as a spirit, so do you come from that world? What''s that place even?" Whittaker internally asked Lord Dark Spirit.


    He was powerful enough and believed that Lord Dark Spirit won''t hide the truth from him anymore.

 Chapter 191: Purchase Necessary Items

    "I am a spirit but not from the spirit world. Your father is half human and half spirit and belongs to the Family of Night that reside in th spirit world. Night is not a God nor is "He" a mortal. However, my master is as strong as the Over God of the Spirit World. As for what the spirit world is..." Lord Dark spirit smiled while looking at the small icy round world beside his residential area �C a flowery garden. "Katherine will awaken by next winter, I believe. You can ask her, she won''t mind explaining it to you."


    "I have nearly forgotten about her," Whittaker muttered and anticipated the arrival of the next winter. She would surely not go roundabout it and will give him answers. Whittaker continued by asking something that has been nagging him, "Anyway, why would you want to help City Master Aliyah?"


    "Because she reminds me of her," Laying on his bed inside the pendant, Lord Dark Spirit replied. A melancholic look etched on his serene and otherworldly beautiful yet handsome face as he looks at the artificial sky, the moon, and the stars inside the pendant of night.


    "My mother?" Whittaker asked thinking that the woman he is reminded of is his mother.


    "No," Lord Dark Spirit hurriedly said in disagreement.


    "Then who?" Whittaker asked again.


    "A friend of my master, Night," Lord Dark Spirit replied. Just like the city master, she was also a person who selflessly helped others. As he looked at Aliyah, he was reminded of her, who was also Night''s bride. "I''ll be going to take a short nap. Once you''re done, Night''s will system will hand you the reward,"


    ?I have a name now. From now on, please call me "Noah" ? Night''s Will system said to Lord Dark Spirit who nodded his head in agreement.


    "Goodnight," Whittaker said while clutching the inky, black pendant of night and gazing at it. Lord Dark spirit''s short nap meant slumbering for days or weeks. They probably won''t be talking for a long time.


    As he was unable to remain conscious for a curse was imbued in his heart, Lord Dark Spirit closed his eyes and slept once again, leaving Whittaker on his own devices.


    The young boy already hoped for City Lord Aliyah to get better. Plus, now that he was gonna get unbelievable rewards, he was very excited to lend a helping hand.


    ''But first, I must become an Elixir Master! The night''s long, I should try to see if I can become an Elixir master tonight or not,'' He thought of becoming an Elixir master within one night.


    It''s because he already had some knowledge about Elixir''s master. Moreover, Elder Zachary had said,


    "In alchemy, Formation is the hardest profession to learn and master. If one masters it then his mental fortitude is high enough to master all other professions related to Alchemy. However, he will need time, a lot of it,"


    His words weren''t without basis. To create an elixir or potion, a cauldron is necessary. Each cauldron uses a Flame and Flame temperature control magical rune design. An inscriptionist is familiar with these designs but a Formation master knows every effect of such magical rune designs. Alchemy professions shared similarities, after all.


    ?Alchemy professions: Inscriptionist, Formation Master, Talisman Master, equipment forger, Elixir master, Potion master?


    "Let''s see," Whittaker said before closing his eyes and pondering about what he needs to do to become an elixir master. In the end, he divided the task into three smaller ones, "First of all, I need to learn what Elixir masters do to create Elixirs. Secondly, to create an elixir, a recipe is needed; however, since I got the recipe for the heart rejuvenating elixir, I won''t need to purchase it from the store. But, I would need to purchase the necessary materials to create the heart rejuvenating elixir. Alright, let''s first get the book to learn the fundamentals of Elixir creation, a cauldron, and the ingredients to create the heart rejuvenating elixir. But first, I should check out the recipe of the heart rejuvenating elixir before accessing the tower store,"


    He quickly took out the Heart Rejuvenating recipe from the rankless ring of genesis, and he then quickly looked through it.


    "The material needed to create heart rejuvenating elixir is a stalk of 4-star Silver Moon Grass, 4-star Vitality Grass, 4-star Flame Glassy flower, and Desert Heart Mystic Lotus, a 6-star magical herb,"


    After confirming what the necessary material for the heart rejuvenating are, he took out Advanced Guide and ordered it to open the store for ruler.


    A light shot out from Advanced guide, and a holographic screen appeared right in front of him.


    ?Greetings young ruler, welcome to the Monster Tower store. Here, you can purchase thousands of items, free of any delivery charges. The item/s will be instantly teleported to you as long as the purchase is made when you are inside the tower. The cost of the items can be paid in royal credits, ruler credit, military credit, and military credit. It''s detected that you are blessed by the twilight spirit. You can also make payment by using Twilight''s spirit contribution points?


    Then the screen changed. It was now showing various items and also had a search button at the top. Whittaker decided to use the search button and browse the Monster Tower store to purchase what he wants.


    Excellent information on Elixir Master (rank-A) �C 20,000 Platinum


    Intermediate Cauldron (4-star) �C 50000 Platinum


    Silver Moon Grass (4-star)�C 2000 Platinum


    Flame Glassy Flower (4-star) �C 8000 Platinum


    Vitality Grass (4-star) �C 16000 Platinum


    Desert Heart Mystic Lotus �C 500000 Platinum Credit


    Looking for the items he needed and didn''t take a lot of time. Each item was costly but there''s no need to worry for the young boy with a heart of gold. He could easily purchase them.


    "Thankfully Elder sister Nina gave me allowance before I left the palace. Otherwise, I would have to sell a lot of things to have enough platinum to purchase these stuff," Looking at the small pouch with hundred of thousands of platinum bars, Whittaker thanked Nina.

 Chapter 191: Becoming an Elixir Master

    Before he left Zachary''s palace, she handed him over to him. At that time, he believed that there''ll be around 10000 or so platinum bars. But, to his surprise, there were around one million platinum bars in this small pouch.


    ?Total Cost: 596000.


    Option A: Confirm the purchase of the item by placing a spatial treasure with the required amount in the cost subtractor.


    Option B: Change the mode of transaction?


    Advance Guide notified. A wide hole opened up in its middle. It said Cost Subtractor.


    He hurriedly confirmed the purchase by placing the pouch inside the Advance guide. Within dew moments, the cost of the items was deducted from the pouch. And at the very next moment, the items were delivered to him by an instant delivery portal.


    ?The items are stored inside the spatial pouch. If there''s any problem then please don''t hesitate to contact the support team of the Monster Tower? Advance Guide notified before Whittaker pulled out the spatial pouch from inside its body.


    ?Come again, dear customer? He received this notification before the tower store was closed, and he then stored Advance guide in his spatial ring.


    "Time to do this!" Whittaker was hyped and ready to create an elixir for the first time in his life.


    Without any further adieu, he first pulled out the just bought knowledge crystal from the pouch. The crystal was purple and shone.


    Ding! When he gazed at it, a screen containing the information about the crystal in his hand popped up in his vision.


    ?Knowledge Crystal?


    [Description: A item that is used to record knowledge.


    Rank: Mystic


    Status: In use. It''s storing information and insights of professional Elixir master


    Effect: Once used, the Guardian will obtain the knowledge recorded in the crystal.


    How to use: The Guardian just needs to drop a small amount of blood on the crystal and the knowledge inside it will become a part of your memories]


    This crystal is a good item that''s although not unique is still rare in the awakened continent. He had bought this crystal for three reasons. First of all, he''ll instantly gain all information. This was better than purchasing many books on Elixir master and reading through them, one by one. Secondly, it was affordable. Lastly, it contained insights and knowledge from various Elixir master.


    ''That''s just what I needed,'' he thought.


    Doing as Noah said, he used Blood Drinker to create a cut on his finger and extended it towards the Knowledge crystal and let drops of blood drip into its shell. Each drop of blood was absorbed by the crystal shimmering in myriad light until it was shinning in only Scarlet. Whereas Whittaker''s eyes have turned hazy. Furthermore, his pupils were shining in purple lights.


    He felt a small sting of pain in his head as information stored in the knowledge crystal hurriedly entered into his head. It was kinda forceful.


    Although it felt painful, Whittaker adapted to the pain in a rapid phase. He was already used to pain. He easily endured the head stinging pain. After all, it was not comparable to the pain of having bones cracked under pressure, death, and getting flared by fiery hot energy.


    ?Ding! The Guardian has successfully absorbed the content stored inside the Knowledge crystal?


    As he thought, he was able to instantly learn all the information present in the knowledge crystal. He now knows the name, description, images, and effect of more than a thousand magical herbs. He also obtained information about how to operate a cauldron, what''s done during the elixir creation process, and the way to successfully create one.


    Right after, he pulled out necessary items from the spatial pouch.


    Thud! The big, metallic cauldron was placed on the floor of the room. It had many magical rune designs inscribed on it. While the magical herbs were placed in magical wooden boxes were placed on the bed. These wooden boxes had the effect to retain the magical essence of herbs and cease them from rotting. He unsealed them, revealing the content inside.


    At the very moment, the strong scent of magic herbs permeated the surrounding.


    ?The creation of Elixir is divided into various steps?


    "Step-1: Open the lid of the cauldron, toss the ingredients inside the cauldron. Then close the lid of the cauldron"


    Whittaker opened the lid, tossed the ingredients inside, and then closed the lid.


    "Step-2: Use mana to distill impurities in the magical herbs."


    Every Cauldron has at least one one-way magical rune design at the top and one see-through magical rune design. His intermediate grade cauldron had six one-way magical rune design on the top and one see-through design in the middle. He first activated the see-through magical rune design.


    Although the cauldron was closed and had no physical openings, he was now able to see the insides of the cauldron within his head. It was all thanks to the see-through magical rune design


    ''It''s too early to be happy or amazed!''


    Then, hurriedly performing hand signs, he divided his mana into six threads before manipulating them to gently enter the cauldron through the one-way rune design.


    One-way magical rune design simply provides an entrance for an awakened to pour his mana or battle energy into the cauldron. Simply speaking, it is a single way transport road. A road that can be used to transport units of mana or other energy into the cauldron.


    ''Since I have poured mana into the cauldron, it''s time to begin the impurities distilling process," Whittaker thought.


    The process of distilling impurities out of magical herbs depends solely on how skilled a mage is in manipulating his mana. If he is bad then either the magical herbs will be rendered useless or most of their essence will seep out mixing with the impurities. Therefore the ability to control the mana with precision is very important when creating elixirs.


    Whittaker had the Skill "dexterous body" and great mental fortitude. His fine motor skill was very high. Performing hand signs to control mana and manipulate it to distill herb was an easy task for him.


    He uses his mana to distills impurities out of the magical herbs. After a while, some impurities fall out of the magical herbs and fall into the dark depths at the bottom of the cauldron.


    As stated in the recipe of heart rejuvenating elixir, he distilled the herbs 4 more times before proceeding to the third step.


    "Step-3: After distilling the ingredients, activate the Flame and temperature control magical rune designs to surround the cauldron with flames and quickly heat the entire thing. Use the heat to melt the ingredients into liquid!"


    Whittaker knew which rune was which. He was an inscription, after all. Pouring his mana into the Flame and temperature control magical rune designs of the cauldron, he quickly heated it to an adequate temperature.


    Inside the cauldron,


    it was so hot that all of the magical herbs started to melt. Soon, they were dissolved into a liquid state. Some of their essences leaked out. However, since the cauldron was closed, the smoky essence could not escape the cauldron.


    ''I have successfully completed the first three steps. Now, only the last one remains.'' Whittaker thought.


    "Step-4: Combine the liquid into one by using heavy external pressure."


    Naturally, this external pressure is applied by using mana or battle energy. As he had both, Whittaker used both of them.


    Heart Rejuvenating elixir was a 5-star elixir. Just like formation, elixirs are divided into 1 to 7 stars. To create a five-star elixir, an external pressure of 5000 mana units is needed. However, Whittaker didn''t have more than 2k left.


    Dozens of minutes passed. He spends thousands of units of mana along dozens of units of battle energy to combine the liquid version of Desert Heart Mystic Lotus with the other liquid of other ingredients, creating something entirely precious.


    "Still not enough," he said between his breath.


    He noticed that the external pressure applied was still falling short. Thus, he added soul force into the mix!


    Then, to his surprise, he found out that soul force distilled a lot of impurities from the liquid, decreasing the volume of the liquid by a large margin. The soul force also helped by acting as an external pressure that compressed the various liquids into one Elixir.


    After all of the ingredients liquids were mixed, it quickly formed the shape of a small red heart that pulsated with the breath of life.


    The Heart Rejuvenating Elixir has been created!


    ?Congratulation! The Guardian has created an Elixir for the first time in his life. Hidden Quest Completed!?

 Chapter 193: Cauldron of Night!

    ?Hidden Quest: Become an Elixir Master?


    ?Condition to Complete: Refine a 5-star Elixir with one mystic effect?


    ?Rewards obtained: 1300 XP, Cauldron of Night?


    ?Experience points: 1500?


    ?Cauldron of night has been stored inside the inventory? Noah replied.


    He already knew about hidden quests as he had come across one such quest before. Completing another was surprising to him as he wasn''t expecting it.


    His lips thinned into a hearty smile that stretches from ear to ear as he knew that any treasure related to Night must be unique. The Six formation disks were already amazingly powerful and a treasure like that doesn''t exist in the entire continent of awakened. Thus, this cauldron of night must also possess effects unique to itself.


    However, rather than checking it out, Whittaker first pulled out a big heart-shaped vial and gazed at the cauldron.


    A few moments later, he opened the lid and retrieved the golden heart with dusky clouds from inside the cauldron. He stored it inside the vial.


    ?Heart Rejuvenating Elixir?


    [Grade: Perfect


    Effect: Cure-all Heart disease. A person with an ailing heart will feel rejuvenated and become healthy after absorbing this heart rejuvenating elixir.


    Perfect grade effect: Increase lifespan by 2 years]


    The perfect grade effect was the mystic effect that earned him the cauldron of night. As for how he refind a perfect grade elixir, it was entirely attributed to the use of soul force.


    Refining Elixirs can''t be considered hard nor easy. The process is related to distilling impurities without harming the essence of the magical herb. For that, control over mana is necessary. If their control is excellent, there will be less chance of failure. The opposite is also true. That''s why Whittaker was able to distill six types of magic herbs at the same time, because his ability to perform hand signs to manipulate mana is excellent.


    This is also a type of endorsement of his skill.


    But more than that, he was also a soul master. When he used his soul force, all of the impurities were distilled from the elixir. Cleaned of all impurities, the elixir became flawless. Thus, a perfect grade elixir was created.


    "With this, healing City Master Aliyah won''t be a problem," Whittaker said while twirling the Elixir vial in his heart before storing it in his rankless ring of genesis.


    Right after, he opened the inventory to check out the Cauldron of night.


    ?Item: Cauldron of Night?


    Grade: Rankless


    Creator: Night


    Previous Owner: Night


    Current Owner: None, Use Blood to become its owner.


    ?Abilities?


    ?Alchemy Flame Imprint: Once activated, summons flame to heat the cauldron and the content inside it?


    ?See-through Imprint: Once activated, allows the guardian to witness the inside of the cauldron?


    ?One-way Imprints: Once activated, the Guardian can pour his mana into the cauldron through the eighteen one-way magical rune design?


    ?Temperature Control Imprint: Control the temperature of flames surrounding the cauldron and the inside of the cauldron?


    ?Body Imprint: Refine the body of a being into the essence of life?


    ?Spirit Imprint: Refine the soul of a being into the essence of soul?


    ?Death force manipulation Imprint: Sealed?


    ?Immortal Vanquishing Flame Imprint: Sealed?


    ?Time Manipulation Imprint: Sealed?


    ?Space Manipulation Imprint: Sealed?


    As expected, the treasure of Night didn''t disappoint. There were ten special effects, qualifying it as a treasure greater than 7-star. The peak of treasure in the awakened continent was 7-star but this item had ten!


    However, four of these effects were sealed. He wondered how to unlock them while gazing at the inky, black cauldron with many magical rune designs inscribed on it.


    "Noah, do you have a way?" Whittaker asked as he had no solution himself.


    ?Yes!? Noah replied.


    ?Chain Quest activated: The Cauldron of Night.


    ?Main Task: Recover the cauldron of night to its peak conditions.


    Sub Task 1: Let the cauldron absorb the Blood of 1000 C-rank, 100 B-rank, and 10 A-rank magical beast.


    Reward: Unseal Death Manipulation imprint


    Sub Task 2: Let the cauldron absorb 1000 S-grade spatial type elemental crystal.


    Reward: Unlock space manipulation imprint.


    Sub Task 3: Feed Mystic flames to the Cauldron.


    Reward: Unseal the Immortal Vanquishing Flame imprint.


    Sub Task 4: Feed time-related treasures to the cauldron.


    Reward: Unlock Time manipulation imprint.


    ?Description: The Guardian wishes to unlock the seals on the cauldron of night. To unseal the seals, the Guardian will have to complete the following tasks. Good luck!? Noah notified.


    "All of these things are hard to obtain. Some I have never heard of," Whittaker exclaimed with wide eyes. The items needed to unseal the seal on the cauldron were costly. Whereas, he hasn''t heard about some of these items because they couldn''t be found in this world.


    ?There''s no need for guardian to ponder over this. As Guardian grows up and becomes a privileged member of society, you''ll gain access to "Other Worlds". For now, Noah advises Guardian to increase his privilege level? Noah said.


    Just when he starts to mull over what Noah said, the Advance Guide began beeping.


    "Hmm," Hearing the beeps it emitted, Whittaker pulled it out from his spatial ring and took a look at it.


    ?The Spirit of the tower, Jafar has issued a quest to you?


    ?Quest: Nasty Contestant Killer?


    Quest Description: Powerful Contestant that entered the tower has decided to stop climbing it. They have set up camp nearby the bosses of various floors. Some groups have also set up a camp nearby the boss of the tenth floor. They are killing other contestants who come to that area.


    Completion Requirement: Take down a group of Contestant Killers in the Grand Canyon Region on the tenth floor.


    Rewards: 100-200-300 Ruler coin for hunting F-E-D rank Contestant killers. 500 Ruler coin for the head of each C-rank contestant killer. 1000 Ruler coin for the head of each B-rank contestant killer. 3�� Floor Skip Crystal?


    Contestant killers are those who kill other contestants to increase their max mana or battle energy and to gain equipment.


    Once a contestant dies, they are punished in several ways. They lose a certain amount of their mana or battle energy depending on their rank. Moreover, they also lose one or more equipment, if they are wearing any.

 Chapter 194: Elixir Master Benjamins failures!

    The Contestant killers take advantage of the death penalty set up by the "Rules" of the Monster Tower. In more specific terms, they are bullies that group up together to hunt down other contestants for their items.


    Groups of such contestants had created a blockage in the Grand Canyon where the boss of the tenth floor resides. They have killed so many contestants that the spirit of the tower have been angered. Hence, Jafar had issued this quest to every Ruler. He wanted to rain doom over these contestant killers.


    Whittaker starred at the rewards of the quests. The Currency of the Ruler was the biggest one in the entire awakened continent. The value of the 1 Ruler coin was hundreds of times more than royal credits. The Ruler coins themselves were good as a reward but the Floor Skip Crystals were even more precious considering Whittaker goals.


    ?Floor Skip Crystal?


    ?Grade: Mysterious?


    ?Effect: Once activated, opens a portal that leads directly to the entrance of the next floor?


    "By using these crystals, I can skip three floors. If I use them after reaching floor 28, then I would reach floor 31 in few seconds," Whittaker exclaimed while thinking about the future. ''I must complete this quest before the other rulers!''


    He needed to urgently make his way to the Grand Canyon before some other rulers go there and butcher the contestant killers at that place. Thus, he could rest no longer. There were many rulers in the monster tower and Whittaker was certain that he isn''t the only one interested in these God gracious rewards.


    ''I should first feed the heart rejuvenating elixir to the city master,'' he thought before taking out an Advance Grade talisman from his rankless ring of genesis.


    ?Invisibility Talisman?


    ?Rank: Advance grade


    Tier: Intermediate (can be used twice)


    Effect 1: Once activated, the guardian will become invisible. Others won''t be able to see the guardian with their eyes.


    Effect 2: The Guardian cannot be detected by detection type magic spell?


    As an intelligent person, he already knew that visiting someone''s room at late hours will cause some disturbance. He might get labeled as an assassin by the guards or a pervert by people with unsound minds. Hence, Whittaker used an "Invisibility Talisman" on himself to evade these troubles.


    He activated the talisman and his body become invisible. He looked at the mirror and didn''t see his reflection. Thus confirming how great and mysterious this talisman is.


    ''Now I can move about in the palace as I wish. No one will be able to see me!'' He innocently thought before heading towards the chamber of City Master Aliyah.


    This was a crime with a heavy punishment but he didn''t know and his intentions were pure.


    As for the others, not many knew about the invisibility talisman. Even if they knew, they won''t have the magical rune design to create an advanced grade version of it. At most, they can get access to a basic version of it; however, a basic version of invisibility talisman is pretty useless as every rich person has mana detection spells protecting their houses.


    While Whittaker was making his way to the chambers of the City master of RedCliff City, all the important people of the palace stood around the Alchemy Palace. While looking at the closed doors of the palace, they wished that Elixir Master Benjamin will succeed.


    _


    _


    _


    After inducing pain relief and sleep into Fiorin''s mother, Elixir master Benjamin has returned to the famous Alchemy Palace of the RedCliff city. This palace was gifted to him by the previous City Lord, Azur for his contributions to the city.


    Master Benjamin knew that Aliyah didn''t have much time left. Thus, he could not wait to utilize the best of his alchemy skills and see whether he can create the heart rejuvenating elixir or not.


    He sat cross-legged on a stone bench with a mind-calming effect placed nearby his life bound cauldron. Most Elixir master uses rare treasures such as a mind-calming stone bench to help them in refining elixir. Benjamin was no different and he was using various such treasures to stabilize his heart and mind.


    With a command, his attendants brought out a stalk of moonlight grass, 1/3 of Flame Glassy Flower, 1/3 of Desert Heart Mystic Lotus, 1/3 of Vitality Flower, and threw them all into the cauldron.


    Unlike Whittaker, Master Benjamin wasn''t confident enough to refine the entire herbs at the same time even with the help of his two assistants. He was using 1/3 of these herbs and hoping that he''ll be able to create a low-quality Heart Rejuvenating Elixir in three tries.


    With both his eyes closed, he poured mana into the see-through magical rune designs, and at the same time, the insides of the cauldron appeared in his vision. After that, Elixir Master Benjamin used the one-way magical rune design to pour his mana into the cauldron to distill impurities from the herbs.


    However, he was old and not a fighter. His hand signs were just okay. His control over mana was lacking. Rather than distilling impurities from the magical herbs, he deformed them. Hence, failing his first try.


    "Heralda, clean the cauldron. Little Qin, toss the second batch of ingredients into the cauldron," Benjamin commanded his attendants. He didn''t let failure stop him.


    "Yes, Master!"


    Heralds opened the lid and cleaned the cauldron. While Little Qin tossed the next batch of ingredients into the cauldron, beginning the second round of refinement.


    After a while...


    "Screw this, using too little heat won''t melt the herbs into a liquid, using too much heat causes essence to seep our with impurities!"


    Master Benjamin complained. He had reached the third step but failed.


    Now, only the last try remained.


    He fixed both his eyes at the cauldron when he reached the third step. The flames became fiercer and fiercer. Then suddenly stopped at an adequate temperature for the herb''s insides. The herb''s insides melted into a liquid. Now, the last step was to use mana and condense all the essence of the herbs into a heart.


    He started pouring his mana into the elixir. One minute passed, two minutes, some hours passed... Suddenly, a smile etched on his elderly babyface as he managed to condense the liquids into a heart.


    However, the moment he pulled back his mana that was applying pressure, the heart burst apart throwing the cauldron across the room.


    Bang! The cauldron smashed on the closed door and they burst apart.


    "Your highnesses, this old man have failed..." Elixir Master Benjamin said with a regretful expression. "If only I was better, sigh,"


    "Researching on a new Elixir will always result in numerous failures before a success, there''s no need to feel bad," Fiorin patted him and comforted him.


    The people around them didn''t have a happy expression on their faces. Although they weren''t angry at Elixir Master Benjamin, they weren''t happy either. Since he has failed to create the Heart Rejuvenating Elixir then no one else in RedCliff City can. He is the best Elixir Master in the entire RedCliff City, after all.


    They all were sad. As of now, their master Aliyah can''t be saved.


    But such was the cruel cycle of life.


    All living must one day die.


    They can''t do anything to change this fate!

 Chapter 195: Quest complete

    Since Elixir Master Benjamin had failed to refine even a single heart rejuvenating elixir, the death of the City master was certain. All of the people inside the palace had sadness welling up in their hearts. With downcast expressions, they stared at the ground and kept on gazing at it.


    All hope was lost. With clenched fists, they silently regretted the fact that they were unable to do anything when the City master needed them the most. Their life biggest regret was not being able to do anything to save the gentle city master that treated the entire city as her own family.


    Swoosh!


    While they considered that no one could save City Master Aliyah, the windows to her chamber opened up as a gush of wind rushed inside.


    Along with the gentle breeze and green leaves, an imperceptible being made his way inside her room and landed just beside her bed.


    Suddenly, the sheets of her bed fluttered as a young black-haired boy magically appeared.


    He was none other than Whittaker.


    As two strong guards were guarding the entrance of her chamber, he had gone around the corner and entered the room through the window. It''s because the advanced grade invisibility talisman wasn''t perfect. It only made him invisible but his breathing and footsteps could still be heard. Plus, he can''t walk through walls. This to evade useless trouble, he chooses to enter the chamber through the window.


    By the time he reached his destination, the time limit of the talisman has ended. Below perfect rank talisman, all invisible talisman had a time limit of some sort. This was its weakness; However, it''s a really great item to make a sneak attack on someone''s life or sneak into someone''s home.


    As he watched the bedridden and unconscious mother of Fiorin and Jin, a golden light flashed in his hand as the heart-shaped elixir tube glimmering in the golden-red colors appeared.


    "Now I just need to feed her the heart rejuvenating elixir and she will recover from her illness. Moreover, the quest will also be completed!" Whittaker happily thought before opening the lid of the heart-shaped elixir tube and placing the opening near Aliyah''s mouth.


    She was unconscious and Whittaker didn''t know how to pour the content inside her mouth manually. Therefore Whittaker decided to use a pure-mana spell made especially for situations like this.


    "Immed Abars Fwime!" He chanted.


    The heart rejuvenating elixir in the heart-shaped elixir tube immediately boiled, and continued to evaporate, producing layers of mystical golden smoke. Guided by Whittaker''s mana, the golden smoke entered her body through the nostrils, eyes, ears, and her closed lips.


    Badum!* Badum** Her heart started beating rapidly as if she has been granted a second life. The golden smoke shattered all the plague buildup around her heart and reinvigorated it with a massive amount of lifeforce.


    "Wu!" Aliyah gritted her teeth in pain and pleasure as the golden rejuvenated her heart, and at the same time, the buildup of plague was being forcefully expelled out of her body.


    Pu! A dozen minutes later, her body arched forward and she spewed out a mouthful of dark blood. Right then, her eyes also snapped open.


    She opened her mouth wide, taking in deep breaths as she felt warmth all over her body and saw the dark blood on her blanket. She was dripping from head to toe in sweat, a result of absorbing Heart Rejuvenating elixir.


    "Impossible," she exclaimed in utter disbelief. As a mage and a patient who was half a step into the grave, her delicate body right now was giving off shocking energy that surprised even herself. Her heart that was near death was beating rapidly, surprising her even more.


    ?Quest Completed: Save the great philanthropist; City Master Aliyah?


    ?Quest Rewards Obtained: 10000 XP, Human Mana Channel opening Elixir Recipe!?


    ?Mana Channel opening Elixir Recipe has been stored in the inventory?


    At the very moment, Noah''s notification popped up in Whittaker''s vision, notifying him of quest completion. A smile popped up on his face as he said, "Nothing''s impossible,"


    "Who are you?" Aliyah asked confused and alert after she noticed the presence of someone in her room.


    She didn''t detect any malice for him hence she didn''t shout for her guards.


    The room was dark and only the moonlight barely illuminated it. Thus, she couldn''t make out the features of the boy standing beside the king-sized bed but she felt that he meant no harm.


    "Don''t be afraid. I am a... A friend of your son and I just happened to help you recover from your heart illness," Whittaker replied while stepping backward to give her some space to feel comfortable.


    Hearing his words, Master Aliyah''s confusion cleared up. She remembered that even breathing was hard for. It would send a painful chill all over her body but now, she could no longer feel the pain. Moreover, her heart was beating majestically and she felt unbelievably energetic.


    Master Aliyah gently gazed in his direction. "Only the Heart Rejuvenating Elixir can cure my chronic heart illness. That is a very precious item yet you used it on me! Words can''t express my gratitude. If you need anything then just say it. As long as it''s in the treasury of the palace then it''s yours," She expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the young black-haired boy.


    Master Aliyah knew full well that the only treatment for her illness was the Heart Rejuvenating Elixir but it was extremely difficult to create and the markets didn''t have even a single one in store. However, as fate would have it, an expert bestowed her with kindness and saved her life.


    ''Azur, maybe it''s true after all, Good things happen to good people,'' she thought. She didn''t want to die. She feared leaving her kids behind. Now that she won''t die, that fear lessened and calmness took over her mind, soothing her soul.


    "Thanks for the offer," Whittaker said.


    "If you may, I''ll prepare a grand feast to honor your esteemed self and announce my recovery to the people," Aliyah said.


    "My apologies, I don''t really have the time," Whittaker said.


    "What''s the matter?" She asked.


    "Contestant killers have gathered up in the Grand Canyon. There''s more than a group of them! They have been killing contestants and Monster tower citizens. Hence, the tower spirit issued a quest to the rulers to take them down. I''ll be going there to clean up the mess," He explained to her about the situation in Grand Canyon.


    The moment Whittaker announced his status as a ruler, a respectful expression appeared on her face.


    "So it''s like this. Your highness, I won''t keep you busy. Here, take this. It''s the key to the weaponry hall. There is some military weapon inside that will help you in taking down those scums. If you have the time then visit us. The palace door will always be open to your esteemed self," Aliyah said.


    Those born within the tower respected the tower spirit. For them, the tower spirit was no different than God. Whereas, the rulers were his angels created especially to keep the balance.


    If Whittaker didn''t announce his status as a ruler then Aliyah would have never handed over the key to the weaponry to him. This was a perk of being a "Ruler".


    ''Seems like even the gentle City master hates Contestant killers,'' Whittaker thought when he heard her cursing. Taking the key from her hand, he said, "Thanks for the help. If I get the chance in the future then I''ll visit."


    "Good luck," Master Aliyah said as she saw him going out the window.


    Right after, Whittaker followed the path to where the weaponry hall was.


    It was left unguarded. Not a single guard has been stationed nearby the weaponry. It''s because the defensive barrier surrounding it was more than enough, after all. However, by using the key, the defensive formation easily opened up.


    He entered the weaponry hall and took five Safety Scrolls, five D-rank ball of death, 3 intermediate Haste talismans, and four intermediate invisibility talismans. He only needed to use the Safety Scroll and he would be able to be safely teleported to the nearest human establishment inside the monster tower.


    Whereas, the D-rank ball of death releases a powerful arrow that can take down a D-rank expert and even have a chance of severely injuring or killing a C-rank expert. As for the talismans, the Haste talisman increase movement speed by fifty percent, whereas the invisibility talisman would help him make sneak attacks.


    A single Safety Scroll costs up to three thousand blocks of platinum. The ball of death came at 10k+ platinum a piece. As for the intermediate Haste and invisibility talismans, they were slightly cheaper at two thousand platinum each. Both these talismans had a time limit of some minutes.


    Those who weren''t wealthy, couldn''t bear to use these items. But it''s not like Whittaker was paying from his own pockets. He was getting them for free. He didn''t think that he was being shameless and took them with a happy smile. He also took some Health and mana potions.


    He needed them for the upcoming battle. Thus, he took them.


    Whittaker put away the potions, talismans, ball of death, and teleport scroll in his rankless ring of genesis and made his way out of the RedCliff City. He was equipped with various speed-boosting items such as the Azure-sky pendant and boot. Activating their speed-boosting effect, he became as fast as a D-rank battle master but when he used multiple Haste talisman, he became faster than one. His current movement speed vastly outstripped D-ranked expert.


    After emerging out of the city, he immediately sprinted off towards the north.

 Chapter 196: Max reputation with RedCliff City!

    "Why are you all so gloomy. I''m all better now!" City Master Aliyah''s words made Butler Azan, Jin and Fiorin entire body tremble.


    They weren''t the only ones that felt that way. Everyone who was familiar with her voice trembled in glee and shock.


    They shifted their focus onto her. Everyone''s jaws dropped open when they saw Aliyah standing upright and healthy.


    Their pupils immediately contracted as they dumbfoundedly stood there. They were too happy to see her bing with life.


    "Long Live the City Master!!!" Her appearance had caused the crowd to instantly break into an cheerful uproar.


    Her blonde, curly hair were braided to reveal a cute and dainty face. Soft brown skin delightfully compliments her eyes and mouth and makes one remember that she was the most beautiful woman in the Red Cliff City. Glistening brown eyes, set elegantly within their sockets, watched gently and delightfully over her children and knights.


    "Come here," she said, opening her arms wide to hug her mischievous little one''s.


    "Mother, we missed you so much," Jin and Fiorin ran into her embrace with tears of joy streaming down their eyes.


    They couldn''t believe what they are seeing but wished that it was all true.


    "You''ve both grown up so fast. I was delighted to know that you both bravely entered the Scorpion-kin desert and acquired the Desert Heart Mystic Lotus for my sake. I''m extremely proud of you both. If he was alive, yours father would feel the same too." Aliyah said while wiping the tears off their face. Her children were young and brave and that made her delighted.


    "I wish this is all true," saying that under their breath, Jin and Fiorin buried their face in her warm motherly embrace.


    After a while��


    "Master, I''m glad to see you back on your feet, but how did this miracle happened?" Azan asked while gently gazing at her with respect and a little bit of love.


    "It''s all because you three have befriended a hidden expert," Aliyah smiled revealing her pearly white teeth.


    "What?" the three were confused.


    They said, "Except for Master Benjamin, we don''t know of anyone that''s an expert at the art of healing."


    Seeing their confused expression, City Master Aliyah began to explain what happened to her.


    Hearing her words, the astonishment in their hearts suddenly magnified by several times.


    "Not only is Life Taker a Talisman Master, Formation master, and a beast tamer but he is also an elixir master." They exclaimed with a surprised look.


    What a surprise! Elixir Master Benjamin was completely stumped; when he heard City Master Aliyah''s words, he was stupefied in place.


    ''With what face did I offered a lecture to an expert that can create a perfect rank rejuvenating heart elixir!'' He feels so embarrassed that his babyface turned beet red. He felt like jumping inside a river, he felt like hiding under a rock but in the end, he laughed it off.


    "Let''s go," Looking at the the City master cuddling with her children, a smile formed on his face, and he then walked away with his attendants.


    _


    _


    _


    Night passed away and the sun started to take the place of the moon.


    In mere hours, Whittaker covered a huge distance and was just some miles away from his destination.


    The King of Sand didn''t disappoint. Although they were travelling on solid ground, it was still as fast as ever with the help of merely two Haste Talisman.


    ?Congratulation, Ruler Life Taker! For saving the Life of Azan, Jin and Fiorin, you have been granted 1500 Reputation points with RedCliff City. For saving the life of City Master Aliyah, you have been granted 3500 Reputation with RedCliff City and 500 Alliance Points?


    ?RedCliff City?


    ?Reputation: 5000/5000 (Max)?


    ?Status: Reverend?


    ?Description: The gate of the RedCliff palace are eternally open for you. It''s now also possible for you to obtain help from the experts of the RedCliff City?


    ?Effect 1: 3�� Drop rate of items from monster in the vicinity of Red Cliff City?


    ?Effect 2: Can take a urgent loan of 500000 Platinum from the royal treasury?


    ?Human Alliance?


    ?Reputation: 600/5000?


    ?Status: Friendly!?


    ?Effect: The tales of your good deeds have spread far and wide. In the lower tower, you''ll be treated like a hero in most of the human establishments?


    Monster tower have 100 floor but it is divided into four categories. They are lower tower, middle tower, upper tower and the Kings throne.


    Lower tower= 1st to 33rd floor!


    Middle tower= 34th to 66th floor


    Upper tower= 67th to 99th floor


    Whereas the 100th floor is called the Kings throne.


    As they were reaching near the entrance of the Grand Canyon, Whittaker received a notification from Advance Guide.


    "I suppose City Master Aliyah has announced my good deeds to everyone." Whittaker thought with a beaming smile while looking at the blinding Sun in the skies.


    He didn''t help her out because of fame, but becoming famous made him happy.


    In the monster tower, reputation had a variety of uses. Though it was mainly used to acquire quests with unique rewards or obtain help from powerful city guards.


    ''Though I don''t know what to do exactly to get unique quests. According to the "Records of monster tower", it''s very hard to get access to such a quest that gives unique items as reward."


    It''s said that a contestant needs to actively participate in Alliance wars to gain alliance reputation, only then will there be a chance to get such a quest.


    While contemplating this matter, Whittaker reached the Grand Canyon.


    "Thanks for the ride. King eighteen, you can rest now," Immediately, he got off of King Eighteen back and recalled it into his soul space.


    "I should hide myself so that no one will notice me!" After using a advance grade invisibility talisman to camouflage himself, Whittaker ventured inside the Grand Canyon littered with contestant killers.


    The entrance to the Grand Canyon was a small ravine that led to the depths of the canyon. It allowed only a small of people to pass through at a time. Steep vertical cliff faces flanked the ravine on both sides.


    He was calmly walking near the edges of the steep vertical cliff that flanked the ravine on the left side.


    Clang! Bam! Peng! Suddenly, he heard resounding battle cries.

 Chapter 197: Contestant killers.

    Some moment after he had entered the Grand Canyon, Whittaker spotted six people fighting with all they got. They were fighting inside the ravine and were very far away from him. They were aiming for each other lives and attacked without holding back. By using Devansha''s vision, he could clearly see that three of them were at a wide disadvantage and were being pushed into a corner.


    "Ah! Red name contestant. Looks like I''ll be able to complete the mission soon. The drops are surprisingly decent." Whittaker cackled a hunter laugh while hiding far off in the distance. He wasn''t noticed by them as he was hiding in plain sight by using the invisibility talisman. Plus, he was very far away and not everyone has powerful vision abilities.


    Among the six, three had their name marked red while the other three contestants'' name glowed in green. The red name signifies a contestant killer while the green name signifies crime-free contestants.


    The three red name contestants were equally powerful: a rank-D sword user, a rank-D spear user, and a rank-D mage.


    If a contestant with their name marked in red like these three were to be killed, then multiple pieces of equipment on their body would drop. The deeper the red color, the more things they''ll drop. This was the risk that came with hunting other contestants.


    Furthermore, the colors of their name were bright scarlet. These three will drop all their equipment upon death. Moreover, the equipment these three awakened donned didn''t look half-bad. The swordsman wore a D-rank gauntlets gown that amplified the powers behind his fiery slash. The spear user was using some type of gloves that boost the power of thrust attacks by 200%. The mage was wearing multiple mana recovery accessories.


    "Everything they equipped would become my possession after I kill them!" Whittaker made his way down the cliff to kill them. However, he was very far and he couldn''t make a rush for it otherwise, he would be detected before he even reaches them.


    He had no thoughts of providing help to the other contestants. First of all, they were strangers. Secondly, they won''t actually die even if they are killed. Lastly, if he moves faster than his current speed then the three contestant killer will notice him even though he was using an invisibility talisman. That''s why he continued at his own pace.


    "Ragna, close in for the kill!" The swordsman, Eliot shouted with a booming voice then rushed forward and cleaved down with the sword held in his hands.


    [Fiery Wind Surge Slash!] He exclaimed and a powerful fiery wave rushed out of the sword and went straight towards Jacob.


    "Damn, I won''t be able to dodge this!" Jacob pulled back a bit but stopped. As right behind him, Sophia stood. If he evaded the attack then Sophia will surely die. Thus, he raised his shield to defend against the incoming blow.


    "Bang!" A resounding reverberation was heard as the fiery slash blasted the round shield and crashed on Jacob.


    Kuah! Jacob got blasted away and crashed on the rocky cliff. He dropped to the group and breathed his last. His body blurred and vanished, leaving behind a Battle Light and a piece of equipment.


    Ranga, on the other hand, took this opportunity to rush straight at his opponent and thrust his spear.


    Peng! Klang!! Klang!!!


    Each time Ranga thrust his spear, it shot out an amplified wind blast. Although Faroz was able to deflect some of them with his sword, most still pierced his body.


    "Weak chicken," By the time Ranga was done, his opponent was bleeding from multiple places.


    In the very next moment, Faroz dropped to his knees with lifeless eyes. Just like Jacob, his body blurred and vanished, leaving behind Battle light and a piece of equipment.


    Whereas, the leader of the group, mage Logan kept the teary-eyed mage, Sophia busy with endless [FLAME BALLS!]


    "Boss, we are done with our opponents, how about you stop playing and kill her," Ranga and Eliot shouted while picking up the equipment and storing them in their spatial rings.


    "Sure," Logan shouted before a murderous frenzy took over his eyes.


    "Little beauty, play times over!" His words sounded like a devil whisper in Sophia''s ears and fear took over her soul. Before she could do anything, Logan shouted.


    [Binding chains!]


    At the very moment, multiple black chains shot out from his spellbook. As a mage, she wasn''t good at running nor did she trained her body physically. Evading the chains was a distant dream and an impossible feat to achieve for a mage like her.


    Although she used the spell [Barrier of Light], the dark chains burning with a cursive aura instantly shattered the golden shield and wrapped around her limbs.


    "Why can''t I feel my mana?" The moment the chains binding her, Sophia could no longer utilize her mana.


    "Resistance is futile, my spell has a unique effect of sealing a mage''s mana pool. And it''s extremely effective on a weakling like you," Logan said with a taunting smile.


    The Binding Chain spell had multiple categories. [Binding chains: Sealing mana] was just one of its types.


    "Please don''t kill me," she begged with tears streaming down her face.


    "I won''t..." He said. Sophia felt relieved before she heard him saying, "At least not before using this."


    Logan walked up to her and stuffed a piece of paper in her mouth. This was the equipment extraction magical paper, an item especially created in the Monster Tower. By using this piece of paper, a person will drop all his equipment upon death.


    "Now if I kill you, you will drop every single piece of equipment!" He said with a burst of eerie laughter and continued by chanting, [Binding Chains: Flames of Torment!]


    "Gahhhhh!" Sophia shouted in pain as the chains ignited and a fiery blaze enveloped her whole. In mere seconds, her shouts died down as she was burned to death.


    Ting! Ting! Ting! All of her equipment dropped on the ground. There was also a mana light which Logan absorbed. Whereas, the battle lights were absorbed by Eliot and Ragna.


    Once a human contestant is killed, they drop mana light or battle light. Mana light can be used to permanently increase mana and battle light can be used to gain a permanent increase in battle energy.


    "God Damn! These weak bastards dropped a lot of good equipment. We have been really lucky today," Ranga said in a rough roguish tone.


    "Yeah, we gained a lot of profit from this. Each of those three we killed dropped a piece of equipment," Eliot said in agreement.


    "Especially the beauty, she dropped five D-ranked equipment. They are probably some rich youngster that thought of making a name for themselves by using their daddies'' money." Logan said with a laugh, and he continued by saying, "We have hunted enough. We should absorb the purifying moon drop to cleanse our red name,"


    "Yes, boss," The three contestant killers pulled out a jade bottle with silver liquid inside and drank it.


    The Purifying Moon drop was a famous item amongst contestant killers. It was used to clear their red name for twelve hours. The contestant with red names can''t enter the city or town. That''s why they use this item as it reverts their names to green at midnight for twelve hours.


    "The red mark on our name is going to disappear by tonight. I can''t wait to enter the nearby city and sell these items," Logan excitedly chatted with his teammates.


    "Boss, we share the same thoughts," his teammates said.


    Although they were all smiling, fate didn''t seem to share the same thought like them.


    There''s a problem every contestant killer faces. As long as they get killed by someone before their red name disappears, then they''ll drop a lot or all of their equipment.


    Currently, death was upon them as Life Taker sneaked his way near them!

 Chapter 198: Killing Contestant Killers!

    Lurking in the shadow, Whittaker was no different than a hunter ready to prey on deer unaware of the danger they were in.


    Logan, the mage was blessed enough to awaken a C-rank spellbook. He could cast metal, cursive, and fire type spell. He was going down a route that focused on torturing his opponents before dealing a fatal blow to end their lives. The combo of metal and cursive spells are highly effective in restricting the opponent and sealing their powers. Whereas the high damage from his fire spells deals the final blow.


    He was a dangerous opponent!


    ''This mage is going to be a slight pain in the ass to deal with. I should kill him first and then take down the other two!'' From far away, Whittaker was able to witness the entirety of the battle and he concluded that the mage was the most powerful one out of the three.


    Although the nearby swordsman and spearman were also strong, he was fully confident in taking them both down in a 1 vs 2 battle.


    As for the mage by their side, he could simply not be left alive. His restrictive and sealing spells were a game-changer and could put Whittaker in danger. Moreover, the mage also had the most powerful equipment of them all. Therefore, he decided to take down the mage first.


    Under the effects of advance grade invisibility talisman, he slowly moved towards those three contestants. With a thought, he summoned and grasped Blood Drinker in his right hand, and slowly crept closer and closer.


    "Alright, we don''t have any time to rest. We need to start heading towards the RedCliff City, only then will we reach there in time. By the time we reach it, midnight would have already arrived and the effect of the purifying moon drop will be activated. Our red names will be disguised and the guards won''t stop us from entering the city. After selling the items and wreaking havoc in the city, we''ll take our leave." Logan said with an obvious insidious smile on his face.


    Fooling and hurting others gave him a sense of superiority and satisfied his sadistic nature. Hence, he could not help but smile just by thinking about it.


    "Boss, wouldn''t it be dangerous," Eliot felt that it was kinda dangerous to head towards RedCliff City because their names were still Red.


    "Nah. It''ll be night by the time we reach near RedCliff city. According to my intel, at night, no guard will be scouting the nearby forest. As for the contestant that might be roaming the forest, with our above-average coordination, we can take down any F to D rank group. Plus, we''ll be wearing masks and only kill a dozen or so weak commoners before leaving the city. They wouldn''t notice our crime until we are already out of the city. So it won''t be dangerous," Logan''s words eased Eliot''s worries.


    "Boss, you''re the most intelligent man I have ever met," Whereas, Ragna was extremely respectful and entirely loyal to Logan and was willing to follow every single one of his words without a second thought.


    "Ha, ha. I know." Logan laughed and gestured to Eliot, Ragna to not act suspiciously by using his secret hand signs.


    "Boss, what is the problem?" The two curiously asked with a straight poker face.


    "Stay absolutely calm. I have sensed fluctuations in mana nearby us. I suppose someone''s targeting us. And he''s heading towards us." He mentally communicated to them using telepathy.


    "But boss, I don''t see anyone," Ranga said.


    "Yeah, I also can''t sense the presence of anyone near us. You know I can detect killing intent because of my passive ability," Eliot added.


    "Trust me in this," Logan said.


    The two didn''t act suspiciously and simply nodded their head.


    "Let''s go. We will travel nonstop for the next few hours. And only stop to set up a camp three miles away from the City." Logan intentionally said this loudly for Whittaker to hear before they all walked towards the entrance of the canyon.


    To Whittaker, it seemed that after killing the group of three they planned to immediately leave the grand canyon. Only, they weren''t aware of the danger that was quietly approaching them. Moreover, they were walking straight towards the danger.


    It was a God-sent gift to Whittaker who stealthily made his way near Logan. Only a few steps more and he would close the distance between them. The Mage was walking quite close to the spearman and the swordsman, and their attention was focused entirely on leaving the Grand Canyon. Plus, their faces showed an endless amount of excitement when they thought about all the money they would receive from selling the loot.


    Their defense was completely down!


    Before his inky, black merciless eyes, the defenseless head of the Mage �C who was completely unaware of the deadly danger looming over his head �C was completely exposed.


    There was only a distance of twenty meters between them.


    ''It''s time to go all out. This is the best moment to attack!'' Whittaker thought before he lifted his right foot, and slammed it onto the ground while at the same time he inputted 10 units of battle energy on the toes of the same foot.


    BOMB!


    WHOOOSH!


    Two sounds echoed at the same time as Whittaker''s body was blasted ahead, leaving a massive crack on the ground which spread far and wide like spider cracks, and at the same time, his blurry silhouette appeared in the contestant killers vision.


    He resembled a cheetah suddenly pouncing towards his target��Logan!


    "Brat! I was waiting for you to step into my trap!" Logan laughed sinisterly. Eliot and Ragna immediately brandished their weapons at his directions. Whereas, Logan retreated back and shouted "Raging Flame Chains!"


    He had discovered Whittaker long ago! His [Mana Sensing Ability] wasn''t something to be trifled with. By using that ability, Logan was able to sense even the tiniest fluctuations in mana 200 meters around him.


    With his chant, multiple blazing chains of fire emerged out of his spellbook and expanded outwards in every direction as they headed towards Whittaker.


    As the chains dashed towards him, Whittaker was assaulted by the sensation of scorching flames, and at the time, Eliot brandished his sword in his direction. Furthermore, Ragna also thrust his spear in his direction.


    Along with the chains of flames, a flame slash and an air blast came crashing blasting towards him.


    Their coordination and sneak attacks can only be considered Outstanding.


    Whittaker was in mid-air and he could not change his direction. Moreover, he was heading towards his death at a very fast speed. The contestant killers smiled. For them, it seemed that his death was a certainty within the next few moments. However, they weren''t aware that he possesses game-changing Trump cards!

 Chapter 199: Killing Contestant Killers! (b)

    Whittaker was inwardly surprised. He wasn''t expecting these guy''s surprise attack at all. But, there was not even a single hint of worry on his face.


    The moment the attacks were about to crash into him, he used Flash Step.


    Siii! The Azure-Sky boots released a mysterious flicker and Whittaker''s body suddenly disappeared before arriving right behind Logan.


    Boom! The attacks crashed in mid-air and produced a blast.


    "Haha, we are lucky to hunt another one. Since he was using a treasure that grants invisibility, he got to be rich!" A happy smile was etched in Ragna and Eliot''s faces as they believed that they have hunted him down and will get good rewards but Logan''s eyes showed complicated emotions.


    "Something not right! Keep your guards up. I believe he''s still alive!" Logan shouted in disarray.


    Although everything happened so fast that Eliot and Ragna didn''t even notice Whittaker disappearing, the same could not be said for Logan.


    He was able to notice the massive fluctuations of mana and believed that he was still alive; however, he was unable to notice that he had appeared right behind him.


    With a beaming smile on his face, Whittaker raised his right hand and he then brandished his sword horizontally.


    GAHHH! Logan shrieked like a dying pig as the sword chopped his neck off his head. The young black-haired boy cleanly beheaded Logan without giving him a chance to respond or anyone else to save him.


    "Boss!" Eliot and Ragna turned around and watched in disbelief as blood spurted out of Logan''s headless body which dropped to the ground, and at the same time, the head landed on the ground with a thud and rolled to their feet.


    Right after, his body blurred and disappeared, leaving behind three pieces of accessories


    and a 9-star D-rank Mana Light!


    ? Killed a D-rank Contestant Killer, 300 Ruler Credits gained ?


    ? Total Ruler credit: 800 ?


    ? Quest progression rate: 34% ?


    Right then, Whittaker also heard Advance Guide mechanical words, notifying him of the rewards he obtained for his glorious deeds.


    ''I just need to kill these two to complete my quest and get Floor-Skip Crystals!'' He thought while looking at Eliot and Ragna with a murderous smile on his face.


    It all happened too fast, and what happened was just too mysterious. He disappeared and reappeared to take Logan''s life like a fucking Grim Reaper from the underworld. This made Eliot and Ragna feel fear.


    The death of their boss caused the two contestant killers who were used to murder and looting to be afraid!


    Karma was a bitch. What they did was happening to them now and they felt fear at the thought of dying.


    However, this fear was only momentary as rage took over when they sensed that the contestant "Life Taker" was only an E-rank battle master.


    They believed that he had used trickery and landed a lucky hit on their boss and managed to kill him.


    "Damn it! You puny bastard! You''ll pay for killing my boss!" Ragna shouted before he put all his battle energy into his spear and hurled it at Whittaker.


    Whoosh! Wind, leaves, and clouds swirled around the spear as it threatened to pierce Whittaker.


    Flash step! Once again, Whittaker used Flash Step and appeared right in front of Ragna''s eyes.


    Ragna''s eyes widened in fear but Whittaker has no intentions of showing mercy.


    Whoosh!


    "Kuk��" Blood Drinker split apart his flesh like tofu and chopped his thick waist in two as if it was a block of old dry wood.


    Before the sharpness of an S-rank sword, the body of a D-rank battle master was like a tiger made of paper.


    ? Killed a D-rank Contestant Killer, 300 Ruler Credits gained ?


    ? Total Ruler credit: 1100 ?


    ? Quest progression rate: 67% ?


    Advance guide notified Whittaker who turned to gaze at Eliot with a merciless look.


    "Now, it''s your turn!" He said dangerously while pointing the blood-covered Blood Drinker at Eliot.


    Although they were humans, he didn''t mind killing these people as they weren''t actually dying in real life. Besides, the opponents this time were contestant killers.


    Whittaker knew that all of the contestant''s killers were garbage that had become insensitive to murder. Most contestant''s killers had twisted personalities. For example, Logan loved to torture his target before killing them. Furthermore, they don''t only kill humans inside the tower but also outside the tower.


    ''I will show no mercy to such people!'' He thought while dashing at Eliot.


    "Ragna! Damn you, monstrous brat!" Eliot shouted and slashed his sword at Whittaker, and at the same time, he poured dozens of units of battle energy in his weapon to activate [Wind Slash] and [Flame Slash] at the same time.


    Due to the mystical gauntlets, the strength of Flame Slash was boosted by two times. Furthermore, Wind Slash boosted the power of Flame Slash by two more times. A huge flame slash hurriedly headed straight at Whittaker.


    His expression did not change one bit. A mere Greater Flame Slash wasn''t enough to make him fear for his life. He merely halted in his footstep and took out multiple talismans from his rankless ring of genesis.


    "Water Wave Talismans!" With a thought, he activated multiple Water Waves talismans and tossed them out at the huge Flame slash.


    Si* Siii** The flame slash crashed with the waves of water and evaporated into thick clouds of gas that spread everywhere, camouflaging Whittaker and Eliot.


    Eliot immediately made a run for it. Staying here was the same as courting death. He believed that the mist will be able to hide him from the boy''s deadly gaze and provide him with enough time to get out of the Grand Canyon.


    However, Whittaker was able to clearly see that he was running away because of his Devansha eyes.


    He smirked and summoned Frost Spellbook!


    "You can run and you can hide but you''ll never be able to escape the range of my spell!" Whittaker shouted and chanted,


    [Rankless Spell �C Frost Spike!!!!!]


    Hearing his words, Eliot trembled in fear. As he sensed massive fluctuations of mana right above his head, he turned to look at it.


    At that moment, he saw a massive cloud with hundreds of ice spikes within. The moment they rain down, he would die. And that moment wasn''t far off.


    "What monster have we offended?" He chuckled dumbfounded and fell to the ground, staring at Whittaker with a look of fear.


    "Life Taker, I''ll remember you!" He shouted before Whittaker gave him a soft yet painful death by letting the ice spikes rain down from the skies.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! The ice spikes crashed on his body and the ground. All of Eliot''s bones were crushed before he breathed his last. Whereas, the ground was littered with massive scars and icy shards.


    ? Killed a D-rank Contestant Killer, 300 Ruler Credits gained ?


    ? Total Ruler credit: 1400 ?


    ? Quest progression rate: 100% ?

 Chapter 200: Increasing strength!

    ?Quest Completed: Nasty Contestant Killer?


    Rewards Obtained: 3�� Floor Skip Crystal?


    Advance Guide notified Whittaker who was surprised to see that the quest still hasn''t disappeared. The quest ?Nasty Contestant Killer? was shown as active in his status even though he had completed it.


    "What? Advance guide, is this quest repeatable? Will I get rewarded by Floor Skip Crystal once again if I hunt down contestant killers in the Grand Canyon?!!!" Whittaker asked to clear his confusion.


    He thought that maybe it''s a malfunction caused by the Advance Guide. And if it isn''t then it''s very happy news for him.


    ?To both your questions, it''s a Yes. The quest can be repeated endlessly. As long as contestant killers exist, the Rulers of the Monster Tower can hunt them down to earn the rewards listed in the quest description? Advance guide said in a gentle feminine tone.


    The tower spirit had enough. The contestant killers had repeatedly disregarded the Rules of the tower and this had annoyed him to his wit''s end. Hence, he had ordered this quest to every ruler and made it repeatable.


    However, unlike Whittaker, most rulers were not exactly interested in this quest. The rewards were pretty casual, after all.


    The Floor Skip crystals were only a treasure in Whittaker''s eyes but not the others. As for the Ruler coins, the Rulers of the tower earn more through "Plenary Quests" than completing this newly issued quest.


    Hearing her words, a thoughtful look appeared on Whittaker''s youthful face.


    ''Every time I complete the quest, I''ll get Floor Skip Crystal. I''ll need 21 Floor Skip crystal to reach the 31st floor. In total, I just need to complete this quest 6 more times and I''ll have enough Floor Skip crystal to reach the 31st floor.'' Whittaker calculated the number of times he''ll need to complete the repeatable contestant killer quest before he has enough floor skip crystal to reach the 31st floor.


    Then he focused his attention on Advance Guide.


    "Previously, I had to kill 3 D-ranked contestant killers to complete the quest. From my calculation, I believe that to complete the quest, I need to kill 10 F-ranked contestant killers or 5 E-ranked contestant killers or three D-ranked contestant killers or 2 C-ranked contestant killer, or a single B-ranked contestant killer. Am I right, advance guide?" Whittaker asked the ball floating beside him.


    ?Yes, it''s as you think? Advance Guide replied before silence took over.


    "There are bound to be more contestant killers inside the Grand Canyon. I will head deeper inside the canyon after absorbing the mana and battle light of the contestant killers I just killed," Whittaker said before picking up the equipment from the ground.


    He stored the pieces of equipment in his spatial ring, and he then began to absorb the glittering blue Mana Light and glittering golden Battle Lights.


    ?D-rank Mana Light (9-star)?


    [Description: Mana Light obtained by killing the peak D-rank mage, Logan


    Effect: Increase the length of the mana pool by 200]


    ?D-rank Battle Light (7-star)?


    [Description: Battle Light obtained by killing D-rank battle Master, Ragna.


    Effect: Increase battle energy by 5 points]


    D-rank Battle Lights (9-star)?


    [Description: Battle Lights obtained by killing D-rank battle Masters, Eliot and Ragna.


    Effect: Increase battle energy by 5.5 points]


    As the mana light went inside his body, it transformed into waves of energy that went into his mana pool and began to upgrade it.


    ?Ding! The Guardian has successfully absorbed Logan''s Mana Light?


    [Length of mana pool increased: 2100?2300. Mana in the mana pool: 1600/2300. Mana in Mana Devouring Hair 100/100. Total mana: 1700] Noah notified Whittaker who was beaming a happy smile.


    ''The size of my mana pool has increased pretty rapidly ever since I came to the Monster Tower, this place is simply a treasure trove.''


    As he thought, an intelligent light flickered in his eyes.


    "I guess this is the very reason why many contestants kill other contestants. In the awakened continent, increasing the length of the mana pool is costly and solely depends on how much rich a person is. However, in the monster tower, a constant can easily increase his mana pool by absorbing mana light which is obtainable through killing floor bosses and contestants." Whittaker said under his breath.


    In the awakened continent, everyone needs to use spirit flowers or treasures with similar treasures to increase the length of their mana pool. However, the monster tower defies this universal rule. The existence of Mana Light was the same as heaven defying treasure. And it is one of the reasons why many contestants go down the wrong path of killing their own race.


    Contestant killers believe that killing other contestants is an interesting, faster, and easier way to increase the length of their mana pool and become powerful. That''s one of the reasons why they kill other contestants nonstop.


    Opening his mouth, Whittaker absorbed the two battle lights at the same time.


    ?Ding! The Guardian has absorbed the battle light of Ragna and Eliot?


    ?The Guardian has gained 10.5 Units of Battle energy?


    [Battle energy increased: 37.5?48]


    "Now, I am just 2 battle energy away from becoming a D-rank battle master. The main problem is that I need to mediate the for weeks before I can increase my units of mana to 3001 points." Whittaker said.


    In the past few weeks, he had opened fifty of his blood vessels and energy pathways by using the opening Elixirs and also physical training to absorb its effect. He had received these Low-level Blood vessels and energy pathways opening Elixirs (3-stars) by completing Elder Zachary''s initial trial.


    He still had some left and he could use to open the rest of his blood vessels and energy pathways. Reaching D-rank battle master in a few days wasn''t a pipe dream but the same couldn''t be said for a mage.


    He could increase his mana pool endlessly but even then he won''t reach D-rank mage.


    ''As a mage, I need to meditate for hours to increase the suction force of my mana seed. Only by increasing the suction force of the mana seed can a mage hope to increase the total amount of mana in his mana pool,'' Whittaker thought before he crossed the gorge and ventured into the Grand Canyon!

 Chapter 201: Barbarian Battle Master!

    As he was left with few invisibility talismans, Whittaker decided to save them for an opportune time. These will be extremely useful in a situation where he has to run away from a group of contestant killers or a horde of beasts.


    From the previous battle, he had realized that invisibility talisman didn''t help make a sneak attack if the other party have a mana sensing skill. Similarly, he also clearly knows that he was strong enough to battle D-rank and maybe even C-rank mages and battle master. That''s why he didn''t take extra precautions.


    Walking alone in the Grand Canyon did not require much time before he was targeted by a dangerous opponent. Although he was Devansha''s vision, Whittaker did not notice that person who was staring at his youthful face with the intention to fight and kill.


    The Silver-ranked Barbarian was hiding within the lush greenery of the Grand Canyon while Whittaker was traveling alongside the stream. That''s why he didn''t notice a pair of silver eyes that stared at his defenseless back with murderous intention.


    Gah! Gah! Gah!


    The silver-ranked Barbarian battle master, who was three sizes larger than a normal human, suddenly rushed out from within the lush greenery. This barbarian was covered in silver equipment from head to toe. He was wearing silver armor, boots, and silver bracelets and both its hands wielded a gigantic silver ax.


    Whittaker heard heavy thumping noises and turned to stare at the source; However, Whittaker barely managed to observe him before the silver-ranked barbarian hurled its incomparably heavy Class weapon, the Silver Serpent Beheading Ax. It flew like a rocket. And as it spun rapidly, the ax grew in both width and size. In an instant, the ax sharp edges reached Whittaker and threatened to chop him in two halves!


    The barbarian race is a battle race. Their bodies are unique and they are birthed for battle. Their hunting instinct is above average, and this is their best quality.


    Everything happened too quickly, too suddenly. If it was an average E-rank awakened in his situation, their body would have been chopped in two before they could even react.


    However, Whittaker was not an average E-ranked awakened. He was a dual awakened with mental fortitude surpassing all prodigies. He was even held in high regard by Elder Zachary for his mental fortitude. He summoned Blood Drinker with a single thought, and the moment before the ax could hack at his body, he slashed his sword horizontally, and at the same time, poured 3 units of battle energy to activate [Three-Clawed Blood Slash].


    A scarlet slash shaped like a wolf claw collided with the giant ax but shattered under the impact and the Silver-serpent Beheading Ax crashed on his S-ranked sword.


    Boom! As if a mountain has crashed on his sword, Whittaker''s entire person was sent flying over the stream and towards the rocky cliff.


    Ban! The overgrown Ax, on the other hand, smashed on the ground and deeply penetrated the earth. A long cut line was made and the Earth continuously trembled because of the battle energy gushing out of the Ax. This battle energy widened the gash. From just this, it could be seen just how terrifying this attack was. Moreover, the silver-ranked Barbarian battle master who owned this class weapon was even more terrifying.


    Just when Whittaker was gonna crash into the cliff, in mid-air, he hurriedly spun around and smashed his foot on the water, and at the same time, poured 3 units of battle energy in the same foot.


    Bam! With a single powerful leap, he climbed up the cliff and stopped at its edges.


    [Barbarian Sonjuki (Contestant Killer)


    Rank: Silver-ranked Barbarian Battle Master


    Elemental resistance: 35%


    Physical resistance: 37%


    Hp: 800/800


    Battle energy: 380/520]


    As he gazed at the Silver-ranked Barbarian Battle Master, Noah notified him of the barbarian stats. Also, he could see that this person''s name was deep red. That means he has had killed a lot of contestants.


    Furthermore, this barbarian had already attained the peak of silver-rank. The barbarian was divided into Iron-rank, Copper-rank, Bronze-rank, Silver-rank, Gold-rank, Dark Gold-rank, and Platinum-Rank. A silver-rank Barbarian Battle Master was equal to a C-rank human Battle master.


    "A barbarian! Their men look as ferocious as Magical beast while their females are as pretty as fairies. The books didn''t lie,"


    Whittaker was excited to see a Barbarian in real life for the first time. He had only ever read about them in books but never seen them in real life. His blood was boiling!


    The Barbarian race was abnormally powerful, and their bodies were nothing less than a treasure. Even the most common amongst all barbarian will give birth to "Battle Energy" as long as they "Breath" after undergoing the "Awakening Ritual". Moreover, their bones overgrow and their heights increase the more battle energy they have. Human battle master and mage of an equal level were unable to take more than a few hits from them.


    However, their bodies were enormous, resulting in their Movement Speed being relatively slow. Although they could use battle energy for movement bursts.


    The God that barbarians worshiped was the Goddess Serpentine. Since they worship only a single Goddess, the Class weapon of the barbarian race was divided into two.


    A: Ax.


    B: Ancestral elemental Soul.


    The color of their class weapon determines their potential. Sonjuki had awakened a Silver-Serpent Beheading Ax. His potential was silver-rank and he had already achieved it. His battle core was filled to the brim with battle energy; However, as a barbarian, he could absorb battle energy in his body, too. That''s why he has 20 more battle energy than the max limit of the C-rank battle core.


    A C-rank battle core can only contain a maximum of 500 battle energy but a person would have to open a total of 480 Blood vessels and energy passageway.


    Whittaker and Sonjuki stared at each other in the eye. One standing above the cliff, the other nearby the edges of the stream.


    "None of my prey have ever escaped. You can''t run away from me. It''s better to fight me like a man and if you can''t, then prepare to die!" The Barbarian shouted by putting battle energy in his voice.


    Whittaker''s ear rang because of the booming shout. There''s a massive difference between low rank (F-E-D) battle master and high-rank battle master (C-B-A). Even the voice of a high-rank battle master could be used as a weapon and Whittaker was experiencing it first hand.


    He felt that his ear will bleed if he doesn''t do anything fast. He took out two noise dampening talisman and used one on each of his ears. Now, even a loud shout will be like a cat meows to his ears.


    "I''m interested," Whittaker replied while gesturing to the barbarian to come and fight him.


    He wanted to know whether he''ll be able to tackle a C-rank Barbarian on his own or not. Thus, he didn''t summon King Eighteen. He thought, ''But if I am not able to defeat Sonjuki and the situation requires then I''ll summon King Eighteen!''


    "A good warrior. Worthy to die under my hand!" Sonjuki smiled and extended his arm and the huge AX flew back to him. Along the way, it''s size also decreased.


    The barbarian clutched the AX in his hand and immediately followed after Whittaker. Sonjuki was so powerful that when he slammed his foot on the ground, three to four trees fell, the ground cracked and his body shot like a rocket towards the cliff.


    Whittaker wasn''t gonna give him an easy time either. He summoned Frost Spellbook and rained down dozens of Frost Bolt on the Barbarian. However, to the barbarian with around 900 health and a 35% elemental and 37% physical resistance, his attacks barely tickled him. But, Sonjuki speed still decreased by some percent due to the frost bolt debuff.


    Nevertheless,Sonjuki still successfully landed on the cliff and rushed towards him with an Ax held in his hands.

 Chapter 202: Battling a Silver-ranked Barbarian Battle Master!

    Whittaker took a deep breath, taking a battle stance and beaming his signature smile as he looked towards the Silver-ranked Barbarian charging at him.


    Although Sonjuki was surprised to know that the other party has two class weapons, he continued with his initial plan. He planned to make mincemeat out of his opponent.


    Bam! After taking six wide steps, battle energy rushed out of Sonjuki feet and exploded beneath his two feet, propelling his body towards the black-haired boy at an insane speed.


    Whoosh! Within a single moment, he instantly appeared before Whittaker.


    His eyes widened in disbelief.


    ''He is just too fast, unbelievably fast,'' Whittaker thought as the murderous silver eyes of the beast flashed before him.


    This was the difference between a high-rank battle master and a low-rank battle master. While low-rank battle master can only pour battle energy internally and in the attribute line of their class weapon, the high-rank battle master can discharge battle energy out of their body to perform miraculous feats.


    Sonjuki immediately slashed his Silver-Serpent Beheading Ax horizontally at Whittaker.


    The Barbarian was a C-rank battle master while he was just at E-rank. He wasn''t stupid enough to have a head-on clash with him, as the other party battle energy exceeded his by hundreds of units.


    Therefore, Whittaker hurriedly turned his body to dodge the attack. The Silver-serpent Beheading Ac did not land on Whittaker; it only smashed the ground raising a splash of broken rocks. Furthermore, a wild fury of battle energy gushed out of it.


    He used Blood Drinker to block the rocks and tried to land a strike of his own on the Barbarian back, but the battle energy gushing out of the Ax like waves smashed on his sword and pushed him away from the Barbarian.


    ''Giving someone a reply is the most basic courtesy,'' Whittaker thought while glaring at the back of Barbarian Sonjuki.


    As he was being pushed away by the battle energy, 1000 units of mana vanished from his mana pool and rushed into his palm to create a massive influx of mana that even made Barbarian Sonjuki shudder in fear. He wanted to dodge whatever was coming. However, Barbarians were too slow and without using a burst of battle energy, they can not actually move fast.


    He just utilized his movement burst technique and it was currently on cooldown!


    [Mana Blast!]


    A Blue beam of light shot out from his raised palm directed at Sonjuki back at an unbelievable speed. The barbarian couldn''t even turn around before the mana blast cruelly landed on his back.


    BOOM! A resounding reverberation echoed as the blue beam of light expanded on contract and enveloped the Barbarian in a fiery hot explosion.


    -80!


    -54!!


    -60!!!


    ''A clean hit! Surprisingly, even mana blast didn''t do much damage. The barbarian magical resistance is just too impressive,'' Whittaker thought as the notifications of Barbarian Sonjuki Health point dropping at a rapid phase continuously rang in his ears.


    Gahhhhh! Feeling blood streaming down his back and the scorching heat that burned his skin, Sonjuki widened his mouth and let out an ear-piercing battle cry.


    To an average low-rank awakened, this roar would have shaken their soul, causing them to enter a paralyzed state, but Whittaker had used voice dampening talisman on his ears, hence the roar didn''t achieve its intended purpose.


    Whoosh! Before Whittaker even knew it, by using battle skill [Berserk Charge], Sonjuki rushed out of the smoke and appeared before him. Raising his Ax, he chopped it down at the young boy, who couldn''t do anything except raise his S-ranked sword, taking the attack head-on.


    Peng! The force behind the attack was too much and Whittaker got knocked away. He fell down the cliff and crashed on to the tree far away from the stream.


    -20 HP!


    He took a lot of damage and felt a painful sensation assaulting his senses, but there was no time to wallow in sadness, as the Barbarian jumped down the cliff and was coming straight towards him.


    Gritting his teeth, he stood up. ''The Barbarian is too strong. I won''t win in a frontal battle. It''s time I try out that strategy,''


    Whittaker thought before making a run for it.


    During his time in the library, he has studied a lot about various races. He knew that the weakness of the Barbarian is their ugly temper and awful speed. Barbarian battle masters were mere prey before humans experts with a ranged weapon. They can attack from a distance and easily kite barbarians, after all. The way to defeat barbarian battle masters was to "Kite" them through various means until they run out of "Battle Energy".


    Without battle energy, a barbarian was as slow as a snail, and killing them through ranged attack was as easy as eating a small pie.


    Nearby, there were numerous large trees that could be used to toy with Barbarian Sonjuki. Whittaker rushed into the greenery. His plan was simple. He will make the barbarian chase after him, causing the barbarian to expand all of its battle energy. When the barbarian is left with little to no battle energy, he will use ranged attacks to put an end to Sonjuki life.


    "Puny humans, always running away from the battle at the sight of mere disadvantage," Barbarian Sonjuki said with a disgruntled expression as he saw Whittaker running away.


    "Get ready to die!" To his surprise, accompanied by this shout, another Whittaker rushed out from behind the tree and rushed at him with bare hands. This really was not Whittaker but a clone he summoned to annoy the barbarian and buy some time.


    Sonjuki was shocked to see a Whittaker speeding away from him and one speeding towards him. However, he instantly sobered up and decided to kill all of them.


    The Barbarian slashed his Ax at the clone, and at the same time, the clone poured all his battle energy into his fist and punched out.


    The result was pretty obvious. The weaponless clone was cut into two, exploding into smoke with a puff. Whereas, the Barbarian chased after Whittaker with incredible speed.


    He was utilizing several units of battle energy in each step. In mere seconds, Sonjuki caught up to the young black-haired boy and was merely several yards away from him.


    "Hehe, he took the bait. Now, I just need to increase my speed and decrease his speed so that this game of mouse and cat will continue until I, the prey gets the chance to become a hunter!" Whittaker said under his breath and took out multiple haste talismans from his rankless ring of genesis.


    The effect of the haste talismans could be stacked up to three times but they were less effective with each use. The first one increased Whittaker''s Movement Speed by 100% for 10 minutes. The second Haste Talisman increased his movement spread by 50% while the third one increases his movement speed by 25%. In total, his speed has increased by 175% percent. The Haste talisman was a lifesaving item when out in the wilderness and it was best used to run away from life and death situations.


    Even though the Monster Tower was merely a deadly game, he couldn''t afford to die. Otherwise, he would need to start climbing the tower from the first floor. That will waste many weeks and he will fail to impress Elder Zachary.


    That''s why Whittaker bought a lot of Haste Talisman just for such occasions.

 Chapter 203: Ruler Sem!

    If the average person were to learn about this, they would definitely curse Whittaker as a silk pant young master, a person who uses money without care to obtain what he wishes.


    After using the Haste talismans, Whittaker''s speed was nearly matching up to the Silver-ranked Barbarian Battle Master. He was slightly slower than the barbarian, just by a thread. It was not very obvious, but it was this small difference of speed that allowed the Barbarian to catch up to him, slowly and steadily, but even this situation didn''t last long.


    Whittaker was just playing with Sonjuki, giving him hope of catching up to him. But as he neared, he started spewing out the word Frost Bolt endlessly as if it was a curse.


    Although the Frost Bolts held nothing against the Barbarian in terms of damage, they could still be used to reduce his speed. He continuously said Frost Bolts and the Frost Spellbook shot out Frost Bolts like a Gatling gun.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    From a distance of 18 yards, dozens of Frost Bolt immediately rushed towards Sonjuki and crashed on his face and armor, causing various amounts of pitiful damages of -5, -7, -7, -7, -5, -7.


    Although Sonjuki had 35% elemental resistance and it also reduced the Frost Bolt damage and debuff by 35%, ten Frost Bolts crashing on him still caused 60 damage. Plus, the Frost debuff also stacked up to 30% and paralyzed the Barbarian.


    Gah!


    Using a battle of battle energy, he removed this frost debuff and chased after Whittaker.


    This time he poured dozens of battle energy and closed the distance with incredible speed.


    From the looks of it, he''ll catch up to Whittaker in mere seconds!


    Whittaker smirked as a brilliant light shone in his Crystal icy eyes and he utilized the power of the core inside his body.


    Sonjuki was smiling as he was closing upon his prey; However, an enormous authoritative force crashed on his body and slowed down his speed by 100%. This was the power of the Gravity Core!


    The gravity of the tenth floor itself was acting against this contestant killers and slowing down his speed.


    In the end, the poor barbarian wasn''t able to catch up to him.


    This game of cat and mouse didn''t continue. After all, Sonjuki realized that his Battle energy has fallen below 200 points.


    At the very moment, Sonjuki realized that Whittaker was planning to exhaust him of all his battle energy before killing him!


    A fervent rage immediately took over his eyes, as the Barbarian decided to put an end to this battle.


    He halted in his footsteps, surprising Whittaker. With the help of Devansha vision, he could see everything behind him, and he managed to take a look at the contempt flashing across the eyes of Barbarian Sonjuki.


    Sonjuki head of grayish-white hair fluttered as every bit of Battle energy rushed out of his body. An enormous golden wave of battle energy was poured into the Serpent line of his Silver-serpent Beheading Ax.


    "Forest Beheading!" Sonjuki shouted. The shape of a serpent condensed behind the giant ax, as it came spinning forward...


    Whittaker''s body shivered out of instinct as the fear of death crept up his soul. A sensation of cold spread throughout his body. The manifestation of the Serpent was glaring at him with murderous intent. He had heard about this ability. This was one of the most powerful abilities of the Barbarian Battle Master!


    Bang! Akin to an earthquake, cracks stretched across the forest, spreading wherever the Serpentine-Ax. Trees were mercilessly chopped as the Serpentine-Ax went straight for Whittaker''s life.


    "Seriously," Whittaker activated all his movement abilities to increase his speed and run away as fast as he could but the Serpentine-Ax was two times faster than him.


    Furthermore, wherever he went, the Ax would automatically change its direction and chase after him. The Serpentine-Ax was like a guided rocket which meant it could detect if someone was alive and automatically aim at them. The Ax would automatically aim and chase after the person targeted by the manifestation of the serpent. The chase won''t stop until the person is dead!


    Standing near the edge of the cliff, a handsome youth and a cute catgirl glared at the battle down below, so calmly that they almost seemed unimpressive by seeing the most powerful ability of the Barbarian Battle Master.


    "There he is," Neko said while starting at Whittaker.


    "I can see," Sem replied. There was a pitch-black longbow on his back. The bowstave and the grip were covered in the White symbol of light and the Black symbol of Darkness. This was his class weapon.


    [The Bow of Beginning & End] The only of it''s kind. A class weapon that couldn''t be actually ranked but people held different opinions about it.


    [The Bow of Beginning & End] At first, this weapon was classified as A-RANKED. The person that helped Sem awakened believed that since this weapon possesses a black and white attribute line, it''s an A-ranked weapon.


    Contrary to his judgment, this bow could use all the attributes. However, Sem had little to no control over it, and each time he pours his battle energy in the attribute line and pulls the bowstring, an arrow with a unique effect will manifest.


    Sem pulled the bowstring back and an emerald arrow automatically condensed.


    "So it''s the Bow of Holy Wind," Neko said, starting at the emerald arrow that just manifested out of thin air.


    "Buzzomm". The bowstring emitted a noise while the twinkling arrow moved towards the Serpentine-Ax at an incredible speed.


    Boom! The emerald arrow and the Ax collided, resulting in a battle energy explosion.


    Whittaker fell down because of the battle energy blast released by the clash of the Serpentine-Ax and the arrow.


    He saw that the manifestation of serpent instantly jerked as the arrow pierced through it, and in the next very moment, shrank like a deflated balloon as the battle energy used to manifest the Serpent gushed out of its body like tidal waves.


    Thud! The Ax fell to the ground, Lifelessly.


    "Who?" Sonjuki shrieked. He had used all his battle energy for that attack but someone actually defeated it!


    Who could it be?!

 Chapter 204: Barbarian Sonjuki Death!

    "A dead man need not know who I am,"


    Accompanied by this taunt, Sem appeared in place of his emerald arrow by using his battle skill [Switch place]. This skill allows him to switch places with his arrows.


    The moment Sonjuki saw Sem, an expression of disbelief could be seen in his eyes.


    "You are�� Sem, The Dragon Slayer!" The Barbarian pointed at Sem with his forefinger. It was shaking wildly and a horrified expression was etched on his face.


    ''Just what is a legend doing here!'' He screamed in his mind.


    Hearing his words, Sem wasn''t the least bit surprised. He was a very famous person both in the Monster tower and the real world. Many people knew of him. His most glorious deed was slaying a "Red Dragon" and saving the "State of Sha" in the "Land Of Flames.


    He merely stared at the barbarian with emotionless eyes and raised his bow to express his intention to kill.


    Seeing the bow of Beginning and End aimed at him, fear crept up Barbarian Sonjuki heart.


    ''Staying here''s courting death! It''s better to run away and regroup with my guild. Then, I''ll have my revenge!!!'' He thought of regrouping with his guildmates before hunting down Whittaker and Sem.


    The Silver-ranked Barbarian Battle Master was clearly furious after Sem struck his ultimate attack but it still could distinguish between the choice of life and death. Sem was too powerful to face all alone, and he''ll surely die if he does so. Hence, he immediately turned around and made a run for it.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    Arrows launched towards him but he utilized the unique terrain of the overgrown forest to avoid the attacks. Most arrows pierced through one to two trunks of the thick trees but came to a halt after that. That''s how he dodged attacks while running away.


    ''So shameless,'' Whittaker was appalled by the actions of the thick-skinned barbarian. Just a while ago, Sonjuki taunted him for running away but now he was doing the same. He was so shameless that even the flames of furry won''t be able to melt his thick-skin!


    However, he understood that the Barbarian was scared shitless by the appearance of Sem, The Dragon Slayer. Even he was excited to see Sem. Whittaker had read the legends of many experts and Sem was the youngest one amongst all those legends, after all.


    Furthermore, he could kill a Red Dragon. That means he can fight a peak B-rank expert. Sonjuki was merely as powerful as a C-ranked expert. While Sem could kill peak B-ranked Magical beast. Thus, the barbarian running away was a justified action. He knew he would die in mere minutes in combat.


    "Neko, don''t let him get away!" Sem shouted.


    He was as calm as ever. Even though the barbarian could use the terrain to his advantage to dodge his arrow, he still won''t be able to escape the fate of death.


    "I''m on it." Neko jumped out from behind a tree and blocked Barbarian Sonjuki path.


    He was surprised and happy. She was so small that it seems like the Barbarian will crush her bones by tackling her. He charged straight at her to do just that.


    Neko didn''t flinch. She pointed her spellbook at him. [Polymorph] she shouted while staring at the towering man.


    The Polymorph Spell could polymorph magical beasts, humans, and other races into a sheep for 8 seconds. It was a rankless spell. Costume 100 MP per second. However, there was two weakness to this spell. First of all, the effect could be canceled by using a certain amount of mana or battle energy. Secondly, the cost would greatly increase when used on a high-rank battle master.


    However, Sonjuki was exhausted from his battle energy. The spell worked its wonder and instantly turned the gigantic Barbarian into a little white sheep.


    "Meh! Meh!" Even after turning into a sheep, it charged with all its might. But she kicked him hard, knocking him back.


    "Melph!" The little White sheep crashed on the tree and was knocked down. Blood spurted from its mouth and it fainted.


    Sem turned to take a look at Whittaker who was witnessing this battle while using battle energy recovery potions and mana recovery potions to recover from his exhausted state. Furthermore, his natural recovery rate was excellent but he also used the Icy healing touch skill to heal himself to peak condition


    "Go deal the final blow. He''s your prey." Sem said. He''s here to befriend Whittaker and take care of the mess created by the constant killers for Jafar. Furthermore, he needed Whittaker''s help. That''s why he allowed him to kill the Barbarian.


    He''ll be killing two birds with a single stone. Not only will he get to befriend Whittaker, but he''ll also owe him a favor.


    "Thanks," Whittaker happily replied before immediately using Ghost Step. He was instantly blasted off towards the exhausted and low Hp silver-ranked Barbarian battle master who had fainted. He arrived behind the severely wounded Barbarian. He raised the pitch-black Blood attribute S-ranked sword high, abruptly slashing down.


    [Three-Clawed Blood Slash]! Three steaks of Scarlet sword light landed on the think neck of the Barbarian and ripped it apart. The low HP Barbarian fell to the ground with a bang, lifeless. His body pixelated before vanishing and leaving behind various treasures.


    Advance Guide: ?Ruler Life Taker has killed Sonjuki. Detected! Sonjuki was a contestant killer. No plenty applied! Rewards Obtained: 500 Ruler coins. (9-star) C-ranked Battle Light. Silver-Serpent Armor. 50% Mission progression rate for the quest Nasty Contestant Killers?


    All these rewards were great. And, Whittaker''s eyes opened in surprise. The Silver-Serpent Armor is made from a unique metal found only in the barbarian wildlands.


    ?Silver-Serpent Armor (low-rank)?


    [Equipment Requirement: 35 Endurance


    Physical resistance +2.5, Elemental resistance +3, Agility -2, Intelligence +5]


    Although it''s an item that comes with heavy plenty, this equipment will still sell for a lot. But what surprised him the most was the Battle light with effect too good to be true.

 Chapter 205: Blood Oracle Guild!

    "Wow, I just need to open 50 more blood vessels and energy pathways and absorb this Battle light and I will reach halfway away from the peak of D-rank!" Whittaker said while looking at the Battle Light.


    ?C-rank Battle Light (9-star)?


    [Description: Battle Light obtained by killing a peak C-rank battle Master.


    Effect: Permanently increase battle energy by 25 points]


    It seems to him that the spirit of the tower punished Sonjuki really hard. It''s good though. Somjuki was a shameless C-ranked Battle master hunting contestants on the tenth floor where most contestants are around F to E and only some have reached the D rank.


    "Store all these items," Whittaker said to Advance Guide. Beams of light shot out of its middle and shone over the items. The items vanished from the ground, appearing inside Advance Guide''s interspatial storage.


    Advance Guide had many uses and this was just one of them.


    ?Mid-rank Ruler Sem has sent you a friend request? Advance Guide notified


    Befriending a Dragon Slayer was the dream of many youngsters. Whittaker gladly accepted it. Whereas, Sem and Neko walked up to him.


    "Life Taker, nice to meet you. As you have already heard, I''m Sem. And she is my Guide, Neko," Sem introduced himself.


    "Hello, little cutie," Neko said.


    Whittaker didn''t feel even slightly apprehensive by their warm greetings, and the fact that they knew him didn''t alarm him. He knew that since they know him, it must be because they must have seen him killing the Wind Drake and becoming a Ruler.


    Furthermore, Rulers were mostly friendly to each other. They work together to complete quests issued by the tower spirit, after all.


    "Hi, nice to meet you too. Thanks for saving my life." He expressed his gratitude.


    He was thankful for various reasons. Although he could smash Barbarian Sonjuki ultimate by summoning King Eighteen and using his Bloodline Abilities, his Devansha bloodline would have been exposed and King Eighteen would have been badly injured. Whittaker was certain that he will get in trouble if the world is to know that he''s the descendant of the Divine battle king. That''s why he didn''t want anyone to know this secret of his. That''s why he didn''t use it in his battle against Barbarian Sonjuki.


    Elder Zachary and his elder sister knew that he was a Devansha but they didn''t announce it to anyone. His secret was safe with them, his heart was at peace. He didn''t want others to know of this secret. Not until he finds what happened to his clan.


    "No problem," Sem and Neko replied at the same time. Seems like their chemistry is good.


    Whittaker continued by asking, "May I ask, what are you doing here?"


    "People from the Blood Oracle Guild have set up camp nearby the bosses of the first thirty floors. For the previous two weeks, they have been killing anyone that tried to kill the bosses of the floor to advance to the next one. Most of the newly arrived contestants and those who want to climb the tower are dissatisfied with what''s happening and some have even announced the tower as a scam, where they continuously lose their power and treasure because of being killed by powerful contestants that shamelessly hunt those weaker.


    "The tower reputation has taken a slight hit but this angered Jafar and some of the Righteous Ones among the Rulers. They despatched me and 29 others to clean up the mess. I was dispatched to the tenth floor. From what I know, there are at least twenty of them here in the Grand Canyon! All D-rank or C-rank. I am here to kill all those bastards and clean the tenth floor. Only... I would need your help. You probably also must have received a contestant killer quest. Let''s party up and you''ll get good rewards!" Sem replied with a hopeful look in his eyes.


    He wasn''t dispatched to the tenth floor. Rather, he asked for it. He wanted to meet Life Taker. Life Taker has killed the Wind Drake, after all. Now that he has seen him in person, Sem classified Whittaker as a Unique and interesting person that''ll do something astonishing in the future.


    "Let me think," Whittaker said. He didn''t vastly make his decision because the Blood oracle Guild was involved.


    "Okay," Neko and Sem replied.


    Blood Oracle Guild�� Whittaker had actually heard of this guild before. It was a large guild, similar to the most evilest groups of the awakened continent. In the guild ranking board, Blood Oracle guild ranked in the top sixties. Even as the years went by they never fell below the top one hundred. This guild existed because of a group of battle maniacs and people who would commit any evil deed to get what they want. They were a group of tenacious warriors and vile beings that did not fear ushering suffering onto the world.


    The thing they loved most was battling, killing, and looting. The guild members cause destruction wherever they go. They are heard by the authorities of the world. Furthermore, there''s a bounty on the head of each member of the Blood Oracle Guild.


    ''Anyway, if I kill 20 of them, I''ll have enough Floor Skip crystals to reach the 31st floor! Elder Zachary will surely be impressed if I return and announce this news to him. He will surely hand over the key to the treasury to me!''


    When Whittaker thought about this, a happy smile formed on his face. He was certain that Elder Zachary will keep his words. And, he was excited to see what the treasury holds.


    "Have you made up your mind?" Sem asked. He seemed slightly impatient.


    "Sure, but what do I need to do?" Whittaker replied.


    "First of all, accept my party request. Then I''ll explain to you my plan!" Sem replied.


    ?Mid-rank Ruler Sem has sent you a party invitation? Advance Guide notified.


    Whittaker accepted the invitation and joined Sem party. He could see three health bars in the corner of his vision. One belonged to him. While the other two belonged to Sem and Neko.

 Chapter 206: Sem Plan ~ (A)

    He could also see a semi-transparent screen that showed each of their locations.It was just like the Life Guide skill but comes with no cost. The Advance Guide freely provided this map to every member of a party.


    "Little looker, you can see the minimap, right?" Neko asked.


    "Yes, I can see it," Whittaker honestly replied.


    "We would be splitting up soon. The semi-transparent map will be extremely useful for my plan to work. It will help you to locate where we would be." Sem said.


    "What''s the plan?" Whittaker turned to look at Sem. It was time for him to explain the plan.


    Sem lifted one of his hands. Seeing his gesture, Neko pulled out a map of the Grand Canyon and handed it over to him.


    "I have already tracked down the location where the members of the Blood Oracle Guild are camping. This is the place where they are camping." Sem said while pointing at a mountain located in the inner area of the Grand Canyon, and he then continued by staring intently at Whittaker with hopeful eyes, "However, we can''t attack them. If I go then they will scatter throughout the Grand Canyon the moment they see me. Then, It''ll be impossible to kill all of them. That''s why I will need you to attract all the members of the Blood Oracle Guild to our location. We''ll be at the southern entrance of the Grand Canyon. If my plan is successful, we will be annihilating them all in a single sweep."


    Whittaker was able to understand what he means. Sem was powerful enough to kill a peak B-rank Red Dragon. His appearance will really scare the D-rank and C-rank contestant killers that were camping near the boss of the tenth floor. And, they will run away as fast as they can. However, if he''s the one to go then the same can not be said. Rather than running away from him, they will chase after him to kill him. He was a mere E-rank awakened on the surface, after all.


    "All of them? How will I bait all of them to your location? And, even if I do, how will we kill them all?" Whittaker asked with squinted eyes.


    "Yes, all of them. It''s easy for you to attract all of them and run away. You were even able to run away from the Wind Drake, so I am sure that they won''t be able to capture you.


    "You probably don''t know that even though Blood Oracle Guild is full of battle junkies, ugly bastards, and criminals, they still care about each other a lot. If you kill a few of them then all of them will madly chase after you. As for your next question, I have set up the Crimson Infernoformation at the southern entrance of the Grand Canyon. Once they enter the range of the formation, they won''t be able to leave alive no matter what they do."


    Sem finished explaining his plan.


    The plan was good but there''s a major flaw.


    "How will I kill a few of them without dying myself?" Whittaker asked.


    He believed that it was impossible for him to kill a few of them by himself. All of them were D to C rank, after all. And, killing even a single one of them will take some time. Furthermore, the moment he is noticed a lot of contestant killers will try to reap his life with all their might. Sure, he was fast. But he wasn''t strong enough to kill multiple powerful experts in a 1vs20 battle.


    "Hehe, you just need to throw this ball at their camping location before revealing your presence and running away. This ball is a war weapon from the World of Flames ruled by Lord Agni. It''s specially modified by me. If penetrated by the Scarlet Death needle insides, it would mean certain death. There''s no counter to this except an enormous amount of battle energy. Even that sole method will leave a person crippled for life. Be careful with it. This thing is extremely deadly!" Sem said while carefully handing over a red ball to him.


    ?Ball of Devastation?


    [Type: War weapon!


    Rank: B (9-star)


    Description: Body Devasting, Life Reaping, Ball of Devastation is a war weapon created by using the core of creatures of Lava. Ball of Devastation is an explosive type of poisonous weapon. Upon explosion, it shoots out sixteen Scarlet Death Needles about 7 inches long. Ball of Devastation is created by mixing the cores of lava creatures with various fire element treasures and reshaping them into needles.


    Effect: Ball of Devastation has two effects, also known as ''Body Devastation and Life Reaping''. The Ball of Devastation has the potential to kill B-rank experts and severely damage A-rank experts. It will be activated once mana is poured into the activation magical rune design. It will explode five seconds after activation. The Scarlet Fiery needles contain the ability to melt internal organs, bones, and veins. The fiery hot energy will instantaneous spread inside the body upon contract. Even if one cut off the targeted area the instant the needle made contact with the body, they would still be unable to prevent their inevitable death]


    "Wow, I can''t believe something like this exists!" Whittaker exclaimed before storing it gently in the rankless ring of genesis. He was certain that he will be able to kill several of them by using this item. The Ball of Devastation was just that strong.


    ''What a cutie,'' Neko internally thought while staring at his excited face.


    "Alright, I think we should start before the sun falls!" Sem said. The members of the Blood Oracle Guild will head out of their camping spot at night. They didn''t have much time left before dusk arrives.


    Sem had just taken three steps with Neko towards their destination before a shout stopped them.


    "Wait," Whittaker stopped them.


    "Sem, your plan is good but there''s a major flame. There is a problem with the setup of your formation, and it wouldn''t be able to trap the members of the Blood Oracle guild for more than 30 seconds." Whittaker said with a serious face. He appeared no different than an expert with a vast array of knowledge.

 Chapter 207: Sem Plan ~ (b)

    "Hmm?" Sem and Neko glanced over.


    They were curious about this. Their eyes sparkling with curiosity fell upon Whittaker.


    They curiously looked at him, wanting him to continue saying what the problem is.


    "The Crimson Inferno Formation is built using formation flags made of unique metallic wood that attracts flame elements in nature and use the flame elements to sustain the formation. But the location you chose is lush with trees, herbs, grass, and shrubs. There isn''t even a hint of flame elements in that location. Furthermore, there is also a stream. Of the five elements, Water opposes Fire. The Crimson Inferno Formation will be weakened by the water element in the environment. This place isn''t suitable for the conditions required for the formation. The formation will be unstable and won''t last for long. It will break under two attacks." Under their expectation filled eyes, Whittaker explained the flaw in the Crimson Inferno formation and the reason why it will break in 30 seconds.


    He has learned a lot about formation from Elder Zachary. Actually, he has nearly learned all about it from him. With his photographic memory, learning and memorizing a formation and it''s effect barely took seconds. In the previous week, he has memorized hundreds of formations, and what he said was the truth. The Crimson Inferno formation borrows the strength from the environment. It needs the might of the flame element to exerts its full power. But there weren''t any flame elements here��


    "Amazingly, you''re also a formation master. But you look like a 12-year-old boy. Could it be you are a dwarf?" Neko exclaimed, unable to believe that Whittaker is a human being.


    Based on his actions and words, the young fellow before them was definitely a formations formation. But it was inconceivable how a young boy could hold such deep knowledge about formation. They just couldn''t believe it.


    "I am a human," Whittaker rolled his eyes at her. He was just too amazing!


    "Neko, he''s a human alright. Anyway, Life Taker''s reasoning is correct. Of the five elements, water opposes fire. The presence of the stream will weaken the formation somewhat. Furthermore, flame elements are necessary to activate the Crimson Inferno formation. If there aren''t any then the formation won''t be able to exert even 10% of its strength. Although what you said is true, there will be no such problem with the Crimson inferno formation. It will exert 100% of its strength!" Sem said with utmost confidence.


    "Eh?" Whittaker wanted to know the reason for his confidence.


    Sem smiled at him.


    "There is a very large flame element metal deposit beneath the Grand Canyon! The special formation flags will attract the necessary amount of flame elements from the flame metal deposit automatically. As such, the Crimson Inferno formation will be able to exert its full might." He revealed the truth to him.


    Whittaker was surprised to his very core!


    Elder Zachary had once taught him that one shouldn''t just focus on what he''s being shown. The world is mysterious and it only shows people what they want to see. His conclusion was based on the geographical terrains of the Grand Canyon. However, he was proven wrong by Sem because there''s a flame element metal deposit right below them.


    He couldn''t know that. It''s not like he''s an omnipotent God! But how did Sem know that?


    "Umm, may I ask how you found out that there is a flame metal deposit right beneath the Grand Canyon?" He asked with a curious look and Puppy eyes. Whittaker was always serious when it comes to learning new knowledge and he was intensely interested in this subject. That''s why he wanted to know how Sem found out that there''s a flame metal deposit below them. Hence, he used his legendary skill to force information out of his mouth!


    Neko and Sem we''re both mesmerized by his eyes. Although Sem controlled himself, Neko couldn''t do the same.


    "Dozens of years ago, the Grand Canyon was a desolate place. It didn''t even have a single hint of life. But as the year''s passed by, the imposing rays of sunlight gave birth to a flame metal deposit below the desolate ground. In the following years, plants and trees brimming with life grew up on land because of the nutrients provided by the flame elements. Though not many knew about this information and I happened to purchase it from a greedy merchant."


    Sem didn''t explain but Neko did.


    "What she said is right. Anyway, that wasn''t the only reason. I also confirmed that there is an extensive flame metal deposit just below us by using my "Soul Sense." With his back resting on the trunk of the tree, Sem pointed at the greenery and calmly said.


    "This�� wow," Whittaker was amazed at the working of the world and didn''t have anything to say. After a momentary pause, he asked Sem: "What''s soul sense?"


    Soul master was a secret hidden from society. The secrets of the soul master were only shared between those who were soul Master. Sem was able to detect soul force inside Whittaker''s body. Whittaker was also able to sense soul force inside his body. Therefore they chatted about this subject casually.


    "It''s the skill that allowed me to look through the ground and see the flame metal deposit. You''re also a soul master. One day, you''ll be able to learn it too."


    Soul Sense has different uses. Its first use allows a person to directly see through things. Its second use allows a person to see the flow of energy beneath the ground, inside the plants, magical herbs, humans, and other beings. Sem used this ability to see the flame type energy flowing beneath the ground.


    "Well then, I''ll go and attract them," Whittaker said before turning around and heading towards the camping site of the contestant killers belonging to the Guild Blood Oracle.


    "We''ll be hiding well and waiting for you!" Neko shouted for Whittaker to hear.


    "Let''s go," Sem said as Whittaker disappeared from their vision.


    "Okay," Neko replied.


    They started walking towards the southern entrance of the Grand Canyon.

 Chapter 208: Annihilating the Blood Oracle members (a)

    The sky was a bright yellow. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun shone, scattering yellowish rays throughout the Tenth Floor and the Grand Canyon was entirely illuminated.


    One could hear the running of water from the nearby streams and the roar of magical beasts.


    "Hahaha, these past few days have been satisfying. I could have never thought that we will be making this much profit from hunting rabbits. This safe hunting is far better than the fine dancing we used to do in the thin line of life and death." Chaim said while laughing wildly. He was extremely satisfied with the loot they have gathered from killing weak contestants in the past few weeks.


    He was a man with crooked teeth and a hairless head. A scary scar ran down his eyes, reaching his lips. Around twenty or so people sat around him. All of them were wearing an amulet made out of bones. They all had an equally insane look in their eyes.


    "Yeah! At least we do not need to participate in the realm missions anymore to increase our powers. In the past, so many of our brothers died for no reason because of the greed of the nobles. The military didn''t care for us. The nobles never treated us like humans. Joining the Blood Oracle Guild was the best choice in my life! Killing the rich sons and daughters to make money is better than killing aliens in an unfamiliar world." Alex said, a sword glittering in emerald and amethyst color was stabbed in the ground beside his legs.


    It wasn''t easy to gain access to items above D-rank. A person needs to make many contributions to his family, kingdom, or military before he is able to get the resources necessary for a C-rank awakened to become powerful and most of the quests and missions are about exploring dangerous unexplored worlds.


    Death is very common in those places and Alex had seen many of his comrades die. Thus, he turned to the dark side and joined the Blood Oracle guild.


    "Brother is right. With the things we got, we''ll be able to return the favor to the guild and still become rich ." Another one of the groups of twenty people said.


    The Blood Oracle Guild has dispatched them here to kill the Contestants and loot their items. From that loot, 30% will belong to the guild. This was an outright act of the guild robbing its member but they say this is an act of returning the favor to the guild. It''s because they are all criminals and the guild is harboring them, providing them with protection and means to access C-rank and above resources.


    Almost all the members aren''t satisfied with this condition but they have no other choice. The guild is the only way for them to gain access to resources.


    "I say, we should leave the Grand Canyon. We have hunted enough. There are enough treasures for all of us. Staying here might bring more harm than good!" Xavi Zak said while throwing a stick in the bonfire. He had this bad feeling that something adverse was gonna happen to them all, and it wasn''t without a reason.


    "Zak, do you know what you are saying? We have come this far, why fall back?" Chaim disagreed with Xavi''s opinion.


    There''s no way he was gonna leave this camping site, they were making tons of money everyday and life was good, why leave?


    "Bro, are you scared?" Alex asked Xavi.


    "What if our actions had angered the heavens of the Monster Tower? From what I know, the tower spirit is a pretty vengeful existence. We''ll be hunted down until the very last person! We''ll probably lose all of our items upon death. Even our storage rings might drop as loot!" Xavi said. He was fearful of the future.


    He wasn''t the most intelligent among them, but he was the one with less greed. The others were blinded by their strength and greed but his mind worked just fine enough to notice the threat they might face soon.


    Every single one of them had the blood of dozens of contestants on their hands. The more you kill the worse the death penalty. They have killed a lot and their plenty will be severe. Furthermore, the tower spirit will pull a string or two, making their punishment even more severe if they die.


    "We have been at it for the past two weeks. The tower spirit still has not sent its dog at us. And the moment a powerful Ruler appears we will make a run for it, that''s a good plan. If we run away just from the thoughts of being hunted down then we will never succeed in life!" Chaim said.


    "We''ll be doing just that. Anyway, the night''s soon to arrive. Forget about these disturbing thoughts and gather your mind, we got a hunt to start." Alex said.


    In two hours it will be dark. And the time to hunt will begin!


    His words excited all the battle maniacs sitting around the bonfire. They were excited at the thoughts of killing contestants soon.


    "Let''s eat!" Chaim shouted and the group started tearing the cooked meat apart.


    Right behind them was a rocky mountain.


    They sat at its summit and ate food. They sat in a circle around the bonfire. Eating was pretty common in the monster tower. It''s because Monster Tower was extremely lifelike. Everyone feels hungry and feeling tired because of hunger and even death because of starving was also possible. That''s why eating was a must.


    Although magical beasts pixelate and vanish, leaving behind only items upon their death, it only happens when a contestant kills them. However, when a Porter, Guide, or people born in the tower kills magical beasts, they don''t disappear. Thus, their meat can be seen being cooked and sold to others �Ccontestants or not �C on the various floors of the Monster towers.


    "I hope that everyone can return safely," Xavi said under his breath before he also started eating.


    What ones think never happens and the clouds of death were looming on top of each of their heads; however, they were all unaware of this fact.


    The environment was serene but it was about to turn bloody, pretty soon.

 Chapter 209: Annihilating the Blood Oracle members (b)

    A young boy with silky black hair poured battle energy in each of his steps as he leaped up from the base of the Rocky mountain trying to reach the mountaintop as fast as he could. Each of his steps was powerful but produced no sound. It''s because Whittaker has used the noise cancellation talisman.


    He already knew where the members of the Blood Oracle Guild were camping. They were on the opposite side of the Rocky mountain that he is climbing. He was climbing the mountain from its back. Whereas, the members of the Blood Oracle Guild sat on the opposite side.


    He chose this path because he knew that he''ll be noticed by the onlookers if he were to take the land route. However, since he was climbing the mountain from the back, the mountain itself acted as a cover to hide his movements.


    He easily climbed the mountain at a rapid speed. The other low-rank battle master couldn''t do what he did. He was able to do this because of his self-created movement skill Ghost Step and his excellent control over Battle energy. Normally, a battle master needs to train for years to become proficient at using his battle energy. As a Devansha, Whittaker was able to control battle energy like a limb of his body, the moment he became a battle master. His control over battle energy was comparable to peak D-rank Battle masters.


    The moment he reached the mountaintop, a serious expression appeared on his youthful face with handsome features.


    "There they are," Whittaker said while looking at the summit of the Rocky Mountain. At that place, dozens of Blood Oracle Guild members with deep scarlet name sat.


    They were currently eating food and their guard was down. They didn''t notice the arrival of Whittaker. He was standing at the peak of the Rocky Mountain, after all.


    Whittaker was gonna use this to his advantage. It is not a fool''s choice to attack when one''s enemy''s guard is down. Although some may consider it a disgraceful and cowardly act, he wasn''t killing good peoples but those who bullied other.


    He pulled out the Ball of Devastation from his rankless ring of genesis. Holding the round ball in his hand, he looked at it with excitement and anticipation.


    "It is all up to you now, teach them a lesson they won''t forget for their entire life!" He exclaimed before pouring ten units of mana in the activation magical rune design inscribed at the center of the Ball of Devastation. The ball will explode in five seconds. This, he then hurled it down as fast as he could by using around a dozen battle energy.


    Whoosh!


    In a mere second, the Ball of Devastation reached the ground. Also, it was perceived by many experts resting on the summit of the Rocky mountain.


    "Eh, What''s this?" One of them exclaimed while pointing at the ball of Devastation.


    The others also turned to take a look at it. They saw a round ball with many inscriptions drawn over it. It was producing a fist-shaped Scarlet glow which seemed to become stronger every passing second. The glow, which was more than a meter in diameter, quickly doubled and then tripled.


    They did not know what this was. However, there was a look of shock and fear in Alex''s eyes. He only felt his heart shrinking the moment he saw the Ball of Devastation.


    He couldn''t understand what a war weapon restricted by the military is doing here. He was cannon fodder sent to the world of flames ruled by Lord Agni. Thus, he had come in contact with war weapons such as this one. He clearly knew the deadly nature of the ball of devastation. As he thought of what happens when the ball explodes, his heart beats extremely quickly, and he started perspiring profusely.


    "It''s the Ball of Devastation! Take cover!"


    Although Alex was shocked to his very core, he didn''t forget to warn his guildmates. At the same time, he pressed his feet to the ground and jumped backward.


    "Boom����" Before they could take cover, the ball of devastation blasted open. The fist-shaped glow scattered, and many thin, sharp red lines shot out whilst making a sizzling sound. Sixteen sharp Scarlet Death needles instantly shot out. Without looking carefully, it was almost impossible to detect them. The D-rank battle masters didn''t notice these needles. And only the C-rank battle masters were able to see the Scarlet Death needles.


    Seeing a Scarlet Death coming to claim his life, Alex had a grave look on his face. As a C-rank battle master, he was unwilling to accept death so easily. A massive amount of battle energy rushed out of his body and created an energy barrier to protect himself.


    "Chi!"


    The protective round barrier around his body was like a balloon that had been pricked by a sharp needle. It instantly blew apart and the needle shot forward but it stabbed into a tree.


    The little bit of time provided by the battle energy barrier was enough for Alex to change his direction. He shuddered in fear as he the tree being lit ablaze.


    On the other hand, the Scarlet Death needless smashed into the chest of many experts with overbearing penetrating power. It formed very small holes. They were almost unseeable. They only felt a slight tingle as the thin Scarlet Death needle penetrated their body.


    "Are you guys alright?" Chaim asked in a worried tone. He had used his B-rank shield to dodge the Scarlet Death needle. The surface of the shield shone with metal type inscription. A small hole could be clearly seen in this shield and it was burning hot. It''s just that Chaim did not notice.


    "Yeah, I can''t feel any�C�CAhhhh!" Before Xavi could complete his sentence, an unbearable pain assaulted his senses and those hit by the Scarlet Death needles.


    Three seconds after piercing their body, the Scarlet Death needle disintegrated and fiery energy spread throughout their body.


    Whittaker saw a disturbing scene. Those hit by the Scarlet death needles trembled violently, their faces contorted due to the pain.


    Due to the scorching heat, their eyes exploded in their sockets. Blood streamed down their cheeks, which was so hot, that the blood evaporated. As if lava was flowing inside their body, their bones, veins, and internal organs melted. Even the blood inside their body evaporated.


    They shriveled up before their bodies were set ablaze. The pain was so much that they died within three seconds.


    Their bodies pixelated and vanished, leaving behind a lot of treasures.

 Chapter 210: Baiting! (a)

    Advance Guide: ?Ruler Life Taker has killed five D-rank and 2 C-rank members of the Blood Oracle Guild. Detected! All of them were contestants killers. No plenty applied to the Ruler for killing them! Rewards Obtained: 2500 Ruler coins. 2�� C-ranked Battle Light. 3�� D-ranked Battle light. 2�� D-ranked Battle light... 350% Mission progression rate for the quest Nasty Contestant Killers?


    ?Quest Rewards Obtained: 6�� Floor Skip Crystal?


    There were various round Battle Light, Mana light, and different color equipment glittering on the ground. The Mana Light and battle Light were bounded to him. To explain it more specifically, he''s the only one who can absorb them. However, the items weren''t bounded to him, and anyone could pick them up.


    Last but not least, he now had a total of 9 Floor Skip crystals stored inside the storage area of Advance Guide. He just needed 11 more to successfully reach the 31st floor by the end of today, and impress Elder Zachary.


    Although he had killed seven of them, he wasn''t the least bit excited about it. Furthermore, Whittaker couldn''t help but feel a burst of lingering fear in his heart. He was not the only one that felt that. Those still alive at the summit of the Rocky mountain felt the same.


    The Ball of Devastation has after all killed seven experts in a single moment. Even though they were off guard and taken by surprise, they were nonetheless powerful experts that have reached D-rank and C-rank.


    ''I can be considered a genius amongst my peers, but compared to true powers I am still lacking in that area. A single Ball of Devastation can easily end my life.'' Whittaker thought with a heart filled with astonishment. He was too amazed by the deadly effect of the Ball of Devastation. Let alone human bodies, even the trees and ground, where the Scarlet Death needle pierced were melted and burned into smoke and ashes by the violent fiery energy.


    Chaim and his group looked at the dissolved corpses of their comrades in shock, and they were startled by their death.


    "What was that?"


    "Such a powerful weapon... It could only be a war weapon used to win world wars!"


    At the summit of the Rocky Mountain, the members of the Blood Oracle Guild were panicking. The corpses have dissolved into ashes in mere seconds and this caused fear to spread throughout the group.


    Will a Second Ball of Devastation explode?


    Will they be the next ones to die?


    The members of the Blood Oracle Guild were panicking. However, Alex and Chaim''s expression became cold and serious.


    "Silence, all of you! The Ball of Devastation is a restricted war weapon with a limited production rate. There is no way another one is gonna be thrown our way." Alex shouted.


    As the second in command, his words held a significant amount of power, and it helped calmed the group. They certainly believed that Alex was saying the truth.


    He wasn''t wrong. Sem, The Dragon Slayer only had one Ball of Devastation which he handed over to Whittaker for use.


    "It''s an ambush! The killer must be nearby us!" Chaim shouted, his eyes scanning the surrounding.


    Following his words, the rest of the members also scanned the area to locate the killer.


    After killing; Whittaker didn''t leave right away, since at the moment he wasn''t detected by the baffled buffoon below him. He was hiding behind a rock at the peak of the rocky mountain. As his body was small, he completely hid behind the rock.


    ''I never thought that killing a few of them would be easier than baiting them after me. I should make some preparation before revealing myself to them,'' he thought before taking out the last few Haste Talisman from his rankless ring of genesis.


    As explained before the effect of talisman decreases by fifty percent when it is being stacked. But the three Haste Talisman still increased his speed by a total of 175%. Plus the speed-boosting effect provided by the Azure-Sky earrings increased his speed by another 100% the moment he activated it. His speed has increased up to 275% Now, Whittaker would not be surpassed in the realm of speed due to the power difference, even when facing the C-rank and D-rank experts of the Blood Oracle Guild.


    He was now confident that he could run away easily after taunting them.


    Whittaker took a deep breath, relaxing his body as he stepped out from his hiding space and proudly stood at the edge of the peak of the mountain with his head held high.


    His appearance was noticed by a D-rank who shouted while pointing at his location: "There he is!"


    Everyone turned to take a look at him. Many pairs of eyes landed on him.


    Whittaker poured some units of Battle Energy in his lungs and throat. Now, his voice was amplified and everyone will hear what he has to say.


    "Hi losers, how did you like my gift? Was it impressive? I don''t know what you''re all thinking but I am surely impressed by you all. You guys are as resilient as cockroaches, surviving even the frontal assault of the Deadly Ball of Devastation!" Whittaker taunted them all with a peal of hearty laughter that echoed throughout the surrounding. The Battle energy has boosted his voice and his shout was jarring to their ears.


    "An ant at the E-rank power level dare disrespect us!" Killing desire surged within the eyes of Chaim, Alex, and the rest of the group after Whittaker''s words sounded. They were already furious at the death of their comrades and finding out that a pesky E-rank brat was the cause increased their anger to another level, but it reached the peak when they got compared to the likes of an insect by a mere ant!


    "Kill him to avenge our brothers!" Raising his right hand, pointing at Whittaker, Chaim shouted to his comrades.


    "Die!!!" Without any further adieu, Alex immediately swung his class weapon, Black Wind with murderous intent at Whittaker, and at the same time, poured some units of battle energy in the attribute line to release his battle skill [Crescent Moon Wind!]

 Chapter 211: Baiting (B)

    Whoosh! A crescent-shaped strike came towards Whittaker who used Ghost step to evade the attack, and at the same time, an afterimage was left behind. To the experts below, it seemed like Whittaker has been cut in two by the crescent shaped strike which blasted the Rocky Mountain peak. However, before they could rejoice his death, a taunt was thrown their way.


    "You are pathetically slow! So are the rest of you, catch me if you can, losers!" Whittaker yelled. His voice was tinged with disdain and his eyes were burning in it.


    Hearing his words, a tick formed on their frowning faces. They wanted to capture him and tear him apart, limb by limb.


    "Brothers, go get him!" Alex shouted before jumping directly towards the Rocky mountain peak from the summit, a feat only possible for high-rank battle masters.


    Four members of the Blood Oracle also leapt up from the summit of the rocky mountain towards the mountaintop just like shooting stars. They were all C-rank battle masters, even the most weakest among them was able to jump towards the mountain peak with a single leap.


    There were also nine more D-rank mages and battle masters, and right now there were flying and climbing towards the mountain peak where Whittaker stood.


    From the looks of it, they will reach him in some moments. Each and every one glared at him with an angry expressions.


    Directly battling against them all was literally suicide. Furthermore, his job wasn''t to fight them but bait them. Without saying anything further, Whittaker turned tail and ran.


    ''Good. I had attracted all of them, now I just need to bait them towards the southern entrance of the Grand Canyon.'' He thought before rushing towards the opposite edge of the Rocky mountain.


    The southern entrance is also the place where he entered the Grand Canyon Region from.


    Looking at the brat running away from them, Chaim could not help but curse: "Shameless! Chase after him, tonight he is our main prey!"


    "Since he used the Ball of Devastation, he''s bound to be wearing rare equipment. Let''s do our best to kill him, we''ll avenge our brothers and make a killing too!" Alex shouted before chasing after Whittaker.


    Alex was a calculating man. He believed that since this contestant was able to use Ball of Devastation, he is rich and killing rich contestant always bring a good amount of profit.


    "Yes, boss!" The rest of the ground excitely shouted before they put their all into the chase.


    Although Whittaker wished to escape, the contestants killers chasing after him had no plans to let him run away. Most of the battle Masters used [Energy Bursts] to rush straight at him, summoning their class weapons along the way. Whereas, the mages immediately used [Electric shock], [Wind Bind], [Earth Confinement] and other spells. These spells had the effect to decrease the traget speed and immobolize the target for several seconds.


    If Whittaker get hit by any one of the spell, the battle masters would be able to catch up to him and finish him off.


    Whittaker was able to see what''s happening behind him because of Devansha''s vision. Seeing that various spells were coming straight at him, he evaded them all by jumping off the Rocky mountain.


    Boom! Bam! Bam! Along these resounding reverberation, he plunged down the mountain under the stares of the expert. A mere E-rank battle master jumping down such a tall mountain meant certain death!


    The C-rank battle masters halted at the edge of the Rocky Mountain to see his demise.


    Contrary to their expectations, Whittaker used the second effect of the Azure-sky Earrings to take Flight. Under the stares of the expert, he gracefully landed on the ground and made a rush for it.


    Wtaching his silhouette disappear, the battle masters didn''t think twice before plunging down the mountain peak. The moment their feet landed on the ground, they rushed in the direction where Whittaker had gone off to. The mages also followed behind them, unaware of the pairs of calculating black eyes looking at their backs.


    The effect of the invisibility talisman was too impressive and they failed to notice him


    "As expected, my real body guessed it right. Now, I should go and loot all the equipment and return to his side before midnight." Whittaker doppelganger said, he waited for the last of the Blood Oracle member to go away before stepping out of his hiding place.


    Before climbing up the Rocky mountain, Whittaker had created this doppelganger by using the skill Avatar of Night. He had also given him the hunters ring and a invisibility talisman.


    The doppelganger possessed all of Whittaker''s skills. However, the doppelganger didn''t possessed his class weapon. But it was sufficient enough to do the task of collecting equipment, Mana Light and Battle Light from the summit of the Rocky Mountain.


    After activating the Haste Talisman, the doppelganger immediately went to the treasure ground.


    As expected, there was no one left guarding the summit of the Rocky Mountain. The doppelganger had the same personality as Whittaker. He couldn''t help but beam a smile at the face of so much treasure. He then began to pick up all the loot scattered on the ground.


    _


    _


    _


    "Damn! That bastard is as slippery as a Eel. Even after all this, we still haven''t managed to catch him!"


    "How can a mere E-rank battle master be faster than D-rank and C-rank battle masters!"


    "How the heck is his flexibility and speed so great?!"


    "I can''t believe this shit!"


    The couldn''t believe what is happening.


    Was this a dream?


    A mage pinched himself, and he was sure that this is reality!


    For the past two minutes, they weren''t able to touch a single hair on his body.


    These C-rank and D-rank contestants killers had no chance of catching up to Whittaker who was using Ghost steps on top of a 275% speed boost.


    Whittaker kept luring all thirteen of them by intentionally decreasing his speed time to time and allowing them to somewhat catch up to him, giving them false hope. Although his battle energy consumption was high, he repeatedly used battle energy restoration potion to match up the consumption. He also attacked the ones most close to him by using Frost Bolts.

 Chapter 212: Activate the Formation!

    In order to go to the southern entrance, he needed to pass by the exact same cliff where he fought Barbarian Sonjuki.


    In no time, he reached the cliff with a stream down below. He was strong enough to jump down this cliff. And he did just that.


    He soared through the air like a bird. Plunging towards the stream at an incredible speed. As he was about to drop into the water, he smashed his feet upon the surface of the water, and at the same time, he poured three units of battle energy in both his feet.


    Bam!


    Whoosh!


    Under the amazed stare of the thirteen members of the Blood Oracle Guild, Whittaker rushed ahead with an incredible speed, vanishing in the greenery.


    "He''s too fast!"


    "His maneuver skill is too outstanding. I have never seen anyone move like that!"


    "Sadly, he is our enemy, otherwise I would like to befriend him!"


    Even though they were enemies, the members of the Blood Oracle Guild couldn''t help but admire Whittaker for his excellent control over his body and battle energy.


    Don''t stop!


    Chase after him!!


    Among these shouts, everyone chased after Whittaker. Although the greenery was covering his tracks, Alex and Chaim were great experts at tracking. They used his left behind footprints to chase after him. The rest of the group silently followed their lead, doing their best to keep up with them.


    This is the same tree we just passed by! We''re running in circle!" Jin Jones said as he looked at the tree that he had intentionally marked a while ago.


    Hearing his words, the group realized that they were fooled by Whittaker.


    "What! That brat dare fool us!" Chaim shouted as he realized that they have got played by him, dancing like monkeys.


    "Jones, use your detection magic to track him down! If we let him live then we''ll become the laughing stock of the underworld!" Alex said he was so furious that his body burning with golden battle aura could be seen shuddering.


    "Yes, Boss," Jin Jones replied.


    This D-rank mage had excellent detection magic. Furthermore, he was a war veteran and had a C-rank spellbook with Light, Flame, and Wind attribute.


    "Exploitation of Sun!" He chanted and his spellbook shone with a blinding light. The blinding light dimmed and a reflection of Whittaker was shown to the mage.


    "He''s trying to leave the Grand Canyon through the Southern Entrance!" Jin shouted.


    "Let''s Go! We can not let him escape!"


    They all ran towards the place Jin Jones mentioned. The mages with support magic used agility boosting and weight decreasing spell on all the members of the group made up of thirteen people.


    What they didn''t know was that they had fallen into his trap. Whittaker had purposely gone around in circles. The reason behind his actions was to mask his true intentions.


    Because of his actions, the members of the Blood Oracle Guild were fooled to believe that Whittaker was trying to exist the Grand Canyon through the Southern Entrance to run back to a human settlement that they can not enter. However, he was merely baiting them to enter the range of the formation!


    "Finally, I have reached it!" Whittaker''s eyes brightened and excitement bubbled up in his heart, as he looked at the entrance of the Grand Canyon, which was a small ravine with steep vertical cliff on each side.


    "There he is!" From far away, a shout resounded and Whittaker was able to see Alex and his group rushing towards him with red faces.


    Without any hesitation, he threw a disdainful smile there way before heading inside the ravine with a small smirk on his youthful face.


    "Wait," Alex shouted.


    "Brother Alex, what''s wrong?" Chaim asked with a bewildered expression.


    Their enemy was running away!


    Why are you commanding us to stop?


    Second-in command, have you lost your mind?


    "I think he''s leading us into a trap!" Alex said but his conflicted expression showed that he was not sure whether there is a trap waiting for them or not.


    "Boss, there is nothing but a ravine in front of us. Even if there is a trap, the thirteen of us can overcome it!" Jin Jones said confidently.


    "Yeah boss, we must not fall back. What will we say to our dead comrades when we meet them the next time? We got scared and turned tail?" Another group member added. He was angry and wanted to avenge his fallen comrades, no matter what. And anyone stopping him was asking for a scolding!


    "Alright, okay, let''s go!" Pressured by the group''s member, Alex made his decision with gritted teeth.


    They all went inside the ravine.


    Sem and Neko were calmly hiding near the edges of the steep vertical cliffs that flanked the ravine on the right and left side, respectively.


    Clomp! Clomp! Clomp! Suddenly, they heard the heavy sound of horses running. They peeked down cautiously and saw that this sound was made by dozens of battle masters running. Each battle master produced a heavy sound each time they slammed their foot enforced with battle energy on the ground.


    "They are here but where is Life Taker?" Neko said as her gaze roamed about the ravine.


    "I see him." Sem, on the other hand, had already detected Whittaker. "Good! He is about to reach out of the range of the Crimson Inferno formation."


    "Activate the formation!" Neko said impatiently.


    However, Whittaker was still inside the range of the formation. Sem wasn''t gonna backstab him. Thus, he declined his stupid cat request.


    "Let''s wait for his signal, just as we initially planned!" Sem calmly replied.


    They were talking through the Advance Guide. This method of communication didn''t require mana. Hence, the mages couldn''t detect any mana fluctuation and they all remained unaware of the great trap they have fallen inside.


    Whittaker stopped just after stepping out from the range of the Crimson Inferno formation. He turned towards them and gave them his signature smile and a thumbs down.


    Why is he standing still?


    Alex and some of his group faintly knitted their brows when they saw Whittaker standing there, beaming a smile at their direction and declaring that they have lost.


    However, they couldn''t understand it. Looking around the ravine, they saw no danger, after all.


    "Maybe he has given up?"


    "Whatever, just go in for the kill!"


    They could feel that something was wrong but they decided to ignore their gut feeling and go in for the kill.


    Whoosh!


    Whoosh!


    Many Battle Master used Energy Blast and rushed straight to Whittaker intending to stab him to death with the weapons held in their hands.


    Seeing that, Whittaker''s eyes gleamed in happing and he shouted out loud: "Activate the formation!"

 Chapter 213: Mid-Rank Ruler

    His outcry resounded throughout the sky, and at almost the same time, Sem and Neko activated the Crimson Inferno formation with lightning-like speed.


    At the very moment, the C-rank battle masters crashed into the mana wall that appeared with the activation of the Crimson Inferno Formation, separating them from Whittaker. The mana wall acted as a square-shaped confinement array that trapped them all within.


    "This was a trap!" A C-rank battle master shouted but his shout was deafened by the eruption of the ground below their feet.


    Shua! Shua! Shua!


    The Crimson Inferno formation true might was revealed.


    "Oh no! This is the crimson Inferno Formation!"


    "It looks like this is the end for all of us!"


    Terrifying Flame pillars charged to the clouds from all directions and started condensing into one mighty Red Dragon. The mighty fiery aura of the Flames caused the hearts of the members of the Blood Oracle Guild to tremble. They repeatedly regretted that they charge in the ravine. But now nothing could be done. They would most likely perish in the face of such a violent offensive formation.


    Alex''s face turned gloomy and he was burning with fury. The Crimson Inferno Formation was too powerful. It could even exhaust an A-rank battle master to death, what were they before it. They couldn''t even run away from it because they were trapped inside a powerful confinement formation.


    ''It is all because the group did not listen to me,'' he thought.


    "Damn it all! I said that it is a trap but none of you listened!�C" Alex shouted but he was cut short from saying anything by the leader of the group, Chaum.


    "Why are you saying so much nonsense to them? All C-rank battle masters of the Blood Oracle Guild listen up, use your battle energy to create the Golden Serpent Formation! The rest of you try to dish out as many attacks as you can to break a mana wall so that we can escape. We won''t give up without a fight!" Chaim shouted.


    Chaim and Alex were war veterans who participated in Realm wars. They have been taught several Man-Made formation techniques and the one they could use in their current situation is the Golden Serpent Formation!


    Hearing his words, Alex and the other member''s eyes lit up in hope.


    "Yes, Boss!"


    The four C-rank battle masters including Alex stood beside Chaim with boosted morale and cold faces. They intended to battle until death. Whereas, the D-rank mages and battle masters started using their offensive spell and skills respectively on a single mana wall to shatter it.


    "Nothing less expected from the maniacs of the Blood Oracle Guild but this resistance is futile!" Sem said that as he saw the five C-rank battle masters releasing battle energy their bodies. It swiftly gathered into a 10 meter Serpent above their head. Golden light flashed. Finally, it turned into a 100 meter large Serpent brimming with battle energy. The battle pressure caused the land to tremble.


    Such man-made formations were commonly used in Realm Wars.


    "Wow!" Whittaker felt amazed by this and he couldn''t help but keep on looking. He couldn''t do anything else, after all, except witness how the fight goes.


    "Go! Burn everything to ashes!" The moment the flames condensed into a Red Dragon appeared, Sem ruthlessly commanded it to annihilate whatever was confined inside the formation. With blazing eyes, the Flaming Red Dragon rushed towards the members of the Blood Oracle Guild!


    Monstrous flames immediately surged downwards. The power behind this attack was enough to incinerate this entire ravine.


    "Golden Serpent, Devouring Dragon Destiny!"


    The five C-rank Battle Masters shouted after the enemy''s Crimson Inferno formation made its attack.


    Rays of light flowed out of the 100 meters large Golden Serpent as it heroically moved upwards and clashed with the Red Dragon.


    Boom!


    The clash caused an eruption. The whole ravine intensely trembled because of the clash. The land cracked, forming spider-like cracks that extended as the clash continued producing intense fluctuations of battle energy and flames.


    Bang! Under the Red Dragon Might, the Golden Serpent exploded. And the flames from the dragon turned into a rolling sea of fire that swept towards Chaim, Alex, and the group.


    The flames enveloped everything. The ground, members of the Blood Oracle Guild and even most of the cliff.


    Everything began to melt.


    The D-rank battle master and the C-rank Battle master exhausted of all battle energy died immediately as they have no protective measures. While the mages used mana barriers to bear the frontal brunt of the flames. However, in mere seconds their remaining mana was used up and they became defenseless.


    What followed was their immediate death!


    Whittaker watched it all from afar, and he remembered the saying:


    When the Red Dragon rises, it leaves behind death and destruction in its wake��


    Although they tried their best, the Blood Oracles Members died.


    Advance Guide: ?Ruler Life Taker, Ruler Sem, Porter Neko has killed 13 Contestant killers from the Blood Oracle Guild. Detected! All the contestant killers belonging to the Blood Oracle Guild on Floor-10 has been annihilated. The Tower Spirit Jafar thanks you all for the great contribution you made for the tower''s sake. You''ll have been awarded according to your contributions?


    ?Contribution!


    Mid-rank Ruler Sem, The Red Dragon Slayer: 25%


    Neko, the mid-rank porter: 25%


    Low-rank Ruler Life Taker: 50%?


    ?Rewards Obtained!?


    [Life Taker: 2450 RC (Ruler coins), 6 Floor Skip Crystal


    Sem: 1212.5 RC, 3 FSC


    Neko: 1212.5 RC, 3 FSC]


    ?Congratulations Ruler Life Taker! The Tower Spirit has blessed you with a title for your glorious deeds. And you have become a Mid-rank ruler?


    "Hooray!" Whittaker heard these words and cheered in happiness. To become a mid-rank ruler, a contestant needed a title. A title granted superpowers to the ruler inside the tower. Now, he got one such title!


    Sem and Neko stepped out of their hiding spot and met up with Whittaker.


    "Congratulations!" They said.


    "Thanks. It''s all because the Crimson Inferno formation was more impressive than the man-made Golden Serpent Formation!" Whittaker replied with a happy smile.

 Chapter 214: Purchasing Floor Crystal!

    "Thanks. The Crimson Inferno formation was really impressive!" Whittaker replied.


    "Actually, they would have managed to survive the Crimson Inferno formation! Sadly, Sem Sem has integrated the soul of the red dragon in the main formation flag before creating them!" Neko said.


    As Whittaker was a formation master, he didn''t need extra explaining. Hence, Neko didn''t go into details. The Crimson Inferno formation strength was increased by a whole level because the Soul of the Red Dragon was integrated into the main formation flag.


    "Hey, Whittaker. Before anything else can I ask you something first?]


    ''Oh? What do you want to ask me?" Whittaker said. He was curious as to what Sem The Dragon Slayer wanted to know.


    "What''s the grade and name of your title? And what is its effect? You don''t need to tell me the effect if you don''t want to. But I''ll be glad if you do." Sem said that with burning curiosity.


    Monster Tower Titles were rare. Titles could only be earned through doing some actions dozens of times, and each Title could only belong to a certain number of players. Some Titles could only belong to a single player. Furthermore, the effect of the title is applicable in the real world!


    Titles were graded from Iron Grade Title, Copper Grade Title, Gold Grade Title, Dark Gold Grade Title, Platinum Grade Title, etc�� The higher the grade of the Title, the better the effects that it would possess. The items inside the chests were set, so once they were removed, the chest would disappear.


    "Let me take a look," Whittaker replied. He didn''t mind telling the information of his title to Sem and Neko. In a sense, they were part of the reason why he got the title in the first place.


    Hearing his words, Sem became happy and Neko''s ears perked up in curiosity.


    Whittaker looked at his information through Advance Guide. Below his names and stats as determined by the tower automated power scanners, he could see his title:


    ?Title Name: Hunter of Contestant Killers?


    [Grade: Silver-ranked (Can be Evolved)


    Condition to Evolve: Kill 30 Contestant Killers or evil criminals more powerful than you. 0/30


    Title Description: You are a brave warrior and a hunter of immoral contestant killers. You are a righteous hero who is revered by others. Inside the tower, wherever you go, you will possess a great status in the heart of the contestants and Tower''s people. But you are the grim reaper who is feared by all immoral beings such as contestant killers.


    Title Effect: In a 100-yard radius, contestants and sinners whose names are bathing in the Scarlet light will be affected by the Prey Mark. A sinner is those that have sinned by killing innocent peoples.


    Prey Mark: You will deal 20% Increased Damage to the Prey. At the same time, the bearers of the prey mark will have their defenses attribute reduced by 10%]


    ''Impressive. It''s nearly as impressive as my magical beast hunter title.'' Whittaker internally thought before turning to take a look at Sem. "My title grade is silver. From my perspective, I got it because I killer contestants killers more powerful than me. Its effect is pretty basic. I deal extra damage to contestant killers and their defenses are decreased in front of my attacks."


    Whittaker hid the fact that his title can be evolved. After all, he has never heard of titles that can be evolved. The grade and effect of the title were set in stone, so once they were obtained, they will never change.


    "Thanks. What should we do with these treasures?" Sem thanked Whittaker and asked both him and Neko what to do with the treasures.


    There were various round Battle Light, Mana light, and different color equipment glittering on the lava ground. The Mana Light and battle Light were bounded to their party. And anyone of them could pick it up. The equipment could be puck up by anyone but no one would dare to steal it.


    "Let''s split it according to our contribution. Is it fine with you Life Taker?" Neko said.


    Whittaker was not okay with this agreement. He had a total of 15 Floor Skip crystals stored inside the storage area of Advance Guide. He just needed 5 more to successfully reach the 31st floor by the end of today, and impress Elder Zachary. Thus, he said:


    "I would like to exchange these things for Floor Skip Crystals. I would like to purchase five of them, if these items are not enough then I am willing to pay the appropriate amount with Ruler Coins."


    Neko heard his words, and instantly she took out the 3 Floor Skip Crystals she obtained from her Advance Guide. She said,


    "There is no need. You can have my floor skip crystal for free."


    "Really?" Whittaker asked with shiny Puppy Eyes.


    "Yes!" Neko exclaimed.


    "No!" Sem exclaimed and stopped her from handing out her floor skip crystal for free.


    "Eh?" Whittaker could not believe that his Puppy eyes skill backfired. He wondered what Sem is up to with a not so happy face.


    Sem looked towards Whittaker and said, "We''ll be splitting the loot according to our contribution. The floor skip crystal value can not be compared to these loots. Each Floor Skip Crystal is worth 500 Ruler coins in the market. Since you helped us out I am obliged to give you a friendly discount of 30%. For five Floor Skip Crystals, it''ll cost you 1750 Ruler Coins."


    "You are a meanie!" Neko chided Sem who has stolen her three Floor Skip Crystal. She was not happy.


    "You are my Porter. What belongs to you is mine, and you were gonna give it out for free!" Sem scolded in return.


    "Okay, I will pay." Whittaker was too in a hurry to bicker with them. He forked out 1750 Ruler from his advance guide and handed it over to Sem who gladly accepted it.


    "I would have given it to you for free but I am at a loss here, the Ball of Devastation cost a lot to create and the 1750 Ruler Coins barely put me out of debt status," Sem explained the reason why he was acting like a stingy old man to Whittaker.

 Chapter 215: Floor-31

    "I understand," Whittaker replied. He knew the value of money and understood the reason why Sem was being greedy.


    "So that was the reason. You should have said so sooner." Neko cheered up as she heard his words, and forgave Sem.


    "By the way, why are you in need of so many floor skip crystals?" Sem asked Whittaker.


    "I want to reach floor 31 by the end of today." Whittaker explained his reason to Sem and continued by saying, "I''ll be going to kill the boss of this floor. Are you interested in joining me on the hunt?"


    Whittaker had enough Floor Skip Crystal to reach Floor 31st if he''s at floor 11. He needed to kill the boss of the tenth floor so that he can enter the eleventh floor. For that, he decided it would be better and faster if Sem and Neko join him and help him kill the boss.


    "Sure, we''ll come along with you," Neko said before Sem could say anything. She also gave Sem a look that shouted: "Don''t you dare disagree or else��"


    Sem complied with his Porter''s wishes and chose to help Whittaker.


    The boss of the tenth floor is at the depth of the Grand Canyon. The depth of the tenth floor is beyond the Rocky mountains. Whittaker and the ground started walking there.


    "Hey, here''s the loot from the contestant killers you killed at the base of the rocky mountain!'' Along the way, they also met up with Whittaker''s doppelganger whose appearance surprised Sem and Neko but only for a while.


    ''He has a doppelganger... The Doppelganger is a Bloodline skill solely belonging to the Imperial Shadow Family.'' Sem and Neko thought while looking at Whittaker who happily accepted the Hunters ring from his doppelganger.


    They believed that Life Taker was a pure descendent of the Shadow Family!


    "Thanks for the help. You can return in my shadow." Whittaker said to his doppelganger.


    "I''ll do as you say." The doppelganger was tired. Besides, it has nothing else to do. So it entered Whittaker''s Shadow.


    With a thought, Whittaker could resummon the Doppelganger from his shadow to fight or do a task for him free of cost. It only costed some battle energy to maintain it and Whittaker was willing to pay that price.


    Then they restarted their journey to the boss of the Tenth Floor.


    _


    _


    _


    "Eh, I am still in the Monster tower. Boss Chaim, you''re also here, Alex too!" Jim Jones exclaimed when he found himself near the respawn statue located on the first floor of the Monster Tower.


    "Why are we here?" Alex and the group muttered.


    This situation was too wrong. Normally, when a contestant dies, he''ll instantly log out from the Monster Tower, and can not enter the Monter Tower for 3 days. Furthermore, the Monster Tower only had one respawn statue. It''s located on the Main City of the first floor. Thus, anyone who dies respawns on the first floor.


    "Spike them to death, until their rank permanently drops by 1!" A guard shouted.


    An entire squad of City Guards encircled the members of the Blood Oracle Guild. All of them were Elites at the rank of A and B.


    Hearing the Captain Guard''s words, Alex and the group realized what is happening. The Spirit of the Tower was personally taking an action against them, to punish them severely.


    The guards rushed at them intending to kill them. The Blood Oracle Guild members stood up to fight them but the City guards were too powerful.


    Boom! Bam! Bam!


    The damage they dished out was relatively high. A special attack, coupled with a normal attack, had quickly reaped their life. Furthermore, it was Two Guards vs One member of the Blood Oracle Guild. They stood no chance and were wiped out pretty quickly.


    Guards were the protectors of the City. Their duty was to protect the city and its civilians. They resist the invasion of Magical beasts and other races. Plus, they also follow the God (Jafar) orders. At this moment, Jafar had set a rule to harshly punish Contestant killers. Each contestant''s killers who were unlucky enough to die in the tower will forcefully respawn near the respawn statue and.killed until their rank drops by 1. The guards would naturally obey Jafar''s will. They didn''t let go of the Blood Oracle member, killing them until the C-rank member drops to D-rank and the D-rank member drop to E-rank!


    On the surface, the new rules set by Jafar seemed harsh. In reality, however, Monster tower was a place where contestant hunts magical beast, and invade other worlds after they reach C-rank and above. The contestant killing was an act of defiance. It was against the natural laws of the Monster Tower.


    Hence, the "Rule" itself allowed Jafar to set and implement this new Rule.


    _


    _


    _


    Passing through the Rocky mountain, Whittaker and the group arrived at the depths of the Grand Canyon. As far as the eye could see, lofty river extended and irregularly shaped boulders were strewn throughout the river. Within this mess of boulders were massive Water bees. In the center of all of them, was the Queen Water Bee. The Queen Bee was protected by hundreds of water bees.


    Normally, a contestant will need to bait the Water bees out of the river and kill them, one group, at a time before taking on the Queen Water Bee. But Whittaker''s group charged straight towards the queen!


    Chi! Chi!


    The fight began the moment they appeared. Under the command of the Queen, the water bees rushed at them to intercept and kill them. The bees were all at the F-rank. Only the floor boss was at the E-rank.


    A single slash of Whittaker sword was enough to put several of them down at the same time. Besides, Neko knew powerful offensive spells. Her Chains of Flame burned several of the Water Bees to smoke in mere seconds.


    "I am gonna end this!" Sem exclaimed. He took out his Bow of Beginning and End and held it with his left hand. He pulled back the bowstring and a scarlet arrow materialized.


    "[The Bloodthirsty Arrow] My luck is great today!" Sem exclaimed before releasing the arrow.


    Whoosh!


    The arrow shoots at the queen''s head with incredible speed. Scarlet Killing Intent condensed at the tip of the arrow as it shoots towards the queen.


    Unable to properly react in time, the queen could only use her most powerful skill.


    The Water queen mostly relied on her mana to use the water from the river to shield herself and to defeat her opponents in a war of attrition. Yet, the blazing scarlet arrow easily shattered the Neon blue Water barrier erected around her and killed her.


    It''s simple. The Bloodthirsty arrow was an arrow that contained Sem''s C-rank [Killing Intent]. Killing Intent can be obtained by killing thousands of beings. Sem was able to understand the feeling of shooting others to death at the age of 14 and he then Grasped and Gained Control over this Feeling. Therefore he gained [Killing Intent]. He was able to direct his killing intent at others to weaken all their defenses. Whereas the Bloodthirsty arrow ignored the enemy''s defenses!


    Seeing that the queen was dead, the remaining Water bees flew away.


    The killing of the boss on the tenth floor took a few minutes. Harvesting the loot from the queen water bee and the other water bees, the group walked towards the Teleportation Gate which leads to the eleventh floor.

 Chapter 216: Splitting up!

    They reached the teleportation gate and grouped up.


    "We''ll be splitting up so let''s split up the loot first. I''ll get 50% since I killed the boss. You both get 25% each, ok?" Sem greedily said as Whittaker and Neko nodded.


    Sem kept all the harvest from the floor boss while Whittaker and Neko kept the loot obtained from killing water bees.


    "Goodbye," Whittaker said, he was planning to go the 31st floor while Sem and Neko were heading to the 38th floor.


    "You too, take care!" Sem said the first and Neko said the latter before Whittaker stepped into the teleportation gate. He was teleported to the thirty-first floor.


    "I''m feeling so lazy~," Neko said to Sem while yawning.


    "You can rest but�� only after we return to the fortress in the ?World of Flame Sprites?!" Sem teasingly replied before he used the teleportation gate to open a spatial way that leads directly to the thirty-eight floors.


    The Flame sprites were the natural inhabitants of the World of Flame Sprites. And their ruler was Lord Agni. The humans have set up fortresses in that world because it was filled with a lot of "Resources" and "Natural treasures". At first, The Flame sprites weren''t fine with humans invading their "World" but they didn''t attack unless provoked by them. However, the situation recently got out of hand and turned dangerous when the "Misdeeds" of humans were brought out into the opens.


    ?Humans have been hunting "Flame Sprites" for their cores?


    The Flame sprites have started to actively attack the fortresses of humanity established in their world. The fortresses needed reinforcement. Hence, Sem was going there to provide help. His actual objective was to earn merits and become wealthy. Death in the Flame Sprite world meant actual death. That''s why the rewards for helping the fortress were great, and becoming rich was easy as long as you were strong enough.


    "Uff, the flame sprites has waged a war against humanity! Once we get there, I won''t get a chance to rest�� You meanie!" Neko said with a disgruntled expression.


    Seeing Neko''s soft cheeks getting ruddy, Sem finds her more lovely. He started having uniques feeling for Neko two years ago, but Sem wasn''t able to understand he loves her at that time because he was too young. But he now understands that he loves her. However, he was too afraid to clearly express his feelings to her. He didn''t want to raise awkwardness in their friendly relation. Thus, he was trying his best to make subtle progress in their friendly relationship and lead it into the Lovers direction.


    As for why he teases her�� He likes to "bully" Neko because he was interested in her and wanted her attention to always be on him.


    He certainly did not like Neko staring at Whittaker indefinitely!


    "You look cuter when you''re angry," he said while placing his hands on her furry ears and continuously rubbing them.


    Hearing his words, Neko blushed due to embarrassment. Furthermore, the warmth she was feeling from his hands rubbing her sensitive ears caused her heartbeat to increase to another level. The furry ears were the most sensitive part of the cat-kin!


    An inexplicable feeling was bubbling up inside the young cat-kin and she didn''t know what it was. However, she could feel her face burning red and she didn''t want to remain in his presence anymore.


    "Pervert!" She shouted before escaping his teasing hands and running away from Sem by entering the spatial way.


    "Silly cat, I''ll always chase after you no matter where you run. We''re inseparable from each other." Sem said under his breath and a smile appeared on his face as he followed after her.


    She was his porter and unless he cancels the contract, there was no chance for Neko to get away from him. She was bound by his side. Plus, Sem believed that someone as successful and attractive as him will be able to win her heart, pretty soon.


    As for why they were able to teleport directly to the 38th floor�� this was the authority of a mid-rank Ruler. Normally, a contestant can only climb up one floor at a time. However, a Ruler can teleport directly to any floor he has "Visited" by using the "Teleportation Gate" of the "monster tower".


    Sem and Neko were teleported to the entrance of the 38th floor of the monster tower. They headed west. In the west region of the 38th floor, the City of Neork is established. It has a teleporter that connects directly to the human fortress located in the ?World Of Flame Sprites!?. They took that teleporter and appeared in the 69th fortress of humanity established in the ?World of Flame Sprites?


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    The moment they appeared in the fortress, they heard the sound of fighting. Immediately, Sem and Neko rushed out from the teleporter hall and joined in on the battle against the invasion of the Flame Sprites.


    Whittaker, on the other hand, took out a ?floor skip crystal? when he appeared on the 11th floor. By pouring a little mana in the activation magical rune design, he activated the crystal and was instantly teleported to the 12th floor. He continued to use the ?Floor Skip Crystal? until he reached the 31st floor.


    He appeared at the entrance of the 31st floor. Just like before a Young Water dragon was existing nearby the entrance of this floor.


    [Young Water Dragon


    Rank: (C-rank)


    Attribute: Water-type


    Innate ability: Draconic pressure, Water Blast, Water Wave, Water Strike, Waterball]


    He needed to kill this dragon and bring a piece of evidence with him and show it to Elder Zachary. Therefore, Whittaker pulled out the item ?Recording Crystal Ball? which was specially prepared for this purpose. And he activated it!


    Once activated, the recording crystal ball can record moving videos with sound.


    He calmly stepped towards the ten-meter tall Young Water dragon. The dragon finally noticed the visitor. Its beady eyes with vertical slits finally focused on the small human that dared to step towards it.

 Chapter 217: Amazing the Elders!

    It was confused as to how a mere E-rank bug is daring to step towards it and was able to remain calm in its presence. But it opened its jaw wide nonetheless and expressed its desire to eat Whittaker. Its eyes shined with a terrifying light. Instantly, a Draconic pressure spread out. But this time, Whittaker didn''t felt anything.


    He wasn''t pressurized by the draconic pressure of the Water dragon. It is because he was using the authority of gravity, and the dragon was the one who felt pressurized as the gravity of the thirty-first floor acted on it.


    Moreover, Whittaker blazed up with battle intent, and his intention to butcher the dragon was clearly shown in his inky, black eyes.


    Gahhhhhhhhhhh�C�C!!! The dragon roared in anger. It was angry.


    How dare a human mock it.


    Whittaker flashed a smile towards it before Scarlet light flashed in his hand as dozens of Flame Wave talisman appeared in his hand. Then, he tossed them all out at the Water Dragon.


    BAMMMMMMMM!!!!


    _


    _


    _


    "What is that? It seems familiar. Hmm, it''s the starting point of the thirty-first floor." Whittaker had returned to Zachary Palace to give evidence of his deeds to Elder Zachary, but the scene on the Recording Crystal Left the old man and his sister with a shocked heart.


    It could not be what they are thinking.


    Yes, how can Whittaker reach the thirty-first floor in no time?


    Or so they thought before the boy appeared in the recording and they saw him stepping towards a Young Water-Dragon.


    The barrage of Fire Wave talismans thrown at the dragon created a flame so thick that it covered the entire surrounding, brightening the environment in a sea of flame. Against a powerful C-ranked enemy, the young talisman master used a sea of talisman to drown it in a world of pain. Seemingly, he made it impossible for the dragon to both dodge or survive this attack.


    The dragon died a pitiful death.


    "You really killed a Young Water Dragon�� But It has only been two weeks since you started climbing the Monster tower!" Elder Zachary said with an expression full of disbelief. He was unable to believe that Whittaker was able to reach the thirty-first floor in merely two weeks.


    "As expected of my little brother, you are full of surprises," Nina added with a laugh of happiness.


    "I couldn''t wait to show this recording to the elder and amass a fortune!" Whittaker declared his honest thoughts to Elder Zachary in the presence of Elder sister Nina before he continued by saying: "Now that I have killed a water dragon, I am sure you''ll keep your words and hand over the key of the Palace treasury to me and allow me to take a personal treasure from you!"


    "Okay, I will give them to you, but first tell me how did you do it?" Elder Zachary was ready to hand over the important things to Whittaker but he was extremely curious about how Whittaker reached the thirty-first floor in two weeks when it should have taken it nearly two months according to his and Nina''s calculations.


    "I was lucky to come across this book." Whittaker flashed the ?Book of Monster Tower? written by Elder Zachary himself to them. "I knew the secrets of the tower and challenged the test of floor-0. I successfully passed it and became a ruler and also earned the right to teleport to any one of the first ten floors. I choose to go to the tenth floor. I met with a mishap but was able to get out of the Evergreen Forest Maze pretty quickly. Taking a shortcut through the Scorpion-Kin desert, I arrived at the RedCliff City and obtained a quest to hunt down contestants killers. The rewards for this quest were pretty hefty. Although my persona Life Taker has offended the entire Blood Oracle Guild, I was able to get 20 Floor Skip Crystals. After defeating the tenth-floor boss and entering the Eleventh Floor, I used them to directly reach the thirty-first floor! The rest you already know"


    With a smile on his face, Whittaker explained his unbelievable adventures to Elder Zachary and Nina also listened.


    The Formation Spirit and Elder Zachary looked like they had swallowed a fly. By the end of his storytelling, they were not only impressed with Whittaker but also worried for his sake.


    "Be careful not to interact with the Blood Oracle Guild too much. They are the underlings of the Demon Palace. They know curses and you might get targeted by them even if they don''t know your true identity. Their cursive mages can place a curse on you through coming in contact with your Monster Tower persona." Nina explained to Whittaker with a stern tone. Her looks said it all. She wanted her little brother to stay out of life-threatening troubles. If he can not then the information she provided to him will be helpful.


    Hearing her words, Whittaker understood that he will be in danger even if he is in the tower and his real-world identity is hidden. Curses were really dangerous.


    "Sorry," Whittaker felt guilty as he looked into her eyes, he felt bad for making her worry and so he apologized before saying: "In the future, I will try to stay clear of them,"


    "Haha, young friend. No need to do that. If someone dares to bully you and the others then you must give them an appropriate slap on the "FACE". Anyway, curses might seem all-powerful but if you have items and ways to fight them off then they are just useless words spewed out of the mouth of the cursive mages." Elder Zachary replied before he took out a Blue Icy Pendant and handed it over to Whittaker.


    ''This looks the same as the pendant of Night!'' Whittaker thought as he held the Icy Pendant with mystical magical rune designs in his hand.


    "This pendant belonged to the wife of the Ancient Water Emperor. She was a Devansha just like you. She gave me a task to give this pendant to a Devansha if I meet any. I wanted to give this pendant to you when I met you but never found a chance. Treasure it well as it is the key to the dungeon created by Ashley, located somewhere in the Land of Water."

 Chapter 218: Corrupted ones

    Ashley left her legacy somewhere in the land of water before she died, but it was meant for only the descendants of the divine battle king. Except for her husband, the person she trusted the most was Elder Zachary. Ashley knew the greed of her husband, as he was the emperor of water and a man with ambition. She knew that her husband will try to obtain the legacy meant for a Devansha for himself or the children of his other wives. Thus, Ashley handed the key to her inheritance to Elder Zachary for keepsake.


    Now that the key has been handed over to Whittaker, Elder Zachary has completed one of his life''s last two tasks. He gently gazed at Whittaker continuously. He was wondering when and how he is gonna hand over the "King Feng" title and the authority of his Palace to Whittaker.


    Whittaker, on the other hand, curiously examined the pendant of Devansha held in his hands.


    "Noah, why is this pendant eerily similar to the pendant of the night?" Whittaker asked.


    ?Devansha, the great and Night �C the one who encompasses all �C were great friends�� Ahem, I mean, deadly enemies and these types of pendants are usually created by the families in ancient times to hand over a powerful legacy to their descendants? Noah said.


    Although his voice was monotone, Whittaker still feels a headache coming when he heard the word "Deadly Rivals".


    The Divine Battle King and Night knew each other. And they were deadly enemies! His father was the descendant of night and his mother was the descendant of Devansha. Them falling in love might have created a complicated problem...


    Whittaker thought back to the forbidden love story fairytale he read in his childhood. Two people fell in love.


    There was nothing wrong with that.


    However, both belonged to opposing families with great enemies between them.


    They were forcefully split apart by their families. But even then they discarded their family''s titles and ran away from home to spend the rest of their lives in each other''s embrace.


    ''Perhaps something similar might have happened to my family'' Whittaker thought. But he didn''t ponder over this matter too much and focused his attention on his teacher.


    "Where exactly in the land of water is her inheritance dungeon located?" Whittaker asked.


    The Land of Water was too big. He found that out by seeing the "Globe of the World" in Headmaster Yeon''s office and he went into details about it in the palace library. The Water Kingdom only takes 3/10 of the space of the land of water. Yet, it had five wide regions. It will take years to locate her treasures if he''s to search around for it in the entire Land of Water.


    "That�� I do not know. You''ll have to venture the land of Water yourself to find her inheritance ground. However, I advise you to first search inside the lands of the Water Kingdom before searching outside of its boundary. It''s a dangerous world outside the Water kingdom. The land of Water may seem peaceful but it''s only inside the boundary of the Water Kingdom. You''ll be facing Bandits and also the Snow Clan Outsiders. But worst of them all are the savages and shamans that worship Abaddon. These human eaters can be found everywhere in the Wild Lands of the Land of Water." Elder Zachary said with a stern and disgusted look.


    He was disgusted by the Abaddon savages. And he was sternly warning Whittaker to not go out of the safety of the kingdom unless absolutely necessary.


    A year or two of continuous travels if he''s to only search the lands inside the boundary of the water kingdom. And more than that if he is to search the entire land of water. It will be a pain in the ass to locate her inheritance dungeon.


    "The land of Water is too big. Do you have any connections I can use to search for her dungeon?" Whittaker asked his teacher.


    "Young friend, I am a social recluse who has been living here for more than 200 hundred years. Most of my old friends have passed on to the afterlife. Do you think I will have any connection?" Elder Zachary said.


    "Sigh, you are a good teacher but useless when it comes to life and backdoor connections," Whittaker heaved a sigh. He was acting as if he was dissatisfied and even disappointed by the number 1 formation master of the entire awakened continent.


    "Pfft," Nina laughed at his words but covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her laughter.


    "Che, you better not turn out like me. Make sure to make lots of friends!" Elder Zachary wasn''t angry at his words, he, in turn, told him to be socially active.


    "I will do as Elder says," Whittaker replied with a wide smile on his young face. "Actually, I already have twelve friends!" He exclaimed, the friends he was talking about was Jin, Sem, Neko, Shadow, Ruth, Lily, Christopher, Jennifer, Patricia, Nina, and Hera. Since Whittaker was lacking in the social department just like Elder Zachary, he also counted his siblings, elders, and his eye-catching classmate Yato as his friend to push up the friend list to eleven peoples.


    "Good! Make a lot of them," Nina said while pinching his bubbly cheeks.


    Elder Zachary said: "Anyways if you have nothing else to ask then take anything from my personal treasures. But you can only take one!"


    "Actually, I have. The Kingdom of Wind and Water is so powerful. They have all types of war weapons and are also in an alliance. Furthermore, Headmaster Yeon as an S-ranked space mage even stopped hundred of thousands of Abaddon people by himself. Why haven''t we still killed them all?" Whittaker asked.


    "It''s because they''re a group of cockroaches." Elder Zachary shook his head in anger and cursed the Abaddon Shamans and Savages. "Do you know that most people think that these creatures are the stuff of legends, right?"


    ''Yes, most awakened I met didn''t even know of their existence. "It''s as if information about them seems to have become extinct, and there are very few people that know of them," Whittaker replied.


    Abaddon''s people were not talked about in the Water Kingdom. Only that jolly driver has ever talked it. Even then it sounded more like a tale than the stuff of reality. It seems like information about them was purposely hidden. However, Whittaker confirmed their existence because he had access to a vast library.


    "To the newer generation, things related to Abaddon is like the stuff of legends. It''s because most of what happened occurred 500 years ago. Now a day, information about It is hidden from others. As you may have heard, When you gaze into the abyss the abyss gaze back at you. Similarly, when you think of Abaddon he might get a chance to look at you and corrupt you into becoming its mindless slave. A person with weak will have the highest chance of being corrupted. That''s why information about it is hidden from commoners and awakened alike." Elder Zachary''s tone turned hoarse as he said that.


    A huge jolt went through Whittaker. He felt like he was hearing a horror story.


    "What kind of devil is Abaddon?" Whittaker asked. He knew that the Outlanders worship Abaddon as their God, but he believed the word Devil was better suited for a devilish being like that.


    "It''s said that there''s a whole devilish world under the rule of Abaddon. It is a king of the devils!" Elder Zachary said.


    "There are worlds outside the awakened continent?!" This was the first time Whittaker was hearing about this. He has never heard about realms and other worlds before. This information was also not mentioned in the books inside the library or mana net.


    Elder Zachary''s eyes flickered as he looked at the stars above and calmly nodded, he said: "Indeed, there are. You have already reached the 31st floor of the Monster Tower. Hence, you are not too far off from experiencing an adventure in another world yourself. Back to our history. 500 years ago, humans that eat humans were a common sight in the land of water. However, they were hunted down by the newly established kingdoms. Abaddon promised the cannibals of the land of water unlimited power if they worship it as a God. Consumed by their greed, the desire to consume human flesh, and the desire to fight back, they began to worship this evil being as their God."


    The Gods exist. Everyone knew about their existence. The humans undergo a Class weapon awakening ceremony in a hall that showcases seven Gods, after all. Furthermore, the Church of Light gas spread the name of the God of Light to everyone. The existence of the God of Light was known to everyone born in the Awakened continent.


    "Then what happened?" Whittaker curiously asked.


    "It corrupted their souls. They no longer looked like humans but spawns of the devil. Their bodies are thrice the size of humans. Some so ugly that life and tree withers wherever they go. They fought back. Their power was unbelievable so were the weapons Abaddon armed them with. Our kingdom''s warriors were pushed back to the northern borders. The northern border was sure to have broken under the devil''s spawn''s relentless attacks. The Emperors have even recalled their soldiers and ordered those stationed at the northern region of the Water Kingdom to withdraw.


    "However, the soldiers stationed at the northern border refused the order of the Ancient Water Emperor. They refused to retreat and vigilantly fought the corrupted beings that were once "Humans". As predicted, the battle was lost. The northern region was sure to be invaded by the corrupted being until Yeon bombarded them all by sacrificing a huge amount of his life force to cast his Spatial Shard Spell. However, his 1000 years of lifespan decreased by half, and witnessing the end of Its hundred thousand strong corrupted creatures, the devil''s itself decided to descend.


    "Abaddon attacked our world, wanting to rule over the skies and also the lands of the awakened continent. Dark clouds surrounded the skies, and a disaster broke out as it descended into our world with innumerable frenzied demons that killed and ate everything that had life. The demon was were simply too strong. They recovered faster than they were injured. Furthermore, they also possessed terrifying Death Magic and incredible physical strength. Under their madness, humans, Magical Beasts, Beast Kins everyone was treated equally, killed, and eaten! It wasn''t only the Water and Wind Kingdom at danger but the entire world at risk of being destroyed and consumed by the demons!"


    "Then what happened? Since Abaddon and its demonic army were so terrifying, how were we able to survive?" Whittaker asked.


    "Hehe. It was only because the entire world was at risk that the Gods of humans race and Beast Kin from the spirit world finally decided to intervene in the matters of the mundane world!"

 Chapter 219: The Spirit world is the afterlife!

    Whittaker''s eyes brightened when he heard the words Spirit World and God.


    "Wait," He raised his hand to ask a question from Elder Zachary.


    Zachary paused in the middle of his storytelling and asked, "What is it?"


    "Elder, I have a question. If the Gods are from the spirit world then what is the Spirit World?" Whittaker said.


    "Hmm, the spirit world is a mysterious place and there are barely any records about this world. I don''t know much about it, but I have once long ago, read an ancient record about the spirit world. In the ancient records, it is said that the divine beings and spirits live in the spirit world. It''s also recorded that the souls of humans and other living creatures go to the spirit world after their death. Moreover, it is also considered the heavenly land by the members of the holy church of light. Commonly, the Spirit world is the afterlife, where a person''s soul goes after death." Elder Zachary explained.


    Hearing his words, Whittaker was shocked. Lord Dark Spirit has already explained much about the spirit world to Whittaker. Such as the fact that the Gods reside in the spirit world. The class weapons are a blessing from the Gods. His father is a being from the spirit world and a half spirit, half-human. However, he was not told that the spirit world is the afterlife.


    Whittaker raised his head to the sky and gazed into the distance at the dazzling, twinkling stars in the night sky.


    ''Every time I learn more about the spirit world, the more confusing it gets. The questions keep on increasing the more answers I get. I should try to help Katherine awaken from her slumber.'' He thought with a deep sense of puzzlement welling up within him.


    According to Lord Dark Spirit, Katherine holds the answer to almost all of his questions.


    "Don''t ponder too deeply about the spirit world. It''s too out of reach. Do you want to listen to the rest of the story or should I directly come to the point and tell you why we have not hunted down all the Abaddon savages?" Elder Zachary said.


    Taken aback from thoughts, Whittaker asked curiously, "Elder, you can continue. What happened after God decided to intervene in the matters of the awakened continent?"


    He was interested in this part of history. He wanted to know how the Gods turned the tide of the war.


    "On the day that the Gods descended, innumerable Angles of light and divine warriors wearing blinding armors cascaded from the sky. After that, an earth-shaking war broke out. The Gods and their armies fought Abaddon and Its army of corrupted ones.


    "As they clashed, the floods broke loose, volcanoes erupted and the earth quaked in fear of its doom. Dead bodies of both sides littered all over the wilderness and blood dyed the ground Scarlet. However, the corrupted ones were pushed back by the Gods and their armies.


    "The armies of Gods marched to the land of Darkness, where the GATE to the Abyssal World has opened. The threat imposed by Abaddon could only end by closing the gates of the Abyssal world and killing Abaddon.


    "During the war, the Land of Darkness has become a Dead Land due to Death Force. The corrupted ones spawned limitlessly and fought the armies of Gods. Whereas the Gods fought Abaddon. But It was too powerful as it was able to manipulate Death Force. The seven Gods together were not able to defeat it. Rather, they were being beaten back by it.


    "All Hope was lost. It seemed like the Gods will be defeated and the war will be lost and the entire awakened continent was in danger of being ravaged."


    "Then, suddenly a long Hum resounded. Along with the hum, an immeasurably powerful Blue light cascaded down from the sky. It was as though the Blue Light was a pillar that could support the Heaven, itself. It lit up the entire sky. Even the sun hanging high up in the sky was dim and dull under the Blue light''s shine. It struck Abaddon. In a single hit, Its body was annihilated from existence, giving it no chance to regenerate. However, its soul managed to escape back to wherever it came from. And It promised to return to take its revenge." Elder Zachary finished the tale.


    Whittaker sucked in a breath of chilly air. His crystal icy eyes opened wide. He said: "Amazing. Who did that Blue Light belonged to?"


    "No one knows. But it must be a being greater than the Gods. Since it killed Abaddon while the seven Gods working together could not. Anyway, the moment Abaddon died and the abyssal gate was closed for good, the Gods and their armies instantly vanished from the Awakened continent as if they never existed." Elder Zachary finished with the story.


    Whittaker was impressed by the power of gods and he was extremely curious about the being that used the Blue light to kill Abaddon. "However, the story of the past still doesn''t answer my question..." He said.


    "Well, the Gods didn''t entirely clean up the mess before returning to the spirit world. Most of the corrupted ones have run away and hidden inside the ruined wilderness of the land of water." Elder Zachary said.


    "Little brother, we don''t hunt them to extinction because most of three reasons. First of all, most parts of the ruined wilderness lack mana and they have no life. The fauna of the land is wounded by Death Force. Vegetables and Fruits can not grow in places like the ruined wilderness and the Land of Death. It''s a waste of resources and men to hunt down the corrupted ones.


    "Secondly, the corrupted ones are armed with weapons specially made to hunt down mages. Their weapons can absorb vast amounts of mana from their surroundings to disturb the channeling of the elemental spell by the spellbook. Once hit by their swords or arrows, a mage will feel its mana being drain away. And so the weapon is highly useful in killing mages. However, it is also sought after by mages and battle master who wants to explore forbidden places that lacks mana. As the materials of these weapons have an obvious effect on consuming and storing mana. Thus, some of them hunt down Abaddon corrupted ones outside the northern boundary of the Water Kingdom.


    "Thirdly, this is the era of world exploration. Also called Realms connecting plan. Most of the high-rank awakened are busy exploring, conquering, or establishing connections with the leader of different "Worlds".


    "Oh, I understand," Whittaker said.


    The awakened were more interested in newer worlds. As they have better resources, exotic beings, and wonderful sceneries. They weren''t interested in battling to the life and death with corrupted ones for a Dead piece of land.


    Now that the talk about the past was finished, it was time to get the reward from Elder Zachary''s.


    "Okay, I would like to get my reward from Elder personal items!"Whittaker said.


    "Go on, you can select any item you like from the storage pouch." Elder Zachary handed over his storage pouch to Whittaker.


    "I can only get one from so many items, which one should I get?" Whittaker thought while peeking at the content of the spatial pouch.


    Elder Zachary was rich. He had many rare B-rank and The monster dungeon is the training ground I am choosing for you. In two months the higher you climb the better reward in his spatial pouch. Though he didn''t see any S-rank one. So Whittaker wasn''t able to decide which one he should get.


    ?Guardian, look at the tree with a round red fruit at the corner of the storage space. That item is an S-rank treasure with a very special effect?


    Suddenly, Noah''s voice rang beside his ears. Hearing its words, Whittaker''s attention focused on the corner of the storage space.


    There, he saw a small yellowish tree with an oddly shaped Scarlet fruit hanging on one of its three branches.


    ?Ability Tree?


    [Rank: S


    Description: An invaluable tree with the ability to produce Ability fruits. Ability Fruits can grant a special ability to people who eat them.


    Effect 1: The tree is able to absorb the blood of beats to produce Ability Fruits.


    Effect 2: A person can only eat seven ability fruits in his entire life]


    "Elder, I have decided that I want to get the Ability Tree as my reward!" Whittaker said before pulling out the small Ability Tree from Elder Zachary''s Spatial pouch.


    "Oh, so this item has caught your interest. I guess you must have read about it in the books. It''s an ability tree. It will produce an Ability Fruit in seven days if you feed it the blood of seven F-rank beast. Similarly, it will produce an E-rank Ability Fruit in 2 weeks. if you feed the blood of six E-rank beasts to the ability tree. The amount of magical beast decrease with the increase in rank. You only need to feed it the blood of an S-ranked beast and it will produce an S-rank ability Fruit in seven weeks. I have fed it the blood of King Salmon. It''s an S-ranked beast. The S-ranked Ability Fruit will fully form after some weeks, you can take the fruit and eat it when it ripe" Elder Zachary said to Whittaker with a gentle look on his elderly face


    "Yes, Elder. Thank you!" Whittaker nodded his head vigorously.


    He was gonna get a free S-ranked ability and that made him overly excited and eager to get the S-ranked ability Fruit soon.

 Chapter 220: Treasury Mechanisms

    "This is the last reward for your efforts. Don''t consider yourself lucky as you have obtained it with your own effort." Elder said before handing over the Key of the treasury to Whittaker.


    He had given Whittaker a challenge to reach the 31st floors of the Monster Tower within two months. However, Whittaker did it in merely three weeks. He was impressed and satisfied with his student. Thus, he handed over the key to the treasury with a respectful remark.


    "Thanks for the trust!" Whittaker gladly accepted the key to the treasury from his hands.


    "By the way, I have never seen the treasury of the Zachary Palace. Where is it located?" Whittaker asked.


    He has been in the Zachary Palace for nearly a month. He has searched every nook and corner of this place but has never seen anything that could remotely resemble the treasury of a place.


    "It''s hidden in a secret place. If you want we can go together and search for it." Elder Zachary said.


    "Yes, let''s go together." Whittaker said before asking: "Though why is the treasury hidden?"


    "When father created the house, he had spent more or less a hundred thousand mana crystal. He had modified the palace by inscribing spatial teleportation magical rune designs in every place of the palace. It was done for the purpose of safety. I can proudly say that only the top 2% of the top-notch assassin can sneak their way into the palace."


    The entire awakened continent only had 100 top-notch assassins. What she means to say is that only two peoples have the ability to sneak into Zachary''s palace unnoticed.


    "A hundred thousand mana crystal!" Whittaker sucked in a mouthful of breath when he heard the astronomical amount mentioned by Nina.


    It could be considered a huge amount of money. The expenditure of the entire Frost Fall City could be afforded by that amount for literally three years; however, this much amount couldn''t compare to the deep pockets of the royal families. But it still wasn''t something that could be gathered in a hundred years by normal means.


    Mana crystals were hard to obtain. They were mostly found in dungeons naturally created by nature. These dungeons had a certain chance of death and were graded into four difficulties. As for what they are, it will be explained shortly.


    "As for the treasury, it''s hidden so that no one will have a chance to take a dip in it. Not even the God of thieves have a chance to take a thing from the treasury. Hehe, it''s located in a secret place that even I and father don''t know of." Nina proudly said.


    "Then, how are we gonna locate it?" Whitaker asked with a mystified look.


    Either they have a way to locate the treasury of Zachary''s palace or they are dumb?


    "Naturally, we have a way to locate the Treasury. Although we don''t know where the treasury is located, we still have a treasure that can open a spatial pathway that connects directly to the treasury." Elder Zachary said.


    The Treasury of the Zachary Palace is located somewhere in the Awakened continent. Plus, the treasury kept on teleporting at different hidden locations throughout the year. It was simply impossible to locate it. Even if a person did locate the treasury, it will simple teleport to another hidden place. This was the great defensive system Zachary erected to protect his wealth from expert thieves.


    "Where is the treasure?" Whittaker asked.


    "It''s hidden in the Palace library. Elder Zachary said before signaling Nina to lead them and Whittaker to move his wheelchair.


    Whittaker gladly helped his teacher out. He never had a grandpa. His teacher filled this hole. And he liked to help him out as it feels like he is helping his own grandpa. As he had spent time with them, Whittaker had taken them as his family members.


    "The treasure automatically shifts place from the library for mages to the library of battle master and vice versa with the change is the day. Today is the last 28th of the second month. The Treasure is located in the library called Battle Master World ." Nina explained to Whittaker before leading them there.


    They met Goguard and he respectfully allowed them entry into the library.


    "Listen well, the treasure is the only way to the treasury. The key is the thing that is used to unlock the treasure. The treasure is somewhere on the bookshelves inside this building. And it looks no different than a book." Elder Zachary said with a mysterious tone.


    "What? But there are more than ten thousand books in this building. And there are ten floors. It will take a lot of time if we search for the treasure in the library. And how would we know that it''s the treasure if it looks no different than a book?" Whittaker asked with a shocked expression.


    "There are three ways to differentiate the treasure from the other book. You will be the next master of the palace so remember this information by heart. First of all, the treasure has a rough ancient cover that looks no different than ancient weary diaries. However, it has a key-shaped hole in the middle. You can put the key to the treasury in it to open the treasure. Secondly, the pages of the treasure are all golden and a spatial pathway array is inscribed in them. Lastly, the treasure can be located by using the Pure-Mana spell, [Mana pulse Releasing Magic Eye]. The treasure is specially made to react to this spell." Elder Zachary explained before signaling Nina to perform the spell.


    This Pure mana spell condensed magical Eyes that are linked to the creator''s mana pool and obtain the necessary obtain of mana from their working from there. The number of magical eyes depends on the amount of mana used. The owner of the magical eyes will see whatever the eyes see. Each magical eye would be like a pair of eyes for the caster, and everything they saw would appear in the mage''s mind. The distance doesn''t matter.


    Furthermore, the eyes were famously used to locate the treasures that react wildly under pulses of mana. Although it is a famous pure mana spell, only a few families know how to cast it.


    "Little brother, look carefully at my hand. I am going to perform the hand signs for the pure mana spell for you to memorize." Nina said before she started performing the hand signs for the spell which Elder Zachary just mentioned.


    Whittaker''s eyes were glued to her petty hands. Thanks to Photographic memory and Devansha''s vision, he easily memorized this new pure-mana spell.


    Nina took a minute and skillfully executed various hand signs to cast the pure mana spell. In the very moment, hundreds of eyes made purely out of mana condensed around them. Then Nina controlled them to wander all the ten floors of the building and find the treasure.


    Nina made it look easy but the average high-rank mage could at most use three to five Mage Eyes, not many could be like her, releasing a hundred Mana Pulse releasing eyes at a single moment, and apparently controlling all of them without feeling the slightest bit of strain.


    Each Mana Pulse releasing eye needed extremely accurate control over both mana and the eye. The person manually needs to transmit mana to the eye through the link so that it won''t vanish.


    "Wow," Whittaker witnessed the effect of the magical eyes and categorized it as an extremely useful spell. It could be used to scout a dangerous place. It could be used to track treasures. And there might be more useful effect to these eyes, who knows what surprise this pure mana spell might bring.


    Under Nina''s control, the hundreds of Eyes wandered throughout the entire building, searching for the treasure.


    After a minute, the magic eye on the seventh floor released a blinding light. At the very moment, a book hidden on the 36th shelf of the 7th floor began to flicker in bluish mana light.


    "It''s there!" Nina and Elder shouted before heading for a teleportation portal that led to the 7th floor.


    Whittaker followed them. After reaching the eye that continuously shot out blinding mana pulse, they instantly glanced at the 36th bookshelf.


    "This book is the treasure!" Elder Zachary while pointing at the 3rd book on the 3rd row of the 36th shelf. It was easy to detect because it was flickering with blue light each time the eye shot out a pulse of mana.


    Whittaker took the book out of the shelf. He put the key inside the hole and the book opened up. The pages inside the book were golden and a spatial-type array was inscribed on the pages.


    This really was the book!


    "Give it to me. The books require 10000 units of mana to open a spatial pathway to the treasury. Remember this too, the teleportation array inside the treasure can only be activated once a year." Elder Zachary said.


    ''That means I can visit the treasury only once a year,'' Whittaker thought before handing over the treasure to Elder Zachary.


    He poured a massive amount of mana into the treasure. In the very next moment, a spatial pathway opened up in front of them.


    "This pathway will lead us directly to the treasury. Hurry up before it closes." Nina said before the group entered the spatial pathway.


    It was long and took them a minute of mindlessly traveling ahead in the gloomy tunnel like a spatial pathway to reach the other end.


    The treasury was extremely dark. However, the moment the three appeared, the Light Orbs placed in the treasury activated. The balls released a bright yet gentle light and illuminated the treasury.


    What followed after was an exclamation of joy. In Whittaker''s snowy icy eyes, bluish crystal glitter.


    There were at least a hundred thousand mana crystals in this place!

 Chapter 221: Mana Crystal!

    Mana crystals possess huge amounts of pure mana. It existed as one of the best mana sources, and one of the easiest to use. It could be used for direct absorption during meditation to boost the effects of meditation. Although mana crystals don''t increase the size of the mana pool, they have the ability to both strengthen the suction force of the "Mana Seed" and increase the total amount of mana units in the mana pool. Moreover, because the mana present in the mana crystals are the purest, there is simply no need to worry about impurities. Thus, the importance of Mana crystals could be seen from just this fact, it was without impurities and easily absorbable.


    The mana crystal can be used as a catalyst to strengthen the suction force of the mana seed. By just this effect, the mana crystal is extremely high priced in the market. The price of mana crystals is determined by their size. A low-rank mana crystal will sell for enough that one would be able to enjoy his life for a year.


    Normally, mana sources have many impurities. The mages wouldn''t dare to absorb impure mana. As the number of impurities entering the mana pool would cause serious trouble for any mage. That''s why magical beast cores undergo a purification process before a mage can absorb it; However, Whittaker could absorb mana sources with impurities without any problems as he was a "Devansha".


    According to Nina''s information, the Devansha are actively hunted down for their blood by mysterious groups because of the mysterious powers the blue blood gives. Thus, Whittaker had been hiding the fact that he is a descendant of the Devansha both in real life and the Monster Tower Dungeon. Being hunted down is also the reason for Grey worries mentioned in the book of gossips.


    Furthermore, the mana crystals could be used for operating a formation, they can fulfill the mana requirements of the formation items, which in turn, leads to the erection of the formation. Thus, the user of the formation is not burdened by the tremendous amount of mana required by the formation items to erect a formation.


    "Hmm, it''s gonna take some time to open the door to the inner treasury. The treasury has not been used for years and the doors have become rusty with time. It has to be opened manually," Nina said before manually opening the locks of the Golden Door Formation by using the key of the treasury.


    There were more than a hundred locks and it will take a lot of time for her to open the Golden Door Formation. Whittaker and Zachary couldn''t help as there was only one key.


    The treasury was divided into the inner treasury and outer treasury. The outer treasury only had mana crystals and the inner treasury contained the true treasures.


    "Elder, it''s gonna take some time before the Golden door is opened, can I play with the treasures here?" Whittaker asked for permission.


    "Sure, go ahead and do whatever you want to do." Elder Zachary gave him permission and Whittaker walked up to the mountains of mana crystals.


    While activating his mana meditation technique, Whittaker picked up a "small" mana crystal and quickly drew the mana from within. The pure mana of the small mana crystal instantly blended into Whittaker''s mana pool. At the same time, the mana seed suction force increased by a barely noticeable percentage.


    "Hahaha, don''t be in such a hurry. The treasures here are all yours to enjoy. You can store them in your spatial ring and absorb them in peace after we return to the palace."


    Seeing his actions, Zachary laughed and instructed him to store these mana crystals for future use.


    "Sure," Whittaker began to store several thousands of them in his rankless ring of genesis. Whereas Nina focused on opening the golden door formation that is securing the inner layer of the treasury from invaders.


    "It must have taken Elder a lot of time to collect so many mana crystals. How many natural dungeons did you complete?" Whittaker asked with a look of wonderment while collecting more mana crystals.


    According to the books, natural dungeons are created in places that have accumulated a lot of mana. The accumulation of mana warps a simple place such as a normal mountain, cave, and similar places into a deadly dungeon.


    At the deepest part of the natural dungeon, there is a giant mana crystal, and there is a guardian that protects it. The giant mana crystals can be broken down into dozens, hundreds, or thousands of pieces depending on the rank of the natural dungeons, while the guardian of a natural dungeon is twofold or more powerful than the boss of the natural dungeon. The natural dungeon won''t vanish unless the mana crystal is destroyed or collected. Thus, the dungeon creates the strongest monster it can to protect the core of the dungeon. The core of the natural dungeon is its mana source. And it is also the giant mana crystal.


    "Indeed, it did. In my youth, I was a lot active when compared to now. I had a lot of friends and challenging natural dungeons with a high chance of death was very common for our group. As you may know already, the Mana Crystal and the Guardian Item is a strong bait. It has a strong temptation to every adventure and we were no less tempted by it than the average joe. Confronting the dangers of the natural dungeons, we completed a lot of them numbering in hundreds of low-rank ones and dozens of high-rank ones, and shared the giant mana crystal according to the contribution of the party''s members."


    There was a high chance of death in a natural dungeon. It takes a lot of bravery to venture into a natural dungeon while knowing the risk of death


    "This is pretty much the entire amount of mana crystal left from what I have accumulated over the years by completing the natural dungeon of various ranks," Zachary had used a lot of them to create Zachary''s Palace and then a lot were also used over the years, and he was left with just this much.


    "I am guessing that there are more small mana crystals here than the treasury of the big cities or even the imperial cities." Even this much was more than what Whittaker could ask for.

 Chapter 222: Awakening Stone! Shocking!

    "Haha, maybe you are right. Anyway, since Nina is busy opening the golden door formation, I will tell you the stories of my adventures if you are interested."


    Zachary felt that it will be too boring to silently pass the time while waiting for Nina to open the Golden door formation. Thus, the old man expressed his intention to tell the tales of his adventures to Whitaker.


    "Yes, I wish to listen to them," Whittaker readily agreed and sat near Zachary''s wheelchair.


    "Our party had a lot of internal fighting but we never backstabbed each other, no matter how great the temptation of greed. We challenged powerful dungeons, one after another, and our teamwork and trust in each other helped us get through many life and death situations. There were a lot of times when I and other members of the party found themselves merely an inch away from death but a member would always be there in time to save our neck from the grim reaper..." Zachary never had grandchildren, but he was glad to meet Whittaker at the end of his life. Unknown to the young boy, as the old man spoke with a smile on his face, he was dying inside.


    Whittaker was seemingly impressed by Elder Zachary and his party. It was an impressive task to complete so many natural dungeons. He became more impressed as his teacher explained his adventures in the natural dungeon.


    "I also want to make a trustworthy party and complete lots of dungeons," Whittaker exclaimed after he finished listening to Zachary''s natural dungeon tales. He continued by saying: "Elder, I have only read about natural dungeons in books and heard about them in your tale but never encountered one myself. I have a question, how are natural dungeon measured into rank. Why is the mana source of high-rank dungeons bigger than low-rank ones? And how does the rank of the dungeon increases?"


    "The natural dungeon absorbs the life essence, mana, and battle energy from the magical beasts and adventurers to become stronger. You may not know that magical beasts are drawn into the dungeon because of the mana crystal. If they eat an entire mana crystal then there is a high chance for them to rank up. However, they are either starved to death or gets killed by the Guardian. Also, the adventurers are foolishly drawn to natural dungeons. They think they can challenge a natural dungeon but are not strong enough to do so. And die a miserable death in the end. Most of the magical beasts and adventurers die in the natural dungeons, and the dungeon absorbs their essence of life, battle energy, and mana to expand itself, create stronger monsters, and a stronger guardian to protect itself. The stronger the dungeon monsters, the higher the rank and greater the size of a dungeon will be." Zachary explained how natural dungeons are classified into ranks.


    Hearing his words, Whittaker''s eyes sparkled in thoughts as he came to a conclusion that there must be a lot of treasure left behind by adventurers. Nonetheless, he needed to verify it. Thus, the young snowy-haired boy asked Elder Zachary:


    "The adventurers that die in the natural dungeon must have left behind their equipment. Does that mean there is a huge amount of treasure in different parts of a natural dungeon?"


    Whittaker was certain that he was right. The natural dungeon only absorbs life essence, mana, and battle energy, after all, and not equipment. Equipment is sold for a tremendous amount of money. And this just made the natural dungeon more enticing in Whittaker''s eyes.


    Elder Zachary simply nodded his head in agreement, and he then explained: "There is indeed a huge amount of treasure sleeping in the natural dungeon but it is fraught with danger. The sight and thought of equipment cause many to get drunk on the dream of getting rich overnight. However, natural dungeons use the equipment and give them to their monsters, or set up traps around the equipment. So you must be careful when venturing into a natural dungeon. Never let greed get the better of you."


    Whittaker was thankful to have an experienced person as his teacher and he thanked him.


    Whereas Nina unlocked the last lock of the Golden Door Formation.


    "It''s done. We can now step inside the inner treasury," Nina notified before pushing open the golden door.


    The shut door immediately opened and multicolor light dawned on them


    ''Damn��'' Whittaker''s eyes were nearly blinded when the Golden door opened.


    There was a lot of equipment of various grades on each side of the inner Treasury. They were stacked on top of each other and created small mountains. In the middle, there was a round raised platform and three golden diamonds were embedded in the center of the raised platform.


    ?Awakening stone?


    [Rank: B-rank


    Description: It''s an item unavailable in the awakened continent. This is a super rare item. It''s a special stone with a lot of Life Force. The absorption of the stone creates a battle core in the body. Can be used by both awakened and non-awakened.


    Effect: Fuse into the body of a person to create a battle core with B-rank potential. It can absorb battle energy!] Noah notified when Whittaker took a look at one of them.


    He was shocked out of his existence!


    Whittaker remembered that Hera always wanted to awaken a class weapon and become a mage or a battle master. But he was not lucky enough and Whittaker could feel that Hera was living a life of regret.


    It''s like seeing others possess a superpower but possessing none. Whittaker thought, ''If possible, I must get one for my older brother!''


    "Don''t just stand there. Get to the raised platform." Zachary said.


    "Oh, okay," Whittaker replied as he woke up from his startled expression and followed after Nina.


    "Do you see these three golden diamonds? These are called Awakening stones. That''s what I like to call them. They are a destiny changing item for mages and normal humans who didn''t awaken during the awakening ceremony. Do you wanna know what these three do?" Zachary said that when they all stood atop the round platform.


    Whittaker saw that out of the three, two were C-rank and only one was a B-rank awakening stone. He already knew what the Awakening stone do and he didn''t decline in order to hide the existence of Noah.


    Elder Zachary mysteriously smiled and said: "This awakening stone creates a battle core in a person''s body. The potential of which is determined by the rank of an awakening stone. The rank of an awakening stone is determined by the amount of golden line etched on it. One golden line means F-rank. Two mean E-rank and so on."


    "But I have never heard of awakening stone existing in the awakened continent. Did Elder get it from another world?" Whittaker asked with a curious look on his face, but he already knew the answer.


    "Little brother, father indeed got it from another world. And the platform we are standing on is the gateway to the other world!" Nina announced


    Whittaker was shocked and he looked down on the platform. Noah didn''t notify him of anything. Plus, the platform seemed no different than a normal stone.


    "Is this really a gateway to another world?" He asked.

 Chapter 223: Planar path

    "It is." Elder Zachary replied before signaling Nina to remove the protective covering from the teleporter.


    There was a card slot nearby the sealed raised platform construct. Nina swiped the master card, and the first layer of the raised platform vanished into the sidewalls of the inner Treasury, revealing a round doorway with many veins like symbols.


    "This is the gateway to another world?" Whittaker asked while looking at the round doorway with many complicated magical runes design but most of them were space-related. He could still not define the round doorway, as Noah didn''t notify him about it.


    "Yes, this is called a Planer teleporter. This is also a magic-mech built by using mana conductors, space stabilizing metals, and space-type magical rune designs. Each rune was inscribed on it by using the elemental heart blood of an 8-star and higher ranked space attributed magical beast, while I used a mana gathering formation so that the demand for mana could be met continuously. The specific effect of this construct is to absorb a vast amount of mana from mana sources and the surrounding to generate a planar path to another world. However, the price to activate is too high, using it three times will consume all the small mana crystal in the treasury. The gateway will lead to a very mysterious but�� extremely dangerous world. I also got the awakening stones from that world but I also faced many dangerous encounters. Thus, I advise you to not step in the other world unless you are a high-rank battle master."


    The Planar teleporter opens a planer path to another world. The so-called Planar Path was a passage between planes. The space stabilizing metal stabilizes this path. Whereas, a continuous supply of mana is needed to activate the space type magical rune designs and keep the planar path open.


    Elder Zachary clarified everything about the planer teleporter and the danger of the otherworld to Whittaker in a clear and serene tone. It was already suggested in the books that the awakened continent wasn''t the only world in the boundless universe. And these theories had countless physical evidence to back them up. For example, the demons and the Evil God Abaddon are the greatest evidence of other worlds. The existence of Gods, and the spirit world is another evidence. Thus, Whittaker didn''t find it hard to believe in the existence of other worlds.


    Whittaker was now almost certain that these three awakening stone had been brought back from the other world by Elder Zachary. In the awakened continent, the awakening stone was invaluable. Its value couldn''t be estimated as it is a destiny changing item for every human. Even in this era that was so abundant in resources, the awakening stone could only be described as a priceless treasure


    Every mage would yearn for such a valuable treasure. As it would allow them to access battle energy. The same can be said for normal people. If one appeared on the market, it would make countless people go crazy. They would pay any price for them. The same can be said for Whittaker.


    "I would pay any price to change the destiny of my brother and mother. Elder, what would I need to do to get these awakening stone?"


    "Hahahaha,"


    Elder Zachary laughed before handing over the three awakening crystal to Whittaker.


    This was such an invaluable item, yet Zachary casually handed them to Whittaker.


    He almost couldn''t believe it.


    His wide-open eyes expressed his thoughts.


    Are you for real?


    I can really take these awakening stone without doing anything?


    "You don''t need to do anything as the treasury now officially belongs to you," Zachary said to confirm his thoughts.


    This was the destiny changing item he got for himself and his wife but he was too late. By the time he returned to the awakened continent, the scarlet enchantress has breathed her last. All the people he knew had grown old and died. That also included his wife. Only a few old fogies remained but Zachary''s will to live had died with the death of his wife. He was living to fulfill his responsibilities and they were all complete. Thus, the old man didn''t use the destiny changing item on himself before, and Elder Zachary was glad that this destiny changing item will finally be useful to someone.


    "Elder, I will never forget this gratitude. I thank you in the place of my brother and mother." Whittaker said while half-kneeling to express his gratitude before he stored the awakening stone in his rankless ring of genesis.


    His heart was moved by Elder Zachary''s heartwarming gesture.


    This was such a rare treasure that a teacher wouldn''t hesitate to kill his student for it. Even a father will kill his son for an awakening stone.


    "Stand straight. A man must not bend his nack so easily and you know what... These awakening stone might be everywhere in the other plane." Zachary said with a smile while pointing at the Planer teleporter. "In only three weeks, I obtained three awakening stone in that world, although I encountered several creatures that were as powerful as A-ranked magical beasts and dozens of hordes of animals and creatures, comparable to high-rank magical beasts."


    As Zachary said, the other world had plenty of awakening stone. But the fortune came hand in hand with danger. The danger level of the place where Zachary teleported to could be calculated from the fact that the lowest rank beast he encountered was C-rank.


    "I''ll reach high-rank as both a mage and a battle master before considering the trip to the other world," Whittaker said with passion lit a light in his hand.


    The awakening stone will sell a lot. And he had a whole mine in his soon-to-be palace.


    "There''s nothing else to see here. This is all that the treasury has while the magical herbs are stored in the floral greenhouse located at the roof of the Palace. Let''s return to rest." Zachary said.


    "Yes, father. Come little brother, it''s time to go out and close the treasury." Nina said before they walked out of the Treasury and returned to their rooms to sleep.

 Chapter 224: Intermediate Health Boost!

    Whittaker returned to the room and instantly sat down on the bed with an exhausted look while thinking of leveling up.


    ''Use all the experience points to level up Frost Mage Class!''


    He opened the character panel, and put all the experience points he earned to upgrade his frost mage class. He has not leveled up for a while and believed that since he possesses a total of 13500 experience points, his level will finally rise like a rocket. However, only 3500 Experience points were absorbed before Noah''s panel prompts brushed out like flowing water.


    [Consumed 3500 Experience points]


    [Frost Mage Class: 13?15]


    [Gained 8 Attributes Points]


    [Gained 4 Skill development points]


    With a "Bee!" sound, Whittaker became a level 15 Frost mage.


    Eh?


    I still have 10000 experience points left.


    Why can''t the Frost Mage Class be upgraded?


    Whittaker has a lot of questions.


    At the very next moment, multiple windows popped up to clear his confusion.


    [Leveling up for Frost Mage class is set on a 24-hour cooldown period. The User can not level up Frost Mage Class as long as this period remains]


    On the character screen, the same ticking clock appeared before the Frost Mage Class.


    [The Guardian has reached the peak of Frost Mage class. Thus, the Frost Mage class can not be leveled up. The Guardian now needs to complete a Class Advancement Missions before you can progress your strength as a mage by using the character panel]


    ?Class advancement Quest Activated: Frost Bender?


    [Mission Detail: The Guardian has mastered the frost mage class. The Guardian now needs to evolve his class to Frost Bender, Guardian of Frost, or Frost Morpher


    Goal 1: Frost Bender: Open all your mana channels and create the magic body of Ice.


    Rewards: Advance Frost Mage Class to Frost Bender Class.


    Mission Progress: Mana Channels Opened 0/10


    Goal 2: Level up Guardian of the night class to level 15.


    Rewards: Advance Frost Mage Class to Guardian of Frost Class.


    Mission Progress: Lv0/Lv15


    Goal 3: Use 100000 Experience Points to Level up Frost Mage Class


    Mission Reward: Upgrades Frost Mage Class to Frost Morphed


    Mission Progress: 10000/100000]


    Whittaker was provided with a clear goal to achieve that will then allow them to progress in strength.


    "What is the best Class among these are. And will I get specific powers from advancing my class?" Whittaker asked.


    [The best class among them all is undoubtedly Frost Bender. As for your second question, the benefits of the class are corresponding to their name. The Guardian powers will no longer be limited by the Frost Spellbook after you upgrade the Frost Mage Class. If Guardian becomes a Frost Bender then the Frost Spellbook will be able to sublime with Guardian and you''ll be able to use Frost Spells yourself by chanting, using hand signs, or merely thoughts] Noah explained.


    Whittaker knew that the Frost Spellbook was a condensation of his talent related to his affinity with elements. It was given a corporeal form under the blessing of God. Although the Frost spellbook can cast Frost spells, he wasn''t able to. But once the Frost Spellbook sublime with him, his affinity with the element of Frost will return and he will be able to use Frost Spells!


    However, he needs to first become a Frost Bender.


    The Goals to become a Frost Bender were pretty clear.


    Open all mana channels and create a Magic Body.


    ''Luckily, I already have the recipe to create mana channel opening elixirs!'' Whittaker just needed to get the ingredients. ''Tomorrow, I''ll ask Elder sister Nina to give me the herbs.''


    He thought before glancing at the character screen and leveled up the Guardian class.


    A total of 7000 Experience Points were consumed and the Guardian class leveled up to Lv2. He got 8 attribute points and 4 skill development points. Then, he glanced at the attribute points on the character screen. He had 12 attribute points but after leveling up, his attribute points have increased to 20. He was planning to increase one of his basic stat to 30 points to get a passive skill.


    "Noah, which one is the best choice?" Whittaker asked.


    ?Undoubtedly, all of them are equally important. Except for the obvious physical benefits, If Guardian increases strength to 30 points then you will gain a passive ability that increases your physical attack by 5% to a maximum of 50%. The attack damage increases by battling continuously. If Guardian Upgrade endurance to 30 points then you will gain the passive ability to decrease 20% physical damage and 10% magical damage. Similarly, once Vitality hits 30 points, the Guardian will gain a unique passive that will increase your maximum HP by a wide margin?


    Whittaker only had 28 Attribute points. Upgrading strength to 30 points needed 25 points and Endurance passive wasn''t as important as the passive provided by upgrading vitality attribute to 30 points.


    He still remembered how fast his HP drained while fighting against the Wind Drake. It only took one attack before he was down to 20 HP.


    He decided to get the passive from upgrading vitality to 30 points.


    [Consumed 20 attribute points]


    [Vitality Increased: 10?30]


    [Hp Recovery Increased: 5?10]


    [Total Hp increased: 100?300


    [The Guardian gained the Passive ability ?Intermediate Health Boost?]


    Whittaker was dumbfounded when he glanced at the skill panel and checked the description and effect of the new passive ?Intermediate Health Boost?.


    600/600


    "I possess more Hp than barbarian and magical beasts of the same rank! Whittaker was utterly shocked.


    As far as he knew, he had not heard about any humans having more Health than magical beasts. Thus, he was amazed.


    ?Intermediate Health Boost?


    [Grade: Intermediate Passive


    Effect: The Guardian will gain 10 points of Health points every 1 point of Vitality points. Stacks over existing Health points]


    Just by looking at the skill effect, one would immediately realize how powerful it was.


    This meant that with the 30 Endurance Points that Whittaker had right now, he instantly gained 300 more Health Points to reach more than 500 Health Points. He had received a special type of passive which elevated his health points to 600 points from 300 points. The passive skill has doubled his existing HP. Furthermore, once he upgrades vitality, then he''ll gain more HP from the passive skill.


    He had benefited greatly by increasing vitality to 30 points.


    [Consumed 8 attribute points]


    [Strength Increased: 5?13]


    Right after, he poured the remaining experience points in strength. He could feel more powerful than a moment ago and he also has better control over his strength.


    "If I keep on increasing my strength then there will come a time when I use Ghost step and leave behind no cracks on the ground!" Whittaker thought pleased with the attribute of strength.


    [Character: Whittaker Lin (Human/??)]


    [Experience: 0]


    [Main class: Frost mage. Level 15 (0/6000 XP)]


    [Secondary class: Guardian Level 2 (0/10000 XP)]


    [HP: 600/600 (Recover 5 Hp per second)]


    Mp: 1650/2300 (Recover 16 Mp per second) (1700 total mana)


    Physical attack damage:13


    Physical Defense: 15


    Magical Defense: 64


    Magical Attack Damage: 32


    Soul Force: 38


    [Attribute Menu


    Attribute points: 0


    Attributes: Strength 13, Endurance 15,


    Intelligence 32, Agility 30, Vitality 30, Battle energy 48]

 Chapter 225: Opening Mana Channel

    "Good morning," Whittaker said, walking inside the royal kitchen of Zachary''s palace.


    "Morning!" Nina cheerfully replied. "Little brother, what brings you here so early in the morning? Could it be you want to train in the Art of Phoenix Rebirth Cooking technique?"


    Whittaker has been meaning to learn the profession Magic Chef, and Nina has even taught him the basics, and she was willing to let him learn the S-rank cooking technique.


    "Thanks, sis, I would love to learn it. But today I came here for another purpose. I hope you can provide me with 1000 spirit flowers, hundreds of stalks of Silver Moon Grass, ten sets of White Branch Fruits, Hundred Year Moon Milks, Violent Yang Flowers, and Blood Tree Crown Leaves." Whittaker said before also handing over the recipe of Mana Channel Opening Pill to Nina.


    Although he would love to learn the S-rank cooking technique, he wanted to first create the pills and open all his mana channels!


    "Except the Spirit flowers, the rest of the magical herbs are too low ranked. It won''t be easy to obtain them in the magic garden on the uppermost floor of the Palace. But these herbs are present in abundance at the back garden below the palace." Nina said the back garden was also the place where Whittaker fought the Viper with dragon blood. "Although I can get as many magical herbs and spirit flowers you want, can you tell me what you are planning to do with them?"


    Whittaker hesitated for a while but decided to say the truth.


    Why?


    It''s because Elder Zachary didn''t hesitate before handing out the destiny changing awakening stone to him.


    "I need spirit flowers to save a being related to me and my clan. As for the rest of the magical herbs, they will be used to create the Mana Chanel Opening Elixirs which will help me open my mana channels!" Whittaker explained with a serious look on his immature face.


    Do humans have mana channels?!!


    Nina had access to plenty of knowledge stored. However, she has never come across such knowledge.


    "Are you joking? How is it possible for humans to have mana channels? Even if humans do have mana channels, how did you obtain a recipe to open them?"


    In the awakened continent, there is no information on humans possessing mana channels, but the same can''t be said about other worlds.


    However, Whittaker has never left the awakened continent. Thus, how could he possess such a recipe?


    Maybe he came across a lucky opportunity in the Monster Tower!


    "Elder sister, I really am not joking," Whittaker said with a serious expression and took out the cauldron of Night. "I have many secrets I can''t explain as even I don''t understand what potential danger they might bring to those who know. But as you can see, I am an alchemist and I obtained the recipe along with this cauldron in the monster tower."


    So he obtained a lucky opportunity in the monster tower!


    Good!!


    Whittaker did not know that his words have answered the question in Nina''s heart.


    As the caldron hit the ground, Nina''s eyes opened wide in surprise. She has used scans to check out what this cauldron was.


    The information she obtained was soul thrilling!


    This was a treasure among cauldron.


    Nevertheless, she wasn''t able to fully determine the extent of the cauldron''s capabilities. It was as if this treasure was covered in a fog of mystery, which even she as the rank-10 formation spirit with endless knowledge can not unveil.


    "Amazing. After seeing this treasure, I believe you somewhat." Nina said as she stared at the cauldron of the night with many mystical magical rune designs.


    She couldn''t entirely discern the effects of 7 of them!


    Although she made out that one was related to time!


    Anything related to time was damn rare. Time-related items were almost nonexistent in the awakened continent!


    "You can watch the pill I create, and I''ll eat them to open my mana channels. Once you notice the changes in my body, you will believe me," Whittaker confidently replied.


    He had gotten his recipe from Lord Dark Spirit. He was certain that it wasn''t a scam. Moreover, Lord Dark spirit said that it was common for people outside the awakened continent to open their mana channels.


    "Okay, I will go and bring the spirit flowers and magic herbs to you in some minutes," Nina said before she vanished in the blink of an eye.


    Nina left Zachary''s palace briskly. After descending down the heaven reaching mountain, she went to the back garden storehouse.


    She arrived at the back garden very shortly since she was incredibly fast. It could even be said that she was teleporting.


    She was respectively greeted by the magical beasts who were guarding the magic herbs present inside the back mountain from magical beasts and thieves. Nina naturally ordered them to enter the Back Garden and uproot the magical herbs and spirit flower Whittaker asked for.


    A few moments passed before the 13-star and other powerful magical beasts returned with the things Nina requested them.


    "Good job," she happily patted them all, and the magical beast happily roared.


    Their owner was too kind.


    She would regularly feed them magical food with an unmatchable taste.


    It even helped them break through to the next realm.


    The magical beasts were obedient to Nina and acted cute like hamsters to win her favor before she went away.


    After Nina returned with the ingredients, Whittaker hurled a batch of them inside the cauldron. The very next moment, he used his mana to swiftly distill them multiple times before instantly activating the necessary magical rune designs to surrounded the cauldron with flames, quickly heating the entire thing.


    "Wonderful! Little brother, your impurities dispelling techniques and precision with the magical rune design astonishes me. Which grandmaster taught you alchemy?" Nina asked as she was amazed by the young boy''s swift and accurate movements.


    Under Whittaker''s control, it was as though the cauldron had come to life, and it was automatically refining the elixir. If there were spectators to his performance then they would have begged for his contact number.


    The only thing separating Whittaker from becoming an expert was the amount of his mana.


    "I learned it myself, in a day. Actually, it took me less than a night to master alchemy and create the Heart Rejuvenating Pill." Whittaker replied calmly, ultimately focusing on the task at hand.


    However, his words left the spectator shocked to her very core.


    A day?


    Less than a night?


    What???


    Such a thing is not possible even if a person uses knowledge crystals.


    A knowledge crystal only provides knowledge about alchemy. However, a person needs to have precious control over mana and impurities distilling technique of grandmaster degree.


    Precise control over mana and impurities distilling technique is needed to activate the see-through imprint, one-way imprint, flame imprint, and temperature control imprint. The higher your control the more impurities spelled from the herbs by using mana and the fire.


    In the end, the lesser the impurities, the higher quality of the elixir produced.


    Precise control and impurities distilling techniques were divided into: apprentice, expert, master, and grandmaster ranks. Each rank was further divided into basic, intermediate, advance, and peak.


    Whittaker had dexterous hands, photographic memory, and his control over mana was hundred times greater than others because he was a Devansha.


    The Devansha''s are said to be able to battle a thousand experts by themselves, and their control over mana comes from their blue blood.

 Chapter 226: Opening Mana Channel!

    Currently, Whittaker only had a blue spine. Thus, his control over mana was a hundred times better than a normal person. But, once he evolves other parts of his body to Devansha bones, he''ll gain a tremendous increase in control over his mana.


    He will have a thousand times better control over his mana when compared to a normal person!


    A few minutes later, once the cauldron of the night was hot enough, the ingredients inside it began to melt. Soon, they were dissolved into a liquid state. This time, Whittaker''s control over the flame temperature was so great that herbal essence didn''t leak out of the magical liquids obtained by melting the magical herbs.


    "Elder sister, please apply external pressure to compress the liquids into one by pouring mana into the cauldron through the one-way imprints," Whittaker suddenly said to Nina.


    He will have to drink a lot of mana recovery potions, but with Nina''s help, drinking mana recovery potions wouldn''t be necessary.


    The last step to create an elixir didn''t even require knowledge about Elixir Master. A person just needed to pour massive amounts of mana to condense all the liquids into one. Thus, anyone could assist an elixir master at the last strep.


    Anyway, Nina has a grasp over all the professionalism and technique of the awakened continent. She purposefully only showed her profession as a magic chef. However, it was easy to conclude that she is a master of all professions as she''s the spirit of the rank-10 reality-bending formation.


    "Alright, I will help you to condense the liquids into an elixir," Nina spoke with a serious expression before she walked near the cauldron of night and saw seventeen one-way imprints.


    Surprisingly, the cauldron of the night had 18 one-way imprints. That means a person can pour his mana into the cauldron through 18 different directions or eighteen people can simultaneously pour mana into the cauldron. Although this will make any alchemist go crazy with greed and shock, Nina remained calm as she had seen a lot in her life.


    She looked youthful and only eighteen years old but she was older than a hundred years.


    Although the cauldron was closed and had no openings, Nina was able to see the insides of the cauldron and everything that was happening inside the cauldron by pouring mana into the see-through imprint.


    The ingredients were already melted into the magical essence liquid state, and Whittaker was already combining the liquids into one, creating something entirely different. However, the process was slow. Furthermore, he was running out of mana at a rapid speed. Thus, the young boy wished for her help.


    She poured her mana into the cauldron through the seventeen one-way imprints which allow mana to be entered into the cauldron. Once Nina applied external pressure onto the liquids, they began to compress into one at a visible rate and a very incredible speed. And within mere seconds, after all of the liquid was compressed into one, it quickly took the shape of a blue moon.


    In the very next moment, without waiting for the cauldron to cool down, Whittaker opened the cauldron and stored the blue moon into a round vial.


    As he used mana to coat his hand, he didn''t get any burns.


    ?Mana Channel Opening Elixir?


    [Grade: Perfect


    Description: A Elixir to Open mana channels


    Effect: The Elixir contains a 100% chance to open the mana channels of humans and a 50% chance to open the mana channels of the peak D-rank magical beast!]


    "This is a perfect quality Mana Channel Opening Pill. It has the effect to open my mana channel. I am gonna eat it and you can detect the changes in my body to confirm the existence of mana channels in the human body," Whittaker spoke with a calm expression, acting as though he is about to do something very normal.


    However, this was a world-shaking event. He was about to make history.


    "Wait, if taking this elixir really open a mana channel in your body then this is going to be a memorable event. We should record it!" Nina said before she activated the recording device to record this memorable event.


    A blue holographic screen that showed an X-ray version of the inside of Whittaker''s body also popped up.


    "It''s done, you can now take it!" Nina said.


    Whittaker nodded with a serious expression and stared at the Elixir vial with narrowed eyes. He opened the lid and swallowed the blue moon in one go.


    The Blue Moon melted while going down his throat. Then, he felt a sudden surge of incredible force coursing down from his throat and thrashing right at the nearest Mana Channel.


    Bam! A resounding reverberation came from within Whittaker''s body as the surge of incredible force crashed on the sealed entrance of his first mana channel.


    His entire body trembled. He felt as if he was a bell that got hit by a hammer. Whereas the incredible force of the elixir entirely opened the entrance of his first mana channel, and at the very next moment, his mana channel was forcefully expanded and filled with mana by the same incredible force.


    ?Congratulations! The Guardian has opened his first mana channels, and only need to open nine more to obtain the King''s Magic Body!?


    ?Mana Increased by 50 units?


    ''The First Mana channel can only contain 50 units of mana,'' Whittaker noted as a smile formed on his face.


    He wondered how much mana he''ll be able to get by opening all his mana channels. Furthermore, the Magic Body also interested him, and he was looking forward to obtaining it.


    Though there was still a lot of incredible force inside his first mana channel and it was looking for a way out of his body. However, how could Whittaker let it go so easily?


    He quickly sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes to concentrate, and activated his mana meditation technique. He could feel the suction force of the mana seed becoming stronger at an incredible rate. Plus, the mana in his mana pool also spiked in number as if he was going high on drugs.

 Chapter 227: Kings Magic Body

    All of these changes were distinguishably on the X-ray holographic screen, and Nina was shocked beyond words.


    The human body has mana channels and Whittaker had opened one. The young boy had made history. Once the record of his deeds is published in the association of mages, becoming popular throughout the continent was just one of the possibilities.


    ?The Guardian Mana in the Mana pool has increased by 400 points?


    ?Mana in mana pool increased: 1650?2050. 2050/2300?


    After sitting on the floor for half an hour, Whittaker had absorbed all of the mana channel opening elixir effects, his closed eyes bolted open.


    "Its effects are terrifying!" He exclaimed before looking at Nina. "The elixir helped me open a mana channel and it also had the incredible effect of increasing the force of the mana seed. I am not far away from advancing into the rank-D mage. I just need to take the elixir around two more times."


    Nina gripped her little brother''s shoulders hard and exclaimed: "I''ll be assisting you with creating these elixirs. Let''s create a lot of mana channels opening elixir, and open all your mana channels, and if you don''t mind then can we also create this elixir for Elder Zachary? It would be greatly beneficial to him."


    By using the mana channel opening elixirs and the information she had gathered over the years, Nina planned to change Elder Zachary''s mindset. He was dead set on resting in peace after passing the King Feng token to Whittaker, but Nina wasn''t gonna let him pass away so easily.


    "Yes, I would love to," Whittaker replied.


    Elder Zachary has always been helping him. Now, it was time to repay him, and then Whittaker focused on creating the mana channel opening elixirs with Nina.


    There was no shortage of magical herbs to create the mana channel opening elixirs. With the magical herbs present in the back mountains they could easily create thousands of mana channel opening elixirs.


    Nina said that she will assist Whittaker but her skills were so great that Whittaker learned a lot from it, and they created one mana channel elixir after another, creating dozens of them in some hours.


    The best part of this all was that the cauldron of the night was able to endure the continuous creation of elixir. Normally, a high-rank cauldron will explode if so many elixirs are created subsequently.


    "You can eat dozens of them and open all your mana channels. I wonder how many mana channels are in a human body," Nina said, they have created around a hundred mana channel elixirs.


    They didn''t fail even a single time. The magical herbs used to create this pill was pretty low-ranked. It was easier to distill the impurities from low-rank magical herbs when compared to high-rank magical herbs.


    "We are about to found out! But first, I have to absorb the spirit flower and mana lights I got from the monster tower so that the effects of the mana channel opening elixir won''t be wasted." Whittaker exclaimed before he took out the mana lights and spirit flower from his rankless ring of genesis.


    His mana pool was nearly full. He needed to urgently increase the size of his mana pool otherwise, not only would the effect of the elixir''s incredible force be wasted, but there was also a chance of his mana pool destabilizing.


    Nina calmly stood beside him, waiting for him to increase the size of his mana pool.


    ?The size of Guardian Mana Pool has increased: 2300?4000. 2050/4000 Mana points in the mana pool?


    After taking out the mana pool increasing mystical items, he swallowed them one after another, and the size of his mana pool was increased to around 4000 points. Now that the incredible force of the elixir won''t be wasted, drinking one mana channel opening elixir after another wasn''t a problem.


    "I am starting," Whittaker said before he took a mana channel elixir and absorbed all its effects. Right after meditation, he took another.


    Bam�� Bam�� Bam�� Bam!


    If the mana channel entrance isn''t entirely opened then there''s a high chance for the mana channel to seal automatically. But every single mana channel opening elixir contained enough incredible force to entirely open the entrance of the mana channel and fill it to the brim with mana.


    However, the incredible force left after opening the second mana channel was far less compared to what was left after opening the first mana channels. It''s because the second mana channel was wider than the first mana channel and could store 100 units of mana. The third was wider than the second and could store 150 units of mana and so on. He was able to benefit from the incredible force by increasing the suction force of his mana seed.


    And as the suction force of the mana seed increased, Whittaker was able to store more units of mana in his mana pool.


    Bang! With the tenth resounding reverberation, all of Whittaker''s mana channels were opened entirely. At the same time, he found a weird space at the center of his eyebrows and the mana channels in his body automatically moved to join into one!


    "Eh, what is happening?" Whittaker was confused as he had lost control over his mana channels and they were joining. Whereas, Nina calmly stared at Whittaker, wondering how long it will take for his meditation to end.


    ?Guardian, Stay Calm! The mana channels are joining together to create a magic body! This is a perk of opening all ten of the mana channels in the body. Normally, a person would need to manually do this task? Noah replied, and as It said, the experts of another world would need to manually connect their mana channels to create a singular pathway to create a magic body and be considered as a magical being.


    Once the mana channel connected to create a singular pathway, Noah made this announcement: ?The Guardian can now manifest the King''s magic body, and I assume that you already know how to do that?


    Just as Noah said, Whittaker could feel that by pouring the mana present in his mana channels into the dark space at the center of his eyebrows, he could create the King''s magic body, and as he did just that, the dark space lit up in blue lights, and a body made out of pure-mana and shimmering in blue sprung from his body in a stupefying speed.


    "What is this?" Nina was dumbfounded when she saw Whittaker''s King''s magic body.


    His King''s magic body made out of mana was corporeal. It was 2.75 meters tall. The mere intimidating aura of the magic body in blue armor, equipped with a blue sword and suspended in midair above Whittaker would make others squirm in feat.


    "It is my King''s Magic Body!" Whittaker exclaimed, and he turned his attention and found out that his mana channels had zero mana left.


    Thus, he recalled the Magic body. The mana abruptly returned to him mana channels. The very mana used to materialize the magic body has returned to Whittaker.


    Nina saw the magic body which looked exactly like Whittaker but wholly blue vanishing inside his body.


    "Little brother, are you feeling fine? What is a magic body, and how many mana channels are there?" She asked curiously.

 Chapter 228: Zacharys shock (A)

    "Humans have ten closed Mana Channels in their body. A total of 2750 mana units of mana can be stored in the mana channels. Once the tenth mana channel is opened, a magic body made purely out of mana can be materialized. Furthermore, I also feel a mysterious dark space at the center of my eyebrows. It appeared after I opened my tenth mana channels. Besides, creating the magic body doesn''t come with an actual cost of mana. But, I assume that once the magic body uses attacks and defend attacks for the user, the mana obtained after recalling it will decrease numerically depending on how much mana is used. There are other uses of the mysterious space, magic body, and mana channels, but I will need to conduct many tests before exploring all of their uses." Whittaker honestly replied and stood up from the ground, a mysterious aura surrounding his body, and it made him look distinct from other mages of the awakened continent.


    This mysterious aura was the result of creating the King''s Magic Body!


    Whittaker was right on the mark.


    The King''s magic body could be summoned and recalled without any cost on mana. Though the mana will only be deducted once the King Magic body makes its attacks.


    Whereas Nina recorded all this information in her database.


    "Let''s go and give some to Father," Nina excitedly said.


    These mana channels opening elixir will give hope to Zachary. He was stuck in the B-rank mage realm for years and could never breakthrough through that point. As the blessing of the Gods limited his strength as a mage at B-rank. But now, these elixirs could help him take a step beyond the limit!


    "Sure, I am interested in seeing how Elder Zachary will react to this!" Whittaker replied before Nina used her authority as the reality management formation to open a spatial way that leads directly to Elder Zachary, who was startled awake by the massive influx of mana. And then he saw Whittaker and Nina stepping out of the spatial gateway.


    "Hmph! It''s rude to suddenly intervene in someone''s privacy!" Elder Zachary scolded with puffed cheeks, and that made him look more like a baby.


    "Sorry, we were too excited about showing you little brother creation that we forgot to knock on the door before coming inside the room," Nina replied, and Whittaker


    "What do you want to show me?" Zachary asked bewilder. Because Nina was just as excited as Whittaker, and although Nina looked like a young girl, she has experienced more than hundreds of years of life and compared to Elder Zachary, she had more knowledge in her database.


    ''What made her so excited?''


    "Elder Zachary, here''s the thing that we wanted to give to you," Whittaker said, cutting straight to the chase by taking out a mana channel opening elixir from his rankless ring of genesis and handing it over to Elder Zachary.


    Elder Zachary fixed his gaze on the round bottle with a moon-shaped elixir in his hand with a questioning look.


    "A moon shaped elixir?"


    Although he was more than five hundred years ago, he had never seen such an elixir before. It was giving off a blue glow, and although it seemed like a condensed mana ball, Zachary could still determine that there is an incredible force many times larger inside the elixir because of his years of expertise. As a rank-10 Formation Master, he could be said to be one of the knowledgeable alchemists in existence.


    "I have never encountered an elixir like this before, but it does seem special and must contain a potent effect. Are you sure this is edible? Will I inflate like a balloon and explode after eating it?" Said Zachary in a joking tone.


    The elixir had a potent effect but it was not strong enough to explode the body of a B rank Mage.


    "No, no. Elder Zachary, this elixir will not harm you. It is not an experimental elixir made by me. Rather, it contains a very beneficial effect and you will found out after swallowing it." Whittaker hurried to correct Zachary''s thoughts. Seems like he wasn''t able to quite catch up on the joke.


    "Father, little brother is the first one to create this elixir. Thus, your lack of knowledge about this elixir. Go on, take it." Nina said, clarifying the reason why Zachary lacked knowledge about the moon-shaped elixir.


    "So this is a surprise. Guess I gotta swallow it and find the effect myself!" Zachary replied before opening the lid of the elixir bottle and swallowing the content inside it.


    He trusted both Whittaker and Nina. He was certain that they will not backstab him.


    As the moon-shaped elixir went down his throat, Zachary felt a sudden surge of incredible force coursing towards a single spot in his body. Sensing the energy from the elixir coursing through his veins, Zachary was astounded as he thought, ''What a terrifying force! This force is just one level below Death force!''


    Bam! A resounding reverberation came out from within Zachary''s body, as the incredible force opened his first mana channel and filled it with pure-mana. The remaining incredible force seemed to gush out of the pores of his body, and Zachary didn''t utilize his Dark celestial Mana meditation technique. Because he was already at the peak of B rank and had 15000 units of mana. His potential was B rank. It has been years since he had remained stuck at this rank unable to ever breakthrough.


    But as his first mana channel opened, Zachary noticed that his total mana has increased to 15050 units!


    "This is impossible!" Zachary''s eyes opened wide in surprise and his eyes were threatening to pop out of their sockets. With a face flushed from excitement, Zachary gripped his young friend shoulders and said,


    "What elixir did you let me eat?! Its effects are terrifying! I can not believe that I surpassed what the Gods have destined for me. This is�� is unbelievable!!!!"


    Elder Zachary said these words so fast that it was almost incomprehensible. However, they still understand it, and Whittaker replied,

 Chapter 229: Zacharys shock (B)

    "It''s an elixir that opens mana channels inside the human body, you might be feeling surprised but humans have mana channels and it''s not only the magical beasts that possess mana channels. Anyway, the elixir I gave you is called a mana channel opening elixir and have a 100% chance to open mana channels os a human upon consumption!" Whittaker replied, exclaiming the effects of the elixir to Elder Zachary.


    His reply was like a bolt of thunder striking Zachary out of the blue. Hearing his words, Zachary realized that the Mana Channel Opening elixir was even more expensive and precious than his Celestial Wine!


    The Celestial wine could provide benefits dozen years or even decades worth of meditation in one single gulp, and although the mana channel opening pill didn''t have such a terrifying effect, it helps a person defy what is destined!


    Nina saw various emotions in her father''s face.


    Zachary was ecstatic at Whittaker''s answer, and at the same time, he looked absolutely surprised.


    "This�� this is too precious. How could you let me eat it? Young friend, I don''t know how you got your hands on the recipe for Mana channel Opening Elixir, but you should never reveal the recipe to everyone! That way, the benefits you obtain from this elixir can be maximized. And this elixir is too precious to squander it on an elderly person like me. I may not look like it but I am one step away from entering the grave. You should use all these elixirs to open all your mana channels."


    Zachary''s heart melted by Whittaker''s actions, and he strongly advised him to use this precious elixir on himself, and not waste them on old bones.


    "What do you mean, Elder Zachary looks younger than a middle-aged man. I am sure you will live for a long time. Besides, the magical ingredients used to make these elixir weren''t costly or precious. They were rather common and easily obtainable from the back garden. The elixir was easy to create. Furthermore, I have already opened all of my mana channels and formed a magic body,"


    Ha?!


    Cheap herbs?


    Easily obtainable?


    A godly elixir that is easy to create?


    Magic body? Opened all Mana channel?


    Some familiar terms�� some unfamiliar terms. But they all shocked Zachary to the very core.


    "What did you say?"


    Zachary couldn''t believe that this ultra godly precious elixir that helped him take a beyond the limit of his mana pool was made from magical herbs obtainable in his back garden.


    This was unbelievable!


    "Yes, father. The magical herbs used to create the mana channel opening elixir are cheap and easily obtainable. Besides, we have dozens of mana channel opening elixirs stored in our storage item." Nina said, shocking Zachary even more than before, and Whittaker believed that his teacher''s eyes will pop out of their sockets if he''s surprised a few more times.


    "Here you go," Whittaker said while handing out nine mana channel opening elixirs. "There are ten mana channels in the body, and these nine elixirs will help elder the rest of them."


    "You silly child! I am too old to benefit from such an elixir. Save it for someone else," Zachary refused to take it.


    He has been living for 500+ years, and now just wished to reunite with his wife in the spirit world.


    "Father, stop being stubborn! Do you think you will reunite with mom after you die? The afterlife is endlessly huge, and you will just be another soul in that place, there is no chance of you reuniting with mom as a mere soul," Nina scolded with puffed cheeks, and although she sounded very angry at Zachary, she was just concerned for him as his daughter. After all, she has been taking care of him since forever and did not want him to die.


    "I don''t know much about the spirit world but I believe what elder sister Nina is saying is true. Anyway, the lifespan of a B rank awakened is only 550 years. However, once you open all your mana Channels, your lifespan will hopefully increase. As I could feel rejuvenated as if there was an increase in my lifespan after I opened all my channels and created the magic body," Whittaker said before handing out the elixir once again.


    Because Whittaker thought that Zachary''s lifespan was coming to an end, he said these words to get him to open all the mana channels and increase his life, but he didn''t know that Zachary wanted to go to the spirit world. As that is the only way he will reunite with his wife.


    "Okay, I will take them." Elder Zachary put on an act of submitting to their demands and stored the mana channel opening elixirs in his spatial ring.


    Although Whittaker was fooled by the crafty old fox, how could his thoughts escape Nina?


    She was connected to Zachary by thoughts and shared emotions with him. His true intentions were seen through by Nina''s stern and piercing gaze.


    "Little brother opened a mysterious space at the center of his eyebrows after he opened his tenth mana channel. Father, I believe that that is the soul room. This is a chance for you to come in contact with the spirit world while still being alive, and climb up to the spirit world with all your power. It''s far better than dying and entering the unknown spirit world as a mere soul!"


    The soul room?!


    "Wait, what did you say?"


    "I said that you might open the soul room after opening all of your mana channels."


    Not possessing the soul room was the greatest regret of Zachary''s life. It was the main reason why he failed to pass the exam of becoming a Twilight Walker, and now there was hope to possess the soul room!


    Unbelievable!


    Whittaker raised his hand and asked, "Umm, what is a soul room?"


    "It''s too soon to explain it to you. It will be good if little brother focuses on advancing as a battle master and mage." Nina said.


    "No, if what you said is true then he might possess a soul room. He also possesses an invitation to the twilight walker''s department. He''s bound to come in contact with the spirit world. It''s time for young friend to understand some important things about the awakened continent." Zachary called off Nina and decided to explain what they know to Whittaker.


    Hearing his words, Whittaker curiosity hit the peak and he expectantly looked at Zachary


    "It''s a long story. So listen carefully�� countless years ago, when I was still in my youth, I was lucky enough to come in contact with Arakazans, Evil Spirit hunters, and the twilight walkers. After years of pestering the twilight Walker, I received a chance to take the twilight Walker test. Sadly, I was not talented enough and failed in the very first exam, which was about awakening a soul room."


    "Elder, what is a soul room?" He asked once again.


    "Soul room is a unique space that opens in the middle of the eyebrow. It is an important place that is used to house a "Being" from the spirit world. Those who do not possess a Soul room in their body cannot form a contract with the beings of the Spirit world, thus are unable to become a twilight walker. The soul room has other uses. Only a person with a soul room can use soul force to create a soul Gate."


    ''This was the first time I have ever received valid information about the spirit world.'' Whittaker was amazed at Zachary''s knowledge about the spirit world and wanted to find out more about the spirit world.


    "Elder, what is a soul gate?"

 Chapter 230: Soul Gate!

    "A soul gate�� I was lucky enough to witness one myself, and I believe that it is a passageway that connects the spirit world also called the afterlife with the Human Realm, allowing a being from the Spirit world to cross over to the awakened continent but not the other way around�Cas the entry of living being inside the spirit world is said to be strictly forbidden. After all, it''s determined that the presence of a living being can cause undesirable effects in the afterlife. Any more questions?" Zachary explained what is a soul gate to Whitaker, and patiently waited for him to reply.


    Soul Gate is the dimensional gateway that can be opened by a Twilight Walker to summon their contracted spirit. It is one of the official and safe ways that a contracted spirit can use to leave Spirit World and help his master to fight against the forces of evil. The soul gate takes the form of a suitable sized gate. Thus, it is called a soul gate.


    "Oh, I have some questions." Whittaker raised one of his hands and said, "First of all, when I received the Twilight Walker''s card, I got a warning that they will erase my memories related to them if I failed their tests. Elder said you failed the test in the past. So why did they not wipe Elder''s memory?"


    The Twilight Walker''s were a secretive society and their duty required absolute secrecy. They would either wipe out the memories of the people or kill them to keep their secrets hidden. Elder Zachary knew so much about the twilight walkers and the spirit world even though he failed to become a twilight walker. Then, why does he still have memories pertaining spirit world and twilight walkers?


    "They did wipe my memories. However, as I grew stronger and reached what I am today, I regained these memories by using Nina''s help, and although I have a lot of information about them, I kept it to myself and didn''t share it with others. Besides, I guess I am too strong and they don''t want to fight me. Hahaha,"


    Zachary was certainly too strong. But not strong enough to scare the twilight walkers. However, the rank-10 formation was really scary, and they didn''t have hostility between them, either. Plus, he even received a recommendation letter from the Twilight Walker''s which signified their relatively good relations.


    "What else do you want to ask?" Zachary asked after laughing.


    "What is the purpose of Twilight Walker''s? To hunt and kill evil spirits and Arakazans? And What are they?" Whittaker asked.


    "Hmm, I am not too sure myself, I have seen friendly Arakazans and Twilight Walker''s protecting them from harm. Though I think their duty is to kill evil spirits that come to our world from the mysterious afterlife or are created through a mixture of negativity. Because evil spirits harm humans and others alike. But I am not too sure. You will have to found out yourself. I believe in you." Elder Zachary placed one of his hands on Whittaker''s shoulder. "With your talent, you''ll be able to join them."


    These words provided Whittaker with a lot of courage. Elder Zachary belief in him was a great source of motivation for the young boy.


    Whittaker nodded his head and said, "I want to find a way to get to the spirit world. And joining the Twilight Walker''s department is the only way to get to know more about the spirit world."


    "Alright, I will be now using the elixirs you provided me to open up my mana channels and see if the mysterious space is really the spirit room or not," Zachary said before he took a mana-channel opening elixir from his storage ring, and opened the lid before swallowing the content inside the elixir bottle. Then, he sat in a meditative posture and meditated to absorb all the effects of the elixir.


    Elder Zachary''s still felt amazed as the incredible force did what it is made to do. It opened his second mana channel without failure.


    The mana channel opening elixir was given to Whittaker by Lord Dark Spirit. Lord Dark Spirit is no doubt a very mysterious character who came from a certain place in the afterlife, and although it is not a part of the "Spirit World", it''s a place in the afterlife.


    This recipe had a 100% chance of opening human mana channels. Moreover, Whittaker with the help of Nina has only created perfect quality mana channel opening Elixirs. Thus, these elixir lacked impurities and could be taken in excess. Lastly, each perfect quality elixir has an extra effect. The extra effect of the perfect quality mana channel opening elixir was to help open the mana channels of the magical beast, and although there was a certain percentage of that happening, it was still better than nothing.


    After opening his second mana channel,


    Whittaker and Nina looked on as Zachary�Csitting in the wheelchair�Cproceeded to open his third mana channel. They were eagerly waiting for him to open all of his mana channels and confirm what the mysterious space is.


    Time passed and Zachary''s face was beet red, with thick swollen veins all over his body, and he was sweating like crazy, and the sweat was evaporating into the air at a visible rate.


    "Elder, are you feeling fine?" Whittaker worriedly asked the closed eyes elder.


    "This didn''t happen when little brother was opening his mana channels. Maybe there is a problem with them. You should stop." Nina also felt worried as she saw Zachary''s weird condition. However, she could feel that his condition wasn''t worsening. Rather it seemed to be improving�� What?


    Barf*


    Elder Zachary puked a lot of black substance from his mouth. The mass of black substance reeked of a putrid smell that made Whittaker and Nina''s face contort.


    "So smelly, I feel like puking my guts out!" Whittaker pinched his nose, unable to withstand the putrid smell.


    Meanwhile, Nina turned off her sensory system and now she couldn''t smell the devastating putrid smell.


    The black substances were impurities, and they began to trickle out from pores all over Zachary''s body.


    Unlike Whittaker, Zachary was 500 years old and impurities were bound to fill his body. But that wasn''t the main reason why impurities filled his mana channels. It''s the curse placed on him by Abaddon that spread over to his sealed mana channels and caused impurities to fill the sealed mana channels.


    As the impurities filling his fifth mana channel were forcefully seeped out of his body by the incredible force of the mana channel opening elixir, Zachary stepped out of his meditative state and opened his eyes.


    "There''s nothing to worry about. I am feeling fine better yet, I am feeling far younger than before, and I have only opened five mana channels. It''s just that the curse placed on me caused my fifth mana channel to be filled with impurities. It made it harder for the incredible force to open the mana channel. However, once the mana channel was opened, as you can see, the impurities caused by the curse was forcefully removed from my body, increasing my lifespan and decreasing the spread of the curse and pain caused by the curse! I believe that by the time all of my mana channels are opened the curse will be reduced to a minimum degree" Elder Zachary said with a smile.


    A curse?


    Who cursed him?


    Whittaker was angered!

 Chapter 231: Purging impurities!

    "Elder was cursed by whom?" Whittaker asked. He was barely able to keep his calm. He wanted to beat the shit out of the person that cursed his teacher!


    "I was afflicted with this curse during the Grand war held 500 years ago," Elder Zachary said with narrowed eyes filled with bitterness. Because this was the greatest disgrace of his life, and also the reason for his biggest regret.


    "Yeah, it was during the warring time when Abaddon''s vessel placed a curse on father," Nina added.


    "The evil god Abaddon," Whittaker muttered silently. Although he found out that the supposed enemy is an evil god that once threatened to bring ruin all over the awakened continent years ago, Whittaker didn''t falter. Rather, his intent to battle surged.


    His teacher enemy was also his enemy, and he will one day teach Abaddon hard lessons if Its soul dares to return to the Awakened continent.


    "Father, hurry up and absorb the mana channel opening elixir to open the remaining five mana channels and clear out the cursive impurities too. I am sure that you will feel a lot better once the curse leaves your body." Nina excitedly said while looking at Zachary.


    "I believe so too," Zachary calmly exclaimed, and he then gratefully looked at Whittaker, "Young friend, even if the mysterious space in the middle of the forehead is not the aforementioned spirit room, I will still be grateful for the divine treasure you bestowed me without hesitation. Your deeds just show that I am not wrong about your character, and you are bound to become a heroic character that will be respected by the world."


    The mana channel opening elixir was nothing sort of a divine treasure just by considering the fact that it can defy what is destined and help other more mana in their body than what their max potential allows.


    Whittaker had the tendency to help those in need, and although it was because he was partially a battle maniac and partially a good-minded person but mostly because of his upbringing. "No need to mention it." Whittaker remembered his childhood days, and he continued by saying, "During harsh winter, when I was younger, the rich families of the Elihu town would provide rations to all the houses. And we were helped by them too, several times, If they weren''t kind to the peoples then surviving those harsh winter would be hard for most of us. Those time, when the rations arrived at our house, I felt very happy. Even Mother Lin, Sister Elisha, and Elder brother Hera were happy. I know it because I saw them smiling widely. That day, I also promised to make others happy by helping them. Though everything needed money. Be it food, clothes, medicine. And I want to become the richest man! So that one day, I will improve the quality of the life of those unfortunate."


    That''s one of the many reasons why Whittaker is obsessed with money, and also the reason why he helped the city master of the Redcliff and her children. Naturally, the young boy won''t blindly help people. Bad people will be punished and the goods ones will be provided with help. The punishment and reward will be equal to how bad and good they are. He might provide them with a life-saving Grace or hurt them badly depending on his judgment.


    "From the looks of it, I assume that you helped many. Believe it, at least, I am very happy." Elder Zachary said with a wide smile.


    He was gently looking at Whittaker. It was a gaze filled with approval.


    "Well, then I should start with opening the rest of my mana channels," Zachary said, he starting taking the mana channel opening elixirs.


    The incredible force of the elixir efficiently opened his hard-struck mana channels and also cleared the cursive impurities from them. The impurities were purging out of his body with an incredible speed.


    Uuaa*


    In about a dozen minutes, Elder Zachary puked out a massive amount of cursive black impurities from his mouth, and the amount was so great that Nina theorized that her father''s body has been cleared of more than half of the curse placed by Abaddon.


    The curse was really mysterious and over the years, they couldn''t get a single remedy for the curse. It has ravaged Elder Zachary''s youth and vitality, but the mysterious curse was hiding in the unthinkable mana channels. ''Thankfully, little brother has found that humans possess mana channels, and provided the mana channel opening elixir which also works as an impurities purger. And is helping her father regain freedom from the curse. By the time the tenth mana channel opens he will be free of Abaddon curse!''


    Nina felt equally appreciated Whittaker. Because a normal person won''t hesitate to hide a treasured elixir for himself, but Whittaker gave it to them, signifying how much he trusts and like them, treating them as their own family.


    This was truly the case which defied blood runs thicker than water. Sometimes the relation one makes in life is stronger than blood relatives.


    "Finally, only the tenth mana channel remains!" Elder Zachary sighed with a satisfied look. Although he smelled just like a rotten egg and his clothes were drenched with the cursive impurities, he was full of vitality.


    Over 500 years, the curse has indeed spread throughout his body and mana channels, but he had regularly taken care of the curse in his body, he just wasn''t able to locate the source of the curse. But now, he was sure that the curse resided in the mana channels. Each time he cleared his body from the cursive impurities, the curse in his mana channels will seep back to his body, and continuously eat his vitality.


    "I can sense that the source of the curse is behind the opening of the tenth mana channel!" Elder Zachary said, he was able to sense it somehow.


    "My gut feeling says that you should go all out and use multiple mana channel opening elixirs to purge the curse forever," Whittaker said, he knew that the incredible force will not hurt its consumer even if taken in excess. Plus, they were helping Zachary in purging the cursive impurities. Thus, the words he said made senses


    "I was planning to do something same," Zachary said before he drank three bottles of the mana channel opening elixir under Whittaker and Nina''s expectful stare.

 Chapter 232: Killing a corrupted one! (a)

    The incredible force of the three mana channel opening elixirs stacked and rushed straight to the tenth closed mana channel at the center of Elder Zachary head. Suddenly, a mass of black substance seeped out from the corner of the closed entrance of the tenth mana channel, just like the tentacles of darkness, and protectively surrounded the entrance of the tenth mana channel.


    Elder Zachary couldn''t see it, but he could feel it. A tense expression etched his face, as the incredible force travelled towards the layered entrance of the tenth mana channel.


    Bam! Three times the incredible force crashed into the layered entrance of the tenth mana channel and produced a resounding reverberation. The defense layers were destroyed one by one, by the incredible force. The strength behind the incredible force significantly decreased to break the various layers of defense created by the cursive impurities. Thus, in the end, only a little amount of incredible force was left and Zachary failed to open the tenth mana channel.


    "Elder, what happened?"


    "Is the curse fighting back?"


    Whittaker and Nina were worried as they saw Elder Zachary pale face.


    Zachary had puked out multiple mouthful of blood. Because the clash happened within his body, and his internal organs suffered sufficient damage.


    "The curse is indeed fighting back. But it is not strong enough to face off against a onslaught of incredible force. I am determined to rid myself of this curse today. And I would need dozens of the elixirs young friend created." Zachary said, he was staring at Whittaker with a look of guilt. He felt guilty for demanding so many elixirs from his own students.


    "These are all for you. Elder can use as many as you like!" Whittaker said before handing out dozens of mana channel opening elixir to Zachary.


    "Thanks," Zachary expressed his gratitude to Whittaker, and he then looked at Nina, and continued by saying, "Nina alter reality and make sure I won''t die."


    "I have already done that," Nina replied, and Zachary felt his internal wounds healing up.


    Instant healing!


    Such was the incredible power of the reality management formation.


    With the reassurance provided by the 10-star reality management formation, Elder Zachary didn''t need to fear death. And his actions turned absolutely berserk and self destructive.


    Gulp!*


    He continuously swallowed mana channel opening elixir, taking dozens of them, and still not stopping. The incredible force repeatedly crashed on the entrance of the tenth mana channel which was being repeatedly reinforced by the curse within the tenth mana channel. However, the curse wasn''t able to quite catch up with the incredible force filling up Zachary''s body.


    Zachary''s speed at swallowing the mana channel opening elixir was too fast. He took this precious elixir just like a kid eating candy.


    In the end, waves of incredible force tore apart all the defensive layers and smashed open the tenth mana channel.


    The source of the curse was tightly clogging his tenth mana channel. However, the incredible force forcefully pushed it all out.


    "Ahhhhhhhhhh" A high pitched mournful cry rang out from within Elder Zachary''s body. An almost unbelievable of impurities was then pushed out of his body. Moreover, Elder Zachary was shaking as if he was being possessed by a evil spirit. His eyes only showed white. More horrifyingly, Whittaker ad Nina saw something round moving down his head, and at the very next moment, a black egg came out of Elder Zachary mouth along with a lot of blood, but he was healed at a rapid speed because of the altered reality.


    Elder Zachary regained his senses, and he looked at the black egg, "Damned curse of the evil God, it''s finally out of my body after 500 years!"


    "Congratulations, Elder Zachary! You are finally free of the curse!"


    "Father, you can finally experience life without pain."


    Whittaker and Nina happily congratulated Zachary. The curse has tortured him for years, and now that the curse is gone, he wil lsurely experience a pain free life.


    "Thanks. It''s all because of you both. Otherwise, I would have not managed to do rid myself of this curse until death." Zachary replied with a smile. He was also happy. As he had finally freed himself from the deadly curse.


    "Father, I have already erected a boundary around it, separating the egg from our space. Though what is this egg?"


    "It gives off a terrifying feel!"


    "It''s malignant aura. This egg give off a similar aura belonging to corrupted ones!"


    Afterwards, their attention turned to the black egg which came out of Zachary mouth. The black egg was surrounded by a malignant aura. They saw that there was a shape of a devil drawn on the center of the black egg. The drawn monster seemed eerily similar to the corrupted ones that Elder Zachary and Nina had seen before.


    "This is the drawing of a Corrupted one!"


    The drawing looked like a ferocious monster that came entirely from another world.


    Whittaker curiously scrutinized it. The image of the corrupted one seemed even more horrifying than he expected. The entire humanoid body was crooked with sharp bone-like substances protruding out of the inky, black surface. A devilish curved horn came out of its forehead. The image of the corrupted one didn''t have limbs, rather tentacles replace the limbs, and all in all, it looked disgusting beyond imagination.


    "Everything related to the Evil God Abaddon is dangerous, and we should purge it out of existence before something else happens." Zachary intelligently said while looking at Nina.


    Although he was a scientist, and the desire to examine and conduct several research on the black egg run rampant, Zachary knew that leaving this egg alive will cause an unbelievable amount of trouble, and thus he decided to end it all for good.


    "Then, allow me to purge it with holy light." Nina said, and various spell matrix appeared atop the black egg.


    During the grand war 500 years ago, Holy light was a weapon especially created in the church of light to kill the corrupted ones.

 Chapter 233: Killing a corrupted one (b)

    The Holy Light was a weapon created by using the blessing of the God of light. The defense and regeneration of the corrupted ones were too impressive. Physical attacks and magic were ineffective against them as the corrupted ones were surrounded by chaotic malignant aura.


    Strong Physical and magical attacks that can disperse the malignant sura could effectively hurt them but their regeneration was almost unbelievable. They healed faster than they were damaged. Thus, physical attacks and magic were deemed useless against the corrupted ones. Of all the elements, only the element of light was dealing effective damage to the corrupted ones. The light spells were natural bane of the corrupted ones, and they couldn''t heal the wounds caused by light. The holy light was ten times more damaging to evil creatures than the element of light.


    The holy light was also effective in dispersion of curses and could also purge a body of all curses. In the past, Zachary had paid a huge sum to purchase holy light from the church of light. The holy light indeed cleared up the curse in his body, but it could not annihilate the source of the curse hiding in the sealed tenth mana channel. The holy light proved ineffective in removing the curse in his body, and most of the remaining holy light was used in Elder Zachary''s experiment to create a weapon that amplifies the damage of Holy Light.


    The weapon is called ?Light of Hope?. At full power, it could annihilate an entire city!


    Nina had full authority over this war weapon. She have never used it before, now luckily, the time to use it has come.


    "Annihilate!" Nine pressed her hand on the holographic screen floating in front of her. A red light scanned her hand print and then an automatic prompt popped up.


    ?Activating the weapon in 10..7...6...0!?


    Bomb!


    Glittering bright and white divine light shone out of the spell matrix and rained down on the black egg.


    Instantly, a miserable roar could be heard echoing out of the black egg. The image of the corrupted one materialized to fight off against the holy light.


    Startled by the sudden appearance of the corrupted one, Whittaker''s pupils contracted a little.


    The corrupted one was surrounded by chaotic malignant aura. The malignant aura was holding its own against the Holy Light. There were countless eyes on its shadowy mangled body. The eyes were as dark as the abyss.


    This was the first time Whittaker get to take a real look at the corrupted one. His Silver icy eyes stared at the abyssal dark eyes. Instantly, murmuring filled his head and evil thoughts filled his minds. Red filled his eyes, and his breathing turned ragged as he tried to resist the temptation to commit evil. However, the thought of murder continued to blind the eyes of the young boy.


    This didn''t escape Nina''s and Elder Zachary''s attention. Nina immediately placed her hands on his eyes and clarity returned to Whittaker''s mind.


    "What just happened. I was thinking of killing you both and myself and��" Whittaker felt disturbed, such evils thoughts it couldn''t possibly be him.


    "The corrupted one tried to enslave you. Don''t look at its eyes, or you will lose your sanity," Nina said.


    The corrupted one was too strong. It could corrupt Whittaker even though it was in a separate boundary.


    Once corrupted, a person lose all their sanity. They get consumed by bloodlust. The only thought a corrupted person have is to kill!


    "Hmph! This corrupted one really had a lot of tricks up their sleeves. Nothing less expected of a demon." Elder Zachary felt angered. Because his precious student had suffered under the corrupted one hand, he wanted to hurriedly annihilate it. "Nina, increase the output of the Holy light to 20%!"


    "As you command!" Nina said. She didn''t consider it to be a waste of resources, as the corrupted one needs to be killed fastly.


    The malignant aura surrounding the corrupted one was destroying the boundary. From the looks of it, the boundary will be destroyed in a few minutes. Then, killing the corrupted one will be harder. Thus, she increased the output of holy light to 20%.


    The corrupted one was able to hold its own against 1% of the total output. However, it was instantly pushed to its knees when the output of holy light increased to 20%. And it was being melted at an incredible speed.


    The corrupted one was a mindless being. It''s only reason for existence being killing. but it wasn''t willing to go down without a fight. It immediately stretched open its mouth revealing all its hideous fangs. A beam of chaotic malignant force condensed and projected from its mouth. The powerful malignant beam pushed by the holy light by a bit. But that was all it did.


    The holy light was as fast as the speed of light and it was projected towards the corrupted one. Similarly, the strength of the holy light was powerful enough to burn it. The wounds could not be regenerated either.


    Gahhh!


    Before death the corrupted one murderously glared at them. However, this time Whittaker didn''t look at its eyes, as he have learned his lesson. Elder Zachary evaded its gaze of corruption. Whereas, Nina sternly glared back. She wasn''t a human but a body condensed out of pure mana. She was the purest of existence and the gaze of corruption didn''t hold a silver against her.


    Upon death, the corrupted one turned into black dust.


    The curse of Abaddon was a special one. This curse plants a seed inside the tenth mana channel. This seed absorbs a person''s vitality to grow and become stronger. Then, it stretches its tentacles of darkness from the mana channels into the body. If the corruption spreads throughout the body then the person will become Abaddon''s vessel!


    Thankfully, Elder Zachary have regularly purified his body from the curse, and although he couldn''t do anything against the source of the curse till now, his actions proved worthwhile.


    The curse that have inhabited him have finally been eradicate from existence.


    This was a good news!


    "I want to announce another piece of good news." Elder Zachary announced after the corrupted one was killed.


    "What is it?" They curiously stared at him.


    "The space in the middle of the eyebrows is undoubtedly the spirit room!" Zachary announced his founding. "I can now become a twilight walker and find a way to step into the spirit world. One day, I will step into the spirit world and locate my wife''s soul."


    "I hope you the best of luck!"


    "Congratulations! Father, I will wait for your return to the awakened continent with mother!"


    Whittaker and Nina congratulated him. Now, Zachary didn''t want to die. He wants to live and find a way to the spirit world. After that, he will locate his wife''s soul, and return to the awakened Continent with her.


    "Elder, you can take this to become a battle master. This will help you in your adventures. Besides, I only need two awakening stone for mother Lin and brother Hera." Whittaker said. He was offering a awakening stone to the old man. He will become powerful and be able to face adverse situation, after all.


    "No need. You should keep them. Don''t think I am refusing because of no reason. I was planning on giving you the heart of hope. However, now that I have recovered and opened my spirit room, I will use that divine treasure on myself," Elder Zachary said.


    "Heart of Hope!" Whittaker eyes opened wide and his mouth gaped. "Elder, you are already too old. Why don''t you just give it to me?"


    The heart of hope was a godly treasure. It would immediately push to high-rank mage!


    "Pff!" Nina said as she saw Whittaker''s funny face.


    "Nope!" Zachary declined and used teleportation to run away from Whittaker''s upcoming endless pestering.


    Whittaker''s face deflated as he felt betrayed by his teacher.


    He would have obtained the heart of Hope if he didn''t give Elder Zachary the mana channel opening pill!


    Whittaker felt as he have lifted a hammer just to strike himself.


    But he would do the same if he returned back in time, as the life of his teacher was more precious than a divine treasure.


    "Yawn~I am feeling tired so I will go back to sleep. Goodnight." Whittaker said to Nina.


    "I will send you back." Nina replied before a spatial gateway opened up. Walking through it, Whittaker returned to his room for a good sleep.

 Chapter 234: Training (a)

    ?Consumed 1000 Spirit Flowers to hasten Katherine recovery time?


    ? Task: Provide 1000 Spirit Flower 1000/1000. Completed! ?


    ? Rewards Obtained: Magic spell: Frost Healing Touch ?


    ? Magic spell: Frost Healing Touch has been stored in the inventory ?


    The very next month, the first thing Whittaker did after waking up was to use the spirit flowers he got for Nina to hasten Katherine recovery. He had received the quest to help Katherine the very first time he came in contact with the Spirit Flower. Besides, he also wants to help Katherine, as she will be able to provide answers to a lot of his questions.


    "Noah, how long will it take for her to wake up?"


    Previously, Katherine needed around a year to recover and wake up from her slumber, but now it should take a lot less time for her to recover.


    ?Anywhere from 4 to 8 months. It''s all up to how fast she subconsciously obtains the spirit essence contained in the spirit flowers. But I can confidently say that Katherine will wake up by next winter." Noah replied, and Whittaker gripped the pendant of night in his hands, and he looked outside the window, staring at the brightening morning skies that were slightly cloudy.


    ''I hope you will be able to provide answers to me questions.'' Whittaker though before looking at the quest bar.


    "Except for two, I have completed all the quests. To complete the first one, I need to obtain 1000 units of soul force.'' Whittaker looked at his stats screen. ''I only have a pitiful 50 points.''


    It was a boring process to increase the amount of soul force. He only gets one soul force every hour he spends meditating. He needed to meditate for 950 hours before he can complete the remaining quest. Nevertheless, the rewards of the remaining quest was too good to pass. He will be able to instantly equip all his equipment. This was super handy in times of need. Not to mention, Noah''s battle assistance mode and the Night''s shop will also be accessible.


    "It will take a total of 40 days of meditation but there are helpful items that increase soul force. Similarly, elixir that increase soul force must also exist. I will wait for Lord Dark Spirit to wake up. Next time I meet him, I must ask for such an elixir."


    Lord Dark Spirit seemed to be knowledgeable about elixir. The Mana channel opening elixir was impressive enough, and Whittaker believed that Lord Dark Spirit will have some similar overpowered elixirs.


    The second quest was about his class advancement, and although he had opened all his mana channels, he needed to obtain something called "ice energy crystal" and absorb it.


    Afterwards, he went to the kitchen to have breakfast. Nina was already in the kitchen prepping for breakfast. After Whittaker entered inside the kitchen they exchanged some courteous talk before Whittaker said,


    "Elder sister, from now on, I have a lot of time left on my hands. I am ready to thoroughly understand Phoenix Rebirth cooking technique and become proficient as a magic chef!"


    Whittaker had completed Zachary''s mission and had gained rights to the Treasury. He didn''t need to go to the Monster Tower, but only if he didn''t want to. And since he was more interested in learning more about magic chef, hence he decided to put the monster tower to the back of his head for a while, and invest his time in learning cooking from a professional.


    "Sure, I will explain it to you while cooking. The Phoenix rebirth cooking technique is simple. However, it can only be used by utilizing both mana and battle energy." Nina said, "You will need to mash up whatever you are cooking into a fine paste, and use both mana and battle energy to reshape it. When it comes to meat, you will be melting the food without burning it, and reshaping it by using pure mana or battle force into what you like, but remember, food is like art and presentation matters."


    While saying this, Nina showed a demonstration of the Phoenix rebirth cooking technique to Whittaker. She melted the fine honey cow meat before reshaping it by using pure mana and battle energy.


    Whittaker was able to discern that she filled the half of the reshaped meat with mana and the other half with battle energy.


    "Is there a special reason behind it?" He asked.


    "It''s to keep the balance. The ratio of mana and battle energy can''t be more than 70% to 30% and vice versa or else the food will break down or even disintegrate into thin air. You can think of it as failed rebirth."


    "Okay, I will be fine as long as the ratio of mana and battle energy is between 30% to 70%, right?"


    "Yes! You should start practicing it but first, eat the breakfast before it gets cold." Nina said, she handed over eggs, beans and Bacon to Whittaker.


    "Thanks for the meal! It was delicious,"


    After eating the meal, Whittaker morning tiredness washed off and he was ready to train as a magic chef. The fire lit up as he started to create a dish for the very first time.


    _


    _


    _


    "These mana channels are really a unique aspects of the human body. Magical beasts have different amount of mana channels I believe that humans might be similar in this aspects. Some human might have more mana channels than the others, while the rest less but ten mana channels is the limit." Zachary said.


    Last night, he have been experimenting with and tying out new things that he could do after opening mana channels. While Whittaker was not as lucky to do so, as he was tired and rested the night. The next morning, he turned to train and learn the Phoenix rebirth cooking technique.


    "Did you have other findings?" Whittaker asked.


    "Mana channel brings about another benefit. My body can now be cloaked with mana. I call it Empowering body with Mana. It has supportive, offensive and defensive purposes." Elder Zachary demonstrated it by cloaking his fist with mana. His fist shone in blue.


    Then, he asked Whittaker to hit his hand. Whittaker poured few units of battle energy into his fist and punched out.


    Bam! His powerful punch was grabbed by Zachary''s hand empowered by mana.


    "Wow, I feel like I am punching a mage who is protected by a thick layer of mana skin."


    Whittaker felt fascinated with the new way mana can be used to empower body, and it''s all possible because of opening mana channels.


    "Yes, and there is more to it. As you can see, this means two things. First of all, I didn''t use hand signs or any type of chanting, I simply moved the mana through my mana channels to clock my body with mana. In a sense, this is equivalent to silent chanting to empower the body. Secondly, the strength of my punch has increased by a lot of times. I believe it is possible to engage in a fierce battle with high-rank battle master after cloaking the entire body with mana!"


    "I think I can also do that, I will give it a try," Whittaker said, and he then started to concentrate in moving the mana in his mana channels, and just like Zachary said, the mana in mana channels moved according to his will, and soon surrounded his fist in it.

 Chapter 235: Training (b)

    "This feels like battle energy but I can apply it externally rather than only internally. This effect itself is comparable to a high-rank battle master. I wonder how strong my fist cloaked in mana is," Whittaker was amazed to feel a huge amount of power in his fist.


    He felt as if he could smash a boulder with his fist.


    He exhaled and with a low grunt, squatted down and slammed his fist on the ground.


    Boom!


    The ground cracked under Whittaker''s fist, forming a medium-sized crater formed and spider-like web cracks spread from the crater.


    "This is too powerful," Whittaker said.


    "It''s too early to be amazed. This is an entirely new power system and it closely relates to magical beasts." Elder Zachary said, "There is a lot of things that we don''t know about mana channels and the uses of this power system is boundless. But I will continuously conduct experiments to find out all its uses."


    Currently, Zachary and Whittaker have opened all the mana channels in their body, and they can freely control their mana and were able to let mana gush out of their body. However, Zachary considered that this was just the first step. To master the "new power system", he needed to conduct a lot of research.


    "I will count on you for that." Whittaker had complete trust in Elder Zachary. He believed that it won''t take long for him to make various breakthroughs in the field of mana channels and advance the new power system.


    "Let''s talk about your training. Only two months are left before the first exam in Frost Fall Academy. From today, you will be training in the new power system and the sword, these puppets will help train you as I am too old to move." Zachary hurled two mechanical teddy bears on the ground and added: "You can activate them yourself by using mana or battle energy. The one with pink is based on a mage and can use magic while the other one is based on a battle master and can wield all sorts of melee weapons."


    "I will give it a try, right away," Whittaker activated the two teddy bears and started training.


    Every morning, he would wake up early in the morning, just as the sun rises. Then, Whittaker would head to the royal kitchen to train in the phoenix rebirth cooking technique. He would then eat breakfast before starting his training with Elder Zachary.


    The training lessons were different every few days, as Zachary would find a breakthrough in the new power system every few days, and train Whittaker in it.


    At first, the morning training consisted of cloaking the entire body with pure mana and fighting with the teddy bears, but later, Zachary and Nina found out that this training helped to increase the amount of mana in his mana channel. With a closer look at Whittaker''s body, it was found out that his mana channels have expanded.


    The reason behind the expansion of mana channels was continuous exhaustion!


    This led to an increase in the intensity of his training.


    His training included running several laps around the palace while using pure mana to enhance his bodily strength. Then he would complete the second course, which consisted of lifting boulders, pushing huge rocks with ten to fifty times the gravity, and kicking and punching. All the while using mana in the mana channels.


    After the first few hours of training like a crazy maniac, Whittaker would then practice his sword skills.


    "I have very limited knowledge when it comes to the sword, but I had many friends who were blessed with a sword-type class weapon, and I know for a fact that mindlessly swinging a sword a thousand times is not as useful as swinging a sword only once, but with a reason. Every time you slash, you must have a reason to use the sword."


    Zachary would oversee all of his training, and during the training, he would often comment and advise Whittaker.


    Under Zachary''s guidance, Whittaker slowly and steadily mastered the art of the sword and gained a wide understanding of what it means to be a swordmaster. Plus, he was also becoming proficient in the new power system. His mana channels could store more than 3000 units of pure mana.


    After the experiments disguised as compulsory training in which Whittaker voluntarily participated every day, he would go on to train his various professions and end the day after meditating for hours in the mana and soul force meditation techniques.


    This training routine continued for weeks, in the cycle of training and rest.


    Time flew by and months passed away.


    _


    _


    _


    Fourth month of the chrysanthemum Goddess!


    "This is the latest use of the new power system." Elder Zachary said while cloaking a piece of rock with pure mana. "By shrouding an object with pure mana, it can be strengthened. The amount of strengthening depends on how much mana is used. I call this method hardening."


    This was a huge discovery. Because Mana inside the mana pool can only be used to perform pure-mana spells or command the spellbook to perform elemental spells. Moreover, there wasn''t a pure mana spell that strengthened an object.


    "I already found about it a few hours ago," Whittaker said, he immediately picked up a normal rock from the ground and applied hardening to it. Then, he threw it away as fast as he could.


    Whoosh!


    The normal stone moved through the air like a missile before hitting a tree.


    Boom!


    With a resounding reverberation, the thick tree trunk shattered and the tree crashed on the ground as if it was chopped by an indomitable sharp sword. Meanwhile, the normal stone crumbled into fine dust.


    The amazing fact was that only a normal rock was used to shatter the thick trunk of an ancient tree.


    Whittaker guilty smiled and said, "I didn''t mean to break it. I am still not familiar with the hardening method and accidentally used more mana than required."


    He didn''t want to break the tree. It was an ancient tree that grew up devouring mana. It was really pricey to grow even one, but Zachary palace had thousands of them.


    "It doesn''t matter. I guess you already know that the hardening method follows the same principle as bodily strength-enhancing method but there is a wide difference."

 Chapter 236: Goodbye Palace in the Skies!

    "Oh, what is that?" Whittaker asked.


    "The amount of mana you used to strengthen the stone was enough to shatter two trees, but it only shattered one." Zachary explained, "Mana can be used to increase the hardness of any objects, but normal stones aren''t a good conductor of mana, so once it left your hand, the mana around it started to hurriedly dissipate. By the time it hit the tree, it has lost half the amount. Thus, it crumbled into fine dust after shattering the trunk of only one tree instead of two."


    "So hardening will only show maximum efficiency on objects that are good mana conductors."


    "Correct. Or you can just keep on hardening an object. Just like this." Zachary decided to demonstrate what he means.


    He picked up a normal stone similar to the one Whittaker used, and instead of throwing it after using hardening, he held it tightly with more than its half exposed. Then he pushed his wheel towards a tree and smashed the ancient tree''s trunk with the stone in his hand.


    Bang!


    The tree trunk easily shattered into countless pieces but the stone didn''t crumble into fine specks of dust.


    It broke after Zachary shattered another tree.


    "Do you get it?"


    "Yeah, I understand. But it will require for the object to be held in my hands all the time." Whittaker said, "Though this method will go well with my sword!"


    "Yes, it''s extremely compatible with melee weapon users."


    They sighed in satisfaction as they figured out the correct way to use hardening. It was thanks to Elder Zachary but Whittaker has also contributed a lot.


    Now, they have found two uses of the new power system. The first was enhancing bodily strength. The second was hardening objects.


    "The Sun is already up. This is the last time I will be training you." Zachary said, he was feeling a little sad but at the same time, he was anticipating what Whittaker will do in the future.


    Today was the day when Whittaker returns back to the Water Kingdom. The distance between the Water Kingdom and the Wind Kingdom was too great to cover. The Water Kingdom and the Wind Kingdom were separated by the Emerald River, and it was too costly to teleport a single person from one Kingdom to another. The amount of energy needed to operate a kingdom to kingdom teleporting gateway could only be afforded by a limited number of groups and Zachary happened to be one of them.


    He was a rich man and the only rank-10 formation master in the entire continent, after all.


    "I don''t feel like leaving." Whittaker loved the atmosphere of the Zachary palace. He was becoming stronger at a visible rate. Moreover, he was sure that he will miss them both after he leaves.


    Nevertheless, he was also missing his family and friends who were residing in the Water Kingdom.


    He was feeling conflicted.


    Zachary sighed. "Young friend, parting is inevitable. You have a glorious future ahead and staying here is the same as burying your talent." Zachary sadly smiled. He was also feeling reluctant to let the young one go. However, a young bird must learn to fly! "Besides, you are now the next Wind King. You need to build up your own power for the next familia competition, and it is not enough to rely on yourself alone. You need trusted aids by your side, only then will you be able to participate in the Kingdoms Familia Competition and glorify your family name.


    As an elderly person, Zachary deeply understands that it is never enough to rely on only oneself. Besides, humans are social creature and friends and family was necessary. Moreover, winning the familia competition was a grand honor and it brings endless resources to the champions.


    Whittaker gratefully stared at Elder Zachary. He was already crowned the next Wind King (honor title) by his teacher. He was now officially the owner of Wind Palace. Plus, he was now the owner of the Wind King token.


    This token was granted to Elder Zachary by the Ancient Wind Emperor. The medal was rewarded only to Elder Zachary because he had made great contributions in the war against Abaddon and the corrupted ones. Its worth was immeasurable. The token is created by the most talented inscriptionist of the Wind Kingdom by using rare metals and many inscriptions as raw materials. Thus, it also can not be replicated.


    No one can deny that Whittaker is the next Wind King.


    According to the Wind Kingdom laws, the owner of the Wind King token has a status equal to that of nobles of the empire.


    Zachary had remained in isolation for centuries and hence, the token only provided status in name. The Wind King familia only had Nina, Elder Zachary, Whittaker, Goguard, some magical beasts, and the mysterious donkey (the unicorn) that kicked Elder Zachary in the head which resulted in the creation of Azure-Sky pieces of equipment.


    Although this token only provided status in name, it was still useful to obtain many benefits in both the kingdom.


    "I will find good and trustworthy companions and invite them to join the Wind King Familia." Whittaker said, "In the next familia competition, I will glorify our family name."


    He now had a new dream. It was to become the number one family of the entire Awakened continent!


    "Haha, I hope you the best."


    "It''s time. The return teleportation gateway has already been set up." Nina said, "Little brother can take it to return to Frost Fall Academy."


    Whittaker nodded his head.


    "Before you go, take this jar of celestial wine with you. When your body is strong enough then you can mix the content inside this jar into a water tub." Zachary said, "Taking a bath in water mixed with celestial wine will strengthen your mana pool."


    "Thanks!" Whittaker said before hugging them both.


    "Goodbye, I will miss you both!"


    "Take care! Remember to eat a healthy breakfast every day."


    "Make me proud!"


    With that said, Whittaker stepped into the spatial gateway and was teleported back to the Water Kingdom.


    "Sigh, I am already missing him," Nina said.


    "The Palace has lost its light," Zachary added.


    "Father, what are you gonna do now?"


    "After conducting some more experiments on the new power system, I will eat the heart of hope and undergo rejuvenation. Then, I will head out to become a twilight walker!"

 Chapter 237: Yearly Assessment Exam (a)

    "This is the F-rank dungeon. I guess I got to complete it before I can return to the academy."


    Whittaker was teleported back to the exact same place, from where he teleported to Zachary''s palace.


    He instantly picked up his pace and jumped at the dungeon boss.


    Gain +10 royal credits.


    The big and fat goblin didn''t even know what happened before it was cleanly chopped into two.


    Vroom!


    Instantly, a return portal opened besides Whittaker.


    He recalled Blood Drinker before jumping inside the return portal. In the next moment, Whittaker returned to the Frost Fall Academy''s Quest Hall!


    A student suddenly appeared in the quest hall.


    This certainly surprised the quest hall manager.


    "Eh, young student, what are you doing here? You should immediately go to the first training ground; it''s the assessment examination. The first exam is about to start. It will affect your grades negatively if you missed it,"


    The old manager of the quest hall was surprised to see that there was a young boy in the quest hall, but he was more worried about the snowy-haired student''s future. Thus, he urged Whittaker to get to the training ground no.1.


    As soon as he heard the old man''s words, Whittaker felt relieved. He thought,


    ''I have made it in time!''


    "Thanks for the info." Whittaker said, "I''ll immediately head to the training ground."


    There was no one else in the entire quest hall. It''s because everyone was attending the strength gauging exam.


    With a single step, Whittaker''s figure turned blurry before he disappeared, and in the time it takes for one to blink eyes, he had rushed out of the quest hall.


    Whoosh! Only a while later, did the sound of his step reverberated throughout the entire quest hall.


    This was his self-created skill Sonic step!


    ?Sonic Step?


    [Rank: Rankless


    [Description: A self-created skill created by combining ghost step and bodily strength-enhancing method. Externally applies bodily strength enchanting on the feet, and at the same time, internally applies battle energy on the feet and sends the user blinking through the battlefield! Mana and battle energy consumption will vary depending on how many steps are taken and the speed]


    The combination of battle energy and pure mana has created this skill. This skill can be utilized by externally focusing mana on the feet, and at the same time, internally pouring battle energy on the feet.


    Old Miller''s squinted eyes opened wide in surprise.


    "Heck, am I seeing things? Did I just see a ghost?" Old Miller exclaimed in bewilderment. "No! I am not a senile old man. It certainly was a student in the academy. But how can a young boy be faster than a high-rank battle master? It seems like this year''s assessment exam will be shocking the hearts of many."


    Old Miller, the manager of the quest hall and a good friend of Headmaster Yeon thought that it will be extremely interesting to watch this year''s assessment exam. Thus, for the first time in dozen decades, the quest hall was closed.


    Soon after, old Miller could be seen flying through the air and making his way towards the first training ground of Royal Frost Fall Academy.


    _


    _


    _


    It didn''t take too long before old Miller arrived at the entrance of the first training ground. Whittaker was the last to arrive at the training grounds. On normal days, the training ground would be littered with puppets of various kinds and students would come here to train their techniques and spells, but today, this training ground was set up differently.


    ''Wow! This is the first time I have seen such a huge crowd. There are so many students at the training ground today. Did they all come to take the assessment test?'' Whittaker exclaimed internally, feeling amazed at the sight in front of him.


    He scanned the massive crowd that had gathered for the yearly assessment exam with a smile on his face. There were at least a thousand students gathered there, and every single one of them was staring at the teachers, more specifically, the assessment stone on the raised platforms with anticipation in their gazes.


    Many of the students had worked hard just for this day and they couldn''t wait to get on one of the many raised platforms and prove their worth!


    The assessment examination contains three stages. The first stage test was just about assessing the student''s rank on the fourth month of every year and distributing resources according to their improvement.


    The not-so-rich but talented and hard working students depended on these resources. That''s why passing the assessment examination with flying marks was their goal.


    "Students, presumably, many of you have been waiting to take the assessment test today, but before that, there are many things that the Academy''s Headmaster wants to say to everyone."


    Dean Frankenstein announced. As said before, the students proved their worth on the assessment test. Worthy, talented, and hardworking students will receive a lot of resources for free.


    Under the claps of thousands of people, Headmaster Yeon made his way to the biggest wooden raised platform to make his speech.


    "Students, today I will be talking about a sensitive topic. Do you know what it means to be awakened?" Headmaster Yeon said, "It means that you have responsibilities to fulfill. Responsibilities that the Gods allocate to us. We must not forget that our basic responsibility is to safeguard our lands and the unawakened from the savage magical beasts and the threatening races that reside in the awakened continent. We must also complete important missions of humanity, eradicate the natural dungeons and conquer the territories of the Magical Beasts outside of the Kingdom. Do not forget that outside the boundaries of the Kingdom, there exist countless dangerous and hazardous dungeons. We must also clear them before a dungeon can grow too big and a dungeon break occurs. Only then you can be considered worthy enough to be considered a hero!"


    Natural Dungeons are like an endlessly stretching spider web. It grows bigger and bigger as time passes. When it grows to a suitable size, monsters and magical beasts pours out of the dungeon to cause destruction and mayhem outside. Thus, the main duties of the awakened were to eradicate the natural dungeons.


    His speech motivated a lot of students. They wanted to become heroes who are worshipped. Some were entirely innocent and just wanted to help the civilians!


    As the Headmaster''s speech came to an end, Dean Frankenstein took over.


    "With that said, let''s begin the assessment exams. You guys better give it your best!" Frankenstein flashed his blinding smile. "This will determine the amount of resources you get. In the future, you guys can graduate from the academy with flying grades and enter whatever field you like. Even becoming a royal magician and serving the imperial court is possible if your grades are high enough!"


    He directly came to the part everyone was looking forward to most.


    Hearing Dean Frankenstein''s words, the students on the grounds could no longer hold back the joy in their hearts.


    Who doesn''t want to become a royal magician? It was the greatest honor in the entire kingdom! The royal magician directly served the Emperor. Who didn''t want resources for free? They will become faster than before, and it won''t require a single penny from their own pockets. The passionate and patriotic ones wanted to serve the cause Headmaster Yeon mentioned. Protect their lands and the people from all the threats. Help their Kingdom resist the invasion of savage races and magical beasts!


    Nevertheless, everything is going to start from this assessment test. This was especially true for the newly enlisted students, just like Whittaker. Most of them were going to take their first step into their life''s journey.


    Soon after, the thousands of students, new and old, were divided into various groups.


    "Group 1! Come on platform number 1!"


    "Group 2! Step on platform number 2!"


    "Group 3! Come on platform number 3!"


    Along with these announcements, dozens of groups were called to attend the first stage of the examination on the various raised wooden platforms.


    The wooden raised platforms were placed all over the training ground. There were two examiners on each platform for assessing the improvement of the students. The first stage of the exam was pretty simple. The students just had to place their hands on the assessment stone tablets placed on the center of the wooden raised platforms, and the examiners would be able to determine their improvement from the past year from the number that appears on the stone tablet.


    The assessment stone tablet looked no different than an average sized boulder. However, it was an excellent conductor of mana and battle energy. Furthermore, it was a Magical Technology created by using various rare materials and resources.


    "To the new students that don''t know, you just need to pour a tinge of your mana or battle energy into the assessment stone tablets, and it will reflect the total amount of mana in your mana pool and the total amount of battle energy in your battle core!" Teacher Ruka, Whittaker''s homeroom teacher, announced with a face full of passion and expectations.


    She believed that the little muffins she taught in her class will be able to show their worth to everyone today, and earn their respects!


    Will the failure class rise like the failure and glorify their homeroom teacher''s name?


    "Yato, I''m sorry; I am feeling weird from just standing here! I think I need to go to the nurse''s office!" Ruth said as his eyes darted here and there, nervously. This was the first time that he had to stand in such a huge crowd. It was eating an antisocial youngster like him, alive.

 Chapter 238: Yearly Assessment Exam (b)

    "Just stay here, you''ve been doing your best for this exam." Yato grabbed Ruth''s hand before he could make a run from it and he continued by saying: "Don''t let yourself defeat what you have worked for. Besides, our turn is soon to come."


    Ruth has been hunting magical beasts for their cores every day and he has also used a large sum of platinum bars to purchase spellbooks and mana cores to hurriedly improve his strength. All of it was done to prove himself as an ace in this very exam.


    As soon as Yato''s said his words, Ruth finally came to his senses. He thought,


    ''How could I allow a momentary weakness to ruin my future? I just need to get by this exam and then I will reward myself with ten days of isolation!''


    Ruth braced his chest, and turned to stare at Yato gratefully, "I will do my best in the assessment examination. So you better give it yours all too. Show those bullies that you won''t stay down no matter what."


    In reply, Yato nodded his head. He replied, "That''s what I have been working hard for!"


    Yato was a half noble and half commoner. To be more exact, he was a whore son. Yato''s background wasn''t too complex. He was a descendant of a medium-sized noble family. His father, Robert was one with noble blood, that came to favor his mother, Alisha. His mother fell head over heels for his father and accepted his hand in marriage; however, Alisha didn''t know that the days of happiness will only last for a while after marriage. Robert still occasionally favored Alisha as she was pretty but she was merely one of his several concubines.


    Furthermore, although Yato had Robert''s blood coursing through his veins, it was mixed with the blood of the commoner. Nobles hated commoners and half-commoners like Yato has been a subject of this hate. Consequently, he was also at a disadvantage in the academy. He was bullied several times. It could be seen from the many bruises and bandages on his body.


    Nevertheless, he didn''t give up hope. He teamed up with Ruth to make money from hunting magical beasts and increased his strength for the assessment examination.


    "Group 77!"


    "Our turn has arrived!"


    Ruth nodded as they walked to the 7th wooden platform.


    "Good, you are all here. The stone tablet of assessment will let us know the results by the number it emits. If you have awakened this year, 400 units of mana are required for you to pass this test with an E grade. 500 mana means you have earned a D grade. Similarly, an increase of mana by 100 units will mean an increase in grade. Newly awakened students with 800 units of mana will be graded an A. 900 units of means an S grade, and if you have reached the peak of F-rank you will be rewarded with the highest grade, S+!"


    The examiners explained before they started calling the members of the group one by one to get tested.


    "Student Ruth! Please come to the center of the stage and place your hard on the stone tablet to get tested!"


    "It''s your turn. Do your best, I believe you will amaze the teachers." Yato said before Ruth made his way to the assessment stone tablet.


    Placing one of his hands on the stone tablet, Ruth poured one unit of his mana and the stone tablet activated.


    A mysterious energy surged out of the stone tablet and directly entered Ruth''s body. It made its way towards the mana pool and analyzed the volume of mana present in the mana pool. In a few seconds, the mysterious energy seemed to have come to a conclusion and surged out of Ruth''s body.


    Simultaneously, a blue radiance emitted from the stone tablet. The stone tablet brightened and soon it dimmed, returning back to normal; However, three digits formed from pure mana burned brightly in its center.


    "999 units of Mana. The peak of F-rank!" The two examiners glanced at the number on the stone tablet and were impressed with Ruth. According to their information, Ruth has only awakened four months ago. In merely four months, he has reached the peak of F-rank.


    He was a newly awakened student who has reached the peak of F-rank!


    "Your result is S+!"


    They announced the test results. The first test followed a simple rule. The students who just awakened this year and reached the peak of the F-rank will be graded with S+.


    Ruth''s lips thinned into a smile. He couldn''t help but smile. Because this will secure him the resources meant for Elite students. However, there were still two more tests before the final results are announced.


    After they announced the results, the students of this group all showed shock and envy.


    "This classmate never stood out. How could he possibly be so talented?"


    "What? Talented? He is lucky to have a rich dad and received all the necessary resources without doing anything. Otherwise, how could he possibly reach the peak of F-rank in merely four months!"


    "I wish I also had such a supportive and rich family."


    Meanwhile, the important figures of the Royal Frost Fall academy were looking at the holograms of the testing field.


    Ruth''s name suddenly appeared on top of the newly enlisted student list.


    "Wow, S+! That''s the highest grade on the first test of the assessment examination. I thought that this kid was unremarkable; who would have thought that he has already reached the peak of F-rank. I was mistaken; deeply mistaken."


    "That''s really amazing! If he could get two more S+, then he would be the top of the class among the newly awakened students of our academy!"


    Logan and Andrew, the two teachers, showed interest in Ruth. They believe that this student might be the dark horse among the new students.


    The yearly assessment examination consisted of three parts.


    The first part was the assessed a person''s improvement. The second part tested their skills and strength. The third one tested combat tactics and hunting skills.

 Chapter 239: End of the first test

    Their initial surprise hasn''t died before another name appeared on top of the examination result list.


    "Another dark horse! This student called Yato has 991 units of mana in his mana pool." Another teacher said, "He is also considered to be at the peak of F-rank!"


    After the roundup, the students with more than 900 units of mana were considered to be at the peak of the F-rank and were rewarded with an S+ grade.


    "This year is surely interesting!" Old Miller said, "Old friend Yeon, who do you think will top the exam this year?"


    Old Miller''s appearance has certainly surprised all the teachers sitting in this spectator''s room, as he has never attended the yearly assessment examination before. They all wondered what has attracted the attraction of this senior person.


    Headmaster Yeon didn''t immediately answer. He calmly turned to stare at Dead Frankenstein, and said, "What do you think? Do you have anyone on your mind?"


    Dean Frankenstein sneakily smiled. "I surely do but it won''t be fun without bets. Let''s bet on who will ace the exams among the new students."


    Dean Frankenstein has been facing a shortage of money and this was the best time to fool Headmaster Yeon and Old Miller from their money. Undoubtedly, he has been overseeing Shadow''s training and knew that the little lass has reached the peak of E-rank battle master. She had the highest chance to ace this examination.


    "Sure, let''s make a bet!"


    "We will also join in!"


    Headmaster Yeon and Old Miller nodded. In the spectators'' room, the teachers there started to gamble with each other.


    Dean Frankenstein: "I bet 100 thousand platinum bar and a B-rank beast weapon on Shadow!"


    Wtf!


    How can he be so rich???


    Hearing his words, the teachers sitting at the round table were surprised.


    It seemed like this guy is really the bastard child of Headmaster Yeon!


    "I am betting 10000 royal credits on Shadow!"


    "I will join since even you joined. I bet 5000 royal credits on that kid called Ruth! He will enter the top three!"


    The teachers started to place their bets on the students of their choices.


    Headmaster Yeon: "Well, I think I will bet the same amount on the second dark horse. From the looks of it, he seems determined to ace the examination."


    Now only Old Miller was left.


    "I won''t be stingy like you both. I bet double the amount on that snowy-haired boy." Old Miller said while pointing his forefinger at Whittaker �C who stood before the assessment stone tablet �C through the holographic screen.


    Dean Frankenstein, Headmaster Yeon, and the rest of the eleven teachers turned to stare at the direction Old Miller pointed.


    What!!!!!!


    Then, all of the sudden, their mouth gaped and their eyes opened so wide that their eyeballs threatened to pop out of their sockets.


    They couldn''t believe what they were seeing.


    The number 5001 burned gloriously at the center of the stone tablet.


    Whittaker had freaking reached D-rank!


    "How could it be?" A teacher said, "He is among the list of the newly awakened students, and is also extremely young. How can he be a D-rank mage at such a young age!"


    "I refuse to believe it! He is just a commoner without any backing. There''s no way he could earn the resources to reach D-rank mage in merely four months. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing happening before? I REFUSE to believe it!!" One among the eleven teachers voiced his disagreement. Because Lyons hated commoners and according to the information, Whittaker was a freaking commoner!


    "Yeah, I think there''s something wrong with the stone tablet. How about... how about we let the examiners inspect it to make sure?" Lyons supporter said.


    Old Miller scoffed. "Do what you like. It won''t change the results." He said in a tone tinged with disdain.


    "Alright, let the examiners over there inspect the stone tablet. If there''s a problem then order them to immediately fix it." Headmaster Yeon said. "However, if there is no problem, award him SSS grade!"


    "As you say,"


    _


    _


    _


    Whittaker was actually extremely satisfied with this grade. However, he didn''t get to smile as the examiners announced that the Assessment Stone Tablet to be malfunctioning.


    They weren''t in the wrong. Because Whittaker''s improvement was just too impressive, and it was impossible for them to believe that he had reached D-rank in merely four months.


    "Sorry, students, we need to examine the testing equipment to ensure that the results are accurate," One of the examiners said before the examiners immediately went over to inspect.


    Whittaker looked at these people in incredulity. Then he sighed.


    Why am I so talented?


    He knew that his improvement will shock the wits out of everyone. However, he had no choice!


    If he wanted to move up in the world, then he needed to ace the yearly assessment test!


    "There''s no problem with the stone tablet!"


    The examiners shortly discovered that there was no problem with the stone tablet.


    "Your grade is SSS!"


    The examiner announced.


    Shocking


    Unbelievable!


    The students and teachers didn''t know what to say. They have never seen a person reaching D-rank mage in merely four months.


    Meanwhile, Whittaker moved on to the next examination zone.


    "Hahahahaha!" Old Miller laughed like a maniac.


    He has hit the jackpot!


    He was sure to win the bet. Moreover, he was the only one who bet on Whittaker. Thus, he was going to make it big!


    "How about you all start handing over what''s mine!"


    "Not too fast." Dean Frankenstein said, "This year, there is not only one black dragon in the newly awakened students! Look at that boy over there, he is going to amaze you all!"


    Black Dragon! Yes, that was the only word to define Whittaker.


    However, the teachers were shocked to hear that there was another such monster among the groups of students.


    Is he joking?


    Old Miller, Yeon, and the eleven teachers stared at Shadow location.


    Bang!


    "This is bad for m heart!" Yeon internally thought.


    He was an old man. But it looks like the world was intent on shattering his views and give him a heart attack!


    "Student Shadow, 92 Battle energy! The peak of D-rank battle master!"


    Unbelieve!!!


    In the entire school, it was only Whittaker and Shadow who had achieved an overflowing result for the first examination.


    "Hmm, he is the son of Duke Williams." Lyon said, "Duke must be really happy to have such a talented son!"


    At first, he was displeased to see that a commoner has topped the charts of the first. Currently, he was really happy to see a noble more talented than Whittaker.


    Shadow was at the peak of D-rank battle master. Whereas Whittaker wasn''t at the peak of D-rank mage.


    Thus, the young black-haired boy was awarded an SSS+ grade!


    Right after, the second examination began!

 Chapter 240: Second exam

    "Those who have passed the assessment stone test follow me. It is time to partake in the second examination.


    After teacher Lancaster finished speaking, he and another burly middle-aged man jumped down from the wooden raised platforms before walking towards the second training ground."


    "Step forth and reach the second training ground!" The burly man voice echoed throughout the first training ground. He was a high-rank battle master. It was clear from the way he dressed and acted.


    Immediately afterward, the students who have passed the first exam, along with some examiners, began rushing towards the gate. As for Whittaker, Shadow, Ruth, and Yato, they also followed the mass and made their way towards the second training ground.


    A while later, they arrived at the second training ground. It was a vast and spacious area that could easily house over 3000 students. Similar to the first training ground, this area was also decorated with testing equipment.


    In the second exam area, there were over a hundred boulders made out of iron. With a single look at them, Whittaker and the knowledgeable Shadow determined that these boulders were one of the worst conductors of mana. Furthermore, the material used to construct these iron boulder were ten times heavier than common iron.


    Just what kind of test requires such things?


    After waiting for a few minutes for everyone to gather, teacher Lancaster and teacher Larry began to speak,


    "All right, the second examination is divided into two tests. The first test will determine your control over mana. While the battle masters will be tested for their endurance and balance. Mages follow me." Lancaster explained before moving towards the left side of the training ground.


    "Battle Masters with me," Larry said before walking to the right side of the training ground.


    The mages followed after Lancaster. Whittaker also followed behind. He didn''t want to expose the fact that he was a battle master. Not before meeting with Headmaster Yeon. Meanwhile, Battle masters like Shadow closely followed behind Larry.


    "You students must attempt to carry the boulder from the starting point of the track to the other end, if you can''t carry the boulder until halfway then you will fail this test. If you drop the boulder before reaching the passing point then you fail. The students who reach 60-70% of the track will get an average grade. 70-80% will give you a good grade. 80-90% means an excellent grade. The superb grade for those who reach the goal." Larry said. he didn''t feel the need to demonstrate what the students have to do. However, he remembered what the goblin teacher has said.


    To become a respected teacher, he must treat the students with respect and not slack off his job.


    Thus, Larry then went on to give a demonstration. He used a portion of his strength to lift the boulder above his head. Then he used a portion of his strength to hurl it. The boulder landed on the other end with a bang.


    "Wow! Teacher Larry is so strong!" The students clapped amazed by his demonstration.


    "This can also be done to pass this test?" A student among the crowd asked.


    "If you want to hurl the boulder then hurl it!" Larry replied. "However, I advise you all against it. This boulder might look fragile but it is far heavier than the stone boulders you students are used to."


    Some foolish students who didn''t know what the boulder was made of still went up and gave it a try. Poor sods had to use every ounce of their physical strength and battle energy to even lift it. Some immediately failed as they couldn''t lift the boulder. While the others couldn''t keep their balance and either tripped or dropped the boulder to save themselves from embarrassment before reaching the passing point.


    Geraldine was swiftly making his way to the other end. He was born with innate great strength. His arms and legs were as big as wine barrels. Yet, this year he was only 16 years olds. He was certain that he will reach the goal before anyone else.


    However, his eyes opened wide in shock as he stared at the black-haired boy passing by him and making his way towards the goal with an incredible speed. It was none other than Shadow!


    "Monster!" Geraldine said with mouth agape.


    Meanwhile, teacher Lancaster was explaining the test to the mages. "You must propel the boulder from the starting point to the goal by using mana. The further the boulder reaches the better your grade. All of you will all get two attempts. However, if you use your spellbook then the attempts will be halved."


    The test from mages was laxer when compared to the battle master. It''s because mages were more important than battle master and they were treasured even in the royal frost fall academy. Furthermore, in the awakened continent, the mages to battle master ratio were too wide. There will be at least one to a maximum of 100 mages among 1000 awakened. Undoubtedly, the rest will be battle masters.


    "Does anyone have any questions?"


    "Teacher! Can we use pure-mana spells like telekinesis?"


    "Yes, you can use whatever spell you like to propel the boulder from the starting spot to the goal," Lancaster replied.


    The students smiled. They thought that it was gonna be easy to pass this test. However, they were devastated when they found out that this boulder couldn''t even be considered as a conductor of mana.


    Some used telekinesis to propel the boulder ahead. Though telekinesis totally depended upon a person''s control over mana and his mental fortitude. The moment they lose concentration they will be left with only one attempt.


    "I won''t be able to get a good grade if I use telekinesis. I must use my spellbook! But which spell should I use?" Ruth internally pondered. He was trying to make his decision before a loud bombing sound rang out.


    Whoosh!


    He saw an iron boulder shooting towards the goal like a rocket. Although it fell to the ground just a few meters away from the goal.


    "Hehe, it went better than I expected!" Yato said while rubbing his nose. He hasn''t learned telekinesis. Thus, he had used his spellbook and utilized "sonic blast" to hurl the boulder towards the goal with an incredible speed. The sonic blast was a rare charging spell, and although it takes thirty seconds to charge it up, this test didn''t have a time limit.


    Sonic blast condenses layers of winds at a single point before releasing. The sudden release creates a wind no less powerful than a hurricane. That''s what blasted the iron boulder so far, and earned Yato a good result.

 Chapter 241: The test of combat!

    After passing this exam with flying colors, Yato turned to look at Ruth, who was having a hard time what magical ability he should use.


    "The correct to pass this time is to use a burst type or similar magic." Yato said, "Us new students didn''t get enough time to proficiently control mana. Some of us haven''t even learned telekinesis, moreover. And it seems like the boulder is a bad consuctor of mana, otherwise class president �C who have a excellent control over mana �C would not be having such a hard time. Therefore, the teacher was trying to bait us in using telekinesis."


    From his advice, Ruth got an excellent idea.


    "I get it. Thanks for the help." He expressed his gratitude before staring at the iron boulder before him. ''Although I don''t have exactly have a burst type elemental spell. I can combine ignition with oil spray to create a blast!"''


    Ruth summoned his spellbook and also used the spells simultaneously. After the oil sprayed out the ignition spell created a large blast that was concentrated in a single point and caused the iron boulder to shoot through the skies, dropping right besides Yato''s boulder.


    "Nice one!" Yato raised his hands for a hand clap.


    "It''s mostly thanks to you," Ruth replied before a clapping sound of enjoyment echoes. Although he still was a introvert, he has taken few steps towards the bright side, and started to socialize more.


    Ruth and Yato weren''t innately talented like Whittaker and other students, who have an excellent control over mana due to their bloodline and genes. They utilized their brain, and managed to obtain an excellent result.


    Meanwhile, Whittaker sleepily raised his hands and performed the hand signs of pure-mana spell telekinesis. Soon, his mana was projected over the iron boulder. The boulder levitated and shoot forward under Whittaker''s command.


    In a while, under the amazed stares of everyone, his boulder passed by the 90 meter mark and soon after, crossed the goal. Though it still kept on going until Whittaker decided it was enough and that he have impressed the teachers and examiners.


    His result shocked everyone equally. Though Shadow was also able to reach the goal by carrying the boulder. They both got an equal result of S+ (Superb).


    Whittaker sulked internally. There was no reward for over performance, after all. His presence was like a light bulb among firefly. Everyone noticed him this time.


    Meanwhile, Lancaster and Larry conducted he examination of the next batch.


    "A few examiners will arrive in this area in a few minutes. They will take those who passed this test to the next testing area. So wait at the sides for now." They told the students before conducting the exams for the next batch.


    Whittaker and the other mages stood on one sides while Shadow and other battle masters stood on the opposite side and waited for the examiners to lead them to the next testing area.


    Ruth and Yato walked up to Whittaker, and said, "Hey, it''s been a while,"


    Whittaker had left a deep impression on Yato, as he had learned one spell after another, and that too in mere days before vanishing for months, and now he was toping the charts in the examination.


    "Nice to see you guys." Whittaker replied, he was feeling excited as he was finally socializing with people his age.


    "Where have you been?"


    "You guys don''t know? I surely told our homeroom teacher that I became Elder Zachary inheritor!"


    "Zachary? Who is that?" Yato didn''t know who Zachary was as he had been busy with filling up his mana pool and barely went to the library to gain knowledge.


    "Zachary? Do you mean the honorary Wind King? The only rank-10 formation master?" Ruth was so surprised that he blurted more than one sentence. At first, he had the habit of ending conversation with one word, but nowadays, his conversation skill has evolved and he could speak an entire sentence.


    "Yes," Whittaker nodded.


    They conversed passionately before the examiners came to the second training ground and led the students, who managed to poss this test, to the next testing ground.


    In the next testing area, there were over a hundred circles, each with one hundred human-shaped puppets made out of enchanted wood.


    "This is the test of combattere. As you can see, these puppets can move on their own. They can defend and attack themselves against attack. Your task is to enter a circle and annihilate the hundred puppets within 60 minutes, but I advise you to be fast in dealing with them, as these puppets are an aggressive bunch and you will generate aggression from all of them, even if you attack a single puppet." The next examiner, who was a bald headed man and wearing thick green military uniform that was styled after a falcon said while smoking and puffing out rings of smoke.


    The other examiner took over to explain the remaining rules of this test, "You will pass with the lowest grade if you destroy 35 puppets before being pushed out of the circle or being beaten beaten puppets, and the grade will increase according to how many puppets you defeat and the amount of time taken."


    "Any questions?"


    "Will there be a problem if we destroy these puppets?"


    "These puppets can automatically reconstruct. So, you guys can go all out and destroy them as you like, there won''t be any problems even if you shatter them into thousand pieces." Hillary said, "With that said, let''s begin the exam!"


    She was a pink haired middle aged teacher and was wearing track suits. Though she was an high-rank mage. She called a hundred names and the students went inside the circles and sparred with the puppets.


    "Shadow Williams, Yato Yamamoto, Ruth Rutherford, and Peter Chuck, please enter the circle to take your test."


    Once they heard their names being called up, each of them started to walk ahead and entered the circles, but they were prepared to take this test, as they had seen the others �C who were the unlucky ones and the first to take this test �C and learned from their mistakes.


    They knew that once a single puppet is attacked then all the puppets will be activated and target them, aggressively beat them before hurling them out of the circles like a ragdoll.


    They all smiled.


    The best way to pass this exam was to give your 100% at the very start and use the powerful powerful AOE spell or Battle skill to damage as many puppets as possible.

 Chapter 242: Passing the combat test!

    "Wind Magic: Gargoyles Fist!"


    The students and examiners watched with wide eyes as Yato''s spellbook shone and an enormous fist condensed made out of stone materialized above the puppets. The shadow of the fist covered half the circular stage, and in the next moment, the stone fist came crashing down.


    BOOM!


    The stone fist moved with such speed and strength that it generated layers of wind. It was so powerful that upon impact, half the puppets exploded and a large shockwave spread throughout the circular stage, toppling the other puppets and causing Yato''s hair to ruffle wildly with the gales.


    The puppets stood up and started to walk towards Yato, who have exhausted all his mana in a moment and needed time to recover mana before he can use any spells.


    He had no choice but to pull out his beast''s weapon that was being nourished in his soul space. The beast weapon he used was a crossbow. He couldn''t fight in close combat as he was a frail mage. However, using the crossbow that was carved using parts of Golden horned sparrow he could get a better score.


    The bow was entirely gold and a combination of basic inscription stretched from its center and reached the edges.


    As he saw the puppets striding towards him, Yato charged up the crossbow with the little bit of mana he had left while running around in circles. Then, the inscriptions on the crossbow twinkled as metallic arrows shot out with an incredible, each of them piercing the heads of the wooden puppets closest to him.


    Meanwhile, Ruth also used his most powerful spell at the very start of the test. A flame hurricane swept through the area as Ruth used his water whip to spank the shit out of the lucky survivors who were mindlessly striding towards him. The whip was craved by the skin of the fearsome royal water snake. A magical beast that was the ninth most dangerous E-ranked magical beast. The whip was crystal blue and sprayed out jets of water each time Ruth provided it with mana. 35 units of mana for each time.


    "As expected of the students who topped the chart of the previously held test."


    "They understood that they need to use their most powerful elemental spell at the very start of the battle to decrease the number of the puppets, and then take them down one group at a time."


    "That brat is a mage but has the stamina of a ranger. See how he is running around the stage with a heavy bow in his hand."


    "The other isn''t bad either. Although he lacks stamina, he seemed to have mastered the noble whipping style. Seems like he is from a noble household."


    "A noble is different than a commoner after all," Lyon said with a chuckled. "Let''s focus on Duke William''s son!"


    Shadow wasn''t a mage. He couldn''t blast a massive amount of puppets in a single moment. Nevertheless, he had no choice but to run up to the nearest puppet and slash his dagger at him. The puppet activated and punched out; However, along with the dagger, Shadow mysteriously disappeared and the very next moment, the puppet''s head rolled on the ground as Shadow stood behind it.


    All of the puppets from the surrounding activated and rushed straight at him.


    It was 1 vs 99!


    Shadow''s eyes narrowed. Because this is gonna be a pain in the ass and it will take a lot of time to defeat every single one of them. The amount of battle puppets were overwhelming. Nevertheless, there was no a single trace of worry on Shadow''s face. He was confident that he will win this battle.


    Four puppets attacked him, but he dodged their attacks by ducking and then gracefully twisted his body. Then, he impaled the dagger held in his right hand in their chest with an incredible speed. The power supply was located at the chest area of these puppets. Hence, they dropped to the ground lifelessly as the dagger shattered their power supply. Then, right after Shadow poured three units of battle energy in his dagger and teleported behind the nearest puppet''s group. The same thing happened again and then again, until only a few dozens of puppets were left.


    "Kiya~ So Hot!"


    "The rumors were all false! The son of duke Williams is not a trash!"


    "Yeah, he was just being low-key to amaze everyone today,"


    His display was like a chaotic dance utilizing various moves to achieve one purpose.


    Amaze the Heaven and Earth!


    To the students, it was as if a imperial King had entered the battlefield. His figure was was in continuous motion as he would sometimes bend backwards, sometime twist in a weird manner, sometimes appear behind a group of enemy, and sometime appear before the group of enemies.


    Furthermore, the dagger clutched in Shadow''s hand executed the puppets one after another, impaling right at their power supply area.


    "What a wonderful display of battle tactics and skills. This is the difference between a noble and a commoner!" Lyon exclaimed in happiness. "Each of his move is calculated. The spatial step adds a twist to his movement and also allows him to repeatedly escape from encampments. His dagger''s thrusts are ferocious, defeating a puppet everytime it moves!"


    "Haha, this kid is indeed impressive." Old Miller praised. "He seemed to have found out the biggest weakness of this test. Although there are hundred puppets to defeat, at a time, only a maximum of four can attack. As long as one evade the attacks of the four puppets and counterattacks then getting a good score isn''t a problem."


    "Not really, it''s all because his stamina is decent, even compared to high-rank battle master. A low-rank battle master wouldn''t be able to repeatedly perform such complex movement repeatedly, after all, and they would be exhausted in a few minutes or so." Frankenstein shook his, disagreeing with Old Millers.


    Headmaster Yeon eyes narrowed. "That''s why he said that this Kid is impressive. But I wonder what Whittaker is gonna do. He has been standing there for a while, but hasn''t even summon his frost spellbook."


    "This commoner is abusing the time limit!" Lyon said, "I advise to lower the time limit of this test. Sixty minutes is too long. Otherwise, just like this boy, the rest will also idle and waste time,"


    "I agree!"


    "I agree!"


    Lyon supporters supported his decision.


    "Alright, I announce that the rules of the combatte test has been changed. Now, the time limit is of only 25 minutes."


    This news was announced to everyone in the testing field. Whittaker innocently looked about and thought that it doesn''t matter even if he were to make a move at the very last second of the test.


    Contrary to what Lyon and Headmaster Yeon thought, he wasn''t idling around. He was actually staring at the test of his friends, trying to see and determine how much they have improved.


    Whittaker wanted to recruit companions for his household (Familia). As the honorary Wind King, he has taken on the natural obligations to join in on to Kingdom''s familia competition that is to be held years later. Besides, winning this competition will provide him with a lot of resources. Thus, he was looking for companions.


    And what better place to look for good companions that this competition?


    Lastly, he wasn''t met with dissapointed. Yato, Ruth, and Shadow display was excellent. Of possible, he wanted to invite them in his family. Nevertheless, he didn''t find any other interesting guy.


    As the time limit has decreased and there wasn''t any interesting guy, Whittaker decided to end this test in a jiffy.

 Chapter 243: The Duplicator!

    "Frost Magic: Weapon''s Fortress!"


    As he loudly said these words, the spellbook materialized above his head, producing a chilling aura. Then, along with snowy white clouds, a mysterious cluster of symbols appeared in the clouds. The mysterious cluster summoned forth an enormous amount of ice, which twisted and bent, morphing into hundreds of weapons.


    Weapons made out of ice materialized below the snowy cloud and produced a chilling sensation. The sunny day instantly darkened. The weapons were clustered together and seemed no different than a mighty fortress of over 30 meters.


    This was Whittaker''s self-created rankless spell. He created this spell by combining the Frost Spikes magic that he got from killing Wind Drake with the Ice Shaping magic he learned in Zachary''s palace.


    The onlookers watched with gaping mouths and wide opened eyes as the weapons fell from the sky like meteors. The shimmering snowy icy light blinded their vision temporarily.


    Whoosh!


    Whoosh!


    Whoosh!


    The ice weapons ripped through the air and dawned on the 100 puppet circular arena at the same time. The ice weapons chopped and pulverized the puppets and continued to crash on the ground with an incredible speed.


    Bang!


    The impact created a resounding reverberation that spread far and wide.


    "What just happened?" As their vision cleared up, everyone could see craters all over the ground. Furthermore, all the puppets have shattered under the assault of his rankless magic.


    "I-It took him a mere second. A mere second�� to defeat a hundred puppets!" the examiner chocked on his words.


    Simple inconceivable!


    How did a rank-D mage do what even a high-rank mage can''t do?


    "Hahaha, this reminds me of the time you used Space Shatter to send the army of Abaddon packing." Old Miller said. "I feel that this kid will end up becoming a monster like you."


    There was no need for consideration. The snowy-haired boy was just too utterly powerful.


    "I know. But damn it all!" Headmaster said with conflicted feelings. "If I knew that he was gonna take this test, then I would have bet all I had on him."


    "How could you change side without any consideration?" Frankenstein said.


    There was a limit to shamelessness. But it seems like Headmaster Yeon didn''t have any.


    "Wouldn''t you too?"


    "I still believe that Shadow''s performance will surpass every newcomer."


    Whereas, Lyon''s mouth remained agape. He didn''t have any words left to badmouth this commoner. Heck, even he would die under such an overpowered attack.


    Whittaker, on the other hand, was feeling smug under the envy and awed stares of the onlookers. Not just the students and examiners, even his classmates and roommate stared at him with a gawking expression.


    Except for Peter Chuck, everyone else in Whittaker''s testing group has taken the test. Peter Chuck was excitedly glaring at Whittaker while mysterious while and green symbols rotated around his mystic spellbook.


    "My bet paid off, you were the most powerful indeed." As Peter Chuck said these words, all the symbols turned green and rushed to combine with his spellbook.


    Whittaker understood that Peter Chuck was talking to him, but he didn''t understand what he meant by his words.


    "I know I am the strongest, but what do you mean by bet?" Whittaker peacefully inquired.


    Peter Chuck winked in his direction as he lifted his finger to point at the sky.


    "Frost Magic: Weapon''s Fortress!"


    Along with his words, a familiar cloud appeared in the sky, hiding the shiny sun behind and sheathing the testing ground in its shadow. The initial surprise of the onlookers hadn''t died. Thus, the sudden reappearance of Whittaker''s self-created spell shocked them out of their wits.


    A second later, along with a resounding reverberation, Peter Chuck defeated a hundred puppets in a single second.


    To pass the test with flying marks, Peter Chuck had done the exact same thing as Whittaker.


    Shocking!


    This time Whittaker was among the ones who were astonished. After seeing Peter perform his self-created elemental spell, Whittaker couldn''t help but think about what Peter''s spellbook is.


    "Okay, you can go and stand with the groups of students who had passed this test." The examiner said.


    Not just Whittaker, even the other students who passed this test were told to wait on the benches until all the students had finished conducting their tests. Besides, his friends were also there. Hence, Whittaker went towards them happily.


    "Long time no see!" Shadow said.


    "Yeah, we have a lot to catch up on."


    Whittaker greeted his long time best friend. To him, Shadow''s presence meant a lot. Shadow was the first person he went out to hunt, after all, but he also benefited a lot from his guidance.


    "A job well done! I couldn''t believe my eyes for a moment. How could you summon so many weapons? Are you a high-mage?" Yato hurled his questions at Whittaker.


    "Not really, I am still at D-rank," Whittaker replied and turned to look at Peter.


    "Nice to meet you," Peter, who was sitting beside them, stood up and walked towards Whittaker.


    When Peter went to shake his hand, Whittaker curiously asked, "Who are you?"


    "I am your class president, Peter Chuck," Peter replied. "I hope you are not angry at me for copying your magic without permission."


    Whittaker shakes his hand and replies, "I am not offended just surprised. Your spellbook allowed you to copy my self-created spell, right? What attribute is it?"


    Whittaker had been on leave for months. He didn''t know much about the class President and his spellbook.


    Peter Chuck looked at him and smiled in agreement.


    "You guessed it right, but I am surprised that it is a self-created spell. No wonder why it was easy to duplicate. Before anything else, let me introduce you to my spellbook." Peter summoned his spellbook before he pointed at the white book. "My spellbook is called duplicator. It''s kinda special type as it has restrictions different than other books. It can duplicate any spell as long their working is simple enough. Besides that, For now, my spellbook only has ten pages. It can only duplicate at most ten spells. But as my mana capacity increases, I will be able to duplicate more."


    Peter Chuck was the son of a Western Duke. Everyone in chuck''s family usually awakens a fire type spellbook, a water type spellbook, or a mixture. They are cultivated to their peak potential for the sake of serving the cities ruled by the duke. However, Peter seemed to be born from an entirely different gene, as he awakened a special type of spellbook. They didn''t have any knowledge about this spellbook. Thus, the Western Duke enrolled him in the Royal Frost Fall Academy.

 Chapter 244: Peter Chuck discloses... What?

    As he explained himself, the little bit of animosity in Whittaker''s heart seemingly disappeared. Peter Chuck has copied his original magic, after all, but he didn''t hold him responsible as it was partially Whittaker''s own fault for not modifying the Weapon''s Fortress spell page in his Frost spellbook.


    "Okay, I get it, your bet worked but why did you take such a great risk? There was barely any time left before I completed my test. And why did you expose the limitations about your spellbook to me?" Whittaker said. "Wouldn''t you be at a great disadvantage if we are to fight in a tournament?"


    Whittaker still pondered about why Peter would bet on him, and why he would expose the weakness of his unique spellbook. It made more sense to him to think that it wasn''t just a simple bet, but a choice made because of confidence. However, he still couldn''t understand why Peter would expose the limitations of his spellbook to him.


    "Let''s sit at the sides first. You know there are a lot of students who idolize you."


    Just like Peter Chuck said, Whittaker was being stared at by a lot of boys and girls older and younger than himself.


    "He''s so cool!"


    "He is so handsome he can give Dean Frankenstein a reason to worry."


    "The one standing beside him is also handsome. Not just that, he is the son of Duke Williams, but he is also just as talented as Whittaker and among the few who defeated all 100 puppets."


    "Please Whittaker. Look at me!"


    "Kiyaa, he looked at me."


    So embarrassing. Whittaker thought. His cheeks turned red.


    Shadow''s eyes blinked innocently. He shared the same thoughts as Whittaker.


    "Girls these days are just like that," Shadow said.


    "Yeah, I kinda have learned to ignore them," Whittaker said to Shadow before he looked at Peter. "For now, let''s sit down."


    They sat at an uncrowded spot. Just then, Peter gave a mischievous smile and replied confidently. "Well, I happened to eavesdrop on your conversation and found out that you were Zachary''s inheritor. Besides, you were the only D-rank mage on the testing field whose spell I was able to copy. And, I want to befriend you and group up with you for the next examination."


    Peter''s words were reasonable enough to curb Whittaker''s suspicion. But it was damaging to his pride. True, he had recently self-created this spell and haven''t had the time to add magical symbols to complicate the spell structure, but did Peter really have to point that out again and again?


    "I will make sure to complicate the spell structure of my self-created spells," Whittaker muttered.


    "��."


    "��."


    Meanwhile, Ruth and Yato stared at Peter with the same thought in their mind. The power of status even works in the Royal Frost Fall Academy. They thought that because Peter knew about what''s going to happen in the next examination.


    "You know about the details of the next exams?" Shadow asked. Although Shadow was Duke William''s child, he wasn''t welcomed or loved by his father nor does he utilizes the authority of his father, and thus, he didn''t know anything about the next examination.


    Peter widened his smile and revealed a smile. Then, he leaned closer to them and whispered,


    "Who am I? I am the son of a duke. Sir Lyon favors royals and nobles unconditionally. Especially those with higher status. I just needed to ask and he exposed a few details of the examinations to me. Though I hope you guys can keep it a secret for me. But if tell someone, don''t tell them that I told you guys about this."


    "Okay, we promise not to rat you out to the deans and headmaster." They nodded their head. Then, Shadow curiously asked: "What is the next test about?"


    "I don''t know much about it. But Sir Lyon said that it is heavily focused on team play and that it will be dangerous, almost life-threatening as we would be fighting tons of magical beasts. So who wanna team up? I came fully prepared and got some cool spells that can save our lives in different situations."


    Peter had prepared various types of spells for the final examination. His arsenal also contained a lot of potions and talisman. As a Duke''s son, the one thing he didn''t lack was money, and he purchased a lot of things to supplement his weakness.


    Yato scrutinized him. Peter was unlike other nobles. The nobles and royals attending this academy would usually stare at Yato with disdain because he was a half-noble. Or ask him weird questions. But Peter didn''t do either. Moreover, he wasn''t offended by his presence. Yato knew that this was a great chance.


    "Count me in!" Yato said before wrapping his hands around Ruth. "He will be also joining us!"


    Ruth nudged Yato in the ribs with his elbow.


    "Ah, why? Do you not wanna join?"


    "Stop doing that. My necks hurts?" Ruth said.


    In reply, Yato grinned; "My bad, my bad."


    "I gladly accept you both as a party member," Peter said to them. Then, he asked the others, "What about you two? Have you made your decision? There is only a little bit of time left before the next exam begins."


    Three of the five top scorers among the newly enlisted students have created a party. Naturally, if Whittaker and Shadow join them then it would truly be a party made up of prodigies.


    "A party of prodigies. This idea doesn''t sound bad at all. I will join." Whittaker also accepted Peter''s invitation.


    Shadow didn''t want to be left alone, and he also joined the party. However, he had a condition.


    "The party leader must be the most capable one among us."


    "I don''t mind if it''s you. But I don''t know about them." Peter was pretty cool with Shadow becoming the team leader.


    "Am not qualified," Yato said. He didn''t bother comparing himself with a hardworking monster like Shadow and the naturally gifted Whittaker.


    "Same," Ruth added.


    "I also have no problems with Shadow being our leader. But I would like some freedom."


    "No problem."


    "Then, it''s decided."


    Shadow was the party leader and the main tank. Whittaker, Peter, Ruth, and Peter were the damage dealers.


    "Although this party seems imbalanced in various ways, this party has its own perks. We would be killing the monster at an incredible speed."


    They nodded, understanding the advantages of a four mage and one tank party.


    A while later, the examiners finished testing the newly enlisted students.

 Chapter 245: A secret test?

    After waiting for approximately 3 hours, all the students have been tested. Those who passed were led to the third training ground. The student gathered at this place created a crowd. They definitely numbered around a hundred.


    All the training equipment and obstacles were moved to the sides and three teachers stood in the center of the third training ground.


    The head examiner was a white-haired slim man wearing a set of black leather armor, with a beast''s lightsaber strapped to his back and a mask covering most of his face, revealing only his deadly pale eyes. For obvious reasons, everyone turned or lowered their heads once they looked in his eyes, but Whittaker felt no piercing pain.


    "Silence!"


    The students quietened down as soon as they heard the head examiner''s words. Then, he continued by saying,


    ''''Some of you might know me, but most of you don''t. My name is Lazarus, and I am one of the Four Dean of our Royal Frost Fall Academy, who just returned from a faraway place. With that said, let me clarify the difficulty and rules of the third examination."


    As Lazarus raised his hands, a holographic screen opened before the students. It showed a cave with a black hole-like entrance, out of which an endless swarm of magical beasts and armored skeletons could be seen rushing out.


    "A day ago, there has been a dungeon outbreak in the Grizzly Mountain range near the trade route connecting York City and the Crystal City. This route is among the most important trade routes shared by the cities, and we can not let the monsters seeping out of the dungeon disturb it. It is a D-rank dungeon outbreak and the most powerful monster in the Grizzly mountain range will only be D-rank."


    By this point, the students seemed to understand what their exam was going to be but they couldn''t help but feel nervous.


    "In order to pass the last exam, you must hunt the dungeon''s creatures to earn points. Each time you hunt a monster, the point will be recorded on your student ID card. The amount of points you gain depends on the power level of the dungeon''s creature you defeat. For example, you will get 1 point for slaying a dungeon creature with a power level of 1, and a creature with a 1.9 power level will give you 9 points. As for creatures with a power level between 2 to 4, they will give you 20-40 points. While defeating D-rank creatures will give you 100 points. It will be equally split if you are in a team."


    "Besides, in the Grizzly Mountain range, you can not only fight magical beasts to earn points but also initiate a battle between your fellow students, and defeat them to steal their exam points! For those who are slightly worried, only the exam points can be robbed and there is no way to steal your royal credits. Your main aim in this exam is to obtain 100 points and reach the safe zones scattered throughout the Mountain regions within seven days."


    "Do you have any questions?"


    A boy around Whittaker''s age raised his hand.


    "Yes, what is it?"


    "Can I pull out of this exam?"


    Lazarus teasingly smiled. "Now why would you want to do that?"


    "My grade is good enough to pass the yearly assessment examination with a C grade. Besides, I fear I will die there."


    Lazarus internally smirked and allowed the student to go back to the dorm.


    "This year''s yearly assessment exam is far harder compared to the previous years. Therefore, there won''t be any penalty nor a reduction in grade for refusing to partake. If there is anyone who doesn''t want to participate in this examination, now is the time to leave."


    Lazarus narrowed his eyes, as the students disgested what he said. A lot of students breathed a sigh of relief, and their feet turned around to make a run for it.


    "I also don''t want to this exam!"


    "It''s too risky. Sir, I want to pull out."


    A lot of students decided that they were too young to die, and thus, they refused to partake in this examination


    Now only some dozens of students were left on the ground. Among them, Shadow''s party was itching for the test to start. With their strength, it would be a piece of cake to defeat D-rank dungeon creatures.


    After the students left the third training ground, the examiners standing beside Lazarus chucked.


    "Your tactics are amazing, Head Dean."


    "If I was among the students, I am certain that even I would have been fooled by your words, refusing to partake in the examination and eventually losing a great opportunity."


    "Now now, stop kissing my ass."


    Lazarus''s lips thinned into a wide smile as he stared at the rest of the students with a gaze of approval. They were truly exceptional but only those who proved them to be the "True Seed" will be nurtured by the academy and its resources.


    The students felt weirded out by his smile.


    "Ahem! Congratulations on passing the first test of the third examination. All of you have proved your determination to fight for a greater cause."


    What test?


    The students felt slightly confused but the more intelligent ones instantly understood what just happened.


    The students who refused to partake in the third examination failed the first test and those who remained automatically passed.


    "Without further adieu, let''s proceed to the second step of this exam. Teacher Ligya, if you may please." Lazarus said to the examiner on his right.


    Formation master Ligya clapped his hands causing a ray of light to burst in the sky and create a cluster of symbols. Then all of a sudden, beams of light shoot down from the skies and entered the bodies of the remaining students.


    The beam of lights was too fast and even Whittaker was unable to evade one of them, and after it entered his body, he felt a warm current rotating inside him, which created a *Re* symbol on his hand. Then, he felt as a mysterious connection has been established with something below his feet.


    ''A formation?'' With his knowledge about formation, he somewhat understood what was happening.

 Chapter 246: Portals to Grizzly Bear Mountain Range

    What is this?


    What''s the test about?


    What is happening?


    The students were as confused as a horde of chicken being slaughtered. They looked at the mystifying symbol on their hands before staring at the head examiner for answers.


    "You all have been bounded with the Recall formation. You will be teleported to safety when you''re about to die in the grizzly mountain range. The medical team will provide you the best care and heal you of all your injuries, no matter how worse they are. However, in that case, you will undoubtedly lose all your points upon teleportation so try your best if you want a better grade." Lazarus explained as his eyes turned into a smile.


    The students finally understood what''s happening.


    "Oh, I finally get it. Those who left the training ground because of cowardice and the unwillingness to get hurt or die failed. While those who remained to take the test even after knowing that there is a chance to die passed."


    "Haha�� I am so lucky. I was just about to leave. Phew~"


    "I feel bad for my friend. He left just a minute ago and lost the chance to make a lot of royal credits and get a better grade."


    A lot of students have failed while some have passed. The test was to check the courage of the students. The students who stayed to take the test proved their courage. Besides that, a lot of teachers also started to respect them.


    "Does anyone have any questions?"


    Shadow immediately raised their hands


    ''''Head examiner, is there a reward for completing the D-rank dungeon?"


    Not just Head examiner Lazarus, but even examiners Ligya and Rio were baffled by his words and they stared at Shadow with wide-open eyes, the shock in their eyes and the incredulity showing completely on his face.


    "Is he serious?" Rio thought that Shadow was joking, but from the looks of it, he was very serious.


    "Maybe he doesn''t know how dangerous a dungeon break is?" Light believed that Shadow was ignorant of the world.


    "You both are wrong. The boy''s eyes are burning with ambitions. He meant what he said." Lazarus said to the two examiners before smiling towards Shadow. "If you are planning to clear the D-rank then you must know that rewards come with danger. Truth is, the recall formation won''t work if you''re inside the dungeon, but a unique reward will be given to those who take part in clearing the dungeon."


    "What reward?"


    The head examiner''s eyes narrowed into a smile.


    "During my adventures, I came across pretty awesome people and also obtained recipes of unique potions and elixirs that aren''t manufactured in our world." Lazarus said, "I will give a mana seed strengthening elixir to the mage with the most exam points. Similarly, the battle master with the highest points will be given a battle core cleansing elixir. Both these potions shared an effect similar to their names, I believe you understand the worth and rareness of these elixirs."


    Just like what he said, there really weren''t any elixirs that could strengthen the suction force of the mana seed or cleanse battle cores from impurities in the awakened continent. Undoubtedly, Lazarus was not lying as he was a Dean and had a reputation to maintain. Thus, what he was saying was also the truth.


    The students stood with their mouths agape. Nevertheless, their excitement soon died down as they realized that they won''t be fighting to get their hands on the elixirs.


    Truth is, the elixirs were rare. However, they weren''t strong or courageous enough to jump straight into the mouth of danger. They just weren''t powerful enough to challenge the D-rank dungeon and make it out alive.


    "What did the Head Examiner mean by his words? Could it be that there are other worlds? Wasn''t that just a myth?" Yato asked. He was confused as this was the first time that he came across the possibility of their existing other worlds.


    Ruth already knew why Yato was ignorant of this knowledge. Yato didn''t study in the library, he just trained like monkeys, which caused a major hole in his knowledge.


    "It isn''t just a myth," Ruth said.


    "There are various worlds with different and unique lifeforms. Furthermore, going to and fro from the world is also possible but we would need to become high-rankers or gain a high enough privilege level." Shadow clarified.


    Although Duke Williams didn''t like this son of his, this matter wasn''t made public, and Shadow still could use his status as the duke''s son to obtain information or even money and treasures if he likes. Besides, he was connected to the great Shen Zi Yi Guild whose library stored thousands plus years of knowledge.


    "I am still at the peak of F-rank. It will take years before I can even reach the peak of my potential. But it''s even harder to increase the privilege level."


    "We will gain a +1 increase in our privilege level when we complete the dungeon, and that will also tremendously increase our final grade. If we get an S+ grade then our privilege level will increase by +1." Whittaker said.


    "Are you really serious?" Peter looked at Whittaker and then at Shadow.


    "Dead serious."


    Peter chuckled. "I will go wherever you go, even if it means entering a deadly dungeon."


    "I wanna give it a try." Yato also supported the decision. He has a good reason to confront danger for the sake of glory and fortune.


    "I''m fine with challenging the dungeon," Ruth said.


    As the leader of the party, Shadow''s decision was absolute. Moreover, Whittaker was also supporting his decision. Furthermore, the three mages agreed to get a better grade.


    Meanwhile, the head examiner pointed towards the black-haired examiner Rio on the side and said,


    "Elder Rio, if you may."


    "Gladly!" Elder Rio replied before twelves magic circles appeared before the students as portals opened up in thin air.


    "Each of these twelve portals connects to the different safe zones established in the Grizzly Bear Mountain range. If you are ready to take the exams then step forth and enter the portals! But remember, there are only seven days before the exam finishes. So don''t be lazy."

 Chapter 247: Speculations

    After he finished speaking, the early birds among the remaining newly enlisted students darted towards the portals. The students were teleported to the northern, western, southern, and eastern regions of the grizzly bear mountain range as each portal led to one of the four safe zones established by the royal frost fall academy.


    ''This examiner isn''t simple. He is an A-rank mage. Maybe he is one of the Academy''s Dean? Or a friend of Headmaster Yeon.'' Whittaker''s thought with narrowed eyes when he saw that examiner Rio cast a spatial spell without summoning his spellbook.


    Only A-rank mage can assimilate with their spellbook. A mage can use elemental or special magic by himself once he has assimilated with his spellbook. All the spell pages become a part of an A-rank mage, after all, but that''s why an A-rank mage is a thousand times rarer than a B-rank mage.


    "I believe that each safe zone will be located at a similar distance away from the dungeon which is located in the central region. So there''s no problem in choosing any of the portals, as we''ll have to cover the distance to the central region ourselves. So let''s take the same portal. That the way we will arrive at the same safe zone." Shadow said to his teammates as he stood before the portal leading to the southern region.


    Each portal is connected to different safe zones and they will split up if they won''t take the same portal. Besides, the Grizzly bear Mountain range is very vast and spans over a thousand miles. Thus, it would be troublesome to locate the party members if they split up.


    "Sure," They naturally agreed with his decision as they were all sensible.


    Shadow took the lead as he jumped inside the portal. Then, Whittaker and the rest also followed and jumped inside the same portal, one by one.


    A second after taking the portal, they were transported to a campsite suited in the southern region of a vast forest with many overgrown trees and bushes that stretched to the horizon. The safe zone they had just arrived at was just as big as the training ground they just came from.


    They looked around and saw that this place had a few shops seeking items at an extrovert price and a magic barrier that stopped beasts from entering the safe zone. Four war towers were located at each corner of this safe zone, and weapons that shoot out steel arrows, mana bullets, and magic beams were spotted at the top of these buildings. These weapons shoot down beasts that tried to leave the mountain range and head to the trading route.


    Lastly, the portal they used to appear here was still open. That means they can head back anytime they want to.


    It was the first time most of the students had arrived on another planet, and even for Quinn, it was a significant difference compared to the shelter he was at before. The streets were full of people walking left and right, with the children by their side.


    "This safe zone resembles a fortress. It''s like a mini fortress!" Yato said, "I wonder why there are so many defensive system installed in this place, and there are also so many powerful mages and battle master."


    "I think they''re overdoing it with the defenses." Ruth couldn''t help but say what he felt after he saw wide magic barrier that surrounding the entire safe zone, and the various things in his surrounding.


    "Yeah, there are so many war weapons and even high-ranking mages and battle masters. It feels like they''re here for another reason, rather than just providing a safe zone to us students," Peter said as they walked through the streets bustling with students and guards.


    Almost all the students here had some kind of beast gear on them. Though only the richest ones were fully equipped from head to toe with beast gear suitable to them.


    "It''s for protection," Shadow said. "If you carefully look around you, you''ll notice that most of the guards stationed here belongs to the nobles family belonging to the cities located nearby this mountain range. Most likely, all of them were send here by the noble families to protect the trading routes in case we are too weak to hold our own against the monsters coming out of the dungeon. They will kill any creature that is about to escape the mountain range and enter the trading routes shared by the nearby cities."


    Shadow said as his inky, black eyes glistened in a thoughtful and calculating glittered, and he then moved forward to walk up to a shop nearby, and the rest of the teammates followed after him.


    "But is protection really the only reason?" Whittaker said, "It must have cost the academy a lot to set up these safe zones and purchase the rights to this D-rank dungeon."


    Dungeon were brimming with treasures of various kinds. Furthermore, the dungeons were one of the biggest source of energy, as it was filled with monsters that dropped mana and battle energy crystals. After the purification process, these crystals were not only consumable by mages and battle masters, but they can also be used to fuel thins like magic barrier formations and magic items. Thus, dungeons were treated as treasure grounds that the nobles won''t easily let even headmaster take for himself.


    "I don''t think they covered the entire cost, otherwise it wouldn''t have been possible to see so many guards belonging to different families here," Shadow said. "There is a very high chance that the academy struck a deal with the ruling parties here. They probably shared the cost of setting things up equally."


    "Hmm, now that I think about it, we only have seven days for a day. After seven days, these high ranked experts stationed in the safe zones will move out to clear the dungeon''s creature and also subdue the dungeon outbreak," Peter guess was the most probable thing to happen in the nearby future, and it''s all because he was able to pick up subtle hints from their talks that he came to such a conclusion.


    "You might be right. If we really have only seven days, then we should focus on reaching the dungeon as fast as we can." Shadow said as he led the group to the shoping section of this safe zone.


    "What are we here for?" Yato asked.


    "You''ll find out soon," Shadow replied, as the group walked up to one of the stalls that sold potions, consumable weapons used for capturing or killing beasts, and also information.


    "How can I be of service to you, young ones," Barry, an old man with croocked teeth and a patch on his right eye said with a pleasent smile from behind the counter.


    "We''re here to buy a map of this mountain range. Do you have one?" Shadow said.


    In truth, Shadow haven''t a single clue about the terrain of this place, and he was sure that it would be tiresome to just charge their way through a horde of monsters and beasts to reach the central region. But they''ll get a better understanding of this mountain range if they use a map. Thus, the reason why they were here.


    "Yes, my shop do sell maps of this mountain region. These maps are created by expert adventurers and their credibility is 100%. Though the better the map, the more pricey it''ll be." Barry said as he placed four types of maps on the counter.


    The maps were graded according to the color of their seals. Bronze containing the least amount of information and the platinum seal containing the most amount of information.


    "We''ll purchase this one," Shadow said while pointing at the map scroll with a platinum seal.


    "That will be a total of a 1000 platinum," Barry said as he beamed towards the rich kids infront of him.

 Chapter 248: Going out the safe zone

    "It''s a deal then. Here you go," Shadow said as he brought out his student ID card and handed it over to him.


    Since the royal credit points worked everywhere in the kingdom of water, he didn''t need to use platinum bars.


    Of course, the rest of the members knew that Shadow is the son of Duke Williams, and it was quite likely that he would be extremely rich. That''s why they weren''t surprised to see that he used one thousand royal credit points to purchase the map.


    "Pleasure doing business with you, please come again!" Old Berry said, "If you want to sell it back then I''ll purchase it for a 10% cheaper price."


    "Yeah, sure," Shadow replied as they walked away from the shop.


    "Man, that was costly. I think that old man must have ripped us off. Besides, what is the use of buying a map? There is no way to dodge encounters with magical beasts and dungeon creatures. Monsters would be present pretty much everywhere in this mountain region as it''s a dungeon outbreak, after all," Peter said as the group headed out of the shopping district of the safe zone.


    "What you said might be true, but I bought it for an entirely different reason. There might be a shift in the location of monsters because of the dungeon outbreak, however, the terrain hasn''t changed. We can take the shortest route to the dungeon by using this map." Shadow said as he unfolded the map.


    Whittaker and the others gathered around Shadow as they also scanned the map for guidance. The map was mapped in red and green. The red area signified that it''s inhabited by magical beasts. A picture of a beast also highlighted each red area. The darker the shade the most powerful the magical beasts residing in that area will be. Whereas area shaded in green signified that the magical beasts present in that area aren''t aggressive. They will not attack unless they are attacked first.


    "We will need to pass by four green and three red areas before we can reach our desired destination. Naturally, the areas shaded in green might be bustling in dungeon creatures, so don''t let your guard down. Anyway, these are the most powerful beasts inhabiting the three red areas that we will be passing through to reach the dungeon," Shadow said as he pointed at the picture of the beasts on the map.


    "There is a high chance that we''ll fight them. I can obtain information about these beasts and learn their strength and weakness," Peter said as he was the type of guy that liked to be well prepared for dangerous situations. "However, it will cost a lot. I would like it if we all contributed."


    Although he also belonged to a royal family just like Shadow and was well off, he was the type that liked if everyone contributed to the best of their abilities.


    "Well, it will be useful if we can gain some knowledge about the beasts that we are about to face," Shadow said as Yato rubbed the back of his head.


    "I am penniless," Yato stated with a bashful laugh.


    Before coming here, he has utilized all of his royal credit points to purchase resources that helped him increases strength. Currently, he was penniless.


    Ruth decided that he''ll pay for Yato. However, before he could express his thoughts someone else was faster in performing the good deed.


    "Though I lack royal credit points, I do have a lot of platinum bars. I will foot the bill for everyone," Whittaker said causing a smile to blossomed on everyone''s face. "Do you want it right now?"


    "All right," Peter replied before he immediately purchased information about various magical beasts by using his credits.


    He used a device to purchase information online. Only credits of different types can be used in online payments made through the virtual world. It was similar to how cryptocurrency worked.


    Meanwhile, Platinum and other types of bars can be used in transactions and stuff. Though they don''t have much value on the virtual network.


    "Here you go," Whittaker said before he handed over a reasonable amount of platinum bars to Peter.


    The group then read the information about the three most powerful types of beasts residing in the three red areas.


    [Armored Grizzly Bear]


    [Golden Stinger]


    [Chameleon-like snake]


    These beasts were equally powerful and their strength ranged from 3-stars to 7-stars.


    "However, the most dangerous among them is the grizzly bear beasts. It has sharp fangs that can easily tear apart a person. Furthermore, most of this beast''s body is covered in a hard metal-like substance." Peter said as they reached near the huge walls of irons, which enclosed the entire safe zone. They were created for the sole purpose of defending against beasts'' stampede. Various types of weapons were placed on top of the walls as soldiers stood near the weapons or strolled near the base.


    "It can also use metal magic techniques," Yato added.


    "But it has a weakness." Shadow said, "We just need to attack at its vulnerable spots. The places which are not covered in metal."


    "First, let''s get out of here," Whittaker said.


    Then, they walked towards the exit of the safe zone.


    A few minutes later, the group finally reached the exit where they came across a series of automatic platform gates set across a line stretching from one end to another, stopping unauthorized entry and exit.


    From the platform gates, a lot of students were stepping out of the safe zone, since they wanted to hunt magical beasts for exam points before the sun falls. Most of the students planned to return before the sun falls as it was dangerous to hunt magical beast at night.


    "Just swipe your student ID card on the scanner attached to the automatic platform gate. Then you''ll be able to step out of the energy barrier." Shadow said.


    A few moments later, they all stepped outside the safe zone. With all things set in place, the group sprinted ahead, heading deeper into the mountain range dotted with trees and a high possibility of encountering beasts.

 Chapter 249: Phantom cats! (a)

    After sprinting for a while, Shadow slowed down considerably. Except for him, every single member of his party was a mage. Typically, mages possessed a fragile build and low stamina, covering a large distance in a short amount of time could be considered torture for them.


    He showed consideration for his party, walking at a pace not too low nor too fast. Thus, they were able to keep up with him without feeling exhausted.


    The southern mountainous region that the group was walking through was called the Deer Hunting Ground. This place was dotted with oak trees and one could occasionally see dozens meter wide patches of dust. It was composed of three green zones. The three zones stretched for nearly three hundred miles, taking up huge tracts of land. The animal found here were typically not aggressive. However, some would attack the moment they sight a target.


    Furthermore, the dungeon creature could also be roaming around it. Thus, they remained attentive to their surroundings so that they''ll be able to respond to sneak attacks.


    Soon, the group reached near a valley flanked by two shattered peaks and encountered a horde of red-horned deer. They silently sneaked a few glances at the magical beasts while hiding behind a tree trunk.


    These deer were just a little larger than regular deer, with solid black hooves and rippling with muscles and overwhelming strength. Also, their hide was extremely tough and acted as a natural defense.


    "These beasts attack any being that intrudes their lands. Should we go around or fight them?" Peter said as he looked at the group.


    They needed to pass by this valley river to enter the boundary of the central region. But that would mean fighting hordes of red-horned deer. However, they could evade the battle by taking a different route.


    "What should we do?" Yato said as he looked at Shadow.


    "Taking a detour will waste a lot of time. Besides, it might not be safe at all. There is a chance to encounter dungeon creatures everywhere here, so it would be better if we charge straight through the hordes of deers and cross this valley," Shadow said after a moment of thoughtful consideration.


    "All right! It''s going to be pretty easy, as long as we bombard them with powerful magic," Whittaker said as they came out of their hiding spot and charged towards the deers.


    The beasts inhabiting this valley were not strong. The best among them only had a power level of around 2. While most of them ranged between the poser level of one to two. It''s just that there were too many of them. But mages were experts at fighting against a lot of enemies and winning on top of that.


    A few to several magical beasts inevitably succumbed to death each time they utilized elemental magic. Causing their points to rack up extremely quickly. There was simply no resistance from the magical beasts. Only a few of them could hardly get closer to the party, but Shadow would kill them with a casual thrust of his dagger. He wasn''t even trying yet the deers with tough hides were sliced in two like a hot knife passing through butter.


    Shadow managed to land a few killing blows but his kill count was the lowest of them all, he needed to get closer to a beast to kill them, after all, but he was not worried as his main goal was to clear the dungeon.


    Whittaker''s mind drifted off as he saw the monsters collapsing one by one. He recalled the time he went hunting with Shadow. That was the first time he ever hunted and that too in a group.


    "Hunting magical beasts in a group sure is fun and easy. I am not feeling burdened at all, and it''s because they got my back." Whittaker thought.


    He mostly hunted alone, and this was the first time that he hunted together with a five-member party.


    On the way, he had truly understood strength lied in numbers. The herds of magical beasts couldn''t block their path as they were reduced to dust in the face of a rain of fireballs and killed by magical arrows and frost spikes possessing devastating might.


    "It would have been such a waste if we would have taken a detour."


    [You''ve Gained +4 points]


    [You''ve Gained +9 points]


    [You''ve Gained +7 points?


    These notifications resounded in their IDs as various kinds of elemental magic effortlessly killed borders after hordes of magical beasts.


    The party swept through the hordes of magical beasts and reached near the other end of the valley.


    "This was so easy and fun," Peter exclaimed as his spellbook spewed out a greater fireball. After a split second, it bursts up and a violent gust of fiery wind blasted outward, killing a lot of magical deers that were unlucky enough to be in the range of the blast.


    "Yeah. Best of all, we have crossed the green zones and reached the central region," Shadow said.


    The group had marched for more than half an hour before they reached the opposite end of the valley from where they started.


    "A party with four mages is nothing to laugh about! Our damage output and the potential to win against a large group of enemies far exceed others," Whittaker said as they stepped out of the valley and appeared in front of a mountain. Left behind were the burned, chopped, and badly mangled corpses of red-horned deers.


    The journey here had taken a short time. Nearly an hour. They were continuously on the move, after all, as their spellbooks did all of the work for them. They just needed to chat the name of the magic they wanted to utilize and the rest was done by the spellbooks.


    "You guys feeling tired?"


    "Not really."


    "Good! The sun is still up in the skies. It''s best if we climb up the mountain before it gets dark. We''ll set up a tent once it''s dark. Is it okay with you guys?"


    "Yeah, sure, let''s move on!"


    Shadow decided to cover two-third of the red zones before setting a tent to take a rest.

 Chapter 250: Phantom Cats (b)

    The others didn''t decline as they wanted to gain a privilege level. The only way to do that, however, was to complete the dungeon that laid within the center of the grizzly bear mountain range.


    The group started to move ahead vigorously as they climbed up the slope to reach the top of the mountain. It wasn''t hard to climb up the slope as the mages used hand signs to envelope their legs in pure mana while Shadow used battle energy to reinforce his body. Whittaker, on the other hand, has grown so amazingly strong that he didn''t need to use either battle energy or mana to climb up a mere steep slope. It was like a walk in the park for him.


    They were making their way to the top with incredible speed. However, just a few minutes later, Shadow motioned them to stop in their tracks.


    "What''s wrong?" Peter asked with a low voice as he looked at Shadow.


    "I think we''re being followed by something," the daughter disguise as a son of Duke William''s family looked around at his surrounding as he felt someone''s predatory gaze landing on his back, feeling his hair raising on end.


    "You sure about that, cuz I don''t see any dungeon creatures in our surroundings," Yato said after he performed some hand signs to spread his mana in the surrounding. This was a method that used mana to sense any creatures in the surrounding areas. The mana spreading from a person will send back a signal to the user if it touches another life form.


    Naturally, this pure-mana spell was mentally and physically tiring and also consumed mana by the second.


    "Just wait here for a while, I will go ahead and check to make sure whether an enemy is targeting us or not," Shadow said as his figure slowly blurred in their visions before he completely vanished from their sights.


    "This is no different than using an invisibility talisman." Whittaker internally thought as mana invisible to the naked eye spread from his body, permeating into the surrounding in search of any traces left behind creatures that might be targeting them.


    Behind one of the many lush and green trees that jutted out from the ground of the somewhat vertical slope of one of the mountains without a peak, a young dungeon creature with black furs, roughly two-fourth of a meter long, was hastily moving about, looking at the group of four carefully. Its claws and emerald eyes gleamed sharply as it prepared to pounce on them the moment they come near it.


    Nonetheless, in this world, nothing goes as planned, and as luck would have it, on one hand, it was waiting for them to close to him, while on the other hand, the camouflaged grim reaper had sneaked just three steps behind itself.


    Just as the phantom cat was preparing to pounce, a figure blurred into existence behind it and rained down a flurry of dagger thrust on its body.


    The beast died before it even knew what trouble it has invited towards itself by targeting some peoples it shouldn''t ever have.


    The dungeon creature lost every hint of life, dropping down from the tree and onto the sandy ground somewhat patched with grass.


    One could see multiple enormous holes on its body, three on each side and the center of its chest, and one on its head. The holes completely drilled through its bone and flesh and caused blood to seep out from the wounds and create a puddle of blood below its corpse.


    "All right. A dungeon creature was really targeting us but I killed it. The trouble has been solved. So, let''s move on to the peak. Then, we''ll fly straight towards the dungeon entrance," Shadow said after he returned from killing the beast that dared to target them.


    Flying in places inhabited by magical beasts was the same as courting death. It''s because magical beasts are attracted to aerial targets without a strong aura. However, Shadow''s idea made sense as they''ll enter another place entirely once they pass through the entrance of the dungeon. In simpler words, even if magical beasts are attracted towards their direction they''ll evade the tiresome battle by entering the dungeon.


    "Not so fast, there are a group of cat-like beasts in our surroundings. I think there are about two dozens of them," Whittaker said with eyes narrowed to slits as an enormous amount of magic power burst forth from his fingers, twirling and compressing, finally condensing into the shapes of spheres.


    "Pure-Mana spell: Bursting Spheres!"


    Whittaker created the five sphere brimming with ferocious intent before launching the bursting sphere he had just formed towards the trees on the opposite side of their surrounding.


    Whoosh!


    The blue sphere whizzed towards the trees with a hissing noise and exploded upon contact with the trees. A pair of trees exploded and their wooden shrapnel pierced straight into the body of the phantom cats.


    Gah! Gah!


    A pair of phantom cats breathed their last after uttering a painful howl.


    The eyes of his teammates opened wide and their mouths gaped as they stared at Whittaker with a look of bewilderment etched on their faces. Shadow and the others had watched all of this in awe as Whittaker destroyed multiple dungeon creatures with a casual wave of his hand, after all, and they couldn''t help but gulp when they saw his actions.


    "I am sure that was an upgraded form of mana bullet. But how could it be so powerful?" Peter said as he looked at the devastating the bursting sphere has caused in their surrounding. All the trees in their vicinity have been destroyed.


    "Well, I kinda modified mana bullet so that it acts like a bomb, dealing a devastating amount of damage once it explodes," Whittaker said with a smile.


    He was feeling quite cheeky at impressing his classmates.


    "I saw you didn''t use hand signs to use this pure-mana spell but how could it be? Isn''t using hand sings to cast a pure-mana spell an art of universal rules," Shadow said as even he was hell a lot of surprised by seeing Whittaker use spells without executing hand signs.


    Mages needed to perform hand signs if they wanted to perform a pure-mana spell no matter how high their level. But Whittaker didn''t use any hand signs before casting a pure-mana spell with destructive powers.


    It was amazing, to say the least!


    "I can''t tell you that in detail but it''s something I learned in Zachary''s palace," Whittaker said with a mysterious smile.


    Shadow was his first and also his best friend and so he didn''t want to explicitly hide something from him.


    "Oh, so it''s something Elder Zachary taught you," Peter said as he thought that someone like Zachary could come up with a way to cast spells without using hand signs.


    "You''re really lucky and fortunate to have him as your teacher," Shadow said, his words tinged with a hint of jealousy.


    Even Yato and Ruth were feeling jealous of Whittaker as it was a huge fortune to become the student of a rank-10 formation master.


    Thought they would''ve thought otherwise If only they knew how hard the inheritance trials were.


    Whittaker didn''t have time nor luxury to clarify this great misunderstanding as the danger was lurking around them.


    "Let''s move on. A lot of phantom cats are on our trail. Besides, the blood of the beasts I and Shadow just killed is going to attract them all here," Whittaker said hurriedly as he moved ahead and the group followed after him.

 Chapter 251: Magic Barrier

    Ass soon as he those words, the eyes of Whittaker''s party members shuddered and they gulped in nervousness as they looked at dozens of Phantom cats crawling out of the overgrown bushes.


    "Damn! We''re surrounding!" Peter exclaimed with a tense expression on his face as the inky, black cats encircled them.


    "What should we do? They will attack us any time," Yato said as he took a few steps back to step close to his teammate while looking at the cats that slowly moved covered the distance between them while staring at them with a ferocious glare.


    While the beasts were taking their time to reach them, a thoughtful flicker flashed through Whittaker''s snowy icy eyes, as he looked at the biggest Phantom cat, as well as the others, while using Inspect to obtain knowledge about the weakness and strength of these creatures.


    [Name: Phantom Cat Leader?


    Rank: C-rank beast


    Hp: 30/30


    Ability: Poison Claws (E-rank), Shield Break (E-rank), Shadow bullet (C-rank)


    Strength: 13


    Agility: 57


    Endurance: 9


    Stamina: 39


    Intelligence: 9]


    ''I''m pretty sure that the leader of the Phantom cats possesses human-like intelligence and it can break defense by using its second ability. It''s also the one giving command to the rest of them. The horde of phantom cat will fall into a state of dismay once their leader died. Hmm, I will kill it immediately once I get the chance. For now, let''s listen to what Shadow has to say as he is the leader of our party," Whittaker thought as he pulled out a sword with aqua blue patterns stretching from one end to the other from his hunter''s ring. One could see that a good luck string was tied around the dark and blue hilt.


    The stats of the rest of the beasts were worse, and Whittaker inclined his head, his gaze sweeping past all the phantom cats encircling them.


    As he looked at them with an ice-cold stare, the phantom cat nervously retreated by a few steps. The magical beasts could feel that Whittaker was a threat to them, one that could easily take their lives. However, they began rushing at them without thinking once the leader of the phantom cats commanded them to attack.


    The eyes of Peter and the other two low-level mages opened wide as they looked at the beasts with a tense expression on their faces.


    "Don''t panic. These ferocious beasts might seem powerful but they aren''t nearly as strong as they look. In the world of beasts, only the weak ones like to form packs. Use your spells to shield yourselves. Counterattack once they are in the range of your elemental attacks." Shadow exclaimed as he stepped forward with an inky, black dagger held in his right hand and a crimson blade clutched in his offhand. "I will try to distract them."


    A moment later, Shadow clashed against the beasts. The sharp claw strikes of the beasts were dodged at once as he magnificently maneuvered his blade. Not a single movement could be considered a waste. At the same time, he slashed daggers at their limbs, causing a deep cut in their hind legs, significantly decreasing their speed.


    Some of them rushed towards the mages behind him.


    A moment later, one of the cats suddenly lunged at him and swung its claw at Shadow with sluggish movements.


    Shadow remained calm despite the sudden attack, as he has already seen it coming from some miles away.


    "This attack will be the reason for your death!" Shadow''s said as he looked at the foolish cat with disdain and murderous intent seeping out of his black eyes. He sidestepped the beast''s sharp claw gleaming under the rays of light by shifting his body to the right


    Right after dodging the beast''s attack, Shadow''s right hand jerked as he stabbed the phantom cat in the chest with his dagger.


    As soon as he killed one of them, the party gulped their nervousness.


    "Let''s use the shield unification technique that teacher Ruka taught us!" Peter exclaimed as he then looked at Whittaker. "Try to follow out hand signs."


    "Sure," Whittaker replied with confidence as he was sure that replicating hand signs and performing them immediately wouldn''t be difficult for him.


    Following Shadow''s instructions, they immediately clapped their hands together and performed a set of hand signs within a few seconds.


    "Pure-mana spell: Unified Magic Barrier!" As soon as they performed the hand signs to cast the spell, mana burst forth from their bodies, and one could see several lines of blue energy manifesting around them in an instant. These lines immediately intertwined and tightened to become something like a semi-transparent spherical shield.


    At the very moment, a lot of phantom casts pounced at them, antagonized.


    As the phantom cats crashed on the semi-transparent shield, Whittaker could see cracks appearing on it.


    "Peter and Ruth, you both take care of the beasts attacking the shield. Don''t let them break it!" Whittaker said as his eyes squinted in consideration.


    "Got it!" Peter exclaimed as his spellbook opened up and released a volley of icy shards with sharp ends. The sharps ends of the ice shard didn''t manage to penetrate the bodies of the phantom cats as their furs proved to be stronger. However, the icy shards trajectory was unpredictable, and although the cats were moving hurriedly, some of the shards penetrated their eyes, piercing through flesh and veins to puncture the brain, killing them at the same time.


    "Buy me some time. I am preparing a stronger attack. It needs a few moments to charge up," Ruth said as the mana reserved in his mana pool decreased rapidly, and at the same time, the golden shine emitting out of his opened spellbook intensified.


    Peter knew he couldn''t attack as he charging a fire elemental attack. Thus, he drank a potion to recover his mana while launching another attack towards the beasts.


    "What about me?" Yato asked.


    "You will be providing support to Shadow," Whittaker said to Yato before stepping out of the magic barrier.


    "Leave it to me." Yato''s said the Incarnation of his elemental spell. Immediately after, a blade made out of wind materialized around him. He activated telekinesis by performing a set of hand signs. Now, he could control the movement of the sharp azure blade.


    The azure wind blade shot out of the semi-transparent spherical shield, and before the phantom cats attacking Shadow could even react, it procured a deep cut in their necks.


    ? +4 points ?


    ? +7 points ?


    ? +22 points ?


    Around the battlefield, a lot of cats collapsed onto the patched ground one after another due to deep cuts in their necks as the azure wind blade turned crimson.