Varee was frowning in the Skills Training Ground. In fact, she didnt blatantly show her irritated expression since she was in front of other people. However, Sila could tell from the look in her eyes that her mood had gone bad. He wondered why. He honestly thought she should have been happy since the Skills Training Ground was a suitable place for an aggressive girl like her.
Varee had been wondering for a while what kind of place Sila would bring her to. It turned out that it was another training location. Additionally, Sila previously told her that this place suited her, aning he thought of her as a fighting-maniac just like himself. It was natural that she was unhappy about it.
anwhile, the 99th squad mbers were gossiping among themselves, wondering about the reason why their leader brought the Goddess of Purified Water to the Colossia Citys undergroundthe place where they presud it as their squads secret base. It wasnt like they minded about it being revealed though.
Sila brought Varee to his teammates, introducing her. Hello, everyone. This person is Varee, though I guess you must have already known about her. Varee, these people are the mbers of the 99th squad. Miki. Alpha. Isaac. He stopped, looking around. Where is Midnight?
Midnight entered the training ground and never left since then. He ntioned having little ti, Isaac answered Silas question. He kept glancing at Varee from ti to ti, feeling rather shy. Varee was a beauty to be reckoned with. He never expected he would have a chance to be this close to her.
White fog lingered and grouped up, turning into Fowl. The one you people call Midnight is trying to fulfill the conditions for entering the Decagate World. He is very diligent.
Fowl was aware that Midnights actual na was Zero, but she saw no point in revealing it. She also called Sila Nero in front of others.
Oh. A new custor. You have to pay up if you want to use my facilities, Fowl said to Varee.
Silas group could use Fowls services for free, so it yielded her no profit regardless of how frequently they ca here. She had been persuading them to invite more players to the place.
At first, Sila and his teammates wanted to keep the secret to themselves. However, thinking about it again, Sila personally thought that elevating players strength would make the ga more enjoyable overall. The main cities being unsealed so soon caused many players to obtain many powerful abilities, yet their foundations were lacking. The Skills Training Ground was a suitable place to fix this problem.
What is the Decagate World? asked Varee.
Isaac was quick to reply. The Decagate World is the world where... there are... erm... ten gates, perhaps? Ouch!
Miki withdrew her fist from Isaacs head. Just stay silent if you dont know. Dont try to act smart to show off.
Fowl shot a cold glare at Isaac, making the man avert his gaze.
She explained. The Decagate World is the world that exists between the New Worldwhere you are currently livingand the Monster Realm. Its a suitable world for polishing your skills in order to venture into the Monster Realm. So famous figures such as Ten Heroes were born in that world.
Aside from Sila, it was the first ti everyone here got to hear the term Ten Heroes. Thus, they didnt show any noteworthy reaction upon hearing it. Such a dull response irritated Fowl.
How strong are the Ten Heroes? Sila asked to lessen the pressure he felt from Fowls ntal Oppression. She emitted it subtly, so the others were unaware. Only Sila, who had been polishing his Moon Reflecting Mirror during his stay in the Skills Training Ground, possessed the sense sharp enough to pick it up.
A good question. Fowl smiled rrily. Judging by their power level alone, probably only four of them are above the Monster Realms standard. However, in regard to their techniques, they are unparalleled.
Only a few players had a chance to encounter Emperor Rank monsters. Even if soone told them the Ten Heroes are as strong as those monsters, it was still beyond their scope of comprehension how strong that was. For Isaac, even a Marquis Rank monster was already problematic if it was a monster that his fighting style was disadvantageous against. Upon hearing the term strong, what ca to his mind was dragons.
Do you an they are as strong as dragons? He asked.
Among the Ten Heroes, one of them is actually a mber of the dragon race. Her rank is equal to Infernee, but she is far stronger.
Even stronger than Infernee? In his mind, Sila thought Infernee was already very formidable.
Let put it this way. It doesnt have to be that particular hero. Every single one among the Ten Heroes is capable of slaying Infernee, the so-called Immortal Dragon, Fowl replied cautiously.
Isaac raised his arm to ask. About the ntioned Infernee... between Solaria and it, if they were to fight, which one of them is going to win?
Sila made a big frown under his mask. In his mind, Solaria couldnt hold a candle to Infernee at all. They were not in the sa class.
Unbeknownst to him, information about dragons was quite exclusive. Only a handful of people knew about the Dragon Empress, who spent all her ti in the Dragon Kingdom. On the other hand, Solaria was more well-known since it had a definite spawning spot.
Fowl explained to Isaac, You have already learned about energy cancelation using magic power from , right? To put it simply, if Solaria converted all of its magic power into an attack, Infernee would possess enough magic power to completely cancel out that attack at least ten tis. Well, Solaria is better at delivering damage than Infernee, who excels at supporting spells, so I cant say who will win between the two. However, Infernee wont die. Thats for sure. Not by direct attacks.
One of the portals on the Skills Training Ground glowed. Midnight walked out from it. Everyone suddenly beca silent as they kept staring at the mans forehead.
Varee, in particular, was curious why people in the room were that interested in Midnights forehead.
Its 100 already! Alpha exclaid.
Amazing! I have been training my hardest, but my score is still at 32. Isaac pointed at his head.
Varee saw no number whatsoever, so she didnt understand what they were talking about. She looked up, yet saw nothing on her head.
It was because she was yet to beco a mber of the Colossia Club. The score was normally visible to every mber. Though there was a trivial service to hide the number from others, with so non-trivial cost, of course. Sila and his team could use every service of this place for free, so they had set it that the numbers of their mbers were only visible to their squad.
Hi, Leader. Midnight nodded at Sila.
I thought Ive been training very hard myself, but my score is still at 69, far lower than you, Sila said to the man.
Fowl opened her system window. You have many difficult skills, so your score progresses slowly. On the contrary, Midnight has always been proficient at using his skills. Now that he focuses on a few magic skills he has, the score goes up fast.
To keep players personal information a secret, Fowl didnt reveal the fact that Zeros score regarding qi-type skills had always been the best among all players. What pulled his overall score down were Eroding Nightmare Magical Qi and dark-elent spells. Thus, it took him only a short ti to polish the score of his qi-type skills to 100. The magical qi required more ti, but doable. As for the magic skills, his mastery was originally even worse than Silas. Still, while he had many low-tier spells, they were easy to practice. He kept gradually mastering one spell after another. About mid-tier and high-tier spells, it was fortunate that he had learned less than ten of such spells. Zero ultimately decided not to learn more spells, just practicing what he already had.
While Sila was busy with the Sword-Crowning Ceremony, Zero had managed to master all of his skills.
Fowl took out an item from her system window and gave it to Zero.
Congratulations. Youre eligible to acquire the Monster Stamp from .
Zero took the stamp. Checking it out, Sila felt the stamp looked similar to the one Altia gave to Lomyok. The material for making them seed different though. Altias stamp was gold while Fowls was bronze. The engraved pictures on the stamps were different as well. Altias was a nine-pointed star while Fowls was the vial with a skull symbol.
As long as you have this Monster Stamp in your possession, you can travel between the New World and the Decagate World at any destined location. Be warned that only you, the stamps rightful owner, can use it. One of the locations is this place. Try activating it.
Just thinking about using it, a bronze gate erged in front of Zero. Sila found the gate familiar yet again. It reminded him of Altias gate, though it was gold back then.
Are they different? Sila asked unintentionally. The golden gate can be used to directly go to the Monster Realm. It also poses so limitations on the player, like they have to visit the Hall of Omniscience first.
Fowl understood what Sila ant. You must have seen Altias gate. I heard he has given Monster Stamps to a couple of players. You are not one of them though.
I happened to witness the incident. My acquaintance got the golden stamp.
Mn. Actually, the ten gates of the Decagate World are divided into four tiers. Mine is among the beginner-tier. The lesser three gates have easy conditions to fulfill, mostly required dedication and ti. They can be used to travel between the New World and the Decagate World. The middle-tier refers to the three middle gates with harder conditions, requiring so luck. You can travel between the Decagate World and the Monster Realm with them. What you have seen is among the high-tier. The three final gates have difficult conditions, requiring both strength and luck. They can be used to open a portal between the New World and the Monster Realm. Finally, the tenth gate is white, the very special onerequired luck, skills, and timing, all of them. With its stamp, you can freely open a portal between any three worlds regardless of place and ti. You may do it even if you are not at the destined location.
Information about the Decagate World was still new to most players, so only Sila and Zero were paying attention. Considering that Zero was the first player getting her stamp, Fowl planned to provide the man special privileges as she had the right to do so.
It will be the realm of personal secrets from here on out. Midnight and Nero, I want to talk to the two of you in private.
It was a common manner among gars that they shouldnt probe in-ga personal secrets, so the rest of the players moved away. anwhile, Fowl pulled Zero and Sila into one of the training portals.
You are the first player to get my stamp, so I will bestow upon you a special reward. It will be helpful to you in the future.
Sila lightly scratched his head, confused. If that is the case, why do you bring here?
Its because what I want to give him is with you. Take your Royal Record out.
Fowl was a psychic-type expert. It seed she knew he possessed the Royal Record from her skills. Still, the Royal Recordalso went by the na Sli Recordwas an item that belonged to him. He didnt know it could be useful to Zero, though he took it out nevertheless.
The Sli Record was a thick brown book with golden edges. The cover showed the picture of two identical slis with their cheeks sticking to each other. Sila got it from the Sacred Temple at the ti he raided the Dragon Kingdom to proceed with his racial master quest.
Fowl held Silas Sli Record with her left hand. She opened her right palm and imbued it with her psychic power. Then, another identical book appeared on her previously empty right palm. It was an item-copying skill that Sila had witnessed Mamon use before, so he knew this skill had a limitation that it couldnt be used on the sa item.
She returned the Sli Record back to Sila. Thank you. The Royal Record is very rare. Even I dont have a single one of them. Now, each of you has one.
Fowl handed the book to Zero. The books cover soon changed into the picture of a black horse running on clouds. The body of the horse was semi-transparent as if it was a soul. It seed the cover would change according to the race of the holder.
I got an additional racial ability, Zero said aloud once he got his hand on it.
Fowl opened her system window and checked so contents.
For you, Sila, I dont want to owe you. Since you dont know how to properly use the Royal Record, I will tell you about it in return for letting give one to Zero. Deal?
Sila was fine with it. Actually, he found it strange that Fowl only asked his opinion after she had given the book to Zero. Sure, I have no problems.
Do you rember the white gate that I have ntionedthe tenth gate? Fowl asked. This information is actually confidential. Fortunately, both of you have so clues such as the Royal Record on you, so I am allowed to tell you about it.
Each of us, the Ten Heroes, has invented at least one very unique art. So are related to weapons while so are about skills. As for the tenth gate, it is the Art of Adventuresabout the traveling abilitiesinvented by Nautilus, the Adventurers Descendant.
This heros na reminded Sila of the brand selling canned tuna in Thailand. He thought it was such an uncool na.
Nautiluss power doesnt focus on combat but surviving abilities. He created Royal Records and left them in various places, letting them wait for adventurers to co across. Each record contains a different ceremony, to which the holder will get a special benefit once they complete it and have the record in their possession. The ones in your hands are Ceremony No.17: Caravan of A Hundred Monsters. With it, you will obtain special racial abilities according to your race.
Sila and Zero opened their books, yet they couldnt find any details that Fowl had told them.
Thats why I told you that you didnt know how to properly use the Royal Record. It is not an ordinary item as it appears to be. Zero, take out the Monster Stamp that you just got from .
Zero took out the stamp. As soon as it was outside his system window, the Royal Record in his hand floated up, flipping itself to the middle of the book. His Monster Stamp disintegrated, turning to nurous letters. They flew toward the opened empty pages. Illustrations and sentences were engraved on the pages. The biggest illustration was the wide-open gate with the triangle-shaped bottle inside it. On the bottle was the picture of the golden skull, representing that the bottle might contain poison.
The sentences floated up from the pages. Zero read them aloud.
...Hello, Player Zero. Now that this book is in your hand, it ans you are about to take a step toward a great adventure. I do hope that my record will be more or less helpful to you. I wish you good fortune... From Nautilus, the Adventurers Descendant.
The Royal Record helps you access information regarding your potential hidden behind each gate. The Decagate World is the world of wisdom. My gate is the Art of Alchemy that focuses on drawing energy from ingredients and mixing powers. It is an important first gate.
Unlike , Nautilus is a broad-minded person. If you happen to et another holder of the Royal Record, you are free to share intel for acquiring different ceremonies. Upon sharing, each of you will get to know how to initiate those ceremonies and have the right to perform them. The tenth gate is unlike the others. The key component is Sequence. Even if you perform a ceremony correctly, it will be pointless if you do it in the wrong order. Thats why I told you the gate requires luck, skills, and timing. Furthermore, you have to get your hand on the Royal Record. Mind you, the book can be stolen unless you stamped your Monster Stamp on it.
So mine can be stolen, isnt it? Sila held his book.
Yes, so long as you dont stamp at least one Monster Stamp on it, Fowl replied. Co to think of it, you possess one though.
Sila was bewildered. Eh? I dont think I do.
Fowl flicked her hand, sending strange liquid into Silas mouth by surprise. He suddenly felt nauseated as if sothing flared up from his stomach and clogged his throat.
So you have it but you dont realize you have one. I guess its not that strange. The nas of the Ten Heroes are not that well-known in the New World. Even then, your case is quite special since the hero himself has forgotten the fact that he is among the Ten Heroes.
Sila vomited a golden orb. It was a part of Lucifers Essence that he had swallowed before. The orb broke apart and turned into a silver Monster Stamp, engraved with the glowing star with wings.
This hero is Helel, the Miracle Star, though you probably know him as the Evil God Lucifer, said Fowl.
There was a particular skill that stood alone, independent from the rest of the skill hierarchy. Its na was Omniscient Evil God Qi.
Detailed descriptions of these skills can only be read in the Royal Record. By the way, Zero, you plan to go to the Decagate World, right?
Yes, Zero replied. As soon as possible.
In that case, I will tell you two things. First, you will normally get Lordship once you reach Lord Rank. However, Lordship can only be obtained in the New World. There is no place that will give you one in the two other worlds.
Upon listening, Zero nodded. If he reached Lord Rank, he might return to the New World in order to get his Lordship.
Secondly, through the gate from this Colossia City, you will co out in the place that is like the Decagate Worlds Town of Beginnings. That place is quite safe since it is supervised by a certain hero. You dont have to try finding him though. His personality is a bit eccentric. He will find you himself if he finds you interesting. His gate doesnt really suit your fighting style either way. I suggest you stay in the town for a while, studying monsters around the place. Relatively speaking, your strength will be like that of a newbie compared to that worlds population. Over there, monsters have a high degree of originality. Their level may be lower or comparable to yours, but not a single one of them has a straightforward combat style. It will take ti before you get used to this fact.
Thank you, Miss Fowl.
While youre adapting to the world, you should try gathering data. If its possible, try searching for a place called Wulin Limbo. That place is very suitable for you. Fowl gave out her last suggestion before turning to Sila. I heard you plan to go to Siaferia City, huh?
Ah. Yes. I will probably depart tomorrow morning, replied Sila.
Which path do you plan to take?
Are there many paths?
There are. Mainly, there is a long path that is convenient but takes several days, and a shortcut via the Misty Valley.
Oh. I rember it. Im short on ti, so I will probably take the Misty Valley route. Only a single day may be enough to arrive there. Sila had traveled from Colossia City to Grea City a long ti ago. That ti he went with Sangdao and Lookhin. They also chose the shortcut through the Misty Valley.
mbers of the spider race lives there. Aramut is the mist races good fellowship. If you happen to et him, help give this thing to him. He will tell you what to do after that. Fowl gave Sila an empty vial.
Sila stared at it, but nothing seed to be inside the vial. Nevertheless, Fowl firmly insisted that he must open the cap only in front of Aramut.
Sila eventually kept it in his system window. Fowl urged them to leave. Were done here. You should leave, or your companions will wait too long.
Zero and Sila left the teleportation circle, returning to the hall. With new destinations in their minds, they said words of farewell to their friends.
The rest of the team felt shocked to know that both Nero and Midnight intended to leave the squad. Their ti together might be short, but morable. Still, the two had made their decisions. As their teammates, they should support the two rather than insist them to stay.
It seed Nero planned to go to Siaferia City in order to make a na of himself in the war that was about to happen. The other 99th squad mbers didnt particularly like the idea. Instead, they wanted to pay the Decagate World a visit. Well, they had to fulfill the conditions Fowl had set first.
Anyway, they planned to follow Midnight to the brand-new world soon. They also urged Sila to follow them.
Similar to human life, friendship may be short-lived but it can be beautiful like a firework. While it exists for only a mont, it can eternally last in peoples mories.
Their paths might branch out separately for now as people went different ways. But who knows? Their paths might cross again in the future, or at least that was what they believed it to be.
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