fs-test

by Hankton

just a test of app playback

2. rtm23

The space behind the door was a deep, thick darkness. At first, Jack's enhanced senses didn't pick up the slightest hint of light coming from beyond.

Thankfully, they had a torch. Jack waved it before the door, revealing a new corridor, but it was nothing like the tunnels they'd been traversing so far. This one was smooth. Sharp. Carved by tools. There was a slight slope downward but no steps.

Jack gulped. "So," he said, "are you coming?"

"We can't just turn back now… Right?" Nauja asked. Her voice and rising chest betrayed a mix of exhilaration and fear. A hidden passage connected to her ancestors under the Forbidden Cave… It didn't get much more adventurous than that.

Brock was unbothered. He raised a fist and cheered, then impatiently motioned for Jack to get going.

He laughed and obliged.

The tunnel was deeper than his torchlight could reach. As he took three steps in, nothing happened. He kept walking, at any point expecting a monster to leap from the shadows. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was walking into the innards of some leviathan.

Brock followed him, making "ooh" and "ahh" sounds at the corridor, and Nauja brought up the rear. The moment she stepped through, the door behind them smashed shut with a terrible boom that made them all jump.

"What the fuck?" Jack exclaimed.

"That— The door closed," Nauja said in shock.

"I can see that. You didn't close it?"

"No, it just…closed."

They exchanged a look, seeing the fear in each other's faces. When Nauja tried to push, nothing happened, and there was no engraving or Dao vacuum on this side.

"What a good omen," Jack said bitterly.

"Do you think this is what happened to the delvers who found this place?" Nauja asked, looking around warily. "They were trapped here forever?"

Jack looked around again. Now, he understood why the walls were made of metal. He could have punched his way through rock, given time. But through this… He knocked on a wall, feeling sturdiness beneath. The door was equally impregnable.

"I think we're stuck," he said.

However, Brock shook his head. "No," he replied. He pointed down into the darkness.

"Oh, how could I forget about that," Jack replied sarcastically, slapping his forehead, while Brock nodded sagely.

"Not much choice," Nauja said. "We were heading down, anyway."

"I guess. Well, no point waiting. Let's go."

With that, they turned and walked further in. Jack was at the front, Nauja at the back, and Brock in the middle. The door soon disappeared behind them, leaving them flanked by darkness. There were no side passages to follow, only one straight line heading downward at an angle.

"Where do you think this leads?" Jack asked, his voice low by instinct.

"Honestly? No idea," Nauja replied in the same near-whisper.

A few minutes later, the tunnel opened up. They couldn't see where it led, only that their torchlight reached no walls. It could be a chamber stretching for miles in every direction, or just ten feet.

Suddenly, the world flared with light. They had to cover their eyes, used as they were to the darkness. Jack grabbed Brock and jumped to the side, dodging whatever attack might be coming. Nauja jumped the other way, stifling a cry as she landed on her broken arm.

There was no attack, however. When their eyes adjusted a moment later, all they met was a wide, empty room.

It looked like a fancy Earth basement. Flat, electrical lights were plastered in equal rows on the ceiling, illuminating the room, while the marble floor was gray, flat, and strikingly clean. The walls were made of some dark metal that looked light to the touch, almost like plastic, and they were curved, shaping the room as a rectangle that someone had pulled air into until it almost burst.

It looked so much like something he may find on Earth, that Jack was momentarily stunned. Going from the primordial environment of Trial Planet to this was a leap that took him some time to process.

Next to him, Nauja was also stunned, but for different reasons.

"What is this magic?" she said, gawking at the ceiling lights. "The torches… They do not dance. And they have the wrong color."

"It's called electricity," Jack explained. "What you see is glass with a thin iron cord behind it, through which courses power with enough intensity to make it glow without burning."

"Wow," she repeated, observing the lights for a moment longer before turning to the floor and walls.

Jack's attention, however, was arrested by something else. The room was empty, roughly a hundred feet long, fifty wide, and twenty tall. However, there was writing on the back wall. It wasn't carved into the metal. It resembled projected computer text, though there was no projector in sight.

All it said was, "Scan nothing."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. Suddenly, a new row of text appeared under the first one, as if the letters were surfacing from behind the wall.

Prove yourselves or die.

"How nice," he said. "More things trying to kill us."

"What?" Only now did Nauja notice the writing. "What does that say?"

"What?"

"I can't read. What does that say?"

She didn't seem bashful about it, so Jack didn't react, either. It made sense. Why would she need to read in the jungle?

"It says to scan nothing, and to prove ourselves or die."

Her eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"

"It's when you stop living."

She threw him a cold stare. Jack laughed.

"I have no idea either," he said. "The 'scan nothing' part could only mean the System scan we can do at things. That's all I can think of. Either that, or it expects us to carry around scanners, which we do not."

"Why not scan things?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"And what about that second part? To prove ourselves?"

"Well, I also don't know…" He looked around, licking his lips. "But I suppose we're about to find out."

He expected something to happen at the cue of his words. Disappointingly, nothing did. No enemies jumping at them, no traps springing, no suspicious sounds. Nothing.

Belatedly, he noticed there was no other door in the room.

"Do we have to find a way out or die of thirst? Or asphyxiation?" he wondered incredulously. "Okay, I take it back. Send in the things that want to kill us. Just underestimate us, so we kill them instead."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. I'm just bantering against a wall."

At least there were no corpses here, so if delvers had made it past the door, they had made it past this room as well.

"Maybe the way out has something to do with that thing?" Nauja suddenly said.

"What thing?" He followed her pointing finger. "Oh!" Right under the letters was something he hadn't noticed before. A device, of sorts, embedded in the wall.

"Let's take a look," Nauja said.

"Just be careful."

"I know."

They inched their way across the room, keeping an eye out for any trap or ambush. Tripwires, pressure plates, poisoned darts, illusions… They looked out for anything but found nothing. The room was as empty as it appeared.

Eventually, they made it to the back, right under the letters. Jack could now see that each of them was the length of his arm.

Embedded in the wall under them was a… Well, a disappointingly primitive contraption. A short metal protrusion extended from the wall, with a small groove at its end, facing up. Directly above it was another protrusion, this one ending in a sharp needlepoint.

"What's that?" Jack asked. "Perhaps I should break it."

Nauja glared.

"I'll keep making the same joke until you stop glaring," he warned her.

"It's like we have to put something in that groove," she said, ignoring him. "But what? And why the needle?"

Jack reached out to touch the groove, but there was no Dao vacuum. He shook his head.

"You know," Nauja said slowly, deliberating her words, "this reminds me of something that exists deeper inside Trial Planet: trials."

"Trials?"

"Yes… The delvers talk about them a lot. They start appearing from the fifth ring down: testing grounds that reward those who complete them. Supposedly, they are the main allure of Trial Planet, besides the conqueror titles."

"Really?" Jack raised a brow. "This is interesting."

"It is. Trial rewards are supposed to range from impressive to world-shattering. If this is a trial, that would be great for us…but, as I said, trials aren't supposed to exist before the fifth ring." She threw him a quick glance. "And they have nothing to do with the Ancients."

"Hmm. Are you saying we discovered a hidden trial?"

"I don't know…" She shook her head, hesitation all over her face. "The door, this riddle, the instructions on the wall… It all seems to match, but the ring and Ancients don't. It should be impossible. I don't know. If this is a trial, there could be something extremely valuable at the end. But maybe it's something completely different."

"Extremely valuable," Jack repeated. His chest burst with hope. His goal—defeating the planetary overseer within a year—was almost impossible. Extremely valuable treasures were exactly what he needed. "Well, only one way to find out. But how do we solve this…needle-groove thingy?"

He gazed at the two protrusions in thought, as did Nauja.

Suddenly, Brock tapped Jack's waist. When he turned to look, the brorilla pointed at the needle and mimed pricking his finger.

"Oh!" Jack said, eyes flashing with understanding. "Brock's right. It does look like a finger-pricking device. A drop of blood comes out, then falls into the groove. I've seen that before."

"Really? Where?" Nauja asked curiously.

"TV."

She looked on blankly.

"Delver stuff," he corrected, to which she nodded.

"But why would this machine want our blood?"

"Good question. It said we have to prove ourselves… Hmm."

"Maybe that we are humans?" Nauja tried. "Not robots?"

"Why would it care about that?"

"I don't know. What else could it want?"

"Hmm. Maybe it will test our blood for something." He thought back to his lab, where they liked to put liquids in testing tubes and examined them thoroughly. This groove didn't look like a tube, but they also used small bowls to collect liquids. Then, they just had to use a dropper or needle to move it wherever. "Maybe it really wants to see if we are humans?"

That was strangely speciesist, and it also didn't make much sense.

"I know!" Nauja exclaimed, raising a finger. "It wants to see if we are Ancient!"

"What?"

"Think about it. The door depicted the Ancients. Trial Planet was constructed and used by the Ancients for millions of years before somehow appearing in your galaxy. If this place was a secret, it makes sense that they'd only want their people accessing it. Right?"

"Hmm. Right. That makes sense. And you are a direct descendant!"

She smiled widely, ear to ear. She seemed very excited to contribute to something other than hunting and killing dinosaurs.

"Wait," Jack said. "Does this mean that, if I wasn't here with a barbarian, I couldn't get past? That can't be right."

"It would explain why no delver ever made it back."

"I guess." A shiver went down his spine. "So you should prick your finger there," he continued, pointing at the needle. "Go for it."

"Okay," she said, placing her finger by the needle. She paused. "But what if that's not it?"

"I don't see what else it could be. That thing is out for blood, and there is nothing in mine that's better than yours."

"You're right, I guess."

Brock gave her a big thumbs-up, encouraging her. Taking a deep breath, Nauja pushed her finger against the needle.

Despite her enhanced skin, it broke through without any resistance whatsoever. A thick, red droplet tumbled down as Nauja retracted her finger.

The blood landed on the groove with a soft plop. Nothing happened for a moment. Then, it drained down, absorbed into the metal until it all disappeared.

"Wow," Jack said. "I have no idea if this is technology or magic. Maybe both."

The letters above them flickered and changed. They were sucked back into the wall, and when they returned, the second line was different. A third one had appeared, too. It now said,

Scan nothing.

Ancient blood confirmed.

Initiating test.

"Initiating? But we just finished it."

"What does it say, what does it say?" Nauja asked excitedly. Jack translated quickly while looking around. Nothing happened for a moment.

Then, blue light gathered, and a creature appeared in the middle of the room. It was a goblin.

"Kekekeke," it laughed, licking its long, clawed fingers. "Humans. I bity! I eaty!"

BREAK

BREAK

A goblin stood in the middle of the high-tech room. The contrast was almost jarring.

Its bare green feet were planted on the immaculate marble floor. It was green, child-sized, and covered in brown rags. Its teeth were sharp, like a dog's, its eyes were dark beads of hatred, while it rubbed its short claws together, enjoying the prospect of devouring them without the slightest idea of how massive the gap between them was.

"Kekekeke," it laughed, licking its long, clawed fingers. "Humans. I bity! I eaty!"

Jack did a double-take. "Is that a goblin?" he asked. "Why would a goblin—"

He almost scanned it. Almost. The move was an ingrained reflex by now, but his surprise was such that he waited an extra moment, and that saved him. The words on the wall came to mind: "Scan nothing."

His thoughts were firecrackers. All connections were made instantly, and he dived in front of Nauja, shouting, "NO! Don't scan it!" He landed in a somersault, rising to his feet at once.

"What are you doing?" she asked, raising a brow. She ignored the goblin completely.

"Don't scan it!" he said again, speaking quickly. "The wall said not to scan anything. This is what it meant. Don't scan the goblin. That's the only reason it would appear; it's too weak to test us in combat."

Nauja raised the other brow, too. "Okay," she said, turning back to the little creature, which was now approaching them with an astonishing unawareness of danger. "So, what should we do with it?"

"Let me handle it."

Jack stood before her, facing the goblin. It suddenly broke into a sprint, covering the room as quickly as its little legs could take it. It was…painfully slow.

"Kekekekeke!"

"I don't think it's a threat," Nauja said from behind him.

"Let's not risk it," Jack retorted. "Since we can't scan it, it could be hiding its power."

The goblin finally reached them. Even Brock looked disinterested, but Jack had experienced the System's shenanigans before, and he was determined to play it safe. He shot a Meteor Punch as the goblin came within ten feet.

"Keke—" It exploded without even seeing the strike. In fact, the explosion was so strong that the goblin was torn into a million tiny pieces, covering the floor behind it in a red paste that spread across half the room.

They remained silent for a moment.

"I think it's dead," Nauja finally said, "but you can hit it again if you want. Just to be sure."

"Caution is important," he retorted, rubbing the back of his head. "But, man… I remember how one of them almost killed me once. Tough times to be a goblin."

"Eh. They're goblins." She shrugged. "Little sacks of hatred and sadism. They're better off dead."

"I thought you loved nature."

"I do. But not goblins."

He shrugged back. "Well, it's dead now, anyway. I wonder if we succeeded this trial thingy already."

"Maybe there will be a kobold next. You should hit it even harder."

"You're welcome for my figuring out the trick, by the way."

"Just so you know, I figured it out myself, too."

"I didn't hear you shouting, 'Don't scan it!'"

"I trusted you."

"I call bullshit."

"In any case," Nauja looked around, scanning the walls, "what now?"

This time, the room took her cue. Just as her words finished ringing, a sliding sound made them turn towards a wall. A door had opened there—a door that had been indistinguishable before.

At the same time, the goblin's remains were absorbed into the floor, walls, and ceiling, leaving the room as spotless as when they entered.

Jack raised a brow. "Maybe that's what happened to the previous delvers," he said. "They died of dehydration, then were sucked into the floor."

"What a way to go, huh?"

"Yeah."

There was light beyond the door, so they didn't bother keeping their torch. It had almost burned out, anyway. Jack let it fall, and the floor absorbed it after a moment. "Think it can absorb us too?"

"Not so far. Let's hurry before it changes its mind."

They reached the door with quick steps and peered through.

"What the fuck?" Jack said.

"This is…" Nauja's eyes went wide. "This is impossible!"

A civilization stretched before them.

The cave ceiling rose a mile above them, but not as high as the sky. Mushrooms hung from it, illuminating rolling fields of wheat and vegetables. These stretched on for miles, all the way to the far wall, a rising cliff of stone that connected the ground with the ceiling.

There was cattle, too. Cows and pigs, sheep and goats, all grazing on a hill that rose to the right. To the left stood a small lake, its edges bordering the wall.

People dotted the landscape. Some tended to animals; others, to the fields. There were many of them, easily dozens, maybe hundreds, and they looked like humans.

The entire thing looked like Earth, actually. The cattle was the same. The crops, too. There was even a temple at the back, resembling a buddhist shrine. The only differences were the houses, little picturesque huts with no roofs, and the subtle hints of advanced technology. Everywhere Jack looked, he saw high-tech contraptions integrated into the seemingly simplistic lifestyle.

Here, a farmer tilled the field with a hoe that had a vibrating head. There, the cows were tied to a wooden stake that slowly moved around the fields on tiny legs, regulating their feeding. Farther back, a watermill scooped up the lakewater, pouring it into an ingenious irrigation system that spanned the fields.

And everyone wore a smile. Nobody seemed tired. These were happy people. Simple. At peace.

Jack was left staring.

"What?" he asked.

"That's…" Nauja could barely hold back her excitement. She stepped through the door, into the large cave beyond—

—and everything faded.

It was like a veil was pulled from their eyes. The vibrant farms were replaced by weeds and flat, barren soil. The cattle disappeared, their pens fading away a moment later. The houses stood the test of time, changing from homes to ruins. The smiling people were the final thing to go, turning to look at Jack and Nauja as they did. Their bodies became dust, from their legs to their heads, leaving their smiles for last.

A moment later, everything was gone. Thousands of years had passed in the blink of an eye. The flourishing civilization had turned into a wasteland, with only the ruins of a few houses standing out here and there like memories of a time long past.

"No!" Nauja said. "I… I thought…"

"An illusion," Jack said, stepping up beside her. "The past, maybe? But…how? And why?"

"I think these were my ancestors," Nauja muttered, tears welling up in her eyes. "I think…the Ancients used to live here."

"Really?" Jack thought back to their human forms, their Earth-like environment. Were Ancients really like that?

"I really do." She turned to look at him. "But now, they're all gone."

"Yeah, I guess they are."

The ruins were lifeless, save for weeds. Whatever lived here, it had been a long, long time ago.

However, there was one thing that remained unchanged. The temple at the back, the buddhist shrine, was exactly as the illusion had shown it, as if time had no grip on it. It stood guard over the barren fields, lifeless, still, but exuding the same holiness it always did.

"What is this place?" Jack asked, looking around. "What's the point of it? All the tests, the door, the blood, the goblin… Why scan nothing? Why such secrecy? Why would Ancients—if they really were that—be living in Trial Planet, and why would they not want to be found?"

"They were Ancients, I know it," Nauja said strongly. "We have stories about them. How they lived as one with nature, how they reached the apex of technology, saw its futility, then returned to the roots. It's exactly what we saw in the illusion."

"It is," Jack admitted. "But still, why?"

At this, Nauja paused. "I don't know," she finally said. "Maybe… Maybe they disliked the delvers. They wanted to hide from them, escape the incessant conflict, the greed."

"Hmm." Jack's eyes narrowed, then widened. "Wait! The Ancients were exterminated by the Old Ones, right? In your story. Maybe these ones escaped, somehow, and hid here to escape the wrath of gods."

"You think? But why would they still hide? The Old Ones can't come here."

"Maybe they just…never knew." Jack looked around again, taking in the ever-sealed stone. "Maybe they were here for a looong time."

Her face soured. "They aren't stupid. They would know."

"How?"

"I don't know. But they would have a way."

"Maybe that place has answers," Jack suggested, pointing at the temple. "What do you say? Wanna take a look?"

"I absolutely do!" Despite her broken and bandaged hand, Nauja was brimming with energy. Her eyes sparked, her face glowing. "Let's go."

"Brock?"

The brorilla was nearby, watching over the ruins with them. He idly twirled the Staff of Stone around himself, lost in thought. When Jack called, he snapped out of it and pointed at the ruins. "Strong," he said.

Jack raised a brow. "A new word? Congrats, bro!"

Brock gave him a toothy grin.

"But strong…" Jack repeated, looking over the ruins. "What do you mean by that, my friend?"

The brorilla thought for a moment, then shrugged. He didn't even bother miming. "Strong," he said again, pointing to his heart.

"Hmm. Yeah. I understand."

Nauja puffed up in pride. "Of course my ancestors were awesome!"

They paced into the ruins. They didn't take a straight line to the temple—they explored a bit. From up-close, the contrast between past and present was even more striking. They passed by the watermill's remains, only finding rotten wooden foundations where it used to stand. The irrigation system, all those wooden pipes, had been absorbed into the ground. The fields were overgrown with weeds, rugged patches of ground flowing over one another. The ruined houses still stood, and Jack realized that the wood in them didn't look quite right. It shimmered oddly. Perhaps that was why it lasted so long—from what he knew, Trial Planet had been in their galaxy for a million years.

In fact, the wood didn't just shimmer. There was a hint of something to it, an itch at the back of his mind, urging him to focus his will and scan it. Jack refused. Though curiosity burned him, he remembered the instruction not to scan anything. It didn't make any sense—but his heart chose to follow the will of these people.

The System-induced urge to scan growed the more he resisted. It went from an itch to an uncomfortable whisper at the back of his mind, like an odd addiction acting up. It was like being offered a cup of coffee after not having drunk any in three days. In fact, it was even worse, because all it would take to activate the scan was a moment of weakness, one misstep of intention.

Together, the three of them walked through the ruins like time had lost all meaning. When they reached the temple, they stopped and gawked at it.

It was smaller than it looked from afar. A small wooden fence, barely enough to stop livestock from walking over, enclosed a courtyard the size of the goblin room from before. At its back, attached to the stone wall of the cave, was a small shrine, its gates open.

They approached. Jack, feeling wary, took to the front. A small stone tablet was half-buried in the soil before the shrine's open entrance. Warily, he leaned down and wiped its dusty surface, revealing ancient words carved into the stone.

May they who think themselves worthy enter. May they save us from the evil we have inflicted on the world.

It was promising.

The inside of the shrine was as simple as its exterior. A room twenty by twenty feet, with a human-sized stone statue in its middle depicting a smiling man, thin and dressed in light robes, with long silken hair tumbling down his back. His smile, however… It was one filled with calmness and peace, but hiding under it all the vicissitudes of life, like this man had already seen through everything.

Unlike the buddhist-like shrine, this man didn't look like Earth's depictions of Buddha. However, he still reminded something to Jack. It took him a moment to place the feeling. Last time he'd seen this man, there was no hair, no robes, and his features were indiscernible. But the smile was exactly the same. Jack's eyes widened at the same time that Nauja's did.

"That's Enas!" they exclaimed at the same time.

"Why is a shrine of an Old One here?" Jack said. "I thought they eradicated the Ancients. They were enemies."

"This doesn't make any sense," Nauja muttered, frowning. "The Old Ones supposedly destroyed the Ancients shortly after making contact. There shouldn't be any time for worship to occur."

"It is odd," Jack agreed, but his attention was drawn to something else. First, the statue created in him the same urge to scan it as the wood outside—like the Staff of Stone, the Dao Soul, and other scannable items.

Second, the statue wasn't the only thing in the room. As he took a step inside, a glimmer of white in a corner caught his eye. It wasn't visible from outside, as it was stuck to the entrance wall, but there was a skeleton there. It was humanoid and in a cross-legged position, back pressed to the wall. Despite the ages it had been since this person died, their skeleton remained whole and pristine, and not just that. The bones exuded a sense of awe and wonder, like they radiated the power of the Dao even centuries or millennia after death. They were also scannable, as Jack's gut feeling hurried to inform him.

"What's the meaning of all this?" he asked. "A shrine to an Old One, a hidden pocket of Ancients, a corpse brimming with power after all this time, a testing room that still operates perfectly, the command to not scan anything…" He shook his head. "What the hell's wrong with this place?"

Nauja ignored his words. She touched her forehead to the ground before the corpse, struggling to bow with one hand tied-up. "Ancestor…" she said reverently. "Nauja is here. May you rest in peace."

Seeing her, Jack inclined his head as well. "You have my respect, ancestor. Apologies for disturbing your rest."

Brock nodded, too. "Strong," he said, using his shiny new word again.

A moment of somberness went by. Then, Jack asked, "Should we bury it?"

"Can you not feel its power, Jack?" Nauja asked from the ground. "If such a powerful person wanted to be buried, they would be. No. This ancestor chose to die here, to keep an eye on this shrine even after death. Let's leave it be."

"Alright," he whispered.

Then, while Nauja remained bowed, muttering a prayer to her ancestors, Jack looked about the room again. He felt small in this place. Insignificant. He couldn't shake this feeling that they'd intruded on a secret larger than they could handle, something they should never have found. There was a sense of power everywhere, of awe. Everything in this place—from the engraved door to the corpse—spoke of forces far stronger than Jack could comprehend right now.

This was a place meant for people far, far stronger than Jack and Nauja.

And there was a hint of wonder in that. Of achievement. That, by some stroke of blind luck, Jack was here, taking in the sights that his meager strength could never afford. Who knows what tremendous powers lay in wait here, what secrets to uncover?

Even ruined as this place was, he refused to believe it was empty. There had to be something. Nauja had mentioned trials with life-changing rewards. This could be such a place. And, secret as it was, the rewards would be ever greater. Something related to the Ancients and the Old Ones could only be unimaginable in importance.

His treasure hunting sense was going off. Something was here. Something tremendous. An opportunity that could make his impossible goal slightly more doable. But where?

If only he could scan things…

His gaze returned to the statue. It stood in the middle of the room, unbothered by their presence, stony gaze directed at the front, one hand extended with its palm facing forward.

Jack approached it, circled it, observed it. The craftsmanship was uncanny, as expected from people who could carve even steel. It made him curious. What secrets could it hide?

He snuck a glance at Nauja. She was still bowed, not looking over. Brock was looking, but he was a bro. He wouldn't speak.

Unable to resist, Jack raised a hand and touched the statue, meaning to feel its surface, to experience its age and meaning.

The moment he touched it, an ancient voice rang out, booming from every direction at the same time. "Let the trial begin."

And he teleported.

BREAK

BREAK

The moment the voice boomed out, ancient and resounding, Jack's world changed. He felt the familiar lurch of teleportation for an instant before everything stabilized again.

He wasn't in a shrine anymore. He stood alone in the middle of a large, dome-shaped room, like an upturned bowl. Stone surrounded him on all sides, with a single sun mushroom hanging from the top of the ceiling, around fifty feet above his head, showering the room in still, yellow light.

Jack looked around with wide eyes, realization dawning. "Shit," he said. He couldn't stop a chuckle. "Curiosity killed the cat, I guess."

He didn't lose heart at the sudden teleportation. The voice had mentioned a trial—and Nauja had said that trials were tests, hiding danger and opportunity. There would be a way through; he just had to find it.

However, the more he observed the room, the more his frown deepened. There was no door. No wall with letters, no windows, no enemy, no nothing. Only cold stone surrounded him—entombed him.

If I die here, will anyone ever find me? he wondered, but even he didn't know where he was, let alone Nauja and Brock.

Thankfully, the trial didn't leave him waiting long. The same voice as before boomed throughout the room, so loud that Jack felt an urge to clap his ears.

"A divine gift lies in wait, looking for its successor. Five trials stand between you and great power. Prove yourself worthy of wielding and protecting it, or die. The trials will be adjusted to your level."

Simple and succinct. Strangely, Jack wasn't pacified.

"Excuse me," he shouted back, "can you tell me where this is?"

The voice did not reply. Jack was left alone with his thoughts, running the previous words over and over in his mind until he realized something. Wait. It said "level." This place is aware of the System, the eradication, the Immortals. It wasn't simply forgotten. They chose to remain hidden even after the Old Ones were forced away…but why?

He had no more time to ponder. Suddenly, mist filled the room, manifesting out of thin air. Jack braced himself for battle, looking around warily, but no enemy came. The silence was as crisp as ever, broken only by his breath, the beating of his heart, the blood drumming on his temples.

A song cut through the mist. It was ephemeral and light, the voice carried on clouds, each note sung with unparalleled beauty and depth. So relaxing, it was, that Jack felt his entire body loosen, the knots in his back untying, his muscles turning into jelly, and euphoria coursing through his heart. If there was a heaven, this is how angels would sing.

He lay down, so engrossed in the music he couldn't think. The mists receded around him, revealing a palace of pleasure. Heavenly delicacies sat on golden plates, fruit soft enough to melt in his mouth, meat that could lace his entire body with energy, youth, and virility.

He wasn't alone. People surrounded him on all sides. Their names eluded him, as did their past, but he remembered they were bosom friends, people he'd been through thick and thin together. He loved them almost more than himself.

Jack lay on cushions, stretched out and leaning to the side, where a platter of apples awaited him. He grabbed one and bit into it. The taste was heavenly. After this, how could he bear to consume anything else? Even the water he tried, from a blue bottle made of clouds, was made of liquid crystal, so pure that he felt all negative feelings wash out of his heart.

The song was still there, sung by a striking woman on a different set of cushions. She was one of his bosom friends, but she was also more.

She was beauty itself. Her hair fell down her shoulders to reach her waist. Her expression moved with the song, fully absorbed as she was, and her voice lit a fire inside him that made even the heavenly apples seem inconsequential.

This was love. Deep, true love. He felt something inside him resist, deny the feeling, but he couldn't refuse his heart.

The woman poured her soul into singing. Jack couldn't quite catch the lyrics, but they spoke directly to his heart, recounting beauty, passion, breezy days, and hot nights. Each part of the song took a chord in Jack's heart and explored it, caressed it, massaged it, kissed it. The most wonderful feelings in life were presented, expanded, and fulfilled. Every verse a story, so true that no other story could ever reach their height, and sung in a voice and way that could never be surpassed.

It was perfect.

Jack's eyes welled with tears, such was the beauty of her song, and his heart opened wide, reveling in the music, expanding until it could fit the entire world.

He lost track of time. Or, rather, time lost its meaning. Before this song, nothing else mattered. The world was born and developed only to reach this moment in time, for this song to flow out of this woman's lips.

When the music came to an end, Jack was melted into a puddle of emotions. He felt every emotion there could be, overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of life, its ups and down, its struggles and rewards, the gems that hid in rainy nights and gave them meaning.

His friends felt the same, and their happiness bounced off each other until it could increase no more.

The woman turned to Jack, regarding him alone. "Did you like it?" she asked, sliding a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I loved it." The words left his lips of their own, true beyond the shadow of a doubt.

She smiled beautifully. He didn't know his heart could melt any more, but it did. "I have something for you," she said, removing a small, golden sphere from her dress. A triangle with a dot in its center was painted on its surface. "I made it especially for you. A gift as precious as my song."

"What is it?" he asked, receiving the sphere with tender care.

"Why don't you scan it and find out?" she replied, smiling.

Jack regarded the sphere. Indeed, why wouldn't he scan it? The song was still inside him, his love all-encompassing. Nothing could be wrong in the world. Everything ugly was simply another facet of beauty undiscovered. In this palace, surrounded by the warmest emotions known to man, he had nothing to fear.

So why didn't he scan it?

He had this awareness that he wasn't supposed to. It seeped out from inside him, making him hesitate until he was certain it was wrong. He shouldn't do it.

But how much did it matter? Her song had filled his heart. She had given him the greatest gift there was, and here was another. Even if it was wrong, could he really refuse her this little favor?

But it was wrong.

"What is the matter, my love?" she said, inching closer. Her perfume reached Jack's nostrils. His brain turned pink. His every cell shivered with joy.

"I—"

"Shh, don't talk," she said again, laughing. "Just scan it. I made it with so much effort. Please?"

To refuse would be to break her heart. However, to refuse himself would be the same. "Can't I just open it?" he asked weakly, his voice coming out a low whisper.

"No, you silly!" She laughed again. "How can you open it without scanning it first?"

She's right, he realized. I should scan it.

But it is wrong.

The insistence of wrongness was so deeply planted inside him that it persisted, rearing its head again and again, refusing to be side-tracked.

On one hand, he knew with absolute certainty that scanning this sphere was wrong. On the other…how bad could it be? Didn't she deserve for her gift to be appreciated?

Should he betray what he knew was right, or should he betray her feelings?

"Come on, Jack!" his friends shouted from the side, more voices joining in. Some were jesting, other laughing, all filled with joy. "Let us see! Scan it and open it up!"

"It looks so pretty!"

"Don't keep her waiting or she'll go away!"

They all burst out laughing at this last, well-intended comment, while the woman by his side blushed.

Jack felt so much momentum around him directed at scanning the sphere. To refuse would be to break the flow, to shatter such a beautiful moment, to endure his friends' and lover's disapproving stare.

But to scan it would be wrong.

He… He should scan it. He couldn't possibly ruin this moment for everyone.

That was not right. He had a path. A way. His friends would be fine. But to betray his path would be to break both it and himself. To lose everything.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Jack said, raising his head and laughing. "You know I can't do this." He returned the gift to the woman, whose gaze was deeply hurt. "I'm sorry if I'm ruining some surprise. If you can open it for me, I will love it all the same."

He smiled widely. And, before anyone could reply, the forms around him turned into mist, the apples, the water, the friends, the lover. The golden sphere with the dotted triangle remained last, and as it disintegrated, Jack caught glimpse of a live scorpion inside before it, too, disappeared.

He was left alone in the mist, mind struggling to comprehend what had occurred. That had been an illusion. He had remained himself, but reality had been bent to present him with a dilemma.

He suppressed the growl that threatened to rise from his chest.

But the song was real. It echoed inside him still. He couldn't remember the lyrics, or the voice, or the music, but the soul of the song was etched into his heart, the perfect stories, the full emotions he was capable of experiencing.

Nothing would ever top it. Everything else he ever felt would be inferior to that one song, to the absolute peak of life. But that was okay. A bittersweetness enveloped him then, an appreciation of what he had experienced, nostalgia for what had irreversibly passed.

Without Jack knowing it, at that moment, his smile resembled the one of the statue in the shrine.

"Will trial, passed," the voice boomed out again, drawing Jack back to the present. Then, it took a more educating tone. "Good intentions and the will to uphold them are the foundation of a full heart. But choosing the right path is meaningless if you cannot see it."

The mists changed again. They swam and coiled around him, flashing through a thousand shapes before settling on one.

An expansive maze stretched out before him. He viewed it from above, like he was hovering on the ceiling, but he could also see himself standing at the entrance. Twisting paths led outward, merging and branching, ending in dead-ends or circling around themselves. A light glistened in the very center of the maze—the exit—but Jack was nowhere near it. The sheer complexity of the shape before him was more than he could handle.

I have to solve this maze, he realized, looking at it from above. He set to following the paths with his eyes, crossing out mentally the ones that didn't work, but they were simply too many, their branching endless. His brain wasn't capable of tracking them all.

An hourglass appeared by the maze, blue and made of crystal. It turned, as if by an invisible hand, and the sand tumbled down, siphoning through the tiny gap. Slowly but surely, it was diminishing.

Jack fervently set to work. He sent the mini version of himself exploring, hoping to stumble onto a good path by luck. He tried extending outward from the exit or inward from the entrance. He followed paths that were going in the right direction and ones that went directly opposite. Many times, he came close. Once, only one wall separated the path he'd chosen from one that led to the exit, but that one wall had no openings, no way to cross.

The sand tumbled down, and Jack had found no solution. A large part of the maze remained unexplored. He stared, eyes wide, brain feverish with activity, devoting the entirety of his being to the puzzle, but no matter how he searched, he couldn't find the solution.

The hourglass was almost empty by now, the last grains of sand tumbling down slower.

Jack accepted his failure. He had not found the path.

"There is no solution!" he shouted as the last grain tumbled down, a final gamble that he had no choice but to make.

The maze and hourglass disappeared. The mists returned, as enigmatic as ever, and Jack was gripped by the suffocating awareness of his failure.

"Mental trial, passed barely. Combat trial difficulty will be adjusted accordingly," the voice came. Jack heaved a huge sigh of relief before processing the last words.

Adjusted? Will that combat trial get harder because I almost failed this one? Hmm. At least, I did pass. Was there really no solution?

He had no way to know, nor was there time.

"Recognizing the right path and choosing to follow it are the prerequisites to a full heart. However, one weakness is enough for doom. The mind means nothing if the body is weak."

Jack braced himself. However, the mists remained empty. A few moments later, the voice came again.

"Physical trial, passed by virtue of specialization."

Oh, Jack thought. Well, not that I'll complain. I wonder if someone with balanced stats could easily pass all three trials—the ones I've seen, anyway.

The voice came again.

"The absence of weakness is the first step. However, the road to mastery is fraught with conflict. Without power, one's impact on life is insignificant. All is for naught."

BREAK

BREAK

As the voice finished ringing, the mists receded completely, vanishing back into the nothingness they came from. The cavern was left empty again, stone the shape of an upturned bowl.

Without power, one's impact on life is insignificant. All is for naught. The last words of the mysterious voice still rang in Jack's mind. He mulled them over and over, considering them.

Without power… That's actually similar to my Dao of Power, isn't it? he pondered, analyzing the trial's structure. He had passed the Will, Mental, and Physical trials, proving he had no glaring weakness. Now, he had to prove he had power, too. It made sense.

What's the purpose of all this? he wondered again. This Ancient space—if it really was one—was so out of the ordinary. The voice mentioned a divine gift… The statue of an Old One… Could I be fighting for the direct blessing of a God?

The thought sent shivers down his spine, excitement that rattled his bones and opened his pores. No way, he concluded. It wouldn't be this easy…right?

A blue light in the center of the cavern interrupted his thoughts. A creature now stood there, facing him. It was humanoid, except with green skin, sharp ears, and beady eyes. Similar to a goblin, but with a few key differences: this creature was the same size as him, and its gaze was lacking the telltale malevolence of goblins. In its place was neutrality, an absence of feeling, like this creature was more machine than person.

The urge to scan it was overwhelming, coupled with his own curiosity, but he held it at bay. Perhaps he'd know later what this thing was.

Most importantly, he didn't know its level. It stood there, clad in leather armor and holding a curved sword, scanning him up and down. Jack assumed his battle stance, raising both fists in front of his face and turning to show it a three-quarters profile. This creature was the combat trial. It couldn't be weak.

It charged him without warning. Its bare feet kicked against the ground, its curved sword drawing a wicked arc as it aimed for his midsection.

It wasn't particularly fast.

Jack could see its movements clearly. Read them, even. Still watching out for any surprises, he smoothly stepped aside, letting the blade sail over his shoulder, and smashed out a straight punch into the creature's face, catching it in a textbook counter.

With a flash of purple, its head exploded.

Its body flopped to the ground, dropping the sword. As Jack watched warily, the body and dropped sword then dispersed into motes of blue light.

"Huh," he said. "That was easy."

More light shone in the center of the cavern. This time, two creatures appeared, each identical to the previous one except for their weapon. One held a shortbow, and the other a short rod with a bejeweled top.

Jack blanched, then leaped aside. A bolt whistled through the air where he used to stand, impaling itself on the stone behind him with a swish, then an icicle shot at him from the outstretched rod, materializing out of nowhere.

Jack ducked under it, already dashing for the two creatures in a zig-zagging pattern. More projectiles flew at him. Crossbow bolts screamed past at the speed of bullets, while icicles rushed past his exposed skin.

Mid-run, Jack shot out two Meteor Punches, both aimed at the crossbow creature. One of them met a bolt mid-flight and exploded, hiding Jack from their eyes. The second shot past the projectiles, arcing through the air like a purple, fist-shaped meteor, faint starlight trailing behind it, to crash into the creature's sternum.

It flew back, the crossbow thrown aside as the explosion took half its chest away. The creature disintegrated before it even landed.

The icicle one looked at its dying partner and displayed no emotion. It kept shooting at the explosion caused by the previous Meteor Punch, but when it cleared, Jack was no longer there. A fist met its neck from behind and destroyed it.

Jack was left alone again, panting slightly. These creatures weren't too strong—they were low E-Grades. Maybe level 60? He could take them easily. However, he suspected the trial wasn't over yet.

More light flashed in the center of the cavern. Jack was already there, since he'd approached to kill the ice wizard, so he simply watched the light manifest around him. When it settled into four more of those creatures, he instantly shot out two punches, decimating them. A flail wielder and an unarmed creature disintegrated, leaving only two. One swung twin daggers at Jack; the other tried to aim a longbow at his chest.

Jack sidestepped so that the dagger wielder was between him and the longbow. He dodged one dagger, slapped away the wrist holding the other, and closed in on the creature to plant a fierce uppercut in its gut. He didn't use Meteor Punch this time; it wasn't necessary, and if this turned into a battle of attrition, better to conserve his power.

His fist still carried his Dao, along with almost three hundred points of Strength. It dug into the creature's gut like a mallet, lifting it off its feet and sending it flying over its comrade, blue blood leaking from its lips, both daggers dropping.

The longbow wielder was revealed as the dagger creature flew away. An arrow flew at Jack, its speed such that he couldn't dodge in time. However, he had already moved aside before the attack came, causing the arrow to miss. He stepped in and threw two punches. The creature dodged the first, but the second caved its face in, and it collapsed in a heap.

Jack frowned. "Well, this is getting—"

The light came faster this time, and more blinding than ever. Eight opponents now surrounded him, wielding all sorts of weapons. Jack twisted and attacked wildly. The good thing about being surrounded was that he didn't need to aim. Three creatures fell before they could gather their bearings, but the other five pounced on him.

Fire covered him in a cone, a mace and longsword aimed for his chest and legs, while a great tower shield rose before him, blocking his line of sight.

Jack could no longer hold back.

Before coming to Trial Planet, this attack would have been overwhelming. However, he had progressed tremendously since then. He had leveled up a lot, gotten new skills and Daos.

The problem with such rapid increases in power was that acclimating took time. He had barely even used his Dao of Power and Brutalizing Aura. The Indomitable Body's limitations were a mystery. He was becoming stronger fast, but stabilization was a core part of the process, and he hadn't had the time to do that yet. He felt lost, his reflexes biased, his body off beat, his skills underutilized.

On the bright side, real combat was the best practice.

As four attacks flew at him—along with one he couldn't see—Jack let the Brutalizing Aura erupt from his body. The upcoming deaths of these creatures spread out of him with finality, irrefutable. They could not resist, plead, or beg. They would die by power overwhelming.

They stumbled. Whether by accident or design, the aura got to them despite their apparent lack of emotions. The mace missed, drawn back at the last second, and the longsword lost its power, easily slapped away. The fire guttered then went out, while the tower shield shook, the creature behind it momentarily losing the will to fight. An attack inside his mind, one that had been in the process of forming, collapsed by itself.

Brutalizing Aura was perfect for large groups of weaker enemies.

The moment his opponents weakened, Jack became a force of nature. His fists tore through their bodies, pulverizing heads and smashing torsos. Their weapons flew away, useless, and they all disintegrated in quick succession. Their lack of pain was unnerving, but their death was timely.

Jack looked around warily. The trial gave him no time to catch his breath. Sixteen opponents flashed into existence around him, each holding a different weapon or not at all, and this time, he really felt fear.

Brutalizing Aura erupted again, stunning them just as they spawned. His fists tore into their ranks with prejudice, exploding in their midst and sending them flying, disorganizing them. His eyes flicked from side to side, taking in everything, but he wasn't omnipotent, and neither was Brutalizing Aura.

When he'd gotten half of them, the rest recovered. Weapons and magic flooded him. He did his best. A mace clipped the back of his thigh, making him stumble. A sword grazed his forehead, a mallet met his forearm head-on, fire creeped up his back, and frost glued his feet to the ground.

With a massive bellow, Jack shook his feet free and ghost-stepped away, narrowly dodging another onslaught. He appeared outside the encirclement. The moment he did, intense fear clouded his mind, making him forget what he planned to do next. His Dao roared, grabbing the fear and crushing it. Two empty-handed creatures at the back groaned.

The melee fighters were almost upon him by then, but Jack was awake. With a roar, he punched the air before him in quick succession, sending a dozen punches flying at them.

Meteor Shower!

The creatures exploded like balloons of blood, skin, and flesh, revealing a fire mage and the two Will-oriented attackers. Jack dodged the fire, dove in, and destroyed them.

Amidst heavy panting, he clutched his forearm, where a mallet had struck him hard. It was bruising already, every movement of his fingers painful.

Thirty-two creatures flickered into existence around him. Jack felt a cold spear run through his heart. They would never stop coming. They would keep multiplying until he died.

He had thought himself strong, much stronger than most, almost unmatched at his level. When the trial said it was adjusted based on that, he thought it would be easy. How wrong he was.

Just who is this trial intended for!? was all he managed to think before a small army fell on him. He ghost-stepped away, enveloping them all in Brutalizing Aura, then rained meteors. Bodies exploded, weapons went flying, creatures were tossed to the far walls. Again, not a single cry of pain.

But he couldn't defeat thirty-two opponents like that.

They recovered and came for him. Most had fallen already, tightly-clustered as they spawned, but they remained more than he could handle. He fell back, shooting out more meteors, then was forced to stop and start dodging when the enemy backline fired back. Arrows, magic of all kinds, disorienting mind attacks, even illusory opponents sprung up out of nowhere.

This was an onslaught.

Jack roared, charging at the melee so the backliners couldn't easily get him. He ducked into them and punched out furiously, each fist carrying the power to break a body. He swatted a warhammer, took a shortsword to the back, a spear butt to the ribs.

His fists tore through the assailants, destroying them inside and out. When the bodies around him thinned, he was left panting and injured, bleeding from several cuts. But the trial had no mercy. As the frontliners dispersed into blue motes, they revealed a back row of mages and ranged fighters that immediately showered him with attacks. Jack ghost-stepped again, dodging most of them, but an arrow had embedded itself in his thigh, the bloody tip sticking out on the other side.

He sent out Meteor Punches again, aiming at each of them. Some attacks missed, others were dodged, and a few were shot mid-air and exploded, but some hit home. The backline erupted into gore and violence, and Jack ghost-stepped in their midst, taking care of what his meteors missed. His fists dispersed quick death, stabbing through guts, rupturing chests, caving in ribcages, cracking skulls.

The Will attacks were constantly gnawing at his attention, distracting him. He took care of those creatures first.

When all was said and done, Jack stood alone in a sea of blue motes, like a flock of fireflies. He was panting hard and sported several wounds, the most serious of which was the arrow sticking through his thigh. He grabbed its back and snapped it, then pulled it from the tip and tossed it to the ground. Blood flowed from both sides of the wound, but Jack felt the iron grip his will had on his body, felt the influence he could exert.

He refused to let this wound stand. The blood slowed, gradually coming to a stop, and the skin began to slowly knit itself back together.

He didn't know he could do this.

I survived… he thought. There is no way more enemies are coming. Still, this trial was more difficult than I expe—

Blue light flashed again.

Jack's eyes widened in terror as sixty-four assailants appeared around him, all staring with cold, murderous eyes. Are you fucking kidding me? This is too much!

BREAK

BREAK

He burst with power. His frustration became a deep roar, echoing through the stone walls of the cavern. Suddenly, the previously spacious battlefield seemed cramped, not leaving him much room to dodge. There were sixty-four enemies. Even if all of them were weaker than him, how was he supposed to handle them!?

But even as the doubts were forming in his mind, Jack lashed out with attacks. A lattice of explosions surrounded him, borne of his own Meteor Punches, filling the air with torn limbs. He was going all-out now, striking with little concern for conserving power. Brutalizing Aura was wreaking havoc through their numbers.

He didn't stay there long. He ghost-stepped away right as ranged attacks burst through the explosion, piercing the air where he stood. Missing him, the attacks flew to the other side of the encirclement, claiming the lives of their allies.

Jack ghost-stepped once more to appear outside the mass of enemies, who were so spread out they almost reached the walls. Luckily, he appeared behind a group of mages. Brutalizing Aura erupted from his body again, stunning all the creatures as he set to work on the mages, brutalizing them himself.

Nine mages fell. He ghost-stepped twice in rapid succession to reach the other side, where archers lay in wait, and tore into them as well, like a wild beast, like a raging lion. His every punch claimed a life. He was covered in blood and gore by now, some his own, but most blue and rapidly disintegrating.

The creatures snapped out of the aura's effects, but Jack had dealt with most of the ranged attackers by now. Without Brutalizing Aura, he would have been a goner. Only the melee fighters were left now, a whole crowd of them, with a few Will wielders barraging his mind with attacks.

But those couldn't hurt him, only disturb him, and his fused Dao Root of Indomitable Will allowed him to brute force his way through. He ducked low and oriented himself on the crowd of melee fighters who were coming at him like a tide, a flood of metal.

His fists clenched tighter, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Brutalizing Aura swept out again, but its effects were greatly reduced the second time. He met the melee head-on.

Weapons flew everywhere. His fists shot out rapidly, not bothering with aiming, just dodging and striking as fast as possible. He was surrounded by metal. He weaved on instinct, letting his experience guide him through the net. Weapons raked weakly against his skin, leaving shallow gashes. His fists struck out with such intensity that the creatures had no time to charge up strong attacks, blown apart the moment they approached.

His arms were heavy now, the Meteor Punches coming with strain. He was running out of stamina. Gritting his teeth, Jack changed tactics. He stopped Meteor Punching. The Dao of Power filled him, fueling his attacks with the domination of superior power.

His knuckles met torsos, sending the creatures flying back into their own. He kept his back to a wall and worked to disrupt their formation, so that only a few of them could attack him at a time. The drawback was that his punches were weaker now. Not all of them maimed the enemy. Some creatures returned, weak and battered, but alive still.

Jack didn't feel it mattered. They were a never-ending stream of enemies. For every creature he destroyed, another was there to take its place. His injuries were light, but they piled up. Scratches and bruises covered his body. A few, like the hole through his thigh or a persistent pain in his left shoulder, were more serious.

He sank into a red battle haze, equal parts ferocity, exhaustion, and pain.

The enemies kept coming, unending, until they weren't. The final creature fell, revealing an empty room filled with blue motes of light, all struggling to disappear but taking time. Only the five Will wielders were left, and Jack quickly took care of them, breaking them apart more brutally than strictly necessary.

He was alone again. Some part of him expected more enemies to appear, a hundred and twenty-eight of them. If that happened, he would die. He couldn't handle them.

But there was a limit to the trial's cruelty.

How was this adjusted to my level? he wondered, panting hard. Even with Brutalizing Aura and Indomitable Will, which were both perfectly suited for this battle, I only barely made it. Just how high are the standards of this trial? Just how precious the reward?

And then, to Jack's utter horror, the blue light flashed again. He froze. However, the light was more condensed now. It took more time to manifest the creatures, and it only covered the center of the cavern.

When it faded, four enemies appeared. They weren't the creatures from before. These ones had skin of metal and smooth, almost mesmerizing curves. Their faces were featureless ovals, their limbs long and lithe, their bodies bare, revealing them to be made of a single piece of metal, like humans of steel.

Their hands held curved swords, so long that they looked more like spears. Jack felt relief that there were only four enemies instead of over a hundred, but that relief was soon overshadowed by worry. These four were far stronger than the previous creatures. Their stance was solid, their movements drawing perfect lines through the air, their bodies exuding a sense of strength.

They weren't stronger than him, but they weren't too far off, either.

He instinctively erupted with Brutalizing Aura, but he felt it slide off the robots with minimal effect. It only influenced them for a fraction of a second. If he wanted to use the aura against them, he'd have to time it just right.

The robots kicked against the ground and reached him in a heartbeat, moving in perfect silence and sync, their weapons reflecting the mushroom light as they slashed at his throat. They were arrayed in two rows of two.

The attacks were fast. Jack couldn't retreat. If he stepped back, they would beat him through longer reach. Instead, he dove under the criss-crossing attacks and into their guard, where they couldn't reach him easily.

However, as he'd stepped closer to the first line of robots, he was at the perfect distance for the ones at the back. The front robots stepped aside. Two more swords came at him, each blinding in speed, their blades glinting with sharpness. There would be no tanking these blows, as he'd done for the previous creatures. Every attack that hit would be a grievous wound.

Jack jumped and turned his body sideways. One blade passed above and the other below him, while the two front robots took a step back and raised their blades to crash them down on him. Jumping had been a bad idea, because at the speed they were fighting, gravity would be too slow to bring him back down. He was a sitting duck.

As the two swords rose, he went into overdrive. Only the Iron Fist Style, that had been supporting him throughout the battle, let him survive. He sank into it, becoming a fist-ended force of nature.

He grabbed one blade and held it still. It cut into his palm, the pain stinging, but there was no momentum behind it, as it was moving backward. He then pulled the blade down to lift himself higher, his weight negligible compared to his strength, and pushed against it to turn his body in mid-air, letting the other blade scream past.

He turned around, still airborne, using the momentum to sweep a fist into a robotic head. The metal was hard under his knuckles, shaking his entire arm, but his fist was stronger. The purple glow on its surface pulsed for a moment, sucking in the colors and sounds of the world before exploding in a rupture of light.

Jack flew back, landing on his feet and reorienting on the robots as one of them tumbled to the ground, its head a dented mass of darkened metal. It dispersed into blue motes shortly after.

Three robots were left now. Without any regard for their fallen comrade, they charged Jack again.

Jack gritted his teeth. He estimated each of them to be close to a middle E-Grade cultivator—perhaps level 70? He was lower than that. Moreover, these robots possessed excellent coordination. How exactly was this "adjusting to his level?" Just what did the trial creators take him to be?

The enemies were already upon him. One pale blade glinted in the mushroom light, a razor-sharp edge that could bisect him if it hit head-on.

But there was only one. After he killed a robot, their formation weakened. The two at the back remained as strong as they used to be, but the front one…

Jack ducked and sidestepped, letting the blade sail over his shoulder, then stepped in to deliver a straight Meteor Punch into the robot's head. Unfortunately, its reach was long, giving it time to respond as Jack approached, and it was fast. It managed to duck in time, dodging his attack and turning the curved sword to smash its butt into Jack's ribs from below.

He gasped, taking a step back and fighting the urge to double over, as the other two robots swung at him, their sword tips arcing quickly. He took another step back, dodging the attacks, wondering how he could approach.

Brutalizing Aura erupted again, but it was the second time they faced it, so it had no effect. The robots stepped back, creating distance, and the front one swiped its blade at him. Jack charged in to meet it with his chest—

—and ghost-stepped behind them, shooting out a Meteor Punch at one of the back robots. It swung to meet him faster than he thought possible. It blocked his fist with the flat of its blade, the explosion lifting it off its feet and into the front robot.

For a precious second, the two robots were flying, unable to control themselves in the air. Gravity was slow. Jack was alone with one robot, which faced him squarely and backpedaled to approach the safety of its teammates. Their tactical awareness was annoying. These robots were no fodder.

But neither was Jack. He chased after the robot, closing in with Ghost Step. He appeared in front of its chest. Expecting it, the robot raised a leg to meet him, but Jack endured the attack. A spike of pain burned though his calf, which took the blow.

The other two robots were still mid-air, but they didn't just wait for gravity to do its job. As one, they stuck their swords into the stone, piercing it like cheese, then pushed against the side of the ground with the flat parts of their blades, reversing their momentum and shooting back toward Jack.

It was a maneuver he never even thought possible. He was momentarily awed by the level he had reached, where he fought multiple enemies with such capabilities, but also irritated that these robots were so adept in battle.

Unfortunately, even with mid-air maneuvers, they just weren't fast enough. Jack had stepped into the guard of the retreating robot and took its hit. He had a fraction of a second to attack.

He smashed out a Meteor Punch, imbuing it with the Dao of Power. It exploded as an uppercut into the robot's waist, storming into it with such power that its entire body flew off in a straight line, crashing into the cavern ceiling and getting embedded in the stone. Its midsection was broken. Its sword flew away, spinning through the air, to slide into the stone like it was nothing. Both sword and robot burst into blue light.

The other two robots reached him. In an act of unspoken communication, they broke their previous formation and faced him as two individuals instead of a team. They rushed to flank him, but Jack wouldn't let them. He used Meteor Shower as they approached, enduring the increasing weight of his arms, forcing one of them to stop and defend.

The other screeched to a halt, but Jack was already upon it. He rained blows. The robot's blade flashed, blocking everything, but Jack persisted, keeping it on the back foot. Even as the second robot joined in, he didn't stop his attacks, understanding that he couldn't afford to waste this opportunity.

BREAK

BREAK

His arms was leaden, his body coal. Weakness suffused him, but his Indomitable Body pressed on, guided forward like a precise blade. He was only fighting two robots now—one attacking, one buried under his onslaught of strikes.

He feinted an attack to the right. The defending robot didn't fall for it, but the attacking one did, swinging where he pretended to go. He moved the other way, dodging the attack, and kept laying on the defender.

His fists erupted with the power of falling meteors, every hit shaking the entire cavern. The robot resisted, its metal feet digging trenches into the stone, but it was forced back, struggling to defend. Its grip faltered with every block, and Jack's strikes kept coming, roaring forth with overwhelming intensity.

The other robot's curved sword was imbued with rising panic. It swung widely, rushing to save its comrade and exploit Jack's insistence on attacking—

—and Jack ghost-stepped behind it. The bending of space was exhausting, his temples drumming with blood, his own heartbeat thundering like the hooves of a horse, but he was in a good position. The robot had already committed to an attack, and its sword was too long, too slow to retreat.

It twisted blindly to the side, again dodging one of Jack's strikes, but he simply threw another, his fist clashing against hard metal and denting it, venting power inside it, rummaging its interior, and cracking the robot sideways down the middle.

It disintegrated.

The final robot fell on him, exploiting his exhaustion to push on with a fierce offensive. Strikes rained faster than Jack could counterattack, the robot pushed into a frenzy by the loss of all its comrades. Jack struggled to fight back, his body and mind heavy, but his will pushed through.

For all the robot's tactical understanding and brilliant maneuvering, its actual skill with the blade was lacking. Finally, one strike went wide. Jack spotted it in a haze of gray, stepped into the missed attack and slapped the blade near the handle, sending it completely off-position.

His slapping arm then formed a fist and backfisted the robot in the side, making it bend, while Jack followed his momentum to smash his other fist into the side of the robot's head. A Meteor Punch erupted. The head flew back, the metal neck groaning under the strain, and Jack planted another fist straight into its chest, just to be sure.

The robot flew back, exploding mid-flight and bursting into blue light before it even reached the wall.

Jack put his hands on his knees, panting. His previous wounds had reopened. He was losing blood quickly, he was exhausted, his eyes were wavering, and his head was ringing.

But he had succeeded. Fierce joy flooded his heart, overshadowing the pain, filling him with the satisfaction of a hard-earned victory.

He would have cheered if he wasn't trying to catch his breath, still afraid that more enemies would come, that an even harder battle would rear its head, that the trial would be cruel to the point of disgust.

A few moments passed, enough to make him think it was over.

Then, the voice said, "Adjusting difficulty due to barely passing the mental trial," and light flashed again, revealing eight robots holding wicked curved swords.

Jack felt despair wash through him. He couldn't handle this battle. It was beyond his skills.

At the same time, intense resolve accompanied the upcoming death. His world sharpened to a point. Time slowed down. All thoughts disappeared, leaving only the bitter desire to take as many enemies as he could with him. He didn't even care that the robots were clearly not living beings. He just wanted to destroy them.

As the blue light receded, Jack flowed into the robots that had just spawned. They raised their swords, already ready to meet him. Brutalizing Aura swept out, fueled by Jack's awareness of his own death. The robots froze for just a second.

In that time, Jack smashed one in the midsection, and another in the head. Both robots dispersed, leaving him with six. More than enough to destroy him.

He didn't think about that. His only thought was to optimize his battle, to survive for as long as possible, to deal as much damage as he could. The robots fell on him, one formation of four and one of two. He whirled around them, placing one formation before the other so they couldn't all attack him at the same time.

In his mind, damp exhaustion and intense resolve went hand in hand.

I have to disrupt the formations. He registered the thought like it was not his own. I have to save my power, use my skills sparingly.

His wounds were leaking blood, but he no longer felt the pain or numbness. He pressed on. The swords turned into blurs. He moved more on instinct than decision, surrendering himself to his Iron Fist Style and fighting experience. He ducked, sidestepped, bobbed, and weaved. He let the wicked blades sunder the air around him, carve and toil it like a fertile field, while he remained unhurt in the very center.

The Dao of the Fist roared inside him, lending him all its power. His two Dao Roots did the same.

There was no sudden power-up, no miraculous breakthrough at the last moment. He could only depend on himself. His strength was what it was. So were his skills. In this sealed-off cavern, nobody would arrive to save him. There was no way out.

At this moment of death, all Jack discovered was a profound sense of going all-out. There was nothing to conserve anymore, no thoughts to make. Regrets would come at his final moment. Now, all he could do, all he wanted to do, was devote his entire being to battle, punch with every iota of his soul.

He dodged the blades, punched back. His brain was filled with calculations. He could see the swings before they came, move around them, punch in the gaps. His entire brain was laid bare, revealing depths that the conscious mind could never touch, and it was all devoted to battle. He even thought that his heart would forget to beat. Perhaps it did.

Metal crumpled under his knuckles. The distant sound of an explosion reached his ears, and its glaring heat seared his eyes. He slapped a strike away, the movement almost impossibly precise, and let another flow before his eyes as he stepped in to punch a robot with all his strength. The impact was distant, dull as it traveled up his arm and down his torso. The robot still exploded.

But there were more. There were always more.

He danced with the blades, no longer clear on his position, riding the swings as a leaf would ride the wind. He felt pain. His blood was lessening, he knew. He felt burn, cold, and the air touching places in his body that it shouldn't be able to. He wasn't clear what had happened, but he knew his injuries were deadly.

So what?

In one fluid motion, he ducked under a blade, leaned past another, and drove his fist into a robot's jaw. He ghost-stepped behind himself, blindly—and luckily—dodging two attacks, then buried his knuckles in a metal armpit, tearing an arm free.

He turned around, swinging his other fist in a wide arc, only to realize there was no fist there. No hand. No arm.

Huh.

He followed the momentum, spinning low and then high, jumping and somersaulting to crash his one remaining fist into a robot, smashing its head into the ground. Something caressed his chest like a light, stinging veil. He saw more blood fly out. His vision was bleary, unfocused.

The attacks came slower now, but he was already dead. Even as he landed, he pressed on, ignoring the rapidly growing weakness in his limbs, the soreness of breath in his punctured lungs.

He fought and fought, dodged and attacked. The battle was a stream of indecipherable colors, his moves only on instinct. If not for his Indomitable Body, he would already be lying on the ground, unable to move. He could no longer use any skills, nor did his mind work enough to remember he had them.

Only the Dao remained, a burning, roaring lump in his chest, a core of power that fueled him to keep going, like a clenched fist, like a punch shot out, like the force of life carving through the world.

Everything became one, until he realized he had stopped punching. He could no longer move his body. He was alive in dead flesh, only his will persisting, a guttering flame whose candle had expired.

He used the last of his tenacity to look around, to admire the devastation he had wreaked, his parting tribute to the world. He saw blue motes of light, robotic parts twitching on the ground, disintegrating swords glinting in the light, a human arm lying in a puddle of red blood.

He saw no standing robots.

At some point, he had won. Too bad he died in the process.

Pressure reached his ears. A faraway voice, like someone was speaking to him. He couldn't remember who it was. It didn't matter.

At least, he'd fought well.

BREAK

BREAK

As the last of Jack's flame whisked away with a final spark of infinite sadness, gentle warmth filled his entire being, suffocating him, completing him, burying him under power the likes of which he couldn't even begin to imagine.

His world turned green, a plain of infinite vitality, a pond of life from which he was allowed to drink. His ruined body sucked in the life like a cracked desert absorbs the rain, drinking greedily, desperately. His numbness became infinite pain, filling his every corner. His stump of a shoulder sprouted new flesh, coiling around itself and tightening into an arm. His wounds closed, the skin regrowing and knitting itself shut.

And Jack Rust was made anew.

Suddenly, he snapped back into total lucidity. As the healing powers faded away, he was left flabbergasted.

His body, broken and mangled beyond recognition, had been completely restored. New, rosy skin had appeared over his wounds. His veins and arteries were filled with blood again. His heart was beating, strong as an ox, and his lungs were blissfully empty of liquids.

Even his cut-off arm had regrown. He flexed its fingers; they felt good as new, like they had always been there. Like the battle had been a dream. However, the sight of his previous arm in a puddle of blood served as a grim reminder of just how close to death he had come.

But he had pushed through.

He had survived. Succeeded.

"Combat trial, passed," the voice said again, and this time, Jack imagined he heard a hint of approval in its tone. "Withheld rewards presented."

Suddenly, a slew of notifications clustered Jack's vision.

Level up! You have reached Level 70.

Level up! You have reached Level 71.

Level up! You have reached Level 72.

Level up! You have reached Level 73.

Level up! You have reached Level 74.

Level up! You have reached Level 75.

Level up! You have reached Level 76.

Level up! You have reached Level 77.

Level up! You have reached Level 78.

Level up! You have reached Level 79.

Level up! You have reached Level 80.

He lost his breath. He'd never seen so many level-ups at the same time.

No wonder! he thought. No wonder I didn't get any level-ups during the battle… The trial was holding them back, somehow. I didn't even know that was possible.

Despite his surprise and near-death experience, Jack didn't lose any time. He remembered that the voice had mentioned five trials; he'd only been through four so far.

In the few seconds of peace, he quickly checked his status screen.

Name: Jack Rust

Species: Human, Earth-387

Faction: Bare Fist Brotherhood (E)

Grade: E

Class: Fiend of the Iron Fist (Elite)

Level: 80

Strength: 260 (+)

Dexterity: 260 (+)

Constitution: 290 (+)

Mental: 30 (+)

Will: 60 (+)

Free points: 55

Skills: Ghost Step (I)

Dao Skills: Meteor Punch (II), Indomitable Body (II), Iron Fist Style (I)

Daos: Perfect Dao Seed of the Fist (early), Dao Root of Indomitable Will (fused), Dao Root of Power

Titles: Planetary Frontrunner (10), Planetary Torchbearer (1), Second Ring Conqueror

This time, allocating them wasn't as simple as usual.

First, he decided to pour twenty points into Mental. This trial had emphasized that having no weaknesses was important, as had his previous run-ins with Mental and Will cultivators. He would have liked to raise it to 60, like Will, but this was about survival. Twenty points was already plenty.

Following Master Shol's 8-1-1 distribution, he wouldn't need to reinvest in Mental until he reached four hundred points in the Physical attributes.

The remaining thirty-five points would go into Physical. However, would he allocate them uniformly, or would he emphasize Strength and Dexterity to balance Constitution?

He decided to balance.

These three were the Physical sub-stats, which meant that each attribute point counted as three sub-points when split between them. The math was slightly complex, but it was nothing to the current Jack.

He invested twenty of his remaining points into Physical. They became sixty sub-points, enough to raise Strength and Dexterity to 290, just like Constitution. Then, with a satisfied grin, he split the remaining fifteen points evenly.

Strength: 305

Dexterity: 305

Constitution: 305

Mental: 50

Will: 60

Over three hundred Physical. The average pre-System human had five. Jack felt strong like an elephant, dexterous like a snake, and durable like a steel wall—but without the intelligence of one.

The familiar surge of power coursed through his limbs, making the near-death experience fall away, replacing the dread with anticipation. He couldn't wait to test his new power against someone—preferably that minotaur who'd dared slap Brock.

The voice chose this moment to ring again, drawing Jack back to the present.

"You have proven the absence of weakness. You have proven strength. You have proven tenacity, intelligence, and a strong heart. You are worthy."

Suddenly, space fissured. Verdant green now floated before him, shaped as a droplet, but its small size was completely unable to hide its majesty. Jack was looking at an ocean of life, a well of inexhaustible energy, a Dao at a level far beyond anything he'd ever seen. Even the Dao of the C-Grade planetary overseer, as he'd experienced it when she suppressed him in the arena, was tiny compared to this drop.

At the start of the trial, the voice had mentioned a divine gift. Jack didn't know what this was, but if someone told him it was the power of gods, he would believe them.

Before he could think further, the drop flew inside him with tremendous speed. It crossed his skin like it was non-existent, diving into his body, his spirit. For the first time, he felt something approach his soul.

"However," the voice boomed out again, grim in its tone, "all those are nothing without an undying ambition, a will eternal, unbroken, unsatisfiable. You have succeeded in four of the trials, but the divine gift itself is the final crucible. If you cannot endure it, the powers of this place will heal your soul. You may exit and keep the benefits you have already received, but know that they are nothing compared to the true reward. Best of luck."

It was the first time the impassive voice gave him encouragement. Somehow, this scared Jack more than cold impassiveness.

The moment the voice finished ringing, he was plunged into hell.

The drop, whatever it was, finished seeping into his body. It spread across him from head to toes. It even invaded his mind. And then, it started pushing.

His entire body was covered in riveting pain. The drop was pushing into him from every direction, not compressing him, but sinking into his body like an iron anvil might sink into particularly thick quicksand. It made him feel elastic, impossibly bent. His every cell refused this invasion, but the drop persisted, slowly but surely demolishing his resistance.

Of course, the process was extremely painful. Jack felt like his body was disintegrating, slowly, from the outside inward.

His first reaction was to fight back. He gathered his focus and pushed against the drop, finding with surprise that he could easily resist it. He could even expel it. The pain abated as he pushed out, and Jack wanted nothing more than to keep pushing.

But with the absence of pain came lucidity. He remembered the voice's words. If he accepted this gift, he would gain extreme power.

But was that worth the pain?

Jack closed his mouth, only now realizing he was screaming. Everything outside his body had long fallen away. He gnashed his teeth, wrestling against himself. The Dao Root of Indomitable Will came to his assistance, reinforcing his efforts, helping him control his impulses.

He stopped resisting. The drop started sinking again, as slowly as ever, its sweep though his body absolute. Not a single cell escaped. The hellish pain returned, consuming him, rupturing him.

His mouth flew open as he screamed, alone in a sealed stone cavern deep beneath the earth.

Jack felt despair. The pain was so great that he had to escape it, to do something right now. And the worst part is, he could. He could push the drop away. Escape the pain.

But if he did, he would fail. He would not have the power. He needed that.

It felt like he had split into two people. One was screaming and thrashing, enduring hellish torture. The other was holding the first Jack captive, pinning him to the ground and forcing him to endure the pain, keeping his entire body glued to an oven's burning iron no matter how the first Jack screamed.

Jack was his own torturer. His sense of self ruptured. Inflicting such misery on oneself made no sense. Why not release it? Why not escape?

And yet, he persisted. Blind stubbornness, indomitable will, a burning, unquenchable thirst for the power this pain would bring.

Why do you persist? he asked himself, screaming. Why do you do this to me?

The answer was not clear. It was inside him, however, and Jack pushed.

You are insane! We do not deserve this! Let me go!

NO!

Why!?

Jack screamed again, the sound not even registering. Every nerve in his body was firing off like firecrackers. Every synapse in his brain was flaring.

The drop was sinking through his body slowly. It was like a bubble closing around him, with his heart as the center. But even after all this time, it was nowhere near done.

Why!? One Jack demanded to know, while the other held his hands in a deathgrip around the neck of the first.

His thoughts were loose. His body was jelly. His sense of self was torn, and he struggled to make even the slightest of thoughts. All he knew was that he had to push through, he had to endure, and this was a desire that stemmed from somewhere deep inside him, from the very core of what made him Jack Rust. It came without thought, without consideration.

Why!? Jack screamed again, the voice echoing inside his own mind. Why!?

He did not know. He could not see that far inside him. Why did he fight? Why did he progress? Why did he force himself forward when all that lay between him and triumph was pain?

Why had he fought in the dungeon instead of lying down to die? Why had he joined the Tournament? Why had he stood up for what was right, refusing to be enslaved? Why had he cornered himself, running out to a hostile galaxy to fight against insurmountable odds?

Why could he not just yield and be happy?

That's not happiness! the torturer Jack screamed back. That's fake! Lies! Weakness! It is not my path!

That was the core, wasn't it? The path he'd chosen, what he'd forged himself into, the filter through which he saw the world. His desires were set. His soul was settled. He wanted to be this Jack Rust, not any other. The Jack who fought.

Why!? the tortured Jack insisted, desperate to know why he had to endure such pain.

Jack felt like it had been a century already, but the drop was only halfway through his body. His nerves were frayed, existing in an eternal state of pain. Could he persist all the way? He did not know. But he would try. His outer self was shed away, revealing his deepest core underneath.

He had almost run out of power. He wanted to resist, but he simply couldn't any longer. The drop was approaching completion, but could he last that much? He needed something to fuel him, to support him. Why did he fight? He dug deep inside himself, striving to find the core-most reason and grab on to it like a drowning man on a floating log.

Why!? his thoughts screamed again, his fear, his despair, his weakness.

At the end of his rope, he found the reason.

Because compared to the pain of being weak, this is nothing.

When all else was shed away, this was all that remained. This was Jack Rust. A man who would never yield, never give up, never stop striving for greatness. A man who had seen through the lies he told himself. And he knew.

Without strength, without freedom, life was meaningless.

He remembered the times before the Integration. He was leading a dull life, simply floating along without power, without initiative, without control over his life. He always smiled and nodded, playing by the rules, seeking society's approval, burying himself deeper into the hurtful facade. The Integration had hurt, but it had shown him a way out—a way that always existed, even before the Integration, but he was too weak of heart to pursue it.

Now that he saw the truth, he could never go back. He did not want to return to those days. He was afraid of them, and of the person he used to be.

He wanted power. Freedom. Without those, he might as well die.

And the world had listened to his wishes. It had provided him the opportunity. If he gave up now, if he betrayed himself at this critical juncture, he would never recover. His will would be shattered. He would forever remain weak.

He anchored himself to this truth, holding on with tooth and nail, using his despair as fuel to grab on harder.

The pain did not abate, but the tortured Jack stopped resisting, accepting his fate and why it had to be so. Torturer and tortured became the same. He was one again, a unity of will and pain centered around one axis: Strength. Freedom. True life.

The pain came in crashing waves. Jack felt it all, but he no longer suffered as much. He knew he would not relent. He would persist until he died. That resolve took a weight off his chest, turning him into a rock at sea, always battered by waves but never budging, never relenting. His screams became a natural part of the world as his mind receded in a shell of acceptance, watching his own pain as if from afar.

It could have been a second or a year. Jack had no way to tell.

Until everything came to an end.

The pain disappeared. Jack was no longer in a stone cavern. In fact, he no longer had a body. He was in a vision similar to those he got from his Classes, but the scenery was on a whole other level.

He wasn't on a planet anymore. He was in space, surrounded by broken stars and swirling vortexes.

And, right in front of him, the entire world was dark, like someone had stuck a black sticker in the center of his vision.

BREAK

BREAK

A huge circle of darkness was superimposed on Jack's vision. It was close and far away at the same time. He could sense it just before his eyes, a threat of cosmic scale, but he could also see stars orbiting it in the distance, their shapes twisting and warping, elongated.

In this moment, Jack didn't have a mind to observe the universe around him. His gaze and soul were captivated by the darkness. He felt something in there, waiting, calling to him. It was gargantuan beyond belief.

He knew it was there. And yet, the darkness showed nothing. It was a circle darker than black, a void so impenetrable that not even light could escape, a place where even time and space seemed to lose their meaning.

A place that could trap even Old Ones.

Despite the absence of any clues, Jack could feel it beyond the shadow of a doubt. Something was hiding in the darkness. A deity shielded by an impenetrable veil. An existence on such a high level that it felt as sacred as the Dao itself, as the large fist he'd glimpsed when he first touched upon his Dao of the Fist. It radiated life with such intensity that it overwhelmed everything else. It made death seem childish.

Jack was humbled. The incalculable physical distance between himself and that force of life seemed like a fitting metaphor for the immeasurable difference between them.

His mind ground to a halt, frozen in incomprehension, paralyzed by being in the presence of something so superior. It was a self-defense mechanism. If not, he would go insane.

The God in the black hole spoke, but Jack couldn't understand the words. Each buffeted him like a tsunami, and blocking off reality was all he could do to shield his sanity.

Eventually, a tired sigh resounded through the stars, and the vision faded away, returning Jack to reality. He instantly remembered the cruel, unending pain, a now inseparable part of his existence. He braced himself…but it never came.

From one moment to the next, the pain was simply not there. The feeling was jarring. It took him some time to adapt. The environment began to creep into his mind again, slowly, hesitantly.

Jack was on the the stone cavern, lying on the floor. His entire body felt sore. Wounds brushed against the crude stone, but that pain was almost funny by now.

He simply lay there for a while. Not moving, not thinking, just waiting for reality to settle over him, for his brain to forget about hell and start operating again.

Many minutes later, Jack forced himself to stand. Slowly, tentatively, he rose to his feet. Nothing bad happened. No assault, no pain. Finally able to think again, he finally wondered, What the hell happened?

He first thought about the vision, but the mere memory filled him with horror. The vision's intensity was such that even considering it stretched his soul. However, Jack wouldn't be stopped by mere horror.

A God in bottomless darkness… he thought, suppressing a shiver. Enas. The Old One that was trapped in a black hole by his peers, for reasons unknown. It was his statue I touched to come here. The voice spoke about a divine gift.

Does this trial really have a direct connection to an Old One?

The thought was enough to fill him with anticipation. Just what would such an entity consider valuable enough to call a gift?

However, Jack had to admit that this trial was no joke either. He was extremely strong for his level, and also well-suited to fighting crowds of weaker enemies, but the combat trial had still almost doomed him. And the pain of that drop entering his body…

Only his steel resolve, cultivated through many life-or-death situations, had pulled him through. How many people could boast the same decisiveness?

Who was this trial designed to find?

The rewards could only be suitable. Jack turned his gaze inward, afraid of what he might find.

There, inside his soul, was a new entity. A drop of liquid, vibrant green, floating around in his Dao Seed—his soul—alongside his two Dao Roots. No; it wasn't just floating around. It was connected to him, fused. Little roots spread from its core to dive into the nearby space, resembling the Dao Root of Indomitable Will he had only recently fused.

Besides that, the drop looked nothing like a Dao Root. Apparently, the System disagreed.

Congratulations! The Dao Root of Life had been successfully fused with your Dao Seed.

Strength +20

Constitution +20

Will +20

Congratulations! Indomitable Body II → Indomitable Body III.

Indomitable Body III: You possess more than mere physicality. The Dao of the Fist reinforces your entire body, making it indomitable. You have significant durability, extreme regenerative powers, and heightened control over your body, including its natural limiters. Additionally, your mind is fast enough to keep up.

Conveniently, the System italicized the differences from the previous tier of the skill. This time, it was only one word: his regenerative powers had become "extreme."

What? Jack opened his status screen.

Name: Jack Rust

Species: Human, Earth-387

Faction: Bare Fist Brotherhood (E)

Grade: E

Class: Fiend of the Iron Fist (Elite)

Level: 80

Strength: 325

Dexterity: 305

Constitution: 325

Mental: 50

Will: 80

Skills: Ghost Step I

Dao Skills: Indomitable Body III, Meteor Punch II, Iron Fist Style I, Brutalizing Aura I

Daos: Perfect Dao Seed of the Fist (late), Dao Root of Indomitable Will (fused), Dao Root of Life (fused), Dao Root of Power

Titles: Planetary Frontrunner (10), Planetary Torchbearer (1), Second Ring Conqueror

What? he asked again. This didn't make any sense. The drop was the Dao Root of Life? And it had fused with him? When? What did he know about life? He had never even pondered the issue.

It didn't even look like a Dao Root at all.

Something was wrong here.

Either there are many things I don't understand…or the System misinterpreted something, Jack thought. Still, I thought the Dao could only be understood, not transferred. Is this the power of a God? What happened? And how?

…And how do I get out of here?

He waited a moment. The sun mushroom above still covered the cavern in still light, and the absolute silence was like heaven after all the trial's intensity. Since the voice didn't seem eager to speak up, Jack focused inward again, taking a better look at his new Dao Root.

No matter how he looked at it, it still didn't look like one. The System could say whatever it wanted, but Jack knew that this wasn't a Dao Root. Or maybe it was, but it was also much more.

It was a reservoir of unlimited energy, a well of infinite vitality, like an ocean of life compressed to the size of a droplet. It made sense that his regeneration would be ramped up so hard that his Indomitable Body rose an entire tier.

But there was more. He gazed into the drop, focusing more and more on it. As he did, its details sharpened, its ocean of life growing ever deeper. His current spiritual perception wasn't even enough to reach the bottom.

Just what is this thing? he wondered for the hundredth time in one minute. His thoughts immediately whirled in a new direction. And what else can I do with it?

He sensed the endless vitality, the power. There were roots connecting this drop to the rest of his soul, but they now seemed tiny. The amount of power they could transmit to him was nothing in comparison to the drop's reserves, a tiny fraction of a fraction.

What happens if I draw more?

He tried. The drop was in his soul, after all, so he had good control over it. He sensed the thin barrier keeping the power of life contained, and he very gently parted it, letting a tiny part of the drop's energy seep out, infiltrating his soul through osmosis and quickly reaching a point of balance. Something clicked.

The change was instantaneous. He was filled with such power that his body was about to burst. He quickly let the barrier drop again, releasing a cry of surprise, but the energy that had already been released flooded him, coursing aggressively to his every nook and cranny. It pushed at him from the inside like a flood, demanding that his body expand or explode.

He really was afraid that he would burst. Instead, somehow, he expanded.

Jack's eyes snapped open, observing the changes in his body. He couldn't believe it.

He grew taller and wider. His body was magnified—even his pants. He instantly grew a whole foot in height, all his proportions remaining constant. He sensed power course through his body like when he leveled up. His overall power had just increased by a significant margin, though no System notification accompanied the change.

Before he could digest what happened, staring at his own hands with wonder, he realized that the life energy wasn't done yet. It circled around his body, frustrated that he'd stopped growing, and focused under his armpits.

There was a momentary spike of pain as his skin ruptured. Then, to Jack's absolute shock, two more arms grew out under his regular ones, flesh and muscles entwining to form elbows, forearms, hands, and fingers. It resembled the way his cut-off arm had regrown after the combat trial.

Jack had four arms.

Only now was the life energy satisfied, content to course around his body and continuously support its changes.

Jack was left as a four-armed giant. He was stupefied. He flexed his fingers in disbelief—all twenty of them—overawed by how he had complete and easy control over his two new arms like they had always been there. Instinctively, he clenched one into a fist and punched out. A purple meteor unfurled, its starry line crossing the room to land on the floor ten feet to the side with an explosion.

"What the fuck?" he couldn't resist saying. He couldn't stop looking over himself, conflicted between shock and glee.

He had suddenly grown massively stronger. The life drop was a tremendous boon to his combat abilities. It also gave him extra arms. He could punch much faster. But he had four arms.

What?

He checked his status screen, but nothing had changed. His stats remained as they were, as did his titles and dao roots. There was no indication that his body had just changed completely.

Will I stay like this forever? he thought with a spike of horror. It wouldn't be too bad. He would be strong. But everyone would look at him weird. Did he really care?

However, he soon realized that was not the case. He hadn't noticed it before due to the shock, but the life energy coursing through his body was under his control. With an effort of will, he pushed it back inside the drop, where it remained easily.

The changes reverted. His two new arms shrunk back, the skin closing without a trace where they used to be, and he shrunk until he regained his normal size.

It was like nothing had changed.

Jack wasn't sure he could process this.

"Congratulations," the booming voice came again, fanning Jack's hopes of an explanation. This time, the voice carried emotion. Deep, trembling joy. "You have succeeded in inheriting the divine gift, the Life Drop, a drop of blood from the Old God of Life himself. This is an unfathomable honor, as well as a great duty.

"You will notice that the Life Drop has joined your body as an already fused Dao Root. The System will say so, if it still exists, but that is false. It simply cannot comprehend the powers of an Old God. That is also a gift. If the System recognized the Life Drop for what it was, a sign of the Old Gods, its forces would descend on you and this place, demanding to take it away or destroy it.

"Fear not. The soul is inviolable. Neither the System nor anyone else can discover the Life Drop inside you without special means. However, there is more power in this divine gift. Look deep into it, let its power seep out to fill you, and you will assume a form that vastly increases your powers."

"I did that already," Jack replied. The voice either couldn't hear him or ignored him—probably the former, given how talkative it now was. Success really did change everyone's attitude.

It waited a few moments, expecting Jack to realize and experiment with the Life Drop's powers.

"That form is a great weapon that requires utmost secrecy," the voice finally continued. "If word of it gets around to the ones in power, they will know what it means. That will be your end. Therefore, that form should only be used as a final resort, when you are certain there is nobody watching, or when you are certain that those watching will not report your powers."

"I see," Jack replied, nodding. "An ace in my sleeve."

"Giving you access to that power is a gamble," the voice admitted, suddenly sounding a bit hesitant. "But, if you are to achieve the feats we require of you, trusting your judgment is essential. You have attained great power today, young mortal. Use it wisely. Your path is endless, your potential limitless. Make us proud. Right our wrongs. Undo the evil we have created."

"I, uh… Thank you. I'll do my best," Jack replied. "Could you perhaps tell me more about this evil? I, uh, have no idea what you're talking about."

"You will exit this hall shortly. We ask that you use your power rightly, with the Dao as your guide, and with utmost secrecy. Tell no one about it, not even your closest allies, for it is always them who tempt betrayal. If you stand out sufficiently, as you doubtlessly will, the great forces of the universe will stop at nothing to get your secrets."

"Okay, that sounds dangerous. I noticed you keep talking about important things, like great forces and such, but not saying names. Could you maybe—"

"Goodbye, chosen one. May you scale the peak we failed to master."

"I—"

And just like that, Jack teleported away.

BREAK

BREAK

Jack appeared in the middle of the shrine with a stumble. The moment reality finished playing around, he scanned his surroundings.

Destruction. The skeleton by the corner was the only thing left untouched. The rest of the shrine was carnage, like someone took a sledgehammer and went to town on it. The thin walls were torn and battered. The floor was upturned. The ceiling had collapsed in places, showering the room with debris.

Not even the statue of Enas had escaped. It lay on the ground with tiny dents on its face, surrounded by chips of stone. Someone had tried and failed to break it.

Jack was seized by anxiety. He had just received a divine gift by Enas. Now, someone had tried to break his statue? Was that considered blasphemy? Was Jack supposed to do something about it? Not that he'd ever agreed to such a thing, but still, it felt right to help those who helped you.

If the statue was destroyed, would I be stuck in that cavern? he wondered with rising brows.

"Jack!" A cry reached him, filled with elation. He looked outside the shrine, finding Nauja approaching, and walked to meet her.

Outside the little room, the wave of destruction continued unabated. The flimsy fence was tattered, the soil carved, the nearby ruins of a house collapsed.

"Thank the System you're here!" Nauja said, rushing over. She seemed relieved. "Brock was worried sick. He tore the place up to find you."

"Brock did all that?" Jack asked, looking around again.

"He went berserk! I managed to stop him from destroying my ancestor's skeleton, but the rest of it…" She gestured widely at the disaster. "Well, let's just say it's a good thing the Ancients here are long, long gone."

"My little bro…"

Jack heart fluttered. Brock had been so worried that he started searching everywhere… He wasn't even gone that long. The brorilla must have been frantic.

As if on cue, Brock spilled out from behind a hut at full tilt—he'd heard Jack and Nauja's voices. The moment he saw Jack, his little eyes widened, and Jack could see the tension leaving the little brorilla's shoulders.

His fur was matted, covered in chips of wood and stone. His staff was dusty, his pants torn at the hems, his gaze filled with elation. He rushed to Jack like a cannonball of fur and slammed on him, sending them both to the ground.

"Oof!" Jack said, falling on his back. "I missed you too, bro."

"Yes! Bro! Yes!" Brock stood on Jack's chest, drumming on his chest and cheering to the heavens before realizing what he was doing. He quickly stepped back and helped Jack stand, then dutifully dusted off his big bro's pants.

Jack laughed. "It's alright, Brock. I'm glad to see you were worried about me."

"Bro!" Brock exclaimed, almost insulted. He pointed at Jack, then himself. "Bros."

"Oh, you even know the plural now? How long was I gone for?"

"A few hours," Nauja replied. She gave him a pointed look. "Enough for Brock to wreck the ruins of my ancestors."

Jack paused. That didn't sound quite right. Should he scold Brock?

Then again, Brock had seen his big bro touch a statue and disappear. He didn't know how the world worked. In fairness, Jack might have acted the same way. He really couldn't blame his little bro.

But he had destroyed the ruins of Nauja's ancestors. Why didn't she stop him? Could she be worried, too?

"I understand your reaction, bro. It came from the heart," he declared, raising his hands in a peace gesture. "Still, we apologize for disrespecting your ancestors, Nauja. At least it all worked out."

"Yeah," she accepted the half-apology after hesitating for a moment. "Where were you, anyway?"

So, Jack told them. Not everything—just most things. He detailed the simple stone cavern, the voice's instructions, and the trials he went through. In the end, he even told them about his reward. The only things he withheld were the vision, the battle form offered by the Life Drop, and its true identity as a drop of blood from Enas himself. He said it was simply the Dao Root of Life.

It pained him to lie, especially to Brock, but he remembered the voice's instructions. Closest friends were the ones whose betrayal stang the bitterest.

A moment later, he felt ashamed by his own thoughts.

"No, you know what? I said some inaccuracies. Let me fix that."

And he told them the rest as well. In the end, he hid nothing. Such was the path of the fist. Perhaps there were mind-readers somewhere in the universe, but Nauja had journeyed here with him and risked her life to help him when the minotaur came knocking.

As for Brock… Well, Brock's importance and loyalty went without saying. They were brothers.

"Wow," Nauja said breathlessly when Jack was done talking. "An Old One? Really?"

"The voice called him an Old God, but yes." He nodded. "So, basically, I'm super strong, but nobody must find out."

Brock gave him a thumbs-up.

"You should test out that form," Nauja said. "I look forward to seeing four-armed, big Jack."

"What, here?"

"Why not? This could be the most secretive place in Trial Planet."

Jack hesitated. He didn't fear discovery if he used his new power here, but the truth was, he felt a bit uncomfortable. He had already ignored the voice's instructions by sharing the secret—fairly, in his opinion. If he now demonstrated his powers for no reason, even if it was safe… Wouldn't he be a little too carefree? Almost disrespectful of the power he'd received?

"Maybe later," he finally said. "When the time comes, you will see it."

Nauja pouted but said nothing. Brock nodded calmly. He was obviously consumed by curiosity but acted like nothing was wrong.

"So," Jack said, looking around, "how do we get out of here?"

"There is an exit tunnel leading to the next ring. We discovered it while searching before."

He raised a brow. "We?"

"Obviously, I was searching too." Nauja crossed her arms. "What did you expect, that I'd just sit back and let Brock wreck this place alone?"

"Good point. But what about you? You don't want to come to the next ring. Is the way back open?"

She bit her lip. "I took a look, but the door remains sealed. I think… I think there is no way back. Or, if there is, I don't know where."

Jack fell silent for a moment. "I could try breaking the door."

"I don't think that's wise."

"Then, what are you going to do?"

She raised her head. "Come along, obviously. At least for a bit. I can backtrack when we reach the next ring and climb back up through another tunnel."

"Hmm." Jack took a close look at her, not believing her hard attitude. "If you're there already, you could come to the village with us. Meet Gan Salin. See the world a bit. And you backtrack later."

Her head remained raised, her gaze somber, but Jack saw the redness creep up her neck. "I have considered that, yes. Maybe I will."

He smiled gently. "Your father will be worried sick, you know."

At this, she finally lowered her head. "I know…but he sent me on a suicide mission. He even told me to win or die trying. I… I didn't like that. I didn't deserve it. He always acts like he knows everything just because he's five hundred years old and an immortal, but I don't think that's right. So, it's okay. Let him worry. He could use some heartache."

"And the rest of your tribe?"

"They can handle it. Besides, we barbarians hate holding each other back. They'll understand. And if I never make it back…" Her gaze darkened. "Then I died in the Forbidden Cave, hunted by delvers for protecting a guest of the tribe."

Jack nodded, his appreciation of her rising. If nothing else, Nauja was clear-cut and decisive. "Very well. In that case, we should get going. I suppose we already searched the ruins, in our own, special way."

Nauja looked around. "I suspect this kind of searching will become our staple."

"Heh. You know what? Our team has a brorilla, a barbarian, and a musclehead. Sounds like a recipe for fun."

"And death."

"Not if we can hit it hard enough." He laughed.

"What about that friend of yours? That Gan Salin?"

"Oh, he's the worst of us all. He's insane."

"Great." She rolled her eyes. "Maybe we should try breaking that door after all."

Jack laughed again, accompanied by Brock.

"So, let's get going," he said again.

"Right."

They only took a few steps before Nauja froze. Her eyes widened. "Wait!" she said. "Oh, by the System, I can't believe I forgot to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"While searching for you, I scanned some things. The statue, the wood in the ruins. And, well…"

She sounded equal parts worried and guilty, like it was a big deal.

"Well, what?" Jack asked.

"You might want to take a look for yourself."

"But the rules—"

"Trust me. It no longer matters. Just inspect it."

Jack was already worried, but he trusted her. He directed his gaze at a collapsed house and finally gave in to the urge of scanning.

Ancient Wood

A kind of wood only found in—

The screen suddenly crumbled, replaced by another.

WARNING!

ANCIENT ACTIVITY DETECTED. EXTERMINATION PROTOCOL INITIATED. THE NEAREST AUTHORITIES HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED. EXTERMINATORS HAVE BEEN DISPATCHED.

LEAVE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY. VISIT ANY HAND OF GOD HEADQUARTERS TO RECEIVE THE APPROPRIATE BOUNTY. YOUR DISCOVERY CODE IS DT3759FGD937RN.

ALL DETAILS OF THIS MATTER ARE NOW CLASSIFIED. SHARING ANY INFORMATION WILL RESULT IN YOUR SWIFT EXTERMINATION.

THANK YOU FOR CONTRIBUTING TO THE NEW WORLD.

Jack recoiled. The intensity of this System message was unlike anything he'd ever read before.

"What?" he said, reeling. "Red, capital letters? Extermination? Bounty? Hand of God? What the hell is going on?"

"I have no idea," Nauja replied quickly. "I don't know many things about the outside world. It almost sounds like there is a bounty on Ancients…but that should be impossible. The System was created by the Immortals to avenge them. It should be overjoyed at any sign of surviving Ancients. Why would it want to exterminate them instead?"

"The Hand of God is acknowledged by the System?" Jack asked, focusing on that part of the message. He shook his head. "I really have no idea what's going on anymore."

"We should go."

"Absolutely. I don't like this. The farther away we are from whatever is happening, the better… And let's not tell anyone about this. Just to be safe."

"Agreed. The tunnel is just behind that hill. Let's go."

Rushing over, they quickly reached a stone door engraved with images of dinosaurs and fur-clad people, along with colossal sea creatures, dragons, and all sorts of large monsters.

"Not every part of this Ring has dinosaurs," Nauja explained. Jack grabbed the door and pulled it—Brock took notes—revealing a dark tunnel sloping downward. "After you."

"Charming."

There were no torches here, but Brock grabbed some wood from the ruins behind them—not the scannable kind—and lit it up. He went first, followed by Nauja and Jack. The door slammed shut behind them, leaving the ruins undisturbed, silent, alone. Sacred. As they had been for eons.

Trial Planet was alone in a sea of nothingness, unattached to any stars, simply floating through the vastness of space. The only signs of life around it were two moons in orbit, each housing one station of the Hand of God. Nothing changed here. Ever.

On this day, space was ripped apart like a torn sheet. A small fleet of starships flew in through the rift. Ten of them were dark and needle-shaped, each an order of magnitude larger than the Trampling Ram. The last was white and even larger, shaped as the curve of a magnet.

These ships housed a flurry of activity. People dashed back and forth, all of them immortals. Each of the ten needle ships was commanded by a person clad in long white robes, to whom all nearby immortals showed great deference.

On the bridge of the largest ship stood a woman whose mere presence bent space. She was tall and lithe, middle-aged in appearance. White hair framed her pale face, and a white robe stretched from her shoulders to her ankles, but her physicality belied the gargantuan force that hid inside her.

The Dao flowed around this woman like a river around a rock. Reality shuddered where she looked, and all nearby immortals avoided her gaze, unworthy of even meeting her eyes. She exuded a feeling of purity, like everything was made cleaner just by being near her, but it was the kind of purity that could smother and extinguish everything else. Her eyes were narrowed at Trial Planet, clear, yet intense.

"We have arrived, Head Enforcer," a white-robed man said, falling to his knees behind her. He was her lieutenant, and he, too, was someone that the nearby immortals greatly deferred to.

"Trial Planet…" the woman said slowly, her voice clear like river water. "What an inconvenient place. Why am I here?"

"Head enforcer, the protocol dictates that a B-Grade is always to lead the ext—"

"But I cannot enter that planet, can I?" She swiveled around to look at him, her eyes boring holes through his heart. "So my time is wasted."

The man hesitated. "Protocol is—"

"I am aware," she said with a sigh, turning back to Trial Planet. Already, the leaders of each satellite station were rushing over to meet her, but she was in no mood. Unfortunately, even B-Grades couldn't openly oppose protocol. She hid her discomfort, asking, "Do we have more information?"

"We only know they're somewhere inside the planet. Not too close to the surface, so we can rule out the second ring."

"Okay. Inform every Hand of God initiate inside Trial Planet to be on lookout. Detecting the Ancient remnants is now our top priority. They are to scour their respective rings exhaustively. If they find anything, they are to back away and inform us without taking action. They should also ask around for unusual events within the last day or couple of days. Additionally, assemble a team of a hundred E-Grade initiates, give them the proper equipment, and send them in Trial Planet within three days. They are to search everything and not return until they find the Ancients."

"Do you mean we should spend a hundred tokens, Head Enforcer?"

"Did I stutter?"

The lieutenant remained silent, sweat forming on his forehead. "I hear and obey, Head Enforcer."

"As you should. Conveniently, the Animal Kingdom gave us those tokens just recently."

"Should we withdraw our members from the Garden Assault, Head Enforcer?"

She took a moment to calculate. "Keep our head team in the Assault, but withdraw everyone else. The extermination takes precedence," she finally decided. She sighed again. "We will remain here until the remnants are confirmed exterminated, as protocol dictates. Arrange for one of the two moons to be evacuated and made into my meditation chamber."

"Yes, Head Enforcer," the lieutenant said, bowing deeply.

The woman with the Dao of Purity gazed at the planet again, scowling deeply. "A waste of my damn time." She shook her head, then looked to the side as if remembering something. "Oh, and obviously, surround Trial Planet and get the proper equipment to deep-scan anyone who exits. The Ancients liked to leave power behind for their successors. If anyone got it, they won't escape our net."

BREAK

BREAK

Jack emerged from the tunnel with a full breath of fresh air.

"Ahh," he said in mock relief. "Nothing beats a good old desert."

The Village Ring, unlike what its name indicated, was not a village. It was a scorching desert striped with red and brown sand, complete with a large amount of sun mushrooms a hundred miles overhead, an arid climate, and a whole menagerie of fearsome monsters.

The ring's name came from the nine villages spread around its surface, each in its own oasis. These nine were, in fact, the only oases of the entire ring, and they were the main meeting points of cultivator teams throughout Trial Planet. People entered by themselves, crossed the second and third ring, and reconvened here, where they could interact with other cultivators or recruit them to fill in their missing team spots—in case someone died on the way.

This practice was so fundamental to Trial Planet that, even though the Hand of God spread the members of teams across multiple entrances to the second ring, they didn't separate them by too much, allowing them to reach the same village in the Village Ring. Hence why Gan Salin had been so confident they would reassemble here.

Of course, Jack and Brock didn't know all that. Nauja had informed them as they crossed the long tunnel.

"I always dreamt of the day I left my ring," she said, stepping out of the tunnel entrance behind Jack. "This is…almost dreamy."

"Wait till you see the good parts," Jack replied, laughing. "This desert is a poor introduction. Don't you think so, Brock?"

The brorilla carried his Staff of Stone in one hand and wiped his forehead with the other. Though his short fur was well-suited for a desert climate, he was simply too low-level. The temperature here was far higher than in any desert of Earth. The sand burned like coal, and the air shimmered from the heat. Moreover, the sun mushrooms glared from above, a large crowd of little suns, and there wasn't even a hint of a cloud to protect the poor cultivators below.

"From what I've heard," Nauja said, stepping to the front, "this ring isn't too dangerous. We should be fine as long as we're careful."

Jack nodded. "Fine by me. Any idea where that village is? The sooner we reach it, the better."

"Simple. See the columns?"

"Yeah." He looked up. As in every other ring, the entrance tunnels were large stone columns that extended from the floor to the ceiling a hundred miles overhead. Obviously, they were visible from a large distance away. Jack could see them towering in all directions, sparse but clearly present. The closest one—besides theirs—must have been a day's walk away.

Since this was the fourth ring already, its surface area was much smaller than the entire planet's. As a result, not only were nine villages enough to cover the entire desert without anyone needing to walk too long, but the ring's curvature was easily visible. Jack caught the ceiling arcing in the horizon, the stone columns rising diagonally through the air.

"There is no entrance near the villages," Nauja explained. "If we find the place where the columns are sparser, that's where the village will be. Can't miss it."

"Hmm." There were stone columns as far as the eye could see, stretching intermittently like middle fingers to the heavens. Looking more carefully, Jack did spot a suspicious absence of them around a spot to their front and left. "On the bright side, I think I got it," he said. "But it's far away."

"Yeah," Nauja confirmed, shielding her eyes. "Must be a week's worth? Maybe closer. I can't calculate distance well here."

"Neither can I. Don't worry about it."

"Shall we?"

"We shall."

And so, without any sort of ceremony, they left their stone column behind and marched on.

"You know," Jack said as an afterthought, "isn't the column we came from suspicious? If anybody maps these entrances to the exits above, they will notice that our column doesn't lead to any known exit. With a bit more research, they'll trace it to the Forbidden Cave."

"I guess." Nauja shrugged. "But it's not that easy. Mapping entrances to exits requires precise coordination between two teams, one in each ring, and nobody has the time for that. Besides, it's not like they'd earn anything."

"What if anyone tries to climb up from here?"

"Not all entrances are accessible from below. If I had to guess, this one isn't, and nobody wants to climb up for a day only to reach a locked door and have to go all the way back."

That's how long it took them. The tunnel from the surface to the second ring was hollow, allowing Jack to cross it quickly with leaps. The rest of them were not, forcing them to walk a hundred miles down—much more, if one calculated the slope. Even at a brisk jog—the equivalent of a pre-System human's run—it had taken them a day to reach this ring from the Ancient ruins.

As a bonus side effect, not only were they in a desert, they were also winded.

"Very well. Let's hope nobody takes a closer look," Jack said, throwing the column a final glance.

"Yeah…" Nauja agreed. "Let's hope so."

"Yes," Brock added his two cents.

And so, they cast into the desert. It was…dull. There was no terrain besides the endless sand dunes. Moreover, the sand itself was annoying, as it had the bad habit of sometimes caving under their feet and forcing them to exert more effort than seemed necessary. Other times, it was hard as a rock, throwing off their rhythm.

It was easy for one's attention to drift in the desert. To doze off. Thankfully, Jack had indomitable will, letting him remain razor-sharp even in this dull terrain—at the expanse of boredom.

He also took the time to go through the screens he'd received upon entering the desert.

Congratulations! Title "Second Ring Conqueror" upgraded to "Third Ring Conqueror!"

Efficacy of all stats: +10% → +15%

Village Ring Quest:

Make your way to the Space Ring in a team of at least three and at most five individuals.

The 5% increase was a welcome bonus. Jack's strength was already pretty high, what with all the level-ups from the Enas trial and the extra, fused Dao Root—or what the System assumed was a Dao Root—with its sixty stat points. Add to that the now-fused Indomitable Will, which also gave sixty stat points, the Immortal Serum he'd consumed on Earth, which gave another fifty, and his perfect Dao Seed, which was a qualitative advantage, and his strength was beginning to snowball well outside the reach of a normal level 80 cultivator. Or, at least, so he hoped.

With any luck, he could now fight late E-Grade monsters equally, perhaps even peak ones.

Amusingly, that also made him stronger than Nauja. Probably.

She caught his weighing glance. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. Just admiring the only thing that moves in this damn desert."

"How can you be bored already? We've been here for, like, twenty minutes."

"That's nineteen minutes too much, if you ask me."

She laughed, more out of good mood than amusement. "Whatever, desert hater. This place may seem uninteresting to you, but it's the first time I see anything other than my jungle. Aren't you simply overwhelmed by all this?" She gestured wildly.

"All this what?"

"All this empty space!" She spun in a circle. "Look! There are no trees, no bushes, no dinosaurs. My eyes can see far away without climbing on the canopy! I have perfect awareness of my surroundings! It is so empty! So…different!"

Her voice almost culminated in an excited squeal before she pushed it back down, but Jack could sense her enthusiasm bubbling over. She was like a kid in an amusement park. It could have been adorable if not for her ripped body and big-ass longbow hanging on her back.

Still, he cracked a smile. This could have been me when the System came, Jack thought. If everything wasn't trying to kill me. Must be nice.

Then again, hadn't he felt this way when watching the stars from the bridge of the Trampling Ram? When he woke up in Pearl Bay, was teleported to the Belarian Outpost, or crossed half a galaxy to reach Trial Planet, with its ruined surface and multi-layered innards? When he met the giant forest and its insects, when he hunted dinosaurs and drank alcohol with barbarians in a picturesque valley in the middle of a lush jungle? When he stood in front of a God?

What a big world…

He drew in a deep breath, uncaring of the burning wind, letting it fill his lungs and expel the sadness. He was free, unfettered, adventurous. He was an explorer, a pioneer. Even the constant danger was more of a pleasant inconvenience than a terrible fate. His path was one of violence, now. In conflict, he felt alive.

And what a great feeling that was.

"You know, Nauja," he said, sliding up besides her, "the world is such a vast, wonderful place. There are oceans, mountains, deserts, jungles, forests, plains, cities. There are stars—giant balls of fire that can easily fit a thousand Trial Planets inside them—planets of all kinds, people of a million different species, all distinctly different, and yet equally mesmerizing. Have you heard of kovans? They're shaped like spinning tops, with four arms and one leg they hop on. Their planet's atmosphere is so dense that they can fly, and they feed on gas."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

"For sure!"

"I've seen kovans before, but I never knew…" Her gaze darkened a bit. "Those are all cultivators though, aren't they? Delvers. Greedy, disrespectful, unethical bastards."

"I'm a cultivator too, aren't I?" Jack shot back, his smile gentle. "The world is full of assholes, but there are nice people, too. On the way here, I met a captain and a crew who toured the stars with only camaraderie in their hearts. They accepted me as one of their own even though I lied to them—even though I had to." His gaze grew distant for a moment. He still didn't know what happened to the Trampling Ram. "I hope they're okay."

"And how do you find people like that?" she asked, letting her curiosity take the better of her. "All the delvers I've seen are…" She didn't finish her words, but her grimace was crystal clear.

"I don't know about delvers," Jack admitted. "They come from B-Grade factions, so they're a different breed… But there are all sorts of people out there. You just have to sift through the bad apples and keep looking until you find a good one. Bond with them, then keep going until you are surrounded by trustworthy, loyal, wonderful people."

She shrunk back. "That doesn't sound easy."

"It is not. But with a little bit of courage, a little bit of practice, and a little bit of patience, you can make your world a beautiful place."

"I… I don't think I can."

"Everyone can."

"No, you don't understand, I—" She cut off, biting her lip and shaking her head. "Nevermind."

She then stormed on ahead. Jack followed her with his gaze, surprised at her sudden change of mood, but didn't press the issue.

Brock, sensing Nauja's suddenly foul mood, walked up to her and grabbed her hand. She froze for a moment, staring at him, but then resumed walking, one barbarian and one brorilla, each drinking in the company of the other. Nauja's steps regained her spring shortly afterward, though a hint of bitterness remained deep in her eyes.

Minutes turned into hours. The terrain flowed on, one sand dune giving way to another. Everything looked the same. There were no landmarks besides the stone columns, but they were so big and so far away that they seemed unchanging, as if they were walking but staying in the same spot.

It could be disheartening. The harsh environment also didn't help. Thankfully, Jack had been through worse, Nauja was busy being excited, and Brock didn't care too much, though he did occasionally ask to ride on Jack's shoulders. His bare feet didn't handle the hot sand too well.

Unfortunately, they had neither an umbrella nor the spare fabric to make one, so they were forced to endure the scorching sun mushrooms.

Occasionally, they did spot monsters. They were rare but strong. Jack was the one to spot an oddly shivering sand dune, which they made a wide circle around. Once, they were attacked by a level 80 giant scorpion which simply burst out of the sand. Due to its ambush, the threat was far larger than its level would indicate, but Nauja saw it coming just in time and jumped away. After that, the battle was swift, bloodless—for them—and, unfortunately, level-less.

There were horse-sized scaled lizards hiding just under the sand, snakes slithering between the dunes, as well as round, brown ticks that camouflaged seamlessly into the desert. The weakest monster around was level 80, with the strongest—the snakes—ranging up to 124.

However, by far the biggest threat they saw was a colossal sand worm.

BREAK

BREAK

Vivi soared through the sky. Her flame wings beat back the clouds as she rushed forward at top speed.

Usually, this kind of energy expenditure would be considered reckless and putting her at risk. Now, she had no time to care. Smoke rose in the horizon. The smoke of Ouagadougou—the capital of Burkina Faso. Her headquarters.

She sped through the air and over the walls. The people below shouted at her, but the wind stole their words. Her wings took her to the presidential palace courtyard, where a battle had taken place. Corpses were strewn all over the ground. Men and women who used to be her most promising recruits now lay cold and lifeless.

She dropped to the ground, letting her wings dissipate as she took in the destruction. Her rage shimmered and burned, but she held it down.

"What happened?" she demanded to know.

A man approached her through the rubble. It was the lieutenant general who served as her advisor. He was limping. "The Ice Peak executives," he said slowly. "They attacked while you were gone. We tried to fight back, but they were too strong."

Pain flooded her heart. Disappointment, regret, guilt.

The professor of the Bare Fist Brotherhood had advised her to tighten her defenses, fearing an imminent strike. Vivi, however, had been unsettled. She compared herself to the other two leaders—the professor and Petrovic—and found herself lacking. Her people believed in her, wanted her to lead, but she didn't have the calculating skills that her opponent and ally did. She was a warrior queen.

She had decided to play to her strengths instead of fighting a losing battle. She'd taken to the front lines, leading an elite squad, and had conquered two dungeons in the span of a day. Her insecurities had abated, filling her with confidence and satisfaction. Finally, she was doing something right. She was winning.

But she was not. She had left her capital weakened. The Ice Peak had been planning a strike, just as the professor warned, and Vivi had only made it easier for them. They had taken advantage of her absence to launch a sharp offensive on her presidential palace, slaying some of the elites she had poured so many resources into before running away.

Nobody would admit it was the Ice Peak. They were in cold war, after all. This attack would be framed as terrorism, but everyone knew the truth. There were even icicles still melting on the ground.

At the top of her palace, only a plain, broken flagpole remained. The red and green flag itself was missing, no doubt taken as a war trophy.

Vivi wanted to scream.

Instead, she reined in her emotions. She was a leader. Managing this disaster took precedence. Her own peace would come later.

"What's the number of casualties?" she asked her lieutenant.

"It was an inside job," he replied. His words were calm, steely, but his eyes let a hint of accusation show. Vivi didn't have the heart to confront him about it. "We lost thirteen elites, fifty high F-Grades, and a hundred middle ones. The enemy lost nine in total. Additionally, some people in Ouagadougou died to the fires and wide-scale attacks of the offenders, while many were injured. We have managed to put out the fires now, but a small portion of the city is temporarily inhospitable. However, the largest loss we received was in prestige. Our people are in shambles. They are filled with doubt. When I announced we were recruiting, not many showed up."

He gestured to a small kiosk by the side, where a battle-hardened woman sat on a chair with her arms crossed. People came to her in a trickle. Nothing like the rush that usually followed an enlistment opportunity to the prestigious Flame River.

I caused this, Vivi thought. She struggled to keep a straight face as the earth swam beneath her feet. I am ruining my faction and my country.

"What should we do, commander?" the lieutenant asked, throwing her a level stare. Challenging her. She had to reply and reestablish her authority…but say what? What was the best course of action right now? How to recover from this disaster? The lieutenant had clearly handled most things already. The wounded were tended to, the corpses slowly removed, and recruitment efforts were already taking place to restock their numbers.

Was she even necessary?

I am not a leader, she thought again, heart swimming in darkness. The people want me, but they are fools. I… Why would they even want me? What do they see in me? I am not as smart as the professor or as experienced as Petrovic. All I can do is fight. I truly want to help them, I would lay my life down for them all, but every decision I make is wrong. All I cause them is pain.

I am useless.

A ruckus came from the front gates as Vivi was doubting herself. Belatedly, she turned to look, finding a large crowd rushing her with elation in their eyes. Her guilt intensified.

Don't look at me like that. I did this. I do not deserve your love.

"Commander!" the first people cried out. "You're back!"

"We're safe now!"

"The commander is here!"

Their cheers were iron spikes in Vivi's heart. Why? she wondered bitterly. Why do you cheer? Stop. Blame me. Curse me. Just don't… Don't look at me like that…

For the first time in recent memory, tears threatened to come to her eyes. She quickly blinked them away. A small contingent of guards was blocking the crowd, politely yet firmly stopping them from approaching too much. But they were close enough that Vivi could see their souls through their eyes, see the appreciation and belief they held in her, how they adored her.

It wasn't just her performance in the Tournament. Since her return, she had ruled close to the people. She went to the market often, listened to their problems, and worked on solutions alongside them. She helped where she could. She personally apprehended the biggest troublemakers. She roused the spirits of the people, pacified them, and reassured them that everything would be okay.

She led from the front, and the people loved her for that.

But I don't deserve it, she told herself. All I can do is be there for you. I am doing everything I can, but my best is not enough. Why do you still believe in me? You're dying!

Some of these people had lost friends and loved ones in this attack. She could see the rage in their eyes, the barely chained hatred, but it wasn't directed at her. It aimed for the people who had attacked them. The enemy.

"The people are expecting a speech, commander," her lieutenant whispered, stepping beside her. "From you."

There it was again. That challenging tone.

Lieutenant general Shemarke wasn't a bad man. After Sadaka's passing, Vivi had chosen him as her closest assistant because of his principles. He was a strict but deeply kind, integral person. They were on the same page.

His challenge now wasn't because he yearned for power. He didn't want the seat of commander for himself. He just genuinely doubted her ability, wanted to see how she would face this hurdle. If she didn't rise up to the occasion, she would lose his support, fair and square.

Vivi had half a mind to tell him to give a speech. Just that small thing would be enough to relinquish her authority. She really wanted to give up. What could she even say?

But she saw the fire in the eyes of those people. They had just received an attack. They had seen their city burned and their protectors killed. They were in pain. If she left them too, if she betrayed their trust, they would truly lose all their hope in the world.

No, she couldn't let that happen. She had to be there for them. She knew these people. Now was not the time to cower. It was time to act. She had to help them.

Vivi stepped forth and raised a hand. The people quietened in a wave that started from the front rows and spread to the back. She cleared her throat. She had no idea what to say, but she had to say something.

A thousand things crossed her mind. In the end, she just decided to address the elephant in the room.

"We received a loss today," she began, her System-enhanced lungs carrying her voice over the entire courtyard. She was surprised by the commanding tone she heard in the echo. "Detestable people infiltrated and assaulted us. I won't say names, but everyone knows who they are. They killed our warriors, set our homes ablaze, and terrorized our families."

Sounds of agreement came from the crowd.

Vivi felt like she was torn in two. She was inside her mind, numb, weak, hearing the words coming out of her mouth like it was someone else talking. At the same time, she was giving a strong, confident speech.

"They only got away with it because I wasn't here. They didn't dare attack in my presence. They are cowards, backstabbers, calculating dicks."

More sounds of agreement, along with a bit of laughter. She wanted nothing more than to admit her fault and take the blame for everything, but that wasn't what these people needed to hear now. They needed support. Encouragement. Something to believe in.

The details were better saved for her advisors.

"I know you are all pained by what happened today. So am I. In fact, I am burning with rage and sadness. I knew every single one of the people who fell. I have chatted with them, walked with them, trained with them, listened to their problems like I listen to yours. My grief is terrible, and trust me, it will not abate until I make things right."

She was swept up by her emotions now. Her guilt was replaced by righteous rage, by the deep desire to pay back the Ice Peak, to stop them from harming her people again. She might step down after today, she might be shamed, but that changed nothing. Even as the lowliest of soldiers, she would still fight.

Vivi flowed to the forefront of her mind again, becoming one with the person who gave this rousing speech, sinking into the moment.

"They will not get away with this," she thundered, full of fury. She projected confidence and leadership. The people's pain disappeared. Smiles blossomed on their faces, their spirits were repaired, their heart was reborn from its ashes like a phoenix. "We are Flame River. We are Burkina Faso. When disaster strikes, we will not break. We will fight, we will rise, and we will strike back. Nobody can oppress us. Make no mistake; justice will be served, sooner or later, and I will be at the very front, fighting Alexander Petrovic for all of you. All of us. Death is nothing before our fire."

More roars. Vivi's voice turned louder.

"March beside me, warriors! Take up arms and fight. Tell your families that a life fought is a life well lived. You are all heroes, every single one of you. Rise with me and roar, fight for our lives, for what we believe in. We are Burkina Faso. We are Flame River. We are heroes. And we. Will. Not. Fall!"

The crowd's roar swept her like a fierce gale, blowing back her robes and hair. Vivi stepped against the wind and roared with them, her flames rising like a torch, flowing like a river. She threw her head back and unleashed a wildfire into the sky, a beacon visible across Ouagadougou, rousing the spirits of every soul who could hear their combined roar.

No attack could hold them down. They fell, but they rose again. They were warriors. Heroes.

The crowd streamed into the recruitment kiosk, so fierce they almost overwhelmed the woman presiding over it. The ones who remained met Vivi's eyes, nodding excitedly and stepping off with renewed vigor. Suddenly, the injured city was only a backdrop that made them stronger.

"Send more officers to the recruitment desk, Shemarke," Vivi said, turning to the lieutenant general. She realized she was out of breath and sweating a bit, but that was fine. Her heart was on fire. She was so fucking happy that she'd helped her people.

The lieutenant stared at her, his gaze complex. Finally, he lowered his head. "Yes, commander."

Vivi was taken aback. He had relented? Where was the challenging tone from before? All she'd given was a rousing speech. She remained partly at fault for what happened. Why did he—

Oh.

Suddenly, it was clear. The guilt clouding her mind receded like a pulled curtain, revealing reality for what it was.

She was not useless. The professor and Alexander Petrovic may be smarter and more skilled than her, but she had something they didn't: warmth. Fire. She led from the front, her back a beacon to the people. Her army was made of lions.

That was why the lieutenant relented. This was her power. The love she shared with her people, the fire she transmitted to them. Something that Petrovic, cold and calculating as he was, could never have.

There was a reason why she led the revolution that overthrew Burkina Faso's dictatorship. There was a reason why she led Flame River. There was a reason why everyone believed in her.

The professor and I each have our own strengths, she realized.

"Shemarke," she called out. "Let the professor know that I will listen to her instructions from now on, okay? I will handle battle, she will handle everything else. Actually, you know what? Nevermind. I'll head there myself."

"Yourself?" He hesitated, his newly found faith shaken. "That's—"

"Trust me, Shemarke. I know what I'm doing. There are some things I must discuss with the professor alone. And not just her." Her brows fell. Now that she realized where her strength lay, she knew what she had to do. There was one weapon that their alliance wasn't utilizing, a strong card that, if available, could have averted this disaster and let her lead the army like the warrior queen she was.

Edgar.

Who refused to participate in the war and cultivated alone. Who let their people drop like flies when he could save them. What he lacked was fire in his heart.

And Vivi would give him just that.

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The sand worm was wide enough to swallow a house, and long enough that they never saw its tail. It burst out from under the sand without any warning whatsoever, biting down on and swallowing a scaled lizard that lounged on top of a dune. Thankfully, it didn't attack them.

Giant Sand Worm, Level 124 (Elite)

Giant sand worms infest the deserts of many planets. They use the Dao of Stone to swim through the desert floor, then burst up to devour their target before dissolving it in one of their many hyper-acidic stomachs. They detect prey through the sand's surface disturbances, so try to avoid stomping.

They are also rare encounters. On planet Dune, immortals saddle and ride them, while their fighting pits are one of the planet's most profitable enterprises.

The worm snapped up the lizard and dived back down, raising a huge wave of sand.

"Rare encounters, it says," Jack said dryly. "Aren't we lucky."

"Extremely," Nauja added. "So. Light steps. Brock, sorry to say this, but you'll have to walk on your own for a bit. If that thing attacks us… Well, as we say in my tribe, na'ste'kala."

The worm did not attack them. It didn't even appear again, probably traveling to some other area of the desert, and night found the three of them huddled in a small valley between the sand dunes.

Night in the Village Ring reminded Jack of Earth.

As the sun mushrooms dimmed, each was left a silver glowing core, a fraction of what they used to be, and they were so tightly clustered that they resembled stars in the night sky.

On the ground below reigned silence. Nothing moved in the dim light. Only the wind remained alive, twisting and turning over the sand dunes, picking up sand to deposit later or lure upward to swirl it endlessly in the high currents.

The temperature had dropped sharply. In the span of an hour, it tumbled down from scorching to freezing, making poor Brock shiver so hard they had no choice but to seek shelter. The desert didn't offer much in the way of that, but they did find a group of sand dunes clustered together. Before long, the three of them were huddled in the small valley in their midst, covering themselves in the cool sand to resemble bedding.

They had no tents, nothing to light a fire with, and no supplies. When they left the Tri Lake tribe, they expected only a short trip in the jungle.

Thankfully, the desert wasn't completely empty. Cacti rose intermittently. Jack knew how to get water from them, so at least they had that covered. As for food, they had no choice but to starve for now. If it got too much, they could try eating the unknown desert creatures.

This was an inhospitable desert, as were all of them.

The three of them alternated guard duty, starting from Brock, then Jack, then Nauja. The middle of the night was Jack's shift, and it found him perched on the tallest sand dune nearby, looking over the endless desert that stretched in all directions. Everywhere he looked, all he saw was sand and distant stone columns.

Yet, he couldn't suppress his excitement. They'd reached the fourth ring already. Just how far could they go? How strong could he get?

Could they conquer Trial Planet? Everyone said it was impossible…but how impossible could it really be?

"Hey," a low voice greeted him. He'd noticed Nauja approaching, of course, he'd just chosen to keep his eyes in the distance, unwilling to break his spell of awe.

"Hey," he replied, finally turning around. "I didn't think it was your shift yet."

"We have no clocks. Your guess is as good as mine," she said with a wry smile.

They stayed there for a while, sitting next to each other atop a sand dune in the middle of a desert in the bowels of a hollow planet.

"You can go back to sleep if you want," Jack said. "I'm not tired."

"Neither am I. How could I sleep when I'm…here?"

"Heh. Being E-Grade has its perks."

"It sure does."

Another moment of silence passed between them. They hadn't known each other for long, but going through life and death together brought people closer.

"About before—" Jack started saying, but Nauja cut him off.

"It's alright. You said nothing wrong. It was my fault." She took a deep, trembling breath, looking into the distance. For a moment, as Jack observed her pale, strong profile, she seemed almost vulnerable. Scared. "I have my own troubles. I don't want to talk about them yet, but there is no need for you to feel uncomfortable."

"That's fine. We're a team now. If you ever want to share anything, I'd be glad to listen. If you don't, I will stay by your side and support you anyway."

She threw him a surprised glance, as if taken aback by his words. "Thanks," she said after a moment. "That means a lot."

"It's only natural. The least we can do is be there for each other."

Now, it was her turn to gaze at his profile. "You are not like other delvers," she said, her tone questioning. "You are kind, straightforward, principled. When we were running in the cave, you didn't throw me at the pursuers to delay them. I have to admit I was surprised."

Jack raised his brows. That possibility hadn't even crossed his mind. Had it crossed hers? Had she considered throwing him away to save herself?

"I wouldn't do that. Honestly, it didn't even occur to me."

"I know." Her gaze was piercing. "That's what surprises me the most. You have clearly seen your fair share of combat and deception, and you are clearly a hardened man, but at the same time, you are almost pure-hearted. How do you do that?"

"I guess… I just know who I am. I will not discount myself. I will break through all obstacles in pursuit of my path, as a fist, until I either die or succeed. If I betrayed who I am, then I would be miserable. It's a fate worse than death. Honestly, I don't understand how everybody else can act like a dick. Do they not see that they are killing themselves?"

Nauja considered his words for a long moment. "Not everyone can think that way. Do you know what my tribe has noticed about delvers, Jack? They lie to themselves. A lot. They cling on to life with tooth and nail, and they double down on their weaknesses instead of fighting to surpass them. They do not understand the value of a good life, simply because they've never experienced it. They fear death and failure with all their heart, and in their attempts to avoid those, they end up hollow. They don't even realize that what they fear is already happening. They live through the very nightmare they sacrifice everything to avoid."

"Life is simple," Jack agreed, perfectly in tune. "Just…live. Be free. Stop living in fear, stop constraining yourself, unclench your heart, and dive into the world head-first. So what if you fail? There are literally no consequences."

Nauja narrowed her eyes. "Are you still talking about delvers?"

"I don't know," Jack admitted with a sigh. "Sometimes, it feels like I'm the only sane person in the world, like everyone else is blind. It's so fucking simple. Why can't they see it?"

"Hmm… Everything seems simple from up ahead. But, from behind, the tiniest of steps can be wide gulfs. Don't begrudge the world, Jack. Give it time."

"I guess…"

They sat in silence for a while longer. The cold night wind brushed their barely-clothed bodies, but they were too strong to mind.

"Maybe this is why you have a perfect Seed," Nauja finally said. "You see things so simply, so clearly…" A chuckle. "Truly, you are like a fist. You don't even understand the extent of your gift."

"Maybe," he responded, gaze lost in the distance again before he turned to her. "What's your Dao, anyway? You never told me."

"The Dao of Wind."

"Really?"

"Yes. What did you think?"

"Archery, maybe. Or the bow. Or dinosaur-hunting."

She chuckled. "I did follow the Dao of the Arrow in the F-Grade, but I eventually made my second Dao Root, Wind, into a Seed. It wasn't even on purpose. It just happened one day…and I think it was the best thing that ever happened to me."

She raised a hand, and the sand around them rose with it. Like gripped by a gale, it swirled around them, forming symmetrical spires that spun in all directions at once. It was a show of beauty that left Jack gaping.

"Why did you never do that before!?"

She laughed. "I didn't trust you at first. And then…" Her smile took on a mischievous hint. "I saved it for the perfect moment."

Jack turned to look at her. "Is this your perfect moment, then?"

She met his gaze. "To reveal my powers? Yes, it is."

He held it for a bit, then leaned back on the sand. Nauja smiled. "Tell me about the wind," he asked, closing his eyes.

"It is wild and free," Nauja said. Her fingers danced above her palm, twisting the sand into ever more elaborate patterns. It didn't matter that Jack had his eyes shut. She was doing this for herself, losing her heart in the simple-minded beauty. Without knowing it, her voice had dropped to a reverent whisper, pulsing with warmth. "It is unfettered, unblocked. It goes everywhere it wants. The wind is freedom, from the tallest peaks to the deepest valleys, and it is joy as it springs from the clouds and tours the sky. It is found in…"

She went on, forgetting herself as the sand danced around her, on a lonely sand dune in the middle of a desert. The silver starlight of the mushrooms struck her pale skin, making her seem glow like a goddess of the night. The flame in her heart was so strong and bright it illuminated even the darkest corners.

Jack lounged with his eyes closed, savoring the moment. His heart unclenched fully, releasing all the fear and worries it held inside, reveling in the here and now. His joy was pure and whole.

Like the wind, he was free.

Time in the desert passed quietly, serenely. By the second day, they had learned to spot the hiding monsters and avoid or ambush them. Scorpions, lizards, snakes… They challenged anything they could get their hands on, so they could progress faster. After all, Jack was on the clock.

None of these battles were particularly difficult. During the journey, Jack got another two levels—and was probably close to a third one, but not quite there yet—while Nauja only got one. Unfortunately, the leveling difficulty spiked the higher you went.

Brock couldn't participate in the battles, but he also practiced, closing his eyes and walking on auto-pilot as he focused on expanding and deepening his Dao.

His level kept rising as he grew, both in strength and size. By now, Brock was level 45—and, thanks to his Dao, an elite.

By the fifth day, they were approaching the area where the stone columns disappeared, where the village lay. However, they were also starving. They had avoided eating uncertain meat so far, but even E-Grades felt hunger after five days, let alone Brock—who never said anything on the subject. Jack caught him frowning and grabbing his belly at times; he was a brave brorilla, a true bro.

Jack started keeping an eye out for edible creatures.

On the same day, they ran into something they'd never seen before. It was only spotted by Brock, who suddenly raised his arms and stopped them for seemingly no reason.

"What is it, Brock?" Nauja asked. Brock pointed at the next sand dune in their path, making low warning sounds.

Jack frowned and narrowed his eyes, seeing nothing. Suddenly, he found it. His eyes widened. Nauja saw it even before she did and whistled.

A chameleon was plastered on the sand, its color altered to blend in almost seamlessly. It took careful observation to notice that the ever-present lines in the sand formed the outline of its body, but when you did, its shape was clear.

Giant Desert Chameleon, Level 123

Giant Desert Chameleons are solitary ambush predators. They blend into the sand and lie in wait, often spending weeks without any movement whatsoever. When prey comes close, they strike hard and fast, using their tongues as their main weapon.

Despite their ambushing tendencies, they are also formidable fighters.

"It looks dangerous," Nauja said.

"And plump," Jack added.

"What?"

"I say we eat it."

"What!?"

"What do you mean, "what!?" We're all starving. We can give it a shot. I won't have any at first, so I can carry the two of you if something goes wrong."

"Bro…" Brock said, his voice filled with gratitude.

Nauja flashed Brock a look of understanding. "Okay. Want to do the tyrannosaurus trick again? Where you hide in ambush and I shoot it from afar?"

"I actually have a better idea," Jack replied, smashing his fists together. He hadn't fought seriously in a while. He was getting itchy—and he was far stronger than he used to be. "Let me handle it."

"Alone?"

"Yes." A wild, expectant smile crept on his lips. "Can you scout around a bit, make sure we're alone? I think this is a good chance to finally test my Life Drop."

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Sup!

I have a great announcement to make. Road to Mastery Book 1 just launched on Kindle, KU, and Audible! It contains everything from the very start of the story, when Jack is trapped in the Forest of the Strong, to the conclusion of the Integration Tournament. Nostalgic, huh?

In addition to nostalgia, you can now listen to the story as a 30-hour audiobook narrated by the amazing Jeremy Frazier! And don't forget to check out the BANGER NEW COVER!

This launch is extremely important for me. It basically dictates my professional and financial future for the next year or two. Unfortunately, the world is unfair, and I'm playing with a handicap today – the Amazon sales rankings, a great way to get organic visibility, are frozen again.

So, if you enjoyed the story so far, please give me a hand. Spread the word in your reader groups. Gift a copy to that friend who hasn't read RtM yet, so you can discuss it afterward. Even easier, KU downloads are free, as are ratings and reviews on the critical first day. Any of those help massively, and just for today, I could use some help…

Of course, kindness should always be reciprocated. Over the past week, I have worked hard to prepare three extra chapters that I will publish as we cross some target rankings on Kindle—provided they unfreeze, or we'll just have to estimate. The first extra chapter will come at #1000, then at #700, and then at #500. If all goes well, we can meet all of those targets, which means three back-to-back chapters for you guys to enjoy!

Here are the links:

Kindle/KU: amazon/B0BW9X6H59

Audible: pd/Road-to-Mastery-Audiobook/B0C2VW2YNR

Go open them!

Thank you!

Valerios

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Jack cracked his knuckles. He was suddenly eager to fight, eager to unleash his pent-up energy on this clueless monster.

Nauja and Brock stepped away, leaving him alone against the monstrous chameleon, which still hid in the sand, unaware they'd noticed it. Unfortunately, Jack wanted a fight.

"Come out!" he ordered, shooting a Meteor Punch from afar. The purple blow landed on the chameleon's back with an explosion that leveled the nearby sand dune, sending waves of sand dozens of feet into the sky.

The chameleon instantly sprang into motion. Yellow eyes snapped open, each with two green irises in their midst, and each moving independently of the other. Its skin was green now, there was a ridge of spikes running down its back, and webbing was between its fingers, probably to help it glide through the sand.

It was the size of two horses put together, and it crawled over at a speed that would put any camel to shame. It reached Jack near-instantly.

Jack braced himself. He was going to test the Life Drop's power—his four-armed form—but first, he wanted to try out his bare self. The Ancient trial had given him eleven levels and a fused Dao Root. He wanted to see how he stacked up against this chameleon, a peak E-Grade monster.

The chameleon attacked. When it reached a hundred feet away from Jack, its mouth cracked open, a pink tongue shooting out like a missile. It was the width of Jack's torso and long enough to reach him at this distance.

Thankfully, the monster's description had warned him of the tongue attack. It still came too fast, too early. He crossed his arms before his chest and felt like he was struck by a cannonball. He was sent flying back, piercing through a sand dune to stop at the second, flat against the sand.

The chameleon hadn't stopped. It was on him again, crawling over the tumbling sand dune with its tongue hovering in the air, waiting to strike like a scorpion's stinger.

Jack rolled aside, letting the tongue bury itself in the sand. It retracted like a spring before he could hit it. This tongue is trouble, he realized with a grimace.

He jumped up and faced the chameleon. He charged forth. He had no advantage at range.

The monster didn't acknowledge his power. As he charged, so did it, its tongue whipping all the while. It came at him from all directions, moving at blinding speed and with great force. Jack dodged valiantly. He ducked, side-stepped, or, for the more accurate attacks, ghost-stepped away. Having tasted the power of this tongue, he didn't dare block.

The sand caved under his feet, but he simply pushed harder, letting the grains scratch his shins.

He was upon the chameleon in a blink, fists blurring as they shot out a flurry of blows. They landed on slick scales, denting them or sliding off. The chameleon tried to headbutt him. Jack leaped over the strike, shooting two Meteor Punches into the chameleon's neck and one behind himself—so that the explosions wouldn't push him into the air.

He landed in a crawl, jumped aside, then rolled under a tongue blow. He ducked low and sprang up with force, burying his fist into the chameleon's guts, raising the beast an inch off the ground. Jack felt his elbow creak.

For the first time, the chameleon felt pain. The moment it landed, it regarded Jack as an opponent rather than prey, adjusting its tactics. It stepped back and let its tongue take over, wielding it like a long mace.

The control it had over its tongue was frustrating. It could twist and bend in mid-air, form into angles, and keep chasing Jack as he escaped.

At a distance, Jack was losing. He couldn't let the chameleon get away.

He ghost-stepped twice in rapid succession, closing the distance. His fist smashed into its nose, breaking it with a sickening crunch and burying its head into the ground. Just as he pulled back to strike again, the body of the tongue shot sideways and hit him in the ribs, sending him flying.

Jack suppressed a groan. Something was cracked again, as it often was. That tongue was no joke.

But he kept his cool. Meteor Punching the air to shoot back at the ground at a sharp angle, he turned and landed on his feet, then dashed for the chameleon again. The tongue shot out, a maelstrom of pink violence, but he had a sense of its patterns now. Like the tyrannosaurus, the chameleon was stupid.

He ducked under an attack and jumped over another aimed at his feet. He kept going, ignoring a feint, then took a grazing blow to the arm when that wasn't a feint after all. Cursing, he charged again, ghost-stepping to the chameleon's face and ghost-stepping again to arrive at its back.

He smashed a Meteor Punch down, making the monster croak and arc its back downward. He punched again and again, charging up each strike to make it a purple meteor. The explosions shook the sand, cracked the denser ground underneath, sank the chameleon in.

Its tail came from behind to swat Jack in the same ribs the tongue had cracked before. He flew away, already grimacing in anticipation of the pain soon to come… But it didn't. There was no feeling of cracked ribs straining to remaining whole or digging into his innards. It was like his ribs hadn't been attacked before.

What?

He remembered the skill upgrade he got when the Life Drop fused with his soul. The Dao of Life had increased his Indomitable Body's regenerative properties to "extreme."

He skidded into a landing and grinned. His cracked ribs had healed in a matter of seconds. Granted, the injury had been small, but such a speed of recovery…

It could make him unstoppable.

The chameleon slithered opposite him, pulling itself free of the sand where Jack had buried it. It seemed angry now, its eyes and tongue darting around rapidly. Despite taking three Meteor Punches head-on, it wasn't too injured.

Neither was Jack, but he was getting tired. Keeping up with the tongue required multiple uses of Ghost Step, which tired him out quickly. He had to admit that, if he fought the chameleon like this, he would probably lose.

However, this was still a large step-up from when he'd been completely overwhelmed by the tyrannosaurus. Now, he could keep up. He could protect himself. Fight it as an equal.

And he had more to give.

"Nauja!" Jack shouted. "Is it clear?"

"There's nobody around!" A voice carried over from a nearby sand dune, the highest around, and Jack grinned. Reaching into his soul, he lifted the barrier around the Life Drop's core, letting its energy flood him until it reached an equilibrium.

His form shifted, growing taller and wider. He saw the chameleon shrink as he was enlarged. The bare skin under his armpits itched, then ruptured to reveal two tubes of flesh and writhing muscle that quickly entwined around each other to form two extra, fully functioning arms.

The chameleon had frozen, inspecting him with confusion. It was considering fighting or fleeing. Jack felt the power course through his body, felt his strength rise rapidly. He could barely control his anticipation as he charged, each stomp shaking the desert.

It chose to fight.

The tongue blurred through the air again, coming from his right. Jack raised two hands to block. The strike met his forearms next to his ears. It was heavy. He felt the impact shake his body, pushing him to the side and forcing him to take a side-step to maintain his balance. He felt his two right forearms protest under the pressure.

But that was all. One step. Before transforming, a head-on collision had sent him flying.

He grinned.

The tongue circled around and came at him again, this time from the left. Jack saw it. It was no longer blurring through the air. It was simply fast.

He leaned back, letting the tip of the tongue sail past his face, then reached out to hook its body under his elbow. It pulled at him, but he held. The two bottom arms grabbed the tongue, large fingers closing around them, as Jack's upper arms grabbed it farther back and pulled.

The chameleon did not expect that. It stumbled, yanked forward by its own tongue, then hurriedly planted its feet deep into the sand and pulled back. It was frantic now, trying to escape.

But would Jack let it?

His two arms held on tight, their veins sticking out. His muscles were iron cords filled with power, his fingers were iron pliers, his body a boiling furnace. He pulled against the chameleon, dragging it into a tug of war around its own tongue. The tip flapped in the air and tried to strike him, but he used an extra hand—he had so many!—to trap it under his armpit, where it could do no harm.

He pulled, and the chameleon pulled back. There was no Dao involved here, no skills. It was pure strength versus strength.

Obviously, Jack was losing. His greatest advantage against this beast was his Dao. His feet dragged through the sand, his fingers laxing and threatening to lose purchase.

However, no matter how strong the chameleon was, there was only so much force its tongue could handle. It cried out in pain. Jack felt the tissue under his hands begin to rip as the tongue was stretched beyond its natural limits.

The chameleon had to give way. It dug its feet out of the sand and rushed at Jack, hoping to surprise him. It failed, of course.

The moment it stopped pulling, Jack got to work. He had so much tongue to play with. His four hands blurred through the air, tying it into tighter and tighter knots until he formed a large pink mass that only stretched thirty feet out of the chameleon's mouth instead of a hundred.

The chameleon reached him then, but Jack just let go of the tongue and charged forth. Two meteors blazed on his right and two on his left. All four struck the chameleon's face, sending it flying backward. The explosions were larger than usual. So large, in fact, that Jack was almost blinded and deafened.

He reached the fallen chameleon in a blink and pummeled it. His every fist carried tremendous power. Even without using Meteor Punch, their force was enough to rupture scales, rip skin, and bruise tendons. The poor chameleon tried to resist, but its tongue was so tied up that it couldn't control it, and its limbs were far from strong enough to face Jack in his current form.

All it could do was lay there and take a beating.

Which made Jack feel bad. He was fine with hunting monsters to eat—such was the law of the jungle—but prolonging the fight would be very disrespectful.

With a sharp strike, he tore into its throat and ended it.

Level up! You have reached Level 83.

Level up! You have reached Level 84.

Thank you, brother, he mentally told the chameleon. You fought well.

Jack then stood and dusted himself off, allocating the new free points in Physical.

He couldn't help but admire his power. Before using the Life Drop, he was slightly weaker than the chameleon. Afterward… He almost toyed with it. He was stronger by an entire tier.

Just how strong am I? he couldn't help but wonder.

"Well done," Nauja said, arriving next to him.

"Yeah," he agreed. There was no point maintaining this form further; he let it dissipate, returning to his normal size with the extra arms shrinking and disappearing.

"Wow," she muttered, eyes glued so hard to his body that he felt almost uncomfortable. "That was…"

"Impressive?"

"And brutal. I've seen people augment their bodies during battle, but nothing like that."

"Right?" he replied, smiling. He flexed his hands. "And that power… Oh, boy. That was something else."

"How long do you think you can keep it up? Indefinitely?"

"A few minutes, maybe. I can only draw a finite amount of power from the Life Drop, and it would run out eventually."

"Wow… So, wanna eat it? I'm starving."

"Yeah."

Belatedly, Jack realized that using the Life Drop—and fighting in general—was exhausting.

They then proceeded to make a fire and roast the meat well.

The desert chameleon tasted as awful as it sounds, but at least it was something. After five days of starvation, the taste hardly mattered. They wolfed it down like it was made of jelly.

Finally, with their bellies full and almost an entire chameleon left behind for the desert's critters—it really was too large—they set out towards the village again.

"How far away is it?" Jack asked, rubbing his belly. He burped.

"Not much," Nauja replied, looking at the cave ceiling. "But far enough that we'll have digested everything by then. Remember; we don't know what awaits us there, so we should be at peak form when we arrive."

"Right." Jack nodded. "Do you think that minotaur will be at the village as well?" His mind was still on his new powers—specifically, how he'd like to bury all four of his fists into the face of the minotaur who dared slap Brock.

"Probably." She shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

BREAK

BREAK

Throughout Jack's week-long journey through the desert, he didn't forget about the Dao Soul.

Every second night, he entered his soul world instead of sleeping. The Dao Soul waited there, a mute copy of Jack that took childlike joy in fighting.

Here, the Dao came easy, but the System was cut-off. He had changed the terrain from a grassland to a desert, to better resemble his current environment. The only other difference from last time was the shining green beacon in the sky—the Life Drop—though Jack discovered he couldn't draw on its four-armed power here.

Every time he arrived in this soul world, he found himself enjoying it even more. His soul yearned for battle. For the thrill of the fight. He itched to pit himself against someone who could match him, to punch against a skilled opponent.

Copy-Jack used the real Jack's Dao and fighting skills, but gave its own twist to them. Sometimes, it uncorked combinations that Jack had never considered. It utilized the Dao in novel ways.

There was inventiveness in the way it thought. The Dao Soul wasn't a machine, but a nascent soul, a real living being. It wasn't as complete as an actual person, which was why it needed to leech off Jack, but the seed was there.

There was a time, far into the pre-System days, when Jack would play fighting videogames with a friend from high school. That was exactly how this felt. He pitted himself against the copy again and again, each trying to sharpen their skills while learning the other's patterns. They had to mix things up, try new maneuvers, new combinations. Most of the time, it failed horribly. But, sometimes, it worked, and Jack learned something new.

Of course, the greatest benefits had come from the very first time Jack arrived here, when many of his then-weaknesses were revealed. In the week through the desert, no skill notification arose from this training, but Jack felt his strength increase noticeably. Since he was unable to rely on the System in his soul world, he gradually developed his own understanding of fistfighting, which he then confirmed with the System's assistance in the outside world.

Many of his skills felt on the cusp of evolving once more.

His Dao was also improving by the day. Unlike the outside world, his soul allowed him to use the Dao freely. He could even manipulate it outside his body, which was usually a domain reserved for D-Grades. As a result, he came into contact with insights that most people of his level never had access to. Through constant battling against the copy, he discovered new, more efficient ways to implement his Dao, slowly but surely approaching the skill with which the System guided his Dao when using Dao skills. He was still very, very far away, of course—but he was moving in the right direction.

This process, too, put many of his skills on the cusp of evolving.

The Dao Soul wasn't the best tool to expand one's abilities, since it included no real danger or pressure, but it was perfect for stabilizing what he already knew. It could greatly accelerate the twin cycle of cultivation—expansion and stabilization.

Given Jack's deadline of one year, it was the best thing he could ask for. After the third night, he stopped sleeping altogether and spent every resting moment in his soul world, practicing against the Dao Soul. Copy-Jack welcomed the challenge.

As a result, Jack was tired towards the end of the trip. His eyes had black bags under them, his body felt sore, and only his indomitable will kept him from dozing off. He was slowly turning into a training maniac.

But he was improving fast.

Only at the last night, just before they reached the village, did Nauja convince him to sleep. They didn't know what they'd meet there; they had to be at their peak.

The oasis colored the heart of the desert, a splash of life in a wasteland.

Palm trees rose from verdant grass, swaying in the breeze. A small lake was in the middle, its waters crystal clear and inviting. Birds and little animals darted around between the trees, and cultivators, for once, weren't trying to kill each other.

The village itself was sprawled around the lake, surrounding it, roughly fifty little houses, all picturesque and identical. They were made of light wood and resembled forest cabins, with logs sticking out at the end of walls and a flat roof above—unlike normal forest cabins, these ones didn't have to fear the rain.

People of all species walked or rested in their midst. There were roughly forty of them, each moving with the confidence of an elite. None of these people were simple. They had the status and strength to be granted a Trial Token, and they had made it through the second and third rings, crossed the desert, and reached to the village.

Each of them was a prodigy of a B-Grade faction, on the level of the Integration Tournament's scions—or higher.

Jack saw feshkurs, a kovan, lycans, treants, insectoid people, creatures made of stone, others of wood. Some had wings, skin in all colors of the rainbow, or random assortments of limbs. They carried halberds, spears, swords, bows, maces, mallets, daggers, knives, machetes, staves, even guns. Many didn't wield weapons but instead radiated peculiar auras, like their mere visage struck Jack's brain oddly. Others wore odd garments and held artifacts that screamed magic. One person was completely naked.

Their levels ranged from the late seventies all the way to 119. Undoubtedly, they had the strength to match.

Jack, Nauja, and Brock watched all that from a distant sand dune, crouching on its surface so as to not be seen.

"Look at all those people," Jack said. "They're so different."

"All delvers," Nauja replied with distaste. "Their exterior doesn't matter if they're rotten on the inside."

"Look. Our friends are there, too."

One of the people walking around was an easily distinguishable treant, like the one they'd been chased by in the Forbidden Cave. There was no way to tell if it was the same treant from this distance, since all of them looked similar to Jack, but the woman who walked beside it sealed the deal. She was bald and clad in purple robes.

The minotaur's forces were here.

"We can't enter the village," Nauja said. "They'd chase us again."

"I'm stronger now."

"Stronger than all of them? And their allies?" Nauja raised a brow. "The minotaur wasn't even the top of the pack. He mentioned that he worked under someone, remember? A Lord Longsword. If they spot us, we're done for—or, at least, I am."

Jack grumbled. She was right, of course, but they were tired and starving after a week in the desert. Poor Brock was the worst; he was wobbling and had trouble concentrating. Jack had carried him for the last half a day. Even the hat they'd fashioned out of a dead scaled lizard wasn't enough to spare him the scorching sun. Moreover, they sadly discovered that these lizards weren't edible.

Brock might have been a level 45 elite beast, but even he had his limits, and they were fast approaching.

"We have to get some food," Jack said. "For Brock, and for us. Who knows what will be in the next ring?"

"Well, it's the Space Ring. I know some things, but…not if it has food." She narrowed her brows. "I never thought to ask."

"You know who has food? That place." He pointed at a specific building in the village. It was a cabin larger than the others, with smoke wafting off a little chimney. Tables were arranged at the front for cultivators to eat, with two lycan waiters shuffling between them and the kitchen, where a single kovan used its four arms to cook three meals at once.

Many groups of cultivators were clustered around the tables, chatting merrily and gorging themselves on drinks and food that looked delicious even from this distance.

Then again, everything looked delicious after a week in the desert.

"There's still your friend, right?" Nauja asked. "That Gan Salin person. We can't enter the village, but he can. Maybe he can buy food for everyone."

"Not a bad idea," Jack replied. "The problem is, I don't see him."

Despite the colorful assortment of cultivators, Gan Salin was missing. Jack hoped he was just inside a cabin, out of sight.

"We are well ahead of schedule," he said. "We'd agreed on a one-month deadline to reach here. It has only been like, what, two weeks? He's probably still touring the second ring."

"Or dead."

"Not helping."

"Not trying."

Jack chuckled. "Let's wait a bit. Maybe he'll show up from one of the houses. If not… Well, good luck, Gan Salin."

"Na'ste'kala."

"What's that?"

"An expression my tribe uses. It's slang for goodbye. Similar to the sound a triceratops makes when sad."

"Aren't you guys too few to have slang?"

She gave him a weird look. "What does our population have to do with anything?"

"Well, size matt— You know what? Nevermind."

"Can we get back to our starving?"

"Sure. So, if Salin doesn't show up soon, we could try other things. Maybe disguises? No, that wouldn't work. We could steal some food in the night, I guess, or pay someone to buy it for us."

"That last one sounds like a good idea. Even if the minotaur's told people to look out for us, I doubt any delver will care if we pay them enough."

"Okay. Let's wait a bit, and then we proceed with that plan. Afterwards… Where's the exit again?"

"Inside the village." She pointed at a small island in the middle of the lake, where a stone shrine stood out.

"Right. Perfect."

"We can try sneaking through. If we get as close as possible and then make a run for it, I doubt anyone will be able to stop us in time."

Jack nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. So, we wait a bit for Salin to appear from inside a cabin, then get someone to buy food for us, then try to reach the exit tunnel."

Brock counted as an individual, thankfully—as had been revealed in the Barbarian Ring—so they matched the "at least three individuals" requirement for the Ring Quest.

"What are all these people waiting for, anyway?" Jack wondered. "Why aren't they going to the next ring?"

"There's an annual event sometime soon. The Garden Assault, when everyone works together to reach the depths of Trial Planet. I think they're waiting for that."

"Hmm… I guess none of them are in a hurry."

Jack looked at the village again. Those were a lot of people. A lot of potential enemies.

Of course, they could also try another village, but… There was no time for that. Jack was on the clock. Even with his recent bonuses, his goal of defeating the C-Grade planetary overseer within a year remained near-impossible.

The Integration had taken a month, his space trip two weeks, and his Trial Planet run so far another two weeks. Ten months remained until Earth's grace period was over…and Jack was still in the E-Grade. There were plenty of letters left to go.

Damn the alphabet.

At least, they had a plan now. Wait, pay, run. Simple and clean.

From between Jack and Nauja, Brock made monkey sounds and pointed at something.

"Hmm? What's that, bro?" Jack said, squinting.

A trio of cultivators had just thrown the scraps of their food at something behind the tavern. It wasn't visible from where Jack watched. A stray? he thought, then considered it better. No. Those people are laughing. Why would they be laughing? Are they making fun of strays?

Brock made monkey sounds again.

Jack shrugged. "We can take a look."

The three of them slid down the sand dune and made a wide circle around the tribe, taking in everything from a second viewpoint. A few minutes later, the area where the cultivators had laughingly thrown scraps at was slowly revealed.

Thick iron bars. A metal cage in the mud. And, inside it, munching on the bone of a chicken, was Gan Salin.

Jack groaned. "Oh, come on. You have got to be kidding me."

"Is that your friend?" Nauja asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah."

"Why is he in there?"

"I don't know," Jack replied, frowning. He was getting angry now. He and Gan Salin had their differences once, but the canine had helped him escape the Animal Kingdom bounty hunters. They'd entered Trial Planet together. Maybe they weren't exactly friends, but they were a team.

And somebody was treating Gan Salin like trash.

Perhaps the canine had done something stupid and brought this upon himself—Jack wouldn't be surprised. But something told him this wasn't the case. Gan Salin was slightly insane, but he didn't feel suicidal. So, why?

Why was Gan Salin trapped in a cage and fed scraps while people laughed at him? Who did it? Why?

And what could Jack do about it?

"Change of plans," he said, frowning. "Night is falling soon. We'll sneak in and talk to Gan Salin. Rescue him if he's bullied. In the process, maybe we'll steal some food, too. I doubt the big guns will come after us over a couple of cold meals."

"Rescue him, how?"

"I can break the cage."

She raised a brow.

"What?" Jack replied. "I'll be quick. Then, we can run to the next ring before they have time to respond."

"...You're lucky to have me." Nauja sighed. "One of my Dao Skills can harden air in a bubble. It's nothing impressive in battle, but it stops sound. If I cast that around the cage, you can break it soundlessly. Then, we run."

"You can really do that!?"

She shrugged. "It never came up before."

"Okay. Perfect. Then, that's the plan."

Nauja smiled. She hated the delvers on principle. Seeing them mistreat someone, she instantly identified with that person. Gan Salin being her potential ally only fanned the flames.

They lay on the sand as time passed. Eventually, the sun mushrooms above dimmed. They went from suns to stars, showering the desert in silver light. Day gave way to night.

Most of the cultivators withdrew to their cabins. They didn't need to sleep every night, but they had no need to stay awake, either. A few remained outside, positioning themselves in key spots and scanning the desert. They were careless, though. Some even sipped drinks from clay mugs. They weren't guarding against an assault from other cultivators, only the rare desert monster stupid enough to attack an oasis.

Jack, Brock, and Nauja slipped in like shadows. They crossed the sand dunes, not climbing over them, but following the valleys in between. The cold sand was their ally now, muffling their steps.

Before long, they were walking on grass, and the cabins loomed before them. Some were illuminated from the inside, firelight spilling from open windows. The palm trees rustled above them, their leaves whistling slightly in the night wind, while the birds and little animals had returned to their nests to hide from the cold. Impressively, the lake's surface was gradually freezing over.

The tavern was still open, but only a couple of tables were occupied. They weren't serving food now, just drinks, and the raucous laughter of drunk cultivators filled the front of the building. They tried to keep it low, though; might made right in the cultivator world. If their noise annoyed someone strong, they could end up beaten, or, even worse, like Gan Salin.

The three of them crossed the cabins silently, darting from one to the other, always staying out of sight of the few look-outs. Before long, they made it behind the tavern, spying on the hardworking kovan bartender through a window. From there, Gan Salin was only a few steps away.

Canine, Level 61

Faction: Animal Kingdom

Title: Planetary Frontrunner (10)

Up close, he looked bad. His hair was messy and soiled, his clothes were dirty, torn in places. The remains of food lay at the side of his cage, stripped of every scrap of nutrition they ever had, while the mud under his wooden cage stank of piss. He was thinner than Jack remembered, looking weak and tired, and he was huddled against a corner of his cage, tucking his head into his chest and trying to sleep.

The sight struck a chord in Jack's chest.

"Psst," he said, crawling close to avoid being seen. Nauja and Brock remained behind, in the shadows. Salin didn't respond.

"Psst!" Jack tried again, and this time, the canine raised his head. The hardness of his eyes gave way to confusion when he saw nobody. "Down here. On the ground," Jack whispered.

Gan Salin looked down. His eyes shone. "Oh, hey Jackie," he whispered back with a smile. "Long time no see, huh?"

BREAK

BREAK

Gan Salin smiled and waved at Jack. Despite his tattered appearance, he behaved like everything was normal. He wasn't even deterred by the wrist-thick iron bars that separated the two of them.

"Salin," Jack whispered, "what the hell is going on?"

"I'm trapped," Gan Salin whispered back.

"I can see that, but why? What happened?"

"Oh, lots of things!" He got excited. "I somehow lucked out and survived through the second and third rings—by the way, did I mention that was almost a suicide mission for me? There is a reason nobody enters here at level 51. On the bright side, I got ten levels! Though you obviously did better. A shame. Anyway, my second ring was an icy tundra with roving packs of wild penguins, so I—"

"Salin!" Jack hissed, still keeping his voice low. "I'm not here to catch up. Get to the point."

Gan Salin crossed his arms.

"Wow. That's so rude. We haven't seen each other in two entire weeks, and you don't even wanna learn what I've been up to. Nice best friend you are."

"I'm not your—" He bit his tongue, starting over. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm here to get you out. I'm risking my life. Just tell me the important things, please!"

"Risking your life? Oh!" Salin's eyes flashed. "That's right. I seem to remember there is a big bad minotaur in this village who's seriously pissed at you."

"How do you know that?"

"Guess who put me in here."

A moment of silence passed between them. The sounds coming from the front side of the tavern, the laughter and conversation, only reminded Jack to hurry.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. "I guess this is my fault."

"Partially." Salin shrugged. "Apparently, the Animal Kingdom wasn't happy I ditched the Hounds to team up with you. News got around and, ah, let's just say Bocor was not excited to see me."

Bocor was the minotaur's name.

"You guys know each other?" Jack asked.

"We've met a few times. He's also a prodigy of the faction, but he belongs to an outside family, so he wasn't invited to Animal Planet much. Anyway, I came right to him the moment I reached the village. I thought, you know what? He's Animal Kingdom, I'm Animal Kingdom. In this foreign place, we should set our differences aside and work together! But no. He just threw me in a cage, like an animal, without batting an eye. Can you believe that?"

"I think I can." The minotaur hadn't struck Jack as the kind kind. "Did he mistreat you?"

"A bit." Salin's eyes suddenly glazed over, his smile taking on a bitter hue. "He was always bitter at the noble families. I can't blame him. He had the talent, but no matter how he tried, he was constantly ignored just because he didn't carry noble blood."

Jack's heart clenched a beat. "I can imagine."

"Yeah. When he had the opportunity to take it out on me, he was all too eager, you know? He even had an excuse: Since you and I came here together, I might know your whereabouts."

"A stupid excuse. We obviously weren't traveling together."

Salin shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, does it? Point is, you're here to rescue me. Can we get to it, please?"

Something in his eagerness to escape triggered Jack's perception. It felt like a momentary drop of Salin's jovialty, letting the desperation seep out from beneath. Jack frowned.

"Did he torture you?" he asked.

Salin hesitated. "There's a limit to what he can do to me. Even as a criminal, I remain a member of the noble families."

"But?"

"...He did have a lightning wizard play with my cage a bit. The other cultivators found it hilarious. Nothing to worry about, though." He gave a wide, hurt smile. "I'm strong enough."

"I see." Jack was growing angry now. Even reluctantly, Gan Salin was his friend now. "Did they feed you?"

"Isn't rescuing me more important?"

"No."

The canine hesitated again, but faced with Jack's resolve, he had little choice. "The tavern patrons sometimes throw scraps at me. Enough to keep me going. I didn't have much to eat in the desert, as you can imagine."

"He didn't give you a single meal?"

"No."

"And for water?"

"I dip my finger in the mud below and lick it. Sometimes. It's not pleasant for the stomach. On the bright side, Bocor made sure I had a good view of the pond, so I could fantasize about it a lot."

"And you can smell the tavern's meals all the time. And hear everyone else as they eat and drink and laugh."

"It's a privileged location for a cage."

Gan Salin was trying to joke, but Jack could clearly sense the pain underneath. The anger, the humiliation, the bitterness.

Jack clenched his fists and took a deep breath, beating down the fire inside him so it didn't spill out. Not yet, at least.

"Don't worry about me, Jack," Salin said. For once, his voice was earnest. "I'm fine. Just get me out of here, please."

He was playing it strong. Jack appreciated the gesture, but it did little to alleviate his fury. "Wait a moment," he said, making a gesture backward.

"Do you have more—" Salin kept speaking, but his voice was no longer audible. His eyes widened.

From the shadows, Nauja had activated her silence skill.

Being literally enveloped in silence was an odd feeling for Jack. He opened his mouth, but no voice came out. It was eerie, almost disturbing. His ears picked up a complete absence of sound, not even his own heart beating, though he could feel his body vibrating to the tune of his blood. Just like Nauja had promised, the sensation was deeply unpleasant.

In fact, it wasn't exactly silence. More like the air was resisting the urge to vibrate, like they were stuck inside a ball of effective sound insulation.

Salin frowned but gave Jack a thumbs up. Jack wrapped his fingers around the iron bars of the cage, brought them to his chest, and pulled. His muscles instantly went taut. The metal bent slightly under his grip, but no sound came. Jack pulled harder.

His veins were popping all over his arms. His eyes were bloodshot. He was pulling with the strength of fifty grown men, but the metal kept resisting. These were thick bars, after all. They were designed so Gan Salin couldn't affect them.

But Jack wasn't Gan Salin. His veins throbbed as he pulled harder, refusing to be defeated, absolutely intent on bending these bars out of shape. His Dao of Power seeped into his Indomitable Body, fortifying and enhancing his muscles. His pulling intensified.

Gan Salin also tried to help, but his Strength attribute was lacking. Still, the effort was commendable.

Jack opened his mouth and roared soundlessly. Slowly, the metal bent under his fingers. Inch by inch, the two iron bars were pulled away from each other. Jack kept pulling. At some point, the metal was bent so badly that its resistance waned, letting Jack accelerate and part the bars completely.

When he stopped, he could feel his entire body shaking from overexertion, but he still heard nothing. It was even more disorienting than before.

He had succeeded. A small hole was open in the bars, which Salin was already struggling to cross. He was wiggling through it, pushing his shoulders to fit. It was just slightly too tight. His face was red, and his skin was grating strongly against the metal.

Jack wanted to help, but he was afraid he'd break something.

Eventually, Salin accepted that he just barely didn't fit. His eyes momentarily sharpened, his jaw set. His Dao Root of Resolve flared. With an abrupt motion, he smashed one shoulder into the metal, mouthing a silent cry of pain. The bone was dislocated, bent oddly through the cage, and he finally managed to slide through.

The moment he was out, he took a deep, trembling breath, then snapped the bone back into place. His grimace was harsh, sweat marred his forehead, but he was out and safe.

Jack felt the silence skill disappear. Sound returned, from the raucous laughter at the front of the tavern to the cries of nocturnal animals.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked, looking deeply at Salin.

"Better than ever." The canine forced a smile. "Thank you, Jack. Really. I appreciate it."

Jack smiled back. "Don't mention it. Now, let's—"

He froze. A person had just rounded the tavern, probably heading home to get some sleep. Unfortunately, they were in the way. This man was staring directly at them.

As if that wasn't enough, Jack recognized him. It was the fire mage who had chased them in the Forbidden Cave, the one who'd screamed at Jack and Nauja about killing the ferretfolk.

Jack watched the man's eyes go wide in confusion, then widen even further with anger. He quickly put two and two together. Salin's broken cage and the canine himself were clearly visible.

So much for stealth, Jack thought.

The bald woman stepped out behind the fire mage a moment later, her expression mirroring his.

"Hey," Gan Salin said, raising his hands. "This isn't what it looks like. We're, um, eloping."

The fire mage took a deep breath, shouted, "Intruders!" and charged at Jack.

Which was a stupid decision. The man was level 72, one of the weakest cultivators in the village. He probably still thought of Jack as the weakling he'd chased in Forbidden Cave, but even then, Jack had only ran because there were a bunch of pursuers.

Even if the fire mage had inspected Jack now, he only saw a level 84 cultivator—Jack had gained a couple levels in the desert. The mage probably thought he could delay Jack until reinforcements arrived.

But Jack was not the average level 84 cultivator. Seeing the fire mage shout and charge, Jack's brows lowered dangerously. They had to run. This person was an enemy.

He charged too, using Ghost Step. His feet stomped on cobblestone. Suddenly, he was right before the enemy. The flames that had just started pouring out broke against Jack's bare chest. The bald woman, having arrived to the scene a moment later than the fire wizard, was too slow to react.

Jack's fist flared purple. Colors and sounds were sucked in. Jack's fist made contact with the fire mage's chest like a hurtling meteor.

The ensuing explosion rocked the entire village. A loud boom and a blinding flash covered the night as the man's body exploded, dying instantly. The strike was so strong that it carried behind the fire mage, striking the tavern wall and shattering it.

Wood exploded. Splinters flew everywhere. Pipes on the inside were bent oddly, pots and pans flew all over the place, fire spilled out from kitchens to the ground, and the entire building creaked before starting to collapse.

Jack stood before the ruined corpse of the fire mage, fist still outstretched. The bald woman, who had been ready to cast some spell, froze mid-action. She lowered her gaze, raised her hands, and slowly stepped back. The lycan waiter and two human cultivators—all under Level 100—who had just rounded the corner, startled by the mage's shout, also froze on the spot. They didn't dare approach. One of the two—a completely naked man—even started shivering.

"Mercy," said the lycan waiter, showing his open palms and arcing his back to push his belly forward—a habit deep in his genes.

Gan Salin gaped at the destruction, as did the kovan that was working inside the kitchen, his apron suddenly showered with splinters and dust. At least, this expedited Jack's plan of getting food.

There were more discreet ways to enter the kitchen than blowing up the wall. The plan was to sneak through the window, neutralize the cook-bartender, and steal anything they could get their hands on.

But things had taken another direction now, and Jack didn't regret it. These people were all accomplices in Gan Salin's plight. They were the ones who laughed when the lightning wizard electrocuted him. They were the ones who threw over scraps to humiliate him.

Yet, Gan Salin didn't complain. He simply endured the insults, sucking the bones dry to get nutrition, dipping his finger into the mud and licking it to quench his thirst, smiling in the face of horrible mistreatment.

Jack was furious. He was burning with rage. Since every plan would end up at a chase anyway, he might as well go scorched earth on this village. These assholes didn't deserve a tavern and nice food. Let them eat raw meat.

Besides, after the mage's previous shout, their infiltration had already failed. Now, it was a hunt.

Of course, the explosion resounded across the village. Urgent cries came from all directions, including the front of the tavern. Reaching the nearby exit tunnel was no longer an option.

Jack ignored the terrified crowd and rushed to the kitchen benches. Gan Salin followed a beat later. The ingredients—meat, vegetables, spices, and more—were neatly arranged in piles, and grabbing a sack, Jack filled it to the brim with anything he could get his hands on. Salin was grabbing water sacks from across the tables. He also found a small pile of credit cards, which he instantly pocketed. At this moment, his excitement genuinely suppressed the signs of mistreatment on his face and body.

The bartender snapped out of his shock and ran for the door, screaming, at the same moment that the chimney collapsed. The walls followed a beat afterward. Jack and Gan Salin were already outside, each carrying a bunch of sacks over their shoulders and running at the desert full-tilt.

"What the hell did you do!?" Nauja's voice reached him as she jumped out of the shadows, already sprinting.

Jack picked up Brock and hoisted him under his armpit, one arm carrying the brorilla and the other the sacks of food. Brock didn't make a single sound in protest. "What they fucking deserved!" he shouted back. "Less talking, more running!"

They broke into the desert, flying over sand dunes like they had wings. Thankfully, Gan Salin specialized in speed, so he could follow them—at least for a bit. Then, Jack would have to carry him, too.

Jack glanced back. From the moment he broke the tavern to now, only a few seconds had passed. With any luck, it would take time for the strongest people of the village to realize what had happened and come after them. By then, they could be miles away, far from anyone's ability to chase.

Getting to the next ring would be a problem. They could either circle back to this village and try to sneak through on the next night, or they could walk half a month to the next one. They had food and water now. It would delay Jack's timeline, of course, but he had the Dao Soul now. He could just spend that extra time stabilizing his recent gains.

Not like he had a choice, anyway.

The most he could wish for right now was escaping. With any luck, it would be doable. What kind of cultivator mastermind personally goes after vandals?

Unfortunately, luck had its days. As Jack looked back, he saw three figures leap over a sand dune, still far away but clearly on the chase.

One of them was the Animal Kingdom minotaur, Bocor. The other was a cold-looking woman in white robes who floated many feet off the ground, flying over the sand dunes without needing to follow the desert's terrain. And the third was a dark-haired man in tattered robes, whose sheathed sword was easily nine feet long.

This particular man was closing the distance so fast that he made the minotaur seem sluggish. It didn't take a genius to know that this was the Lord Longsword that Bocor served.

Jack cursed his luck.

BREAK

BREAK

Jack, Nauja, Gan Salin, and Brock ran over the sand dunes, heading as far away from the village as possible. They thought they would be fast enough. Turns out, they weren't.

Lord Longsword's team was the first to crest the tall sand dune between the village and the desert, sprinting after them. Jack could see them clearly under the silver starlight. Longsword himself was at the front—or, at least, the person Jack assumed was Longsword—followed by the icy witch and the dickhead minotaur, Bocor.

Following them was a vast array of cultivators. In a brief glance, Jack spotted a blue-haired guy showered in lightning sparks, a lanky, pale-faced teenager riding a desert scaled lizard, a woman clad in a dark robe with a deep hood—

He turned back to the front. There were easily a dozen people there. No point observing them.

How the hell did Longsword move so fast? Jack wondered, gritting his teeth. If it was Rufus Emberheart in his place, he would lounge back and have an underling handle the chasing.

Turns out, not all young masters were similar.

"To be fair, you could have seen this coming," Gan Salin added helpfully, running side by side with Jack. "That was their favorite tavern in the entire village."

"It was the only tavern in the village."

"Did I say otherwise?"

"Less talking, more running," Nauja said, making Gan Salin turn to her.

"I'm Gan, by the way. Gan Salin. Though everyone calls me Salin recently. I don't know why."

"Nauja," she replied. She glanced at his outstretched hand, hesitated slightly, then shook it quickly.

"Brock," said Brock, eager to participate in the conversation.

"Do you think they'll catch up?" Jack asked, still running. He braved another glance backward. Lord Longsword himself was far ahead of the pack, gaining on them every second.

"Absolutely," Gan Salin replied. "I don't even know why we keep running. Perhaps we should hide in the sand and pretend to be lizards—though, really, I'm a canine."

Jack gritted his teeth. "What if I beat him off?"

"That's Lord Longsword. You can't even slow him down." Gan Salin focused on speed, not endurance, which was one reason why he could speak so casually while running. The other was his certainty of getting caught.

"You don't know how strong I've gotten."

"I know how strong that guy is. There is no way you can fight him."

"Oh yeah?" Jack struggled inwardly. "Watch me."

"Don't do this!" Nauja yelled at him.

"It's a terrible idea," Salin agreed.

"Bro," said Brock, his intent indecipherable.

"What choice do I have? He's almost here!"

Lord Longsword was gliding over the sand dunes, his feet blurring under him, each step carrying him a large distance forward. His tattered robes fluttered in the wind as his long dark hair was pulled back, revealing a sharp, clean-shaven, expressionless face.

No—was that a smirk of amusement?

There was no way they could escape. From everyone else, maybe, but not this guy. Jack made his decision. "I'll hold him off. It's me they're after, anyway. You guys keep running."

He stomped into the sand, arresting his momentum and turning around.

"Jack!" The sounds of feet dragging against the ground came from behind him, where his companions were running, but Jack couldn't spare the attention. He just hoped they kept going.

Lord Longsword was almost upon them. Seeing Jack stop, the hint of smile on his face grew an inch. He landed in the sand fifty feet away from Jack, then dusted his robes. The nine-foot-long sheath trailed behind him, its tip almost grazing the desert's surface.

From up close, Jack could take a better look. There was a sense of playful arrogance to this man. The underlying assumption that he was far better than everyone else, and that he viewed them as a grown-up would view a bunch of kids. In this arrogance, at least, he resembled Rufus.

Human (Earth-74), Level 122

Faction: Wide Swirls (B-Grade)

Title: Wide Swirls Prodigy

"I commend you for—" he began, but Jack had no time to waste. If he could defeat this guy fast enough, maybe he could outrun the other delvers. They were a few seconds behind.

He charged in. A purple meteor blazed on his fist, ready to explode on that playfully arrogant face. He even considered using the Life Drop for a second but quickly changed his mind. The Ancient voice had instructed him to keep it an absolute secret.

He flew within nine feet of Lord Longsword. The smirk on the man's lips flickered. His eyes narrowed like unsheathed swords.

Jack barely registered the movement. One moment, the nine-foot-long sword was in its sheath. The next, it was hurtling at Jack's face, coming sideways at tremendous speed. Before he even realized what was happening, his every instinct screamed to dodge.

Jack leaned back hard. The blade sailed over him, barely missing his nose, as he lost his balance and tumbled back-first into the sand.

"Your weight was too forward," Longsword said, shaking his head in mock admonishment. "Don't just charge like that."

Jack's heart was beating like a wardrum. He jumped to his feet. Longsword held the blade at his side, nine feet of sharp steel, not in a hurry to swing again. But Jack had no time. If he didn't escape fast, a dozen other cultivators would catch up.

He rushed again. This time, he kept his body low. If the blade came again, he planned to leap over it, catching his opponent by surprise—that was the only way he could win.

The sword cracked like a whip. Longsword simply turned his wrist, and the tip of the nine-foot blade hissed through the air like a baleful gale, reaching Jack near-instantly. Not only was Longsword fast, but the length of his sword—and its apparent weightlessness—further enhanced that. Jack already felt cornered.

He followed the plan. He leaped over the blade and somersaulted, noting how the metal curved by the air resistance under him. It was made of soft, flexible materials. Unfortunately, this knowledge was of little help right now.

With another flick of Longsword's wrist, the sword changed directions and leaped at Jack, aiming to bisect him. It was too fast. No sword should be able to move like that. The longer the sword, the harder it should be to wield it. Longsword used his as quickly as one might a dagger.

Jack ghost-stepped diagonally and forward through the strike, landing on the sand and leaping off to punch Longsword. His fist blazed purple, drawing a narrow, fast arc.

At the last moment, Longsword's hand blurred. He slapped the strike away. The explosion burst to the side, leveling a nearby sand dune from the shockwave, as Jack found cold steel pressed into his neck.

He froze. He had lost? Just like that?

A growl escaped Jack's throat, brutal and guttural.

"Eloquent. I like that," Longsword said, nodding his head. "Listen, little guy. I'm going to pull back my sword. Don't try to resist, okay?"

He did pull back. Even at this range, he didn't seem particularly afraid of Jack. A dozen cultivators landed around them.

Meanwhile, Jack was reeling. His mind was going through a thousand thoughts at once, trying to understand everything about this battle.

Longsword was a sword fighter. He used no extraneous Daos, or, at least, hadn't used any in this fight. He could manipulate the long blade with just a flick of his wrist, giving its tip extreme speed, like a whip. At the same level, how could anyone keep up with that? Jack's dodges had been more prediction than observation.

Did the others escape?

He looked back, only to find Nauja, Gan Salin, and Brock fifty feet behind him. They all had their weapons drawn as if ready to assist Jack, but they stood still. Lines of smooth ice stretched through the sky, above Jack's head, and around his friends, ending in sharp tips aimed at their throats.

Jack realized what happened and groaned. They hadn't kept running. They turned around to help him, but that was all the opening the ice witch needed for her magic to reach.

"You must be wondering," Longsword said, drawing Jack's attention to the front. He caressed the handle of his weapon, already sheathed. "This is Featherlong. An Ancient artifact forged of extremely light, yet wickedly sharp metal alloys. One flick of my wrist is enough to sever a hill."

"When?" Jack growled back.

"When was it made?"

"When did I ask?"

Longsword's smile faltered momentarily, then returned. From this distance, his brown eyes were like deep pools of brown, and that sense of playful arrogance was even stronger. It didn't escape Jack that the dozen cultivators around them, each a prodigy in their own right, stayed silent in deference.

"To be honest," Longsword said, "I didn't expect you to survive a single strike. Your strength is admirable for your level—you might even be Elite. Tell me: did you know who I was when you chose to fight me?"

"I had my suspicions," Jack replied. He was already captured. The best he could do was see where this guy was going. "I know that asshole"—he jutted his thumb at Bocor, who snarled by the side—"works for a Lord Longsword. You're hella strong and have a long sword. It didn't take a genius."

"Hmm." Longsword cupped his chin, ignoring Jack's jab at Bocor. "Your personality is as I've heard. I have to admit I'm intrigued, Jack Rust. Your fighting skills are lackluster—"

Your mom is lackluster, Jack almost said before catching himself.

"—but you certainly have potential. I'll tell you what we can do. You have a little bounty with the Animal Kingdom, but my Wide Swirls are also a presence in the galaxy—and, unlike the Animal Kingdom, we accept outside disciples. Join my team. Swear an oath and devote your life to me for this Garden Assault. If you can impress me sufficiently, I might negotiate your protection in exchange for joining my faction."

The crowd did not expect this. Brows were raised, eyes widened. Bocor the minotaur was the most shocked of all. He quickly said, "My Lord, the Animal Kingdom—"

"I am aware, Bocor," Longsword cut him off. "But subordinates are part of one's strength. I won't weaken myself to placate your faction. If this man impresses me, the Wide Swirls and Animal Kingdom might work something out."

"But—"

"Are you doubting me?"

His tone was calm. Yet, Bocor shut up instantly, bottling up his rage. "Never, my Lord."

"Good. Now, what do you say, Jack Rust? Your strength has earned you a second shot at life."

Jack, too, was shocked. This had come completely out of the blue. Join him? he wondered. Join a B-Grade faction?

Honestly, he didn't really have a reason to refuse. There was no bad blood between him and Lord Longsword—though he instinctively disliked the man.

"You mentioned protection," he asked carefully. "If I may ask, would that extend to my planet, as well? We were recently Integrated, and I believe we rubbed the Animal Kingdom the wrong way."

"Planets are expensive." Longsword shook his head. "Every Wide Swirls disciple can bring up to three family members. I'll make that five for you."

Jack's heart clenched. Five people… He almost started counting before realizing that the people he had to protect were far, far more than five.

"And my companions here?" He motioned at Nauja, Gan Salin, and Brock.

Longsword cupped his chin. "The pet can be spared, but we'll kill the other two. The kovan whose tavern you ruined is my associate. I can't let this go unpunished."

Jack looked back, meeting Nauja's trembling stare. A moment later, she steadied. She was a barbarian. If she had to die, she would face death with honor.

"I would prefer not to—" Gan Salin tried to speak, but the smooth ice line that extended to his throat grew a bit, the tip drawing a drop of blood.

All this time, the ice witch stood a step behind Longsword and hadn't batted an eye.

"This is not a negotiation," Longsword said, noticing Jack's hesitation. "It is an opportunity for you. Many would give up their entire families to be part of a Lord's team. Accept quickly, or I will hand you over to Bocor here, to treat you as he sees fit. I assure you; that is not a future you want to face."

Jack glanced at Bocor. The minotaur waited by the side, face torn between brutal glee and impotent fury. This was the same guy who'd slapped Brock in the Forbidden Cave. Part of the Animal Kingdom which bullied Earth.

What do I do? Jack thought desperately. If I decline, he will kill me and the others.

If I accept, I will survive for a little longer, and I may be able to save more of my people down the line…but I can't surrender my friends. Plus, this guy is off. Everything he does feels a bit…too cold.

Goddammit. How am I supposed to make a choice like that? Is there really nothing else!? What would a fist do?

Unfortunately, the essence of the fist was predicated on not losing. Since he'd already lost, all the fist could help him do was die. There was no way to fight his way out of this one.

But he was more than just a fist. Jack squeezed his brain dry to find a solution, anything that could save him and his friends. He could feel their stares into his back. They relied on him.

And, as his brain was squeezed to the limit, it started spitting out random ideas. Most were stupid. But a few things made sense. Suddenly, the inklings of a plan were forming in Jack's brain. A delicate manipulation that had a small chance of working, if executed properly.

BREAK

BREAK

"Your offer is tempting, Lord Longsword," Jack said, consciously relaxing his body and mouth. He even forced a small smile. The first step was to give Lord Longsword his respect in front of everyone. "How could anyone refuse? You are an unmatched prodigy. Honestly, after fighting you once, my respect for you is through the roof."

Longsword nodded. He assumed Jack was just complimenting him to make up for his earlier disrespect. Before he could say anything, Jack continued.

"Besides, I would have to be an idiot to let myself be handed over to that guy," he said, jutting a thumb at Bocor and laughing loudly. "Not only is he an asshole, he's also a weak asshole. Dying to him would make for an ugly tombstone."

Longsword frowned. "I acknowledge your intention, but you shouldn't insult my other subordinates. It is ungainly."

"Oh? I apologize, Lord. I wasn't trying to insult anyone. I was just stating the facts. That person is, indeed, weaker than me. There is no shame in that, right?"

"I could destroy you with one finger!" Bocor bellowed from the side. He was a minotaur, and bulls weren't known for their composure. Just as Jack had hoped, he was outraged.

"Of course you couldn't." Jack laughed again, latching on to this opening. "We both know you're the weaker party here. Wouldn't you agree, Lord Longsword?"

Longsword didn't reply immediately. Instead, his frown deepened. He wasn't an idiot. He could sense Jack was up to something; he just didn't know what. "Bocor is obviously stronger than you," he said carefully. "What's your point?"

To an outsider, Bocor absolutely looked stronger than Jack. Not only was there a difference of thirty-one levels between them, but the minotaur was also talented enough to be placed in Lord Longsword's team. He was far stronger than most people at his level.

In fact, Jack also suspected he was the weakest of the two, but he didn't have many options.

"He? Stronger than me?" Jack said, feigning surprise, even incomprehension. "My Lord, I understand you have to speak up for your subordinates, but this really isn't proper. I have seen this minotaur fight. He is extremely weak for his level. In fact, his being part of your team is an affront to your great strength."

His hesitant words threatened to take back the respect he'd already given to Lord Longsword—in front of everyone. That would be awkward for the Lord.

"Bocor is obviously not weak," Longsword responded. He was starting to get impatient, so Jack cut to the chase.

"I see. Well, I happen to disagree, and I wonder; do you enjoy gambling, Lord Longsword?" The cat was out of the bag, so he spoke quickly, not leaving time for anyone to interrupt his carefully crafted speech. "You mentioned before that subordinates are part of one's strength. However, that minotaur really is too weak. How about you let me test this part of your strength, my Lord? Let's make a bet. I will duel the asshole and prove his incompetence. If I lose, I will gladly die for my disrespect, or join your team, or whatever you desire of me. But, if I win, you will let me and my friends go for now. You can hunt us down again in the next ring."

Brows rose all around. Even Jack's friends were surprised by this turn of events. Lord Longsword's eyes were narrowed now, suspicious. "What are you trying to achieve?" he asked. Obviously, he didn't think Jack had a shot against Bocor, so he assumed there was something else at play.

"Nothing, my Lord," Jack assured him. "No plans, tricks, or ploys. I am simply confident in my strength. If you are confident in your strength, too, and the minotaur is part of your strength, let me duel him." His expression hardened. "I refuse your previous offer. Go ahead and hand me over to the Animal Kingdom; but, in the process, why not offer a spectacle for everyone present, humiliate me, and showcase your subordinate's strength—if there is anything to show?"

Jack seemed confident on the outside. Inside, he was gnawing at all his fingernails at once. This was the only plan he could come up with: take advantage of Lord Longsword's playful arrogance to lure him into a seemingly impossible bet. Could Jack really beat the minotaur? He didn't know. But he believed his chances to be above zero. He had grown a lot stronger since they last met. He had faced a peak E-Grade beast almost equally—and grown a bit since then, too.

Of course, that all hinged on Lord Longsword accepting this bet. Jack had already done his best. He had even used the lord's previous words to trap him. His only deficiency was that he had nothing to bet besides his own death, but there was nothing he could do about that. Revealing the existence of any secrets—like the Life Drop—would be the same thing as revealing the secrets themselves.

Lord Longsword cupped his chin. He still looked at Jack suspiciously, like he suspected there were more tricks lying in wait, but he couldn't find them—because they didn't exist.

However, his eyes held a hint of intrigue. Jack's heart lightened as he saw it.

"Very well," he finally responded. "Form a wide circle, everyone. Bocor, show no mercy."

The minotaur had the most bloodthirsty, sadistic smile Jack had ever seen. "Yes, my Lord."

The cultivators quickly made some distance, leaving a wide, empty circle in the sand for Jack and the minotaur to face off. Bocor remained as everyone receded around him, solid as a boulder, staring down Jack while slowly grabbing his tower shield.

"I don't know what got into you," he said, "but I will enjoy this."

Jack wasn't paying attention to the minotaur; not yet. His eyes scanned the surroundings, taking in the cultivators. Lord Longsword stood at one end of the circle, accompanied by the icy witch—who still hadn't expressed emotion or said a single word. Nauja, Gan Salin, and Brock were by her side, surrounded by smooth ice lines ending in sharp tips.

They watched Jack with hope. Gan Salin, with amusement.

"Hey, Jackie," he said, ignoring the ice that almost bore into his throat, "I don't know what you're planning, but go for it! I'm sure it will be fun."

"I'm planning nothing," Jack replied honestly. "I'll just kick his ass."

Somehow, Salin believed him. His face dropped. He turned his eyes—he would be impaled if he moved anything else—to Longsword. "Say, Lord, normal battles are so last millennium. Could we consider something else instead? Perhaps a dance-off?"

"Shut him up," Longsword ordered. The ice lines wound so thick around Gan Salin's throat that even breathing was a struggle. When he swallowed, two shallow lacerations were drawn on his Adam's apple. He didn't speak anymore.

Jack drew his eyes from Salin to Nauja, who simply nodded at him, and then to Brock, whose eyes burned with passion. It warmed Jack's heart. The little brorilla didn't have the slightest of doubts about Jack's victory.

Around them, people were getting ready to watch the show. Jack spotted the bald woman from before. She was glaring daggers at him—probably still pissed he'd killed her two teammates, the ferretfolk and the fire mage.

The wizened treant was also there, the one with leaf magic, accompanied by a club-wielding woman and a robed individual Jack hadn't seen before—perhaps the invisible enemy from the Forbidden Cave?

Besides those, there were plenty of cultivators in attendance. More had arrived after Jack and Longsword started talking. A human with blue hair, white at the tips, through which ran blue sparks. A lanky, pale-faced teenager who rode a scaled lizard with a sneer on his face. A completely naked man. A kovan with a dirty apron and the most professional glare Jack had ever seen.

Not everyone's powers were easily discernible. There were plenty more who just stood there, clad in robes or armor, carrying sheathed weapons or odd trinkets. For a moment, Jack let his mind wander. What Daos could these people be following? The Dao of Victory? Of the Drunken Fist? Of Love, War, Sand, or Sky?

Maybe the Dao of Bad Breath? The Dao of No Clothes?

He couldn't wait to find out.

Then, relishing in this small respite, he took a deep breath and fortified his mind, focusing on one person: Bocor, the Animal Kingdom minotaur.

Jack had a bone to pick with this guy. Not only had he tried to kill Jack on multiple occasions, but he'd also mistreated Gan Salin badly. He had even slapped Brock during the Forbidden Cave chase. Jack still remembered the sound, crisp and clear. He was determined to get revenge, then—he just didn't imagine the time would come so soon.

Bocor stood opposite Jack, weighing him with his gaze. "Are you done sightseeing?" he asked, but Jack ignored him.

Minotaur, Level 115

Faction: Animal Kingdom

Title: Resilient

Meanwhile, Jack himself was thirty-one levels below.

Name: Jack Rust

Species: Human, Earth-387

Faction: Bare Fist Brotherhood (E)

Grade: E

Class: Fiend of the Iron Fist (Elite)

Level: 84

Strength: 325

Dexterity: 325

Constitution: 325

Mental: 50

Will: 80

Skills: Ghost Step I

Dao Skills: Indomitable Body III, Meteor Punch II, Iron Fist Style I, Brutalizing Aura I

Daos: Perfect Dao Seed of the Fist (late), Dao Root of Indomitable Will (fused), Dao Root of Life (fused), Dao Root of Power

Titles: Planetary Frontrunner (10), Planetary Torchbearer (1), Third Ring Conqueror

He had gained four levels while touring the desert, which all went to evening out his Dexterity against the other Physical stats. Now, they all sat at a not-so-round 325, sixty-five times the average pre-System human. With all three working together, he would seem like a God to anyone in the pre-System era.

Unfortunately, his training with the Dao Soul through the desert trip hadn't yielded any tangible benefits, but he felt himself sharper, more aware of his surroundings and how the System channeled his Dao to use his Dao Skills.

Compared to other people of his level, he had two fused Dao Roots, a perfect Dao Seed, the Immortality Serum, an Elite Class, a third-tier Dao Skill in Indomitable Body, and the old reliable, Meteor Punch. The Life Drop was unfortunately off-limits for this fight. If he used it, he still wouldn't escape, and he would have revealed himself to the "great forces" the Ancient voice had warned him about.

He would have to win this purely on his own power.

The minotaur, on the other hand, no doubt had his own advantages. Elixirs, resources, fused Dao Roots, maybe an Elite class or a perfect Dao Seed. Undoubtedly high-class training, all sorts of top-tier resources, and who knows what kind of equipment.

But more than anything else, Jack had his fist and the resolve that, if he lost, he would die.

Simple and clean…

He licked his lips, finding them dry, and settled into a fighting stance. The minotaur's hulking body was eight feet tall, crowned with sharp, twin horns, covered in bulging muscles, and hidden under a full set of plate armor that only left his face exposed. His face had thick, masculine features, his fur was a light brown, and his eyes were hateful little slits clouded with rage.

A large tower shield was in his hands, easily the size of a door and undoubtedly weighing ten times as much. When he stuck it in the sand before him, it sank down easily until it hit the stone below with a hollow thud.

"In the name of the Animal Kingdom, are you ready to die?" the minotaur asked, reveling in his soon-to-come glory.

"Are you?" Jack replied, clenching his fists. The Dao coursed through him, filling him with power. His body tingled, his pores opened, his hair stood on end, a wild grin appeared on his lips.

He was ready.

Bocor bellowed and charged.

BREAK

BREAK

Jack's world sharpened to a point: the minotaur. Everything else fell away. He entered combat. A battle he couldn't afford to lose.

Bocor closed the distance in less than a blink. His hooved legs carved the sand under them, parting it like air. He was fast, too.

But Jack was also fast.

The sharp butt of a tower shield crashed where Jack used to stand. He'd jumped away, turning in mid-air and smashing a Meteor Punch into the minotaur's side. The ensuing explosion could fell a hill. Sand flew away in all directions, whipping the bodies and eyes of those watching.

When it settled, Jack was cradling his hand. A sharp pain ran from his middle knuckle to his shoulder, the result of the hard impact. The minotaur's plate armor was slightly dented but had easily withstood the strike. "Fool," Bocor said. "Someone like you could never break this armor."

Jack grimaced. Technically, blunt weapons—like his fist—were the best weapons against heavily armored opponents. But this was plate armor, and his hand was made of flesh. Until he broke the armor—which was nigh-impossible—it would distribute a good amount of his impacts across the minotaur's body, reducing the power of his strikes.

There was no way around it. He had to either strike the minotaur's face through his open helmet, or keep pounding away at the armor. His hurt knuckle was already recovering, his Indomitable Body's magnificent healing properties set to work. While Jack's will remained whole, so would his body.

"I don't need to break the armor," he retorted. "I need to break you."

He charged.

Bocor was strong, hard, but not too fast. Moreover, he wielded a large tower shield. Jack had to fight in close quarters.

As he charged, Bocor brought the shield before his body. He bashed Jack, who sidestepped the attack, then swung the shield's sharp bottom. Jack rolled under the strike, finding himself before the minotaur, and punched out. He didn't use Meteor Punch, this time—it hurt him more than the opponent.

His regular punches weren't anything to scoff at, either. They came densely, one punch following the other in a dance of violence. Jack smashed a straight into the minotaur's chest, a hook to his ribs, an uppercut into his jaw. Bocor's hands tried to clap Jack's ears, but he ducked, letting them clap each other, and charged up a fierce strike into his opponent's armpit.

Bocor grunted. It was the first sign of damage.

The shield came crashing down from above, forcing Jack to ghost step behind the minotaur and keep pummeling. His strikes bled into each other, but their effect was limited. It felt like punching a boulder. No matter how long you kept at it, all you achieved was to injure your own hands.

However, he'd made a great observation. He had the stats to face the minotaur. He wouldn't be steamrolled.

Suddenly, the air hardened around Jack. It became thick and slimy, like water, limiting his speed and strength. Every movement was now a battle against the pressure.

Bocor turned to face him, his glare ugly. "Welcome to the swamp, kid." He then let go of his shield with one hand and slapped Jack, sending him flying to the edge of the circle. The lightning wizard there grabbed Jack—the grip sent a jolt of pain into him—and threw him back inside.

"There is no escape," Bocor said again, taking slow, purposeful steps at Jack. "You cannot harm me. You can run, but you are going down."

Jack raised his eyes. His teeth was gritted. His body tense. This guy was so frustrating to fight against. His entire being was designed to endure damage.

I have to strike his face, he realized. It was the only place where the plate armor wouldn't get in the way—though, undoubtedly, the minotaur had more skills to protect himself. But the face was a difficult target to hit.

What are my advantages?

The minotaur was a cultivator. A scion of a B-Grade faction, like Rufus Emberheart. He had trained throughout his life, but how many real, life-or-death battles could he have experienced? Not many. And how many of them were against skilled, humanoid opponents? Probably very few.

Jack, on the other hand, had a wealth of experience. The Dao Soul by itself had made him adept in combat.

Brute strength wouldn't triumph here. He had to use skill. His hand closed around a handful of sand.

Jack felt the Iron Fist Style rev up inside him. The relevant knowledge came to the forefront. He was a fistfighter, an expert. All his other skills were just tools.

With a roar, he stood and charged.

Bocor laughed and stood his ground. The air liquified around him again, making every move a struggle. Jack dived into it anyway. His ranged Meteor Punches could be easily blocked by the shield.

He dived, dodged, sidestepped, and rolled. It was harder now. The thick, slimy air inhibited him, but he pushed through. One punch under the elbow, another behind the thigh. He dodged a shield swipe, followed Bocor's backstep, and feigned an uppercut. In reality, he just opened his hand, shooting the sand he'd gathered into the minotaur's face.

Bocor released a cry of surprise. Jack had already jumped, dodging a blind strike to screw his fist directly into the minotaur's face from above. He felt bone groan under his knuckle, the collision of his fist against the ridge of his opponent's wide nose.

At the same time, it was like he'd punched granite. His knuckle ruptured. The minotaur's skin was even harder than his plate armor. At least it couldn't spread the damage everywhere.

Jack let the impact take him high, then twisted his body in mid-air and punched down again, a Meteor Punch with his entire weight behind it. Bocor had already raised his shield to block. Jack's hand met it with a crack. The shield was completely unmoved as he flew back, quickly shooting a Meteor Punch into the air to accelerate his landing.

In this fight, mobility was his weapon. He couldn't afford to be stranded mid-air.

The minotaur had recovered. His eyes were red now, steaming with rage, and blood trickled down his nose. "YOU!" he shouted, unable to muster more coherent words, and barreled forward like a loose train. Jack welcomed the charge. He feigned to the left, letting the shield sail there without a target, then sidestepped to the right and planted a fierce punch right into Bocor's face.

Despite all the hardness and endurance his knuckles possessed, they were still fractured. The minotaur staggered back, seeing stars for a moment, as Jack pressed the attack. The Iron Fist Style flowed in his veins. He was one with it. His movements were fluid, smooth, clean, even in the minotaur's aura skill. He dodged strikes and hammered away.

His attacks weren't many now, but they were persistent. Each went after the minotaur's face, pursuing odd angles and timing. He mixed things up, adding feints, body slams, ghost steps. He was a machine of violence, a dance of mayhem, tuned to the very edges of his skill.

Bocor avoided most of the attacks. His face was a difficult target to hit, but thanks to Jack's persistence, a couple of strikes got through. To Bocor, it was like a nightmare, like fighting a bee that was intent on stinging your eyes. His nose had gone from dripping to flowing blood, his lips were split, and his cheekbones were steadily getting caved in.

This was like fighting the rock bear all over again.

Bocor was rage personified. He was getting publicly beaten up. In front of his lord. The attacks didn't hurt him too much, but they wounded his pride. Yet, the more he gave in to rage, the more predictable he became. Jack was using all sorts of tricks, like a wild animal instead of a principled fighter. His moves weren't necessarily optimal, but they were unpredictable. Bocor wasn't trained to handle this.

As a result, his movements weren't practiced. They had clear patterns. Every time something worked, he tried it again, only to find himself brutally countered. Jack had practiced against Copy-Jack a lot. He knew how to read patterns and adapt on the fly.

Of course, throughout the battle, Jack was regularly receiving hits. An armored gauntlet dug into his guts. A backfist met his face, the side of the shield crashed into his ribs, a headbutt broke his nose, a sharp horn slashed his shoulder.

Every time, Jack would fly back, slow down for a while. But his Indomitable Body would quickly heal him. Moreover, every time Jack landed a hit on the minotaur's face, his knuckles cracked. The pain was sharp, but Jack was beyond caring. His Indomitable Body only needed seconds to recover the damage.

Bocor may have been a tank, but so was Jack!

Nobody had expected this. They saw Jack's attacking power and assumed he focused on Strength and Dexterity, that he was a strong but frail fighter. The first time he was struck hard, everyone thought it was over, only for Jack to stand up and keep fighting. The same thing occurred the next three times, until they got used to it.

The look of growing horror on Bocor's face fueled Jack, made him forget his aching stomach, his burning muscles, his leaden limbs. He was exhausted, but he was indomitable. His body would give up before his mind did.

Lord Longsword's expression hardened as the fight went on.

Stat-wise, Bocor was slightly superior. The same went for training and resources. Their Daos were comparable in power.

The deciding factor in this battle was skill. In this realm, Jack was clearly superior. Everyone could see it. It wasn't just the tiers of his Dao skills, either. Dao skills were mere guidelines. Jack was inventive. Experienced. He went above and beyond the skill's limitations, improvising constantly.

Strikes came and went, punches flashed everywhere, roars, bellows, rising sand, and the dull thud of skin on bone. Jack's skill in battle gave him the advantage, and his incredible tenacity helped him capitalize.

No matter how hardy he was, Bocor couldn't take a beating forever. He began to slow. His eyes were blurry, his mouth drawn into a permanent, enraged scowl, his moves subconsciously more defensive than before.

Of course, Jack also couldn't keep going forever. He was exhausted. At some point, his body would just give out on him. The trick was, falling after Bocor. He had to land a good strike.

Throughout the fight, he couldn't use Meteor Punch on Bocor's face. Using the skill slowed down his strike, and the openings he had weren't wide enough for that. He needed to find a better one.

So he stalked. Waiting.

The scales of battle tipped in his favor. He went from the underdog to an enigma. Nobody knew how long he could keep going, but they could all see his strength, his speed, his tenacity, his experience, his excellent use of skills. Even Longsword's eyes held new light inside them now.

Until, at a certain point, Bocor crossed an invisible threshold. In the deepest recesses of his soul, he started believing he would lose. Jack sensed that change with his entire body. He saw it in the minotaur's eyes, his posture, his movements.

And, in that precise moment of hesitation, he finally used Brutalizing Aura.

It escaped his body with force. It shimmered into the air around him and slammed into Bocor. The minotaur's eyes widened. The effect was immediate.

Brutalizing Aura worked by projecting the certainty of death into the target's mind. The feeling it invoked was like facing a natural disaster. Jack would kill them. There was no rage there, nothing to negotiate with; it was a natural disaster that could only end in one way. It invoked a primal fear inside the target, something deep, ancestral, and uncontrollable.

Normally, it wouldn't work on someone as strong as Bocor. It was intended for use against crowds of weaker opponents.

However, throughout the fight, Jack had acted like a machine of death. He came for Bocor, fighting with overwhelming, inevitable skill. He persistently aimed for the face, a difficult target, and kept hitting it. No matter how many times he was struck, he always got back up and returned to the fight, like he would never stop. He hid his exhaustion.

Bocor knew he was fighting a person, another cultivator, but Jack acted like a machine. Slowly but surely, he had cast a shadow on Bocor's mind. A shadow of terror, of inevitability, of powerlessness, like he was trying to stop the sea waves.

Brutalizing Aura stepped precisely on that shadow, magnifying its effects. Everything Jack had done in the fight before culminated now. For a single moment, Bocor was stunned.

A purple meteor flared around Jack's fist, imbued with all the resolve he could pour into it. He couldn't afford to lose. This was the only good opening he would get.

A ding rang into his ears.

Congratulations! Iron Fist Style I → Iron Fist Style II

Jack smiled. "This is for Brock," he whispered, just low enough for Bocor to hear.

Color and light was sucked into his fist. The world went mute and dark, leaving only a purple meteor shining in the darkness, beautiful in its deadliness. Jack swung it with surgical accuracy. It went under Bocor's shield, between his outstretched arms, and right into the gap of his helmet, landing square against his face. The entire force of the strike focused on Jack's middle knuckle, which shattered on collision.

So did Bocor's face. It had already taken a thorough beating. This meteor was the straw that broke the camel's back.

A blaring explosion was followed by a sickening crunch. Sand flew everywhere, obstructing the stars above. The dune under their feet was leveled. A strong wind flapped the clothes of everyone watching, making them cover their eyes as Bocor's entire body flew back head-first, passing right by Longsword to skid on the sand behind him.

Jack waited, arm outstretched. His shattered knuckles sent waves of pain into his body, but he ignored them—after the Life Drop's torture, this was nothing. He watched, eyes glued on Bocor's fallen body. His brain was still in combat mode. He was prepared to keep fighting until he collapsed. He didn't dare believe in victory. He couldn't afford to lose.

But Bocor didn't stand up. He remained on his back, hands sprawled to the sides, shield on the ground next to Jack—where it had fallen—face bleeding into the ground. He wasn't dead, but he was unconscious.

For a few moments, there was silence. Everyone was digesting the impossibility they had just watched. Someone had crossed a thirty-one-level gap to fight, and won. Moreover, against an opponent that could also jump ranks to defeat those stronger than himself.

Everyone knew Bocor's strength. He was highly capable. How could he be defeated by someone at level 84?

The spectating cultivators all had their own thoughts. Suddenly, in perfect unison, everyone turned to Lord Longsword, including Jack and his captured friends.

Longsword hesitated for a moment. His eyes were glued on Jack, shining with fervor. There was desire there, like an enthusiast watching the newest sports car. It made Jack's skin crawl.

"Very impressive," Longsword finally said. "Even I didn't imagine you hid such strength. My interest in you is rekindled. What do you say, Jack Rust? Would you like to join my team? If you say yes, I'm willing to kick out Bocor. And, if you survive Trial Planet, I guarantee that I will ask my master to save you from the Animal Kingdom. I can even spare your friends here."

Jack took a moment to gather himself. He had just escaped fierce combat. He was exhausted and tense. How long had that lasted?

He snuck a glance at Gan Salin, Nauja, and Brock, finding them standing in a corner. The ice lines around them had already retreated.

"I appreciate your offer, Lord Longsword," he said. "Since I defeated the minotaur, I believe it is time to honor our agreement?"

"Of course! A bet is a bet," Longsword replied, seemingly unbothered by Jack's refusal. His eyes still glinted with excitement. "You and your team are free to go. Starting from the next ring, we'll be enemies again. You have until the morning before my team climbs down. However… I will be watching your progress with great interest. If you ever change your mind, just find me. I will make sure to save you something good from the Garden Ring."

"Thank you, Lord Longsword," Jack replied. He had already released all his frustration in the battle. He didn't feel like being rude.

He also had zero intentions of ever joining this Lord Longsword. Not only had his offer been shitty before Jack revealed his strength, but the way he treated his subordinates was terrible. He had publicly offered to kick out Bocor. Clearly, people were just pawns to him.

Jack wanted nothing to do with that sort of person.

"As a token of my appreciation, let me give you some tips before you go," Longsword said, his smile casual. "Your understanding of tactics is decent, but your movements are a tad unrefined. I would suggest working on your fighting style Dao Skill. Moreover, you might want to do something about that movement skill. It's good for now, but it doesn't mesh with the rest of your skills. I suspect it isn't even a Dao Skill yet. If you don't find a way to evolve it soon, it will bottleneck your growth."

Jack narrowed his eyes. What Longsword said made sense…but they were enemies. Kind of. Even if he couldn't fight the other man right now, he refused to believe he still couldn't fight once he reached the peak E-Grade himself.

He couldn't just let Longsword lecture him.

"Thank you for your tips, Lord Longsword," he replied. "Allow me to reciprocate with a tip of my own. You might want to watch that wrist."

Longsword's eyes narrowed dangerously. "My wrist?"

"You move your entire sword with a flick of the wrist. If someone were to block the strike accurately, your wrist might snap. So watch it."

"My sword is too fast for a perfect block. In any case, I know what I'm doing. You are in no position to lecture me." Longsword's eyes held a storm for a moment before calming, his casual smile returning. "I look forward to someone trying to snap this wrist of mine. Now, perhaps you've dallied long enough, Jack Rust. The Space Ring awaits you."

"Right. Come on, guys. Let's go," Jack told his friends. "We'll be heading to the next ring immediately. And we'll be keeping the food and water we got from the tavern. I don't suppose anyone disagrees?"

His eyes scanned the crowd, but nobody stepped up. Even the kovan tavern-keeper, whose food and water Jack was now publicly taking after destroying the tavern, stayed quiet. He didn't dare meet Jack's gaze.

"Oh, and Jack," Lord Longsword said, almost as an afterthought. "If you decide to join the forces of any other lord after receiving my offer, I will be terribly offended. Okay?"

There was steel in those words. Jack kept them in the back of his mind but didn't pay too much attention right now. He didn't even know what it meant to be a lord. Was it a nobility title? A euphemism for very strong delvers? A moniker for people with long swords?

In any case, if the other lords were as rotten as this one, he didn't plan to ally with anybody.

"Thank you, Lord Longsword," he said again, turning towards the village.

With nobody stopping them, and nothing left to settle on this ring, reaching the center of the little lake and walking down to the next ring was as good as done.

Next stop… Space Ring!

BREAK

BREAK

"That was amazing!" Nauja said, walking excitedly next to Jack. "The way you tricked them… Genius! And here I thought you were a dumb meathead!"

"You are literally a barbarian," Jack replied, but he wasn't annoyed. He was exuberant. Just now, he'd earned a great victory and secured the safety of himself and his companions.

Plus, he'd punished the asshole who slapped Brock.

"That was for you, little bro," he said, turning to the brorilla, who was walking with his back almost perfectly straight.

"Bro!" he replied, giving Jack a big thumbs-up. "Good!"

"Ohh! You're learning new words by the day now, aren't you? I can't wait until you speak to everyone."

Brock somehow stood even straighter.

"I have to say, you've come a long way, Jackie," Gan Salin added, walking on Jack's other side. "Once upon a time, you struggled to beat even me. Now… Well, Bocor is a known prodigy in the Animal Kingdom. This victory of yours will make waves."

"Eh. They are already after me. How much worse could it get?"

"If your bounty gets any higher, even I may be tempted."

Jack glanced at him sideways. "You wouldn't do that. I just saved you."

"I'm insane. I can do anything."

Jack wasn't sure whether Gan Salin was kidding or not. In the end, it didn't really matter. "If you ever want a crack at me, just let me know," he said. "Now, can someone finally tell me what's the deal with that lord guy?"

The village was before them. It was mostly empty—everyone had rushed to witness Jack and Bocor's fight, and they'd stayed behind to honor Longsword's words.

It was a surreal sight. These flat-roofed forest cabins stood in the middle of an oasis, taking in the breeze. But nothing was as normal as it seemed. Did the delvers build these cabins, or had they always been here, like the barbarians, the Forbidden Cave, and the Ancient ruins?

To think that most of the galaxy's strongest immortals once passed by this normal-looking place…

"Lords," Gan Salin began explaining, "is the name we give to the strongest scions of Trial Planet. They are the movers and shakers. The literal lords of the rings."

"I see," Jack replied. "That's why Longsword was so strong."

"Yes. You've heard about Elite and King monsters, right?"

Jack raised a brow. "I don't think I have."

"They're power classifications. Elite beasts are a tier stronger than regular beasts of their level. A low E-Grade Elite monster can battle middle E-Grade monsters."

"I know those, yeah."

"Well, King monsters are another tier higher. Kings are to Elites what Elites are to everyone else."

"Okay… And what does that have to do with anything?"

"The B-Grade factions use a similar system to assess the strength of their members. An Elite cultivator is one who can fight a tier above his strength. A King cultivator can fight two tiers above. Right?"

Jack's eyes narrowed. "And I suppose Lord Longsword is a King cultivator?"

"Exactly. Not just him; all lords are. Of course, there are differences between them, but the King level is generally the strongest that cultivators can get. After that, the difference in attribute points becomes too much."

"Hmm."

They passed by the ruined tavern, admiring the destruction they'd wrought—without consequences. Jack even considered taking some extra food, but they already had plenty. Brock was munching on a pack of bananas.

"Then, am I a King?" Jack asked. "I think I'm about as strong as a peak E-Grade beast, but my level is only 84."

"Technically, yes. That's why Longsword tried so hard to recruit you. Just keep in mind that things get a bit weird around the peak of each Grade. Since there is a large difference between a normal peak E-Grade and an Elite peak E-Grade, a normal beast could technically fall anywhere within that spectrum of power. So, if you see a beast at Level 124, don't just go running. It could be much stronger than it seems."

"I'll keep that in mind," Jack said, nodding thoughtfully. "So, how many lords are there?"

"Right now? Three. They're gathered for the annual Garden Assault, where every strong cultivator works together to defeat the seventh ring's guardian."

"Cultivators work together? Without killing each other?" Nauja laughed. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Oh, they kill each other, alright. They just pause for a moment to defeat the guardian."

"Is it that strong?" Jack asked. "I thought each lord was a King at the peak E-Grade. What could stop them?"

"A D-Grade guardian," Gan Salin replied seriously. Jack's smile faltered.

"Oh."

"Yep. Think of it like this: Elite is one tier above normal monsters—and cultivators. King is two tiers above. And the next Grade is three tiers above."

"That's—wait. So, the breakthrough to the D-Grade will increase my power as much as my entire rise through the E-Grade?"

Salin did some quick calculations. Finally, he beamed a smile. "Yeah! There's a reason we call those people immortals."

"Because they live long."

"That, too."

"Man..." Jack whistled. "There's a long way to go… How will I ever make C-Grade in a year?"

"Oh, is that your plan?" Salin asked. "You won't. Okay? It's absolutely impossible. People take centuries to become C-Grades, and only one in a billion succeeds."

Jack frowned. "I have done impossible things before. Don't dash my hopes."

"Whatever you say, boss. Let's just focus on reaching the next ring for now."

"The Space Ring, right?"

"The Space Ring."

"Anything you can tell me about that?"

"Oh, many things."

Jack waited, but Salin didn't speak anymore. He simply kept walking like everything was said and done. "So?" Jack finally asked.

"I can tell you things," Salin replied, "but I won't. Come on! Where's your sense of adventure? It will be a surprise!"

From the side, Nauja frowned. "The Space Ring is—"

"Shh!" Salin jumped in front of her, bringing a finger to his lips. "Don't tell him! He'll just see it in a bit, anyway."

She frowned.

"I'll see it tomorrow," Jack corrected him. "The tunnels between rings are fucking long."

"Not for the Space Ring." Salin winked. "Trust me. It's better as a surprise."

Jack and Nauja rolled their eyes. By the side, Brock was nodding in agreement with the canine. After all, he liked surprises.

They had reached the lake in the center of the oasis by now. Due to the low night temperature, it was frozen over, letting them simply walk over to reach the little island in its midst.

There, they found a small shrine. It was a simple circle made of stone, with an obelisk rising thirty feet into the sky. A stone door blocked their way, carved with images of scorpions, sand worms, lizards, even creatures that looked like sand sharks. There were also many humanoid figures carved into the stone, depicted as living in houses similar to the ones in the village.

"This is the mystery of the Village Ring," Nauja whispered, approaching the door and tenderly touching one of the figures. "These people are depicted everywhere in the desert. Yet, nobody has ever found them. The villages were empty when the first delvers arrived. What happened to them? Nobody knows."

"That's intriguing and all," Jack said, "but why is the door on the floor?"

He was right. This door wasn't placed on a vertical surface, as all doors should be. It was flat on the ground in the middle of the stone circle. It could have been a trapdoor, but its shape was like a normal door.

"Oh, this is part of the surprise," Gan Salin replied, giggling. "Come on, open it."

Jack frowned. "I'm not opening it."

"It will be fun."

"Nope, not doing it. You open it."

"But I know what's going to happen!"

"Can you stop acting like children?" Nauja said, rolling her eyes. She grabbed the door's handle and pulled it open. A passage was revealed beneath, similar to the previous tunnels, except…vertical? It was like this tunnel was meant for people to walk on the walls, like ants.

Before Jack could say anything, an odd feeling came over him. He was disoriented for a second. Felt like he was tipping over. When he came to, he was standing on the tunnel inside the door like nothing was wrong.

He blinked. "What?" Looking back, the door was right behind him, placed against the wall, except he could only see sky through it. The path under his feet was placed properly, not vertically, as he'd seen before. As he peeked outside the door, he saw that the entire Village Ring had been tilted sideways. What used to be a door flat on the ground was now a door on a cliffside. "What?" he repeated.

"Surprise!" Gan Salin cried out, raising his hands. "Ta-dah! I present you, gravity!"

"Gravity?"

Jack looked around. His feet were steady on the tunnel that had seemed vertical from outside the door. From inside, where he stood, what seemed vertical was the Village Ring's ground.

"This tunnel warps gravity," Nauja explained. "Instead of pulling you down, toward the center of the planet, it pulls you sideways."

"It doesn't feel like I'm sideways," Jack said.

"It's all relative." She shrugged. "Get used to the feeling. There's a bunch of this in Space Ring—or so I've heard."

"There is indeed," Salin agreed with a grin. "The Space Ring is very fun."

"Really?" Jack raised a brow. "Is that the word people use to describe it, or is it just you?"

"Well, just me, but I'm plenty. The others just call it impressive."

"No kidding." Jack glanced outside again, at the Village Ring that had turned sideways. "I'm looking forward to it."

Like in every tunnel so far, there was a basket of torches at the entrance. Brock grabbed one, lit it with a snap of his fingers, and led the way. The rest of them followed.

Jack prepared himself for a long trek. Belatedly, he realized he'd forgotten to check the new skill he'd received after his fight with Bocor.

Iron Fist Style II: You have surpassed the limitations of mortal forms of combat. Your body is infused with the Dao of the Fist. Reality bends before the Dao.

The Iron Fist Style is the spine of its user. It allows you to combine all your skills, weapons, and resources, integrating them seamlessly into one fighting style.

The first paragraph had just been condensed a bit. As always, the real change compared to the previous tier of the skill was italicized.

Would you look at that, Jack thought. So it better integrates the rest of my skills. Is it because I used all of my skills while fighting Bocor? Or because I finally developed enough of them for Iron Fist Style to utilize?

I wonder what the next tiers will be.

In any case, it was a welcome improvement, the fruit of his hard training against Copy-Jack. More strength was always good. Especially when he was hunted by Longsword.

The rest of the trip went by in silence, spiraling down and down the tunnel. It was the same as always. However, the trip didn't last long. Only some minutes of jogging later, light appeared at the end of the tunnel.

"What?" Jack said in surprise. "But we just came here." He squinted to see past the open door at the other side. Before he could manage, Salin pushed him from behind.

Jack tumbled into the door. He was assaulted by the same disorienting feeling as before. Gravity changed directions again, and suddenly, he found himself standing on gray stone, surrounded by colossal sun mushrooms that threatened to blind him. The door he'd just passed through was flat on the ground next to his feet. He saw Gan Salin, Brock, and Nauja walk on the wall like it was nothing, then stumble and rotate sideways as they crossed the door.

"We're on the ceiling of the Space Ring," Nauja explained after reorienting herself. "It feels like we're standing on the ground, but we're actually upside down. That's why the tunnel was so short. It only had to cross the few miles of stone between the two rings, not go all the way to the floor."

However, Jack wasn't listening. He was captivated by the majesty of the Space Ring. It was absolutely surreal.

BREAK

BREAK

The Space Ring put all physics Jack knew to shame.

It was a vast expanse of space, stretching so far he couldn't see the end. The sun mushrooms around him pierced the darkness, illuminating little colorful bubbles, tiny compared to the vastness surrounding them, slowly floating through.

Jack could see a forest, a valley, an icy tundra, even an active volcano surrounded by an archipelago of stone islands. It was like someone had uprooted pieces of the terrain, put them in bubbles of air, and sent them floating through Space Ring. The outline of each bubble was visible as a transparent, yellow-greenish veil, like a soap bubble reflecting the sunlight.

"What am I looking at?" Jack asked, lost in wonder.

"Behold, the Space Ring!" Gan Salin said proudly, stepping beside Jack and putting an arm over his shoulders. The other arm motioned widely at the view before them. "The only place in the galaxy where space is inside a planet!"

"But… How? And why? And what are those?"

"Those, my friend, are bubbles."

Jack glared, so Nauja took over explaining. "The Space Ring is the most fascinating place in Trial Planet. Every bubble you see contains a small biome, anywhere from a few feet to many miles in diameter. The bubble-ish border you see around them separates them from the void. Furthermore, each bubble has its own gravity, as do the ceiling and floor of this ring."

Jack's eyes widened. "How could someone make this?" he wondered aloud.

Nauja shrugged. "Nobody knows. Even B-Grades don't have this kind of power. And for whatever magic maintains this place to remain intact for a million years…"

She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear. Jack turned his eyes back to the floating bubbles. He could see dozens of them. Each was tilted at a random angle, making it seem like there were a dozen different worlds floating through this space. Perhaps there were.

It was awe-inspiring.

On cue, blue screens flashed before Jack's eyes.

Congratulations! Title "Third Ring Conqueror" upgraded to "Fourth Ring Conqueror!"

Efficacy of all stats: +15% → +20%

Space Ring (1) Quest:

Claim an Inheritance for any member of your team.

Space Ring (2) Quest:

Complete the Space Ring (1) Quest.

Slay an Elite space monster.

Make your way to Labyrinth Ring.

Jack felt the familiar surge of strength through his body, using it to ground himself.

"Why do I have two quests?" he asked.

"Space Ring is actually two rings," Salin explained. "Don't ask me why. Maybe it's because of the size. In any case, the first quest will give you the Fifth Ring Conqueror title, and the second will give you the Sixth Ring Conqueror."

"Really?"

"But in exchange, Space Ring is twice wider than all others," Nauja added. "Two hundred miles of space and biome bubbles."

"And space monsters," he replied, laughing. "The quest said so."

"Yep, it's teeming." Salin nodded. "Anything from middle E-Grade to elite and king monsters. There are D-Grade ones, too, though they never emerge from the dark areas."

"Terrific." Jack licked his lips, finding them dry. "So, the first step is to get one of those inheritances. I suppose they're the same things as the trials you've mentioned before, Nauja."

"Right. Inheritances are the rewards of trials."

"Then, what are we waiting for? Longsword could come after us anytime now—even if he said he'd wait till morning. The deeper we are by the time he arrives, the better. And Nauja… I assume you're coming with us, right?"

She blushed, the red striking on her naturally pale face. When they arrived at the Village Ring, she was still entertaining thoughts of returning to her tribe. She hadn't mentioned that since.

"Yes," she finally admitted. "This may not be the wisest decision…but I believe the will of my ancestors brought us together. I will come with you as deep as I can."

A shadow passed through her eyes. Jack saw it, but chose not to comment.

"I'm glad," was all he said, smiling warmly. He then turned to the bubbles again. There was a large stretch of space separating them from the first one. "Any idea how we can get there? Last I heard, E-Grades couldn't survive space for long." And Brock is still F-Grade, he added in his thoughts.

He hadn't seen it at first, but there was also a bubble around them and the entrance tunnel. It wasn't big, just a few tens of feet across, but enough to let them breathe and walk freely.

"Are you blind?"

Salin pointed behind them, where a small basket was placed by the entrance tunnel. It contained familiar helmets; similar to the one he'd used on the Trampling Ram. Jack walked up and grabbed one, turning it in his hands, thinking back to the couple weeks he'd spent touring the stars with Captain Dordok and his crew. The helmet resembled a head-sized fishbowl.

I hope they're okay… he thought again. He still didn't know how the Trampling Ram's face-off against the Hounds had turned out. All he could do was hope.

"This is very handy," he said, referring to the helmets. "Trial Planet has it all figured out."

"Not Trial Planet," Gan Salin corrected. "The Hand of God. They're the ones supplying the torch baskets at every exit tunnel, as well as the helmets here."

"Really? How nice of them."

"Yeah… Otherwise, this ring would be ten times as difficult to cross."

"Say that again."

Jack put on his helmet, securing the clasp under his chin, and felt the familiar bubble-ish barrier surround his body, isolating him from the outside. Around him, the others did the same. Brock couldn't find a helmet small enough to fit him. The best he got was one that made him look like a child wearing his father's clothes, but at least the barrier worked just fine.

Brock was extremely excited. He'd never had a chance to enter space while on the Trampling Ram.

They leaped.

Jack pushed through the bubble head-first, feeling only the slightest resistance. It was like surfacing from the sea. The next moment, he felt the subtle but distinct influence of space around him.

Some things could be felt even through the helmet's barrier. It was cold. Either whoever made this place had purposely imitated the cold of interstellar space, or low temperature was a characteristic of the extremely low-density void.

Jack's education made him bet on the latter.

Gravity had disappeared, too. Looking down—or where down used to be a moment ago—Jack saw the ground—which was actually the ring's ceiling—stretching far around him, its curvature discreet but clearly distinguishable. It was covered in sun mushrooms, only half of which were currently lit, radiating light so intense it made him look away.

On the other side stretched vast, deep darkness. Only the occasional bubble reflected the mushroom light, making them resemble small stars. No light came from the depths, where the inner side of the ring lay.

Brock was fumbling to Jack's side, slowly rotating around himself with growing panic. He had no way to control his flight.

Jack laughed—only he could hear the sound inside his barrier—and flew over, using small explosions of Dao to propel himself. He grabbed Brock and set him straight. The brorilla's grateful look was priceless.

Come to think of it, Brock can't expel Dao at the F-Grade, Jack realized. I'll have to carry him.

With a few quick hand gestures, he got Brock to hold onto his back.

Gan Salin was familiar with moving in space. He performed a couple somersaults before pointing and laughing at Nauja, who was flailing around ineffectively. Her face hardened at Salin's mocking, and she pouted, but was still unable to control her flight.

Then, her eyes noticed Jack flying over to save Brock. After a moment of experimenting, she got it, and managed to straighten herself. She then waved a fist at Gan Salin and angrily shouted something, but Jack couldn't hear her.

Despite her apparent anger, her eyes were filled with excitement. It was easy to forget that this confident, easygoing barbarian girl had never been outside her tribe before—and she went almost directly to the Space Ring, one of the most impressive sights in the galaxy. If she didn't short-circuit out of sheer awe, she would come to love traveling even more than she currently did.

On Jack's side, seeing her half-clothed body—she only wore fur around her privates and chest—floating in space was a contrasting feeling. His mental image was still that of Earth's astronauts, covered head-to-toe in bulky uniforms.

After some minutes of orienting themselves, the group set out towards the nearest bubble. Nauja turned out to be the fastest, followed by Jack, and then Gan Salin. Her Dao—Wind—was the most suitable for moving in space. Jack could make do with small explosions, and Gan Salin—

Jack actually had no idea how the canine was moving. He had to remember to ask.

Even the nearest bubble was several miles away, but that was not a problem. In space, there was no force slowing them down. As long as they managed to accelerate—which they could easily do—the distance would evaporate quickly.

Vlossana fell to her knees. Her mouth hung open in abject horror. Her eyes widened and forgot to blink. Her face went pale.

The smoking ruins of her home lay in front of her, at the base of the hill. The manor was broken. The horses, dead. The servants' bodies piled up and still smoking from the fire. The garden was upturned and destroyed.

And all this, why? Because Jack Rust had boarded their starship. Because the Animal Kingdom found out. They didn't care if Vlossana's father was an accomplice or not. Their semblance of proof was enough to conduct atrocities. To set an example.

This "example" was the destruction of everything Vlossana had ever known. She had rushed over the second the Trampling Ram made it to the next port, but she was too late. Of course she was. All she managed was to witness the fatality with her own eyes, the heads of her relatives stuck on wooden stakes, the remains of the place she used to call home.

All her dreams, of leading her people to joyful, happy lives, turned into smoke and flew away, disappearing forever. Her life was ruined. So was her mind.

Not a soul was in sight to share her agony.

Vlossana raised her head to the sky and screamed. Her voice tore her own throat, but she couldn't feel it. She was lost in grief.

The Dao Seed of Joy inside her tried to lift her spirits. To feed her joy, as it always did. But there was no joy to be found here. No happiness. No warmth. Only death and ashes.

In anger, Vlossana turned to the only target she had—her own, persistent Dao—and cracked it down the middle, forsaking her path. It went quiet, but she remained full of sorrow, not even close to having vented.

All that dark energy amassed inside her, wound into a tighter and tighter ball, spreading over the large crack she'd just inflicted on her Dao Seed—her soul—and filling it in. Drowned in darkness, Vlossana missed the notification sound, but she sensed the change.

In a mere moment, she developed and fused the Dao Root of Sorrow. It contrasted her Dao Seed of Joy, filling in its blanks. Together, the two formed a new entity, one she couldn't yet decipher, but one that was far more powerful than she used to be.

She surrendered everything to it. Anything to escape this feeling.

Vlossana's emotions fell into place. The darkness didn't disappear. It receded into her soul, becoming a dark presence that poisoned her thoughts and waited to be unleashed. Her joy covered it up, concealing it, her Dao Seed reduced to a thin, fake veil of jovialty.

Vlossana wiped her eyes and stood. Her overwhelming sorrow had been transformed into a steady trickle she could endure—a trickle that would not heal with time. She then turned around and walked away. There was nothing here for her anymore.

She didn't know what to do next. She would think about it. The nearest teleporter, where she'd just come from, was a day's walk away. She had time.

All she knew what that she had two enemies. The Animal Kingdom…

…and Jack Rust.

BREAK

BREAK

Jack, Nauja, Gan Salin, and Brock hurtled through open space, approaching a large number of biome bubbles. The curved, sun mushroom-filled ceiling was on their backs. It felt like a descent into darkness.

There were three bubbles near them. One was a wide grassland, maybe a mile in diameter. The second was a valley, complete with cliff walls on either side, while the third was a barren mountain peak, also a mile across.

Jack raised a hand, pointed at the three bubbles, and gestured "which?" They couldn't speak in space.

Gan Salin shrugged. Nauja, thinking for a moment, also shrugged. Jack turned back to the three bubbles and chose the mountain peak—simply because it looked cool.

As they approached, more details became apparent. The mountain peak was a cone of bare stone, with rock fragments trailing under and behind it. There were weeds growing between the rocks, along with a single, stubby tree on the very top. Jack spotted no animals or other points of interest.

The mountain peak floated lazily through space, heading to the direction Jack perceived as right, and it was smaller than he'd originally assumed. Only a few hundred feet across.

As they drew near, no space monster attacked them. There was no hint of movement in the dark nooks of space, no sudden tentacle reaching up to grab Jack's ankle.

They slid into the bubble with a popping feeling. The membrane bent by their pressure, then opened and let them pass before closing behind them. The four of them fell ten feet to the rock below, and Jack quickly removed his helmet to take a deep breath.

"Fascinating," he said, breathing out. "We're on a mountain hovering in space."

"Not really a mountain, not really space," Salin was quick to point out, "but fascinating, yes."

"Are you kidding?" Nauja spun around herself, greedily devouring the sight. "This is fantastic! I— It's the happiest day of my life!"

Salin stared at her, then turned to Jack. "Did she hit her head on the way?"

"She's just happy." Jack smiled. "She always dreamed of escaping her ring. For her, every new sight is an adventure."

"I see." Salin walked up and placed a hand on her bare shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I'm crazy, too."

She gave him a confused look. "I'm not crazy."

"Sure."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Is there anything here?" Jack asked, approaching them. His eyes scanned the half of the mountain visible from where he stood. "Maybe there is a trial."

"This close to the entrance? No way." Salin shook his head. "This place gets visited often. I bet we won't find a single natural treasure, let alone a trial."

"Natural treasure?"

"You know, like Dao Fruits, or like that Fire Ice Lotus in the Integration Auction. Those things grow in most biomes, but the easiest to reach—and the most valuable—are already picked clean by cultivators. You'll have to go pretty deep to find anything."

"Oh… Then, are these early bubbles useless?"

"Pretty much." He shrugged. "But we can take a look. Who knows? Maybe everyone else missed something."

The four of them spread out to inspect the mountain peak. There wasn't much. It took them less than five minutes to search the entire bubble. Jack even broke the surface of the stone to look for hidden rooms underneath, while Nauja flew under the mountain peak to survey its bottom.

They came up with nothing.

The only point of interest was the stubby tree at the very top. It did radiate an aura of the Dao, but no apparent way to use it.

"Perhaps we should cut it down?" Jack asked.

"Oh, wow, and people call me insane." Salin shook his head. "It's a tree. If you take a closer look, the aura of the Dao is focused on its branches. It probably produces fruits that hold special properties, but these things take time. We would need ridiculous luck to chance upon its blooming moment. Cutting down the tree would just ruin the treasure for everyone."

"Sounds exactly like something delvers would do," Nauja said.

"Not for zero benefit. What would you even do with its wood? Make an oar?"

"What if someone cultivates the Dao of Wood?" Jack asked.

"It doesn't work like that. If I pour my Dao into my fist, could you study it?"

Jack considered it. Salin's metaphor made an odd amount of sense.

"We'll find nothing out here," the canine explained. "The aura of treasures is so thin that even space monsters are rare. If we want anything good, we'll have to head deeper."

"Why would cultivators leave the deeper treasures be?" Jack asked.

"Not on purpose. Each bubble you choose neighbors many deeper ones. As a result, the deeper you go into the ring, the more possible paths there are for you to take. The middle of Space Ring has thousands of bubbles, probably tens of thousands, and it is teeming with space monsters. Even after a million years, this place isn't fully explored. And, even if it was, natural treasures regrow." He pointed to the tree. "If a bubble hasn't been visited in a few years, it usually has something interesting."

Jack nodded. "What about trials?" he asked, putting his helmet back on and securing the clasp underneath. "Do they regrow, too?"

"No." Salin smiled aggressively. "And that's the catch. Most of the weakest trials never close—they are open to as many people as are interested, always. They don't offer anything too valuable, you see. But the good trials… Those have finite resources. Only one or a few people can benefit from them before they collapse forever. It's why everyone pushes forward, deep into the darkness, looking for those elusive bubbles that promise greatness. It's also why Space Ring has the second highest mortality rate in all of Trial Planet. Cultivators are prone to greed, which gets them killed."

Nauja snorted. "Sounds about right."

"But… We should be greedy, right?" Jack asked. "If the best trials are dangerous to reach, we have to risk it. Why come all the way out here to chicken out at the last minute?"

"Well, it depends. For people like you, it's ambition. For people like me, it's greed." Salin smiled sadly. "Honestly, I am already overperforming by reaching Space Ring. Someone like me should have died at the Barbarian Ring, or even the Giant Ring. At best, I should have taken the Village Ring's teleporter and returned to the surface. I don't belong here."

"Come on, man." Jack slapped his shoulder. "Don't be like that. You're a scion of the Animal Kingdom, remember? You were so promising they even sent you to Earth."

"Where I failed horrifically, and I've kept failing since… But I appreciate the cheering." He returned a bright smile, then put on his helmet. "Lead the way, boss."

Jack wanted to say more things. He wanted to encourage Gan Salin, talk him up a bit. But he also didn't want to lie. Salin was Level 61. From what Jack had seen in the Village Ring, Salin may well be the weakest person in the entire Space Ring.

"Luck always plays a part," he finally said. "You are here now. And the opportunities we'll find will propel you to glory. Just keep your head up and don't die."

"I'll try."

Whether Gan Salin was cheered up or not—or even if he needed cheering up in the first place—Jack couldn't tell. His own helmet was already on. He grabbed Brock, who couldn't move through space by himself, ran to the edge of the mountain peak, and jumped out. The bubble easily gave way, breaking around him to reveal empty space.

Gan Salin and Nauja followed right after.

As Salin had mentioned, they now had another few bubbles to choose from, each taking them farther and farther away from the ring entrance. The horizon beyond was pitch-black darkness, an endless void where no stars were visible. It could stretch on forever.

The only source of light were the sun mushrooms behind them, whose glow steadily dimmed the farther one reached into the darkness, as well as the bubbles, which reflected the mushrooms' light like a series of small moons.

Jack's group headed ever deeper. The hours bled into each other. They crossed a number of bubbles—a grassland, a marsh, an odd, gas-filled landscape, and others—all invariably empty. The deeper into the ring they went, the dimmer the illumination grew, and they weren't even halfway to the other side—or so Salin said. Jack himself had no way to judge, as he couldn't see the other side, only darkness.

In fact, with all the bubbles floating randomly in this three-dimensional space, and with each having its own gravity, it was easy to lose one's way. If someone wasn't careful, they could end up making circles around the circumference of the ring instead of heading deeper. The only anchoring point was the wall of light at the far back, away from which they kept heading.

They didn't discover any active trials. The only one they found was a ruined cabin in the woods that exhibited an aura of the Dao so strong Jack could almost identify it. It felt like a lumberjack working away at a forest, one tree at a time.

The cabin was collapsed, though, signifying that it had already blessed as many people as it could. They had no choice but to move on.

Who had created these trials? Who had gathered all these biome bubbles and put them into Trial Planet? How? Why?

Jack, of course, didn't know. Nauja didn't either, and even Gan Salin had no idea. In fact, he admitted that even the B-Grade factions didn't know much about Trial Planet—or, if they did, they didn't tell their junior members.

Regardless, every bubble they visited only served to enhance Jack's awe. The Space Ring was a masterpiece of unfathomable proportions. It was difficult to even imagine who could make such a thing. Even a God might have trouble creating this place.

On and on they trudged. From bubble to bubble, from the light into gradual, impenetrable darkness. They didn't meet any other people.

Space monsters began appearing after some point. They attacked with increasing frequency, but only one monster at a time. Nothing that Jack couldn't handle. The late E-Grade monsters were manageable with a bit of effort, especially with Nauja's assistance, whose arrows crossed space even faster than they did the air.

Whenever a middle E-Grade monster appeared—which was usually the case—Jack had Gan Salin go at it. The canine was strong for his level, as was every scion, so he could handle most of them. In the end, he even got a few levels for his trouble, rising to Level 64.

Poor Brock was the only one who couldn't fight. Not only did he lack the strength to do so, but without a Dao Seed, he also lacked the means to propulse himself through space. If he tried, the most he could achieve was flail ineffectively as he slowly floated through the void.

The moss-covered, ancient-looking Staff of Stone remained unused. Brock didn't complain—how could he?—but Jack felt growing sadness. His monkey bro hadn't been able to do much in Trial Planet. He must be feeling frustrated—useless, even.

Jack swore to help him as much as he could. Perhaps some natural treasures could increase his strength, at least by a bit.

All he could do was hope.

They lost track of time as they ventured deeper and deeper. At some point, as they stood inside a glacial biome, Nauja glanced back and raised her brows. "Look!" she said, pointing in the distance.

Looking back was hard due to the brightness of the sun mushrooms, but the distance dimmed the light. Jack obliged. As he did, he could barely make out a few small shapes in the distance, fighting in the backdrop of another bubble.

"What's that?" he asked, squinting.

"I can't make them out either," said Gan Salin.

"Yes," Brock agreed.

Nauja, whose senses were by far the sharpest, shielded her eyes with a hand and stared attentively. "It's Longsword," she said. "I can see him, the witch, and Bocor… They're fighting—I mean, annihilating—a horde of space monsters."

"They're here?" Jack asked worriedly. "Is it morning already?" The lord had promised his team would wait until morning to enter Space Ring.

"It probably has been for a while. They're way past the first bubble."

"I hope they don't follow us."

"I doubt they will. We're pretty far away by now. Longsword must have better things to do."

"I don't know… I did insult him a fair bit." Jack scratched his head.

"Well, at least they aren't on the same path as us. We didn't pass by that bubble. And we certainly didn't meet that horde. There are probably a dozen monsters there."

"I didn't even know there were hordes here," Jack said. When they were attacked, it was always just a single monster.

"There can be," Gan Salin explained. "Space monsters are agitated by cultivators. If many of them enter the ring at once, monsters will gather like sharks to blood. In fact, hordes can get super-massive sometimes, to the point where even lords have to hide in bubbles and wait for them to pass."

"They can?"

"Totally. Well, not often, but I'll explain later. For now, the point is that there are many cultivators here."

Jack looked back to the figures in the distance. "Seems like three to me."

"Longsword probably brought his allies over," Nauja explained. "It's the Garden Assault. It wasn't supposed to happen for a few days more, actually, but he probably grew impatient after everything that happened. If that's the case, there must be dozens of cultivators following Longsword, and the other lords could be here as well."

"The other lords?"

"Two of them, from what I've heard," Gan Salin said. "The five of us—me, Rufus, and the others—were supposed to participate in this Garden Assault if someone didn't destroy us."

"Hey, you're the ones who invaded my planet."

"Does one of the other lords look like a young, tanned girl with the sun in her palms?" Nauja suddenly asked, looking into another place in the distance. "And is she friends with a super fat guy?"

"Hmm? Yes!" Salin cried out in surprise. "How do you know?"

"Because they're right there."

"Oh. Well, we probably don't have to worry about them. That's Lady Priya, from—"

He trailed off, mouth gaping. The people Nauja had been talking about entered battle against another horde of space monsters. A massive golden palm appeared, so large that even Jack could see it clearly, to plow through the monsters. The fat man Nauja had mentioned was laughing.

And, in the wake of his attack, the girl struck. A terrifying explosion tore through the entire horde. A new sun was born.

BREAK

BREAK

Jack and his companions couldn't sense the aftermath of the girl and the fat guy's attack, but it must have been tremendous. The space monster horde had all but evaporated before them, sent flying by the giant palm or burned to cinders by the sun that erupted in their midst.

Thankfully, those people were so far away they were barely visible.

"As I was saying," Gan Salin continued, "that's Lady Priya of the Exploding Sun faction. One of the three Lords."

"Exploding Sun?" Jack's ears perked up.

"Your master was part of them, correct?" Salin asked. "Then, I suppose these people are possible allies. We're in dire need of some."

"Right."

"The Exploding Sun are…less oppressive than the rest of them," Nauja added, hesitantly. "I could work with them."

"Or you could die," Salin probed her.

"I'm a proud barbarian. I am not afraid of death. What's that?"

Her finger was pointed in the distance. Far to the right of the Exploding Sun lady, something odd was going on. Jack had to squint to make it out. "Are the monsters fighting each other?"

"I don't think so," Nauja replied, staring intently. Her senses were the sharpest of the team. "It's like the space monsters are fighting a horde of…beasts? I think I see a bear. And a bird. Maybe an eagle?"

"Maybe they're animal-shaped space monsters."

"Or summoned beasts," Gan Salin intervened. Everyone turned to look at him. He continued, "If two of the Lords are pushing into Space Ring, chances are, so is the third. And she's a summoner. This could be her."

"A summoner?" Jack asked, eyes wide.

"Did you notice a guy riding a scaled lizard back in Village Ring? An annoying-looking guy? That was a summoner, too. They use beasts to fight."

"It isn't common, but not too rare, either," Nauja added, her eyes hardening. "I've seen plenty in my ring. They like capturing dinosaurs."

"I can imagine…" Jack's voice trailed off. His eyes were still on the far-away battle between beasts and space monsters. In fact, calling it a battle was far-fetched. More like a slaughter.

The space monsters, their forms multicolored and easily visible, were ripped apart by the beasts. Before long, nothing was left.

"What faction is she from?" Jack asked. "This summoner Lord."

There was a sinking feeling in his stomach. If she used animals to fight, could she belong to…

"It's not what you think," Salin said, chuckling. "The Animal Kingdom is animals. We actually despise summoners."

"Oh, thank God."

"However, the faction she comes from is even more terrifying. That's Lady Minerva from the Hand of God."

"The Hand of God?" Jack raised a brow. "I didn't know they raised their own disciples."

"Of course they do. They were formed to enforce the Star Pact, but that doesn't mean they aren't a real faction. They have businesses, headquarters, training planets, disciples, elders… All the good stuff."

"Then, are they the strongest B-Grade faction?"

Salin thought about it for a moment. "Yes and no," he finally replied. "Technically, they possess the greatest military power, influence, and legal authority of all the factions. However, it's not like they can ever mobilize fully. To create the Hand of God, every other faction offered some people and resources. As a result, they all have influence on the Hand of God's internal processes, and the faction itself is a patchwork of several groups vying for dominance. If it ever went to war, there would be chaos."

"But it's already at war. Against the Black Hole Church."

"That's not the same. The Church is not part of the Galactic Alliance. Just a bunch of strong lunatics."

"I see."

As Jack was leaving Earth, the Sage had revealed he belonged to the Black Hole Church. He'd also helped Jack a lot during the Tournament. Were they really lunatics?

Plus, Master Shol had told Jack that the Church worshiped the Old Ones—or something like that. The Ancient ruins where he'd found the Life Drop also had hints of people—the Ancients?—worshiping the Old Ones, which made little sense.

Could things be more complex than they seemed?

Jack almost laughed at himself. Of course they were. The Black Hole Church was one of the strongest organizations in the galaxy. They couldn't be just lunatics—it's just that, up there, everyone utilized propaganda.

Thinking of those matters reminded Jack that, at the very end of the Tournament, the Hand of God had turned a blind eye as the Animal Kingdom bullied him. Technically, they were his enemy.

He returned his gaze to the beasts, which were just finishing up the space monster horde. As a large monster tried to flank them, a burst of darkness swallowed it whole. When it receded, the monster was just flailing, shivering by itself in the darkness. The bear-shaped beast disposed of it easily.

"What was that?" Jack asked, referring to the darkness. It felt familiar, somehow.

"I can see the summoner. She isn't alone," Nauja said. "There are two people behind her. One of them unleashed that darkness we just saw."

"Right. So, they're strong."

"Of course they are."

Again, Jack was technically enemies with the Hand of God. They would probably turn out to be trouble.

Then again, maybe not. Jack didn't know exactly what happened between Galicia and Vocrich, and in any case, his enmity with the Hand of God was nothing before the hatred he shared with the Animal Kingdom. If fate made it so, allying may not be impossible.

Maybe he should look for a way to smoothen things between them. Having many powerful enemies at the same time was unwise.

"I'm surprised this Lady is even here, actually," Gan Salin said, cupping his chin. "I thought she would go bananas like the other Hand of God members."

"Bananas?"

"Little yellow fruit. Brock would love them."

Jack gave him an empty stare.

"Oh, maybe you meant, 'why do you say they went bananas, Gan Salin?' A few extra words wouldn't hurt you, you know."

"Just get on with it."

"Ugh." Salin grabbed his heart. "Whatever you say, boss. The Hand of God went haywire about a week ago. They spread all over the rings, asking strange questions and looking for something. It's the first time I hear that happening."

Jack's heart clenched. "Strange questions?"

"Yeah. They asked if anyone had seen anything unusual in the last few days, if there were any suspicious people, things like that." He shrugged. "Nothing that concerns us, right?"

That wasn't a rhetorical question. Salin may be partly insane, but he wasn't dumb.

"Of course not," Jack lied. "It's just odd. I wonder what's going on." He turned his gaze back to the distant battles, hiding his thoughts.

Are they looking for the Ancient ruins? he wondered. Probably. The System gave all sorts of red warnings. Goddammit. At least they don't know about me. And the voice in the trial said nobody can sense the Life Drop without special equipment.

This means I'm not in danger…right?

"By the way, not that I dislike peeping, but are we going to stay here long?" Gan Salin asked. "All of those Lords are heading deeper as we speak. They might come this way."

"Right." Jack snapped out of it. "Let's run."

I'll just keep an eye out.

They left the glacial biome behind, jumping into the darkness. Space enveloped them. Jack carried Brock as they headed ever deeper. With every bubble they crossed, the light of the sun mushrooms dimmed until it was more twilight than blinding.

The Space Ring was two rings fused into one, so it was enormous. Even in a straight line, they had to cross two hundred miles of monster-infested darkness. Despite that, the group wasn't beset by any hordes. Cultivators drew space monsters like moths to the flame, but Jack's group alone was too small a presence.

In that sense, they were lucky. Since most delvers had waited for the Lords to start advancing—the annual Garden Assault—Jack's group was moving at the front by itself, almost stealthily. The other cultivators came as a stampede, raising the ire of every monster in this section of Space Ring.

It wasn't just the Lords, of course. Each of them was followed by many teams, dozens of cultivators, who sought to participate in the Garden Assault.

As a result, Jack's team didn't have to worry about space monsters. The ones they met were few and far between, all handled easily by their team of four—effectively three—even if they were at the late E-Grade.

On the darker side, this meant fewer levels.

Over their first fifteen hours in Space Ring—thankfully, they had little need for sleep—Jack rose by four levels, to Level 88. Salin got ten, stopping at Level 74, and Nauja got two, reaching Level 103. By that point, they were halfway through.

Space Ring was a tricky place. With all its bubbles, biomes, and trials spread around, it sounded like something that would take a long time to explore. In reality, the first half was picked clean. There were no natural treasures to find, no trials to complete. Any trial still available was either low-quality or extremely niche.

Compatibility was a big concern when it came to trials. They altered the cultivator, offering insights or assistance on a specific path. To someone cultivating a different path, this could actually be harmful. Even if you were on a compatible path, a low-quality inheritance could give you benefits that accelerated your current growth but became problems later on.

Therefore, just finding a trial meant nothing. You had to grasp its contents beforehand and decide whether it was suitable for you.

This was all insight that Gan Salin gave them on the way. Apparently, the first Ring Quest of Space Ring, completing a trial for any member of your team, was not easy.

Throughout their trip so far, the group had stumbled upon several trials, none suitable for any of them. Most were empty, too, already claimed by someone else.

However, there were tens of thousands of bubbles. By now, the group had traversed dozens, carving out a path through space that was uniquely theirs. As they passed the halfway mark of Space Ring, they finally chanced upon a bubble that hadn't been visited in ages.

The air was dense here, rich in oxygen. A small hill rested in the middle of a grassland, with vines crawling all over its surface. Jack spotted a small rabbit chewing on the roots.

"Incredible," he said, staring at the little animal. "A rabbit. Here. How many centuries, how many millennia has its family spent in the darkness, in this mile-wide bubble?"

"Come here, little buddy," Gan Salin said, stepping forward. "Carrot noises. Carrot noises."

"What are you saying?" Nauja asked.

"Rabbits like carrots. Obviously, I'm making carrot noises to attract it."

"...I can't even begin to explain how stupid that is."

"Really? Then, why is the rabbit coming?"

The rabbit approached and sniffed them. Indeed, its family line hadn't seen cultivators for a thousand generations. They did not know to be afraid.

Nauja facepalmed.

Thankfully for the rabbit, Gan Salin didn't intend to harm it. He picked it up and hugged it, petting it between the ears. The rabbit seemed shocked. A moment later, it kicked its way out of his arms and rushed into a hole in the base of the hill.

"Okay, that was cute," Nauja admitted.

Salin smiled. "Animals indicate a healthy biome. Healthy means untampered. And untampered means riches for us. Hurray!"

He threw his hands in the air.

"Hurray," Jack followed half-heartedly. Brock did, too, but with great excitement. Nauja simply stared.

"Can we focus?" she asked. "Those Lords are delayed by the hordes, but they're still after us."

"No worries. This deep in the ring, stumbling upon others is unlikely. If we run into a Lord here, that's just bad luck. The next ring is where everyone will converge."

Since the bubbles were safe—space monsters couldn't enter, and there were no dangers inside—searching was quick and easy. It took the group only a few minutes to realize that the natural treasure here was the fruits of the vine. There were two of them, one on each side of the hill, radiating a strong, metallic life force.

They were red and pumped full of juices.

"Blood Dao," Nauja said, inspecting them. She plucked one off, holding it between her thumb and index finger. "Too bad none of us cultivates it."

"Look at the bright side," Salin said. "We can sell them off. I don't think they're strong enough for immortals, but they should fetch a good price."

These berries were similar to the Fire Ice Lotus that everyone had fought for during the Integration Auction. Perhaps not of the same quality, but still very useful. They contained naturally grown hints of the Dao.

"There's two of them," Jack said.

"Can I have one?" Nauja asked. "A tribe close to mine has someone with blood Dao. This could help them."

"Sure." Jack nodded. "Salin, want the other one?"

"Okay," the canine quickly agreed. "You get first dibs on the next one. We'll probably start finding things from now on."

"I hope so…" Jack said, turning to the darkness beyond. The light of the sun mushrooms had already dimmed to the point of moonlight on Earth. Even deeper into the ring, it gradually dimmed even further, to the point where the deepest reaches were completely dark.

The far side of Space Ring—the inner side—wasn't covered in sun mushrooms, as the outer side was. As a result, the deepest reaches of the ring were pitch-black. It was where the greatest trials and treasures waited, as well as the greatest dangers. According to Gan Salin, the darkness hid even D-Grade monsters.

The only exceptions to the darkness were a few distinct columns of light—the exits to the next ring. Each exit was surrounded by a small amount of sun mushrooms that projected a wide beam of light through the darkness, like a beacon. That way, anyone wanting to reach the next ring could do it without braving the total darkness.

But that would mean losing out. And Jack didn't feel like losing out.

BREAK

BREAK

The outer half of Space Ring was brightly lit by the sun mushrooms that covered the outer wall. That light dimmed as it traveled. By the middle of the ring, the lighting was like a starry night.

And the final one-fourth of the ring was pitch-black. Fifty miles of darkness crowding with the strongest, meanest space monsters around, but also treasures that nobody had accessed yet.

Jack, Brock, Nauja, and Gan Salin were currently edging the darkness, skirting around just outside its border. This area had biome bubbles that not many approached due to the danger. From this close up, Jack and his team occasionally caught glimpses of bubbles just inside the darkness, quickly assessing them to see whether any were worth risking for.

They had been exploring for two days now. They jumped from bubble to bubble, quickly making distance from the Lords and their forces. According to Gan Salin, it was customary for a Garden Assault to spend five days in this ring, letting everyone reap the benefits they could discover, before progressing deeper.

However, exploring the Space Ring was more a measure of luck than skill or strength. The bubbles were simply too many. Their constant floating around made mapping impossible. One had to go as deeply as they dared to increase their chances, then just keep searching.

The radius where Jack's team was currently searching was the optimal one. They were just outside the edge of the darkness. Nauja's gaze caught all bubbles within a radius of ten miles, and they also kept an eye on the darkness itself, where the best treasures and trials might appear.

Of course, this area was highly dangerous, too. Late E-Grade space monsters patrolled everywhere, occasionally forming into hordes—or breaking up into individuals. Every movement from a bubble to the next was a dash, taking care of any attacking monsters as soon as possible to prevent them from piling up.

The darkness itself was even more dangerous. They caught glimpses of monsters in there, occasionally. Some were elites. The weakest were peak E-Grade. According to Gan Salin, even meeting King monsters wasn't impossible. At least the D-Grade ones were so few and far between that running into them was highly improbable.

The monsters of Space Ring had their own hierarchy. The stronger a monster became, the deeper inside it moved. The reason why was unknown—maybe they just preferred the darkness. Or maybe they were somehow trained to do so by whoever created them. After all, the density of space monsters here was far, far, far greater than in actual interstellar space.

The trip so far had been fruitful. Though they hadn't found a suitable trial for any of them yet—those things were stupidly rare—they had collected an assortment of minor treasures: berries with the Dao of Blood, herbs with the Dao of Life—that Jack kept for use later—a suspiciously sturdy rock, and even a little pebble that had a mouth and laughed whenever someone touched it.

The most precious treasures, like the laughing pebble, were even acknowledged by the System, letting Jack inspect them:

Ticklish Pebble

A pebble that laughs when touched. While possessing only minimal sentience, it is useful for cultivators pursuing the Daos of Laughter, Joy, or similar, as well as cultivators pursuing the opposite Daos, like Grief or Sadness.

Jack had kept this one, too, intending to gift it to Vlossana whenever—and if—they met again.

She's going to love it, he thought smilingly.

However, these treasures weren't too important right now. The greatest benefit was all the levels they accrued by fighting the space monsters.

Once again, Jack marveled at the efficiency of Trial Planet. Outside, people were willing to travel many planets away to find a late E-Grade monster. Here, they were common as dirt, letting everyone progress at unfathomable speed.

Jack was now Level 89, Nauja was 106, and Gan Salin was 78. Their team's strength had taken a massive leap forward—and it had only been two days.

Of course, most of that was due to Jack being way stronger than his level indicated. In team fights, the other two benefitted as well.

The only problem was that he'd stopped training much with the Dao Soul for now. After fighting constantly, he just didn't have the energy. Or the need. The Dao Soul's utility would shine when things slowed down.

On the third day, in one inconspicuous bubble—a forest biome that was unfortunately empty of treasures—Jack suddenly noticed something odd.

"Hey," he said, "is the light going down?"

Gan Salin's eyes widened. He had been lounging on a log and singing, but he now shot to his feet. "Quick!" he said. "The flare is coming!" He then bolted off towards the side of the bubble facing the darkness.

"The what?" Jack asked, already running after him. Nauja and Brock were a step behind, equally confused.

"The flare!" Salin explained while running. "There are two sets of sun mushrooms. When one dims, the other lights up, and there is a short moment in between when both are lit. We must catch it!"

"Catch it for what?"

Jack remembered how, when he first entered Space Ring, only half of the sun mushrooms were lit. In hindsight, it made sense. Sun mushrooms had their cycle of day and night, as the previous rings had shown, and even the creators of Trial Planet didn't want to sink Space Ring in total darkness.

Though they'd been here for two "days", those were standard galactic days. The mushrooms' cycle lasted more than that—around three days.

"The darkness!" Salin shouted, reaching the edge of the bubble and stopping. In the dim illumination that reached this bubble, the canine's outline was the only thing visible. The space beyond was completely dark—that was the border of darkness.

Jack's eyes widened in realization as he approached. The light kept dimming, down to half its usual intensity. By now, all of them were submerged in darkness. Jack could see nothing.

And then, in a bright flash, it was day. The second set of mushrooms flared to life before the first was done dimming. For a moment, every single mushroom on the ring ceiling was lit, pushing back the darkness and illuminating places that usually remained hidden.

The light washed over Jack, extending beyond. He caught a glimpse of what lay in the darkness.

Dozens of bubbles, each reflecting the light like stars. Humongous shapes floating around them like schools of squid, space monsters at the peak and Elite levels. Jack even caught a massive, serpentine creature lazily drifting back and forth. A King.

However, he only spared a glance for the monsters. His eyes were glued to the bubbles. This was the real prize. They had a moment of visibility. They could see far more of the dark area than ever before.

He quickly inspected the dozen bubbles as the light dimmed. He caught a volcano, a cloud, a lake. His heart skipped a beat with each, quickly assessing them and deciding if any were suitable for him or his team. Most of the bubbles spotted at least some degree of human activity—ruins, towers, houses—the telltale sign of trials. Moreover, these bubbles were close enough to the edge that they could make a run for them, if the rewards were worth it.

However, as he scoured them, his stomach dropped. Not a single one felt suitable. There was nothing visibly pertaining to insanity—or anything to do with the mind—the wind, archery, working-out, or fistfighting. The light was receding quickly. One by one, the bubbles were swallowed by darkness again.

Jack hardened his heart and decided that the cloud one might be okay. They could give it a shot. Clouds were close to wind, right?

Then, the light flashed again. Not all mushrooms had come on at the same time. A small percentage were out of sync, and as they activated, they overpowered the dimming ones to push the light a little bit farther than its previous limit.

It was momentary.

But enough for Jack to glimpse one more bubble. A stone palace floating in the darkness. Ancient-looking. Covered in moss and vines. With engravings on its side, large enough that he could make them out from here. Various animals were depicted, along with glyphs whose meaning eluded him.

The light receded quickly. The border of darkness returned to its previous radius, but just that glimpse had been enough.

Brock gripped Jack's wrist. He'd noticed it, too. Jack looked down, but he wasn't looking at the brorilla. He was looking at the Staff of Stone, tightly gripped in Brock's hand. The staff made of ancient, moss-covered stone, with animals and glyphs engraved on it.

Even the feeling they gave off was similar.

"Brock," Jack said, "I think we found your trial."

"Yes, bro," Brock responded.

"Which one, which one?" Salin asked excitedly, and Nauja stepped in to explain. Her sharp eyes had naturally caught the resemblance, too.

"Are you sure we should go?" she asked after explaining to Salin. "I know this seems like fate, but it's just a random staff. Just because they happen to look similar doesn't mean they're related."

"A random staff? What do you mean?" Jack asked. "Have you never inspected it before?"

"I— No. It's inspectable?"

"Of course. How could you not know?"

"Brock is using it. We can't scan things used by others. Quick, Brock, put it down and let us see."

"Huh." Jack didn't know that. He tried inspecting the staff while Brock still held it, and indeed, he got nothing. It made sense in hindsight.

Brock quietly put his weapon down and took a step back, letting them have a look.

Staff of Stone, Life Weapon (D-Grade)

An Ancient weapon that utilizes the Dao of Density to adjust its weight, matching the wielder's strength perfectly. Its max density is suitable for anyone with up to 1000 attribute points in Strength.

Carved and enchanted by Bozdom the Crafty.

"Woah, an Ancient artifact!" Salin cried out. "That's impressive! Where the hell did you find it?"

"In a random anthill in Giant Ring," Jack replied absent-mindedly. It was the first time he noticed that the "Ancient" part of the description was capitalized, indicating the Ancient race instead of just the age of the staff. The previous time he'd read this description, he didn't even know about the Ancients, so he naturally ignored the capitalization. Now, it was a wealth of information.

"You lucky bastards," Salin said, laughing. "Ancient artifacts are not too rare in Trial Planet, but not common, either. I'm surprised you have one."

Brock picked up the staff and held it protectively.

"I take that back," Nauja said. "I didn't know the staff was an artifact. The two are clearly related. If the staff contains the Dao of Density, we can assume the palace has a trial related to a similar Dao. And since Brock is obviously well-suited for it…" She looked at the brorilla. "I guess we found our trial."

Jack was beyond elated. Brock's progress had been a thorn in his heart for a long time. Now, with a chance that could potentially skyrocket his little bro's power, there was no way they'd let it slip.

Maybe Brock would even form a Dao Seed.

"We still need to find a way over," Nauja said. "That bubble was very deep in. If we just rush it, we might be overwhelmed on the way."

"True." Jack cupped his chin. "Then, what do you suggest?"

"Thankfully, I also paid attention to the temple. I saw its movement. It was heading slightly deeper and sideways, in that direction." She raised a hand to point. "And guess what's there."

Jack looked over. A pillar of light rose in the distance, starting from the inner wall of Space Ring and forming a lit passage into the bright area, bypassing the darkness. It was one of the light beams that led to exit tunnels to the next ring.

The creators of Space Ring didn't want everyone dying as they blindly crossed the darkness.

"That's not just a passage," Nauja explained. "It's also a way to infiltrate the darkness. I think we can use it for more than just getting to Labyrinth Ring."

"Or, as I like to affectionately call it," Salin added, "Labyring."

Everyone stared blankly.

"What? I found it hilarious!"

BREAK

BREAK

Light speared through the darkness, illuminating a long, mile-wide area. A bright path stretching from the middle of Space Ring to an exit tunnel leading to the next ring.

As Jack's group found themselves flying through the light, he was stunned and speechless. Just a hundred feet away, the darkness was impenetrable. It could hide the richest treasures or greatest dangers of Space Ring, and nobody would know.

Bubbles occasionally floated through the light, entering from one side to quickly disappear in the other. They weren't fast enough to be dangerous, just impressive. Unfortunately, since no one could see them coming, and they were pretty rare, being at the right spot to catch one would be very difficult.

The space monsters never entered this area of light, just like they never entered bubbles.

There were many light beams like this, scattered around the inner side of Space Ring. Each led to an exit tunnel. Just one more stunning sight of Trial Planet.

Jack watched the walls—where bright light met pitch-black darkness—to the left and right as they flew. He imagined monsters lying just beyond. Tentacles shooting out to grab him and recede into the darkness, where space would muffle the screams.

His enemies' screams, that is. Because he would punch them.

The main reason why he stared at the walls was that looking ahead, towards the base of the light beam, was painful for the eyes. According to Gan Salin, there were a bunch of sun mushrooms in a bowl-shaped alcove, guiding their collective light into this single column.

Suddenly, Nauja raised her hand. Jack and Salin slowed down beside her. They couldn't speak in space, so all their communication came as hand signals, along with what they'd discussed before leaving the last bubble.

Nauja pointed down, indicating that this was the place. Then, her face taut in concentration, she turned to face a wall of darkness. She raised her hand. The moment she dropped it, they would have to dash.

Into the unknown.

Jack gulped. He distracted himself by admiring Nauja's abilities. He couldn't even tell how far away the palace bubble had been, but she managed to calculate its precise trajectory at a single glance. Thankfully, she had a skill about that. It was supposed to be used in archery, but there was no rule against using it on space-traveling air bubbles.

Still, it was damn impressive.

Nauja's hand shook a bit. Jack almost started running before catching himself. Between his arms, he felt Brock stiffening.

Her hand dropped.

Nauja was the first to run. She expelled air Dao from her back, propelling her fast into the darkness without a single glance back.

A brave woman.

Jack and Salin followed immediately. One after the other, they dived out of the light and into the darkness. Jack rushed to avoid thinking about it.

The feeling was like plunging into dark, cold water. Besides the noticeable change in temperature, Jack immediately lost his sight. He couldn't even see Gan Salin anymore.

He also couldn't speak. Couldn't hear anything. Couldn't smell. Couldn't touch. He was all alone in infinite, monster-filled darkness, with Brock being his only company.

For a moment, he was petrified before his Dao Root of Indomitable Will protested, propelling him into action. Jack could sense the hints of the Dao of the Fist he'd left behind, using them to maintain his sense of direction. He shot forward.

There could be monsters everywhere. This was a gamble. According to Nauja, the bubble would be close to them now, just a minute's dashing through the darkness. They just had to hope there weren't any monsters in between, but monsters generally avoided the light. It should be fine.

Jack traveled through the darkness. There was faint light behind him in the form of the light beam, but everything else was black. Even the light of the sun mushrooms didn't make it here, blocked by some property of space that Jack wasn't sure was magical or scientific. Probably magical. Light was supposed to cross the vacuum without degrading.

The seconds flowed on. Jack's blood was drumming on his temples, the cold vise of fear tightening around his heart. He was short of breath.

He thought he saw faint shapes lumbering in the darkness. A tentacle-shaped patch of black deeper than its surroundings. A giant eye, barely distinguishable and very close-by. A hint of Dao coming from his left.

He didn't know if he was imagining those or if they were true. Darkness had a way to claim the mind, to upset and terrify it, make it materialize its fears to fill in the absence of visual input. Jack was aware of how the brain had evolved to work in the darkness, but all that did was enhance what he already felt: the dark was dangerous.

Has it been a minute already? he asked himself. He didn't have a clock. All he could do was count his own heartbeats, estimating them to be sky-high, but that wasn't accurate.

The plan was to find the bubble within a minute. Whoever found it first—the three were slightly spread out—would unleash a bunch of Dao to inform the other. If no one did, they had to turn around after a minute and dash back to the light.

At the E-Grade, their ability to sense the Dao was there, but very limited.

A little bit more, he promised himself, acutely aware that the bubble could be anywhere outside of his path, and he could diving head-first into a bottomless pit. He wouldn't even see it as he approached, just sense the faint Dao that the bubble structure itself exuded.

For the first time in a long while, Jack wished he hadn't lost his phone. It had a flashlight.

Something wet and elongated slapped him out of nowhere. Jack was sent off his path, letting out a scream that only he could hear, spinning head-over-heels in the vacuum of space. He punched out where the hit had come from.

A purple meteor bloomed in the darkness, illuminating nothing. It flew farther and farther away from Jack, showcasing just how vast the blind void around him was, before it slammed into something. Jack caught a glimpse of a purple shape, a squid with tentacles jutting out all over its body.

It thrashed as the explosion happened. It must have gotten injured. E-Grade space monsters were barely sentient sacks of Dao, and Jack sensed the Dao escaping, leaking out of the squid where the meteor had struck. He could track it now. In the absence of all light, his Dao sense was clearer than ever.

He sensed another beacon light up nearby. A twisted knot that screamed of confusion, of persistence, of single-minded ramming into what didn't make sense. Insanity.

Jack realized that he, too, must be such a beacon. He also realized that, if he could sense them, so could the space monsters sense him. By fighting here, he was summoning everything within several miles, and the first monster was already here. His blood ran cold. They had to hurry. There was no time to search for bubbles. They had to retreat back to the light.

The Dao of Insanity collided with the squid and lost terribly. The monsters here were at least peak E-Grades. This was a high-level area. And Salin was only level 78.

The canine had been flung back from the impact, away from the light. Jack hesitated for only an instant before dashing after him. There was no time to think. He simply followed his instinct.

Was the squid chasing? Definitely. Jack twisted to the left, releasing a meteor that crossed the darkness, barely missing the source of the Dao leak—the squid's wound—and dissolving into nothingness a few hundreds of feet away. He cursed and tried again. A meteor shower bloomed in the darkness, a shining beacon for anything hungry, and went flying for the squid. It responded too late. Its body got pelted, the meteors smashing into its squishy flesh and ripping it apart, leaving gaping holes and open wounds.

The squid thrashed, trying to cope with its injuries, as Jack realized he couldn't hold back. He was in total darkness. He reached inside his soul, tearing away the veil that kept the Life Drop's powers at bay, and felt himself grow larger and stronger, two arms sprouting under his armpits.

With a loud roar that echoed in his ears, trapped inside the helmet's barrier, he exploded through the void and after the still-flying Salin, whose trajectory hadn't changed in the slightest. He must have been unconscious.

With the power granted by the Life Drop, Jack accelerated fast. He reached the canine and grabbed him, then turned to look towards the light. The squid was retreating. It was probably too injured to fight. Jack felt a hint of relief.

Then again, since when did space monsters retreat?

Jack's eyes went wide as he glanced around, but there was only darkness. Then, something blocked the light in front of him. He hurriedly blocked with three of his arms—the fourth held Brock and Gan Salin—barely enduring the strike. It felt like getting struck by lightning. His entire body shook and jittered. He was sent flying back, barely managing to right himself after a while.

The void in front of him blossomed with electric blue light. An eel the size of a bus was swimming through space, directly towards him. Its eyes were red slits filled with malice, while lightning arced all over its body.

"Fuck," said Jack.

Space Monster, Level 124 (Elite)

Experts speculate that, when large quantities of the Dao are left undisturbed for a long time, they can spontaneously coalesce into a Space Monster. While this is a very rare occasion—

He had no time to read the description—he'd seen it before, anyway. He focused on the monster's level and its Elite tag.

Going after the palace had been a calculated risk. But calculated risks sometimes backfired. Now, he had to fight his way through and hope to survive.

Jack's body erupted with power. His three Dao Roots were brought to the fore, blending with his Dao Seed of the Fist to unleash the greatest strength he'd ever revealed. The eel was almost blindingly fast, but his brain was processing things so quickly that he could follow its movements. The world had slowed down.

He felt the power gathering in his arm, suffusing it. He let it rip. A blinding meteor speared the darkness, exploding on the eel's nose and pushing it back. Jack's remaining two fists—one arm was holding his friends—also smashed out, each hitting the eel at full power.

It hadn't expected that. In its senses, Jack was weak. It had underestimated him.

Still, a few surprise strikes weren't enough to take down an Elite. This monster was far stronger than Jack's last real opponent, Bocor, had been. It absorbed the recoil and wound around him, seeking to entrap him in lightning. Jack kept punching. One meteor led to another until a shower was formed. The eel's slick skin made the strikes slide off, but their real purpose was to achieve momentum. Jack was propelled backward at absurd speed, escaping the eel's encirclement and flying into the darkness, towards the light. He'd managed to turn around the first time he hit it.

The eel pursued. Faster than he could ever be. It was upon him in an instant, opening its jaws wide and biting down. Jack smashed out above his head, altering his trajectory downward and barely escaping its jaws, which clamped shut right above him.

His entire body leaned into an uppercut. Unfortunately, as there was no ground to stand on, its power was limited. His fist dug into slimy, slippery skin. The eel's head jutted upward, but it wasn't too injured.

Right then, wind invaded the void. It was fast and straight, like an arrow. No—it was an arrow.

An arrow made of wind came out of nowhere to strike the eel, embedded deep in its eye. It raised its head and screamed—though Jack heard nothing—then swiped its tail at Jack, who ghost-stepped out of the way. It took a lot out of him. That skill was best used on solid ground.

His Dao perception expanded. He tried his best to push it out as far as possible but felt nothing. Still, he'd seen the arrow's direction. He knew where it came from. It was sideways into the darkness. He kept shooting out punches to head that way.

Suddenly, he felt it. A hint of the Dao, like a gentle breeze caressing his skin. Nauja was somewhere over there, no doubt unleashing her power as strongly as possible to make him sense her. Jack spared a second to focus.

She was moving. Slowly, smoothly, and laterally to the light beam. Why would she be moving that way?

Because she'd found the bubble.

That was the plan. Since they all moved at different speeds, whoever found the bubble would galvanize their Dao as intensely as possible to let the others sense it and fly over.

Jack oriented himself at Nauja. However, that moment of focusing on her had given the eel an opening. It jammed its head at him, headbutting him. A strong electrical current flowed through his veins. His entire body seized. All four fists clenched by themselves.

Thankfully, Jack's momentum was already going, and there was nothing to slow him down in space. He kept flying backward, further propelled by the eel's strike. The pain was burning him from the inside out, but he'd been through worse. He refused to yield. He frowned deeply and forced his twitching muscles to obey. His Indomitable Body purged the lightning.

"AHHH!" Jack roared. His three arms blurred as he shot out another meteor shower, pelting the eel with his full strength. It weaved through the attacks, sliding them off its skin, but some got it. One found it at the nose, another under its chin, one at the side of its tail.

Jack had his front towards the eel and his back at Nauja's presence. He was using the meteor shower to simultaneously keep the eel at bay and accelerate backward. Already, his speed was incredible, though he had no way to perceive it in the void.

Unfortunately, the eel was even faster.

BREAK

BREAK

A second arrow pierced space to accurately land on the tip of the eel's nose. Jack sensed the Dao of Lightning leak out. The eel shook its head and chased him with renewed effort. They exchanged strikes. He was on the losing end, but not by much. His punches caved its flesh almost as much as its lightning charred his, but he had the Indomitable Body and Life Drop's regenerative properties, and the eel had nothing. Its greatest weapon, the lightning's lingering effects, was countered by Jack's Indomitable Body.

Jack was losing, but the situation was slowly growing more manageable.

Additionally, the more he approached Nauja, the denser the arrows came. They pelted the eel like a second meteor shower, not particularly strong but exceptionally accurate. Nauja's marksmanship was impeccable—as she'd revealed, she could adjust the trajectory of her wind arrows mid-flight.

Many arrows still missed, but a few hit the mark. They distracted the eel, causing a small but considerable amount of damage. It couldn't slide off the piercing arrows like it could Jack's fists. Moreover, since the eel was physically much larger than Jack, Nauja could hit it without worrying about hitting her ally.

Her strength may not have been on par with Jack's or the eel's, but this was the perfect situation for an archer to excel.

Jack was charred and injured. He'd been electrocuted a dozen times already. His regeneration worked overtime to combat the lightning, but the eel wasn't much better, either. It didn't regenerate nearly as fast. Its wounds accumulated until its attacks slowed down.

Being an Elite, it had a hint of intelligence. It could choose to retreat when things went south.

Jack was almost at the bubble now. His body was tattered, but he'd managed to protect his helmet—which was highly durable, anyway—as well as Brock and Gan Salin, whom he was carrying. Sensing the eel slow down, he hesitated.

He could keep going and escape inside the bubble.

Or.

Or he could try to kill the eel.

They had to kill an Elite space monster for the Sixth Ring Conqueror title. These monsters were found almost exclusively in the darkness. The eel was already heavily injured. When would he find a better opportunity than this?

Plus, this was his chance to gain so many levels.

Jack found himself letting go of Gan Salin and Brock. The bubble was slow, and his current trajectory towards it was accurate. There was obviously no monster in between, or Nauja's arrows would have been intercepted, and neither of the two released any Dao right now. To the space monsters, they were invisible. Jack was certain they would reach the palace bubble.

He let go of them both.

Then, he turned around and started punching. His momentum lessened until it reversed. He was flying at the eel now, not away from it. Behind his back, the arrows kept coming.

The eel hadn't imagined Jack would return. It hesitated, then charged him.

There was a difference between letting prey go and cowering from a challenge.

Jack and the eel got entangled into a violent dance of punches and lightning. Teeth snapped. A tail swiped. Arms blurred in the light of sparks. Meteors blossomed on slick skin, each strong enough to demolish a hill.

Arrows rained from behind, some missing but a few hitting their mark. The eel was leaking Dao from all over its body now. Jack was exhausted but still regenerating. The crippling lightning had little effect on him.

As the eel opened its jaws to bite down on Jack, he ghost-stepped under it. When its upper jaw met the lower one, pushing it down, Jack smashed up with all his strength. His fist shone purple. The lightning was sucked in, then exploded. A hole was ripped clean through the beast's underjaw, into its mouth, and up from its snout. Dao streamed out like a broken dam.

The eel shook once, then its lightning began to dim. Jack felt the void get charged as so much Dao escaped. His skin was tingly. He braced himself for another attack, breathing heavily, but none came. The eel went still.

Finally, the notifications began to stream in.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 90.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 91.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 92.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 93.

He allowed himself a smile before reorienting on Nauja and rushing over. She wasn't too far away now.

He let the Life Drop transformation fade away. He also used Brutalizing Aura on the way, just to be sure, but it was unnecessary. Whether because they gave space to the eel or because of blind luck, there were no other monsters nearby.

Eventually, Jack made out light in the darkness. A torch illuminated the wall of a palace and the side of a courtyard, surrounded by a shimmering, transparent, green bubble. A pale-skinned archer with fur clothing over her privates stood at the very edge of the bubble, bow drawn and poised to shoot, while a young brorilla held up a torch and anxiously waved it from side to side. Gan Salin was lying unconscious between them.

The archer lowered her bow as she saw him. A bright smile blossomed on her face.

Jack wanted to make a hero entrance. He tried to slow down, but he miscalculated. He flew into the courtyard at high speed and smashed into the wall beyond, collapsing a small, stone structure that could have been a garden shack.

He then lay among the debris, sprawled out on the floor. "Ow," he said. Nauja burst out laughing.

"Hit your head there, warrior?" she asked.

"A bit." He rubbed the back of his head. His entire body was banged up after the fight. There was lightning in his veins, he had several deep burns all over, as well as deep purple bruises where the eel's tail had hit him.

His mood, however, was through the roof.

"Did you see that?" he asked. "We beat an Elite monster!"

"Yes!" she replied, equally excited. "If Father knew, he would be so proud."

Brock cheered, too. He twirled his staff in the air and hopped up and down, performing a brorilla celebratory dance.

"However," Nauja's voice carried a hint of warning, demanding Jack's attention, "you used the Dr— That thing, right?"

"...Yeah. Could you tell?"

"If I could tell? You erupted with the power of life! If I hadn't seen it before, I would have thought you got swapped with an immortal mid-battle."

Jack grimaced. "Was it that bad?"

"Let's just say it's good you made it back. This area should be teeming with space monsters any second now. You must have drawn everything in a ten-mile radius."

They all looked outside. Darkness. Nothing could be seen…but that didn't mean space was empty. For all they knew, they could be surrounded by space monsters.

Well, not yet, but they soon would be.

"Will they stick around?" Jack asked. "If yes, that could be a problem."

The bubbles followed a circular trajectory around Space Ring. It wasn't completely set, but Nauja estimated theirs would approach the border of darkness or a light beam within the next few days. Now that they were in the darkness, they could see the light outside just fine, so they would know.

That plan would be severely complicated by a bunch of space monsters following them around like hungry sharks.

"How am I supposed to know?" she asked back. "I hope not. We need a way to find them, if they're close. We can't sense them unless they're injured, in battle, or producing light like your eel."

Jack considered it for a moment. Gradually, his eyes hardened. "We'll consider that later. It's not like the monsters can enter the bubble. For now…" He turned around, towards the palace walls behind him. "We have a trial to face."

From up-close, the palace was even more imposing. Tall stone walls rose a hundred feet high, narrowing near the top to end in sharp-tipped domes. The architecture was angular, with even the curvature of the walls presented as a series of small steps. Moreover, moss covered the surface of the stone, partly obscuring the many large engravings. Lions, elephants, cows… All sorts of animals were depicted on the walls, a colorless series of lines carved in stone.

"How long do you think it's been since this place was built?" Jack asked, losing his breath.

"Millennia," Nauja replied, her gaze wandering over the palace. "Maybe more."

"Maybe more," Jack agreed. He turned to Brock. "What do you say, little bro? Are you ready to get stronger?"

Brock gave a toothy smile. "Yes," he said. His grip was tight on the Staff of Stone, and his short fur was raised with excitement.

"Good. The faster you complete the trial, the faster we'll be able to leave this place, once the bubble approaches the edge. And, if it doesn't, we'll make it."

There was a second way to escape the darkness. Technically, Jack, Nauja, and Gan Salin could push the bubble towards a direction. It would be slow, and it would attract a whole bunch of monsters, which is why this was only plan B.

"I agree," Nauja said. "Let's find the trial and get you started as soon as possible."

"What about Gan Salin?" Jack asked. The canine was still lying on the ground, unconscious. That first space monster, the squid with too many tentacles, had gotten him good.

Nauja threw him one look and shrugged. "It's safe here," she said. "Let's just wait for him to get up. He has a healing skill, anyway."

Leaving Gan Salin to guard their belongings—mostly food and water, both from Village Ring and the various bubbles they'd visited on the way—the three of them headed deeper into the palace.

It wasn't big. The bubble only stretched two hundred feet from one side to the other, making it quite simple to locate the spot of the trial. In fact, the entire palace had a single room inside its walls: a spacious, empty courtyard filled with dead plants. A statue stood tall in its midst. A muscular man, intricately carved, raising a staff towards the sky. His features were hard, his gaze stony. He wore a mantle that reached his calves and a set of heavy armor that reminded Jack of ancient Chinese warlords.

The only oddity on the man was his mouth, which seemed drawn into what could be a playful smile, but might also not be one.

"Hello, Mona Lisa," Jack said, reverently approaching the statue. Nauja threw him a questioning glance, then ignored him. Brock didn't even listen. His eyes were set on the statue's staff—an exact replica of the Staff of Stone.

"What are the chances?" Nauja said. "You say you accidentally found the weapon that corresponds to this exact trial. Are you hiding something, Jack Rust?"

"Bro!" Brock said, making an offended "what are you saying?" gesture at Nauja. She was stunned.

"I swear it's all true. We found the staff near a corpse in Giant Ring. This is just a large coincidence." Jack tilted his head. "Then again, we wouldn't be here if we didn't have the staff, would we? We would have just ignored the palace and chosen another bubble."

"Hmm."

But what could he say? To the best of his knowledge, it really was a coincidence. Therefore, he endured Nauja's suspicious glare to approach the statue. He found himself able to inspect it, and after a moment's hesitation, did so.

Trial Statue

A statue serving as the gateway to a Trial Planet Trial. Touch to enter.

"Fewer words next time, asshole," Jack grumbled. He didn't touch the statue, but he did approach enough to make out a small engraving at its bottom:

Ermedil Asantra. First General of the Low Sky.

"Well," he said, "no time like the present. Are you ready, Brock?"

The brorilla gathered himself and nodded.

"Let me warn you," Jack continued. "This will be difficult. The hardest thing you've ever done. You might die in there—and, if you do, I will be extremely sad. But you can survive, too. The trial will adjust to your strength. Try your hardest, and when you return, we will celebrate your triumph. Get stronger to fight by my side. I believe in you, bro."

Brock paused for a moment. He reached out to shake Jack's hand, then jumped into a hug. Nauja let them, observing from a distance.

A moment later, Brock let go. He approached the statue, still holding his staff. He turned around to give a thumbs-up.

"See you, bro," he said, revealing two new words at the same time.

Jack smiled widely. His heart felt about to break. Why was he this nervous? "Good luck, bro," he replied. "I believe in you."

"Good luck, Brock!" Nauja cried out.

Brock nodded, touched the statue, and disappeared. His Trial had begun.

BREAK

BREAK

When the world settled, Brock found himself in a long and narrow underground chamber. Or, at least, it looked underground. There were no windows. He might as well be in a large stone box illuminated by a series of torches on the walls.

Said walls were covered in moss, like the outside ones, but the room's main point was the floor. Brock stood on a narrow ledge against one wall. A second ledge was against the far wall, with a closed door in its midst—the only door in the room.

Between the two ledges, the floor was about ten feet lower. Green, wooden poles rose sparsely from it, standing at about the same height as the ledges. At first glance, Brock got the instinct to jump from pole to pole to reach the other side. But there was no reason. The floor looked fine.

Of course, he would still jump on the poles, because it was more fun.

"Welcome, brave soul, to my Trial," a male voice boomed out. Brock jumped in surprise, almost dropping his staff, but there was no one around. He scratched his head in confusion as the voice continued unabated. "My name is Ermedil Asantra, First General of the Low Sky. My Dao is that of Force, but at the E-Grade, which Trial Planet is meant to test, I cultivated the Dao Seed of Density. Therefore, that is the Dao I will pass on to you!"

There was power in that voice. Deep, unshakable confidence, an edge that made Brock apprehensive. At the same time, there was also excitement. The voice spoke with a rush, like energy was bubbling from its throat.

Brock didn't get all the words. He got the point, though.

"I have composed a trial of three chambers," the voice bro continued. "The first chamber will test your balance, a necessary skill to master Density. You must make it to the other side by jumping on the tips of the bamboo poles. If you touch the ground, you will be eliminated and teleported out. I wish you luck!"

Then, it went silent. Brock scratched his head, squinting at the room ahead. He was already going to jump, for fun.

But Big Bro had taught him to be careful. Therefore, Brock decided to scout for traps. Reaching back, he grabbed a piece of poop and sent it hurtling through the room, crossing the hundred feet of space before landing on the other ledge with a dry plop.

No traps. Brock nodded to himself, deciding it was safe. Big Bro would be proud.

Therefore, tightening his grip on the staff, Brock jumped on the first bamboo—as the voice bro had called it. Landing was easy. However, the moment he did, the bamboo bent under his feet, leaning forward before swinging back again.

Brock made monkey sounds, almost losing his balance before steadying himself. He intuitively held his staff horizontally, helping him balance. The bamboo was still swaying, however, and even Brock's Elite F-Grade body couldn't handle this easily.

He rode the bamboo's forward swaying to leap to the next pole, which also began to sway. This time, he was ready. As it fell forward, he leaped again, crossing ten feet to land on the next one. He was prepared for it to sway again, so he leaned back. Unfortunately, this bamboo was treacherous. It remained steady.

As a result, Brock was falling backward. He windmilled his arms in the air to regain his balance, releasing worried monkey cries all the while, but he was too far back. As he slowly tipped backward, he pictured his Big Bro's disappointed face if he failed.

No. He was already dead weight. He couldn't fail here.

Brock's rotating arms moved faster, like a whirlwind. He used them as oars, pushing the air back so fast that his tipping slowed. At the same time, he channeled the Big Thought in his heart. An entire line of muscles, from his heel, to his butt, to his spine and neck, all clenched at the same time. His toes hugged the edge of the bamboo with all their strength, and with massive effort, he pulled himself straight.

He heaved a sigh of relief, wiping sweat from his forehead. Then, he narrowed his eyes at the rest of the poles.

This bamboo was crafty. But he refused to fail. He could do it. Like everything else, balance was a muscle, and he had the Big Thought of Muscle.

Focusing on his balance muscle, Brock jumped again, ready to respond to the pole. This one swayed. Brock was using his Big Thought now, controlling his body's muscles perfectly, so he wasn't fazed in the slightest. He leaped from this pole to the next, which did not sway. Brock took a second to steady himself, but he was okay. Like that, he kept going.

There were no other tricks to the bamboo poles. Some swayed, and some didn't. Brock reached the far ledge without a problem, landing right next to his thrown poop. He considered taking it with him, to not soil this place, but it had tricky bamboo. It deserved to be pooped.

He opened the stone door and entered the next room. This one was narrower, almost a corridor, and only ten feet across. There was nothing wrong with the floor or walls, but instead of a door leading further in, a massive boulder blocked the exit, wide enough that it occupied almost the entire width of the corridor.

"Congratulations! Your balance must be outstanding! And if you flew your way across, well, flying requires balance, too!" the voice bro returned. Brock nodded gracefully, accepting the praise.

"Yes," he replied.

"This chamber will test your strength—the opposite end from balance. Both are required to master density. Starting now, you have one minute to lift the boulder, which is adjusted to your current level, and reach the final chamber. I wish you luck!"

Brock knew how long a minute was. Big Bro had taught him. But it was too little! This voice bro was stupid!

Frantic, Brock rushed to the massive boulder blocking the exit. It was wider than his two arms stretched to the limit, and it rose above his head. How was he supposed to lift it?

Thankfully, Brock had practiced at the forest gym with Father and the other bros. He knew how to lift. Holding the Staff of Stone in his mouth, he bent down and slipped his fingers under the rock. Keeping his back straight, he lifted with his knees.

Instantly, he felt the boulder's crushing weight. It was so heavy he could barely raise it a couple inches, and his arms were already burning. So were his thighs.

Again, the consequences of failure passed through his head. He would be left behind. He would have to abandon his big bro or pull him down. He would be useless. A burden. And his big bro would be disappointed at Brock's failure.

No. Failure was not an option. He did not want to be discarded.

Brock channeled the Big Thought again. He believed in the muscles of his arms and thighs, encouraged them to work harder. Help me, muscle bros!

Inch by inch, the boulder rose. Brock felt his neck muscles tighten, bringing him fear, but he used his bravery muscle to overcome it. He felt exhaustion creep in, tempting him to give up, but he used his resolve muscle to silence it. He felt his vision waver, but he just flexed his eye muscles.

When his arms went numb, his waist was compressed, and his legs were on the verge of giving in, he reinforced all those muscles with the Big Thought.

The boulder finally rose to Brock's chest. Now, he had to pass under it.

With slow, small steps, he inched forward. He ducked his head under the boulder, transitioning its weight from his arms to his shoulders and neck, letting it rest there fully for a moment as he repositioned his arms to push up with his palms.

Thankfully, the forest gym practiced all sorts of heavy lifting.

Slowly and carefully, taking good care to maintain proper form, Brock rolled the weight over his shoulders until he was halfway through. Then, he simply let it roll away as he jumped to the other side.

He escaped the crash. Only the tip of the Saff was caught under the boulder, but Brock simply yanked it out.

His entire body was burning, but he had made it through.

"Congratulations! Your strength is surely outstanding! And, if you somehow cheated my trial, well, shame on you!"

The voice bro was here, as always, though Brock couldn't see him. Maybe he was hiding in the walls.

"You have proven your balance and strength, but density is more than its extremes. You must be able to transition between them and use them fluidly. Therefore, the final chamber will test your skill in combat. If you fail this trial, you will die. I wish you luck!"

Die?

Brock released a sound of protest before realizing it didn't matter. He wouldn't fail. But how sad would Big Bro be if Brock never returned? Would he even know what happened?

No. That was unacceptable. Brock ignored his burning body and channeled the Big Thought fully, ready to go all-out from the very start.

This chamber was a fifty by twenty feet stone box. There was no exit, and the entrance was blocked by the previous boulder. The only other thing in the room was a stone statue which rigidly moved to face Brock—something that good stone bros rarely did. It wore a horned helmet and armor that cascaded over its body, similar to the statue on the outside, though the face was different.

This statue also wielded a massive halberd that took up at least half the room's width.

Brock prepared himself for combat. He twirled the Staff of Stone, settling into a stance with the staff behind his back. He charged out first. His Big Thought went into his legs, increasing their strength, pushing him from a run to a gallop.

The statue swung overhead. Brock raised his staff to block. The strike came hard. Brock shook, his knees buckled, his palms split, and his elbows groaned as they almost gave out. He barely held.

He twisted the staff to the side, letting the halberd slide its way across, then swiped it at the stone bro. The stone bro stepped back, dodging the strike and retrieving his halberd. It came from the side, this time. Brock jumped over it, focusing on his reflex muscles to grab onto the shaft mid-air, rotate with it, and swipe his staff at the stone bro from above.

Staff met horned helmet, making the stone bro look down for a second. Brock used that time to somersault through the air, using his strike's recoil to fly over the stone bro and land behind him. The stone bro swiped his halberd around, but Brock, expecting this, ducked under it. He swung low, swiping the stone bro's legs out from under him, then raised his staff and smashed it into the stone bro's neck from above mid-fall.

Brock quickly jumped over the stone bro again, expecting a wild slash from the halberd, but it never came. The stone bro's neck had been broken by the previous strike. He now lay on the ground, lifeless, like all good stone bros should.

"Congratulations!" the voice bro spoke again. Brock wondered if he would finally exit his wall and come talk face to face like a real bro, but that wasn't meant to happen. "You have proven balance, strength, and skill. You have passed my trial! Again, congratulations!"

Brock nodded, gracefully accepting the praise.

"With this, you will now inherit an item that should help you master Density: the Pink Muscle Pill! I made it by combining the insights of my Dao Seed of Density and the Dao Root of Muscles."

Brock's mouth formed into an 'o'. He released a cry. This was no voice bro. He was a Dao bro!

Light flashed before Brock, and a pink pill the size of his pinky nail appeared in front of his face. He caught it as it fell and swallowed it.

The change was instantaneous. Brock felt the pill dispersing in his mouth before he even swallowed it. A breeze spread through his body, seeping into his every muscle and making it stronger.

No, not just stronger; more durable, too. Brock was beyond elated. His entire body had transformed into a better version of itself. His muscles, from his toes to his biceps, had been through ten years of working out all at once.

He swung his Staff of Stone around, marveling at how precise his control was, how explosive his movements. It felt like he could do anything.

He couldn't wait to show his Big Bro.

"Red muscles are explosive; they have great strength but can only work in short bursts. White muscles are weak but can work for long periods of time. The Pink Muscle Pill will transform all your muscles into pink muscles, which can release explosive strength momentarily or weaker strength over longer periods, depending on what you need. This happens by altering their interior density to perfectly accommodate both states—a feat that is normally achievable by long, grueling training. As a Dao pill, it works on all sorts of physical beings, regardless of body structure. In short, this pill will enhance your combat strength significantly, making you far more versatile than you currently are. Moreover, by meditating on the new properties of your muscles, you can gain insights into Density."

The voice suddenly grew downcast.

"Unfortunately, the Pink Muscle Pill is all I can leave you. I do not possess the strength to impart you with a Dao Root or the rank to leave my actual insights in this Trial Planet. Even the weapon I used up to the early D-Grade, my prized Staff of Stone, has been stolen from me by Alta'zed the Almighty! If you ever run into him or his descendants, you should fight to get it back!"

Brock proudly beat his chest. This Dao bro had nothing to worry about. Brock's strength was so great that he had already retrieved the staff!

"With that, my trial has concluded. I have great hopes for you, brave soul. Perhaps one day you will reach the heights I have, and be able to lead armies of immortals against your enemies, claiming glory and power! Laugh and prosper. Never give up. And, most of all, I wish you luck! Farewell."

"Thanks," Brock replied.

Instantly, space warped around him. Brock felt a lurching in his belly. Suddenly, he stood before the statue again, just in time to see it collapsing and dispersing into dust.

Unfortunately, he only had time to give his Dao bro a hasty nod before looking around. The entire palace was shaking. His friends were shouting.

Brock scowled. He had only left them alone for five minutes. How had they managed to screw up already?

BREAK

BREAK

Jack lounged on a rock when Gan Salin woke up. He coughed, then shakily raised his upper body. "What happened?" he asked.

"Space monsters," Jack replied, "but we pulled through. Are you okay?"

Salin's eyes were piercing. "Did you save me?"

"It was nothing."

"He fought off an Elite monster while carrying you and Brock," Nauja said, stepping into the courtyard. "Hardly nothing."

"I appreciate that," Gan Salin said. He seemed confused. Perplexed even, like he expected Jack to let him die. But also earnest.

"No problem."

"Where are we?"

"The palace," Nauja gestured up and around at the mossy stone walls, then out into the darkness. "Brock went into the Trial already. With any luck, he'll succeed before the bubble approaches a light beam again."

"Are Trials that long?" Jack asked, looking for light beams spearing the darkness. He saw them far away.

"Some are." She shrugged. "We can't know. Just have to wait."

"I hope he's okay."

Jack was worried about Brock. Of course he was. He'd seen the brutality of these Trials himself, and now his little bro was in one. All alone.

He didn't even care if Brock succeeded. He just wanted him to return safe. In the three minutes since the brorilla touched the statue and disappeared, Jack's heart had been filled with doubts. Was it a bad idea? Should he protect his little bro instead of send him at a death battle? Power could come even without Trials, it would just take longer.

No, Jack quickly chided himself. Brock has chosen this path himself. He does not want to be left behind, even if there is danger. The way of the bro is to respect that.

But this didn't abate his worries. To escape them, he turned his mind to other matters.

"How is the darkness, Nauja?" he asked the barbarian girl. She'd just made a round around the palace to check for monsters. "Did you spot anything?"

She pursed her lips. "See for yourself."

The palace was illuminated by a bright torch, courtesy of whoever made this bubble. They had lit it up and placed it in a central spot. Now, Nauja walked over and picked it up, holding it against the edge of the bubble, illuminating the darkness.

Tentacles slithered outside the light. Colorful, squirmy bodies.

"Still there, huh?" Jack asked.

"Still there. They're sticking to us like fleas to a velociraptor."

"So we're trapped in a bubble in the darkness, surrounded by hungry space monsters?" Gan Salin asked. "What a nice morning."

"Maybe they'll go eventually." Jack shrugged. "Besides, I doubt they're hungry. More like curious."

"About us?"

"Yeah."

They had decided not to tell Salin about Jack's Life Drop. He was a tentative ally, not to mention an insane one, and this was a subject that demanded absolute secrecy.

"Makes sense," he replied. "We're all they've seen in who knows how long. If I were a space monster, I'd stick my nose to the glass, too."

"Thank God they don't have noses."

"And, for your information, they do get hungry. Not in the same way we do, but they have this urge to consume our Dao and grow stronger—but only if we're around the same level. According to legend, the progression principles of space monsters is where the Immortals based off the leveling of the System."

"Interesting."

"I just wish they'd leave us alone," Nauja said with a sigh. "If they decide to stick around permanently, we're going to be in trouble."

Gan Salin stood up. "Just watch. I got this."

He reached down to grab a mossy rock—fallen crumb off the walls—and flung it into the darkness. It popped through the bubble and hit a tentacle before ricocheting off into space. The monster didn't seem to register the impact.

"That's right!" Salin shouted, waving his fist. "Get the hell out of my yard!"

Jack smiled. Then, to his absolute surprise, the monster shook before bolting away at top speed.

"...What?"

"Uh… Told you I got this."

Nauja moved the torch around, illuminating a small horde of space monsters that were hurriedly running away. "What is going on?" she asked.

"I'm scary."

"I really don't think that was you, Salin," Jack said, standing up. "Space monsters have sharper Dao perception than we do. It could be that—"

His words trailed off. His eyes widened. Something was coming from below, far under their feet, deeper into the darkness. Something whose Dao shone like a sun. And it was fast.

"Fuck," he said.

Large, white tentacles rose around their bubble. These were nothing like the previous ones. Each tentacle was the size of a space monster, and they were also solid and lifelike, like actual flesh instead of strung-together Dao. Moreover, they gave off a sense of finality. Of death. Whatever this was, its Dao was well-defined and stable, unlike every other space monster Jack had ever met, with one exception: the green crocodile that Captain Dordok had fought.

"It's a D-Grade!" he said with rising panic. No wonder the other monsters had run off. This was the boss of the area!

"Okay, this is bad," Salin said, "but maybe it doesn't eat canines?"

"Stay calm," Nauja ordered, stretching her hands. "It's probably curious to see what drew all those monsters together. It can't reach us here. We're safe. We just have to wait for it to go away."

They still couldn't see its body, but it must have been enormous. The tentacles rose all around the bubble, twitching through the void like searching for something.

"We're safe," Jack repeated, more to convince himself than reassure the others. The monster below them blared in his Dao perception like a sun to the face.

"How is it here, though?" Salin asked, perfectly calm. "The immortal monsters almost never leave the inner wall of Space Ring."

"No idea," Jack replied, but he was lying. He knew why this monster was here. Because he'd used the Life Drop, erupting with Life Dao. It was looking for him.

He and Nauja exchanged a glance, not saying anything.

The tentacles looked around a bit more but didn't find anything. Of course they didn't. The power of the Life Drop was now safely withdrawn inside Jack's soul, and even the space monster's D-Grade perception had no way of infiltrating that.

They could only watch as the tentacles grew increasingly frustrated. Its fury emanated in waves, suffusing the void and stretching outward. Being so close to an upset D-Grade monster was unnerving. It was only the bubble's protection that helped them maintain composure.

At some point, the monster would realize it had lost its target and move on. It had to. Right?

A moment later, Jack felt its frustration surge to a peak. He seized up, wondering what was going to happen.

The tentacles touched the bubble. For a moment, Jack froze, but the bubble held, not budging in the slightest. However, it didn't repel the monster. One tentacle after another wrapped around the bubble, dark suckers sticking on its surface, as the space monster got a good hold over it.

Then, it started to move. Jack saw the light in the distance—the bright area of the ring—recede. He couldn't believe it. The monster had grabbed their bubble and was pulling it deeper. At the same time, more space monsters were flying away around them. Dark shapes crossed the void, heading in the opposite direction. When the D-Grade monster passed close to them, Jack could see them contort and twitch in fear. Some were even expelling part of their Dao to get away faster, blindly and desperately escaping towards the light. More than once, Jack felt an explosion of random Dao near them, an unlucky monster getting too close to this enraged giant.

"We have to get out of here!" Nauja shouted, snapping out of her fear. The darkness around them was deepening by the second. Thankfully, space monsters used their Dao perception to hunt, not their eyes, or the flaming torches would have drawn in everything.

"But how!? We—"

"There is no time! We have to try and leave now, while it's distracted by the bubble. It doesn't know we're what it's searching for. We must run and hope to escape in the other monsters' panic. If it drags us even deeper, we'll never have a chance to escape again! We'll never make it back up!"

"They aren't just panicking," Salin said, still calm. "Remember how I mentioned super hordes before? This is how they start. A D-Grade monster rises from the depths, terrorizing the E-Grade space monsters in a large radius, which begin to flee in panic. Other monsters see the fleeing ones and instinctively follow. The panic spreads as a chain reaction until there are thousands of monsters running away towards the outer side of the ring, a large wave that doesn't stop until it hits the far wall."

"What does it matter?" Nauja said. "We have to go now!"

Jack gritted his teeth. "Brock is still in the Trial."

Nauja didn't reply. She warred on the inside until her mind was made. Then, she crossed her arms, not saying a word more.

"I guess we're waiting," Gan Salin said. "In the meantime, wanna hear more trivia about space monsters? Did you know some of them can procreate, if they have the right Daos? My faction actually has a Level farm with procreating space monsters. Funky place. Never been there, but I hear their sex is, uh, disturbing."

"What are the chances Brock will come out quickly?" Jack asked.

"No idea," Nauja replied. "And Jack, I know you don't want to hear this, but we'll know if he fails. Either he'll come out, or the statue will echo like a gong."

Jack gritted his teeth. "He won't fail."

"Then, we'll just have to wait. I'm a barbarian. I would rather die than abandon a friend."

"Space monsters are mostly purple at the E-Grade, but they have all sorts of colors and forms later on! It's usually animals, but I've heard of one shaped as a ship. There is a famous B-Grade space monster that wanders the galaxy as a continent-sized whale. People say it has an entire civilization in its stomach."

Jack tried, but he struggled to enjoy Gan Salin's fun facts.

The void was still flying past them, several times faster than they could achieve by themselves. It had only been half a minute.

"Do you think—"

Congratulations! Title "Fourth Ring Conqueror" upgraded to "Fifth Ring Conqueror!"

Efficacy of all stats: +20% → +25%

Jack moved instantly. He bolted inside, finding Brock standing by the crumbling statue, perfectly safe and sound. He held his Staff of Stone in one hand and gaped as he looked around, at the many tentacles hugging their bubble. He said something in monkey.

Jack rushed in, said, "Good job! I'm proud of you," as fast as he possibly could, then grabbed Brock under an arm, put helmets on both their heads, and ran back outside. It took him exactly three seconds.

Nauja and Gan Salin didn't waste any time, either. By the time he returned, they were both ready to go.

"You know what we could use?" Salin asked, picking up a piece of old but steady rope that held a torch to a wall. "Space monster reins. Since we're riding the space horde, we might as well do it in style."

"Just go!" Nauja shouted.

The darkness was still receding around them. Panicked space monsters were flying everywhere.

They jumped out.

BREAK

BREAK

Space monsters were unique creatures. They were formed by Dao that stuck together, the fundamental properties of the universe given shape and form. When that happened, sentience was developed, but most monsters only remained at the E-Grade, their infancy.

As a result, they were driven by two primary instincts: progress, and survival. Progress came from devouring other creatures that cultivated the Dao—usually cultivators, or sometimes compatible space monsters. Survival was more complex, and being barely sentient, what space monsters did was blindly follow what other space monsters were doing. If they saw one moving with purpose, they followed it. That is how monster hordes were formed.

At the same time, this sort of instinct could have unintended consequences.

In the densely crowded environment of Space Ring, once enough monsters got to running, there was no stopping them. More monsters took note and automatically started running as well, spreading the panic like a wildfire in dry grass. A massive horde could form swiftly, with dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of space monsters all rushing over each other to escape…something. They didn't know what they were running from, nor did it matter. Everybody else was doing it, so they followed.

The super horde that formed on this day was the result of an event chain accidentally started by Jack. When he activated his Life Drop to fight the electric eel, the eruption of Dao was so strong that it caught the attention of a D-Grade space monster slumbering in the bottom of Space Ring. That monster rose to investigate. However, as the Life Dao had disappeared, it focused on the closest special occurrence it could sense—the gathering of space monsters around a specific bubble.

The D-Grade monster didn't know what was happening there, but it had the intelligence—albeit barely—to connect the dots. It concluded that a high-quality, life-related treasure had matured inside that bubble. Such a treasure could be invaluable to this monster, since it cultivated the Dao of Death. Therefore, it grabbed the bubble and pulled it to its lair in the inner wall of Space Ring, where it could investigate at its leisure.

However, the monster's arrival and subsequent frustration had terrorized the nearby space monsters, sending them into a frenzied escape. In its retreat, it also squashed some of them to quell its rage, further fueling their panic. Such a monster could create large waves. It wasn't long before every E-Grade monster in the region, from peak to King, was in motion, heading out of the darkness and into the light, where the poor cultivators had no idea what was about to happen.

Jack, Nauja, Gan Salin, and Brock emerged from their fast descending bubble into a void that brimmed with activity. Behind them, the mossy palace floated in a bubble wrapped by large, white tentacles. They barely caught a glimpse of the massive creature below, dragging the bubble ever deeper.

It was a white squid the length of a skyscraper. A space kraken. The entire palace was like a toy to it.

Thankfully, the kraken didn't pay them any attention. It descended at great speed, quickly disappearing in the darkness as the palace's torches went off one by one.

Unfortunately, the kraken wasn't the only monster here. More and more of them surged out of the depths, frightened out of their minds by the kraken's appearance and anger. Jack glimpsed dozens of them in the bubble's dying light. The weakest were peak E-Grades, and the strongest was a King monster that resembled a dark blue rhinoceros.

All those monsters were surging towards Jack, Brock, Nauja, and Gan Salin. They barely caught a glimpse of all the monsters before the final torch in the palace went out, and they were sunk in absolute darkness.

For a moment, there was stillness. Jack hovered in the darkness quietly, like the approaching horde was only a dream.

Then, something crashed into them, and the group was flung forward. They didn't try to fight back. They let the flood take them, doing their best to align with it and stay alive. Their only saving grace was that the monsters, in their haste to escape, did not try to eat them.

Jack's world was filled with bursts of all kinds of Dao. He was almost overwhelmed. His mind focused on his friends. Wind, Insanity. Brock, he was carrying.

There were dozens of Daos erupting out of everywhere around him. Shapes bumped into him in the darkness. The monsters fell an urge to come together, leading to a tightly clustered pack in complete absence of light.

Jack finally felt a mind-turning burst from the side. He rushed over, hoping to not get tackled by a monster, and found Gan Salin.

He was struggling. Already, he was in dire straits, his bursts of Dao erratic. Two monsters surrounded him, not trying to kill him but accidentally swatting him with their tentacles, while he was trying his hardest to survive.

Jack couldn't see the battle, but he could perceive parts of it.

He sensed Salin erupt with speed as he dashed at Jack. Suddenly, he was flung aside—probably batted by a loose tentacle. The strike was hard, but Salin wouldn't give up. He forced himself to remain conscious and doubled down on his original trajectory, once again rushing toward Jack.

He was struck away again, but he persisted. He would try the same thing again and again until it worked.

Jack arrived. He swept by Gan Salin's side, falling in line next to him to protect one side. The canine stopped struggling so much.

Wind came from another direction. A gale blew through the monsters, finding its way next to Jack. The three of them formed a nucleus surrounded by strong space monsters, pushing against all sides to avoid getting crushed. There were bodies all around them, now. They weren't cramped, but the monsters were so large, fast, and strong that, without sufficient space to dodge, Jack's team would be squeezed into paste.

It felt like fighting blind-folded. Jack's perception was overwhelmed by Dao eruptions everywhere around him. He swatted away a tentacle and dodged another. A monster rammed into them headfirst while both of Jack's hands were busy, but Salin was there, using his signature move, Five Star Grasp, to slap the monster straight in the head and make it curve around them. Nauja was covering their other side, stopping a variety of monsters from assaulting them.

All the while, the three of them sped forward, in step with the horde. If they slowed down even in the slightest, they would be overrun and stomped to death.

On all sides, space monsters were sprinting towards the light. More and more of them surged up from the depths of the darkness like an unstoppable tide.

The monsters deeper in the darkness were generally stronger than those in shallower parts. Therefore, they were also faster. As all monsters began running in the same direction, with the faster ones behind the slower ones, they gradually squeezed together, forming a dense layer of monsters all running together in blind panic.

It was in the center of that layer that Jack's team had accidentally wedged themselves.

Jack's entire mind was focused on survival. He lost track of time. At some point, he looked back and realized the light was fast approaching.

To the horror of everyone in Space Ring, the super horde emerged from the darkness and continued unabated. Cultivators pointed in shock and ran away at top speed. Space monsters watched on with confusion before their instincts kicked in and they, too, joined the horde.

Bubbles and cultivators were swept by the horde, taking them along in their mad rush for the far wall.

Jack could finally see again. The monsters surrounding them were a snake—he had confused its tail for a tentacle before—and a gorilla with tentacles for arms. Both peak E-Grades.

Now, their group could fight better. They coordinated. Jack flew aside, exploiting a break in the unintended space monster offense to assist Gan Salin. The canine jumped back, taking on the flank he was more suited to covering, letting Jack smash a bunch of meteors into the monsters behind them.

An arachnoid Elite monster shot out a white substance at him. An arrow of wind pierced and drove it away, pinning it to another space monster. There, the substance hardened and bound to its victim, gluing itself to its appendages until the space monster slowed down so much it was swallowed up by the horde, torn to a dozen pieces as the rest of the monsters clawed their way through.

Jack looked to the side. He saw Gan Salin use all his strength to smack away an errant tentacle. Another was rising behind him, so Jack shot over a meteor. Salin spotted that, cursed in his helmet, and leaned back, letting the meteor sail over him and smash into the tentacle, saving him.

Right after, Salin pointed behind Jack, letting him twist around another projectile—a horn-like appendage? Nauja then arrowed a monster about to reach Salin, and the canine attacked at the same time, slapping it away twice.

Gan Salin was grinning. Though his life was on the line, he was clearly having fun.

Through a gap in the monsters, Jack took a quick glance around him. It was chaos. The entire ring, everything he could see, was in chaos.

By the time the first monster had emerged from the darkness, an entire army followed it, dozens of high-level ones. The spread of the super horde didn't stop. More and more monsters joined the dance. Soon, they had created a horde so massive it swallowed bubbles, pulling them along simply by momentum, like forest animals running away from a wildfire.

This entire side of Space Ring was swept up. Any cultivator unlucky enough to be traveling between bubbles was drawn into the horde, struggling to save their lives. Anyone lucky enough to be in a bubble stayed there, holding on for dear life as the world tumbled and turned around them.

And at the very head of the super horde was a small team riding the wave. By staying there, instead of buried inside the body of the horde, they could survive. It was like surfing a tsunami.

They were gradually getting away from the darkness and heading back towards Village Ring. At the same time, the squeezing around them got more and more intense.

Trying to escape through the horde would be very difficult; the monsters changed positions all the time, and one mistake would be enough to get them crushed.

All they could do was ride the tide and try to survive in the ever increasing pressure. Moreover, all these attacks slowed them down, and they had to constantly expel Dao from their Dao Seeds to stay up to speed. Their endurance wasn't infinite. Eventually, they would run out, and they would fall into the horde.

This can't go on! Jack thought. We must find a way to use less energy.

It wasn't just the sides and flank. There were monsters above and below them, everywhere the eye could see, pressuring them so hard that they had to give it their all just to stay afloat. Naturally, they wouldn't last long like this.

Jack looked back, trying to find a solution, and crossed eyes with Gan Salin. The canine smiled brightly like he'd been waiting for this moment. He reached to his belt and recovered the old, steady rope he'd taken from the mossy palace, giving it a couple test tugs.

At the time, Jack had thought Salin was joking. As it turns out, he might have had a point.

I can't believe this, Jack thought, reaching out. Salin gave him the rope. Jack let the canine hold off the monsters for a moment as he looked for a suitable target.

There. Right below them was a rhinoceros-like space monster. A King. However, being a King also meant that the other monsters gave it a wide berth. It was perfect.

Jack dived down, using a series of Meteor Punches to approach the rhino. He quickly passed the rope around one of its horns.

It was surreal.

The rhino ignored him, not even bothering with his small existence. Every other monster was running away, filling the rhino with urgency.

Jack's rope was now tied around the rhino's horn. He gave it a tug to make sure there was no problem. The rhino, bursting with strength as it was, didn't even slow down. He gestured at his friends, who rushed to join him, letting two monsters clash where they used to float.

Jack was holding onto the rope for dear life. There was barely enough space for the three of them—at least, Brock was holding onto Jack's back.

Finally, however, they were somewhat safe. No monsters would attack the rhino, even by accident, and there were no other Kings around. Moreover, it didn't seem to mind giving them a ride. For now, they could take a breather.

Which let Jack gaze ahead, where the horde was headed. He saw poor cultivators rushing to reach a bubble before the wall of space monsters reached them first. He saw a bubble swept to the side, pushed along by all the monsters behind it. Two cultivators were inside, pale-faced and shaking like leaves—one was the lizard-riding man from Village Ring.

Looking into the distance—and shielding his eyes from the sun mushrooms—Jack saw another bubble in their immediate path. It was a sandy coast.

Suddenly, three cultivators jumped up from the coast, voluntarily exiting their bubble. It was like they hadn't noticed the approaching super horde. Jack prayed for their poor, stupid souls.

Then, those cultivators started running in parallel with the horde, but slightly slower. They let the horde approach them and slowly merged into it, matching the speed of the frontrunners. Coincidentally, they happened to arrive very close to Jack's team. He, Brock, and Gan Salin were staring like they'd seen a ghost.

One of the new cultivators erupted with lightning, charring a monster in front of him and making room for his team to dash. Another swung a mallet larger than her torso, smashing it into the void, expelling Dao from its business end, and propelling the entire team forward. The third member just watched, content to be carried around by the other two.

In the blink of an eye, this new team of cultivators reached Jack's rhino and flew beside it.

Long time no see, Jack, said the Sage telepathically, with a full smile that showed off his yellow teeth. Care to share the ride?

BREAK

BREAK

Jack couldn't believe his eyes. Here, hovering in the middle of a super horde in Trial Planet's Space Ring, was the Sage.

What the hell?

"You aren't even going to say hello?" the Sage said again, with a small smile. His telepathy was coming in handy.

"Hello," Jack responded numbly.

The Sage looked almost exactly as Jack remembered him. Tattered clothes, dirty hair, and an equally dirty brown backpack on his shoulders.

However, there was something more this time. A feeling Jack couldn't put into words, like their two souls were faintly resonating. He had never sensed something like this before. It was highly peculiar.

Judging by the Sage's slightly narrowed eyes and discreetly puzzled expression, he must have felt the same. He seemed equally perplexed—or, perhaps, it was all in Jack's mind. He looked behind the Sage, to find Dorman Whistles.

The young man had changed a lot. He held two pitch-black daggers with bright blue streaks, like they'd been struck by lightning. His slanted eyes were focused and serious, piercing, inspecting Jack with mild surprise.

Jack scanned them both, starting from the Sage.

Human (Earth-387), Level 100

Faction: Barren High (C-Grade)

Title: Planetary Torchbearer (10)

Human (Earth-387), Level 107

Faction: Barren High (C-Grade)

Title: Planetary Torchbearer (10)

The third member of their team was a djinn. However, she wasn't a merchant, like Ar'Tazul or Ar'Karvahul. She wielded a mallet whose business end was larger than her torso, and her dark hair were caught in twin ponytails that highlighted her blue skin and strong, brown eyes.

Djinn, Level 124

Faction: Barren High (C-Grade)

"What are you doing here?" Jack asked through the Sage's telepathic connection. He didn't even know whether to feel joy or caution. These guys were part of Barren High now? What had they been up to since he left Earth? What was happening back on his home planet?

"Exploring!" the Sage replied, his smile bright. "But perhaps our talk should wait until we're in a safer place?"

Jack remembered they were riding a rhino-shaped space monster at the head of a super horde. He looked around, finding Gan Salin stunned, but also amused. If the Sage and Dorman wondered why Jack and Gan Salin were traveling together, they didn't show it.

Maybe they knew already. The Sage was, well, a sage, whose prophecies had come true multiple times.

Come to think of it, didn't they jump into the horde to find us?

Jack gave a thumbs-up to Salin and Nauja, informing them that these people were allies, then turned back to the Sage. "Lead the way."

The Sage's smile widened. "Sharp as ever. Follow me."

He let the rope go. So did Jack and everyone else. The rhino under their feet immediately began to move away.

Then, the Sage dove down. Dorman, the djinn, and Jack followed without losing a beat. Salin and Nauja hesitated for a single moment before moving along. Brock was on Jack's back.

They were heading directly towards the arachnoid monster from before. Just before they arrived, a reindeer-looking monster rammed into the arachnoid from behind, sending them both careening forward. The Sage calmly slipped into the gap like he'd expected this to happen.

For the next few minutes, he led them slowly but steadily out of the horde. To anyone else, this task would be near impossible. The Sage made it seem effortless.

At times, he would dive into certain death, only for whatever monster was in his way to randomly move aside. Other times, he would stand still like waiting for his bus. Then, when the timing was right, he would dash into the monsters, which miraculously formed a path for him to cross.

The rest of them followed quickly, afraid of being too far behind.

The seemingly impenetrable, stampeding horde of space monsters was nothing before the Sage's predictive powers. Before long, they had escaped the dense head of the horde and were at the outskirts, where the space monsters were sparser and individually weaker. The Sage led them through convoluted paths in the void before approaching a bubble. It contained only a large disc of bare stone with a bit of moss on its underside, and it was far enough from the center of the horde that the monsters had time to go around it, not sweeping it along.

They all dove fluidly into the bubble, reaching safety, then watched the monsters gallop all around them.

It was a breathtaking spectacle. Hundreds of space monsters ran together, sweeping bubbles and cultivators alike without a care in the world. Not everyone had a Sage to help them. Any cultivators caught in the horde, even at its outskirts, had no choice but to go with the flow, rapidly retreating towards the outer wall of Space Ring, from where they would have to make their way back to the inner wall—if they survived. It was a huge setback.

Even Lords had to give way to the horde. In a bubble far, far away, Longsword was huddled together with his team, letting the storm pass. Priya, the Exploding Sun Lady, was caught mid-space by the horde's outskirts. She took the head-on approach. Suns blossomed on her hands, detonating space monsters by the dozens. The fat man beside her used large, golden palms to split the monsters as a rock may split the waves, while the third person in their group, a captivating woman with long hair, simply held up a palm at the approaching monsters, and they wordlessly curved past.

In a distant place of Space Ring, the horde was stopped by a group of beasts, each summoned by the Hand of God Lady. A wall of darkness rose next to the beasts, swallowing any space monster stupid enough to enter.

Gradually, the horde turned from a raging river into a tame stream, then a trickle, before eventually abating. It was past them now. All they could see was the monsters' receding backs as they dashed toward the outer wall of Space Ring. Upon reaching that wall, they would break like the tide on a beach. Only then would they realize there was no danger behind them and slowly return to their original spots, signaling the end of the super horde that had upsetted at least a third of Space Ring.

A breathtaking, unique phenomenon.

However, Jack had more to consider than the super horde. He turned his gaze away, meeting the Sage's calm eyes. Everyone removed their helmets.

"I'm a good guy now," Salin said quickly. "Please don't try to kill me again."

Dorman raised a brow. "Be quiet, dog." Clearly, he still held a grudge.

Nauja's hand reached for her bow. "Careful how you speak to my friends, boy."

Instantly, the two groups of three were facing off, tension brewing.

"Calm down, everyone," Jack said, raising his hands. "We're all friends here. No need to argue."

"Take it easy, Dorman," the Sage added, pointedly glancing at the young man. Dorman nodded, crossing his arms. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Jack. Gan Salin."

"Likewise. And thank you for helping us with the horde. What are you doing here?"

"Adventuring, of course! We are promising members of Barren High now. How could we miss the Garden Assault?"

"Jack," Nauja said, "care to introduce us?"

"Of course. I was just so surprised I forgot about it. Nauja, these people are the Sage and Dorman, friends from my home planet. Guys, this is Nauja, an ally from the Barbarian Ring."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Nauja," the Sage said softly, beaming at her. "We have great respect for the natives of Trial Planet. Meeting you here is an honor."

She seemed taken aback. "Thanks," she replied simply.

"And this is Poppy," the Sage introduced the last member of their team, the djinn. "She is the star disciple of Barren High, focusing fully on battle."

Poppy, blue and barely four feet in height, nodded.

"Introductions done," Jack said again, "what have you guys been up to? Last time we met, the Animal Kingdom was trying to kill us all."

"Nothing much. Certainly less than you," the Sage replied, laughing charmingly. "We left Earth-387 shortly after you, recruited into Barren High on the recommendation of my master. We trained there for some days before taking the opportunity to join this Garden Assault. What about you?"

"I disguised myself, boarded a starship heading to the Belarian Outpost, then was assaulted midway by the Animal Kingdom's Hounds. Thanks to Gan Salin, I somehow escaped and made it to Trial Planet. One crazy adventure led to another, and here I am."

The Sage burst out laughing. "Classic Jack. I knew we'd find you here, of course, but I still feel great joy to see you safe and sound."

Jack smiled, though it didn't reach his ears. His relationship with the Sage was complicated. Not only did he owe the prophet several favors from their time on Earth, but the Sage had also revealed that he belonged to Black Hole Church, the galaxy-wide terrorist organization. They were laughing and greeting each other now, but there was an entire layer of communication that went unspoken.

Was Barren High, the highly prestigious prophetic faction that not even the Animal Kingdom dared to offend, involved with the Black Hole Church? Would the Sage try to cash in any of Jack's favors on behalf of the Church?

Finally, the question Jack chose to ask was this: "Do you know what's happening on Earth?"

The professor was there. So were Edgar, Vivi, Harambe, and everyone else. He had no way of knowing anything before he got a hundred million credits to buy the telepathy function for his faction, but he was always worried.

"I don't know much, I'm afraid," the Sage replied, shaking his head. "The Bare Fist Brotherhood and Flame River are currently at war against Ice Peak. Everyone is working hard to clear the planet's F-Grade dungeons and get ahead in power while sabotaging the enemy. The conflict isn't at the point of all-out battle yet, but true war could break out at any moment."

"I see."

The Forest of the Strong would be safe, no matter what. Sparman was guarding it, and he had the power of the D-Grade. There was no way anyone on Earth could combat him.

Jack wanted to know more, but this was all he would get. Therefore, he refocused on the present. The Sage had sought him out—for a reason.

"And what brings you here, Sage?" Jack asked directly.

"Ah, straight to the point. Is it alright with you if we speak privately?"

Jack glanced behind him. "Of course."

He followed the Sage to the other side of the stone disc that made up this bubble biome. Dorman also came along. So did Brock.

On the way, Jack still sensed that peculiar resonance with the Sage, something originating from deep inside his soul. It was faint enough to be just his impression, but also solid enough to be real.

How odd.

"Allow me to be forward with you, Jack," the Sage said, turning around when they reached the other side. He kept his voice low so the ones left behind—Nauja, Salin, and Poppy—couldn't hear. "I want to invite you into the Black Hole Church."

BREAK

BREAK

Jack didn't respond right away. He savored the words. "Invite me into Black Hole Church?"

"Yes," the Sage replied. "You already know I'm part of it—though I hope you've kept this information safe. Dorman is one of us, too, as are many people across the galaxy. And we want you."

To the side, Dorman nodded.

"Isn't the Black Hole Church a terrorist organization?" Jack asked, crossing his arms.

"That's what the Hand of God says. In truth, we are the good side here."

"How so?"

The Sage smiled. "Because the galaxy—and the wider universe—is a palace of oppression. The offspring of misunderstanding, built on a foundation of irreversible disaster. We fight against the tyrants, hence we are deemed criminals."

"That's a lot of words to make no sense."

The Sage burst out laughing. Jack reminded himself that, despite his appearance, this was a deeply charismatic man. He had to keep his guard up.

"What do you know about the Immortals, Jack?" the Sage finally asked.

"Not much. I know they made the System and were robots created by the Ancients." Nauja had told him as much in the Forbidden Cave.

"Correct. Why did they create the System?"

"To defend against the Old Ones."

"In more detail?"

Jack frowned. He felt like he was tested in school, but gave the Sage the benefit of the doubt. "The Old Ones destroyed the Ancients. In revenge, the Immortals created the System to start a crusade and push them off."

"Aha," the Sage said calmly. "You do know some things. That's good; means I don't have to overload you with information. But not everything is as you've heard."

Jack raised a brow. "Oh?"

"I will explain. However, I am limited in what I can reveal unless you join us, so please bear with me."

"I'll try."

"History, you see, is written by the victors. Many times, the truth is twisted… There were three main groups once: the Old Ones, the Ancients, and the Immortals. After the Ancients were destroyed—which wasn't as simple as you may think—the Immortals indeed created the System and eventually launched a crusade against the Old Gods, pushing them to the fringes of the universe, outside System territory. However, the Crusade did not manage to kill a single Old God.

"You must remember, now, that the Immortals were created for the sole purpose of defeating the Old Gods. That was their core directive, and it remains so until today. As a result, their System is a menace to the world. You have felt its malice first-hand; it pits all living creatures against each other, uncaring about the number of sacrifices and mountains of pain. Its only purpose is to create strong soldiers against the Old Gods—and damned be everything else. That is quite the terrible ruler, wouldn't you agree?"

Jack considered it for a moment. "This makes sense."

After all, he had seen how the Integration worked. It was a meat grinder that killed a billion people to create one strong immortal. So far, everything the Sage had said was in line with what Jack knew.

"I'm glad," the Sage continued. "For some people, that is fine. But not for us. The Black Hole Church is an organization created to dismantle the System, slay the Immortals, and restore peace in the universe. This perpetual war we are embroiled in is a remnant of the Immortals' programming, which is stuck now, since the Ancients are gone. Someone needs to put them down."

"Hmm." Jack narrowed his eyes. "But the System is meant to protect us from the Old Ones, right? The gods you worship. If the System falls, won't the Old Ones, I don't know, annihilate us as they did the Ancients?"

The Sage's face wrinkled into a sad, bitter smile. "As I said, that was not as simple as you believe. The Immortals have twisted history to their benefit. I cannot reveal much yet, but believe me when I say the Old Gods mean us no harm—or, at least, any harm they inadvertently cause us will be far less than what the System does on a daily basis. Between the Immortals and the Old Gods, the latter would be far kinder rulers—if they even bothered."

"Hmm. I don't know. You base a lot of things on stuff you don't tell me."

"That's why I warned you. Unfortunately, I cannot explain fully. I do not expect you to believe me today. I am just planting the seeds of true knowledge in you because I believe you are a man of integrity. If you keep what I told you in mind, you will eventually discover clues that I speak the truth."

"Then, you are considered terrorists because everyone else obeys the System? Why would they do that, if it's so evil?"

"Because they have power. The harsher a system, the kinder it is to those at the top."

"Hmm. Okay. You still haven't explained why you worship the Old Ones. From what you said, even if they aren't evil, they are neutral at best, right?"

"Right. But we don't worship all Old Gods. We worship Enas. The God trapped in the black hole. He is the one who views us mortals kindly and helps us. He is the one who harbors deep hatred for the Immortals and what they've done; if He is ever released from his prison, He will march with us. His power will twist the System and give us the strength to fight the Immortals on equal ground. Without him, our war is a lost cause. Their armies are simply too powerful."

"So you want to release an Old One from his eternal prison."

"Right."

"You know how that sounds. It's sketchy as fuck."

"I am aware. As I said, I do not expect you to simply trust my words. After you leave Trial Planet, travel a bit. Ask around. See what horrors the System has inflicted on all worlds, and try to find proof of the Black Hole Church's purported evil. They accuse us of things we have not done to twist the world against us, but all their supposed evidence crumbles before the wise eye. It is only meant to trick the naive and foolish."

"...Okay. So you guys want to dismantle the System, which is an evil thing imposed on the world by unfeeling robot overlords. And to do so, you want to release a kind god from his eternal prison, where all the other neutral gods unjustly placed him?"

The Sage smiled. "Precisely!"

"Listen, man. I know you are trying really hard to make sense, but this all sounds very questionable to me. I don't really distrust you, and I won't reveal what you told me to others, but you understand my hesitation, right?"

"Of course. Take as much time as you like. If you ever find yourself agreeing with us, our doors will be open."

Jack nodded. "Is that all you had to say?"

"More or less. I will be eagerly awaiting your response. In the meantime, we can help each other. Trial Planet is a dangerous place—and the greatest danger is other cultivators. If the opportunity arises, let's save each other."

"Wouldn't you know already, Sage?"

"Hah. My eyes are not what you believe, boy."

"Fair enough." Jack chuckled.

"So. Any last questions before we head over?"

Jack thought about it. He looked to the side, where Dorman stood without a care in the world. He clearly knew about all this beforehand. Brock also waited calmly by Jack's feet, trusting his big bro to parse through all the complex information.

As for Salin and Nauja, they were conversing with Poppy at the other side of the disc. Salin was gesturing animatedly, probably explaining something nonsensical.

Jack was dying to ask why the System was hunting down all remains of the Ancients, as had been revealed in the Ancient ruins. Even if everything the Sage had just said was true, it still didn't make any sense. Unfortunately, asking that meant revealing his connection to the ruins, and that wasn't a risk he was willing to take.

At the very least, he knew there were secrets. Things were not as they seemed. Maybe they weren't as the Sage said, either, but at least Jack knew there was more than met the eye…somewhere.

"Just one question," he finally said. "What's the deal with you, Sage? You were in cahoots with the Church since very early on, weren't you? They were the ones who fed you information about the Integration Auction. There's no way you prophesied everything at the F-Grade."

The Sage simply smiled, not revealing anything. Jack continued.

"You never told us about your Integration experience, either. I suppose they helped you. But why? How did you reach them—or they reached you—so early on? Was it dumb luck? Did their starship land next to the bench you were sleeping on? But, if you were a random person off the streets they picked to train, how did you become strong enough to fight on par with the rest of us? Why do you have such an odd, powerful Dao? There are so many coincidences surrounding you, Sage, and I know nothing about you. Not even your real name."

The Sage smiled like there was a joke only he could see. "If I had a name once, it is now void. All I am is the Sage. As for how everything happened…" He winked. "I cannot reveal it yet. If you join us, then I will tell you."

"Heh. Are you saying it's a deeper secret than what you already revealed?"

"What I revealed was a history lesson. You cannot act on it. On my story, perhaps you could. No need to take chances."

"I guess." Jack chuckled. From the very first time they met, the Sage had been a walking enigma. Now, even after growing tremendously and reaching the Space Ring of Trial Planet, Jack was stunned to realize that this man was even more enigmatic.

He was very curious to know the truth—but not enough to join an organization he knew next to nothing about based on an outlandish conspiracy theory.

"I appreciate the offer," Jack said. "I promise to think about it."

The Sage clapped. "Good! Now, let's head back. I sense that Poppy is about to turn our canine friend into dog paste."

They quickly returned to the others. As the Sage had said, Poppy—the twin-pigtailed djinn with the large mallet—was glaring at Gan Salin with her arms crossed. The canine, on the other hand, insisted on explaining why painting herself green would be better than blue.

"It's camouflage!" he protested, opening his arms wide. "Picture this: You can hide in forests, in swamps, in the defecations of someone who ate too much spinach. Where can you hide if you're blue? The sky? You are not a bird. The sea? You are not a fish. Clearly, being green is the better choice."

"I will not paint myself." Poppy's voice was high-pitched, like a child's.

"But why? If you just—"

"Salin," Jack cut him off, laughing. "Let the poor girl alone. Nobody will paint themselves for you."

"I— Bah. Fine. But when you're in a forest and have nowhere to hide, don't say I didn't warn you."

Poppy narrowed her eyes. "I won't say that."

"Are you guys done chatting?" Nauja said, stepping up to Jack's approaching group. "If so, we have a ring to explore. Trials to find."

"I have a suggestion about that," the Sage said. "I sense you already found a Trial for…at least one of you. Brock, right?"

Brock nodded before anyone could stop him.

"The fates of the rest of you do not lie in Space Ring. Labyrinth Ring and Garden Ring hold greater trials than here, and I predict that all three of you"—he pointed at Jack, Nauja, and Gan Salin—"will find something there. Don't waste your time searching the stars. Reaching Labyrinth Ring before the Lords holds far greater value."

Jack considered it silently. Trials aside, this was a great place for leveling up…but he couldn't just focus on that. Fighting the same enemies repeatedly would only stunt his growth. He had to keep exploring and delving ever deeper, reaping as many levels as he could in the process without slowing down.

Ever forward. That was the way of the fist, and the way of cultivation.

Nauja frowned at the Sage. "Are you saying we should forget about all the Trials here?"

"To find something better later. Remember: No Trial at all is better than a bad Trial. You should take the best you can."

She bit her lip in thought—a habit she probably didn't notice. She turned to Jack. "Can we trust him?" she asked directly, not caring about insulting the Sage.

Jack tilted his head to the side. "He did just help us. If the horde dragged us to the far wall, we'd need several days to make it back here. Plus…we're old friends. I trust his prophecies."

"Then, fine. Let's do as he says and go directly to Labyrinth Ring. What do you think, Salin?"

Gan Salin jolted up, surprised she considered him. "Sure," he said. "Let's go where it's most fun."

"It's not like there's much left to see here." Jack shrugged. He turned to the Sage. "I presume we'll travel together in the next ring?"

"Not quite."

Jack raised a brow. "No?"

The Sage laughed. "We can go to the next ring together. But the Labyrinth Ring is a peculiar one. Everyone is split up as we enter, so there is no guarantee we can find each other. Let everyone pursue their own luck, and we can meet again when the Garden Assault fights the labyrinth guardian. And don't worry—you and Brock are considered spiritually bound, so you'll probably go together."

"Oh," Jack said. "I didn't know that. Then, sure. Have you also completed the quests of this ring? To find a Trial and defeat an Elite monster?"

"We have."

"Great. Then, let's go. The Labyrinth Ring awaits."

"Labyring," Salin corrected him. Everyone stared. He crossed his arms and said, "Well, I still find it hilarious!"

BREAK

BREAK

The super horde washed over this side of Space Ring, causing widespread confusion and casualties. Several cultivators were overrun. A few more were swept up by the space monsters but managed to make it out alive. Most were in bubbles when the horde came, or found one in time. Even the Lords mobilized, exerting their fearsome powers to rescue themselves, their teammates, or some of their many followers.

In the end, the horde broke against the far wall, sending disproportionately strong space monsters flying everywhere. It was chaos for a day. When the monsters realized there was no danger, they receded back to the darkness, officially ending the super horde like nothing had happened. The only lasting evidence of this event would be the many bubbles that were swept by the horde into the outer wall, ripe for the taking and easy to access.

As a result, the smartest cultivators spent another day exploring those bubbles, hoping to find something useful. Unfortunately, not many were from the darkness, but there was still treasure to be found.

All of this was no longer Jack's business. Following the Sage, his team traveled to the nearest light beam and dove into it, piercing the darkness. Given the absence of space monsters and the confused state of cultivators, there was nothing to stop them.

The source of the light beam was as Gan Salin had described. A bowl-shaped rock formation filled to the brim with mushrooms, focusing their light ahead like a powerful headlight.

It was so bright, in fact, that they couldn't stare directly. The last part of their journey was made looking sideways. By the time they reached the base of the light beam, Jack was horrified. The inner wall of Space Ring was just a hundred feet away, behind the light. That was where the strongest monsters of the ring, like the D-Grade kraken, awaited.

He had never been happier to have light.

Their group flew into the base of the light beam until they landed in its center. Most of the brightness instantly dissipated. There was a patch of rock twenty feet across that was empty of mushrooms, letting them finally open their eyes.

Right in the middle of that empty patch stood an iron pedestal.

"What's that?" Jack asked, approaching it.

"The entrance to Labyrinth Ring," the Sage explained.

"It's not a door."

"It's a teleporter."

"A what?"

"A teleporter. Like the big ones you're used to, but far smaller and with shorter range."

"Wow…"

Jack wasn't even that surprised. After Space Ring, with its bubbles floating in space and the hordes of space monsters, simple teleportation devices sounded almost homely.

"Any last things to say?" Jack asked. "You know, something to warn us about, or what we should do in the labyrinth?'

The Sage cupped his chin. "Hmm. There are monsters, obviously. Strong ones. This is the last hostile ring of Trial Planet, so the challenge is hard enough that even Lords may fall—if they are careless. Besides that, the labyrinth contains dungeons, which contain trials."

"Dungeons, huh? That brings back memories…"

"Be careful, though. These ones are designed to challenge people who have made it this far. They're far nastier than the ones on Earth."

"But they contain great rewards!" Gan Salin spoke up. "One of my ancestors got his Berserker's Axe here, and I hear that even one of my faction's B-Grades once found their luck in Labyrinth Ring."

"With danger comes opportunity." Jack nodded. "I know the concept."

"Then, there isn't much else to talk about," the Sage spoke again. "We will be split up as soon as we touch that pedestal. Challenge a dungeon if you're up for it, or avoid the monsters if you aren't. Ally with anyone you find—getting through the labyrinth alone is dangerous. And remember to follow the colors—the darker the walls, the deeper in the labyrinth you are. Let's all reconvene at the guardian's gate."

"Wait." Jack raised a hand. "You said to ally with anyone we found. But before, you said we should hurry to get here before the Garden Assault does. Who are we supposed to ally with? Each other?"

"The labyrinth is large enough that we probably won't find each other. But don't worry. The Garden Assault isn't as united as you think. There are benefits to entering the labyrinth quickly, so there will be plenty of cultivators already inside. The reason we enter quickly is that, right now, those people will also be desperately looking for allies. If the entire Garden Assault enters, your group will be ostracized."

"Hmm. Okay, then. Let's say our goodbyes and get going."

"Of course. We'll go first."

The Sage, Dorman, and their djinn ally, Poppy, simply walked up to the pedestal and touched it. No goodbyes, no kind words, no nothing. In the next moment, they simply vanished.

"...I bet they have a way to find each other," Nauja said.

"If they do, good for them. They weren't obligated to share."

"Maybe they're just crazy," Salin tried.

Jack laughed. Then, he gave his friends a warm look. "Listen, guys. We are all strong now. We may be split up in there, but I believe we'll all pull through. Just focus on staying alive. We'll meet again at the end of the ring."

"You silly bastard," the canine said with a big smile. "I'm not strong. I'll probably die."

"You're inventive and decisive. I believe you'll make it."

Salin giggled. "Well, if I was afraid, I would have teleported out at the ring entrance, wouldn't I?"

Space Ring was one of Trial Planet's exit points. If one scoured the outer wall, there were many teleporters leading outside the planet. Many people rushed there as soon as they got the Fourth Ring Conqueror title. Salin, even with his relative weakness, never even considered it.

"I will try my best. If I die, I die," Nauja said, her head held high. "That is the barbarian way."

Jack chuckled. "And so will I."

"I don't worry about you. With your strength, you can easily protect yourself—and Brock, since you'll probably be together."

"You heard what the Sage said. Even Lords can fall in this ring, if they aren't careful, and I'm no Lord." He smashed his fists together. "But I sure as hell don't intend to fail. If there are monsters, I'll just get a few more levels."

Salin laughed. "Ah, there's the Jack we all know and love. Always ready to punch stuff. Anyway, this sentimental stuff makes me feel awkward. Wanna go?"

The four of them exchanged a look, knowing it was possibly the last time they saw each other. "Let's," Jack and Nauja said together.

"Yes," Brock agreed. "Bros."

Jack cracked a bitter smile. "Bros," he agreed. Everyone else repeated the word, too. Gan Salin wrapped them all up in a group hug. They laughed.

"See you," Jack said. All four of them touched their hands to the pedestal at the same time. With a violent tug through space, they disappeared.

Jack stumbled from the middle of inter-space void onto a stone floor. It was a corridor of brown, dusty stone, with a height and width of nine feet. It instantly felt claustrophobic.

The air was stuffy. The corridor turned sharply to the front and back of Jack, at ninety-degree angles, and lit torches hung intermittently on the walls, dense enough to illuminate the labyrinth but sparse enough to leave deep shadows between them.

Jack's eyes surveyed everything instantly—mostly because there wasn't much to see. He chuckled. "Holy shit, Brock," he said. "This place is—"

And then his heart dropped, because Brock wasn't there.

Edgar watched Vivi pace through his room with purpose. Her steps were solid, her entire body exuding authority, confidence.

He, on the other hand, was just sitting on a chair with his arms crossed. "I appreciate you giving the leadership of the alliance to the professor," he said, "but if you think that's going to change my mind, you're mistaken."

"It's not a bribe," Vivi retorted, frowning. "I am fit to lead from the front, and she is fit to lead from the back. That's all there is to it."

"I understand."

"Then—"

"No." He shook his head. "I am not fighting."

He expected her to argue fiercely. In truth, his heart had been aching all this time, and his enhanced brain had already ran a hundred scenarios for how this conversation might unfold.

To his horror, Vivi chose the path he feared most. She sighed.

"I understand how you feel, Edgar. And you are right. You have already contributed greatly to our cause, both during and after the Tournament. If you don't want to fight, I cannot force you." Another sigh. She plopped into a second chair, ignoring the neat stacks of paper piled around her. "But Edgar… We are dying."

He wanted to interrupt and say something. The more he let her go on, the more right she would be. He didn't want her to be right. Fighting a war, using his magic to inflict harm on others, would break his heart into a hundred pieces.

It would be nothing like the Integration Tournament.

But he found nothing to say. Not fast enough.

"Just yesterday, the Ice Peak assaulted my headquarters in Ouagadougou while I was away. They killed my citizens and soldiers. They decreased our battle power, crumbled our morale, and tore a wound into our flesh."

Edgar flinched. She didn't have to be so vivid. His high intelligence pictured the scene, the mutilated corpses, the stench of war, the screams. It came as natural as visualizing his magic. He couldn't stop it.

"That all happened because I was away," Vivi continued. "The Ice Peak has me in a headlock. If I stay in my headquarters, my people will be fighting a losing battle in the dungeons. If I go with them, my headquarters will be vulnerable. There is nothing I can do before one of my lieutenants gets strong enough to hold the fort, and that could take a long, long time. They don't have the titles we do. They aren't planetary frontrunners."

Edgar gritted his teeth. "Evacuate everyone," he said. "Bring them here. We have Sparman. He—"

"You already know that's impossible. Why suggest it?" Her gaze was piercing. "I could evacuate my elites, but that would mean leaving everyone else to Petrovic and the Animal Kingdom's mercy—a quality they lack."

"You can—"

"I can do nothing." She shook her head, and the pain in her voice made him unable to retort. "We cannot win this war without you, Edgar. I know how difficult it is for you to fight. I know how desperately you don't want it. I know, because I am also a Mental cultivator. I feel every scrap of pain I cause. I am aware of every mother crying because I killed her son. But Edgar, I cannot let that stop me. If I don't fight, my people will die. It will be their mothers crying. My mother. I am carving up my soul to save the ones who believe in me, and I implore you to do the same. When everything is over, half the people will be dead. You get to choose whether it will be me, you, Margaret, Harambe, everyone you've ever known and loved…or the enemy, who sold out our planet to the Animal Kingdom to save themselves."

She stood up, letting her flame-painted cape flutter in the small room. Edgar saw she was upset. He saw her tight jaw, her narrowed eyes. Her calm voice was only a facade. On the inside, she was burning.

Her words came from her soul. How could he possibly retort?

Vivi approached the open window and grabbed its case. "What I'm trying to say, Edgar," she said, placing one foot on the window sill, "is that you have the choice to protect your friends or let them die. You cannot avoid it. Sitting idle is also a choice. And I expect you to make the right one."

She jumped out, not looking back. Edgar saw her body fall from the second story, then rise back up, carried by flame wings. He watched until she disappeared in the horizon, not speaking to anyone else.

She left him miserable. His heart was about to break in half. His soul was in deep pain.

He understood what she was saying. But his Dao… It wasn't one of battle. It was magic. Beauty, wonder, dreams. It was supposed to be a breathtaking "wow," an escape, what he felt as a child reading his favorite book. Using it to cause harm wouldn't just pain him deeply; it would injure his Dao, dilute it, stain it, refuse it.

He had only understood this after the Integration Tournament, when he finally had time to look deep inside himself. Back then, he had just been doing what others told him to, even if he hated it. Now, he understood that battle was not his path. And yet…

Why does it have to be me? he lamented, burying his face in his palms. Why is the world like this?

Who knew that so much beauty could bring so much pain?

He loved magic. If there was no war going on, he would be the happiest man in the world. It's all he ever wanted.

But there was a war going on. He had to make a choice. And, between the bubbling pressure inside him and the terrifying pressure from outside, Edgar felt crushed.

But from the pressure came a spark. And the world opened its eyes. And Edgar sunk into his soul, meeting the breathtaking, wonderful, indescribably beautiful essence that was magic.

His breakthrough began.

BREAK

BREAK

The labyrinth contained a whole lot of nothing. Torch-lit corridors as far as the eye could see. Turns after turns after twists and bends. Dead ends. Brown stone in all directions. Forks and intersections every two minutes.

It was driving Jack mad. Even his newest title didn't help.

Congratulations! Title "Fifth Ring Conqueror" upgraded to "Sixth Ring Conqueror!"

Efficacy of all stats: +25% → +30%

Labyrinth Ring Quest:

Defeat the Guardian.

Make your way to Garden Ring.

However, what drove him even madder than the labyrinth itself was worry.

Brock is somewhere out there… Without me. Jack's heart was strangled by black snakes as he ran, making turns and bends and twists. Please be okay. Please be okay.

The labyrinth wasn't supposed to split the two of them. They were bound spiritually. Even teleportation worked on both at the same time. So why?

Jack didn't know. All he could do was endure his fear and run, hoping to catch a sound, any sound, so he could follow it. Alas, all he heard was his own footsteps, endlessly stomping against the stone.

"BROCK!" he shouted. So what if there were monsters in the labyrinth? By now, he could take most of them. Even if an Elite showed up, he could activate his Life Drop and hope for the best. It might draw even stronger things at him, but nothing he could do about that. If there was a God, the labyrinth monsters would lack the space monsters' acute Dao perception.

And if a King showed up…

Well, Jack had to risk it. Brock wasn't even at the E-Grade. If any monster noticed him, he was instantly dead.

Name: Jack Rust

Species: Human, Earth-387

Faction: Bare Fist Brotherhood (E)

Grade: E

Class: Fiend of the Iron Fist (Elite)

Level: 93

Strength: 370

Dexterity: 370

Constitution: 370

Mental: 50

Will: 80

Skills: Ghost Step I

Dao Skills: Indomitable Body III, Meteor Punch II, Iron Fist Style II, Brutalizing Aura I

Daos: Perfect Dao Seed of the Fist (late), Dao Root of Indomitable Will (fused), Dao Root of Life (fused), Dao Root of Power

Titles: Planetary Frontrunner (10), Planetary Torchbearer (1), Sixth Ring Conqueror

Trial Planet had been kind to Jack. Fruitful. His Level had risen meteorically, reaching almost the high E-Grade, and his skills and Dao Roots had vastly increased in potency.

Unfortunately, there was nothing in that status screen to help him locate Brock.

How big could the Labyrinth be?

Surely, not too much. This was the seventh ring already. They had to be pretty close to the planet's core.

If every ring is around a hundred miles wide, and there are two rings under me, I'm at a radius of two hundred miles. The surface of such a sphere…

Jack did some quick calculations, and the result made him pale. Five hundred thousand square miles!? That can't be right…

From what he understood, there was only one Guardian. The labyrinth had to be small enough that the cultivators could walk there no matter which entrance they used.

Maybe the rings get smaller. Maybe I'm in a radius of… What's the best case? Ten miles?

Even ten miles came up to a surface area of over a thousand square miles. There had to be something better. There was no way people were expected to travel a thousand miles through such crampy, winding stone corridors. They would die of thirst before even reaching the guardian.

Regardless, Jack's result was that the labyrinth was large. Perhaps not as unfathomably large as he calculated it, but still highly expansive. Finding Brock here would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Jack's heart dropped as his steps slowed down. Where even am I? he wondered, looking around. Darker walls lead to the guardian. Got it.

Maybe Brock would run into other cultivators and manage to ally with them. All Jack could do was travel to the meeting point—the guardian—and hope for the best, while mentally berating himself all the while.

Harambe trusted me with his own son, and I went and lost him. Idiot.

Jack's mood was at an all time low. He itched to bury his fist into a wall, and he would have, if he wasn't afraid of the corridor collapsing on his head.

Which is why he was pleasantly surprised to see a monster round the corner.

It was an abomination. Like two skeletons spun together, a monster of twisting bone and scrawny limbs. It had a vaguely humanoid shape, except its entire body was bleached white and made of bones twisted around each other like a beanstalk.

Bone Sentinel, Level 124

A creature made to endlessly wander the Labyrinth Ring's corridors and fight intruders. It possesses low Mental and Will attributes, as well as low speed, but outstanding strength and durability. When a Bone Sentinel slays an enemy, it either absorbs their skeleton into its own or raises the skeleton as a new Bone Sentinel. Therefore, their numbers are self-replenishing.

Knowing that defeat would let this monster spin his own skeleton into a monster didn't at all abate Jack's fighting spirit.

"Come here, fucker," he said, cracking his knuckles. "I will break all your bones and feed them to you."

If the Bone Sentinel understood his words, it didn't show it. Instead, it charged forth, raising two hands tipped with sharpened bone claws. A thick white tail followed it around the corner, lined with teeth and ending in a human skull.

Jack let it approach. After facing Copy Jack and Bocor, its movements seemed telegraphed. When it got within nine feet, he crouched into a stance, ghost-stepped into its guard, and smashed his fist right into its chest, exploding as a Meteor Punch.

He felt bone shatter under his knuckles. The monster's body caved under the strike. The explosion carried on inside its body, shattering its innards and sending shards of bone flying out of the wound.

Still, the monster held. As it exploded backward, its tail slithered pastJack and raked his thigh, carving a bone-deep wound with the skull's teeth. Jack grimaced. However, this pain was nothing compared to the Ancient trial.

He charged, catching up with the monster before it even hit the far wall, and smashed out another Meteor Punch. It tried to block. Its crossed arms protected its chest, a grotesque sight of twisted bone that made Jack's stomach lurch, but it was unable to block his full-power strike.

Bone shattered. The walls shook as the monster crashed into them, leaving a finger-deep impression on the stone, then collapsed in a broken heap.

Level up! You have reached Level 94.

Jack stood over it, panting. He had received another slash to the ribs as he obliterated the monster, but nothing too deep. He could already sense his regenerative powers stitching his skin together, regrowing his muscles and tendons.

It was pretty disturbing, actually.

As he observed the broken monster, his fear for Brock intensified. These things would cut the brorilla into ribbons. If the labyrinth was filled with them…

I need to keep moving, he thought.

Endless corridors after endless corridors. Jack didn't know if he was moving in the right direction. The walls were supposed to darken as one approached the guardian, but he couldn't spot any difference. Was he just moving in circles?

At the next fork, he tried to turn by ninety degrees and keep going as straight as possible. After a while, the walls got just a touch darker. Or maybe it was just his impression.

Hours passed.

Throughout the journey, Jack discovered a few interesting things. There were crab monsters patrolling the corridors—little blue things that reached up to his knee. However, they were weak. Far too weak to challenge anyone with the ability to make it here. And they skittered away whenever they saw him.

Why?

Stone-eater Crab, Level 56

Crabs that subsist entirely on stone, which their unique digestion system can metabolize into water and nutrition. For that reason, they are often found deep beneath the earth, living in large communities that, over centuries, hollow out rock formations.

Jack failed to see what a stone-eating crab added to this labyrinth. Eating the walls? On the bright side, he didn't care, either.

He only ran into one more bone sentinel. The rest of the living creatures he met were all blue crabs, and even those only appeared once every ten minutes, roughly. For the most part, the labyrinth was despondently empty.

That was a good sign. With a little bit of luck and caution, Brock could maybe avoid everything.

However, Jack also hadn't met a single cultivator. He hadn't heard or seen signs of intelligent life. It was like he had his own, private labyrinth.

After defeating a crab—to see if something would happen, but nothing did—he used one of its pincers to carve a capital J on the walls. He then put the crab down and promised not to kill another—they hadn't attacked him, and they were so low-leveled they barely even gave him any experience.

It was one of those times when things randomly came into context. The black wolf he'd fought tooth and nail against at the Forest of the Strong was weaker than these crabs. It was a stunning realization. Sometimes, he just failed to understand how quickly and how far he was progressing.

To the current him, the black wolf would be almost comically slow. To a normal human, these little blue crabs would be fast as lightning. Maybe their little pincers could snap clean through a limb.

Jack didn't know how long he spent alone in the labyrinth. It could have been six hours. It could have been two days. His throat was getting parched—Brock had his supplies—and the walls were slowly, discreetly getting darker. By now, he was pretty sure they were several shades darker than when he first started exploring. He was on the right track.

Wandering became mindless. He simply jogged ahead—at the speed of a pre-System human's sprint—taking one turn after another.

When another cultivator appeared, he almost didn't register them. Then, his eyes widened, and his thoughts screeched to a halt, as did his feet.

"Jack Rust," said the other person. "What a coincidence."

"You have got to be kidding me," said Jack.

BREAK

BREAK

Nauja stumbled into a wall. Still reeling from the aftereffects of teleportation, she leaned on it and looked around.

Deep inside, she was excited. It was finally time to explore alone. To venture on her own power. To prove she was worthy. A primal urge rose inside her, the urge to—

"Oh, hey. Fancy seeing you here."

Nauja's excitement deflated.

"What?" Gan Salin asked again, standing behind her. "Are you not happy to see me?"

"Do you want the honest answer?"

"No. The good one."

"..."

Jack's friend, the Sage, had mentioned they would probably be split up. This was a split. But it was the most annoying one possible.

Nauja sighed. "Let's set some ground rules," she said. "If you speak nonsense, I will cut your tongue off. Okay?"

Salin wasn't even fazed. "Oh, come on. That's clearly a bluff."

"Wanna try me?"

"Sure."

She glared at him. He smiled back radiantly. Eventually, Nauja clicked her tongue and turned around. "Just keep the crazy to a minimum."

"As always."

Finally done with the annoying canine, Nauja turned to the front and inspected the place they were in. Crampy corridors of brown stone. Torches on the walls. No sound besides theirs.

"I think we're alone," she said. It finally occurred that she should keep her voice low. She groaned inwardly. If Father heard her shouting in hostile territory…

No. Mistakes happen. This is why I am here. To learn and train alone.

"How big do you think this place is?" she asked.

"At least two."

"Two what?"

"Two bigs. Square bigs, to be precise. Wait—that's called wides!" He slapped his forehead. "I'm a genius!"

Nauja shut her eyes and took a deep, trembling breath. This was going to feel like an eternity.

Brock found himself in a place of crampy brown corridors. The bends at his front and back were waiting, yawning maws of death just out of sight.

The very first thing he noticed was that he was alone. Everyone was gone. Even Big Bro.

Brock felt a pit in his stomach. He thought he was falling. Next thing he knew, he was leaning on a wall.

Big Bro was gone.

He always knew this day would come. But not now. It couldn't be now. He was trapped in a place where he really shouldn't be. Everything here could kill him instantly. Big Bro protected him. With Big Bro gone…

What would happen to Brock?

The little brorilla gathered himself. He felt the panic rising and extinguished it. He then raised his head and took a long, deep breath, flexing his lung muscles to draw in as much air as possible. It was stuffy and smelled stale—like bad bread.

Then, he forced a massive exhale, relaxing at the same time. His fear remained, but his mind was back.

The wise bro had said Brock and Big Bro would go together. Clearly, that was a mistake. Therefore, Brock had to make do with what he had.

He was trapped and alone. There was no way back. He had to find Big Bro before whatever prowled these corridors found him. What was the best way to go about it?

As a young brorilla, barely a few months old, Brock wasn't the brightest. However, the brain was a muscle. By flexing his Big Thought, he forced himself to think strong, going beyond his natural limits for a moment.

When he stopped, the plan was made.

They had agreed to meet at a place called the guardian's gates. To get there, they had to follow the darkest walls. Brock would head over stealthily. Making noise might draw Big Bro, but monsters were far more likely to be near. After all, if this place was small, it wouldn't be a labyrinth.

If he ran into other people in the meantime, he would join them to protect himself. That was his best shot at staying alive.

Brock opened his eyes and nodded. He had a plan.

Would it succeed? Probably not. Chances were, he would die very quickly. Nobody would ever find his corpse, Big Bro would be very sad, and Father would be disappointed.

But if that happened, so be it. Brock would just do his best.

On the bright side, he had food and water. Since he felt useless, he had volunteered to carry everything. Dog bro and girl bro had taken their shares before entering the labyrinth, but Brock still had Big Bro's share.

The labyrinth was about to face its greatest adversary: a small brorilla wearing red pants, carrying two bags of food and an Ancient artifact called the Staff of Stone.

Squaring his jaw, Brock started walking. Slowly, silently, and ever carefully. He could not afford to relax.

Nauja peered behind a corner. Nothing.

She walked around, motioning for Salin to follow. He did. Silently. The only sounds reaching her ears were their muffled footsteps and the occasional crack as Gan Salin broke off a chunk of bread to gather the crumbs. He was spreading those on the ground behind him.

"Can you stop?" she asked, gritting her teeth.

"I told you, I'm a genius," he whispered back. "Some good people on Jack's planet taught me this. If you are lost, just leave a trail of breadcrumbs behind you."

"How is that helping?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest." He cupped his chin. "Perhaps Jack will get the clue and follow us? It's supposed to help us find our way back, but ah, I don't think we want that."

For the tenth time in half an hour, Nauja resisted the urge to smack him.

"Just break the bread more softly. I almost jump every time."

"Just hear more softly."

She whirled around. "Listen here, you—"

She froze. At the end of the corridor behind Gan Salin stood a white creature of terror. Bleached, entwined bones, the skeleton of a human twisted ten times around itself by a forest giant.

The sense of wrongness brought her to full alert even before the System's screen did.

Bone Sentinel, Level 124

A creature made to endlessly wander the Labyrinth Ring's corridors and fight intruders. It possesses low Mental and Will attributes, as well as low speed, but outstanding durability. When a Bone Sentinel slays an enemy, it either absorbs their skeleton into its own, or raises the skeleton as a new Bone Sentinel. Therefore, their numbers are self-replenishing.

The creature was staring at them. Not moving. Just staring.

"Salin," she said quietly, "I want you to turn around slowly. Don't panic."

He obliged. Seeing the high-level terror before them, he said, "Holy shit, is this guy ugly."

Perhaps the thing had ears. Perhaps it was just luck. Whatever the case, the monster chose that exact moment to charge at them, jaws hanging open in a silent roar and bone-tipped claws rending the air.

"RUN!" Nauja shouted, bounding away from the creature. The two of them just weren't equipped to fight it in such narrow space. They had no one to block its assault. Gan Salin was too low in level, and she was built as a ranged fighter.

At least, the monster was slow.

Nauja found herself sprinting through the corridors, making one blind turn after the other. It reminded her of the time in Forbidden Cave, when she and Jack escaped the minotaur.

Her bare feet stomped against the stone floor, and the wind blew on her back, pushing her forward. It did the same to Salin, helping him keep up. The canine was fast, thankfully, though he lacked endurance.

The monster behind them made no sound. Only its stomps were any indication it was still chasing. Nauja braved a glance back. With a body like that, all turned and twisted, it was a wonder it could even run. Being slow was natural.

Her glance also revealed Gan Salin breaking the bread and throwing its crumbs on the ground at an accelerated pace.

"What the hell are you doing?" she thundered.

"Marking our way back!"

"Back to what!?"

"I don't know yet. To be honest, I didn't even expect to reach this—"

They stomped into an intersection of four corridors. Another bone monster spotted them from one of the corridors and charged after them. Nauja grabbed Gan Salin's collar and darted sideways, cutting off his words as they rushed into a different corridor and kept running.

"Keep your mouth shut," she hissed through gritted teeth. "There are more of them."

This time, Salin complied without a word.

Outrunning one monster would not be a problem. They were significantly faster. But if there were more at every corner… Well, then they would die.

And the walls were slowly, slowly getting darker.

Despite his best efforts, Brock was troubled.

He was being stealthy. When approaching a corner, he always peeked out before proceeding. At intersections, he stretched his ears at every possible path before deciding. He didn't make a sound, always keeping an ear out for footsteps.

He'd heard a few, occasionally. But when he hid near an intersection to watch who produced them, he only saw a horror of twisted bones, like a rose that was all thorns.

He ran away.

These creatures were easy to avoid. Their footsteps were audible, if one paid close attention, and they weren't too common in these corridors.

But there were more.

Brock spotted blue crabs that reached his waist, just roaming the corridors and eating small pieces of stone off the walls. They kept the walls perfectly straight, only taking care of tiny outcroppings or puking liquid stone to fill in little dents on the ground.

These creatures didn't feel like monsters. However, they still attacked Brock on sight. Since they were vastly stronger than him, he had to run away. At least, they were slow, their movements rough and stony.

He managed to outrun the first crab that chased him but lost a bag of food in the process. He also lost his way—though that didn't matter too much. He remained equally lost.

However, he knew that this could not continue. The crabs were too many. Every few minutes, he would discover one of them and have to backtrack. If he was chased and forced to run blindly again, he might end up sandwiched by another crab or, even worse, a bone monster.

He did not want to be caught by those. He had witnessed one eating a blue crab. The sight was brutal, invasive, and gruesome. When the bone monster was done, not even the crab's shell or blood was left.

Brock was feeling trapped. Like the walls were closing around him. He kept running into dead-ends or monster-infested corridors. He circumvented all those, but his escape routes were cut off one by one, and soon, there would be no path left to walk. The enemies he'd bypassed could arrive behind him at any moment. And he was crossing the large labyrinth with slow, tiny steps.

At this rate, even if the monsters didn't catch him, he would run out of water and die before he even made it a few miles in.

Brock was feeling immense pressure. On one hand, his responsibility towards his big bro, Father, Mother, and everyone else. If he died here, he would make many people very sad.

On the other hand was his responsibility towards himself. He didn't want to die. Not here, alone and trapped in bare corridors. Not to faceless bone monsters. He wanted Big Bro. Mother. Father. Anyone.

He was scared. The monsters closing in from all directions became a mental bind around his mind, slowly but unstoppably increasing the pressure. He fought to remain sane, to flex his bravery muscles and retain control of himself, but it was difficult. The fear was overwhelming. The helplessness was wearing him down.

Panic was rising again, the only response his body could muster to the pressure.

This was all happening because he was weak. He had only ventured this far because of Big Bro. Without his protection, Brock was nothing.

Why? Why did it have to be like that? Why did he have to be weak?

He was born weak. He was smaller than the other brorilla children. His muscles were less defined. That was why Father had kicked him out of the pack—though Big Bro insisted that Father had acted out of love.

He had grown stronger by Big Bro's side, but he remained useless. Ever since they came to this weird place, Brock had achieved nothing. He had always been carried and protected by Big Bro. If this continued, then sooner or later, he would be cast out again. Maybe forced to return to his pack as a loser. Nobody would accept him.

There was a clear line between survival and death, victory and defeat, triumph and uselessness. It was called strength.

But his muscles were too small. He had tried his hardest, but it was not enough. The Big Thought had promised him strength, but it, too, abandoned him, betrayed him.

And yet, if there was one thing that could save him now, it was this Big Thought. It had given him most of his strength. To get even more strength, he just had to make it bigger. A Bigger Thought.

Brock was surrounded and overwhelmed by pressure. He almost broke but didn't. And from the pressure came a spark. The Big Thought called to him. And Brock dove into it.

To make it bigger.

BREAK

BREAK

Jack's eyes traveled from the tip of the long sword, down its length, to its handle, and up to the sharp brown eyes that hid under dark hair. A tattered cloak drifted behind this man, its edge almost touching the floor, and his brows were raised in amusement.

Human (Earth-74), Level 122

Faction: Wide Swirls (B-Grade)

Title: Wide Swirls Prodigy

Minotaur, Level 115

Faction: Animal Kingdom (B-Grade)

Title: Resilient

"Jack Rust," he said. "What a coincidence."

Jack jumped back and clenched his fists. He instantly entered battle mode. His eyes narrowed as they took in Longsword's form, as well as Bocor, the minotaur, whose gaze burned with hatred.

"Longsword," he said, ignoring Bocor. "Fuck."

"Looks like fate wants you dead, Jack Rust," Long replied, laughing. Bocor took this as a sign of aggression and drew his tower shield, approaching Jack with the intent to battle. His position was expertly chosen; he could easily intercept any of Jack's attacks without inhibiting those of Longsword.

Not that the Lord needed any help.

Jack's brain worked quickly. Bocor hated his guts, and he had offended Longsword last time they met. Then, the Lord had declared they would be enemies starting from Space Ring.

What kind of shitty luck is this!?

He gritted his teeth, calculating his odds. He had very little confidence in beating Longsword, even though his strength had increased significantly since the last time they fought. Plus, Bocor was here.

On the other hand, if he ran, he still couldn't escape. Longsword had demonstrated his speed when he hunted Jack's group through the desert of Village Ring. But Bocor was slow. If Jack ran, he could split up his enemies, forcing Longsword to fight alone. Then, if things went Jack's way, perhaps he could—

Thinking time was over. Bocor was upon him, his horns almost scraping the ceiling and his tower shield blocking most of the corridor. He moved from side to side, revealing openings through which Longsword could thrust his sword.

Jack crouched and prepared to leap back. Ghost Step was only a thought away.

"Wait a moment," Longsword said. Bocor froze. Unwillingness flickered in his eyes before he stepped aside like a good grunt, making room for Longsword to approach Jack, who could run away at any moment.

"Don't run," Longsword continued. "It would change nothing, and lose us all precious time."

Jack's eyes narrowed further. "Aren't you going to attack me?" he asked.

"I am considering it."

There was haughtiness in that voice. It was deep and masculine, carrying a sort of brutal tone. At the same time, it hid great intelligence, along with an almost playful edge.

Longsword was strong, imposing, charming, and intelligent. Coupling that with high-end training since childhood and a natural talent for the Dao, he really did seem to have everything.

On the other side, Jack was good at punching stuff. "Consider it faster," he replied.

"Why the rush?"

"Because your witch could be flanking me as we speak."

The ends of Longsword's lips rose a bit. "She was split up from us. A shame, really, but not even Bone Generals can catch her. She'll be fine."

Jack waited in silence.

"How about we relax and have a little chat?" Longsword asked, raising his hands. "We are all lost in here. Fighting each other would be a waste."

"I thought we were enemies."

"We can be, if you want. But our enmity will last very little, and it will end with your head far away from your shoulders."

Jack crouched deeper, ready to escape at a moment's notice. "What do you want?"

"You."

"Explain."

Longsword smiled. "Have you considered my offer at all, Jack?"

"Working under you?"

"Yes."

Jack's mind was spinning again. He hadn't considered it. Joining Longsword seemed like a bad idea after seeing how coldly he treated Bocor, one of his closest followers. Even now, the minotaur was sitting by the side, steaming from all orifices but not daring to speak up. Longsword hadn't spared him a single glance, like he was little more than furniture.

On the other hand, speaking his thoughts right now might be a deadly mistake. For whatever reason, Longsword still seemed willing to negotiate. If the other choice was death, perhaps Jack could pretend to think about it until he could escape.

The Dao of the Fist reveled in headfirst collisions, but it had nothing against deception.

"Of course I have thought about it…but I hesitate," Jack said. Tipping his hand too early could only end badly. He wanted to scout Longsword's intentions and see where this was headed.

After all, he followed the Dao of the Fist. Deception was fine, but betrayal and dishonor were entirely different matters. Jack couldn't swear loyalty as a lie, not even to save his life.

"I can see that. I have a proposition for you," Longsword cut directly to the chase. "Join me for this ring. Just the labyrinth. Afterward, you can go your own way. We don't even have to be enemies—though we probably will be."

"Sir!" Bocor finally couldn't contain himself. "That's—"

"Silence," Longsword said without even turning around. Bocor bit his tongue and stopped talking. It must have taken all of his willpower and then some. Jack could see veins popping under his fur.

"Why?" Jack asked.

"Because I appreciate your value," Longsword replied. He sounded honest. "You possess great strength and titles. If you reach the peak of the E-Grade, you will probably possess the strength of a Lord. Comparable to mine."

"So you want to keep me close."

"Ideally, I want to recruit you. You are a rogue cultivator right now, and you've made powerful enemies. An agreement between us is something we could both benefit from."

Jack frowned. He was beginning to sense there would be no battle here, but he remained on guard. "And if I leave after this ring?"

"Nothing ventured, nothing lost. It's a gamble. Your perception of me is probably skewed right now. If we travel together for a few days, if you come to understand how things work in the galaxy, I believe you may have a change of heart. That will be a great boon to me and my faction. If not… Well, I won't lose much, to be honest. A King-tier rogue cultivator won't matter in the grand scheme of things, especially since the Animal Kingdom will take care of you in short order."

"They can try."

Bocor's head almost exploded from suppressed anger.

"This is the best offer you could ask for," Longsword continued. "I could kill you. Instead, I offer you a chance to not only live, but also enjoy my protection for the duration of this ring—and I get an extra helper for any trial we find. Any other Lord would demand your absolute loyalty in exchange, but I understand that someone with your Dao would die before yielding. Therefore, all I ask for is a chance to change your mind."

Jack had to admit this sounded good. Longsword wasn't stupid. He realized Jack's potential and offered a deal that worked for both of them.

Could he actually be decent? Jack wondered. Whatever the case, he had to respect Longsword's adept handling of the situation.

"You got me," Jack said, slowly straightening his body. If Longsword wanted to attack, there was no need to go through all this. "I have to admit. I expected you to be more…"

"Thoughtless? Arrogant? Overbearing?"

"Something like that, yes."

Longsword laughed; a deep, booming sound that came directly from his stomach. "You will find, Jack Rust, that most people are as complex as you. Nobody reaches the top by being an idiot."

Jack found mirth rising inside him, but he kept it down. At the end of the day, this man was more an enemy than a friend.

Another downside here was that Jack had planned to kill as many bone monsters as possible in the labyrinth to level up. The presence of Longsword and Bocor would greatly affect the experience he got from each monster…but there wasn't much he could do about it. Any way he looked at it, teaming up here was the best way to go about things—among other benefits, it was the fastest way to find Brock.

Besides, leveling was slow by now. A couple extra levels would matter far less than a Treasure Trial, or any other benefits he got this way.

Not to mention that he was completely lost by himself.

"So, what now?" he asked.

"Now, we keep walking. The darker the walls, the closer we are to the guardian."

"I've been wondering: just how big is this labyrinth?"

"Oh, very. Hundreds of square miles filled with winding paths. Reaching the guardian from here should take us days. Maybe a week."

"So I have to endure this for a week?" Jack asked, motioning at Bocor, who glared with every fiber of his being.

Longsword turned to his follower. "I know this is difficult for you, Bocor, but bear with it. At the end of the day, you and Jack have no personal enmity—and, if you do, you were the one who started it. Perhaps this is doing your faction a favor."

Bocor growled. "The Animal Kingdom doesn't take losses."

"So it says, but you'd be surprised. Now, how about you accept my judgment and rein in your emotions?"

Longsword's words were spoken calmly and with a smile, but they contained unshakable confidence. Bocor had no choice but to relent.

Longsword gave Jack a side glance. He probably expected him to walk forward and extend a handshake to Bocor. Jack didn't do that. Neither did Bocor. In the end, Longsword simply shrugged.

"Do you know the way?" Jack asked.

"We have a compass," the Lord replied, revealing an intricately carved piece with three needles in three concentric circles.

Jack rose his brows. "Huh. I never considered that."

"You couldn't find one, anyway. Trial Planet is too messed up. Thankfully, being part of a B-Grade faction comes with a lot of perks." He winked, then smiled brightly.

Jack chuckled. "Too bad I'll never find out."

"You certainly will, one way or another. Now, let's go. With any luck, we'll find a Treasure Trial on the way."

"A Treasure Trial?"

"Isn't that why you entered the labyrinth early?"

"I did that to avoid you."

Longsword laughed again. "Well, this ring does contain Trials, like Space Ring, but not all of them are Dao Trials. Some are Treasure Trials, which means they will simply give you treasures that can be useful to anyone. Unlike Dao Trials, you can enter as many of them as you like. They're one of the main allures of Labyrinth Ring."

"So, you want to get as many as possible?"

"They aren't that common. Finding even one is considered lucky."

"I see. Because Trial Planet has existed for so long that most of them are taken already?"

"Oh, not at all. Labyrinth Ring changes every few months; the paths move around, and new Trials appear in the place of old ones. They contain highly valuable rewards and are hard to conquer, but they are also very few."

Jack tilted his head. "Then, shouldn't everyone be rushing to get them? I heard that the Garden Assault waits a few days in Space Ring."

"That's the agreement, yes. But there was a super horde, and many teams rushed to the labyrinth, so I just came along. Let the other Lords take their time. What are they going to do? Tell me off? I will have the rewards of at least one Treasure Trial, and they will have the moral high ground. Guess what wins in a fight."

Jack couldn't prevent the ends of his lips from rising. "I guess that's one way to look at it."

"Of course. As I said"—he pointed at himself and laughed—"not an idiot."

"Do you also have a way to locate other people, not-an-idiot?" Jack hadn't forgotten about Brock. Finding his brorilla remained his number one priority in Labyrinth Ring. Everything else could come after.

Longsword shook his head. "Sadly not. If I did, Eralda would be here, too. She's my ice witch, by the way."

Jack looked down, then up again. "I understand," he said.

He never expected things to go this way. That he would be split up from Brock, then travel and make deals with his enemies. That Longsword would turn out to be terrifyingly enterprising.

The moment the Lord turned away, Bocor gave Jack a dirty look. Clearly, the grudge between them was nowhere near settled, but Jack didn't care too much right now.

"Hey, Bocor," he said, making the minotaur's dirty look intensify, "I know we don't like each other, but it looks like we'll be traveling together for some time. Keep it in your pants or you'll just be annoying to everyone. And, by the way, I beat you when I was Level 84 and you were Level 115. Now, I am at 94, but you are still at 115. Do the math."

Bocor's face split into a predatory grin. "But guess who got a Trial in Space Ring, dipshit. If you want me to tear you a new asshole, I'm ready anytime."

Jack frowned and turned to face Bocor squarely.

"No fighting." Longsword raised his arms. "The Trials of Labyrinth Ring are no laughing matter. We will need to be at full power. If you want to settle your differences, do it in Garden Ring."

Jack held Bocor's stare for another moment. He wasn't going to look away first.

The minotaur turned his eyes after a moment of inner struggle. "Yes, sir," he said darkly. "Garden Ring, Jack Rust."

Jack snorted. "Sure. Garden Ring." He didn't know what that ring was, but it sounded almost nice.

BREAK

BREAK

Edgar floated in nothingness, suspended before a massive sapphire sphere. His eyes watered. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

The sphere was colored light blue, with little stars glistening inside. It was made of a material like starry silk. Its outer layers flowed around the sphere, while the inner ones stayed still. Clouds of colors floated inside, occasionally merging with each other or splitting to create new combinations.

It was magical.

Edgar tried to draw a deep breath, only to realize he had no body. Or rather, he did, but not a physical one. Though it looked like him, he quickly realized that here, wherever here was, he was a floating orb of light, and the physical form was only a mantle he chose to clad himself in.

He got rid of it at once. His body was part of him, but this glowing orb… This was the real Edgar. The closer to the truth he was, the better.

He knew what was happening. This was the inside of his soul. He was breaking through.

Excitement flooded him like water puring out of a broken dam. He felt his worries and fears wash away in the stream of power. He was not useless. He had not taken a wrong step. His breakthrough had just been a matter of time—and the right circumstances, as he quickly observed. High pressure was the catalyst to forming a Dao Seed. Perhaps not the only one, but a catalyst nonetheless.

His first instinct was to note it down. But, as his attention rose to the sapphire sphere, he was captivated again.

This was magic. His magic. His dream. He had to succeed.

The Dao Stabilizing Pill he'd gotten from Ar'Tazul activated in his stomach, where it had waited for weeks. A warm stream passed through his veins, calming him down.

He could feel the Dao calling him. The sphere meant to merge with him, become one whole entity of vast, breathtaking power.

Edgar calmed himself and jumped right in.

Magic.

Brilliance surrounded him on all sides. He had no eyes, yet he saw. No ears, yet he heard. Giant mountains of gold. Floating islands over the sea. Animals made of stars and solar gasses. Humans of glass, their heart shining orange, and a giant, benevolent eye with three tentacles trailing behind it.

Edgar knew not who he was. The essence of magic was distilled into his body, filling his mind with power and wonder.

One moment, he was a bearded old man. As he gently raised his hand, the sea rose with it, and as he brought his cane down, the waters split as if by heaven's sword. Then, he was a winged woman surrounded by light. One smile was all it took for the earth to mend under her feet, wiping away the wounds of war. He was a barefoot child, cradled in an alley between buildings, with the heavy rain cascading over him and making him shiver. Magic erupted from his body, washing away the pain and fear, bringing warmth he'd never felt before.

A flash of pain snapped his attention to the present. The Dao around him was an angry tide, every part rising to seek his attention. With a second flash of pain, a ring of light spread from his body, calming the Dao where the two met.

Edgar was shaken. He had almost lost himself to the visions. If not for the Dao Stabilization Pill, he would have failed.

But the first hurdle was past. Edgar was the master of himself now, and he couldn't stop excitement from sparking all around him, a wild exhilaration rising from the depths of his soul. It was just him and magic now. A private lesson, with the universe itself as the tutor. He would sink into the wells of knowledge that were his deepest dreams.

He opened his arms and let the Dao flood him. His mind remained whole, an impregnable fortress, but the essence of magic filled his body to the brim. It spoke to him; sought to take him over. Sought to battle him.

But Edgar corrected it. His magic was not made for battle. It was made to awe, to inspire, to create.

He could sense the misalignment inside him. This was his magic, but it was not the very essence of his being. He was not perfectly aligned with his Dao.

Then again, he didn't need to be. Let the rest of his soul wash away, let the impurities forever hide themselves in a treasure chest under the ocean. This was the path he wanted to walk. This was the life he chose to lead.

This was the Edgar he chose to be.

His mind shattered into a thousand pieces. It remained whole, but each piece faced a different vision, a different scenario. Edgar saw the three people from before and nine hundred and ninety-seven more—one thousand visions, no more and no less.

In each, he saw a creature—be they human, animal, or strange beings he knew nothing of—work their magic. But, this time, he wasn't them. The vision was a script he could tamper with. He could sense how things were going to turn out, and in every vision, he chose to alter the course of history.

Where the bearded old man split the sea to let his people pass, Edgar forced the waters to bend the knee, saluting the man's effort. Fish danced. A few children behind him laughed.

When the woman smiled and mended the earth, Edgar made flowers rise from the ground. One came up to her nose, blessing her with its fragrance. The angel's smile turned warmer.

Where the child erupted with magic, banishing the cold and fear of rain, Edgar willed the clouds to disperse, letting a brilliant sun dominate the sky, the herald of a new day.

In every vision, Edgar followed his heart to change the world. He found himself laughing. All the awe, beauty, and childlike wonder he created came back to fill him, suffusing his soul until it was ready to burst.

The visions went away. Edgar was left with a body of magic, a soul bursting at the seams. Yet, his smile was warm, his eyes sparkling. He let himself stand, taking a deep breath to stabilize his new Dao Seed.

He then opened his eyes to find a different world. A world where he was one step closer to the person he dreamt of being.

Edgar waved his hand, and a gentle breeze blew out, escaping from the window and going down to fly around the humans, gymonkeys, and brorillas working in the forest. Where it passed, flowers bloomed in the grass, and the creatures of the forest were tickled.

He waved his other hand, and the messy papers and notes across his study rose, arranging themselves into neat piles deposited on the desk.

The last hints of excess magic, left behind by his breakthrough, were expelled through a slow exhale, which cleaned the room of dust, polished the walls until they shone, and summoned a little spectral monkey dancing in their midst. A final, small gale met the door, swinging it open just as an old lady was about to knock it from the other side.

Edgar raised his eyes. "Hello, professor."

"Edgar?" the professor said, her eyes widening. She took in the changes, then inspected him. She began to shiver. "Edgar!" she cried out with excitement. "You—"

"I broke through," Edgar said calmly, inspecting his own hand. Physically, nothing had changed. But everything else had.

"That's incredible! You finally did it! You are the first E-Grade on Earth!" The professor was wild with joy. She rushed in to hug him, expressing her deep relief. The lack of an E-Grade had been pressuring them hard. Now, that issue was no more.

However, Edgar did not respond with the same enthusiasm. Still with a smile, he gently pushed her away. The professor frowned and tilted her head at him—but even her prodigious powers of understanding weren't enough to see through his intentions.

"What's the matter?" she finally asked.

"I did break through," Edgar repeated. His smile turned bitter. "I hold great power, but it is not as you hope. Magic is not a weapon. Not my magic. It is a tool of beauty, a device of wonder, a medium of joy."

He could see the professor's heart fall. So did his.

"But Edgar," she said, "if you don't fight…"

"I know."

He pursed his lips. His new Dao Seed was still crying out in joy, relishing in the powers of creation he had been granted. But his heart was crying salty tears, because it knew that things were as the professor said. If he did not fight, the people he loved would die. Beauty would lose, and mediocrity would reign. But what could he do, if he wielded great power that was not a weapon?

"My magic is one of peace," he repeated, every word weighing on his soul, "but even roses have thorns." He closed his eyes. The weight of his decision was heavy, too heavy. He was choosing to defile the most beautiful thing in the world. But what choice did he have?

"Just once," he said, rising to his feet. The professor's gaze was perplexed. "Just once, I will strike out with this power of mine. Just once, will I ruin that which is beautiful. I will tip the equilibrium for your armies. If we fall after that… Then, let it be fate. I will die in a field of flowers."

"Edgar…"

"I will be off, professor," he said. His body levitated, easily pulled by the strands of the elements around him. It was almost effortless. As he reached the window, he turned to her again, smiling warmly through his pain. "And when I return, prepare a celebration for me, okay? Bring the children. I will give them a show they will never forget."

"Edgar…" Her voice trailed. Why did she look so sad?

Only when his tears touched his lips did Edgar realize he was crying. But so be it. He shook his head, letting the tears fall. Even in sadness, there was beauty.

"I will be quick," he said, turning to the horizon. With a pull of the world's strands, he flew away, picking up speed as he headed to the other side of the forest, where they had parked their starship. It wasn't anything spectacular, just the cheapest they could find, but it was plenty for inter-continental travel.

He waved away the guards, entered the shuttle, and took off. Steering this thing was beyond easy. The clouds split around him as he raced to the northeast faster than most planes could.

There was time until he reached his destination. Hours. Until then, he decided to inspect his System notifications.

Congratulations! Dao Root of Magic→ Dao Seed of Magic (early)

Congratulations! F-Grade → E-Grade

Congratulations! Your body has been infused with your Dao, taking on its attributes.

Intelligence +20

Wisdom +20

Charisma +20

Free stat points per Level up: 2 → 5

Level Up! You have reached Level 50.

Congratulations! For being one of the first ten cultivators on your planet to develop a Dao Seed, you are awarded the Title: Planetary Torchbearer (10).

Planetary Torchbearer (10): A Title awarded to the first ten cultivators to develop a Dao Seed in an Integrated planet. A sign of great potential, marking the owner as a person worthy of the Immortal System's assistance.

Efficacy of all stats +10%.

Edgar chuckled. He had theorized many things about the E-Grade. Finally, he was about to find out everything. And most importantly, what Class he would get.

Class Upgrade available. Please choose your new Class:

Elemental Adept

Elemental Adepts are Mental cultivators who specialize in controlling the nine elements. Their greatest strength is their adaptability, and they exceed in battle scenarios where they can use clever tactics to outwit their enemies.

Arcane Body (Elite)

Most wizards choose to specialize. Arcane Bodies do not; they maintain an affinity with all types of magic. As a result, their battle power is limited, but they boast great utility and adaptability.

"Magic is the very fabric of reality, the driving force of the cosmos. Why limit ourselves to just one corner?"

It saddened Edgar that all the System cared about was battle strength. Was his magic flawed? Was he an outcast? A pariah?

That line of thought evaporated as quickly as it had come. He knew what he felt. Magic was supposed to be used his way. Everyone else either compromised, got it wrong, or simply didn't see the world as he did. In any case, his use of magic was the one that fit him best.

Being offered two Classes was pretty normal, from what Ar'Tazul told him. In this case, the choice was clear. The first Class, Elemental Adept, was obviously meant for battle, which put it out of the question.

Elemental Adept was also the Class his master had encouraged him to pick. In fact, most of his training during the Integration Tournament had been meant to unlock this Class. Unfortunately, Edgar had other priorities now, and any lingering doubts were quickly extinguished by the other Class being Elite.

"Arcane Body," Edgar said aloud, tasting the words. He smiled. "Not bad."

It wasn't perfect, but it was meant for him. Perhaps he'd get choices closer to his Dao at the D-Grade—if he ever reached it.

Edgar chose the Arcane Body Class. Immediately, the Class Selection screen disappeared, replaced by a few new ones:

Congratulations! You are now an Arcane Body (Elite).

Congratulations! Mana Manipulation (III) upgraded into Spontaneous Magic (II).

Class Skill unlocked: Mana Sight (I).

Edgar's world was filled with colors. He could see the strands of magic now! They were everywhere!

He had to stop and take his time parsing through all the new information. Excitement filled him all the while.

This skill was revolutionary!

Thankfully, Edgar's Mental stat was off the charts. He quickly rearranged his mind to adapt to his new Skill, then went on his way. He could feel a Dao Vision at the back of his mind, eager to jump out and present itself to him, but he kept it at bay for now.

When his job was done, he would return to learning. Now… Now, he had to fight. Once.

Dark thoughts filled his mind for the rest of the trip, warring against the joy of breaking through and all the possibilities of his new powers.

Eventually, Edgar reached a world of ice and cold. He hid the starship far away from his destination and flew over the clouds himself for the last few miles. When he finally descended, he found his target.

Half-buried into a glacier were the headquarters of Ice Peak. A place devoid of E-Grades.

He was going to destroy it.

BREAK

BREAK

"Hey Nauja, check this out!" Salin held up a blue crab, moving its pincer from side to side. "It says hi."

"Salin, put the poor thing down."

"But it's happy. It's waving."

"You are waving."

"Fiiine." Salin reluctantly placed the crab on the floor. It then immediately skittered away, disappearing behind a turn. "Goodbye, little one!"

"Can you focus for half a second?" Nauja sparked. "You'll attract the bone monsters. If an Elite shows up, we won't be able to escape."

"Oh, don't worry about it. If worse comes to worst, you don't have to run faster than the bone monster, just faster than me. Which you can." He gave her a bright smile. Nauja rolled her eyes—there wasn't much she could retort to that.

They had only barely managed to escape the two bone monsters previously chasing them. Thankfully, the monsters were very slow for their level. Almost like they'd been designed to be escapeable.

Of course they were, Salin replied to himself, nodding. It makes sense. Hah.

"What?" Nauja asked.

"What what?"

"You were nodding."

"To myself. I'm thinking smart stuff."

She glared suspiciously. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not."

"Thank the System."

Salin liked this girl. She always responded to his craziness, letting him go on for longer. Maybe she saw silence as a form of weakness.

In any case, Salin was having great fun. Much better than staying in that silly backwater planet or, even worse, in the uptight Animal Kingdom.

Then again, the Animal Kingdom has female canines. Hmm…

Suddenly, Nauja snapped up a hand. He instantly froze. Nauja was plastered on the wall, peeking from a corner with sharp eyes. He knew what this meant. A bone monster.

Which was pretty silly, in Salin's humble opinion. Why bone monsters? Were they supposed to be disturbing and birth horror in the minds of labyrinth delvers? But they were so slow even he could outrun them. Hell, he was pretty certain he could get right past one if he had to.

These monsters were more like overblown annoyances than lethal predators.

Couldn't the makers of this place install, I don't know, larger crabs? Crabs are scary. And cool. They can even wave!

Nauja, her body still taut like a drawn bow, finally lowered her hand. "It's gone," she whispered.

"Good. I was totally paying attention."

There were times when Salin wondered if she would snap. Nobody was watching here. She could dispatch of him quickly and easily, and leave his body for the crabs to feast on. Maybe his twisted skeleton would rise in the future to haunt these empty corridors, a reminder of his inescapable mortality and sheer fucking stupidity.

But it wouldn't be stupidity if she didn't snap, right?

An icy moment later, Nauja turned around and resumed walking. Salin decided to take five minutes of silence. It wouldn't do for her patience to run out. He needed her in top shape to keep playing!

Not that he couldn't converse by himself, but he wasn't as easily frustrated. Plus, he always expected what he'd say next. Speaking with others was much more fun.

The five minutes of silence turned into ten, then twenty. Salin found himself enjoying the mindless wandering. He imagined himself as a bone monster, haunting the labyrinth in eternity, feeding on blue crabs and careless cultivators.

"Boo," he moaned under his breath. Much to his disappointment, Nauja didn't respond. "Boo!" he repeated, slightly louder.

"I can hear you," she replied through gritted teeth.

"Oh, okay. Just making sure."

"You know, your stupidity will get you killed one day. For real."

"But will it be this day? Probably not."

"It might if you keep pushing me."

"You wouldn't do that. You love me."

"I barely even like you."

"Aha! So you do like me. In that case, allow me to apologize for my overflowing charisma; as we belong to different species, I'm afraid we cannot procreate."

"..."

"Speechless, are you?"

"Mercy, please. For the love of the System, just keep your mouth shut."

"Okay."

Yep, Salin was having a lot of fun. This was his favorite ring yet! Much better than the village one, where he was mildly tortured.

At the end of the day, he wasn't a mean individual. He decided to cut back on the insanity, for the sake of Nauja's mental health and his physical one.

The hours flowed. Gan Salin and Nauja kept traveling through the labyrinth, heading ever deeper. The walls around them gradually took on a darker hue of brown—whether by luck or Nauja's skill in navigation, they were heading in the right direction. And, as they did, the bleached bone monsters became even more terrifying.

There was a monotony to the journey. A monotony that exhausted even Salin's vast reserves of witty remarks. Hour after hour, day after day, they walked through crampy stone corridors. It felt like they were standing still. Like they were trapped in an endless illusion.

The only breaks to the monotony came when they stopped to eat and drink—they had their supplies when they were teleported—as well as when they encountered bone monsters. Those were intense moments. Most of the time, Nauja would hear or see them one corridor in advance, letting them wait the monster out.

Other times, the monster would round the turn before them, spotting them. Then, it was always a chase backward, through corridors they had already explored, which had the lowest probability of housing more monsters. After they escaped the bone monster after them, they could retrace their steps and keep going.

In these instances, Salin's breadcrumbs were actually of assistance. The twin loaves he'd stolen from the village tavern had long gone bad, but they were still good for marking their path. However, even they didn't have endless crumbs. Salin was slowly running out, so now he was only dropping one in every intersection.

To alleviate the boredom, he told Nauja stories of the outside world. She absorbed them wide-eyed, like a sponge drank water, and Salin was happy to see his friend excited.

He told her of the Animal Kingdom constellation, of the ninety thousand inhabitable planets they ruled. He explained how stars worked, the gas clouds in which they were born and the massive explosions in which they died—some of them. He told her about black holes, space monsters, the nine B-Grade factions, the Hand of God, and the galaxy's inner workings. He bragged about the exploits of his ancestors—a part that got her especially excited—and the wars of the Animal Kingdom. The myriad species that made up their constellation.

In return, Nauja also shared stories of her life in Barbarian Ring. She described their way of life, hunting in the morning and dancing by the fire at night. She explained how the various tribes of Barbarian Ring cooperated to maintain the balance, how they divided their territories and organized hunting trips deep into the jungle. How they sometimes exchanged members, and how young barbarians were allowed and even encouraged to travel the ring before settling down and getting married.

She even explained her tribe's methods to raise triceratops—keeping the secret parts out.

It was an interesting trip for both of them. On Salin's side, he was impressed by Nauja's previous way of life. It felt like someone grabbed his eyes and forced them open. He had spent his entire life in the high-intensity environment of Animal Kingdom, spending most waking hours training and fighting.

Earth-387 was the first place where he could relax. Now, Nauja spoke of something similar, yet even better. Salin still wanted to train hard and become strong, but there was an argument to be made for relaxing occasionally, letting the stress slide off you like water in the shower.

Nauja was wide-eyed at his stories, as well. However, there was always something holding her back. A shadow behind her eyes. A mental barrier. Salin didn't know what it was, nor did he ask, but he could clearly sense it. It made him wonder—and worry.

Deep down, Salin cared.

The journey was boring, but somewhat pleasant. As the days passed, however, and the walls got darker, the labyrinth got more dangerous. The bone monsters appeared at increasing frequency. Once, Nauja even spied an Elite monster behind a turn, clasping her hand over Salin's mouth to prevent him from making the slightest peep.

Bone Lieutenant, Level 124 (Elite)

A creature made to endlessly wander the Labyrinth Ring's corridors and fight intruders. Originally a Bone Sentinel, this monster has absorbed enough cultivators to fully augment itself by one level, evolving to a Bone Lieutenant.

It possesses low Mental and Will attributes, as well as low speed, but outstanding strength and durability. When a Bone Lieutenant slays an enemy, it either absorbs their skeleton into its own or raises the skeleton as a new Bone Sentinel. Therefore, their numbers are self-replenishing.

Compared to the normal bone monsters—the Bone Sentinels—this one was far bulkier. If the others were like twisted humanoid skeletons, the Lieutenant was more like a heavyweight wrestler turned to bone. Additionally, it had clear facial features, with serrated knife-like canines stretching up from its mouth like a boar's tusks.

Salin didn't see all those, but Nauja described it after. Thankfully for them, the monster didn't spot them—thank the System for its lack of nose—and went on its merry way to slaughter innocents.

The two of them waited several extra moments to make sure it was far away.

"Shit," Nauja said after the monster was gone. "That was scary."

"We're approaching the core of the labyrinth, huh?" Salin replied, chuckling. "Look at the bright side. We're closer to the end."

"Our end or the labyrinth's?"

"Both."

They laughed. It helped melt the tension.

"Let's go," Nauja said. "And, from now on, we stay quiet. For real."

"Yes, boss."

The hours kept passing, but they were tenser. Any bone monsters they met were striking white against the dark walls. The blue crabs were harder to spot now.

Until, at some point, the tunnel they were following opened up.

"Is this the guardian?" Nauja asked, looking around.

"I don't think so," Salin replied. "A Dungeon, maybe. Or a Trial."

"A Trial?"

Gan Salin swept his eyes around the room. It was an ancient-looking temple, longer than it was wide. Light gray stone made up the walls and ceiling, with polished white marble as the floor. Despite this place being in the labyrinth, there was not a single speck of dust to be seen, as if everything had been cleaned recently.

Flames burned on large plates across the side walls. Bow-wielding stone statues stood at attention between the fires, evenly spaced, while the space between the entrance and far wall was left empty. This emptiness didn't come across as simplistic—instead, it created a sense of awe.

At the far end was another statue, larger than the others and made of marble. It depicted a woman clad in leather armor, with a mantle fluttering behind her. She held a bow, half-drawn, with a thin arrow made of black crystal balancing on the string.

However, the most impressive thing about this statue was the motion it was in. Though the marble itself was still, the woman was carved in such a way that she appeared to be mid-fight. Her hair was flying, her mantle fluttered behind her, her legs were bent, and her fingers were in the middle of drawing her bow.

It was as if someone had taken a female archer, asked her to strike a pose, conjured a strong wind to blow at her, then snapped her into stone. She was beautiful, too; her features were sharp enough to be attractive, but there was a hardness there, a strictness.

Nauja gasped. Salin shared her sentiment. This was a Trial related to archery. It was perfect for her.

"Salin—" she started saying, but he cut her off.

"I know. Go."

She smiled and rushed into the temple. There were no traps in Trials. Nothing to be afraid of. As they approached, Salin scanned the statue, confirming what he already knew.

Trial Statue

A statue serving as the gateway to a Trial Planet Trial. Touch to enter.

Nauja was already reading a small inscription under the statue.

Veheil Maestro Cir. The sun killer.

"Sun killer…" she muttered. Her hand rose to touch the inscription, then she lowered it again. "I have never even seen a sun."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Salin replied, a smile playing at the ends of his lips. "Just go already."

"But you…"

"I'll be fine. Trial areas are usually safe from monsters. And, even if they aren't, I can escape. Unless I get unlucky and an Elite waltzes in here, in which case, na'ste'kala."

She chuckled. This was a phrase of her tribe.

"I'll try to be quick," she said.

"Just don't fail."

"You got it. Thank you, Salin."

"No problem."

With a final, heartfelt nod, Nauja touched the statue and disappeared. Salin was left alone in the empty temple; the weakest cultivator of their team, and the one who still hadn't found a suitable Trial.

He looked around, at the still statues, the calm flames, and the silent corridor beyond.

"And now what?" he asked. He then sat down and started carving on the marble with his nails.

BREAK

BREAK

Jack opened his eyes, glancing at the dancing bonfire before him.

He was still inside the labyrinth, of course. It was just ridiculous what kind of resources people like Lord Longsword got. He had his own bonfire, fuel-free and foldable enough to fit in his pocket.

Despite the homely light, there were still dark brown walls around them. Stone under their feet. Monsters lurking just around the corner.

Jack scowled and stood, eager to stretch his feet. By the side, Bocor was lying on his back, sleeping like a log, while Longsword meditated cross-legged. On the slightest hint of Jack's aggression, he would stand and draw his sword in the blink of an eye.

Though Jack was technically their ally, they didn't trust him to keep watch alone.

He paced back and forth, keeping his footsteps light on the stone. The flames illuminated his bare chest and toned muscles, his dark hair, his deep eyes. The deadly fists he carried.

The torches on the wall were extinguished. Longsword insisted that his bonfire was more atmospheric and brought better results when meditating. It was true—though the bonfire's calming effects were induced through the specially crafted incense stick in its center, not the brightness of its flames.

Jack sighed.

What am I even doing… Is this what they call sleeping with the enemy?

It was already their second day together. After Jack agreed to join Longsword and Bocor for this ring, they had traveled in light silence. Jack was tense. So was Bocor. Longsword, on the other hand, was cheerful. Despite his rugged exterior and tattered mantle that might indicate a silent person, Longsword was always quick with small talk. He was witty and had his way with words, as well as a smile always tucked away, ready to be released at the first opportunity.

Lord Longsword wasn't just a strong swordsman. He was a charismatic man; a calculating, approachable genius. Despite his doubts, Jack found himself enjoying his talks with Longsword. The Lord always knew the right thing to say, making awkward silences seem like a distant memory. He had interesting and well-thought opinions on everything under the sun, and his sharp comments, humorously phrased, often provoked Jack into deep thought.

Of course, Jack wasn't an idiot. Throughout their many talks—not like they had much else to do—he kept his cards close, not revealing anything that Longsword could use against him. The Lord, on the other hand, seemed like an open book. He freely shared information about his sect and techniques, and even offered to give Jack battle training, though Jack refused that.

He still wasn't convinced. As pleasant as Longsword was, he was clad in a clear veneer of arrogance. Bocor was ignored. When Longsword addressed him, it was mostly to avoid seeming too distant. Obviously, this grated on the minotaur, who acted calm but boiled inside. Jack could see it clearly. So could Longsword, but he didn't care.

Jack kept his guard up.

What I wouldn't give for Brock, Nauja, or Salin…

He sighed again.

"What's the matter?" A cheery voice came from behind him. "Fruitless meditation? Or, perhaps, something more private?"

Jack turned to find Longsword still in a meditative position, but with his eyes open and a cocky grin on his lips.

"Something like that," he replied.

"Me too. Becoming an immortal is so difficult. Who would have thought?"

"Everyone?"

Longsword laughed. "I guess. But perspective changes when you're high up. For most people, becoming an immortal is a pipe dream. For me, it's the bare minimum."

"Are all Lords so arrogant?"

"We are all so skilled."

Jack sat down, placing his back against the cold stone wall. "Doesn't it ever irk you?" he asked, letting his head fall back. "That you are so above the world. Most people—billions of them—work their whole lives to achieve what you were born with, and still fail. They will never reach your level, no matter how hard they try. Doesn't that seem…unfair?"

"What is fair, then?" Longsword replied. "Would it be fair for everyone to have the same things? Would it be fair for everyone's efforts to be equally rewarded? Or should they be judged based on their results?"

"It's just an uneven fight. You were born with everything. Some people don't even have food, let alone high-end cultivation resources."

Longsword thought for a moment, then shrugged. "There isn't much I can do about that. I could disperse my faction's resources to the world to give everyone equal fighting chances, but what's the point? The people with talent and hard work would rise. I cannot distribute my talent to the people, nor my devotion to cultivation, and certainly not the mental fortitude it takes to rise above the masses."

"But doesn't that irk you?" Jack insisted. "Exactly that. Rising above the masses. Doesn't that make you feel… I don't know, like you're making some sort of mistake? Like you're putting them down by daring to be above them? Doesn't it make you feel bad?"

"Not at all." His eyes twinkled, but the hard line of his jaw made it clear that the next words would be spoken seriously. "I was not raised with such considerations. Perhaps you were, given your grassroot origins at an un-Integrated planet, but these are merely feelings left over from when you were weak. As the person below, it is natural to view the ones above you with scorn and identify yourself as "against them." It's a coping mechanism."

Jack narrowed his eyes in thought.

"But again, those are left-over emotions," Longsword finished, leaning back against the wall with a straight back. "You are at the top now. In time, you will realize that being better than others is no sin—that you should not be ashamed of having power. Instead, it is something to take pride in, and use it to better place yourself in the world." He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in. He then added, "After all, you are the living proof that anyone can rise if the proper conditions are met."

"Not necessarily. I was lucky, too. A person can have all the talent in the world, but if they aren't born in the right circumstances, there is nothing they can do."

"I guess. But children are a continuation of their parents' lives. It is fair for the children of successful people to start high, as is the opposite. If you do well in life, you help your children start at a better place than you did—and don't forget that talent is often hereditary. If you're born at the bottom but with great talent, maybe you won't reach the top, but you will certainly give your children a much better starting point."

"Shit, man. You aren't holding back at all, are you?"

"Am I wrong?"

"Maybe. If I'm being honest, that's a pretty brutal way to look at the world, not to mention unfair. How about you chill and think about it some more?"

In the face of Jack's cutting words, Longsword simply laughed. He was not the least bit bothered. "That's what I like about you, Jack: your directness. Yes, it is a brutal way to see things, but it's how I've been raised. The world is brutal. And whoever sees that goes farther than the people who don't."

"I don't necessarily disagree with you…but goddamn is that a way to put it," Jack replied. He did not particularly like the way Longsword saw things. It was too…cold. Too uncaring.

Longsword shrugged and smiled. "There is nothing wrong with disagreeing, my friend. We are different people; naturally, we have different opinions. But let's stop here for now. Going too far out of our comfort zone can be counterproductive. Change happens one step at a time, be it yours or mine."

"Right," Jack replied. "Just so you know, you have some messed-up opinions."

"It's how you know they're true!" Longsword laughed rowdily—so rowdily he might have awoken Bocor. "I want a break from meditation. Failing consecutively can be…disheartening. How about you join me in bonfire-gazing?"

"Fine by me," Jack replied. He didn't feel like speaking with Longsword more, but he, too, wanted to take a break. That's why he had been stretching his legs before. And he couldn't just sit by Longsword and ignore him. "What are you meditating on? Trying to break through?" he asked. "You're already at the absolute peak of the E-Grade, right?"

"Absolute peak is a bit of a stretch, but yes, I am." Longsword settled down near the bonfire, making himself comfortable. His cloak covered the floor behind him, amassing dirt, and his legs were crossed near the edge of the fire. His nine-foot-long sword rested on his knees, ready to be drawn at any moment. "I have already fused all my Dao Roots," he explained, "but there is still a gap between maturing your Dao Seed and sprouting it as a Dao Tree. A mental leap, if you will, that combines all of your understandings into a singular entity. Obviously, the more Dao Roots you have fused into your Seed, the more difficult this final step becomes."

"And you have fused many?" Jack asked, fishing for information.

"A good few. It's the eternal dilemma. The more power you reach for, the more difficult it is to claim. It's why many star disciples get stuck at the peak of the E-Grade for decades, or even forever. In fact, there is already a person from my generation in the Wide Swirls that has become an immortal. She only had one Dao Root, of course, but that was a good thing. She knew her limits. Right now, funnily enough, she is stronger than me."

He chuckled.

"So you are trying to…further fuse all your insights into one?" Jack asked, frowning.

Longsword threw him a glance. Through narrowed eyes, he undoubtedly spotted Jack's complete lack of information, and chose to assist. "Not an insight. A system of thought. A philosophy, if you will. A way of life and thought that perfectly combines all your understandings, defining your own, personal path through the Dao. It defines your life henceforth. Forming and cementing a path like this is the path to immortality, but it is also damn difficult."

He sighed in frustration, lost in his thoughts. "That is what we Lords use Trial Planet for. The Garden Ring contains all sorts of wondrous treasures. The best ones can help us form our Dao Tree…and it is those treasures we kill each other for." He then snapped out of it. "Of course, that doesn't concern you. You are far from the peak of the E-Grade, where those treasures would be used, and you are also far from the power you need to contest for them. Don't worry, though. There are many precious treasures in Garden Ring. With my assistance, you could lay claim to some of the best."

"Only if we are still allied in the next ring."

"True." He smirked. "But I don't see why not. It's not like I'm asking for much, and we're getting along just fine, aren't we?"

Jack chose to simply shrug in response. The more he observed Longsword, the more conflicted he became. This was clearly a great cultivator and a superficially pleasant companion. But, under all his gifts, was he actually a decent person?

Jack was not sure. "You keep mentioning Garden Ring," he said, "but that's only the eighth ring, right? What about the ninth?"

"The Final Ring?" Longsword laughed. "I know what you're thinking, Jack, but get it out of your mind. Conquering that ring is completely impossible—even for Lords. The Garden Ring is the best we can get."

"So even you, an ambitious Lord, aren't even considering it?"

"I told you, it's impossible."

"Why?"

"Oh, you'll see. In fact, it's so impossible that many believe it's only meant to beat us down—a final exercise in humility, if you will. A lesson that no one is infallible."

Jack scowled. "That's so disappointing…" But I will still take a look, he added mentally.

"I know," Longsword replied, smiling sadly. Jack didn't say anything more, and Longsword's mood must have soured, because he returned to meditation a few moments later. So did Jack.

Not that he was actually meditating. He was just diving into his soul world and fighting Copy Jack, increasing his battle ability and sharpening his Dao usage at the same time. With all that practice, Meteor Punch already felt on the cusp of evolving again, and Jack had great plans for it.

Right now, he had fused two of his three Dao Roots—though one wasn't really a Dao Root, and it had fused itself. That was enough to get a grasp of how the progress worked. Fusing a Dao Root meant integrating its Dao with his Dao Seed's. Essentially, it meant the complete fusion of the Dao Root into one of his Dao Skills—or, at least, that's how it had gone the previous two times.

So far, both of his fused Dao Roots had gone to enhancing Indomitable Body. That wasn't bad. The combination yielded an incredible skill. His body's regeneration was off the charts, and its durability was also impressive.

However, Jack thought that was enough for defense. His remaining Dao Root was that of Power, and he knew just the skill to fuse it into.

Good old Meteor Punch.

BREAK

BREAK

Brock felt like his eyes were open for the first time. He saw his soul. It was beautiful.

His inner world was a gaping nothingness peppered with floating leaves. It felt crampy and impossibly expansive at the same time, like space had lost all meaning.

Brock floated in the middle of this world, gawking at the leaves surrounding him.

"Bro…" he muttered.

Right in front of him hovered the Big Thought. It was a flexed bicep, an arm that extended from the shoulder down and must have been working out for decades. The skin was missing, allowing Brock to observe its clean musculature. Every muscle was impeccably defined, bringing a sense of awe that he had never felt before.

Not even Father had such muscles. Not even Big Bro.

He felt an urge to bow to this flexed arm. To show his belly, declaring subservience. But, at the same time, something held him back. This was his soul. This arm was his Big Thought. Why would he submit to something that was his?

That would be very un-bro-like.

Squaring his jaw, Brock adopted a bodybuilder stance, showing off all of his gruesomely worked-out muscles. He brought his arms above his head and flexed them. He then clasped his palms behind his back, also flexing. He was challenging the big arm for dominance.

The big arm accepted the challenge. It flexed harder—and, in an instant, Brock's entire world was covered in muscles. In power. He released a monkey cry as muscles drowned his world, and out of instinct, he flexed harder. Veins popped all over his body. His eyes went bloodshot.

The arm wasn't content to just sit there and be challenged. It attacked. Brock felt fear cloud his senses, but he responded with his bravery muscle. Immense pressure surrounded his body. His every physical muscle twitched as it was pulled apart, their tenacity put to the test. Brock was in excruciating pain. He yelled, but by then, it was already over, and Brock remained whole.

After all, he followed a rigorous work-out routine that spanned his entire body. A good bro didn't leave weaknesses.

The arm redoubled its efforts. It transported Brock to a world of forests, where several highly-muscled brorillas were flexing their hardest. He was like a dwarf amongst giants. The brorillas finished flexing, then stared at him, waiting to see his performance.

Brock felt the judgment in their gazes. He was small—smaller than all of them. His muscles, though strong, weren't as impressive. It was like being in his pack all over again.

His bottom lip began to quiver. His arms flopped to the sides. He was too weak to be here. He did not belong. They would mock and cast him out, like Father had done.

The brorillas around Brock liquified, combining into one, large brorilla.

Father.

Harambe.

Brock shrunk before his father's gaze. The large brorilla, the leader of the pack, stared him down, expecting something. But what? Brock had tried so hard, but he wasn't grown yet. He wasn't as big as the other brorillas. Perhaps he never would be.

Brock opened his mouth and almost made submissive monkey noises. Almost.

At the last moment, he held himself back. Why was Father doing this? He had already kicked Brock out. What more did he want? How could he expect Brock to be even stronger than he currently was? He was trying his very hardest!

A veil was lifted from Brock's eyes. Indeed, he had tried his hardest since leaving the pack. He had followed the teachings of the brorillas to work out and act as a bro would. He had dutifully followed his big bro, and though he made a few mistakes, he learned from them and never repeated them. Brock was doing everything he should.

What more did Father want?

Whatever it was, Brock couldn't give it. Father, the biggest of bros…was wrong to stare. His brain muscles had made a mistake.

Brock shook from the realization.

The world blinked before his eyes. His father's accusing stare melted along with the big brorilla himself, revealing the large arm again. It was a brorilla's arm, obviously, just without fur and skin. And perfectly sculpted.

Brock narrowed his eyes. Something was wrong here. Whatever was happening felt disjointed. The hand was the Big Thought representing Muscle, but his father… What did his father have to do with that?

What was Brock missing?

The arm flexed again. Pressure showered Brock, enveloping him. The little brorilla flexed his muscles, but his thoughts were incomplete. Yes, he had the strength to resist. But what was he supposed to do? What was the path forward?

How long did he have to persist for?

Weights appeared around his wrists and ankles. Dumbbells stuck to his fingers, and a weighted bar fell on his shoulders, urging his knees to bend. Brock maintained himself, instinctively coming into form.

His entire body was shaking. Every muscle was taut to its limit, but the pressure remained. Nothing was changing. He was doing something wrong.

No. He was just doing nothing. This was not the bro way. This was weakness. Passivity.

Brock had made many sounds in his life. He had laughed and mocked others, screamed, yelled, and thumped his chest. Even said human words. But, at this moment, as rage and shame at his own mental weakness flooded Brock, he made a new sound. He roared deeply.

Brock fueled his muscles with resolve and pushed them further. At the same moment they ruptured, the weights were thrown off, breaking against the walls of his soul and leaving him free.

The world shattered around him like glass. Father appeared again, his gaze as accusing as before, but Brock only snorted. He got into a bodybuilding stance and flexed his muscles. They weren't large. But they were strong. That was the purpose of muscles. To have strength. Not to be big.

Father narrowed his eyes, but Brock was no longer a child. He met his father's gaze head-on and shook his head.

You are wrong, he said.

His father's eyes shot wide. He prepared to charge. Brock stared him down. When his son stayed his ground, Harambe's body lost its strength. Old age passed through its eyes; then, elation. Harambe nodded, and the vision dispersed, leaving behind only darkness with floating leaves and a large arm sculpted with muscles.

But there was more. Lines were visible around the nothingness, throbbing muscles on the walls of Brock's soul, and he could feel that each of those was his. He was reclaiming his soul. The big arm was his, too, no matter how much it tried to control Brock's soul.

The arm noticed Brock's rebellion and was enraged. It clenched its hand into a fist and swung at him. Brock saw Big Bro's spirit in this fist, but he did not buckle. He did not cower. His Big Bro was a righteous bro; and what this hand was doing was wrong. It needed to be taught a lesson.

The large fist flew at Brock's face like a swinging log. It was as large as his entire torso.

Brock raised an open palm. As the large arm approached and he stayed his ground, it gradually shrunk to the size of his own fist. He grabbed it in his palm and wrapped his fingers around it, stopping it.

"Bro," he said, shaking his head. "No."

The fist resisted. It still sought to press on. Brock frowned and clenched his fingers, digging them into the fist and shattering it. With a violent shiver, the arm reformed, watching Brock like a snake in the bush.

It wasn't an enemy; just an unruly bro. Like a child. And Brock was no longer a child.

Having overpowered the fist, he approached it boldly. Its pressure now broke against his muscles like a hollow tide. The arm clenched its fist again, ready to fight to the end.

Brock reached it. With the brightest smile on his face, backed by undeniable strength, he stretched out an open hand. "Bro," he said.

The hand hesitated. A moment later, its fist slowly unclenched, revealing an open palm. Slowly, as if in fear, it grabbed Brock's into a handshake. Brock shook it, reconciling his muscles with his soul. "Bro," he said, nodding, and he felt the big arm return the favor.

He knew the truth now. The hand wasn't his. It wasn't a tool to use, but neither was he a vessel for it to conquer.

They were bros. And he was the big bro.

The world's borders opened before Brock's eyes. Suddenly, his entire soul shivered, and his mind split into a thousand pieces. Each found itself observing a different scene of people—either humans or brorillas—interacting. In every scene, Brock was both an observer and an actor. It was a peculiar feeling.

He observed, then took charge. Every situation was borderline un-bro. He slowly but firmly grabbed the scenes and set them straight. Every single one of them. It was a piece of cake. The correct decisions came naturally to him, as if emanating from his heart—as if he'd swallowed the rulebook that all good bros had to follow.

He had learned about this rulebook. It was one of the brorillas' most sacred entities, a fountain of knowledge that only the greatest of bros could master.

The legendary Bro Code.

Brock felt pride surge inside him. His knowledge and understanding were tested, but he prevailed every time. Before long, the thousand visions were all resolved, and Brock was back in his soul, but everything had changed.

The large hand waited quietly by the corner. It wasn't hovering in space anymore; it was now firmly planted into his soul walls, spreading its muscles around his soul and making it stronger. Brock could feel the change. Everything about him was stronger now. Every muscle, both physical and mental, was enhanced like he'd been working out for ten hours straight.

But that wasn't the biggest change. His soul was no longer a dark void. It was now lit with clear, bright light, and on its brown walls were lines and shapes. They weren't letters of any language. They were representations of the unspoken rules that made up the world's greatest book of conduct: the Bro Code.

And Brock could read them.

The Bro Code had become one with his soul, fused perfectly. No; perhaps that wasn't its real name now. It was the Very Big Thought of Brohood. Through contesting the large arm—the Big Thought of Muscles—Brock had directly conceived and perfectly merged with his soul the Very Big Thought of Brohood. In the same fell swoop, he had also fused the Big Thought of Muscles into his soul, too.

Brock allowed himself a moment of unrestrained pride and elation; he could sense that what he had achieved was monumental.

He opened his eyes in the real world, shocked by the changes in his body. He had just become inconceivably stronger. The Big Thoughts were part of him now, flooding his every nook and cranny, enhancing him way beyond what was physically possible.

Only the Staff of Stone in his hand remained perfectly weighted. A confusing matter, but Brock couldn't bring himself to care. He was just so happy. He was no longer weak!

The brown corridors now seemed inviting. He dashed through them, restless to meet an adversary and test his might. It didn't take long; only three corridors down was a blue crab, pinching tiny stone outcroppings off the walls and eating them.

Brock skidded to a halt, staring down the crab. The crab watched him attentively; it hesitated between attacking or running. Brock smirked and hooked his finger at it, inviting it forward. He had already decided that this crab bro would be his sparring partner.

The crab made up its mind. It attacked.

A few moments ago, just this charge would be at the limits of Brock's perception. Now, it seemed almost slow. He didn't even need his Staff.

Brock let the weapon fall, electing to meet this bro in bare-armed combat. He leaned away from a pincer, letting it clip his rib fur, then smashed a fist into the crab's face. The crustacean flew back, landed feet-first into a wall, and jumped at him again.

Brock growled. Punching was his big bro's area of expertise, but Brock wanted to walk a path of his own, lest he end up trapped in Big Bro's shadow. So, what should he do?

He jumped over the crab, which barely reached his waist. The pincers closed around empty air. Brock planted his palm on the crab's head, following its rotation to land behind it. Before the crab could understand what was happening, Brock had wrapped his hands around its body from behind and raised it above his head, leaning back and planting its head into the floor with all the power he could muster.

The stone floor shook. The crab made a pained sound, its shell slightly cracked from the impact.

Brock's face was split by a massive grin. He couldn't wait to show Big Bro how strong he'd gotten.

He jumped upright, ready to go another round, but the little crab had had enough. Deciding that Brock was more than it could handle, it turned sideways and sprinted away.

Brock let it. After all, it wouldn't do for him to bully this little bro.

Then again, what other fate awaited this crab? It would keep on eating stone until one of the bone monsters—the monsters that Brock knew how to avoid—devoured it. That was no life for Brock's sparring partner.

That was no life for anyone, actually. Someone had to step up for the crabs.

With a few quick steps, Brock caught up to the little crab and stopped it. It didn't fight back; it seemed almost resigned to its fate by now.

Brock shook his head. We have a lot of work to do, little bro. But don't worry. Big Bro Brock is here!

BREAK

BREAK

Jack, Longsword, and Bocor stood before a dark cave mouth.

"Well," the Lord said, "guess we found something. What do you think, Jack?"

"I think it's a cave, and I also think that I cannot see in the darkness."

Bocor snorted. "Are you afraid, little man?"

"Don't worry," Jack replied with a smirk. "I know my way around caves." He wasn't angry. This cave was too nostalgic for that. After all, his entire journey had started in a little cave in the Greenway natural reserve.

This one, as it seemed, wasn't too different from his. As they transitioned from the labyrinth's straight-cut, well-lit corridors into the jagged cave pathways, carrying their own torch that Longsword had fished from his bag, their path was almost immediately cut short.

Only a few feet into the cave stood a mirror. Or, rather, what looked like a mirror. An oval wooden shape embedded into the wall, as tall as a grown man and as wide as three of them. Its surface was covered in glass, but that was where the similarities to a mirror ended. Through it, Jack could see not himself, but a small cavern filled with treasure.

There were weapons and sets of armor, all intricately carved and covered in jewels. A mound of gold coins at the back reached up to Jack's knee. There were fist-sized jewels on small pedestals. And, at the very end of the small cavern, a small gray orb rested on a red velvet pillow. The entire arrangement of the room seemed to point at that orb, as if everything else was merely a warm-up before the real treasure.

Jack tried to scan it, but either he couldn't do so through the mirror—or was it a window?—or the item wasn't scannable in the first place.

But why was there a mirror-like window between them and the treasure?

Just as Jack had that thought, the mirror's surface flowed and undulated. The shapes inside it warped, turning from treasures in a cave into glass apparatuses and round faces, with desks, white robes, and a blackboard at the very end. Jack, to his absolute shock, found himself staring at one of the labs he used to teach in Northeastern University, separated only by a mirror and a few months of extreme change.

"What the hell?" he asked.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Longsword asked, equally surprised.

"Yeah. But I mean… Do you even know what that is?"

The Lord gave him an odd look. "Of course I do. It's where I grew up."

"You grew up there!?"

"My Lord," Bocor said, "forgive my disrespect, but that is impossible. Someone of your stature would never set foot in this gambling den."

"What?" Jack asked.

"What?" Longsword asked, equally confused. "What exactly do you see, Bocor?"

The minotaur frowned. "Drunks, card cheaters, and scum of the earth. Bottles, dirty tables, standing beds, smiles, all arrayed under the statue of a grape-holding satyre."

Jack took a second look. Still, all he saw was the lab. Am I hallucinating?

"Oh," Longsword said, squinting at the mirror's top. His eyes brightened. "Oh!"

Jack followed the Lord's gaze, but all he saw was the mirror's wooden case.

Mirror of Origins

Unlike conventional mirrors, this one does not show the current self. Instead, it is an elaborate device that shows the observer a scene of their past, which they can experience and relive as soon as they step through the mirror.

"Oh," Jack repeated.

"We are all seeing different things," Longsword explained. "I believe this is a Treasure Trial."

"A Treasure Trial?"

"Yes. Not all Trials are tailor-made to their creator's Dao. Some simply hold treasures, there for anyone to take. They are rarer, but also easier to complete."

"Oh," Jack said, turning back to the mirror. "A Treasure Trial. Okay. I can live with that. So, what do we have to do?"

"If I had to guess? Walk through the mirror, resolve whatever vision appears, then step into the treasure room and take everything."

"Hmm," Jack said. "Did we all see the same place before the mirror activated? A small cave with treasures and a prominently placed gray orb?"

"I did," Longsword replied. Bocor nodded, too.

"So, that's the real treasure room."

"Most likely."

"Okay…"

Jack cracked his neck, staring at the laboratory in the mirror. There was a bit of nostalgia there. Surprisingly, only now did he realize that he hadn't thought about his past days at all since the Integration. He hadn't missed them in the slightest.

Talk about good life choices… I guess I really didn't like it that much.

"Should I go first?" Jack asked.

"No."

That was more decisive than expected. Jack turned to look at Longsword, who had just spoken, and raised a brow. "Why?"

The Lord frowned at the mirror, considering his options. Finally, he decided, "Let's go all at once."

Jack's brows rose higher. Why? he considered again. It took him a moment to follow Longsword's train of thought.

They didn't know how long this Trial would take. How exactly does one cross a mirror? There was a chance it would be instant, but it could also leave them stranded for unknown periods of time. In other words, any trial-taker might become vulnerable.

Therefore, Longsword didn't want to go first, in case Jack—or Bocor—took advantage of his vulnerability and assassinated him. At the same time, he also didn't want to let Jack lead, because whoever went first would also enter the treasure room first. If Jack was that person, he might sweep a few trinkets into his pockets, with nobody being the wiser.

Then, why not send Bocor first, as a test subject? Jack wondered. There was only one reason: Longsword didn't trust Bocor, either. In that case, the only solution for Longsword would be for everyone to enter the mirror at the same time. Provided he completed the trial first, he would not be vulnerable or prone to losing treasure.

For the first time, Jack realized they were three men all on guard against each other.

"Very well," he said, approaching the mirror. It was tall as a man, but wide enough that all three of them could enter its surface side-by-side. Longsword and Bocor were already there, Longsword standing in the middle, head held high and hand hovering around the handle of his sword.

"A small clarification, gentlemen," Longsword said before they entered. "As the strongest person here, and as the leader of our small group, I get the lion's share. Agreed?"

He turned to stare directly at Jack, who met his gaze.

Jack expected this. He wasn't happy about it, of course, but there was nothing he could do, either. Longsword was the strongest person around. If he wanted the lion's share, he could take it.

Although, if this was Jack's group, they would have shared everything evenly.

The fact that Longsword was so proactive in demanding more dropped his standing in Jack's opinion.

"Agreed," he replied, making sure to let his dissatisfaction show. The Lord didn't seem to care.

"Of course," Bocor also confirmed from the other side.

"Good!" Longsword clapped, recovering his jovial self. "Then, let's get to it. On three. One, two…three!"

Jack dived into the mirror. Through the corner of his eye, he noticed that Longsword waited an extra half a second to confirm that both Jack and Bocor had entered. Only then did he enter himself.

In the next moment, Jack found himself in the lab he used to teach.

"Ah, Mr. Rust," a few students said, noticing him. "Welcome, sir."

Jack nodded at them absent-mindedly. He was busy marveling at his surroundings. Everything was as he remembered. The faint smell of glue, the sunlight streaming in through the windows, the stale air. A picture of his late father, Eric Rust, sitting on a tall shelf—this was Jack's lab, mostly, so he had the right to decorate it.

He looked down at himself, finding the white robe he was so familiar with. The gloves, the lab glasses around his neck, the hair net. Even the students were ones he recognized.

Most importantly, his body had reverted to his weak, pre-System self. There was no Dao to be found.

It really was a jump to the past, a punch in the gut. What am I doing here? Jack wondered. Taken back so suddenly, he realized that the difference in life quality was staggering. He was instantly drowned in the feeling of emptiness that pervaded most of his life, the dull routine that slugged his days. He remembered the existence of bills, rent, and loneliness. The weight of being forced into a life where he spent most of himself just to make ends meet.

It wasn't bad. Not really. Many people had it worse. It just wasn't the kind of life he was meant for.

Compared to the sheer joy of his post-Integration life, this place didn't feel like home at all. It was…unfulfilling. Which was odd, really. Here, he had bills. In the System world, he had interstellar empires after him and the future of Earth on his shoulders.

How come he preferred the latter so clearly? Why did danger feel like his natural environment?

Was I always crazy? he wondered, then smiled. I believe yes.

Suddenly in his lab, Jack wanted to open the window and jump out onto the grass, lay on it and take deep breaths. He wanted to feel the sun on his skin, to relax without having anything to do, to go say hi to his mother.

"Mr. Rust?" a student said, interrupting his daydreaming.

Jack reoriented on the present—or, at least, what the present looked like. "Right," he said, walking to the front of the lab. "Remind me, guys. What are we going to do today?"

"Extract banana DNA, sir," one student said.

Jack nodded. It had only been less than three months since the Integration. He remembered how to do something as simple as that. "Right. Let's get started, then."

He wanted to go out and enjoy a day in this world. But, at the same time, there was something nostalgic to teaching this class. He didn't want to betray his past like this. Let the lab pass.

Visions like this were about making the right choice, and Jack's instinct hadn't failed him yet.

Two hours went by slowly, yet quickly at the same time. Jack didn't do much; he simply observed his students, occasionally giving them pointers, correcting their technique, or giving out instructions for the next phase of the experiment. For a one-time thing, this wasn't too bad.

Only towards the end of the lab, when he had already spent more than an hour there, did Jack start to get worried. What if this was the real world? What if the System and everything else were just particularly vivid daydreams? What if he really was stuck here forever?

He suppressed the fear of that thought. Eventually, the lab was over. Jack made sure all the equipment was properly cleaned and stored. When the last student left the lab, politely wishing him goodbye, he turned off the lights and walked through the door himself.

And he was in a cave filled with treasure. He almost stumbled from the instant transition before regaining his bearings. He felt the massive strength coiled in his body, ready to be unleashed. The Dao in his soul; a powerful, revving engine.

He was back.

Before the smile even formed on his face, he had looked around and realized he was alone in the treasure room. Longsword wasn't there. Neither was Bocor. There was nowhere to hide.

Jack was the first out.

His eyes quickly scanned the room, falling on the object that was clearly the most precious. A gray orb on a red, velvet pillow. He could sense that it was scannable, but he didn't read its description. There was no time. Another thought was flashing in his mind, an urge so pressing he didn't bother squeezing it.

Longsword is an enemy. We both know that, and not stealing from the enemy is stupidity, he thought, approaching the velvet pillow. I wouldn't have done this if he trusted me, but since he didn't… Well, it's a different story.

Of course, if he took the gray orb, Longsword would know. They had all glanced at the treasure room before the mirror activated.

But Jack had an idea. Because, in the hidden pocket behind his left thigh, rested an outwardly similar gray orb, except far less valuable. One called the Ticklish Pebble.

With a swift movement, Jack switched the orbs, sliding the new one in his secret pocket and withdrawing his hand.

"What are you doing?" a voice came from behind him.

BREAK

BREAK

"What are you doing there?"

The voice came from behind Jack, startling him. He turned around, still standing before the gray orb—the one he'd replaced with the Ticklish Pebble. "Lord Longsword," he said with a nod. "You made it out."

"Were you trying to steal that orb, Jack?" Longsword did not seem amused, but disappointed. His hands were crossed behind his back, and the nine-foot-long sword dragged behind him and into the mirror's surface. He took the final few steps to dislodge it.

"I wouldn't dare," Jack replied. "Plus, I'm not stupid. You saw the orb before the mirror activated. If it was missing, you'd be suspicious."

"Then, what are you doing there?"

"I was curious."

"Curious enough to reach for the orb?" Longsword had caught Jack right as he retrieved his hand after swapping the true orb for his pebble. Thankfully, as Jack stood between the orb and the mirror, Longsword hadn't seen his hand's trajectory.

Jack smirked. "Oddly enough, yes. Just inspect it, and you'll know why I tried to touch it."

Longsword frowned. He took a couple steps to approach. Jack could feel the Lord's entire body tense, only a thought away from drawing his sword and swiping it through Jack's midsection.

That didn't happen. Instead, Jack only saw the Lord's brows crease as he inspected the pebble.

Ticklish Pebble

A pebble that laughs when touched. While possessing only minimal sentience, it is useful for cultivators pursuing the Daos of Laughter, Joy, or similar, as well as cultivators pursuing the opposite Daos, like Grief or Sadness.

He had intended to save this for Vlossana, but… Obviously, he had to set priorities.

"So," Longsword said flatly, "you were trying to…tickle this pebble?"

"Precisely."

The Lord seemed torn between disbelief and ridiculousness. He slowly raised a hand to touch the pebble.

"Hihi," a small voice came from under it. Longsword frowned and pressed his fingers harder. "Hihihi!" The snickering was louder now, as if someone was desperately trying to hold back their laughter. Visibly hating his life, Longsword grabbed the pebble and raised it, turning it around to reveal a little mouth etched into its bottom, complete with stone lips and a stone tongue.

The ticklish pebble finally couldn't contain itself and burst out laughing, spitting stone flecks on Longsword's hand. He tossed it to the ground. The pebble then rolled to a corner, where, untouched by anyone, it quickly stopped laughing.

"Are you toying with me, Jack?" Longsword asked, his frows deeply furrowed. "If yes, it is a terrible idea."

"I didn't choose the treasure, Lord," Jack replied. Only his impending doom stopped him from bursting out in laughter. "It's not my fault that whoever made this place was in the mood for jokes."

Bocor chose that exact moment to step out of the mirror, panting and looking slightly intoxicated. That intoxication melted away like snow in spring as he met Longsword's glare. "Sir!" He snapped to attention, scanning the room with his eyes. He quickly noticed the empty velvet pillow. "That's—"

"A joke, that's what it is," Longsword rumbled. He must have been very expectant of this treasure. It was the first time Jack saw him break character. "A fucking joke by some fucking idiot."

Thankfully, he wasn't looking at Jack as he said that. He suspected nothing. How could he? No matter how intelligent he was, what kind of madman would assume Jack had a similar gray orb in his pocket and managed to swap them in time?

Not to mention my poker face was great, Jack thought with pride and a large amount of relief. His split-second decision to take the orb had been a calculated risk, but calculating the danger and tasting it up-close were two very different things.

Bocor didn't understand what was going on, but he didn't speak again, unwilling to provoke Longsword's ire. Instead, his eyes kept scanning the room until they landed on the out-of-place pebble rolled up against a corner. He bent down to pick it up.

"Don't touch that!" Longsword thundered. Bocor froze mid-crouch. He quickly drew back his hand.

"Should we get to splitting the treasure?" Jack asked. "There's so much of it. The jewels, the weapons, the gold, the grand Ticklish Pebble…"

Longsword's glare landed on him like the smite of thunder. He looked deeply pissed.

"Sorry," Jack quickly apologized, realizing he'd gone too far. "I was only trying to lighten the mood."

"You find this funny, don't you?" Longsword demanded. Jack didn't reply—he didn't want to lie, but nor could he say that he found this hilarious. Longsword continued unabated. "You rejoice in my frustration, is that it? You know you couldn't get the treasure, so you're happy that it's trash."

"That is not the case," Jack replied, frowning. "Plus, any treasure this deep in the labyrinth should have a use. The ticklish pebble might hold secrets."

"Is that so? Keep it, then. Let it be your share of the treasure. I'm sure that the crown jewel of this trial is more than enough for an underling's share."

Jack's frown deepened. Longsword was just bullying him now. They were surrounded by actual treasure; giving it up for just a funny pebble was a terrible deal.

Longsword was in a bad mood, so he was punishing Jack's unruliness and cutting his losses at the same time. That wasn't proper conduct. He was basically cheating Jack out of his share.

Of course, Jack had already gotten the actual treasure, but Longsword didn't know that. He was just being a dick.

"That is unfair," Jack protested calmly.

"I set the rules here, and I find it fair. You will take your pebble and be happy with it."

Jack's body tensed up. He was the Fiend of the Iron Fist. The champion of his planet. Could he stand being treated like this, even if the alternative was death?

The only thing helping Jack's mood was that he had cheated Longsword first. In truth, he was the winner of this trial—how could gold and jewels compare to a real treasure? Though he didn't have time to inspect the gray orb he'd gotten, it had to be something good.

In that light, Longsword was just throwing a loser's tantrum.

Jack still considered just fighting and dying for this insult. It took a significant portion of his willpower to keep that from happening.

His Dao didn't control him. He controlled it. And dying like this would be really stupid, especially when he was the real winner here. A fist was an unstoppable force that never looked back—but punching a wall was just stupid. One had to time his punches right.

Still, Jack promised to himself he'd repay this insult later—preferably tenfold.

Bocor looked at Jack with open mockery. Thankfully, that was an insult he could return immediately.

"What are you looking at, cow?" Jack asked, snorting. "Jealous that I get to at least exchange words with your master?"

Bocor's face soured instantly, going through several shades of red. "My Lord," he said through gritted teeth, turning to Longsword, "Jack Rust is an unruly fellow. Even after traveling together for this long, he hasn't agreed to join you. How about we take care of him right now? My Animal Kingdom will remember this favor."

Jack glanced at Longsword. On the inside, his Dao was revving up, and he was ready to draw on the Life Drop's powers at a moment's notice. He couldn't fight Longsword, but with the Life Drop, he had a chance to escape. The mirror was right there, and from this side, it only showed the cave mouth they had originally entered.

And, if that didn't work, Jack was prepared to lay down his life to at least strike Longsword once—and kill Bocor.

Everyone boiled in tense silence for a moment. Jack was ready to bolt. Bocor was ready to try and stop him. Longsword looked up with his eyes half-closed, calculating.

"I will not intervene in your faction's conflicts," he finally said. "Jack Rust was disrespectful just now, but he has already paid for it by giving up his share. That is enough."

"My Lord! He is just a wanted mortal, nowhere near the level of a confli—"

"Shut your trap, Bocor," Longsword barked. "You understand nothing. This man has a relationship with the Lady of the Exploding Sun, and I need her help to stand up to the Hand of God in Garden Ring. I will not involve myself in your faction struggles, and you will stay your hand until we reach Garden Ring, as I said. If you want to die after that, it's your business. Am I clear?"

A relationship with the Lady of the Exploding Sun? Jack thought. He had only ever seen her from afar—once. Does she know Master Shol? And how does Longsword know?

Silence fell. Bocor was clenching his fists so hard they turned white. "Yes, sir," he finally said.

"Good. As for you," he turned to Jack, who still watched from the side. His voice softened. "I want you to know that conflicts like these happen all the time when treasure is involved. It is natural for people to get angry and lash out at each other—though a person of my stature really shouldn't do so. What just happened doesn't make us enemies. It is just the natural way of the world. If you are ever the strongest party, I fully expect you to act with similar authority, and I won't say a word if I'm slightly mistreated."

Jack was conflicted. He didn't expect such a change of heart the moment Longsword regained his composure. On one hand, what he said made sense. On the other… Whenever Jack was the strongest party, he never mistreated anyone, nor did he lose his temper unjustly and act like a spoiled child who'd lost his favorite toy. That wasn't natural or the way things worked. It was bullying.

However, at the very least, he had to acknowledge Longsword extending an olive branch. There was even half an apology included in his words. As time went by, Jack got more and more convinced he didn't want to be this man's ally, let alone underling, but he had to admit that Longsword wasn't completely gone.

He was a multi-layered, intelligent, charismatic man. Too bad he was also a dick in disguise.

"That makes sense," Jack replied non-committedly, tempering his Dao and urge to argue. It was nice to resolve conflicts nonviolently for a change.

"Good. Let's get to splitting the rest of the treasure. Bocor, I will take two thirds, and you will take one."

"Yes, sir." Bocor didn't seem to mind this split. It was probably what he expected—maybe even more, judging by his suspiciously narrowed eyes.

The rest half an hour was spent with Longsword picking out his share and placing it in the bag that hung from his belt—which, apparently, was larger on the inside. It easily fit all those weapons, armor, and golden coins despite looking barely large enough to fit a water canteen.

Jack had even seen Longsword retrieve a portable bonfire from in there. It was called a "Space Bag." Because it had extra space.

Scions sure are privileged…

Bocor didn't have such a bag. Thankfully for him, Longsword took all the larger items, so the minotaur was able to stuff everything else in his bulging backpack. The thing was the size of a small fridge. It looked almost funny against Bocor's rough exterior and full plate armor.

The rest of the trip went by quickly. They were close to the guardian's gates, with the labyrinth corridors now almost pitch black. As a result, not only did traversing them hurt Jack's eyes and threatened his sanity, but the bleached-white bone monsters were exceptionally striking against the walls.

There were also more of them.

Thankfully, their group was made up of three strong cultivators, so none of the monsters posed a problem. The one time they ran into a Bone Lieutenant, the Elite version of bone monsters, Longsword personally took to battle and dismantled it. Even the crampy corridors, where his nine-foot-long sword barely fit, didn't seem to bother him.

His strength was impressive. Jack would need his Life Drop to eke out a victory against this Bone Lieutenant, but Longsword made it seem almost trivial.

Throughout the journey, the mood of the group was slightly more chilled than before. Longsword's jovial banter had died down a bit, and Bocor's glares towards Jack had become less "I want to kill you" and more "I hate you."

Jack didn't mind. He had decided not to ally with these people, and he wasn't the type to cozy up to them for future benefits. He responded politely to Longsword's chatting, but that was it.

Truthfully, even peacefully traveling with them was more than he hoped for.

The worst part was that he still couldn't inspect the gray orb. He didn't have the time to do it before he'd gotten it, and now he was too afraid someone would spot it and connect the dots. He didn't even dare sneak a peek when nobody was looking, afraid of any hidden observation skills they may have. All he could do was feel it with his fingers, but it was just a smooth gray orb, cool and soft to the touch.

The wait was unbearable. It was just in his pocket!

En route, he kept practicing against Copy Jack whenever he got the opportunity. Every night—or, at least, every time they stopped to rest—he could feel his Meteor Punch and Dao Root of Power grow closer to each other. He had already comprehended both to a good extent and was working on their fusion. All he needed now was a spark of inspiration.

Unfortunately, that spark could only come through battle, so he was forced to wait.

Two days later, the sound of voices reached them from deeper in the labyrinth. The corridors opened up to reveal a small plaza and large, bronze gates.

They had reached the Guardian.

BREAK

BREAK

Nauja appeared in a dark corner. She was instantly on guard.

There was little she could make of the surrounding space. Everything a few feet away from her was darkness. There could be anything out there.

However, Nauja was a trained warrior. She immediately fell into a crouch and directed her eyes slightly downward, away from the toches above. The better acclimated to the darkness her sight was, the earlier she would see attacks coming. At the same time, she focused on her hearing and made her breathing silent, keeping an ear out for any sign of incoming projectiles. Her bow was already drawn, with an arrow of wind gathering on its string.

How should I proceed? she asked herself.

As it turned out, she didn't have to. A short moment after she appeared, the room burst with light. Lines of torches lit up on the walls, gradually illuminating a long, narrow chamber. Bare stone walls surrounded her on all sides. She stood on a narrow ledge in one end of the long room. Ahead of her ledge lay complete darkness—a seemingly bottomless chasm.

There was nothing on the other side of the chamber. No ledge, no door. No windows anywhere. Just her, her ledge, the torches, and the abyss. Everything else was bare stone.

Nauja wasn't used to enclosed spaces. In the Barbarian Ring, she was either in her hut or in the jungle, and this sealed room was even worse than the labyrinth. The stuffy air she only just noticed and the absence of any windows or doors pressured her deeply, making panic rise in her chest.

She fought to push it down. This was not her home. The outside world was dangerous and alien. She had to keep a level head for as long as she was here. Make her tribe proud.

And now what? she thought. A second look around the room revealed nothing. What am I supposed to do?

"Welcome, trial taker," a voice suddenly boomed. No form appeared; the voice came directly from the walls. It was feminine, spoken with authority and seriousness. "My name is Veheil Maestro Cir, a Planet Breaker of the Crimson Cloud faction."

Nauja's body seized. A Planet Breaker. That was…so strong. The equivalent of the B-Grade. An impossibly distant realm.

Wait. She called herself a Planet Breaker. That's the name my people use!

Before she could consider this further, the voice continued.

"On the behest of my Faction Head, I am leaving behind an inheritance for the future generations. I shall transmit upon you my greatest Dao Skill, the Sun Piercing Arrow. This is the technique that earned me my position as Faction Elder and my moniker: Sun Killer."

A moment of silence. Nauja didn't respond; she understood this was a voice projection, and that the person who made it was probably long dead.

"However, the Sun Piercing Arrow will not be transmitted to the unworthy. To succeed in my trial, you have to prove your archery, my skill's prerequisite. You will be presented with a series of targets on the far wall. You are to hit them all unerringly. If one arrow hits the wall, you will be expelled from the trial and banned from re-entering. If you use means other than archery, you will be executed for disrespecting me. You may use any archery-related skills you possess."

Nauja gulped. This woman, Veheil Maestro Cir, did not seem patient. "Yes, Elder," she replied with a slight bow, more to compose herself than to placate the voice projection.

"You may begin," the voice finished, then faded away.

A stone basket flashed into existence behind Nauja. It contained exactly thirty-three arrows, each forged of iron, with steel tips and tails of crimson feathers. Before she could stop herself, Nauja walked over to the arrows and picked one up. It was heavy—it felt more like a weapon than any arrow she'd held before.

The sound of popping air drew her attention to the far wall. Nine targets had appeared—red circles the size of her head, each with a color gradient that started red at the periphery and ended at a white dot in the center.

The nine targets hung on the far wall, arrayed in three rows of three; a perfect square. This task didn't seem too difficult—the far wall was only a hundred feet away, and Nauja was a high E-Grade archer.

There was no time limit, either.

Her gaze returned to the arrows. From what she could tell, she didn't have to use them. Her wind arrows were an archery-related skill. However, this was an easy shot, and these arrows were too well-made to ignore.

She nocked one on her bowstring. It was far heavier than her wind arrows, or even her normal, wooden ones—not enough to encumber her, but enough to pull her shot down. Shooting straight would take a lot of strength.

Thankfully, strength was an archer's staple.

Nauja pulled her bowstring as far back as she could manage. She could feel her bow strain under the tension, but it was made from the heart of an elder treant, able to handle even the full strength of a peak E-Grade archer. The bowstring itself was nine tyrannosaurus hamstrings entwined tightly around each other.

This bow had taken her father a week to forge.

Its ends curved a bit inward as Nauja pulled, aimed, and released. She shot a bit higher than usual, just in case. The iron arrow pierced the air, shrieking as it flew. It embedded itself in the middle target almost instantly. Surprisingly, it didn't pierce too deep; the entire tip disappeared, but the body of the arrow was fully visible.

The target was made of very hard wood.

Nauja kept this information in mind—if she shot too weakly, the arrow might not even stick to the target. Good thing she used these heavy arrows instead of her wind ones.

Grabbing another eight arrows, she quickly hit all visible targets. Besides the first one—which she hit halfway between the outer edge and the center—all the rest hit bullseye. It was an easy shot for her; nothing more than a warm-up.

The moment she struck the ninth target, they all disappeared. A moment later, they reappeared in pristine condition, with the arrows missing. However, they weren't stationary now. They hovered just before the far wall and moved around at high speed; some went right and left, others up and down, yet more diagonally or in a circle.

The trajectory of each target was set, as was its speed, but they were fast. This was a far harder task than the previous one.

"We're getting started, huh?" Nauja said, unable to keep a smirk from emerging on her face. She aimed for one of the targets. She took a moment to clearly observe its trajectory. She calculated its position, taking a practice shot with no arrow on the string. She got it right.

Then, she nocked an arrow and smoothly hit the target.

She did the same for the other eight. These shots weren't easy, but they weren't too hard, either. Since she could take her time, she managed all nine without breaking a sweat, though she was no longer hitting dead-center. One of the arrows hit close to the edge, making her curse.

The nine targets disappeared.

When they reappeared, again in pristine condition, Nauja frowned. They were still moving in set trajectories, but this time, their speed wasn't constant. They went slower and faster at set intervals, but not at the same places of their trajectory every time. The periods of their spatial and speed fluctuations weren't the same.

Nauja bit her lip in concentration. This was going to be difficult—and, even worse, there were fourteen arrows remaining in the basket. Since she wasn't supposed to miss a shot, it meant this was not the final test.

But she could do this.

She pulled the string without an arrow, observing the first target. She took her time. A minute later, when she felt she had it down, she did a practice shot. The result was unclear; it might have missed. Biting her lip, she tried again and again until she was confident she would succeed. Then, nocking the arrow, she observed the target, stilled her breath, and took the shot.

It hit halfway between the center and the edge.

Nauja released her breath. She could do this.

For the rest of the eight targets, she always took her time, between one and ten minutes per shot. She wanted to be sure. Some were harder than others, too—the one moving in a circle was the trickiest of all.

All the while, she kept imagining the results of a single miss. She would have to go out there and tell Gan Salin she had failed. She would have to tell her father that she squandered the one opportunity she had to get stronger.

But an archer needed a clear mind. She kept the thoughts away with all the strength of her will, and made the shots.

Thankfully, she got them all—though she almost missed the circle one.

Nauja released a deep sigh of relief, but she knew the trial wasn't over. The targets disappeared again; when they reappeared, there were only four of them, but they were ridiculous. Not only was their speed seemingly random, but so was their trajectory. They were crawling along the far wall without rhyme or reason, making random turns at random intervals.

Nauja was speechless.

How the hell am I supposed to hit those!? she cried out inwardly, but she didn't dare speak her thoughts aloud. The voice hadn't seemed easygoing; who knew what hidden failsafes she had installed?

She bit her lip in thought. If the movement of the targets was random, she would have to rely on luck. After all, even though her arrows flew fast, there was still an interval between firing the shot and landing it. If the target just randomly moved away during that interval, if it accelerated or slowed down hard, it could cause her to miss. Even her wind-guiding skill, which could slightly alter her arrow's trajectory mid-air, could do little at this short distance.

She really hoped their movements were not completely random. Therefore, she set her sights on one target and begam observing it.

A minute later, it still seemed random.

Three minutes later, still random.

Only after ten minutes did she get a sense of the target's movements. There wasn't a pattern, per se. It was more like…a combination of several patterns. Like the target was an animal; its movements were random, but not too random. Moreover, each target was moving in slightly different ways; one was erratic, like a rabbit, while another was more purposeful, like a triceratops.

There were two ways to shoot an animal in the jungle. The easiest one was waiting for it to stay still, but these targets never stopped. The second way was to try and identify when the animal was in a set trajectory, then predict and shoot it. For example, an animal running away from a predator was predictable—it would just follow the most direct route away.

Unfortunately, these targets weren't animals. They weren't going to run away from anything. How could she know when they'd fall into a pattern?

Nauja bit her lip. Patience was an archer's friend.

She watched the targets for half an hour, trying not to memorize their patterns, but rather get a feel for how they moved. Instinct was a powerful force. One that was often overlooked.

Nauja opened her mind and watched. When the half hour was past, she kept watching—observing. She had all the time in the world. No matter how bored or frustrated she got, she wouldn't give up on this opportunity.

At one random point, it struck her. The targets weren't completely random; they chose their paths in relation to each other!

When that clicked, everything began to make more sense. One target was a predator; it usually moved towards the other three targets. The others were prey; they liked to move close to each other, but prioritized escaping the predator when it approached enough.

Nauja's eyes flared with realization.

Of course, her task remained difficult. These patterns were nowhere near easy to see. The targets still moved erratically and almost unpredictably. Even when she focused on just one of them, she couldn't predict its movements. But she could see the driving forces now. She could calculate when the target would change directions because of the predator's presence nearby—as well as where it would head: in the exact opposite direction.

Nauja played the game for a while. She kept trying to see the patterns. She didn't need to predict everything; just the split-second after she shot, at any moment she wanted. She could do this.

Keeping her eyes on the target, she reached for an arrow and nocked it. She was holding still in complete concentration. Her eyes were taking in the movements of all four targets, focusing on the one she was aiming for.

There!

She released the arrow before realizing what she was doing. Panic overtook her in the split-second when her shot was in the air. Had she rushed it? Should she have waited more?

Time slowed down. It seemed like she was going to miss. Then, the target abruptly rushed aside, directly into her arrow.

She hit dead-center.

Nauja released another deep sigh. This trial brought immense pressure…but it wasn't anywhere near over. She couldn't afford to relax yet.

She returned her attention to the targets. The arrow sticking out of one of them didn't seem to change their patterns. That was good. Nauja focused on another. Ten minutes later, her eyes flickered, and she released her shot.

It hit the target near the edge.

One hour later, all four targets were cleanly pierced through, even the predator one, which had been the most difficult. Nauja was sweating all over. There was an element of luck in this trial; if there had been more targets, she might have missed the fifth or sixth shot.

Thankfully, she had succeeded.

Nauja hadn't mentioned this to Jack or Gan Salin, but she was actually a pretty good archer. She was by far the best in her tribe. Even in the surrounding tribes, it was hard to find someone who could meet her shots. She always came first in all contests.

Even the arrow-wielding delvers were defeated by her, with the exception of one man two years ago, who was a Lord.

That this Trial pushed her to her limits spoke volumes about its difficulty.

However, even after shooting all four targets, Nauja didn't allow herself to relax. There was still one arrow in the basket. The trial wasn't over.

She waited for the last target to appear, but none did. After a while, she began to wonder whether the trial was completed already, but the voice didn't speak.

What is happening?

Suddenly, a creeping suspicion entered her mind. She focused on the far wall and squinted, running her eyes over its entire surface.

There. Right in the center of the wall was a tiny white dot. A target only the size of her fingertip, a hundred feet away.

The final test.

Are you kidding me!?

She wanted to call out the Trial's ridiculousness. This was clearly a joke. How was she supposed to hit something like that? She was barely able to see it!

Even when she hit the other targets dead-center, it wasn't that dead-center.

And yet, the final arrow waited in the basket, and the voice was not speaking up. Left with no choice, Nauja grabbed the arrow and nocked it. The shot was unfairly hard, but not impossible—after all, she was nearly an immortal.

Unfortunately, mock shots wouldn't help with this one. Neither would observation or patience. This was a test of pure archery skill. All she could do was aim and shoot.

Nauja half-pulled on the string and focused. She let her breath die out. Her world narrowed to a point. The Dao of Archery flooded her mind, making her one with the bow, and the Dao of Wind rose in the space between her and the target, ready to guide the arrow precisely to its destination.

Nauja took a deep breath. She blinked to clear her vision. Her entire body went taut and still, like a statue, as her eyes pinpointed the dot that was her target.

She loosed the arrow.

And missed.

BREAK

BREAK

The arrowtip hit the stone a few millimeters to the right of the target, embedding itself in the wall. Nauja froze in her stance. Her mind struggled to believe this.

She didn't actually think she would miss. She had convinced herself she would succeed. And yet, reality was merciless. She had missed.

Wait! she pleaded mentally. The edge of the arrowtip grazed the target. That might be enough.

Unfortunately, the rules of the trial were clear. Any arrow that touched the wall would mean disqualification.

Nauja felt such hatred, both towards herself and the creator of this trial, that she wanted the earth to open up and swallow her. How would she look anyone in the eye after this?

She had tried so hard!

"Thirty-two out of thirty-three," the voice boomed. She sounded dissatisfied. "Disappointing…but, since we need someone to succeed every few years, it is barely acceptable. I will distribute a weaker version of my skill to you, trial taker. If you fail to use it properly, nobody will ridicule me. And, if you somehow rise to the skill's level in the future, you may be able to evolve it to its original strength. Farewell."

Nauja took some time to process what she heard.

I—

Before she could think any further, her world transformed. She was no longer in a stone chamber in Trial Planet. She now hovered over the tip of a mountain, high above the clouds of an unknown planet.

For the first time, Nauja saw the real space. She was paralyzed. The stars felt so immeasurably far away. Two suns burned bright in the sky, and the sheer emptiness around her made her dizzy.

She had never felt happier in her life.

Under her feet, a woman stood on the mountaintop. She wore leather armor and had long, flowing, sapphire hair. Her eyes were purple, her skin tanned, and she held a dark purple bow in her hands, as if made of crystal. It had a white bowstring with runes carved all over its length, so tiny Nauja almost couldn't see them.

Saphira, Level ? (B-Grade)

Faction: Crimson Cloud (A-Grade)

Title: Planet Breaker

The woman aimed her bow at one of the two suns and pulled it. An obsidian arrow was nocked on the string, an object so heavy it seemed to draw in Nauja's gaze and curve the world around it.

The woman aimed, still as a statue, and shot.

The moment her arrow went loose, Nauja felt a terrifying suction at work. The entire world was pulled to the arrow. As it flew, everything, from the air to the clouds, was tugged along. This arrow was ripping off the world's Dao, absorbing it for itself, using it to clad itself in ever greater power.

It wasn't growing weaker with distance, as normal arrows would. Instead, it was growing stronger, a multi-colored outline manifesting around it like a mantle, until the arrow itself was just the core of a much larger, ever growing power.

Nauja saw it disappear into the sky, a comet heading upward, directly into one of the two suns. As she took a second look, her eyes widened. That wasn't a sun. It was a large orange bird, clad in flames and exuding such extreme light that her eyes had mistakenly took it for a sun at first, not daring to stare at it directly.

She couldn't even use the System to inspect it.

The bird cawed, and the world shook. Space trembled. The mountain under the woman crumbled, leaving her floating on thin air. Some of the arrow's mantle was ripped away from the bird's cawing and intense flames, but over half of it remained, and it stabbed into the bird with cataclysmic force.

The world exploded in colors. The force didn't impact Nauja, who was only there to watch the vision, but something else did. Suddenly, she was ripped away from the vision and tossed far back, interrupted before she could see the explosion's results.

The voice had mentioned a lesser version of the skill. This must have been it.

Nauja was blasted out of the vision and into her body, finding herself lying on cold stone with an intact statue beside her and the deep sound of a gong in her ears.

"Are you okay?" Gan Salin said, kneeling over her. "Don't worry about failing. Look! I carved our faces into the stone!"

She took a moment to respond. "What?"

"Our faces. Under your butt. Look."

She looked under herself, only to find a surprisingly accurate rendition of her face on the stone floor. Salin's face was right next to hers, making a grimace. If she wasn't still reeling from the vision, she would have admired his stoneworking skill.

"What?" she repeated.

Salin's voice was full of excitement. "So, how was it? Difficult, obviously, but was it scary? Inspiring? Did you get anything before failing?"

"I… I didn't fail. Not exactly."

"Really? Then, why is the statue still standing? Was it not a single-person trial?"

Usually, high-level trials allowed only one person to claim them. When that happened, the trial statue would collapse to show that the trial was no longer available, but the one behind Nauja was still standing.

The barbarian finally recovered enough of her mind to respond properly. "I didn't succeed, but I didn't fail, either. I got a lesser version of the skill left behind in the statue."

"A skill? Ohh, that's great! What does it do?"

"It…" She frowned. "I think it allows me to shoot an arrow that gets stronger as it travels instead of weaker."

"Sounds useful!"

"Yeah. I saw the trial creator use it to shoot down the sun."

"The sun!?" Salin's eyes grew wide as saucers. "What Grade were they?"

"B-Grade. But it wasn't really the sun. Just a very bright bird."

"Bright as in, smart?"

"Bright as in bright."

"So, the sun was a bird."

"No, there was an actual sun too… I think. I didn't look at it, to be honest, but it was probably the real sun."

"How do you know that if you didn't check?"

"Because I know it, okay?"

"Okay. So, the vision taught you that suns are made of bird."

"No."

"Then, birds are made of sun."

"Salin."

"What? Your answers are confusing."

"You are asking confusing questions."

"I'm just trying to understand. And why did the trial creator want to take down the sun? That sounds really bad for anyone under it."

"Again, it wasn't the real sun…and, I don't know why. I guess they were enemies."

"That's a stupid enemy to make. It's literally the sun."

"It's literally not the sun. And that's none of your business. Can we focus on this awesome new skill I got?"

Salin opened his mouth to say something more, then seemed to realize something and paused. "It sounds amazing! Can I see?" he finally asked.

Nauja smiled. She was so excited. Maybe she didn't have the complete skill, but it was the signature skill of a Planet Breaker! It was about time someone shared her enthusiasm!

"I can't use it yet," she admitted. "But I got the vision! If I just meditate on it, I will get the skill, sooner or later. And then, I will be able to shoot large dinosaurs from far, far away. Father will be so proud." If I ever see him again, she added mentally. Every cultivator could only enter Trial Planet once in their lives. If she left the Planet to see the world… She would never be able to come back.

That was the sad reality that had been chasing her ever since she left her tribe. The dilemma faced by every barbarian who chose to delve. Nauja tore her mind away. She would consider it when the time came. Who knows; maybe she'd die in the meantime.

In any case, this was her moment of triumph. She wouldn't let anything cloud it. Not even the looming, heart-breaking decision.

"Should we get going?" she asked, finally standing up. Salin politely extended a hand to help her, which she used—barbarians had manners, too.

"Yep. We should have a headstart, but if I miss the fight between the Garden Assault and the Guardian, I will regret it for the rest of my life."

"Is it that spectacular?"

"Oh, you have no idea. It's probably the only time in your life that you'll see E-Grades standing up to a D-Grade—and not losing terribly."

Her eyes sparkled. The strongest people around… She had to see them fight. "Then, what are we waiting for?"

"Nothing. Let's go!"

Salin jumped and punched the air, with Nauja following after him as they exited the temple. They were back in the crampy corridors now, but she didn't mind. Her mood was at an all-time high. Nothing could ruin it.

Suddenly, she paused. "Wait," she said, raising a hand. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That." She frowned, focusing on her hearing. "It's like…a landslide?"

Salin raised a brow. "Does it sound like something we should get the hell away from?"

"Oh, absolutely."

They bolted. However, there was a limit to how quickly they could cross the labyrinth. There could be bone monsters hiding anywhere; they had to tread cautiously.

Soon, however, the sound after them intensified so much that even Salin could hear it clearly. It sounded like an avalanche of pebbles raining on the stone floors—or like a centipede of bone marching their way. And, if there was a bone centipede, it could only be the bone monster version they had yet to meet: the King one.

By that point, it was too late to be cautious. Nauja and Gan Salin ran at full-tilt, making some distance from the source of the sound, which was apparently chasing them.

Generally speaking, Labyrinth Ring didn't have dead-ends. Most of its paths connected to others, making for a confusing terrain where you had no idea if you were moving forward, backward, or in circles. To navigate it, people usually needed either Nauja's sharp eyesight, which could detect the miniscule changes in wall coloration, or a device like Lord Longsword's compass.

Occasionally, however, the labyrinth did house dead-ends. And, as luck would have it, it was exactly such a dead-end that Nauja and Gan Salin ran into as they were escaping the sound.

They both screeched to a halt.

"Fuck," said Nauja.

"Shit," said Salin.

They turned and prepared to run again, but the sound was too close now. It was approaching fast. Before they knew it, it sounded like it was just behind the corner, ready to jump at them and tear them apart. They could no longer escape.

The two of them exchanged a look. "I guess this is the end," Nauja said with a small smile, drawing her bow. "Traveling with you was…not terrible. It's an honor to die by your side, Gan Salin."

"Same," Salin replied, putting on his clawed gloves. "It was about time, to be honest. I've lasted more than I thought I would. At least, nobody will miss me back home."

"Don't say that!" Nauja's eyes went wide. "I will miss you. Jack and Brock will. And certainly your family."

Salin chuckled. "You don't know my family…but thanks. I appreciate it."

That was all they had time to say before the abomination rounded the corner. It was a flood of hard blue, with shells and pincers sticking out haphazardly, and a thousand little legs moving the flood from underneath, while bone shards trailed on the ground behind them.

Wait. Were there little muscles on the crab arms that held those pincers?

Between the skittering crabs walked a young brorilla, reaching just above Nauja's waist. Seeing them, his eyes brightened. "Stop," he commanded, and the crabs froze. The brorilla then looked up at Nauja and Gan Salin, who were equally frozen. "Hello, bros."

"Brock?" they both said at once. Brock nodded.

"Yes. Brock. Little bros, hi."

The crabs all waved in unison. Nauja gaped. Gan Salin started laughing uncontrollably, until he ended up rolling on the floor.

"Brock!" he cried out. "I fucking love you, dude!"

BREAK

BREAK

Brock was pretty proud of himself. He had saved his little crab bros.

Dying to bone monsters all the time just wasn't good. Therefore, Brock had gathered them up and taught them how to defend themselves.

First came training. He taught the crabs how to raise their pincers, not to snip pebbles off the walls, but to defend themselves against predators. After all, even though they were far weaker than the bone monsters, they had much room to grow! Since Brock had taken over as their big bro, he couldn't just let them waste their potential.

Then came grouping up. By themselves, the crabs were too weak. No amount of training would let them defend against the bone monsters—at least, not in any reasonable time frame. However, they were also far more than their predators. Just touring the corridors alone was stupid.

Starting from the first crab—the one he wrestled into little brohood—Brock ventured into the corridors to find more of them. He was followed by an ever rising number of obedient crabs. Every time they met a new one, his little bros would quickly convince the new crab that Brock was their big bro. Brock's little squad grew until it was nowhere near a squad anymore, and was instead hundreds of crabs rushing over each other in their haste to receive the teachings of their big bro.

Brock held lectures and work-out sessions. He had the crabs lift and spar against each other. He had them run up and down the corridors and walls. He taught them how to fight as a group, separating into smaller squads to surround their predator, burying it under sheer numbers. Even how to send out one crab as bait to lure the bone monsters into ambushes. Finally, he also taught them how to scout for approaching bone monsters.

They weren't bad bros. In fact, they were excellent. Obedient, smart, and thirsty for knowledge. They made him so proud.

The crab training took one day. When Brock was done with them, the crabs had evolved from harmless crustaceans to hardened veterans. They had scouts, hit squads, and battle formations. They could hatch proper plans, protect their own, recruit and train new crabs, and gradually expand throughout the stone corridors.

They were set to conquer the labyrinth, forever banishing the bone monsters. Brock had started a war.

But it was war against oppression, so it was fine.

After the bro bootcamp was over, the crabs accompanied Brock to the guardian's gate. They knew where it was, obviously, and took him there by the fastest route.

En route, they also defeated two bone monsters! Brock was so proud.

And then, completely accidentally, they ran into girl bro and dog bro! Brock had so much to show them. He had gotten much stronger. He had trained all these little bros.

They seemed surprised, which was odd, but Brock didn't give it much thought. He also noticed they seemed scared when he first found them. They must have been having a terrible time in the crab bro labyrinth. Thankfully, Brock was here now. As their big bro—he was Big Bro's first little bro, so he had seniority—he would protect them.

After girl bro and dog bro joined his group, Brock led everyone to the Guardian. Nothing much happened in the meantime. Any bone monsters were quickly assaulted and overrun by crabs, with their bones taken along as war trophies.

Soon, the walls were pitch black, and the sound of faraway voices began to reach their ears. Brock raised a hand. "Stop," he commanded, and all the crabs came to a halt.

Big Bro had taught him to think before acting. Now, as much as he wanted to introduce these little bros to their Big Big Bro, he knew it would be a bad idea. There were more people up ahead. Strong people. If anything went wrong, his little bros would be in trouble, and he would have dragged his big bro into it as well.

That shouldn't happen.

Brock waved goodbye to his little bros. Manly tears sparkled in his eyes. They had grown so much—they didn't even need him anymore.

He shook the pincers of each and every one of them, then wrapped them into a group hug. Finally, he waved as the crabs disappeared around the corner, off to conquer their little corner of the world and manifest their full potential.

They grew up so fast…

"Nauja," Dog Bro said, "I think we just witnessed a fate-turning event for Labyrinth Ring…"

"I don't even know what to say anymore…" Girl Bro shook her head. Brock knew why Girl Bro was lost for words. She did not understand the concept of bro yet. Neither did Dog Bro. But, as their big bro, Brock would make sure they understood. It was his duty.

After all, if he could handle a hundred crab bros, why not Dog Bro and Girl Bro?

When Jack entered the chamber, it felt like surfacing out of water. He hadn't even realized how confined he felt inside the labyrinth's tight corridors.

The guardian's gates were a set of giant bronze doors. Each rose a hundred feet, all the way to the ceiling of this stone chamber, taking up the entire far wall. Torches dotted the other walls in regular intervals, forming a grid that stretched over the entire chamber.

The chamber itself was round in shape—save for the straight far wall. Twelve exits led back into the labyrinth, leaving a hundred-foot-radius empty circle in the midst, where cultivators gathered in anticipation of the battle.

There were around a dozen people present in the chamber—though none of the other lords. Jack quickly scanned them all. Most were at or near the peak of the E-Grade. They wore mainly armor or flowing robes that didn't obstruct movement, and they belonged to all sorts of species and factions.

One of them was the ice witch that belonged to Longsword's team. She was speaking to someone else, but quickly broke off when Longsword appeared and came to greet him. Besides her, Jack saw a genderless stone golem, a snakeman, a humanoid woman with draconic features, as well as a man with gills and fins. The rest were all humans.

Of factions, he finally learned some more B-Grade ones. The stone golem belonged to Titan Mountain. The draconic woman, to Dragon Valley. The merfolk, to Deep Sea Shrine.

With the Animal Kingdom, Wide Swirls, and Exploding Sun, he now knew six of them. Three to go.

The moment Jack, Lord Longsword, and Bocor entered the chamber, all conversation hushed, and all eyes turned to them.

"Lord Longsword," a few people said, approaching and nodding deeply.

"My friends," Longsword greeted everyone, laughing and shaking their hands. "I'm glad to see you made it. Did you have any luck?"

A few people had smiles on their faces. Others, presumably the ones who hadn't found a trial, looked disappointed. It seemed that the labyrinth wasn't too generous.

Suddenly, however, he felt out of his depth. The cultivators who made it here were the galaxy's cream of the crop. These were talented scions of B-Grade factions, disciples of high-level cultivators, or otherwise privileged prodigies.

Jack, in comparison, was just…Jack.

Alone as he was, without Brock, Gan Salin, Nauja, or anyone else, he suddenly felt vulnerable. Like he didn't fit.

These cultivators all had carefully-crafted upbringing. They socialized like nobles. Longsword quickly joined their "dance," laughing and chatting in groups, moving along like a social butterfly. These were all powerful people, and their interactions were an intense, jovial procedure that Jack had trouble following.

Even Bocor joined them, not forgetting to throw Jack a final glare. Longsword, on the other hand, just ignored him. He had realized by now that Jack was never going to become an ally.

Jack was left alone for a moment. Though he had arrived with Longsword, the others saw how the Lord paid him no attention, so they followed suit.

"Hello." A woman approached him, in direct spite of his previous thoughts. Her smile was bright. "My name is Leafborn."

Human (Earth-74), Level 119

Faction: Wide Swirls (B-Grade)

Title: Sixth Ring Conqueror

She was from the same faction as Longsword, but speaking to Jack meant that she and the Lord were on bad terms. Everyone else took note of that.

"I'm Jack Rust. Nice to meet you," Jack replied politely.

Funnily enough, Jack had been in such settings before. Back when he was a PhD student, he often saw professors interacting with each other, and he engaged in these social settings himself every time he attended a conference. Those times were very similar to what he now saw—except these people had their PhD's in fighting, not science.

Though, wizards may qualify for science, too.

In any case, Jack did not enjoy this very much. There was joy to be found in these social dances, which is why they occurred, but he now followed the path of the fist. Convoluted matters didn't fit him.

Therefore, he simply remained polite and tried to make friends.

Leafborn, the human woman who'd first approached him, introduced him to the stone golem and the snakeman—who seemed like a nice person, in spite of all fantasy stereotypes against his species.

Jack made polite conversation, keeping some distance. He wanted to make friends, but he didn't want to get swept up in anyone's political games. The conversation still taught him a lot of things about the universe and its peculiarities—along with how unusual it was for someone so recently Integrated to get this far.

Thankfully, he didn't stay there for long. Soon after Jack's group, another group arrived at the chamber: the Exploding Sun Lady's.

Again, everyone paused. Some people went over to greet her, while others returned to their conversations. Jack approached her, too, as did Lord Longsword.

"Priya," Longsword said with a beaming smile. "You are fast."

"Not as fast as you," she replied. "Getting in early has its benefits." She was a woman in her twenties, with tanned skin and white strips wrapped around her wrists, like those a fighter would wear. She wore a red flowing robe that left her fit arms exposed, and her eyes were sharp as she took in Longsword.

Beside her was a fat man with a large smile, who instantly created a friendly impression in Jack's mind. There was also a captivating woman with long silver hair, whose eyes pierced Jack like a moon beam. All three were humans of the Exploding Sun faction.

"This is Jack Rust," Longsword introduced Jack, mentioning him directly for the first time since arriving. "We met in the labyrinth, and we helped each other make it through."

"Jack Rust?" Priya's eyes focused on him. "Why is your name familiar?"

"During my Integration, a member of your faction became my master. Master Shol. I believe he was a deacon?"

Her eyes lit up. "Ah, of course! Brother Shol has spoken about you. It's impressive that you made it here, Jack, but don't worry; I will protect you from here on out."

"Thank you, but I believe I can protect myself," he replied. Her kind eyes turned intrigued, and her smile didn't falter, but grew.

"So be it, then. I look forward to fighting by your side."

Inwardly, he heaved a sigh of relief. On the outside, he smiled confidently. "Likewise."

"And, let's have a chat later, okay? There will be plenty of time."

His smile widened. "Sure." He looked forward to hearing about the Exploding Sun—and his master. With any luck, they might even help him save Earth.

Raucous laughter came from the side as the fat man approached. "What a brave brother!" he shouted, stretching out a hand. "Let's get along, brother Jack. The name's Chotu—Chotu Malhotra. And the beauty here is Kareena." He motioned at the long-haired woman, who raised a brow at him.

"I can introduce myself, Chotu."

"Blame me for wanting to help."

"In any case, I'm Kareena." She turned to Jack. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"The pleasure is all mine," he replied.

"Have you heard anything about Minerva?" Longsword asked Priya. Minerva was the Hand of God Lady. "If you're here, I assume…"

"She should be arriving soon," Priya responded. "We ran into her in the labyrinth, actually. It should be any moment now."

On cue, three more forms appeared from the side corridor. All three wore black, and all were peak E-Grades from the Hand of God, but they belonged to different species.

At the front walked a tall, slender woman with pale skin, thin features, and dark hair that reached below her shoulders. Her black gown reached her ankles, and there was a certain gravitas to her steps, like she commanded the very earth she walked on, along with everyone's attention.

Longsword and Priya approached her at once to exchange greetings.

Following Lady Minerva were two people; one was a tall, slim man with light green skin, who had the ears of a deer. He wore a long, brown robe, while his eyes were slightly farther apart than a human's.

Dryad, Level 124

Faction: Hand of God (B-Grade)

Title: Sixth Ring Conqueror

Jack was intrigued, but his attention was instantly stolen by the second follower of Lady Minerva.

This was a pale-skinned man with black eyes, clad in a formal black suit that seemed completely out of place in Trial Planet. To Jack's surprise, he knew this man, all the way from Earth.

He was Vocrich, the Hand of God representative on Earth, the one who hosted the Integration Auction and later turned a blind eye to the Animal Kingdom's excessive bullying.

"Shit," Jack said.

After the initial surprise, he realized that Vocrich being here made sense. He was at the peak E-Grade, had never revealed a Ring Conqueror title, and had good standing with his faction, since he was sent to oversee Earth's Integration. He had probably secured a good reward after selling out Jack, too.

Come to think of it, Nauja had also mentioned the Hand of God having someone with darkness powers in Space Ring.

The two of them immediately locked eyes. If anything, Vocrich seemed more surprised than Jack himself, and walked over to meet him.

"Jack Rust," he said, looking him up and down. "Seeing you here was the last thing I expected."

"Yeah. I'm not dead yet. Surprise."

"It is." Vocrich smirked. "And I have to admit, your progress is superb. If we didn't have a rule against accepting wanted criminals of any B-Grade faction, I might have invited you into Hand of God."

"I would refuse," Jack replied with a smile of his own. "You left me to die at the end of the Tournament. I thought you were supposed to observe the rules."

Vocrich frowned. "That was business. What fool expects the rules to actually be followed?"

"Yeah, I know now. Doesn't mean it's right. Just to be clear, I don't hold too much of a grudge, but… Well, a little bit. I believe an apology would go a long way."

Vocrich laughed. "You know, you are actually the reason I'm here in the first place. The business deal I made with the Animal Kingdom gave me the capital to join Lady Minerva's team—and, if not for some unforeseen circumstances, we would have a lot more Hand of God members here."

Jack looked around. Besides the three of them, he actually couldn't see anyone from the Hand of God.

He also had a sneaking suspicion that the "unforeseen circumstances" were him entering—and revealing—the Ancient ruins. Gan Salin had mentioned that the Hand of God members in Trial Planet started asking strange questions right about then. Given the gravity of the System's announcement, it wouldn't surprise Jack if the Hand of God had pulled most of their people from the Garden Assault to focus on finding the ruins.

"I'm glad my near-death helped you, Vocrich," he said.

"Me too, my friend. Let's stay out of each other's way, okay?"

"We'll see."

With a final smile, Vocrich walked away. He actually seemed to be in a good mood—the polar opposite of Jack's.

Guess I'm enemies with two Lords already. Nice. At least the Exploding Sun people seem nice.

"Your attention, everyone," Lady Minerva spoke up, finally done with greetings. Her voice was light, intense, and faintly bored, as if addressing these cultivators was a chore. "Since all Lords are present and we have enough people, we will move to fight the Guardian immediately. It will take some days for a new Guardian to be created, so anyone who arrives here later will have the opportunity to enter Garden Ring as well."

Everyone murmured in agreement. Jack, however, had a thought.

"Excuse me," he asked, raising his hand, "this might be a given for everyone else, but I suppose we will all fight the Guardian together to get the Seventh Ring Conqueror title, right? In that case, will the people who arrive later get it as well?"

Lady Minerva stared at him for a moment before responding. "Everyone present will assist in taking down the Guardian. Even we Lords cannot handle it ourselves—though we will weaken it for you. As for anyone who arrives later, no, they will not get the title. Entering Garden Ring is more than enough for them."

Jack hesitated. That meant his friends, who weren't here yet, would miss out. However, he couldn't exactly ask everyone to wait, could he? Especially since the majority of this group were either neutral towards him or enemies.

At that moment, however, one more group entered the chamber from behind Lady Minerva. It was Gan Salin, Nauja, and—bless the gods and all that was holy—Brock.

Jack felt such relief at seeing his brorilla safe and sound. Brock gave him a thumbs-up while Gan Salin waved intently.

Jack turned back to the Lady. "Nevermind," he said. "All good. Let's fight."

BREAK

BREAK

Three sets of hands were placed on the door. The three Lords were all human, scrawny in size and smooth of skin. The doors, on the other hand, were colossal constructions of bronze, aging back to antiquity and seemingly unmovable.

They swung open smoothly. After all, opening the door was not the Guardian. The thing behind it was the Guardian.

The large double doors opened soundlessly and easily, like they had been pushed by a giant. They crashed against the walls with a loud bang that made everyone jump, flooding the Guardian's antechamber before streaming into the many corridors.

Behind the doors, another large chamber was revealed. This one was not empty.

A rectangular room, around a hundred feet tall, another hundred wide, and three hundred long. An ancient, dusty air suffused it, like it had been centuries since it last opened. Six thick, stone columns were spread around its length in three rows of two. A wide red line was painted on the floor, leading from the entrance to the far end of the room, where the antechamber's light did not yet reach.

Suddenly, torches lit up on the walls. They started from the entrance and stretched to the far side of the room, arranged in orderly lines, suffusing the room with light. A throne was revealed on the back. And, sitting on it, was the king.

Bone King, Level ? (D-Grade)

The final evolution of Bone Sentinels. As it defeats its victims and add their skeletons to its own, a Bone Sentinel gradually increases in size and power until it breaks through.

A Bone King is the apex of that process. It has devoured thousands of E-Grade skeletons, enhancing its body until it lost any resemblance to a person. It possesses extreme strength, durability, and dexterity. It usually cultivates the Dao of Bone.

This particular Bone King is the Guardian of this Trial Planet's Labyrinth Ring.

The Bone King was a gargantuan monstrosity sitting on a throne of bare stone. From the waist up, it was a humanoid skeleton, but ten times the size. Just its palms were the size of Jack's body, ending in sharp claws another half as long. Its face was humanoid, but red flames burned in its eyes, and its teeth were far sharper than they had any right to be, more like an animal than a human. Its skull was topped by a circle of sharp bone appendages—a crown of bone, befitting its name as Bone King.

From the waist down, however, the King's body was that of a snake. Endless bones made up a slithering tail the girth of an ancient tree, long enough that it could wrap around the base of the throne twice.

The King sat on its throne with its head resting against a palm. As the torches around it flared to life, shedding life on its ugly visage, the red flames in its eyes flared back. The King raised its head, and the undeniable aura of an immortal spread around the room, easily overpowering the Daos of everyone present.

Jack stood in a line with everyone else behind the three Lords. Before the force of the Bone King's Dao, he felt as brittle as a leaf, fighting just to keep the spark of his Dao alive.

The three Lords were taking the brunt of the pressure. They stood tall before this almighty enemy, weathering its storm with the weight of their souls. They truly were strong, these Lords—the very best E-Grades the galaxy had to offer.

But their opponent was a D-Grade. There was an undeniable, unbridgeable chasm between them. Thankfully, the Lords were three, and they had the support of more than a dozen other cultivators, each at least at the peak E-Grade level of power.

The King observed the cultivators. When they didn't collapse to its pressure, it slowly stood. Its tail uncoiled under it, half resting on the ground and the other half supporting its massive upper body. Its Dao intensified.

Jack gulped. There was pressure to that Dao. It wasn't just its depth; its nature itself was pressing against them like the lid of a coffin, burying them under the crushing weight of their own deaths.

The Dao of Bone.

It was about death. About the end of everything. At the same time, it was hard and sharp, a truth hidden under layers of lies. Brutal.

That was all Jack could glimpse of the thing's Dao. Its finality brought to mind his own Brutalizing Aura—a skill that would never work on such a superior opponent. He brought up his status screen, which he hadn't seen in a while, to get courage.

Name: Jack Rust

Species: Human, Earth-387

Faction: Bare Fist Brotherhood (E)

Grade: E

Class: Fiend of the Iron Fist (Elite)

Level: 94

Strength: 375

Dexterity: 375

Constitution: 375

Mental: 50

Will: 80

Skills: Ghost Step I

Dao Skills: Indomitable Body III, Meteor Punch II, Iron Fist Style II, Brutalizing Aura I

Daos: Perfect Dao Seed of the Fist (late), Dao Root of Indomitable Will (fused), Dao Root of Life (fused), Dao Root of Power

Titles: Planetary Frontrunner (10), Planetary Torchbearer (1), Sixth Ring Conqueror

Level 94.

According to what Longsword had told him en route, this creature was at the very bottom of immortals, a fledgling compared to true cultivators. The difference between 94 and 126 seemed small—but it signified an ocean of power.

If Jack faced this monster alone, he would perish instantly. Even the Life Drop could only prolong his death by a couple instants. Thankfully, however, he wasn't alone. He wasn't even the frontline.

"Is everyone ready?" Lady Minerva, the Lady from Hand of God, shouted. Her simple-looking leather belt shone. Three shapes jumped out of it, materializing from light into creatures. One was a yellow-furred bear the size of a buffalo. Another was an eagle, whose wings ended in sharp tips. The third was an ancient-looking turtle whose shell was wider than a dining table.

"Prepare yourselves!" Longsword shouted back, drawing his nine-foot-long sword. He looked tiny compared to Minerva's beasts, but his towering aura eclipsed theirs. His sword aimed at the ceiling. "This is your chance to make history! This is the time when mortals kill immortals!"

The cultivators behind him roared in response. Jack couldn't see Longsword's face, but he knew the man was grinning.

Lady Priya of Exploding Sun didn't speak. Her open palms were suddenly clad in fire and light so bright Jack had to look away. Their power was enough to shake the air, coloring it yellow.

The Bone King stepped off its throne, signaling the start of the battle.

Priya, Longsword, and the three beasts charged at once. That was the plan. They would go first to weaken it, so the other cultivators could attack without dying instantly.

The Bone King fell low. Its upper body was now parallel to the ground as it slithered forward at great speed, becoming a blur like a moving train. Its sharp claws opened wide to tear the Lords apart.

It fell on them hard. Claws flashed through the air. Bone glistened in the torchlight. The clang of metal on bone filled the room, along with the beasts' roars and cries.

In that brief instant, Jack caught Longsword's sword meeting a claw head-on. Priya blocked its other hand, burning like a sun between its fingers. The turtle jumped into the King's mouth, sharp teeth rending its shell, while the bear and eagle fell on the King, striking with all their might. The bear smashed a paw into its side, cracking a layer of bones. The eagle carved a long line into its back, sending bone shards flying, but the King was made of many, tightly packed layers of bones. These attacks weren't enough to bring it down.

All those things happened in an instant. Time seemed to freeze as Jack observed everything. Then, the world returned to motion.

Longsword was sent flying. He smashed hard into a column, sending a cloud of dust into the air. Before he could recover, the Bone King came after him. Longsword jumped. He used his sword to climb the column. The King climbed with its tail around it, claws tearing deep grooves into the stone. Longsword reached the top and leaped into the void. The King jumped and bit down on him. The eagle swooped in from the side and picked up Longsword, barely saving him from the King's jaws, which clamped shut just behind him.

This battle was not easy. Everyone here was risking their lives, including the Lords. But what cultivator wouldn't?

The King landed on the ground and leaped to the side, aiming at Priya. She flew back like an arrow. Suns blossomed on her palms, and she threw them at the King, who took the strikes like they were nothing. To Jack, it looked like she was throwing bombs.

Longsword descended from above, released by the eagle. He fell with his sword pointed down and pierced clean into the King's back, eliciting a scream that threatened to burst Jack's eardrums.

The King turned and swatted behind him. Longsword jumped away, dodging the blow, then pulled back his sword and used it as a lever to pull himself to the ground, dodging yet another swipe.

The bear rammed into the King, shoving it aside. Both lost their balance. The King stumbled before its tail coiled around the bear, squeezing it tight and keeping it in place. It turned and prepared to strike.

Priya was there. She had arrived at the King's side like a shadow. Twin suns blossomed in her palms, growing in size until they were larger than her body, then she slammed them into the bone.

The explosion was deafening. The released heat was enough to burn the skin of any normal person, even where Jack was standing. Bones flew everywhere. An inhuman scream came from the flames as a claw of bone tore through them, splitting the fire like it was water. Priya had already dodged.

A gaping hole now lay open on the King's side, but it wasn't enough. The claw completed its motion, tearing into the bear and cutting through its rock fur like it was nothing. The King's palm slammed against the bear's back as the five claws tore into its body, destroying its insides.

The Bone King then grabbed the bear from the inside, raised it into the air, and tossed it at the entrance, where every other cultivator was waiting.

They scattered like flies. One guy got clipped and flung at a wall. The bear's large body rolled on the floor through everyone, spraying blood and innards before colliding with the far wall and staying there, unmoving. It was already dead.

A cry tore through the battle. The eagle and turtle were angry at the loss of their comrade, laying into the King with wild abandon and little regard for their lives. Lady Minerva's belt shone again, and a new beast appeared. This one was a white wolf, which instantly jumped into the fray.

The Bone King roared. The sound shook the stone columns and rocked the labyrinth. Its Dao burst out at full power to sweep everyone, making them falter. In that split-second, its jaws bit at the turtle again, cracking and denting its shell. It wouldn't last another blow.

The King's claws swiped at the eagle, but it managed to recover from the stun and barely dodge.

Longsword was there again. His sword cleaved halfway through the King's body, cutting through bone like it was butter. The King roared, losing some control over its body, but its tail came swinging from the back, slamming into Longsword and sending him flying into the stone throne.

Priya flashed next to the wound Longsword had opened. Her palms became suns that slammed into the broken bones, infiltrating the Bone King's body and incinerating it from the inside. The King roared as it burned.

Again, it tried to hit her, and again it missed. Priya dodged two strikes, moving in ways that defied gravity and common sense, then hurriedly retreated and kept her distance, panting.

The wolf was there. It fell on the King's back jaws-first, grabbing hold of its spine and refusing to let go. The King squirmed and tried to reach behind its back, but it couldn't. It then crashed back against a column, dislodging the wolf, and backhanded it away right as the eagle swooped by, carving yet another deep line into the King's short throat.

The King tried to roar, but its voice came broken.

"Now!" Minerva shouted from the entrance.

Jack and everyone else—with the exception of Brock, who was too weak to participate—had been waiting for that signal. They rushed in. Jack felt his adrenaline spike. His body was on fire. His skills were at the tips of his fingers, just waiting to be unleashed.

The King roared again, a caricature of its former, mighty sound. Despite its large size, it had been injured.

Its Dao, however, remained whole. It was like a blade hanging over Jack's neck.

He charged.