23 Book 3 Chapter 19 (1/2)

Nine ascenders lost their lives. They were humanity's strongest, and yet they had been powerless under Hector's ability. All their training and equipment, useless. And Hector was just one of twenty. Nineteen still lived, their abilities unknown.

Amara strode up to Jason and Shenlong, no longer fatigued from overusing her mana. ”So where's the loot?”

Shenlong pointed at the sky. ”Hector died over there.”

Zhen Hu stepped forward. ”I'll get it.”

”I'll come too.” Roy exclaimed as he raised his hand.

As Roy and Zhen Hu ran off, Jason finally put Aros' inheritance away. He glanced in the distance with anticipation. Although the sword was greatly weakened, he was actually ecstatic. Even though he reached the requirements to use it, it was just the bare minimum. Using it for just a few seconds consumed thousands of health, but now that it was in a sealed state, he could use it without limit.

The bad news was that Aros could no longer give him skills and guidance. Fortunately, the sword could evolve. What Jason was really looking forward to was the sword's soul. When would it reappear?

Carly approached Jason. ”I can't believe you attacked that Architect person.”

”Me neither.” Jason shook his head as he reprimanded himself inwardly.

Shenlong stuck his spear in the ground and leaned against it. ”Gods, architect, and that master guy…”

”Crazy stuff, huh?” Peter clicked his tongue as he recalled the brief fight.

Shenlong trembled, his eyes blazing with fire. ”I never knew someone could become so strong. Did you see how much energy they had? Their strength?” Shenlong looked down at his shaking hand. ”I held them in disdain when they referred to themselves as gods… but now? I want it.”

Olivia felt wary when she saw the look in Shenlong's eyes. The fanatical pursuit of strength.

”Um.” Carly clenched her white staff. ”Amara, your god is Amrita, right? I saw her use four elements, so how come you only use fire?”

Everyone looked at Amara, suddenly realizing something strange. Champions should possess their god's abilities, so why did Amara only use fire? Did Amrita not pass down her skills?

”Oh, that's simple.” Amara summoned a ball of fire. ”Fire is the best, so why should I use anything else?”

Jason blinked. This was news to him. Even when fighting Baal, Amara never used any other element. He asked for clarification. ”So you can use earth, wind, and water skills?”

”Pretty much.” Amara shrugged nonchalantly. ”All of their skill levels are beginner 1.”

”You haven't even touched them?” Peter was horrified. Amara beat him during their duel using only a fraction of her potential? Fire was purely offensive, while wind, earth, and water should provide versatility.

”Forty?” Jason broke out in a cold sweat. It was no wonder Amara was able to single handedly take out a sixth of Hector's health. All her focus was on fire skills, making her a glass cannon.

”Heeeey!” A shout came from afar. Zhen Hu and Roy ran back with expressions of disbelief and joy.

Everyone gathered around, hoping whatever dropped was worth the death of their comrades. Roy jumped to a stop in front of Jason with his arms behind his back. ”You won't believe what dropped!”

”Elixirs?” Cheslov guessed.

”No, well yes a few, but that's not what I'm talking about.” Roy flushed red from excitement.

Peter asked next. ”Divine equipment?”

Roy rolled his eyes. ”You wish!”

Olivia suddenly appeared behind Roy and grabbed what he was hiding.

”Oh my god!” Olivia gasped in shock as she raised two rainbow colored crystals. ”Evolution crystals, and two of them no less.��

”Evolution crystals!” The sight of the most sought after item besides divine equipment caused an uproar. While not as valuable as divine equipment, it wasn't that far off. To think a single boss dropped two.

Jason felt that such a reward was only expected. A mutant raid boss was terrifying. If not for his foreknowledge, they would never have killed Hector without sacrificing hundreds.

After everyone calmed down, Shenlong turned to his oldest disciple. ”The quantum energy core?”

Zhen Hu nodded and took out a transparent egg shaped object that glowed with light. The core looked like it held an ocean of silver lightning and shook with every flash. As soon as the core appeared, a beautiful display of visual phenomena surrounded Zhen Hu. Alas, nobody could appreciate the sight because the mana in their bodies spun out of control.