Chapter 474: Challenged (1/2)

Zac looked over at Galau, who shook his head in confusion.

”I thought they were all part of the same Empire as well, even if it was a pretty weak connection for local Kingdoms,” the merchant said. “Perhaps that’s only true for the Zecia sector?”

”Where is Pretty Peak now?” Zac asked, dropping the subject.

Zac was a bit surprised that the token didn't lead to Catheya's home planet, as he would have expected her to want to stay in touch. But she probably believed that he would never go to the Empire Heartlands, and felt it a waste of a token.

She couldn't know that it was a place that Zac was actually interested in visiting sooner or later, in order to find opportunities for his Draugr class. That would have to wait until he got a surefire way to hide his unique condition though. Greatest was only a D-Grade warrior after all, and Zac doubted that the bracer he made would be able to fool anyone in such a place.

Twilight Harbor sounded like an interesting place as well though, and it might serve as a safer substitute to the Empire Heartlands. Leaving one's planet while still at the F-grade was nigh-suicidal though, as any random peak E-Grade warrior might be able to kill him. He needed to reach at least a level of Strength where he could escape from a D-Grade warrior if needed.

”Lady Peak and Lady Lioress are currently resting in a neighboring room,” Galau said.

”Lioress? Who's that?” Zac asked.

”I'm not sure. Her first name is Leyara. My guess is that she is a disciple of some of the hidden peak experts of the sector judging by the way others treat her,” Galau said with a low voice. ”They might both be able to get in contact with the Heliophos clan for you, which isn't easy from what I've heard.”

”Let them wait a few seconds more,” Zac said as he indicated Galau to come inside instead. ”Did you hear any mentions of The Great Redeemer outside? Are the claims credible? I'm thinking that cultivator who spoke up might have been messing with me as revenge or something.”

”Have you seen the man you mentioned?” Galau asked, receiving a nod in response.

”Is this him?” Galau asked, and a face along with some text appeared on a screen the next moment.

”That's him,” Zac confirmed with a sigh.

It was obviously the man he had seen twice, though his age was somewhat younger compared to the real-time avatar he had conjured when breaking the beacon. It looked like he wasn't lucky this time around, and the Redeemer really was part of the karmic cultivator clan.

”Well, his real name is Voridis A'Heliophos. He is not technically part of the Heliophos clan, hence the prefix. He is presumably an illegitimate son of one of the grand elders of the family. It's said that the elder came back to the clan with a 5-year-old child after having traveled for a few centuries, and he said the boy was his son,” Galau started explaining as he took out a crystal.

”It's hard to get details since it seems like a touchy subject with the clan, but apparently the boy seemed to have some unique gifts, and he was heavily nurtured even if he wasn't part of the real bloodline. But something happened and Voridis couldn't form his cultivator core, so he fell out of favor within the clan, much to his and his father's dismay.

”He got desperate, both due to his own remaining lifespan growing shorter by the day, and to prove himself to his clan again. He left the clan and came back as a D-Grade powerhouse 200 years later. However, the elders noticed something was wrong with his karma even though it was covered deep. It was eventually exposed that Voridis had used a taboo ritual that was powered by the death of millions of people,” Voridis said.

”So why is he still out causing trouble if he was exposed?” Zac asked with a frown.

”His father pled for leniency, and the patriarch relented and only exiled him after crippling his cultivation and putting a karmic curse on him. They planned to let him live out his life as a mortal on a desolate planet to understand the plight of those he had killed.

A thousand years later another sacrifice was exposed, and it became soon became apparent that it was Voridis who had regained his ability to cultivate and had just reformed his Cultivation Core. That was tens of thousands of years ago, and he still hasn't been caught by his family. There are at least 4 taboo genocides linked to him. The System has handed out multiple quests for his death as well, but he is still alive,” Galau narrated, clearly reading off some information packet.

”Taboo?” Zac asked. ”Like unorthodox?”

”Exactly. What he's doing is going against the will of the Heavens. That man wasn't talented enough to form a core by himself, but he didn't want his risk his life in Mystic Realms in hopes of finding opportunities that could allow him to break through. Instead, he chose to sacrifice mortals to change his fate. That is one of the most taboo actions to the heavens,” Galau explained.

Zac slowly nodded as he went over the information that Galau had provided. The origin of The Great Redeemer didn't change anything. The good news was that the Heliophos Clan seemed intent on dealing with their embarrassment, but the bad news was that the father seemed ready to cover for him even after all his transgressions.

It also meant that killing Voridis might cause all kinds of issues for Earth, as someone like a Grand Elder of a C-Grade Karmic Clan probably could mess with a single D-Grade planet without much effort. Perhaps focusing on making Earth harder to find rather than dealing with the man himself was really the better course of action.

There should be no cause of conflict between Earth and the Heliophos Clan if Earth simply hid away until the Great Redeemer had died or moved on.

Zac also noted that the Merchant's wealth of knowledge seemed a lot broader right now compared to his comments after the fight.

”You've been busy since we exited,” Zac commented.

”Ah, well,” Galau coughed. ”Gathering the information was mostly done by the two misses, I am just the messenger. Incidentally, why don't we head over and say hello?”

Zac shot an even glance at the merchant, waiting for an explanation.

”Well, you know what happened with the Tsarun Clan, and then the fight as we exited. I was afraid that it might implicate my family after all, but thankfully I managed to form a connection with the Peak Family. That way I won't return to my Family like a criminal,” the merchant confessed. ”I'm sorry.”

”Isn't knowing me enough of a boon now that the bounty is lifted?” Zac asked with confusion.

He wasn't trying to be arrogant, but he was the first person to conquer the 8th floor in an extremely long time in the sector, which no doubt hinted at him being a future powerhouse. Shouldn't such an accomplishment be worth something?

”Honestly, it's still not decided whether knowing you is a boon or a curse,” Galau said with a wry smile. ”It's unclear what the attitude of the Heliophos Clan and the Dravorak Dynasty will be. That will affect whether you will be seen as a murderous fugitive or a pride of the sector until you are strong enough to speak for yourself.”

”I guess I overestimated myself,” Zac wryly smiled. ”Before we head over, can you look into a few things for me?”

”Look into?” Galau said, his interest immediately piqued. ”Treasures?”

”Exactly,” Zac nodded.

He had spent over an hour with Catheya, but he hadn't been completely focused on their conversation. His hand had imperceptibly moved toward the Cosmos Sacks now and then, and he glanced at its contents.

There were a lot of things missing, but there was even more remaining. For example, almost the whole dragon was left intact, apart from some scales and the messy remains he threw inside at the end. Both the massive horns and the Dragon Core were still there, which was a huge relief as they were probably worth the most of the beast.