Chapter 238 Harbinger of Chaos IV (1/2)
CHAPTER 238
HARBINGER OF CHAOS (IV)
Lino took his sweet time re-charging after crafting the [Dragon Slayer]; after all, he'd begun doing so shortly after the already exhausting battle, with little to no downtime, which only further crippled his ability to exist. He crashed for full three days, sleeping away the tiredness, before begrudgingly waking up for a single meal and then crashing yet again for whole two days.
At the end of his sleeping bender, though still feeling somewhat drowsy, he felt re-awakened in a sense -- namely because he'd come close to another great barrier of cultivation, Aeonian Realm. Only mere ten levels short of crossing the barrier, currently sitting at Level 360, he was somewhat excited as Aeonian Realm signaled something quite tempting to a lot of people -- practical immortality.
While no true immortality existed -- as even the Writ had told him he had an expiration date -- there were ways to extend -- really extend -- one's lifespan considerably, and the most desired of them was the Aeonian Realm. Bar no accidents, just getting to Level 370 means one can live for just over a billion years, a concept Lino simply had no ability to comprehend.
Despite the fact that he wasn't nearly as enticed by the concept of longevity as some others, it didn't mean that he was completely indifferent to it. In addition, it signaled that he was slowly catching up to the pack -- albeit extremely slowly. After all, his weapons and armors can only go so far in evening out the playing field and he can't rest his laurels on them for all eternity. One day or another, he'll have to step up himself and catch up.
Shortly after gorging himself in a meal and a barrel of ale, Ekkly showed up next to him out of thin air. The Titan Spirit had a somewhat dubious look in his eyes as he looked at Lino, wondering when did cultivators require sleep, food and drinks to function, but decided against asking.
”Lord Empyrean, are you prepared for the Second Trial?” he asked.
”What's it about?” Lino asked.
”Fighting.”
”... of course it is.” Lino sighed, stretching. ”What's it called?”
”Duels of Fate.” Ekkly replied nimbly. ”It pertains to successfully dueling those above your realm.”
”Oh?” Lino's eyes suddenly lit up. ”Are we allowed to use external items?”
”Yes, you are allowed to use weapons and armors,” Ekkly chuckled. ”Otherwise, I'd have already suggested you leave.”
”Why?” the lit eyes dimmed almost immediately.
”The weakest opponent you'll face will be Level 1500.” Ekkly replied. ”After all, I did say these trials were designed for Titular Voids.”
”... yeah, yeah, you did mention that. Huh. Fighting someone over thousand levels above me. I remember when my greatest problem was whether I'd find something else to eat besides dirt and grass' roots. I kind of miss those days, to be honest.”
”Furthermore--”
”Oh, it's not over...”
”--as the trials were designed for Titans, you too shall face Titans.”
”... as in, you know, giant, walking mountains?” Lino asked.
”Yes.”
”... is there a way for you to scale them down to, you know, reasonable height?”
”No.”
”... huh. 's that so.”
”In addition--”
”Okay, you seriously have to stop pausing midway through your explanations! You're giving me a migraine here dude!” Lino protested in frustration.
”Forgive me, Lord Empyrean.”
”Yeah, yeah, in addition to what?”
”In addition,” Ekkly spoke slowly. ”Besides the Primary Duel, you will also face the hordes of enemies that accompany the Titans as servants.”
”... what numbers are we talking about here?” Lino, strangely, didn't seem that upset.
”Thousands.”
”Oh.”
”...” Ekkly looked on and saw that the indifferent expression slowly turned into excitement, despite Lino's best attempts to hide it. ”Is everything okay?”
”O-okay? Pfft, no, I mean, of course not everything's okay! I-I mean, I have to, you know, fight a freaking Titan and then a host of his minions, that's just--just terrible... pfft... khm...”
”... very well. There are in total three duels,” Ekkly said. ”You only need to obtain victory in the first one; the second one entails you to additional reward, and obtaining victory in the third entails you to choose a single item from the remaining treasury.”
”... what's the catch?” Lino asked.
”Second duel is against a Level 3000 Titan, and the third is against Level 5000.”