The Inheritance XII
Arise
The Inheritance
-12-
Chapter 551
So that's why the herbs had been kept so well hidden from the rest
of the world… June was even here to constantly stand guard over the thousand-year-old panax ginsengs!
"Nobody should ever get their hands on the herbs… Otherwise, catastrophe will be sure to follow! I'm sure you can understand that, right?" said June as she stared at Richard.
Now understanding the consequences that could happen, Richard simply nodded as he replied, "I understand. Don't worry, I won't take any of them!"
"I'm glad to hear that. Regardless, I'll be giving you something to express my gratitude!" said June as she gracefully waved her hand, prompting a small, cubic treasure box of sorts to materialize within her palm…
After receiving the treasure box from June, the curious Richard wondered what she had just given him. Carefully prying the box open, Richard was greeted by the sight of a single tiny pellet inside…
Looking up at June, Richard then said, "…This…"
"That's a rejuvenating pellet, and it's the only one I constantly keep with me. I can sense how strong you are, so I'll be leaving this pill with you. May it be useful to you!" replied June.
Richard was honestly flabbergasted by this turn of events. After all, June was actually willing to give him such an invaluable thing. This was the only existing rejuvenating pellet for heaven's sake!
"I… I appreciate that you're giving me such a precious gift… I… How should I even thank you…?" asked Richard, honestly feeling that he didn't deserve to be given such an invaluable item out of the blue.
"There's no need to thank me!" replied June rather casually.
Following that, she led Richard away from her garden and back to her
home…
It wasn't long after when night fell…
Despite how dark the sky had gotten, the inside of a temporary camp—that had been set up quite a distance from the holy mountain—was still brightly lit…
While Quest and the others had made it back to the camp in one piece—and were currently inside that tent—, everyone had solemn expressions on their faces.
After witnessing what had happened to Richard, everyone was either absent-minded or filled with overwhelming grief at the moment…
Nori herself was sitting outside alone. Staring intently at the holy mountain, she could only hope that Richard would suddenly appear in the distance and begin running toward her…
At that moment, Yoshua's voice could suddenly be heard shouting,
"Nori!"
Rushing toward his daughter, Yoshua felt like a massive load had just been lifted off his chest when he realized that she was doing fine.
Staring at Yoshua with teary eyes, Nori got to her feet and embraced her father before saying, "…Dad… Richard… he… He fell into the valley…!"
"…What? Richard fell into the valley? Nori, please give me more details!" replied the now trembling Yoshua as he stared wide-eyed at his daughter.
If Richard was truly gone… then how was he going to explain all this
to Chace and the Talisman Union…?
Richard had just become a First-rank Talisman Master in the Talisman Union too! The thought of him dying so soon after that… It was shocking, to say the least…
Following that, Nori began telling her father what had happened on the holy mountain… By the end of her tale, even Yoshua found the turn of events slightly hard to believe.
To think that Richard had sacrificed his safety just to protect the
adventure team from those white wolves… What a truly heroic act…
Patting his daughter's back, Yoshua then consoled, "Don't worry, Nori. Richard will definitely make it back safely!"
Nodding in response, Nori hoped with all her heart that Richard
would make a safe return as well…
Meanwhile in Magic Land, Richard himself was having a meal while chatting with June, completely oblivious to what was happening in the outside world.
Not even knowing how anxiously Nori and the others were awaiting his return, Richard took a sip of tea before looking toward June and
asking, "Speaking of which… Have you been guarding this place this entire time? Could it be that you've never left this place before…?"
Shaking her head in response, June then said, "I'd love to go out myself, honestly… Unfortunately, I'm simply unable to do so!"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Call it a… barrier of sorts. A barrier made just for me… Since I've
been given the responsibility of guarding Magic Land, I'm incapable of going past that barrier… Not to worry though, anyone aside from me can still go past it…" replied June as she sighed.
Living here alone for so long without even the slightest contact with
the outside world… It must've been painful…
While Richard couldn't quite pinpoint how much pain June was in when she said that, he could tell that she really wanted to leave this place…
Even so, Richard personally hoped that June wouldn't enter the outside world. After all, things out there were much more dangerous and viler compared to the conditions within Magic Land. While thinking about that, Richard also found himself hoping that other outsiders wouldn't be able to find this place.
After all, with so many thousand-year-old panax ginsengs here, their discovery by the public would definitely cause a massive uproar. To prevent all that chaos in the first place, it was best that some things remained unfound and subsequently unchanged…
Late into the night, Richard—who had been leaning against his chair for a while—eventually dozed off… It was a nice, calming slumber, and Richard hadn't felt this comfortable in quite a while…
It was around dawn when he was awoken by June's voice saying, "Are you awake…?"
Opening his eyes, Richard saw that June was sitting before him.
"I am now… You're quite the early bird as well I see…" replied
Richard.
"Indeed. Regardless, since you're already awake, let's get you out of this place…," said June.
Having no objections to that, it suddenly came across Richard's mind that he had technically been 'missing' for the entire night ever since he fell into the valley. With that in mind, he was now worried about how anxious Nori and the others must be feeling at the moment.
Whatever the case was, once they were outside June's house, she took his hand before leaping together with him, soaring high into the sky…
Eventually, both of them landed before a small boulevard of sorts…
Pointing at the boulevard, June then said, "You can leave by walking through here."
"I see… Thank you for everything!" replied Richard in a gratuitous
tone before walking into the boulevard…
As he walked on, the scene before him seemed to suddenly warp… and all of a sudden, he realized that he was no longer in Magic Land! Looking around, Richard found that he was now in a forest at the foot of the holy mountain…
Though mystified, Richard knew that he had to keep this location a
secret for as long as he lived…
With that, he then began walking out of the forest. It wasn't too long after when he arrived before the temporary camp. Surprisingly, the exit was this close to the camp!
Standing before the camp, Richard saw that Quest and the others
were seriously discussing something inside…
It took them a while to realize, but eventually, Nori found herself compelled to look out of the tent… and once she did, her eyes instantly widened. Richard… he was standing there…
He was safe…!
The second she managed to snap out of her stupefied state, Nori
immediately yelled, "G-Richard…!"
Now teary-eyed, Nori then rushed over and hugged him tightly.
Realizing that Richard was in one piece, Quest and the others were equally as delighted and surprised.
As they ran over to him as well, Nori was already scanning Richard from head to toe while asking, "A-are you alright Richard? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Seeing how worried she was, Richard could only smile before
replying, "Don't worry, I'm fine!"
Hearing that, Nori was so relieved that she found herself gently hitting her small hands against his chest while whining, "You… You really scared me half to death this time…!"
The solace she was now getting after witnessing yesterday's events was simply too much…
As both Patrick and Quest began patting Richard's shoulders, Quest eventually found himself asking, "Regardless… What happened after you fell? That was a pretty high fall you know?"
Laughing in response, Richard simply replied, "I was fortunate enough to fall right atop a large tree! That definitely helped break my fall!"
Naturally, Richard couldn't tell them about Magic Land, and thankfully, the others seemed to believe his story. After all, the important thing to them was that Richard had returned safely…
Either way, now that he was back, they no longer needed to launch another rescue effort. With that in mind, everyone began packing up to return to Earth Capital…
Upon arriving at the Zahn family manor, Yoshua—who had returned the night before after finding out that his daughter was safe—immediately heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Richard with the rest of the group.
Once he was before Yoshua, Richard took the chance to say, "Apologies, Master Yoshua, and Nori, but I have to return to earth for a while!"
Upon hearing that, Nori's mood was instantly dampened as she muttered, "…Oh… You're… going back…?"
After getting so used to having Richard by her side this entire time, she really didn't like the idea of him leaving… Though she didn't like it, she knew she couldn't really stop Richard.
Whatever the case was, Yoshua then asked, "I see… When will you be returning here?"
"Probably for quite a while. After all, I've stayed here for some time as well. I still need to keep my other family members company and tell them what I've been doing," replied Richard with a slight smile.
"Ah, I see… Keeping tabs with your family is important too! Very well, then. Regardless, know that whenever you return to Jaellatra, this is your home. We'll always be waiting for you here!" declared Yosha with a firm nod.
Upon hearing that, Richard found himself feeling slightly moved. Aside from his master, Nori and Yoshua were the only other people who treated him so well in Jaellatra… Even so, reminded himself that he couldn't be with Nori.
With that in mind, Richard then bid farewell before leaving for
Earth…
When he got back to earth, he instantly felt a welcoming warmth and familiarity… Though Jaellatra was great in its own way, earth was still his true home…
Regardless, Richard's first stop was naturally the Sacrasolis Palace. After all, it had been ages since he had last met Mila and his family members, and he missed them dearly.
Upon arriving home, however, Richard was surprised that neither
Mila nor his sister was present…
Thankfully, his parents were there, so Richard then asked, "Mom, dad, where are Mila and Jessica?"
Chapter 552
Hearing their son's question, Dylan then replied, "Ah, well, they've both gone to the Laiross State! From what we've been told, Mila appears to have found her biological parents there! With that in mind, she's paying the Smith family there a visit to confirm it!"
"What? The Laiross State? Her biological parents?" muttered Richard
in slight disbelief.
Following that, Richard left some instructions for his parents before
leaving for the Laiross State alone…
Meanwhile, both Mila and Jessica were standing in the hall of the Smith family manor.
The Smiths in the Laiross State were considerably powerful—due to them owning a large business chain—and were one of the more prestigious families here.
Whatever the case was, Mila's sudden arrival was definitely
unexpected, to say the least.
"So… You're saying that your name is Mila Smith?" asked a luxuriously dressed woman—with heavy makeup on—as she stared at Mila.
"That's right. I came here looking for Zyre Smith, my biological father!" replied Mila with a determined gaze.
"Humph! That's my father's name, you know? And I've never heard him mentioning having another daughter! Truth be told, I think you're just here to create trouble!" sneered the woman as she pointed angrily at Mila.
Hollie Smith was the daughter of Zyre—the master of the Smith family—, and she was also the second young lady of the Smith family.
Upon hearing that, Mila didn't take her retort personally and simply said, "We'll find out if that's true once your father meets up with me!"
After learning where her biological parents were from Master Ghost, Mila had come all the way here to see if his prediction was true.
Worrying that she would get into trouble, Jessica had followed her over as well.
Still, to think that they would be rejected entry right at the manor's
door! It was then when they bumped into Hollie.
Either way, it wasn't long after before a middle-aged man and a woman made their appearance.
"What's wrong, Hollie?" asked the man.
"Thank god you're here, dad! This woman's been persistently asking to meet you! She claims that she's your daughter!" explained Hollie.
Before Zyre could even reply, the woman beside him instantly
retorted, "I beg your pardon? As if you could ever have two fathers!"
The angered woman went by Chaney Littlebury, and she was
Hollie's mother.
Whatever the case was, Zyre found himself frowning slightly by this turn of events. Turning to look at the two strangers, his eyes instantly widened the second he saw Mila.
Realizing how much Zyre's appearance resembled hers, Mila stared at him for a while longer before asking, "…Are… you Zyre? The master of the Smith family…?"
"…I am indeed! Regardless, you… You really look like your mother…!" cried out Zyre.
Upon hearing that, both Chaney and Hollie's expressions darkened.
"What? What do you mean by that, dad? Do you have another woman out there?" asked Hollie while looking her father in the eye.
Chaney herself was already tugging Zyre's arm as she angrily added, "That's what I want to know as well! Did you cheat on me? Is this person really your daughter?!"
Momentarily at a loss of where to even begin, Zyre understood that he couldn't keep this a secret forever. It was finally time to face the music…
Upon hearing that, Mila barely said a word. Instead, she simply held
onto Jessica's arm before tugging her away.
Not even sure what to do, Zyre could only watch as the two of them
left…
Seeing that the duo was gone, Hollie and her mother instantly yanked Zyre into the house with them. After sitting him on a couch, they made sure to properly interrogate him.
As it turned out, Zyre had apparently made out with another woman—who went by the name of Yviene Morish and was Mila's biological mother—before getting married to Chaney.
Unfortunately, Zyre's family was unwilling to let them be together. Due to that, after Mila's birth, Yviene left just like that.
Though the memory of her remained for the many years to come, Zyre never mentioned it to a soul. While he had thought of the possibility of Yviene appearing one day with Mila, he never thought that he would meet his daughter alone under such circumstances.
Regardless, Chaney and Hollie were greatly angered after hearing all that. The truth was, both mother and daughter were assuming that Mila had showed herself—after all this time—with the intent to snatch the properties of the Smiths.
Despite their worry, however, the thought had never even crossed Mila's mind. Regardless, Mila and Jessica soon returned to their hotel…
Sitting alone by the window, Mila found herself shedding tears not long after. To think that her biological father was such a person…
Seeing that, Jessica slowly walked over to Mila's side to console the poor girl. Such incidents were surely difficult to just accept…
Gently patting her back, Jessica then said, "Don't be sad anymore, Mila… Remember, you still have Richard and us! We're your family now!"
Hearing that, Mila instantly hugged Jessica tight before wailing in tears. Anyone would feel miserable upon hearing her excruciating cries…
Meanwhile, back at the Smith family manor, Hollie and Chaney could
be seen discussing something…
"There's definitely a reason why she's showing herself now, Hollie! With that in mind, let's hire some people to get rid of her before she gets too close to your father! Once she's out of the picture, we won't have to fear her threatening us anymore!" declared Chaney as a wicked smile formed on her face.
"I know right? She's definitely here to snatch our family's properties! If we let her, I'm sure she's also going to start demanding to have a place within our family! With that said, we definitely can't allow her to have her way!" growled Hollie, immense hatred in her tone.
Seeing that her daughter saw eye to eye with her, Chaney then whispered something into her ear… By the time she was done, the sinister smiles on their faces grew wider than ever…
As the two continued perfecting their nasty plot, Richard arrived in the Laiross State.
After contacting Mila and finding out where she was, he immediately rushed over to the hotel room they were currently in.
Upon seeing Richard, Mila instantly threw herself into his arms,
looking very much like a pitiful and frightened white rabbit…
Once all three of them were seated, Mila began telling Richard about what had happened at the Smith family manor… By the time she was done, Richard came to understand that Mila's father had had two women with whom he had intercourse with…
With that in mind, Richard then said, "Honestly, I don't think you should continue looking for your biological father. After all, not only has he already formed a new family, but he's also a terrible father for starting another family after you were born!"
Hearing that, Mila had to agree with Richard.
At that moment, Mila's phone momentarily rang… Looking at her phone, Mila saw that she had received a message from an unknown contact number…
'Hello, Mila. This is Hollie. I'd like to meet up and have a little chat with you!' said the message.
Finding it odd and surprising that Hollie would take the initiative to ask her out, Mila then looked at Richard before saying, "It's… a message from Hollie… She apparently wants to meet me!"
"Oh? Let's see what she wants then! I'll go with you!" replied Richard,
sensing that Hollie definitely had ulterior motives.
Upon realizing that Richard was coming with her, Mila was given an extra boost in confidence. Even if he hadn't chosen to come along, however, Mila was still pretty sure that she would be able to take on anything that Hollie threw at her.
Whatever the case was, after deciding a meeting location with
Hollie, Mila and Richard then left the hotel…
The meeting location itself was what seemed to be a secluded park, and though Richard came along, he chose to remain in the shadows for the time being.
By the time they got there, Hollie was already at the park.
Not wanting to beat around the bush, Mila then said, "What can I do for you?"
Chuckling in response, Hollie then replied, "Ah, well, I simply wanted to get to know you a little better! After all, I now know that you're my elder sister, and sisters should get along with each other, right?"
Despite the bright smile on Hollie's face, sinister thoughts were the
only thing in her mind.
Still, with how differently Hollie was now treating her compared to earlier, Mila could instantly tell that something was wrong. Hollie definitely had something planned for her…
"Look, just tell me what you want already. I know how much you resent me, so let's not waste each other's time, alright?" retorted Mila in a rather cold tone.
Stunned that Mila had seen through her so easily, Hollie was momentarily unable to say a word.
Quickly snapping out of it, Hollie then clapped a few times. If Mila wanted to get straight to the point, so be it!
Following those claps, Mila watched as a few knife-wielding men—who were obviously under Hollie—dashed out from behind the surrounding bushes!
If Mila disappeared from the world, then she wouldn't be able to
compete for a place within the Smith family in the first place!
Sneering in response, Mila then added in a contemptuous tone,
"From the looks of it, I'm assuming you thought I showed myself to get some status in your family, correct? Still, is this all you've got to stop me?"
"Is that not the truth? Regardless, this is your fault in the first place for coming over out of the blue to threaten my position! Getting rid of you once and for all is the only viable solution!" scoffed Hollie as she glared viciously at Mila.
The second her sentence ended, Hollie then gestured for her men to surround Mila!
Before Mila could even make a move, a silhouette of a person suddenly flashed past her!
A split second later, an explosive sound was heard as a shock wave
hit all of Hollie's men!
Eyes now fully widened as she stared at all the fresh corpses that had just flopped to the ground, Hollie found herself quickly going pale. She had disregarded the fact that Mila would have her own men! What a fatal blunder!
Chapter 553
With those people out of the picture, Richard then turned to look at the stupefied Hollie who was so terrified that she couldn't even find the strength to move…
Realizing that Richard was now slowly walking toward her, the quivering Hollie then stuttered, "Y-you…! Don't come this way…! I-I'm from the Smith family…!"
The fact that she thought that she could use her family as an actual
threat truly showed how idiotic this girl really was…
Regardless, before anything else could happen, Mila quickly jogged over to Richard before tugging his sleeve as she said, "Let's just forget about her, Richard…"
In the end, not only was Hollie still a woman, but she was also the daughter of Mila's biological father. With that in mind, Mila found herself rather reluctant to have anything too bad happen to Hollie.
Hearing that, Richard then nodded slightly before replying, "…Fine."
However, he still wanted to give Hollie a severe warning, just so she understood that messing with him and Mila would bring about dire consequences.
"Hollie, right? Listen here, if you or the other Smiths ever dare to lay a finger on Mila again, I guarantee that your family will be completely wiped off the face of the earth! Just so you know, I'm a man of my words. Do I make myself clear?" scoffed Richard.
Not even daring to say a word, Hollie simply nodded frantically.
Seeing that, Richard then led Mila away…
He wasn't really worried about the corpses since he believed that Hollie and her family could easily dispose of them. As for the worry about exposing him as a murderer, they probably wouldn't dare to do that either. After all, these hooligans were recruited by the Smiths in the first place!
Whatever the case was, Hollie only dared to call her mother—to update her on the situation—once Mila and Richard were completely out of sight…
By that point, Richard and Mila had already reunited with Jessica, and following that, the trio quickly left the Laiross State. Once they were out of there, the Smiths would surely be unable to deal with them any longer. What more, they wouldn't be able to hunt Mila down either since Richard made sure not to leave behind any of their traces…
Either way, it was a full night and day later when the three finally
returned to Sacrasolis Palace…
The second they got back, however, Master Ghost instantly met up with Richard.
Seeing how anxious he was, Richard couldn't help but ask, "Is there something important you wish to discuss with me about?"
"Indeed! You see, a large portal to another world has just opened! I'd like to know whether you'll be entering it!" replied Master Ghost.
Upon hearing that, Richard was momentarily stunned silent. To think that such a bizarre event would occur!
After snapping out of it, Richard quickly asked, "Where exactly is this portal, Master Ghost?"
Hearing that, Master Ghost then made a few hand gestures… until
suddenly, a ray of blue light shot out of one of his fingertips!
With the ray of light flying toward the sky, Master Ghost then said,
"The portal is at the Skyreach Stone Tablet within Jaellatra! However, do note that by choosing to enter that world, you'll have to be prepared to lose something!"
Hearing that, Richard simply nodded in agreement…
Fast forward to the next day, Richard made sure to bid farewell to Mila and his family before heading off for Jaellatra's Skyreach Stone Tablet.
By that point, news that the Skyreach Stone Tablet had opened had already spread across the entire Jaellatra. Since this was a great opportunity for adventure that only presented itself once every few decades, several people were apparently planning to cross the portal as well!
Regardless, on his way over to Jaellatra, Richard made use of a sound talisman to tell Nori about his plan. Upon hearing that he was heading to the Skyreach Stone Tablet, Nori found herself instantly overjoyed. After all, she was planning to head there herself. With that in mind, she immediately set off to wait for him there.
It was around noon when both of them reunited.
Though it had only been a few days since they had last met, Nori missed Richard greatly. This was made evident by how she instantly leaped into his arms the second she saw him, not even bothering about the stares from everyone else around them.
Richard himself was already used to Nori doing this by this point.
There was simply no way of stopping the girl from doing this…
Whatever the case was, once she calmed down a bit, Nori looked at him rather curiously as she asked, "How did you even find out that the Skyreach Stone Tablet had opened, Richard?"
Her curiosity was warranted since people on earth shouldn't have been able to learn of this event. The only feasible answer would be if another person from Jaellatra had told him about it…
Still, Richard could pretty much be considered as a local to Jaellatra by this point. After all, he had even mastered the art of making secret technique talismans!
Either way, after chuckling in response, Richard simply smiled faintly
before replying, "Let's just say that someone notified me about it!"
At that moment, an almost ethereal hum could be heard as the
Skyreach Stone Tablet began shaking, preparing to open…
Shortly after, a swirling halo appeared above it! Slowly, the halo grew larger and larger, and at one point, the light it emitted became so bright that it was almost blinding… By the time everyone opened their eyes again, the halo had stopped and a large portal had appeared before them…
Seemingly leading into some kind of passageway, everyone watched
as a few strangely dressed people walked out from the portal…
These people weren't from earth or Jaellatra. Rather, they came
from another world known as the Leicom Continent…
The portal—that only appeared once every few decades—served to connect the Leicom Continent to Jaellatra, and once it appeared, it would remain open for an entire year. Throughout that year, people were free to move between the two worlds, though strangely enough, only those from Jaellatra would enter the Leicom Continent and never the other way around. This had always been the case every time the portal was opened….
Whatever the case was, upon seeing so many people gathered there, one of the people from the Leicom Continent then declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Miland Knott, and I'm the guardian of the Leicom Continent! While today marks the day the Leicom Continent is connected with Jaellatra again, there are some notable changes this time! For one, not everyone is allowed to enter the Leicom Continent this year! As the new rule states, you'll first need to pass a test in order to qualify for entry!"
Upon hearing that, everyone instantly began discussing the new rule. Wasn't the Leicom Continent being a bit too strict this time around? After all, everyone could enter and leave as they pleased before this! Why was that rule suddenly established?
Either way, after saying that, Miland then waved his large, right hand, prompting another portal to appear beside the one he had exited from.
"This portal leads to a place called the Challenge of the Fairyland, and all of you are only allowed to enter in the form of your divine senses. Upon entry, you won't be able to leave that place till either your divine senses are defeated or you manage to gather five divine stones. Speaking of which, only those who have managed to gather five divine stones will be qualified to enter the Leicom Continent.
The stones themselves can only be obtained by defeating the other participants' divine senses! With that said, upon entry, you'll all be given half an hour to prepare yourselves. After that period of time, the portal will be closed and the challenge will officially commence!" explained Miland.
The second his explanation ended, the crowd instantly fell into an uproar! Since everyone was eager to enter the Leicom Continent, they barely gave a second thought as they began turning into their divine sense forms before rushing through the Challenge of the Fairyland portal…
"Let's hurry in as well, Richard! The good spots may get taken by others if we don't get a move on!" exclaimed Nori.
Nodding in agreement, both of them then transformed into their divine sense forms before going through the portal as well.
Upon entering, they were immediately greeted by the sight of a dense forest that felt so refreshing and comfortable that it gave the impression that they really had just entered some fairyland. Even so, Richard and Nori were well aware that this was actually just an illusory space. Despite that being the case, they also knew that unknown dangers could be lurking in every corner.
While they didn't know how large this illusory space truly was, they had a hunch that the forest they were currently in wasn't the only terrain here…
And they were right.
Including the forest, there were several other terrains in the Challenge of the Fairyland such as the desert, the ancient city, and the snowfield.
Since the divine senses appeared at random locations—after going through the portals—, the fact that Nori and Richard had appeared together was truly a sign that they were favored by God.
Regardless, since there was still about fifteen minutes before the challenge began, both Richard and Nori decided to take a stroll while chatting with each other.
"Since we'll need ten divine stones to both qualify to enter the Leicom Continent, I guess we'll have to defeat ten people!" said Nori while looking at Richard.
Nodding in response, Richard then replied, "That's the idea. Still, I find this rule to be slightly surprising… To think that entry into the Leicom Continent would be controlled so strictly!"
"This is honestly the first time this has happened! Before this, just about anyone was allowed to freely traverse between the Leicom Continent and Jaellatra!" explained Nori as she shook her head.
"Well, whatever the case is, I believe that aside from us, several others must have already begun forming groups of their own, even the stronger ones. Then again, Jaellatra already has a great number of strong people!" replied Richard as he carefully began inspecting his surroundings.
Since Richard was the only participant from earth, he realized that getting through all this was going to be a good experience for him in general. After all, just as he had said, there were many powerful people in Jaellatra, and they all seemed to have hidden themselves rather well.
Unfortunately for anyone they bumped into, however, Richard and Nori weren't weak either. In fact, as long as they didn't bump into some crazy strong person who had entered the Seventh-soul rank of the Sage Realm or the Avatar realm, both of them were pretty much good to go.
At that moment, Miland's voice began booming all across the sky.
"Everyone participating! The challenge begins in ten! Nine! Eight…"
As Miland's count got near to zero, Richard and Nori glanced at each
other before simultaneously leaping atop a tall tree before them.
Standing on tree branches, both of them then used the leaves around them to conceal themselves. Unless they were being particularly looked for, it would be incredibly difficult for anyone to even spot them.
Both of them had figured that since they didn't know what dangers were lurking around yet, their best option was to wait patiently for the right moment to strike. It certainly beat the thought of just rashly running around to look for people to defeat.
All in all, there were about a thousand participants in the challenge. In other words, though the illusory space was rather large, the probability of bumping into someone else was still rather high.
"The countdown is over! Let the challenge begin!" announced
Miland seconds later.
Following that, the entire area went dead silent. With no voices or even hints of shuffling around, the only sounds that could be heard were the rustling of leaves being blown by the wind…
However, it wasn't long after before several people got swiftly taken out! Most of those who were disqualified weren't that strong in the first place, and the others just weren't that good at hiding themselves. With that in mind, they had been targeted the second
they entered this place, which explained why they had been taken out so quickly and easily.
After a while, Nori couldn't help but mutter, "…Simply hiding here isn't going to do us any good, you know? Allow me to remind you that we're pretty strong too! With that said, we should definitely take the initiative to hunt down the weaker people who are still in the challenge while we can!"
Chapter 554
Appearing rather distressed as she stared at Richard, Nori felt the need to remind him that in the end, both of them had already entered the Sage Realm.
Hearing that, Richard felt that she had a point. With that, he then replied, "…Well, alright then! Let's take the initiative to attack then! The sooner we gather the required divine stones, the sooner we'll be able to complete the challenge!"
With that said, both of them then hopped off the tree together…
However, the second the duo landed, several arrows suddenly shot out at them from within the bushes!
Thankfully, both of them reacted extremely quickly, and they were able to easily dodge the arrows. The arrows themselves ended up piercing a few trees that were behind them…
Following that, three people wielding crossbows rushed out from the bushes, encircling Richard and Nori in no time!
"To think that we'd bump into prey so soon! What luck, boss!" said a bald man as he smiled sinisterly while looking at the scar-faced man standing beside him.
The trio had earlier been silently moving about when they suddenly saw Richard and Nori hopping off from that tree. Knowing that this was their chance, all of them had swiftly made their moves without the slightest hesitation.
"Luck you say… In the end, there's still only two of them! How are we going to distribute the divine stones among ourselves?" replied the scar-faced man with a snort as he revealed his own frigid smile.
"I know right? Both of us won't have that problem, however! After all, by the time we're done with you, we'll have three divine stones to share between ourselves!" replied Richard as he smiled slyly.
Before either of the men could reply, an aurablade suddenly manifested, and just like that, all three of them were taken out in a single swipe!
The second their corpses fell to the ground, their bodies instantly
transformed into three separate divine stones…
Picking them up, Richard kept one for himself before handing the
other two to Nori while saying, "Here, take these! They're for you!"
Momentarily shocked silent, Nori—who hadn't expected to be given two divine stones just like that—eventually snapped out of it before quickly replying, "…You were the one who defeated them, Richard!
With that in mind, you should be the one to keep all three of them!"
True to her words, Nori hadn't really done anything, and that led her to believe that she didn't deserve the stones. These were Richard's spoils!
However, Richard simply said, "It's fine, I'll just get more later. Just take them!"
Seeing that he wasn't going to take no for an answer, Nori had no choice but to accept the two divine stones. While she didn't explicitly show it, Nori was extremely moved by his generosity.
Richard himself didn't really think much of it. After all, the trio from earlier was pretty much just sitting ducks waiting to be taken out by either him or Nori.
There was a saying stating 'not accepting offered things was disgraceful', and since those three men were making themselves such easy pickings, Richard would've certainly been a fool not to take them out while he could.
Regardless, Nori and Richard then continued moving forward to look for their next prey.
Oddly enough, even after walking around for an entire hour, neither of them bumped into a single person! It was strange, to say the least, and the possibility of everyone else already being defeated didn't sound so farfetched now…
Even so, the challenge had just started… What more, there were at least a thousand participants! The challenge couldn't be over so soon, right…?
A little while later, the duo came across a river. It was only then
when they finally decided to take a break from their hunt…
Now sitting by the riverside, Nori couldn't help but ask, "…It's strange that we haven't come across any others even after walking around for so long, right…?"
"It truly is… It makes me wonder if we're a little too far off from the others," muttered Richard—who was also finding the entire experience to be rather perplexing—in response.
The second his sentence ended, a blast of water suddenly shot out from the river… and the duo found themselves staring wide-eyed at the green dragon that had just leaped out of the water!
Now hovering in the air, the dragon glared at Nori and Richard before releasing a mighty roar that resonated across the area!
Neither of them could have anticipated that such a creature was living in that river!
However, now wasn't the time to ponder about that. After all, the green dragon suddenly began diving toward Richard and Nori without warning!
"Watch yourself!" shouted Richard as both he and Nori leaped to the
side to avoid the attack!
While they were fortunate enough to dodge the attack, the fact that the area they had been sitting on had completely crumbled proved just how powerful the dragon was. Had they failed to avoid the attack, they would've surely died on the spot…
"Why the hell is there a dragon all of a sudden?! Aren't we supposed to only be fighting against other people?!" asked the shocked Nori.
Based on the current turn of events, Richard felt that the dragon was
just another kind of magical challenge within this illusory space…
With that in mind, Richard then shouted, "Go hide first, Nori! I'll deal with the dragon!"
Following that, he summoned Jade Infused Blade and turned it into a sword. After tightening his stance, Richard then began charging toward the dragon!
For a moment, the dragon almost appeared excited as it began diving toward Richard as well!
"Slaying Surge of Turmoil!" roared Richard as his aurablade flared red and flew toward the dragon, piercing right through it!
Roaring in pain, the dragon attempted to struggle for a while… until its eyes eventually turned grey and its massive body came crashing down into the river…
With the dragon now slaughtered, Richard raised a brow when he saw that two shining items had appeared on the surface of the river.
Heading over to inspect them, the items stopped glowing once he got close enough. The first item was a jade charm whereas the second appeared to be a dragon egg…
After taking the two items for himself, Richard then returned to Nori.
Now that things had calmed down, both of them began inspecting the two curious items. Neither of them had expected to be rewarded for slaying that dragon, and that only served to prove how magical this illusory space was…
A while later, Richard slipped the jade charm into his pocket and carefully placed the dragon egg in his backpack.
Both of them had been unable to guess what those two items could be used for, so Richard made a mental note to study them properly once the challenge was over. Whatever the case was, Richard was sure that both of the items had to be extremely valuable, either in terms of usage or the fact that they could be hiding secrets within them…
Richard's train of thought was cut short when he suddenly heard Nori asking, "Come to think of it, what was that move you used earlier? It was super powerful!"
Nori could still remember how amazed she had felt when she saw
Richard's red aurablade earlier…
"Well… Quite frankly, I have no idea either! It just sort of happened!" replied Richard as he shrugged. He wasn't bluffing when he said that.
After all, the one who had earlier launched the attack was Jade Infused Blade. With that in mind, it explained why Richard wasn't able to answer Nori's question.
Regardless, both of them soon packed up and left the riverside…
It was about ten minutes later when both of them heard the clashes
of a fierce battle…
Turning to look at Richard, Nori then said, "It appears that there's an intense fight happening up front! Let's hurry over and have a look!"
Richard agreed with Nori's statement. After all, if the fighters were already battered, then there was definitely a chance that both of them could obtain something without any effort. What more, if the fighters were taking on something particularly dangerous, Richard and Nori could always step in once they were taken out.
With that in mind, both of them then swiftly proceeded forward before masterfully concealing themselves behind a large rock.
Staring ahead at the small forest before them, both of them were greeted by the sight of several black-robed men attacking a youth in white clothes. Since the shoulder areas of his clothes were dyed red, it was only fair to assume that he had been injured there.
Despite his injuries and being severely outnumbered, the youth still fought vigilantly.
Even so, Richard knew for a fact that the youth was fighting a losing battle. Then again, why were those four people so insistent on taking him down? There had to be a reason for their actions…
"Those four men are clearly bullying that poor youth, Richard! Let's step in and give him a hand!" grumbled Nori as she glared at the situation with resentful eyes.
Of course, Richard saw no issue with that. It was a virtue to play the white knight, after all.
Meanwhile, in the forest itself, one of the black-robed men found himself sneering, "Come on Zelig! Stop playing so hard to get and give us your divine stone already!"
"Over my dead body!" scoffed Zelig in response, clearly still having
quite a bit of fight left in him.
"If you insist!" roared the man in anger as he gestured for the other
three to attack Zelig at the same time!
Seconds before Zelig was hit, a ray of golden light suddenly engulfed Zelig, shocking the other four men enough to momentarily retreat!
Following that, slight rustling could be heard, and the next thing everyone knew, two people were already standing guard before Zelig!
"How villainous for four of you to take on a single person!" scoffed
Richard as he stared at the four people with contemptuous eyes.
Hearing that, all four of them took turns exchanging glances with each other. They hadn't expected to be interfered with halfway through what they were doing.
Shortly after, what seemed to be the leader of the group then glared at Richard before warning, "Look, buddy. Beat it and leave us to our affairs. Otherwise, don't blame me for killing you too!"
"Hah! I'd like to see you try!" retorted Richard as his eyes suddenly began glinting murderously.
Before any of the black-robed men were even able to reply, Richard tossed two secret technique talismans—that he had earlier hidden inside his sleeves—toward the men!
Appearing to burn up just inches away from the talismans' targets, the duo that Richard had attacked found themselves being engulfed in flames before they were even able to react! And just like that, the two black-robed men had been burned to death…
"…W-what…?!" shouted the two remaining men, momentarily unable to process what had just happened.
Quickly snapping out of it, the shocked leader of that group then
shouted, "You… You're a Talisman Master!"
To think that they would actually bump into a Talisman Master here of all places! With that in mind, the two men instantly attempted to bolt off.
'Bold of you to even attempt escape!' Richard thought to himself. It was evident that they weren't going to be leaving alive!
With that, Richard then tossed another two secret technique talismans! Upon collision with the escaping duo's bodies, were instantly ensnared by vines that appeared out of nowhere!
Fully bound, the duo flopped to the ground, utterly terrified as they watched Richard slowly walk toward them.
Staring back at them, Richard then casually said in a frigid tone, "Well then, thanks for giving us your divine stones!"
With that, Richard summoned his sword before swiftly ending the
remaining two men…
There was no mercy in his attack since Richard was well aware that not being cruel to his enemies would mean that he was being cruel to himself…
Chapter 555
Regardless, Richard then took all four of their divine stones before slipping them into his pocket. Richard now had five of them.
Either way, he then turned to look at Zelig before asking, "Are you alright?"
Shaking his head, Zelig then replied in a gratuitous voice, "I'm fine, thanks to you saving me! Also, where are my manners! My name is Zelig Lear!"
Upon hearing that, Nori found herself momentarily stunned.
"Wait, you're… Zelig Lear? The second young master of the Lears of
Jaellatra?" asked Nori.
Looking at her, Zelig—who clearly hadn't expected her to know who he was—found himself raising a slight brow as he curiously replied, "…I am. And you are…?"
"Ah, I'm Nori from the Zahn family! I didn't think I'd bump into the second young master of the Lear family here! What an honor!" said Nori as she smiled subtly.
The Lears were an extremely strong family in Jaellatra, and many of its members were so strong that some had even managed to enter the Avatar Realm!
Zelig understood how strong his family was as well. With that in mind, to think that he had been caught in the process of failing to defend himself against only four assailants… It was rather embarrassing, to say the least.
Chuckling rather bitterly, Zelig then sighed before replying, "You're exaggerating it, Young Lady Zahn! I'm just a good-for-nothing who's been left behind by the other Lears!"
Though Zelig was the second young master of his family, his training was honestly rather low in comparison. After all, he had only managed to enter the Ninth-rank in the Rune Realm. The fact that he couldn't even breach the Sage Realm had caused his family to collectively label him as being useless. With that in mind, Zelig wasn't exaggerating either when he said that the rest of the Lears had abandoned him.
After staring at Zelig's body for a while Richard frowned slightly as he said, "…I can sense that due to some odd reasons, you haven't been able to progress past the Ninth-rank of the Rune Realm."
Nodding in response, Zelig then replied, "You're rather insightful, sir! What you said is true and from what I've managed to gather, there seems to be a strange aura within my body that's keeping my elixir-of-life field sealed. That's the reason why I haven't been able to make any progress at all!"
"I see… Well, it's not like your situation is incurable. You just haven't been using the right methods to properly tackle it!" explained Richard.
The second he heard that, Zelig was instantly surprised though joy quickly overtook that feeling. The fact that Richard was able to say that definitely meant that Richard had a way of helping him!
"…I see! But before that, where are my manners indeed! How should I address you?" asked Zelig.
"You can just call me Richard. Richard Crawford!"
"Very well, Mr. Crawford! Getting straight to the point, if you truly have a way to help me, then I'll be willing to offer you my entire life in exchange! I'll be there for you at your every beck and call!" replied Zelig. With how excited he looked, Zelig barely had the temperament of a young master of such a powerful family…
However, that did show how sincere Zelig's words were. Adding that to the fact that Zelig wasn't even close to feeling like a villainous character, Richard decided that he wasn't against helping him out.
"While I'm fine with helping you, you should focus on gathering five divine stones first. We can talk about this in more detail once we leave this illusory space!" replied Richard.
After all, though Richard already possessed five divine stones and
Nori had two, Zelig hadn't managed to gather a single stone. With that in mind, they needed eight more stones, which meant that eight more people needed to be defeated…
"You're right, Mr. Crawford!" replied Zelig as he instantly began
tending to his earlier wounds.
Once he was done, he then set off together with Richard and Nori.
Thankfully, the subsequent people they bumped into were rather weak, so in no time at all, the trio managed to gather the remaining eight divine stones…
With that done, they quickly rushed back to the exit to get themselves authenticated. Once that was successfully done, they then left the illusory space.
Upon returning to the real world, they were each given a wooden token. The tokens were proof that they had passed the challenge and served as 'passes' of sorts that granted them entry into the Leicom Continent. Naturally, this meant that people who didn't own the
wooden tokens wouldn't be allowed access into the other world.
Regardless, since they had been waiting to enter the Leicom Continent for quite a while now, the trio then—rather impatiently—went through the initial portal…
Shielding their eyes from bright rays of white light, they eventually made it into the Leicom Continent without a hitch.
Since this was Richard's first time here, he was momentarily taken aback by how beautiful this place was. Not only did everything look marveling, but the entire area seemed to be filled with floating continents as well!
Regardless, Richard found himself snapping out of it when he suddenly heard someone jeering, "Well, well, well! If it isn't Young Master Lear!"
Turning to face the source of the voice, the trio was greeted by the sight of a youth—who had a dark green robe on—walking toward them.
"Lev Bayfield!" scowled Zelig as he frowned.
Lev was the young master of the Bayfield family in Jaellatra, and he had managed to enter the First-soul-rank within the Sage Realm.
"To think that the useless second young master of the Lear family would be able to make it past that challenge! Someone must've helped you, right?" scoffed Lev as he looked at Zelig mockingly before turning to size up Richard, a glint of interest in his eyes.
It was clear as day that Lev was looking down on Zelig for having to rely on others to fight for him, but before Zelig could even reply, Lev had already turned to leave, laughing mockingly throughout the process.
"…I had previously only heard tales of how sharp Lev's tongue could
be. Now that I've witnessed it first-hand, I can safely agree with
those rumors!" scowled Nori rather contemptuously as she glared at Lev's back.
From what she had said, it was clear that though she hadn't met Lev
before, she had definitely heard of him.
Either way, upon finding a hotel to stay in, the trio quickly realized that the Leicom Continent's currency was rather different from theirs! Since they weren't going to be able to use earth or Jaellatra's currency here, all three of them knew that they had to start thinking of ways to obtain money.
After asking around, they found out that gold coins were the main form of currency here. They also came to realize that there was a famous auction house here that went by the name of the Aurum Auction House. That was definitely going to be their best shot of quickly obtaining this foreign land's currency.
With that, the three people then swiftly headed off for the auction
house…
Upon arriving, the trio realized that almost everyone trying to auction things there came from Jaellatra. With that in mind, the crowd was massive, to say the least.
It was quite easy to tell apart who came from Jaellatra and who was a local too due to how different the two cultures looked. If that wasn't already enough, many of the Leicom Continent's residents appeared to resent those from Jaellatra…
Regardless, after waiting a short while, Richard and the other two finally got their chance to reveal their auction item to the appraiser.
Upon revealing the jade charm to him, the trio watched as the
appraiser's eyes momentarily widened in shock.
After carefully observing it for a while, the appraiser then said,
"…Come with me! All three of you!"
Hearing that, the trio then followed him deeper into the Aurum Auction House…
Once inside, they were soon greeted by the sight of an old man who had a golden crown on his head.
After the appraiser handed the jade charm to the old man, he then whispered something into his ear, prompting the elderly man to appear slightly surprised.
Staring at Richard for a while, the old man then asked, "How did you obtain the jade charm of the green dragon?"
While slightly hesitant to reveal the information, Richard eventually replied, "I obtained it after I slaughtered a green dragon that I came across during the Challenge of the Fairyland!"
Upon hearing that, the old man's initial surprise quickly turned into
delight.
"To think that you were able to slaughter the green dragon! Just so you know, this jade charm is incredibly valuable since the only way to obtain it is by defeating that dragon! Nobody else has been able to
do it but you! How exceedingly powerful you must be!" praised the
old man.
Now realizing how valuable the jade charm was, Richard couldn't help but ask, "How valuable are we talking about here…?"
Booming with laughter in response, the old man then replied, "How do I even say this… I can say for sure that even if you auction it for a few million gold coins, you'd still find a buyer! That's how valuable it is! Now that you know how much it's worth, please tell me whether you'd still like to auction it!"
Hearing that the jade charm was worth that much, Richard and the other two instantly found themselves getting excited. After thinking about it for a little longer, Richard finally declared, "Very well! I'm agreeing to have it auctioned!"
In the end, no matter how valuable the jade charm was, money was still the priority si