"Thank you for meeting me. As you might have guessed, I need your help on something, and my quest for information was only to confirm what I think I know", Deirdre started.She gestured to the guy beside her, and he pulled out a potion vial and placed it on the table in between both their groups."A token of my…""What exactly do you want from us?", Aiden interrupted with a question.Deirdre was silent for a moment before she said simply, "it would be better to show you… Tonight, the forest outside the city, north of the waterfall… You will find way markers to lead you to a meeting place"After saying this, Deirdre stood up with the guy following her and left the restaurant, leaving behind the potion. Props to Zakari, because while the third order potion he so desperately wanted was sitting on the table in front of him, his thoughts were on the credibility and risk Deirdre would bring to the group."She looks like she is afraid of something…", he said to Aiden, a moment after Deirdre

Amid all the uproar, there was one person who stood in the window of a tall tower looking up at the name shining in gold on the giant scoreboard projection.He was absorbed in his thoughts when the door opened and a man walked in… He stood a few paces behind the man and looked up at the scoreboard whose cracks were repairing themselves right there and said…"The emperor is waiting for an explanation to what happened", he said."Gaia… What do you think of what we saw?", the old man looking out of the window asked."I think we should only accept facts as we see them", he responded, but the old man followed up immediately after that response with a question."I am asking you as a friend… What do you think?", he said.The man called Gaia fell silent for a moment before he answered in a voice that felt different when compared to the way he spoke moments prior."Lord Ajax… I believe the world is changing… These changes are beyond our control but we have a choice when it comes to what we cho

Although there were seven people in the room, no one said anything.This created a situation where the silence was deafening. They were still stuck in this situation when a projection appeared in the room.In the projection was the familiar face of the woman who welcomed them to the central city on the first day."Good day... Due to the events that occurred yesterday, the requirements of a piece of information have been met and will now be delivered", she started.This projection did not just appear in Aiden's room, it appeared everywhere, not just in the central city, but in every city that had someone staying in it."This is the fifth week since you all arrived here. Your stay will last twelve weeks. At the moment, you are all required to raise your orders in preparation for a combat test that will come in at the end of your twelve-week stay""In the eighth week, the first ruin will open, and all will be allowed access... The rules and rewards will be explained in due time"With tha

Aiden stepped out of an alley at the same time that Diane entered his room… He did not look back as he blended in with the crowd and left the inner city. Minutes later, he was walking out of the city.He left in the most crowded direction he could find. Many of the participants had gotten over their fears and were now leaving the city.There was a bit of a rush now, everyone wanted to be the strongest they could be before the ruin opened. No one had any idea what the ruin would be like, but they all guessed that it could only be amazing considering the way it was announced by the woman in the projection.Following the crowd brought him deep into the forest. He came across many people on the way and most of them were in teams.He avoided them as best as he could, but he found that there were no briwyns to hunt at this distance into the forest… There was also the prickling sensation he got when someone was watching him from the shadows.When this sensation persisted kilometers into the

The tree with its cracking sounds soon escalated into physical cracks up the body of the tree. Before long, it split into two halves and fell on both sides of the briwyn.The briwyn continued to stand in the same position despite the result of its attack. Beneath its front limbs, blood had collected and stained the grass. With the tree gone, you could see a shower of light particles being emitted from the tree's former location.In the same vein, a side view revealed Aiden with the tusk of the briwyn pierced right through his side, opening an entirely new wound.There were light particles emitted from the spot that had been torn open by the briwyn's tusk. Unsurprisingly, the pain from this skewering event was enough to put a bell into Aiden's head and wake him up.Another wound… This wound was unlike the first simple cut and a lot of blood came pouring out this time. You could sit and feel pity for Aiden at that moment, but that would only be something you did before you saw Aiden slo