*****“The portal has been activated.” A black-robed elderly man suddenly uttered in a creepy-looking environment.This was a place very far away from the capital city and right now, an elderly man, a middle-aged man, and a middle-aged woman were standing before a portal that was constantly releasing black fumes, staring emotionlessly at a bunch of people with the eldest being thirty.“Remember that this portal is only activated after we’ve depleted most of our resources,” the elderly in the middle continued after a moment, his voice so cold and his gaze seemingly able to see through souls.“This is the moment you all have been training for almost all your lives. Do your best to ensure that those so-called prodigies don’t leave the secret realm alive.""Yes, Sect Master!" the people continually emitting dark energy, whom the elderly man was addressing, responded in unison, their blood surging with intense fervor.Upon hearing their responses, the sect leader regarded them with a
*****[The host has been given an irrevocable SSS rank quest to find the core of the secret. Failure to complete this quest shall make the host lose his life.]Williams, “_”Williams again, “_”He suddenly stood fixed in his position for a moment, but then his eyes widened significantly, almost popping out of their sockets.‘You—you are giving me a quest that has my death as the punishment for failing?!’ He gasped with shock.‘Hey, system! I think a mistake has happened somewhere!’ He roared in his mind.‘What sort of a scary quest is this?!’‘I can’t even reject it!’‘Where do I even want to begin my search for a so-called core?!’‘Argh!!!’ He roared aggressively but received no response no matter how much he tried.This lasted for an eternity before eventually, Williams began to breathe at the top of his lungs.‘You know I should sue you, right? Where are my rewards for my previously completed quests?’[The host’s rewards for the previously completed quests have already
*****“You—do you actually have some kind of supernatural ability that lets you find gems?” Sofia, who had been left speechless numerous times by Williams' consistent gem discoveries, finally asked in exasperation.It Was barely just 2 hours since the beginning of the competition, yet, she had already lost count of the number of times Williams had discovered the supposedly difficult-to-find stones known as Gems, yet, he was still casually digging them up as though taking water from his backyard pound, lazily and casually.Williams, hearing the serious question thrown at him smiled playfully. “How did you know?” He asked and Sofia frowned with confusion, looking so cute.“Know what?” She inquired and Williams pointed at himself.“That I have a supernatural ability that helps me discover gems?”“You—you actually do?” Sofia asked incredulously and Williams nodded his head with an earnest expression.“It’s an ability that allows me to see through any hard surface and discover anyth
*****‘This he just…” Sofia, who had only acted in the spur of the moment mumbled blankly after a moment and then she slowly looked to the side, she swallowed hard.‘He really did just catch a flying arrow,” she mumbled and raised her head, only to see an aggressive face staring coldly straight ahead.Although the gaze wasn’t meant for her, Sofia felt her heart freeze in fear for a moment and the sweat that had oozed out of her earlier, thinking she was going to lose her life for someone she had barely known intensified before she quickly tore her gaze away.‘So scary!’ she thought subconsciously, unable to relate the arrogant and playful Williams in her head to this scary entity.She swallows hard once again before abruptly looking straight ahead, her face turning to a furious glare.“How dare you launch a sneak attack on us?!” She yelled ferociously, snapping the other party back to his senses.The person, who had been stunned by Sofia’s earlier action and Williams catching t
*****Williams was stunned for a moment after hearing Sofia’s words before slowly looking at her. “Are you seriously pleading for him?” He asked with disbelief but Sofia hurriedly shook her head.“No, but his—his background is not ordinary,” she explained, but seeing Williams’ unimpressed expression, added. “He is the only son of two legendary figures in our country whom even the likes of Damien and his people dared not offend.”Williams, “_”His brows abruptly furrowed as he contemplated Grace’s words, but just then, a cold snicker sounded on the ground.“You heard that, huh? Let me go this instant or you and all your loved ones suffer the wrath of my parents even if you guys run to the end of the world!”The voice was filled with arrogance, fierceness, and above all, murderous intent.Williams looked for a moment before a playful expression crossed his face. “And who told you I’m letting you go?” He asked, making both the young man’s and Sofia’s face change significantly.“Y
*****"Which of the contestants do you believe could bring pride to our country in this competition?" In a VVIP lounge far more spacious and luxurious than the VIP section of the stadium in the capital city, the president of Betic Country, seated at the head of the room, between the various nations' leaders, quietly asked the elderly man sitting beside him, casting a glance in his direction.The elderly man, Old Man Pu, who appeared to have been lost in his thought was jolted back to his senses upon hearing the question directed at him, and then his brows tightly furrowed, seemingly to be thinking about the question he was just asked.After a moment, he sighed and glanced ahead, his eyes appearing to be seeing through space. “If my instinct isn’t wrong, I think that boy would likely be the dark horse who would bring us pride in this competition,” he mumbled, making the president, hearing his expected response smile.“I think your instinct might be wrong this time,” he responded pl
***** “Is—is that still our country?” In the leaders’ room, Betic President, seeing the scene he had never witnessed before in his entire life gasped with shock, trembling all over as he gaped. “What so special in that?” A lazy voice abruptly sounded and upon looking, realized the speaker was the Matic Country representative, they swallowed, knowing only he dared utter such a statement. The middle-aged man was still leisurely drinking his tea, showing that his country’s nonstop moving up was within his expectations. Betic President wasn’t mad by this obvious rudeness, instead, his smile widened. “This is the highest position my country had ever reached in years and even if it were to stop moving up now, the entire world would remember my tenure in years to come,” he uttered. “Great that you know then “ the Matic Country’s representative uttered and then continued sipping his tea just leisurely as before, oozing out a strong arrogance that couldn't be feigned. Just
*****“I say, seniors, do you think the god’s eyes have begun to show the rankings of this competition?” Inside the secret realm, a young boy who doesn’t seem to be above fifteen years yet, walking excitedly amongst his group suddenly inquired with two shiny eyes.“It should have,” a twenty-seven-year-old young man, presently scanning a purple gem in his hand with an excited expression responded and the young man, upon hearing this smiled and his face reddened.“Given the number of gems we’ve gotten today already, do you think our country would gain a high rank?”“We should have made our country proud now, right?” He asked hopefully, his innocent fact making all the ladies around him feel like squeezing it.Upon hearing his question, everyone around the young boy gave him a smiling and prideful face.“Thanks to you, our little junior who is very talented in the act of seeking gems, I don’t think our country would take the position of the first few, starting from the bottom we us