Night Ranger

Chapter 384: Complicated

p>Marvin froze.

It took a moment for him to recover!

The body of the small Astral Beast in front of him had basically weathered away into dust, leaving only its skeleton.

Ivan actually said that a corpse like that was still alive?

No way!

But Ivan’s expression was extremely serious. He was on high alert, watching the Astral Beast’s remains attentively.

Marvin was shocked.

…

Ivan was a lot thinner than Marvin remembered from last time they met.

From Feinan to the Dead Area, he had fought all the way.

Even if he was an Elven War Saint, it would take a toll on his body.

His clothes seemed new, but full of holes. He must have fought many times already in the Secret Garden.

He was carrying a sword that he got from some random place, and its quality was very ordinary.

Marvin knew that the Elven War Saint class had a very powerful specialty, [Weapon Greatmaster].

[Weapon Greatmaster]: You can use all weapons at will, including martial weapons, unusual weapons, and others. Moreover, your mastery will be at least Greatmaster!

Such a frightening specialty made it so that Ivan could make use of any weapon in any situation.

Moreover, his barehanded fighting wasn’t weak either. The attack power of the class was extremely high.

Looking at the sword in Ivan’s hand, Marvin suddenly dashed toward him.

Ivan hadn’t expected Marvin sudden movement.

“What are you doing?” He was a bit startled.

Marvin’s hand ruthlessly chopped Ivan’s wrist!

Edge Snatch!

Ivan’s hand loosened and Marvin turned his wrist, grabbing Ivan’s sword with his hand.

But before he got a good grip on the sword, an even more powerful chop hit his own wrist.

Reverse Edge Snatch!

In a flash, Ivan snatched back his longsword purely on instinct.

Marvin felt some pain in his wrist as he let out a long breath.

Ivan was puzzled.

Marvin smiled. “Just making sure it was really you.”

In this strange garden, he didn’t dare to casually trust someone who just appeared. Even if it was an acquaintance, he would still need to check them.

This Edge Snatch technique was something Ivan taught him, so it would be easy to recognize.

With such a skillful reaction, it was definitely Ivan.

The Elven Prince was dazed.

Marvin coughed awkwardly. “Can you find a safe place to chat? I feel like someone is spying on us.”

Ivan looked at Marvin thoughtfully. “You also have this feeling?”

“I previously thought it was the recovering Astral Beast but that doesn’t seem to be the case. It has yet to awaken…”

The two chatted while moving away from the Astral Beast’s remains.

Ivan took out a scroll and tore it apart.

A powerful soundproof barrier appeared around them.

“Speak, what’s going on? How did you come to the Dead Area?”

“Hold on, your rank…”

Ivan looked at Marvin like he was seeing a freak!

When they first met, Marvin was a small guy about to advance to Night Walker.

Although there was the Night Monarch’s blessing, he had never expected him to reach this point so quickly.

Ivan could faintly sense the aura of a Legend from him. This wasn’t surprising, as although the War Saint class was focused on offense, Ivan’s body had many enchantments and blessings added by the Great Elven King. One set of blessings put his strength far above that of other Legends, and it was naturally the same for his Perception.

He saw that Marvin was meticulously suppressing his strength and hadn’t advanced to Legend yet, but already had the ability to do so.

“You are going for a particular Advanced Legendary Class?” guessed Ivan after thinking for a bit.

Most people in the Night Walker organization chose to advance to the Legend Night Walker class.

After all, this class wasn’t weak, and they could receive another blessing from the Night Monarch.

But Marvin was clearly an exception.

He chose another class.

“What class?” Ivan seemed very interested.

“Ruler of the Night.” Marvin didn’t hide it.

Ivan froze with a strange expression. “You want to imitate the Night Monarch?”

Marvin was somewhat surprised by his reaction. “Why would you say that?”

Ivan was speechless for a moment before asking, “Could it be that you don’t know that the great Night Monarch’s Legend class was [Ruler of the Night]?”

Marvin was stunned, because he really hadn’t been aware of this.

Although the Night Walker organization had a long history, there were very few records concerning the Night Monarch.

Even Sean, O’Brien and the others didn’t know what the Night Monarch’s Legend class was.

But the Elves had very long lifespans.

Ivan had learnt all kind of knowledge since he was a child, so it wasn’t too strange that he knew about the Night Monarch’s Legend class.

Marvin had a subtle feeling.

He hadn’t expected the Night Monarch to also be a Ruler of the Night.

No wonder he was named Night Monarch by the later generations.

It made sense though. It was rumored that the Night Monarch once had a confrontation with an Ancient God. In the Eternal Night Era, perhaps only a Ruler of the Night would have been able to display such formidable power.

Marvin still had a strand of the Night Monarch’s soul lying dormant in his body. After the fight with the crazy Madeline, that strand of soul hadn’t awakened again.

Marvin guessed that he had to come across specific circumstances to trigger it.

‘Becoming a Night Walker, taking away the Dark Knights, having a piece of the Night Monarch’s soul in my body, and walking the Ruler of the Night path.’

Marvin felt strange.

It was as if there was a force connecting him and the Night Monarch.

…

But now wasn’t the time to talk about this. Marvin met Ivan and summarized everything he knew.

There were three very important points:

– Everything he knew about the Secret Garden.

– The Great Calamity happening soon.

– The Great Elven King wanting Ivan to return to Thousand Leaves Forest immediately.

Although Marvin only told him the most important parts, he still spent a lot of time.

Hearing those things, even Ivan was shocked.

“You are saying that the Secret Garden’s Magic Medicines have already been eaten by that wretched Eric?”

“The Gods attacking the Universe Magic Pool? This… How could this be?”

“He personally banished me, and now is asking me to return?”

Ivan was confused, not knowing what to say right now.

“We need to put aside the other matters for now.” Marvin glanced at the soundproof barrier flickering and said, “We have to leave the Secret Garden quickly.”

“Of course, if the situation allows for it, we will do our best to find Magic Medicine King Eric or the Underworld River Water.”

Ivan understood something and muttered, “A lot of things make sense now.”

He began to tell Marvin what he had encountered before.

He had entered the Secret Garden a day earlier after all, so he had experienced more than Marvin thought.

After entering the garden, the group of five Legends joined hands to rush forward. The ordinary Magic Beasts were easily mown down by the team of five.

But before reaching the 4th area, they met with a large problem.

The 4th area was the most important area of the Secret garden, the [Mills Garden].

Some valuable Magic Medicines were growing in that area.

But the Legend powerhouses encountered an obstacle.

There was a monster guarding the entrance.

Nine-Headed Vines.

It sounded very ordinary, but it was a Legend monster. Its regenerative ability was very formidable, and it could use magic!

The Nine-Headed Vines had already evolved and developed intelligence. It was the garden’s guardian. Only by killing her could one enter the garden.

But the issue was that the Nine-Headed Vines could fight at full power, while the strength of the Legends was suppressed to about two-thirds.

Their fighting strength wasn’t enough to deal with the Nine-Headed Vines.

The other four Legends were still trying to find a way to break the defense of the Nine-Headed Vines.

But Ivan noticed something strange and retreated.

It was instinct toward danger.

He pointed at the Astral Beast’s corpse and solemnly reiterated, “I have a feeling he might resurrect.”

Marvin felt his blood run cold.

Astral Beast. This was a common term for the monsters of the Astral Plane. There were too many types.

But regardless of their type, beings that were able to survive in the Astral Plane all had the power to destroy worlds.

If it resurrected, even if the Universe Magic Pool wasn’t shattered, Feinan could be in grave danger.

Ivan’s words also reminded Marvin of something.

Astral Beast corpse… Resurrection…

The old caster’s notes!

He gulped and muttered, “No way…”

He frowned and thought to himself, ‘No way, there wasn’t any Astral Beast coming into being here in the game, and there wasn’t any information about this.’

Marvin was a bit confused.

He knew he likely couldn’t fully believe those groups of money grubbers who sold information. Big guilds would try to keep some information for themselves. In fact, apart from the most powerful, no one knew what benefits the first guild that cleared this instance got.

What they encountered was a secret, because no video was released to the public before Marvin’s transmigration.

It had to be known that in the game, many first clears of instances would influence the plot of the entire Feinan plane. Those who cleared the instances later wouldn’t be privy to many secrets.

These different events were very important in Feinan, and if properly exploited, the players could maximize their benefits.

Thus, his secondhand information wasn’t to be completely believed!

…

Ivan muttered, “Truly strange, this Astral Beast has obviously been dead for so many years, so why would there still be an aura?”

Marvin’s eyes shone. In fact, he already had a hypothesis in mind.

But he lacked proof at the moment and could only make a guess.

“Let’s leave it for now,” Marvin suggested. “I know a small path that can bypass the Nine-Headed Vines to get into the Mills Garden.”

“But that path might be a bit dangerous… we might meet some lifeforms from Hell.”

Ivan resolutely replied, “Let’s go! There shouldn’t be an issue if ordinary lifeforms from Hell appear.”

Marvin acquiesced and the two set off immediately.

As for the Astral Beast’s corpse, it was still lying there. Yet, from time to time, tiny flames flickered.

Chapter 385: Nine Hells

p>The two men quickly left the 3rd area and the Astral Beast’s corpse.

Marvin cautiously went back toward the Desolate Tower Ruins according to the information he had.

Although he was told that there were very few dangers on this path, he wasn’t as confident in relying on secondhand information.

Perhaps the one who leaked the information was actually covering something up, or maybe since he had changed the world’s history and triggered a butterfly effect, something would be different.

In any case, he had to be careful.

They walked between the 2nd and 3rd areas, going toward the tall mountain in the east.

Ivan also had a cautious expression.

Marvin rarely saw him like that.

Most of the time, this guy looked lazy and didn’t seem to take anything seriously.

But the Secret Garden made him feel very pressured. Even if he was an Elven War Saint, his strength was still seriously weakened, making him experience some setbacks earlier.

From his appearance, it could be seen that his opponent put up quite a fight.

They travelled silently and quickly arrived at the bottom of the tall mountain.

The sky was dark red, like frozen blood.

So it was this mountain.

Ivan’s eyes shone as he saw the continuous changes on the mountain. These changes were minute. Without outstanding Perception, people wouldn’t be able to notice.

“This is a crack in the plane?”

Ivan was amazed.

Marvin nodded and explained in a heavy voice, “Bordering Hell.”

Ivan understood. “So that’s why there is a such a thick and sinister aura.”

They continued going forward and soon arrived at a tunnel at the bottom of the mountain.

This obscure tunnel circumvented the 3rd area, [Astral Beast Corpse], and Mills Garden’s protector, leading straight into Mills Garden.

But this path could be very challenging, and if it went poorly they might suddenly end up in Hell.

They could also have a smooth journey and nothing would happen.

This all depended on how the plane’s rules changed, or in other words, luck.

Ivan knew that under the current circumstances he wouldn’t be able to overcome the Nine-Headed Vines, so if he wanted to enter Mills Garden, he would have to take a risk.

Hell’s lifeforms, he should be able to handle.

Generally speaking, powerful Devils wouldn’t be wandering around these cracks.

“Let’s go.”

Ivan stepped forward and entered the obscure tunnel.

…

A nauseating smell filled the strange cave.

But the cave itself was dry.

Marvin was holding his daggers while watching attentively for anomalies.

Ivan looked at the pair of [Azure Leaf]s and was a bit surprised, but he didn’t say anything about them. His father had a strange character. Giving away the Legendary Weapons he had been using all this time wasn’t too unusual, especially if it was to Marvin.

He wouldn’t be surprised by anything that guy did.

Even if he said he was an incarnation of God Lance.

As the two progressed, the cave gradually began to change.

Within a spatial crack, directions weren’t fixed.

From the direction they initially took, the tunnel had actually been heading toward the first area, the Lost Villa. But Marvin was pretty sure this tunnel led to Mills Garden because it had been confirmed by another source, a lone player that had nothing to do with the guilds.

That player not only shared some more information, but also included a video.

He and his team were killing some Barbazu and Chain Devils before reaching the 4th area.

The video was only about where the path led, and didn’t give much more information.

It was said that people would meet different things on this path.

There was no point in guessing what they might encounter, and they could only adapt to the situation.

Regarding this, Marvin was very confident. With 9 levels in Night Walker and his Desperation Style, he possessed fighting strength comparable to an ordinary Legend.

Moreover, he had Ivan by his side.

This guy basically had a Main Character halo. He was covered in so many buffs that there wouldn’t be anything to worry about in a crisis.

…

As they continued along, howls could be heard in the dark cave, echoing one after the other. It gave a rather ominous feeling.

“Not an illusion,” Ivan said.

Marvin nodded.

He could also feel that these howls came from living beings, and seemed to be howls of pain coming straight from one’s soul.

The path ahead seemed to consist of nothingness.

Ivan frowned, and softly grabbed Marvin’s wrist.

“Careful. That path is a little strange. It won’t be good if we split up.”

Facing Ivan’s unprecedentedly serious expression, Marvin also held his breath.

The two walked forward, stepping onto that nothingness at the same time.

The next second, both their expressions changed!

They saw a crimson world!

A river of blood surged and flowed to some unknown place, disappearing in the distance.

On the blood river, countless small boats were sailing with difficulty.

A lifeform on one boat looked extremely ugly. It was a Barbazu!

Barbazu were also known as Bearded Devils and were mid-ranked Devils!

On the river, many boats had been capsized by the roiling waves and countless souls sank inside.

“Hell… Styx…”

Ivan let out these words.

Marvin paled. “Nine Hells!”

…

The appearance of the Styx let them know where they were. Only in the Nine Hells could one find the River Styx.

The other side of the River Styx was crowded with Amnizu counting the people coming ashore.

These people had been related to Devils during their lives. In fact, in the Prime Material plane, a lot of people had deals with Devils. Their souls would come to Hell after their deaths, unless they were taken away by a Reaper from the Underworld before that.

Even the most common farmer could be tempted by an imp to steal someone else’s orchard.

If the farmer did this, then his soul would come to Hell after his death.

That was the story of a certain Devil Overlord in the Nine Hells.

Hell’s order was very strict and cruel.

The voices the two just heard came from a distant corner where some Erinyes were interrogating people on behalf of their superior.

These souls were still aware of their past life and the Erinyes’ whips could squeeze the power of Order out of them.

Demons liked Chaos while Devils were obsessed with Order. Although both sides were Evil, what they needed was completely different.

Thus, the Demons didn’t need souls.

Gods and Devils thirsted for the souls of the inhabitants of material planes, and naturally the Negative Energy Plane needed souls too.

…

The two were standing on a mountain as strange lifeforms were flying over from time to time and carelessly falling in the river Styx.

At that time, a small team of Chain Devils appeared behind them!

A few of them spoke in Infernal:

“Lifeforms invading… It’s surprisingly not just souls.”

“Hahaha, today we can fill up our bellies!”

_

T/N: Devils’ illustrations are on discord at https://discord.gg/j3CuetU in the Illustrations server

Chapter 386: Blade Technique Style Greatmaster

p>Chain Devils were mid-ranked Devils that were covered in chains and barbs but still looked humanoid.

They had pale white skin with lots of scars, both new and old ones. They were experts at torturing others but also tortured each other.

This group of Chain Devils seemed to be returning from the Shadow Wilderness and they were extremely hungry after paying their soul taxes to their superiors.

The two souls in front of them could definitely satisfy their needs.

Their gazes were especially focused on Marvin’s body.

Devils always had the sharpest awareness toward souls. Even though the other human was a bit more powerful, Marvin had the stronger soul.

This was most likely because his soul had fused with his host’s after transmigrating.

Whatever the case, this group of Chain Devils appearing in front of them wasn’t good news.

A commotion broke out on the distant shore of the River Styx.

Ivan and Marvin’s appearance not only attracted that group of Chain Devils, but many Barbazu were also lured over.

Two mortals!

They boldly entered the Nine Hells on their own, a very rare occurrence.

Their souls had yet to be affiliated. If they could offer these mortals’ souls to their superiors, they would surely be rewarded, and maybe they would even be promoted. In the very strict world of the Devils, offering bribes and sacrifices was the only way to advance.

…

Ivan frowned. He hadn’t wanted them to carelessly enter the Nine Hells.

He quickly suggested, “Since we are still on the edge of Hell, the space is very unstable, so we will most likely return to the Secret Garden if we keep going.”

Marvin nodded in agreement as he took a deep breath.

The two glanced at each other and didn’t need to say anything else before they acted!

Mortals entering the Nine Hells, what else would they have to say?

They could only cut a bloody path out!

This group of Devils consisted of seven Chain Devils, each of them very tall and covered in iron chains. It seemed like they had no weak points.

In fact, it was so. Chain Devils had no vitals that could be targeted to easily kill them.

Frustratingly, ordinary Chain Devils could control the four iron chains on their bodies to attack, and curved daggers weren’t very effective against these kinds of chains.

But since things had come to this, there wasn’t any point worrying.

This Chain Devil was his first problematic enemy ever since he learnt Desperation Style. Fortunately, the Nine Hells weren’t the Secret Garden, so he was free to use his abilities here.

Shadow Step!

In an instant, Marvin appeared behind a Chain Devil and his dagger swooped down!

The Chain Devil hadn’t reacted, but the iron chain on his back slid up to protect him.

In spite of this, Marvin’s attack still struck firmly!

“Clang!”

Sparks flew in all directions.

Armor Break!

Shatter!

The two properties activated at the same time and the heavy iron chain was split in two by Marvin!

In an instant, the large chain on the Chain Devil’s back came off, exposing his bare skin.

“Aaah!”

Marvin followed up smoothly, ruthlessly slashing over with his second dagger!

This slash was very heavy, almost cutting that Chain Devil in half!

“Hiiissssssss!”

The Chain Devil let out a painful sound as his chains shook.

“Woosh!”

Two thick chains flew over at Marvin!

Marvin calmly used the Demon Hunter Steps to easily dodge them.

Hell’s lifeforms were truly troublesome.

If it was almost any other kind of being, even if they had an immunity to deadly injuries, Marvin’s blow would have already put them near death, possibly incapacitating them.

But that guy still had the energy to fight.

He retreated a few steps as he got ready to counterattack again, but another Chain Devil bellowed in a deep voice and approached to surround Marvin!

“Woosh!”

Sounds of chains flying through the air kept echoing out as Marvin started to have a harder time dodging.

Getting hit by a Chain Devil’s iron chain would seriously endanger his life!

Despite being in this precarious situation, Marvin became calmer and more collected.

His footsteps didn’t falter, and although there were a lot of chains swinging, they took time to change direction. As long as he was careful he would be able to see their trajectories.

In this way, even if he was in a 1 versus 2 situation, he would still be able to turn it around.

He took a quick glance at Ivan and saw that the latter was displaying his overwhelming might.

Marvin was having a hard time dealing with two while Ivan was slaughtering his five.

This was the gap in strength.

There was still a huge difference between Legend and Half-Legend!

But Marvin wasn’t discouraged. Once he advanced to Ruler of the Night, his strength would get a huge boost.

At that time, even if he wasn’t as powerful as Ivan, he would at least be far more powerful than most Legends!

Marvin was spurred on by Ivan’s performance and the curved dagger in his hand attacked even more viciously.

He had an odd feeling.

These two Chain Devils’ sinister expressions didn’t affect him at all, and he felt as if he had returned to the Ice Monster Cave, holding his wooden daggers and fighting 64 Ice Monsters.

It was as if Kangen’s voice echoed beside his ear, “If you are in desperate straits, you have no choice but to show the limits of your potential to defeat your enemies. Each attack must be faster than the last.”

Each attack must be faster than the last…

“Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!”

Suddenly, Marvin’s movements seemed to become even more refined. He dodged one Chain Devil’s attack and launched a risky attack on the other one.

His attacks were becoming increasingly faster!

The Chain Devil was caught off guard and simply didn’t have time to defend.

Moreover, Marvin’s earlier blow had already cut his body open, making moving more troublesome.

Marvin’s Reckless Dual Wielder property came into full effect, his daggers leaving afterimages. In a few moments, Marvin slashed about fifty times!

“Clang! Clang!”

The chains on the enemy were completely broken, exposing his weakened body.

Marvin wasn’t lenient and while making sure to dodge the other Chain Devil’s attack, he completely destroyed this Devil with his rain of slashes!

He seemed to have reached the quintessence of the Desperation Style.

Seeing his companion collapsing, the other Chain Devil was frightened.

Not giving him the chance to recover, Marvin focused on him with his murderous eyes and once again raised his daggers, attacking at lightning speed.

…

Ten seconds later, the other Chain Devil collapsed, his chains also completely shattered!

Marvin was a bit startled as his arm ached.

This burst power used a lot of physical strength.

But he was overjoyed.

He looked at his interface and not only had his Curved Dagger Mastery reached Greatmaster, but even his recently learned Desperation Style reached Greatmaster level!

This progress would shock the creator of the Desperation Style, Kangen.

The Ice Monster Cave was customized to temper Blade Techniques and was extremely suitable for the Desperation Style, so Marvin had managed to reach Master level by relying on it.

But being able to understand something so soon in this fight against two Chain Devils, this was a bit too exaggerated.

Marvin himself was a bit confounded by his progress.

He quickly inspected his interface more closely and found another detail.

Something was blinking at the end of the status window before disappearing… [Swimming Fish Blessing].

It was replaced by another line:

[Comprehension substantially increased]

There was a countdown after that, for about three days.

Marvin understood.

When he prayed for a blessing on his birthday, the Swimming Fish Constellation really granted him a blessing, but it never triggered, to the point that Marvin had almost forgotten about it.

In his past, this was a privilege only the players and a few natives could get and it would usually temporarily raise some attributes or some other status.

Blessings like Marvin’s, even if they were rare, weren’t nonexistent.

For these three days, Marvin would require less effort to gain more progress when studying something or training himself.

No wonder Desperation Style leveled up once more.

Greatmaster Desperation Style had one more property!

[Blade Shadow]: When using Desperation, after activating Blade Shadow, Attack Speed increases by 30% and Stamina consumption is doubled.

It was an active effect!

Desperation Style’s benefits made Marvin’s fighting strength soar continuously. If he weren’t in the Nine Hells, he would be looking for a place to better comprehend this style of the Martial Path. If he could reach Grandmaster and become a Legend, his melee ability would reach a very frightening realm.

With a first-rate Blade Technique Style plus a PK expert’s experience, he was bound to be the nightmare of many people, and even Gods!

Marvin sighed in regret.

What would he be able to understand in these three days? He had to leave Hell first, returning to the Secret Garden to deal with Eric, and it would be best if he could also get the Underworld River Water.

…

After Marvin got rid of the two Chain Devils, he didn’t have to wait more than half a minute before Ivan easily finished the five Chain Devils on his side.

Regarding Marvin’s current fighting strength, Ivan was already very impressed.

But now wasn’t the time to discuss it.

Many Barbazu were rowing their boats on the River Styx and they could see even more Devils rushing over from the Shadow Wilderness in the distance.

The Devils had sharp senses and the aura of humans drew them over.

Although Devils were different from Demons and might not all attack Marvin and Ivan directly like those Chain Devils did, these guys were definitely interested in their souls.

They had to leave immediately!

Ivan took a deep breath and silently sensed the direction before pointing to one side. “That way!”

His buffed Perception was simply heaven-defying and a masterpiece of the Great Elven King, and let him feel the direction of the exit.

Marvin followed behind.

In this situation, he didn’t have another choice.

The two rushed across and climbed over the hill.

But the next instant, both of them drew a cold breath.

What they saw at the bottom of the hill was a dense gathering of souls!

Many Erinyes were ordering them in formation, while some looked coldly up at Marvin and Ivan.

And behind them, Chain Devils, Barbazu, and others were hurrying over.

It looked like a hopeless situation.

Chapter 387: Corps Contract

p>They couldn’t do anything about this. It was way too rare for mortals to enter Hell with flesh and blood bodies.

Even if it was just the edge of Hell.

‘We are fucked…’

Marvin took a deep breath.

Even if they wouldn’t necessarily die in this situation, it was still very bad.

Unless they were willing to sign a contract with a powerful Devil Overlord, they likely wouldn’t be able to escape.

But contracts had prices, and normally it would be one’s soul!

Ivan’s expression was unsightly.

The Elven royal bloodline was immortal. After they died, their soul would go to the eternal spring at the secret border and they would be reborn after many years.

But if his soul fell into the Devils’ hands, this wouldn’t happen.

“Fuck… This is my fault,” Marvin said in annoyance.

He knew that the secret path was on the border of the Secret Garden and Hell, but he hadn’t expected to have such a bad luck and walk directly into Hell’s border. He thought that at worst, they would be fighting Hell’s lifeforms on the path like the players in the game.

This was way too troublesome.

Ivan smiled bitterly. “Can’t blame you for this.”

Shortly after, his expression became grave. “These are all mid-ranked Devils or lower. There are no high-rank Devils or Devil Overlords here, so we might not lose.”

Marvin nodded.

Under the hill, the voices of the souls burst out. They still had the memories of their lives and were completely ignorant of what was happening.

Some cursed and were whipped by the Erinyes as a result.

These people had dealt with devils while alive, but most of the time they weren’t even aware that they fell into corruption.

They might have been cheated in a deal, or perhaps they had been instigated by Harvester Devils.

These things might be trivial matters that they would forget later on.

But Imps and Harvester Devils wouldn’t forget. Once they had a contract, the debt would be recorded on their bodies.

After death, those poor souls wouldn’t enter the Negative Energy Plane, and because they didn’t believe in Gods, they also wouldn’t enter a God Realm.

What awaited them was the passionate hypocritical embrace of the Nine Hells’ Devils.

…

As Ivan and Marvin were about to try and cut a bloody path out of the battlefield, a malevolent face appeared in the sky.

It was a Great Devil’s head that had three eyes!

Marvin felt cold!

It was that Archdevil!

He was too familiar with that head.

In White River Valley’s hidden chamber, the hidden treasure map Toshiroya had on him, and Ancestor’s Mystery…

‘I didn’t expect this layer of Hell to actually be under his control.’

‘Indeed, with an Archdevil’s strength, even if his head was chopped off, he would still be able to regenerate eventually.’

‘This is truly hopeless.’

Marvin was bitter.

Whether it was Hell, the Abyss, or the Negative Energy Plane, they weren’t places that someone of his level could intrude.

Diggles was an exception because he had grafted his plane onto the World Tree due to his greed, allowing Marvin to exploit that weakness.

Despite only being a face, the might of this Archdevil before his eyes seemed earth-shattering.

That wickedness would etch its way into one’s mind.

It would make people’s legs stop without even giving a chance to resist.

And the other fiends stopped moving too. Hell was a place with a strict social order and none would dare to disobey an Archdevil’s will.

The three-eyed head coldly regarded the two and said, “Ignorant mortals, you dared to trespass in the Nine Hells.”

“Your bodies are too weak. This world’s lifeforms can easily destroy you.”

“But your souls are pretty good.”

“I want to do business with you.”

Hearing this, all the Devils were shocked and dismayed.

An Archdevil would rarely personally appear to snatch a mortal’s soul. They had a grand status, and it was beyond them to snatch souls like mid-ranked and low-ranked Devils did.

The three-eyed Archdevil’s action was something that would rarely happen in the Nine Hells.

It didn’t mean it was inappropriate, just baffling.

Perhaps the explanation was that these two mortals’ souls were really unique and even the Archdevil was interested enough to make a move himself.

But in any case, these two mortals were already in the Archdevil’s hands, so the other Devils could only retreat.

Soon, the desolate wilderness emptied out.

Barbazu began focusing on rowing their boats on the River Styx, delivering souls to the other side. Then, Amnizu would decide the final destinations of these souls. Finding out which Overlords these souls belonged to was a very complicated process. Fortunately, most of the souls had a mark on them.

The Imps or Harvesting Devils that tempted them to fall into depravity would leave an imprint on them to show that the soul belonged to their faction after death.

These souls were howling miserably in pain.

…

The Archdevil’s head slowly descended. In an instant, a spatial distortion wrapped around them.

The barrier’s surroundings changed, making it impossible for outsiders to see inside, and for them to see outside.

The two were very wary.

But how could Marvin have imagined that a familiar voice would suddenly come out of the Archdevil’s mouth?!

“I really didn’t expect to meet you so soon, lil’ Marvin.”

Marvin was stunned.

That three-eyed Archdevil head shockingly turned into a gentle youth.

“It’s you…”

Marvin was too astounded to say any more.

After a while, the youth rolled his eyes. “You should call me Grandfather.”

Marvin remained silent.

This was really too strange.

A young man who looked younger than him that he didn’t even remember actually told him to call him Grandfather!

Ivan was even more puzzled.

Since when was Marvin this close with an Archdevil?

“You are a Devil?” Ivan looked at Marvin in bewilderment. “I only felt the Numan bloodline from your body, so why would he want you to call him… Grandfather?”

Marvin shook his head. This wasn’t something that could be explained in a short time.

Earlier in the Secret Garden, his grandfather told him he would soon escape his trap and come back to bring him the latest news from the Astral Sea.

But he hadn’t expected to meet him so quickly.

And in such a bizarre way.

A dual class Sorcerer and Wizard that shapeshifted into an Archdevil.

“Is it really that puzzling?”

The youth laughed. “Devils boast of their intelligence, but all of them are inflexible fools that are unable to adapt to the circumstances.”

“This layer’s Archdevil is being kept sealed by me. Oh right, is the head still in your possession? Be extremely careful of his counterattack.”

“But anyway, the forces of this layer of Hell belong to me. I said I was a new Archdevil and overthrew the other one.”

Marvin and Ivan looked at each other in dismay.

His grandfather who had disappeared so long ago had sealed an Archdevil and taken his place as a Lord of Hell!

“I can’t leave for long, because that guy is very troublesome. I have to keep suppressing him.”

“So, how did you two trespass into the Nine Hells? Fortunately, it was the layer I am in charge of, or it might have been very dangerous.”

“I’ll take you back to where you came from.”

The youth also remarked, “Wait until I completely control the forces in this layer of Hell and I might return to Feinan in another form.”

“Hahaha, I’m already impatient. I heard you are expanding White River Valley? I really want to go back and take a look…”

“…Damn, that guy is becoming restless.”

He muttered the last bit to himself, frowning. It seemed some trouble had sprung up.

He stopped speaking to Marvin and Ivan and waved his hand. The two felt dizzy.

They had returned to the dark tunnel.

A nauseating smell was still floating in the dark cave.

It was as if everything that had happened was just a dream.

Ivan shook his head while looking at the blood on his sword with a bemused expression. “You have a grandfather on the verge of becoming a Lord of Hell?”

Marvin scratched his head in a daze. “It seems like it.”

He subconsciously grasped some things that were in his hands.

A youthful voice echoed near their ears. “These things might come in handy soon.”

The two didn’t know when those things appeared. This was clearly a gift from Marvin’s grandfather to the younger generation.

In his left hand was a contract called a [Hell Corps Contract].

As long as he signed this contract, he would be able to forcibly open a gate to Hell from Feinan and summon a formidable army of Devils.

These Devils would only obey Marvin’s orders.

Although the gate would only be opened for a limited amount of time, and the Devils would be expelled by the planar laws back to Hell if that gate collapsed, this was still a very powerful item.

A Devil army could completely crush a powerful city!

As for the thing in Marvin’s right hand, it was a yellow potion.

It didn’t look like it would have a good effect, but Marvin could feel that this thing was related to his bloodline.

It might be something similar to the Golden Blood, like a potion to break the restraints of his bloodline.

Marvin was now a Level 6 Shapeshift Sorcerer. But he could level this class to level 10 at most. If he wanted to make a breakthrough, he would need a way to further awaken his bloodline. Many people wouldn’t be able to do so for their whole lives.

This was the helplessness of Sorcerers.

At that time, external items that could help awaken the bloodline would become very precious.

This potion might be an item with similar effect, which would make it invaluable.

…

“I did feel he was entirely human…”

“But I have a feeling that he is hiding something. Even if he really is your grandfather, if he becomes a Lord of Hell, he might become our enemy in the future,” Ivan reminded Marvin after thinking for a moment.

Marvin nodded. He really couldn’t see through his grandfather.

“It would have been good if father were still here.” He sighed. He really had no memory of this grandfather!

What if he was a fake? The tricks of Archdevils were really formidable after all.

Leaving the worrying matter aside for the moment, the two men continued toward the end of the dark tunnel.

Soon, a light appeared in front of them.

Chapter 388: Garden of Eden

p>The appearance of the light heralded their escape from the dark tunnel.

The two quickly left the tunnel, and what awaited them was a vast bright area!

The sky was clear and sunshine gently brightened the place. The earth was spacious and fertile, with flowers blooming in the garden.

Mills Garden!

Ivan had an expression of relief.

They finally found this place.

“Let’s go check.”

They quickened their pace because they might be able to take advantage of the fact that the Magic Medicine King was likely preoccupied with those other four Legends to get a better harvest.

It would be best if they could obtain the Underworld River Water for the Great Elven King’s injury.

Such a formidable protector of Feinan was desperately needed for the defense against the Gods.

As they continued their search, the garden’s scenery around them was still as beautiful as before, but the expressions of the two were becoming increasingly unsightly.

Mills Garden exuded such a dense aura of Magic Medicine.

But most of the Magic Medicines had already been eaten!

Only a mess was left behind.

They could see that the medicinal garden had been divided very precisely.

Each area had very valuable Magic Medicines planted and there were wooden signboards summarizing their names and effects.

And there were still traces of arrays on the ground.

But all these Magic Medicines and arrays had been completely wrecked.

There were still some leaves and roots remaining, but the Magic Medicines were already dead.

Marvin and Ivan kept walking, gloomy.

Ultimately, they arrived at a damp area.

There was a wooden signboard with the name [Underworld River Water] in front of them.

This wasn’t literally the water of the River Styx, which was also known as the Underworld River and flowed through multiple planes.

But this Magic Medicine was related to it, so it had been named as such.

Marvin and Ivan entered the area.

As expected, the magic arrays here were also destroyed and all the Underworld River Water had been swept clean!

…

“You were right,” Ivan fumed, “That wretched Magic Medicine truly swallowed everything here.”

Marvin didn’t comment.

Although he had expected this kind of outcome, he had still hoped that it wouldn’t be the case.

But when he saw this scene with his own eyes, he felt quite dejected, just like Ivan.

The insatiable Magic Medicine King indeed didn’t let off the Underworld River Water, even though that particular Magic Medicine had a frightening curse.

But maybe the curse was ineffective against the matured Magic Medicine King.

Ivan, still seething in anger, asked Marvin, “For a Magic Medicine to be able to break all these arrays, were those Mikenshi Wizards slacking?”

Marvin frowned upon hearing that.

He felt that something was wrong.

Mikenshi Wizards’ arrays definitely weren’t weak.

From his search in the Desolate Tower Ruins, he could feel that the suppression was still strong after all these years. That was proof enough of the strength of the arrays.

Marvin believed the Magic Medicine King was able to swallow the other Magic Medicines.

But breaking through the arrays to get to them… This was a bit too incredible.

There must have been something behind it.

…

But since things had reached this point, it would be pointless no matter how much they conjectured about it.

The two quickly discussed their options and decided that they only had one option now, which was to capture the Magic Medicine King Eric!

If Eric was really the one that swallowed the Underworld River Water, then they could extract the components from it if they captured it.

With that secured, it wouldn’t be impossible to save the Great Elven King.

“This garden is too big. If it’s like you said and the crafty Magic Medicine King can disguise itself as a wildflower, weed, or something inconspicuous, then we will have a hard time finding it.” Ivan frowned in frustration. “I’m not worried about its illusions, but if it purposely focuses on hiding, we won’t be able to do anything.”

Marvin’s eyes shone. “You aren’t worried about its illusions?”

Ivan nodded, and seeing this confirmation, Marvin let out a long sigh of relief.

He had been hesitating about whether they should retreat if they couldn’t find the Underworld River Water.

Although he had originally planned on capturing the Magic Medicine King, too many strange things had happened after he entered the Secret Garden. Something still felt a little wrong.

His own resistance to illusions was very high, but according to the Mana Wraith, the Magic Medicine King had already reached an extraordinary realm when it came to illusions. If he fell into a trap, he would be done for.

But if Ivan was sure that he could see through the illusions, it would solve a lot of problems.

The Wood Elven heritage was very ancient. They were the descendants of the High Elves. After the Elven Era ended, they were the only Elves who stayed behind to take care of Feinan. Ivan, as the Wood Elven Prince, surely had a lot of good items on hand, but he would ordinarily disdain using them.

Nicholas was very strict with Ivan, but it could be seen that he was extremely fond of his son from all the buffs on Ivan’s body.

Although the Magic Medicine King was very powerful, as long as they could break his illusions, the only thing left would be… a Magic Medicine.

Marvin pondered for a bit and then suggested, “I might know where to look!”

…

Before Marvin entered the Secret Garden, he had a discussion with the Mana Wraith.

The latter pointed out that the Magic Medicine King’s main body was hiding in the [First Garden of Eden].

This name might be a riddle to others because as far as most people knew, there were only four areas: Lost Villa, Desolate Tower Ruins, Astral Beast Remains, and Mills Garden.

But Marvin knew that there was, in fact, a 5th area.

That was the hidden plane called the [Garden of Eden].

A plane within a plane, this was a masterpiece of the ancient casters, a planeception.

They planted some of their most precious Magic Medicines in the Mills Garden.

As for the world’s Magic Medicines that were unique or on the verge of extinction, they were planted in the hidden plane, the [First Garden of Eden].

The Magic Medicine King’s main body was also inside because the Wizard who first discovered it believed that its unprecedented ability to consume things was worthy of being researched.

But before his research had borne fruit, this Magic Medicine brought destruction to the Secret Garden in the form of an Astral Beast.

Everything that happened after that was beyond the control of the Mikenshi Wizards.

Marvin knew where the First Garden of Eden was, but he didn’t know if the Magic Medicine King was currently hiding inside.

And though he was unsure of the veracity of the Mana Wraith’s words, it was still worth checking.

…

The two gave up on looking for remaining Underworld River Water and set off deeper into Mills Garden.

A hidden valley eventually appeared not far ahead of them.

A shallow brook was flowing down into the valley from an adjacent mountain and the water was extremely clear.

Marvin muttered for a bit before walking in the water.

He felt around on the ground for a while before finding what he was looking for.

There were five colored stones. Marvin picked them up and rearranged them.

This was a simple runestone password switch. It was very easy to decipher for those who knew about it, but those who didn’t know might be forever stymied.

After a short moment, a rumbling noise echoed from the depths of the valley.

A great amount of dust fell down, and a large door that had been hidden by moss and vines spread out before them.

Ivan gave Marvin a strange look. “Sometimes I feel that the insights of true Seers can’t compare with your knowledge.”

Marvin smiled bitterly.

His prophetic abilities couldn’t stay concealed from all others, especially his very close friends.

But his friends also respected him quite a lot and trusted him.

This was enough.

Although Ivan knew Marvin was very mysterious, he could feel that Marvin had no evil intentions toward him. His origin might be an enigma, but who in this world didn’t have a secret?

There were many things that were bound to be covered up and couldn’t be shared with others.

…

The two left the brook and walked to the entrance in the valley, where they saw a shadow beside the entrance.

Marvin squinted as the other side quickly said, “You found it. Pitiful transmigrator… Since things reached this point, do you not understand your fate?”

Marvin’s mind shook.

Ivan angrily shouted, “Shut up!”

These two words seemed to be filled with magic and Marvin immediately recovered from that abnormal state.

‘Fuck… There is actually this kind of spell…’

‘It was the same as that thing in the Celestial Stairway.’

Marvin felt troubled. He had almost been tricked by the enemy.

He took a deep breath and looked at the Mana Wraith that had appeared so casually. He asked Ivan, “What did he say?”

Ivan shook his head. “He only opened his mouth and didn’t say anything. But I’m sure it was a soul spell. Are you alright?”

Marvin nodded.

It was indeed a spell. But only one person could hear it.

Because it was his own inner voice.

He bottled those thoughts away and glared at the Mana Wraith. “You knew I would come.”

“How should I greet you? Magic Medicine King Eric? Mana Wraith Eric? or…”

“Legend Wizard Orica?”

The Mana Wraith’s expression changed when Marvin uttered those words.

With obvious shock, it stuttered, “How… How did you know…”

Marvin grinned wryly. “I saw the diary you left behind. I already had some hypotheses.”

“Seems like I guessed correctly. You actually continued to live after the Mikenshi school’s destruction.”

“Maybe there simply was no Magic Medicine King, or perhaps that Magic Medicine King has already been assimilated by you.”

“You really did scheme for eternal life. Did your plan start forming when you first discovered the Magic Medicine King?”

“The entire Mikenshi school was your sacrifice, including your pitiful apprentice, Eric.”

Marvin stared at the Mana Wraith. “Am I right?”

Chapter 389: Dust of History

p>The valley was silent.

Ivan didn’t understand what they meant. Although Marvin had roughly told him what he found in the 7th tower, he had yet to understand the story of the Secret Garden.

But he hadn’t been very interested in it either.

Marvin glared at the Mana Wraith like a judge before a convict.

In fact, back when they first met, Marvin had been very careful of the Mana Wraith’s words.

When Marvin asked the Mana Wraith if the Magic Medicine King’s illusions had reached the level of Hell Nightmares, the Mana Wraith clearly hesitated before giving out an ambiguous answer.

That answer gave a hint as to his identity.

Then, although Marvin didn’t know who he was, he could guess that this guy wasn’t the ghost of Wizard Apprentice Eric!

Hell Nightmares were very rare lifeforms. Even a Lord of the Nine Hells might not have met this sort of lifeform before.

They should be as rare as Fortune Fairies, Eternal Dragons, and other incredibly rare creatures. This was a lifeform that ordinary Wizards wouldn’t know about!

Even in the Mikenshi school’s knowledge system, it would be very hard to find anything about it.

Perhaps only a Wizard at the peak could know of the Hell Nightmare’s existence.

But even though the Mana Wraith didn’t give a clear answer, his expression and reaction suggested that he knew about the Hell Nightmares.

A mere Wizard Apprentice wouldn’t know about them.

This made Marvin doubt the Mana Wraith. And later, when he found the diary in the 7th tower, he made a guess:

After that war, Eric wasn’t the only one who survived.

That despicable Wizard longing for eternal life also survived.

But Marvin’s information from the past didn’t have anything about the Legend Wizard.

Marvin guessed that either his information was incomplete, or the Wizard hid too deeply.

Whatever the case, Marvin stopped fully depending on information from his previous life.

He needed to find more information.

And the Mana Wraith appearing at the entrance of the Garden of Eden answered a lot of questions.

It wasn’t the ghost of Eric, but rather the doppelganger of Orica!

As for why he needed a doppelganger, the answer was very simple. Orica had probably fused his own soul with that Magic Medicine.

Or maybe he devoured the soul of the Magic Medicine King with some kind of soul transfer spell and then turned into it.

With Orica’s knowledge of Magic Medicines and souls, there were various possibilities.

But what made Marvin doubtful was that even if he wanted immortality and wanted to make use of this Magic Medicine to achieve immortality, why would he attract an Astral Beast?

Could this have been an accident?

Was it the doing of the original Magic Medicine King?

Or was there still another hidden secret?

What about the real Wizard Apprentice Eric? Where did he go?

Marvin wasn’t sure anymore.

…

The Mana Wraith looked loathfully at Marvin and said in a low tone, “You think you know the truth.”

“You think you uncovered this space’s secret… In fact, you are just a ridiculous kid.”

“You can only become fertilizer for this garden.”

“I originally planned to release you two. Now it seems that it won’t be necessary. People who know my identity must die!”

His expression became sinister and he opened his mouth wide!

In an instant, his body fused with that entrance.

A powerful force pulled Ivan and Marvin in!

“You want to take a look at the Magic Medicine King’s main body?”

“As you wish!”

“The [First Garden of Eden] hasn’t had a guest for a very long time. Hahahahahaha!”

As Mana Wraith’s crazy laugh echoed out, Marvin and Ivan were pulled to the Garden of Eden.

The two glanced at each other and Ivan nodded, grabbing Marvin’s wrist.

Marvin instantly understood and didn’t try to resist, allowing the Mana Wraith to pull them further.

The scenery before his eyes changed.

They were now in an area covered in dark clouds!

Marvin and Ivan were surprised!

This was the First Garden of Eden?

As a medicine garden, it should be sunny and smell like greenery, full of the aura of life.

But the space before them was actually lifeless, an accumulation of evil and filth!

This was a freaking Evil Spirit sub-plane!

The soil here was black and the flowers all around them were wilted. In the middle of the area, there was a plant with a monstrous shape!

Marvin and Ivan looked at this plant in distaste.

They didn’t even know what kinds of words they’d use to describe this plant.

It appeared to be a vine-like plant, but it was growing tall like a tree.

Countless tendrils were spiraling on its body.

But the most frightening thing was that bloody faces emerged from the tendrils.

These were the souls of the people that had been swallowed by the Secret Garden!

They were howling in grief, shrieking while full of loathing and rancor!

The Mana Wraith appeared in the air and shattered, fusing with that plant.

The face of a kind old man appeared on the plant and greeted them with a gentle smile.

“Welcome to the First Garden of Eden.”

…

Malicious coldness and the wailing of ghosts.

This was the First Garden of Eden? This was completely different from what Marvin had imagined!

All the Magic Medicines had been swallowed by Orica and his body had already become somewhat deformed. The Magic Medicines’ properties were all vaguely reflected on his body.

“See these wailing ghosts? Don’t you think they are pitiful?” asked the old man in a kind tone. “It doesn’t matter though. Soon, you’ll join them.”

Ivan sneered, remaining silent.

Marvin shook his head. “I finally understand why the Magic Medicine King could break the arrays of the Mikenshi Wizards.”

“The person breaking those arrays had been a Mikenshi Wizard. The Magic Medicine King might not have this ability, but the soul of a Legend Wizard could do this.”

“Using this kind of method to achieve immortality… isn’t this sad?”

Orica rebutted amiably, “No no no, you don’t understand.”

“Every life will eventually end, and no one can counter the effects of time.”

“In my opinion, this shows a problem. If a life was born just to die, then there must be some kind of mistake.”

“I only want to correct this mistake.”

Ivan dismissed, “Shameless sophistry.”

“You think you’ll live forever?”

“Anyway, if it really was like this, why did you open the Secret Garden to attract people in?”

This time, the old man’s expression changed. He roared menacingly, “Yeah, that’s right!”

“It was that wretched Apprentice! The wretched Eric! He wrecked my plan and forced me to fuse with the Magic Medicine King!”

“This wasn’t my original plan!”

Seeing Orica’s crazy appearance, Marvin inwardly shook his head.

This guy had already gone insane.

He looked at him with pity. “If I’m not wrong… was your original plan to shift your own soul into that Astral Beast?”

The old man’s expression was extremely fierce, as he roared, “Yes, that’s right! You are very smart! Almost as smart as me!”

“I am the greatest genius of the Mikenshi school. How could I willingly fuse with a Magic Medicine?”

“I ought to have become a supreme existence scornfully looking down at this universe! Even Gods should have trembled when seeing my shadow!”

“But that kid, that shameless kid, he actually disregarded his own safety and destroyed my plans!”

“Wait till I completely fuse these chaotic souls! I’ll definitely remove his soul and torment it in eternal fire!”

The old man kept shouting frantically and the whole place began to shake!

Marvin and Ivan glanced at each other and shook their heads.

The old man’s roars cleared up what had been hidden in history. The events of those years had slowly resurfaced.

…

Eric was Orica’s apprentice and managed to survive the war.

In fact, this was something Orica had deliberately arranged because he still needed a Wizard to assist him.

He wouldn’t be able to keep controlling someone whose level was too high, so he chose Eric, who had recently become his apprentice.

The others all died under various schemes and plots.

His goal was to the get the remains of the Astral Beast.

This Astral Beast was originally near Feinan but had been slumbering. Orica found it while travelling across planes.

He didn’t alarm the Astral Beast at that time. He was still young back then and had been a rather kindhearted Wizard.

But later on, as he grew older, many at his side began to die and he gained an abnormal thirst for immortality.

Incidentally, he obtained that particular Magic Medicine and personally planted it in the First Garden of Eden.

This Magic Medicine greatly enticed the Astral Beast.

A crazy plan formed in his mind.

At that time, his research in the soul domain should have been enough to let him seize the body of an Astral Beast.

The prerequisite was that the victim’s soul must be nearly destroyed!

It had to be known that the soul was something immortal while flesh was weak.

Cloud Monks and Liches were immortal because their bodies were immortal, capable of hosting their souls forever.

The Astral Beasts were extremely long-lived, rumored to have a lifespan that lasted longer than the universe. If he could seize the body of an Astral Beast, it would be like living forever.

Thus, he began making his arrangements.

This was a plan that required patience and perfection.

From start to finish, there couldn’t be any errors.

Following his plan, the aura of the Magic Medicine attracted the Astral Beast.

The flourishing Mikenshi school had a hard time.

Although they paid a huge price, they still managed to seal the Astral Beast.

This was within Orica’s expectations. He wasn’t impatient, because he still had enough time to finish his arrangements.

The Mikenshi school made many enemies.

And Orica was actually behind these enemies, vigorously supporting them.

In the end, the opportunity was about to arrive. He had roused them from within and both sides fought.

As he had expected, the Mikenshi school suffered a crushing defeat.

At his suggestion, they released the Astral Beast, intending to take the enemy down with them.

Everything was going as planned and the enemies died along with the Mikenshi school’s Wizards. The Astral Beast was also at its last breath.

What remained at his side was an apprentice that followed all his orders and was often ridiculed for being a spineless coward.

But the intelligent and conceited Orica hadn’t expected that it was this waste of an apprentice who would ruin his plan.

Chapter 390: Truth Tablet

p>Just as the Astral Beast was at its dying breath, Orica controlled Eric’s soul and forced him to sign a contract. If Eric showed the slightest hint of rebellion, his soul would be obliterated.

Orica believed that nothing would go wrong thanks to this precaution.

Thus, he began his own soul transfer ritual. He wanted to expel the Astral Beast’s soul from its body and transfer his own soul into it.

But during this process, something unexpected happened.

The apprentice, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly acted out during the ritual and interrupted its process.

Although Eric was only a Wizard Apprentice, he was very clear about what would happen if the ritual succeeded.

His teacher’s mind had already been close to insanity. Once he was in control of the Astral Beast’s body, Feinan would be in for an unprecedented disaster.

He risked his life and ruined the ritual.

Thanks to this spanner in the works, the disaster was prevented.

The Astral Beast’s soul was released, but not expelled.

Orica was shocked and furious. He crushed Eric’s soul and then fled, escaping to the Garden of Eden.

The original plan failed and Orica was left alone in the garden feeling incomparably frustrated. While he was brooding, he noticed the Magic Medicine he had planted here which had a very powerful lifeforce and the ability to consume and absorb others.

Another crazy plan formed in his mind.

He fused himself with the Magic Medicine and swallowed its soul to take on his new appearance.

He hid in the First Garden of Eden for a very long time. He didn’t know how many years had passed after he finished swallowing all the Magic Medicines in there. He couldn’t help but leave and take a look outside again.

It turned out that the Secret Garden was silent and devoid of people, while the Magic Medicines had propagated wildly.

That Astral Beast’s corpse already had no signs of life. As for the body of Wizard Apprentice Eric, it was laying down next to the Astral Beast’s remains.

After Orica cut Eric’s remains into tiny pieces, he realized that he could use Eric’s name.

The Ancient Gods had considered soul transfer a taboo. If he was found by some powerful Gods, he would be punished. After all, there was no Universe Magic Pool at that time.

Thus, he chose to fully assume the identity of Eric. That way, if the Ancient Gods used Divine Spells to look into the matter, there would be some deviation.

The greedy and cowardly Orica began taking control over the Secret Garden over a long period of time.

He removed his own resentment that had built up and condensed it into a Mana Wraith that would control the opening and closing of the Secret Garden.

The Nine-Headed Vines guarding the Mills Garden was also a branch of his main body. Because he had swallowed so many Magic Medicines, his strength was very frightening.

Naturally, because of the Magic Medicine body, he couldn’t deliberately cast spells anymore.

Especially after Lance set up the Universe Magic Pool, he discovered with shock that his ability to absorb Chaos Magic Power had sharply declined.

This greatly infuriated Orica, but he didn’t dare leave this world.

His longevity method still had a flaw and he needed more souls to fuse completely.

This was the truth hidden behind the Secret Garden!

…

The old man’s bellows were getting progressively louder.

His expression while looking at Ivan and Marvin was also starting to become filled with greed.

“Rest assured, this process won’t be very painful.”

“Wait till you become part of my body. You’ll be proud!”

“We will rule over the Universe!”

The last sentence was shouted by all the bloody faces on the plants.

Marvin and Ivan didn’t seem impressed.

The former sighed, “You made two mistakes.”

Orica waved his vines menacingly, spreading them across the area and ready to lash out anytime.

He scowled at Marvin angrily. “What nonsense are you talking about!”

“First of all, you thought Eric died a long time ago. But in reality, he didn’t die,” Marvin said calmly.

“This can’t be!” Orica’s face distorted. “Are you making fun of me? I already crushed his soul!”

“Maybe.” Marvin shrugged. “But why are you hiding here, not daring to go out?” he asked rhetorically.

“The Astral Beast’s body is full of treasures, so why don’t you swallow it?”

“That gradually recovering aura, as a Legend Wizard who is also an expert on the domain of soul, shouldn’t you feel something strange about it?”

Orica snarled in denial, “Absolutely impossible!”

“That was my body! How could it be snatched by a mere Wizard Apprentice!”

He became extremely violent, the barbed vines that filled the sky sweeping over from all sides.

Each vine had countless faces covering it!

These were all distorted and some were even missing facial features!

But they each had a bloody mouth as well as saw-like teeth!

Facing this, the two didn’t cower.

Marvin knew this was merely an illusion.

He could feel that Orica was bluffing. After all, that guy had already fused with the Magic Medicine King, which was only an expert in illusions.

But Marvin didn’t get rid of the illusion.

He had no way to do it, but that wasn’t true of the Elven Prince beside him.

Ivan had previously affirmed that he could handle the Magic Medicine King’s illusions.

He took a step forward while spreading out his palm and a golden light burst out!

The dazzling golden light was bright like the sun and pierced through the entire room.

All the souls began to howl in grief as the vines were ignited.

Orica was utterly frightened. He realized in consternation that the entire space was starting to collapse!

“No! No!”

“What’s this… Why is it like this?”

Ivan gave him a look of pity. “Your body already fused with the Garden of Eden?”

“No wonder the space itself is getting affected.”

“And you think you are unrivalled here? Unfortunately, you are wrong.”

“However powerful the lie, it can still be defeated by the truth.”

“Falsehood is the only foundation you rely on. Now, what will be left once I destroy your foundation?”

The next second, the whole space thoroughly collapsed!

The huge plant was turned to dust under the golden light.

An intense energy condensed in the air as an ugly soul was being stabbed by the bright light.

A sense of loss could be seen on Ivan’s face.

The Magic Medicines assimilated by Orica had already wholly become part of him and couldn’t be recovered anymore.

These tribulations in the Dead Area still weren’t enough to find a medicine to cure the Great Elven King’s injuries.

…

Marvin looked somewhat awed when he saw this.

He had thought that Ivan meant he had some treasures to get rid of illusions, nothing more.

But he hadn’t expected that this guy would pull out a fragment of a Fate Tablet!

A Fate Tablet fragment!

Marvin had handled Ding’s main body, so this was something he was very familiar with. But the Plane Law carved on this fragment was [Truth] and not [Luck]!

It was amazing that the Wood Elven family had such a treasure!

Who knew what the person who held the fragment had thought at the time. That person didn’t use it to ascend to Godhood.

And now, this Fate Tablet fragment had the aura of life. It was close to being incarnated into a living creature.

This meant that this Fate Tablet fragment might become like Ding, and gradually form a flesh body.

A Truth Fairy.

This was something mortals couldn’t imagine.

An ordinary person would definitely choose to ascend upon gaining a Fate Tablet fragment, but clearly, that ancestor of the Wood Elves didn’t choose to do so. He might have been the former Great Elven King, chasing after the traces of the High Elves who left for the distant Eternal Country.

And this Fate Tablet fragment was left behind.

The successive generations of Wood Elven Kings also didn’t choose to ascend to Godhood.

This was very praiseworthy.

Before the Truth Tablet fragment, all illusions were nothing but falsehoods!

Marvin sighed while watching as Orica’s soul was slowly scattered.

This was a bit different from what he had planned.

But he also knew that Ivan chose to use the Truth Tablet because of his apprehensions.

In his opinion, people like Orica were stains that couldn’t be left on this world.

Even if they wanted to keep this Magic Medicine that was full of lies and illusions, Orica’s soul would still be intermixed with it and couldn’t be separated.

That guy was an expert at playing with people’s feelings and there could be some terrible consequences one day if they didn’t eliminate him.

Thus, despite the fact that killing Orica would make his endeavor in looking for a Magic Medicine to cure his father a wasted effort, Ivan still didn’t hesitate to do so.

This former Legend Wizard was no longer worthy of anyone’s respect. He had become a threat to this world.

This filthy soul was bound to perish.

…

Orica’s soul was still struggling to live on.

In front of the Truth Tablet, this Legend Wizard’s soul had displayed amazing tenacity.

Most of his soul energy had already been crushed thoroughly by the Law of Truth.

But there was still a round sphere.

Ivan and Marvin weren’t worried that he’d survive. How long Orica’s soul could last was only a question of time.

But then a huge change took place!

Orica bellowed with his distorted expression, “Go fuck the truth!”

“If you want to kill me, you’ll also have to pay the price!”

In an instant, the remnants of his soul energy condensed together.

Ivan immediately felt uneasy and told Marvin, “Run!”

Marvin noticed the danger at the same time!

This guy wanted them to share his fate!

Ivan had the Truth Tablet, so the other side couldn’t harm him. But the Truth Tablet could only protect its user. It wasn’t a conscious Truth Fairy yet!

Marvin used Shadow Escape and fled.

But Orica’s resentful expression followed closely, apparently breaking through the restrictions of space, firmly locked on Marvin’s body.

“Enjoy this soul energy. I might not be able to see you explode, but that scene will most certainly be beautiful!”

Orica laughed his head off as he disappeared.

At the same time, a frightening soul energy poured into Marvin’s body!

He felt like his body was expanding to the limit as he heard the howls of countless ghosts!

‘No good… Will I die in such a depressing way?’

Marvin felt a swelling pain. He was nauseated and felt like throwing up as this thought passed through his mind.

However, a log option appeared before his eyes:

[Open Essence Pool to absorb surplus Essences?]

Chapter 391: Blessing in Disguise

p>At this critical moment, how could Marvin deal with so much energy?

Despite Ivan rushing over, trying to use the Truth Tablet to disperse the energy, it had already started pouring into Marvin because of Orica’s curse.

His goal was simple. He wanted to take Marvin down with him by using this energy to make him explode!

Marvin was under excruciating pain but he made a quick decision when the option appeared before him.

The next second, something magical happened.

[Essence Pool opened completely, Essence Absorption System activated omnidirectionally…]

[Essence Energy Absorption… Maximum Efficiency]

Marvin was instantly stunned by the change.

He no longer had any disagreeable feelings.

And the general experience on his interface began to skyrocket!

Ivan was extremely worried and asked frantically, “Are you okay? Take the Truth Tablet, quick!”

In order to rescue Marvin, he didn’t hesitate to lend him the most valuable treasure of the Wood Elven Royal Family.

But Marvin answered, “I’m fine.”

“Put away the Truth Tablet.”

His voice was a little strange as he muttered, “It seems to be… A blessing in disguise…”

…

In the quiet valley, a great amount of soul energy seemed to revolve around Marvin, pouring into his body torrentially.

Ivan stored away the Truth Tablet and looked at the scene, flabbergasted.

If it was someone else, even himself… without the Truth Tablet, wouldn’t they explode from all the energy?

But that mysterious guy only had some pain at the start and now looked happier and happier as time went on.

Had his mind been confused by the soul energy?

Ivan was a bit worried.

But there truly didn’t seem to be any problems with Marvin, and adding to Ivan’s confusion, the aura from Marvin’s body was growing more powerful!

It looked like… the soul energy was becoming his nourishment.

…

The sudden change in the situation caught even Marvin off guard.

It was a pity that Orica himself had vanished completely, or else he might have had a chance to die while feeling even more miserable.

He had been so sure that Marvin would die, but he ended up surviving and gaining a lot out of it.

Marvin didn’t know what to say.

But he had an inkling of understanding toward the theory.

Orica made use of the Magic Medicine’s ability to purify the soul energy and use it as power.

This soul energy was a type of Essence.

Others didn’t have a system like Marvin’s and would never be able to absorb these Essences.

But Marvin was different, having both the system and the corresponding Essence Storage Pool.

The Essence Storage Pool was like a bottomless pit, able to absorb an endless amount of Essences.

These Essences would be reflected as general exp.

After no less than ten minutes, the soul energy revolving around Marvin’s body was finally almost exhausted.

Marvin came out unscathed.

He looked at the amount of general exp on his interface and couldn’t help but gulp.

Ivan walked over, worryingly asking, “How are you?”

Marvin brightly smiled, “Never been better.”

…

More than 500 000 general exp!

This was the most experience he had ever earned since transmigrating!

This was quite the fortuitous windfall. He had originally wanted to find a place to quickly farm exp like Saruha’s Theater.

But he hadn’t thought that without him even making a move, Orica, the embodiment of the Magic Medicine King, would give him such a huge gift before dying.

It was the last boost he needed to become a Ruler of the Night.

Indeed, he had enough experience to level up his Night Walker class again!

He, who was already a Legend in some ways, could finally advance to Ruler of the Night!

But they were still in the Secret Garden at the moment. He needed a peaceful place to advance because the advancement was a kind of ancient and mysterious ritual.

This ritual couldn’t be interrupted, or else his life could be threatened.

Marvin didn’t dare to risk it. Thus, he only allocated the experience to Ranger and Night Walker for now.

This way, both classes would reach level 10!

It was very rare for both the Base Class and the Advanced Class to reach level 10 before becoming a Legend. Most people would make use of their subclasses to get enough levels to advance to Legend.

Marvin had more than enough experience to get there!

With both of his classes reaching that threshold, his HP increased greatly, breaking far past the two thousand mark!

2809 HP!

Even compared with Fighters of the same rank, this could be considered very fierce. Naturally, this had a lot to do with the bonuses from Marvin’s subclasses.

Apart from this, the two classes’ skill points were temporarily left alone. He’d decide on how to allocate them later.

In any case, he would soon advance to Ruler of the Night so he could pay attention to the allocation then.

He wasn’t lacking that fighting strength right now.

What made him more excited were the three Ranger specialties he got for reaching the level cap!

Yes, the Base Class had a maximum of 10 levels, but that didn’t mean that there was no way to overcome this restriction.

The best example Marvin knew of was the Great Elven King Nicholas, who was a level 21 Ranger.

This was a status that hadn’t been reached since ancient times, but he managed to do it. As such, he was one of the most powerful beings in Feinan.

When a class was promoted, the specialties given by the plane would be based on the potential and the development path of the class holder.

Marvin was excited about all three of these specialties:

[Dual Wielding Ruler]: When attacking with two blades, there is a certain chance of temporarily increasing your Curved Dagger Mastery as well as your Blade Techniques by 1 level.

[Melee Ranger]: You gave up on using long-distance attacks, showing that you are a hot-blooded person. Constitution and Strength permanently increased by 1.

[Class Privileges]: When using your class’ skills, the effects will be substantially increased.

…

Those three specialties were all very practical.

Dual Wielding Ruler, Two-Weapon Fighting, and Reckless Dual Wielder were part of a set, all of which passively took effect in battle.

Currently, Marvin’s Curved Dagger Mastery and Blade Technique were both at Greatmaster level. If they were temporarily buffed by the first specialty, they would reach the peak Grandmaster level!

At that time, his close-range burst power would suppress all others.

And the second specialty was even more exciting.

Everyone knew how tough it was to get more attribute points.

Although Marvin leveled up, since he hadn’t advanced to Legend yet, he was still considered a level 20 Half-Legend, so he didn’t get any more attribute points from leveling.

Yet this specialty instantly gave him two attribute points!

Thus, his Strength reached 19, just one point away from the first major threshold, while his Constitution reached 17.

As for the last specialty, the description was clear that it would increase the effects of his Ranger skills. Even if it didn’t specify how much it would increase them, it shouldn’t be too little.

…

In contrast, Night Walker didn’t have any bonus specialty reward at level 10.

Night Walker was an Advanced Class after all, so the maximum level was 20. He would get another specialty at level 11.

But now he had a total of 80 Night Walker skill points. If properly allocated, he would get a huge boost to his fighting strength.

For example, the skill that had just appeared, [Night Assault].

This skill’s effect was to condense six Doppelgangers to strike the enemy simultaneously. Each Doppelganger’s firepower would be equal to the main body’s and would last thirty seconds.

This skill was quite powerful.

If not for Marvin intending to make his decisions after advancing to Ruler of the Night, he would have instantly chosen this skill.

…

After spending his exp, Marvin felt filled with power.

He could advance to Ruler of the Night at any time.

The Shadow Diamond was in his hands, as was the Advancement Manual, satisfying the advancement prerequisites. Everything was in order.

The only issue was that he was still in the Secret Garden.

He needed to leave and get somewhere safer first.

With Orica’s disappearance, the Garden of Eden disappeared so there wasn’t much value in the Secret Garden anymore.

The two considered for a moment and prepared to leave.

Leaving the Secret Garden wasn’t as hard now. Orica was already dead and there were many arrays that could be used in the Secret Garden.

Although Ivan was a War Saint, he still had his Elven knowledge.

He would be able to find an array to get them outside.

He also had a long-distance Teleportation Scroll on him, so after they left the garden they could immediately leave the Dead Area Continent and return to Thousand Leaves Forest if they wanted.

The only unfortunate thing was that they didn’t manage to get any Underworld River Water.

This made Marvin feel a bit guilty.

After all, he had greatly benefited from his task in the Secret Garden, mysteriously earning an absurd amount of exp.

Yet the Great Elven King, who really needed help right now, was still in an abyss of suffering. The attack on the Decaying Plateau at that time had been initiated by Marvin.

But he was helpless to do anything about it now. There was no Underworld River Water in the Secret Garden, so where could he get some?

The two men left the valley and walked toward the Desolate Tower Ruins.

When they passed the gates of the Mills Garden, they found out that the Nine-Headed Vines had already wilted.

This made sense because it had come from the Magic Medicine King’s main body.

As for the four Legends, their corpses were resting calmly on the ground.

They had killed each other and their souls had already been swallowed by Orica.

These Legends, suppressed as they were by the garden, didn’t manage to prevail over the illusions.

Marvin thought he was lucky.

If Ivan didn’t have the Truth Tablet and the two still chose to keep going, they also could have died.

The two glanced at each other wordlessly and continued on their way.

These people who died to illusions had lost to themselves.

Greed and desires… in short, they died to the evil bred within their own hearts.

There was no point in sympathizing with them.

But just as they passed the Astral Beast’s remains, the fluctuation of a frightening lifeforce leaked out from it!

Marvin and Ivan held their breaths!

Chapter 392: Ancient Youth

p>An Astral Beast was on the verge of awakening!

This was a terrifying crisis for Feinan.

Although Marvin speculated that Eric’s soul might not have been completely shattered but instead partially merged with the Astral Beast, this was only a hypothesis.

Not to mention, even if Eric’s soul was in charge, who knew what kind of changes there might be in his temperament after suffering at Orica’s hands?

The most terrifying thing in this world wasn’t destructive power, but rather, the one who possessed such power and whether that person would be able to control it.

In the Astral Beast Remains area, the aura of the soul became increasingly stronger.

A lifeforce was rousing. Even though the corpse was still lying inert, it gave them a great deal of pressure!

“No good, let’s hurry!”

Ivan looked incredibly worried.

This was the guy who dared to fight the Ancient Red Dragon Ell, but in front of this Astral Beast, even he had an ugly expression!

It showed how terrifying an Astral Beast was!

The two were going to quickly withdraw, hoping they could leave the Secret Garden before the Astral Beast awakened completely.

But at that time, a weak voice spoke into their ears. “Don’t… leave.”

“I won’t hurt anyone…”

It was quiet, but extremely firm.

“Eric?” Marvin asked.

“You know my name?”

The voice sounded a bit moved.

It gradually became steadier. The lifeforce coming from the Astral Beast was still continuously erupting.

Marvin nodded.

Eric sighed, “Teacher already died? If I’m not wrong, he must have died at your hands.”

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to wake up.”

“It’s a pity… I won’t be able to hold on for too long.”

Marvin and Ivan glanced at each other. This Astral Beast in front of them was truly too frightening.

But within this frightening Astral Beast was a seemingly young soul, which seemed rather unfitting.

They stopped and forced themselves to communicate with Eric.

Soon, Marvin understood what had been missing from the known history:

Eric destroyed the soul transfer ritual and was crushed by Orica out of anger.

He should have died.

But at that time, the Astral Beast, whose soul was on the verge of expiring, unexpectedly saved him.

The instinct-driven Astral Beast knew that its soul couldn’t keep going. It had fought two unimaginably hard battles one after the other and then Orica had used a special trick to drain the power from its soul. It couldn’t survive anymore.

Thus, it used its final bit of power to enclose Eric’s soul fragment in its body.

The Astral Beast’s body locked Eric’s soul inside, not allowing it to drift away. His soul gradually fused with the Astral Beast’s body over the years thanks to the body’s frightening vitality.

In fact, he had already woken up a long time ago.

His soul had completely fused and he was also able to control the body.

But he wasn’t allowed to actually wake up.

Because Orica was still there, and so was the original soul contract.

Orica could crush Eric’s soul with just a thought.

What angered Orica was that the Astral Beast had put a terrible curse on its own body before dying.

Besides Eric, who he had chosen to save, no soul was allowed in.

And Eric’s soul couldn’t be removed.

Thus, with the passage of time, Eric recovered countless times. Yet what awaited him each time was having his soul ruthlessly obliterated again by Orica!

He was continuously tortured as his soul was crushed and reformed time and time again.

This wasn’t something people could endure.

But Eric managed to withstand it.

He eventually realized that he could just remain in a slumber and not awaken unless Orica died, so that he would no longer have to suffer from his soul being crushed.

Now that his teacher had finally been killed by Ivan, he could awaken safely.

The only unfortunate thing was that after the endless years, his soul had suffered too much damage and he couldn’t hold on for too much longer.

The Astral Beast’s body was strong, yet the nourishment it could give to the soul was limited.

He could feel that he didn’t have much time left.

…

“I don’t know what era it is.”

Eric smiled bitterly. “How many years have I stayed in this Astral Beast’s body? A millennium? Two?”

“My friends have already passed away?”

“With how things are, death is also a kind of relief.”

Marvin and Ivan were facing him silently.

Eric seemed very peaceful, like a bashful youth from a random village.

Even after experiencing so much pain, his character still hadn’t changed.

He only felt lonely.

“At the time when teacher picked me to become his assistant, I simply couldn’t believe it.”

“Everyone thought I was a waste, but teacher acknowledged me. I was crazily happy.”

“Up until I found out it was a trap. After all, he only needed the help of a waste.”

Eric’s soul let out a bitter laugh.

Marvin could feel that the abnormal lifeforce was now continuously waning.

This might be the last time Eric would awaken. His soul might fade from this point on.

As for the Wizard Apprentice’s story, he really had too much on his shoulders.

“You aren’t a waste,” Marvin declared resolutely. “No waste could stop a disaster that would have destroyed this world. You are a true hero.”

“Hero?” Eric sighed. “If I could choose again, I would have refused that old man who came to our village saying that I had the gift to be a Wizard and that he wanted to take me to the Mikenshi school.”

“Because I owe too much…”

Following Eric’s sentence, an image appeared before their eyes:

An old village bustled under the setting sun. A shy youth sat on a carriage with excitement and reluctance while being urged by the coachman.

Standing on the side of the road was a group of people seeing him off with excitement on their faces. Yet among them, there was a girl wearing a shabby dress who was holding back her tears.

She looked like a very ordinary farmer’s daughter.

Sadness emerged in the hearts of Marvin and Ivan.

Eric sighed once more. “She said she would wait for me…”

“I liked her for so many years and I had intended to look for her after becoming an official Wizard.”

“But I never returned.”

“I still owe her a confession…” Eric mumbled.

Eric’s fate wasn’t something he could control.

Perhaps this was the fate of a true hero. He saved the world but wasn’t able to give the best ending to the people at his side.

Regardless, several thousand years had passed. Everything was gone, only leaving the soul of an ancient youth on the verge of disappearing.

“I hate it… Why was I such a coward… Why didn’t I express myself while I still had the chance?”

Eric’s voice rose. “I am a coward!”

“I struggled for so many years in that monster’s body, but what for?”

“There’s no value in my life anymore…”

The power of his soul was now very faint. It felt as if even wind could scatter his soul.

Marvin hesitated as he couldn’t bear saying it, but in the end, he clenched his teeth before speaking out. “I know that saying this to you is unfair, and you should be allowed to rest.”

“But this world is facing a very frightening threat.”

“I hope that you won’t just expire like this… This world still needs a hero to rescue it.”

Eric muttered, “This world?”

“It’s not the world I know anymore. What does it have to do with me?”

Marvin shook his head. “You can open your eyes to look at the world.”

“I know you should be able to with your strength.”

“Look at this world, what’s so different from yours?”

“Children are still innocently playing around, middle-aged people are still worried about their livelihoods, greedy merchants are still conducting ruthless deals, and Devils, Demons, Evil Spirits, and even the almighty Gods are aiming at this land.

“This world still needs you.”

Eric was silent for a moment. Ultimately, the last remnant of his soul power disappeared from the Astral Beast’s corpse.

Marvin and Ivan looked at each other and sighed.

Eric already did so much.

Him not using the power of the Astral Beast to do evil was already the best outcome.

Choosing to leave now was a relief for him.

He was already incompatible with this world. The people he cherished had passed away a long time ago.

The Astral Beast’s lifeforce was dissipating.

Suddenly, a bone appeared in Marvin’s hands.

Eric’s weak voice drifted out once again. “When you need me, wake me.”

“I can only awaken once more. After that, even if I wanted to help, my soul would still dissipate.”

“I’ll close the Secret Garden. I’ll be kicking everyone out, so be careful.”

Moments later, the two felt a terrifying repulsive force rush over them.

After their surroundings changed, the two appeared in Breton Village.

There were many people around them, all Half-Legends.

“What’s going on? Why were we suddenly kicked out?”

“The Secret Garden closed? Who got a Magic Medicine?”

“What about those Legend powerhouses? Where did they go?”

As people asked various questions, their eyes focused on Ivan.

Because he was the only Legend who left the Secret Garden.

To this, Ivan only coldly snapped, “Fuck off!”

They all froze