?Kyle gazed up in the sky. It was clear. He let out a sharp breath and slowly opened his fists. From the boar's words, it was evident, that he had to make a choice, and he knew what he wanted to do.
Unlike him, Nine and the elves were doing their best to process the mind-boggling information that had the power to shake the world outside.
The trio was still reeling in shock as Kyle rose to his feet. His expression was completely devoid of emotion, a stark contrast to how he had appeared earlier when they were speaking casually.
"I don't know how precious the divine essence is, but I took it. So, I am going to take responsibility. I will choose the third option, I am going to fight. Plus, I've got some debts to settle with Emion."
Haylee's eyebrow twitched when he heard his last sentence.
"I left you alone for only more than two weeks, and you have already managed to make enemies with Emion? Not anyone else but Emion!?"
Kyle gave a curt nod. It didn't matter if they were enemies, he had already marked the dark race on his blacklist. He knew he would have to confront them sooner or later. The current situation, where they were relentlessly hunting him, gave him a perfect excuse to fight back.
A cold smirk appeared at the corner of his lips.
"I believe I would rather be the hunter than the prey."
Haylee let out a sigh. If possible, he wanted to suggest that Kyle should hide because he saw immense potential in the kid. Regardless, he knew that the decision was not his to make.
Beside them, amidst his astonishment, Nine cracked his knuckles and approached Kyle with a wicked smirk just like his.
"Hey, do you think you are the only one who likes hunting? Just like you, I have some unfinished business with the dark race that I want to settle."
Kyle arched an eyebrow with a faint smile. He was actually considering the idea of leaving the trio behind. But it looked like that wasn't going to be an option. Suddenly, he gave Nine a scrutinizing look.
'He is not weak. Almost (C+)-Rank.'
Yet, the smile on his face stiffened as Nine leaned in to whisper in a hushed tone.
"You don't have to pay me, just give me some divine essence. I don't know what it does exactly, but the whole dark race is after it. So, it's gotta be something pretty darn good, right?"
Behind Nine, the elves glanced at each other and grabbed their weapons tightly. Elli playfully tapped Nine's shoulder.
"Don't you dare to leave me behind? Or else I am rejecting the proposal you made a few months ago."
Nine's expression sank within a second. He grabbed her hand with utter disbelief.
"No way, tell me you are joking dear?"
Finally, Kyle could not take it anymore. The sight of his friend crying his eyes out was just too painful. He silently went to talk to Haylee.
"No matter what, first we need to leave this place. Do you have any idea how we can leave?"
Haylee eyes wandered around before a strange expression appeared on his face.
"This is the second last chamber of this treasure island. Not many can make it here without completing the tests of the other chambers."
Kyle blinked with confusion.
"Huh? Really, but there is no way out of this place."
The bickering trio behind him, instantly gathered around the boar, eagerly waiting for the answer. After all, who wants to deal with insects all day and night?
Haylee flapped his wings and with a leap soared into the sky. His loud voice echoed in the air as he narrowed his eyes in the distance.
"This is a time-limit chamber. So you need to survive until the time is over, the exit will open automatically."
The moment his words fell a bright portal appeared out of thin air behind Kyle. Haylee gazed at the portal and turned into a white ball of light before floating around Kyle.
"Now, it seems your test here is complete. You can leave but your friends..."
He dragged his sentence and glanced at the trio standing behind him. The trio was visibly upset, Rowan hastily reached out to Kyle with knitted brows.
"How many days did you spend in this place?"
The trio looked at him eagerly but his answer was anything but good.
"6..12.. a total of 14 days I believe?"
Nine slumped down to the ground with a blank expression.
"Hey this is a joke, right?"
Kyle shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the light floating around him.
"Haylee, stay with them. I know you can not help them but your presence alone is enough to repel the insects. Also, Bia and the others might show up soon too. Once everyone's done, you can all come find me."
Haylee gave him a nod and Nine face relaxed immediately. He grabbed Kyle's shoulder before the latter could jump in the portal.
"Remember, if it's dangerous don't jump into a fight alone."
With a nod, Kyle jumped into the portal. However, only after a few minutes did Haylee remember a very important fact that made him cry out inwardly.
'Wait wait!! You rascal how am I going to find you when I can not even sense your presence?'
'At least, you should have removed the artifact!'
Nine and the two elves exchanged strange glances as the quiet boar suddenly began pacing with a serious expression. However, no matter how much they probed, they were not able to find out the reason behind his behavior.
Meanwhile, after jumping into the portal Kyle arrived in a similar white room. He glanced around, the room was filled with almost all types of weapons. Gleaming blades, intricately crafted bows, and an assortment of other armaments, each one radiating a strong aura.
As he took a step forward, the mechanical voice sounded in the air.
"Congratulations participant for completing all the training designed for you. Please take any one weapon as your reward."
Kyle smirked and shook his head as he glanced at the weapons. Usually, he would have taken everything one way or another but a few people he knew needed good weapons. Especially Jian and Nine. The duo had gotten stronger but the weapons they were using were too weak.
His eyes caught sight of rows of (S)-Rank wands lined in a corner. One of the gleaming wands had an amber gem embedded in the middle.
"Hmm.. I know she can use a lot of weapons but she doesn't use spells often.. even though Regius said she is a mage."
A bright light in a corner reflected in his eyes and he immediately left the wands. The light was coming from a strange round gem sitting between the weapons.
Kyle bent down and picked the gem. The moment his hands touched the gem, ripples formed on its pure white surface. Instantly, a strange current flashed around the gem and he tossed it away.
"What was that...?"
The gem rolled inside the room as he rubbed his fingers. He was going to ignore it, but suddenly it burst into white particles. The particles were not attractive but they gathered together to form a buzzing screen. The screen flickered with countless colors as they merged to show a scenery of a huge room filled with hundreds not thousands of weapons.
Kyle's eyes dilated when he saw a familiar figure walking in the screen. It was none other than the illusionary black-haired man he, Alec, and Jian saw after they left the last floor of the Tower of Opportunity. Yet, unlike the emotionless eyes Kyle remembered, the man's eyes were twinkling with mirth.
A joyful laughter rang out inside the room as the man in the screen flicked his finger to get rid of the smoke around him. The same white gem was floating beside him.
"Odiak just how many weapons are you going to make? Huh... I feel like we are going to a war."
In front of Kyle's eyes, another figure appeared inside the screen. It was a middle-aged white-haired dwarf.
The dwarf scoffed and tossed the hammer in his hand toward the black-haired man.
"James stop messing around. I am busy. Also, why are you recording this? Resonite gems are rare nowadays don't waste it."
The dwarf held out his hand to grab the gem but James vanished from his spot. Instantly, the dwarf cursed out loudly.
"Damn it, just how the hell did you change the simple skill into instant teleportation? Even though I can practically travel with the speed of light but this skill is truly getting on my nerves!"
The atmosphere between them was harmonious as the two men bickered with each other carelessly. Kyle watched their interaction quietly.
Yet, like a mirage the smiles on their faces vanished when a bloody figure barged inside the room. The resonite gem floating around James dropped to the ground as he cried out with panic.
"Elizabeth!? What happened to you?"
The image in front of Kyle blurred as the particles trembled. Yet, he heard it clearly when a new voice reverberated from the gem.
"James calm down, I am fine."
"Don't speak you are injured. I am going to hack the bastard who attacked you into millions of pieces."
There was silence around Kyle for a second but then Elizabeth's voice sounded again.
"I am fine... I am fine. I escaped on time but the.."
Her voice faltered for a second as she hissed with pain.
"Planet Azure has been attacked. The attacker is none other than Azazeal's third Shadow General. Within two days they had conquered half of the planet. We need to immediately activate the shield you and Odiak had been preparing around the planet because their next destination is our home planet."
James' voice was filled with resentment as he spat out one curse after another.
"That bastard Azazeal!? He had not even shown his face, yet his minions are getting so ahead of themselves. Who does he think he is? I swear I am going to put a hole in his skull sooner or later!"
