Alec looked up at the dim sky and let out a sigh. There was a tired smile on his face as he watched the last of the youngsters enter the tower of opportunity. He glanced at Carcel and Lara, and the duo nodded at him.
Now that this task was done, there was only one thing left to do... gather the continent army. The three of them quickly left the place and headed straight towards where Han had called them. After all, they needed to supply their divine energy to the air-cleaning array.
The trio wasn't exactly sure why the air needed to be cleaned, but Han had explained that it was polluted with unknown particles that could harm the planet and turn it into a barren land filled with mindless monsters. That's why they knew it was very important to go and help Yon.
News of someone attacking Yon and the others had reached their ears, but unfortunately, it was too late because the enemy had already been taken care of.
Carcel paused when his communication crystal buzzed. Alec and Lara also stopped in their tracks and looked at him as he grabbed the communication crystal. Mia's familiar figure appeared above the crystal, and as usual, she had a soft expression on her face, but there was excitement in her sea-blue eyes.
Mia cleared her throat with a bright smile and told them that when she went into a trance, a towering wall appeared in front of her eyes. At that moment, she felt like she would fail. But She did it! She reached the pseudo-divine rank!
Carcel let out a sigh of relief. He had been worried about her because, after going through the process himself, he knew it was quite painful, especially for those with low talent. But now that Mia has successfully reached the pseudo-divine rank, a smile appeared on his usually aloof face as he congratulated the beautiful woman.
However, before his congratulations could properly reach Mia, another figure appeared above the crystal. It was Sinon, laughing like crazy. Alec, Lara, and Carcel narrowed their eyes as they stared at the wings behind Sinon's back.
The black wings had turned golden at the edges with bright silver patterns on their surface. They looked even more beautiful than before when they had only one color. Just by looking at how the demi-human was showing off his wings and the smug smile on his face, they knew that he had also passed the trial and stepped into the realm of the divine. Sinon rubbed his nose and pressed his face close to the communication crystal.
"Guys, can you see how handsome I've become? Even my horns are glowing a bit! Damn, I'm the first in my race to reach the pseudo-divine rank! You won't believe it, but I actually failed to break the wall on time. However, then I thought about how Nine and Jian reached the pseudo-divine rank and I'm failing like an idiot."
"At that moment, a sudden burst of strength surged through my body. I lunged forward and tore through the darkness that was trying to drag me away from the wall. And the next second, I did it! But let me tell you, it was painful as hell! I screamed until my throat was sore!"
Sinon wanted to say more, but Regius roughly pushed his face away from the crystal and looked at Alec and Carcel.
"Guys, everything's fine here. The three of us succeeded, and we also used Susan's brown crystal. So, just tell us where you are. We'll come straight to you and join you."
Carcel noticed the change in Regius' appearance. The elf's previously brown eyes had deepened in color, almost like bronze. Not only Regius, but Mia and Sinon's eyes' colors had also deepened, just like him, Alec, and Lara.
Carcel nodded at Regius and quickly informed him about the air pollution, before asking him, Sinon, and Mia to come directly to the place where Han had called everyone who reached the pseudo-divine rank.
After Carcel closed the communication crystal, Alec took the lead, and the three of them continued their journey. Before long, they arrived above an open area where many familiar and unfamiliar individuals were busy constructing a round structure - the barrier that would enclose the whole continent in a dome once it's completed.
Alec spotted George and Istalian observing the construction process from a distance, along with many powerful individuals, including the tower's guardians. However, for some reason, Han, who had called them, was nowhere to be found.
Alec's eyes paused on Yon and another female guardian floating beside a round array drawn on the land. He followed the duo's serious gaze and saw Jian sitting cross-legged above the array, which was glowing faintly with a golden color.
Sweat drops trickled down the red-haired man's forehead as he concentrated on supplying divine energy to the array. He even had a deep frown between his brows, like it was taking everything he had just to sit there. Bia was sitting behind Jian in her phoenix form, her eyes closed in deep concentration.
On the phoenix's left side, two more guardians were seated above the array. However, a dry smile appeared on Alec's face when he saw Kyle, the man looked bored and almost eager to finish it up quickly.
Kyle had his hand under his chin, supporting his face. His legs were crossed, but there was a noticeable difference between him and the others. While they were sweating buckets of water, his clothes were as pristine as new. The divine energy surrounding him was also more powerful than the rest.
At that moment, Kyle startled Alec by abruptly turning around and locking eyes with him. The gray-haired man placed his hands back on the ground to steady himself and let out a sigh.
"If you're here, come join us. So, we can finish this as soon as possible."
Due to Kyle's voice, instantly all eyes traveled toward Alec who shook his head and landed beside the array with Carcel and Lara. Then he glanced at Yon to know where he should sit.
The dwarf waved his hand and asked the three of them to sit anywhere, but once they sat down above the array, they weren't allowed to stand up until enough divine energy was supplied to the array.
Alec nodded and, along with the others, stepped onto the array. But he made a mistake by sitting near Kyle. Alec realized it immediately when the latter gave him a narrowed-eyed look, but now that he had sat down, he knew he couldn't change his place.
Kyle's voice was normal and casual, but his words sent Alec into a panic.
"Hmm, I have been meaning to ask, are you carrying something strange with you? There's a faint scent I have been sensing from you since I first saw you. It's not bad... but it's somewhat similar to the scent I detected from the people with black petals engraved on their foreheads..."
