The clone listened intently to the conversations, as he edged closer to the position where he could make his escape from.
"... I did not expect this but the Alchemist Union is here. Disregarding their numbers, it is important that we fight for this chance. By the light…the freak from the Black Tower is also present, and I don't know if any of our candidates can compete for the Crown anymore. That is the Seed of the Black Tower, a damn Acolyte and already a Seed for a Great Tower!"
"This should not be your concern, because this matter is for the few who wished to go for the Crown of the Nyre Flower, I am sure that the freak would require nothing short of that power, nothing in this place should attract him, that is the only reason he is here. If we avoid him, we can gain substantial benefit."
"I still don't understand the fuss about this guy, he is nearly alone, every Rank 4 Mages and higher are forbidden to interfere in the upcoming contest, and he would be facing off against hundreds of Rank 3 Mages. He is a fucking Acolyte, what do you think he can achieve here? I don't…"
"Stupidity like yours is the reason I actually bet good money against your Ascension to a Rank 4 Magus Ethan, follow the scripts, and claim the dregs of the Nyre Flower for your Ascension. Let me be clear, when the gauntlet begins, I will not be able to intervene, even if he kills you. You should have heard the rumors about him, you have seen clips of his activities before they were banned and scrubbed from the Aethernet… and I am telling you, they don't do him justice."
"haha… it can't be that serious? He is just a kid… I'm four hundred years old, I think with my experience I can do better than you give me credit for, besides, that could all be a publicity stunt by the Great Towers to manipulate the result of…."
".... Hopeless…. Doomed to failure…. Pitiful death…"
The clone had already moved a fair bit away from the people atop the platform he was shimmying around and he could hardly hear them anymore, the pressure arising from below blowing away any hope of him hearing any more juicy details as he moved farther away from their position, although he did not understand the full nature of their business here, he knew they were not here for the Primordial Record page.
From what he could gather from their words; the purple tree was the so-called Nyre Flower and the people here were Mages, If that were the case then it would mean that the powerful presence he felt among them was Archmages.
This flower was their target, for it seemed to be a crucial component for a Rank 3 Mage to become a Rank 4 Mage, but what worried him was the fact that they claimed that this flower had bloomed a lot earlier than usual, thousands of years earlier in fact, and he wondered if this occurred because of the page of the Primordial Record that was here.
The Clone knew how observant Mages were, they would most likely closely investigate the reason why this phenomenon was pushed forward, bringing about a new dynamic that made the Clone worry about his mission.
The Clone knew that each of the Children of Ruin here with him would be at least equal to an Archmage, but there must be at least two dozen Archmages here, which meant that battle was not an option.
He was too weak to participate in a battle of this level, and at this pivotal moment, he could not risk drawing any attention to himself, the best option that he could see was to get as far as possible from the Nyre Flower and lie low until the Mages were done with their business and then he could retrieve the page.
He could not risk retrieving the page while they were all here, if he was caught, then the chance for him to escape would be bleak.
When the platform was a few hundred feet away from the ground, the Berserker Clone released his hold and dropped down into the darkness, he had maneuvered himself away from the bright lights of the Nyre Flower and his descent was almost noiseless.
As he landed, his feet crashed against mounds of brittle rocks and he froze in place, after waiting for a bit and noticing no alarm being raised or energy bolts raining down on his position, the clone began to gingerly move away from the light and the platforms who began surrounding the growing Nyre Flower.
Carefully placing his feet on the ground with each step, he noticed that the ground was filled with dried bones, the previous crack when he landed was due to him crushing bones beneath his weight, he slowly distanced himself from the Mages.
A part of him noticed that the bones on the ground were of various races, most likely these were the casualties of the endless battles inside the Underverse, somehow their bones had settled at the bottom of this place as their final resting place.
The Berserker Clone did not proceed directly towards the page of the Primordial Record but looked for a hidden location where he could ride out whatever was coming.
The pressure escaping from the ground had eased a great deal, but it was still enough to kill him without the help from the Children of Ruin who covered him like a coat and were constantly changing their colors to fit their surroundings.
A little more ahead the clone sighted the best position where he could hide. It was the giant skull of a rodent-like creature. He climbed into the skull using the eye hole that was hundreds of feet in circumference and hid behind one of its massive fangs, he peered through the gap, waiting and watching.
®
"The Crown of the Nyre Flower has almost taken shape. Finally, we are here Andar Erikson, do you understand what you are to do?"
Andar bowed towards the 4 Star Archmage, Hashim Prizahl, Watcher of Blades, "Yes I do Master, I am here to become a Mage."
