Death… And Me

Chapter 4475: That’s Sister Orb

”Alright...” Rean heard everything, and as one would expect, Roan and the others were hearing it through their Soul Connection as well. ”But what does any of that have to do with us? Why is Besgol willing to help in this mission? Also, judging by this conversation, I doubt Besgol intends to send only Friend Thery and our group.”

-Answering your first question, I can’t say you have much to gain as individuals,- Thery admitted without hesitation. -This Prison City would benefit the regions far more than any single cultivator.-

-He is right,- Clasou immediately agreed. -If the city still stands and has been preserved throughout all these years, it could contain invaluable information regarding the Sacred Relics. We might even discover methods to construct similar protective arrays ourselves. Even if that turns out to be impossible, an ancient city capable of surviving until today is bound to possess extraordinary arrays and techniques. For every region connected to this alliance, that knowledge would be priceless.-

He paused for a moment before continuing.

-And yes, your assumption is correct. Besgol has no intention of sending only your group and Thery. Several other experts will accompany the expedition as well.-

That immediately made the twins’ group lose interest.

Lukay already knew about their methods and had proven himself trustworthy. Even then, they only trusted him because circumstances had forced them to reveal those secrets. The other experts were a completely different matter. Even if the pink faeries could verify whether they were telling the truth afterward, exposing the Godly Pressure Disguise Arrays, Sanctuary, and Anti-Godly Pressure Pills to more people simply wasn’t worth the risk.

Without those three things working together, they would never have managed to travel so deeply into the Godly Creatures’ Territories in the first place.

’What do you guys think?’ Rean asked through their Soul Connection.

’There is nothing to think about,’ Celis answered immediately. ’This mission brings us no benefits whatsoever, so refuse it. Ask for another Elite Exploration Mission like before. At least then we can continue hunting Godly Predators.’

’He’s right,’ Roan agreed. ’If other cultivators come with us, we won’t be able to fight the Predators we need without revealing our methods. Even worse, we won’t be able to use the Disguise Arrays to reset our presence outside or rely on the Sanctuary and pills whenever necessary. Forget reaching that city. We’d be lucky to survive the journey.’

’Exactly!’ Celis snorted. ’Our only objective right now is obtaining enough Godly Predator Crystals to reach the Zone God Realm. After that, we’ll head for the Sprouting Portal and finally leave these grasslands behind.’

Rean pondered for a moment before asking, ’Still... we’d be helping Besgol. Isn’t that a good thing?’

’I’d rather not even go,’ Kentucky muttered.

As expected, nobody paid him any attention.

’Help Besgol?’ Celis couldn’t help but snort again. ’We’ve contributed more to this region in a few short years than most cultivators contribute during their entire lives. Blacksmithing, arrays, alchemy, missions, exploration... what exactly do they expect from us now? We don’t owe Besgol anything. If anything, they owe us. Stop worrying about everyone else and focus on getting stronger.’

’It is as Celis said,’ Roan concluded. ’We’re cultivators, not charity workers.’

Rean couldn’t really argue against that. Looking back, they had indeed contributed far more than anyone could reasonably expect. Between their discoveries, their techniques, and everything they had shared with the guilds, Besgol had profited enormously from their presence.

Yet, just as Rean was about to refuse the mission...

*Pin!*

[New Quest Available!]

[Ancient Prison City of Woster]

[Long before the Sacred Relics illuminated the grasslands and before the first known regions were established, countless civilizations struggled for reasons yet unknown. Most vanished without leaving behind even a single name, but Woster was different. Rather than building walls to keep danger out, its founders built an entire city to keep something, someone, or maybe various of them in. Perhaps the city already existed, but was modified to suit that purpose. Whatever was imprisoned there has long since been forgotten, though.]

[The surviving records speak only of wardens who never abandoned their posts, prisoners whose names were erased from history, and teleport arrays that were never meant to be activated again. Time buried the city, history erased its purpose, but the prison endured. Yet, the System has detected a high probability of residual Great Void Echo Energy within the Ancient Prison City of Woster.]

[Objective:]

[Reach the Ancient Prison City of Woster and investigate whether Great Void Echo Energy still remains.]

[Rewards 01: Variable Orb Points.]

[Reward 02: Opportunity for the System to absorb any Great Void Echo Energy discovered.]

[Additional rewards determined according to exploration progress.]

Rean almost choked.

’...That’s quite the quest description, Sister Orb.’

[Hehe...] Sister Orb sounded rather pleased with herself. [A quest involving another Great Void deserves a proper introduction, don’t you think?]

’You sure know how to force us into troublesome situations,’ Roan replied in a flat tone.

[Ahem... What can I do? Opportunities like this don’t appear often. Besides, aren’t you interested as well? Thanks to the System’s detection, I can already confirm there’s an extremely high chance another Great Void Echo exists inside that ancient prison. Even if the probability isn’t one hundred percent, it’s much higher than simply wandering around hoping to find one by accident.]

That immediately caught everyone’s attention.

According to Sister Orb, absorbing another Great Void Echo would allow the System to recover another portion of its original abilities. More importantly, it would restore its connection with the Vinx Great Void.

As far as they knew, that was exactly what they needed.

’So...’ Rean asked, narrowing his eyes. ’If we go there and find the Echo Energy, we’ll finally gain free access to the Vinx Great Void, right?’

Sister Orb hesitated for a brief moment before answering.

[Not... exactly free...]

The answer immediately made the four of them feel something was wrong. Roan was the first to react, although his voice remained as calm as ever. ’...What did you just say?’

[Now, now! Calm down!] Sister Orb hurriedly explained. [Back then, all I said was that the System would recover access to the Vinx Great Void as its Dimensional Realm. I never actually said you could freely jump in and out whenever you pleased.]

[Think about it! Wouldn’t that be completely unfair? Everyone else has to travel normally through the Celestial Plane, yet you four would possess an entire Great Void all for yourselves. If you could freely move between both places whenever you wanted, wouldn’t that completely break the balance established by the Celestial Plane’s Laws?]

Before anyone could interrupt her, she quickly continued.

[The Celestial Plane’s Laws would definitely interfere with something that overpowered. However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get a free pass eventually! It simply means one additional Great Void Echo isn’t enough. Once the System gathers enough Echo Energy from other Great Voids, those restrictions can gradually be bypassed. This Echo would still be an enormous improvement. It simply... isn’t the final step.]

Roan remained silent for a moment, digesting everything she had just said before finally asking, ’And why exactly are you only telling us this now?’

[Oh... That... Well... Umm...]

Sister Orb fell silent again, obviously trying to come up with an explanation. Unfortunately for her, the longer she took, the less convincing any excuse would become. After what felt like an eternity, she finally answered in a rather embarrassed tone.

[I... think I forgot.]

None of them knew how to react.

Rean honestly wanted to believe she was making up excuses, but after everything they had experienced together, he couldn’t even be certain about that anymore. This was Sister Orb, after all. Forgetting something extremely important was completely within the realm of possibility for her. The more he thought about it, the more believable it became, which somehow made the situation even more frustrating.

Roan let out a long sigh while Celis immediately complained, ’You are seriously hopeless. How do you forget to mention a restriction this important?’

’I suddenly don’t feel surprised anymore...’ Kentucky muttered with a helpless tone.

Rean rubbed his forehead as he tried to calm himself down before finally sighing as well.

’...Fuck.’

Still, after venting their frustrations, the four of them quickly regained their composure. Complaining about Sister Orb’s carelessness wasn’t going to change reality. Regardless of whether she had forgotten or deliberately omitted that information, one thing remained unchanged. Another Great Void Echo was still an opportunity they absolutely couldn’t ignore.

Roan quickly returned to the important matter. ’Putting her incompetence aside, this changes our priorities.’

[Hey! Who are you calling incompetent?!]

’Indeed,’ Rean agreed immediately, ignoring the orb’s complaints. ’If another Great Void Echo truly exists inside that prison, obtaining it becomes our highest priority. Godly Predator Crystals can always be hunted later. Opportunities involving Great Void Echoes, on the other hand, will not be easy to find.’

Kentucky couldn’t help but complain anyway. ’Easy for you two to say. That prison sounds exactly like the kind of place where absolutely everything wants to kill us.’

’Most places we visit are like that,’ Rean answered with a bitter smile. ’You should already be used to it.’

’That doesn’t mean I have to like it.’

Roan ignored Kentucky altogether, his mind already focused on the expedition itself. ’The biggest issue isn’t the prison. It’s everyone else. If Besgol sends a large expedition, we won’t be able to freely use the Godly Pressure Disguise Arrays, Sanctuary, or Anti-Godly Pressure Pills.’

’Exactly,’ Celis nodded. ’Whether we accept or refuse depends entirely on how this expedition is organized. If they only need us to guide them to the fortress, then everything is simple enough. However, if they expect us to travel together all the way to the fortress ruins, then we’ll have to think carefully about how to avoid exposing our methods. Even if Lukay can keep the secret, I don’t trust a bunch of strangers with information this valuable.’

Rean agreed. ’Let’s hear everything first before making a final decision.’

Since their entire discussion had taken place through the Soul Connection, not even an instant had passed outside. Clasou simply noticed Rean staying silent for a brief moment before speaking again.

-Hm? Friend Rean? You suddenly stopped talking. Is something wrong?-

Rean smiled awkwardly. ”Sorry about that. We were discussing the proposal among ourselves.”

-I see,- Thery nodded with understanding before asking, -Then... have you reached a decision?-

Rean glanced toward Roan one last time. Roan didn’t waste words, simply giving a small nod that already conveyed everything Rean needed to know. They still hadn’t accepted the mission, but they were no longer planning to reject it outright either.

Turning his attention back to the communication screen, Rean answered, ”Friend Thery, I won’t promise anything just yet. However, your proposal suddenly became much more interesting than before. Before my group reaches a final decision, I’d like to hear everything you know about this Ancient Prison City of Woster. If we’re going to risk traveling that far into the Godly Creatures’ Territories, we’d better understand exactly what we’re walking into.”

Thery’s expression immediately brightened. The Thousand-Script expert had clearly hoped the conversation would go in this direction.

-I thought you might say that.-