"I have gathered much of Pazuzu's history over the years. He is capable of sending a clone every thousand years. So far we have been successful. But they get stronger each time. And whenever powerful warriors die, their powers are sucked in by Pazuzu, and sent to his true self. Surely a day will come when he would break free from Hanbi's power and return. As long as this world remains he wouldn't die by our hand. Only gods can kill gods. We can only seal him"
"So that is what this tower is," Mane was suddenly enlightened. "It isn't meant to curse but to seal Pazuzu!"
Completion Rate: 67
"You are smart. Yes. That is its true purpose. It is a weapon of the True Universe, and that is why it possesses such power. But for that to happen, it must find a successor; one worthy enough to pass all the tests and become the Lord of the Tower. Only then will we be able to seal Pazuzu."
"I see," Mane frowned and said. When Ashera spoke about the Tower of the Hundred being a weapon of the True Universe, she did so through telepathy, so Sunflower didn't hear her. Mane being from the True Universe was something Sunflower was still not ready to know.
"Where is Pazuzu?" Mane asked. Since this demon was on this planet, he surely had an abode. Mane wondered which part of this vast world was able to contain the power of two warring gods.
"There is only one place where he can actually be – and is," Ashera replied. "Before the gods fell in battle, they had their own holy temples, secluded in a forest under the protection of Hanbi the Mighty Guardian. Although they have fallen, that forest remains to this day. The Forest where the Gods lay is where Pazuzu is contained."
"Where is this forest?" Mane wondered.
"It is a place you have actually been to before – an Enchanted Forest" Ashera replied.
"I have?" Mane asked with some surprise. He had not explored this world thoroughly, and had only really been to two Enchanted Forests. However, his eyes soon widened in realization as he thought of that Enchanted Forest that he had deemed odd. The one that took far too long to traverse and where he had been found unconscious by Dan when he first came into this world.
"That place?" Mane was stunned. Ivor must have told Ashera a lot about Mane, and about where he had first been found. And that was why she knew that he had been to that particular Enchanted Forest. Of course Mane didn't actually know that Ivor hadn't told her anything about that. She had searched the large man's memory for that kind of information.
"Yes. The Enchanted Forest guarded by the Elemental called Old Fan." Ashera nodded slightly and said. Mane was truly shaken by what he heard. He was right all along. Old Fan wasn't the ordinary old man he pretended to be. For someone chosen by the Elementals to guard such a valuable place, a place that served as the war zone for two warring gods, was surely not just a Predator.
"So much information," Hildegarde was dumbfounded as she listened. She suddenly realised how little the fairies actually knew about this world. As for Mane he started to think about Dan. Was an Ancient truly safe being next to a powerful Elemental like that?
"Are you worried about your guardian?" Ashera asked upon seeing Mane's worried expression. Well, it was likely that she just read his mind to know but either way she did notice that he was worried. Mane nodded his head without trying to hide it. It would be useless to do so.
"He will be fine. Fan didn't know of his identity until a few tens of years ago. Fan himself has a miserable background. His father was a noble deserter – striped of his status with nothing on his back but his clothes and a few of his family's precious heirlooms. Fan does feel some affection for your guardian. Unless he is left with no option, he wouldn't kill him."
"Well that's reassuring," Mane mocked. It sure was nice to hear that Dan could be killed if Old Fan was left with no other 'option'.
"Is there anything else?" Ashera's brows twitched a bit when she heard Mane's mocking tone, and her intentions to tell the boy about how the Ancients had bred Magical Beasts relying on Pazuzu's blood was thrown outside the window. Maybe it was better this way. Unless the boy wondered about this and sought the answers himself, it wouldn't improve his Scholar level in any way.
"There must be something more that I must do; passing the trial definitely isn't the way to become the owner of the tower." Mane asked. If passing the trials would automatically qualify him for ownership of the tower, he wouldn't have had a say in whether or not he wanted to join the war because this weapon was too important.
"There is," Ashera didn't deny this. Since he was interested in this and could help them massively, she didn't see why she should hide any valuable information from him.
"The Curse Trials are merely a prerequisite to qualifying for the Inheritance Trial," Ashera continued. "But as to what that trial is, I have no idea," Ashera stated helplessly.
"It's good enough. You have helped plenty," Mane smiled slightly and said. "Which level now?" Ashera asked. Sunflower looked confused. What were these two talking about? However, she didn't have to wait for long for the answer to her question to present itself.
"Mid-Level Scholar," Mane smiled and said as he pushed his senses to the maximum. Although Ashera fed him all the information, he was the one who asked intelligent questions. And he was also the one who found her out and called her to answer his doubts. The information he was given was hugely important, as evidenced by how much his Completion Rate Bar grew by. As a result his Scholar Level broke through a major realm directly and he was now a Mid-Level Scholar.
"Congratulations," Ashera smiled. "I'd leave you be to digest your spoils," Ashera's image blurred even before Mane could express his thanks or bid her farewell, and she disappeared.
"What is she hiding?" Mane turned to Sunflower and asked. He could tell that Ashera was unusually agitated when she spoke of Pazuzu. As an Ascender, she could escape this world if they failed to win the war. So there was no need for her to be this riled up. And Mane wasn't naïve enough to think that she was so kind that she feared for this world. The fact that she tried to kill Sasha on their first meeting meant that she cared little for those she didn't know.
"What do you mean?" Sunflower asked unnaturally.
"You are a horrible liar," Mane said. "Are you going to tell me or not?" Ashera looked a bit restless before she left, so it was very likely that she had withdrawn her senses from this place completely. So even if Sunflower told him what he wanted to know, Ashera wouldn't know that she had been sold out.
"That…" Sunflower hesitated greatly, and Mane sighed seeing this. "Forget it," Mane stated and stood up to leave.
"Where ae you going to?" Sunflower asked with guilt written on her face. "Training room," Mane answered simply and left, closing the door to the training room behind him.
*Sigh*
Sunflower sighed helplessly as she sunk deeper into the bed. "It is better if she tells you herself," she mumbled and closed her eyes.
"So, what new abilities have you unlocked?" Hildegarde asked once Mane was seated. "Well, Lock-On's targets has increased to 7 people. Trace's area of influence has improved as well, leaping from a 500 meter radius to a 700 meter radius. Words of Power now allows 5 word commands at most."
Each and every one of the skills Mane possessed had improved greatly. And Hildegarde couldn't help but feel slightly envious. Even though she wasn't a Scholar, it sure sounded like it would have been nice if she was.
"And the new ability? Did you get anything new?" Hildegarde still wanted to know about that. There must surely be something new right?
"Yes. A skill called Reinforce." Mane replied.
"What does it do?"
"Simple: it raises the strength of any skill by 10%. It's a pretty useful skill." Mane replied.
"That's amazing," Hildegarde admitted. Supporting skills of such a nature were rare. And though Hildegarde knew little about Scholars or the kind of skills they regarded as common, she had an inkling that this one wasn't.
"Yes. But it has its limitations. For instance, it can only be attached to one skill for now. So it isn't like I can recklessly use Reinforce with any of my skills. I can only choose one skill for now and tether it to that skill." Mane explained the limits of this skill to Hildegarde.
"It's still pretty good. Besides, as you grow stronger I'm certain that that limitation will be slowly lifted." Hildegarde comforted.
"Yes. That is highly likely. It is a growth type skill after all." Mane nodded his head in agreement.
"So what skill are you going to augment?" Hildegarde asked. That was the most important question. Without answering this question, Reinforce was useless.
"I'm not sure. I would have to think long and hard about that one." Mane shrugged helplessly. This wasn't a decision that could be taken lightly. Once Reinforce was tethered to a skill, Mane wouldn't be able to remove it. So the decision had to be a well-thought out one.
"Well you have time," Hildegarde felt that Mane was right to not make a hasty decision. He had powerful skills, and each of them was important. So it wasn't easy to pick out just one.
"Right now there is something else I am interested in," Mane stated and closed his eyes. "What?" Hildegarde wondered, but Mane wasn't replying.
"Mane?" she called, but the boy remained silent, his long hair falling carelessly onto his face. "Don't tell me," Hildegarde suddenly thought about something as a bit of panic flashed past her eyes.
"He can't be thinking of…" she cried out and hastily flew onto his head to tug at his hair. "Mane!" "Mane!" she called out, yet he remained unresponsive.
"How can he so confidently go to him?!" Hildegarde was truly panicking. And that was because she had guessed just what Mane was up to. There was only one person in Mane's Soul Sea now, and that person was highly dangerous. It was different if Cronos spoke to him, but Mane going into his Soul Sea to seek the Selfish Titan King out was not the wisest decision.
"You are a brave one," the blurred figure of the man on the throne greeted Mane unenthusiastically once he appeared. Even with his energy now at the Mid Scholar Level, Mane couldn't discern the figure of the man. Although this was his own Soul Sea, Mane didn't feel like it belonged to him with this Titan living in it. For the Titan King's majestic presence threatened to overwhelm his very existence, and Mane had to push his Soul Strength to its very limit to stand before him without faltering. For just staring at Cronos was tiring.
"What do you want?" Cronos asked simply. He was always like this with Mane. He didn't bother to entertain the boy longer than he was supposed to.
"I think I should be the one asking you that," Mane furrowed his brows and said. Titan's Might was the second skill Cronos had given him. And it had been given freely just like the first, Devour. And that was out of character for Cronos. Although it was unfair to judge the Titan based on what his masters told him, his masters rarely deceived him. He would rather take their word than judge Cronos on what he had received so far. There was something the Selfish Titan King wanted.
"Kid, you already know the answer to that question," Cronos stated without much emotion. His words had Mane frowning even more deeply, for he had an idea about this.
"The place you wanted me to come to, it is here isn't it?" Mane asked. When Mane was pierced through by the Sealing Rod, Cronos promised to give him a power that could turn the tides. It was a power that would have allowed him to ignore the effects of the rod and still have some strength. And that power was Titan's Might. Mane didn't know how Titan's Might would have been able to save him from Ashera, but if Cronos said it had such power, then it surely did.
"Hehe," Cronos laughed eerily hearing Mane's question. His laugh sent a few chills down Mane's spine, yet he persisted.
"You said you were going to give me power to escape my situation. When you said that it was because of Waska and Sasha. You hadn't sensed Ashera at the time." The more Mane spoke, the more confidence he gathered.
Why did he think this? It was because of how quickly Cronos had disappeared when Ashera appeared. Cronos couldn't be felt by Ashera because he was above her in so many ways. He didn't fear her either. The only reason why he didn't dwell on his offer was not because he was cautious. But because there was no need to.
"You withdrew your offer after Ashera appeared, almost as if you recognised her. Or rather, you recognised the scent of the tower on her. My masters aren't able to come to this world. They may be weaker than you, but together even you would have no choice but to retreat. If you can appear here, then so can they. But they weren't able to. Why is that?" Mane slowly walked towards the Titan King's throne as he spoke, his steps gathering more and more confidence with each stride.
"Don't worry. I would answer the question myself."
"It's because for some reason you have a connection to this world. The thing you wanted me to find is this tower. And that means you know something about it that not even Ashera does."
"So that makes me wonder: is this the only place you wanted me to come to? Or is there another? And more importantly, what really is the Tower of the Hundred?" Mane asked.