Chapter 172 - 428-440

Chapter 428 - Breaking Records-7, Score & Reward.

The black Cloud Genie stood right beside Athan with a dumbfounded expression as the monsters continued to die the instant they spawned.

" You possess some strange power, lad. Just like that girl. What's your name? "

Athan was currently sitting on the cloud of chaos with a carefree smile as he just controlled the giant web structure around him with his finger and mind to kill the monsters.

He also used a minimum amount of abyssal darkness such that it wouldn't run out in an hour with its recovery rate. He just needed to break the surface defense of the monsters to finish them off with his Arachanid's Demon Web, in which he used the nature of Force of Glittering River.

" You can call me Athan. " Athan replied as he moved his fingers.

The black cloud genie nodded with a grin, " Athan. Khakhaka...Not bad, lad. Anyway, There's only a minute left, so keep it up. "

" But who are you? When I arrived here, I saw someone similar to you, but he looked all white while you are all black. " Athan took this chance to ask while controlling his technique.

" Khakhaka...There are many of us here. We are called cloud genies, and our origins are in Upper Chaosverse. "

He then talked a bit about cloud genie to Athan as one minute passed and monsters didn't spawn anymore.

At this time, The black cloud genie clapped with his cloudy hands as a giant black leaderboard appeared in front of Athan.

There were names written on the leaderboard with golden letters.

All-time Highest scorer:- Linci Crow-184,000.

Rank 1:- Linci Crow-120,300 score.

Rank2:- Zerdawn-46,500 score.

Rank3:- Demon Gobi-45,000 score.

...

" Khakhaka, do you know what your score is, lad? " Black Cloud Genie asked with a mischievous smile.

Athan was a bit speechless and spoke while shaking his head, " How would I know? Hurry up and tell me. " Though inside, He felt that he should have quite a high score since he continuously killed the monsters.

Black Cloud Genie snapped his finger before spoke, " Actually, I also don't know, Khakhaka. Anyway, Considering your slaughter-fest, you just blew the record..."

At this moment, A new name appeared on the leaderboard.

" Congratulations, lad. You broke the record. Khakhaka...Two people broke the same record in such a short time period. But your record is insane. It looks like no one will be able to break it unless they also have similar strange power as you have."

[ Slaughter In Space Leaderboard ]

All-time highest scorer:- Athan Void-184,000

Rank 1:- Athan Void-184,000 score.

Rank 2:- Linci Crow-120,300 score.

Rank 3:- Zerdawn-46,500 score.

" This Linci girl just broke her own record half an hour ago and also broke the previous All-time highest score that was 98,000. But here you are, breaking the all-time highest score once again. What a day. Khakhaka..." Spoke the black Cloud Genie as he laughed loudly.

" Breaking all-time high record? So that means there will be some rewards, right? or is it just for show? " Athan asked with a grin.

Black Cloud Genie smiled while showing his white crystal teeth, " Naturally, There are rewards. Breaking an all-time high record in the Newbie event is a great thing. It's been thousands of years since the last one was broken, but today, two broke the record one after another, Khakhaka..."

He then waved his right hand before Athan in horizontal motion as small portions of clouds appeared.

There were a total of three portions that looked like pillows.

" There are three reward options. You can choose one of them as your reward. " After saying that, black Cloud Genie pointed his finger towards the first cloud.

" The first reward is a special Artifact, Nimbus Aurora. "

Athan saw a fist-sized golden ring with a colorful aura swirling in the middle of it and looked at it curiously, ' Strange...'

" This Nimbus Aurora is a special artifact which you can't get from anywhere else other than Chaos Monolith Hills. As for its use? It's very simple, straightforward, and powerful. This Nimbus Aurora is specially made for Cloud of Chaos. It will merge into your body after you put a drop of your blood on it, and whenever you use Cloud of Chaos, This nimbus aurora will merge with it to make it more powerful in all ways. "

Athan nodded before spoke, " Next? "

Black Genie put his hand over the second cushion cloud as an egg appeared on it.

" An egg of a powerful chaos beast lineage from Upper Chaosverse, Raikin Pegasus. They are fast, potent, and lethal. More powerful than average chaotic beings. Their bloodline can easily allow them to surpass the limits of lower Chaosverse, so if you managed to go to Upper Chaosverse, This guy would be a great companion for you there too. "

Athan nodded without much Interest. He still remembers three naughty guys: DeathKnight, Skylord, and Lucent, ' You three guys. Hahaha, I'm sure Mimi is taking good care of you. '

Shaking his head, He smiled and said to black Genie, " Next reward? "

Black Genie put his hand on the third cloud cushion as a rather small box appeared on it.

" The third reward is this box...which contains a protection jade talisman that can protect your life from any attack from Zen order grandmaster or below level person. "

After saying that, Black Genie smiled towards Athan before continuing, " Now choose. Which reward would you select? "

Athan fell into thought as he looked at the rewards and then at the black Genie.

' He spoke much about the second reward while the third reward doesn't need explanation. On the other hand, He didn't speak much about Nimbus Aurora. That woman told me that the original Cloud of Chaos is a king-rank order technique, but I don't know much about it and how " versatile and powerful " it is. Hmm... '

After thinking for a moment, Athan suddenly smiled at black Cloud Genie, " You seem like an intelligent type. I wonder which one of these three rewards is the best? "

" Khakhaka...Nice one, lad. But I'll still tell you. The rewards represent a personality, one's backing power, and confidence. If you choose the third option, It means you don't have much powerful backing. If you choose a second reward, It means that you want a companion that can help you.

As for the Nimbus Aurora, It's the best value reward and shows one's confidence in reaching the level to unlock the Cloud of Chaos technique fully. I'm sure you know that only ten people here have a full Cloud of Chaos. It's honestly the best technique here if you can acquire it fully. "

Black genie moved near Athan and whisper, " Khekhe...There is a good secret behind Chaos of Cloud, but you will only find about it after going to Upper Chaosverse. "

" So? What would you choose? Both the egg and Nimbus Aurora will help you in the long term. On the other hand, The protective jade is only useful while you are here. If you are confident of reaching Upper Chaosverse, then choosing this protective jade will be like making a grand loss. "

After hearing all that, Athan looked at the egg and the Nimbus Aurora before pointing his finger at one of the rewards, " I choose this. "

Chapter 429 - Hold The Fortress. Max.

" So that's your choice. Are you sure? You would need the complete cloud of chaos to make full use of it. "

Athan grinned and nodded, " I'm sure. Anyway, I will get the complete cloud of chaos soon. "

The black genie revealed a surprised expression, " How come? The only way to get the complete cloud of chaos is to...so you also broke that record, huh? "

Athan nodded as the black Genie passed the palm-sized golden ring with colorful aura swirling inside it to him.

" Put a drop of your blood on this ring and then infuse your soul energy into it. "

Athan cut his finger slightly before dropping a bit of blood on the ring. He then infused his soul energy into the ring.

Right after that, The Nimbus Aurora floated and moved towards Athan's forehead before merging inside it.

Seeing this, Black Genie spoke with a smile, " This special artifact now will be stored inside your chaos region even if it's not capable of storing other things. Awesome right? Oh wait...You already have a special physique that can store things. " Genie shook his head before continuing, " Anyway, just watch; it will work right away since you are using currently the cloud of chaos. "

Athan had closed his eyes as he was sensing the Nimbus Aurora inside the void region glowing sharply.

The golden ring turned liquid while the colorful aura that was inside the ring was mixed into the liquid before it came out from his void region ( With his permission. ) and moved towards the cloud of chaos on which he was sitting.

Athan activated Chaos Matrix as he used Lightning Dust Chaos Body to float while controlling the cloud of chaos to move in front of him to see its transformation.

At this moment, The cloud of chaos was rapidly changing its color while glowing. This lasted for just one second, but it rapidly changed its color many times while glowing in that one second.

But in the end, It turned into a white cloud that it was before.

Athan smiled as he sat on it. Even though the cloud remained the same, He could feel the power of the cloud of chaos increasing many folds.

For now, The only thing he could do with this cloud was to fly, and its speed directly increased by five times the previous speed.

"Khakhaka...Actually, a great choice, lad. Just wait until you get your complete cloud of chaos. You will be very surprised. " Black Genie spoke while loudly laughing as he waved his right hand and materialized a door beside Athan.

" You can now go, lad. And look forward to the many new abilities of Cloud of Chaos as you master it a step at a time after getting the complete version. "

Athan nodded with a faint smile as he opened the door and entered through it before arriving back in Slaughter in Space's event lobby.

" Is he Athan Void? "

" Maybe? Just let someone ask him. "

" Yeah, The previous person who came out was not Athan, while this one may not be him too, and the real Athan might still be inside talking to that genie and getting rewards. "

Athan saw all people looking at him, and a human man who had a dashing appearance with spike light green hair walked over to him before asking with a smile, " Hello, Brother. Are you Athan Void? "

Hearing the question, Athan nodded with a doubt, " I am indeed called Athan. But how do you know? "

" So he is the one. Dang...I told that you all that he might do good since That cold beauty spoke to him. "

" But that score...will anyone able to break it in the future? "

" Haaah, There's always a higher mountain. Someone like him might come here in the future too, who knows? "

...

" Hi, I am Max. As for how everyone knows your name..." Max wryly smiled before showing his black card to Athan, " Anyone who has attempted this event at least once and got a score will be notified when someone break's an All-time high record. "

" Ohh..." Athan nodded and asked with a grin, " So? Anything else? "

Max laughed as he put his black card inside the storage ring, " Hahaha. I guess that was your first attempt because you didn't get notified when Linci broke the All-time high record just thirty-plus minutes ago. "

" Indeed. It was my first attempt. " Athan nodded with a smile.

" Well, then. Let's go to the second event lobby. You don't mind If I come with you, right? " Max asked with a grin.

Athan shook his head with a smile as he started walking towards the exit, " Do whatever you want. "

Max beamed hearing that and followed Athan before catching up to him as they both left this event lobby of Slaughter in Space.

" I didn't see you previously. Were you recruited by any Hill Decons or Masters. ? " Max asked with curiosity as he and Athan moved towards the Event lobby that was just twenty steps beside the event lobby of Slaughter in Space.

" Nobody recruited me. I am from the batch of new recruits that arrived here today. " Athan answered without looking at Max as he continued to move while looking at the board of second event's name on top of the doors leading into the lobby.

[ Hold the Fortress. ]

" What! Are you from the latest batch that arrived today? Seriously? If that's the case, then you broke that frigging record too...dang. " Max spoke with shock on his face.

But the shock quickly turned into a beaming smile as he asked, " What did you choose as your reward after breaking the All-time high record of Slaughter In Space? "

" Naturally, I chose the Nimbus Aurora. " Athan spoke in a matter of factly.

Max nodded as he looked at Athan's back, ' It looks like this guy as powerful as those top rankers. I wonder which Hill faction he will join? '

They soon arrived in front of the doors and entered the event lobby of Hold the Fortress. This place looked exactly the same as the previous one with gothic-style four doors and many tables.

Athan registered his entry by scanning his black card on the monolith at the corner of this lobby before he and Max sat down on an empty table.

This time, Athan decided to eat something as he looked at the menu.

Max saw that Athan was looking at the menu and spoke with a laugh, " Wait. Lemme order the dishes since I tried most of these. "

Athan raised his eyebrows before he grinned and leaned back on the chair, " Alright. Go ahead. "

Chapter 430 - A Certain Moment.

Max treated Athan to some food as they both ate for half an hour.

The food energized them and had some buff-like effects on them. For instance, Their body healing slightly increased, and their mind became more focused and active. Naturally, these effects were temporary and were not ground-breaking.

But suddenly, Everyone in the lobby paused for a moment before hurriedly taking out their black cards.

Max also did the same as he infused his soul sense into his black card to know the notification they all received.

[ The previous All-time high record of Hold the Fortress has been broken by Linci Crow. The current highest score has become 112,500. ]

" Dang...It looks like she is re-attempting all events to break the previous all-time high records. "

" Yeah, I guess she was not serious when she did events in her first attempt. "

...

Athan didn't know what was happening since he didn't receive any notification on his black card, but he guessed the situation from the people talking to each other.

" Hehehe, Athan. Will you break her record once again? It looks like today will really be a lively day. Two monsters breaking records left and right. " Max spoke after laughing.

Athan just faintly smiled as he took the cup of wine from the table while leaning on the chair carefreely.

Frankly, He just wanted to finish the events and meet some higher-up of Chaos Monolith Hills to ask about Great Bridgade Palace.

" By the way, Why do you keep wearing that mask? I want to see your face if you don't mind. " Max took this chance to ask this.

' He wouldn't reject this request, right? We even had a meal together, and it was on me. ' Thought Max as he looked at Athan with a smile.

Athan glanced at Max while drinking the wine and shook his head, " Nope. I've decided not to remove the mask until a certain moment arrives. "

" A certain moment? " Max repeated with confusion before asking, " When will it arrive? "

Athan emptied the glass of wine and put it on the table before speaking with a laugh, " Well, I don't know. But I wish it would come sooner than later. "

...

Several minutes passed by in silence as Athan had his eyes closed while waiting for his turn.

Max wanted to speak but didn't know where to start.

But suddenly, A slight commotion happened in the lobby.

Linci came out from a gothic-styled door with a plain expression, devoid of any emotion on her face.

Several people instantly created distance from her as She walked towards the exit.

Linci had an indifferent look on her face since she was used to this situation. People would flock towards her seeing her beauty and try their luck, but none of them would be able to stay for even one minute near her. After that, they would avoid her as if she was some sort of plague.

But as her gaze swept past the lobby, she paused her footsteps. Changing her direction, She walked towards one of the tables where two people sat.

Max's face changed as he started to sweat and stood up from the table. Meanwhile, Athan still had his eyes closed as he leaned on the chair leisurely.

" Congratulations, Athan. "

Athan opened one of his eyes and saw Linci before he smiled, " Thanks, You too. "

Linci faintly smiled and nodded, " Good luck with the next events. "

A Simple, Short, and brief exchange.

She then walked towards the exit before leaving the event lobby.

Athan also closed his eye once again.

It was silent in the lobby for a few moments before everyone started to talk to each other furiously.

Max sat down on the table once again as he looked at Athan with curiosity, " Do you know her, Athan? Since you two broke the record of Slaughter in Space one by one, You might have met her in the lobby there, right? "

" Yep. " Athan spoke without opening his eyes or moving his head.

" Do you know about her condition? Sigh, It's truly a pity. She is such a beauty, but..." Max sighed as he shook his head.

" Anyway, What do you know about her? Currently, All I know is that her origins are mysterious, and a higher-up of Chaos Monolith Hills brought her here from somewhere. " Pausing there, Max put up a barrier around them and spoke, " I know a piece of inside information since A Hill Decon is my relative here. "

Athan opened one of his eyes as he looked at Max, " Inside information about what? Her? "

Max nodded as he grinned, " Yep. I heard from my uncle that she is actually from Upper Chaosverse. Her family is related to the main headquarters of Chaos Monolith Hills in the Upper Chaosverse. "

" Mhmm..." Athan nodded as he opened both of his eyes before grinning, " I am more interested in Upper Chaosverse. What do you know about it? I heard from someone that it's actually a dangerous place. " A gleam passed through his eyes as he asked this.

" Well, It's indeed more dangerous than here. But It's a much more mystical place. The rules and order that are created here are actually from beings of Upper Chaosverse. It's considered the real Chaosverse, while this one here is pocket Chaosverse created by powerful existence for those who ascend here from Universes. "

Athan raised his eyebrows in doubt at that, " But I heard that the earliest people here learned everything by themselves after arriving here from universes? "

Max unhurriedly nodded with a smile, " That's true. But everything is set up by powerful existences, just like how Universes were created from an order set of Chaosverses. This place is also full of order sets from powerful existences, which makes it a stable place.

The earliest ascenders first arrived here, found a way to get stronger by observing chaos phenomenons continually, and created their paths by unseen guidance from ancient organizations. It's just like how things gradually happen in higher-axiom universes after It's Universe Will gain sentience and full control of the power of laws. Those wills of universes indirectly help the beings birthed there get stronger with unseen guidance. "

" I see..." Athan nodded as he thought for a few moments about it.

He then asked if he knew anything important about Upper Chaosverse.

But Max helplessly smiled and shook his head, " I don't know much about it except some useless things. Anyway..."

" I plan to survive until I hit the limit here and go to the Upper Chaosverse to see a new world and experience its thrills. Hahaha. " Max spoke with a smile before laughing.

*Keech...*

Suddenly, Athan felt a signal from his black card took it out before standing up.

" It's time. " Saying this, Athan walked towards one of the gothic-looking doors from which a person just came out.

" Good luck, Athan. "

' I...don't need luck. ' Athan thought as he entered the gothic door.

Chapter 431 - [Bonus ] Breaking Records-8, A Strange Reward.

" Hey hey, This almost feels like cheating, lad. What are those creatures? " Spoke the blue genie as he sat right beside Athan.

" Shsss...Don't disturb me. " Athan indifferently spoke with his eyes closed as he moved his hands; more specifically, He moved his fingers constantly as if he was controlling something by doing that. If one looked carefully, One could see dark blue threads with purple hue connected to his fingers.

Currently, Athan was inside a small floating castle while many monsters were attacking the castle. The castle had a total of fifteen one-meter big crystals of different colors embedded around it.

[ Hold the Fortress ]

In this event, One had the defend the castle and the crystals embedded by it. The target of the monsters was crystals. They wouldn't attack Athan and even ignore him for the sake of destroying the castle and the crystals.

The monsters would come in waves. The participants are given a certain amount of time, a maximum of two minutes, to prepare their techniques, traps, etc., to kill, impede and prevent the monsters from destroying the crystals for one hour and defend the castle.

Now it was almost time for the hour to over, but Athan hadn't let a crystal to get destroyed.

The whole castle was covered with Arachnid's Demon Web and fifteen strange-looking beasts.

Voidlings.

Athan had created Voidlings and assigned them to protect the crystals. At first, he created only two voidlings because of time restriction, and he himself defended the crystals. But after clearing waves and taking his time, He had now sat inside the castle while leaving the crystals for his Voidlings to defend.

He was also controlling the web structure outside of the castle to trap and impede monsters so that his voidlings could finish them off.

The voidlings he created were in the shape of one-meter tall mantises. Their body was black mixed with green and silver patterns. Naturally, They were black and white first, but he added more voidpulse inside them and transformed them into Aegis Starwood chaotic power to make them defensive, so they could last until the end of the event.

While they were defensive, They were also offensive due to their sharp razor hands made from Abyssal darkness.

The Blue Genie was somewhat speechless seeing Athan controlling the demon web to trap and impede monsters while letting those strange creatures kill the monsters.

' How did he create those creatures? They are also powerful. What kind of ability is that? '

The Genie was wondering to himself as he looked at this ridiculous fiasco.

This time, Athan didn't consume any abyssal darkness to coat the Arachnid's Demon web. Instead, He gave it the nature of Force of Glittering River to lower the defense of monsters so that His voidlings also consume less abyssal darkness to kill them.

*Booooooooom...*

Athan moved his fingers as he consumed chaos force. This caused the faint dark blue threads from his fingers to suddenly become bright dark blue threads. Athan was sitting in the middle of the castle hall while the threads from his fingers were connected to outside through several windows of the castle.

Outside...Athan had created a spider-web-like structure in front of the incoming attack of the monster that was coming towards a crystal. This attack looked like a fireball with dark orange energy swirling inside it.

It hit the spider-web-like structure and destroyed it, but a mantis voidling was standing right in front of the crystal to protect it as it turned around and showed his back that became a solid Starwood Aegis prism-shaped armor after it adjusted its body and shrunk it.

The attack couldn't break past the mantis. Athan nodded with a faint smile, ' That defense structure of voidlings is working well. '

He then trapped the attacker monster that looked like a lizard with two heads using his Arachnid's demon web before letting the Mantis Voidling finish it off.

Just like that, few more minutes passed before the one hour was up, and Athan successfully defended the crystals.

" Sigh...It looks like you two are going to break every all-time high record one after another. " The blue genie spoke as he waved his right hand and created a cushion of cloud before putting something on it.

" Here is your reward for breaking the All-time high record of Hold The Fortress. "

Athan looked at the thing with doubt and asked, " What is it? "

There was a stick on top of the cloud. It looks completely normal, just like a normal tree's branch. But Athan could sense something profound from it, like mysterious waves of some strange power.

Blue Genie smiled while showing his white crystal teeth and spoke, " That's your ticket to the Chaos Enlightenment Tree. Show this stick at Wonder Hill Pavilion, and you will know the rest. The only thing I can tell you is that this stick is very valuable. "

Athan took the stick from the cloud as he looked at it carefully.

" How valuable? " Athan asked while observing the stick.

" Bahahaha...You know about unique physiques, right? Well, By showing this stick at Wonder Hill Pavilion, You will be led to a fantastic place, and there is at least a 50% chance that you will acquire a certain kind of unique physique in that place. Naturally, success depends on the person. But seeing your ability, You shouldn't have any problem in acquiring a certain kind of unique physique. "

Blue Genie spoke some shocking things after laughing. 50% chance to acquire a unique physique? That's powerful.

Athan nodded with a grin as he put the stick away. He then looked at Blue Genie before asking dully, " And? You seem to be forgetting something. "

Blue Genie was confused for a moment before he realized it and gave an embarrassed chuckle, " Cough...Here is your score. "

Athan looked at the leaderboard summoned by Blue Genie and nodded plainly, ' The difference is too big. Did I overdo it? '

' Meh, who cares...Anyway, thanks to this event, I seem to have grasped an interesting thing regarding the Abyssal Void of Fabrication and Voidlings. I'll have to expand on it later. '

[ Hold The Fortress Leaderboard ]

Rank 1:- Athan Void- 250,000 score.

Rank 2:- Linci Crow- 112,500 score.

Rank 3:- Demon Gobi- 48,350 score.

Chapter 432 - Name On Leaderboard.

Athan left the Event dimension as the Blue Genie opened materialized the gothic door.

Max, who also had just left the event dimension, waited for Athan to come out.

Everyone once again knew that He broke the All-time high record of Linci.

Athan also just passed through the door and arrived outside to see Max standing not too far from the four gothic doors.

" Hahaha, Congrats. So where do you want to go? The next event or...Wonder Hill Pavilion? " Max asked after a hearty laugh.

" The next event. " Athan plainly stated as he walked towards the exit.

Max grinned as he followed Athan outside to the main hall of Newbie Event Palace.

But the hall was in an uproar.

" Who is that Athan Void? What's going on? "

" I don't know, man. Never heard of him before. I guess he must be someone recruited by a Hill Decon or Hill Master. "

" Yeah. All new recruits from batches have finished events, so if they were good, they would appear in the top 100 at least once before climbing ranks. But this person just sat at 2nd rank out of nowhere. This means he at least can't be someone from the latest batch that arrived today. "

" He would, of course, appear at 2nd score considering the two scores he got in first two events. It's fucking nuts how high his scores are, especially the score of Hold The Fortress. "

...

Everyone speculated about the sudden name that sat on the 2nd rank in the Newbie Leaderboard in the main hall.

They expected his name to appear there right after they got the 2nd notification of the All-time high record-break of Hold The Fortress Event with a whooping 250,000 score.

Athan ignored the commotion as he continued with his walking pace towards the 3rd Event lobby's doors.

" By the way, The next event will take several days to complete instead of just one hour. " Max spoke while walking along with Athan.

" Mhmm. " Athan just nodded plainly as he continued to move.

Max was a bit speechless at Athan's response, ' What Mhmm? Sigh...'

He thought that Athan would decide to take a break after hearing that but no...

Suddenly, His eyes shined, and he spoke, " Athan, I'll meet you later. I got an urgent thing to do. "

He then dashed forward and overtook Athan.

Athan didn't slow down his footsteps as he continued moving. As he was still walking towards the event lobby's doors, He saw Max dashing forward towards a group of three people. All three of them had cicada-like wings behind them with peach-colored body skin and light blue horns on top of their heads.

One of them was a girl, while the other two were men who had a respectful expressions on their faces as they followed the girl.

Athan didn't pay any attention there since he arrived in front of the event lobby's doors which were different than the previous two lobby doors.

There was a square white cloud screen right beside the left door that displayed [ 15 ] in green letters. He didn't know the meaning of that, but he entered the lobby nonetheless.

[ Wilderness Connent Event ]

After entering the event lobby, He registered his entry by scanning his crystal card at the monolith in the event lobby.

This lobby was different as it was way bigger than the previous two lobbies—at least four times bigger.

There were fifteen gothic doors and lots of people sitting at the tables, waiting for their turn.

Athan found a single table on which no people sat and walked towards it before sitting at it.

' It looks like It will take some time for my turn to come. ' Athan thought as he looked around before simply leaning back on the comfy cloudly chair and closed his eyes.

...

Outside at the main hall...

Linci also entered the event lobby of Wilderness Connect now since after finishing the Hold The Fortress event, she got called at Realm Communication Pavilion.

Her current state appeared a bit unstable if one looked closely into her eyes. She was angry and...helplessly sad.

' Did they decided to aban- No...They wouldn't do such a thing. I just need to bear staying here for extra few more years; that's all. '

Even though she convinced herself, Her mood was terrible, and her face was cold with no emotion.

She opened the lobby door and entered.

*silence...*

The lively lobby suddenly became silent slowly as people noticed her. They started to look around in the lobby for some reason.

Linci ignored them and went towards the monolith at the corner to register her entry.

On the other hand, Athan didn't pay any attention to whatever was happening here. He was just thinking about the voidlings with his eyes closed and experimenting with voidpulse and soul energy inside his void region while leisurely leaning on the chair at the table.

' This feeling...whenever I do this, I feel that strange connection solidifying for a millisecond. '

Athan was lost in his thoughts when he heard someone calling out to him.

" Hey, Maskman with the weird yet cool outfit. "

Athan opened his eyes and saw a man with heavy metal-like clothes and dark brownish pink skin talking to him from the table in front of him. There was another person, a lady sitting with that guy at that table. The lady looked like a normal human with no additional body features.

Seeing Athan tilting his head towards them, The lady spoke with a smile, " Can you please go stand at the side? That cold beauty has arrived here, and she would sit at a table too. So...can you give her this table since you're the only one sitting alone at a table while the rest of the tables has two or three people sitting at them. "

The man with heavy-metal clothes and strange skin also spoke before nodding, " Yeah. She will also likely arrive at your table since you are the only one sitting alone at a table. You should already know about her strange power, so better get up now. "

At this moment, Linci was preciously walking towards them since she noticed Athan.

But her mood was not improved, and she also heard the words of those two people telling Athan to get up.

On the other hand, Athan frowned at the two people calling out to him. Naturally, They couldn't see his frown due to the mask, " Don't disturb me regarding useless things. Your first and last warning. "

He then closed his eyes once again and leaned on the comfy chair.

The lady grimaced as she spoke with a frown, " We are asking politely and for your sake. Wh-"

" Get up. "

*tremble...*

The strange skin man and lady trembled as they felt cold creeping up to them.

Linci passed by Athan's table and stood in front of them with an indifferent expression on her face.

Both of them hurridly stood up and went to another table where two people were sitting since each table had four chairs.

Linci sat down at the table and glanced at unmoving Athan for a moment before taking a book and started reading it.

On the other hand, The man and lady glared at Athan but were also confused about why Linci told them to get up instead of Athan.

Naturally, Linci didn't want to bother Athan as she clearly heard him speaking about not disturbing him regarding useless things. She had acknowledged him as someone powerful based on his score. And she also didn't like how those two people told someone else to stand up for their own convenience.

She was actually curious to find out how long can Athan withstand staying within 2 meters of her. Even her father could stay for a max of 15 mins within 2 meters of her despite his strength. After all, The longer one stays within 2 meters of her, the more potent those strange wisps coming out from her becomes.

Chapter 433 - Wilderness Connect-1

After an hour and a half, It was finally Athan's turn as he took out his crystal card pulsing with red sheen.

Opening his eyes, Athan stood up and saw Linci sitting at the table in front of him.

Linci's gaze went from the book to Athan and saw him gave her a slight nod as a greeting before he went towards the gothic door and entered the event.

' I wonder how does he look behind that mask? ' She wondered for a moment before returning her attention to the book.

...

On the other hand, After Athan entered through the door, He arrived at a jungle.

He was currently in an open ground surrounded by various green, red and blue beautiful trees of different types.

A light green Genie exuding exuberant life force materialized from the grass on the ground as he smiled towards Athan, " My brothers told me about your appearance. Gagaga, I'll be looking forward to your performance throughout your stay here. Anyway, here's what you have to do in this event..."

...

The Green Genie explained to Athan everything about this event called Wilderness Connect.

Objectives:

->Find the hidden monoliths in this wilderness and scan them by putting his crystal cards in their slots.

Rules and Situation:

-> There are also vast amounts of traps spread throughout this wilderness, so Athan needs to move carefully while finding the hidden monoliths.

-> The current peaceful atmosphere will take a 180-degree turn, and it will get dangerous day by day with random monsters suddenly attacking Athan and destructive chaotic powers outbreaks.

-> There are also some tricky traps that if you fell into them ( like a tricky portal), you will directly finish the event earlier even though you could do more. This can lower their potential maximum score, so participants need to be very wary of traps.

-> Time given is a month, but according to Green Genie, none from the past thousands of years has lasted even twenty days and scanned more monoliths here to break the current All-time High score made by Tron Granger: 74,000.

-> More importantly, Even though a month passes here, Only a day passes outside. So thirty days here are equal to one day outside.

" Alright. That's all, lad. Do your best and break the all-time high record, Gagagaga. " Green Genie vanished like a puff after laughing. But he was still observing Athan since this whole wilderness was connected to him. He was the wilderness, and wilderness was him.

' Black and Blue praised you much. Now let's see if you still can break the all-time high record of this event. '

Athan swept his glance in all directions before sitting crossed-legged, ' Perfect chance to do some experiments. '

Inside his void region...

He first took a tiny amount of voidpulse and transformed it into a normal bee.

' A normal creature created purely from voidpulse. If I don't need to give it offensive power, then only Voidpulse is enough. Now, If I properly merge my soul energy in it...'

Athan's soul was currently in its true form as it appeared black with a white border and white organs that looked like patterns inside his soul.

He released a bit of his soul energy and infused it into the bee. After that, He released the bee outside and let it go in the north direction with his command.

With his soul energy infused into the bee, His soul sense could sense that bee and see what it sees. This is similar to what he did in the test when he hunted a group in the jungle using his voidlings.

Athan started to create more of such small bees, and with his current amount of voidpulse, He created three thousand small bees.

But he didn't stop here and released a Voidling-Python towards the trees. This python was a mix of Abyssal darkness and voidpulse since he wanted to devour some trees to get more voidpulses.

After getting more voidpulses, He continued to create bees and released them in the wilderness in search of monoliths.

Green Genie was already dumbfounded when Athan released thousands of bees, ' What the damn hell? Not bad, not bad at all. Gegege...But those bees won't survive the atmosphere of this place very soon and die. '

At this moment, Athan stood up as he observed something strange through one of his bees and focused there since he felt that there was a monolith hidden there.

He dashed towards the southwest direction for one kilometer. But after just two seconds while he was dashing, He suddenly lost his control and fell down.

*thud....*

'This...It's looks like the burden of observing thousands of things at the same time through my soul sense is more intense than I imagined. ' Athan felt wobbly, but he shook his head and sat down right on the stop to stabilize himself.

' Two birds with one stone. I'll also learn to master this way of consciousness splitting. ' Although he thought this with determination, The longer he observed places through the bees using his soul sense, the more wobbly-minded, confused, and annoyed he felt.

After all, looking through thousands of windows at the same time and even observing the details outside was something so outrageous that if someone saw Athan doing that, They would curse out loud.

But Athan's soul quality was extremely high, even if it was not as powerful as a powerhouse of Zen order powerhouses.

He was determined to endure this new type of annoyance and adapt to this state.

When he felt somewhat stabilized, He started moving again towards the place where he suspected the monolith was hidden while also observing other places through thousands of bees.

Naturally, In the next second, He fell down once again and felt wobbly-minded, confused, exhausted, and such annoying feelings.

He should out to be immense pain too, but he ignored it.

Blue Genie was utterly dumbfounded at the actions of Athan, ' What the hell is going on? Why does he dashes for a second and then fall down before sitting crossed-legged? '

He didn't know that Athan was doing something very dangerous right now, which may even threaten his life.

If he knew that Athan was doing that ridiculous thing of observing approx six thousand places while even trying to pay attention to details through the bees, He would piss his cloudly pants.

One word to describe Athan's current actions, Madlad.

Several hours passed, but Athan didn't even manage to reach the first monolith. By now, Even he was aware of the risk he was taking, but his eyes were ignited with the fire of determination.

His brain was getting fried and boiled while his soul was in an even heavier burden, but...Athan felt from his deepest instinct that...He can do it.

' I CAN DO IT! '

At his moment, He started to feel the strange connection which he felt when he was in the cacoon.

Chapter 434 - Power Spike, Wilderness Connect-2

Currently, Athan's eyes were red, and he was trembling intensely. His eyes balls were moving up-down-left-right rapidly, and blood was coming out from his eyes.

' What the hell is going? This kid won't die, right? ' Green Genie thought as he sweated while watching Athan.

Athan himself was trying his best to stablize himself. He could solve this trouble easily if he removed his soul connection to the thousands of voidlings but no...He didn't want to give up.

' I...have to do something. I have to grasp this...' Athan couldn't think straight, but he knew what to do.

' My body...the brain...It will not last long. '

Athan remembered the words of green Genie that he would be observing him and instantly created a thin film of abyssal darkness around him.

' Huh? Why did he cover himself in that black barrier? Hmm...Does he not want me to see his state? ' Green Genie thought after seeing Athan covering himself inside a small black barrier.

Inside the barrier, His body was convulsing due to his highly unstable brain, while his soul was glowing a bit due to something he was trying to do right now.

He was trying to grasp the connection. He doesn't know why, but seeing his consciousness splitting in thousands and his soul working at super high speed, he felt immense pressure, which caused him to sense the strange connection related to Abyssal Void of Fabrication.

' I-I....H-hav-e to prepare...'

A few seconds later...

*Splattt...*

Athan's head exploded, and his soul exited his body.

His soul, which looked exactly like him in appearance, was also trembling constantly like a TV not getting a signal.

Voidpulses released from his soul towards his headless body before creating a new head there.

After all, He knew about his body the best, so recreating it with voidpulse was not even an effort.

But he didn't go inside his body and stayed in soul form because he was very close to grasping something important.

...

An hour passed just like that when suddenly, The green Genie appeared in the sky with a terrifying face as he looked at the black barrier created by Athan.

' WHAT THE FUCK, WHAT THE FUCK, WHAT THE FUCK!! W-I HAVE TO....NO, BEFORE THAT, I- '

Suddenly, His terrified face turned into one of intense confusion, ' Was it my imagination? I definitely felt extreme danger a moment ago. It was like this dimension was going to get destroyed. But...that threat suddenly vanished? What's going on? '

Inside the black barrier...There was another barrier that Athan just created. This barrier was a mix of white and black.

Athan was still in his soul form as he made a motion of wiping sweat from his forehead, ' Phew...If I was a single moment late, Even I don't know what would've happened. '

' But...I am very close to grasping that strange feeling. ' Thinking of this, Athan continued doing what he was doing for the past thirty minutes.

' Hehehe...' A chuckle left his mouth( Soul's ), which formed a devilish grin as the soul glowed with black and white before...scattering into tiny pieces.

He literally shredded his soul into pieces and died. The scattering pieces of his soul wandered inside the black and white barrier, and at this current moment, Athan had technically died.

But...His will, his instinct were alive in those scattering pieces of his soul.

With the power of Abyssal Void of Darkness and his will and instinct on those pieces of his soul, They gathered together before becoming a complete soul.

And right after that, His soul started trembling as an unbelievable pain coursed throughout his soul.

Athan endured with pain silently, with his expression not changing a bit. But the exhaustion on the soul was immense.

After all, what Athan was doing right now was practically killing himself by scattering his soul, and...this feat was impossible for anyone else to do. No one would do something ridiculous like this to their own soul because it would be suicide.

But Athan had circumvented his death with the Abyssal Void of Fabrication and his own powerful will and instinct that he could " instinctively " control even after " dying ".

Naturally, there were risks. If someone attacked Athan's soul while he did that, then he would instantly die unless someone/something protected him from the attack.

If someone else destroyed his soul, he would die, but if he did that himself, he wouldn't die right away.

After stabilizing his soul, Athan once again scattered his soul to try to solidify the strange connection again.

...

Basically...

When green Genie felt the threat of destruction, It was the moment when Athan gathered his soul after scattering it many times and finally solidified the strange connection he felt due to his Abyssal Void of Fabrication.

When the strange connection was solidified, Athan had a magical feeling, and...a tiny mark appeared on his soul's forehead. The mark looked like a raindrop, but it was white with black patterns.

At that time, A tiny wisp of Abyssal Void of Fabrication that was unlike what Athan possessed produced from that mark. That tiny wisp was no threat to Athan, but it was to everything else, and Athan realized that. So, he instantly created the black and white barrier to isolate its effect from spreading destruction before merging that wisp inside his soul.

After that, the solidified connection disappeared instantly, and the mark on his forehead also vanished.

So right now, He once again tried to solidify the connection because he couldn't properly check it previously.

His scattered pieces of soul gathered together to be a complete soul, and once again, his soul silently cried after it formed with intense trembling.

' I...can endure this just like I've been doing. I will endure it so that I don't have to endure anything else. ' His will was indomitable as he stabilized his soul. But...he felt disappointment.

He felt disappointed as he couldn't sense the connection anymore, which means that he couldn't solidify it anymore to research it.

' Hmmm..I'll try later when I get an opportunity and sense that connection. But for now, I should absorb my gains properly. '

He then entered inside his naked body that was lying on the ground with a new head that was the same as previously.

His body was naked because after he left his own body in soul form, the void outfit and void mask vanished along with the void region too.

After all, That was all part of his soul.

After properly merging with his body once again, the void outfit and mask once again appeared as he stood up and stretched his body.

All he did previously and took risks benefitted him immensely. First, He had now mastered his splitting consciousness into thousands, and he could observe details and scenery through thousands of windows that were his Voidlings-Bee.

After all, He was scattering his soul and merging it together, which enabled him to do multi-tasking at another level.

Naturally, there was a limit, and it depended on his soul strength. For now, He could split his consciousness into simple forms 6000 times. So those 6000 split consciousness into those 6000 bees would observe everything through bees, which he could observe concurrently.

Athan resumed his connection with bees as he observed everything without feeling any kind of discomfort or annoyance.

' As for my soul...Let's see how much stronger it became after all of this work on it. '

Athan took out his Superficial Battle Power token before turning his soul into the second form ( the normal soul form ). He then tested his soul strength after creating the veil of golden spark and using a simple soul attack on it.

Athan looked at the token and smiled widely, ' It looks like the risk was worth it. '

24,670 Superficial Battle Power, Chaos Warrior.

" Time to continue with the event, Hahaha. " Athan removed the barriers around him as the green Genie saw Athan safe and sound with a calm but confident smile on his face.

' Just what the hell happened inside the barrier? '

Well, It's better for green Genie that he doesn't know what Athan did inside the barrier; otherwise, all of his common sense would be thrown out of his brain's window.

Athan noticed the green Genie, but he just nodded at him with a smile before moving towards the first location of the hidden monolith.

After arriving there, he carefully observed a moss wall on a boulder with his soul sense while moving towards it.

' Found the first one. '

Athan removed the moss and saw the monolith sticking into the boulder as he put his black card on the slot and scanned it.

After that, he moved in the southwest direction since he already found another monolith hidden behind a waterfall.

Green Genie was observing everything since this whole wilderness was he himself.

' Humph, It's time. I actually forgot about changing the climate after an hour due to the strange actions done by this kid. '

Suddenly, Athan felt many of his bees dying, and the place where he was standing suddenly had an earthquake as he fell down into a sudden ground hole forming below his feet.

' Athan, was it? Let's see how you overcome my traps, Gagagaga. '

But the next second, Blue Genie was tongue-tied as Athan levitated back onto the surface using his chaos matrix-Chaos Body-Lightning Dust.

' This is just the start, lad. '

Chapter 435 - Courting Death?

" Sigh...screw it. I am not doing it anymore. Only three days are left until the deadline. I better take out my frustration on others... " Green Genie muttered.

None of the traps or anything worked on Athan. He was leisurely finding monoliths while nullifying and escaping traps. He had his army of 6000 bees which helped him observes many things.

The bees would die, but he would just create more, and the last batch of bees was light green with silver patterns as Athan transformed voidpulse into Aegis Starwood to make them tough.

...

Linci was in another room, and there were four days left until her deadline.

She was also finding monoliths and avoiding tricky traps. As for other things such as monsters and chaotic powers attacking her? They were useless as her mystical power would automatically protect her.

Two passed as she was facing an increased number of tricky traps.

She almost fell into one trap that was an illusion portal. If she went into it, then her time would be up and event over for her.

But...She still didn't last more as, after two more hours, A trickier trap defeated her.

' What's going? Was it supposed to be this hard at the near end? I never reached this far previously since I did all events without my full strength in my first attempt. '

On the other hand, Two green genies suddenly appeared, which made Linci a bit confused.

" Not bad, lass. You did well. "

" Mhmm. Not bad at all. Your score is 109,500. Congratulations, You broke the previous all-time high record. "

Hearing them, Linci was surprised, ' Athan went before me so...according to his previous antics, he should have already broken that record. Considering his high scores, He should also have gotten a high score in this one. Or maybe he is weak in this field? '

She asked Genies about Athan, and one of the Genie made an awful face at her and snorted, " Don't talk to me about that brat. Anyway, there are still 12 hours left before his one-month deadline is over. So, before he broke the all-time high record, you broke it and got the rewards. "

" I see..." Linci nodded plainly before she spoke, " Then can you open the exit? "

" What about the reward of breaking the All-time high score record of this event? "

Linci shook her head as she responded plainly with an expressionless face, " Not interested. "

" Not interested? " Green Genies responded with a dumbfounded expression before they asked their brothers black and blue.

After asking them, It turned out that Linci didn't select any of the record-breaking rewards.

" Can you open the exit? "

Green Genie snapped out of his thought as he opened the exit with a weak smile, " Sure, Lass. Have a good day. "

" Good day, huh? " Linci muttered as she entered the door with a cold face.

...

After Linci came out, Some people congratulated her, to which she didn't respond as she doesn't like fake people more than those who clearly resents her.

But not even a minute later, Everyone got another notification.

[ The previous All-time high record of Wilderness Connect event has been broken by Athan Void. The current highest score of Wilderness Connect is 235,000. ]

A commotion arose due to this inside the Newbie Event Palace.

" Ridiculous! I feel like he is cheating. "

" Stop being a dumbass, idiot. You can't cheat in events. "

" Indeed, You can't cheat. In the first place, If he managed to cheat, it just shows how strong he is, and this score is well deserved. "

...

Linci, who had already left the event lobby of Wilderness Connect, was now in the main hall and looked at the big leaderboard where her name dropped down a rank, and Athan's name appeared at the 1st rank.

[ Newbie Leaderboard ]

Rank 1:- Athan Void

Rank 2:- Linci Crow.

Rank 3.....

Rank 4.....

...

She then continued to move towards the last event lobby after taking a glance at the leaderboard.

The 4th and Last event is known as [ Race To The Peak. ]

Athan also left the event lobby of Wilderness Connect and entered the event lobby of [ Race To The Peak. ]

Now, this lobby was the same as the first two lobbies.

After registering his entry, he glanced across the lobby and walked towards the only table with a single person sitting at it.

Obviously, the only one sitting alone at lobbies was Linci.

She was reading a book as usual and saw someone sitting across from her at the table.

" Athan. I already told you about my condition. You might be able to stay for two or three minutes, but no more than that. " Linci's face turned grim as she stated with a frown.

Athan sat down on the chair, ordered wine, and leaned back in the chair before speaking nonchalantly, " Chill. "

Linci was speechless and shook her head with a grim face, " Chill? Those wisps will chill your soul to death if you continue to stay for more minutes near me. "

But she was Athan just shaking his head as he once again spoke calmly, " Just read your book, girl. I won't die. "

" Humph, Fine. Suit yourself. " Linci coldly snorted and focused on attention on the book.

The exchange between them attracted other people's attention.

" That guy is courting death. "

" As if...He will probably stand up before a minute. "

" You dumbasses. Do you know who he is? "

" I think he is the current Rank 1 in Newbie Leaderboard, Athan Void. The rumors about his appearance have already spread, and that guy matches the description perfectly. "

" Indeed. He is Athan. I saw him in the event lobby of Hold the Fortress. "

" Hmmm...Ranking-wise, He already seems powerful than Linci, but...I heard that even Hill masters couldn't stay near her for a few minutes. Do you think that guy can do that? He is just a person in the Orderic Catastrophe phase like us. "

" Ehh...You are right. But look, He is carefreely drinking wine. Hehehe, Let's see how long he can last. "

Chapter 436 - Dead?

Three hours before Athan entered the [ Race To The Peak ] event lobby, The envoys finished distributing the rewards to the organizations and clans behind the fifty people recruited into the Chaos Monolith Hill.

They then passed through the Chaos Bridge and arrived at the place where the new recruits were training to master the Cloud of Chaos.

" Someone is missing. There are only forty-nine kids here. That slaughterer is missing. " Rezy spoke with a cold frown on her face.

Other envoys who didn't pay attention there and directly conjured their cloud of chaos paused.

Rukia also noticed this as she raised her eyebrows and moved towards Shiromi, Sen, and the group before asking, " Hello girls, Where did Athan go? "

Tealery, Sen, Arcued, and others opened their eyes before they all pointed in the sky.

" He already mastered cloud of chaos long ago and flew up. " Theo stated with a respectful expression.

...

...

The envoys silently flew towards the Cloudly Plains with shock contained in their eyes.

' Mastering the cloud of chaos in just four hours? Even if it was the most basic version, people still take days to comprehend it. Hmmm... '

' I'll have to convince faction leader Rufus to recruit him into Bullet Hell Hill faction. But, that Rukia...She will be a tough block to pass since she was interested in taking Athan from the start. '

All envoys were thinking and making plans regarding Athan while flying towards the Cloudly Plains on which the Chaos Monolith Hills organization was situated.

But none of them knew that Athan had already attracted the attention of all faction leaders with his mind-boggling performance in the events.

After returning, They finished their business and reported to their factions which took two hours.

...

At present, It's been exactly a minute since Athan sat down at the same table as Linci.

The dark blue wisps were attacking Athan from Linci's body, but they would be devoured by Athan's veil of Abyssal darkness on his body as he leisurely drank wine.

Suddenly, He had a thought ' I wonder strong her strange power is? Hehe...Let's see. '

Athan grinned behind his mask as he completely lowered the defense from his body's outfit and removed the veil of abyssal darkness.

At that instance, His body felt biting and piercing cold invading as his body turned weak and stopped functioning in mere two seconds. He was frozen from inside as his skin turned dark blue before getting stiff, and...his heart stopped beating.

" W-what the hell? Th-that guys dead? "

Instantly, A commotion arose, and Linci, who was not paying attention to Athan and was instead focused on reading a book, heard the words and looked at Athan before turning shocked.

She instantly stood up and made her distance from Athan so that her strange power would stop attacking Athan.

An intense frown appeared on her face along with confusion, ' What's going on? It's been only a minute...In the Slaughter In Space lobby, he sat for two minutes at the table and was not affected in the slightest. So, why is he affected now? '

" You...you killed him. "

Someone suddenly spoke with a terrified face. Everyone looked at Linci with various expressions on their faces.

There were no heavy rules or restrictions here, and anybody could fight anyone. But...There was one thing to note: They were allowed to fight, get serious injuries, or do whatever they wanted...but killing was not allowed. If two people want to fight to the death, they can do so in Life & Death stadium.

Linci's face turned cold as she looked at the person who looked like an ape but with wooden demon horns and tail, " I warned him not to sit at the table. Humph, he was courting his own death. "

On the other hand, Athan was checking out the strange power, and he was surprised, ' Not bad. It's powerful. Very powerful. According to her, the wisps coming out from her gets stronger as time passes...Hmmm, how powerful is its true form? '

He noticed at the wisps straightly aimed his soul after entering inside, but naturally, his true soul energy easily destroyed those wisps.

After seeing its power and effects, He destroyed all the wisps that entered inside his body and recovered his body to the normal state using voidpulse.

Seeing the commotion occurring as everyone looked at Linci, He coughed a bit loudly.

All people soon noticed that he became perfectly fine from being internally frozen to death and were dumbfounded.

" What's going on? Didn't he just die? "

" Strange. Hey man, Didn't you just die? "

" Yeah, what the hell happened? Why did you become perfectly fine? "

Athan shook his head with a wry smile, " I was just checking out her strange power. Anyway, no need to make a big deal out of it. I am perfectly fine. "

After saying that, He took the glass of wine from the table and looked at frowning Linci with her eyes filled with mild shock.

" Why are you standing there? Hahaha, Chill and sit down. " Athan gestured her to sit down at the table.

Linci snapped out of her reverie before her frown intensified. Sitting at the table, She spoke after sighing, " Look. I have sworn to my..."

She suddenly paused for a second before continuing, " Anyway, I don't want to be responsible for the death of someone unrelated to me. You are not my enemy, nor did I see you do any horrible thing that makes me angry. If you were either of them, I couldn't be careless if you died. But...since you currently don't come in either of those categories, then I don't want to be responsible for your death due to my promise to someone important. "

Athan nodded as he took a sip, " Then why did you act like you didn't care when those people stated that I died? You replied coldly, saying that you warned me and I courted my own death? "

" Humph, That's because I was in doubt regarding your death. You were not affected even after two minutes in our first meeting so it was strange that you suddenly died after a minute here. Even though I have a promise and I don't want to be responsible for such deaths, I won't feel guilty since I already warned you. So, for your own safety, you should go sit at another table. " Linci stated coldly.

" Alright, I got it. You don't have to worry about it, though. I won't die. " Athan spoke before he leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes, reliving the past.

Chapter 437 - Commotion, [ Race To The Top ]

It was very tense in this [ Race To The Peak ] event lobby. Two minutes have passed since Athan sat at the same table as Linci.

After the three-minute mark, Linci started to take occasional glances at Athan every two seconds to see his situation.

' None of the people at Orderic Catastrophe stage lasted two minutes near me while he...just passed the three-minute mark, which is comparable to those Zen order elite's time of staying near me. Does he really have some unique power that negates my power? No, Impossible. Even my father can only stay fifteen minutes within two meters. '

Obviously oblivious to Linci's thoughts, Athan didn't feel anything strange. He could feel the potency of those wisp getting stronger, but that didn't matter to his veil of abyssal darkness.

Whether a potency level 1 dark blue wisps attacked him or level 10, his veil of abyssal darkness devoured them all the same. It's not like he started consuming more abyssal darkness if Linci's strange power got stronger.

It was a battle of Quality vs. Quality, and the quality of Abyssal Darkness was far superior to anything in Chaosverse. So it didn't matter how strong the dark blue wisps became; abyssal darkness could devour them all the same.

Although Athan used abyssal darkness constantly, he was still full because his recovery speed of abyssal darkness was higher than his consumption.

Naturally, If the quantity increased exponentially such that Athan's recovery speed of abyssal darkness couldn't keep up with the consumption speed, then he would eventually run out of abyssal darkness.

All of that is considering that he didn't do anything and let someone just attack him while he doesn't fight back. But in reality, why would he do something like that when he can fight back and use his power, Abyssal void of fabrication in techniques or in various other ways.

...

Linci occasionally glanced at Athan while other people in the event lobby were also shocked and surprised as they whispered.

" Hey...I think It's been over three minutes since he sat at her table. It's strange that nothing is really happening to him. "

" Indeed. Some peak orderic catastrophe people also couldn't stay near her for two minutes whole. But why can he stay there for long? "

" I don't know, but...considering that he is here and a newbie, He should be in orderic catastrophe. Maybe he has something unique which prevents Linci's strange power from affecting him? "

' Three minutes and thirty-six seconds...' Thought Linci as she glanced at Athan. But suddenly, she felt something and took out her crystal card.

' It looks like my turn has come up. ' Linci was just going to stand up, but suddenly a commotion arose.

Several people suddenly entered the event lobby. Seeing them, Newbies turned rowdy.

" Senior, I have applied to become a member of Sunfire Hill faction. My rank in Newbie leaderboard has reached 27, and I worked hard for it. Please consider accepting me. "

" Me too, senior. I..."

" Silence! " Rezy spoke coldly.

On the other hand, Rukia smiled as she swept her glance across the lobby and found Athan, " Hehehe, There he is. "

" Hellllooooooo, Athan. How about you come out for a minute? " Rukia spoke as she walked towards Athan. The seductress's actions were in full mode as her bouncy chest slightly heaved up and down with her every step and displayed the gloriousness of her supple meat buns.

Seeing that, the men in the lobby gulped while the ladies rolled their eyes.

Athan opened his eyes and looked at Rukia and other envoys with some other people. All of them had different badges on their clothes.

Rukia suddenly paused as she noticed Linci. She stopped moving towards the table and asked Athan once again with a smile, " Hi, Athan. We meet again. Anyway, would you come out for a while? We have some important matters to discuss with you. "

' Important matter? ' Thought Athan, but right there, he suddenly felt something and stood up.

Seeing him standing up, Rukia and all those people from different Hill factions smiled.

But the next thing he said caused their smile to stiffen.

" Wait for a while. I'll go and finish the event first. " Athan stated plainly before moving towards one of the gothic doors and entered.

*Silence...*

It was pin-drop silence as all envoys were tongue-tied with a stiff smile while the newbies sweated for Athan. What the hell was his deal? They are damn representatives from various hill factions!

" Pffff...." Linci chuckled with a smile as she stood up and moved towards one of the gothic doors before entering.

The representatives turned glum hearing the laugh, but they were helpless against Linci. If anyone else in the lobby laughed, They could teach them a lesson but, unfortunately, can't do anything, Linci.

Naturally, After a second, Many of the representative's faces turned awful.

But Rukia also started laughing as she shook her head, " His antics haven't changed even after arriving here and seeing a vaster world. Hehehe, I like it. "

But one of the representatives snorted; he had blond hair and a dark brown tail. With slight anger on his face, he stated, " Despite Rukia saying to him that we have important matters to discuss, he went to take the event test first. Humph, That kid looks unruly and trouble to me. It doesn't look like he would follow the rules and regulations of the House of Scion Hill faction and would likely do as he pleases without respecting others. "

After saying that, He turned around and started moving towards the exit while speaking, " Even though he has achieved impressive feats and is talented, House of Scion doesn't want someone like him. Ladies and gentlemen, you can go ahead and recruit him. "

He then left the event lobby with a faint mutter, " Waste of time. "

Naturally, everyone could hear that mutter.

...

On the other hand, the red Genie finished explained the event to Athan in this cloudly place that was similar to the first two events.

There was a chain of mountain ranges that became higher and higher with each mountain in this place.

" The event will start once you walk past that gate. Reach the end of this path filled with trouble in five hours. You will get no score if you can't rush to the [ Finish ] gate on the very top and at the end of this mountain range chain in five hours. "

Athan nodded as he walked towards the [ Start ] gate.

" By the way, the current all-time high score is 87,450 by Micott Elzid. He finished at two hours. "

" Got it. " Athan revealed a thumbs up before entering the gate.

Chapter 438 - Wonder Hill Pavilion-1, Provocative Athan?

" Impossible...Why wasn't he affected by illusion mountain? impossible...impossible. " Red Genie muttered as he sat Athan, even breaking the last and most difficult hurdle to reach the peak.

Athan was actually impressed by this event. There were many mountains he had to pass through, and each mountain was completely different, with a unique atmosphere and traps.

In the end, The most difficult mountain turned out to be the easiest for him. The illusion simply didn't work on his soul, and he could see through it instantly.

On the other hand, One mountain he encountered in the middle gave him some trouble. That mountain had a chaotic gravity field in all directions, and his body was not strong enough to ignore that effect.

Sometimes, The attraction force would plummet downwards, so he would have a hard time walking, while sometimes, it would become a zero gravity zone. Sometimes, Chaotic attraction forces would roam vertically and horizontally with no fixed pattern, making it difficult to pass through that mountain.

Since that effect was atmospheric, He couldn't ignore those effects completely using his abyssal darkness, and it was consumed rapidly due to the vast amount of chaotic gravity-like forces he had to resist.

" Damn, Lad. You really did it. Finished the whole track to the peak in one hour and fourteen minutes. But your score is not as good as the previous three events. You get 149,500 scores. " Red Genie spoke with a smile.

Athan had a plain face with a slight frown on his face as he left the [ Finish ] Gate at the peak of this vast mountain range chain.

Hearing the words of Red Genie, He nodded his head, " I'm aware. I could've done better since I just need to practice my flying technique more. Anyway, I would have come back since I could get more scores, but no point since my score is already the highest. "

Red Genie weakly smiled and wiped off the sweat as he nodded, " Yeah, yeah. Now take this reward, lad. "

Red Genie threw a token at Athan, which he caught with his right hand.

The token had life-like carvings with lightning and fire raining on the mountains.

" This is Thunder-Fire Trial token. Generally, you need a lot of contribution to get it, but it's also listed as the reward if one breaks the all-time high score record of [ Race To the Peak ]. Show it at Wonder Hill Pavilion to know more about it. "

' Wonder Hill Pavilion again? I'll visit it since I'm done with all four events. ' Thought Athan as he put the token away.

The Red Genie opened the exit for him as he left the event dimension and returned to the event lobby.

Sweeping his glance across the lobby, He saw that none of those representatives remained here.

But not a second after he left, Everyone got a notification on their crystal card.

[ The previous All-time high score record of Race To The Peak has been broken by Linci Crow. The current highest score has become 157,000. ]

There was silence for a brief moment before an uproar started.

" Damn!! It's reverse this time. First, Athan broke the long-lasting All-time high score record, and then Linci broke his record. Hahaha. "

" I wonder how he must be feeling? "

" Who knows? Maybe he doesn't care? "

" Well, looking at his face...which we can't see because of his mask, we don't know his current expression. "

...

After seeing the notification, Athan's face had a faint smile, ' Guess I'll later come and take on this event again. '

At this moment, Someone approached Athan and said, " Umm...Senior Rukia told me to pass on this message chit. You can infuse your soul sense in it to hear the message. "

The person had a dog-face, a black dog's face with blue eyes, and was humanoid. After saying that, He gave a small piece of paper to Athan before leaving the event lobby.

Athan looked at the chit in his hand before infusing his soul sense in it. At that instant, He heard Rukia's sweet voice inside his head.

" Dear Athan, Your big sister, and other seniors are waiting for you at Wonder Hill Pavilion. I'm sure you also have some business there so do come there. "

After hearing the message, Athan slightly smirked and burned the chit into nothingness.

He then left the event lobby and directly met who was standing with two people near the gate of this event lobby.

It seems like he was waiting for Athan since he approached Athan with a smile right after seeing him. The other two people who were with him left instead of coming with him.

" Hahaha, It looks like Linci beat you in one. Anyway, I was waiting for you. You're going to Wonder Hill pavilion, right? "

" Yep. Hehehe, Those so-called seniors set it up well. " Athan smirked. If they called him to another place, He wouldn't go there. But it just so that he had to go to Wonder Hill Pavilion, and He was sure that he would see them right as he entered the Wonder Hill Pavilion.

He was sure that it was Rukia's plan. She had seen him enough to grasp his mentality slightly.

Since they had business with him, He wouldn't go towards them, But since they told him that they would be waiting at Wonder Hill Pavilion, There was no avoiding them.

He had also guessed their intention from the talk of surrounding people, but he had his own plans.

Both Max and Athan left the Newbie Event Palace and moved towards the distance giant pavilion. The pavilion had five floors like a big castle, and there were giant open windows with artistic design.

...

Right after Athan left the event lobby of Race To The Peak, Linci also left the gothic door. Naturally, she refused the rewards for breaking the record and simply left the event lobby.

She saw Athan leaving the Newbie Event Palace from its 3rd exit and guessed that he was going to Wonder Hill Pavilion.

But she had no plan to get along with his eccentric behavior, ' Does he not care about his life? Sigh...Wait, could it be that he likes me? No way. There should be another reason for his stubbornness. '

Sigh...Lady didn't know about Athan. But she had her beliefs to think like that. After all, She knew about her strange power and curse, and nobody in Lower Chaosverse could withstand it. She was sure of it.

...

Athan and Max arrived at Wonder Hill Pavilion and entered through the guardless gates.

But right after entering, He saw a group of people sitting at a lunge-like left side of the hall. They all sat on supple and comfortable sofas.

This Pavilion looked really beautiful and filled with a peaceful aura.

Seeing him enter, They all glanced at him. Rukia waved her hands at Athan with a smile, " Athan~...Come over here. "

Max knew about the commotion that happened in the Event Lobby knew that many representatives of different hill factions approached Athan for something. As for why? He already knew that.

' I should close this matte first in a clear-cut way. ' Thought Athan as he walked towards the bunch of Sofas where those representatives sat.

Athan walked towards them with a plain face and down on an empty sofa that was directly arranged in front of them.

" So? What's the deal? "

Hearing the indifferent voice of Athan, Some of the representatives frowned, but Rukia spoke first with a smile, " I'm sure you already know why we are here. In short, We have to recruit you, so we are all here. We will give you the introduction of the Hill factions behind us. "

Right after she finished speaking, A man who on the left side sofa of Rukia laughed and spoke, " I'll go first The Hill fa-"

" Save it. " Athan interrupted him before he could speak further.

He stood up and looked at all representatives before speaking, " I have no interest in joining any faction. So save the trouble of introducing them to me. If this is all that consists of the important matter, then I'm leaving. "

Rukia slightly frowned, but the other representative's face directly turned awful.

" Don't be arrogant just because you broke several records. " A human representative who wore an elegant silver suit and carried him with graceful aura spoke coldly. He had light orange hair and green eyes.

He stood up from the sofa and exuded the pressure of Zen order elite from his body towards Atha before speaking, " Don't forget that you are still at Orderic Catastrophe phase. "

" Hahaha..." Athan laughed out loud, hearing him for a few seconds before he mischievously smiled towards him, " So what if I am at Orderic Catastrophe phase? What are you going to do to me? "

He walked several steps forward and stood right in front of the silver-suit man who looked to be in his twenties.

Athan stopped at just one meter away from him before speaking with a smile, " Say, what are you going to do? Hit me? Kill me? Hehehe, Go ahead. "

But even though his face displayed a smile, His eyes had a mystical gleam of black and white that shone coldly.

Chapter 439 - Clear And Cut

Venzar looked coldly at Athan and his wild arrogance. Does he not know that even if they don't kill him in broad daylight, They can still beat him half dead?

He let out his pressure of Zen order elite order base to suppress Athan and make him kneel.

Other representatives saw this, but they just looked coldly at Athan while Rukia had some hesitation on her face. Still, it only lasted for a second before she also turned silent and just looked on, ' When things turn bad, I'll save him and tell him the importance of joining a Hill faction and once again try to recruit him. Other representatives are already glum due to Athan's attitude hehehe, but that will just increase my chance of recruiting him. '

Athan felt a powerful pressure coming towards him as he smiled even more.

He walked backward a few steps before once again sitting on the sofa with a carefree expression on his face. It was as if the pressure directed towards him from Venzar did not affect him.

Other Representatives were shocked by this. Rukia was also surprised, but her brain's gear turned fast as she hurridly spoke, " Stop, stop! We are not here to fight. "

She stood up and walked towards Athan before speaking with a smile, " Athan, I don't know why you don't want to join any hill faction, but joining one is extremely important. You won't be able to progress smoothly and faster without a hill faction behind you. You also need teammates to go on adventures for missions and tasks, and you generally form teams from fellow hill faction members. "

Right after she finished speaking, Rezy also said in her usual chilly voice with an expressionless face, " Athan. There are certain things and places in which only a hill faction can go in. Consider joining a hill faction for your own benefit. There are many tense situations and scuffle with other organizations, so having a backing of a hill faction will make things easier for you, and you can move to many places without encountering much trouble. A Hill faction is like your family where they can help you in the times of need."

" That's right, Kid. The place you came from is different than here. We are on a giant floating continent called Midguard, and the place occupied by Chaos Monolith Hills in this continent is not even 1%. There are many organizations here that have a connection to Upper Chaosverse. This continent is separated from the lower Chaosverse in a way, and there are big towns where people of ancient organizations gather for business and other things. "

" You can say that arriving here means you have entered a new world. Here, You alone will be powerless to do many things and will encounter blocks one after another. So better join a hill faction behind one of us. "

Max felt the situation becoming tense as representatives spoke one after another.

" Stop, you all. Do you have any problem comprehending my words? Or, What I said can't simply pass through your thick skull and enter your brain? Huh? I clearly stated that...I-do-not-want-to-join-any-hill-faction. "

Athan had a face that had clearly written [ boring ] over it, and he stood up and interrupted them.

Looking at him speaking like that, All people's faces fell, and they were becoming increasingly discontent with Athan. Only those who are in the top 5 of the Newbie Leaderboard have the honor of getting invited by representatives of various Hill Faction. Seeing Athan's score and him breaking records one after another, They decided to recruit him.

They had planned that each of them would describe their faction to Athan, and he could join the one with which he feels the most comfortable.

But lo and behold, Here he was, Rejecting them from the get-go. At first, they thought that Athan was simply ignorant about the importance of Hill factions, but even after they told him about it, He still said that he wouldn't join any hill faction.

Rukia frowned and shook her head before speaking, " Why you don't want to join any faction? You already know the importance of it. "

Athan also shook his head with a smile as he looked at Rukia, " I'm sure there are many restrictions within a faction with rules and regulations, right? "

" Yes. But that's important to manag-"

" It doesn't matter if it's important or not. " Athan indifferent interrupted as he shook his head. Looking at the representatives, He formed a mischievous smile, " I am not comfortable within a place that has rules and regulations that are not set up by me. How about this? If you want me to join your Hill faction, then make me the leader, and I'll join. "

Hearing the absurd words of Athan, Everyone's lips twitched as they became furious.

At this time, They regretted choosing Wonder Hill Pavilion as a meeting place. If it was any other place, They could directly make a move on Athan physically and beat him up, but the current Master of this Wonder Hill Pavilion had put absolute restrictions that none of them were allowed to fight here and damage this exquisite pavilion.

At this moment, Max was nowhere to be seen as he had directly scurried away while thinking, ' What the hell is Athan thinking? Damn. He directly became the enemy of more than half of Hill factions here by saying such absurd things.

Sigh...Doesn't he know that every leader of a Hill faction is selected by careful consideration and popularity of the faction members? They are loved by many, and what he just said is a heavy insult to all hill factions. Damn...I better not get involved with him any further. '

...

" Sigh...Athan, You shouldn't have said something like that. " Rukia sighed.

Hearing that, Athan's eyes turned cold instantly as he spoke sharply, " Well then, I want to ask...Is that how you invite someone to your Hill faction? By mixing up threats within your words? The way you spoke was as if you were granting me a huge favor by inviting me to your hill factions. Heh...What a joke.

Anyway, I already told you all that I don't want to join, so why are you insisting? Doesn't require a thousand years to understand what I said, right? It simply means I don't want to join any Hill faction. "

All other representatives turned silent, but they were still angry. On the other hand, Rukia became frustrated, " Then what are you going to do? You already know the impor-"

Athan interrupted her by saying something that caused everyone's eyes to turn wide before their expression changed dramatically.

Chapter 440 - Athan's Decision.

" I'll create a Hill Faction. " Athan interrupted Rukia with these simple words, but their impact on those representatives was not small.

Their expression changed dramatically as they...actually...started laughing loudly with a mocking expression.

" Hahahaha. What a funny thing to hear. Create a hill faction? Hahhahaha. "

" As they say, Ignorance is Bliss. Hahaha. Hey, kid. Are you going to create a hill faction? Pfff...Hahaha, I am going. I can't stay here. It's too funny. "

A buffy man with thick muscles left while shaking his head and laughing.

Other representatives were also laughing, and they looked at Athan as if they were looking at an idiot.

Seeing their reaction, Athan internally frowned while keeping an indifferent face outside. It was true that he didn't know much about this place, and he just declared that he was going to create one without sufficient knowledge, but...It didn't matter to him.

" Sigh, Athan. Do you think you can simply make a hill faction just because you want to? There are not one or two but many requirements to fulfill before you can establish a hill faction. " Rukia shook her head with pity while looking at Athan.

' Once he knows the difficulty to create a faction, He will come on his own record to join a faction. Hmmm...But before that happens, I'll grab him. If I invite him once more, He will have goodwill towards me and the faction behind me. It's the best way to increase the loyalty of Athan. But honestly, Athan...why are you like that? '

" Athan. Let's not talk about the many requirements to submit the request to establish a hill faction and the trials you need to pass after that, even after doing all of that, which will be simply impossible for you. There is one last hurdle that you have to pass to establish your faction. " Rezy also stood up finally before speaking.

She walked near Rukia before speaking with lament in her cold voice, " There are Twenty-two hill factions, and that number is fixed. They are called Hill Factions because each of them is situated in different Hills. Each of those hills is unique in its own way, and the last hurdle is to fight one of those twenty-two hill factions in a way, kick it out of their Hill and take their place.

So tell me, do you think you can do that? You need a number of people who are willing to follow you and trust you before you even register to create a hill faction before going to fight. "

After speaking this, Rezy also left the Wonder Hill Pavilion.

Venzar was also laughing, but after hearing Rezy, He stopped and sneered at Athan, " I want to see how you are going to create your faction. EVERYONE! This kid has disrespected us and insulted our faction. We...shouldn't forget about, right? Hehehe. I will declare right now that whoever took in this person in their Hill faction is my, Venzar's enemy. "

Venzar looked behind at other representatives and smiled, " I will also talk to the leader of my Hill faction and tell him about the conduct of Athan and the things he spoke; I'm sure he will also support me. If you all feel the same, then please do the same as me. These days, kids become very arrogant just because they are some kind of genius and break the records. We have to show them that their genius and talent only show their future potential, not the future itself. And at present, they are still like weak ants. "

Hearing Venzar's speech, Other people also nodded their heads and agreed verbally with gusto.

They all grinned at Athan before leaving the Wonde Hill Palace.

Rukia was the last one to leave as she sighed after looking at Athan.

' Hehehe, This makes it even more exciting to create a Hill faction. I'll fucking do it. '

When everyone left, Athan's indifferent face finally changed. An arc formed on his face that displayed an excited smile.

He had noticed that Max had already scurried away but didn't care about him.

" Hello, Athan. We meet again, Hehehe. "

Athan turned to the left and saw someone familiar walking towards him. But he already knew who the person was based on her high-pitch voice.

Mitra walked towards Athan with a smile on her face. Arriving in front of Athan, She chuckled with her hand covering her mouth before speaking, " I was watching everything. It seems like you are deep in trouble. But considering that I was one of the first people you met, I will ask the leader of the Hill faction behind me to take you in. "

Athan shook his head with a grin on his face, "Since you watched everything, then you should know about my intention. So? Do you have any business with me? "

Mitra wryly smiled before nodding her, " Alright. But you are really...sigh. I would like to say that you are an idiot, but I won't. "

' You already said it, though. ' Athan stared at Mitra speechlessly.

" Anyway, I am here for your first record-breaking reward, A complete Cloud of Chaos. So let's go and take it. "

Both of them moved towards the giant round desk at the far end of this wonder hill pavilion's hall.

Athan showed his crystal card because his record-breaking feats were recorded under his name and his crystal card was like an identity verification of sort.

The person behind the desk looked like an old man with wrinkles and white hair. He was the only one behind this big arc-shaped desk stuck to the wall.

He gave a ring to Athan before speaking lazily, " Inside is the complete cloud of chaos technique and a scroll with some instruction. Don't let it escape because we will not refund you with another complete cloud of chaos technique. "

" Don't let it escape? What do you mean? " Athan was confused. How can a technique escape?

Mitra chuckled and spoke, " Hehehe, You will know about it after you take it out from the ring. Anyway, I know about your record-breaking feats, and of the two remaining rewards you have to take from here, I suggest you use the reward of Chaos Enlightenment Tree first. "

" That was my plan in the first place. " Athan spoke before he took out the token of Chaos Enlightenment Tree that looked like a normal-looking branch of a tree and gave it to the old man.

But right after that, Mitra also took out a letter.

" Uncle Frenz, I have this letter from leader Fiore; she told me to pass it over to you. " She gave the letter to the old man and before turning towards Athan, " Good luck, Athan. Hehehe, Don't die too early. I still say that you should give up your wishful thinking and join a Hill faction. "

She then left the Wonder Hill Pavilion.

On the other hand, Uncle Frenz caressed his beard while looking at Athan as if sizing him up.