Part one:
[A Knowledge granted by the Insight, originating from a near distant future]:
Date: [REDACTED]
Location: Within Pashtrik
Steady strides cracked the fallen and scattered branches of the evergreen trees.
Even years after the forest didn't fully recover from the destructive event that took place here.
The environment was foggy, but it wasn't that dense omnipresent fog.
It was a spontaneous, more silent one.
The deeper one delved, the more horrific it became. An incessant myriad of craters and uprooted trees.
Then finally, the very magnificent structure in the middle of everything.
A raided box.
Several concentric thick concrete walls embraced it, but most were disintegrated and filled with big holes.
They were one kilometer tall, shamefully standing upright as they failed to protect what used to be in their arms
A box of a faction that got plundered a long time ago.
It had the same shape and structure as a skyscraper, but it was far taller and wider with countless rooms and floors inside.
The one who observed the ruined magnificence was a mere ant compared to the masterpiece before him.
It became very quiet.
The wanderer wore a samurai Miyalin armor and a katana hung from his belt.
That was Wabler's appearance as everyone knew it, except he had a red band tied around his head instead of his samurai hat.
He looked a lot younger compared to what Zafer saw.
He had an octopus badge with 5 tentacles on his chest.
This was an event from when Wabler was a Level 5 Threat!
He retrieved an old photo from his pocket and carefully examined it under the moonlight. There was no picture but a number 15.
"Show yourself!", he shouted at the ruins, letting the photo slip from his hands.
The voice echoed into the silence. No response.
This place was abandoned long ago. Or so it seemed.
A silent rumbling was heard as a couple of small, smashed stones fell from one of the box's upper floors.
There was another human, standing at the edge of the floor.
"A visitor?", he responded, "Wabler? What a pleasure!"
The bald man seemed to be in his fifties.
He had a bulky black beard connected with his mustache and wore a blue cloak.
The most interesting feature was his white eyes.
He was blind.
Nevertheless, Wabler showed no sympathy.
"I know who you really are!", he shouted, "I know what you did!"
The man frowned.
He took a few seconds to process what Wabler had just said so he returned the question.
"Do you?"
Wabler cleared his throat and answered with his usual tone, "She told me everything".
A warm soft wave washed the old man from the inside.
"She… talked to him? She was here?!"
So much information and possibilities flew through his mind that he forgot Wabler was there, waiting for an explanation.
He forgot that he knows.
"So? Say something!", Wabler's voice echoed once again.
The old man didn't respond immediately but took time to think about how big of a trouble this would be.
"Say something that will make me regret doing this".
"And what exactly do you plan on doing?", the man finally had enough of this.
As if Wabler could ever understand it.
"Do you think she was also innocent? Sinless?", he continued, "I bet you've never been to the scream room. Am I wrong?"
Wabler didn't know what any of this meant but he continued to stare at the blind man filled with determination.
The man was expected to defend himself with words since he could never kill Wabler.
And no matter what he said, Wabler knew he must not relent.
The things this blind guy was responsible for… He had to be brought to justice.
"You know that you can't kill me, right?", the man squatted looking down on Wabler, "did she mention that as well?"
Wabler bit his lips. She did tell him.
That was the main marrow of why this was troublesome.
To kill the blind man one must also sacrifice themselves.
"I don't plan on killing you. I am going to put you in jail. Maybe even tell everyone else who you are?"
The blind man burst into laughter.
"You really didn't think this encounter through, have you? What do you think happens if you manage to lock me? What do you think happens?"
Wabler remained silent, gazing at the man with resentfulness.
"You realize that I have my people and their undying loyalty".
These words made Wabler frown reluctantly. He wasn't sure what the blind man meant by this.
The man chuckled, his voice dripping with mockery. "Why do you look so confused? Did you really think you were the only one who knew?"
Wabler froze. A chill crept down his spine—not from fear, but disbelief. Others knew? And worse, they had pledged their undying loyalty to this... creature?
His thoughts spiraled, the weight of the revelation pressing down on him. He struggled to process it, but the man's piercing gaze cut through his turmoil, forcing him to confront the grim reality.
This issue might be beyond him, but then why did she choose him?
The blind man continued.
"As for the other threat… go ahead! Tell everyone! But just know that as soon as I find out that you spoke, I will personally visit someo-"
VROOM.
The floor the blind man was located on exploded and collapsed.
Dust and small rocks got scattered in every direction.
Wabler lowered his hand.
He just summoned a lightning bolt with his bare hands!
Nevertheless, this didn't even leave a scratch on the man, his voice penetrating the dust.
"Don't worry, I won't do that if you don't make me. I also used to have a loving family", he emerged from the cloud of dust taking slow strides.
"If I take that away from you, you won't have anything to lose anymore. That will be quite troublesome. A man with something to protect is quite dangerous, but a man who lost everything is even more".
He stopped right in front of Wabler.
None of the two were moving, and only one was smiling.
That certainly wasn't Wabler.
This very moment was the reason why he got chosen. It wasn't because of his strength for there were those far stronger.
It was because of his moral compass.
Was this something he was willing to die for? The weight of the question fell on Wabler, making him grith his teeth.
"Don't be so cocky".
He suddenly pulled his left foot backward and punched a hole through the blind man!
No, wait.
His hand passed through!
"What a fast reaction!"¸ Wabler was astonished.
This was bad since not only did Wabler's punch pass through the man, but he also used so much strength that he himself started to fall through the blind man's body!
The blind man slowly turned around to see Wabler fall to the ground.
"Maybe you aren't as strong as they say".
He stretched his arm at Wabler as his palm started to glow brighter with white light
This all happened way too fast.
Will Wabler get blasted into oblivion?
Of course not.
He pressed his whole weight on his hands and rotated his body while standing on them, kicking the man's hand.
Due to Wabler's bones being made out of Miyalin, the kick was so powerful that the blind man's whole body got twisted backward.
Wabler then fell on his feet, grabbed the man's back of the coat, and threw him at the ruins.
This impact was so strong that he made a hole through the concrete wall, landing on the other side.
He swiftly stood up, expecting a next hit, but that never happened.
Wabler still stood outside of the box.
The wall he threw him at was the load-bearing wall and as a result, 10 floors above collapsed.
Wabler had to jump backward to avoid getting crushed.
The amount of the dust that had risen was denser than the fog!
It took quite a few minutes for the scene to settle down. The biggest part of the box was still standing upright, unfazed.
There were a lot more load-bearing walls holding the whole thing together. This structure was a true masterpiece in engineering and architecture!
Wabler stared at the collapsed concrete, ignoring the dust in his eyes.
The silence reigned.
Suddenly, Warbler's heart twitched. An enormous heat of wave washed his body over and over.
"Did… did that kill him?! Did he die on purpose?!"
He swiftly drew out his katana, placing the blade on his neck.
"Fuck! Is it too late already?"
He felt something boiling up inside of him.
That was it!
It's over!
"Easy!" a voice shouted playfully.
Wabler flicked so hard that his weapon almost fell out of his hands.
It was the blind man, sitting on top of the pile of collapsed concrete.
"It would be miserable if you just killed yourself over nothing, right?", he laughed.
Wabler straightened himself, trying to get a hold of his body.
He was stronger—he knew it. But no matter how much power he had, this approach was doomed to fail.
The unavoidable impasse.
Part two:
The book snapped shut.
A foggy abyss stole Zafer's attention instead.
What he just wrote was a dream that occurred to him on one of the past nights, and he only remembered the whole of it now, while hiking over the Koth mountain.
The reason why this dream was so important was because it was a real event.
Everything he saw happened accurately sometime in the past.
Apparently during the time Wabler used to be a Threat Level 5.
How did Zafer know this?
The same way he knew how to activate the new ability.
Instinct.
Rumors spoke about how anomalies were tied to one's very soul and were hence an inseparable part of both the body and mind.
Zafer's new Almighty Eye ability allowed him to peek into a memory of the person whose glance he "managed to catch", in this case, Wabler's, right before he went unconscious during Laura's short-lived rampage.
In theory, euclid anomalies were very random. Someone could be born with a euclid anomaly and use 2 or 3 techniques right from birth.
This 2nd ability of Zafer's A-11 was probably developed at around 70% the moment he was born and remained stuck at 70% because of its euclid nature.
Nevertheless, there were some possibilities to develop the remaining 30%.
In Zafer's case, it was thanks to Simra's assistance after Skil's funeral.
Why did the ability get unlocked only now?
He had no clue, but what he did know was the price for using it.
He had a 2-week cooldown on his entire A-11! This meant he couldn't rely on his Almighty Eye's repelling ability for the next couple of days.
It reduced his self-confidence and made him feel uneasy. An important note was that Zafer had no clue about this cooldown before activating Insight (that's what he named the ability).
Nevertheless, he still thought of a way to grow from this situation.
Although his A-11 repelling ability was innate and represented a part of his very soul, he didn't like how he felt without it.
Scared and helpless.
It made him remember a couple of times when he could have died or gotten seriously injured but didn't due to his random luck to be born with this anomaly.
Sometimes in life, you only get to value what you have once you lose it.
This cooldown is to stop relying on his A-11 and use other resources he has to survive.
It was already the fourth day since the dream, and it was safe to say that Zafer had no problems with it so far.
He hiked the Koth mountain which separated the Koth city and the capital of Pashtrik. That was his destination.
The mountain was not very tall but its terrain made it difficult to cross over.
It was so uneven that most of the road consisted of swinging rope bridges that connected myriads of steep boulders.
Beneath was an abyss of unknown depth.
The thick fog, vast like a sea, lingered around 3 meters under the bridges and blocked the view downwards.
Nothing grew here. There was no soil, only rocks.
Nothing lived here. No birds, no bugs.
Zafer had plenty of water and food anyway, so he didn't worry about that.
The biggest problem was to navigate these mountains.
In theory, he should only go forward and eventually reach the capital, but the bridges didn't always lead toward his desired direction.
And there was nothing he could do.
Sometimes he had several bridges split, and if one ended in a deadlock, he was forced to walk back and cross the other.
This was the main reason why this trip took longer than it would have.
He suddenly stopped. A cold chill went down his entire body.
Using a small boulder as a cover, he observed the road ahead.
There was something there, standing upright.
Zafer could not see more than a silhouette, but it was too tall to be a human.
What was that? Apparitions also had a humanoid stance, but they didn't grow taller.
He continued to observe, but the creature never moved, which was weird and scary.
After careful consideration, he decided it was better not to find out.
During his past travels, Zafer got attacked by wildlife a couple of times, mostly by wolves or bears.
However, this scenario was different, not only because he didn't know what the creature was, but also because of the terrain.
The last thing he wanted was for a boulder he stood on to erode and take him downhill.
His eyes slowly scanned the entire area, looking for any alternative paths.
There were some bridges ways above him, hanging from the starry sky, but it was too dangerous to try and reach them.
That was when he spotted another bridge 10 meters to his right. Below.
He carefully slid down the steep boulder and reached it. The bridge hung just above the fog, its span slowly sinking into the mist.
It wiggled with each step and soon Zafer was engulfed in fog.
As the fog got darker, a peculiar scent innervated his nose. It was quite unpleasant, comparable to smoke.
Was something burning up ahead?
His hands and clothes were totally covered in ashes and soot until he reached the end of the bridge.
He could barely stand on the boulder, but it wasn't a dead end.
Another steeper bridge was connected to it, diving further into the smoke.
At this point, the fog wasn't even noticeable. Everything was pitch black with occasional embers ascending back to heaven.
Zafer gripped the bridge's rope with his left hand while raising his scarf with his right, shielding his face from the smoke.
His lungs were hurting, and his eyes were itching.
Nevertheless, there was no way a mere smoke could stop him after vowing to become stronger. Would any other paladin withdraw?
He was way past the half-point mark anyway.
The bridge ended on a small platform that was chiseled into the cliff, a steep wall connecting heaven and hell.
He squatted and sat down, rubbing his eyes.
There was absolutely nothing here aside from smoke – another dead end.
Neither the sky nor the bottom of the pit was visible anymore.
Nevertheless, whatever was burning had to be exactly beneath Zafer. He could tell due to the current of the air.
Bending over the platform's edge hoping to spot the source of this hell, he spotted stairs carved into the boulder.
His heart pounded harder. This was an obvious sign of human activity.
It's not like the bridges weren't, but this was different.
Did he find something that was long lost and forgotten? Only around 20% of the entire Pashtrik basin was populated and everything else was only vaguely mapped and used as a shelter for criminals and paladins.
What was this place and which purpose did it serve?
The coarse stone wall grazed Zafer's back as he descended the stairs sideways.
They led to an iron door, incused into the cliff. They were rusty and old.
Cold sensation engulfed his ear as he leaned it against the metal.
It was dead silent.
At that moment his lungs burned from inhaling the smoke.
He gently placed his palm on the iron door and ripped it open using his Iron Fist anomaly.
His training with Luch paid off as tearing metals was no problem for him anymore.
Once on the other side of the door, the heat started to wash his body in waves.
It was a complex of several rooms, all illuminated by flower plant fruits and enveloped in neat wall covering.
The floor was spotless, made out of parquet wood.
At that moment Zafer realized this was no torture chamber or a hideout for criminals. It was an underground grinder!
Part three:
When it came to cultivating magic flowers, there were 2 most popular picks among experienced paladins.
A flame flower and a start flower.
Both of these provided the sap but were very different by other means.
While the flame flower looked more like a bush, the star flower had the form of a three, except it was much larger.
There was no limit to how tall or wide a star flower could grow.
This was the main reason why star flowers were only cultivated in boxes, that way, they can be let to grow over a kilometer, maximizing the profit.
Zafer was never inside a box so he didn't know what a starflower looked like, let alone the conservatorium for one.
Nevertheless, as soon as he entered the mysterious mountain grinder, he spotted a huge room to his left.
Countless flame fruits were scattered on the bottom and from above where Zafer was standing it looked like a starry sky.
That room was several hundred meters deep!
It was basically a cave that was chiseled to have a perfect shape from top to bottom.
Was this supposed to serve as an underground box for star flowers? He never heard of that before!
It was still just an empty abyss, so he didn't linger around too much.
As he wandered through the grinder he passed by countless lockers, chests, and hanging axes.
He took time to investigate each item but most of it wasn't valuable at all.
Paladins usually wouldn't use their grinders as vaults for storing precious stuff, but Zafer still inspected every single weapon and book.
"Mischief, 3rd Series", with practiced ease, his fingers skimmed through the rune book.
Zafer had no way of telling the quality of the script, but it didn't cost him any extra effort to just toss it inside his Miyalin bag.
As far as he remembered from reading the Book of Runes and Curses, the 3rd Series was the latest version of the Mischief rune.
The next rune book he stumbled upon was labeled "Monochrome", however, its pages had a creamy color.
At that moment he realized that the only measurement he had for the rune book quality was the color of their pages.
Mint told Zafer that the Book of Runes and Curses was made up of 24-Verm scripts, and they were snow white.
The whiter the better, as weird as it sounded.
Another interesting thing that he found was a small jar with a sticker that said "Krale".
Zafer had to read 3 times before removing the lid.
Was this the compound used to increase the quality of a script? The one that's made out of unicorn horns?
It was more viscous than honey and had an intense but pleasant odor.
That ended up in his Miyalin bag as well.
Soon after plundering everything that caught his eye, he arrived at the last two rooms.
The one on the left had tables, glass pottery, and a lot of barrels inside.
Most of the barrels contained powders or liquids of different nature but one of them was very peculiar.
It had a huge drawing on its side.
At first, it was hard to tell what it was but when Zafer switched the observation angle he figured it was a skull.
Did this one contain skulls and human waste?
He grabbed the safety cap but it didn't want to rotate. At least not until he tried to open it clockwise.
That was when the lid slightly shifted.
He stopped, however, glancing at the skull drawing again.
It just gave off a very unsettling aura.
He decided not to open the barrel and just exited the room.
Stepping through the threshold of the final chamber the warm air hit him in the face.
His heart convulsed.
A fresh well-known aroma entered his nostrils as his eyes reflected the orange-yellow lights.
There were dozens of flame plants here! There were so many that he could not count them from the entry. This room was worth tens of millions of units!
When he and Semi first started their business, it was a dream come true to be honored to plunder and raid such a valuable grinder, but those were almost impossible to find.
Right now, Zafer might have hit a jackpot many paladins never do within their lifespan!
He fell on his knees summoning his Miyalin bag in search of the flower-cultivating tools.
At that moment something started to boil up inside his body.
His head went dizzy as he barely resisted the urge to puke.
Was this from sniffing all those powders and liquids in the previous room? Maybe from inhaling the smoke?
A normal person would realize they need medical assistance, but not Zafer. There was no way he could back out now. How bad could inhaling some smoke be?
Recalling Ika's teaching, he lets himself become a victim of his own greed.
The fruits of flower plants contained no seed, so Zafer cleaved the branches and dug out the whole saplings, tossing them in his Miyalin bag.
Even before he met Ika, Zafer knew these plants could survive several months without soil.
Another boiling wave washed him from the inside out. His head started to hurt.
Was he going to pass out? It was so unfair.
For the first time in his life, he gets so lucky, but his body decides to shut down.
His condition was only getting worse from this point, but the soft whispers of the other flame flowers gave him more determination and strength.
After a couple of minutes, he reluctantly retrieved his Miyalin bag into the void. There were just too many of them to collect and the time was running out.
At least he didn't want to collapse inside of an unknown grinder. Who knew whom it belonged to and when they would return?
The dizziness got so bad that he had to use all of his mental strength to navigate back to the first bridge without falling off the cliff.
The last thing he saw before going unconscious was the same humanoid creature he first saw, standing right where he last saw it.
He blinked again and passed out on a cold boulder, just a meter off its edge.