On the other hand, unknown to any of the plans and preparations of King Azarion or even the Human Continent as a whole, in the Angelic Continent Celestara, inside the central city Solaris, the massive palace stood as grand as it always had. Maids walked through the garden paths carrying out their duties while Nobles entered and exited the palace as part of their usual business.
At that moment everything looked normal both inside and outside the palace. Everyone continued with their work as they always did until...something unusual happened.
Suddenly the maids, butlers and nobles stopped at the same time. Their heads instinctively turned toward the sky as they sensed a powerful presence descending from above.
As they focused their vision, their eyes narrowed. One of the butlers standing on a balcony with neatly folded white clothes in his hands looked upward and muttered, "Wh-what is that?!" His hands trembled as he felt the spirit pressure surrounding the object that was descending directly toward the balcony.
The others also focused their spirit energy into their eyes to see more clearly. Only then did they realize it wasn’t an object...it was a person. The moment they sensed the spirit energy radiating from him, a chill ran down their spines. Only a few remained unaffected...the knights and guards stationed around the palace gates simply ignored the pressure as if it didn’t exist.
One of those Angelic Knights looked toward the balcony where the descending figure seemed to be heading. In the very next instant, he disappeared from his position and appeared a few feet away from the trembling butler before calmly saying, "Go do your job, don’t worry about that..."
The butler nodded immediately, the knight’s calm voice eased his nerves, and after giving a respectful bow he returned to his duties, his earlier shock slowly fading as he continued with his work.
Meanwhile, the Knight standing on the balcony wore nothing that would immediately make someone recognize him as a knight. He wore no heavy knight armor or anything similar. The only thing that identified him as a knight...was the spear resting in his right hand. In the Angelic Continent, that weapon alone was enough for anyone to recognize him as a Knight.
As he watched the person descending from the sky, his eyes narrowed slightly. ’An Elf...and an S-rank at that. ’What is he here for?...I should ask first, otherwise I might misunderstand the situation and create unnecessary trouble.’
With that thought, he immediately did his duty and spoke directly into the descending Elf’s mind through telepathy. ’What are you here for, Elven Individual? I don’t recognize you as anyone important from Queen Eliana’s side.’
The moment Alberion heard the voice inside his head, his eyes widened slightly and his descent slowed. ’An SS-rank Knight huh?...No wonder he knows Her Majesty’s name.’ After thinking for a brief moment, he answered through the same telepathic connection, ’I am Alberion, a newly appointed Knight of the Elven Continent. Queen Eliana personally sent me with a parchment to deliver to Queen Solaris of the Angelic Continent.’
The moment Alberion finished speaking, the Knight, who had been ready to throw the spear in his hand at the unknown intruder if necessary, recognized the situation. This Elf before him was none other than Alberion, the same Knight who had fought the Monster carrying Null inside the Elven forest.
SHIIING
The Knight lowered the spear until its tip touched the balcony floor, the metallic sound echoing across the surroundings. He spoke through telepathy once more, ’Alberion, is it? Come down. I will inspect your belongings first, then I will allow you to enter the Royal Hall.’
Alberion smiled faintly. ’Seems they aren’t that quick to jump to the wrong conclusions like those Humans...’ With that thought, he replied, ’Alright, I am coming down then.’
Only then did he increase his speed again. Within a few moments he landed on the balcony before the Knight and spoke, "Nice to meet you, Angelic Knight...Ah..." He stopped midway, realizing he didn’t know the Knight’s name.
"You can call me Arkas, Elven Knight Alberion," Arkas said after noticing the brief hesitation.
"Oh, thank you, Knight Arkas, though I think you should simply call me Alberion. I am lower than you in both Knight rank and Cultivation." Alberion replied with a slight respectful bow before lifting his head to hear Arkas speak again.
"Alright then, Alberion. I already checked you while you were descending. What I said earlier was only to test something. Now follow me to the Royal Hall where Her Majesty is waiting."
Hearing that, Alberion lifted his head again and smiled faintly before nodding.
’I thought this mission was going to be a rough one...but it seems I was wrong.’ Alberion recalled Queen Eliana’s words for a brief moment before seeing Arkas turn around and say, "Follow me."
Without a shred of hesitation, Alberion followed behind him. Their footsteps echoed through the wide palace corridors as they walked side by side. Alberion quietly observed the surroundings while walking. This was only the second palace he had ever entered, the first being the Royal Palace of the Elven Continent itself.
And with that, both of them continued toward the Royal Hall of the Angelic Queen...Solaris Clamorious.
- - -
Meanwhile...
In a completely different part of Celestara, Atlas stood before the massive double doors of the Cataclysm-rank Ruin he had received permission to enter. He stared at the entrance for a long moment before lowering his gaze to the permit in his hand.
’Hmm...the boss is supposed to be an S-rank, that is obvious...and there are dozens of A-ranks inside too...’
As he looked through the permit one last time, he calculated the outcome in his mind. Dozens of A-rank monsters meant dozens of chances to obtain new A-rank Traits, and at the end he would also gain another S-rank Trait from the boss. While thinking through those results, his mind suddenly returned to the conversation he had with Himalton inside the Guild.
Anyone would wonder why Atlas hadn’t simply refused Himalton’s invitation? If he trusted no one, then rejecting the offer would have been the obvious choice, right? But Atlas already knew the answer himself. He hadn’t refused because he was considering accepting it...for only two reasons.
The first reason was simple...Atlas wanted to observe how a Divine-rank Ruin operated before entering one himself. The second reason, however, was a terrifying truth. It was something Atlas knew no one would believe if he ever spoke about it. They would think he was exaggerating but...he knew it was the truth.
That truth was that Atlas had become so strong that he could defeat an SS-rank without much difficulty. After reaching S-rank he had felt the change himself. Just his physical strength alone had reached a ridiculous level. If he fought with his full strength, no one he had met so far would survive against him...and that included Himalton as well.
As to how he was so strong now? it was simple - A normal Explorer increased their physical strength only through Cultivation and years of exploring Ruins. Atlas, however, had two methods. The first was the same path every Explorer followed, while the second was the Bloodbound Codex. It continuously increased his Attributes, something no other Explorer could do.
Because of that, Atlas wasn’t worried about someone stabbing him in the back after entering the Divine-rank Ruin at all. He had already reached that conclusion while speaking with Himalton inside the Guild. More importantly...he still had two days left to prepare. By then, he would become even stronger than he was now.
Now one would also like to ask, why didn’t Atlas accept that request from Himalton then and there? if he was really that strong shouldn’t he appear like that in front of everyone? no one could do anything to him now except SSS-rank Individuals right?
And that would be plain stupid, if Atlas were to appear that strong when he was just an S-rank, one thing that would happen is none would believe him or if he showed instead of speaking even Guild staff will suspect him of some abomination or something similar, that’s what Atlas had already thought through...and precisely because of that reason Atlas still remained hidden, until he himself reached SSS-rank, he couldn’t just suddenly appear that strong when he was still weaker than some people.
In the first place he was getting strong enough to crush the Human continent’s King and all the Royal palace itself, so...this much strength was still no value to the goal he was chasing. His mind had gone through these conclusions even before this but...only now did they become firm.
After thinking through everything one last time, Atlas shifted his attention back to the massive Ruin before him. Without another word, he stepped forward.
Finally...he was about to explore and clear a Cataclysm-rank Ruin.
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