Chapter 3: Thinking Carefully, It Seems I Was Chosen
[...Item Identifying...Origin Knowledge Check Successful, Curio Knowledge Check Failed, World Knowledge Check Failed.]
[Identification Report: Fragment of Burning Steel · World Curio]
[Origin: The war between Order and Chaos has raged for eons, with victory and defeat, life and death cycling endlessly. In the worlds at the forefront of this war, repeated corruption and salvation are common occurrences, and the Burning Steel, representing proof of salvation, emerged accordingly. A Fragment of Burning Steel signifies that this salvation was not fully accomplished. The bearer must remember: temporary success or failure is irrelevant; as long as one holds faith, victory can be achieved.]
[Curio: A fragment burning with the fire of Order, perhaps it could have some unexpected uses?]
[World: The power of Order from Carlis accompanies you.]
[Summary: A crystalline fragment containing powerful Order energy. Although it appears solid, it is actually an ethereal existence, invisible to anyone other than the bearer.]
Others can't see it?
Holding this burning steel fragment in his hand, Joshua felt no heat in his palm, only waves of Order fluctuations emanating from it. But neither the knights beside him nor the white-haired mage in the distance seemed to notice anything; their expressions were normal as they walked through the dwarven underground tunnel, as if the warrior held nothing at all.
"It seems that's really the case."
Casually putting the item away, Joshua decided to study it later when he had time. For now, he just wanted to rest properly.
Before long, the large group led by Moria returned to the underground residential area.
Without unnecessary formalities or ceremonies, the dwarves, who had long been prepared, arranged rooms and food for everyone. None of those present had the energy for a gathering; Joshua and his group were exhausted, while Nostradamus and the others were still in the throes of shock. The old mage, in particular, aside from being stunned by Joshua tearing open the spatial gate with his bare hands, also needed to quickly send news of the three's return to the Imperial Capital.
After briefly bidding farewell to his friends, Joshua returned to the room the dwarves had prepared for him. He entered the bathroom, removed his armor, and shed his blood-soaked clothes. The warrior soaked in the geothermal bath unique to the lava region, feeling all his fatigue washed away by the warm water, and couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh.
"In my Soulflame King state, it seems I sent back all the foreign souls or people who accidentally came to the Carlis World." Amidst the rising steam, Joshua muttered to himself, "As for Ying, she should be awake by now?"
"Thinking carefully, Master, this trip to another world seemed to accomplish nothing except killing many Wild Gods."
Standing nearby, Lin took the battered armor, threw the tattered clothes into a waste bin, and handed Joshua new garments. As a Divine Mechanism with a psionic body, he didn't need to wash himself. After finishing these chores, he stood by the bath, sighed lightly, and said, "I hope Sister can wake up. Otherwise, after all this fighting, we've gained nothing at all."
Hearing this, Joshua recalled something. He turned to look at his Divine Mechanism and asked curiously, "Lin, after killing so many Wild Gods this time, do you feel like you're about to advance?"
"Me?"
Pausing for a moment, Lin frowned. He closed his eyes, seemingly sensing his own state. "Hmm... it seems I'm still a bit short, not much, it should come soon... but it's strange. By all rights, it should have been enough—that was several thousand Wild Gods..."
Saying this, the Divine Mechanism youth crossed his arms over his chest and muttered in confusion, "How could it be lacking?"
It seems the Soulflame King mode didn't just burn my own experience—it didn't spare my weapon either.
Nodding slightly, Joshua found the reason and made a mental note. He then stopped dwelling on these matters and instead relaxed his body in the hot water, enjoying the rest after battle.
The next day.
In the conference room.
Joshua roughly recounted his experiences in the other world to Nostradamus.
From the accidental entry into the Carlis World, breaking through the mist, encountering the Steel Crystal Rain and the mobile fortress, then exploring the fortress, meeting the Artificial Intelligence, and encountering the Wild Gods—Joshua didn't hide anything in this regard. He even told the old mage about fighting the Ultimate Wild God afterward and killing it with the help of Number Three.
These matters needed no concealment; speaking of them could help him gain more prestige.
Of course, he didn't mention being chosen by the World Will, temporarily entering the Soulflame King state, and then killing the other three Ultimate Wild Gods—such things were too surreal to speak of. Even Joshua himself felt it was like a dream, let alone expecting others to believe it.
Besides, at that time, everyone else was buried underground and didn't see his battle process.
However, even killing just one Ultimate Wild God was already incredibly impressive—this could be seen from Nostradamus's expression. The old mage was completely shocked by the news, his eyes wide open, his right hand, bearing three magic rings, gripping the armrest of his chair so tightly it seemed he might snap it.
"Even with my strength, it would be unlikely for me to kill an Ultimate Wild God amidst a siege of Wild Gods."
The old mage murmured, "In a world filled with Chaos power, the effectiveness of magic is weakened... It seems, if not for the Chaos Warden and the Azure Orb, even if another Ultimate warrior were sent, they couldn't have done better than you."
Saying this, Nostradamus hesitated for a moment, then paused and asked, "But, after all, the other side of the spatial gate was a complete world. Wasn't there a Legendary-rank Wild God there?"
"There definitely was."
Joshua answered bluntly, "But Legendary-rank is already the strongest combat power below the gods. Even if there were, they should be wandering the Void with the Evil Gods, not staying in a world long corrupted, waiting for destruction."
After speaking, Joshua thought for a moment and then said, "If I'm not mistaken, the Ultimate Wild God was the highest combat power there, and the spatial passage will be peaceful for a few years. I think you can sense it too—the nearby spatial fluctuations have stabilized. If nothing unexpected happens, fixed-point teleportation should now be possible."
"Indeed." Nostradamus nodded, having also noticed this. "This way, the four Northern Territories, an exclave isolated from the core region of the Empire for four hundred years, can finally be integrated into the teleportation channel network."
For the Northern Empire, the Northern Territories, which couldn't have a teleportation channel network laid due to the spatial passage, were an exclave outside the core, completely uncontrollable. Only places with teleportation channels, capable of rapidly transporting high-level combat power, could be considered true Imperial territory.
The subsequent discussion leaned toward the costs of laying teleportation channels and policy tendencies for future commercial cooperation. After roughly determining the policy direction, this not-so-long conversation ended.
The next morning.
On the surface, by the lava lake, knights clad in silver-white armor stood behind their lord, holding their warhorses, awaiting orders.
Beside them were thirty-two Silver-rank academy mages, wearing silver-patterned white robes, gathered in small groups on the black ground, discussing academic matters.
"If there's another chance, let's discuss the matter of Mana Armor again."
Before the formation, Joshua was bidding farewell to Moria and the others. He extended an invitation to the old dwarf, "I'm really looking forward to your craftsmanship, Master. If you forge it, you'll surely perfectly recreate every effect in the design drawing."
"Once I've roughly handled matters within my clan, I'll definitely visit."
Moria stroked his beard, the iron rings on it clinking together with a clattering sound. He laughed, "With the teleportation channel about to be laid, meeting in the future might just require paying the teleportation fee, no need to travel for days."
Beside him stood Claire, who had no intention of returning with the warrior. According to the elf druid, she planned to continue to other parts of the Northern Territories, spreading Sun Vine seeds to purify the land corrupted by Chaos.
"This accident cost you a lot of precious seeds."
Joshua said apologetically to the green-haired elf, "If it weren't for the Steel Crystals I brought, you wouldn't have been pulled into the spatial passage."
"External possessions mean nothing, and this was an accident, not your fault."
Claire didn't mind. She looked at Joshua's black hair streaked with white and shook her head, "On the contrary, you fought the Ultimate Wild God to protect us and the fortress, consuming a lot of life force... I should be thanking you."
Saying this, the elf smiled and said, "I've already notified my family in the Far South... the fruit of the Mother Tree of Life has a powerful healing effect on life force depletion. Please don't refuse when the time comes."
How could Joshua refuse? The fruit of the elf's Mother Tree of Life was a Transcendent-rank magic fruit, capable of permanently increasing attributes and maximum health. Even in his past life, he couldn't eat them whenever he wanted.
Joshua vaguely remembered that the first time he ate a fruit of the Mother Tree of Life in his past life was when he helped an elf clan hunt a Wind Elemental Lord that had evolved from a sub-dragon, the Wind Rider Snader, in the Azure Wasteland. Because the mission completion was perfect, he received three fruits.
Now, since the elf was so courteous, he simply accepted.
At the center of the formation, Nostradamus, who was preparing the teleportation spell, had it ready.
Blue ripples spread outward from the old mage, enveloping the formation of knights and mages, vaguely forming a massive and complex magic circle on the ground. Nostradamus maintained the teleportation circle, seemingly still able to speak, "Ready to depart at any time."
Hearing this, Joshua bid farewell to Moria and Claire and returned to the ranks. He led his warhorse and stood at the front of the knights.
With a twist of spatial fluctuations, they returned to the main city of Moldavia.
(To be continued.)