Chapter 396 Back to the Elven Continent
?396 Back to the Elven Continent
"We Surrender, Please Spare Us," Alex heard the twins scream as they threw their weapons away the moment Scorpion's life slipped away.
Alex sensed the light barrier fall and saw the twins backing away, their weapons lying meters away from them. At first, he thought they were trying to buy time to use the skill and was ready to plunge them into a nightmarish illusion and an Abbassal lightning storm.
But he stopped, not seeing any aura change in them or mana moving through their heart, making it clear that they were not preparing for an attack.
So, Alex let Scorpion's dead body fall to the ground as he stopped using the enclave, making the darkness dissipate, and descended to the ground while still keeping his guard up.
"We are willing to leave this line of work and even pay for our crime with service, so please spare us," The female twin named Zelia said, keeping her hand raised, fear and alertness evident in her eyes.
"I presume you both were slaves to Scorpion," Alex asked, understanding that their decision to leave the path of a bandit was not made in the heat of the battle.
"Fifteen years, we were eleven years old when he bought us, and for years, we tried to buy back our lives, but that scum never agreed to it," Zelia said as she looked at the dead man with hateful eyes.
While Alex felt empathy for what the two went through for most of their adult life, he was also glad they hadn't succumbed to the dark path of brutality, always striving for a better path.
"Take a law oath never to walk the path of banditry again and live a life for the good of the world, and then you both are free to go," Alex said, happy to offer them a chance of redemption.
The twins' faces lit up as they signed in relief and, without wasting any time, took the oath and thanked Alex for sparing them and giving them a second chance.
"Zelia, use your illusion skill on me," Alex said, as the thought of him having a blatant weakness that could cost him his, even if he was prepared, didn't sit well with him. After consuming the evolution fruit and his Fourth Rank promotion, Alex had tested his mental strength, and it far surpassed what even a genius could achieve.
The results only improved when he was at his absolute physical and mental peak, but he never tested it against an innate ability like Luminal Mirage that could surely push the normal boundaries of skill on the same Rank.
Zelia looked confused, maybe by his request or how he knew her trump card she kept secret, but as he was her benefactor, she didn't question his request and used telekinesis to pick up her staff and firmly held it, instantly changing her aura.
Zelia's eyes glowed with light as dense mana pulsed around her staff, and a moment later, an intricate ethereal rune appeared above Alex's head.
For a brief moment, Alex's mind plunged into darkness, a stark realization that he was locked in a battle for control. Simultaneously, the intensity of the darkness in his eyes heightened, emanating an ethereal aura that oozed out from his pupils, transforming them into abyssal depths resembling two bottomless holes.
"How long did it last," Alex said out loud, his eyes itching and head hurting with his thoughts being clouded.
"Less than Two seconds," Zelia exclaimed, her eyes widening as she witnessed the ancient rune on Alex's head crumbling away, the shock of the event evident in her eyes.
'It could have been worse, but if she can take me out for a moment, then surely can those demon sin champions,' Alex thought, not feeling any kind of emotions toward the result besides thinking about needing to improve.
Alex understood his results were exceptional, with hardly anyone capable of replicating them even if they were stronger than him, yet he also knew that his enemies were elites among the elites.
Alex told the twins to tell their former group members to leave while they could and get away from this place as quickly as they could before he took his leave, and as he had some time, he decided to clear the final mission.
The two races he picked to learn about were Humans and Beastmen, both being major clans but also easiest to interact with and learn about their struggles.
Alex spent the following few hours in various pubs, paying for drinks and learning about the struggles of each clan, and compared to the dwarfs, he needed to learn much more about both clans to clear the mission.
While the humans were the only major clan not struggling with workforce or maintaining their influence because of their reproduction rate, they faced a much bigger problem as the one Human Empire was unofficially split into five kingdoms.
The majority of the Empire was under the Rule of the true Human Monarch, but there was a three-way, unhidden struggle for power between his two sons and a daughter.
The last individual in this struggle controlled or even a bit around 30% of the official powers and had vast influence among the humans, and he was the Man the domain knew as the Human Saint. Alex didn't learn everything in detail, but he understood that the calm among the humans was just until the Human Saint was willing to keep it because, as the current strongest human and leader of the group calledEternal Servants, he held enough influence to carve his own kingdom any day he desired.
The Beast Empire was fairing quite better because the one with the purest and strongest bloodline ruled among them, so the struggle for the throne was not a concern.
Their numbers were also sufficient, so they didn't face any workforce issues to run their society, but the same was not true for the various sub-beast clans they ruled, so a lot of their manpower and resources were spent providng for them.
Alex was able to complete the mission with still a few hours to spare, so he decided to contact Venedikt and ask him how the process of consuming the Beast Monarch hearts was going for Andrei.
Alex had given Venedikt all four Beast Monarch Hearts before he left the Auction house and instructed him to make Andrei consume them according to their numbers.
But for the time being, he told him to make him consume just the second heart and then share the results with him because he wanted to confirm something first.
Alex was well aware of the pain that each subsequent heart caused when consumed, and while each one gave a major boost to strength and other benefits, he had heard that each one came with a challenge that the few who were lucky or unlucky enough to consume them shared to be a battle of wills.
Alex had no understanding of this topic or even knew with certainty if it was true and not a rumor given life by the players, but out of caution, he told Venedikt to get the results of the second heart and share them with him.
As he had expected, Andrei was certain he faced a challenge and cleared it, but he couldn't seem to recall anything about it.
Andrei was also thrilled as he received a boost of 1 to 3k in each stat and stated he didn't feel any weakness, but out of caution, Alex told Venedikt to wait three days before making him ingest the third heart.
Andrei currently had 13 to 15k in each stat, and by the looks of things, he would reach stat maximization without even needing to ingest all five hearts, making him a Zenith Mortal, a wild achievement that very in history had achieved.
Venedikt was also progressing at a fine pace as the skill he gained from his physique allowed him to extract the essence void to strengthen his physique, increasing his stats at a moderate pace.
So, the chances of him reaching the stat maximization were high, and with Alex planning to use the Ruler shop to help him, those chances only grew.
Now done with the various tasks, Alex went to the human continent and then to the Elven Continent and made his way to the hidden space.
As Alex entered the hidden space, he was welcomed by a individual towering at over 6.8 feet, possessing the well-
proportioned physique of a seasoned warrior.
His striking looks could easily rival that of the most aesthetically pleasing females, and his radiant white hair flowed gracefully down his shoulders with eyes that had rich white pupils, making them look ghostly yet captivating.
The individual was none other than Boras, who had lost his childish vibe and now had gained confidence and a noble aura.
After the greetings, he dropped his head and thanked Alex and the organization for the opportunity, having become at ease with his identity.