Sylas looked up into the skies. His gaze was frighteningly cold at the moment, and truthfully, rather than fear, he felt completely infuriated. At that moment, he realized something profound about this world.
When he entered the Slithering Madness Dungeon and ended up losing three months of improvement time, he blamed himself. When he entered the Basilisk King’s Dungeon and lost consciousness after a breakthrough and a Title was granted to him, he blamed himself. When he got stuck in the volcano and lost consciousness once again because of the disk, he blamed himself.
But what had he done wrong this time? He just happened to kill the wrong beast? And now a practically sure-death Quicktime Event was triggered with him as the main character? How could you even avoid this? By digging a hole for yourself, jumping inside, and never coming out?
And then what? Would you just never improve? Would you just watch as the world you were born and raised in was razed to the ground and taken over by greedy otherworlders? The more Sylas thought about it, the more furious he became.
Right then, he understood what the Madness Key meant more than ever.
[How do I complete the Summoned Ascension?]
There was no other explanation, no amount of planning, no amount of caution, and apparently no amount of Luck that would help him. What had his Luck done but let him know a few seconds earlier that something was coming? Even it couldn’t stop this.
The only path forward was to become so strong, so in control of everything, that it didn’t matter what was thrown at you. In the end, there would only be one path out. Victory.
A fiery light burned in Sylas’ eyes, and the Basilisk King felt shaken for a moment. When it looked at Sylas, it was as though his entire body was covered in raging green flames.
Sylas reached out a hand and touched the Basilisk King. It was quickly sent into the Hibernation Realm. Then, he turned around and shot toward the deeper parts of the forest. There was still a beacon above his head, but it was fading. In the end, there was nothing but a faint aura and a golden badge hanging over his head.
However, the Arctic Emperor Cobra had already spotted the pillar. As though it instinctively knew what it had to do, it released a menacing roar.
As Sylas ran, he felt his hair stand on end. It was the kind of roar he had only ever heard in movie theaters, the kind of roar that could only be released by an ancient, slumbering beast that had been truly infuriated to its limits.
The army of Arctic King Cobras surged toward the forest.
While this was happening, notifications of the Quicktime Event were sent all over the region. Anyone within a few hours was given this very same notification.
Chaos broke out because it wasn’t just those that hit the Level Requirement that were given access. In fact, there had yet to be a single Level 20 on Earth as far as the Leaderboards were concerned. This was the first time a Quest notification was spread to so many people at once, and many of those that felt that they had missed out by not entering the Trial were already beginning to grow antsy.
The government immediately activated a trained protocol, increasing security. However, it was inevitable that some would slip through the cracks. Unfortunately, the government didn’t have time to mind them because if this notification was true, then this was the largest opportunity to appear since the start of the Summoned Ascension. A Level 20 recommendation was bound to come with unfathomable rewards.
“You three will go as the hidden force. The rest will be the vanguard to temperature check the situation. That region is much closer to their territory, so do not expose yourselves too easily or there may be a trap lying in wait.”
The three figures nodded. Wearing black military garb, and even having rifles strapped to their backs, they looked forward coldly, their posture impeccable and their Aether swirling in the depths of their eyes.
Soon, they left the office only to be surrounded by at least a hundred other government members, each one ready for battle. If the recommended Level was so high, the only way for them to make up for it was with numbers. The good thing about these Quicktime Events was precisely that there were no such limits.
A fake commander gave out his orders, but the three men and women followed as though they were just one of the crew without the slightest reluctance.
The college had an ancient feel to it, one that made it look more like a lost school of magic than it did a place of modern education. The bricks were wreathed in vines, moss, and aged browns, the buildings were tall, but not too much so, and there seemed to be hidden underground passages dotted across the campus.
Of course, these underground passages were just meant to make traveling from class to class in the dead of winter far more convenient, but without this context, it really did feel like something mysterious was going on. At that moment, in one of these underground passages, a similar meeting was going on, but all of their faces were shrouded by mystery.
“The vanguard has already set out. You alone will be going this time.”
“Damn, no support? What am I supposed to do alone, boss? Where’s the justice?”
The man seemed used to the young man’s antics and didn’t react very strongly to this matter at all.
“During the last operation, you lost us several Bronze Genes—”
“Hey! That wasn’t my fault! Didn’t we succeed?! Plus, that guy was—”
The man held up a hand.
“The government will expect us to send a lot of elites, but our thoughts are elsewhere. This will be your chance to redeem yourself, and if you can claim this victory, you will be rewarded.”
“Alright, alright, I’m going.”
The young man waved a hand and headed out, still mumbling to himself.
“I wonder which poor bastard got this hat placed on his head.”
If Sylas had been there, he would recognize this young man immediately.