Carl's face was ashen as he walked out of the Great Oasis. He limped out of the desert, having sustained a few fractures from a close encounter with a dangerous Magical Beast in the Nascent Soul Realm.
His bodyguards, who previously numbered in the dozens, had been reduced to a mere six during their excursion through the Inner Zones. The survivors walked at an even slower pace than Carl, suffering from various deep wounds that would become infected if not treated soon enough.
Many had died while protecting Carl, whose value was well above their own given his status. They didn't like the idea of laying down their lives for a spoiled young man, but they knew their heads would roll upon returning to their family headquarters regardless.
Even their healers, who were supposed to be carefully positioned in the center of the group with Carl, had made a mistake and allowed a Darkness-Elemental Magical Beast to sneak into their shadows and ambush them in broad daylight.
Carl's group was caught completely off guard by this. The information they had on the Great Oasis suggested that Darkness-Elemental Beasts were incredibly rare, and only went out during the night-time.
"Do we have any medicine left?" Carl asked a bearded man whose upper face was veiled by a black hood.
The bodyguard shook his head, "We only have a few bottles of pain relief."
He took out a small jar filled with about a dozen pale white pills and offered them to Carl, who promptly shook his head.
"No thanks, Gemini. If I need pain pills for something , I won't last through my first Tribulation. Give them to the others, they need it more than me."
Gemini did as he was told and distributed the pills throughout the group, thankful that his young master had grown a bit during their trip. They consumed the pills, causing their pain to ease up in an instant.
Carl pulled out a map and traced it with a small amount of Mana to reveal their current position. "If we follow the recommended path exactly, we should return to the Five Elements Sect in about four days. Do you think you all can make it?"
"We can," Gemini replied, "but given our current condition, it would be best to spend a day resting in between."
"Five days then, ok." Carl put away the map and continued forward.
A bodyguard approached from behind, "Young master, we have a problem."
"I can sense a tide of Magical Beasts three kilometers to our left. It looks like they're getting closer."
"We can, but we would probably lose a few days. Oh shit, they're heading directly towards us!"
Carl scratched his head. What is going on with the Magical Beasts lately? They've been too aggressive, and their intelligence is much too high to be normal.
"Let's hide underground. Do you have enough Mana?" Carl asked.
"Yes Sir," the bodyguard replied as he controlled the sand to harden and open up into a cavern.
The group rushed inside while the first bodyguard reinforced the walls and ceiling. He closed the entrance once the last person entered, then multiple pillars were raised from the floor to act as additional support for the ceiling.
Carl and the bodyguards concealed their Mana signatures and hid away. Minutes later, the calm rumbling of over a hundred Magical Beasts caused sand to fall on their heads, but no one dared to make a sound.
The rumbling changed in tone, replaced by a crunching sound, as if someone was walking through leaves or stepping on sticks and twigs while in a dense forest.
The temperature inside the caverns seemed to go up slightly, but the group was over forty meters underground, so they didn't understand why.
After the Magical Beasts passed the group, they refrained from speaking for an additional thirty minutes just in case. The bodyguard opened up the entrance and ushered everyone outside one by one.
The first bodyguard outside paused, causing the second one to bump into his back.
"What is it, brother? Just move forward, we're all behind you." the second grumbled. Read full story at Nove1Fire.net
The first bodyguard didn't seem to hear him, however, and continued to stand still. The second bodyguard pushed him aside and rushed out of the cavern, only to stand still just like the first bodyguard.
Carl, who was next in line, looked at the two bodyguards in confusion. "What is it, is something wrong?"
The second bodyguard responded with a shaky voice. He stepped to the side to allow Carl passage, then said, "Young master, you might want to see this."
Carl nodded and stepped out of the cavern, but he couldn't remain calm when he saw what had caused the other two bodyguards to stop.
The desert could no longer be called a desert. What used to be a series of sand dunes was replaced by glass, and the sparse vegetation was charred black as if it had roasted for six hours in a campfire.
"Welcome back, Core Disciple Fria." Elder Fan said with clasped hands and a wide smile as Fria stepped out of the portal to the Gravitas Ruins.
The same was happening elsewhere, many Sect Masters and Elders greeting their Disciples as they returned from the Ancient Ruin safely. As more and more Disciples exited the portal, some of the Sects became worried.
Isn't this outcome a bit too small compared to before?
Almost four thousand Cultivators entered the Gravitas Ruins, but only a few hundred came out. Did the others die?
The Sect Masters decided to ask their Disciples about it when they returned to the Sect.
Fria looked at Elder Fan, who had been her mentor throughout her entire time spent playing the game. Even though he was an NPC, she treated him like a grandfather she never had.
The old man was always around when she needed his advice, and she would sometimes turn to him with problems related to the real world. Of course, the man didn't understand many of her concerns, but he was still a big help.
"Thank you, Mentor Fan." she replied with a calm smile.
"Where are the others?" Elder Fan asked.
Fria became slightly angry as she remembered how one of her fellow Disciples relentlessly tried to approach her after meeting up in the Gravitas Ruins.
No matter how many times she said no, he couldn't seem to get it through his thick skull until she pierced through it with her ethereal sword. She wondered why someone would program such a personality into an NPC.
"I don't know, but they're probably all dead."
Besides the one specific individual, Fria's words were true. She hadn't met with any of her other Sect Members inside the Ruins, so they had probably died while attempting one of the many trials.
Elder Fan nodded. It was normal for people to die in the Gravitas Ruins. They had expected this from the beginning, which was why he was so worried when Fria went in, considering she was so powerful already.
He had argued with the Sect Master about this for a long time, but in the end he wasn't powerful enough to change their decision. Elder Fan could only be thankful that at least Fria came out of the Gravitas Ruins safe and sound.
"Did you acquire anything good?" he asked.
Fria nodded. She took out about a dozen Miniature Soul Stones and a few Starmetal weapons, among other less useful treasures that she gained from the trial tower. "I don't need these; can I trade them into the Sect for Contribution Points?"
Elder Fan looked at the array of treasures in shock. He had never seen someone come back with so many rewards before, and Fria said she didn't need these? The gains definitely weren't small this time!
He smiled and waved his hand to put the treasures in his Space Ring, "Come with me, young miss. Let's go see the Sect Master first, he's probably just as eager for your return as I was."
"Where is he?" Fria asked.
When she was dropped off at the entrance to the Gravitas Ruins, her Sect Master had brought them personally. Now, he was completely absent. Did something happen?
Elder Fan leaned in close to Fria and used an Intermediate Array to prevent others from eavesdropping, "It seems someone tried to enslave the Sect Master recently. He's currently healing from his wounds in a discreet location."
Fria's eyes widened, "Who would dare to do something like that?"
Better yet, how strong was his opponent to wound him?
"We don't know, but I'll take you to see him so you're informed."
"Is that really alright? I'm just a Core Disciple." Fria knew her position in the Sect, it was higher than the other Disciples, but not quite so high to be treated in this manner.
"It's quite alright. Your combat power is approaching mine already. A few years and you might surpass me. Come on, let's go." Elder Fan ushered Fria through a portal back to the Sect.