Chapter 114: Epic Heaven Gate
Floor 18.
In the middle of the Sea of Sand, so vast that no end could be seen, a white parasol was planted at an angle on top of a sand dune. Ethan sat beneath it, leaning back against a folding chair, one leg stretched straight while the other was slightly bent. Beside him were a bottle of cold water and several pieces of sliced fruit.
The Primordial Armor still covered his left arm, but aside from that, his current appearance did not look anything like someone conquering the eighteenth floor of the Abyss Tower.
Ethan yawned. Just as he raised a hand to cover his mouth, a loud explosion rang out in the distance.
Boom!
A scorpion nearly ten meters long was knocked off the surface of the sand. Its massive body spun several times in midair, its eight legs thrashing violently, its venomous tail whipping wildly behind it. Before it could fall, a tall figure had already appeared directly above it.
Laira spun in midair. Behind her, one dragon wing appeared, the part reconstructed by the Thunder Wings covered in red-purple electric lines. She borrowed the force to dive down, her right foot stomping straight onto the monster’s head.
Rumble!
The scorpion’s head was forced deep into the sand. A ring of Thunderfire erupted from the point of impact, running along every gap in its armor. A series of explosions rang out, and its massive body twitched violently a few times before lying still.
Several hundred meters away, Ruo Yan’s side was not any quieter.
The Necromancer held the legs of a desert lizard more than six meters long, swinging it through the air like a mace. Ruo Yan stood on a nearby boulder, both hands controlling the Soul Threads. When a third monster suddenly rushed up from beneath the sand, she only shifted her wrist slightly.
The Necromancer immediately released the lizard in its hand, turned, and threw a punch.
Smack!
The monster that had just emerged was sent flying backward. Its body rolled across the sand before crashing into a stone pillar.
Ethan observed everything through his sunglasses. He stayed silent for a few seconds, then picked up the water bottle and took a sip.
"A little boring."
If this were one month ago, Ethan definitely would not have believed he could say such a sentence while inside the Abyss Tower.
The first time he was pulled into this place, he had not even opened the Heaven Gate. Every floor could take his life. If he used the Eye of Truth for too long, his eyes would hurt until they bled, while Laira’s strength had still been sealed at that time, preventing her from displaying her full power.
Floor four, floor five, the Orc King, the limited Blind Box...
Every step had to be calculated. A single mistake could have killed him and Laira on the spot.
But now, he had a parasol, cold water, a folding chair, and two Partners running all over the desert, dealing with monsters as if they were playing some kind of entertainment game.
The corner of Ethan’s mouth curved slightly.
’A desert vacation ticket?’
The thought had only just appeared when an even louder explosion rang out in the distance. Sand was blasted nearly twenty meters high before pouring down like rain, covering an entire section of the sky.
Ethan looked at the scene for a few seconds, then slowly added in his heart.
’Maybe a little noisy.’
Even so, it was precisely this overwhelming difference that made him realize a problem he had overlooked before.
From Floor 10 to Floor 18, the monsters had become stronger and stronger, and their numbers had also increased clearly. If the difficulty was only adjusted based on Ethan’s level, the later floors were still dangerous enough for an ordinary Silver Rank Awakened.
But his combat power had never been decided by level alone.
Ethan lowered his gaze to the Primordial Armor covering his left arm.
This thing did not come from his level. The Thunder Wings were the same.
Laira’s Sunfire Divine Seal, Thunderfire, the Necromancer, Owin’s inheritance, and even the Cataclysmic Thunder Gate sleeping inside his body were all things that far exceeded the limits of his current Silver Rank.
The trial space could adjust difficulty based on the participant’s level, but it could not strip away what they already possessed.
Ethan propped his elbow on his knee. The laziness in his eyes gradually disappeared.
’I was still too focused on level.’
Energy Crystals could make him stronger. Expanding the Heaven Gate could do the same. But as long as he opened a good enough Blind Box, received a powerful skill, or obtained a piece of equipment that far exceeded his current level, his combat power could also change completely.
Sometimes, the effect could even be greater than advancing by several minor stages.
Ethan thought of the one thousand C-rank Energy Crystals still intact in Silver Moon City. After returning, he would naturally absorb them, but from now on, he would no longer treat crystals as the only path.
Blind Boxes were the things that could break the ordinary limits of this world.
A person could level up more slowly than their opponent, but if they held something powerful enough to close the gap, the outcome of the battle would no longer be decided by numbers on paper.
A sudden strong gust of wind pulled Ethan out of his thoughts. The shade in front of him expanded, blocking almost all the sunlight.
He raised his head.
Laira had just landed beside the parasol. With her height of nearly two meters and twenty centimeters, just standing there allowed her to block another large patch of sunlight. Her crimson hair was slightly messy from the wind, and there were a few grains of sand on her shoulder, but her breathing remained steady, completely unlike someone who had just fought continuously for more than an hour.
She withdrew the wing behind her, bent down to look at Ethan, and calmly reported, "Done."
Ethan handed her the water bottle. Laira accepted it, tilted her head back, and took a large gulp before sitting down on the chair beside him. The metal frame immediately let out a creak.
Ethan turned to look.
Laira also lowered her head to look at the chair beneath her. She shifted slightly, then said, "It probably will not break."
"That sentence makes me even more worried."
"I am lighter than an ordinary adult dragon."
"That is not the standard meant for chairs."
Laira laughed and had absolutely no intention of standing up. She took another sip of water, while Ethan looked toward the battlefield and asked, "Where is Ruo Yan?"
"Digging up a corpse."
Ethan paused. "Digging up a corpse?"
Laira nodded very naturally. "A worm burrowed into the sand after dying. She said its outer armor could still be used, so she made the Necromancer dig it up."
Ethan was silent for two seconds, then nodded.
"That is very much like her."
At that moment, the familiar sound of the System rang out.
[All targets on Floor 18 have been eliminated.]
[Trial completed.]
Ethan immediately stood up. A white light appeared beneath his feet and quickly spread out, covering the surrounding sand.
Ruo Yan had also just returned. Behind her, the Necromancer was dragging a section of sand worm body more than ten meters long. The moment she saw the light beneath the three of them, she immediately stopped, and the hand controlling the Soul Threads also lowered.
"What is happening?"
Before Ethan could answer, new notifications appeared one after another.
[Floor 18 has been cleared.]
[Conditions met to establish a new anchor point.]
[Floor 18 anchor point is forming.]
[Detected that the Heaven Gate has completed the conditions for evolution.]
[S-rank Heaven Gate begins evolution.]
Ethan’s gaze changed at once.
The space behind him trembled. Silver ripples spread through the air, and then a massive gate slowly emerged.
Heaven Gate.
Compared to when it had first opened on Floor 9, the patterns on the surface of the gate had become far more complex. Silver light ran along the frame, flowing into every pattern, causing them to automatically separate and reconnect into a completely new structure.
Ethan was still observing when a massive surge of energy suddenly poured into his body.
Boom!
His legs sank into the sand. His right hand clenched tightly, and the muscles throughout his body tensed. The Heaven Gate behind him widened, and the energy accumulated through the nine floors he had just cleared immediately poured down like a river breaking through a dam.
The aura of Silver Rank stage 2 on Ethan rose at an astonishing speed.
Stage 3.
Stage 4.
Laira immediately sensed the change through their Partner link. A similar surge of energy flowed into her body, causing red-purple Thunderfire lines to appear along her arm before quickly sinking beneath her skin.
Ruo Yan also froze. The Soul Thread connecting her and Ethan trembled violently, sending a portion of the new power into her body.
Only when Ethan’s aura reached Silver Rank stage 5 did the speed of growth slowly stop.
Laira sensed the strength in her body, and the corner of her mouth immediately curved up. "Stage five."
Ethan did not answer. His gaze remained fixed on the Heaven Gate.
The massive gate behind him had completely changed. Between the silver light were pale golden lines, and the energy it radiated had become so dense that the surrounding space continuously fluctuated.
A new notification appeared before his eyes.
[Evolution completed.]
[Heaven Gate: Rank S → Epic.]
[Detected that the current foundation is incompatible with the new Heaven Gate structure.]
[Reconstructing.]
Ethan frowned.
Immediately afterward, the aura that had just reached Silver Rank stage 5 suddenly dropped.
Stage 4.
The smile on Laira’s face instantly disappeared. Ruo Yan also quickly stepped forward, her gaze never leaving Ethan.
"Ethan?"
Stage 3.
Stage 2.
When his aura returned to Silver Rank stage 1, Laira was already standing right beside him. She bent down, one hand gripping his shoulder tightly, her voice clearly tense.
"Does it hurt?"
"No."
Ethan closed his eyes and focused on sensing his body.
His level had indeed returned to Silver Rank stage 1, but the energy inside him was completely different from before.
When he had first entered Floor 10, the energy in his body had been like a river. Now, that river had been compressed, every portion of energy far denser than before. His energy channels had expanded, and his body could withstand greater pressure. Even the Primordial Armor on his left arm responded faster to his thoughts.
Ethan clenched his right fist.
Pop!
The air around his fist exploded. The sand beneath his feet was pushed outward in a small circle.
Laira stared at him. "Did you become weaker?"
"The opposite."
Ethan opened his eyes, the corner of his mouth slowly curving up.
"I am even stronger than when I had just reached Silver Rank stage 5."
Ruo Yan frowned, but the tension in her eyes had eased. "Then why did your level drop?"
Ethan lowered his gaze to his hand, thought for a few seconds, then replied, "Perhaps the Heaven Gate is rebuilding the foundation. It is like a building whose foundation was only enough to support a few floors. The energy just now forcibly built it higher, then the Heaven Gate tore those floors down again to reinforce the foundation."
Ruo Yan looked at the silver-gold lines on the gate behind him and gradually understood. "The levels that increased have vanished, but the body transformed during that process remains the same?"
"Correct." Ethan raised his head and looked at the Epic Heaven Gate. "Now I am only Silver Rank stage 1, but the foundation is probably enough to build a much taller structure."
After hearing this, Laira immediately raised one finger. A small flame of Thunderfire appeared on her fingertip. The moment the flame ignited, the sand beneath her feet turned black.
Her eyes lit up. "I am stronger too."
Ruo Yan pulled a Soul Thread between her fingers. The thread, which had once been almost transparent, was now a little clearer. Every time she moved her fingers, it responded immediately, with none of the extra fluctuations from before.
The corner of Ruo Yan’s mouth curved up as well.
Before the three of them could check any further, the entire world suddenly stopped.
The grains of sand flying through the air froze. Laira’s crimson hair stopped moving, and the smile that had just appeared on Ruo Yan’s face also froze in place.
The moment Ethan saw that scene, he understood what was about to happen.
’Again.’
Darkness immediately descended.
When Ethan opened his eyes again, the Sea of Sand had vanished.
Around him was only endless darkness. Neither Laira nor Ruo Yan was present. In that space, only he remained, along with the gigantic eye slowly opening in front of him.
Pressure instantly fell onto Ethan’s shoulders.
During their first meeting, that gaze alone had been enough to make him feel like an ant standing before an existence he could not understand. But this time, his body only sank slightly. His legs remained steady, and his back remained straight.
Ethan raised his head.
The Eye of the Void looked at him.
He calmly looked back.
Silence stretched through the darkness. After a while, Ethan slowly laughed.
"It is you again."
The gigantic eye did not react.
Ethan raised his left arm. Purple-black lines had already begun appearing along the seams of the Primordial Armor.
"The first time I met you, I once thought that as long as you wanted, you could crush me to death at any moment." His gaze swept across the lines of light gradually spreading toward his shoulder. "But after what happened with Ryan, I understood one thing."
The black space around him trembled slightly.
Ethan looked straight at the eye before him, his voice still calm.
"Every time you want to touch me, you have to borrow something else. Flames, people, or things beside me."
The gigantic pupil contracted slightly.
That reaction was very small, but Ethan saw it.
The curve of his lips became clearer.
"Then let me guess." Ethan slowly clenched his left hand. "You want to come yourself, but you cannot."
Boom!
The black space shook violently.
A greater pressure poured down. The Void Fire in his left arm immediately erupted, causing the purple-black lines to run along the Primordial Armor and spread all the way near his shoulder.
The scorching heat pierced into the arm he had lost. The pain felt as though a limb that no longer existed was being burned from the inside.
Ethan gritted his teeth, but his feet remained planted in place.
His mind stayed clear.
The pain was still there, but his body could already endure it.
Ethan lowered his gaze to his left arm. A guess flashed through his mind.
’Am I getting used to it?’
Right after that, another possibility came to him.
’Or is this thing gradually getting used to me?’
He could not determine the answer yet. Ethan only clenched his hand, forced the Void Fire back into the Primordial Armor, and raised his head to look at the gigantic eye.
"Are you angry?"
The space continued to tremble. Black ripples crashed into him, causing the cloak behind him to keep billowing.
This time, Ethan truly laughed.
"Or did I guess correctly?"
He raised his head higher, his gaze no longer containing the slightest fear.
"You are afraid of something else, aren’t you?"
Boom!
The entire darkness shook and cracked open. Huge fissures spread around the Eye of the Void, tearing space into pieces.
Ethan did not know how much of his guess was correct. But the reaction before him was enough to confirm one thing.
The Eye of the Void was not an omnipotent existence.
It was also limited by something. It was precisely that restriction that prevented it from directly stepping before him.
If so, Ethan no longer needed to keep fearing it like he had the first time.
If the Void wanted to use the dangers around him to kill him, then he only needed to become so strong that those chess pieces were no longer capable of taking his life.
Ryan had failed.
The next one could fail too.
One day, all the chess pieces thrown at him by the Eye of the Void would become stones for him to step on as he climbed higher.
The black space shattered.
The gigantic eye disappeared among the cracks. Ethan’s body lost its support and fell straight into the darkness.
When both feet touched the ground, he was already standing in a completely different space.
Seven stone platforms were arranged in an arc before him. On each platform was a different type of Blind Box.
Weapon.
Equipment.
Skill.
Talent.
Partner.
Monster egg.
Special item.
A notification screen appeared in midair.
[Floor 18 milestone reward.]
[You may choose one type of Blind Box.]
[Minimum rarity: S.]
Ethan slowly looked around. Silver light flashed in his two eyes as the Eye of Truth activated.
The faint mist covering the seven boxes immediately changed in his vision. Hidden information appeared one after another.
S.
Epic.
Legendary.
Some of these boxes, if they appeared outside, would be enough to drive an ordinary Awakened mad. However, Ethan did not hurry to make a choice. His gaze slowly swept across each stone platform, observing the light and the hidden lines of fate inside every box.
When he reached the last one, his gaze suddenly stopped.
Ethan observed it for a few more seconds. The corner of his mouth slowly curved up, and his hand also lifted forward.
"I choose this one."