Chapter 196: Hidden Reward
While Moon was watching the names and images rapidly increase below his own, another grid came to exist next to his own.
One with Enzo’s image at the top of the grid.
Moon watched it for a second before—
Ding!
[Vote a King!]
A new system message came.
It was a meaningless step for Moon’s side; everyone was already joining for Moon or Talia. While Talia currently was in subordination to Moon thanks to the duel just now, Moon was the king of his faction.
Though he still didn’t know what that meant yet.
On the other grid, Enzo was soon voted as the king of the faction.
Moon wasn’t surprised; it was something he’d expected.
In front of Moon—
Ding!
A new message appeared. That one was king-exclusive, thus only he himself could see it.
[You’ve been selected as King of Defence.]
[You may choose a colour.]
[You may assign roles.]
Moon blinked before the new messages; he scratched his head for a second. ’A color, and roles.’
The crown over his icon was green, and the one on Enzo’s was red. But once his eyes turned to the other grid, the crown on Enzo’s turned blue.
Not only this, Enzo himself fell.
His icon descended and another rose, the one whose long hair moved from being black to transparent.
Moon wasn’t bothered about the color, so he instead found Talia’s icon and brought it right underneath his. Just like Enzo’s was underneath Lorian.
Yet he missed one small detail, or rather, the system didn’t notify him about it.
The moment he was selected as King, everyone got a new message.
[Ascender ’Moon’ has been selected as King.]
[During the trial, if the King is killed or forced into submission, the trial ends in instant defeat.]
All eyes in the ring fell on Moon again—
Fuuuuu~
He released a pent-up breath. "So this is the trial," he whispered. ’At least I won’t be thrown somewhere to fight an army,’ he exclaimed inwardly.
Ding!
[Quest update]
[All trial participants must be second floor ascenders without exception.]
[All war participants must be second floor ascenders or below.]
[Tower administration will reinforce the extraction and escort of any individual beyond the assigned criteria]
Time remaining until Trial Transportation Rift opens: 13 Days, 12 Hours, 59 Minutes, 01 Seconds
Moon’s gaze lingered on the last line; his face turned heavy, and his chest tightened.
In the audience, Lucen stood from his seat. "With this, everything is settled," he said, as if he were carrying a burden.
He looked at Ed. "I did you more than one favour; the kid is popular, and I’ll also check who would join him from my side before they’re given permission," he said, seemingly in a hurry.
Ed didn’t answer; he kept looking at the ring. It looked like he had too much on his mind. Lucen had shared with them every new message and update on the quest from start to finish.
"Why the long face? You got everything you asked for." Lucen paused. "Right, you’ve lost some weight," he added.
Ed pinched the bridge of his nose. "I didn’t think the Tower would turn a war into a trial for some brat second-floor ascenders."
"Believe me when I tell you this is the least problematic of the options we had," Lucen said softly. "The administrator here was dealing with the weird situation and abnormal number of ascenders coming from the first floor; we had no other choice."
Ed went silent. Lucen added, "I’ll have to go now, lest the king of Strand go mad and start killing everyone in sight." He chuckled softly. "The administrator assigned a hosting quest for me to keep these guys stranded comfortably until the trial ends."
"Tell him to take care of his health for now; it’s not hopeless," Ed reminded him before looking back at Moon and sending his voice into his ears. "Don’t accept the quest reward now; come to Hall 3 right away."
With that, Ed left the ring right away.
Moon waved at Talia. "Let’s meet later to arrange things," he said before running away.
Talia stood still, looking at him leaving. She exhaled and turned around to where Boa was seated. She smiled at her, but Boa didn’t smile back.
Her eyes were red and swollen.
Talia shook her head. "I guess we will need to talk," she whispered heavily before stepping out of the ring.
Further away, Moon was sprinting to Hall 3 with sand still stuck on his body and minor wounds.
As soon as he got close to the door, it opened for him. Ed was already seated in the same chair, waiting for him.
"Weren’t you still in the arena just now?" Moon asked.
"You’re slow," Ed said. "Accept the reward now."
Thud~
The door closed behind Moon, who summoned the window, found the quest, and tapped.
From the window, three items fell.
One was his pendant; the second was Talia’s ring.
The third was a small box that Moon ignored, and he caught his pendant and the ring, adding her ring next to Colten’s on the lace of the pendant before placing it on his neck again.
Ed watched this. He pointed with his finger. "Bring that box and come closer," he said.
Moon took the box from the floor and came closer. "What’s in there?" he asked.
Ed waved his hand, and a chair came to Moon. "An ancient item," he said. "Sit, I’ll tell you everything."
Moon sat down with the box in his hand.
"A long time ago, a certain guy who became known in the Tower as the Hero even had an era in the calendar called the Heroic Era after him."
"That guy found something that was even older than him. It helped him and overcame his shortcoming for as long as he lived."
Moon listened attentively but suddenly raised his eyebrows at the sudden part. "Lived... did he die?" he asked.
Ed nodded. "Yes."
"How did someone so strong die?" Moon asked in evident confusion.
"Remember Lucen? He was one of his friends," Ed said. "But Lucen refused to say a word about this."
Moon frowned and leaned into his seat. "How old is that flamboyant guy really?"
Ed looked up for a second. "Somewhere around three thousand years old."
"THREE WHAT?" Moon jumped to his feet. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?"
Ed nodded. "More or less; the Heroic Era was recorded around that time."
Moon sat back in his seat, eyes wide open. "How did he do it?"
"Like hell if I know; I’ve lived for a few hundred years and already at my limit," Ed sighed. "Anyway, this item of the Hero is in that box you’re holding."
"Isn’t that a bad omen to take things from the dead?" Moon asked, uncertain.
Ed raised an eyebrow. "You brat never missed a chance to loot anyone you killed," he retorted aggressively.
Moon brought his arms forward. "These assholes deserved it. This Hero guy is a good one, right?"
Ed opened his mouth; for a moment, no words came.
Sigh~
A sigh escaped his lips. "I’m really curious about how this brain of yours works," Ed said in defeat. "And don’t worry, his items are wanted; even shards of his broken weapons are treated as relics."
"How did you get that one then?" Moon asked.
"That one is different." Ed tapped his armrest before adding, "I had Lucen bring it so you can try and see if it works for you."