Chapter 96: Ceremonial Realm
Winter finally shared her full experience.
After explaining the intricate responsibilities and origin of the guardian beast protecting the Hanging City, Winter continued on, sharing everything that had transpired during her desperate search for the hidden ceremonial realm.
It all started when she first stepped into the vast Nexus Network. She stumbled upon various dungeons, clearing them one by one without stopping to rest.
During that span of pure desperation, within just three short days, she managed to clear at least forty dungeon rifts ranging strictly from D-Rank to brutal B-Rank rifts.
Of course, she fully acknowledged that she couldn’t have achieved such a feat without the raw power of her overpowered S-Rank Vampire Butler. However, through her precise tactical commands, careful energy conservation, and efficient execution, they successfully cleared that massive surge of dungeon rifts together.
Then, during their 69th dungeon run within the Nexus Network, she finally stumbled upon an anomaly—a completely separate portal forming deep inside an active dungeon rift.
She had initially assumed such a concept was biologically and dimensionally impossible, but seeing it manifest in orange right before her eyes made it undeniably real. They managed to pinpoint its exact location, and the moment they stepped through the threshold, they were instantly transferred into a breathtaking, heavenly realm.
It was a majestic space filled with radiant golden light casting long shadows over towering marble columns. Scattered throughout the area were various intricate altars constructed entirely from pure white stone.
It was indeed a heavenly world, matching the exact visual description the 23rd Guardian had provided. Because of its unmistakable uniqueness, she knew she had finally found the sacred ceremonial realm.
She immediately made her way toward the absolute center of the realm, where the legendary gem rested on a glowing pedestal.
It was a massive, fist-sized emerald gem, radiating a dense surge of raw, overwhelming energy that she couldn’t fully comprehend. It contained complex mixes of elemental mana, but something far more ancient and mysterious lay embedded deep within its core.
Winter reached out her trembling hand, attempting to claim it, but a figure suddenly materialized directly behind her. It was the realm protector.
Since there were no living beings residing within this pocket dimension, it was technically classified as a realm candidate for immediate collapse. However, through the continuous effort of the realm protector, the sacred gem had remained safe and stable.
"Finally, you have arrived... The destined master of the gem," the realm protector said behind a white-hooded robe, its voice carrying a majestic, heavenly tone that echoed with a natural vocal reverb through the massive marble hall.
Winter couldn’t quite determine whether the entity was a woman or a man, but that detail didn’t matter to her in the slightest. At that moment, she desperately wanted to ask what its cryptic statement meant.
However, before she could even open her mouth, a sudden, hostile presence burst out of nowhere, ruthlessly stabbing the realm protector straight through the chest from behind with a massive spear of concentrated golden light.
Winter stood frozen, completely unable to comprehend the sudden violence as the surrounding realm instantly began to crack and crumble.
It was then that she realized the attacker was a hostile guardian—the exact entity the 23rd Guardian of the Hanging City had explicitly warned her about.
Its terrifying, cynical smile remained deeply painted within Winter’s mind. Her immense frustration, mixed with a desperate urge to protect her dying city, completely took over her body.
She immediately attacked the hostile guardian, attempting to exert a percentage of the Vampire Butler’s power.
Even though she knew the slim mathematical chance of surviving against such an overwhelming force, she recklessly commanded the Vampire Butler to assault the hostile guardian with everything it had.
While her beast engaged the enemy, she sprinted forward and tried to grab the emerald gem off the altar. However, the hostile guardian effortlessly snatched the gem first, not looking bothered or slowed down by their coordinated attacks in the slightest.
It was in that harrowing moment that Winter truly realized she was completely powerless against him. This long-eared hostile guardian was fully intent on reducing the entire world to dust.
"Why do you want to destroy this realm? What do you gain from this?!" Winter screamed, glaring at the hostile guardian who casually rested one hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword.
The blond-haired, long-eared hostile guardian glanced down at her, replying in a utterly bored, disinterested tone.
"For some fun... Maybe."
She desperately tried to reclaim the gem from his hands, but the final outcome was far from what she had envisioned.
Winter was utterly defeated in combat. With just a single, lazy swing of his sword—a completely whimsical, effortless attack—she was sent crashing across the marble floor, suffering heavy physical injuries.
No matter how frantically she tried to dodge his incoming strikes, she was completely barraged by a wave of crushing pressure.
Left with absolutely no other choice to survive, she lunged toward a volatile, unstable rift that had just opened out of nowhere in the collapsing dimension, tumbling through the portal and being transferred to an unknown dungeon rift miles away.
And there, bleeding and exhausted, she had crossed paths with Terrence.
Terrence nodded along to every single detail Winter described. He could deeply relate to her sheer terror, as the mere memory of encountering such entities still sent a violent chill running down his spine.
Why should he even be surprised at this point? He had barely managed to escape death himself. Deep down, he knew full well that the time where he would have to face near-death scenarios again would inevitably come.
It seemed like living a quiet, easy life was fundamentally impossible ever since he had bound himself to the System. His luck seemed to degrade with every passing second, constantly forcing him to throw himself directly into extreme danger.
Yet, a small part of him kind of liked the process—knowing that he grew significantly stronger through each terrifying experience.
"I actually know about that exact entity... I also fought against him," Terrence admitted, quickly correcting himself with a dry laugh. "Er... well, not really a fight. But I was somehow able to escape from that walking killing machine. Thank goodness you managed to slip away too."
Winter raised her pale face, her trembling voice barely audible. "Are you absolutely sure it’s the same person?"
"I can’t say for certain," Terrence replied, scratching the back of his nape awkwardly. "But there’s a strong possibility that there are more of them out there, actively destroying different pocket dimensions. Honestly, they might even be the ones responsible for creating all these rifts across the world in the first place... I don’t know for sure, it’s just a personal theory of mine."
"Terrence..."
Winter’s deep, gem-like eyes locked directly onto his.
A visible wave of deep hesitation and reluctance washed over her face as she debated whether she should even utter the words. But seeing no other remaining option before her, she forced herself to swallow every last drop of her noble pride.
"Please... help me save my city."
Terrence bit his lower lip hard, his mind racing as he weighed the sheer danger of her request. How was he supposed to handle a situation of this scale?
Suddenly, a bright glowing panel materialized directly before his vision.
[New Mission Triggered!]
[Deploy a mobile beast stall within the Hanging City and sell high-tier beasts! Help local tamers clear the surging dungeons alongside your powerful beasts!]