My steps upward are far slower now. While it took less than a single minute to climb multiple kilometers with ease before, it takes me over an hour to climb the next 50.
I'm halfway through the final stretch, but I can feel these last 50 are not going to be easy at all...
The amount of green energy pouring through my core makes the entire orb I consumed earlier seem like a tiny drop in the ocean of power around me.
My core still feels the same, like a True Core cycling in my chest, but the amount of power it can control feels as though it's multiplied by thousands of times...
The jump between green and yellow feels as though they're worlds apart, and it's very apparent as my body continues to reject climbing higher every time the density in the air shifts.
It takes two full hours to climb the next 25 kilometers upward.
The links of loyalty available to me start to slow down, evening out at around 280 million. A few hundred thousand links still roll in every minute, but it's nowhere near the millions per second I felt at the peak of my battle with the demon.
From what I can sense, over half of the system-connected population has signed the mental contract. While I'm not in desperate need of power now, it is still nice to feel new links form.
During the time I've climbed, the Crimson Army and the Inner Circle have made their way back to the Crimson City to be welcomed by tens of thousands of people from neighboring cities all over Sector 2 of the Dark Continent.
The moment his words cease, there's a shift that shakes the floor; and all of a sudden, the silver barrier around us begins to vibrate.
It shatters into a silver sparkling display, and at the same time, the stairs that led us all the way up here dissolve into silver energy and reform with the floor below.
We're left floating on a thin sheet of black tower material hundreds of kilometers up in the air.
An ancient echoing voice rings in my ears while silver text tells me that the final round is over.
[Round 2 of 2 Complete.]
I smirk as I understand this artifact was programmed as a training ground and welcome ceremony for their new Lord to enter their ranks.
"Well, it looks like they're in for quite the surprise..."
Two large black boxes fall from the darkness above and land with a thud in front of the green divine rift.
They both open the moment they land, with the same soft white divine ether inside pushing up two items each from within.
In my box, I see a large black orb with dense purple and black energy swirling inside it; while the other item is a circular green object radiating a dense divine glow. It looks like an oversized coin.
I use appraisal on both items, and one reads [Demon Lord's Core] while the other reads [World Token].
My eyes track over to Ember's box, and he already reaches out to store a vial of black liquid into his Ether storage. For some reason, he looks disgusted at the substance, not interested in using it.
However, the other item in his box is the same large green coin as mine, reading [World Token] when I stare at it.
I look back to my prizes and slowly reach out a hand to touch the large black orb.
It sinks into my palm just like the Ascended Core at the bottom of this floor; however, when it reforms in my chest, there are two distinct differences.
The first is that this core is full to the brim with demonic energy ready to be used.
I haven't attempted using this power in quite a long time, but it feels incredibly insidious and strong.
The second difference between this and any of the other cores I've collected before is that it is pulling on the other empty demonic cores in my chest.
Green divine threads tether through them all, but soon the Greater, Arch, and Ascended cores begin falling toward the largest black core.
Once they all collide, the Demon Lord's Core doesn't change in size, but a ripple of strange darkness pulses through my body and a new reading shows up on my status.
[Demon Lord's Core][Hidden Ability] +2510% All Stats
The stat increase rises to a very odd number, and other than increased understanding and efficiency of wielding demonic energy, I'm unsure what this hidden ability is...
Though, my attention turns to the green token floating in front of me before I can ponder too hard about my consolidated cores.
The white divine ether mist dissipates, and as I catch the green token, the black boxes that gave us these prizes disappear too.
It feels warm to the touch, and just like my Soul Sword, the instant I make contact with it, it feels as though our core strength has linked.
On both the front and back of the blank-faced coin, a number [1] erupts from its surface by a few millimeters.
I curiously look at it, letting go and feeling the coin hover above my palm and slowly spin.
Then, before my eyes, the coin sinks into my palm just like the Demon's Core did moments ago.
Ember is doing the same exact thing right next to me, and we both watch the coins fall into our bodies.
A faint number [1] in dark green text flashes right where it sank in, then I hear a ringing in my inner ear while the links of loyalty attached to me surge upward from just under 295 million past 500 million in less than a second.
[Congratulations! Rising Emperor's Domain Milestone Reached!]
[New Perk Unlocked: Rising Emperor's World Domination]
All beings connected to the system will now automatically become a link of loyalty to their planet ruler.
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