Lucien walked out of the dark room with Gayanna leading him. He was both shocked and terrified, but none of the Moonshade Pact elves said anything.
There was a sudden shift to everything that made it seem so unbelievable—a pact that had existed since the foundation of the world was just suddenly shattered.
All because of the question he asked.
However, what had also happened—Lucien felt it was too peaceful to be true. He suspected that this would most likely be the most peaceful it would be, in fact. He couldn’t help but get a strange and chilling premonition that he just subscribed to something called premium danger.
However, there was one thing that Lucien did not understand.
Gayanna. Valdris had introduced her as his daughter. So she wasn’t? Then who was she? And why was she helping him?
He was sure they were definitely going to come for her. Their fear of her just now was enough. They were going to carefully plan, and they were going to come for her. The eyes that Lucien saw in that room were more than capable of doing so.
He might not have been able to accurately judge how strong they were because of how weak he was, but their eyes were more than enough to make him tremble. The resolve in them didn’t look like that of people who knew how to surrender.
’I mean... it took a god to seal them to stop.’
Lucien felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He glanced at Gayanna’s back and looked down, a bit dejected.
’If they come after me... my peaceful gaming life is so over.’
They were walking through a dark and narrow passage hall in the sanctuary. The moment Lucien dropped his head and looked down, Gayanna’s silky voice came out.
"Do not look so dejected. They can’t do anything... for now."
Lucien raised his head and looked behind her as they walked forward.
"For now? So you do know they will come after you."
Gayanna paused and looked back, raising a brow.
"Come after me? Why would they? You are the one they need, not me."
Lucien’s heart sunk into his stomach.
Gayanna sighed and continued walking, speaking as she did.
"It would have been much worse if I didn’t step in. Either you do their bidding or not, I don’t see you coming out of this in a convenient and willful manner. This is the most willful you can be right now."
She paused her strides and glanced back at him with an even stare.
"Besides, there’s nothing to be scared about. You just have to really train and become a strong person yourself."
Lucien stared at her with a dubious expression at first, then he withdrew his gaze and sighed.
"I guess you are correct."
His gaze drifted towards her again, squinting his eyes.
"Wait. Just how strong would I need to get?"
Gayanna placed a finger on her lips, her eyes rolling up.
She went silent for almost a second and then focused her gaze back on Lucien.
"Since each of them are level 350, you have to be at least level 350 to battle one of them. But the level is the least you have to worry about. They may be orthodox and therefore not accepting the path of evolution, but they are the first beings to exist and therefore over their years of roaming the Cradle World, they have come in contact with some divine fragments that have made them all transcended—albeit in different Arts and Paths. They are unpredictable in many ways and are also fast learners.
"The least powerful of them can kill you three times before you realize you are dead. So in addition to becoming level 350, you must at least experience your first Transcension—perhaps, also evolve. I sense a divine fragment in you, so that seems to be a boon, but what you have is still very weak compared to what they have gained.
"So, yes. You’d need to do a lot of training and growing. We’d need to exploit every chance and opportunity we get."
She tapped his shoulders gently.
"Do not worry. The Great Mage is here to see you through all of that."
Lucien looked at her dubiously. For some reason, he was finding her difficult to rely on right now.
He looked at her radiant and resplendent eyes.
"I see... what level are you though?"
The only thing Lucien could see above her was:
Written in golden letters, while the rest of the others in the hall were written in silver letters—although except for Valdris, he couldn’t see the others’ names. Valdris also had a title written with dramatic flair, as though the words Elder Moon were carved with digital leaves and woods.
Aside from that, he could not really see anything, and he wished he could. To find another way to be able to know about players and NPCs without having to be told.
The young lady smiled; her smile was like the blooming of frost petals, suddenly making everything be filled with a sweet scent. A cold yet cozy feeling wrapped around the air of the tunnel where they stood.
Lucien’s eyes widened.
Just as she spoke, a new light blinked to life above her, and he could now see:
’Level 400? Damn. That means she is stronger than all of them?! And she was even stronger than Godzilla?!! How does that make any sense? How come they were sealed with a monster stronger than them!’
"You look like you saw a ghost. Are you alright?"
Lucien got a hold of himself and chuckled dryly.
"Aha... it seems something confuses me, Miss Gayanna. You know, it just occurred to me that all of you are high levels—the monster I killed to free you all was actually level 120. So maybe you guys are overestimating me? Besides, how come a level 120 monster stands over the seal of high level elves like you all?"
Gayanna was silent for a moment. Then she turned. She also seemed to be thinking about the question as much as Lucien was.
They continued their walk forward in silence, then she finally broke the silence after a couple of steps.
"When Zilla attacked us, he was also being chased. I had not so much time to know what it was, but it was powerful. It could have contributed to his hasty decision to seal us instead of killing all of us. Because of course, killing us all will not be easy even for a god like him."
"And he had to deal with whatever was chasing him?"
"That could have been what he used to create the monster that reinforced the seal. Because I expected—and everyone else expected—that whatever you did to unseal us involved a god chaser."
"It is what we came up with on the whim while we were trying to understand this whole situation."
Lucien nodded. Even though she answered to his satisfaction, he still had more questions.
However, she suddenly stopped and turned to the side of the tunnel wall.
Lucien raised his brows. It had escaped him to ask where exactly they were going, but he also naturally thought she was helping him find a secret path out of the forest. That is what one does to someone when they help, right?
He stopped, glancing at her.
"We are here? Where?"