The immense green light dissipated. The rocks rose, forming stone shelves.
Clark was stunned and bewildered.
He asked Gene, "Do you know what this is?"
Clark replied, "No, but I think these shelves contain something."
"Shall we open them then?"
"What do you say we open one first and see what’s inside?"
Gene responded with a nod of agreement.
The two of them stepped forward. They were tense; the atmosphere was heavy and frightening. Clark placed his hand on a shelf’s handle and opened it. A piece of paper appeared inside.
Clark was surprised but read it. Its content was as follows:
"It seems you have succeeded and passed the test of survival, you and your companion. I apologize for the chaos I left behind me; it seems to have disturbed you. But now you face your second test. I like to describe it in a poem:
Two men place their hands on one thing...
A burning in the heart, anger, envy...
A blind man walking without aim.
Two who stabbed each other for a bite of the Devil’s apple.
And that is all I offer you. Understand it well!!"
Clark fell silent after reading it. He said, "Is this Venerable One crazy or what? What kind of riddles are these? This isn’t even a poem!"
Gene ignored Clark’s words. He quickly went and pulled open another shelf, revealing a wooden scroll about a combat technique!!!
Clark was shocked that he had been hasty and began opening another shelf himself. Gene read his find: The technique was called "Domain of the Tyrant King."
Gene returned and sat facing Clark. Clark kept looking at him; he didn’t ask what was written. He knew from seeing Gene so focused on what was in his hand that he had obtained something good.
They began gathering some firewood to light a fire. A calm settled after the battle that had raged outside.
Gene was quiet. He would go to a nearby waterfall to train and return hours later.
Clark thought to himself, describing his situation: "Finding food was relatively easy for me because, unfortunately, I found a wolf. It had six eyes, and yet it was no match for me, so I naturally killed and ate it. The best part was its brain."
As time passed, Clark and Gene didn’t feel it, but days went by, and they only opened the shelves twice!!! No more.
But Gene’s muscle mass had increased; his body became strong and well-proportioned, and a calm demeanor settled over him.
Clark was shocked! Because during those past days, Gene had been training in the "Domain of the Tyrant King."
Gene opened his status screen: Chapters fırst released on novel·fıre·net
· Fist of the Chaos King (Level 1)
· Madness Flame (Level 2)
· Domain of the Tyrant King (Level 1)
Domain of the Tyrant King: Enhances your power within a domain, whose moving center is you (the user). Grants you four-dimensional vision, meaning there are no blind spots from which you can be attacked. Enhances your skills and their damage.
Gene was so happy that he went out to test his skills and returned within minutes, having hunted a massive wolf—one Clark had read about: a Lord of the Earth Wolf—which Gene had crushed with a single blow to its chest using his "Fist of the Chaos King" skill. That was truly powerful!
Clark felt genuinely envious. He then rushed to one of the shelves to take something from it, hoping perhaps to get something great.
When he opened the shelf, he found a ledger with ten pages. Clark was happy; maybe it was a skill. Gene watched him intently.
But soon, Clark’s face reddened with anger; his eyes radiated killing intent. It was merely one of the stories of Rin Zu. But he sat down angrily and said, "At least it’s something to relieve the boredom."
"In the beginning of the world, awoke Rin Zu (which means ’Progenitor of Humanity’ in his own language). Rin Zu
was a weak human among monsters. Rin Zu, from what is known, was born with an immortal subconscious, meaning from his very beginning he was
at the peak of the mortal hierarchy. But he began facing hardships and defeated many monsters, which made him feel sorrow. Life became extremely difficult
to the point that when he closed his eyes to sleep, he thought it was his end, because he didn’t know who might kill
him in his sleep. The heavens took pity on Rin Zu and sent down a strange spirit in the form of a mask. This mask was called the ’Mask of Qi.’ The Mask of Qi
said: ’Do you want help, human? I will grant you power and intelligence.’ Rin Zu replied: ’Naturally, for in the end, I either get your help or die.’ He began fighting monsters and defeating them
. But it turned out this damned mask was merely a curse that drained lifespan and exhausted the body. Rin Zu was
shocked; he began to age, and his appearance started to change. Rin Zu lost hope, and grief grew in his heart. Then something new appeared: a small insect. It said it was ’Cicada of Perseverance.’ ’I will give you hope.’ RinZu
replied: ’And what will you take from me? My pride? Or my entire lifespan, like the previous one did before abandoning me?’ It replied: ’No, I will take nothing from you. I will grant you perseverance and hope, nothing more
, nothing less.’ Rin Zu said: ’Very well.’ Hope and perseverance were renewed in Rin Zu’s heart, and he began to explore and venture out into the world. But Rin Zu’s own subconscious was affecting the external world, and this
caused monsters to swarm upon his appearance. But he paid no mind, defeating them all. However, in one
instance, he fought a great monster. That monster was of supernatural strength: ’The Bull of Magma’!!! It was truly terrifyingly powerful. Then, Rin Zu—to his misfortune—lost the ’Cicada of Perseverance.’ Rin Zu wept; nothing remained for him, which stirred his sadness and fury."
The ledger ended. Clark laughed: "The Progenitor of Humanity possessed an immortal subconscious from the very start of his life, and his immortal subconscious was affecting the world!!!"