"A god above gods? The god of the most fundamental astral realm?"
Astral Alka could almost understand it; it probably referred to the entire universe.
Sofia and the others understood it as the world encompassing the world.
This understanding seemed reasonable.
"How does this god compare to the Four Gods..." Simon couldn't help but ask.
Although asking such a question seemed a bit disrespectful, as a mechanic, he simply couldn't resist his curiosity.
"Stone Mother, Life, Wise One, and Sea God. Are you talking about these four?"
Simon nodded.
"I don't know about Life and Wise One; I'm not familiar with their deeds. But Stone Mother and Sea God are quite well-known outside," Copper Hammer said.
The meaning was clear.
Simply put, Life and Wise One were clearly weaker than the other two gods.
At least that was what the dwarf meant.
This again left Simon and Julia somewhat silent.
Tongchui continued, "Only these two gods can be called gods in the entire astral plane."
This made the two feel even more uncomfortable.
"Okay, okay, that's enough of the explanation. Shouldn't I be talking to you about the worlds I've experienced?
These terms are useless to you."
He began to narrate again.
"Speaking of which, 300 years ago, I visited a very powerful world. I must tell you about it."
"It was a mountain world. Unfortunately, I didn't even know how high the mountains were until I left."
"Mountain world?" Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to it.
But what does a mountain world mean?
"A world made up of mountains?" Alka couldn't help but ask.
For Sofia and the others, mountains and land were incomprehensible.
Perhaps only Lucelia knew about it from some ancient texts.
"No, no, no, it's much more amazing than that," Tongchui said, waving his hand.
"It's a gigantic mountain floating in the astral plane, home to all sorts of life forms."
So that's what a mountain world is.
I couldn't imagine what it was like.
Arka scratched his head and thought, if it were a mountain, wouldn't the people living below be able to see directly into the astral plane?
They wouldn't even be able to see the sky.
What about the sunlight?
He couldn't imagine it; it was completely beyond his comprehension.
"What a shame! That place is very hostile to outsiders. I was only there for a short while before I was forcibly expelled."
"Does it still have such a function?" Arka asked from the side.
Tongchui nodded. "Of course, most worlds have this kind of repulsiveness, with different attitudes toward outsiders.
The world I'll visit, at least, is one that doesn't harbor ill will toward outsiders. In fact, at least half of the worlds are filled with hostility."
"This is a world's most basic defense mechanism. Those without hostility are mostly worlds with great confidence in themselves, you know."
The others understood this and nodded.
After all, no one knew what kind of changes and damage a life at odds with the world would bring.
But no one asked why their world didn't reject them.
It was good enough that their worlds could fit together; they were self-aware of this.
In the living room of the dilapidated house, everyone chatted with the dwarf for a long time, but he did most of the talking.
He seemed happy to share his experiences with others, and was very proud of his career and education.
However, for Aka and the others, aside from broadening their horizons, it wasn't of much use.
They didn't have the ability to leave this world.
Afterward, the group, having opened their glasses, briefly explained the situation in the Four Gods Sea to the dwarf.
"A very logical structure, but irrational behavior. Just as I expected, it seems these four gods aren't born gods," the dwarf muttered to himself.
He seemed to have a habit of talking while thinking, needing to speak to clear his mind.
"What do you mean?" Aka couldn't help but ask from the side.
The dwarf gathered his thoughts, looked up at the crowd's curious gazes, and laughed heartily. "So, I don't know whether you're lucky or unlucky."
"These four gods clearly care deeply about their followers. So, for some reason, building their own oceanic worlds to preserve life after the world shattered wasn't easy."
"This is clearly a thankless task. Doing so suggests these four gods were born from mortals, not born that way."
"Born gods always have all sorts of strange quirks and eccentric personalities. The most typical one is indifference to mortals, without exception... well, there are exceptions.
But the vast majority are like that. You understand, right?"
Everyone nodded. Alka could understand a little.
Simply put, how could someone born powerful care about the weak?
Would a human care about the lives of ants? "Well, it was fun chatting with you. I'll remember your names.
We'll continue our conversation the next time I visit your world, if you're still alive.
Of course, I'd be even happier if I could meet you in the Astral Plane."
The last words were just Bronze Hammer's own muttering, but everyone could hear them.
Bronze Hammer was already preparing to leave. He had come to say goodbye to Triangulum, after all, he'd been with him for so long.
Getting to know Alka and the others was just a bonus.
Everyone nodded, not asking any further questions.
Such personal matters were too rude.
After all, they had only known each other for a very short time.
It was just that the dwarf seemed to have a good personality, willing to share and naturally free-spirited.
Without such qualities, it was clear that he couldn't travel the worlds.
Bronze Hammer waved to everyone. By then, night had already fallen outside.
He looked up at the starry sky. A star began to shine, seemingly very close to them.
A thin white line descended from the sky and connected to Copper Hammer's body.
Copper Hammer turned to look at Alka and said, "You have a very unique aura. I've sensed it in people from many worlds.
Some of them have already reached the pinnacle. You will surely achieve great things in the future."
Without further explanation, the white line wrapped around him, and he disappeared from the spot.
As Copper Hammer vanished, everyone turned to look at Alka.
"Future great man, if you become successful, please help me," Jason teased, patting Alka's shoulder.
Alka's eyes rolled, and he glared at him sideways. "Don't worry, Jason. We're in this together, and I definitely won't let you become a beggar."
The group said goodbye to the triangle with a playful smile.
They resumed their previous journey, following Shadaiti around the island.
All the way, they chatted about the information they had gained from the dwarves.
Though that knowledge and information had broadened their horizons, it was too far away, as distant as the stars in the sky, out of reach.
For them now, it was just a topic of conversation.
"Is this Vastvan writing?" Matlisa asked, seeing the inscriptions carved on a piece of gravel.
Hearing this, Lucelia immediately jumped off Alka's shoulders and, in a few bounds, reached Matlisa's side.
"Really? There's Vastvan writing here!" she said, examining the inscriptions and deciphering them.
"A Vastva man who once achieved outstanding results in trials here. His name sounds familiar. We should have seen records of him in Vastva.
Let me think... he seems to be a high priest of a certain era. He reformed the system at the time and enabled the city-state to grow and prosper."
Hearing this, Julia, looking at the stone tablet nearby, said, "It seems he wasn't bluffing. This place has indeed produced many great figures."
As for their understanding of the era before the War of Gods, they were quite familiar with Vastva during that era.
The high priest represented the pinnacle of power there.
This minor incident didn't slow down their progress.
It didn't take them long to explore the island completely. Aside from the ruins in the center, there wasn't much to see outside, just some vegetation.
"At night, the magic power on the island seems to have subsided, its concentration remaining the same. But even when we passed over them, the elemental-like creatures formed by the magic didn't attack us."
Julia asked, somewhat perplexed. Could it be that these elemental-like creatures could actually sleep?
No one could offer an answer.
"Okay, we've completed the surface survey, and we can go back," Sofia said.
Jason turned and asked, "So where are we going back to? Back to the ship?"
"Never mind. That's too much trouble. Let's find a good place to camp."
The group returned to the central city ruins and found a building that looked relatively intact.
They set up a temporary campsite.
It seemed they weren't the only ones with this idea; they'd also seen signs of other people camping there before.
They set up a simple tent for sleeping.
Juanlu took out his portable pot and began to cook dinner.
Sofia found a quiet corner, took out his tools, and began to draw a map.
Alka and the others gathered around Juanlu's portable pot, watching him prepare dinner and chatting.
"Other worlds, how wonderful!" Matlisa suddenly said, looking at the fire.
She still couldn't forget the other worlds Copper Hammer had described that day; it had shaken their worldview.
They couldn't help but wonder what the outside world was like.
"How powerful do you think that dwarf is? After all, he's able to travel through so many worlds," Jason couldn't help but ask.
Julia shook her head. "I can't sense it. Although he still has magic within him, it's incompatible with this world, so I can't detect it at all."
But at least we know he must be very powerful, otherwise he wouldn't be worthy of traveling through so many worlds and still alive.
Listening to everyone's conversation, Alka stared blankly at the fire.
Other worlds
What about his former world? Could he return to it?
The sudden appearance of the copper hammer had Alka's mind in a state of disarray.
He seemed a little distracted.
Everyone else noticed, but didn't interrupt him too much.
After dinner, they rested in their tents.
It wasn't until dawn seemed to be approaching that Alka returned from her dream world.
Looking at the hourglass in her hand, she saw only two hours left until daylight.
When she came outside, Sofia had already woken up.
Alka came up behind her and looked at Sofia's location.
The map was already in its final stages of construction.
Sofia had dried the marks on the map and applied a protective coating.
When everything was finished, he took the map down and handed it to Alka.
"Here, it's done."
Alka looked at the map in his hand, the details becoming increasingly detailed.
"Your craftsmanship is getting better and better," he couldn't help but admire.
He blinked and looked at the map.
The sudden burst of light brought tears to Alka's eyes.
There was so much light.
Looking closely, all of it converged on the tower in the center of the map.
The accumulation of light points made it difficult to see exactly how many there were.
All he could see was a vibrant orange energy mixed with the gold.
[Scepter]?
Surprisingly, there was a scepter on this island.
But Alka saw these golden and orange light points converge on the center, where the Trial Tower stood.
He had a premonition.
He tapped it lightly.
The gathering together made Alka unaware of the golden light he had tapped, but he clearly hadn't tapped the orange beam.
[Trial of Advancement]
[Difficulty: Aspiring (Stages 2-4)]
[Notability: 34,000]
[Treasure Information: Constructed by the Aspiring Ten Thousand Years Ago, this divine trial aims to help mortal beings transcend themselves. After the War of Gods, only this single trial tower remains.
The trial targets intelligent beings of Stages 2-4. Climbing upward and transcending themselves will earn this hard-earned reward.
To claim the reward, please go through the proper channels; otherwise, even if you pass, you won't receive it.]
Alka tapped the other golden lights. All of them were identical, bearing the same treasure information.
This was the first time he had seen something like this.
But didn't the triangle say there were no rewards for completing the trial? Alka was a little confused.
Then why was it displayed on the treasure?
Looking at the last piece of treasure information, Alka suddenly had a bad feeling.
Looking at the extent of the damage, perhaps there was no such thing as a formal channel.
So that wouldn't work?
He paused his thoughts and decided to ask the Triangle tomorrow. He would naturally find out.
Learning more might reveal more information. If the Triangle truly wanted someone to take the Trial, it would definitely not refuse.
Thinking of this, Alka clicked on the orange beam in the center.
[Top of Ascension]
[Difficulty: Completer (4 Stages)]
[Popularity: 152]
[Treasure Information: Each Trial Tower has its own summit. Completing the summit will earn you the final reward.
This process isn't easy. Please be fully prepared. You only get one chance in your lifetime.
Looking at the treasure information, Alka pondered carefully.
The entire Trial Tower has a difficulty level of 2 to 4.
But to complete it, you must possess the ultimate strength. Even with the fourth level, it's still difficult.
After completing it, you can obtain a scepter-level treasure.
How can you obtain the golden treasure?
Alka finally realized.
When he first saw the golden information, he thought he still had to complete the Trial Tower, but the Trial Tower would make different adjustments based on each person's strength.
Some adjustments.
It seems different from what I imagined.
But there's no further information to expand on.
It won't be long until dawn.
I'll ask the Triangle then.
Alka thought so.
As dawn approached, everyone woke up one after another, cleaned up briefly, and ate breakfast.
Xadaiti looked at Alka: "What's the goal of today's operation?"
"We're going to participate in the trial."
Hearing this, everyone turned to look at Alka, waiting for his answer.
"According to the information I've received, there should be a reward for passing the trial.
But yesterday the Triangle said there wasn't, so today we'll go ask what went wrong."
Hearing this, everyone nodded.
They hadn't put away the camping tools and tent nearby; they just left them there.
There weren't any valuables stored here, and judging by their appearances, it didn't look like they were going to leave the island anytime soon.
They made their way to the living room of the house where Triangle had taken them to rest yesterday.
However, he was nowhere to be found.
"Where could that triangular stone be?"
"Maybe at the edge of the tower. He might be there."
With that, they headed towards the central stone tower.
The tower was indeed enormous, appearing to be at least 60 meters tall. After all, it could be seen from far out at sea.
Especially the rubble floating around the Trial Tower. All of it was magical, drawn to the floating tower's own power and held there by its own magical energy.
The entire tower lacked any walkways or windows; it looked more like a massive stone pillar.
It wasn't until they reached the base of the tower that they realized...
The entire tower was supposedly erected on a massive platform, surrounded by several completely collapsed sculptures.
Those traces of collapse revealed just how magnificent this place once was.
"You're here? Are you planning a trial?" Triangle suddenly appeared beside them.
He was indeed there.
Alka gazed at the towering stone tower before them and asked, "If trials don't have rewards, what were the rewards before the War of Gods?"
This question seemed to indicate their interest in the trials, and Triangle answered excitedly.
"Take this remaining Trial Tower, for example. It was built only a short time before the War of Gods, so no one has yet reached the summit.
If anyone successfully reaches the summit, they will receive a powerful artifact, crafted by the gods themselves, using divine power combined with laws.
If someone simply performs well in the Trial, breaking through themselves, they will receive a powerful treasure with laws attached."
As if Alka and the others didn't understand, he explained, "In today's terms, they are the [Scepter] and the [Holy Grail]."
"But such rewards are no longer available. I don't have the authority to grant you the qualifications for the official Trial."
"So if you qualify, you can receive the real reward, right?" Alka asked.