"I returned…" Aeron took a deep breath.
'I feel weak.'
He blinked a few times to adjust his vision and found that he was not as strong as his consciousness had been in the dimension this technique sent him to.
'My decks!'
His eyes flickered as he checked his gift.
[ Deck of the Forbidden Arcana ]
—Primordial-Tier
1. Hiveborn Legion Deck (S-rank)
—> [6/6 cards, 0 Inspirations, 0 Epiphany]
2. Death Reaper Deck (SS-rank)
—> [7/7 cards, 0 Inspiration, 0 Epiphany]
3. Runebound Enchanter Deck (A-rank)
—> [5/5 cards, 0 Inspiration, 1 Epiphany]
1. Forbidden Flight (SSS-rank)
2. Lightning Nexus (S-rank)
Aeron sighed in relief. 'So my progress with the gift wasn't affected.'
He quickly checked his own lifeform status with the card.
[ Aeron Endfield ]
Lifeform Rank: Tier-4
Power Level: ???
- Physique: 1-star
- Stamina: 10,000/10,000
- Spirit: 1-star
- Prana: 10,000/10,000
- Vigor Points: 1,000 opened
- Spirit Points: 1,000 opened
'I reverted to Tier-4… or rather, progressed to Tier-4.'
Aeron knew why.
After all, he had managed to reach Tier-8, and reaching Tier-5 was the first major hurdle, requiring one to trigger something called Life Spark.
'That…'
Aeron noticed something in his inner space that was not there before.
'That pattern…' He noticed that the pattern on the hexagonal shape resembled the circulation of the forbidden technique, Battlefield of Death.
'The legacy…' Aeron's eyes surged with excitement.
He focused on it, and instantly, a headache struck him along with a voice.
[ You must reach Tier-5 Lifeform to be able to bear opening the Great Legacy of Underworld Emperor Bhairava. ]
[ Note that no one must know you own this legacy until you step through Transcendence. If this reaches the ears of sinful souls, you will be hunted endlessly. ]
[ As you have completely mastered Battlefield of Death, you have acquired the Rune of Bhairava. ]
'A rune?' Aeron raised his eyebrows. He checked its details, and his eyes widened.
[ Rune of Bhairava ]
Effect:
—> As long as you kill a living being, you will acquire life essence from them based on their lifeform rank. This essence can be used to increase your stats and unlock chakra points.
'Wait, so I just need to kill monsters, and I can become strong here just like in the Battlefield of Death?'
Aeron was shocked and then thrilled. 'Now I am proficient in combat. I learned a lot in the over two years I spent in the Battlefield of Death. It seems I'll be able to get strong fast.'
As Aeron thought about the time he spent, he froze.
'Aira… she must have forgotten about me.'
Over two years was a long time.
BAM!
The door of the top-grade training room burst open, and two people entered.
Aira and Dojo Master Wilren.
Aeron blinked.
"Aira…"
Aira and Dojo Master arrived before him and stared at him.
"He is real. In the flesh." Dojo Master nodded.
"You are already Tier-4…" Aira said dazedly as she sensed Aeron's aura.
Aeron wryly smiled, scratching the back of his head with an apologetic expression. "Sorry… it took me over two years to practice this technique. I didn't know it would be like that."
Hearing his words, Aira and Dojo Master froze briefly before looking at each other and then back at Aeron.
"Aeron, you barely spent two days here." Aira chuckled. "But from your words, it seems the technique took you on a ride of over two years. Forbidden techniques can do that."
"Indeed." Dojo Master smiled, his eyes emotional and thrilled. "Well, well… to think Earth had someone like you. But our lips are sealed."
He made a zipping motion.
"Aeron, we are supposed to keep this a secret, like how you cleared the hardest trial and acquired some kind of Great Legacy. Did you receive similar instructions from the technique?" Aira asked.
"Eh? But why and how were you told about it?" Aeron asked in surprise.
"That's because we were watching you while you practiced. We started observing when you were at the waterfall, until you defeated the three-headed pig," Dojo Master replied with a light chuckle.
"After you defeated it and entered the cemetery, we received a warning and a threat. After that, I couldn't trace your consciousness anymore." Dojo Master Wilren rubbed his chin. "Now I understand why. You were sent to an advanced dimension with a time-dilation effect."
'It wasn't a dimension, but a universe ruled by a power called Almighty Raal.' Aeron's eyes glinted. 'And I destroyed him. Or rather, it.'
Almighty Raal was no man. At the end of his quest, Aeron found not a living being, but a strange inanimate object he could not properly perceive.
Naturally, even without fully perceiving it, he annihilated it, won, acquired the Great Legacy, and mastered the technique.
He stretched his arms and said, "Anyway, I'm hungry. Can we eat something before doing anything else?"
Aira smiled. "Then let's go eat."
"Ahem. Follow me. Let's talk and eat at my humble abode." Dojo Master Wilren cleared his throat and smiled.
The trio left and soon arrived at the backyard of the Zen Ghost Dojo, inside an open pavilion crisscrossed at the center of a beautiful pond.
"I chose this location for my dojo because of this pond and the surrounding geography. It's near the base and at the back, so I can fully enjoy nature." Dojo Master looked at the setting sun as he took a sip.
The food soon arrived as dojo members brought it, and Aeron began eating like a hungry ghost.
After eating and washing his hands, Dojo Master Wilren finally asked a question.
"So, Aeron Endfield. You are now a superhuman, a powerful man. Let me ask you this." His eyes glinted as he smiled. "What do you want to do?"
Aeron looked at his hand. "I spent over two years surviving, getting stronger, and honing myself. I'm at Tier-4 now, but to open the legacy, I need to reach Tier-5."
He looked at Aira. "I want to fight. I want to battle. I want to kill."
Aira and Dojo Master blinked.
"Kill?" Aira tilted her head slightly.
"Monsters. And those pretending not to be monsters." Aeron smiled. "I have mastered the Battlefield of Death Tempering Technique. Now I just need to kill strong beings to open chakra points and gain stats."
"So how powerful are you right now?" Aira asked curiously. "You cleared something that has remained uncleared for hundreds of thousands of years. You must be strong. Your gift… I was wrong about it. I thought it was low-rank, but it's clearly high-rank, right?"
Aeron laughed. "Yep. It is. As for how strong I am, I don't exactly know. We'll have to find out somehow, and I'm all for it. I want to learn more about this world."
"I want to know everything. So where do we start?" He looked at Aira and Dojo Master with sparkling eyes. "I'm full and ready to fight."
Dojo Master laughed. "It seems the time you spent practicing the technique was quite violent, hahaha."
"That…" Aeron felt slightly embarrassed since it was true. "Yeah. All I experienced was hunting and being hunted. Kill or be killed. Constant fighting."
He laughed. "I guess I do need a break."
Aira grabbed his hand and grinned. "I've got you. I'll show you around the world you want to understand while helping you relax and explaining everything you need to know."
"Perfect." Aeron grinned.
Aira could feel that Aeron had changed significantly in just two days, even though it had been over two years for him.