Time slowly passed...
The fog within the Secret Realm gradually darkened as evening swiftly approached. The pale sky of the secret realm above the forest dimmed little by little, while the cold air became heavier and more humid.
Although there were no seasons, the cycle of day and night seemed to be preserved.
Eventually—
Crack-crack-crack-crack…
A fire light lit up beneath the trees.
Rotell crouched beside the campfire while adjusting several pieces of split wood with a long branch. Orange light illuminated her sharp blue eyes while sparks and smoke drifted upward, disappearing into the darkened forest canopy.
Around the fire sat several figures.
These were the elites of the United Army that had entered the secret realm with her.
Or more specifically, they were the 'Four Grand Mist Marshal Candidates' that she had chosen.
Rotell naturally sat among them.
At the northern side of the fire sat Cirsen.
The tall crimson-haired woman rested a massive spear beside her shoulder while casually tearing apart a piece of raw meat with one hand. Her body was large, muscular, and almost barbaric, while the legendary crimson armor resting undone beside her radiated an oppressive heat even while dormant. Her legs were thick, and her eyes were fierce, but despite her intimidating appearance, she had a kind, almost sisterly stare mixed with a bit of heroics.
Across from her, a distance away, sat Old Man Roe.
The bald, shirtless old man sat motionlessly atop a flat stone like a meditating monk. His skinny body barely moved, and his black eyes remained half-lidded while roots and small flowers quietly spread around the place where he sat.
Meanwhile, looking towards the last two, a small struggle had erupted beside the fire.
"Damn it! Stop touching me!"
Mellia roared, her small body exploding furiously.
The small badger beastmen kicked wildly while trying to escape the grasp of another female marshal.
Unfortunately—
Qucell, the busty beauty, completely refused to let go!
The mature blue-haired necromancer had wrapped herself tightly around Mellia from behind like some kind of overly affectionate snake. One hand hugged the angry beastmen tightly while the other shamelessly rubbed Mellia's thigh up and down.
"So soft~!" Qucell happily sighed, her body swaying back and forth.
"PERVERT!"
Mellia nearly bit her hand, her eyes filling with grief.
Her sharp teeth repeatedly snapped through the air while her fluffy tail violently puffed up.
"Let go of me!!"
"No!"
"DIE!"
Bang!
The campfire immediately descended into chaos.
Rotell watched the scene with a tired, almost doting smile.
"…Honestly, I don't even know why you two still sit together…"
"Because she smells nice," Qucell shamelessly replied, not even turning her head.
Mellia looked ready to commit a crime!
Seeing this, Cirsen burst into loud laughter while slapping her knee.
"Hahaha! Just bite her already!"
"I TRIED!" Her face filled with a look of being wronged!
No matter how many times she bit this busty big sister, the strange woman just got more and more excited! This woman was definitely a pervert through and through!
It should be said that although Mellia looked like a child, she was a full-on adult. Her childlike appearance was just a quirk of her race.
Rotell sighed before turning toward Roe.
"…Any advice?"
The bald man slowly opened one eye, but a long silence followed.
The surrounding officers unconsciously waited.
Then—
"Mm…"
Roe stared into the fire.
"If the dog bites the wolf..."
Another pause.
"…The wolf should probably stop petting the dog."
There was a long silence.
"But this dog won't let the wolf go."
Mellia: "…"
Qucell: " …"
Rotell stared at him, confused…
Then suddenly—
The entire camp burst into laughter!
"Damn right!" Mellia momentarily forgot to be angry.
Rotell raised an eyebrow, "…Why is it that I remember the saying being somewhat different?"
Roe slowly closed his eyes again.
"…I forgot halfway through..."
"Pfft!"
The laughter became even louder as the fire continued to crackle beneath the darkened sky…
-
As the night deepened, the atmosphere around the camp gradually settled.
The fog drifting through the forest became slower, while the pale moonlight from above turned increasingly dim beneath the overhead canopy.
Looking up, apart from a fairly small opening in the treetops, everything else was obscure.
Crackle~
The campfire softly crackled…
Rotell sat alone, fixing the fire while quietly listening to the others speak.
Her mind turned.
—The Four Grand Mist Marshals...
These were the candidates for the four directional leaders she had personally selected to oversee the north, east, south, and west seas during the upcoming Third Calamity.
Naturally, such positions could not be given out lightly.
Rotell lacked Elena's foresight, and she also lacked the many means possessed by the Heroes.
In the end, after consulting Elena, Arthur, and Kilemin individually, she selected one candidate from each of their recommendation pools before ultimately choosing the fourth herself.
Her eyes swept across the camp.
Old Man Roe was an ascetic survivor from the western region. Kilemin had recommended him, but he had also refused to explain the old man's background. Rotell eventually learned that Roe was a Fourth Order 'Archmage' who specialized in earth and wood magic. More importantly, he possessed a terrifying level of experience. Roe had wandered the continent constantly enlightening mortal beasts and slowly raising them into spirit beasts through obscure druid-like techniques.
Rotell still found it a little bit absurd…
Next, Qucell had been Arthur's recommendation.
Originally, she was only an expelled student from the Royal Academy of Magic in Llynun, but after taking an interest in necromancy (Fourth Order: Soul Weever), she left the academy and disappeared into the underworld of the capital. Eventually, she joined the Barak Family.
After several failed attempts to find her, Rotell personally visited the Barak Family, and after some negotiations, Qucell was handed over happily.
As for Mellia, this little badger was still trying to bite Qucell. She had been recommended by Elena. Mellia was a Fourth Order Summoner at the 'Elemental Pool Realm'. More importantly, she was one of the last students under Old Man Otan, the legendary earth summoner who was one step away from achieving the fifth realm, the 'Elemental Body Realm'.
Although Otan possessed countless students scattered throughout the continent, after his death, all of them collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Mm, that alone said enough about his character…
Mellia herself had remained relatively hidden among his many students, causing many people to assume she was just a young child. That assumption disappeared very quickly after she punched the teeth out of a Third Order practitioner skull from the other side of a stone wall during her recruitment.
Finally, Cirsen…
Rotell glanced toward the large crimson-haired woman sitting opposite her. Unlike the others, Cirsen had been Rotell's own choice. The two met briefly during the Grand Gathering in Imai, and despite only knowing each other for a short period of time, Rotell found herself liking Cirsen's straightforward personality quite a bit.
She was heroic, strong, and filled with a masculine charm.
Most importantly, she never backed away from a fight, which was exactly the type of person needed during a calamity.
Rotell slowly nodded to herself.
If these four could truly pass the criteria she prepared for them, then she would willingly entrust them with the four most important positions in the upcoming war.
-
Rumble—
Suddenly, the world shook. The forest floor trembled beneath their feet, causing the fire to flicker. The surrounding trees rustled as the creatures hidden in the thicket all scattered.
At the same time, a horrifying 'cry' echoed throughout the entire Secret Realm. It sounded neither human nor ghost, and seemed more inhuman than human.
A massive wave of spiritual energy spread through the forest like a tsunami.
The campfire flickered even more violently.
It disappeared just as quickly as it had come, but everyone immediately stood, even Roe slowly opened both eyes. As they took in that spiritual energy, they all came to the same realization…
A treasure had been born!
* * *
Not far away—
On a barren hill hidden deep within the forest, a large number of forces had already gathered.
The earlier cry that shook the Secret Realm had clearly not been natural.
Something had appeared, and naturally nobody wanted to arrive late.
The surrounding forest in this area had strangely withered away, leaving behind a wide stretch of dead grey soil scattered with cracked stones and shallow trenches. The fog lingering throughout the realm continuously drifted around the hill like flowing smoke, making the atmosphere feel exceptionally eerie.
At the very top of the hill was a strange tree that quietly stood in place.
It was only around three meters tall, but its appearance was exceptionally eye-catching. The trunk twisted together unnaturally, almost like multiple bodies had been fused into one before hardening into wood. The center of the trunk formed a hollow heart-shaped gap, and suspended within this hollow was a single bright green fruit that had only recently ripened.
The fruit resembled a translucent human heart.
Its outer surface continuously pulsed with faint veins of pale emerald light, while a soft mist-like aura flowed around it. Occasionally, strange ripples spread through the surrounding air, causing nearby practitioners to feel a faint trembling within their souls.
A dense spiritual fragrance drifted outward from the fruit.
This scent was incredibly unique, and unlike ordinary spirit fruits that nourished the body or mind, this fragrance directly stimulated the sea of consciousness and the soul within it.
Many people immediately recognized it, and their eyes instantly turned red with greed.
"A Soul Shaking Heartfruit…"
Someone muttered in disbelief.
More specifically—
A 'Fifth Order' 'Soul Shaking Heartfruit!'
For practitioners from the Necromancer Pathway, this treasure was completely priceless!
The reason was simple—
The first realm of the necromancer pathway was all about absorbing the force that formed the soul into the body and saturating yourself so that you could be better compatible with this ethereal power.
The second realm of the necromancer pathway was about taking this lingering soul force and refining it to then strengthen the soul.
The third realm of the necromancer pathway was when you condensed your 'Soul' into a 'Soul Core.'
The fourth realm of the necromancer pathway was when you split your Memory, Instincts, Emotions, and Thoughts into distinct parts within your Soul Core.
But—!
To advance into the Fifth Realm, a Necromancer needed to complete two steps. The first was to completely strip their Soul Core from their Sea of Consciousness, then the second was to reintegrate it into the physical body through a horrifying process known as 'Soul Burial'.
This process was exceptionally dangerous, and one mistake meant death, or worse…
If the Soul Core became unstable at any point, the practitioner could lose all memories, shatter their sea of consciousness, or simply disperse their souls on the spot. What was even worse, after removing the Soul Core, it then needed to be forcibly anchored back into the body without even the slightest rejection occurring. This left the sea of Consciousness empty, but at the same time, your 'Thoughts' could better control your physical body.
Many Necromancers died during this step, but just as many transformed into mindless monsters.
Because of this, any treasure capable of stabilizing the Soul Core during advancement was considered unbelievably valuable…
And the 'Soul Shaking Heartfruit' was one of them!
Among all cultivation pathways, the Necromancer Pathway was considered the most dangerous.
Unlike mages who strengthened a self-created core, or Summoners who tempered and transformed their bodies with elemental energy, Necromancers continuously tampered and transformed their souls.
The soul was unlike the rest of the body, if it was damaged, then things could only end.
The Necromancer pathway focused on consciousness, memory, death, life, and soul manipulation.
Each advancement carried immense risk, but in exchange—
Necromancers possessed terrifying abilities that grew increasingly abnormal the further they advanced.
Even the final hurdle at the end of their paths could be considered the most difficult, requiring one to completely recultivate just to pass it and advance to the ninth order.
In short, any opportunities to reduce the risk held a weight far greater than the other pathways.
-
As the various forces gathered toward the hill, the atmosphere gradually became tense.
Nobody wanted to be the first to move.
At this time, Rotell and the others arrived…