Chapter 293 Calm Before The Storm
"The pain must be truly agonizing for Andrei to scream like that," Venedikt said, looking at his brother chained to the floor.
After leaving the hotel, Alex took his brothers to a training chamber and, without any delay, gave Andrei the first heart of the Beast Monarch to consume while also informing him to be mentally prepared for hellish pain.
Andrei gulped down the heart without asking any questions, only complaining about how bad it tasted, and knowing there were few seconds before the process of cleansing would begin, Alex started to explain the origin of the heart and its significance.
Andrei and Venedikt both had stunned expressions after learning about the Beast Monarch's legacy, and before they could get comfortable with the information, the cleansing process started.
Alex used the abyssal chains to bind Andrei in place, knowing the purification process would be tens of times more painful than usual, and if Andrei killed himself by accident, things would go horribly wrong as there would be no second chance for him to gain the legacy.
Alex and Venedikt watched in silence Andrei's skin getting ripped open, drenching him in blood and creating a puddle around him, his body being cloaked inside a tornado of mana while he could be heard screaming at the top of his lungs in agony.
The cleansing process lasted for close to an hour, and as the tornado of rich mana dissipated, Andrei could be seen lying in a puddle of blood, while his previously mangled body now bore no signs of injury.
"Venedikt, I have promoted you to the Rank of an Elder, and I want you to focus on just expanding the organization,"
"Appoint talented individuals in higher positions, make sure they find out about the truth of the organization until you can fully trust them,"
"Spend as much money as needed to strengthen the organization and don't worry about creating means to earn it, as I will start selling the entry tokens of the domain to various big guilds, which would give us so much liquid funds that couldn't get exhausted,"
"You also do not need to level up for some time because I am close to securing a (SSS) legacy for you," Alex said.
"Sir Alex, You have deepest gratitude for these grand opportunities you are willing to give me, and I will prove my worth with my actions and not words,"
"But before I take on these responsibilities, I sincerely request that we sign a strict contract that could keep me in check because I do not want to disappoint you," Venedikt said after a momentary silence.
"If you truly want to betray me, the contracts could do little to hinder you, but I respect your desire for accountability, so let's draft a contract that outlines your responsibilities, expectations, and the consequences of any breach of trust," Alex said, knowing Venedikt wouldn't take no for an answer.
Alex picked the standard drafted contract by the system for higher positions and made few changes to it, removing the majority of career-ending punishments before giving it to Venedikt to show how little he cared about the contract.
After the contract was signed, Alex discussed the direction he wanted the organization to progress, sharing a list of various talented individuals he knew from his past life with Venedikt, asking him to recruit them and focus on increasing the number of members.
"This space ring contains ten thousand domain entry tokens and coordinates of hidden underground city ruins filled with monsters and opportunities," Alex said, handing Venedikt a space ring.
"Any member can get the entry token for free, but each member could only get one token in a month, and they need extra, they will need your permission,"
"As for coordinates of the city ruins, you should make them public by using a persona to gain widespread recognition among the players and NPCs, and with your new-found fame, it would be easy to require talented individuals into the organization," Alex said, and Venedikt nodded in understanding.
"Is there a time frame in which I should make the city ruins public, and can I spread rumors about our organization, or do you want to keep it in the shadows," Venedikt asked after thinking for a few seconds.
"You are an Elder. Figure out yourself," Alex said with a casual smile.
After an hour, Andrei woke up, and when he recovered from the shock of the ordeal he had experienced, Alex told him about the death countdown and the following numbered hearts he needed to consume to stay alive.
Andrei, carefree as ever, didn't show a spread of panic after learning that in just six months, he could be gone from the Ancient world forever if he failed to consume the second heart.
But instead, he casually inquired of Alex whether he would procure the hearts for him or if he should embark on the search to find them himself.
Alex advised Andrei to prioritize his training and swiftly ascend to the pinnacle of the third rank and assured his brother that he would personally handle the task of collecting the hearts.
With no further tasks at hand, Alex bid farewell to his brothers, sharing the bulk of the gold coins he had amassed during his time with the mercenary guild.
Afterward, he used his domain entry token, teleporting back to the human continent, where he reappeared by the lakeside on the same location before teleporting to the domain.
Alex now had just two things he wanted to focus on, with the first being to awaken his elemental flame and get promoted to the fourth, with the second being hunting the demons to farm the Ruler coins.
Alex also needed to meet with the Donatelli family and other guild leaders to make the deal, but he planned to do that a few days later as, for now, he just wanted to test his strength in a long, arduous battle to truly see the changes.
Alex left the area and went deeper into the mountain canyons to test his strength against fifth Rank monsters before going to the dark barrier to raid some demon hideouts.
Alex specifically came to Vlinas City because in the surrounding mountain canyons, deep in the caves, one could find Arachnoxus and Shadowfang Vespertilian.
Arachnoxus were giant spiders with adult males standing at an average of twenty feet tall, with their female counterparts close to doubling in average size.
Arachnoxus, other than carrying all the major abilities of massive spiders, had control over a unique poison that made them pray, hallucinate, and experience realistic illusions, not knowing they were being devoured alive until it was too late.
The Shadowfang Vespertilian were giant bats, their average size reaching close to ten feet with close to double that of wingspan, silent, swift, and deadly hunters capable of wielding shadow, wind, and sound element-based attacks.
Both of these creatures lived in groups that could reach over ten and lived in pitch-dark underground caves with other creatures that were stronger than them on an individual scale, so engaging in battle in their territory was never going to be a one-on-one battle.
While Alex was moving deep into the underground caves, killing any normal creature he encountered, Omori, the adventurer team leader working for the demonic guild, held the communication slip, his eyes carrying a mix of relief and anxiety.
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