The period of the first test lasted exactly two months. After that, there would be a month with the central city open for registration, and then the Elemental Condensation World would be accessible. On the twenty-first day, Yanson walked alone, feeling a sharp pain in his head after being hit by the furious whale.
However, he was content. He had noticed that the whale looked at him differently and then mentioned that he resembled someone. Intuitively, Yanson felt that this person meant a lot to him. After receiving so much help, he imagined that he would become a substitute. Usually, very humanoid figures without significant beastly characteristics had strange tendencies...
Well, now he realized that the malicious being didn’t seem to have that kind of interest in him. He decided, on his own, to search for his hidden people. The whale seemed to realize this and did not reject it, so he decided to take the risk. The dark elves inhabited a specific region, not venturing too far due to their knowledge of the area, making hiding easier. In other regions, more powerful demonic plants lurked, along with outsider assassins.
The whale followed him in silence, sensing the boy’s intentions. ’Naive, he fully trusts us just like that? He’s going to gather them all so that we can eliminate them more easily... If we were evil, the fate of all dark elves would be grim due to this naivety,’ Bruno commented dryly.
Alm responded coldly. ’This way is better. Being naive simplifies things. Let’s gather them all and create a decoy; that way, we can eliminate the idiots from outside more quickly.’ Sure enough, it wasn’t like Alm helped the boy just for the sake of it. He would get his own rewards.
’You planned this with ulterior motives! Well, we are helping, after all. It will be a good deed with gains...’ murmured Bruno.
Two days later, Yanson found an adult dark elf hidden in a bush. He was severely injured and had lost a leg. In his arms, he held a newborn dark elf. His wife, with a higher cultivation, had sacrificed herself to allow them to escape, but the older elf’s condition was terrible.
When the whale appeared next to Yanson, the eyes of the older dark elf widened, his face paled. The boy quickly reassured him, unsuccessfully explaining that the whale was not evil. It was evident that the older dark elf didn’t believe it. They had known each other for only a few days; how could he trust so easily?
However, the whale just waved, and a celestial blue aura surrounded the elf and the baby, healing them in a matter of seconds. Then, both turned and hid again, without saying a word.
Yanson expressed his gratitude, and the older dark elf finally calmed down. They continued their search, but now they started to be targeted more frequently. In the sky, three flying beasts found and surrounded them. The adult dark elf was terrified, but Yanson pulled out his bow and leaped to the top of the tree, attacking one of them.
CRACK! CRACK!
In a matter of seconds, two birds were pierced by pillars of earth that seemed to sprout from the void and exploded. The real battle took place between the boy and the remaining bird, which became extremely frightened and tried to flee. However, that only hastened its fate. In a few minutes, Yanson emerged victorious.
Yanson didn’t stop to examine the bodies; the whale was responsible for collecting all the rings. After the incident, the adult dark elf took a deep breath, a bit more confident. He thought he was doomed, but now he had seen with his own eyes the results of the "help" from that demon whale. Actions spoke louder than words.
So, the first month of the first test came to an end. Now, Alm and Bruno found themselves near a group of almost a hundred dark elves. Before, all of them were in difficult situations and wounded, making them easier to be found by the trail of spilled blood.
With this number, it wasn’t feasible to continue searching for more survivors. The strongest and those not at risk should be fine. They decided, then, to settle there, and the plan was set in motion.
The whale gathered everyone and raised a large circular earth structure. It created underground passages for everyone to take shelter, distributed food, and ensured that everyone was calm and healed.
With that, everyone felt safer. However, it didn’t take more than two hours for the attacks to begin. They came from all sides, like moths drawn to the light. Countless demonic beasts of various types arrived at short intervals, sometimes in groups.
Despite the relentless attacks, the creatures couldn’t penetrate the walls of earth. Strategically, Yanson focused on the flying ones, while the whale quickly eliminated all other threats through the land. It was a stealthy duo that attacked without leaving any trace, and both seamlessly blended with the environment.
The boy took quite some time to finish each beast, but his precision in the techniques he received and his determination were immense. He improved rapidly, but despite being at the same cultivation level as the enemies, the differences in abilities were significant, and he would soon reach a limit.
Yanson’s luck lay in the fact that only the lower echelon of cultivators sought to massacre the weak natives for gains. The stronger ones simply ignored, allowing Yanson a chance to be trained properly.
Alm and Bruno observed this and felt the injustice toward the boy. He was born in this isolated place, never had someone to teach him properly, and yet achieved high cultivation thanks to his will. Sometimes the heavens were unfair, and someone hardworking would never have a chance encounter of fate... wait! Did we turn into that kind of encounter? The two thought simultaneously, stunned.
After a short interval between attacks, the whale sighed, accepting the manipulation of Heaven’s Will. It then approached the boy and retrieved something from the inventory. It was the Diagram of Natural Bloodlines. In it, the bloodlines of pure dark elves and their inheritances were recorded, along with specific techniques for them. Although Yanson didn’t need the bloodlines, the techniques were valuable to him, as they were developed considering the capabilities of a dark elf.
"The enemies are close. And as before, we don’t have time for you to study; put everything into practice by fighting," said the whale, stepping back.
In the next wave of enemies, Yanson was more cautious, conducting tests. After two days, his speed began to grow exponentially. His arrows became more venomous, and his Yin power more imperceptible and dense. It was as if his abilities had been magically multiplied.
They killed and killed, and the dark elves who used to tremble underground now excitedly watched the spectacle through the windows of the construction. It took half a month, and the enemy numbers dropped to practically zero.
’The cultivators who were already searching in this region have been eliminated. The planet is very large, so we’ll have a bit of peace until more appear. We finished off... almost a thousand of them...’ Bruno commented, looking at his inventory and seeing about five million black gold.
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That was the currency of the underworld, equivalent to spirit crystals. However, this black gold was used by the top cultivators of the underworld, being equivalent to a divine realm coin in common universes. Alm and Bruno drooled, analyzing this ore; a single coin was worth almost a thousand spirit crystals in terms of spiritual energy. With this, they could easily cultivate themselves.
With fifteen days left, they left Yanson in charge of everything, reinforced the protection, and created another earthen construction to isolate themselves. However, when they tried to enter, they were stopped. A young-looking dark elf approached them. She was their ’elder.’ Despite being 95 years old, she was the oldest among them, who lived around a maximum of 100 years.
"Sir, thank you for saving our people." She bowed politely, and Alm quickly sensed the plot when he saw half a dozen dark elves behind her.
"I have human blood, but I’m not a maniac; I already have someone, so leave," Alm spat curtly, turning away.
All sighed disappointedly, but the elder thought quickly. "Sir! We have to repay; if you don’t want us, then... accept this! It’s the ancestral treasure of our people."
The whale turned around and saw the dark elf put her hand over her heart. Then, a rune appeared, shining brightly. "This is the blessing Gaia gave to our people. With this, we miraculously managed to survive until today. Gaia is always protecting us."
The whale widened its eyes. Gaia was a general name given to the core of a planet. All planets that had life had a core called Gaia, in principle. They, of course, in the past, exterminated all forms of life in the universe, not only races but also the cores of planets that were considered living beings.
The higher the level of the planet, the more powerful its core was. In the planets of divine worlds, this core had consciousness and could communicate or perform other actions, such as granting light blessings to those born on it.
Gaia’s core could not be cultivated, but it held a connection to celestial laws. This gave it capabilities impossible for mortals. And the core of Gaia on this underworld planet was at the center of a stellar formation... Alm and Bruno felt that rune as if it were a piece of the celestial world itself.
Bruno spoke with the whale while Alm was stunned. "I don’t want anything in return, go away."
’You’re crazy!’ Alm mentally roared.
"Sir, please accept it! Gaia should reward you, as we are useless and have nothing to please you." The dark elf handed it over, and the rune pulsed even more intensely. Bruno was excited, and Alm fell silent. It seemed to be an approval from the rune that Bruno had unearthed.
"Since you insist, I’ll keep it temporarily, then I’ll return it." The whale received it, speaking quickly, and entered the earthen construction as fast as it could.
Soon, they sat excited with the unexpected gift. It was rare for the planet’s core to directly protect something like a race; this was almost a karmic intervention. And as the core was connected to celestial laws, intervening like this would bring serious consequences to the entire planet. They had only heard something similar in ancient tales. Now, they were before this marvel, connecting that rune directly into their animated bodies.
Then... they felt a shock. Images were flowing from the rune to their mental sea. Gaia was communicating with them through memories!
Silent minutes passed, showing images of when the stellar formation was built. Then, in the end, Alm and Bruno opened their eyes, stunned.
’Damn... it was what I expected. This place was created by a hero,’ Bruno muttered.
Then, Alm added coldly, ’He not only connected various places into a stellar formation, the Elemental Condensation World was created using the power of a Heaven’s Will missionary as the core.’ Alm and Bruno were a missionary themselves, and they had heard about previous ones, too.
’For Gaia to be showing us this... it knows who we are, obviously. The missionary is surely still alive.’ Bruno said tensely.