Chapter 935: Well-Deserved Rest and Reward
Arthur and Rishia had just killed not one, but two Cosmic Horrors.
Technically, both cosmic horrors had merged into one toward the end, but they were still originally two separate existences.
They’d killed cosmic horrors while in states of limited power, with the vast majority of their Authorities completely sealed away, unable to use their full arsenal of abilities.
Even though they were undeniably low-level cosmic horrors, they’d still ended the lives of two cosmic horrors.
Now then, how did Arthur and Rishia feel after pulling off such a feat?
"I want to sleep."
"For at least several weeks, preferably."
Those were the words that escaped their lips respectively, as they completely ignored the disintegrating corpse of the fused cosmic horrors and stepped through the double doors that had appeared right in front of them.
They entered those doors with little fear of being thrown straight into another battle because they knew the tower had been based on roguelike games, and games like that usually placed rest areas right after boss battles, something they understood well from playing many games themselves.
They were still on guard, but that caution proved unnecessary as they were greeted by another vast plain covered in verdant green grass, almost a replica of the place where they’d just fought the cosmic horrors, with one notable difference.
Instead of cosmic horrors waiting for them, there was a fountain set between two small, modest cottages.
When they approached the fountain, their bodies were immediately filled with invigorating cosmic energy, all their wounds and accumulated physical fatigue washing away completely.
Even the dust, dirt, and grime clinging to their bodies and clothes were thoroughly cleaned away.
However, Arthur and Rishia didn’t pause to admire this near-perfect display of magic, and without a word between them, they walked straight toward the cottages, entered inside, headed for the nearest beds they could find, and dropped onto them, conking out instantly.
◇ ◇ ◇
Like usual, they didn’t know how long had passed, but after some time, both of them woke up feeling far more mentally refreshed after having slept for a very long time.
Arthur was the one to wake up first, and after doing so, he spent some time walking around the cottage, trying to see what exactly was inside the place.
First of all, he found something he’d walked right past earlier without noticing due to his exhaustion and desire to sleep, but placed on the desk in the living room were several runestones.
One Authority stone, along with two Technique stones and two Skill stones.
He didn’t hesitate to use them, and after doing so, the Authority he unlocked turned out to be his Polearm Weapon authority.
Of all the possible Authorities he could’ve unlocked, it ended up being a Weapon Authority for a weapon that was not his primary.
Silently, he proceeded to use the Technique stones, and ironically, the techniques he unlocked were those which required not a polearm but a sword.
His Destruction Crescent technique could still be applied with a spear, but the Split Series had originally been created for sword usage and only with a sword could its maximum power be drawn out.
Considering there was nothing stopping him from using magic power or divinity to form sword constructs, he could still make use of those techniques, but the power behind them would be far weaker since he’d only be using energy-constructed weapons without any Authority backing them.
After using the runestones, he moved on to the kitchen, where he found a fair amount of food stocked away.
There was no clock or calendar anywhere in the cottage, so he didn’t know what day it was, nor could he tell the time, but he didn’t dwell on that.
Instead, he stepped out of the cottage and headed toward the next one.
He entered just in time to see Rishia silently holding an Authority rune stone, its inscription already gone.
Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "What did you get?"
Turning toward him with an exasperated sigh, she replied, "Sword."
Arthur immediately burst into laughter upon hearing her response.
"Would you look at that? My main weapon’s a sword, and I unlocked my Spear Authority. Your main weapon’s a polearm, but you unlocked your Sword Authority."
Hearing this, Rishia’s brows narrowed, and she muttered, "This has to be intentional. There’s no way this was randomised."
Arthur laughed at her reaction and took a seat in the chair opposite her in the living room.
"Well, we can talk about that later," he said. "For now, let’s focus on the most important thing here."
Rishia’s expression immediately became serious, and she nodded.
"The influx of soul power both of us received after killing those things."
Arthur silently nodded in agreement.
The moment the cosmic horrors perished, Arthur and Rishia’s souls were flooded with an immense amount of soul power, so much so that the quality of their souls had increased by several levels.
"That’s likely our real reward for defeating them," Arthur said. "Barda did say the point of the tower was to increase our strength."
"True, Lord Barda did mention that, but still, that was a substantial amount of soul power."
Rishia had been surprised by the influx just as much as Arthur had, though she’d been far too exhausted at the time to properly react to it.
That increase in soul power brought several benefits.
Their souls were stronger and far more resistant to spiritual and mental attacks, just like the passive mental corruption caused by cosmic horrors.
Their soul capacity had also increased, meaning they could possess more of what the Devour Class Systems created by the Eternals referred to as ’Skills’ within their souls.
More importantly, the number of Authorities they could possess, as well as the Rank of those Authorities, had increased.
In short, their souls had been empowered to the level normally reached after completing comprehension of a Mid-Rank Law.
Their souls were now capable of withstanding the power of a High-Rank Origin Core.
Previously, while they had no issue with High-Rank law comprehensions, they lacked the capacity to handle the upgrade from a Mid-Rank to a High-Rank origin core. Now, they could withstand not one, but two such upgrades.
They had enough soul capacity for two High-Rank Origin Cores, and they only needed one to meet the requirements for the High-Tier Deity Realm.
In terms of quality, their souls were now closer to the High-Tier Deity Realm than the Mid-Tier one they were currently in.
"That’s a generous reward," Arthur muttered, thinking about how many years of effort had been saved.
Then he chuckled.
"Who knows, maybe we’d have spent those years inside here."
Rishia immediately shook her head at that statement.
"I know we’ve spent a fair amount of time here, but it’s definitely not up to a year."
"Hahaha, I know," Arthur replied.
After a moment, he continued,
"Still, that was only floor one, and it was already this tough. I’m honestly dreading the remaining floors, especially that lost floor Raikis mentioned."
"Let’s think about the next floor before that one," Rishia said. "I want to stay here a few more days and rest before we move on. Is that okay with you?"
Arthur nodded.
"Yeah. There’s plenty of food stocked in the kitchen, so I plan to eat a lot too," he said while standing up, then turned to Rishia and asked, "How good are you at cooking?"
Rishia responded matter-of-factly,
"Well, I can’t say I’m the best in the field, but I’m good enough to be considered Master of the art. It’s a vital skill for surviving on your own."
She was clearly proud of her cooking skills, and it showed in her tone, her expression, her posture, everything.
That confidence of hers made Arthur smile.
"Well, since you’re so confident, how about we liven things up with a cook-off? Let’s see what you’re made of, Miss Pedigree."
Rishia’s left eyebrow twitched as she turned toward him with a glare.
"Do NOT call me that."
Of course, like usual, she was absolutely unhappy with being called ’Miss Pedigree’ by Arthur.
And of course, like usual, Arthur still called her ’Miss Pedigree’, purely to mess with her.
◇ ◇ ◇
Now then, after their little cook-off, which for the record ended in Arthur’s complete and total defeat, the two of them eventually set off for the second floor, stepping into the pair of double doors that had always been present right behind the two cottages, which they simply hadn’t noticed the day they came in.
At the time, they’d been far too exhausted, and their eyes could only see the cottages as places to sleep and not process any images that were not those places to sleep.
Upon stepping into the next floor, they found themselves in what looked like the ruins of some civilisation.
Fairly new ruins at that, considering that the city was still on fire.
Buildings lay collapsed everywhere, flames climbing into the sky and painting it orange, while screams echoed from every direction.
The moment they saw the scene and heard the sounds, Arthur raised an eyebrow and asked,
"Are we supposed to play heroes here and save the people screaming, or are the people screaming actually just monsters in disguise that’ll ambush us when we get too close?"
Rishia was about to respond to that, but then she noticed something and turned her gaze in a different direction before saying,
"We can figure that out after we deal with whoever’s coming our way."
Arthur followed her line of sight right after she said that, and he saw a small group of armoured knights emerge from the ruins of several collapsed buildings nearby.
These knights were in full plate armour, kitted from head to toe, not a single part of their underclothes or skin visible. Glowing lights marked the spots in their visors where their eyes were, and they were all wielding quite a variety of weapons.
One carried an axe, several bore swords, others held spears, and a few even had bows.
The moment the knights noticed Arthur and Rishia, they stopped in their tracks.
Silence pervaded for a moment.
Then, the knights abruptly kicked off the ground and shot toward them at ridiculous speed.
Both of them immediately jumped back to avoid the combined attack of the knights, and as they landed on the ground, the knights pressed the attack, the bowmen firing arrows to keep them occupied while the melee combatants closed in, with the swordsmen going first.
Arthur raised a hand and caught the first swordsman’s blade, lifting both the knight and his weapon before flinging him away in a random direction. Almost immediately after, the tip of a spear shot straight toward his forehead.
He raised his other hand and flicked a finger upward, knocking the spear tip off course.
