Chapter 67: Inheritance Ground
Zora nodded as she scanned the kids and watched their parents and guardians leave the hall.
She paused when she saw Sara standing with a kid, but seeing he was just a normal Level 20 boy, she looked away and continued her preparations.
Although she looked perfectly calm on the outside, she was worried.
Her brother, Arthur, had contacted her an hour ago, urgently asking her to open the Inheritance Ground so that all the kids or rather, his son Alex would be safely outside the Desert City.
He had looked to be in a hurry and repeatedly emphasized that she must act quickly. He even ordered her not to come to the Desert City at all costs if something catastrophic happened.
Zora thought in worry, What has he gotten himself into this time...?
She had rarely seen him this out of sorts.
The last time was when their parents had died when they were young.
After that tragedy, he had returned to his cool, collected and highly efficient self, always meticulously planning before doing anything.
He rarely did things on impulse like this, especially after they had previously decided to open this gate next month; after she had officially become a Demigod. All she needed was just a little bit more EXP to reach that threshold.
She was currently the highest-level human on Earth at Level 99.
Most of her success was thanks to her Aspect. It was an Aspect nearly impossible to naturally appear in their Nightmare Aspect-dominated world, but she had been incredibly lucky enough to awaken it.
The [Dream] Aspect. It allowed her to do truly mysterious things. Even her brother didn’t know the full extent of what she could do.
This Aspect was the opposite of the Nightmare Aspect. As a rare holder of both these Aspects, her strength received a passive boost from the world itself, allowing her to exhibit far more power than usual; as if the world itself favored her balancing presence.
She was also a ’Chosen’, but her Patron God was no longer alive in the normal sense.
She looked out at the gathered kids and announced, "This time, the Inheritance Ground has strictly banned the use of any external support. This includes personal items, artifacts and even bonded companions like summons."
Seeing the devastated faces of some of the students probably those with the Summoner Class, she continued.
"But the specialty of this specific trial is that you will not truly die inside this gate. That is, you will be automatically revived by the System upon experiencing death. Everything else, you can find out for yourselves inside."
A glowing white crystal then appeared in her hand, which she casually tossed into the air.
Mid-air, it shattered and a huge swirling white gate instantly opened.
Immediately, Night received a System prompt.
[Hidden Event Unlocked]
[The Inheritance Ground Gate has been detected.]
[This gate contains an unknown number of legacies left behind by the past Awakeners of this Cosmos.
Note: Only one legacy can be chosen.
Choosing a legacy does not guarantee an inheritance.
There is no limit to the total amount of tries, but each specific legacy can be attempted only once.
Rules: No Support - Only your personal innate strength can be used.
Condition: No Death - You will be revived immediately upon death.]
[Time Limit: 1 Week]
[Do you wish to enter?]
[Y/N]
Watching the other students disappear into the gate in flashes of light, he looked back at Sara standing in the rear. He nodded at her and then he disappeared in a flash of light as well.
.....
Inside the Inheritance Ground
Night looked around and saw that he was standing on a vast plain of green grass. He could barely see a few other students spawning far away in the distance.
I see, the spawn points are completely random, Night thought.
He mentally tried to access the System Shop, but the interface failed to open. I see. ’Support’ even includes the System Shop.
He then tried to open his personal Status screen, and surprisingly, he failed to do that too. He wasn’t even able to check how much EV reserves he currently had.
The last time he had checked earlier this morning, it was 7,992 EV.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he thought,
So the System considers itself a form of ’support’ and has stopped helping me as well.
He started walking in a random direction.
As he walked, he tried to use his skills, but he failed to activate those as well.
He paused in his tracks. How are we supposed to do anything without our skills?
Looking closely at the distant kids, he saw that all of them were walking toward the North.
Not knowing where else to go, he decided to follow them.
He tried to internally sense his [Nightmare Domain]nand surprisingly, it actually worked!
Huh? The Nightmare Domain is not considered external support? Why?
It was clearly an object residing deep within his soul space.
He was not stupid enough to believe his ’cheat’ had simply escaped the notice of the System.
That made it all the more confusing as to exactly why he was still able to access it here.
He tried to sense his friends through their bonds but failed completely.
Previously, outside the gate in the massive hall, he had casually tried to do the same thing and easily managed to sense them all the way back at his house, so he had safely concluded his telepathic range was quite wide.
As he raised his palm, a wisp of black mist danced effortlessly over it. Then, he tried to summon his [Soul Fire] on his other hand and it flared to life as well.
This means the rules allow me to use things that are inherently inseparable or a fundamental part of my being, but restrict external entities that can be separated from me; like my summons or artifacts.
The [Soul Fire] he could easily understand, since it was literally born from his new Profession. But why was the [Nightmare Domain] considered an innate part of his very being like that as well?
Night grimly realized he still didn’t know much about his own cheat.
After this Inheritance Ground thing is over, I really need to try and learn more about myself.
I know my past life memories are technically because of that mortal man, but I am still not sure how I actually came to possess the Nightmare Domain in the first place.
It was a mystery.
...
Soon, he reached a vast region covered in a thick, white mist.
He cautiously entered it only after he saw the other kids bravely walking into it as well.
Anyways, I won’t truly die in here, so it doesn’t really matter if it’s a trap...
As he walked deeper into the thick mist, he saw a kid standing in front of a weird-looking ancient pot.
He walked closer to investigate, but immediately had to cover his nose as the pungent smell of herbal medicine assaulted his senses.
Hearing his approaching footsteps, the other kid looked up warily at him and warned, "This is an Alchemist’s Legacy. You don’t look like an Alchemist, so it is of no use to you."
Chill out, kid. I am not trying to steal your stuff, Night thought, rolling his eyes.
He said out loud, "I am just curious what this whole inheritance thing is all about."
The kid raised an eyebrow. "Ohh, you don’t know? Didn’t your parents inform you beforehand?"
Night replied blankly, "I don’t have parents."
The kid instantly stiffened, looking at him with wide eyes. "Are you... more than 7 years old?"
He probably thought Night was one of the older Awakeners from before the System arrived, meaning if he was an older kid sneaking in here, he was basically toast.
Night shook his head. "I just turned 7 this year."
The kid visibly relaxed.
Tragic cases like this were rare, but certainly not uncommon in this apocalyptic world.
One of his own classmates didn’t have a father either; his father Kevil, their academy’s previous Headmaster, had tragically died in a surprise ambush by a powerful beast that had escaped a Death Zone.
The kid offered a small, polite smile. "I am Stan and I am from the Champion City."
Night nodded back. "I am Night, from the Desert City."
....
Meanwhile, in the Desert City:
Inside a room, Arthur sat on the edge of his bed.
He felt drained after activating the divine skill earlier. Unlike normal System skills, a divine skill needed much more than just raw mana to activate.
He had been forced to consume the only Divine Crystal he had acquired from a rare, fortunate encounter just to fuel the escape. Even after using it, he still felt a profound weakness in his soul.
[The Sleepless Sword]:
["Child, even with the sacrifice of the Divine Crystal, you will not be able to exert your full strength for at least a week."]
Arthur nodded tiredly. "I can sense it too. I can barely muster a fraction of my strength."
That was exactly why he had used his communication device to contact his sister, Zora.
He had begged her to open the Inheritance Ground immediately, ensuring that Alex would be safely out of the city, isolated from whatever catastrophic event happened next.
He didn’t think for a single second that a Void God like [Zethe-thoth] or that vengeful Demigod Devil, Alze-beus, would just leave him alone after he had escaped them.
Then, after sending urgent warning messages to the other World Council members, he mentally prepared himself.
He didn’t know where the Nightmare World Seed was currently hiding anyway, so he decided he had no choice but to postpone the search.
Laying back on the bed, Arthur asked out loud, "Can I come to your Divine Realm now?"
[The Sleepless Sword]:
["Yes."]
He fully relaxed his body and focused his mind, sensing the ethereal, divine connection linking him directly to his Patreon God residing far outside their universe.
He mentally tugged on the connection and immediately received a response.
He felt a core part of his consciousness separate from his physical body and travel up the link, flying rapidly back toward its source outside the cosmos.
He was blinded by a bright, pure light.
When he finally regained his awareness and looked around, he found himself standing on a polished stone floor inside an empty hall.
In front of him sat a young girl on an ancient stone throne.
Her physical appearance made her look like she was in her early twenties. She had incredibly long, flowing silver hair and silver eyes that made him feel sleepy just by looking into them.
She had old bandages tightly covering her arms, and she wore a very simple, sleeveless silver robe.
Everything about her appearance was simple, but something about her divine presence was attractive and awe-inspiring.
Afraid of being rude, Arthur quickly lowered his eyes to the ground. It was difficult to look directly at his Patron God, even after she had suppressed her divine aura.
[The Sleepless Sword]:
["Child, come close and let me check."]
As Arthur respectfully stepped closer, a tiny, translucent tentacle that had been hiding inside his hair discreetly peeked out.
But upon realizing exactly where it was and whose presence it was in, it quickly shrank back, hiding itself once again.
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