Swish~
Adhara felt a breeze forcing against her body when she takes a glance at the weird red portal.
Unlike the normal portal that typically takes the shape of a round gathering of energy, the portal for Rex's first ascension is also taken a circle shape but it's a gate instead of a swirl of energy. From a closer look, turns out the portal is taking the form of a red full moon.
It's clear that this portal is associated with Rex's Blood King Mark, also known as the Red Eye.
Pulsating like a beating heart around the red portal is the formidable kingly energy that even makes the entire floor of the great hall misty, the low-haunting windy sounds were also produced, adding the inauspicious vibe.
"King Baralt has reached the first ascension and got the Herald Mark, I need to catch up too"
Being pulled out of her dazed state, Adhara glanced at Rex who is also facing the red portal with his arms crossed in front of him. "If King Baralt can go through this trial and reach the first ascension, I'm confident that he can also do it easily. Why would you doubt him, Flunra?"
"Not that I doubt Rex's power, but there are levels of championship that need to be considered"
Knowing that Rex and Adhara wouldn't be familiar with this term, Flunra approaches the portal before he ascends a couple of stairs to point at the top of the portal gate. Engraved at the top part of the portal gate were five lines that are shaped like a fan, and three of them are glowing with red kingly energy.
Each of them is quite long and thick and is very similar to scratch or claw marks.
Glancing at the two, Flunra then explained, "This is the level of championship"
"King Marks are not power associated with the Werewolves, but they are borrowed power from the Lunirich Gods. Level of championship projects the fondness of the said Lunirich God to the particular Werewolf, 1 means the Lunirich wanted you to succeed and the trial will be easy while five means the Lunirich doesn't want you to reach the first ascension"
"I've seen countless Werewolves go through this trial, and only a few are able to complete level 4"
"But even though the likelihood of success and the difficulty of the trial is devastatingly different from level 1 to level 4, the Werewolves that succeed in level 4 first ascension trial become a powerhouse of their own. Feared amongst many. Even Lunirich Gods need to follow the rules of the world, higher difficulty should mean higher rewards"
Upon hearing this Rex can't help but frown, the level of difficulty should be very high if there are only a few who are able to complete the level four first ascension trial. "What about level 5? Out of curiosity, are there Werewolves that are reckless enough to go through that?"
Blinking his eyes slowly to gaze at Rex, Flunra then chuckled shortly.
"Werewolves that mocked or stain the Lunirich names are the ones who get that kind of treatment, I saw 12 Werewolves that got that level 5 first ascension trail throughout my entire life. It's pretty rare as mentioning the Lunirich itself needs to be carried out with weight"
"What happened to them?", Adhara asks curiously, level 5 is a big deal after all.
Flunra looks up to the ceiling as if he was reminiscing about the time he saw these Werewolves that got the level 5 first ascension trial before he finally replied, "Each one of them is dead... technically there's one that survived, but that's because she never has the guts to take the trial"
Like an army of ants marching down their bodies, Rex and Adhara felt chill from what Flunra said.
Even though they don't know what lies inside the level 5 first ascension trial, their blood runs cold just from imagining it. But soon Rex sighs as at least he's only at level 3, "Well if that's the case, level 3 should be quite easy enough"
As he said that, he suddenly remember his current state with the Lunirich Gods associated with him.
'The Countess pretty much hated me for allying with the Kaiser, she definitely wouldn't want me to reach the first ascension since she even retracts back her power from me. If I forced a trial with her, I'll probably get level 5. As for the Kaiser, I've never even talked with him except for the few visions that he showed me'
Rex is glad that he got a level 3 trial only, but the sound of clearing level 4 is quite enchanting.
'I don't know what level King Baralt succeed in, but he's quite strong already. If not for the system then I might be slaughtered by him, should I just try to get a level 4 first ascension trial? With preparation alongside the system, I'll probably be able to succeed in that'
With the compelling path to get way stronger, Rex decided to get the level 4 first ascension trial.
Nodding inwardly to himself, Rex raises his gaze to look back at Flunra.
"If that's the case then what should I do to lessen or increase the level of championship, should I talk to the Lunirich or what?", Rex asked while rubbing his chin, he already know what he wanted and he needs to make a plan for it.
Although, it's a little bit annoying to know that he needed to rely on the Lunirich Gods for power.
For someone that has always fought alone and relied on oneself, this is a new thing for him. Something like this is not an easy pill to swallow, and if there's any other way then he would definitely take the other way even if the way is harder than this one.
Spirits are not counted since Rex has absolute control over them, not the other way around.
Descending back down from the stairs, Flunra then replied while raising his arms up and shrugging his shoulders. "If you want to decrease the level of championship with the Blood Moon Lunirich, then you probably do what the Blood Moon Lunirich pleases the most. Killing for example... if you want to increase the level of championship then do the opposite of what it wants"
Upon hearing this, Rex's eyes flash with determination, wanting to get the level 4 trial.
But doing the opposite of what the Kaiser of the Scarlet Garland wants and doing the bidding of the Countess of the Dark Lunirich, he's not going to do them in a hurry. With the system in his arsenal, there's no need to be in a hurry as everything can be solved by the system as long as he has the necessary gold to buy the information.
'Well, I do still have two chances left from the Chain Super Berserk Quest. No problem...'
Now that he understand clearer what he needed to do, Rex then glanced at Adhara who is still looking at the gate curiously. Before he can even say anything, the system's notifications came out of nowhere.
<Ice and Snow Full Moon is approaching...>
<Lunar Energy from the Ice and Snow Full Moon is increasing rapidly, the user and the Silverstar Pack would be frozen and forced to hibernate without proper preparation. It's advised for the female Werewolves and the Luna to be close to the user, the Alpha>
Rex stopped as he was slightly surprised by these notifications, 'Forced hibernation? For how long?'
<Hibernation will last approximately one to three months>
Just as he read that, Rex can't help but feel troubled as one to three months are not a small amount of time. It would be quite problematic if he and the others got forced to hibernate by the Ice and Snow Full Moon.
In that span of time, they would miss many things and might even get caught by the Supernaturals.
With their current home that is still surrounded by many things such as cursed creatures, mutated animals, and even unexplored anomaly just like the one Adhara and Kyran finds, they can't afford to be put in a hibernating state.
As they were just here for more than a week, this new home can hardly be called safe.
Rex bought the necessary information to prepare them against the Ice and Snow Full Moon, his eyes widened for a little bit upon reading the paragraph from the system about the method. Unconsciously, his eyes shifted to Adhara.
Upon finding Rex staring at her, Adhara raised both of her eyebrows.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"N-Nothing..."
Averting his gaze away, Rex sighs as this will be very hard to explain to Adhara and the others.
"Flunra, are you fully healed now? How long can you reach the Great Barricade and made it back to the castle with Kyran?", Rex asks as the matters regarding Evelyn needs to be sorted first, she needs to be here before the Ice and Snow Full Moon arrives.
If she's not here the others are not going to hibernate, but he definitely will as Evelyn is his Luna.
Hearing this, Flunra thought for a second, "If you're worried about the Ice and Snow Full Moon, then me and Kyran can get Evelyn and bring her here in a day with a method in mind. But I won't be able to use ancient runes for a while if I use that method"
"Do whatever it takes, bring Evelyn back by tomorrow", Rex replied with an authoritative tone.
Under no circumstances he would be put in a hibernation state, that would endanger the entire Silverstar Pack and he can't let that happen. At least not until the others have the strength to fend off one ninth-rank realm Supernatural.
Flunra replies with a firm nod, he's confident in his ability to bring Evelyn back in a day.
Just as he said that the three of them snapped their necks to look at the portal gate that suddenly exploded with a powerful shockwave and also emanated an even fiercer red kingly energy that overflow the entire great hall.
"What's happening?!", Adhara exclaimed as she covers her face with her arm.
Not only she but Rex and Flunra were also flustered by the sudden shockwave from the red portal, they both looks at the red portal with clear frowns on their faces, not knowing what sparks such a change like this.
But as their minds try to decipher what's happening, the three of them saw something.
With the gushing and pulsating red kingly energy that the red portal emitted, it gathered like a spiral to the five lines above the gate. Rex frowns when he saw the red kingly energy get sucked into the fourth line and started to make it glow with a light hue.
'The level of championship... it's increasing', Rex thought with a troubled look.
Rex wanted to increase the level of championship to level 4, he doesn't need to risk taking level 5 where no Werewolf has ever successfully completed the trial. As he has the bloodline of the Royal Black Werewolf, he can make up the level 5 gap by having more King Marks and completing their trials.
Knowing that, taking the risk of trying level 5 would be a foolish move by him.
Just as he thought of that, the fifth level of championship started to suck kingly energy which caught him off-guard as this is not what he wanted. "Flunra! What is happening with the gate portal?! How do I make it stop!"
"I don't know! I've never seen something like this!", Flunra shouted back as he was also confused.
Since the gushing of kingly energy is too fierce they need to shout just to talk with each other, the kingly energy made some disturbance in the air that numbs their senses. Rex decided to ask the system but he doesn't have the time to do that when the floor suddenly changed.
Splash!
The red carpeted floor suddenly turned into crimson liquid, splashing violently due to the force.
Rex looks down and saw this crimson liquid, the scent of blood also stabbed his nose which clearly shows that this crimson liquid is blood. Frowning even harder, he saw the fifth level of championship glowing brightly before another unexpected occurrence happened.
Bam!
As soon as the fifth level of championship glowed, the red portal gate slammed opened.
With that, the gushing red kingly energy and the splashing of blood drawing their feet stopped abruptly, and this made the three of them look at each other in confusion. Rex decided to be the one to check and approach closer to the portal gate with slow and steady steps.
Upon reaching the front of the portal gate, he can only see blackness beyond it.
But then moving faster than even Rex's own reflex which should be devastatingly fast, a furred-red hand grabs his neck before pulling him inside the portal gate with one swift motion. It happened so fast that Adhara and Flunra only realized it when the portal gate closed again.
"W-What the-"
"Rex...?"
Flunra and Adhara were stunned when they realized Rex is gone.
Just as they blinks their eyes a couple of times to process what just happened, their eyes shifted to the level of championship. Both of them can't help but gasps cold breath when they saw the level of championship that is glowing ever brightly.
Each one of the lines is glowing brightly, showing that it's the highest difficulty.
As if it wasn't bad enough, their eyes bore witness as another fine line started to appear crossing the five lines of championship. It's like there's someone creating this crossing line in real-time as it finally stopped after crossing the five lines in a horizontal manner completely.
"S-Sixth level?!"
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