CHAPTER 127: CHALLENGE

Carlotta sighed slightly, "Seer Magic, Armament Magic, both originated from Sky Island. Before that, they didn’t exist in the world. As for other magics, though not necessarily from Sky Island, they also came from various ancient ruins or have untraceable origins. Honestly, I’ve never heard of anyone creating magic."

Indeed, all known magic traces back to sources that show no signs of human creation. They seem to have always existed, but why they exist remains a mystery.

Amelia nodded, "When we transcendents embark on the path of magic or knighthood, the runes within our bodies form, locking us onto that path. So how could one create magic? Ordinary people can’t do such things, and those who already practice magic would have to attempt creation through auxiliary studies? That’s impractical. Most people’s auxiliary magics or knight paths rarely surpass the apprentice level."

As she spoke, she gave Carlotta a peculiar look.

In her understanding, Carlotta mainly practiced card magic while supplementing with the Elven knight path. Yet, her Elven knight path had reached the level of a ninth-tier apprentice, on par with her card magic? That seemed downright absurd.

She, too, had dabbled in Elven knight path as a secondary, but there was no way her progress could match her memory magic.

"Knight paths are the same, impossible to create, their origins equally mysterious," Carlotta mused.

She thought of the Elven knight path, which originated from the Elven Homeland. Among the elves, they were said to be a blessing from the Elven Goddess.

The version she practiced now was actually an adaptation by the human powerhouse Elora Thorne, based on the elven variant. This wasn’t creation but a modification, tailored more for human cultivation.

However, Elora Thorne themselves had their own knight path to master. The Elven knight path could only be refined as a supplement, ultimately reaching only the peak tier Listener level, with no further advancement possible. This marks the known limit of auxiliary cultivation.

No one’s supplementary practice had ever broken through to the Resonator tier.

Amelia murmured, "Whether it’s magic, knight paths, or even the origins of alchemy, they’re all shrouded in mystery. Many have speculated whether our world is a divine experimentation ground, that the gods, when inspired, would drop new magics or knight paths for us to discover and cultivate."

Of course, this was just one of millions of human conjectures, nothing definitive.

But one thing was certain, Sky Island was undoubtedly a place close to the truth, as it had indeed provided many magics and knight paths that hadn’t existed before.

Seer Magic and Armament Magic weren’t the only examples. In the past, many more magics, knight paths, and even alchemy had originated from Sky Island.

So whenever Sky Island appeared, no one could resist the temptation to explore. Those who could come, would.

However, Sky Island never remained for long.

Amelia calculated the time and guessed that Sky Island might close in just a few days.

Often, those too far away couldn’t make it in time.

"Enough of this, it’s too distant for us. Let’s focus on collecting tokens," Carlotta said, glancing at the sky rankings. In just the time they’d been talking, her rank had dropped again.

Amelia nodded. "All the tokens we collect will go to you. How high you rank depends on fate. The further up you are, the better the rewards, some even include rare materials."

Carlotta’s fighting spirit was ignited. When it came to gathering tokens, she feared no one.

She was already eagerly awaiting the next dawn, when the intelligence will surely provide ample information.

"Let’s rest first and recharge," Carlotta said, suddenly realizing it was time to sleep.

Since they were still at the edge of the inner region, they could retreat to the outer area to rest, a much safer option.

The two turned back, returning to the outer region. Carlotta summoned a carriage, and they nestled inside for a peaceful sleep.

When they woke again, the sky was dense with stars, the vast crimson moon casting millions of beams that made Sky Island appear even more eerie.

After rising, Carlotta gazed at the undulating mountains of the inner region and inexplicably recalled Amelia’s words.

She didn’t know if their world was a divine experimentation ground, but Sky Island certainly looked the part.

Then again, did gods even exist?

Having been in this world for so long, Carlotta could confirm there were no churches or organized faiths. Although myths about gods exist, they seemed more like fabricated legends, powerful no real constraints on people.

"I’m overthinking again. Time to focus on gathering tokens," Carlotta murmured.

She checked her pocket watch card, at only 8 PM, still some time until midnight.

Often, when someone fixes on something, their sleep becomes restless, and they wake too early. Carlotta was no exception.

But since she was awake, she saw no point in going back to sleep, especially since Amelia was up too.

"Let’s eat and then get moving," Amelia called to Carlotta.

She brought out several magic bananas, while Carlotta added sunroots and some fruits gathered from Sky Island. A makeshift breakfast... or perhaps dinner was more accurate?

After the meal, they re-entered the inner region.

The dense elemental energy washed over them, a deeply soothing sensation.

To collect tokens, they naturally had to head where the magical beasts roamed, and Sky Island had no shortage of those. The air thrummed with the roars of various creatures, shaking the very earth.

Carlotta and Amelia followed the sounds and soon arrived at a hillside overlooking a pond below.

A battle had just ended by the pond’s edge. Several strangers lay lifeless in pools of blood.

In the water was a turtle-like magical beast.

"That’s an Earth Tortoise," Amelia said quietly, her experience showing. "Be careful. This creature can manipulate the earth, and its shell is nearly impenetrable. It can also detach and hurl its shell as a weapon, getting hit would be nasty."

This Earth Tortoise was a middle tier Listener-level beast.

In Sky Island’s inner region, not every magical beast starts at the Listener tier, but their numbers here far exceed those in the outer region, making encounters much more likely.

Carlotta had only faced two magical beasts since entering the inner region, both middle tier Listeners. That said plenty.

Kill!

Without hesitation, Carlotta and Amelia charged forward.

This Earth Tortoise was extremely cautious. The moment it sensed enemies approaching, it retracted into its shell and burrowed into the ground, leaving Carlotta and Amelia momentarily at a loss.

"Up the tree."

Amelia immediately headed for a nearby tree and nimbly climbed up.

Carlotta followed suit.

From above, she watched as the ground bulged, signs of the Earth Tortoise swimming beneath the surface, moving through the earth as if it were water.

Suddenly, the earth erupted, and a barrage of earthen spikes shot out, trapping both Carlotta and Amelia in their trajectories.

Amelia conjured a shield with her memory magic, blocking the attack.

Carlotta, relying on her extreme speed, swiftly dodged out of range and even circled around, closing in on the Earth Tortoise. The attack had forced the creature to surface.

Carlotta was too fast. The Earth Tortoise had no time to hide again and instead flung its shell outward like an earthen wall crashing toward her.

Thanks to Amelia’s earlier warning, Carlotta wasn’t surprised by this move. With a quick sidestep, she evaded the shell and closed in, slashing a long gash across the turtle’s back.

"Thud!"

The blade sank into the turtle’s flesh, eliciting a pained shriek.

"Monsters will be monsters. If it were me, I wouldn’t have acted so recklessly," Carlotta muttered.

What followed was simple. Amelia wove a net of magic, ensnaring the Earth Tortoise’s shell and preventing it from retreating.

Without its shell, Carlotta unleashed a relentless assault, leaving the Earth Tortoise no chance to burrow back underground before it was brutally slain on the spot.

As the Earth Tortoise died, its body split open, dropping three tokens.

Carlotta felt a sense of déjà vu, wasn’t this just like loot drops in the games from her past life? Though here, monsters only dropped tokens.

She collected the three tokens and infused them with magic, causing the sky rankings to update. Her rank instantly jumped to 1,398.

She then checked the rankings of others. That so-called "General Soul Reaper" now held 25 tokens and had broken into the top 1, 000.

"So fast," Carlotta murmured.

Wait!

A thought struck her. Her gaze fell on the corpses by the pond. She didn’t know who they were, but since they were dead, she had no qualms about looting them.

After a quick search, her eyes widened in surprise, she found a whopping 20 tokens on one of the bodies.

"These guys couldn’t even handle an Earth Tortoise, yet they had so many tokens. Must’ve been slowly accumulating them, huh?"

Carlotta couldn’t help but marvel.

Though, to be fair, among middle tier Listener-level monsters, the Earth Tortoise was tougher than most. If it hadn’t recklessly thrown its shell, even she would’ve struggled.

After collecting all the tokens, her rank changed again.

985th, General Soul Reaper, 25.

986th, Moon, 24.

Carlotta didn’t expect her rank to be right next to this "General Soul Reaper," giving her a peculiar feeling.

Just then, a prompt appeared on the floating screen before her,

"Rank 985, General Soul Reaper, wishes to challenge you with a wager of 24 tokens. Do you accept it?"

Carlotta’s expression shifted instantly, and she immediately declined.

She didn’t know if this was the real General Soul Reaper, but even an impostor daring to use that title was someone she couldn’t handle.

This was a Pirate General, a being rumored to surpass even the Resonator level!

"Amelia, do you know what’s going on here?" Carlotta called out.

"What happened?" Amelia walked over.

Carlotta quickly explained, and Amelia’s expression grew serious.

After a moment of thought, she said, "This is a challenge privilege. Everyone on the sky rankings gets ten challenge attempts per day. You can challenge those ranked near you, wagering an agreed number of tokens. The winner takes the specified amount from the loser."

Carlotta understood. The General Soul Reaper wagered 24 tokens, trying to wipe her out in one go, and clearly didn’t expect to lose.

"Can you only challenge those near you in rank?"

Carlotta glanced at the top-ranked participants. Their token counts were steadily increasing, with no wild fluctuations.

"Yes. But the challengers can refuse," Amelia replied.

Carlotta figured those at the top would likely refuse challenges out of caution.

Amelia then added, "Oh, I recall that when issuing a challenge, you can choose whether to reveal your rank. Did the General Soul Reaper show theirs just now?"

Carlotta shook her head.

Not revealing one’s rank was normal, otherwise, an overwhelmingly high rank might scare opponents into refusing.

"She shouldn’t have used the name ’General Soul Reaper.’ Otherwise, someone might’ve accepted her challenge," Carlotta mused with a strange expression.

"Probably didn’t know the rules," Amelia chuckled. "Actually, the sky rankings’ rules change each time. In the last few instances, there was no adjacent-rank challenge rule. But it existed in much older versions."

Carlotta couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up. "You’re amazing, Amelia. You know so much."

Amelia smiled faintly. "I’ve just read a few more books, that’s all."

The Sky Island appeared at long intervals, and the ranking rules could differ by decades. The adjacent-challenge rule was even rarer, so many wouldn’t know the specifics.

Carlotta checked the rankings again and noticed she could challenge those near her too.

Of course, she wouldn’t challenge the General Soul Reaper. But the 987th-ranked participant piqued her interest.

"Is it safe to issue challenges?" she asked.

"Yes. Just verbally surrender, and you’ll be sent back instantly," Amelia explained.

Challenges took place on a platform provided by Sky Island. Both parties would be teleported there to fight and return afterward.

"Thinking of making a move?" Amelia studied Carlotta, guessing her thoughts.