CHAPTER 56: CHAPTER 44 STUDENT SHIAYAR~

It was not until this moment that Norton first revealed his ambition.

Silvia was a vessel, harboring all the Authority and Divinity of Dusk.

She was also a key.

The pinnacle for mortals was the Legendary Rank, a rule universally acknowledged in the transcendent world for centuries.

Yet indeed, there were entities called Deities in this world: false gods, Evil Gods, ancient gods, and the orthodox gods worshipped by the theocratic kingdom—all confirmed this point.

Between Legendary and the Divine Realm lay a pitch-black ocean. The historical gap of hundreds of years in Calamity Land had shrouded this sea in layers of inscrutable fog.

For thousands of years, countless people had searched in that dark sea, forging various paths, what they believed to be "the road to godhood."

Yet no one knew if the path they were on was correct, whether it could lead to the end, and no one had ever reached the end of this road.

Now, Norton had found a hidden path that seemed more reliable, only in its midst stood an ancient bronze gate.

Silvia was the key to opening this bronze gate, and beyond it, one could meet the ancient god known as "Dusk," with some hoping to seal It behind the door forever, while others would kneel and beseech Its blessings.

Norton, however, was different from the former two, for he desired to steal the Authority of the other and take its place.

With his strength yet to reach 6-Ring, this was undoubtedly quite reckless—

But the presence of Silvia and the sealing, along with the support of the secret organizations, made this plan a tangible possibility.

Norton was scrutinizing Shiayar, with vague shadows emerging behind him in The Void, ready to strike mercilessly at the slightest sign of anomaly on Shiayar’s face.

Shiayar displayed an expression of inexplicable surprise, seemingly startled by Norton’s mad scheme.

But soon, a trace of resoluteness flickered across his face.

"Regardless, if it is Lord Norton’s will, then I have no choice but to obey."

...

[Newcomer Task Stage Four: Complete the adult ceremony of the Duke of Azure Garden’s family and become a core member of the family by passing the ceremony, fully joining Elder Norton’s plan. Objective completed.]

[Task rewards have been settled.]

[Based on the host’s overall performance in this task stage, the following rewards are granted: 40,000 Classless Experience Points.]

The rewards for this mission were not too substantial. Ultimately, this was because this phase of the mission was meant to serve as a linkage and transition, with little challenge or danger. Simply passing the adult ceremony was hardly a difficulty for Shiayar at this juncture, essentially just a matter of spending some time running errands. Moreover, his greatest gain in this Echo of History was forging a contract with Crimson, so it made sense for the task rewards to be somewhat lesser.

[Newcomer Task Status Updated]

[You have now fully grasped the hidden truths within the Azure Garden Dukedom and are aware of Elder Norton’s ambitious plan.]

[Now, destiny splits before your eyes into two unrelated straight lines.]

[Where they ultimately lead depends on your choices.]

...

[Newcomer Task Final Objective: Ensure the naive young daughter of the Duke of Azure Garden, Silvia, experiences the betrayal of a loved one, to transform and be reborn in agony and despair.]

[Echo of History—The second node of ’Ancient Dukedom Azure Garden’ has been reached]

[Current historical node is locked, please choose to exit the Echo of History or continue to stay and complete the task objective.]

[Note: This node is a critical juncture that will directly affect the final outcome of the Echo of History, please handle with caution.]

If this entire Echo of History were likened to a role-playing game.

Then right now, I am probably standing at the last save point before the BOSS room.

If this really were a game, then what I should be doing now is... gathering information to make the most complete strategy, spending all my Gold Coins to buy the best armor, weapons, and supplies, and recruiting the best teammates.

And then, after making all the preparations—

I would make one final push to clear this game.

Shiayar smiled and chose to exit Echo of History.

This time, Shiayar’s exit was much smoother compared to the first time when he had no experience, and the dizzying sensation of the temporal dislocation had lessened considerably.

As the twisted halo of light faded away, what came into view was the familiar ceiling of the washroom.

Shiayar looked at the clock by his hand and found that less than an hour had passed.

Although he had stayed longer in Echo of History this time around, the interval of time passed in the real world had actually shortened.

Shiayar splashed his face with cold water at the washbasin, forcing himself to calm down.

He indeed needed time to thoughtfully prepare—for how he would approach the last leg of the Newbie Quest, and even Echo of History itself.

If he were to simply follow the so-called "betrayal" according to the mission’s goal, he wouldn’t have to do anything really; he would need only to stick to Norton’s plan. However, there was a subtle message conveyed through Norton’s words—Silvia was the key. And a key that has completed its mission of unlocking naturally has only one fate left: to break off inside the lock.

...

Shiayar pushed open the door to the washroom and stepped out into the second-floor corridor.

The luxurious magictech chandelier in the living room downstairs was turned on.

Enola was sitting in the living room, dealing with stacks of documents by the light of the magictech lamp, her soft, pale golden hair cascading over the back of the sofa.

"Congratulations, Ennie," Shiayar yawned, descending the stairs.

At this moment, Enola wasn’t holding back her spiritual power; Shiayar could feel her whole body emanating a sharp edge in his perception.

She seemed less like a seventeen-year-old girl before him and more like a Sacred Spear, keen enough to penetrate mountains and shatter stars.

She, too, had broken through 3-Ring, and her strength after the breakthrough was likely even more formidable than Shiayar and Enola themselves had anticipated.

"Thank you," the blonde girl nodded slightly, her face expressionless as she began, "You should take care of your diet too, Student Shiayar, spending so much time in the washroom."

Shiayar’s footsteps faltered faintly as he sensed something was amiss.

The focus wasn’t the trivial matters of the washroom or a bad stomach but rather Enola’s address towards him.

This girl normally refrained from formality or would simply call him by name. However, whenever she started using "Student Shiayar" in this manner, it often indicated that something had gone beyond her control.

Shiayar began to ponder where the slip-up might have occurred.

It couldn’t be that she sensed Silvia’s existence across time and space, could it? The problem was, after the previous sixth sense incident, Shiayar had surely learned his lesson. This time, before leaving Echo of History, he had specifically taken a bath and changed his clothes.

And his confusion was quickly resolved.

For Shiayar saw on the wooden table in front of Enola, separate from the other business documents, a pink envelope placed on its own.

On the pink envelope were two lines of delicate script—

The recipient field read ’For Shiayar Egutt.’

And in the sender’s column, it was written ’Dyres.’