Baran and his friends arrived at the Kingdom of Darkness
It was a massive kingdom larger than any city by a thousand times
They stopped in front of the gigantic gate and Narvik said while observing the guards
Look all the guards are at the Existence Level and there are even guards at the Hidden Level
The Kingdom of Darkness is not a weak kingdom but this guarding is extremely weak
Suleiman spoke enthusiastically
Let us enter I am very excited
Suleiman was excited to enter the kingdom since he had never been to such a huge place before unlike Narvik who had previously entered even greater places
Baran was the only one who showed no interest
All he wanted was to meet the King of the Kingdom of Darkness to learn the full truth about Zaflyan's death and who was the person that ordered the King of Light to kill his family
The three stood in front of the gate
Anyone who wanted to enter was forced to introduce themselves and pay money
When it was Baran and his friends' turn Narvik took out a special token
The guard was shocked and allowed them to enter immediately without identification or payment
Suleiman said in surprise
Oi Narvik what is that token that allowed you to enter
Narvik replied
This is the Kingdoms Token
It allows its holder to enter any kingdom within the Kingdoms Alliance
There are three kingdoms within this alliance
Baran asked seriously
Narvik does this token allow us to meet the King of the Kingdom of Darkness
Narvik answered quickly
That is impossible
Meeting the king is not easy
Even the strongest people in the kingdom may not be allowed to do so
Baran said annoyed
Damn this is really annoying
Anyway where are we going
Meeting the king was far more difficult than he had imagined
After the conversation ended the three began walking through the royal capital
It was a huge city and the most prominent feature was the royal palace
A gigantic palace of gold and black
Beside it stood a massive building and across the city were three towering towers
In the north was the White Tower
In the south the Red Tower
In the east the Black Tower
In the west the Royal Palace
Baran Narvik and Suleiman entered a restaurant
Baran and Suleiman began ordering food then Baran asked
Does anyone know what these towers are
Narvik answered
These towers are the foundation of the Kingdom of Darkness
They are the first line of defense
Each tower has a Lord
There are three Lords all of them at the Balance Level
Suleiman said in shock and excitement
What the Balance Level
I never even dreamed of reaching the Hidden Level
Are the Lords ranked
He wanted to know whether his father was ranked since his father was at the Balance Level when he left the village seven years ago
Narvik said
The Balance Level is difficult and those ranked in it are extremely strong
As for the three Lords only one is ranked
He is the Lord of the White Tower and his name is William
William is ranked number two in the Balance Level
It is said that he is capable of defeating someone at the Nightmare Level
Baran and Suleiman were shocked to hear that someone at the Balance Level could defeat a Nightmare Level
Narvik continued
As for the other two Lords they are unranked
The Lord of the Red Tower reached the Balance Level only a few months ago
The Ruler of the Cursed Abyss did not participate in the rankings and disappeared seven years ago
Baran stood up and asked
Oi Narvik how many people are in the higher level
Narvik sighed and said
I do not know the number of Hidden Level experts but they are in the thousands
The Balance Level is around one hundred or less
The Nightmare Level is only about twenty people
Baran said decisively
That is enough let us head to the White Tower
They left the restaurant and the rain had begun to fall
After a while they arrived at the White Tower
It was a massive tower surrounded by guards
The three entered and found a large number of students wearing white clothes bearing the tower's emblem
The weakest among them was at the Existence Level
Narvik entered and said loudly
Where is William I want to speak with him
Everyone became angry as a young man was calling one of the Lords by his name without using his title Windstorm
Baran stepped forward and stood beside Narvik and said
Where is that damned William
Everyone was shocked even Suleiman
Voices rose and some students whom William had been training came out
Baran and Narvik did not understand what was happening
Suddenly within seconds an overwhelming pressure spread forcing everyone to submit except Baran and Narvik
The pressure did not affect them but they could not move
Then a tall muscular man appeared
He had slightly long white hair soaked by rainwater
The pressure vanished and the man who appeared behind them said
I did not expect these two to become friends
Narvik son of the Ice King and Baran disciple of my older brother
Baran's eyes widened in shock
He remembered that Narvik's goal was related to killing a king and wondered inwardly
Does he want to kill his father
Narvik said calmly
We want to join the White Tower
William smiled and said
Very well you are now part of the White Tower
Come early tomorrow morning
Then he turned to one of the guards and said
Go and give them houses
They went to choose their houses
Baran and Narvik took one house together
Suleiman refused due to privacy and chose a separate house
Early in the morning the three arrived along with four new trainees
William stood in front of them observing them briefly
Suddenly his aura erupted and covered the entire White Tower courtyard
With a single motion William sealed the powers of everyone present and said
From now on you will not be able to use your power
Return to your houses
William disappeared leaving seven people who did not understand what had happened
They returned to their houses
Suleiman was in Baran and Narvik's house discussing
What kind of training is this that seals our power
Suddenly there was a knock at the door
Baran opened it and found a girl and a boy the same ones from the test
Their powers were sealed as well
The girl's name was Lillian and the boy's name was Aureus
Narvik said
So you also do not know anything about this training
Aureus thought Baran Narvik and Suleiman knew something but it turned out no one knew
They introduced themselves and after two hours of conversation
Baran decided to bring food
He returned saying
Oi Narvik I cannot find any food in the house
Narvik was shocked and said
We have plenty of food did you search my room
Baran went to the room but found nothing
A tense atmosphere filled the place
Lillian said
Food is provided abundantly by the White Tower
Why did it disappear from your house
Narvik said
Go and search your houses
Everyone rushed out and after some time returned without finding anything
Narvik said seriously
It seems the training has begun
Two hours passed and night fell
They found nothing but water and it was little
Suddenly five masked individuals appeared
With a single glance Baran knew they were at the Hidden Level
They were carrying loaves of bread one loaf for each person
Baran said
What does all this mean
A moment of silence followed then one of the masked men said
The training began the moment your powers were sealed
As for the bread you will receive three loaves per day
Then they disappeared
Narvik said after understanding
They want us to starve and exhaust ourselves in exchange for some water
The masked men appeared before William
One of them said
It is done my lord
William smiled and said
Go and do not let them sleep
Force them to come out to the courtyard one hour after sunrise
The masked men disappeared
There were seven of them
William said to himself
I must make Narvik and Baran stronger by any means
These are the king's orders
But why does the king care about Suleiman as well
Sunrise came and after one hour everyone went out to the courtyard
None of them had slept even one hour
Everyone looked fine except Baran whose face was swollen from beating
Narvik laughed and said
Did you fight the masked man after he stopped you from sleeping
Baran did not answer and everyone laughed
William appeared and silence spread
He said
From now on you are my disciples
And I love torturing disciples
Whoever wants to withdraw may leave and find a new teacher
You have half an hour
The discussion began and after the half hour ended two left
Five remained
Lillian Narvik Baran Aureus Suleiman
William said
Two leaving does not matter
Now I want you to run to the Desperate Restaurant
It is only one thousand meters away
Stopping is forbidden
Hidden fighters will beat you if you stop
Take Baran as an example of what will happen if you stop