the deeper they went inside, the faster the main body's exp increased. riven currently didn't understand what this familiar-feeling purple light was, but he understood that it was likely related to the rpg dungeon.
riven's main body, though motionless on farrdin's back, had risen to lv 16, then 17. as they went deeper, the exp rate increased, and riven saw more rare magic stones. however, he wasn't in the mood to think about that right now.
even if that body reached lv 20, it would be useless because riven couldn't currently use an unconscious body.
thinking about his life ending in a few hours without treatment made him indignant. just reincarnated with a hack only to die so soon would be a disgrace compared to other reincarnators.
before their eyes was an abyss cutting between two cliffs, spanned by an old suspension bridge.
'damn it, based on my experience watching movies and reading stories, this isn't a good sign,' riven thought.
the group also felt it was ancient. the materials must be very good to have survived years of erosion until now.
farrdin felt a strange empathy with the bridge. struggling to survive each day, though his prime had passed. trying to live on despite hardships, even with a sliver of hope—wasn't that beautiful?
riven naturally didn't know what that burly hunter with a complex soul was thinking, but if he did, he would just crack a joke.
the group decided not to cross all at once as it was unsafe. they split into pairs because canis [riven] was carrying sylvie, and farrdin was roughly carrying riven on his shoulder.
after crossing the bridge, the scene on the other side changed dizzily, like a different world. the space was carved with misala ancient runes, sending a chill down farrdin's spine.
one must know that to carve even the shittiest misala ancient rune required at least lv 100, and that was for the worst kind. here, it was full of nearly perfect runes.
the exquisitely carved architecture was definitely man-made; it couldn't have formed naturally.
"damn it, if i'm not mistaken, we've stepped into the tomb of an extraordinary figure."
lan was overwhelmed and frightened. she was naive, but not stupid.
the head of the azula family, sylvie's father, was on par with lan's father. they only reached lv 70 and were regional powerhouses. so how terrifying was the owner of this tomb?
isn't walking in here seeking death?
seeing this, canis [riven] reassured her.
"don't worry. judging by what happened, this is likely an inheritance trial."
"what do you mean?" lan asked anxiously.
"remember the gatekeeper golem? if the master of this place could carve such powerful runes, why would the guardian be so weak?"
riven inherited massive memories from canis, so he understood a lot about this world, including the misala runes carved on the space.
they were likely maintaining this pocket realm. yes, this place was highly likely a separate dimension, not an illusion, which was why the other two were so scared.
seeing everyone silent, seemingly waiting for him to continue, he explained further to soothe them.
"that golem had clear signs when attacking and a weakness to aim at. it seemed like that place would change depending on the arrival."
hearing that, the two felt it made sense. if so, it was a huge gain. not just the heavenly heart wood, but if they passed, the reward could make them rich overnight.
farrdin smiled faintly and patted canis [riven] on the shoulder.
"i'm the oldest here, yet i let a younger one reassure me. how ironic. with your mind, you'll become a good pope in the future."
hearing that, riven remembered this canis guy wasn't simple and had a very good adoptive father. if he survived this, couldn't he use this clone to empty that old man's pockets?
"thanks for your kind wishes."
from fear, the three gradually became excited knowing a massive reward was right before their eyes.
although they coveted the ancient runes carved on the space, they dared not act. taking them was nearly impossible, and even if they could, they wouldn't dare.
the runes were maintaining this space's existence. if they successfully took even one, the space would collapse, destroying everything inside into nothingness.
though they looked randomly carved on the surface, they actually had interconnected support links, like an engine running a complex system.
finally, the three stopped. in front of them was a pure white forest.
the trunks seemed made of metal, reflecting the magical purple light of the place. the silver leaves had a strange shape. closer inspection showed they looked like hearts, with veins like blood vessels.
but it was surrounded by a magical neon purple barrier.
taking a deep breath of cold air, the group rejoiced.
"this is undoubtedly the heavenly heart wood. we finally found it. the information the lady bought was indeed correct," farrdin said happily.
"it's not even one tree, but a forest of heavenly heart wood," lan chimed in.
but then he felt something was wrong, as if he had forgotten something. trying to scan the surroundings, even a calm person like him got scared.
in front of the barrier was a crystal throne. sitting on it was a young man about 19-20 years old. of course, none of the three believed this guy was actually 19-20.
neon purple hair glowing and blending with the barrier's color. 1.9m tall, toned body. even though the leather clothes he wore weren't tight, they could still feel it. his purple eyes looked very familiar, as if they had seen them somewhere before. a confident smile was on his lips.
his beauty was so perfect that, according to lan, he was the second most handsome person she had ever met, only after riven.
he was clearly standing there, but no one could remember it clearly, as if they would forget about this guy just by looking away.
seeing all three looking at him, he slowly sat up from the throne.
"karma bearer, i have waited for you here for 200 million years. i am kamis valory nocturne, descendant of the great god nocturne eternis."
hearing the word 'nocturne', lan and farrdin were too scared to open their mouths and immediately knelt down. at this moment, the only one left standing among the three, canis, or rather riven, interrupted kamis.
"bro, you literally sat here for 200 million years just to sit up and say that?"