Akhil and Layla continued their journey into the dark mountains, following the map on the system.

Soon, the two reached the front of a cave, and instantly… Akhil's expression turned sour. Layla quickly noticed it.

"Why the sour look on your face? We've already reached the emblem… I don't think it'll be too far from here."

"I've had a bad experience entering a dungeon before… I honestly don't want to go through that again, not that it'll be a problem this time." Akhil let out a sigh before entering straight into the cave, with Layla quickly following behind him.

He reacted that way because his first experience in a cave was still fresh in his mind. It was practically the first time he had killed a human, and he didn't like it at all.

"I've really changed," he thought to himself, his mind drifting back to the moment when he attacked Marcus and his entire adventure team without even batting an eyelid. He had even planned to kill them to get more blood essence, just in case he needed it as they went ahead, but he decided not to since he expected to encounter a few beasts along the way.

"…If I knew I wouldn't find any beasts here, I should've just killed them." He couldn't help but let out a dejected sigh.

They had walked for a few minutes with no sign of any danger.

But this short moment made him realise how much he had changed.

Previously, he had been so worried about killing anyone, and he wasn't really accustomed to the changes in the world. Currently, though, so many experiences had forced him to adapt, and after passing the Garden of Purity, he was even more convinced that killing anyone who posed a threat to him wasn't bad at all.

Right now, he felt more like the Nexus in the game… because to him, this was no longer reality, and truly, it had become a game.

So while the rest were struggling to survive, he, on the other hand, had just one thing in mind: "I have to win and end this game." He had already steeled his resolve since his encounter with the Beast Titan, and he had yet to forget it. "But if I have to keep facing allies as titans… then is it really going to be easy?"

The news that Langdon was, or could possibly be, the Titan of Discord felt like a dagger to his chest. The short boy had truly grown on him… but he knew deep down that he had no choice.

Meanwhile, back around the ridge, injured adventurers were scattered across the ground, each still struggling to get back to their feet and tend to their injuries. A figure slowly approached the group.

Marcus's face scrunched up in frustration and anger as he saw the men struggling on the ground.

"Bunch of useless imbeciles! Thirty grown adults struggling to deal with a kid. So what if he's a level five mutant?!" Marcus roared angrily, shifting his gaze through the fallen team of adventurers until it fell on one who had a deep hole in his stomach after being shot by a blood bullet. He was scrunched up on the ground, his hands tightly clutching his gut, but Marcus's gaze wasn't on the man himself—rather, it was on the gun he held tightly in his hand.

Marcus angrily walked up to the adventurer, throwing a ruthless kick at his already injured wound. The man let out a sharp grunt of pain, loosening his grip on the gun as his eyes went white from the pain.

"If you can't deal with him… I'll do it myself! And once I get my hands on that emblem, I'll make sure to add him to my collection of puppets." A large grin cut across his face; the mere thought of having a powerhouse like Akhil doing all his bidding was enticing.

This only fueled his desire to get the emblem.

"Soon, no one will question me again…" he chuckled, but his moment was disrupted when he felt a hand grab his shoe. Glancing down at the struggling adventurer, who was barely clinging to the little life he had left, Marcus's eyes squinted in disgust. "Get your filthy hands off me!" He threw another ruthless kick at the man's injury and walked right past him.

He had a much more important matter to handle—and a new slave on his bucket list. He couldn't wait.

In the cave, the sound of their boots echoed as they strode deeper into the eerily quiet passage.

"It's been too quiet. Isn't there meant to be beasts all over the place?" Layla broke the long, awkward silence.

"There's still a shortage of beasts since the numbers here can't compare to the game… beasts can't respawn here, and neither can we. A lot of things have changed from how it was in the actual game… and it seems many things have been added that we didn't really get to experience in the real game," Akhil replied calmly, still scanning the area with his senses. They still had to be cautious.

"You're not wrong… a lot has actually changed," Layla said thoughtfully. She, too, had noticed some minor changes she hadn't seen or heard of in the game.

"Makes me wonder if the developers added these things after the test program… or maybe…"

Chiwwiik

Akhil's thoughts were interrupted by the guttural sound. Several goblins made their way to the front, blocking the path.

"Just when I thought we'd get a free pass," Akhil scoffed. "There's only three of them, so it'll be easy to deal with." He raised his hands, about to unleash a torrent of attacks, but before he could, a low thud came from his side, catching his attention.

Turning to his side, he saw that Layla had dropped the sack she had been carrying.

"Don't waste your strength—lemme deal with this one. Save your strength for anything we might encounter ahead," Layla said.

"I was wondering why she was carrying a pile of dead bodies with her… it's definitely related to her ability," Akhil thought to himself, watching closely as she dropped the sack to the ground.

The sack suddenly expanded, throwing out five dead goblins before shrinking back to its original size.

"Shit… that was an enchanted accessory all along?" Akhil's eyes narrowed in surprise. The seemingly ordinary sack was actually an enchanted accessory. He never would have guessed, but it made sense since he hadn't perceived any foul smell despite her carrying dead bodies with her. He had only noticed because of the small bloodstain he had spotted on it—and his heat vision, which allowed him to see what was inside.

Layla slowly raised her hands toward the five goblin bodies she had just released from the sack.

Then her eyes began to glow with an ethereal green light, and a green hue started to emanate from the dead goblins.

Slowly, the five dead goblins rose from the ground, their hollow eyes glowing with the same green hue.

Before the remaining goblins even understood what was happening, they were suddenly attacked by the five reanimated goblins and beaten to death with heavy clubs. After the fight, the energy seemed to leave the bodies, and their feet wobbled like noodles before they collapsed to the ground.

Layla casually tossed the sack toward the dead goblins, and all five were sucked back inside.

Akhil couldn't hide the look of surprise on his face as he watched the scene.

"A short-term necromancy ability… not too efficient, but it works. And it seems her sack has limited storage as well. Seems we all have our own limitations… speaking of which," he observed quietly before turning his gaze back to the dead corpse.

Without saying a word, the blood from the dead beast turned into a thick red mist that rushed toward him and was absorbed into his body.

Now it was Layla's turn to be surprised as she witnessed his ability once more in action.

It was far more versatile than she had thought.

Without another word, the two continued deeper into the cave. They encountered a few more beasts, which they dealt with easily, and after the long hours spent travelling through the dark mountains and facing perilous trails, they finally reached the supposed end of the trial.

Near the end of the cave, they could see it clearly—but it wasn't what they expected. It was something far different from what they had encountered in the game.

Before them stood a large temple with walls dripping in pure gold, and a massive golden altar at its center, heavily adorned with diamonds and rubies.

The altar gave off a dreadful feeling and carried a divine aura. Floating above it was the radiant golden emblem shaped like a rising flame, its edges sharp and fluid, glowing with quiet power and warmth. It seemed to be calling out to them as they stared at it.

Akhil and Layla glanced at each other, their gazes locking in understanding. Drawing a deep breath, they stepped into the temple at the same time.

"It's been a long journey," Layla said, letting out a sigh of relief.

Akhil walked forward toward the emblem, but when he was only a few meters away, something happened.

{A/N: Verbraucht Alle I see you! Thanks for the support! 💜 And least I forget, a wonderful and fulfilling Merry Christmas to all my lovely readers as well 🎅 Don't forget to give Christmas gifts (Shamelessly requests for his)}

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