Less than half an hour after the Boss of the Originals association of the Teradan military camp apperead, the group of three left with joyous expressions.
After selling everything they didn't need, they had procured a huge fortune.
Most of it came from the Lesser Titan youngling corpse, and the runic armaments, including the beast controlling necklaces.
With a total of 33.216 merit points, each of them received 11.072 merit points.
This was a huge number, considering that 1 merit point was enough to purchase 10 Mid quality Common grade Origin crystals.
Even if Nial had expected to earn a fortune, he wasn't delusional to hope and become wealthy overnight!
The Lesser Titan was something mankind had never encountered before and its body was a lot tougher and sturdier than the body of an ordinary Small Giant.
And that was also why Nial, Bella, and Mathias received additional merit points from the military camp's management directly.
They had protected several Originals by risking their lives to fight the Lesser Titan youngling.
What the military didn't know was that this had not been a heroic act of will and courage, but that Nial had been pulled towards the Lesser Titan youngling by the Odyssey seed, forcing his teammates to follow him, and to fight by his side.
But in the end, only the result mattered, which was why the management of the Teradan military camp had decided to award them for their bravery and efforts.
In total, they received 500 extra merit points each for protecting the other participants of the military camp.
Additionally, the fact that they were the first to inform the military about the weird incidents with the Goblins, the odd mass-manufactured beast controlling necklaces that were marked objects, and the appearance of the never seen before runic armaments, the military awarded an extra 1000 merit points to each of them!
As such, Nial and the others were now the three wealthiest participants with 12.572 merit points each!
Most other participants had yet to receive even a single merit point, which clearly showed that their team of three was at a terrific advantage.
As long as they made use of their merit points in an efficient way, they were bound to soar and leave the others behind.
However, before making use of the points to purchase anything, they had to figure out what kinds of services the entire military camp provided.
With that in mind, Bella and Mathias decided to take a day or two to get to know the entire military base.
Nial's plan was a bit different as he wasn't even going to stay on the nameless island for the following days.
He chose to follow his gut feeling and to take Bella's words to heart.
Even if it might be dangerous to enter the darkness portal, the last thing Nial wanted to happen was to regret being unable to protect someone he loved dearly.
As such, if he were to reject the opportunity that was unveiled right in front of him, he might end up being too weak to protect them.
Of course, Nial was not sure if the darkness portal would make him the strongest, or if he would be able to return alive, or even as himself, but that was a risk he had to take in order to become strong…or possibly the strongest.
Even if the thought had not yet set foot in Nial's mind, he could tell that mankind was currently simply too weak.
If their strongest individuals would have still been at the first steps of solidifying Origin rings, the future of the entire human race would be bleak.
After all, the mysterious memories in Nial's mind clearly showed him that even beings with several Advanced Origin rings had been the weakest force in the armies he saw fighting against various existences.
They were the weakest force but the highest in number, with each of them posing a huge threat to the entire human race. Luckily, there were just a handful of human Originals who seemed to be capable of defeating them right now.
Because Nial had shards of memories from an unknown existence in his mind he knew that his strength was non-existent and that he had to become stronger as quickly as possible.
And that was not only to reunite with his family but also to protect them, whether it was from other humans, powerful monsters or…foreign races!
"You should be back in 6 days. Though, I doubt you will be able to tell how much time would be required for the trial of your Innate ability. Some reports say that it feels like months have passed, but in reality, only a few days have passed.
So don't worry too much and be confident in what you do!"
Nial was not sure why, but he felt as if his mother was speaking to him, and giving him a lecture.
As such, he smiled lightly, and the three of them arrived back in their rooms.
"The two of you should give your best and become stronger as well. But don't rush, otherwise, I won't be able to catch up with you two anymore!"
Making fun of the situation a bit, Nial seemed to be quite calm about the forthcoming challenges and dangers of the trial he would have to face, alone.
Partially, Bella understood that he wanted to make it seem as if his mind was calm enough to face all dangers.
But even then, it truly seemed like he had calmed down after his initial shock.
One could say that Nial's mind had been a mess since the day they had hunted down the Lesser Titan youngling.
Something had happened to him when Nial had spent several hours sitting on top of the Lesser Titan youngling's chest, and nobody except him knew what exactly it was.
Even Nial was not sure of what was happening to him either.
Since then, he had been a little bit odd, and only after the beast breakout did he finally calm down.
It was almost as if hunting hundreds of beasts had been necessary for him to calm down, allowing him to take a breather.
Bella predicted that a certain requirement of his Innate ability had been fulfilled during the beast breakout.
Thus, he was now capable of creating the darkness portal that would lead him to the trial of his Innate ability, which would either advance it, or provide major improvements in a different way.
And since Nial had been thinking about it for quite some time already, he had come up with a conclusion, giving him the necessary confidence to have a calm mind!
This was great, and necessary as the trials were extremely dangerous in most cases.
But Nial should be aware of this as he could sense the predicament of what laid behind the darkness portal best.
"I guess, it's time for me to leave for a few days. Don't destroy the military base, and don't dare to run away from me when I return!"
With a rather awkward farewell announcement, Nial manifested a pitch-black dungeon portal right in front of him.
The Viper Spear appeared in his hand, only for him to take a deep breath before he stepped through it.
Afterward, the portal disappeared into thin air without leaving behind the slightest trace of its existence.
The I-stroke on the Odyssey seed was pitch-black, camouflaging itself to match the seed's color in a subtle way before merging with it.
Its task had been completed, and nothing else was required for it to do!
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It was not his non-existent sight that turned dark all of a sudden, which was impossible to begin with.
Rather, Nial was unable to sense a single trace of mana around him.
Everything around him had gone silent, there was nothing to smell, and he was not even capable of sensing the faintest vibrations.
Under normal circumstances, this would be a nightmare for Nial.
Being unable to know where he was, what the surroundings looked like, if there was someone around him to be careful of, and so on were what Nial had feared the most in the past.
But it was odd. Right now, he was not afraid, and could easily take a step forward.
The ground below him felt firm and somewhat solid, but also gaseous.
It was as if he was walking on a fluffy cloud.
This was a very similar sensation to how the clouds around the divine palace had felt in his monthly dreams before he had awakened his origin.
Taking one step after another he walked through the unknown space, and was unable to hear, smell, or sense anything except the cloud-like surface his feet touched below him.
Unsure of where he was going, he kept trying to sense in vain and only felt a sharp tug as if his entire being was pulled towards a particular direction.
As such he followed the said direction with a calm mind.
Only a small part in the corner of his heart was nervous, thinking that he was being pulled towards something that created the Odyssey seed in order to alter Nial's body, to turn him into the vessel the being required for its selfish needs.
But even then, right at this moment, Nial was calm.
Unsure of how much time had passed, he stopped once he thought he had reached his final destination.
There was still nothing around him, or at least, Nial was unable to pick up anything.
Because of that, he remained at the spot he presumed to be his destination, waiting for something to happen.
Time passed but he could sense no change around him which made him doubt his gut feeling, only for a hoarse voice to reverberate through his mind all of a sudden.
[What do you desire, mortal? Is it unlimited strength? The ability to become an Immortal, to live until the universe ceases to exist? To create your own Empire and conquer other nations to enslave them? Or maybe even to retrieve your eyesight?]
The voice was exactly the same as the one he had heard in the abode of the Old Medic.
As such, Nial could figure that some sort of a being was communicating with him through the Odyssey seed.
It was certainly something to be vigilant of, but Nial was unable to hold himself back and he revealed his desire to the hoarse voice.
"Right now, I just want to reunite with my family and protect them from the dangers of the dungeon beasts. Even if they would have been with me right now, I wouldn't be confident that they'll be safe with just me to protect them.
Mankind's strength is too low to protect their shelters if a single Prometheus rank were to appear and attack us. Everyone would die…"
While Nial spoke, memories he had already seen once flashed through his mind. Thus, he subconsciously blurted out 'Prometheus rank' even if he had no idea what it actually was.
[Looks like fractions of my memories have reached you by now. You are faster than I expected, mortal. I can sense that your heart, mana core, and the little fragment have been refined once..
It's just a faint enhancement, but nonetheless, it's an achievement. I never expected a lot from a human being, to begin with.]
Listening to the voice in his head, Nial couldn't help but feel offended. He was giving his best, but this 'thing' was just disregarding everything he had achieved with the last few months' hard work as if it were child's play.
"Never expected much from a human? Then why was this seed, fragment or whatever it is, forced onto me 15 years ago? I doubt I ever requested to be blind, or for my mana senses to be blocked. If it were not for the Divine Goddess, I would still be unawakened!!"
Even if Nial was sure that it was not the best to complain to the mysterious voice, he was unable to hold himself back.
[It's exactly this attitude of yours that makes you the right candidate! I do not know which Goddess you met, but I can sense divine energy within my fragment. That should have accelerated everything a little bit.
But from the looks of it, your body can endure my power and strength, otherwise, you wouldn't even be here talking to me right now!]
Nial's understanding of the situation was non-existent.
As such, he couldn't help but blurt out,
"The right candidate for what?"
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