Battle Frenzy

Ham Sausage revealed his true form of a hell gatekeeper, and a terrifying coercion swept out like a hurricane. A 7th-rank dimensional creature!

“Roar!”

Ham Sausage suddenly turned to look at them with its huge round eyes after its roar that was as loud as thunder. Asher fell to the ground on his butt in shock, and everyone stared at it, dumbfounded. What the hell was that???

Ham Sausage’s aura of death swept across the forest once again. Honestly, these tree demons were extremely unlucky. They had only been revived for a short while before they were wiped out once again. For the sake of food, Ham Sausage exerted his utmost strength and charged all the way to the wooden cottage without pausing.

There was only calm and tranquility in front of the cottage. The traces left from the previous battle had mostly disappeared. The seven dwarfs were in the midst of recovery. Half of each dwarf’s body was already visible in the grass, regenerating at a sluggish speed visible to the naked eye.

“I’ve heard about the rebirth laws of S-rank secret realms long ago, but this is the first time I’ve seen it for myself!” Oscar grew emotional and tried to ruffle his hair, only to stroke his smooth and bald head.

“Your hairstyle is rather nice, Captain!”

“Yeah, I can save on haircuts in the future!”

It was indeed true that the extreme of adversity was the beginning of prosperity. It was the first time that they had witnessed such a ‘miracle.’ S-rank secret realms were truly out of their league. Only the top three exploration teams had the chance to do so, and even then, it would be under the guidance of a Great Teacher.

The coordinates were recorded once again in the Pioneering Order, and they used their Skylinks to capture images of the dwarfs in the midst of being rebirthed, as well as the transmission array in the wooden cottage. This was actually the key to the series of secret realms. The strength of the secret realm could be directly identified with the transmission array, and it was considered evidence for the Holy City. Their rewards from this exploration depended on it.

After completing the mission, the Wanderlust team exchanged glances with each other. Wang Zhong knew what they were thinking about. The people in this team had moral integrity, and they didn’t want to take advantage of him, the newcomer. It was understandable. Those who were thick-skinned would probably be in a much better situation than them.

“Wang Zhong, you should collect this reward,” Oscar couldn’t help but blurt out. It was obvious that this guy had a very good physique, as he still appeared to be energetic after having overexerted himself during the activation of the Catastrophe Vest. “The rewards are not only money, but it also affects your personal rating in the hostel. S-rank secret realms like this can directly make a newcomer like you famous. Then, the top 10 exploration teams will probably vie to invite you to their teams.

The Dimensional Hostel had rankings at the individual and at the team levels. The ranking determined the maximum limit of the missions one could accept. It was obvious that newcomers and small teams would not be offered high-level tasks. In addition, certain discounts would be offered as one’s rank rose. The higher the rank, the more profitable businesses would be if they came knocking. One’s rank was like a brand.

Whether it was through luck or strength, if Wang Zhong was the one who completed the mission, he would definitely experience a reversal of fortune.

“Captain, I have just joined the Wanderlust Team, yet you want to kick me out so urgently?”

As Oscar froze, everyone was stunned as well. Was this guy stupid? How could he not be tempted by such huge rewards? They were all Holy Disciples; thus, they were all too clear about how difficult it was for apprentices to make a name for themselves. It was not an exaggeration to say that no apprentice had status in the Dimensional Hostel. It was old news for some female Holy Disciples to sell their bodies. After all, even though everyone was under the protection of a teacher, not all teachers truly cared about them.

Wang Zhong replied with a smile. “I am still a newcomer. The focus of newcomers should be learning. Being famous is not good for me. Furthermore, I don’t want to be disturbed by other teams. Therefore, my rating in the Dimensional Hostel is of no use to me at all. What’s more important is that the Wanderlust Team needs this record more than I do. You guys didn’t expect returns when you decided to help me. Now, we are even.”

“… You’re right. We’ll help ourselves then,” said Oscar as he laughed. To be honest, this record was life-saving for them.

It had been more than two years since the establishment of the Wanderlust Team. Although they had completed many difficult tasks, they had also failed many times due to their habit of walking on tightropes. In addition, the size of the team was too small. Their numbers made it difficult for them to accept those large-scale missions that would increase their ranking greatly; thus, the team’s ranking had been stagnant for the past two years, and they had not been able to break through to higher rankings. As such, it was really difficult for them to take on missions and earn money. Their equipment would then be behind the others. Thus, they were rather miserable. To be honest, many other teams with far less natural talent had already reached high levels of combat power just by relying on various team benefits. Every one of the members of those teams owned a high-rank soul tool.

On the other hand, till now, the Wanderlust Team had no good equipment. Other than ‘Trisson’s Catastrophe Vest’ which was not even usable at all, and ‘Murphy’s Hand Mortar’ which belonged to Small Eyes, everyone else was still using an initial-phase ordinary soul tool, which seriously restricted everyone’s ability to increase their power.

There were no missions available without a high ranking, no money without missions, and no equipment without money. Without better equipment, they had no chance to earn more money as well not having opportunities to visit places to sharpen their skills. This was a vicious cycle.

If everyone had a high-ranking soul tool when they were besieged by the tree demons previously, even if they could not enter the realm due to their limited power, they would still have been able to retreat without getting hurt.

This time, it was an S-rank series of secret realms that had been explored. Just by looking at the high-level transmission array left in the cottage, there was no doubt that they would get the rewards for an S-rank secret realm. It was enough to allow the Wanderlust Team to rise up by three ranks, which was extremely important for the development of the team. Of course, the crux was that they could finally see the light of day!

Basically, the Dimensional Hostel in the Holy City regarded the Wanderlust Team as a suicide squad. If it was not for Oscar and the others who had a fair amount of combat power, they would have definitely met with a worse end. They could definitely make a name for themselves with this mission.

The secret realm’s seal was lifted; therefore, they could activate the Pioneering Order. During their return, the coordinates of the Holy Land were extremely clear. Wang Zhong experienced this kind of convenience again, but he also gained experience this time. Some secret realms actually had the power to interfere with the Pioneering Order. In other words, the Pioneering Order was also a runic array. Thus, it was not difficult to be trapped by secret realms.

All of them returned directly to the Holy City. Feng brought Small Eyes back to the Mystic Sect for rest and recuperation while Asher and Lance accompanied Oscar to the Dimensional Hostel to collect the rewards. Everyone had agreed to meet up at the Queen’s Bar later in the evening. As for Wang Zhong, he returned directly to his dormitory.

This time, the journey took three days. The time lapses in the Dimensional Secret Realms were not fixed, but the general situation would not be that different. Once one entered the Fifth Dimension, things that followed a regular pattern in the real world had no more meaning.

Wang Zhong took a shower in the dormitory and changed his clothes. As he recalled the existence of the magic mirror that Aiolos had passed to him, he took it out of the storage space with great excitement. In addition to understanding the power of his Dharma Idol, his gains mainly consisted of the magic mirror. Although he could not comprehend the laws of the natural order directly from the battle like Aiolos, he could slowly internalize them through such treasures. Thinking was also Wang Zhong’s strong suit.

On the surface, it was just an exquisite mirror that had a certain antique value. The surface of the mirror was copper-colored. It was not a glass mirror, but it was not a copper mirror either. It appeared to be made up of a kind of crystal which had color.

The mirror surface had been damaged, and a huge crack could be seen on the entire mirror’s surface. From time to time, he could feel a trace of power radiating from the crack.

Soul tools such as mirrors often reflected their owners. Depending on the owner, their attributes would change accordingly. In the hands of the Queen, it acted like a protective shield which could rebound attacks as well as act as a tool of power restriction. It was indeed very convenient and arbitrary, but currently, it could not be used.

However, the mirror was not completely damaged. Wang Zhong tried to infuse some of his own Soul Power into it in an attempt to try and unlock the mysteries contained inside or perhaps even activate it directly. However, it was as though his power was swallowed directly by the mirror, and there was no reaction from it at all.

He tried to increase the output of his Soul Power and maintained it at a level of a thousand Grassos. He continued to do so for quite some time, but the result was still the same. There was no response and no change in the mirror. The only thing he could feel was the vastness of the power in this magic mirror. His little bit of Soul Power could not even cause a single ripple in it.

Wang Zhong shook his head. After all, this thing could only be used by the experts at the Heavenly Soul Stage. To operate it with his Initial Phase Heroic Soul strength, it would be like an ant trying to shake a big tree. It was an impossible matter. It seemed like the only way was to keep it for now. Maybe he could use it when he reached the Heavenly Soul Stage. When the Queen and Aiolos fought, the defense barrier made by the magic mirror could render even the most fearsome Aiolos helpless. This made Wang Zhong envious. The mirror could definitely be regarded as a rarity even among the best of soul tools.

Wang Zhong had never cared much about external objects, but he was rather fascinated by this mirror. He knew that things from the fairy-tale secret realms definitely carried some laws of the natural order, which would definitely be helpful to him once he entered the Heavenly Soul Stage in the future. As he put down the magic mirror, he was also actually pondering about what the Fate Stone was.

Its existence seemed to be very special even in the Fifth Dimension. Was it really an item which belonged to the God of Fate?

Wang Zhong couldn’t help but laugh. Since he had already arrived in the Holy Land, it was clear that there was no such thing as a god. It was just a more powerful lifeform. The reason why he could not unlock the secrets of the Fate Stone now was that he was too weak.

It was already late at night when he arrived at the Queen’s Bar.

This place was relatively remote, and it was situated in the periphery of the city. It was not the same as those in the Holy Disciples’ area which Wang Zhong had visited before. There was no elegant light music, no expensive wine and no luxurious ornaments for decorations. It was a rundown but lively alley where loud cheers and all sorts of noises could be heard. It appeared bright and colorful, and loud deafening music was being played. The whole place was permeated with the smell of hard liquor and was filled with rock culture. The people here were all at the bottom of the hierarchy in the Holy City, seemingly out of place when compared to the inner part of the city, which was filled with elegance. In fact, this place was very popular among the Holy City’s staff and Dimensional Humans, and even among the alien races. This was a place where they could relax, relieve stress, and temporarily stop speculating about their futures.

Just as he pushed open the door to the Queen’s bar, the deafening music blasted out, resonating in his ears. Hundreds of people were dancing and singing passionately along with the music. The whole place was packed like a can of tuna. How could he find the Wanderlust Team?

Not far away from the door, Oscar could be seen beckoning to Wang Zhong to go over to a small table. Although the captain was bald, he was in a really good mood. “Wang Zhong, we’re here!”

Except for Small Eyes who was still recovering from her injuries, the rest of Wanderlust Team had already arrived, but most of them had already gone to the dance floor and partied to the music. Only Oscar, Feng, and Lance were sitting at the small table. Every one of them was in a good mood.

There were a few bottles of good alcohol and fruit plates on the table, as well as some snacks. The loud, booming music around them made it impossible to hear each other unless they shouted.

“This is the home base of our Wanderlust Team!” Oscar laughed. “Small Eyes and Lance are alien races. They were born here. Many of us are familiar with this bar. Haha, we all like this party scene. These parties are unlike those receptions in the inner city, where others would say you are rude when you speak a little louder. F*cking hell. Drinking should be to one’s heart content!”

“That makes sense!” Oscar’s candid temperament was suited to Wang Zhong’s tastes. Although he was not particularly accustomed to this noisy place, he did not dislike it. Instead, he felt that it was very novel and interesting. People should be able to stay silent when it was time for silence, but when it was time to party, they had to be able to have fun as well.

“Wang Zhong, have a drink.” Feng Xiao held up her glass, smiling. She always gave the impression that she was a very quiet girl; thus, it was assumed that she liked quiet places, yet she could adapt to this noisy bar. Furthermore, it could be seen that she enjoyed being in such an environment, and it was obvious that she felt very relaxed. “Thank you!” said Feng.

“I thought I was already part of the team,” said Wang Zhong with a smile.

“You definitely are! Thanks to you, the Wanderlust Team rose by two ranks. It’s now a 3rd-rank exploration team, and we can accept A-rank missions at will. I looked through the recent A-rank missions before I left. Man, those mission rewards are impossible,” said Oscar, clearly over the moon.

“We have to be alive to accept those missions!” Feng glared at Oscar, making it obvious that something was going on between them. The division of labor between the two in the Wanderlust Team was clear: Feng was the brains, and Oscar was the brawn.

“Now we have a new trump card. I have asked around. Our new member is really incredible. He was once the—”

“Captain, let’s not rake up the past.” Wang Zhong smiled and made Oscar stop talking with alcohol. “How’re your injuries? Are you alright now?” asked Wang Zhong.

“It’s no problem, thanks to your friend. It was a blessing in disguise. Some power of the Catastrophe Vest has been transferred to me, and now all I have to do is recuperate!” said Oscar as he touched his bald head. Now, his body was filled with blue patterns, and they seemed to be permanent. However, in the Holy City, these small ‘tattoos’ were no big deal. There were transformed people and alien races everywhere.

“By the way,” said Oscar as he pulled a golden card out of his pocket, “this is five thousand Holy Coins. This is your share of the reward. Have you ever used a Holy Coins Card? Insert it into your Skylink bracelet, and the Holy Coins will be automatically deposited into your account.”

“Five thousand Holy Coins? The reward is so huge?” Wang Zhong accepted it with a smile. He did not bother to refuse it as he knew that Oscar must have distributed the rewards among the entire team.

“This is rightfully yours. I have left some for everyone. Strictly speaking, we still took most of it. But since you are now one of us, we will not bother to be polite with you.” With a wave, Oscar began to laugh. “So, don’t refuse this bit of money.”