Chapter 274: If You Want to Interrogate Me, Have Gavin Come Personally

Without hesitation, the golden armored man reached out to retrieve it.

Slap!

Cole’s palm landed on the disc first.

Pale blue mana instantly spread across the entire table, forcibly revealing several blood red patterns that had originally been concealed inside the dark gold disc.

The entire room fell silent.

A Soul Hunting Mark!

It was a tracking method strictly restricted by the Human Player Association.

If the user was powerful enough, they could even use the mark to attack the target’s soul from a great distance.

The golden armored man’s expression became ugly.

"That is merely an inherent function of the Soul Seeking Compass."

"Whether it is a normal function or not will be determined by the Association’s appraisers." Cole put away the disc.

"Until the results are determined, this item will be temporarily confiscated by the First Sanctuary Player Association."

"You dare confiscate something belonging to the Locke family?"

"You attempted to plant a Soul Hunting Mark on a protected player inside the Association." Cole stared at him coldly.

"What you should be worried about now isn’t whether I dare confiscate it, but how you’re going to explain yourselves to President Arthur."

Upon hearing the name Arthur Magnus, the other two Locke family members visibly hesitated.

The golden armored man’s expression changed repeatedly before he suddenly turned toward Zich.

"Very well. It seems you still don’t understand what it means to offend the Locke family."

A terrifying surge of mana suddenly erupted from his body.

A heavy pressure instantly enveloped the entire room.

However, Zich still remained seated, without even the slightest change in his gaze.

Compared to the pressure Razeil had subjected him to over the past thirty days, this level of intimidation was simply too weak.

Seeing that Zich showed no reaction whatsoever, anger flashed through the golden armored man’s eyes, and his right hand shot directly toward Zich’s shoulder.

Zich shifted his body slightly backward.

It was an extremely simple movement, yet the golden armored man’s palm brushed past his clothes and grabbed nothing but air.

At the same time, a black summoning formation silently unfolded behind him.

Iron’s towering body stepped out from the summoning formation, his massive bone sword positioned horizontally between the golden armored man and Zich as the soul flames within his eye sockets burned fiercely.

Just as the golden armored man was about to attack again, an even more powerful force erupted from Cole’s body.

Boom!

The man was forced two steps backward, and dense cracks spread across the ground beneath his feet.

Several Association guards simultaneously appeared outside the door.

"Openly attacking a protected player inside the First shelter Player Association."

Cole spoke each word clearly. "Take them all away."

The other two Locke family members wanted to intervene, but after seeing more and more Association guards gathering around them, they ultimately abandoned the idea.

The golden armored man stared fiercely at Zich.

"Once you leave the shelter, no one will be there to protect you."

Zich looked at him calmly. "Go back and tell Gavin Locke. If he wants to know how Kane died, have him come and ask me personally."

"As for you..." Zich’s gaze swept across the Locke family emblem on the man’s chest.

"You’re not qualified."

The golden armored man’s expression completely darkened, but he said nothing more and turned to leave the room with the Association guards.

It was only after the sound of their footsteps had completely disappeared did Cole turn around.

"Can’t you keep a slightly lower profile?"

"He attacked first."

"I’m talking about that last sentence."

"It was simply the truth."

Zich recalled Iron and sat back down at the table.

Nadia stared at him before suddenly saying, "Thirty days ago, there’s no way you could have remained this calm under the pressure of a Level 42 player. It seems that mentor taught you quite a lot."

Zich did not answer. He still had no intention of revealing anything about Razeil to anyone.

Nadia did not continue asking too. Instead, she took out a silver token and placed it on the table.

On the front of the token was the image of an enormous beast roaring toward the heavens, while on the back was a string of numbers that continued counting down.

[04:17:32:51]

"What is this?" Zich asked.

"Four days from now, the Rookie Trial of the Heaven Reaching Trial Tower will begin."

Zich lowered his gaze to the silver token in his hand.

"The Heaven Reaching Trial Tower?"

"Yes" Nadia nodded. "It’s An ancient tower that stands in the central region of the First Layer. It opens only once a year. No one knows exactly how many floors the entire tower possesses, but the Rookie Tower Domain, which is open to players below Level 30, contains thirty floors."

"Each floor is an entirely different monster world. Challengers must complete a mission within the allotted time before they can advance to a higher floor. Sometimes, they must hunt designated monsters. Sometimes, they must withstand a beast tide. They might even be required to find a hidden exit within a completely unfamiliar region."

"Every cleared floor grants a reward from the Heaven Reaching Tower. The higher the floor, the more valuable the reward. Moreover, part of the power released when monsters inside the tower die will be directly converted into experience for the challenger."

Nadia looked at Zich. "For players stuck at Level 29, it is the fastest place to break through to Level 30."

"That does not sound particularly special."

"If that were all, the major factions would not fight tooth and nail over every available slot."

Nadia raised her hand and tapped the silver token. The projection of a massive black tower soaring into the clouds immediately appeared before them. An enormous golden stone monument floated beside the tower, displaying a long list of names, floors, and clearing times.

Zich recognized the name at the very top.

[Arthur Magnus]

[Highest Record: Floor 29]

[Level When Record Was Set: 29]