Goblin Fortress (End)

When they finished their training, Jude and Johan had waken up, as well as Victoria. Jude and Johan had both broken through and opened the 2nd Gate. This was understandable, the 2nd Gate needed one to heal by themselves to prepare for it, and since they lived in a world at constant war contrarily to Earth, they had to heal from injuries way more often than people on Earth.

That's why, with Adam's guidance, they were able to breakthrough on the spot. However, this breakthrough only allowed them to last longer in a fight, they still weren't at the peak of the 1st Gate. Right now, someone at the peak of the 1st Gate could defeat them without opening the second one. Still, it was better to breakthrough now.

As for Victoria, she didn't breakthrough, nor did she reach the peak of the 4th Gate yet, but when she reaches it in the future her chances of breaking through would be higher than the rest.

Seeing that the three Heroes of the Royal Family were still immersed into their meditation, Adam approached Victoria. Since he saw them together, a question had been burning his mind, but he found no opportunity to ask it, until now.

Adam sat next to her and said "Can I ask you a question?" Victoria nodded and Adam asked "How come the difference in power between you and your parents doesn't seem… very large?"

Victoria raised en eyebrow and asked "You noticed? Impressive considering you are only an Iron Rank."

Adam replied "I wouldn't be so smug in your position. You may be stronger, I can be considered your teacher since I taught you how to open the 5th Gate. Moreover, I am the one who saved your life."

Victoria blushed and looked away as she said "I wasn't being smug…" Adam smiled and asked "Whatever. What about my question? I saw a few Gold Ranks in the city, they were rare but I saw a few, and they were way weaker than you."

Victoria became more serious as she nodded and said "What do you know about the promotion to Bronze Rank?"

Adam shrugged and replied "Almost nothing, except that it needs to be done in one's racial power." Victoria nodded "Since you are a Northman, you will need to head to the Capital of our Empire. I heard mom say she would lead you there, it's better than using the teleportation gates, they can be quite expensive."

She then said "For the test itself, it will vary depending on the classes, but since your class is Berserker then it will be simple. You will have to face waves of enemies, and the longer you last, the better your result. It will actually test your martial arts, and the better they are, the better your class will be. Then, depending on your score, you will be chosen for a class. The worst class one can get is E Class, and the best is SSS Class, but it has been centuries since an SSS class appeared."

Adam asked "Is the difference in power great between the classes great?"

Victoria nodded and said "It is, for example I am the holder of an SS Class myself, while my parents are both S Ranks. We only are a single class level apart, but I am almost as powerful as them despite being one rank below them. For the Gold Ranks you saw, most of them only had B or A rank classes, and I could literally fight tens of them despite being a Cleric."

Well, that was impressive. Adam asked "Which Gate had you opened back then?" Victoria replied "I opened the Gate of Healing, like Johan and your disciple. For you, seeing how you were able to fight against the six of them, you might actually have a shot at getting an SSS Class. However be careful with that."

Adam tilted his head, and Victoria said "Although having a higher class makes one stronger, it also becomes more difficult to advance in the ranks. For example, my quest to promote from Gold to Hero will probably be almost as difficult as the quest my parents will get for Legend Rank. The reason my parents are stuck at the Hero Rank despite having passed Level 200 is because it is impossible to succeed in the Legend Promotion Quest with only the 4th Gate opened, as S Ranks at least."

Adam asked "What if they were A Rank?" Victoria replied "If they were then they would already be Legends, but they would be very weak Legends. However, for me, my Hero Promotion will be impossible unless I open the 5th Gate too. If I was an SSS Class, then passing the Hero Promotion would be only possible if I opened the 6th Gate."

Adam said "Those are very harsh requirements."

Victoria nodded "It is, but the power you would get would be incredible. An SSS Hero can defeat an S Legend, and it wouldn't be that hard."

Adam became silent, he had already made his choice, he would do his utmost to get an SSS Class, he wasn't afraid he would become blocked at a Rank, he believed his talent was good enough to allow him to go to the max level with an SSS Class.

The group then waited for another 20 minutes for the three Heroes to wake up. Sarah was the first to wake up, followed by Skade. The two of them hadn't broken through, but they knew it wouldn't be long until they would.

As for Henry, he lasted longer than the two, and when he woke up everyone suddenly felt something press on them. Both their body and mind were being suppressed. Everyone understood Henry had opened the 5th Gate.

With this revelation, it was hard to know who was the most happy between Johan who knew he was saved, and Henry who had a chance to enter the Legend Rank, the goal he had fixed for himself back when he was a homeless child.

Henry didn't forget about Johan though, and with a move he appeared back next to the chains. Then, he delivered a single strike, which looked even grander than the one before.

The sword light collided with the chains, which broke with a single strike. He had to slash a few times to destroy all the chains, and free Johan from his prison.

[SS Quest 'Chained' completed!]

Rewards: +1 Level, Friendly Reputation with the Clearwater family including the King of the North, +20 AP, Exalted Reputation with Azure Royal Family.

[You have leveled up to level 17! AP +5]

Adam felt surprised but mostly happy by the rewards he got. He didn't want to win too many levels since he wanted to open his second Gate before challenging his Bronze Quest, so this reward was really good for him, especially the extra AP.

Freed from the chains, Johan fell to the ground, but then immediately got up as he started jumping around. Three months of imprisonment was a rough thing to go through, especially in a dark place with only two goblins to talk to.

Once he finished he ran up to Adam and kneeled on the ground, before saying "Senior, I beg you to take this one as your disciple!"

[Ding! The Non Playable Character 'Johan Clearwater' wishes to become your disciple!]

Adam resisted the urge to roll his eyes, did he really look like such a good teacher? Adam looked down at him and asked "Why should I take you as a disciple?"

Johan replied "I promise to honor master by my actions and become as strong as my father, the King of the North! Moreover, once people know you are my master, you would have a higher status than most people in the entire Coldlands Empire!"

Adam raised an eyebrow, this was actually a really good reason to take him in, and he wouldn't let it pass. He looked at Judith and said "Since the two of you opened your 2nd Gate at the same time, I guess there is some fate between you two. And giving you a rival wouldn't be so bad."

[You have accepted 'Johan Clearwater' as your disciple! Relationship enhanced to Worshiped! Your disciple will listen to your orders as long as you don't cross his limits, and you may exchange items with him. But your job is to teach him, and do it well or you will lose his respect!]