『The Will Of Fate』

"Now! Naoki!"

"Got it!"

With a flick of his hand, the spear lunged forward at supersonic speed, piercing the shining silver wolf that was easily thrice the size of a Silver Queen—a Silver Monarch. That's right, this was the Floor Guardian of the nightingale layer—which consists of three monster types: Giant Bees, Black Snakes, and White Wolves—all of which are significantly stronger than the ones at the Avery Domain.

"Grr!" The wolf growled, it had lost one of its paws.

"It's up to you now, Carol! [Myriad Wind]!"

"Mhm, thanks."

Dorothy expanded her Soul World, as a flash of verdant light spread throughout the surroundings. This was her Soul World Projection, a feat only accomplishable by practitioners of the 5th star node or above.

Myriad Wind

Anyone that the cultivator selects inside this projection will notice their Soul Nodes accelerating, essentially making their Soul Nodes more efficient and faster—their movement speed will be faster, and notice that they can use their Soul Nodes in quick succession without fear of Soul Fatigue.

"With this...!"

*Zap*

*Zap*

*Zap*

"[Paralyze]!"

After hitting key points on the wolf's body, Astria could finally immobilize the Silver Monarch. Normally, [Paralyze] is hard to pull off since one has to go near and plant multiple marks on the target's body for it to activate—but since with the help of Dorothy's Soul World Projection and the Silver Monarch's recently lost limb, she had done it in such a short amount of time.

This was the three's first battle together in a while—it seems Astria and Dorothy have gotten much stronger since then. Their plan was well executed—even if all Naoki did was throw Dorothy's spear with [Blitz].

"..." The Silver wolf stared menacingly, contrary to its otherwise pitiful state.

"So... what do we do about this...?" Naoki asked.

"Well, I have no need for its Soul Fragment..."

It was not only Dorothy who can project her Soul World, it seems Astria could also do so as well—though her projection seems to be a non-offensive one. But as to what that was, Naoki did not know.

"Naoki, since you're the weakest of us, why not have it? That is, if you can even kill it." Astria mocked, a grin forming on her face.

"Heh, unlucky for you, Carol—I just happen to have something."

"..?"

The two stared at Naoki confusingly, even if Naoki was strong enough to beat a monster in this layer, the Floor Guardian was a different story—even if it was paralyzed. It was a monster that was as strong as a 4th star node practitioner, after all.

Supposedly, this Floor Guardian was of no problem with the two—as they recently have beaten it before. It seems like Dorothy and Astria took a detour in those "shopping trips" to cultivate in the Sky Tower—they also received Sky Tower passes, after all.

"This Sacrificial Dagger... I finally found some use for it."

"That's...?"

"You see—"

This was the Soul Weapon that was given to Naoki by Andrew at Avery City. He has not used it since then, due to its unique effects. It essentially eats away a creature and steals its powers—though it's not as powerful as one might think, as it can only eat away one creature. Additionally, if one wanted to change the creature, it will take a whole month before one can even modify it.

"—If I use this on it, this dagger will be equivalent to the 4th star node, and since this dagger has some sort of consciousness—it won't reject me, I think."

"To think you'd have such a thing like that, peasant..."

"Well, it sounds good—you can also take the Soul Fragment as well."

"Mhm, got it." Naoki rushed to the paralyzed monster, making sure it doesn't dissipate into mist.

Dorothy and Astria waited for Naoki to finish. They did not register at the Tower Altar since they had already defeated this floor. And while they didn't say it, the two had noticed Naoki's efforts to catch up with them, which is why they are assisting right now.

"Hey... Carol, I want to help him more..."

"I know what you mean, he's been cultivating every spare moment that he can—even at night."

The two were sitting a little ways from Naoki, a look of worry on their faces. They knew that Naoki, for the sake of his loved ones, would do anything just to make sure that he earned a place by their side. It was a selfish desire of his, to make sure that they never regret affiliating themselves with him.

"Recently, I've noticed that he can do Alchemy—which was really odd since Alchemy takes years to master, and I don't remember where he learned that in the first place. So, I decided to look further—it seems like he's receiving alchemy lessons from some individual."

"It couldn't be..."

"Most likely, it's probably a Soul Saint—a practitioner in the Heavenly Realm of Zenia, where the goddess resides. If it was any other person, Naoki would have already told me about it."

If there was anything that made Astria scary, it was that she was sharp—both with her intellect and her cultivation. If it wasn't for her special constitution that was recently mended, she would have grown up to be so powerful—possibly more powerful than her sister.

<<----------->>

"And they're off again..." Naoki sighed.

The day was ending—as Naoki found himself alone once again. He, of course, didn't mind despite his complaints—as he quite enjoyed having solo trips.

"Still... that Floor Guardian unlocked half of my 7th soul node—Really, they didn't have to." Naoki thanked the two in his mind.

"Hah... if only I was more well-versed with Alchemy, I could have transformed that Soul Fragment..."

Naoki, with his current skill in alchemy, could only utilize Soul Fragments until the 1st Star Node—2nd Star node if he was lucky. If he could transform it, the resulting pill could easily bring him to unlock his 2nd star node.

"..?"

A strange feeling suddenly befell Naoki, looking at the direction he was feeling this from.

"This is...? A soul fluctuation—a very strong one."

It was just before midnight but the capital was still as lively as ever—as if there were festivities. Despite this, Naoki couldn't help but go in a specific direction—his soul had told him that there is something to be found there.

As to what that was, Naoki did not know. Although he knew one thing—if he didn't go, he would probably regret it for the rest of his life.