25.

"..."

"...."

The entire place was plunged into silence for a long time before everyone broke out in screams.

"OH MY GOD."

"NIGHTMARE... IT'S THE NIGHTMARE DIFFICULTY."

"No wonder we never saw the stele for the nightmare difficulty. It was because no one has been able to complete it till now."

"RED... WHO IS RED?"

Within a few moments, the entire region was plunged into chaos.

"I... I need to report to the principal." The middle-aged man grabbed the absent-minded students behind him before disappearing from there.

Not only he, but every single person in the zone was going crazy. People were sending information by all means.

This wasn't the scene that was exclusive to this zone. In every zone, regardless of its size, there was an additional stele above the three steles with the name 'Red' on it.

Soon, the news that for the first time in history, someone cleared the nightmare difficulty trial spread like wildfire.

Almost every big faction and powerful forces were beginning to look for the 'Red' person who cleared the trials. Compared to the people with low strength, they knew what clearing the Nightmare difficulty trial represented.

.

.

Inside an ice palace in an unknown location, the figure of a woman was rushing at an incredible speed. Her figure would disappear before appearing briefly and then disappear once again.

It wasn't until she reached the innermost section of the palace that she stopped in front of a large door.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty...

There is something you need to know."

Knocking on the door, she kept on shouting with an anxious face. But even after shouting for almost ten minutes, she didn't receive any response.

Gritting her teeth she thought about how she couldn't waste another second and took out a small ring and touched the door with it.

The moment the ring touched the door, the door trembled for a moment before being pushed open, showing the inside of a dimly lit room.

"Your majesty." Walking inside, she stood beside a large handcrafted luxurious wooden bed and looked at the figure lying there.

The woman lying there appeared to be in her late twenties with white hair scattered all around. Her skin was as fair as snow and her face looked like it was crafted from the best jade.

"Umm..." Lying on the bed, she moved a bit, showing a perfect curvy figure which was enough to shame even the greatest beauties that ever existed.

Even the woman sitting beside the bed swallowed while looking at that perfect figure. But soon, she shook her head. There was something much more important than admiring the person in front of her.

"Your majesty." Bending, she brought her face close to the figure's ears before whispering in a soft voice.

"...." The moment she spoke, the figure lying on the bed opened her eyes as an intense bloodlust overtook the entire room. At that moment, the entire room seemed to plunge into a blood sea with innumerable souls crying out in agony.

"Your majesty, please calm down, it's me."

Facing such an insurmountable pressure, the woman couldn't help but kneel on the ground while speaking with a trembling voice. For a moment, she was sure this was her last moment. But fortunately, nothing happened. 

The figure lying on the bed looked at the kneeling woman as the pressure disappeared.

"What is it now?

Haven't I told you not to disturb me?"

Although her voice was pleasant to hear, it was cold and emotionless, sending shivers down one's spine.

"It's about the stele..." Speaking about it, the woman kneeling on the ground couldn't control her excitement.

"The Nightmare stele has appeared.

Someone has cleared the Trial on the nightmare difficulty."

The moment she finished speaking, the woman sitting on the bed narrowed her eyes.

"Just how long was I asleep for?"

"Almost a month, your majesty."

Closing her eyes, the woman stood up as her long white silky dress fluttered through the air.

"Find out about the person who cleared the trial. If possible, make sure they join us.

If not, then just eliminate them."

Waving her hand, she dismissed the woman as her eyes which were as deep as an abyss looked into the distance.

"The sleeping time is getting lesser now. I should be able to succeed within a few years."

Muttering to herself, she sat there in silence before opening her panel.

"....."

Looking at it, she nodded in satisfaction and was about to close it when her eyes noticed a newly added row of text.

[Marriage Skill: Life Sharing]

"Huh!?" For a moment, her brain almost stopped working.

It wasn't until a few moments passed that she came back to her senses. Standing up with nervousness, she waved her hand as an ominous feeling overwhelmed her.

The moment she waved her hand, scene after scene began to play in front of her.

By the time she reached the end of it, her eyes were filled with rage, and an expression of disbelief was written all over her face.

.

.

.

.

"Is this a zone?" At this moment, Eldric was standing inside a small town, curiously looking around him, completely unaware of the storm he had caused. And even if he knew it, he wouldn't care about it.

A person with the profession of Brawler, who had failed to gain admission to any university, was the last person anyone would imagine clearing the Nightmare difficulty trial.

"Are you new here?" While Eldric was looking around, he was suddenly greeted by a crisp voice.

Turning around, Eldric saw a girl his age standing there with a smile while silently observing him.

"You can tell?"

"Heh..." Hearing his question, the girl let out a chuckle while shaking her head. "Do you want a guide?"

Eldric didn't reply but looked around. The town itself wasn't too big. If he wanted to, he could roam the entire town in less than two hours.

Perhaps sensing his thoughts, the girl just chuckled.

"You can definitely explore by yourself. But it will take you more than a month to get familiar with everything.

I can save you from all that trouble and tell you about everything.

For a price that is."

"And how much does it cost?"

"Only five tokens."

As soon as she said five tokens, Eldric turned around and began to walk away.

What a joke, he had to complete those missions to get the tokens. Spending them on a guide was the last thing he was willing to do.

"Hey... Hold up." Seeing a potential customer running away, the girl chased him before standing in front of him, blocking his way.

"You definitely won't regret it." This time her voice was somewhat soft, almost to the point of pleading.

"You look like a strong man. So, completing the missions will be like a breeze to you.

You won't even notice the lack of these five tokens.

Trust me. I will tell you everything that a newbie should know."

The more she spoke, the more excited she got. By the time she reached the end of her sentence, she was almost pleading with him.

"..."

Looking at her for a few moments, Eldric just let out a sigh. "Fine. Show me around and if I am not satisfied with the information, I am not going to pay you."

The girl who was going to ask for the payment upfront hesitated for a moment, but after looking at Eldric for a long time, she just gritted her teeth and agreed.

.

.

"Everyone who comes here wants to improve their strength as fast as possible."

"I will tell you the same thing I told them...

Take your time and do not rush."

Humming a tune, the girl spoke while leading Eldric to the nearest building. Now that Eldric was willing to pay for her services, her mood was a lot better.

"Tell me one thing. Have you joined any university or any faction?"

Hearing her question, Eldric narrowed his eyes before looking at her.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well, if you have joined any university, then you can learn about a lot of things there for free.

If you have joined a faction, then you only need to pay a little bit for the information."

"What if I haven't joined any university or faction?" Eldric asked with a smile.

"Uh..." The girl looked at him in silence before giving him a reply.

"In that case, I will suggest you pay tokens for a class. You can directly ask your question and know about things that many don't know.

But I will still suggest you join a university or faction. It will be much more convenient for you."

"I see." Eldric didn't speak further.

Seeing his silence, the girl too stopped talking and soon brought him in front of a large hall with a constant number of people entering and exiting.

"This is the mission hall."

Pointing at the building, she spoke further.

"Here you can accept the task or even publish one.

If you accept a task, then you can teleport to that location with the help of your panel. It will cost you tokens though."

She then signaled Eldric to follow her before walking toward the other giant hall.

"This is the place where you can get potions and medicines."

.

.

"This is the equipment store where you can buy or sell your equipment."

.

.

"This is the Black Wolf faction. If you want to join them, you need to complete their trial."

The girl kept on introducing Eldric to every building with great enthusiasm and in detail. Eldric had to admit that if not for her, then it would have taken a lot of time to know about these things.

It took almost two hours for the girl to introduce almost everything to Eldric. It wasn't until the two of them arrived in front of a large hall that was crowded with people that they stopped.

"What's this?" Till now Eldric hadn't seen such a large gathering of people in the town. From one look, he could see everyone seemed excited as if something great was taking place there.

"Wait a minute. I am going to find out." Without waiting for Eldric to reply, the girl pushed through the crowd and managed to get inside.

Even though Eldric was curious, he didn't go forward and patiently waited for her return.

And soon enough, the girl was back. But compared to before, there seemed to be a dazed expression on her face.

"What happened?" Eldric asked.

"Uh...?" As if coming out of a trance, the girl looked at Eldric before explaining to him slowly.

"This is our last destination. The Hall Of Fame."

"Inside are the steles that record the names of people who have completed the trials in the shortest time possible. Throughout the ages, this thing has been a symbol of status and glory."

As Eldric listened to her, an ominous feeling suddenly grew in his heart. He just remembered the message that was displayed after he completed the trial in the Nightmare difficulty.

And sure enough, the next sentence the girl spoke confirmed his thoughts.

"Till now, there had been only three steles representing the Ordinary, Hard, and Hell difficulty.

But today... Today for the first time in history, the stele of Nightmare came into existence, displaying a single name 'Red'. Do you know what this means?"

"Gulp." Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Eldric shook his head. "What does it mean?"

"It means that the world is going to be in turmoil soon..."