Chapter 343: Last Fragment, Ace-Rank Boss Monster and Master Trial
The final Special Gate appeared in Switzerland.
It didn’t take long for them to reach the destination and enter.
[Welcome to the Trial of Eternal Hunt]
[Objective: Eliminate all beast waves and defeat the Final Boss]
[Only fragment holders may challenge the Final Boss]
[Death within this trial is permanent]
The first wave spawned instantly, thousands of scaled creatures rushing toward them from every direction.
Caelus activated Star King’s Sword Vault without hesitation, golden portals erupting across the battlefield as starlight swords rained down upon the horde.
Sylvia moved beside him with her Crimson Sovereign manifesting at full power, blood constructs tearing through beasts faster than they could approach.
[Wave 1 Complete]
[Wave 2 Initiating...]
The beasts grew stronger with each wave, their bodies becoming larger and their attacks more ferocious.
But things were in their favour.
He realized that even though these beasts didn’t give levels, they had essence!
He could extract it!
He extracted essence from every corpse within reach, the energy flooding into his body and refining his combat power.
Sylvia did the same.
Their combat score was increasing rapidly, eventually pushing into Ace-Rank territory.
While this happened, Freya and the others collected the corpses of the beasts. They were all essence gatherers, so these corpses with essence would be useful for increasing their combat score, though it was going to take a long time for them to assimilate all of it without any backlash.
[Wave 15 Complete]
[Wave 16 Initiating...]
Hours passed as they carved through wave after wave.
[Wave 30 Complete]
[Final Boss Spawning...]
The ground trembled violently as a massive creature emerged from a spatial tear.
It stood over fifty meters tall, with white gritty scales covering its entire body and four arms ending in razor-sharp claws that gleamed with deadly light.
[Final Boss: Salt King]
[Rank: Ace]
[Combat Score: 2.1 (Ace)]
Caelus’s eyes narrowed when he saw the information.
An Ace-Rank boss meant that the other people with him couldn’t fight it.
"Everyone stay back," he commanded. "Sylvia and I will handle this."
[Skill Activated: Singularity Collapse]
A gravitational singularity formed directly inside the creature’s chest, the immense pressure crushing its internal organs.
The Salt King howled as its body began collapsing inward.
Sylvia seized the opportunity and drove her Blood Sword Construct straight through its skull.
CRACK!
The creature’s eyes went dim as its massive body crashed to the ground.
[Ding!]
[You have defeated the Salt King]
Throughout the entire trial, they had absorbed massive amounts of essence from the endless beast waves, and by the time they fought this beast, their combat score was already far above its own.
As a result, the battle ended before it could even begin.
[Combat Score: 2.34 (Ace-Rank)]
Then more notifications appeared.
[Fragment Obtained: 3/3]
[Bonus Reward: Profession Level Up Card (Legendary)]
With this, they had all the fragments.
[Ding!]
[You’ve cleared all three trials]
[The fragments have evolved into a key]
[Please go to the Master Gate immediately]
Visions flooded Caelus’s mind the moment the notification appeared.
He saw a towering red structure reaching toward the sky, surrounded by a massive city filled with neon lights and crowded streets.
Tokyo Tower.
The Master Gate was in Japan!
They landed in Tokyo fourteen hours later.
The city sprawled endlessly before them as their plane descended, a sea of buildings stretching toward the horizon in every direction.
Sylvia pressed her face against the window, excitement shining in her crimson eyes.
"I’ve always wanted to visit Japan, Caelus!"
"We’re here for business first," Caelus reminded her with a smile. "Tourism comes after."
The moment they stepped out of the airport, Caelus sensed eyes watching them from multiple directions.
He didn’t react visibly, but he knew it was the Shinto Faction.
Araki Shion watched from a rooftop three blocks away, his flute resting against his lips as energy swirled around him.
He was one of the Shinto Faction’s most famous spirit controllers, a man who had captured and bound over thirty powerful beast spirits from the Origin Expanse within his artifact.
The flute itself was Epic-grade, one of the rarest items in existence.
Inside it resided combat-ready spirits that could be unleashed at a moment’s notice.
"Caelus Kross has entered Tokyo," he reported through his communication device. "He’s moving toward the central district with his companions."
"Keep watching," a voice replied. "If they’re here to cause trouble for the Shinto Faction, eliminate them immediately."
Araki nodded and continued his surveillance.
He followed them through the winding streets of Tokyo, maintaining the perfect distance as they navigated toward their destination.
Then he saw them enter Tokyo Tower.
His eyes narrowed with suspicion as the group ascended to the highest observation deck.
"What are they planning up there?"
Caelus stepped onto the observation deck and looked around at the tourists gathered near the windows.
Hundreds of people were taking photos and admiring the view of Tokyo below.
He smiled and snapped his fingers.
[Skill Activated: Chaos Ring]
Reality warped around the entire observation deck as blank walls materialized over every window and mirror.
At the same time, Caelus released his King-Rank pressure without holding anything back.
The overwhelming force crashed over everyone present like a tidal wave.
"This area is off-limits!" Caelus announced in heavily accented Japanese.
He knew some Japanese since he had spent quite a lot of time watching everyone’s favourite source of media, anime.
However, the words he spoke were completely wrong, but that didn’t stop the tourists from reacting.
Tourists screamed in terror as they felt the crushing weight of his aura pressing down on them.
"A King Rank?! Why is there a King Rank here?!"
"Run! Get out now!"
"Where are the guild players?! Where’s the military?!"
People trampled over each other in their desperation to reach the elevators and stairs, the observation deck emptying within seconds.
Caelus watched them flee with an amused expression.
"That worked better than I expected."
Sylvia giggled beside him.
"The words you said were wrong, hubby."
"It got the job done at least."
"I don’t think they ran from your words, Big Brother," Freya said speechlessly. "It was more like they ran from your aura."
Once the deck was completely empty, Caelus pulled out the crystallized key that had formed from the three fragments.
He twisted it in the air, and space itself began to tear open.
A massive gate materialized before them, its surface swirling with golden and purple energy.
"Let’s go."
They stepped through together and vanished from Tokyo Tower.