Chapter 341: Rewards From Special Gate, Fragment and Brazil
Golden light engulfed Caelus as the rewards begin distributing.
[Calculating Individual Contributions...]
[Distributing Rewards...]
A small card materialised in his palm, glowing with faint blue energy.
[You have obtained: Mind Increment Card (Rare)]
[+10 Mind Power]
[Mind Power: 230 -> 240]
Caelus stared at the card with a dumbfounded expression.
"That’s it?"
He understood that these were individual rewards given to their party, but wasn’t this a bit too little?
Sylvia received her reward next, a similar card appearing in her hands.
[You have obtained: Mana Increment Card (Rare)]
[+10 Mana]
"Mine isn’t much better, Caelus," Sylvia said with a sigh.
Freya, however, was excited.
[You have obtained: Shockwave (Epic, 4-Star)]
[Description: Releases a concentrated shockwave that stuns all enemies within 50 metres for 3 seconds. Deals moderate damage scaling with the user’s combat score.]
"Big Bro! I got a skill!" Freya cheered, her eyes sparkling.
Ayame’s reward appeared last, a beautiful katana wrapped in golden cloth floating before her.
[You have obtained: Blazing Sunrise (Transcendent, 4-Star)]
Ayame gripped the weapon with amazement, her fox ears twitching with happiness.
"This is... incredible."
Seraphin Lin received a Mind Increment Card like Caelus.
From the looks of it, the rewards here were completely RNG!
"The rewards are lacklustre for clearing this whole trial, but I suppose it’s better than nothing," he said with mild disappointment. "At least I didn’t get anything completely useless."
Just then, a new notification appeared before everyone’s eyes.
[Ding!]
[You have completed the first trial of the Emperor Rank Ascension and obtained its first fragment.]
[You need to obtain two more fragments to initiate the final trial.]
[Warning: If you fail to clear a special gate after this one, the streak for the fragment will end and disappear. If you want to recover it, you must redo this trial from the beginning, and once a special gate vanishes, you will have to find the same one again to restart.]
Caelus read the notification twice, his expression unchanged.
He knew things wouldn’t be that easy. He had been wondering why the Special Gate Trial was so easy. Now it made sense.
"But I’m not worried. We’ll clear the other trials without issue."
Sylvia nodded before turning toward the girls.
"Let’s head out."
They walked through the exit portal one by one, reality shifting around them as they returned to Earth, and the special gate behind them disappeared.
The moment they emerged from the gate, hundreds of eyes turned toward them.
Military personnel, faction representatives, and curious onlookers all stared in complete silence.
Whispers spread like wildfire through the gathered crowd.
The Olympian Faction members who hadn’t entered the gate looked particularly furious, their faces twisted with rage at the sight of Caelus walking out unharmed.
Adrian Pierce rushed over, shock written across his features.
"You actually cleared it?"
"It wasn’t that difficult," Caelus replied casually.
Adrian’s jaw dropped at his nonchalant response.
Dickenson soon appeared beside them, and Caelus briefed him about the fragment.
"In that case, we need to move. The next special gate has already been located, and from what we know, a few others also have the same fragment as you."
"Where is it?"
"Brazil. Rio de Janeiro."
Within hours, they boarded a plane heading south toward South America.
The flight was long but uneventful, Caelus spending most of it reviewing his status and creating templates while Sylvia rested against his shoulder.
When they finally landed in Rio de Janeiro, the tropical air hit them like a warm embrace.
Dickenson led them through the bustling city streets, pointing out various landmarks along the way.
They spent the next few hours exploring the city, visiting Copacabana Beach and the historic streets of Santa Teresa.
But they hadn’t come here for a vacation.
Dickenson’s expression turned serious as he checked his phone.
"It’s time. The Brazilian government has given us sanction to approach the gate."
They travelled to a restricted zone on the outskirts of the city, where military vehicles surrounded another swirling portal.
This gate pulsed with deeper colours than the previous one, purple and crimson energy swirling together ominously.
As they approached, Caelus spotted familiar emblems among the gathered forces.
The Shinto Faction, the Taoist Faction, and the Olympian Faction all stood in one corner.
But this time, no one stepped forward to confront them.
Word of their victory in Las Vegas had spread quickly, and the other factions now understood what they were dealing with.
Their leaders had told them not to engage with him in public.
Just then, three new figures caught Caelus’s attention.
The first was a tall man with silver hair and piercing blue eyes, wearing the elaborate robes of the Kemetist Faction.
He knew him. This was Marcus Ptolemy, one of the most prominent figures in the world, and he also possessed a fragment.
The second was a young woman with flowing red hair, her body radiating holy energy that marked her as a high-ranking member of a religious order.
This was Helena Vern, another famous individual, and she belonged to the Norse Faction.
The norse usually didn’t show themselves to the public, but when they did, they always stirred up a storm.
The third was an older man with a scarred face and massive build, his aura screaming of countless battles survived.
He was Viktor Ironblood, someone from the Olympian Faction.
Sensing his gaze, they all turned to look at him before averting their eyes.
"THE GATE IS OPENING!" a Brazilian military officer shouted. "ALL TEAMS PREPARE FOR ENTRY!"
The portal expanded with a thunderous roar.
Everyone began moving toward it in organised groups.
Caelus and his companions stepped through together.
Reality warped around them as they crossed into the second trial.
[Welcome to the Trial of the Endless Bridge]
[Objective: Help the fragment holder reach their destination.]
[Fragment holders must cross the bridge while their allies eliminate enemies to create pathways.]
[Kill 5 enemies within 10 seconds to achieve a COMBO, which creates 2 bridges instead of 1.]
[Required bridges to complete: 100]
[Death within this trial is permanent.]
[Good luck, challengers.]