Tales of the Endless Empire

Chapter 421: New Team

In retrospect, it might have been smarter to listen to what the king had been rambling about, because now Thalion had no idea what to do next. Not that he regretted what he had done while the king was giving his speech. The information he had gained from the First Daughter had been very helpful. Not only did he now know more about two other Chosen on the leaderboard, but an alliance with the First Daughter on New Earth might even be possible.Not the kind of alliance where they trusted each other—but one born out of necessity. Both would suffer under the coming war between factions led by Chosen and powerful incursions. Something like a non-aggression agreement might work. During the trial, she would likely kill him the moment she got the chance—there was no question about that. For her, first place was probably just as important as it was for Thalion, even if it suited his class especially well.

That was a problem for later. To be fair, it could be years before they even met after the tutorial, given the size of the planet and the wars that were bound to erupt soon. On the other hand, Thalion wasn’t particularly keen on visiting those murderous insects anytime soon. Still, knowing that they also struggled against the Chosen was valuable information.

“Did you at least listen to some of what the king said?” the First Daughter asked, her head slightly tilted in curiosity.

Thalion looked down at the other Trialtakers below, all of them pulling out their maps and studying them.

“Nope. No idea,” Thalion muttered as he took out his own map, hoping for a clue.

It didn’t take long before he spotted a red dot marking one of the towers. The First Daughter noticed what he was doing and pulled out her map as well.

“Looks like we’re not on the same team,” she said, showing him her map, where the red dot marked a different large tower. Then she added, “You might want to keep an eye on the human Chosen. My sister overheard a conversation between the archer and Eric. What the archer said about you wasn’t pleasant at all, and Felix and the Chosen healer are backing Ethan’s claim.”

With those words, she slipped out of the area through the curtain.

Thalion stood there for a moment, his thoughts racing. He had focused on his title, but it hadn’t detected a lie. Still—they were termites. Incredibly strong, full of advantages, and always dangerous. Even if what she said was true—and it likely was, given how well it matched what Thalion expected from the archer—it spelled trouble.

Ethan had probably already spoken to them. Or worse—what if their gods were allied? If that was the case, it wouldn’t even be hard for Ethan to convince them. They likely all wanted Thalion dead anyway, with him sitting in first place in the treasure hunt.

Eric roughly knew Thalion’s position on New Earth. If those Chosen coordinated—and they almost certainly would, with a war looming—Thalion could be in serious trouble. Maybe diving into the ocean would be a good idea. The elves also had one who knew his rough location, and they were organizing fast as well.

Thalion thought.

Meanwhile, the theater was emptying rapidly. Everyone was eager to start their missions. Half a million or even a million points for a single mission was more than most had earned across all previous stages combined. Thalion watched the crowd rushing toward the exits for another moment before deciding it was time to leave as well.

He could still make a short stop to buy a few meat sticks on the way. Not because he was hungry—but for the taste, and to calm his nerves. A lot was about to happen in this stage. Not that he was unstable or anything, but there was nothing wrong with a good pre-mission snack.

The other Trialtakers were now surging out like a maelstrom, using movement abilities to be the first to leave. Thalion picked up his pace as well, but refrained from using any movement skills. There was no real need, and all this frantic rushing felt excessive to him. Charging off without even knowing the mission yet seemed over the top.

Still, he hurried enough not to stand out. The less attention he drew, the harder it would be for the elves or Ethan to pick him out of the crowd—assuming they were even looking right now. They likely had their own missions, and since this stage gave them a chance to catch up to the F-grade in first place, they would give it everything they had.

After grabbing a decent bundle of meat sticks, Thalion headed toward the red dot marked on his map.

This time, he used Mistform, since it was the easiest way to move through the city. With Telekinetic Dash, he would have had to constantly dodge other travelers. For longer distances, Mistform was simply the better option.

Even so, it took Thalion over half an hour to reach the red dot, with a few stops along the way. Keeping Mistform active for too long drained a significant amount of mana, and when the space became too crowded, it was better to walk for a bit. His control still wasn’t perfect—good enough for most situations, but there was no need to risk infecting someone with his curse, which could happen if he passed too close.

Arriving near the tower immediately revealed the next problem. A two-dimensional map wasn’t very helpful when the tower was this tall. It had to be over a kilometer high, with multiple bridges connected to it. Thalion decided to keep things simple: start at the top and work his way down.

He ended Mistform about fifty meters above the tower and immediately spotted a group standing there, clearly waiting. A number of guards were gathered around what looked like a general, identified by the black feathers on his helmet. The group of Trialtakers numbered around twenty, and Thalion began checking their levels.

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The first good sign: they were all human. Any elf in the group would have been a dealbreaker for him. Their levels ranged from the high 130s to the low 140s. Overall, they were strong—and there was one Chosen among them.

183. Ryan, Chosen of the Cinder Lord — 197,540 Points

It was a bit strange that only the god’s title was listed. Thalion doubted that was the man’s actual name. What was clear, though, was that everyone else was looking up to him. They probably weren’t his underlings, but as the only Chosen present, he had likely taken control rather quickly. He also had the highest leaderboard score before Thalion arrived.

Thalion’s thoughts began racing again. There were so many possibilities. Should he try to take over the group? Staying low and letting a Chosen—who might very well want him dead—give the orders didn’t sound like a good idea either. He also disliked the smug, arrogant expression on Ryan’s face and the way he looked down on the others.

Then again, that kind of demeanor seemed common among Chosen. On second thought, it was probably natural for your ego to inflate when you were chosen by a literal god. And who knew what the gods were whispering into their Chosen’s minds? Manipulation was almost guaranteed. In the end, the gods only wanted their Chosen to reach godhood. Someone who believed the world belonged to him might have the best odds of achieving that goal.

Thalion slowly descended toward the tower using blood control. It didn’t take long before people noticed him. First, their eyes widened—then narrowed once they saw his level.

“Yo, yo, yo—how is this even possible, man?” a black guy on the side blurted out in a high-pitched tone. He looked like a heavy warrior, holding a long lance in one hand.

That reaction mirrored what everyone else was thinking, but before anyone could say more, the general spoke up.

“Now that everyone is here, we can begin the mission. A special natural treasure is about to emerge on Island 236B. More specifically, it is the fruit of the Golden Leaf Lotus. The fruit can only be plucked after the lotus has fully opened. If you pluck it too early, it will be worthless, and your mission will be considered a failure.

“The Kingdom of the Iron Mandate—our greatest rival—will also send warriors to claim this treasure, so stay alert. It’s possible that some sect members may appear as well, but that does not change your objective: retrieve the fruit of the Golden Lotus and bring it back to us.

“Your group consists of exactly twenty-two members. I advise you to split up—too many people in one place often becomes a disadvantage. The location of the island will be marked on your map, and you will be provided with a skyship, which must be returned fully intact. If it isn’t, you will pay for a replacement. Any questions?”

“Yes. How many leaderboard points do we get for completing the mission?” a slim woman with long blonde hair and a healer’s robe asked immediately.

It was the same question Thalion would have asked. If this mission awarded five hundred thousand points, he would need three missions total to reach the two-million-point threshold. After that, he might even stop taking missions—if that was even allowed under the king’s rules. Spending time smithing or cultivating in a hotel room sounded far more appealing.

Assuming this city even had hotels.

“The mission on Island 236B will be rewarded with one million leaderboard points,” the general announced in a loud voice, clearly reading the information from a screen hidden from view.

“Who will be the mission leader?” Ryan asked with a smug smile.

It was obviously a rhetorical question, and Thalion decided on the spot that it was time to engage. He stood tall on one of the tower’s battlements, which gave him a slightly elevated position.

“Naturally, I will be the leader. You’re all here to gain as many leaderboard points as possible. And who would be better suited to lead you than the one with—by far—the most points in the entire trial?”

Many immediately nodded in agreement, though a few looked at Thalion with doubt. One even stared at him with open hatred. Ryan’s aura flared, his skin turning red, as if lava were flowing beneath it.

“You’re just an F-grade. What good are you in a fight between E-grades? It only makes sense that the strongest leads—doesn’t it, General? And aren’t you on the wrong tower? The king said the races wouldn’t be mixed to avoid conflicts, and you don’t look human,” Ryan exclaimed, his arms flailing dramatically with every word.

“We don’t care who you choose as leader. Bring back the Golden Lotus—or don’t come back at all. And he is clearly human, according to his status screen,” the general replied in a cold tone.

Thalion seized the opportunity to shut the Chosen down.

“Don’t be so arrogant. I would have already killed you if it wasn't forbidden. Now, as your leader, I say we stop wasting time and retrieve the Golden Lotus. Every second counts.”

His cold tone left no room for argument.

The general seemed pleased and nodded in agreement.

“The yellow dot marks where your skyship is waiting. The red dot marks the Lotus location. Well spoken, Thalion. I wish you the best of luck and hope we meet again after the mission.”

Thalion thought he could hear Ryan’s teeth grinding, but he ignored it. He jumped off the tower, activating Mistform as he surged toward the yellow dot on the map. The other Trialtakers followed quickly, using all kinds of movement abilities—some sprouted wings and others surfed on elements.

Their skyship lay in a massive harbor filled with vessels of all sizes and designs, stacked across multiple levels. Some ships were true monsters—hundreds of meters long, built from metal or marble. Their assigned ship, however, was roughly thirty meters long, made of wood, and riddled with holes in the sails. Equipment-wise, it was far from impressive. If there hadn’t been so many Trialtakers around, it likely would have been scrapped already. No regular soldier would willingly use something like this.

“Jesus… is this really ours? I don’t think it even has a single weapon,” a man with long black hair and two sabers strapped to his belt said in disbelief.

Thalion used the distraction caused by the pathetic state of the ship to his advantage. He moved behind the helm and started issuing orders.

“You two, hoist the main sails so we can get moving. You three, check below deck for cannons or any usable weapons. You four, release the tethers binding us to the dock. Move—time is of the essence.”

Giving direct orders to specific people, with the right tone, worked wonders. Moments later, the ship slowly pulled away from the harbor. Several other ships were leaving as well, all in similarly poor condition—likely carrying other Trialtakers.

Hopefully, they were the only group tasked with retrieving the Golden Lotus. Otherwise, this would get a lot more complicated.

Once they exited the harbor, Thalion ordered more wind into the sails, and the ship surged forward at full speed. It was nowhere near as fast as the skyship he had stolen during the treasure hunt and lost in the ice stage, but it would have to do.

The group he had sent below deck soon returned, reporting that there was nothing down there—no beds, no chairs, nothing at all.

So far, the atmosphere wasn’t terrible—if one ignored Ryan and the few goons clustering around him. When it came to backstabbing, however, Thalion had plenty of experience and knew exactly how to make their lives miserable.

Their destination was still hours away, which meant he had time.

“Hey, Ryan—how about you stop plotting my death with your friends and come over here. Actually, everyone come over. We need a solid battle strategy that gets us in and out without losing anyone. I suggest we split into groups: two teams to handle enemies, and one small group to secure the Golden Lotus the moment it’s ready.”