n

n

nWithout even waiting for him to say anything, and as I got experience from that statue, I started to run without holding my speed at all.

nThe platform was really massive! I was deliberately holding back my speed during the past couple minutes as I feared to miss any chance.

nBut that made me only cross less than one tenth of the entire number of the statues. So as I knew my speed and movement wouldn't affect anything, I started to sprint like my life depended on it.

n

"Don't be stubborn,

" the voice of Nero came again, and this time I could feel his slight anger,

"you should consider yourself lucky. Out of a hundred people entering here, only ten come out with one treasure…

"

nJust before he could continue his words, I was stopped forcibly again. This time the statue moved towards me, didn't pat me on the head like the other statue. Instead he raised his staff which shone in golden light all over and placed its tip over my chest.

n

"The statue blessing? Damn! That's one of the highest treasures one can get here!

"

nNero's shaky voice told me I got something big. And just as I was immersed in that golden light, and my body was frozen thanks to the immense pressure, a message popped up.

nThe Anubis judge is weighing your soul

nYour class gained a boost

nThe number of your stored souls gained one hundred thousand addition

nThe quality of your separation soul skill gained a boost

nThe least grade of bones you can extract now will be bronzed grade

n

"Amazing!

" Just as the row of messages ended, I regained my freedom and noticed the statue had already returned to his place.

"Thanks for your generosity,

" I bowed for a second, expressing my sincere gratitude before I started to sprint again.

nAnd this time I had my hopes raised thanks to that last boost I got.

n

"Don't get your hopes any higher,

" like an envious dude, Nero said from behind when he saw me running with all my strength,

"only two percent of all the humans coming here would get two treasures like you did. As for the triple rewards, only one hundred humans did it throughout the long history of the pantheon.

"

n

"Add me on that list please,

" just as I said that, my body froze up again. I wasn't bluffing. I just felt the same vague feeling I felt twice already before being forcibly stopped.

n

"Sh*t!

" and Nero seemed to go crazy when he saw me freeze.

nAnd luckily for me, that dude was so generous just like the last one.

nThe Anubis judge is weighing your soul

nYour class gained a boost

nThe number of warriors your soul merging ability produces is turned double

nThe quantity of your separation soul skill gained a boost

nThe least number of bones you can extract now will be five each time you use the skill

n*Fwoosh!*

nI sucked in a cold breath when I read that. Damn! If I just got this before I used up most of my souls and summoned the sixteen warriors of mine before… But wait, didn't I just gain one hundred thousand souls?

nI grinned when I realised this. This wasn't a simple market provided by gods like I expected; it was a treasure trove.

n

"One more treasure,

" I kept running while Nero stayed all silent from behind. That dude was shocked to not even speak!

nAnd like I hoped, my body finally froze just twenty statues away from completing my circular tour.

n

"Not again!

" Nero foamed his anger as I was frozen in place. Yet this time it was a pat and not anymore addition to my class.

n

"Only a treasure?

" I finished the tour and stood motionless in place, feeling a bit lost. I hoped for another boost to my class, but ended up having another treasure in my inventory.

n

"You didn't like a god bestowed treasure?

" Nero's eyes were now all scarlet red from anger, looking much terrifying at this moment. For a second there I feared he would do anything stupid, but I found my body being engulfed into the same black typhoon of energy like before.

nOnce seeing this, I couldn't help but heave a long sigh of relief.

n

"See you again, uncle,

" I even waved my hands as if I was saying goodbye to a good friend.

nI saw Nero explode in anger before leaving, but what could he do? I was already on my way back home.

nOnce I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in the same spot I left from, just a few metres away from my chariot.

n

"You are finally here!

"

nJust as I appeared, I noticed the change in the atmosphere around me. I looked up and saw my three dragons flying high in the air while taking an aggressive stance.

n

"What's happening?

"

nOn the ground I saw my entire team standing in vigilance while the jumper stood at the forefront. That dude was crazy! He held a long spear and seemed to be ready to fight my dragons at any given moment.

n

"Your dragons are crazy!

" the one to answer me wasn't Isabella who was standing next to me, but the jumper,

"since coming back and they refused to tell us anything!

"

n

"Lord!

"

n*Fwoosh!* *Fwoosh!* *Fwoosh!*

nIn a flash the three great dragons descended and bowed their heads in respect.

n

"What happened?

" I turned my eyes to the jumper who, strangely enough, was about to jump over and attack my dragons.

n

"They refused to answer to me,

" he roared but one of the dragons answered in a higher roar:

n

"You aren't our lord, we only answer to our lord!

"

n

"Keep your hands off!

" At this moment I took my two swords and moved to welcome that crazy jumper's spear.

nThe clash shook me deep from within, but I stopped this crazy dude.

n

"What's wrong in your head? They are my dragons, not yours!

"

n

"Humph,

" the jumper's all reddened eyes started to slowly cool off. Yet he was still mad. I pushed my swords to push his spear aside, making him retreat a few steps to the back.

n

"Didn't you tell me to use the intel they brought?

" he pointed at the three dragons as if he was accusing them of treason,

"and they refused! They refused to follow your orders! They deserve to die!

"

nWhat the hell went wrong in his mind?! Did he hit his head during the last battle or what?

nWhen I thought about the last battle, my eyes couldn't help but shift towards his chest. Damn! That small hole was now shining in a strange red light.

nIt was miniscule light, but how could I not notice it?

n

"Come back now,

" without any hesitation I took in my dragons before standing in front of this jumper.

nI never expected that curse to be such domineering. It was a scary, scary curse that would turn such a sane and hard rock like a jumper into such an impulsive , childish and very dangerous dude.

n

"Go back there and calm down,

" I pointed towards the back of my chariot. And when he was about to roar again, I added in threatening tone:

n

"If you don't follow my order, then I'll have no choice but to kill you by the contract!

"

n

"...

"

nLuckily that curse wasn't deeply rooted enough to mask even the fear of death off his mind.

n

"What's wrong with him?

" The other two, the spearhead who was trying to control the jumper, and Angelica, came to my side as Isabella motioned with her head towards the jumper.

n

"It's the curse,

" I sighed,

"it seems to be more complicated than I thought.

"

n

"The curse?

" the three gasped, but my head was already filled with other complicated issues.

n

"Come out,

" as the jumper went far enough, I resummoned my three dragons. Without waiting for them to say anything, I pointed towards my big chariot and said:

n

"Go inside and start working with these three to draw a detailed map of what you scouted.

"

n

"...

"

n

"Yes lord,

" after a moment of pause, the three nodded and left with the other three of my team.

nAnd now I was finally alone, and had time to think about what just happened.

nOf course things weren't as simple as it looked. That Nero wasn't there to help me, but to make things more complicated.

nI bet he was there to try and make me accept him as a god! Damn! Who did he think of himself? Tsk!

nBut that wasn't the only thing I needed to consider. I knew he told me about such weird rules to control and limit anyone selecting gods in this apocalypse, but something seemed off here.

n

"He looked a bit shaky when I mentioned the war pantheon… interesting,

" I muttered to myself while thinking about the hidden hints I noticed during that short meeting.

nIf I wouldn't be able to join another pantheon thanks to my class and that strange rule, then why was he acting nervous and slightly vigilant against the war pantheon?

n

"Also he wasn't a follower of that Egyptian god,

" that point was also something I noticed even from the very start.

nDespite all the evidence he showed during the meeting to be a god following Anubis, he tended to use flashy actions to cloud my judgement.

nBut wasn't there a death god called Hades in Greek mythology? Shouldn't Nero be following that god instead of Anubis?

nI wasn't that good in ancient human history before the apocalypse, but I also read a few stories about the rivalry between the Greek and Roman from one side, and Egypt from another.

nSo a god who was supposed to be a follower of Hades acted like he was there by the orders of Anubis… Something was going on inside that pantheon.

nEven if I gained all the rewards from such a visit, I didn't feel it was good to join such an unstable pantheon.

nNot to mention that nearly impossible quest he issued for me to join the pantheon. Dude, if you wanted me to join, you shouldn't make me do anything before joining you.

nA test? That was hilarious! From all this I could safely say that the high god Anubis sat his eyes on me, but the high god Hades didn't like me.

nOr perhaps he was in a rivalry and enmity with Anubis, making that pantheon more unstable and unsafe to join.

nOnce turmoils erupted, treason would appear. I wasn't going to join a cracked house.

nBut the question here was, how should I find the war pantheon now?

n

"If someone called Ares is up there listening, then I'll be waiting for your generous move,

" instead of thinking too much, I raised my head and said these words out loud.

nWho said I couldn't go to other pantheons and seek their cooperation? And who said the chariot I got was thanks to the death pantheon and not my own efforts?

nEven if Hades didn't like me more, or Anubis started to dislike me, I wouldn't join their pantheon for now. Perhaps in the future I might consider that option, not now.

nAs for Ares, it was the sole name that popped up in my head when I thought about the war pantheon. Of course he was also a comrade of Hades, but I doubted this might cause any problem.

nFrom the little I knew about Ares, he was famous for being a straightforward god, loved war and courage.

nBut during the next half an hour, I didn't get any response at all. Even the gods in my channel, they all seemed a bit terrified to even send me a single letter.

nDudes… You were supposed to be gods, right?

n

"We got good news, great news, and f*cking bad news!

"

nJust as I waited outside, the three mates of mine appeared again with the three dragons in their tail.

nI looked up at the spearhead who just spoke and noticed a folded piece of paper in his hand.

n

"How did you get such a paper?

" I thought they would draw the map on the ground of the chariot. Seeing such an old thing in their possession was a surprise.

n

"I had a lot of them in my inventory,

" Isabella said,

"if you needed any, just ask.

"

n

"Alright then,

" I shrugged and added to change the topic back to the main point,

"what did you find back there?

"

n

"Which one first?

" the spearhead said, and something told me he was glad that he had very bad news to tell.

n

"Start with the bad news first,

" I didn't find anything logical about asking such a question in the first place. News were news, and eventually one would listen to them all.

nBesides we were in the time of the apocalypse, so dude it was normal to have a f*cking bad news to tell all the time!

n