“It’s all your fault.” She said between choked sobs. “I’ve waited by your side for millions of years, tending to your every need, yet you’ve never taken me as your wife. Now a mortal rat all but calls me a whore to my face and you sit here and do nothing.”

Zabel felt a strong headache coming on. “Have I not treated you well? Is there anything you ever want for? Any resources you’re ever lacking? There’s no need for this, please stop crying.”

“So you think I’m a whore too, right?” Taline gasped for air, her throat choking up. “These resources, this money, you think that’s enough to shut me up, right?”

Zabel squeezed his forehead beneath a palm. “Silence!”

A torrent of energy strangled Taline’s sobs to a complete halt, leaving her stunned. Despite the disparity in their strength, Zabel had never actually raised a hand to her, nor had he ever oppressed her. This was the very first time he crossed that line.

A strong wind pulled Taline to Zabel’s lap. He seemed to have no intention of apologizing, only allowing her to curl up like a kitten, laying her head on his chest.

“I’ve told you many times before. If you can reach the Immortal Saint Realm, I will take you as my wife and meld our souls as one. You spend the most time with me, have you ever seen me touch another woman?

“Many know of our relationship, but have I ever disrespected you in that way? They are all very aware that you are my one and only woman. We are Immortals. My hesitancy is something we all understand. Why are you allowing the words of a mortal with no perspective on such things to bother you?”

Taline didn’t respond, only meekly lying there and listening.

“You have to put your anger aside. The fact he’s so skilled likely means he’s already seen through the fact that you can’t possibly be a Higher Venerable.”

Taline shuddered, biting her lip.

“It seems I don’t have to say much more. Spend more of your time using the resources your status as a Higher Venerable net you. That knowledge will one day help you become worthy of your status, so don’t take it for granted.

“There’s also no need to bury your anger too deeply, either. If his performance is really as you said it was, neither you or I will need to take personal action. You’re unaware of this, but there is a leader board for the certification exam. This was why I had you pass the initial exam yourself before helping you reach the Higher Venerable title. If you have cheated on the first, it would have been too obvious.

“This boy likely entered at least the top 1000. He’s also probably the only mortal in that range. Even if there’s no one who comes to snatch his Innate Aurora, there are many more who would want to take him down a peg.” .𝑖𝘦.𝑐𝘰𝘮

Though Zabel was more informed than Taline, it was clear that even he didn’t know much. He knew Dyon’s performance was good, but in his mind, there was no way a mortal could crush immortals to such an extreme. As a result, despite knowing Dyon’s test results, he just assumed that other immortal geniuses could do what he could too.

But even with this being the case, he was still correct. It was just that Dyon had no idea.

Truth be told, even if Dyon was aware, he’d only be pissed that he didn’t know earlier. Not because he was scared of the coming backlash, but rather because he couldn’t stand the idea of placing third. If he was going to be targeted anyway, why would he suffer through such a thing for a measly third place.

“Will he really face those consequences in this place?” Taline finally spoke in a soft voice. “Even I’ve escaped scrutiny by staying in this small world. How will they know he’s here?”

As a small sliver of protection, if it could even be considered that, the location in which the certification exam took place was hidden. This was why no one was able to verify that the reason Dyon chose such poor pills was because of the restrictions of the land he was in.

“They will. Mount Volare will be erupting soon.”

Taline froze. “What?!”

“In all likelihood, our Overseers will be making their way here to reap the rewards. With the arrogance of that boy, we won’t have to do much of anything before he exposes his fangs. Even if he’s smarter than we give him credit for, a few well-timed sentences will be enough for them to connect the dots. Once the world realizes that he’s the Dyon Sacharro mortal who appeared on the leader board, there won’t be any bottling it up anymore.”

“But… shouldn’t we tell the people? No one is preparing for this.”

“There’s nothing that can be done. When that devil erupts, half of this world will be covered in a sea of lava. It’s not possible to move so many people. And, without a Spiritual Sage with enough prowess to scan deep under ground, it’s impossible to tell where exactly it will erupt from until just moments before.”

Mount Volare was just a single mountain peak. However, it was a deep interconnected network of underground volcanic activity. When it erupted, it didn’t just spell disaster for its main peak’s vicinity, but also for whichever lived around the volcanic nodes that were unable to bear the pressure.

This bubble world was nameless, but if it were to be given one, it wouldn’t be a world of desert… But rather a world of lava.

The last time Mount Volare erupted was several million years ago. But it seemed that its next eruption was rapidly approaching.

However, with this eruption came opportunity. The two main resources of this land, Volcanic Ore and Mist Glass, were easy to ignore for higher level worlds. But, it was a different matter when Mount Volare erupted.

𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮