Chapter 61: Tortured for a Reason

A few hours went by when Sunless finally finished sparring with the men, sweat clinging to his heated skin, and also absorbing the attributes they dropped.

It brought him to the seventh stage of a beginner martial warrior.

And there were also techniques like sword techniques, elemental techniques, and so much more.

By the time Sunless had even reached the sixth stage it became less of a spar and more of domination. At least at the fifth stage, a few could still barely keep up with him.

After thanking them, he returned with Jennifer, who couldn’t help staring at him like he was a monster.

She was just a ninth stage beginner martial warrior, but she feared that Sunless might be evenly matched with her just from the aura coming from him alone. A cold shiver raced down her spine.

Her eyes darted around and she occasionally opened her mouth to speak, only to close it shut once more.

Finally, the two returned to the tents, and even as both separated, Jennifer was left in a daze.

She stared at Sunless’ back as he vanished into a tent.

After a short while, she took a breath, turned around, and walked away.

…

Sunless entered the tent and saw Sonia already sleeping. Perhaps due to the link from their blessings, he could sense her at all times, hence the reason he was able to find the specific tent she was inside.

He paused briefly, staring at her pouting expression as she slept, her soft breathing filling the quiet space, before laying beside her.

In mere moments, he drifted to sleep as well.

As though she felt his presence, Sonia leaned into Sunless’ arms. Staying in this position, time drifted on.

…

At dawn, the next day.

The group woke up before the darkened skies could get a hint of light, the crisp morning air stinging their lungs, and began preparing.

After their preparations, which included purchasing a few important things, they finally set out to leave.

Ten of them walked in groups. Ella stuck with Jennifer, teasing her along the way as they gisted like longtime friends.

Meanwhile, the nun, Angeline, casually exchanged words with the huge, muscular man.

Mical walked alone, tapping his fingers rhythmically in the air as though he was calculating something.

The twins also walked in silence. And so did Jane, Sonia, and Sunless.

Finally, Sonia couldn’t help breaking the silence as she whispered to Sunless.

“Can we trust them?”

“We have no choice,” Sunless flatly replied.

He was mainly doing this for his sister’s sake, to get the needed elemental stones, while also trying his best to search for luck stones for Sonia as well.

’I’d forgotten to ask Jennifer about it,’ Sunless recalled, wanting to ask her, but due to the spar yesterday he’d completely forgotten.

’I’ll try to find time and ask her,’ he decided internally, opting to wait until they arrived at the spirit continent.

Sonia let out a low breath at Sunless’ reply but didn’t say anything more.

The party continued in silence, broken only by the occasional laughter coming from Ella.

She didn’t seem to feel the brewing tension in the group as they drew closer to their destination.

Then, Sunless saw it.

Spinning in the distance was a purplish portal, radiating an intense wave of death, mysteriousness, and a strange, unsettling amount of life force. It pulsed like a living, beating heart.

Something drew him closer to the portal, and for a brief moment a thought flickered into his mind.

The blessings of all gods!

If he wanted to find out information about this trait of his, they could only be found in this unique world!

The spirit continent was like a world of its own.

It randomly teleported its entrants to different locations. However, with a map fragment stone which could be crafted using unique pieces of metal and wood, one could designate a specified location to be transported to.

There was also an unnatural abundance of spirit energy in the spirit continent.

Just like its name, many believed it was the source of spirit energy.

And that at its center, mainly because the spirit energy grew denser the closer one got to the center, there was the true source of spirit energy.

If one could get their hands on the true source of spirit energy, they could become gods and immortals!

After all, how did one cultivate? By absorbing spirit energy.

So if one had an unlimited supply of pure spirit energy, didn’t that make their growth have practically no limits?

Despite this being common knowledge, no one had dared venture into the center of the spirit continent.

Not that there hadn’t been people who tried, but every single one of them had vanished without a trace!

“Here, Sunless!” Jennifer’s voice interrupted Sunless’ racing thoughts as she tossed something towards him.

Raising his hands smoothly, Sunless caught it.

Glancing down, he noticed three wooden balls, with metallic engravings on them.

“It’s a unique artifact that would take us close to the land of dragons.”

“Okay,” Sunless nodded and handed one to his sister and Sonia.

The two also glanced down at it in curiosity, while Jennifer proceeded to hand out the remaining balls to the others.

Finally, the three reached the location of the rotating portal.

Instantly, the peaceful atmosphere vanished, replaced with terror which settled in everyone’s hearts.

Although they wanted to pretend as though there was nothing wrong, they couldn’t ignore the fact that it was particularly difficult facing this mysterious portal.

“Who wants to head in first?” Always the carefree, casual lady, Ella interrupted the tense atmosphere and asked with a glint in her eyes.

Everyone remained silent for a few minutes.

Breaking the silence, Sonia spoke up.

“We’ll head in two at a time. Look after each other’s backs the moment you arrive.”

Pleased by the suggestion, everyone nodded.

The twins stuck together, and so did the nun and the brute. Jennifer and Ella were already together, and no one was separating Sonia and Sunless.

So that left Jane and Mical.

Jane glanced at him, her silver eyes gleaming slightly under the moonlight.

’I don’t recall him, so he shouldn’t be any important character I should note,’ she analyzed Mical, giving a final judgment in mere moments.

Mical forced a smile and said with a polite expression, “It seems you’re stuck with me.”

“Yeah,” Jane simply replied and shifted her eyes to the portal.

“Let’s go best!” Ella said excitedly, making one wonder if the girl had no sense of fear or terror in her heart at all.

Pulling Jennifer by the hand, she walked into the portal.

The portal twisted violently as the two vanished into it.

The moment they disappeared, Sunless’ eyes widened in alarm as he noticed bubbles pouring out from the portal, shimmering with an ethereal, ghostly gw.

The bubbles instantly numbered up to ten.

Subconsciously, he wanted to step forward and pick them up when he recalled he had the mental energy.

’Let’s see what this is about.’ A strange light flickered in his eyes as he smoothly reached out to gently tap on the bubbles with his mental energy.

[Ding! Congratulations, you have received…]

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