Landlord World - Start with SSS talent

Noan frowned when he heard that, but Elgar was right—he couldn't refute it.

After all, at this moment, he had no other choice.

If he didn't trust Elgar, he truly had no idea how he could possibly find Vylyss.

Noan sighed and said, "Fine! I'll do my best to help you create the perfect elixir."

"But after we've finished it, then what? How will you help me find her?"

Elgar didn't answer, simply shook his head and said, "You'll understand when the time comes."

Noan sighed, about to say something more, when a loud explosion rang out.

BAM!!!

Noan looked toward the direction of the blast. In that place, a pillar of light shot straight up into the sky, then gradually faded away.

"Khorvath, you assist Elgar. I'm going to check out what's happening over there," Noan said.

He had no idea what had just occurred in that direction, but he wanted to see it for himself—hoping to find some clue about Vylyss.

Noan immediately disappeared, leaving Khorvath and Elgar behind.

Khorvath sighed. "Elgar, do you need my help with anything?" she asked.

Elgar looked at the golden spherical lumps he had created, a hint of greed in his eyes.

He grinned. "No need, I can handle it myself. Just make sure I have enough water."

Khorvath remembered Noan's secret instructions to her. In the end, she only nodded slightly, then left.

Elgar smiled, staring at the orbs before him. His hand reached out and touched one of the golden globes.

But when his hand made contact with it, a mushroom began to sprout.

Its growth was incredibly rapid; in just a minute, the mushroom had grown more than ten centimeters tall.

Its stem was white, while the cap looked like a black skull.

A moment later, the black skull abruptly opened its mouth, as if it were alive, and released a cloud of gray powder.

The powder settled on Elgar's hand, turning it slowly to stone.

Yet he wasn't afraid. On the contrary, his lips curled into a look of wild excitement.

"This is exactly what I was looking for."

…

In the distance, at the site of the recent devastating explosion—

Aldric stood, one hand gripping his spear, the other holding his sword, surveying the corpses of the Assassin Wasps scattered around him. His gaze was indifferent, laced with utter contempt.

"Huh!" He snorted, then pulled a strange compass from his pouch.

Aldric stabbed the spear into the belly of one of the dead wasps. Greenish fluid clung to the blade, emitting a strange, slightly rotten and foul stench.

But Aldric seemed completely unaffected by the odor. He used the tip of his spear to dab a bit of the fluid onto the compass.

Immediately, the compass radiated an eerie light, magical rings spinning around it.

A beam of light shot out, pointing far into the distance.

In the darkness, that beam was even more dazzling.

Aldric glanced toward the direction the light indicated, a crooked smirk curling his lips.

As he tucked the compass away, suddenly he sensed something—his eyes filled with killing intent.

"Who's there?!" Aldric barked. At the same time, he hurled his spear at the darkness.

Whoosh!

The spear flew with a howling wind, striking deep into the opposite cliff with a thunderous crash.

"Tsk! You think you can escape?" Aldric clicked his tongue and grinned madly.

In the blink of an eye, his body vanished, moving so fast it was almost impossible to follow.

He covered the two-hundred-meter distance in barely two seconds.

Aldric swung his sword down at the shadow before him.

Clang!

Metal clashed, sending sparks flying everywhere.

"Ah! So it's you again, you damned rat!"

Aldric snarled, a fierce smile twisting his features.

Noan gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with disbelief as he looked at Aldric.

In truth, he had only come here to see what was happening.

But upon seeing Aldric, Noan immediately realized—this world harbored secrets far beyond anything he had imagined.

After all, Aldric was a 'Fate Holder.' If he had appeared here, it could only mean that this world was connected to some truly terrifying secret.

Noan had no intention of clashing with Aldric—for now, he only wanted to find Vylyss.

Moreover, among all the 'Fate Holders' Noan had ever encountered, perhaps Aldric was the strongest.

Even though he didn't possess an S- or SS-rank talent, Aldric's combat ability was overwhelmingly superior, accompanied by an extremely high level.

'Damn it!' Noan cursed inwardly. 'Even though I've reached level 5 and possess the power of the Void, when facing him, I still feel immense pressure.'

'Could it be... he's gotten even stronger than before?'

Noan's suspicion wasn't unfounded.

After all, Aldric was also a 'Fate Holder'; he, too, would develop and ascend in strength.

Not only that, he must have encountered some incredible fortuitous opportunity to be advancing this rapidly.

Even if Noan possessed SSS-rank talent and countless buffs, right now, when facing Aldric, he wasn't at all confident of victory.

"I thought this mission would be so dull, but I was wrong," Aldric said with a smirk.

"You bastard!" Noan's face darkened, anger flashing in his eyes. "What the hell are you talking about? I don't understand."

"Hahaha… Don't think I wouldn't recognize you. I… can tell by your scent." Aldric sneered. "No one will come to save you in this world, Noan."

"You know me?" Noan was shocked to hear Aldric say his name.

He'd worn a mask before, and was certain Aldric couldn't have discovered his true identity.

But now, Aldric not only recognized him, but even knew his real name.

A cold chill crept down Noan's spine, making him shudder in fear.

If Aldric knew his real identity, then… the Government and the Empire must know about him too.

While Noan was lost in thought, Aldric swung his foot, kicking at his stomach.

BAM!

Yet Aldric's foot simply passed through Noan's body.

Then, Noan's figure slowly faded away—the one Aldric had just attacked was nothing more than an illusion.

Aldric wasn't surprised. He just laughed and said, "You think you can escape from me?"

Whoong!

Suddenly, a ringing sound like a tolling bell echoed through the space.

A brilliant beam of light shot toward Aldric at a terrifying speed, as if it could slice through the very fabric of space.

"Ah! You've gotten stronger, have you?" Aldric laughed. "That's good. Don't let me get bored."

He raised his sword, and a blinding sword-light, like a miniature sun, illuminated the entire area.

KENG!!!

The sound of metal clashing rang out, and for a moment, time seemed to freeze. The entire space turned into two stark colors—black and white.

In that fleeting instant, a blinding light engulfed the entire expanse, forming a massive dome overhead.

Yet, just as the dome of light spread outward, it was quickly compressed, as if some mysterious force were squeezing it to the limit.

Compressed until there was only a single white speck at the intersection where two beams of light from opposite directions collided.

Then—

BAM!!!!

A deafening explosion shook the world. The ground quaked violently, shattering into countless fragments, and spiderweb-like cracks spread out over more than two thousand meters.

Even the very space itself rippled, like the surface of a lake after a stone has been thrown in, creating concentric waves that radiated outward.

Successive gales swept through, blowing everything away in their path.

Far in the distance, Noan didn't want to waste any more time facing off against Aldric, so he immediately used his Space talent to teleport.

However, before he could leave, a dark shadow suddenly appeared before him.

"Trying to run?"

Noan was startled, not daring to hesitate, and instantly shortened the incantation time for his spell.

But a spear—so sharp it seemed to tear through reality—pierced through space, aiming straight for his head.

Noan gritted his teeth and retreated at the fastest speed possible.

In that split second between life and death, Noan acted on pure instinct.

He tilted his head back slightly, and the tip of the spear grazed his forehead, leaving a cut and slicing off a few strands of hair.

Noan swung his hand, unleashing a wave of blue-green flames that engulfed Aldric's entire body.

Taking advantage of that split second, he teleported far away.

BAM!

A moment later, a shockwave erupted from Aldric's body, blowing away all the flames clinging to him.

Aldric looked off into the distance, laughing to himself. "Filthy rat, you… you won't escape."

"Never…"