Mystery Tales Under the Moonlight

Chapter 60: This is the nature of growth, it's always painful (2).

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In the Ego continent, there was an alliance based on four sides, east, west, north, and south .

While there was cultural and ethnic mixing as people traveled across the continent, each side had its own dominant culture .

Nobles ruled the East, wizards ruled the West, human beasts ruled the north, martial artists ruled the South .

In the Golden East Alliance, Cairo was one of the most powerful empires in power .

Over the ages, the Cairo Empire annexed smaller countries until it became a force to be reckoned with .

When anyone mentions modern Cairo, only one person's name comes to mind .

Marcus Hadrian, one of the continent's sword saints, ruler of the great Cairo Empire .

Marcus was someone who had reached the fifth moon, and that was simply the pinnacle of power for anyone in the world .

The sixth moon? Hehe .

These were simply hidden forces, every move they made caused massive changes, any action they took could cause disasters .

Unless it was an event that would shake the fate of the world, the people on the Sixth Moon would cultivate in isolation, making them mysterious .

So mysterious that most people in the world believe that the highest they can reach in their lifetime is only the fifth moon .

It made sense, because no one had ever seen or heard of anyone who had gone above that .

In the Southern Black Alliance, where clans and sects dominated, Nanman was also a tiger in the mountain, and was competing with Cairo in strength .

The ruler of Nanman was none other than the Seol Clan, Seol Chun Pyung, of course, was also in the Fifth Moon, and was in turn one of the ten Sword Saints of the continent .

In the Blue Moon Alliance, the Cairo and Nanman Empires were one of the eight dominant powers .

Since there were eight parties ruling the alliance, it could be said that the division was even, and that was in order to keep the peace .

Samuel Kronos, leader of the Kronos Trade Guild, and owner of one of the largest trading conglomerates on the continent .

He was simply a colossal emperor who possessed wealth and power, and at the same rank, he was also among the strongest people at the same level .

Finally, the King of Moon Island, the owner of the fifth Moon level, the director of one of the most famous academies in the world, the ruler of Moonlight Academy, Adonis Cyrus .

Although he was not part of the Blue Moon Alliance, with his strength and genius, he had developed the reputation of his academy, which had fallen into disrepute decades ago .

People who are unfathomable, people who can shake the whole situation with one move .

At the border between Cairo and Nanman, where the Red Meadow is located, they will meet in an unprecedented gathering .

Not anywhere, but a place where a disaster struck 3 years ago .

A border city was built there after the disaster .

The famous sects and prestigious families, whether large or medium, gathered on a rare occasion .

Sol Clan, Baek Sword Sect, Eternal Night Ice Clan, Mao Li Fire Sect, Choi Clan, Shen Clan and Song Sect .

The Hadrian family, the Kronos merchant guild, the Harvey family, the Hermes family, the Demetri family, the Claudius family, and the Nicolas family .

The brightest stars gathered in the sky in the red meadow .

" It is rare for major powers to meet on an occasion like this ."

" How do the years go by so quickly… A hundred years ago, it would have been difficult to imagine such a change ."

People who could split the seas and destroy the mountains were sitting in the garden of the magnificent palace .

The whispers of the winter wind carried within them some of the scent of spring .

The four of them were staring at the clear sky quietly .

"… the world is changing ."

Adonis opened his mouth as he sipped his tea lightly .

" We old people are just remnants of the past, but even this old body has value ."

With Marcus saying such meaningful words, the others' eyes shone mysteriously .

The meeting has started .

This meeting, which was unprecedented, was just the beginning .

The beginning of chaos was approaching .

Chaos reveals secrets that have been hidden from the world for a long time .

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Swoosh! Swoosh !

" It's… deeper than expected ?"

The wind inside the cliff was hitting Logan's face .

He tried to open his eyes, but it was difficult .

It wasn't just him .

" Hey! What's with the wind ?"

" I will die! I will die young !"

" Ahhh! I'm still handsome to death !"

" Damn, even in the face of death, this hypocrite still lies! Even mirrors will break if you show them your face !"

"… this bastard ?"

It had only been a single breath since they fell, so, despite the darkness below the cliff, sunlight still shone down on the students .

But… clearly, the darkness was slowly swallowing up the sight .

"… Tch, I can't even use my ego ."

Logan's gaze darkened .

With the energy pathways in his body blocked, he was unable to pump his essence energy into his essence core, where his ego group's will nested .

Logan took a risk 4 years ago, underwent the Awakening Ceremony, and thus became an Ego Warrior .

The period that followed was a struggle in the face of death to assemble an ego that suited his inclinations, sometimes lucky, sometimes unlucky .

As he slowly gained experience, he realized that he was too weak to rely on himself alone .

He reluctantly used his clan's wealth to make his research and training easier, which led him to enter the world of politics and power struggle in the clan, and thus his reputation became known .

Being an eccentric person and merciless to his enemies, his brothers didn't dare to do anything foolish .

Despite some hiccups here and there, Logan has refined himself in the clan environment and formed his own unique set of egos .

His decision to give up yielded a satisfactory result .

Whether a person likes it or not, in order to be strong, he sometimes has to lower his head and rely on others, at least until he has some strength .

When an organism is weak, it must rely on its environment to grow .

Knowing this, Logan did not rely on his ego blindly .

His golden eyes flashed as he inhaled heavily .

He tensed his muscles and focused his awareness on his arms .

The environment became darker and darker .

Swoosh !

Fernando's clothes fluttered as he fell .

Leaving things as they were, he would fall, of course, he wasn't stupid to rely on the assumption that his Sahyungs would save him .

" I can't use my ego, the energy pathways in my body are blocked, but that doesn't mean I'm helpless !"

Considering how dark it is now, there is still some distance before the fall, he must make his decision before then .

Inhale !

Oh !

With the momentum of the strong wind, he pushed his hand forward, causing him to fly backwards forcefully .

Bam! Seek !

Cold black metal !

His body hit the edge of the cliff, and as his hand turned black, he dug his hand into the rocks on the cliff forcefully, resulting in an annoying scraping sound .

The heavy black jacket added to the load, straining his stamina even more .

Fernando did not lower his guard even though he knew this might do the trick .

" not yet ! "

Logan gritted his teeth and focused his consciousness on not nullifying the protection on his arms .

"… Ughhhh! This damn jacket !"

He heard a disturbed scream nearby, he didn't need to turn around to know it was Fernando talking .

" Stop, stop the damn thing !"

Logan clenched his teeth tightly, digging his hands deeper into the rocks !

The speed of the two was slowing down, and with the slowing down, the endurance was also decreasing .

Chae Nayun was staring down, as the darkness that was swallowing the world was getting closer and closer .

Sering !

With an indifferent expression, she pulled her sword from her back, where she had made the jacket like a shelter to put it in .

She was originally close to the edge of the cliff, and as she focused her awareness on the muscles of her arms, her physical strength increased slightly .

See you !

It stabbed into the rocks forcefully, and as the sword entered deeply, the friction sound that was made was louder than before .

The force of the shock was immediately directed to her arms .

Ughhhh !

Chae Nayun widened her eyes slightly, she had miscalculated, and had really underestimated this heavy jacket !

But she wasn't about to just give up .

With gnashing her teeth, she focused her awareness and willpower into the arm holding the sword .

To ease the heavy load on her arms, she dug her feet into the rocks as well .

See you !

Her condition was worse than Logan and Fernando's, and it was obvious just by how much she struggled to get down .

Unlike the two, she only developed her path, not focusing on gaining great physical strength, but rather emphasizing agility and lightness more .

Even her bloodline ability helped her move more smoothly and gracefully, rather than forcefully .

The ego she possessed did nothing to increase her physical strength, let alone her lack of interest .

All of these things became factors that made her suffer now .

not yet !

She has to endure, even if her arm is broken, she has to endure !

She gritted her teeth until they almost broke, brought her body closer to the wall and dug the sword deeper !

The shoes submerged in the cliff almost ripped, putting her in danger of cutting her feet, but she didn't back down, and even drowned them further !

"… Damn! Just damn this nonsense aaaah !"

Stella screamed in annoyance, and took out dual swords from her waist .

Her eyes gleamed fiercely as the dual swords swirled between her arms .

Quang !

The dual swords pierced through the solid rocks with exaggerated cruelty, she looked at the cliff with resentment as if there was an unresolvable grudge between them !

With the weight of the heavy jacket and the momentum of her rapid fall, the rocks were punched even harder !

She put the soles of her feet into the rough rocks as if she were sliding down .

She held the air in her chest, causing the blood circulation in her body to be blocked, the muscles of her arms bulged and the veins appeared in them .

" I can't see anything... but it doesn't matter !"

Kevin's eyes lit up as he pulled out a sickle-like weapon, with a metal chain at the edge of his staff that had a black metal ball on it .

He tied his arm with the metal chain while holding it tightly .

Hap !

Putting the power into his arm, and with a powerful throw, the sickle shot upwards at a breakneck speed !

" Now or never !"

He pulled forward and then down suddenly, causing a flow of force to travel through the metal chain .

See you !

As the energy traveled towards the highest point, the sickle penetrated the dirt cliff, producing the sound of metal scraping against rocks .

pain !

With the sudden momentum shifting towards his arm, Kevin felt like his hand was going to break !

To really prevent that from happening, he grabbed his arm with his other hand and tied his legs together with the metal chain with all his strength !

" What the hell! Why do I have to go through this crap !?"

Mai cursed as she stuck her daggers into the wall, the daggers were covered in a light green color, and the wind coming off the daggers lightened their weight .

" Ooriaaa —!!"

She crouched and adjusted her position, making her body curl into a smaller point, which made her weight on the daggers become heavier, causing them to sink deeper .

The harmony of the weight of her body and the wind that lightened her weight created a synergy that made her balanced even though her physical strength was not great .

" Oh my god! Why am I always like this !"

The dust residue from the friction of the people above, for one reason or another, fell on Ed, making his face full of dust .

Ed shouted angrily, and pulled out the sword at his waist in exasperation .

The first strike did not succeed, causing the sword to bounce back .

He didn't back down, there was no one to see him anyway, he could persevere without worry !

He shouted louder than before, his excitement increasing .

" Oriaaa! Submit to me, humble soil !"

He held his sword with a reverse grip with both hands, putting all his strength into his arms and with an extremely powerful strike, this time he succeeded .

If the environment was clear, one could see blue hair fluttering in the wind, and a bow loaded with three arrows .

Selena flipped in the air and spun her body in order to aim the bow and arrows in her hands towards the cliff .

Pew! Pew! Pew !

The metal arrows pierced the wall of earthen rocks, creating thin metal columns .

Selena grabbed the arrow closest to her in her hand .

The arrow embedded in the cliff was bent due to the sudden heavy weight, and with the force of her body's momentum, it was uprooted .

But Selena wasn't disappointed .

She immediately grabbed the arrow, and the process was repeated .

When she runs out of arrows, she kicks the cliff and pushes herself away from it, then throws the arrows again .

How does she get herself back towards the cliff despite the energy pathways in her body being blocked ?

Even without using her essence energy, Selena can mentally control the arrows she creates, allowing her to pull herself towards the wall slightly .

Although the effect is less than when you use essence energy, it does the trick .

Her bloodline ability was the biggest factor !

Everyone showed their own methods, some struggled, some let themselves fall .

If it weren't for the strange pills Leon had given them, actions like the ones they had just taken would have been impossible .

Only ten breaths of time had passed, but it felt like an eternity .

In dangerous situations, every second in one's consciousness becomes like the passing of an entire life !

" … finally "

Huh…huh…huh .

A low gasp could be heard, Logan already feeling his arm trembling as he barely held onto the dirt waist deep within the cliff .

"… this won't work "

Fernando sighed, clearly understanding his position .

The biggest problem with using the Cold Black Metal method was its consumption of stamina .

In a normal situation, if Fernando had been without the heavy black jacket, he could have avoided tiring himself out so much .

But there is no "what if" in life .

Realizing his situation clearly, his teeth chattered tightly, and he made up his mind .

He didn't want to count on that possibility, but there was no choice .

" Guys! Catch up with me !"

Fernando lowered his arm and fell down, shouting loudly to the others .

Chae Nayun didn't hesitate, and pulled her sword away from the wall, pushing herself up with her feet in a graceful movement .

" uraa uraaa! I'll be there before you !"

Logan laughed heartily, and threw himself down like a rocket !

They didn't know why, but most of the students in Class D instinctively followed Fernando's voice .

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh !

Towards the deep abyss of the cliff, where the faint whispers of the wind were barely audible, the students fell as they entered the darkness .

" We should be on the ground any minute !"

As if to confirm Fernando's words, space rippled in the cliff for 100 meters !

The closer they get to the bottom, the ripple becomes clearer, and their bodies become lighter .

"… I was right in the end ."

Fernando wiped the sweat from his forehead as he gently floated down .

He wasn't used to trusting people, so even if he was 90% sure that Sahyung would catch them, the remaining 10% still made him feel uncomfortable .

The environment was so dark, one could no longer even see one's fingers .

" You little rascals! Why are you so late !"

The annoying sound was heard again .

' Who is the reason for this in the first place, you bastard !'

Despite how ugly the sound sounded in their minds, the students smiled slightly as they descended .

Swoosh !

As they descended fully, they instinctively tried to scan their surroundings, but they could barely see an inch in front of them .

" Aaah! Who the fuck hit me with the rock !"

" Damn! There's something touching my back… a ghost! A perverted ghost is touching my back !"

"… you're clinging to the wall, Ed ."

" Tsk tsk, those weaklings… Raf! Turn on the light !"

" Do you think this is an hostel for you to stay in? ask politely !"

Despite his complaints, Rafael snapped his fingers .

Taak !

The clicking sound was clearly audible, a small flame in the darkness could be seen .

She was small, but with no light source, she was like the sun suddenly emerging from the shore of lost wind whispers .

The flame rose higher and higher, and settled after a certain distance .

" Woah! My eyes !"

" my eyes ! My eyes are crying !"

After they got used to the darkness, the light naturally became painful .

" Well, your real training starts here ."

Leon's voice pierced the ears of the students of Class D, and their focus turned towards him .

" First of all, from now until next month, the use of ego is forbidden, you will use this period to refine and train, pure essence energy, only pure, and the strength of your bodies !"

What ?

Question marks were on their faces .

What did he say …?

" And !"

Leon's voice became harsh .

" If I catch any of you disobeying orders, I will make you regret being alive !"

Forget it, they understood his words well .

So good that some of them were threatening to burst into tears .

Leon laughed and raised his head towards the sky, "Well, anyway, whoever does what I say, will gain power, it's simple, all you have to do is risk your lives, hahahahaha !"

The sound of his ominous laughter echoed throughout the cliff .

The sound of his devilish laughter was a sound that people never wanted to hear .

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Yellow Field Doctor Building .

In the quiet room, a person with wolf-like ears lay unconscious .

Beside the bed, there was a beautiful black-haired woman sitting on a chair .

Her eye colors were a mixture of gold and blue, with the iris shaped like golden and blue spheres circling around a white pupil .

She was reading the book in her hands quietly .

"… this rascal didn't even come to greet me, but instead brought me an injured person ."

The Yellow Field Doctor sighed, and watched the lying man with some pity in her eyes .

"… losing his mother and uncle to a plot, and being betrayed by what was supposed to be his best ally ."

He was so ignorant of his enemy that he didn't expect this betrayal, I can only sympathize with him .

While the doctor was emotional, she couldn't help but remember Section 1, Chapter 1, of The Travels of the First Explorer .

The moonlight was shining on the savage world with a bright and majestic light .

Its light was strong and slowly turning blue, and at some point in time, after unknown years, the light gathered into a column .

A giant column connected to the Earth and the Moon was gathering .

" Run! Run! It's a disaster! A disaster has come !"

" oh my brothers, the trees of the traveling hunter, I sense danger from the moon! Let us go before we are destroyed !"

" We nightmare monsters hate light, and we can't stand it at all! I'll save my skin !"

The beasts and the moving trees that saw this fled in fear of destruction .

Nightmare monsters crept into the depths of the earth where there was no light, the moving trees uprooted themselves and quickly moved away .

" We proud flame birds never run away! Attack, my brothers !"

The flame birds, who were proud of their high arrogance, attacked the pillar of light without fear .

But every time a Flame Bird touches the pillar of moonlight, their bodies instantly disappear .

But they did not retreat, but attacked stronger than before, and their numbers were decreasing .

This was the price of vanity, as they preferred their pride to understanding their limitations .

The arrogance of the flamebirds has always been the cause of their demise .

An unprecedented disaster has occurred .

In the area surrounding the moonlight pillar, there was nothing .

Whether it was animals or plants, the mountains that could not move disappeared, even the rivers dried up .

Only a small lake remained .

The column of light started to get smaller and smaller .

As the days and months passed, it finally cleared up .

A creature that only had hair on its head and some other areas, it did not have four legs, but two arms and two legs .

His skin was white, a moonlight-like glow on his body that was fading .

He suddenly opened his closed eyes .

" Cough! Cough! Cough !"

Without warning, the person spat out blood from his mouth and nose, and even his eyes were bloody !

But the strange thing is that his blood was not red, but silver, as if moon dust had fallen to the ground !

The person grabbed his throat and was rolling on the ground .

Every time he breathed, a heavy feeling in his chest was cutting him from the inside, as if countless knives were cutting him !

Painful! Painful! Painful !

He didn't know why, but this feeling was familiar, and a word he didn't know was filling his mind !

" Human? He's a human !"

" My brothers! After the humans fled far away in their homes, we can no longer eat them! But look at this, he is a human !"

The monsters were creatures of little intelligence, even with the previous threat of disaster, they came back and saw a human spitting blood .

Their mouths watered and the primal desire surged in their hearts with force .

They fought among themselves and attacked him fiercely .

" We, the nightmare monsters, are the ones who deserve this human! We are connected to everyone from birth until death !"

" You nightmare monsters are afraid of the light, get out of my sight I am a Flamebird! Humans are humble creatures, of course we proud Flamebirds are the ones who deserve to be eaten !"

They fought fiercely, the nightmare beasts attacked the trees' minds causing them to go crazy, the flame birds burned the areas around them, the ground beneath the trees tried to swallow them all .

It was a mess !

The man opened his eyes forcefully when he saw this, and felt deep fear !

Man knew nothing, was ignorant of who he was or even what his name was, let alone the catastrophe .

He couldn't run, because he didn't know how !

He stretched out his hands in desperation and tried to hold the ground while bleeding from not being able to breathe .

Monsters and plants attacked him, even the ground was slowly opening up in an attempt to swallow him !

The flamebirds' fire burned him, and the nightmare monsters entered his mind, causing his brain to bleed .

The ground slowly sank his feet, and the thorns of the trees tied his body !

But he didn't die, his mind and body were in pain, but he didn't die !

He was confused, scared and in pain, what was happening to him !

Only the small lake beside him didn't move .

" Human, move your hands and come to me if you want to be saved !"

At that moment, he heard a voice screaming .

The yellow field doctor's eyes flashed slightly, as she pondered the meanings of the story .

" The first explorer was in a strange place, ignorant of the dangers around him, he did not know where to go, which left him in torment because of his ignorance, but he heard the voice of a glimmer of hope ."

" Even in the face of suffering, everyone has their own ray of hope, and that ray of hope is knowledge !"

" As people say, knowledge is light, while ignorance is darkness! Only by wallowing in the torment of ignorance can a person enjoy the blessing of knowledge, and become someone who carefully understands his situation …"

In a way, Ragnar's torment was the same .

He was ignorant of the plots and schemes that were hatched against him, which left him in agony .

But now... he has a chance to stand up after the fall .

This was because unlike before, he now had knowledge, and knew who his enemy was .

"… most likely, this is a test the brat did for him ."

Not connecting his leg, must have been to confirm his determination .

" As always, you do complicated things, and always leave people confused, what a bad habit ."

The doctor sighed, but a small smile made its way to her lips .

The clear sky outside the window made one feel at peace .

But amidst that calm, a storm was brewing in secret .

A storm will bring change .