Travellers - An Isekai, Cultivation Fantasy

NO! I WILL NOT BE WEAK EVER AGAIN!!!!

"AaaAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Drake screamed as he raised his foot and placed it onto the final step.

Poof!

The unbearable pressure lifted, and Drake collapsed on the floor. He wanted to rest, but there was no time. Drake stood up immediately and faced the dark grand mage.

The dark grand mage paled. All his energy was focused on resisting the pressure of the staircase. If Drake attacked him now, he would not be able to defend himself at all.

Drake summoned all the mana he could and poured it into his glove. The runes activated, but he willed the attack to pause, gathering more and more power instead.

'Not yet, not yet!' This was a perfect opportunity, and Drake wasn't willing to let it go.

Meanwhile, the dark grand mage forced himself to move faster.

97… 98… 99…

"Chain. Lightning."

Two words reverberated through the air as dense lightning mana exploded from his glove. A gigantic bolt of lightning materialised right in front of the dark grand mage's face.

The attack was too close for the dark grand mage to block.

I cannot let that hit me!

Instinctively, the dark grand mage jumped to the side while activating several shields. However, he was too close. A part of the lightning bolt still hit, tearing through his shields before striking his shoulder.

"AAAHHHH!!!" screamed the dark grand mage as he fell down the huge flight of stairs.

Below, the cultivators were still fighting the shadow demons and numerous spirits. Theo had already caught three of the rank four artifacts and was chasing the fourth one. However, everyone heard an agonised scream from the stairs, becoming louder by the second.

The dark grand mage landed with a giant thud. For a moment, no one could see clearly whether it was Drake or the dark grand mage - their visions blocked by the numerous shadow demons, spirits, and poison miasma. However, the vulture and beetle spirits quickly disappeared, and everyone realised what had happened.

Drake had reached the top and defeated the dark grand mage!

However, the shadow demons were still present and guarded the dark grand mage's body. Theo saw this and his expression paled. Without the rank three spirits holding them back, the cultivators could make quick work of the shadow demons, after which, he and the dark grand mage would be next. He reacted before anyone else and dashed towards the dark grand mage.

"Stop him!" cried Blaze. However, a swarm of shadow demons immediately surrounded him. Everywhere else, the shadow demons began attacking with renewed vigour, as if they knew their master was in danger.

Using this opportunity, Theo reached the dark grand mage and threw him over his shoulders, before dashing towards the staircase to the first floor. Everyone wanted to stop him, but they were helpless as the shadow demons sacrificed themselves to block their paths. With his speed, they knew it was only a matter of seconds before Theo reached the stairs.

The cultivators made quick work of the shadow demons, killing dozens every second. However, Theo had already reached the stairs and began heading down. By the time they killed the remaining shadow demons, Theo was already long gone. Blaze, Corvus and the others wanted to give chase, but paused. Streaks of light flying overhead caught their attention.

There were still three orbs of rank four artifacts left. If they tried to chase Theo, they would have to give up on such rare treasures.

Corvus glanced at the staircase and imagined Drake, who was now at the top. He could attempt to climb it as well, but given how long it had taken Drake and the dark grand mage to reach the top, he figured that by the time he made it, Drake would have already obtained the inheritance, rendering his efforts wasteful. He would have given up on the rank four artifacts here for nothing.

At the same time, several cultivators had already begun chasing the orbs. Cursing their luck, Corvus and the others turned their attention to the orbs and began chasing.

'Let's do this!'

Meanwhile, above on the third and final floor.

Drake watched the dark grand mage fall and smiled. He hoped that the dark grand mage would die from the fall, but knew that was unlikely. He also didn't know what the situation was like downstairs and felt a little bad for leaving Blaze and Sylvia alone. The old him would not have acted so selfishly.

However, he was different now.

Drake had realised he could not afford to be considerate all the time. Strength was the most important thing in this world. Without it, friendships were meaningless bonds that could be destroyed by someone stronger at their whim. He could not let that happen to him again. To do so, he had to become stronger.

Much, much stronger.

Taking a deep breath, Drake turned to face the floor. The mana here was more than twenty times denser than the second floor. Simply being able to cultivate here was a boon. However, Drake wanted more. He looked around for the final inheritance and frowned.

The floor was empty!

As Drake started to become confused, he felt a change in the air. Mana gathered from around the room and spiralled to the centre, forming two balls of light.

Drake felt a bit of deja vu.

Is this… like that time? He wondered, remembering the appearance of the Jain village ancestor in the inheritance. He slowly started walking closer.

The lights expanded to form two figures - a man and a woman. Their bodies were composed entirely of light and radiated an aura far more powerful than anything Drake had ever felt before. Drake reached the centre and knelt respectfully before the ancestors' wills.

"Rise, cultivator," they spoke in unison. Drake rose and saw their bodies glowing and radiating with power. The two spirits observed him deeply, making Drake slightly uncomfortable. He felt like their gazes could peer into his soul, see his deepest secrets.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

A few seconds later, they spoke again. "You… have proven yourself worthy." As they uttered those words, the spirits raised their palms and mana gathered. The female spirit materialised a stone while the male spirit materialised a sword. The moment it appeared, the sword released an unbelievably dense aura.

A rank five artifact!

Drake was stupefied. This was it. He had hoped that he would find a rank five artifact here, but he couldn't be sure. They were incredibly rare to come by, even for large families and sects. But now, Drake had found one!

The male spirit gently released the sword, and it flew towards Drake, radiating waves of mana. However, it did not reject Drake and gently fell into his palms. Drake accepted the sword gratefully with a bow.

"This was one of the most prized artifact of our sect. You are not yet strong enough to wield it, so treat it with care."

"I will, for sure," Drake replied. "Thank you so much for this gift".

The spirits seemed pleased, and now, the female spirit moved. She released her hand, and the stone flew towards Drake. He could not feel any aura from it and didn't know what it was. However, he knew it must be important, so he accepted it gratefully.

"You must not use that treasure unless your life is in danger and you have no other choice," the female spirit explained. "If you use it, it will take you to a safe location, far away from danger. But, it won't be easy to get back."

Drake was confused. It sounded almost like teleportation. Was it a teleportation stone? That was another lost technology with very few in existence!

"Thank you! Thank you, ancestors!" Drake replied sincerely. A teleportation stone was even rarer than rank five artifacts. He felt extremely grateful for this unexpected gift.

Seeing his demeanour pleased the spirits further. They spoke in unison once again.

"Unlike the other inheritances, this one will not collapse despite all its treasures being claimed. It will stand for five days, after which the exit to the outside world will open. You must leave at that point. Till then, you can use the time to cultivate."

Drake nodded.

"Well then, for the last part of the inheritance…" saying so, the spirits transformed into balls of light again and entered Drake's forehead. Drake felt a sudden, extremely powerful jolt of energy. His head lifted to the ceiling, and his eyes shone with a golden light.

A wealth of knowledge flooded his brain.

Decades of cultivation experience of the two astral body martial artists, including their breakthroughs and more, were all being absorbed by his mind in a matter of seconds. Drake screamed as he felt like his brain was being torn apart. He had to exert all his willpower to resist the urge to fight it. It only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like ages.

Soon, the light faded from his eyes, and his head dropped.

Eyes closed, Drake was automatically processing the ocean of knowledge and experience he had gained. Out of everything, their experience of breakthroughs to the higher realms was the most invaluable.

Breaking through was always dangerous and could potentially result in the death of the cultivator if they were not careful, with the difficulty only increasing with the cultivation realm. But having the breakthrough experience of two astral body martial artists, Drake's chances would be greatly increased.

Drake spent a few minutes allowing his mind to absorb and process the information before slowly opening his eyes. Soon, an overwhelming sense of joy flooded through his body.

Not only had he gained their cultivation and breakthrough experience, but he had also received several of their martial techniques! Not to mention the rank five artifact and the teleportation stone.

He had hit it big this time!

Drake wanted to jump up and down in joy, but then remembered what the spirits had told him. This tower would only last five days before beginning to collapse. He had to make use of every second in this place as he would not be able to find an area with such dense mana outside easily.

Cultivating here for even a day would be equal to more than a year of cultivation outside!

Drake immediately calmed down and sat, legs crossed. He took out the bone cleansing pills he had refined earlier and consumed them before activating his Twelve Star Supreme Body Transformation Arts.

Five days later.

In the outside world, the elders of the Myriad Sword Palace, Silver Crane Sect, the Ironheart family, and a few other families and sects, along with Eldric Blackthorne, were all waiting anxiously in their temporary abodes near the inheritance grounds.

Suddenly, the black vortex opened up once again.

"Hey! It's opening! They're finally coming back!" yelled a guard, running to alert everyone else.

The moment he left, and a few seconds after the vortex opened, two shadowy figures exited the vortex first, but no one noticed this.

A few minutes later, all the elders gathered around the vortex, anxious to see how many of their disciples had survived… if any; and how many treasures they would each be bringing back. A crowd of mortals and low-level cultivators who had not entered the vortex also gathered out of curiosity.

The vortex rippled, and a few gasps could be heard from the crowds. A group of lone cultivators exited the vortex, battered and bruised, their armours and weapons torn beyond repair. These were among the unlucky ones who had barely survived, hid during the final battles, waiting for the exit to open before leaving the first chance they got.

Seeing their condition, the elders exchanged worried glances. However, the vortex rippled again, and two more groups of lone cultivators appeared. They were in better condition, and a few of them also appeared very happy. They all left immediately.

One by one, more cultivators began exiting the vortex. Soon, some members of the Ironheart and Blackthorne families also exited the vortex. After this came Derald and Ivan from the Silver Crane Sect. As soon as they appeared, their elders rushed to greet them.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where is Kurt and everyone else?"

"Kurt… should be coming soon," Ivan replied, his voice trailing off. Hearing him specify Kurt, and judging by their looks, the elders realised what had happened.

Three of their disciples had died.

The elders sighed and shook their heads. "It's okay, at least you three have managed to make it back successfully," one of them commented.

At this point, the vortex rippled again and a group of six appeared - Corvus, Farisa, Cain, Elwin, Alistair and Imogen. All the Myriad Sword Palace disciples had survived.

The Silver Crane Sect disciples couldn't help but be slightly envious; however, the Myriad Sword Sect's power was far beyond theirs. It was not a sect they could compete with.

As the Myriad Sword Palace disciples gathered with their elders and began catching up, more and more cultivators began appearing. Soon, Blaze and Sylvia also came. Their appearance caused some of the crowd to become excited, as always.

"It's the dragon boy and dryad girl!"

"They made it!"

"Of course they made it, you fool!"

Seeing them appear, Farisa and Elwin immediately went to greet them, along with Kurt, Ivan, and Derald. Corvus hesitated. He didn't like how Drake had taken the final inheritance, but sighed.

'It is what it is,' he told himself, and started walking towards them. If he hadn't gotten caught up in the moment, he would have done the same thing. Cain, Imogen and Alistair also followed.

As they all greeted each other and began catching up, the vortex stopped rippling. A few minutes later, it began to shrink.

'What the hell?' thought Blaze. Drake had still not left yet, so how could the vortex close? The others also grew worried. Was Drake so immersed in cultivating that he forgot about leaving the place? Can't be right?

However, the vortex kept shrinking. In a few seconds, it was only the size of a small circle.

"Noo-" just as Elwin began to shout, the vortex rippled one more time, and another shadow appeared just as the vortex collapsed. Everyone turned to see the shadow reveal its figure.

"Drake!" gasped Blaze and Sylvia, running towards him, followed closely by Elwin.

Seeing Corvus and the others eye him with a complicated gaze, the Myriad Sword Palace elders asked softly. "Who is he?"

No one replied for a few seconds. Corvus observed Drake closely.

This guy… he had broken through to the perfect stage steel body realm!

Corvus himself had broken through to the perfect stage warrior mage realm, and was close to breaking through to the undying body realm, and many others had also obtained breakthroughs cultivating in that environment. However, Corvus had started at a much higher cultivation level than Drake. To think that they were almost at the same cultivation realm now was unbelievable.

With a sigh, Corvus replied to the elder. "He… is the one who obtained the final inheritance."

"What!?" the elders gasped. By this time, word had quickly spread to all the other elders and many other people that Drake was the one who had obtained the final inheritance.

A large number of eyes focused on him. Drake could sense greed and envy fill the air, with a hint of malice.

Obtaining the inheritance was one thing; keeping it would be something else. There were bound to be many individuals who would want to attack and force him to cough up the inheritance. The ones who were part of larger families and sects could even bring their elders and a bunch of disciples to overwhelm him.

At this moment, Drake felt like everyone around him was a threat, and his mind and body became tense.

Thank you for reading on Royal Road