'Rule Of Ten' and Champions

[The 'Medallion of Terra' is reacting strongly.]

With confidence, Albrecht stretched out his hand, holding the symbol in front of Hldrmir who felt like he was living a dream. The Medallion of Terra was something that he didn't expect to see so soon and it dumbfounded him.

"So it was you? The one who obtained all four symbols?" Hldrmir asked. "To think that I'd be the first one to meet you, the other Overseers would be jealous."

The System didn't give Albrecht additional information regarding the Overseer's relationship with each other. Then again, he knew the basic uses and function of the four symbols so he didn't feel the need to know about them. Just to make sure, though, he made a mental note to ask the System about it in the near future.

"I would've rewarded you with something, Albrecht, but unfortunately, I already gave you my ultimate blessing, as well as my tome. Right now, I don't have a gift prepared, but I'll whip one up for when you come back." Hldrmir said, clasping his hands together before he turned around.

Honestly, Hldrmir was disappointed that he didn't have anything for Albrecht. Even though he had already given him his prized treasures (including the Mother of Life Cooking Pot), he still wanted to spoil Albrecht as one of his great followers.

"We're here to get to the Eleventh Outerlayer, Hldrmir," Albrecht asked, to which the three ladies with him nodded their heads along. Little did they know that Albrecht was concocting something crazy under their noses.

With Albrecht's comment, Hldrmir stopped short in his tracks. He had lived a span of millennia and more, and yet this was the first time he heard something absurd. Slowly, he turned around, plastering a forced smile on his face as he confirmed what Albrecht just said.

"I'm sorry. Albrecht, did you just say you're going to the Eleventh Outerlayer?" He asked. He could've sworn Albrecht said that, but he just had to confirm since that request was as suicidal as it was ridiculous.

Albrecht nodded his head. "Yes, we have less than twenty-four hours to get there... so we figured we'd ask for your help." He continued.

Not only was Albrecht determined to get to the Eleventh Outerlayer, but he was also courageous enough to ask an Overseer for help. Usually, this request would be shut down in an instant— that is because humans were lowly beings compared to Overseers.

The same could be said of Hldrmir who would've rejected the request had it not been for the 'Medallion of Terra'. Albrecht may be a human, but he was holding the symbol which proved that he's a great follower of Hldrmir.

One of the perks that come with being a great follower is the backing of that specific Overseer. Simply put, Hldrmir would be there to help Albrecht out whenever he was in a pinch... and he'd be able to intervene as much as he could, granted that he wouldn't go head to head with another Overseer.

"Are you sure about this, Albrecht Stein?" Hldrmir reconfirmed since he still couldn't believe Satoshi's request.

With a resolute nod, Albrecht made it perfectly clear that he had done his due diligence before he decided to request entry. There was nothing Hldrmir could do but give him the green light.

"You do know the Rule of Ten, right? If you're someone knowledgeable about the Zecian Portals, then you should know the Rule of Ten. If you're still willing to go even after knowing that... then I can't stop you. I will wholly respect your decision." Hldrmir continued, slightly bowing his head at Albrecht.

There was a good chance that Albrecht would die, but he had fixated his mind to go through with the trial. Hldrmir tried to stop him with his words, but Albrecht just won't budge.

Once again, Albrecht nodded in response to Hldrmir's question.

Tap. Tap.

"Oi, Albrecht, what's the Rule of Ten?" Yukina Medusa asked. Even though she came from the Outerlayers herself, she had no idea what the Rule of Ten was all about.

Even Sheila and Yulie had no idea what it was, so they remained silent while they waited for Albrecht to answer. Meanwhile, Hldrmir just continued walking forward while the others followed suit. He didn't bother explaining the Rule of Ten to the others, leaving Albrecht with the task.

"The Rule of Ten is one of the features of the Outerlayers which prevents skipping Outerlayers altogther. Lower Outerlayers are connected to Higher Outerlayers, and it could even be safely assumed that all Outerlayers are connected.... so if someone is capable enough, he could easily jump towards the last Outerlayer and conquer it." Albrecht explained.

"However, countermeasures exist so that won't happen. Even if seomeone tried to skip Outerlayers, they'd still be affected by the Rule of Ten. The Rule of Ten are simply checkpoints in the Outerlayers. For every Ten Outerlayers, a Champion needs to be defeated. As such, we can't just skip straight towards the Eleventh Outerlayer, we have to defeat that Champion first."

Fortunately, Albrecht managed to explain it well and Yukine didn't follow up with another question.

"That said... you're just Level 2, Albrecht, are you sure you can defeat the First Champion?" Hldrmir asked.

Unbeknownst to the party, Hldrmir was actually already leading them towards the Zecian Portal that leads to the Eleventh Outerlayer. However, this Zecian Portal would instantly teleport them to the First Champion and they have to defeat that before stepping foot in the Eleventh Outerlayer.

"I don't know... but I have a good chance of defeating it, I'm sure." Albrecht answered. He had seen the records of the System and he was confident that he stood a fighting chance against the First Champion.

—

—

There was a pause as Hldrmir heaved a sigh. A couple of moments later, after much thinking, he conceded to Albrecht's decisions and crossed his arms. "Very well... I'll allow you to enter this Zecian Portal. However, I will do my utmost to keep it open, just in case you can't defeat the First Champion."

"Also, bring this with you, it's a Shield Potion which will grant you a shield that would mitigate a fatal attack. I only have three of them so use it wisely." Hldrmir continued.

"Thank you so much, Hldrmir, we're going to need this." Albrecht gratuitously bowed down before he jumped into the Zecian Portal.

[Warning]

[Warning]

[Wa#&$%@!]

Before Albrecht could step back out of there, the Zecian Portal closed right when the others were about to follow him.

"What the—" Albrecht exclaimed as multiple windows appeared in front of him, giving him multiple warnings.