Wonderous Treasure part 1

"Brother... you seem confused..."

"Old Val... We are talking about my daughter. You can't joke about it. He's only at the Initial Stage of the Descendant Chaos Realm... I don't think it's a good idea to send him there..."

The two men started discussing at a safe distance from the living room.

Oakur had tried to hide his real feelings, yet he couldn't entirely conceal his doubtful expression. After all, his heart and mind were wholly focused on her daughter's safety.

"Hmm..." Val wasn't sure if he should tell him about the truth behind that unwavering trust toward the young man, but in the end, he told him everything: "You should have noticed my current situation... My stable had become one of the most renowned around the city. My horses are requested even from the City Lord's guards and nobles..."

"Yeah... People are talking about you more frequently than normal. But what about it? Is this somehow related to that young man?" Oakur found it strange that his friend was talking about an entirely different matter and couldn't help but be perplexed.

"Indeed... everything that has happened to me in the last few years is related to him. It's something that came suddenly and unexpectedly, something beyond even my decision. It was as if the Heavens were bestowing fortune over me simply because I met that young man. Furthermore, the most bizarre thing is related to an old horse with a foot already in the grave. Somehow, that old fellow, Bolt, changed... Actually, improved tremendously."

Val, called Old Beard by Atlas, spoke without rest, giving a long and detailed report about the bizarre events that occurred to him.

"I spent some time in the Mercenary Guild's library and discovered that Old Bolt's changes are somehow related to its bloodline. I don't know the specific reason for that, but Atlas helped the chaotic creature by improving its thin and dry-out bloodline."

Oakur had spent most of his life immersed in a world filled with all kinds of treasures, so Val's tale attracted his attention, making him change his opinion of the young man a little.

Clearly, this was far from enough to convince him. So, he calmly exposed several motivations for those strange events: "Well... there are several natural treasures around the world that could improve the bloodline of a beast. Maybe he obtained one of those earthly treasures somewhere. That's not so incredible... Old Val..."

"Nonsense... do you think I would have told you that if it was so simple?"

Val's response came instantly, and his arrogant expression clearly told him that there was more behind it than he had intentionally hidden from him.

"Well?! What is it?"

"Hehe... I don't think it's a simple earthly treasure because Old Bolt is showing a high intellect that is far superior to before. Furthermore, its body is constantly changing, growing tougher and more ferocious. A pair of horns has even popped out from his head... I read that..."

Hearing those words, Oakur could not hold back this time and almost shouted in disbelief: "Ridiculous... It's an ancient phenomenon that happens when the bloodline returns to its ancestral origins. How could it have happened? That's impossible..."

"Yeah... I thought about that, too... After all, we are talking about legendary fruits, which are extremely rare."

"Indeed... there are few of them out there... I got one many years ago at the last gathering held in the imperial city. There was a fierce bidding war for them, and I spent an astronomical amount of Chaos Stones. How could that little fellow have one of them?!"

Oakur couldn't believe Val's words and refuted them strongly in his heart, but then he saw his brother take out something from his pocket.

It was a small pendant made entirely of amber. Oakur knew the origin of that little object and the hidden story behind it. So, he couldn't help but look back at Val with a bewildered expression and somehow utter a couple of words: "It... It's him?!"

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Val returned after a couple of minutes. His expression reversed back to his usual self, and he leisurely sat right in front of the young man.

"Hehe... As you may have understood, that was Rose's father..."

"I had guessed it... And it seems that my current strength didn't make a good impression. Geez... He left as soon as I came back."

"No... No... He left behind all the necessary things and pieces of information for you." Val waved his hands in a hurry and explained: "He had other matters to attend to. After all, the next expedition will depart tomorrow at noon."

"So... he accepted my help just like that? He received a weak cultivator like me?!" Atlas found this matter really strange and spoke out about what was in his mind: "Uncle Beard... Why does he trust you so much? Honestly, I just can't understand it..."

"Well... it's obvious! We have been friends for so long, so he trusts my judgment. Furthermore, his daughter's life is at stake, so he needs hope. He needs a miracle, no matter from where it comes." Val answered directly, but his response was even more unreasonable and didn't give him a proper explanation. Actually, it made him even more baffled.

'There is something strange going on here... but since it was Nihilir, the one who had sent me here, there is something else behind all this mess.' Atlas somehow sorted out his thoughts and resigned himself, sighing deeply: "Uncle Beard, I understand that his daughter's life is at stake, but it is unthinkable that he would place all his hopes in a young cultivator like me..."

At first, Uncle Beard was hesitant but then began to speak: "Silly boy... Of course, he does not place all his hopes on you now, but I am convinced he will change his mind with time. Also, Elisabeth and I believe in you, and we are sure you will be able to return home with Rose."

At this point, Elisabeth also said: "Atlas, you must bring her back safe. Rose and Aurora are great friends, so you cannot fail for any reason. Otherwise, she will never forgive you."

'Well... why should I care about her opinion?? Anyway, if she's so worried about her, why doesn't she venture into that damned place too?'

Of course, the young man did not care much about this unknown girl's opinion but surely cared about Val and Elisabeth's trust in himself.

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After a hearty dinner with the kind couple, he returned to the guest room to conclude his preparation and feast on the bountiful harvest obtained from the city.

"Who knows what will happen once Astra reaches a higher realm?"

Atlas had already placed the five bags of fragments and weapons in one of the corners of the room.

After ensuring the door was closed and the curtains firmly secured, he grabbed his faithful companion and let it consume one weapon after another.

It was a long and tedious process since the amount of Chaos Energy needed to carry out that operation was relatively high. Still, thanks to his new cultivation realm, the process went much faster than before.

The complete weapons vanished in a couple of minutes.

"Even all these weapons are not enough... hopefully, I bought enough scrap metals to succeed."

He hadn't finished yet, so Atlas immersed his friend in the first pile of fragments.

This time, a little more time passed, and the pickaxe started to change a bit only when the two golden fragments were missing.

"We are almost there... it would be great if you could acquire the properties of at least one of the runes..."

The tip of the pickaxe rested on one of the two, and as the surface of the fragment was slowly shrinking into dust, the small stone embedded at the base of the handle began to mutate.

From the center of the stone began to appear tiny fractures from which an intense blue light gradually expanded.

Slowly, the fractures expanded to cover the stone entirely.

A sharp sound echoed in the young man's ears, and suddenly, the blue glow ceased, showing the enchanting precious gem that had just been created.

"Incredible... it looks like a sapphire... but what does it change?"

Looking at it carefully, there was a small change, indeed. The Bloodthirsty Rune had become even clearer than before.

Atlas could distinctly see its actual form and found it slightly different from what he had thought.

There was indeed a tiny canine, but the root form was completely different from what he had ever seen.

His interest was piqued, but as he searched for an answer, the place between his eyebrows started to heat, and then a load of foreign information slowly invaded his mind.

"What is this?! What's going on?"