Enter Eternal Core City

"Team up?" Kai Blake slightly furrowed his brows, planning to refuse.

He had awakened an SSS - rank talent. Just clearing the newbie dungeon had caused an uproar, making all parties stir.

The identity of Shurason must not be exposed until Kai Blake grew up.

Therefore, he needed to avoid contact with others, especially someone like Stella Parker, who was in the spotlight.

"No, I prefer to go solo."

Stella Parker wasn't surprised by Kai Blake's refusal.

She was well aware that in the eyes of others, she was just an F - rank nobody at the moment. In other words, teaming up with Stella Parker was like dragging someone down, like having a useless tag - along.

Pozz, afraid that Stella Parker might misunderstand, quickly explained,

"Big White doesn't even team up with me. He said he's going to try to break through to the second floor of the Tower of Eternity today."

The whole class knew about the relationship between Pozz and Kai Blake.

If even Pozz couldn't team up with Kai Blake, it meant Kai Blake wasn't lying.

In fact, Kai Blake had no reason to lie.

Whether Stella Parker had an S - rank talent or an F - rank one, if she teamed up with Kai Blake, she would surely win without having to do anything.

"Thank you." Stella Parker bowed slightly and thanked Kai Blake again. Then she took out a scroll.

"This is a map of the Tower of Eternity collected by my grandfather. It contains information from the first to the tenth floor, including monster spawning locations, monster information, and even records of many hidden quests..."

Before Stella Parker could finish, Pozz stared straight at the scroll, almost drooling.

What a great thing! He usually loved collecting all kinds of information, especially knowing the importance of maps. This kind of thing was hard to come by even with money. Ordinary people simply couldn't buy it.

To put it bluntly, this small scroll in Stella Parker's hand was worth over 10000 gold coins!

Pozz winked at Kai Blake, hinting that he should take it.

Kai Blake was a bit helpless. This thing was of great value to others, but it was worthless to him.

"Please, you must take it! This is the most valuable thing I can offer right now..." Stella Parker held up the scroll, her face flushed, and her gaze extremely determined.

Judging by her attitude, if Kai Blake didn't accept it today, she wouldn't give up.

"Okay, I'll return it to you after I'm done using it." Kai Blake took the scroll, waved his hand, and said, "If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."

Watching Kai Blake's back in the sunset, Stella Parker bowed again, silently expressing her gratitude, and tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes.

"Stella, Stella!" A noble - looking lady quickly walked up to Stella Parker.

"Why are you here? I couldn't find you just now. I was so worried."

The lady had an elegant temperament. She took good care of herself on a daily basis, with a rosy complexion. There was a certain resemblance between her eyebrows and Stella Parker's.

"Stella, don't worry about your talent. Listen to mom. Come on, let's go home for dinner."

Stella Parker forced a smile. "Mom, I'm fine."

"You still say you're fine. Your eyes are all red. My poor child..." The lady hugged Stella Parker, and a hint of worry appeared between her brows, but it disappeared quickly. She controlled her emotions well.

"Who was that male classmate just now? Aren't you going to introduce him to mom?"

"No, he's nobody. Just a classmate."

"Mom saw you give him the map. Tell mom the truth. Do you like him?"

Stella Parker quickly defended herself. "Mom, no! Kai Blake is just a classmate in our class..."

"Okay, okay. Come on, get in the car."

Sitting in the passenger seat, the lady took out her phone, tapped a few times, and sent a text message.

"Check the background of Kai Blake from Class 2, Senior 3."

Looking at her daughter, who seemed calm through the rear - view mirror, the lady's eyes turned cold.

Which mother wouldn't feel bad when her daughter awakened an F - rank talent?

If someone wanted to take advantage of her daughter's vulnerability, deceive her, and try to get benefits from the Liu family, she, as a mother, would never allow it!

...

After having dinner and returning home, Kai Blake took out the map given by Stella Parker and spread it out on the table.

"There's indeed a lot of information, but it's useless to me."

In Kai Blake's vision, under the effect of [Eyes that analyze the essence], there were no secrets!

"The Tower of Eternity requires continuous climbing and breaking through floors. I'm currently on the first floor."

Kai Blake looked at the map of the first floor.

The leveling areas from LV.1 to LV.10 were no longer useful to Kai Blake.

As for some hidden quests and special areas, the rewards were too low, so Kai Blake ignored them directly.

"Eh?" Kai Blake noticed that a number was marked next to the map of the first floor:

[Exploration degree: 0%]

"There's actually an exploration degree?"

"What will happen when the exploration degree reaches 100%?"

[The higher the exploration degree, the richer the rewards when breaking through the floors of the Tower of Eternity]

[History of clearing the first floor: 2 people with 100% exploration degree, 19 people with over 90% exploration degree....]

Looking at the note information that appeared in front of him, Kai Blake became excited.

100% exploration degree, only 2 people?!!

That meant... even among the three supreme powerhouses back then, one of them didn't reach 100% exploration degree!

[Ways to increase the exploration degree: Kill monsters, kill special BOSSes, explore the map....]

[Guide to 100% exploration degree: First, go to Wind - Thunder Valley....]

After reading all the information, Kai Blake immediately made a decision.

"The exploration degree of the first floor must reach 100%. If possible, I'd better break through the first floor today!"

The level in the Tower of Eternity was related to the floor.

On the first floor, Kai Blake could never break through level 10. He had to break through the first floor to continue leveling up.

After analyzing the guide to 100% exploration degree, Kai Blake found a thorny problem: The battles weren't difficult, but it would be a bit strenuous to cover such a long distance in six hours.

The Tower of Eternity was only open for six hours a day. Miss today, and he'd have to wait until tomorrow.

"Go to the Trading Secret Realm and see if there are any displacement skills."

With this thought, Kai Blake activated the mark of the Tower of Eternity and entered the Trading Secret Realm in advance.

The Trading Secret Realm was open 24 hours a day, with no time limit.

As soon as he logged on, Kai Blake was bombarded with messages from Goblin Little Bro.

"Big brother! Big brother! Are you there! Contact me as soon as you see this message!"

"....."

Kai Blake replied with an address. In less than a minute, Goblin Little Bro. appeared in front of Kai Blake.

However, this time, Goblin Little Bro. looked at Kai Blake with a strange expression.

"Big brother, who on earth are you?"

"What's wrong?"

"The Leo Thompson you reported today, ahem, that guy has been detained!"

"That's great."

Kai Blake sighed. It was a great thing that the cult follower was brought to justice.

The fewer such people there were, the fewer stabs in the back the human race would have!

"You don't know yet, do you? After he was caught, he quickly defected and gave up a lot of big shots. Thanks to the clues he provided, three War - King - level cult followers were caught just today!" Goblin Little Bro. said excitedly.

Kai Blake really didn't know this news.

"Buy one get three free! This is Cyber Monday!"

"Get to the point, get to the point." Goblin Little Bro. brought the topic back and said seriously,

"After communicating with HADC, Trading Hall in Heaven and Earth Headquarters has determined the reward amount for the report, 30000 gold coins!"

"From now on, all your consumption in the Trading Hall in Heaven and Earth will be calculated at a 10% discount!"

30000 gold coins and a 10% discount in the Trading Hall in Heaven and Earth. These were all the rewards for Kai Blake's report on Leo Thompson.

As for the 10% discount, this was a treatment that only War - Kings could enjoy!

"Here are 30000 gold coins on an anonymous gold - coin card, and this VIP card with War - King - level privileges. Big brother, take them."

Goblin Little Bro. introduced, "The VIP card can be used both online and offline. It's anonymous. As long as you show this card at auctions and trading markets hosted by the Trading Hall in Heaven and Earth, you can enjoy War - King - level treatment!"

"Understood."

After taking the two cards, Kai Blake stated the purpose of his visit.

"Do you have any displacement skills or equipment suitable for low - level mages?"

"Yes!" Goblin Little Bro. was very professional and immediately took out several items.

"The skill book of [Wind Walk]. After use, it can increase the movement speed. After the level is increased, it can also enter a short - term stealth state, and the first normal attack causes critical - strike damage. The price is 500 gold coins!"

500 gold coins. That's really not cheap.

"Next one."

Kai Blake directly ignored Wind Walk. He didn't plan to be a Blademaster, nor did he plan to roam the other realms. Why would he learn Wind Walk?

Goblin Little Bro. introduced one by one,

"Wind Spirit Boots, with an attached movement skill. After continuous running, you can briefly get wind wings to fly..."

"Flame Leap, blink 2 meters in the specified direction and cause fire - type damage to surrounding enemies...."

"..."

Listening to Goblin Little Bro.'s explanation, Kai Blake slightly furrowed his brows.

These things didn't quite suit him. They weren't what he wanted.

Goblin Little Bro. was helpless. There were few things for low - level mages, and they had been snapped up by various big families. The remaining items were just these few.

"There's one more, a skill book for all classes, but usually only warriors learn it.

Wind - Treading Slash. Rush to the enemy's side at an extremely fast speed and cause 65% damage with an instant normal attack. It has no consumption and a 0.5 - second cooldown."

Goblin Little Bro. couldn't even continue speaking at this point.

Wind - Treading Slash was indeed a displacement skill, but it was a close - range displacement!

What was the most important thing in a mage's battle?

Distance control!

Keep as much distance as possible from the enemy and continuously deplete them!

This was a combat technique summarized by countless predecessors, and the characteristics of [Wind - Treading Slash] completely went against it!

A mage rushing to the enemy's side to attack?

What kind of crazy move was this!

The enemy would be like: Have you eaten? If not, take a slap from me before you go!

Unexpectedly, Kai Blake became interested.

"How much is this?"

"8000 gold coins. After a discount and rounding down, it's 7000 gold coins. You're not really going to buy this, are you?" Goblin Little Bro. furrowed his brows, sensing that something was off.

Kai Blake directly took out 7000 gold coins and said calmly,

"I'll take it!"

Goblin Little Bro.:...

Cash on delivery.

"Transaction successful!"

"Skill learned successfully. Acquired [Wind - Treading Slash]!"

Kai Blake looked at the newly learned displacement skill and nodded in satisfaction.

Wind - Treading Slash was definitely a useless thing for other mages.

But for Kai Blake, with the two skills [Ready for Action] and [Praise to Goddess of Luck] stacked, both his normal attacks and skills could cause massive damage!

With Wind - Treading Slash, Kai Blake could ensure both displacement and damage.

Be as stable as a mountain when still, and as swift as thunder when moving. Strike a decisive blow and then retreat a thousand miles.

Yes, this was the real way for a mage to fight. Kai Blake felt that his understanding, which was ahead of the times, was perfectly fine.

"Big brother, um... how should I address you?" After the transaction, Goblin Little Bro. asked.

It was awkward for both of them to keep calling him "big brother" like this.

Kai Blake thought for a moment and said,

"Um... you can call me Fourth Brother."

"Okay, Fourth Brother!"

"See you later, Fourth Brother."

After exiting the Trading Secret Realm, it was exactly 12 o'clock midnight, and Kai Blake embarked on his journey in the Tower of Eternity again!

"Welcome to the Eternal Core City!"

A pleasant prompt sounded in his ears, with an ethereal and otherworldly tone.

"The Eternal Core City is a transfer station and resting place for adventures in the Tower of Eternity.

If you need to explore the Tower of Eternity, just enter the corresponding floor number on the core, and you'll be teleported.

If you die during your adventure in the Tower of Eternity, you'll automatically return to the Eternal Core City and enter a weakened state. After the weakened state ends, you can choose to continue your adventure.

After breaking through the current floor of the Tower of Eternity, you'll automatically return to the Eternal Core City.

The Tower of Eternity is open for 6 hours a day. Please arrange your time in the Eternal Core City reasonably. Wish you an early clearance of the Tower of Eternity."

When Kai Blake opened his eyes again, he was in a huge city. People were bustling around, and it was very lively.

This was the Eternal Core City!

Regardless of strength, whether it was a level - 1 newbie or a powerful War God, they all had to transfer through the Eternal Core City to enter the Tower of Eternity for adventures.

For the general public, the Eternal Core City was like their [Trading Secret Realm].

Without the supervision of the secret - realm elves, there were indeed more cases of deception.

As soon as Kai Blake entered the city, he heard many people shouting.

"Special map of the first floor, only 50 copper coins. Don't miss it as you pass by!"

"3 silver coins to help you clear the first floor. Guaranteed to teach you and succeed. If not, full refund!"

"Silver Scale Breastplate, 5 gold coins each!"

"..."

Over the past century, the Eternal Core City had been continuously developed and divided into different areas:

[Trading Area], [Profession Area], [Combat - Power Testing Area], [Teaming - Up Area]

The Trading Area was for trading, no need to elaborate.

In the Profession Area, you could find the corresponding professional associations. Communicating with people of the same profession would help you improve your strength faster.

The [Combat - Power Testing Area] was an area specially set up by HADC. The combat - power determination of battle - soldiers, War - Kings, War - Lords, and War Gods was all carried out here!

After all, getting injured in the Tower of Eternity wouldn't affect the real world at all.

During the combat - power test, if there were serious injuries or even death, there would be no losses.

Of course, starting from [War - King], the combat - power evaluation also needed to consider the record in the Abyss Plane, not just the paper - based combat power.

The three supreme powerhouses established the [Combat - Power Rank] to cultivate real powerful generals who could kill enemies on the battlefield, peerless swords, and astonishing blades!

Not just those who only knew how to mindlessly cast skills.

Time was limited, and Kai Blake had a clear plan. "First, go to the Tower of Eternity for adventures, and then go to the [Combat - Power Testing Area] to try the battle - soldier test!"

With that, he placed his palm on a crystal by the roadside. A flash of light passed, and he officially entered the first floor of the Tower of Eternity.

Shortly after Kai Blake disappeared, Pozz and Stella Parker entered the Eternal Core City, not far apart.

"Pozz?" Stella Parker raised her eyebrows, asking with a hint of anticipation, "Is Kai Blake with you?"

"No, but Kai Blake sent me something." Pozz was checking his mailbox and found several scrolls and puppets of unknown grades.

Kai Blake left a message for Pozz, saying not to use these items unless it was absolutely necessary.

Upgrading with high - level items would instead reduce his upgrade score, effectively weakening his strength and potential!

Kai Blake gave these things to Pozz just to leave him some trump cards for self - defense.

"Oh." Stella Parker was obviously disappointed to learn that Kai Blake wasn't there.

Then she remembered, "Oh right!"

"Remember to tell Kai Blake not to go to [Wind - Thunder Valley] today!"

"Ah, why?"

Stella Parker's expression became extremely serious as she said earnestly,

"A prophecy - type War God made a move and predicted the monster spawning situation on the first floor of the Tower of Eternity today.

A special BOSS will spawn deep in Wind - Thunder Valley. It's extremely powerful. Entering it rashly will only lead to death!"

"Damn, that scary?" Pozz didn't dare to delay and immediately sent the message.

Then his face changed.

"Shit, Kai won't be able to receive the message. He's already entered the Tower of Eternity!"

After entering the Tower of Eternity, the messaging function was temporarily disabled, so Pozz couldn't get in touch with Kai Blake.

Stella Parker gritted her teeth, placed her hand directly on the crystal, and silently prayed in her heart,

"Kai Blake, please don't go to Wind - Thunder Valley!"

...

The Tower of Eternity.

The First Floor.

Kai Blake stretched himself, getting ready to start his journey to reach 100% exploration rate.

"First stop, Wind - Thunder Valley."

"Here I come!"