Max nodded, his expression thoughtful. "How did my sister go to the Middle Domain then?" he asked curiously.
Ralph shrugged. "I don’t know. One day, Freya came to me saying she would depart for the Middle Domain, and after that, I have never seen her."
Max nodded, recalling her soul. ’If her soul is still alive, then that means she has entered the Middle Domain safely,’ he thought.
"Uncle Ralph, I have one more thing to ask." Max said, turning to him. "What do you know about Falling Lake?"
Ralph’s expression became serious. "You can’t go there. Definitely not." He refused outright. "That place is living hell in the eastern region, packed with Seeker rank hunters, with no shortage of monsters roaming capable of killing those at Adept Rank."
Max frowned upon hearing him. He had expected the place to be dangerous, but hearing Ralph’s words, he realized he had seriously underestimated it.
’It seems like I have to increase my strength a bit before heading to Falling Lake,’ Max thought, deciding his plans for the future.
"Uncle Ralph, don’t worry. I won’t enter that place anytime soon." Max said, his expression becoming curious. "Do you happen to have any treasures that can increase soul force, or better yet, chaos stones?"
Ralph raised his brows at Max’s words. "A treasure that can increase soul force is very hard to come by, and even if I have some, I won’t give you any," he said directly. "But as for chaos stones… I happen to have some."
He waved his hand, and a pouch appeared before him. "Take it. If I’m not mistaken, there should be around ten chaos stones in there." He tossed it to Max.
Max caught it with a smile and bowed. "Thank you, Uncle Ralph. I will leave now."
Ralph nodded and smiled. "Remember, the Thorne family stands with you, just as we have stood by Freya Voidwalker."
Max nodded in appreciation. He needed all the help he could get.
"Let’s go. I’ll see you out," Ralph said as he led Max through the castle.
---
In one of the quiet restaurants in Central City, with barely any people present, Max was eating his meal.
After leaving the Thorne Family, he didn’t head straight towards the guild and took a detoure, but on the way, he decided to eat something.
’It’s my first time eating at a restaurant in Central City, and the food here is as delicious as it could get,’ Max thought, savoring every bite.
However, just as he was enjoying his meal, a lady entered through the door of the restaurant and made her way toward him.
Max noticed her with his Three Dimensional Body but didn’t pay much attention, thinking she would sit somewhere nearby.
But to his surprise, she came straight to him and sat at the seat opposite him.
Max stopped eating and became cautious, as she wasn’t weak by any means. Her strength was at the 6th level of Adept Rank.
"Who are you?" Max asked, observing her. The lady appeared to be in her early twenties, with black hair, wearing a professional suit.
She appeared calm and composed as she placed a parchment, like a letter or something, on the table full of food and pushed it toward him.
Max frowned, seeing that, and asked, "What is it?"
The lady finally spoke. "An invitation from the Ascendants."
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"Ascendants? Is that a guild or something?" Max wondered aloud as he took the parchment, which turned out to be an invitation letter.
Opening it, he read its contents.
"Max Morgan, We have acknowledged that you are worthy to join us, the Ascendants. A team will contact you soon — Cane."
Max frowned and turned to the lady. "I’m already part of a guild. I cannot join another." With those words, he refused the invitation.
The lady just nodded, bowed, and left the restaurant, leaving Max stunned.
"She didn’t even make any offers and just left like that?" he muttered, wondering who would recruit geniuses like that.
Max tapped his holowatch and entered the Extranet to search for Ascendants, but he found nothing. There wasn’t a single article about any guild or organization related to Ascendants.
’Is this a joke or something?’ Max felt baffled and shrugged it off in the end.
He quickly resumed eating his meal, and after an hour, he left the restaurant, heading straight to the Rune Tower. He had some things to buy for his little experiment experiment.
---
On the way, he fortunately didn’t encounter any assassins, so he made it safely to the guild. However, just as he entered the portal to arrive at the guild, a figure was waiting for him inside.
Max saw Anton standing quietly just beside the portal, his eyes turning to him when he emerged.
"Max, follow me. We need to talk," Anton said as he headed somewhere.
Max frowned but followed him all the way to an open ground. No one was around at that time, only him and Anton.
"What is this place?" Max asked, his gaze scanning the surroundings.
Anton crossed his arms, a faint smirk on his lips. "You can think of it as a practice ground, a place to sharpen your skills."
Max gave a curt nod, his tone skeptical. "And what do you want from me?"
Anton stepped forward, his movements so quick he was suddenly inches away from Max. His sharp eyes locked onto Max’s. "I heard something interesting," he began, his voice low. "The Lantern of Purple Death tested your blood, and you managed to evade detection. I wonder... did you pull the same trick when Veylin tested your blood?"
Max’s expression darkened, his frown deepening. "You’re overthinking things." He turned on his heel, intent on walking away.
Anton’s hand clamped onto Max’s shoulder like a vice. "Am I?" Anton’s voice carried a note of suspicion, his grip firm.
Max spun around, his glare sharp enough to cut. "You saw the result yourself," he snapped. "My blood in that container didn’t match. It didn’t react like a Voidwalker’s. So, quit bothering me about it."
The two stood there, their eyes locked in an intense standoff, neither willing to give an inch.
"Hey, it seems the boy of the month is here." Just then, a group of five young hunters arrived at the open field.
They were being led by an orange-haired guy around 20 years of age, followed by two other guys, both with black hair—one combed neatly, and the other with long wild hair and a daring expression on his face.
Behind them walked two ladies—one with long brown hair tied in a ponytail and the other with shoulder-length black hair.
"I was just telling Max about the team that will be entering the Temple of Divine," Anton smiled at Max and turned to them. "Max, meet the five strongest geniuses of the Apprentice Rank from our guild."
He added, "I wanted you to meet them beforehand before you enter the Temple of Divine."
Max glanced at them, noticing that each one of them had strength at the peak of Apprentice Rank.
"It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Max Morgan," he introduced himself with a smile on his face. Though he felt some anger towards Anton for being suspicious of him, he couldn’t do anything about it.
"I’ve heard a lot about you," the orange-haired guy said with a confident grin. "Word is, you can battle those at the Adept Rank despite being at the Apprentice Rank."
Max raised an eyebrow, his tone indifferent. "And you are?"
The orange-haired guy scratched the back of his head, chuckling. "Oh, where are my manners? I’m Alex," he said, pointing a thumb at his chest. "And honestly, I don’t buy the hype. There’s no way your so-called strength can match someone at the Adept Rank. Not at your level," he added, his voice oozing with self-assurance.
Max shrugged nonchalantly. "I see." He shifted his gaze to the others standing nearby. "Nice to meet you all, but I’m in the middle of something. Let’s catch up a month from now."
With that, Max turned to leave, his demeanor calm and uninterested.
"Wait, hold on." Alex quickly moved to block his path, his grin widening. "I said I don’t believe in your strength, but there’s an easy way to settle that. Let’s fight. Right here, right now. Let’s see who’s really strong and who’s just all talk."
Max stopped and glanced at Alex, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You sure you want to do this?"
Alex’s grin turned into a smirk. "Oh, I’m more than sure."