Chapter 161 - Old Friend And *****

Not hearing the smoky creature's words, Asil did some somersaults on the ground, then finally stopped and tried with all his might to resist the burning sensation inside him. It was as if his soul was trying to leave his body for some reason, and he was doing it using everything he had. The feeling inside was so vibrant that if it materialized and headed for a region with solid mountains, it would crumble every single one of them. Likewise, the warmth of this feeling was even hotter than any flame in Asil's imagination...

As the surrounding shaking intensified and the number and size of the cracks in the air increased, Asil fought with the feeling inside for a while longer. His soul, which was shaken by the waves that were strong and fierce enough to destroy even cities, calmed down in time. After a few minutes, the waves in his soul finally stopped.

Asil slowly got up from the floor, finally paying attention to the changes around him, and then turned to the smoky creature: "What's going on here? Didn't you tell me to go there to take the Ego Test? Why can't I get in there? And why?" Asil squinted his eyes slightly and held his chest again. "Why do I feel so strange since this place appeared?"

"Yes, you have to get in there to take the Ego Test." The smoky creature pointed to where Asil had tried to enter but flew backwards when he tried: "But you can't do that right now. I thought it was the right time for this, but apparently, it's too early. If someday in the future, you hear the sound of a chain-breaking somewhere and feel a burning sensation in your eyes when it happens, you'll likely be good enough to take the Ego Test. Don't forget it..."

"What do you mean? Chain sounds?" Asil interrupted its speech, and as it spoke of the sound of chains, he immediately understood what it meant. He didn't know what these chains were, and he thought they were the same as the chains on the door in the area where the Scripture of the Chosen was located, although he wasn't sure. After all, when he entered the place after hearing the sound of a chain-breaking for the first time, he saw that the number of chains on the door had decreased by one to seven. During the incident with Radres, he heard the sound of a chain-breaking again.

This chain-breaking sound was too loud compared to the first one. Right now, he wasn't sure if the number of chains on the door had decreased again after that chain sound. But if their thoughts were true, for a certain reason these chains were breaking over time, and each chain had a certain strength. After all, after hearing the sound of a chain-breaking for the first time, his master Sirius told him that there was power coming from a place in which the source was unclear, and he used his own power to suppress it. Then, when he stopped suppressing this power, Asil had passed to the Thirteenth Level of the Elementary Profound Realm contrary to the laws of profound power.

After hearing the sound of the chain breaking for the second time, even if there was no such change, he managed to obtain the 'Soulless Chains That Seal the Fate' thanks to the indirect directions of the smoky creature and the pain the Asil, who had the Sun Symbol, had inflicted on him. He wasn't sure if this ability had anything to do with the chain sound, but he believed it was that way.

"What do you know about the chains that are inside me? Who exactly are you really?" Asil asked curiously. His gaze was quite serious and he examined every movement of the smoky creature to the smallest detail. As if not noticing even the slightest movement of its could cause him not to understand something important.

"Of course, I know about them..." The smoky creature paused for a moment, and the surrounding air suddenly became tense. At the same time, the cracks in the air also stopped growing, and the surrounding shaking completely stopped. "At least I know the first four of them. They are called ****** and are found only in creatures that are ******. I have no idea about the other four."

Asil's expression changed in an instant, and he slowly withdrew his hands from the head he had just been holding and tried to understand what he was hearing. As the smoky creature spoke, it said it knew four of the chains. However, when it said what they were, a pain suddenly pierced Asil's head, and all he could hear was a strange sizzle. This sizzling sound was so intense that it completely drowned out the smoky creature's voice, so he couldn't understand what it was saying.

"Can you tell me once more what they are called?" Asil asked in a respectful tone of voice.

"They're called ******." The smoky creature repeated what it had said, and after briefly examining Asil's expression, it continued: "I see... I guess you can't hear what I'm saying. Given your profound level and the imbalance in your soul, it's no surprise that you couldn't hear it. When the time comes, you will learn these and many other things naturally. You don't have to rush." The smoky creature smiled faintly: "As for who I am... I pointed out that I can't say who I am and that you'll find out when you're strong enough. But I can still tell you that I got in here at the request of a very old friend of mine, and that friend of mine was someone who really cared about you."

"Someone who really cared about me?" Asil put on a strange expression as he pondered the smoky creature's words. The smoky creature was contained within the incarnation of his soul, and it knew things about him that even he himself did not know. In addition, the person who let it in was an old friend of it, and the person it called a friend was someone who took a very close interest in him. What exactly did that mean? Only two names came to his mind: Sirius and Nukro!

Sirius was his master and was sealed in his necklace. It was extremely unlikely that he was related to this smoky creature. After all, judging from the smoky creature's words, it was understood that it had been implanted in Asil's soul by someone, and it could be assumed that this had happened before he met Sirius. Therefore, it was highly unlikely that there was a relationship between Sirius and the Smoky creature standing in front of him right now.

As for Nukro... He was literally a mystery. Where he came from, who he is, why he is interested in Asil, or his purpose... Nothing was clear. The only thing Asil knew about him was that his master and he had known each other for a long time. He didn't have any information other than that.

Asil had thought for a long time that Nukro was interested in him for a very different reason than usual. At first, he thought it was because it was really the tournament. But right now he thought it wasn't just because of a tournament. Because he had witnessed the extent of Nukro's power. The fact that even his mere imaginary body was able to kill a Profound Beast in the Natural Profound Realm with a random blow with no effort was proving how powerful he truly was.

It was completely unreasonable for such a person to show up in an extremely weak and simple place like Star Plain, help youth without profound strength, and hand the necklace sealed inside someone like Sirius who despises everyone else, to this youth without profound strength as if it were nothing. There definitely had to be a reason for all this. It was thought that Asil became more confident with each passing day.

Therefore, it was possible that there was a relationship between Nukro and the Smoky creature standing in front of him now. After all, the Smoky Creature had also said that its friend was caring about him, and Nukro was also taking care of him for some obscure reason.

"Can the name of the person you call a friend to be Nukro?" Asil asked in a respectful tone of voice. Although he was curious about the answer to that question, he knew there was nothing he could do about it if the Smoky Creature refused to answer. Therefore, he aimed to increase the probability of getting an answer by speaking respectfully. It was a fairly simple thought, but there was a chance that it would come true, as it was proven a few seconds later by the answer from the Smoky Creature.

"Nukro, huh... I didn't expect you to meet him already. You're a lot more knowledgeable than I thought. I can't exactly say yes... But I can't say no either. It really has to do with Nukro, but it also has nothing to do with him."

Asil looked confused for a moment, then opened his mouth to speak. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, the Smoky Creature began to speak: "I would like to talk more, but unfortunately we have come to the end of this conversation now. When you get out of here, I advise you to be wary of the person from the Lemegeton Clan. Also, maybe one day..."

During the smoky creature's speech, cracks in the air suddenly reappeared and grew much faster than before, covering everything. The growing cracks broke the air completely in just a few seconds, causing the environment to change and plunge into darkness, interrupting the smoky creature's speech.

Asil opened his eyes, which he had closed for a few seconds, and realized that before he could understand what was going on, his consciousness had returned to the cave he had entered with Solomon. Noticing that he had come to his senses, Solomon smiled slightly and after a few seconds of looking at him said: "Young one, it seems you have encountered something you did not expect. I don't know what the result of the Ego Test is, and you don't need to tell me that. Whatever happens, you must have gained something. It can be experienced, it can be power, it can be knowledge... There is no limit to what is learned, and everything learned has value, you just need to be able to grasp properly where these things are needed."

Solomon moved towards the entrance of the cave and removed the seal that blocked the entrance, then turned to Asil and continued: "Five months later, the Grand Prince of the Crimson Lightning Empire will arrive at the Rezuba Battle School. There will probably be an event when he arrives. If you manage to show yourself at this event, you can get fame, as well as strong techniques." Solomon paused for a few seconds, and then smiled slightly: "Of course, you can also get the chance to enter the Central School of the Rezuba Combat School directly."

Solomon's last words caught Asil's attention instantly, and he asked a question about it. Answering Asil's question with some information, Solomon finally recommended a place for him to train and then left.

After he left, Asil remained in the cave for a while, thinking about what Solomon had said, the events between him and Asil who had the Sun Symbol, and the words of the Smoky Creature. When his thoughts calmed down, he stepped out of the cave and began to head towards the area Solomon recommended to train himself in order to fully prepare for the event five months later....