Chapter 424 - The Strong Remain 2

Xuanwu, if Cecil wasn't wrong, in one of Earth's languages, it meant black turtle or earth turtle. He wasn't quite sure but the name was too familiar to pass it off as something that came from this world.

What more, the person who was part of this family was currently sitting down on top of a large black tortoise and conversing with it.

The young lady and the tortoise were a bit far away from the rest so not many could hear what they were saying to each other but Cecil's ears were able.

From what Cecil heard, these 2 were the first to arrive before the red-haired fellow from the Devil Slaying Sect and the one from the Corpse Collector Guild came.

Then the other groups began arriving one by one and their large group was the most recent. Until now, the transfer gate hadn't activated so everyone continued to wait.

Just as Cecil's group was getting ready to settle down and rest, the transfer gate began acting up. When it started to whir and glow, everyone present immediately went alert.

They all turned towards the transfer gate and waited...but nothing happened. It only continued to whir and glow without anything changing.

Of course, this would happen. That was because the owner of the gate's key was nearby. Cecil had already arrived here long before anyone else had and he had taken the key.

The key was already placed in the transfer gate, but originally, it shouldn't have been there. It should have been on the guardian monster which wasn't present when Cecil had arrived at the top of the mountain.

Cecil didn't know if there was supposed to be a boss monster or not, but he felt that the trial would be too easy without one. The only conclusion would be that there really was no monster, or someone had arrived here much earlier than he did and had already taken care of the boss monster and slotted in the key.

He had searched for any traces of battle, but unfortunately, he couldn't find any traces. However, he wasn't convinced that the last part of the trial, the mountainous section, would be so easy. He could only shelve the thought and step forward to place in the key since everyone began to turn restless.

When the others in the area saw someone from the recent group step forward to the transfer gate, they waited to see what would happen.

Cecil stood in front of the gate and pulled out the key which was in the form of an odd-shaped stone brick and placed it down on the indent on the right pillar of the gate.

Once he slotted it in, the transfer gate began activating in earnest, and a portal formed in the middle of the large archway.

Cecil didn't step through but turned to look at his group and gestured at them. The Silvaria Kingdom's people quickly stepped forward and walked towards the gate. The rest quickly followed after.

One of the groups tried to say something, but seeing that the Machina Reggio Empire was also part of the group, they kept their mouth shut.

Everyone present was somewhat familiar with one another so they recognized the powerhouse. The only thing they couldn't understand was why the Empire was traveling together with a few small powers like the Regulus, Omnifaust, and Revertia Kingdoms.

"Lass, that cloaked one...I can't sense his cultivation level. He seems to be on our level, but I can't sense any hint of threat from him..."

A distance away from where everyone was the black-shelled turtle quietly warned the young lady that was riding him. The girl took in this information and tried to probe Cecil's cultivation.

"...I can't sense anything... it's like he's not even a cultivator," the girl mumbled back to the turtle.

"Exactly, but I'm a bit more sensitive than you are. I can faintly tell that he's a human cultivator on our level so be careful."

"Mhm. Any chance he's using a concealing technique?"

"I can't sense anything. It's more like he's just that adept in controlling his mana and he's using his proficiency to naturally hide his cultivation."

"In other words, he's strong."

"Well, at this point of the stage, only the strong will remain."

Once Cecil's group all passed through the gate, everyone else began moving to move through the gate.

"I'm surprised these prideful groups didn't say anything earlier."

"It's because the Empire was with them. Also, they didn't want to provoke that cloaked person."

"Hmph, cowards."

"That's just how the world works, lass. Shouldn't you know this by now?"

"Yes, yes...anyway, let's get going. I don't want to stay another second close to that disgusting necrophile!"

"Kukukuku, my lady, aren't you too harsh?" A ghostly voice said.

"Ack! S-stay away! You're disgusting, just go f.u.c.k those corpses of yours and stay away from me!" The young lady said in disgust towards the depraved-looking young man who had just walked over.

The young man didn't take any offense to her words and instead replied with a humorous laugh.

"Huhuhuhu, I'd like to wring your neck and make you my puppet! Then I can have my way after I've resurrected your body and trapped your soul!"

"Come within a 10-meter radius of me, I'll bury you."

The young lady and the tortoise began preparing to attack but the pale man quickly jumped back and rushed through the transfer gate with a shrill laugh.

"Kukuku, rather than you, I'm more interested in that odd fellow who just activated the gate!"

"...Disgusting bastard... and you, aren't you enemies with their guild? Shouldn't you be the first to rush at him?!" The young lady whipped around and asked the red-haired young man who had been observing their exchange.

"I wouldn't want to get in the way of the esteemed young lady of the Xuanwu Clan."

"Hmph, what esteemed young lady? I don't like you fanatics as well, so you best stay away from me!"

"...likewise Lady Mei, but I propose that we keep an eye on that fellow who had the key."

"And why should I listen to you?"

"I sense an aura of slaughter on him. You know that only they possess this kind of aura..."

"They? You mean the demons?"

The look on the red-haired young man's face was his answer. Xuanwu Mei clicked her tongue and replied, "Heh, then you sensed wrong! Little Bei here already sensed that he was like us! He's a human cultivator with a cultivation level on par with us! I'm sure you already know that my clan is proficient in Earth related magic and detection spells!"

"...You could be wrong..."

"Hmph, like our clan has ever been wrong! We're not the ones that mistakenly purged an ethnicity group that couldn't use mana after mistakenly declaring that they were demons!"

The red-haired young man shook his head and replied,

"...I'll be heading in first."

"Suit yourself if you don't believe me. Also, the cloaked person should have a cultivation level on par with ours. It won't be me who's seeking death so go ahead and fight if you want. Both you and that necrophile are idiots!"

The red-haired young man paused for a moment before the transfer and was about to ask Xuanwu Mei more about it, but the young lady quickly passed by him and stepped through the gate.

"...Tsk, so hasty and hotheaded."

******

After everyone passed through the gate, Cecil looked around and noticed that they were in a very cold environment.

"A forest and mountain area...now an ice field with a perpetual blizzard..." Cecil said after taking a look at the environment just ahead of him.

After passing through the first stage and arriving at the second stage of the trial, everyone had arrived at the stage's safe zone which was located inside of a freezing cave. Just outside of the cave was a blizzard.

Cecil had already sent out his Mana Sense and scanned the area around the cave and saw that it was an ice field and under that ice field was the freezing water that had a few monsters swimming in it.

"The ice is not so thin but at the same time it isn't that thick..."

The ice covering the water was only a few inches thick. Cecil looked back and saw the large group he was with and couldn't help but grimace.

'If everyone steps onto the ice together...'

They would all sink after the ice broke. Once that happens, they'd have to combat the monsters waiting for them in the freezing water.

"Ren...this stage could prove to be a problem for everyone..."

"What's wrong, Master?"

"We might need to disperse our large group."

"Huh?!"

Cecil gathered Ren, Cecilia, and Celeste together before he began explaining the situation outside of the cave. Karen also quickly came over and joined in on their conversation.

She had already taken notice of Cecil a few days back. She didn't notice it before because Cecil had been laying low with the non-combatants in the group, but after seeing his figure step out to heal a few of the injured in the Silvaria Kingdom, she quickly recognized him after Ren had referred to Cecil as master.

It was a good thing that the princess was aware of their situation and didn't do anything to pester or annoy him.

After hearing about Cecil's findings, they were indeed sent into a dilemma now. If they all recklessly stepped out, the next time they woke up, it would be in the arms of the reaper that had taken away their lives under the freezing waters.

"How should we proceed?"

[Congratulations on making it to the Second Stage! Please refer to the Guide for more information about this stage!]

Hearing the words echoing in their minds, everyone else except for Cecil quickly connected themselves to their Guides and listened to the information about this stage.

Only Cecil didn't. He didn't like the feeling of his mind being invaded so he stayed put and waited for everyone else.

He began looking around the cave and soon he took notice of something.

"!"

'Footprints? They're leading outside of the cave!'

There were 2 pairs of footprints. They were faint so it meant that these footprints weren't from anyone present who had recklessly sneaked out of the cave and judging by the size, they belonged to 2 very young individuals.

'Angie and Kira?'