Chapter 178 Transcendent

Ennnnggggg…

The huge metal door made a sound as if it had long become rusty.

It did not take that much effort before the door fully opened and for Nathan to see what's behind it.

What welcomed him was a huge hall, bigger than every room he passed through to get down here combined.

At the center of the hall, there's a small ember of fire floating in between pillars of stones.

Tug Dug!

'I want that!'

Once Nathan saw that, he suddenly felt his heart start beating fast as an urge to grab that fire and swallow it whole seemed to take over his body.

Unconsciously, he started walking, heading towards the center of the hall, where the ember is placed.

But the moment he stepped inside the hall, the metal door behind him closed without a warning.

BOOM!

The loud noise it caused shook his mind awake and Nathan was finally able to start thinking rationally again.

Turning his head behind him, Nathan looked at the door with strange eyes.

"What the hell is happening…" he whispered to himself.

Then, Nathan started to survey the inside of the hall again.

Only now did he realize that this hall seems similar to those audience halls in castles.

At the end of the hall, there is a throne that is glamorously engraved with a bunch of precious gems in it.

Sitting in it is a stone sculpture of a middle man that seems to emit dignity even if it's just a statue.

That man is without a doubt, a true King!

Staring at it for a few more moments, Nathan shook his head and turned his head back at the small ember of fire not far away.

Even without using appraisal, Nathan can already guess what that item is.

As if knowing his thoughts, the system in his mind suddenly sounded.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations to the host for finding a 'Spark'!]

'It's really the Spark!'

With the confirmation of the system, Nathan did not hesitate anymore and hurried his steps.

But when he was just a few steps away from it, the ground suddenly started vibrating.

Grumble~

Surprised, Nathan almost fell down but luckily was able to steady himself with the help of his strength.

Searching for the source of the commotion, Nathan found himself staring at the statue of the King, sitting on the throne.

And suddenly noticed that it seems to have moved.

"... Did I see that right?..." He asked himself, rubbing his eyes.

He continued staring at it for a while more just to confirm that what he saw was real but in the end, he saw nothing and the shaking of the ground also stopped.

He shook his head and sighed, "Hais… I guess I'm just tired."

"Forget it, I should just focus on my goal and leave here soon."

After saying that, Nathan finally stopped paying attention to the statue on the throne.

He continued his way towards the Spark.

Just as he took a step forward, the ground started shaking again.

Grumble~

"Eh?"

With the active brain of Nathan, he suddenly thought of something.

He slowly raised his feet and took another step forward.

And just like that, the shaking seems to have suddenly just become stronger.

"Is the shaking getting stronger because I'm approaching the ember?"

Nathan tried taking a step back, and just like he thought, there was no ground shaking or anything.

But whenever he tries to take a step forward, the 'earthquake' becomes stronger.

With this, Nathan has confirmed his conjecture from earlier.

"But I still don't know what's causing the ground to shake…"

With that point to be worried for, Nathan warily started walking towards the center of the hall.

And as he goes on, the stronger the shaking becomes.

It has come to the point that he was unavailable to stand up straight as well.

"Ughhhh, this is… starting to become difficult."

When he was just a few short steps away from the Spark, Nathan suddenly heard a loud noise of rocks falling, coming from the direction of the throne where the King is sitting.

Subconsciously, Nathan turned his head to look at it, only to witness a scene that made him feel the chills colder than the frozen sea.

The previously sitting stone statue of the King at the throne has started moving at this time.

It slowly stood up from the throne and as it does, pieces of stone started peeling off from the surface of his body, falling on the ground.

Then the King's eyes moved, he looked at the direction Nathan was watching.

Nathan has a bad premonition after seeing all this.

"O-oh, this doesn't seem good."

As if to prove his thoughts, the King slowly opened his eyes and a dignified voice sounded throughout the hall.

"Who dared to trespass my castle!"

A booming wind appeared out of nowhere.

Nathan's eyes widened, "Shi–!"

Before he even got the chance to complete his word, pressure that he had never felt before envelope him!

"Ugh!"

Resisting the pressure, Nathan fell on his knees.

He gritted his teeth until blood started coming out of his mouth.

Luckily, besides putting pressure on him, the 'statue' seems to be unable to do any other thing to Nathan.

At this time, the 'King' opened his mouth again while looking directly at Nathan, he said,

"Human? It seems like the world on the surface is still dominated by humans, huh."

After saying that, the King let out a chuckle with his rough voice.

"As expected of the natives of the world that I have chosen!"

Nathan, who was enduring the pressure the whole time started to feel the heavy pressure coming from the King disappearing.

After a few seconds, it was finally gone and Nathan was finally able to breathe.

"Haa… haa… haa… what.. the hell ha…" he said while panting, trying to catch his breath.

The King seems to not have heard Nathan and sat back down on his throne.

Looking at Nathan, he said, "Boy, are you here to get the Spark and advance to [Transcendent] Level?"