Chapter 179: Elena’s Questioning

In a small plain a few hundred feet away from Blood Sun City, several golden lights flickered, bathing the surrounding land in their brilliance.

Powerful auras continuously rose, causing the leaves of the trees in the plain to flutter violently.

Aurelius stood a few feet away, watching this happen with a faint smile on his face.

Today, more than two dozen Players had managed to become Sun Knights!

More importantly, more than two dozen Players had purchased the Sun Knight Class!

Seeing that his Experience had reached a terrifying amount and his Skill Points had increased accordingly, both more than enough to push his own strength to the next level, Aurelius felt content.

It had not been easy. He had worked so hard for this day.

Although it seemed that the Players themselves had done all the work and gathered the EXP and Skill Points, that was far from the truth in his opinion.

Were it not for him, acting as the light to shine the way forward, there was no way these people would have worked so hard.

Don’t you see that only the Players in the Dawn Kingdom had managed to become Awakeners?

Was it because these Players were talented? No! It was because of his own hard work!

’Sure enough, the Players are lucky to have me, a helpful and motivational NPC, suffering silently so that I can sell them the fruits of my labor.’

Aurelius let out a sigh and shook his head.

’Perhaps this is the responsibility one has to bear after becoming powerful.’

Aurelius clasped his hands behind his back, watching silently as the newly advanced Players experimented with their new abilities.

Some upgraded their skills, trying to trigger Divine Intervention.

Others activated Solar Manifestation and directly attacked their companions with bright smiles.

There were even some who spent their remaining Skill Points to purchase other items, gambling on Base Stat Fruits or Mysterious Skill Books.

The entire plain was filled with excitement.

Every few moments, a golden light would flash, followed by the laughter of a newly advanced Player or the surprised cries of their victims.

Under such a state, time slowly passed.

In the blink of an eye, nearly an hour had passed since they arrived at the plain.

Noticing that his Skill Points and Experience had not increased for several minutes, Aurelius knew it was finally time to end it.

"Cough, cough." He cleared his throat, earning the attention of the Players around him.

Everyone immediately turned toward him.

Even the troublemakers who were bullying their own friends stopped and pretended that nothing had happened, their eyes glued to his figure.

"Since you’ve already purchased what you needed, you should work hard to improve your own strength from now on. Only by raising your Rank will you have a place in this world."

"Of course, the easiest way to do so is by fighting monsters."

Aurelius stopped briefly, turning to the side and looking solemnly toward the distant horizon.

He kept his hands behind his back, his figure looking majestic against the backdrop of the sun above his head.

"In the past few days, some changes seem to have occurred in the depths of the Dryad Forest. Many monsters are ready to break out of the forest, launching attacks on the nearby villages."

"This is your opportunity."

"There will be no lack of monsters for the foreseeable future. As long as you work hard, you should be able to make rapid progress."

As he spoke, Aurelius’ eyes grew deeper, his gaze seemingly piercing through time and space to land on the Dryad Forest.

The Players were stunned, admiring the mysterious NPC’s power and demeanor.

"An Epic NPC is an Epic NPC. He can even sense the changes in the monster habitats. I’m afraid that no monster can hide their movements from him." A Player praised him in admiration.

But soon, his voice grew weaker. A trace of confusion flashed across his face.

"But why is Aurelius staring in the opposite direction of the Dryad Forest? Isn’t that the direction of the Imperial City?"

"Idiot!" His companion heard his words and slapped him.

"Didn’t you watch the previous trailer? The changes in the Dryad Forest must be related to the changes in the Imperial City!"

"An invisible web must have been woven around the Dawn Kingdom! Only Aurelius, the Protagonist, can possibly deal with the evil mastermind!"

A look of realization appeared on the questioning Player’s face. The admiration in his eyes deepened.

He was not the only one.

The other Players had a similar reaction, quickly echoing the earlier explanation.

"The Imperial City must be plotting something!"

"As expected of the main storyline!"

"Perhaps this monster riot is only the beginning!"

Aurelius listened to their increasingly wild guesses and remained silent.

However, what no one noticed was that a trace of embarrassment flashed through his eyes.

He originally wanted to turn around, but after hearing the "explanation", he decided to keep his position.

Secretly, he cast a thankful look toward the Player who had spoken and memorized their username.

He felt this person had a bright future ahead of him. If there was a chance, offering some help and helping him become stronger was possible.

--

When he left Blood Sun City only an hour ago, Aurelius had been accompanied by an army of Players, earning the strange looks from the patrolling soldiers and the surrounding citizens.

Had it not been for a few of the soldiers recognizing his noble identity, he might have been stopped and placed in a dark room.

Fortunately, during his return, Aurelius didn’t have to face such a problem.

He returned alone.

Clearly, his earlier words had worked.

The newly advanced Players had already rushed toward the Dryad Forest, ready to kill monsters and accumulate Experience to Level Up and purchase more of his merchandise.

He wasn’t worried about them.

’With the Sun Knight’s power, their large numbers, and the immortality of Players, they shouldn’t face any danger unless they encounter a Rank 2 monster.’

’Of course, given enough time, even a Rank 2 monster will be unable to stop their advance.’

In Aurelius’ opinion, that was enough to delay the monster riot for a few more days.

For others, that was a short amount of time.

No Awakener would experience any major transformation in strength in a matter of days.

But for someone like him, who possessed the Player Panel and two Templates, it was enough for many things to change.

Of course, he would have to go through another hurdle first.

Glancing at the Sol mansion from afar and sensing the strange gloom permeating it, Aurelius couldn’t help but sigh.

He knew that what should come should come.

Indeed.

The moment he stepped into the mansion, the leading guard who had previously stopped him stepped forward.

"Young Lord." He saluted respectfully.

"Madam Elena has ordered that you go and meet her when you return."

Hearing this, Aurelius paused briefly before nodding his head.

Then, he gestured.

"Lead the way."

--

Only a couple of minutes later, Aurelius was sitting in a study room on the second floor of the mansion.

Towering bookshelves stood against each of the four walls, with all kinds of books lying next to each other.

Aurelius had visited this place once when he first awakened his memories, hoping to find anything related to the extraordinary and the Awakeners.

Unfortunately, all that the books contained was ancient history, with Awakeners and their powers seldom being mentioned in passing.

Aurelius had not visited this place ever since.

Now, however, he sat on one side of the wooden desk.

On the other sat Elena, holding an ancient history book in her hands and reading attentively.

Her blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders, her youthful face focused and concentrated.

Seeing her current condition, Aurelius breathed a sigh of relief.

Since they had received the summons of the Sol family and Aurelius was asked to return to the capital, Elena’s mental condition had deteriorated.

She would often stay in her room for hours at a time without speaking, eating, or drinking.

Now, it seemed that she had recovered somewhat.

At the very least, she looked much calmer than before.

While Aurelius was observing his mother and the room, neither of them spoke.

Silence shrouded the study room, with the only sound that could be heard being the flipping of the history book’s pages.

A faint scent of old paper filled the room.

Aurelius remained quiet as well.

Time slowly passed.

Finally...

Click!

The book in Elena’s hand suddenly closed.

With an elegant movement, she placed it back onto the bookshelf behind her.

Then, she turned to look at Aurelius.

Her azure eyes, which seemed to contain an entire sea, reflected in Aurelius’ own blue eyes.

She spoke slowly.

"The guards have already informed me of what happened this morning."

Elena paused.

"I won’t ask who these people were nor why they came here today."

"I only have a single question..."

"...Have you become an Awakener?"