Chapter 608: The Right to Control

The Drow’s extremely arrogant words triggered waves of whispers across the duel arena!

Everyone knew that Raven and her group of Drows had been fighting with a middle-aged Underdark Human named Agu and his supporters for control of the Ruby Stronghold.

In fact, although the Drows had relatively better individual strength, when facing such a large group of people that outnumbered them, Raven’s side simply wouldn’t be able to gain the control of the Ruby Stronghold.

The Dark Specter Invasion led to the creation of the Underdark United Council, and they later issued a harsh command: The Underdark Races could not have internal conflicts for any reason or else they would suffer from the council’s severe penalty.

It was also because of this that both sides still hadn’t made a move yet.

If this had happened before the invasion from the Eternal Spring, there might likely wouldn’t have been this kind of duel. Agu would have already overrun and annihilated Raven’s force overnight.

Thus, in such a situation, everyone believed that Raven only wanted to get more of an advantage in the fight over who would get to rule the stronghold.

Even Agu himself thought so.

She must have proposed this duel arena only to display the prowess of her subordinates in order to get more resources for the Dark Elves.

So Agu was full of confidence.

But that earlier Drow’s arrogant tone had angered all his followers.

If not for Agu hinting them to stand down, they might have already rushed over!

“Are you serious?”

Agu glared coldly at Raven. “Using her provocation to create discord in the Ruby Stronghold? You want to threaten me with the punishment of the Underdark United Council?”

Raven seemed a bit irresolute.

She looked at Jessica, who kept provoking the others. By now, she had understood that the Master’s friend was a very fiery woman.

She wasn’t actually trying to provoke them. She was only telling the truth.

But there was no way the others would see it like that.

Raven could only calmly declare, “Her words are my words.”

“I asked for a duel, and you agreed. Whoever wins becomes the Lord of the Ruby Stronghold.”

“Miss Daisy here is our first fighter.”

Jessica was clearly being a bit lazy with her backstory. After disguising as a Drow, she simply used the alias of one of her subordinates in Hope City.

She took two steps forward, looking at Agu’s people.

“Good!” Agu also kept calm and waved his hand. “Sastein, go.”

After his words, an almost two-meter-tall person stepped forward.

Everyone looked at the size difference between the two combatants and started worrying about the Drow.

Others, however, started rejoicing.

“Aren’t you quite arrogant?”

“Let’s see what she can do in this first round of the duel for the Ruby Stronghold’s leadership!”

“I think Sastein will kill her in one hand, how long do you think she’ll last?”

As everyone was jabbering noisily, the duel began.

The Underdark didn’t have many rules.

The victor was king.

Sastein had the Giant bloodline, granting him extraordinary strength. Although he wasn’t a Legend, many Legend powerhouses had been unable to break through his defenses!

He bellowed and suddenly picked up a hammer that was as tall as a man, smashing it toward the Drow!

The crowd let out surprised noises.

“Bang!”

The hammer thundered into the ground. A huge hole was smashed into the Duel Arena’s solid floor!

While the dust was settling, many people were rejoicing or feeling pity for the Drow’s death, but no one expected to see a shadow standing on top of the hammer.

She was nimble like a cat, jumping lightly on top of the hammer and speeding down the thick handle before jumping on Sastein’s head!

“What amazing speed!”

Agu shivered, subconsciously looking at Raven.

But he didn’t see the slightest trace of worry in Raven’s eyes!

Sastein was the number one expert of Ruby Stronghold.

How could Raven not feel worried? Did she have that much trust in that Drow?

Agu’s heart wavered a bit, but he still had confidence in Sastein.

Up till now, there had been a lot of Dark Elves who tried to use their high speed to dance around and evade Sastein.

But they all made a mistake!

Sastein was very powerful, with the strength of his Giant lineage, but his speed wasn’t inferior to that of others either!

In an instant, Sastein let go of his hammer and tried to grab Jessica!

Jessica moved through the air, avoiding Sastein’s hands, before creating a startling scene:

As the Drow was falling to the ground, she didn’t increase her distance from Sastein, getting closer instead. Shortly before she would have landed, she grabbed onto Sastein’s belt with both hands.

“The hell is she doing?!”

Everyone was shocked.

Surely she wouldn’t try to use a trick like pulling his pants down, right?

The Underdark’s Races didn’t care about minor stuff like that. Even if she used her Dexterity to quickly remove his pants, he wouldn’t feel ashamed and it wouldn’t interfere with the fight. It might instead make him fight more fiercely until he killed her!

Sastein snorted coldly, turning to get rid of her.

But to his surprise, he couldn’t turn his body!

In the others’ eyes, nothing had happened at all, but Sastein felt like he was in a very dangerous situation!

He knew how strong he was!

He had 28 Strength and along with his Race’s innate gift, his endurance was comparable to that of true Monsters!

But he was left unable to move by that delicate Drow’s hands.

How could it be?

Before he could try much else, some exclamations on the side could be heard:

“Fuck!”

“Really?!”

“She definitely took a potion or used a Divine Spell!”

Sastein’s eyes shook as suddenly, the world turned upside down!

In a blink, an irresistible power lifted him into the air before throwing him down at the ground!

A beautiful and unfathomable shoulder throw!

“Rumble!”

The ground shook from the incredible impact as a cloud of dust and soil flew everywhere.

Even some people in the surroundings got injured!

Agu looked at that scene in shock.

The dust slowly settled, revealing the Drow standing on Sastein’s giant body while glaring icily at the group of Underdark Humans.

“Next.”

Complete silence…

No one dared to answer.

…

“So, I missed a good show?”

Marvin was lying down comfortably on a sofa in front of a warm fire, enjoying Raven’s massage. “You took over the Ruby Stronghold like that?”

“Hmm, doesn’t this mean that I’ve gained another piece of territory?”

Jessica avoided looking at Marvin. “The Underdark is like that, they respect the strong.”

“Raven and I worked hard to conquer this stronghold while you were off wandering, and now you’re here lazing about. Aren’t you a bit too carefree?”

Marvin shook his head and laughed. Without any explanation, he took out a book and threw it over to her.

“Look at it carefully… It’s invaluable.”

Chapter 609: Fate Power (1)

The book Marvin handed Jessica was naturally the one about Ghost Barriers that he got from the Snake Witch’s library.

That kind of book can only be read by a caster with a large amount of spiritual power.

This ancient book had far more demanding reading conditions than ordinary spell books. It required a high Appraisal skill and proficiency in Ancient Common.

But Jessica was no ordinary caster.

Although she wasn’t a Legend Wizard, the kind of caster that the spell was intended for, the Fate Sorceress Halo was too powerful.

In all of Feinan, Fate Power was above everything else. As long as it was a spell book for any sort of caster, she would be able to use it.

Otherwise, Marvin might not have bothered trying to get the book.

Jessica had a serious expression on her face when Marvin handed it to her.

She flipped through the pages and then looked at Marvin strangely. “Where did you find this thing?”

Marvin shrugged noncommittally and didn’t explain much. He knew that Jessica wasn’t the type of person that would keep pressing if he didn’t want to answer, so he didn’t need to tell her everything.

Sometimes, it was better to keep a touch of mysteriousness, even if the other person was an ally.

Jessica threw a rare dainty glance at him before starting to study the ancient book.

Marvin spent the next two days resting in the Ruby Stronghold.

Although the Dark Specters were still spreading rabidly, the Rosen Strongholds were temporarily secure because of the good location and the strict supervision.

He moved as little as possible and took some recovery potions, mainly to recover from the Bone Breaking Screech.

After those two days, the remaining effects of the Bone Breaking Screech on his body had mostly disappeared.

Right now, Marvin felt really relaxed.

If that spell had left side effects behind, it would have been terrible.

And after Marvin finished recuperating, the powerful Fate Sorceress declared that she had successfully deciphered the perfect form of the Ghost Barrier. Marvin was very curious, so both of them left the Rosen Strongholds and headed for the hostile western area.

…

Two shadows casually walked through a dark cave.

A cold wind blew over from the west, coming from the Eternal Frozen Spring.

The coldness was spreading, but what scared the Underdark Races wasn’t the temperature change, but rather, the spread of the Dark Specters!

By now, there was no one left alive in the area west of the Great Vortex!

It already turned into a paradise for the Dark Specters.

Jessica had also obtained information from Hope City. Kate was facing more pressure now. The most terrible part was that the monsters possessed by the Dark Specters had started spreading toward the east!

Perhaps a Ghost Mother had noticed that Hope City wasn’t an easy target and eventually decided to circumvent it and leave for other parts of Feinan.

They had even started fighting with the Wizard Monsters.

They didn’t know whether it was luck or misfortune, but according to Hope City’s caster research group, the Dark Specters were unable to possess Wizard Monsters!

There were very few Humans still wandering in the western part of the Saint Desert. Most of them had died or become Wizard Monsters that just roamed around aimlessly, so the Dark Specters didn’t make much progress through the area yet.

They were blocked in between Rocky Mountain and the Sage Desert.

But Marvin knew that this wouldn’t last long.

This wasn’t the main force of the Dark Specters. It was at most one Ghost Mother that was leading the Specters that were heading east.

Their current main goal was still to take over the Great Vortex and add those in the Rosen Strongholds into their ranks. Then, they could gather up all their strength to attack the surface.

This would be a long process, but the rate at which the Dark Specters would grow was enough to terrify anyone.

Marvin knew very clearly that if he couldn’t prevent this, even though White River Valley was far away to the east, they would also be unable to avoid this calamity.

Even if he couldn’t kill the Final Ghost Mother, sealing her again in the Eternal Frozen Spring would be good enough.

But they had to take this step by step.

Raven had just gained control of the Ruby Stronghold, and thanks to Jessica’s outstanding performance, no one there would dare to rebel.

She started trying to get in contact with the higher-ups of the Rosen Strongholds, and she apparently obtained a seat at the Underdark United Council as a secondary member.

The Underdark United Council was the highest authority ruling over the Rosen Strongholds. They consisted of seven top members and fourteen secondary members, for a total of 21 seats.

The seven top members had the highest authority. These seats were split between the three biggest strongholds of the Rosen Strongholds, and one seat was kept for a Legend among the Underdark Races.

As for the fourteen secondary members, there were many among them that had influence among the three biggest strongholds.

In ordinary circumstances, Raven wouldn’t have been able to obtain a seat as a secondary member. But in a recent battle, a stronghold’s forces had been completely overrun and exterminated by the Dark Specters. And although they gave it their all and managed to annihilate the Dark Specters too, the stronghold was left barren.

A secondary seat became empty.

The upper echelons fought fiercely over who should get the seat, but decided to give a chance to the Ruby Stronghold. After Raven united the Ruby Stronghold’s forces with Jessica’s help, Raven had two groups of people under her. Whether it was the Underdark Humans who just acknowledged her or her group of Drows, they were both prominent forces in the Underdark.

It was under such circumstances that she had gotten the opportunity to become a member of the council.

After hearing about the Underdark United Council’s actions for the past few days, she understood that the plan to send Legends to the Eternal Frozen Spring was already in motion, and since Marvin was ready, she helped accelerate the operation.

…

“A truly disgusting lifeform.”

Not far away, a withered Duergar staggered closer.

Jessica’s face could hardly conceal her loathing.

She disliked the Underdark Races, but she still acknowledged their right to live.

But the monstrous Dark Specters were the enemies of all life.

This kind of locust-like monster caused fear and anger.

She unhesitantly cast the Ghost Barrier that she had just mastered at that Duergar!

In an instant, a bright blue light filled the entire area.

Bathed by the rays of the bright blue light, the Duergar started shivering. His withered skin began squirming before some paste-like worms crawled out of his body!

That sinister sight was too frightening.

But once these worms left the host, they lost their resistance to the blue light and quickly melted into pus.

It smelled terrible.

“Seems like it’s pretty decent.” Jessica turned and asked Marvin, “Do you plan to learn it?”

Marvin froze. “I can also learn it?”

Jessica seemed annoyed at his answer and coldly said, “You have Fate Power, so of course you can learn it!”

Chapter 610: Fate Power (2)

Marvin felt a bit embarrassed.

He naturally understood where Jessica’s unhappiness came from. After all, it was clear how much she cherished Lorie, and it was clear that she wasn’t happy about Lorie having to transfer some of her Fate Power to Marvin.

Thus, Lorie’s Fate Power, which had been much weaker than her sisters’ in the first place, weakened a bit more, setting her even further away from the Legend realm.

And Marvin, by obtaining a part of the Fate Power, not only gained a lot of direct physical benefits, but even gained the possibility of obtaining Fate Sorceress abilities while the Fate Power was in effect.

Marvin had previously tried to use the Fate Power in his body before, but he never found a proper way to activate it.

He felt that this was probably because he wasn’t actually a Fate Sorceress, so it wouldn’t be too strange if he wasn’t able to properly use Fate Power.

But based on Jessica’s words, it seemed that he really should be able to use the Fate Power within him!

Thus, he looked over somewhat bashfully, ready to listen to her advice. “How can I learn?” he asked.

Although Jessica was a bit unhappy after remembering about her sister’s situation, she knew that it would definitely be very beneficial to have another person master the Ghost Barrier before the next battle. She pressed a hand against Marvin’s forehead.

Her vigorous Fate Power surged into Marvin’s mind.

In an instant, his felt his blood begin to boil.

The portion of Fate Power hiding in the back of his mind was drawn out.

A lot of information popped into Marvin’s head, before it faded away, fusing with his instinct.

At the same time, a new option appeared on his interface:

[Ghost Barrier (Advanced)]: By using a bit of your Fate Power, you can use Ghost Barrier.

“Done,” Jessica muttered indifferently.

Marvin was stunned.

‘This can be called learning?’

Fate Sorceresses really were a bunch of cheats!

Jessica had gotten the precious spell book barely two days ago and not only had she already mastered it, but she was even able to pass the spell to Marvin through their Fate Power in a matter of seconds!

Marvin looked around in the caves to find a few monsters that were possessed by the Dark Specters to give his new spell a try, and sure enough, the effect was outstanding.

Ghost Barrier was very effective against Dark Specters.

The only issue was that Marvin’s Fate Power had come from an external source.

Although the willpower bonus was permanent, the power itself was temporary. When the portion of Fate Power Lorie gave him was completely used up, he probably wouldn’t be able to use Ghost Barrier anymore.

But according to Jessica’s calculations, Lorie’s generous gift would allow Marvin to use his newfound ability without any problems for at least two months.

This made Marvin feel even more grateful to that precocious little girl.

Fate Power was very useful. Not only did he gain the ability to use Ghost Barrier, but the power also merged perfectly with his skills, Blade Techniques, and spells.

After the two of them returned to the stronghold, Marvin humbly consulted Jessica for the entire night on how best to use his Fate Power and by the end of the session, he had a decent understanding of how it worked.

This was an incredible force above all others.

Moreover, because of the Plane Laws, Fate Power could emulate all powers. Magic, Strength, Dexterity, Knowledge…

Although each Fate Sorceress’ Fate Power had a particular emphasis, the essence of their power was the same.

For example, Jessica’s Fate Power was [Power].

She could also inject her Fate Power into a Source of Fire’s Order in order to protect the city, just like Kate could, but the effect wouldn’t be as outstanding.

And Lorie’s Fate Power was [Wisdom].

Wisdom was the hardest thing to properly express, but was relatively easy to use. As long as Marvin used his Fate Power, his learning ability would greatly increase.

This was also the reason that it only took Jessica two seconds to impart the spell to him.

It wasn’t actually Jessica’s Fate Power that had made him learn the spell so quickly; it was actually the effect of Lorie’s Wisdom. Jessica’s help had only been the spark that ignited it.

If Lorie had been here, she would have been able to learn the spell with just a glance.

This was what it was like to be loved by the Plane.

They were born from the Plane Will, and their power came from Feinan. At least in this plane, they had supreme power!

…

Marvin had been rather envious of that power, so now that he temporarily had the chance to use it, he was quite pleased.

After bidding farewell to Jessica, he went back to his room and started studying the effects of his Fate Power.

Thanks to Jessica’s guidance, he had already slowly learnt how to control Fate Power. In fact, he didn’t need to control it meticulously for it to work. He only needed to infuse it into his blood and then move it based on his instincts.

To genuine Fate Sorceresses, controlling Fate Power was like breathing, something completely natural for them.

A special case like Marvin needed to practice and study to get finer control.

It was a very painful process at first. Although he could use Ghost Barrier, he found that using Fate Power to increase his strength and speed was very difficult.

He spent a whole day working hard to make the Fate Power move freely in his body.

Clearly, the fact that he could get a fair amount of competency in only a day was thanks to [Wisdom]’s effects.

Marvin felt that Lorie’s Fate Power was particularly useful for people that weren’t Fate Sorceresses.

When he was running at full strength, he could convert the Fate Power into extra speed. The power looked like a halo that would buff Marvin’s already outstanding abilities.

Marvin estimated that if he went all-out using Fate Power to increase his Dexterity attribute, he should be able to reach about 38 Dexterity!

This was a very frightening number!

From a purely physical point of view, there were almost no others in the entire Universe that could reach this number.

It seemed especially impressive that it could be reached by a Human, who were such frail creatures.

Naturally, Fate Power could also bless other attributes, and the effects could potentially be even more outstanding for them than for Dexterity.

‘No wonder Jessica could tear a Black Dragon apart.’

‘This stuff is practically omnipotent!’

After thoroughly understanding how to use his Fate Power, Marvin couldn’t help thinking about it in admiration, and he even started to feel a bit worried.

That power was unbelievably amazing, but it would dissipate after some time.

After all, it had come from an external source, so it wasn’t natural for him to have it.

But was there a way for him to keep that power forever?

A brazen thought appeared in Marvin’s mind!

Chapter 611: Fusion

Marvin’s idea was very simple: The authority of Fate Power was extremely high, even beyond that of Divine Power.

At least in Feinan, Fate Power ruled over everything.

If he could keep this power forever, it would definitely increase his strength substantially.

And if he wanted to keep this power, he needed a powerful “receptacle” to contain it.

Under Jessica’s guidance, he had gotten a good understanding of Fate Power.

Fate Power could remain steadily within Fate Sorceresses’ bodies because they had a Fate Power Imprint.

While Fate Power could be spent very quickly, the Fate Power Imprint could also quickly replenish that power.

But the rate of recovery had a certain limit.

When Fate Sorceresses faced a powerful enemy and overdrafted their power, it would be quite likely for the Fate Power Imprint to overwork itself, thus leading to a loss of power.

And now, Marvin also had a small Fate Power Imprint in his body.

The Fate Power Imprint was the key to controlling Fate Power. That imprint had originally been part of Lorie’s and had come along with the Fate Power that she sent to Marvin.

As long as he could maintain the imprint and somehow prevent it from dissipating over time, then the power would also remain in his body.

Marvin had thought about it for a while, until coming to the conclusion that there was already something in his body that might be suitable to contain the Fate Power Imprint and the Fate Power.

And that was the advanced False Divine Vessel!

…

In theory, the advanced False Divine Vessel itself had properties as a “receptacle”.

It could store Divinities and Divine Power and contained quite a few fragments of Plane Laws and Universe Laws.

For example, when Marvin needed to activate his Domains, he needed to use Divine Power from the False Divine Vessel.

But because he was forcefully using his Domains through the advanced False Divine Vessel, it was very difficult to obtain a steady flow of Divine Power.

Although among his three Domains, he could get a certain amount of Divine Power every day thanks to having swallowed the Wilderness God’s avatar, but with how much power he needed for his Domains and related abilities, it was like a drop in the bucket, so Marvin always viewed the false Divine Vessel as his last trump card.

But he now had a chance to resolve this deficiency.

‘The only problem is whether there will be any rejection between Fate Power and Divine Power. Also, is it possible for the Fate Power Imprint to be embedded in the advanced False Divine Vessel in the first place?’

Marvin was a bit worried, but also eager to give it a try.

This might be the first time something like this ever happened!

It would allow him to simultaneously hold the power of Fate Sorceress, which represented the Plane’s crowning gift, and the power of the False Divine Vessel, which was the supreme fruit of wisdom of mankind’s ancient powerhouses.

If he forcibly mixed these two together, would there be a negative side effect?

Marvin didn’t know.

No one had ever done this before him, and probably no one had ever had the opportunity to do so. After all, Fate Sorceresses were few and far between in all of Feinan’s history, and the holders of advanced False Divine Vessels were also very rare.

Thus, Marvin’s situation had no precedent.

But after considering it all carefully, he decided to give it a try.

When the Fairy gave Marvin the advanced Divine Vessel, he had clearly been told that the advanced Divine Vessel could hold the forces that followed the Plane Laws.

Fate Power itself was the Plane Law’s supreme power so it should still fall within that category.

Marvin was unable to resist the temptation of what would result if he was successful!

‘Well, might as well try…’

‘Looking at the Fate Power slowly dwindling every day is very distressing.’

Marvin forced a smile and decided to go all-out.

The worst that could happen would be wasting the Fate Power Imprint, scattering his Fate Power prematurely.

…

This had always been Marvin’s style, anyways.

In the following days, while Raven tried to maintain control over the Ruby Stronghold and fight to consolidate her seat as a secondary member of the Underdark United Council, no one would disturb Marvin.

He hid inside his room, trying to transfer his Fate Power Imprint to the advanced False Divine Vessel.

It looked simple, but it was actually very challenging.

Ever since the advanced False Divine Vessel entered Marvin’s body, it had always been in his heart.

And the Fate Power Imprint had entered Marvin’s mind.

The two were quite far from each other.

But spending about six hours, Marvin successfully dislodged the imprint from where it rested.

That golden symbol symbolizing wisdom slowly descended, before finally resting stably above the light blue Divine Vessel.

The Divine Vessel, which had already turned into a sphere, was firmly keeping the imprint out.

Marvin was drenched in sweat.

He worked hard for a long time before realizing with a jolt of shock that he was unable to control those two different forces in his body at the same time!

Whether he was trying to rouse the advanced Divine Vessel or control his Fate Power, it was something that needed a lot of concentration. Marvin was able to maintain his very sharp focus, but the problem was that he could only focus on one at a time!

He tried many times in different ways. He only needed to get the Imprint inside the False Divine Vessel, but the outcome was very unsatisfactory.

The advanced False Divine Vessel was firmly resisting him.

It seemed that the vessel was very afraid of that external power.

With all his efforts stymied by the incompatibility, Marvin could only use his last idea.

‘If the problem is that I can’t control both at the same time, then I can try to keep one of them passively activated on its own…’

‘I can let the advanced False Divine Vessel remain active by keeping my Domains up, but if this attempt doesn’t work… I’ll waste quite a bit of Divine Power…’

Marvin considered for a while before casting aside his doubts.

Press on!

All Domains activated!

Divine Power poured out crazily as his three powerful Domains covered the entire room.

Slaughter! Shadow! Plant Metamorphosis!

A dense Domain aura even covered the outside of Marvin’s residence and scared away a few passers-by on the street.

Thankfully, Jessica promptly noticed the strange situation and ordered Raven’s subordinates to cordon off the area and not let anyone come near. Meanwhile, she stood in front of Marvin’s door, an incredulous look on her face.

She clearly felt a large amount of Fate Power bursting out!

‘What is Marvin up to?’

…

After about half an hour, the aura that was continuously bursting out from the room finally calmed down.

All the guards glanced at Marvin’s residence with respect.

They had heard from their leader that a very terrifying person was living there, but they hadn’t known quite how terrifying.

But just now, they couldn’t help wanting to kneel down from feeling the aura of Marvin’s three Domains!

This immense power was something that many might not ever witness in their lifetimes.

As for Jessica, she had been muttering irresolutely under her breath for quite a while, but after making sure that there was nothing else up with Marvin, she slowly left.

Inside his room, Marvin closed his eyes, feeling the changes.

He had succeeded.

His Divine Power hadn’t gone to waste!

Right now, within the light blue sphere, a golden imprint was sparkling.

But he wasn’t celebrating because of the fusion, but because of something utterly shocking that had just happened.

When Marvin activated his Domains and tried to forcibly place the Fate Power Imprint inside the advanced False Divine Vessel, he suddenly heard a voice:

“Eh?”

It was only a sound of surprise.

But Marvin couldn’t even describe the experiences and the amount of information contained within that sound.

It felt like the one who had uttered the sound was an elder that had gone through many experiences, while somehow also being a newborn kid!

At first, Marvin didn’t understand where the sound had come from.

But then, his mind was filled with a lot more information.

He figured out what that voice was!

He then heard a second sound.

“En!” 1

The first sound expressed doubt, while the second was an affirmation.

A moment later, the advanced False Divine Vessel and the Fate Power Imprint fused perfectly. Divine Power and Fate Power interweaved, transforming each other!

All the Fate Power was contained in the Divine Vessel and wouldn’t flow out on its own anymore!

Marvin’s test was a success!

He had become half a [Fate Sorcerer]!

What made him even happier about all this was that he had managed to link up to the [Plane Will]!

The information flowing into his mind explained everything.

Only those who were acknowledged by the Plane Will could become Fate Sorceresses.

Like the Three Sisters, and those other Legends of old.

And Marvin now was an exception who had managed to join their ranks.

He didn’t know why, but the Plane Will actually didn’t reject him. In fact, he could faintly feel that Feinan’s Plane Will had helped him a bit.

Otherwise, he would still be trying to fuse Fate Power and Divine Power.

But after that “En!”, all the problems had been easily resolved!

The Domains automatically shut down, and the advanced False Divine Vessel successfully accepted the Fate Power Imprint!

From now on, the Fate Power in his body would just keep on growing!

Despite not being able to obtain a type of Fate Power like a genuine Fate Sorceress, and not being able to learn their powerful skills, he was still half a Fate Sorcerer!

What made him so excited was that his Fate Power could also be converted into Divine Power, and the conversion rate was quite high.

Now, he could activate his three Domains as long as he wanted!

…

Upon opening his eyes, Marvin suddenly felt that the world seemed a lot clearer.

It wasn’t an increase in his Perception stat, and it wasn’t an attribute increase… It was the feeling of understanding everything.

He could now see through the essence of a lot of things with just a glance.

He knew that this due to the Fate Power Imprint fusing perfectly with his body.

Lorie’s Wisdom had become his Wisdom!

‘So Hathaway was right, saying that I stole away the acknowledgement of the Plane Will from her by kill-stealing Dark Phoenix?’

Marvin faintly guessed that this was the case. He couldn’t think of why else the Plane Will would have helped with the last part of the fusion.

Just now, a new line appeared in his character sheet!

This [Child of the Plane] 2 !

Chapter 612: True Essence of Wisdom

From what he saw on the interface, the Child of the Plane aura that Marvin just got didn’t list too many effects.

But only Marvin himself knew how important that aura would be for him.

The description of [Child of the Plane] was very simple: When the aura was in effect, the user would be impervious to any injury that would be inflicted by standard Plane Laws.

Although it was a very simple effect, it would allow Marvin to stand tall when facing most of the Gods.

Now Feinan’s Plane Will was standing behind him.

Unless the Plane Will itself deprived him of the aura, those New Gods from the 3rd Era wouldn’t be able to defeat him with just their powers over the Plane Laws.

If the advanced False Divine Vessel gave Marvin the confidence to face the Gods, then the aura of the Plane Will gave Marvin what he needed to challenge them.

From what he knew, the one with the highest authority in Feinan was Lance, and following him were the first Ancient Gods who awakened in Feinan, the Fate Sorceresses, and himself, the first half-Fate Sorcerer.

As for the 3rd Era’s New Gods, although they had formidable Divine Power and Law Authority, in Feinan, they had to follow the rules of the game.

They couldn’t directly control the Laws and directly kill Marvin with their levels of authority.

This originally was the biggest difference between mortals and Gods, and now, Marvin completely bridged the gap.

He was now confident that he would have no issue getting away even if the God of Dawn and Protect stood before him.

As for the Low Gods… if was able to gain the acknowledgement and the full power of Sodom’s Blades, he would definitely kill them!

…

The Child of the Plane aura was too powerful.

And in the long history of Feinan, only the mightiest heroes and Fate Sorceresses might enjoy the benefits of this kind of aura.

This was also the reason that the Three Sisters had been the targets of a Goddess’ jealousy in the game.

Marvin sighed as he felt the power of this aura and couldn’t help but think of the many details he had neglected before.

Because of his appearance, the entire history of Feinan had been rushed forward.

Whether it was the White Deer Cave, the Dragon God’s Wrath, the Great Calamity, or the recent Eternal Frozen Spring event, everything clearly showed that the game’s history was progressing much faster than it had in the game.

Then what would come after the Eternal Frozen Spring?

Marvin was lost in thought. Feinan was truly too huge. In the game, some unforgettable events happened almost every minute.

He wanted to at least figure out the main outline of what might happen, but he found out that it was impossible in the end.

The side-effects of the butterfly effect made it almost impossible for people to make any decent predictions.

The fall of Diggles, the Shadow Prince, and the Wilderness God, the death of the Great Elven King in the defense of the Universe Magic Pool, the premature unsealing of the Eternal Frozen Spring… Even if Marvin tried to jump out from this huge chessboard and use the eyes of an outsider to see the development of the entire situation, he still ended up feeling very confused.

After wracking his mind for a while, he decided to give up.

There was no use fantasizing about these things. Only by becoming strong enough would he be able to guarantee that he could resolve anything that came up.

Anyway, regardless of what happened in the future, he would have to deal with it. His “prophetic” abilities were gradually becoming less and less effective.

After thinking through all of this, he slowly got up and stretched for a bit.

‘I wonder how things are on Raven’s side.’

‘Is the upper layer of the Underdark United Council already settled? Has she gotten hold of any information about that group of Legends?’

As Marvin thought about it, he decided to use the Book of Nalu to call Raven.

Because he already had three pages of the Book of Nalu in his hands, the effects were even more outstanding than they had been before.

Marvin only needed to use a certain amount of concentration to directly communicate with the four “puppets” that were bound to the book.

The effectiveness was also affected by distance.

Because Raven was in the Rosen Strongholds, they were close enough that Marvin barely had to use any energy.

But he never expected that something else would happen when he did it. Some runes from the Wisdom Chapter activated and turned into a silvery-white flash.

Then, the Fate Power Imprint hidden within the advanced False Divine Vessel began glistening!

In the beginning, Marvin still didn’t understand what was happening.

But then, he realized in surprise that his previous disorderly memories were starting to sort themselves out.

It was as if there was a robot or computer program helping him sort out his thoughts and memories.

His memories and other past experiences turned into books as a huge library was generated in his mind.

In barely ten seconds, all the information transformed into a library full of books!

Marvin was able to overlook the entire library, his gaze skimming across the bookshelf.

Suddenly, the bookshelf turned transparent and threads of darkness and light began stretching out, some forming entangled nodes and others forming pictures!

In the end, all the threads in the bookshelf were bound together!

A Black Dragon’s fall, countless numbers of the Underdark’s denizens dying, crimson blood dyeing the earth red, a young girl stubbornly standing on the city walls watching a cloud in the distance…

Above the cloud, there was a shadow, a pair of Goddesses looking coldly down at the city, not hiding the jealousy on their faces!

People howled in grief, soldiers fought, a strange Wyvern flew through the sky, the earth shook, and a monster covered in iron chains spared no efforts throwing itself against the city wall!

In the depths of the distant Wilds, warriors covered with black masks were holding slender swords, killing old enemies on their way back!

All the images fused into one point, ultimately turning into a horrifying explosion.

Marvin recovered from the scene, sweating.

He understood.

Upon that huge bookshelf was written in large words:

[Rocky Mountain]!

Yes, Rocky Mountain was the key to the events happening in the South!

The Underdark Winter, the eruption of the Eternal Frozen Spring, and the following invasion of the Dark Clan were all related to Rocky Mountain.

And in the game, the most famous large-scale event, [Rocky Mountain Defensive Battle], was a topic that players had discussed enthusiastically.

Despite their failure to fight off all the invaders, they still raised their heads proudly, saying that they had fought back!

‘Rocky Mountain is the key point…’

‘That’s right, in Feinan, the Gods always felt that the biggest thorn in their sides was actually the existence of the Fate Sorceresses. And now there is also me.’

‘The Twin Goddesses already started their scheme? Then this attack from the Underdark Monsters is likely only a probing attack. The Queen of Spiders is truly someone with bad intentions.’

‘Anyway…. Turns out this is the true essence of Wisdom.’

After a long sigh, Marvin opened his eyes, full of confidence.

He finally understood why that Fate Power was called [Wisdom].

Chapter 613: Information

With the new addition of Fate Power and the help of the Wisdom Chapter, Marvin obtained something else to make up for the loss of his “prophetic” abilities.

He felt his thoughts becoming incredibly clear. Past, present, future, everything was connected together with threads.

The contents of these threads came from a single bookshelf, which eventually turned into a finely arranged library.

This was something he had never experienced before. With all the information within his grasp, Marvin’s natural mental process had been perfected by the Plane Laws and reached the level of being prophetic on its own.

Yes, as long as Marvin thought, he could look deep into roots of all matters, which would use a great amount of energy, but it could lead to the same effect as the Divination of Legend Wizards.

Compared to Divination, the ability of this [Wisdom] to predictively deduce possible future events was even higher!

‘Although I lost my prophetic ability, this kind of deductive ability is more suitable for my current situation!’

Marvin felt overjoyed and confident, and at the same time, he was even more grateful to that girl that had given him her Fate Power.

He had already known that this was a very substantial gift, but he hadn’t thought that it would be this valuable.

The Plane’s care, an overpowered deductive ability. After experiencing its usage himself, Marvin understood why it had always felt like he was being seen through when Lorie looked at him.

When meticulous logic and deep thoughts became instinct, his ability to calculate and process things became as accurate as a machine. The only problem remaining was gathering information.

As long as he had enough information, Marvin would even be able to extrapolate the future of the world!

…

Naturally, the amount of information needed for that couldn’t be held in Marvin’s brain.

But regardless, it was an extremely powerful addition for Marvin. His strength became more balanced, while at the same time, he no longer depended only on his gaming experience.

For his first revelation, he successfully deduced that the most important part of Feinan’s South was currently Rocky Mountain.

Those people wearing black masks were part of the Dark Clan, and their invasion was a meticulous plot by the Twin Goddesses. Otherwise, that abandoned land wouldn’t appear above Rocky Mountain for no reason.

Marvin had been puzzled before: How did the Underdark Winter trigger such event, striking yet another powerful blow against Rocky Mountain?

After all, in addition to the southwest area, there were many other exits from the Underdark to the surface.

But this time, the monsters all decided to attack Rocky Mountain, as if there were a hand in the back, pushing them in that direction.

Through his calculations, he also guessed that the mastermind was the Queen of Spiders.

As one who had great influence in the Underdark, it was unknown was kind of agreement she had reached with the one in the Eternal Frozen Spring to have the Dark Specters attack Hope City!

This was clearly not good news for Marvin.

He only knew that the Three Sisters were envied by the Gods, especially the Goddesses, and most of all, the Twin Goddesses. The Queen of Spiders simply didn’t show herself in the game.

But now it seemed that what was visible was only the tip of the iceberg.

The real plot might have already been planned out back when Clarke led her army to attack Rocky Mountain.

All of this in order to weaken Rocky Mountain’s power. If not for the Three Sisters showing their incredible strength, especially Jessica’s heaven-defying display, Rocky Mountain might have already crumbled.

Of course, it had also helped that Marvin had gotten involved.

In short, in the following days, even if Marvin solved the problem of the Eternal Frozen Spring, Hope City wouldn’t remain peaceful!

The Three Sisters were cared for by the Plane, but that would also definitely attract the jealousy of others.

Perhaps in the Gods’ eyes, it was even more important to eliminate them than it was to get rid of Marvin.

They might be willing to come to a compromise with others, but they had to eliminate the Fate Sorceresses!

These might have been the real thoughts of all the New Gods.

Marvin couldn’t help but force a wan smile.

He could now be considered half a Fate Sorcerer. This was certainly something that he wouldn’t be able to keep hidden, so he might also be blacklisted by the New Gods.

Especially since he previously blew up the Shadow Prince’s God Realm and slaughtered Dark Phoenix… His status was enough to make the Gods restless.

Since they were enemies, Marvin would continue to face them.

They chose to try to break through Rocky Mountain’s defenses, and Marvin would definitely fight against all those who coveted this place.

…

Time passed very quickly. In a blink, four days had already passed.

In the current situation, time was very valuable. Not only was Marvin getting fidgety, but Jessica was even more worried because Hope City was still being encircled.

But they knew that if they couldn’t successfully get a member on the Underdark United Council, the two would most likely throw their lives away when they finally challenged the Final Ghost Mother.

They had to join forces with the Council to get rid of that frightening existence in the Eternal Frozen Spring!

But when Raven came back, she brought good news and bad news.

The good news was that she truly managed to become a secondary member of the Underdark United Council and was able to ask around about the small group of Legends. The bad news was…

That group of Legends had already left in secret a week ago!

…

“The Council spread some misleading news before. I only heard about it now, everything was done covertly,” Raven quickly explained. “They will reach the Andes Snow Mountains in three days and then attack the Eternal Frozen Spring…”

Marvin glanced at Jessica and saw that her face was full of despair.

They had waited for so long for such a piece of information?!

The Underdark was a very complex place. Even if the two were Legends with incomparable speed, if they wanted to catch up to that team of Legends, that would be nearly impossible.

“So you mean that I can only entrust a group of Underdark freaks with the task of eradicating an even freakier monster?” Jessica was in a bad mood.

Raven felt helpless about the matter.

Marvin pondered for a moment before quickly asking, “Give me the information first.”

“Can you forge an extra order from the Council? Something that would show that Jessica and I are reinforcements sent by the Council to help…”

Raven looked at Marvin somewhat doubtfully. “This should be possible, as it’s not very difficult to make such a secret order, given my current position. However, isn’t it impossible for Master to catch up to them?

Marvin smiled as he confidently asserted, “Naturally, I have my ways.”

“How long will it take you to forge a secret order?”

Raven considered it for a few seconds and then answered, “An hour.”

Marvin turned to Jessica. “See you at the stronghold’s western gate in an hour.”

Jessica frowned. “The Andes Snow Mountains don’t have any sort of Teleportation Array nearby, or any kind of wormhole that can be used to get there.”

Marvin nodded as he responded, “That is true.”

“But I’m still confident that we can catch up to them within three days.”

“We will take the [Deep River].”

Upon hearing these words, Raven shuddered and went pale!

</form>

Chapter 614: Deep River

“The Deep River?”

Jessica keenly noticed the change in Raven’s expression and asked in a confused voice, “Where is it?”

Raven muttered in fright, “It is the most terrifying place in the entire Underdark!”

“Although it has been written in some ancient books that the Deep River connects the entire Underdark, and that by using it, one could travel between almost any two places in the Underdark, that place is still too dangerous.”

“It’s commonly believed that some monsters from the Astral Plane are sealed in the Deep River. Many people who have gone to explore it ended up disappearing forever.”

She looked at Marvin with worry.

Raven’s mind was being controlled by the Book of Nalu, but it didn’t actually prevent Raven from having her own thoughts, as long as she didn’t plot against Marvin or act against his interests. Normally, the Book of Nalu only bound her like a contract, making Marvin the owner of these “puppets” that would follow his orders and intentions. When required, the Book of Nalu would completely take them over too.

For Raven and the others, Marvin came first.

If Marvin died, their souls would immediately be swallowed by the Book of Nalu!

It could be said that only if Marvin remained alive would they be able to at least keep this half-independent state.

Her instincts told her to stop Marvin from going to the Deep River.

But the ridiculous part was that Marvin was her master, so she couldn’t actually go against his whims. Thus, her face became unsightly, as she couldn’t figure out what to do.

She could only tell Jessica what she knew, in hopes that the Fate Sorceress would choose to back out and decide on another course of action.

But to Raven’s despair, despite her trying to impress upon them the terror of the river, not only Marvin unfazed, not seeing any reason to change his plan, but even Jessica seemed to agree with him.

Perhaps those two felt like there was nothing too dangerous for them in this world anymore?

In the end, Raven could only cope with it. Under Marvin’s arrangements, she quickly dealt with her part of the plan.

She needed some time to forge a secret document, after all.

As a captive of the Book of Nalu, she could only execute Marvin’s orders as he wished.

…

There were shadows flickering on the walls of the cave, and occasionally, a few clumps of glowing moss floated past them. But they were repelled by the powerful ability of the Fate Sorceress.

Perhaps their aura was too powerful, because on the entire way so far, they hadn’t met a single Dark Specter. The Ghost Barrier that Marvin and Jessica had just mastered had yet to have a chance to shine.

After getting hold of the forged document, Marvin and Jessica started chasing after the group of Legends.

In normal circumstances, they wouldn’t have been able to catch up to them.

But the Deep River was a very unusual place.

Even Jessica, who had frequently dealt with creatures of the Underdark, didn’t know about it.

Only the leaders of the Underdark knew about the Deep River.

The so-called Deep River was a broad and endless river. Some even wondered whether it might be a sea whose depths led into lower planes like the Abyss, Hell, or the Negative Energy Plane.

The Underdark was a region under Feinan, and those on the surface often thought that the Underdark was the lowest part of Feinan.

But in fact, only a small number of people knew that the true lowest part of Feinan was the Deep River.

The Underdark was under Feinan, and the Deep River was under the Underdark!

Its central point was even deeper than that of the River Styx.

Even in the eyes of the Underdark’s leaders, the Deep River was one of the forbidden areas that no one was to approach, along with the Eternal Frozen Spring. It was normal for even Legends to disappear after going there.

The ancient myths, coupled with the real and existent danger, cast a mysterious veil over the Deep River.

Marvin dared to believe that no one in this world knew more about the Deep River than he did.

Although he hadn’t experienced it himself, he had learnt most of the information about the Deep River from a trailer.

Relying on the power of his newfound Wisdom, the information sorted itself out in his mind.

Many fuzzy memories became clearer, and he could review and manipulate these memories.

The reason that the Deep River was so frightening had nothing to do with the mysterious myths.

There was only one source of danger, a Crypt Monster.

‘A boss on the level of a Mid God… the remains of an ancient Evil God.’

As a large palm reaching out from the dark, expansive river appeared in Marvin’s mind, he felt a bit of excitement.

According to the official explanation, this Crypt Monster could challenge mid-level Gods!

The Crypt Monster had always been slumbering in the Deep River since ancient times.

Many people tried to explore the Deep River, but they didn’t even die from waking the Crypt Monster; it was just the monster’s reflexive fighting instinct!

So many Legends tried to adventure through the Deep River, but ended up disappearing… And they died from a monster that was sleeping! This showed how strong it was!

But Marvin didn’t have any plans to retreat.

He had an idea in mind.

When he worked together with Jessica, they were probably one of the most powerful duos in the world. Even Divine Servants would be easily killed if they came to be obstructive.

Although the Crypt Monster was troublesome and was at the level of a Mid God, it still only had the intelligence of a wild creature and could only fight based on instinct.

In other words, the Boss hidden in the Deep River was actually a powerful but brainless enemy.

This kind of Boss was what Marvin liked killing most of all. Since it was powerful, that he would obtain great rewards from killing it. And since it was brainless, it would have many exploitable flaws.

As he saw it, this Crypt Monster was just a meal to be eaten.

He also wanted to see how much of a distance there was between him and a Mid God!

If he couldn’t get rid of a God when joining hands with the most powerful Fate Sorceress, then once the Universe Magic Pool broke, he would only be able to wait for his death.

This battle would be an invaluable experience.

In fact, even if he hadn’t been in a hurry to settle the issue of the Eternal Frozen Spring, Marvin would probably still have tried to convince Jessica to go kill the Crypt Monster, partially for his own goals, and partially because it really would save time.

In all of Feinan, there was no enemy more suitable for him to practice against right now.

There was that existence in a glacier in the North that had been heavily injured by O’Brien. She was the descendant of an Ancient God and had outstanding intelligence, making Marvin feel that she inevitably still had some tricks left. Thus, he decided not to deal with the Azure Matriarch for now. But that woman would be exterminated sooner or later, when there was time.

…

On the way, Marvin described his plan.

Jessica certainly had no intention to avoid the fight. She was a very fierce woman, her [Power] made one of the most indomitable forces in the world. There was nowhere that she didn’t dare go.

The only doubt in her mind was…’How could Marvin have gotten so much information about this?’

Chapter 615: Tacit Understanding

In Jessica’s eyes, Marvin was an extremely mysterious guy.

When he had helped fight off Clarke’s invasion, his strength hadn’t been nearly as impressive. He had still yet to become a Legend at the time.

However, by relying on a specialized spear, he was able to kill Clarke. This was enough for Jessica to feel some respect for him. And the strange actions of her younger sister Lorie made Jessica increasingly more curious. She knew Lorie very well. Her Wisdom power gave her great intelligence, and the ability to recognize those who would be very outstanding. For Lorie to take a fancy to a man, there definitely had to be something very different about him.

Later on, this was shown to be correct as Marvin’s rate of growth was outrageously fast, becoming a Legend in a short time, establishing a Sanctuary, killing a God…

From a certain point of view, Jessica felt that Marvin was more of a “Child of the Plane” than she was!

There was no doubt that there was a huge secret behind his rise.

Lorie surely understood something about it, but she didn’t say anything. Jessica didn’t understand it, but she chose to believe in her younger sister.

And choosing to believe in her meant also choosing to believe in Marvin.

This bond of trust was very valuable, so with regards to the information, Jessica just mentioned it casually and didn’t go any deeper.

Marvin felt torn. He could see Jessica’s show of trust in him, but he couldn’t say that he was someone who had transmigrated from another world, could he?

He thought about it and decided that he could only attribute the information to the Pearl Tower.

After all, the Three Sisters knew that he had a good relationship with the Pearl Tower. Although he hadn’t visited Mark 47 for a long time, he had headed to the Pearl Tower after helping fight off Clarke and had gained the ability to enter the tower on a whim.

The Pearl Tower held all kinds of secrets about Feinan, so if Marvin’s information came from Pearl Tower, then everything made sense.

Jessica easily accepted this explanation, and Marvin waved his hand a bit guiltily, gesturing that he would lead the way.

The two sped up, one behind the other.

The tunnel soon began to narrow, and the air temperature was behaving erratically.

It was alternating between being hot and cold, and they were seeing fewer and fewer creatures around. This all meant that they were getting closer to the core of the world.

Marvin explored the path meticulously as they continued to proceed deeper down.

The Deep River could be found from almost any corner of the Underdark. All that one needed to do to reach it was keep going downward. Most of the areas that the Underdark’s Races lived in would have warning signs along the paths that led deeper.

Marvin only needed to find these warning signs and follow the path rather than heed their advice.

…

“This should be the last warning sign.” Marvin pointed at a sign written in Duergar Language not too far away that meant –Danger Area–.

He and Jessica had fought side by side this whole time. Though the girl was shorter by half a head, she was a lot more domineering than Marvin was.

Her eyes darted around, looking everywhere.

Right now, they were in front of a suspension bridge.

The bridge was very old, and they could see that the planks on it were basically already rotten. They would likely shatter upon contact.

The Duergar warning sign was just a stone in front of the suspension bridge with the words carved upon it.

On the other side of the suspension bridge, Marvin could see a narrow cave.

It was different from most of the other caves that they had travelled through in the Underdark because it clearly had been formed naturally rather than being man-made.

The two of them looked into the depths of the cave, and the darkness within seemed quite chilly for some reason.

But ironically, the temperature of their surroundings was extremely high.

Because magma was flowing under the suspension bridge.

An extremely magnificent blue flower was blooming in between cracks in some hardened magma. It looked so lofty and affected people.

“[Fiend Whisper], a rare and precious flower. In all of Feinan, only a few of them grow, and only in the Underdark.”

Marvin felt pleasantly surprised.

But he didn’t make a move, instead looking around while continuing to explain, “Usually, there would be a few Lava Monsters around…”

Jessica understood what Marvin was hinting at.

“You pick the flower, if there are monsters, I’ll deal with them,” she firmly suggested.

She was full of confidence.

Marvin didn’t argue. Fiend Whisper was very useful because it was the bane of all lifeforms with Divine Source!

He didn’t expect to be fortunate enough to find such a rare treasure here.

With this in hand, dealing with the Crypt Monster would be a lot easier.

Without further words, he jumped down into the precipice!

His movements were incredibly graceful as he glided through the air before gently reaching for the gorgeous flower.

At that time, some things suddenly burst out of the magma causing some of it to spray into the air, and a few huge shadows pounced at Marvin!

Marvin was unperturbed, his movements not influenced at all.

The Alchemy Box appeared in his hands while he had his feet planted against the wall of the precipice, keeping him firmly in place.

[Low Flight].

The ability from the Dense Blood Nucleus was being put to good use here.

Marvin was standing perpendicular against the wall as he manipulated the Alchemy Box to take out a delicate pair of scissors.

“Snap!”

The rhizome of the beautiful flower was cut, and soon, the flower’s petals started withering.

Marvin moved quickly and placed the flower into the Alchemy Box!

The Alchemy Box could conserve medicinal herbs and was especially useful for keeping rare and uncommon reagents while preventing them from losing their medicinal properties.

After completing this, Marvin raised his head.

He noticed Jessica still standing in the same place, with the corpses of many Lava Monsters near her.

He laughed because it gave such a surreal feeling.

After putting away the Alchemy Box, he used the Flight Witchcraft and floated back up, returning to Jessica’s side.

“All settled?” Jessica casually asked.

Marvin nodded. “Let’s go. After crossing that tunnel, the Deep River shouldn’t be much further.”

Jessica nodded in acquiescence.

The two looked like long-time partners that worked together perfectly as they proceeded toward the depths of the Underdark.

On the way, they met several more powerful monsters, but with their powerful coordination, none of these monsters were able to resist!

The Fate Sorceress and the Ruler of the Night simply swept through everything!

Marvin had paired up with many people in the game for different objectives, but he had never felt so comfortable with it before.

Jessica was simply his most perfect partner. They had a tacit understanding of everything that felt so natural. She didn’t say much and her actions were very firm. Regardless of what monster they encountered, she would go fight it directly while Marvin would roam around, observe, and then strike a critical blow on it.

Their strengths and weaknesses complemented each other perfectly. And as they fought together more, their cooperation was becoming more and more seamless.

In this trip to the Underdark, having such a perfect partner was the warmest encouragement for both of them.

…

In the endless darkness, devoid of all light.

The deadly and silent river that was flowing slowly nearby as a lonely silhouette stood on the shore.

He walked to one side while muttering, ‘I really didn’t expect it to go that way… The Divine Prophecy is spot-on, as expected.’

‘The Ruler of the Night and Fate Sorceress duo is indeed problematic. A sleeping Crypt Monster definitely won’t be able to block their path.’

‘But what if it’s an awakened and crazy Crypt Monster?’

‘Traitors… Being silenced in the darkness is the most lenient judgement for you…’

Chapter 616: Darkness

The dark river water seemed as black as ink, perfectly melding with the rest of the always-dark Underdark.

Although the other rivers in the Underdark also tended to be quite dark, there would usually be some bioluminescent aquatic plants that would serve to brighten the area to some extent.

But here, everything seemed to have been swallowed up.

The true power of Darksight could only be displayed in this kind of location.

Marvin was like a fish in water as they travelled along the dark river. They were steering a small boat, following the current.

Jessica was a Fate Sorceress, so she could naturally adjust her perception and use various other methods see and otherwise know about her surroundings. But because of the unusual qualities of the Deep River, she definitely wasn’t equal to Marvin here when it came to how well they could see.

At the same time, they had a sort of unfathomable feeling.

It made Jessica feel rather depressed. In fact, anybody that reached this place would have this same oppressive feeling.

It came from pressure.

This was the lowest place in the plane, and it was filled with an indescribable pressure. An ordinary person simply couldn’t have reached such a deep location on their own power. The most likely result for any who tried would be to faint on the way there.

Although this kind of pressure couldn’t injure Legend powerhouses, it would still make them uneasy and impatient.

That place was too quiet, after all.

Besides the constant sound of running water, it felt as if all other sounds had been unfathomably swallowed by a monster.

Time seemed to have lost its meaning. They could only feel the river and the air, while all else was nothing more than darkness.

Fortunately, both of them had extremely high Willpower, otherwise, in this situation, it would be very easy to fall prey to an illusion.

This was already the second day of their trip through the Deep River.

With Marvin taking the lead, the two smoothly made it through the Underdark and reached one of the extremes of the Plane, the Deep River.

The Deep River flowed very fast. By Marvin’s estimate, they would reach the Crypt Monster’s area in at most half a day.

As long as they managed to cross that area, the Andes Snow Mountains would be within reach.

During their first day of travel, Marvin and Jessica only communicated intermittently, while most of the time was spent in silence.

Even so, they were still very composed.

Marvin sat at the front of the small boat, coldly looking into the distant darkness.

His mind felt extremely clear. In this uninhabited and forsaken place, there shouldn’t be any threat they couldn’t take care of together.

But somehow, he had a faint feeling, an ominous feeling.

Like a throbbing little beast continuously irritating his ears.

This was a dangerous premonition.

‘Danger is normal, but what’s up with this feeling?’

Marvin’s Wisdom Gift made his thoughts become unprecedentedly clear. It also made him have a faint feeling of being able to see things to come, like Divination.

He faintly noticed that this danger was something outside his realm of knowledge.

This idea confused him. Outside his knowledge? This place still had something more frightening than the Crypt Monster?

In theory, this was almost impossible.

But Marvin didn’t just carelessly dismiss the possibility.

He knew that his own arrival had already greatly changed this world!

The Eternal Frozen Spring had burst ahead of time… Then perhaps, the Crypt Monster recovering ahead of time wasn’t out of the question either.

But there wouldn’t be any issues as long as they made sufficient preparations.

…

In the pitch-black darkness, Jessica’s voice faintly floated over. “I hate darkness.”

Marvin involuntarily chuckled, “Most people do.”

“The night snatched our parents,” Jessica calmly explained, “so I dislike the darkness more than most people.”

Marvin’s mood sank.

This was the first time he’d ever heard Jessica talk about that story.

Among the Three Fate Sisters, Jessica was definitely the most powerful one.

Although she was outstandingly beautiful, very few people would look at her as a woman.

When a mighty figure’s strength reached a certain stage, they would become a symbol or a halo in others’ eyes, no longer just a person.

They respected her, maybe revered her, or possibly loathed her, but no one understood the real her.

After all, counting carefully, Jessica should only be a young woman that was twenty years of age.

It was such a young woman that supported the southwestern corner of the continent primarily by herself. Even Marvin felt some reverence for Jessica.

But when she said those words, that feeling suddenly changed.

It was replaced by a difficult-to-express pity.

Marvin searched through his memory all his experiences in the Feinan Continent game but surprisingly didn’t come up with anything that concerned the lives of the Three Fate Sisters before the events of the game!

Those three seemed to have suddenly emerged from Rocky Mountain, so elegant and refined that they shouldn’t have even been from there.

It was as if the word “parents” didn’t exist for them.

Many people were convinced of this. For Fate Sorceresses… If you had to name their parents, shouldn’t it be the Plane?

This was the conclusion that most people came to.

But it wasn’t so.

…

“Lorie had just been born when they passed away. That was a year filled with disasters, and Kate was almost secretly killed by someone near the river shore…”

Jessica’s voice sounded very calm, as if the story was unrelated to her.

But Marvin could hear the sadness and frustration in her tone.

Such a strong young woman was still a young woman, after all.

Thus, he gently placed his hand on the back of her hand.

Ice cold.

This was abnormal!

Marvin was startled.

But before he could react, Jessica suddenly raised her head, staring at Marvin, “Do you know?”

“My parents died on a pitch-black night…”

Marvin frowned.

As the atmosphere became heavy, he suddenly said, “First of all…”

But Jessica fiercely interrupted, “You want to know how they died?”

Marvin’s mind felt a bit sluggish at her unexpected question as he stared at her curiously.

In the darkness, Jessica’s eyes were like bright pearls.

Jessica looked straight at Marvin and murmured, “I killed them.”

The atmosphere instantly froze. Marvin shook, his mind coming to a standstill for an instant!

At that same moment, Jessica grabbed the side of the boat with one hand and shoved Marvin away with the other!

The entire boat capsized, and water flew in all directions!

Jessica’s movement was too quick for Marvin to react in his surprised state!

Marvin came to a standstill in mid-air, squinting to see through the spray!

He could see a strange, four-limbed humanoid shadow that was lying on its stomach on the hull of the boat!

If not for Jessica, Marvin might not have noticed it.

Marvin’s expression became rather unsightly.

‘What is that thing?’

</form>

Chapter 617: An Enigmatic Foe

Jessica’s attack was extremely fierce. Just as that shadow appeared, she was already slashing down viciously with her right hand shaped into a karate chop!

But the shadow suddenly turned its head behind its back.

Marvin’s head tingled. This was a faceless person!

Jessica remained unmoved, continuing her attacks. With the support of her Fate Power, her attack speed was extremely high!

That strange person simply couldn’t escape the onslaught of attacks from the Fate Sorceress!

“Crash!”

On the ice-cold water, the sturdy boat and the strange person were cut into pieces by the torrent of Fate Power.

Waves formed on the river from the soundwave, and a low cry could faintly be heard in the darkness.

As Jessica and Marvin watched in surprise, the shadow suddenly turned into a multitude of droplets.

Each water drop turned into a silver fish, and they all fell into the water one after the other, swimming toward the depths of the Deep River!

This time, it was Jessica’s turn to be stunned.

Although she had been able to the lifeform underneath, she didn’t think it would bring about such a strange scene.

This was the first time her Fate Power didn’t kill her enemy despite landing such a clean hit!

Her eyes were instantly glued to those fish.

…

“Not a monster! It’s a person.”

But while Jessica was hesitating, Marvin reacted.

This was a kind of Divine Spell. It had originated from a God making their own version of Major Shapechanging. Later on, because the effect was too outstanding, many Gods started copying it.

This person was at least at the level of a Divine Servant.

Marvin fiercely jumped out from the darkness, and after somersaulting in the air, a Royal Griffin appeared above the Deep River!

The aura of this powerful Legendary creature blanketed the area.

The Royal Griffin’s appearance lit the surrounding waters. Those silver fish had no place to hide now!

Marvin shrieked as he dove for the water’s surface, ignoring the other twitchy fish and directly pounced on one of them!

“Crash!”

The surface of the water was torn open.

The Royal Griffin’s sharp claws grabbed an ice-cold silver fish. It didn’t seem any different from the other fish.

But Marvin could see that this was the core of the enemy!

Royal Griffins had extremely powerful eyesight, able to see through many disguises and transformations. Although those clones seemed perfectly identical, it was still inferior to a cheat-level skill like Origami. Marvin only glanced at them and the Doppelgangers became like air to him.

He grabbed that silver fish tightly, but who would have thought that the fish would explode on its own!

“Boom!”

Marvin felt a fierce pain in his claws and was almost unable to maintain his form!

“Careful!”

Jessica arrived in a flash to help, and Marvin took advantage of that to recover his Human shape.

Jessica grabbed him out of the air.

The two of them looked coldly at the river’s surface, but now, the Deep River was quiet once again.

Those silver fish didn’t seem ordinary.

His enemy apparently had already fled.

Marvin’s legs were still hurting. There were few things in the world that could harm a Legend’s body.

“Even the main body was a Doppelganger.”

Marvin seemed quite irritated.

Jessica nodded seriously.

Those other silver fish were certainly clones of the main body, but when Marvin grabbed the supposed core, it turned out to be yet another clone.

The real enemy might actually be far away.

This Doppelganger was most likely a [gift] left for them by the enemy!

It was even more probable that the enemy was probing him.

Marvin solemnly remarked, “This was a Divine Spell. That person is at least on the level of Divine Servants.”

Jessica nodded as she agreed, “I know, but I can’t discern anything, I have no idea where they went.”

They checked their surroundings once more, and after making sure that there was truly nothing there, they could only forge ahead.

However, Marvin was already thinking about this mysterious enemy’s identity.

‘Strange long limbs… Black shadow… Sticking to the boat…’

Twisting pictures appeared before his eyes.

Suddenly, a scene appeared before his eyes.

Black Dragon Clarke was leading the attack on Hope City, while a black-clothed Apostle chanted a spell.

Tess!

Marvin suddenly remembered her name!

“The Black Dragon God…” Marvin mumbled.

Jessica froze. “The Black Dragon God? Are you sure?”

Marvin pointed at his head, muttering, “Wisdom.”

He knew this was only based on intuition and was guess, or perhaps a prediction.

But he chose to believe in his intuition and trust the ability Lorie had given him.

Noticeable surprise appeared in Jessica’s eyes. “You can use the power of Wisdom?”

Marvin nodded.

Jessica opened her eyes wide, not saying anything.

Inwardly, she was very shocked!

‘Marvin was actually able to master Wisdom?’

Learning the abilities of a Fate Sorceress was no mean feat. Normally, even if someone received Lorie’s Fate Power, they would only get some passive effects and the Fate Power’s most basic abilities.

An advanced power like Wisdom, how could it manifest in an ordinary person’s body?

‘If he is telling the truth…’

Jessica looked at Marvin with an increasingly intense stare.

…

“Oh, right.”

Marvin suddenly spoke again. “What you just said to me, it was to make the enemy negligent?”

Marvin was referring to their conversation just before the fighting broke out.

He had been baffled just now. Why would Jessica suddenly start talking about her past? But now that he thought about it, she might have been intentionally trying to create an atmosphere that would grab the attention of the hiding enemy.

What she said before had probably been fabricated.

Jessica clearly told Marvin, “It was in order to trick the enemy.”

“But… Those were also facts.”

Marvin suddenly felt a chill. He looked Jessica up and down grimly.

Jessica was still calm and collected, not what one would expect of a person who had just admitted to killing her parents.

Marvin probingly asked, “Why?”

Jessica’s eyes glistened as many indescribable emotions flashed past. “Want to know?”

“Yes.”

“Help me kill that monster in the Eternal Frozen Spring, and I’ll let you know.”

“…”

Marvin remained silent.

Why did Jessica want to keep the suspense?

He thought Jessica was always very straightforward, and that she wouldn’t have minded just telling the story.

But it’s not like he was dissatisfied.

Now wasn’t really the time to listen to a story.

Danger lurked everywhere in the Deep River. They had just been attacked, so they needed to remain alert in case that unknown enemy showed up again.

‘The Black Dragon God’s Divine Servant…’

‘Looks like the Black Dragon God infiltrated the Underdark deeper than I thought.’

‘Moveover, there is only one other person who knows about this operation…’

Marvin’s face turned cold.

‘Dark Elf Raven!’