[‘Test of Selamus Tribe (Hidden, Connected)’ quest has been evolved to the top tier.]

[The ‘Selamus Tribe’s Absolute’ quest has been created.]

[Due to the evolution of the quest, the reward will also be upgraded.]

[The reward, the evolution of ‘Judgement of the Spirit King’ to ‘Absolute Judgement of the Spirit King’ was successful.]

System messages kept popping up in front of Ian’s eyes.

Though Ian wasn’t aware of it, a golden glow started to engulf Ian.

“Surely..!”

Eclipse’s eyes were shining bright like lanterns.

However, Ian was bothered by Eclipe’s gaze.

“Ha… Haha. Eclipse, isn’t it possible to change it back to the original mission?”

However, the quest had already been accepted.

Eclipse declined Ian’s desperate request.

“What is that supposed to mean, Ian? The task of challenging the Absolute isn’t given to anyone. So far, in the history of the Selamus Tribe, there was only one person who managed to become the Absolute.”

“Then… then can you postpone it for a few days…?”

“Ask something doable! Do you think that you can insult such a glorious test like this? There’s no time now, get moving.”

“Huh.”

Ian walked behind Eclipse.

Once the quest was triggered, it was depressing to give it up and walk away.

‘The harder it is, the bigger the reward will be…’

The problem was that there was only one day left before the war.

It was natural for the quest to turn difficult, and it was totally natural for a quest to take longer. If that happened, he wouldn’t be able to enter the war.

The war wasn’t something that Ian could miss.

‘Okay, I’ll do as much as I can. If it doesn’t then I’ll give up on the quest and go to the war.’

He walked a little bit towards Eclipse. There was a huge magic circle on the opposite side of the stairs that Ian climbed to.

Eclipse started to walk towards the magic circle’s direction, and Ian decided to follow.

A white light appeared from the magic circle and the two of them who entered it disappeared.

* * *

Tring –

[You have entered the ‘Sky Temple’]

Their darkened vision turned bright right away, and the sky unfolded in front of Ian’s eyes.

In the center of the sky, a long line of white light was shining.

Ian’s gaze moved to the end of the path.

‘What? What kind of temple looks like this…?’

It was too far to see all its details, but the towering structure was amazing.

However, something else was passed through Ian’s mind.

‘Wait… I don’t think the discovery message appeared…?’

All the maps in Kailan would bring up a notification whenever they were found for the first time.

The first discovery message that Ian was supposed to see didn’t appear.

Which meant, that there was someone else who had been there before Ian.

Ian was following Eclipse and asked.

“Eclipse, Where are we?”

Eclipse replied.

“This is the place where eight thousand desert tribes from thousands of years ago worshipped the Shikaru Continent. It is called the ‘Sky Temple ‘.”

Ian’s eyes were bright.

‘Oh…? Then, does it mean that there are plenty of ways to come here apart from the Selamus Tribe quest?’

That made Ian understand the reason why he didn’t get the first discovery message and rewards.

There could have been numerous users who would’ve cleared the quests through the thousand of desert tribes and gotten the ‘Absolute quest of the Tribe’.

Given the time that Ian had delayed the quest, it was a possible scenario.

‘Who? Shakran? Remir? Some 3rd person whom I don’t know?’

There were a lot of users who weren’t still known as of the moment in Kailan.

Even after joining the game late, they managed to enter the top 100 rankings.

So there was a possibility that Ian didn’t know.

“This is fun…”

While Ian was thinking and thinking, both of them reached the end of the path.

The end of the road had a huge structure that was similar to that of a Coliseum, and the center of the structure had a bizarre giant statue.

On the outskirts were eight different statues with each having a different appearance and were the same distance apart from each other. Anyone could guess what those statues were even with just one look. They were the Eight Absolutes of the Eclipse.

However, Ian had no idea of guessing who that giant statue in the middle was.

It was because its appearance was completely different from the giants that were in the Central Continent.

In a nutshell, was it like a robot?

Which made Ian ask.

“Eclipse, who is that giant?”

Eclipse briefly replied.

“The source of destruction of our desert tribes.”

“…?”

“The ancient civilization was that of giants.”

“A mechanical civilization…?”

Ian swallowed dry spit. It was because the quest seemed to be getting way more complicated.

Ian’s curiosity didn’t die down.

Eclipse who was walking at the front suddenly knelt before it.

“Eos, the Absolute of Selamus, I have brought you the best Selamus warrior.”

Ian was watching from the back with curiosity, once Eclipse was done talking, a light started to form in it.

Woong-!

And from somewhere, a pleasing voice could be heard.

[You have done well Eclipse. Is this guy the one called ‘Ian’?]

“Yes, Eos.”

[I’ve waited for a long time. If he doesn’t meet my expectations, then I’ll be disappointed.]

“Don’t worry. It is absolute. He is surely someone who will follow Eos.”

[Hmm, with those words, I have high hopes from him.]

Ian who was listening to the conversation of those two could feel cold sweat running all over his body.

‘No, why is that old man saying useless things now?’

It was because as his affinity with Eclipse increased, the quests seemed to get much tougher.

However, Ian wasn’t worried about that, he was listening intently to the one called ‘Eos’ speak.

Whenever the voice came, the statue emitted a white light.

Ian was called by Eos.

[The Selamus warrior. Come closer.]

Ian who was thinking about something else was surprised by Eos sudden call and approached him.

Ian, who knew his name was Eos, bowed his head and replied.

“Did you call, Eos?”

[Yes, Are you Ian?]

“That’s right.”

[I have been hearing your name for a long time.]

“My… my name…?”

[Yes. The first warrior of Selamus who passed the test with an S rank.]

“Ah, yes.”

But at that moment, his body moved by itself without him being aware.

The AI had taken control of Ian’s character.

‘It has been a long time since this last happened.’

Ian was able to progress quickly into the quest because of it.

Eos continued with what he was saying.

[You have come later than what I had expected, but your capacity at the Dragon’s Altar made me approve of you.]

“Thank you, Eos.”

[But, don’t let me down from now on.]

“I won’t.”

[Good. You make my heart happy.]

After a brief moment.

Eos began to talk, along with a system window.

[I welcome you into the gateway of Sky.]

– – – –

– Selamus Tribe Absolute V (Hidden, connected) –

Breakthrough the Gate of Sky

The Absolute of the Selamus Tribe, named ‘Eos’, one of the seven ancient desert heroes.

To be accepted by Eos, One needs to be an Absolute of Selamus Tribe first.

Breakthrough the gates of the Sky—the last five gates of the desert—to become an Absolute.

You’ve accomplished the first Gateway, ‘Breaking through the Flying Dragon’s Tower’ with commendable standards, and hence you managed to skip the gates and arrive at the last gate.

You have to break through one last gate before you turn into an Absolute.

If you manage to win over three or more of the eight Absolute appearances at the Gateway of Sky, then you will succeed and become the Absolute of the Desert Tribe.

Quest Difficulty: SSS

Quest Condition:

S-rated Warrior recognized by Eclipse.

A Level 200 or higher summoner user.

A user who successfully managed to clear 4 gates of the Selamus Tribes.

Time Limit: None

Reward –

‘The Judgement of the Spirit King’ with Absolute.

‘Magic Summon of the Spirit King’.

– – – – – – –

All thanks to that waste of time that just happened, Ian hurriedly read the quest window in anticipation and was surprised.

‘What? I skipped three steps of the linkage quests?’

The quest for the Selamus Tribe, no one knew that there was a linked quest in the first place which made him surprised.

‘First time I’ve seen things like this…’

In fact, Ian wasn’t sure if he had even crossed the first gate, he thought that there were three gates in total.

When clearing the second or third gate, it was normal for the quest to end with the reward being given.

However, from the ‘Selamus Tribe’s Absolute’ quest, all the process had been omitted.

All this happened because of Ian, who finished a 3-hour limit quest within 30 minutes.

Ian was contemplating the contents of the quest.

A portal with white light was created in front of the bronze statue of Eos.

Woong- !

And with that, Ian’s AI asked Ian.

“Of the eight, is Eos included too?”

[Yes.]

“How can I dare and wield a weapon against Eos?”

[It is alright. The men at the gate are illusions that contain part of our power…]

“I understand.”

[Now move inside the portal and take the final test.]

At that moment, Ian noticed that the AI’s control disappeared.

Ian stepped towards the portal without hesitation, and from there Eos’ voice couldn’t be heard anymore.

However, he suddenly stopped after reaching the portal.

He had something he wanted to ask Eos.

“Eos, can I ask something?”

[Speak.]

“Is there someone who had challenged you before?”

A bright light came out from Eos’ statue after hearing Ian’s question.

Ian had a hunch.

‘Wha… what is it? Did I ask the right question?’

Eos started to speak again.

[Yes. Before you, there have been two challengers from the tribe, and there were five challengers who stood in front of the gate.]

Ian was astonished.

‘So, there were a total of seven users who came here?’

Ian asked again.

“Then, can I ask about the two who crossed the gate?”

Eos responded with his kind voice.

[Since they are the descendants of other Tribes, I don’t know much.]

Eos paused for a moment then continued.

[However, the descendant of the first challenger was the ‘warrior’ Milakus who defeated 4 out of the 7 Absolute, and the third challenger—a priest—succeeded as a descendant of Cyril against 5 Absolute.]

“I see.”

[I hope… I hope that you will demonstrate superior capabilities than them.]

Ian looked at the system message that came up after confirming his hunch.

Tring –

[Variable actions changed the quest condition.]

[The Quest success condition changed from three to five successes.]

“Heu…”

Ian couldn’t help but sigh.