Chapter 165 Arlo’s sacrifices!

『Quest info』

-Legend has it that the gods feared what humans with unlimited growth potential could become.

-To prevent humans from growing too strong, the gods imposed eight restrictions on them, putting upper limits on their growth.

-These limiters are known by many names, ranging from the curse of the gods to chains of restrictions.

-Bound by these growth restricting chains, a person would eventually reach a point where they wouldn’t be able to become stronger than they already are, regardless of how much they train or how many strength-increasing treasures and elixirs they consume.

-It’s known that only God’s blessing would help them advance in their quest to become stronger.

-The act of being blessed by a god and gaining a weapon and a class is called awakening.

-It’s an act in which humans are freed from a limit imposed by the gods.

-This is widely known.

-However, the truth is that humans can remove their limiters through sheer effort alone.

-The first limiter is the easiest to break through.

-A person only needs to internally and externally temper their body by self-created aura lightning to remove it.

-The second limiter can be removed by consistently using self-created aura lightning to temper a body moving at high speed.

『Goals』

-While electrocuting yourself, cover a distance of 220 miles within twelve hours.

『Time Limit』

-One day

『Rewards』

-Removal of Second Limiter

-4 Stat Points

-4 Skill Points

『Red Notice』

『In the case of failure, heavy penalties will be applied. The following debuff will be applied to you.』

『You’ll be cursed by multiple ???』

『Two additional limiters will be applied to you.』

『Your ability will be sealed.』

『Your basic stats will be lowered significantly.』

Roy stopped next to the carriage.

‘This is ridiculous.’

He cursed the system under his breath.

‘The punishments for failing this quest are too much. It’s basically telling me to complete it or prepare for my fucking funeral.’ Roy swallowed nervously. ‘The strongest system wants me to become the strongest. If I fail to live up to its expectations, it won’t hesitate to punish me.’

The system was finally showing its true fangs to Roy.

.?O? It was probably the first quest that didn’t only come with rewards but also punishment.

‘The good news is that I have been aiming to remove two limiters ever since I encountered GhostWalker. He also had the idea of removing two before reawakening. He would have succeeded if I wasn’t there to ruin his plan. He had the guts to do it. I am no less than him. If anything, I am better. I should face this challenge fearlessly.’

Roy smiled, his fingers curling into a fist. Excitement was vivid in his eyes.

His back was to Arlo.

Arlo looked at him in the same way a father would look at his son.

‘Roy, I have sacrificed too much for you. To train and help you realize your true potential, I woke up from my dream-like life and gave up on the fourth awakening of my soul herding ability. Because you showed me that you have unrivaled talent and made me trust that you will become better than I could ever be, I am letting down the Sun and my friends who believe I can become the empire’s trump card against the crimson winds and moons if I awaken my ex-rank soul shard a fourth time. I hope you will live up to my expectations and become the hope the empire needs to survive against them.’

Arlo had an ex-rank soul shard called Defy. This was a secret only a handful of adults and his son knew.

He has awakened it three times, and hence, it has granted him three abilities, each more powerful than the other but equally useful.

He knew the condition to awaken it a fourth time and gain another ability, which was to live life like a dream.

He had found this knowledge from a “destiny tablet” five years after the war between the four kingdoms ended and the five kingdoms became one empire.

Having a beautiful wife, children, no responsibility, and enough time to drink himself silly and watch young and passionate seedlings grow into fierce and loyal knights day and night was pretty much Arlo’s dream life.

He had lived that way for 15 years, hoping his soul shard would respond to his efforts and awaken a fourth time.

Only then would he become strong enough to contend against the crimson winds and moons alongside his lord, the Great Sun Emperor.

But that never happened.

Instead, hope appeared in the form of a child he hadn’t helped because of a “vow.”

He didn’t know how long he would have to live like that to awaken his ex-rank soul shard a fourth time, but he was quite confident about turning Roy into the strongest man Far West had ever seen by passing his legacy onto him.

That’s why he was so ridiculously good to him.

That’s why he moved to help him.

Although helping and teaching Roy woke him up from his dream life and took away any chances he had of awakening his soul herding ability a fourth time, he didn’t regret it.

Roy didn’t know about it, but he had become Arlo’s legacy inheritor.

“What, are you not going to go in?” Arlo stopped next to Roy and looked into his eyes.

“No, you go ahead.” Roy opened the door for him and signaled him to go inside. “I am planning to remove my second limiter by running after the carriage all the way to the Cold Icy Land while using the Limit Breaker Method.”

The tea-scented village was located in a place called the “warm rocky land.” It was connected to Constantine County by a huge road spanning hundreds of miles. However, to reach it from Baldwin County, the cold icy land needed to be crossed. It was connected to the County by a 300-mile-long road.

Roy’s great plan was to run the remaining distance whilst using the Limit Breaker Technique.

“What?” Arlo chuckled confusedly.