423 Chapter 423

Bargoosk was stupefied. "What did you do to me?"

"I gave you power," Aldred said with a smile.

"But how? To turn someone ordinary into a Gold Rank immediately… that would require a tremendous amount of rare treasure. Generally, it would be a waste of resources to turn an ordinary person into a Gold Rank because the treasure could help hundreds of Silver Rank to advance."

"Hmmm, it only take me a handful of blood," Aldred said. "By the way, you are no longer human."

"Then what am I?"

"Half vampire and half demon, I guess."

"So, you're a mixed breed. But your blood seems stronger than most mix breed. It should be impossible for you to turn me into a Gold Rank immediately."

"Don't think too much about it. Now, will you tell me how to reach the top? Don't worry about your former client. Now, I am your client, and I can offer something better."

Bargoosk turned silent right after that. What he wrote in that letter was a fake. He wrote it as if he was talking to a powerful lord that would save him from the dungeon. It also mentioned that he had the knowledge to reach the top of the tree.

Aldred seemed trustworthy and generous enough to turn him into a Gold Rank. He was an ordinary person with no power. Like every ordinary person, he wanted to taste what it felt like to have super power. Physical strength, magic spell, elemental manipulation. All of this seemed godly to people like him.

But now, his fantasy, his dream had been realized. Although he wasn't exactly ordinary, but he had no power to defend himself. He couldn't fly, couldn't jump high, or had super natural strength.

Being ordinary was the saddest thing that could happen to anyone. And sadly, the majority of people were ordinary.

"I will tell you," Bargoosk said. He had sensed a little impatience in Aldred's gaze. Other than his gratitude towards Aldred, there was a tinge of fear.

'This man is not like Retijer whom I can play around with.'

Aldred smiled. He was actually prepared to torture the man to obtain information from him. But now that he agreed to it, he discarded that plan.

Bargoosk made the right call to not mess around.

"The only way to reach the top is to…"

…

Thirty years ago.

In Atheron City, a child was staring at a food stall. The child was malnourished, clothes full of holes, and he was dirty from top to bottom.

His eyes were focused. Feet inching closer and closer.

The clerk smiled at a customer and greeted. The child observed. Waiting.

And then, when the clerk turned around, the child rushed forward. His hand was quicker than the eye could see, grabbing onto a piece of bread.

His feet never stop. He sped up.

"Hey, thief!" The clerk shouted. The man gritted his teeth in anger.

"I will pay for him," a customer said. He was a man with noble clothes. His bearings was elegant, and he looked like a noble of high status.

But the clerk could not see his face because of the sun, although he could tell the man was handsome.

Seeing this man was willing to pay for the bread, the clerk did not dare to say anything.

Meanwhile, the boy was huffing and puffing as he passed through alleyway after alleyway to make sure no one could chased him down.

He then arrived at the last alley and stopped before he looked back. He took in a deep breath. He was tired. With his frail body, it was a miracle that he could run that fast.

He had to be fast. To be caught meant a round of beating and starving.

He did not want to starve.

He smiled, looked at his bread, and then was about to find a place to sit down until a silhouette of a man appeared before him.

The child stepped back and bared his teeth, like an animal trying to scare away its foes.

"What is your name, child?"

The question was asked in such a soothing and calming voice that the child could not help but calmed down immediately. There was warm in his heart. It told him trust this man.

"My name… my name is Zehmud."

"Are you willing to come under my care, Zehmud?"

Zehmud hesitated. But after a few seconds, he nodded his head.

The silhouette smiled. "Take my hand."

He did.

…

Zehmud, now forty years old, stopped in front of the lord's door. He took a deep breath before he knocked.

There was no reply, but he entered it anyway.

"Lord Athar." Zehmud bowed. "Retijer has been killed."

He slightly looked up, trying to see the figure behind that desk. But he could see nothing but darkness. Ever since the man found him that day, he had never caught a glimpse of his appearance.

No one had.

"I noticed," the lord replied. "That boy should have been Pharder's problem. But now it becomes mine. If it wasn't for his mysterious rise to power, I would have killed him first."

Pharder's rise to Diamond Rank was too quick. At first, he was just an ordinary Silver Rank, but suddenly, in less than ten year, he managed to reach Diamond Rank. Some say he was a genius, but those in power knew he had something else with him.

"What is your command, lord?" Zehmud asked.

"Take care of that boy."

"And Pharder?"

"We'll let him be. For now."

"Yes, my lord."

…

"Wait, wait. What did you just say?" Aldred asked. "Are you serious about this?"

Bargoosk nodded. "It is not the only way, but it's the only way that I know of."

Aldred sighed.

Bargooks just told them that to be able to reach the top of the World Tree, they had to rely on the World Tree Worm. The exact parasite that Herakas killed the other day.

"We cannot use The World Tree Worm to get to the top," Aldred said. "Its strength is at the Adamantite Rank. Even being close to it is too dangerous."

"Not if the worm doesn't know you are nearby," Bargoosk said.

"That thing has extraordinary perception. It can see things most people cannot see."

"Yes, that is usually the case. But did you know there is a treasure that can make you invisible to the worm's eyes?"

"What kind of treasure? Where can I find it."

"Ah, sorry. I don't meant treasure. I meant a person. A person that can make you invisible to the Adamantite Rank worm."

"Who is that person?"

"She is someone from the other world connected by this World Tree. She had many aliases, but her hobby of collecting rare items earned her the nickname Treasure Keeper. She will sell and trade to you all kinds of treasure, but the truly valuable ones were hidden. To hide these treasures, she even locked her memory of them deep inside her consciousness. Even the most painful form of torture wouldn't make her slip a single word of their existence."

"How do you know all of this? And who is this person? Give me a name."

"Her name is— Avre Heartdancer."