8.30 P.M., Heaven’s Door.

 Everyone was sitting at the dining table chatting, laughing and talking about their adventures except three people who settled at the corner with their heads down in embarrassment.

 “Oh, come on, dad!” said Zelie seeing the crestfallen looks on the trio. “You can always try the next time. It’s not the end of the world!”

 “Or you can come along with me to catch fish the next time,” Khrom suggested with a wide grin over his face.

 “Herb gathering isn’t bad either,” Elora interrupted as she used the fork to cut the Rainbow Fish on the plate. Kadyn wanted to reward them for their hard work and wanted to celebrate their(well except for a few, you know what I mean) splendid performances. So he asked sister Rayna to cook the fish. Today they could eat without paying the energy points.

 Ores, medicines and anything else that everyone brought from their missions, Kadyn had already paid for them. Now, they had no ownership over these things. He would give ores to the Forging Hall for forging, but they needed to pay him fifty per cent earning in every artifact. Same was for the Hall of Potions and Restaurant. Only the Hall of Intelligence just needed to pay twenty-five per cent energy points, as Kadyn didn’t provide them any material like other halls.

 “You can also try your luck in the Glovergonie Highlands,” said Cecelia with a pleasant smile. A rare smile. Then went on. “But I can’t guarantee that you will be able to save your chastity if you don’t have strength. You will find all kinds of perverts there; just I killed fifteen.”

Everyone looked at her in shock. All of them had told about their adventures except Cecelia; though she had given Kadyn four Common Rank ores. One could say that she had completed her mission with overwhelming success. However, they didn’t know she had killed fifteen people just after leaving them for about a little more than a half-day.

“What is ‘pervert’, Mama?” asked Kove innocently. Though he was a little more mature than the children of his age, at the end of the day, he was just a child. His eyes glittered in curiosity.

“Uhh,” Rayna eyed her son with an open mouth unable to reply for a few seconds, but then she smiled and said, “They are bad people, son. Bad people. You should stay away from them.”

“Oh,” nodded the child and started to eat his food. Rayna sighed in relief and resumed her diner as well.

“So,” Cecelia grinned towards Barret and the other two. “Do you want to go?”

“I love my arse; have no intention of donating it,” Hot Rod blurted, making everyone burst into a peal of laughter.

“What does he mean—he loves his arse, Mama?”

“…” Rayna.

“…” Hot Rod.

“…” Crowd.

—

6.00 A.M.,

In the Gubia Empire, there was a valley named Sickly Steppe. Not many people knew that the headquarters of the Bone Spear Tower was in the valley. Staurious made his way through the woods and boulders, slipping and falling. His condition looked miserable. But he didn’t stop and continued to run in a single direction. Not long after he arrived in front of a large gate. The guards were the outer disciples of the Tower. 

As the Staurious stumbled towards them, they noticed his presence. However, when he neared the gate, they recognised him. “I-is that se-senior brother Staurious?!” one of the outer disciples stuttered.

“Holy Dark God,” cursed another guard.

“I heard he took the core disciple’s exam, and was on the last phase,” the last guard said. “Even the elders were very optimistic about his success.”

“May Dark God have mercy on us,” said the third guard. “Who could have done this to senior brother Staurious?”

“Let’s go, inform the elders!”

As all this was taking place at the entrance of the Bone Spear Tower, a man covered in a dark hood was strolling on a road inside the Bone Spear Tower at a steady pace. There was an insignia embedded on his chest, a word was written inside — POISON. 

In the outside world people thought that Bone Spear Tower only used wierd devouring magic, but very few knew that the Bone Spear Tower was divided into two Halls. Bone Spear Hall and Poison Hall.

“Is that senior brother Morwag?” As the man covered in dark clothes passed, all the passing disciples turned to look at him in shock.

‘”What did you say?” One of the girls almost screamed when she heard her companion’s voice. She looked at the dark silhouette and gasped. “It’s really true!”

The surrounded disciples started to talk excitedly to each other. “I heard senior brother Morwag used to be a citizen of the Ceston Empire. In the war against our Bone Spear Tower his companions abandoned him. He was captured and was made a slave. His elemental pool was destroyed. However, not long after arriving in the Bone Spear Tower, the Leader of the Poison Hall discovered that he had a great affinity to become a Poison Master.”

“Furthermore, he became a core disciple in just a year after becoming the Poison Master.”

“What’s even more shocking is that he is just eighteen!”

“I heard he poisoned an entire city when he took the core disciple’s exam.”

“I also heard that story! How cool is that, I wish it was me!”

As the crowd discussed heatedly, the man they called Morwag had already vanished from their sight. After walking for five minutes, Morwag arrived in front of a large medicine field. However, the medicine field wasn’t a normal one, it was a poison medicine field! An aura of death could be felt in the air. 

He took a step forwards but then stopped and crouched down. Then sprang on his feet forward and extended his hand. When he fell on the ground, he was gripping a cobra through its neck. The creature hissed furiously and then spat black substance at his face. Morwag didn’t move, a smirk appeared at the corner of his lips under the hood. The substance fell on his face but Morwag didn’t react. 

Then he grabbed the snake’s neck with both hands and twisted it, muttering, “Only if you knew how many poisons I had to endure before becoming a Poison Master.”

Afterwards he flicked his hand and a snake vanished; he walked deeper into the poison field.