Chapter 111: Unlocking the Faction Change Update! Outplaying the Supernova Heir

"What did you get?" Caelus inquired as he and Sylvia stepped out of the swirling portal of the Trial of the Divine Region of Water.

"I got a Trait Generator as well," Sylvia replied, pulling up her inventory screen.

"Open it. Let’s see what’s inside."

"Alright." Sylvia nodded and tapped the prompt to open the generator.

[You have obtained the Trait: Blood Claws (Rare, 2-Star)]

[Blood Claws (Rare, 2-Star) - Manifest razor-sharp Blood Claws using one’s mana to deliver powerful melee strikes. Each consecutive hit successfully landed increases the total damage dealt.]

"Not bad," Caelus nodded approvingly. This was a very solid combat trait and synergized perfectly with her aggressive, blood-based Progenitor class.

"You got the Void Trial update from the rewards, right?" Caelus asked. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Yep. It’s heavily related to the town management," Sylvia began explaining as she read through the system logs.

Caelus listened and immediately understood the new mechanics. This specific update was used for obtaining raw experience levels for their newly unlocked Troops, upgrading the physical sizes of the barracks, and obtaining highly valuable ’Resource Cards’. These cards contained massive amounts of raw resources. Now that the NPCs in this newly merged world actually possessed real souls, they also needed to physically eat and consume resources even when the players went offline. The town had to be self-sustaining.

Soon, they swiftly counted the rest of the spoils of war and began crossing the vast, oceanic expanse of the Divine Region of Water to reach the border of the Divine Region of Air. He was absolutely sure that there was going to be a trial currently ongoing there as well.

And he wasn’t wrong. As soon as they physically crossed into the region, the global quest updated and gave them the exact coordinates. They swiftly entered the swirling portal leading into the Divine Region of Air.

Violent wind howled in their ears as their vision cleared. They were actually suspended high up in the sky!

[Ding!]

[Challenge initiated.]

[This is a high speed collection challenge. The trial zone contains chaotic and disordered wind flows. Collect as many floating Air Waveplates in the sky as possible. The player who collects the most will obtain the Divine Emblem.]

[All players’ power has been forcefully adjusted and capped at Bronze I.]

[Reward: Divine Emblem of Air and the Origin Domain Update: Faction Change.]

Looking around, there were many other players already here, hovering awkwardly in the air. They were all eyeing each other viciously. Several members of the notorious Blue Wolf Guild were present. Even the burly guy that Sylvia had bluntly called ’bald’ back at the City Lord’s mansion was hovering among them.

"Great. More new people. How is everyone suddenly finding these hidden trial grounds? I thought this was supposed to be extremely secretive," one of the Blue Wolf Guild members mumbled in obvious distaste.

"Tough luck, buddy," a massive, burly guy hovering nearby said with a confident, booming grin.

"Allister Supernova?" The instant the crowd heard the name, everyone—except Caelus and Sylvia—looked genuinely shocked.

"It is him. He’s from the legendary Supernova Family of the Central Plains."

"I heard he works directly as an enforcer for the Holy Church, just like the rest of the elite Supernova Family," another player added in a hushed whisper.

"Hahaha. Friends, now is absolutely not the time to talk about my lineage. The strongest here, and those who possess the fastest raw speed, will win. I wish you all the best of luck in fighting for second or even third place... because the first place is undeniably mine," Allister Supernova declared with a polite smile that practically oozed condescending disdain.

He looked down on the people gathered here. They were all somehow from the small, backwater Western Aria continent where the Holy Church was the least active. They did not possess the divine blessings of the God of Boundless Light. Therefore, anyone who did not belong to the Light Faction was considered fundamentally inferior to him.

[Challenge will now commence. Please collect as many Waveplates as possible.]

Instantly, hundreds of glowing cubic Waveplates materialized. They scattered across the sky. They pulsed with a bright green hue.

Everyone shot forward. They clumsily accelerated toward the scattered Waveplates. However, compared to them, Allister was different.

The power cap might be able to ground normal players, but not him. He was a trained elite from the Central Plains that had the assistance of the Holy Church. In these chaotic winds, he expertly maneuvered through the disordered air currents. His massive body executed precise turns, using a sudden updraft to snatch three Waveplates in one smooth motion.

"You are not bad," Allister yelled over the roaring wind. Caelus matched his path and flew in close.

They had both collected a dozen Waveplates.

"You are not bad either. For someone with that massive body, you understand wind currents well," Caelus shouted back.

"We are in a domain of skill. Here, training reigns supreme," Allister chided confidently. With a swift tilt of his shoulder, Allister performed a wind riding technique. He caught a strong slipstream and rocketed toward a dense cluster of plates.

Caelus narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t win with brute force here, it was not as simple as moving faster, he needed to calculate!

[Trait Initiated: Parallel Calculation.]

[Talent Initiated: Projection Frame!]

Caelus activated his skills. He split his consciousness into several separate minds.

Each mind instantly calculated the disordered air flows and the paths of the floating Waveplates to find the optimal routes. Even if Caelus knew nothing of it, he still gained gained information about it with countless minds absorbing the information of this battlefield like sponge.

Allister dove for a green cube. He knew exactly how to maneuver through the chaotic air flow around the place. But Caelus used his calculating power to make swift decisions. Caelus intentionally dropped his altitude to catch an updraft. His accelerated speed let him shoot up and snatch the plate right from under Allister’s hand.

Allister instantly fought back. He faked a steep dive to the left. This drew Caelus into a strong vortex. Then Allister pivoted right and claimed five plates in a row.

They traded leads fiercely. The sky became a frantic battlefield of feints and sharp turns. Allister used his mastery over the disordered winds. Caelus used his split consciousness to predict every move and his accelerated frame to execute the fastest path. They pushed their restricted Bronze I bodies to the limit. The other players gave up. They hovered helplessly and watched the two elites dance through the violent gales.

[Current Score: Allister: 245. Caelus: 244.]

There was only one Waveplate left. It floated dead center in a swirling dangerous cyclone.

Allister had the better angle. He read the cyclone well and initiated a flawless dive straight toward the final prize. Caelus calculated his entry but found he was a fraction of a second too late. Even moving six times faster, his body could not cross the distance in time.

Allister reached his hand out. A victorious smirk formed on his face.

Caelus locked his eyes on Allister’s wrist. He focused his mind and unleashed a sharp invisible pulse of telekinesis.

Smack.

The sudden force hit Allister’s wrist just hard enough to shove his hand two inches to the right. Allister grasped empty air.

Caelus shot past him. His fingers closed tightly around the final glowing green cube.

He had claimed the last one.

[Ding! Challenege complete!]

"What?!" Allister paused his flight. His eyes widened in sheer disbelief at his empty hand. He spun around and stared at Caelus with furious realization. He recognized that invisible force. Telekinesis.

As for the other players, they didn’t even bother competing with Allister and Caelus anymore. Seeing how they were moving, they knew they will never have a chance.

"What the hell is this speed? How can someone physically move like this?"

"I do not know either. But this guy who beat Allister must be insanely overpowered."

"Wait... isn’t this Player 555?!"

"It is him!" Everyone exchanged bewildered, defeated glances.

Player 555. They all knew about him. There was not a single active player in the Domain who did not know about the legendary Player 555 who had utterly dominated the Space League.

Caelus hovered calmly as he claimed the last waveplates.

[1. Player 555 - 246 Waveplates]

[2. Allister Supernova - 245 Waveplates]

[3. Etdrick Wilson - 4 Waveplates]

[You have obtained the Divine Emblem of Air.]

[You have successfully unlocked the Origin Domain Update: Faction Change.]

[The Faction Change update will now allow you and your town citizens to officially align with different established Factions and obtain the unique benefits of that specific Faction.]

[Factions provide rare, powerful blessings and unique abilities directly related to their alignment.]

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A/N: If you are enjoying the book so far, support it with a power stone or two. Thank you.