Elemental Core!?

The reward for this class-change quest was actually an Elemental Core...

As long as he gathered ten of them, he would be able to undo the seal on the Chronoverse Prologue Codex and use it to deduce skills belonging to the laws of space-time.

Right now, Faustus already had five in his possession.

He only needed five more.

The cost-performance ratio of this quest was incredibly high!

More importantly, the difficulty was not that great either. As long as he entered a world, it would count as completing the quest.

"Not bad..."

Faustus murmured under his breath.

At present, the top players were already stepping across the threshold toward legendary-grade.

With the support of magic-powered equipment, the massive group of mid-tier players was clearly on the verge of rising as well.

Although he had the resources of both Aetheria and the Aerial Realm in his hands, it was still far from enough.

If he could obtain the resources of a few more worlds, the players’ development speed would increase greatly.

That could not be better.

Complete the quest and claim the reward, while also easing the shortage of resources.

Two birds with one stone!

...

Outside the world of Aetheria.

A vessel known as Starfall Isle was anchored at the edge of this world.

Conrad gazed at the living world before him, a planet shrouded in pale-blue radiance, and longing rose in his heart.

That pale-blue glow was the world barrier.

There were only three ways to descend into this living world.

The first was to smash through the barrier by force. As long as one possessed Divine-grade Strength, it would not be too difficult. But if he did that, he would inevitably alarm the entire world and provoke the backlash of the world’s will.

The second was to use a spatial passage-type item.

However, such things were extremely rare.

The third was to obtain a passage token created by whoever held the first-sequence authority over this world. With a passage token, one could freely enter and leave.

Conrad happened to have just such a passage item on him, given to him by the Godkin.

Within Aetheria’s authority sequence, the Godkin were ranked first.

They could grant authority to whomever they wished.

That was the privilege of supreme authority.

At this moment, a group of Starfolk powerhouses had gathered together.

They had already notified the entire race to prepare for war. Countless Starfolk warriors were quietly awaiting the order to attack.

All they needed was one command from their clan chief, and they would charge into Aetheria and begin the slaughter.

"Clan Chief, our Starfolk race has waited for so many years, all for a territory of our own. For this battle, we’re willing to risk everything!"

"For the glory and continuation of our race, we fear nothing!"

"Ten thousand years... Are we finally going to have a home of our own?"

Conrad looked at the burning gazes of his clansmen, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

That was right.

Ten thousand years.

The Starfolk had endured countless storms and hardships.

He only hoped that this time, it would be a good beginning.

Conrad’s strength could be considered demi-sage level.

He possessed Divine-grade Strength, but he had yet to carve out his own sage rank.

He could also smash through the world barrier by force, but there was no need.

If even the Godkin thought this matter was troublesome, then it was definitely not as simple as it looked.

It was better to be cautious.

"Mara, come with me."

"We’ll first investigate Aetheria’s situation."

Mara nodded.

"Mm. It’s always better to be careful."

"The Starfolk are relying on you alone now. We can’t withstand any more turmoil."

"Take this."

Conrad handed a jade token to Mara.

It was the passage token given by the Godkin.

Mara accepted the jade token.

Her strength had already reached the peak of supreme-grade. If the two of them entered together, they could look after each other if anything unexpected happened.

That was still better than Conrad going in alone.

"Let’s go."

Two streaks of light flashed and disappeared into the world of Aetheria.

...

Aetheria.

Two non-human figures with purple hair, purple skin, and purple eyes appeared out of thin air.

Huff—huff—

The two of them took deep breaths of the living world’s air.

Conrad was almost intoxicated by it.

"The aura of a living world... How many years has it been since I last felt this?"

"Compared to the Endless Starfield, this place is practically paradise!"

Mara’s tears fell on the spot.

Long ago, the Starfolk had also possessed their own living world.

But worlds had lifespans too.

Their world had existed for far too long. Its spiritual energy had dried up, and the entire planet had been buried beneath gray ash. Living beings could no longer survive there, so they had no choice but to wander the starry sky.

In the Endless Starfield, strength was the capital needed to survive.

The Starfolk did not have enough of that capital.

Even Divine-grade powerhouses were nothing more than slightly sturdier ants there.

The Astral Corsairs were their greatest threat, while the exhaustion of resources was another fatal problem.

In the end, all the Divine-grade powerhouses of the Starfolk died.

The burden of clan chief fell upon the shoulders of the strongest surviving member—

Conrad.

Mara shook her head.

"Let’s walk around."

Conrad nodded.

They went to lush forests.

They went to the boundless sea.

They went to human villages...

...

Luminara, inside a small tavern by the street.

Conrad and Mara sat in a corner, listening to the noisy clamor within the tavern and watching the endless flow of people on the street outside.

Their hearts were unexpectedly calm.

They did not feel out of place at all.

A prosperous civilization.

Abundant wealth.

Countless living beings.

Overflowing vitality.

That was the most direct impression Aetheria gave Conrad and Mara.

"Conrad, are we really going to destroy this place completely?"

Mara’s face was filled with hesitation, and confusion flickered in her eyes.

"This civilization is so prosperous. So many races live together in harmony here. If we could find a place to settle down, wouldn’t that be fine too? Do we really have to slaughter the entire civilization?"

Conrad took a deep breath. His eyelids twitched, and he let out a sigh.

"We don’t have a choice."

"The Godkin want us to slaughter every living being in Aetheria. If we refuse to obey them, what will they think?"

"They’ll only think we broke our promise. If we truly anger the Godkin, wiping out our entire race would not be difficult for them at all."

Mara’s expression changed, and she retorted,

"You’re already a demi-sage. By all rights, you should be invincible beneath Divine-grade. And in a small world like this, Divine-grade powerhouses can’t even descend. Why are you so afraid of the Godkin?"

A bitter smile tugged at Conrad’s lips.

He shook his head.

After pondering in silence for quite some time, he finally spoke slowly.

"There are differences in strength even among demi-sages. I may not be weak, but I’m still far from the peak of the demi-sage rank."

He stared at Mara, his voice trembling slightly.

"Star-wandering races like ours are countless in the Endless Starfield. And among the Astral Corsairs, transcendent demi-sage ranks are as numerous as the stars."

"If the Godkin can find us, what makes you think they can’t find other star-wandering races? What makes you think they can’t find those powerful pirates?"

"If the Godkin invite three or four demi-sages over, what am I supposed to use to stop them?"

His voice sank.

"The final result would be the complete destruction of my Starfolk race!"

After listening to him, Mara could not help letting out a long sigh.

The weak were prey to the strong.

That was the iron law of the Endless Starfield.

The Starfolk only wanted to survive.

They had no choice at all.

Just then—

Whoosh!

A supreme-grade powerhouse suddenly appeared before them.

Conrad and Mara’s gazes sharpened.

At the same time, their hearts sank.

They had been discovered!

The supreme-grade powerhouse walked straight up to the two of them and said coldly,

"Carodion comes by order of my king to invite the two of you over for a talk."

They had been discovered?

How was that possible?

Neither of them had sensed that they were being watched at all.

The waters of Aetheria seemed to run far deeper than they had imagined.