The journey to the headquarters in Cretin Hub was uneventful.

Ezra stared out the window as the bustling station came into view.

The streets below were alive with activity, a stark contrast to the desolation of the secret realm.

The hovercraft landed smoothly on the foundation’s helipad.

Ezra steps out, his movements deliberate as he follows the officials through the sprawling complex.

The air inside is cool.

They led him to the same large conference hall, its centerpiece a circular table surrounded by high-ranking officials and this time other people from another profession.

Each gaze directed at him radiated a different intent; displeasure, apathy, disinterest, curiosity and many more.

"Mr. Sylvester" says the dwarf woman from before, grabbing his attention with her neutral tone while simultaneously bringing the hall to decorum.

"Welcome back. We’ve been awaiting your report"

She had been apparently appointed as the spokesperson.

Ezra nodded, taking his seat specifically prepared for him. "I assume you’ve been briefed on the situation"

"Only the basics. You entered the secret realm and returned alive. That alone is unprecedented. Now, fill us in on the details"

Ezra took a deep breath, his expression shifting to one of practiced gravity.

He recounted his journey through the secret realm in vivid detail.

He described the oppressive atmosphere, the golden road that seemed to stretch endlessly, and the towering statues.

His voice carried the weight of someone recounting a harrowing ordeal.

Then, he reached the climax of his tale—the encounter with Vorath.

He carefully twisted the narrative, painting the elven maniac as a monstrous, amorphous beast.

"It was no ordinary beast" Ezra said, his voice steady.

"An amalgamation of shadow and flesh, its physical prowess was league above mine, with six limbs that can freely change their shape"

"Then" Ezra stressed. "After playing with me like a fiddle for a while, I found that it cast magic spells, or at least it can use magic circles. Because it sealed the space we fought in, preventing me from teleporting away..." Ezra pauses.

"Till the end, I doubt it used even half of its actual power, and yet I barely escaped with my life"

A ripple of unease spread through the room.

Whispers erupted among the attendees, but the dwarf woman silenced them with a raised hand.

"And the trials?" she asked, her tone probing.

Ezra shook his head. "Corrupted. All of them. Whatever mechanisms once governed the realm have long since decayed. There’s nothing left—no treasures, no rewards. Only death."

His words hung in the air, heavy and final.

The room grew quiet, the earlier curiosity giving way to resignation.

Ezra could almost see the calculations in their minds, the shifting balance of risk and reward.

"And the artifacts?" one of the scholars ventured cautiously. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"None," Ezra lied smoothly. "The trials were designed to strip challengers of everything. I entered with nothing and left with less."

The dwarf woman’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she said nothing.

Ezra knew she suspected something, but without evidence, she couldn’t press the matter further.

He had crafted his story carefully, ensuring no loose ends remained.

If they sent another expedition, Vorath would take care of the problem for him.

"And now," Ezra began, his tone shifting, "about the sponsorship payment"

One of the board members, a grizzled man with a perpetually furrowed brow, leaned forward, his expression incredulous.

"Preposterous," he barked. "You’re already collecting 200 million Cryst. That sum is more than generous"

Ezra met his gaze evenly.

"Generous? I entered that realm at your behest, risking my life for information you deemed invaluable. If you wish for me to enter it again—and perhaps even slay that creature—you’ll need to increase the payment"

The room erupted in protests.

Words like "greed" and "arrogance" were hurled at him, but Ezra remained unshaken.

Finally, the dwarf woman raised her hand again, silencing the clamor.

"Why would you willingly return to a place you claim holds no value?" she asked, her tone skeptical.

"What drives you to seek out this so-called beast?"

Ezra’s calm façade cracked, and genuine anger flickered across his features.

He leaned forward, his voice low but charged with barely restrained fury. "Do you have any idea what that thing did to me?! Every bone in my body was fractured and my organs were smashed, turned into a bloody mess!"

Beating his chest, Ezra’s voice encompasses the entire hall. "I swore to myself, as I crawled out of that accursed place, that I would make it pay"

His words dripped with venom, and the room fell silent.

Ezra took a moment to compose himself, his breathing steadying as he continued.

"If you doubt my resolve, send someone else. Send your ascendants. But when they fail—when they crawl back broken or don’t return at all—you’ll come back to me. And by then, my price will have doubled"

The dwarf woman’s eyes narrowed, but there was no denying the weight of his words.

She glanced around the room, gauging the reactions of her peers.

Some looked skeptical, others intrigued, but none openly opposed him now.

Finally, she spoke. "We will consider your request. In the meantime, the details of your contract remain unchanged"

Ezra nodded, hiding the flicker of satisfaction in his chest.

He had planted the seeds of doubt and intrigue, ensuring they wouldn’t push too hard—at least not yet.

The meeting adjourned shortly after, the officials dispersing with hushed conversations and furtive glances in his direction.

Ezra lingered for a moment, letting the weight of the encounter settle over him before rising to leave.

As he stepped out into the corridor, a voice called after him. "Ezra."

He turned to see the dwarf woman approaching, her expression unreadable.

"You’re playing a dangerous game," she said quietly. "I hope, for your sake, that you’re prepared for the consequences"

Ezra met her gaze, his own eyes cold and unyielding. "I always am"

With that, he turned and walked away, the echo of his footsteps fading into the distance.

Done with that, Ezra is quick to enter the sovereign universe.

While healed, Ezra is still very fatigued.

Therefore, he directly went to his comfy bed in the castle, falling asleep in no time.

—-------------

Waking and going through the usual routine, Ezra heads out to check out the few artifacts he had managed to scavenge.

If nothing else, the fatigue in his body still remained, his body had not completely healed even now.

The small set of artifacts lay on a barren patch of land on planet Ketta.

The golden gauntlet, crystalline dagger, vial of glowing liquid, tattered scroll, and ring lay here, each radiating a unique energy.

The gauntlet pulsed with power, its surface etched with runes that seemed to shift and shimmer.

The dagger glinted with an unnatural light, its edge impossibly sharp.

The vial’s contents swirled like liquid fire, while the scroll exuded whispers of energy, whether as a result of the damage or a normal function, Ezra is unable to tell.

The ring, unassuming at first glance, exuded a quiet strength that intrigued him.

’These will be useful,’ he thought, a spark of determination igniting in his chest.

Ezra crouched beside the golden gauntlet, his fingers grazing the cool, rune-etched surface.

The symbols shimmered faintly under his touch, responding to his energy.

With a deep breath, he channeled a tendril of energy into the gauntlet, and immediately a series of holographic glyphs lit up, forming an intricate web around his hand.

"Interesting" he mutters, watching as the glyphs rearranged themselves into new patterns.

The gauntlet hums softly, almost as if alive, but the energy it emitted was stable.

He set the gauntlet aside and picked up the crystalline dagger.

Its blade refracted light into a kaleidoscope of colors, but there was more to it than mere aesthetics.

He infused a small amount of energy into the dagger, and the air around it warped, covering it in bright yellow light.

In short, energy infused into it would be converted into the light element, very convenient for certain circumstances.

As for vial, Ezra put it aside to confirm it’s uses later.

Ezra turned to the tattered scroll.

As he unfolded it, the whispering voice grows loud, coalescing into fragmented words he couldn’t quite decipher.

The text seemed to shift as if alive, resisting his attempts to read it. His brow furrow, but he didn’t press further.

"A puzzle for another time," he decided, carefully rolling it back up.

Finally, his attention fell on the ring.

Unlike the other items, this one exuded a subtle, almost understated energy.

When he slipped it onto his finger, a wave of calm washed over him, and his energy flow.

"An energy...stabilizer?" he muses.

It wasn’t flashy, but its utility in battle or during cultivation could not be overstated.

Thinking beyond this, Ezra couldn’t help but break into a wide grin upon remembering a very pleasant detail.

Back at the treasure trove of artifacts, he had left a <Gatemark>!

Ezra’s grin widened as the realization settled.

The <Gatemark> was a stroke of foresight, a hidden trump card that could allow him to return to the secret realm at will.

Despite the dangers it presented, the treasures there outweighed the risks—especially if he tread carefully.

For now, though, his focus was on the artifacts laid before him.

These were no mere trinkets; each item carried an aura of significance, hinting at mysteries that could tip the scales in his favor.

Ezra activates the <Gatemark> briefly, confirming its stability.

A faint portal shimmered into existence, revealing a glimpse of the glowing artifacts in Vorath’s lair.

He deactivated it quickly, not wanting to attract unwanted attention, but the sight was enough to reignite his ambition.

The treasures he’d left behind were calling to him, and he intended to answer.

For now, though, rest was essential. Ezra returned to his castle, collapsing onto his bed with a sigh of relief.

The day had been long, and the road ahead promised to be even longer.

As he drifted off to sleep, his mind churned with strategies and contingencies.