Ian’s eyes flashed from across the table. The same realization hit him at the same moment.

The first S-Rank gate of the First Order. The only one of its kind ever recorded. Nobody knew what rewards it contained because nobody had ever cleared one before.

Moon Outlaw’s team were the first to clear such a gate. The Association had also kept all important details about the topic hidden, only those at the top echelons knew about it.

If the rewards scaled the way gate rewards typically did, then a first-ever S-Rank clear could have yielded something unprecedented. Something that didn’t follow the normal rules. Something that could potentially threaten beings far above the First Order.

Even Third Order beings like themselves.

"The resources inside the first-ever S-Rank gate." Ian said slowly, the words heavy in his mouth. "Whatever it is, it must be powerful and the master knew about that, hence why we were warned."

"Meaning a First Order S-Rank clear could produce rewards that punch far above First Order." Baaron finished.

The two of them looked at each other across the table. The laughter from moments ago felt very far away.

The third figure watched them arrive at the conclusion on their own. He said nothing more.

To him, the reasons behind the master’s warning were irrelevant. The master said be careful, so he would be careful. The master said proceed, so he would proceed. It was that simple. He didn’t need to understand the why. He only needed to execute the what.

"Start making your preparations." He said, reverting the conversation back to its main course. "The United Terran Alliance is more vigilant than ever. They won’t make the same mistakes as before."

Ian and Baaron nodded. "Will do."

The meeting was over. The third figure turned and disappeared into the shadows of the corridor beyond, his footsteps silent, his presence dissolving into the darkness as if he had never been there.

Ian and Baaron remained seated at the stone table. The torches flickered between them, casting their shadows.

Neither of them spoke for a long moment.

Then, without exchanging a single word, both of them arrived at the same thought, the same goal. When the time came, they would hunt down Moon Outlaw.

And they would take whatever prize he had gained from the S-Rank gate for themselves.

♢♢♢♢

After Selene and Yara had settled into their rooms for the night, Moon retreated to his own.

He sat on the edge of his large, luxurious bed, the turtle egg resting in its container on the table beside him. The room was quiet, Moon’s mind wasn’t occupied with combat or survival.

It drifted to something that had been bothering him since the First Sanctuary.

Super lives.

He still didn’t understand why they existed, or why only Supreme creatures possessed them. Every other beast gave normal lives when killed. Every human carried normal lives. But Supreme creatures were different. They carried something so powerful that it could evolve skills to Legendary Rank.

Moon had a theory. He believed that Supreme creatures possessed such immense talent and came from such powerful bloodlines that they formed some kind of connection to the River of Paths. That connection, however faint, granted them super lives as a byproduct of their proximity to a force that most First Order beings couldn’t access.

But the theory had holes.

If Supreme creatures gained super lives through a connection to the River of Paths, then why didn’t Surpassers have them too? Surpassers could actively enter and interact with the River. Their connection was far stronger and more direct than anything a Supreme beast could achieve through bloodline alone. Yet Surpassers carried normal lives like everyone else.

"The best way to find out is to interact with them directly." Moon muttered.

His gaze landed on the turtle egg. It sat in its container, warm, alive, the faint pulse of a heartbeat noticeable.

The child of a Supreme Rank creature.

If he could raise it, study it, understand how it grew and what made it different from ordinary beasts, he might find answers that no amount of theorizing could provide.

Moon still had portions of turtle and fox meat stored in his ring. Both Supreme Rank. Both rich with energy that could potentially nourish the egg.

He had previously fed Yara the flesh of the fox, and that had also provided her some gains, but nothing close to what Mirage had gained.

Then another thought surfaced.

"Maybe I could feed it the blood of the Golden Fish."

The Golden Fish from the First Sanctuary. A creature whose origins and rank Moon still didn’t fully understand. Its blood sat inside his storage ring, untouched since the day he collected it inside the heart of the Golden Fish.

He hadn’t tried using it on anything yet. The fish had been an anomaly, something that existed outside the normal ranking system, and Moon had been too cautious to experiment with it carelessly.

It was too precious to let go to waste.

But the turtle egg was a Supreme creature’s offspring. If anything could handle the potency of that blood, it would be this.

"It’s worth a shot."

Moon took out a bucket’s worth of the Golden Fish’s blood from his storage ring. He had an entire ring full of the stuff, so a single bucket wasn’t going to make a dent.

"Don’t disappoint me, little one." Moon muttered, carefully lifting the turtle egg from its rune-inscribed container.

The egg was warm to his touch, filled with vitality. He could feel the heartbeat of something that hadn’t yet entered the world.

Moon took a deep breath and lowered the egg into the blood.

The golden liquid swallowed it completely. The egg sank to the bottom of the bucket and sat there, submerged, motionless.

Moon waited. Time passed by in an excruciatingly slow manner, as if every second was a minute, and every minute was an hour.

Moon would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried. He was afraid the small turtle would be unable to handle the blood of the Golden Fish, and potentially die.