The abrupt release of the Force Aspect of the Radiant Bolt already pushed away the very air from the surroundings. Nevertheless, when Heat, enormous Heat, to be specific, got introduced into the equation, the already pushed air got superheated and energized even further tripling the effect of the explosion.
In one single instant, all the members of the Rose Heart Syndicate, be they First, Second, or Third Ranked Essence Masters, were instantly blown away. The only difference between them was the distance they crossed while displaced from their previous position, with Third Ranked Essence Masters thrown the least, barely a few meters, in fact. The Second Ranked got tossed about ten meters or more, while the weakest among them, the First Ranked Essence Masters, became ragdolls as they impacted the first obstacle in the form of giant trees.
However, they would survive with quite a few broken or fractured bones and bruises.
Only Joffrey RoseHeart and the Grandmaster who protected them remained in place. However, in exchange, the Grandmaster braced the front of the explosion and the radiated Heat that seemed to passionately infiltrate his Poisonous Aura and desired to ignite it from within.
So, to protect himself and the Young Master behind him, he expended quite a vast amount of Essence to stave off the Heat infiltrating his Aura and surroundings.
“Phu… That was close.” The old man voiced out in relief and retrieved his protective Poisonous Aura. However, what he witnessed next was not the same as when he first reached this place, leading to the mountain entrance which in turn led to the supposed Third Ranked Nightmare Gate.
Instead, for around five meters, around but behind him, a scorched earth presented itself while within fifteen meters, the foliage of nature caught on fire, at least the ones that survived the initial blast and heat wave.
“What? What happened?” Suddenly, Joffrey, the Young Master of the RoseHeart Syndicate, called out as he looked around the old man blocking his view.
Then, in the same instant, four cries echoed near him, causing him to turn his head and face them only to realize that it was his four Masters that had made the sounds. It wasn't even hard to imagine why when his eyes settled on the burned clothes and the burned skin all over their bodies.
“What? How?” Flabbergasted, Joffrey asked out loud.
“I am not quite sure, Young Master.” The old man replied because he truly had no idea what that golden ball of light had been. “However, whatever it was, it packed a lot of power on top of being very pervasive the moment it came in contact with my Aura. I imagine that the same occurred to the Masters, only they have yet to fully integrate their Auras, hence being unable to prevent its total infiltration, and that is the price for their failure.”
“Just like the first Master we lost?” Joffrey pointed out frustratingly because it meant he'd just lost the majority of his force. Ignoring the cries of his four Masters, Joffrey faced the Grandmaster protecting him.
“Whoever it was, they will pay for it. Was it a Grandmaster?”
Pondering for a moment, the old Grandmaster replied. “I can't tell right now, so it could be. But I doubt it because no Grandmaster would be interested in entering a Third Ranked Nightmare Gate. No… Most likely, it was a Memory Imprint of some kind. Though. It would have to be a high-ranked one.”
“Damn.” Joffrey cried out because he desired such a strong Imprint. Yet, if there was one certainty, then it was the fact that it was impossible to forcefully obtain a Memory Imprint from somebody. “Old Man, go inside the cave and either find and kill them or make sure they have entered the Gate. I will not have them run away from me by some chance. Once that is done, return and tend to Masters.”
Somewhat hesitant, the old Grandmaster nodded and faced the mountain entrance.
Slowly making his way there, he was prepared for another of those strikes, yet none came.
Even when he entered, there was no obvious sign of anybody's presence. As such, the Grandmaster went deeper into the darkness of the cave.
Thankfully, he had no problem with that, thanks to his Aura telling him of his surroundings.
Moments later, the Grandmaster realized no bends or forks existed within the tunnel, so it was a fairly straightforward path before him. In the end, he even reached the cave housing the Third Ranked Nightmare Gate, with its three colors of red, orange, and yellow illuminating the surroundings.
Noting nobody present, the old Grandmaster relaxed and neared the Gate before placing his somewhat wrinkled right hand on its spherical dimensional entrance. With a simple Aura usage, he interacted with the Gate and found what he sought.
However, what he found was not what he expected. “Eleven slots?” The old man murmured happily at the realization.
Saying nothing else, the old man schooled his facial expressions and left the cave. After explaining the circumstances to Joffrey RoseHeart, he went and treated the Rose Heart Syndicate members.
Some were still crying out from the injuries, but the Masters remained relatively quiet despite possessing the greatest injuries. Not wasting any time, he began treating them by inverting the nature of his Poisonous Aura into a Medicinal one, after all, the difference between the Poison and Medicine was but the dosage of the formulae.
As such, the Grandmaster treated the Masters first, and although it wasn't true healing compared to what the Church did, it helped vastly with taking the sting from the pain they experienced. At the same time, his Medicinal Aura helped promote the regenerative property of their skin once it interacted with the Auras of the Masters. However, they would need multiple sessions for the injuries to recede fully before new skin grew and toughened up.
Once he was done with the Masters, he tended to the Journeyman Essence Masters and the Apprentice Essence Masters, though in the case of the Apprentices, he was far more useless because their injuries had more to do with bone fractures gained from the initial impact and their subsequent flying and impacting of hard surfaces.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
That being the case, much less concentration was needed to maintain the regenerative healing effect of his inverted Poisonous Aura, thus allowing the Grandmaster to glance at the Joffrey RoseHeart, who looked more and more unhinged at the thought of taking revenge.
Honestly, the old man wasn't surprised by the fact.
Joffrey was always the kind of man who liked to indulge in his vices as a Black Aura Master. The Grandmaster only hoped that did not make him lose his mind and force him to enter the Gate with the unhinged young man.
Once he was done with the last one, the Grandmaster reported the result. “Young Master, I've done what I could for the moment. The rest of the healing sessions will have to wait for after they have returned from the Nightmare Gate.” That said, the old man annotated a possibility. “Of course, that is if they are still going with you into the Gate despite their injuries.”
“Hnng… No, they will be useless as they are.” Sensing where the thoughts of the heir of the Rose Heart Syndicate went, the Grandmaster had a foreboding feeling emerge from his heart. “No. You said eleven slots were taken?” Reluctantly nodding, the foreboding feeling merged with the words he was hearing. “Then that leaves us with fourteen slots. If I bring you with me, that leaves us with three slots. Pick two of the most injured Masters to go with us so you can treat them inside. That leaves us with only one spot left.”
“Talim!” Joffrey called out, and from the group of injured First Ranked Essence Masters, the Apprentice Adventurer rose. “You've affirmed multiple times to me that you know about the scenario of the Gate?”
“I do, Young Master.” Talim answered hesitantly while bowing, only to wince in pain. Seeing it, the Grandmaster suddenly recalled how the Adventurer had not been present with the injured ones when he treated them. “This Nightmare Gate will replicate the founding of the Roselia Dukedom. However, since no specifics got mentioned within the notes, I was refreshing my memory when your messenger reached me.”
“Ha… If that is the case, I won't…” Ceasing there, Joffrey suddenly had an epiphany reach his mind. “Hahahaha… I see… So that’s how it is.” With a sudden outburst, he was by Talim’s side, grabbing his throat and clamping down hard on it. “How did you find out about it?”
“Uhg… Uahha.” Grunting once, Joffrey relaxed his grip somewhat, allowing Talim to gasp for air and finally answer his question. “Cough… Cough… By accident, Young Master.”
“Is that so?” Joffrey squeezed, once again, immediately throttling the Adventurers spirit of importance before relaxing his grip again. “Do tell, how you found out?”
“Cough… Young Master. Remember how I am the son of a scribe.” Not waiting to see the nod, Talim explained. “I found a notebook by accident in the public library. It was written in the Old Tongue. And since my father taught me the Old Tongue, I could understand the hidden knowledge it contained.”
“I see… I see.” Smiling not with his mouth but his eyes, Joffrey stared at the Adventure within his grip. “I assume you followed said hidden knowledge to find the whereabouts of the notes related to the Nightmare Gate by misleading your former party members.”
Feeling the grasping hand tighten somewhat further, Talim urgently nodded. “Yes, Young Master. I lead them there by careful planting of clues. However, when the notes were discovered, only I knew about the truths it hid.”
“Haha… You're a smart one, Talim.” Joffrey determined with a knowing smirk. “Leading me to the Gate. Only to enter inside with me, butter me up with your knowledge, all while smooching of my success to breeze through the Nightmare Gate for your Reward and no doubt the expected release from the Debt chaining you to me.” Gripping hard once again, Joffrey repeated himself. “Smart indeed. It probably would have worked had I not been agitated by your former party members to consider your betrayal at some point.”
“Hmph… Next, you'll tell me that you have more hidden knowledge that would help me despite knowing the connection of my line to the Roselia Duke?” Hearing it, Talim showed a surprised expression. “Hmph… I was right. Let me guess again. You won't reveal it until we enter the Gate?”
Hesitant, Talim nodded.
“Haha… See… I knew it.” Joffrey smiled evilly. “You know… I am somewhat curious how this will play out. But you can forget about your Debt release. No. No. No… I am keeping that one. You see… I quite like your sister within my bed chambers. Oh… the way her curvy hips bounce and ride my shaft…” For one second, Joffrey sensed the hatred within Talim, but it was squished the next second. Still, that did not hinder him from praying upon it. “No. No. No, I am keeping her and you. Unless you are cold enough bastard to forget about your dear sister's well-being so I can be rougher with her.”
“How about it?” Joffrey smirked while licking his lips at the thought of breaking her. “What will be, Talim?”
Seeing it, Talim paled even further. “Please don't, Young Master… I'll serve you to the best of my ability. I swear.”
“Then tell me what I want to know.” Joffrey asked while squeezing Talim’s harder as a reminder of their positions.
Feeling the grip lighten, Talim spewed the hidden secret. “The… The hidden knowledge… mentioned that it's not the first time this Gate has appeared. It… It told me how to achieve a perfect clear.”
Stunned and surprised, Joffrey’s blue eyes widened a lot. Even the Grandmaster, who had stood beside them all this time yet not interfered with Joffrey's actions, did the same.
“PERFECT CLEAR?” Joffrey repeated loudly before squeezing and releasing once.
“Cough… Yes, Youngmater.” Talim affirmed. “I planned to help you gain the First Reward in exchange for the Debt and the release of my sister.”
“Why didn't you reveal that to begin with?” Joffrey inquired, yet even the lowest of his minions already knew the answer. “We could have made a bargain, you know? One wench for a high-ranked Memory Imprint? I mean, there is no point in even comparing it.”
Somewhat hesitant, even after all that occurred, Talim spoke the truth. “Because there was a chance you would not make the deal and instead simply steal the book from me. So once I memorized everything, I burned it all away.”
“Now, only I know how to achieve the perfect clear.”
“Ha… Looks like I will have to upgrade your smartness a bit to have me figured out like that.” Shaking his head in frustration, Joffrey tossed Talim to the side. “Fine, the last spot is yours.”
“Old man. Pick the two Masters already.” Joffrey orders. “The rest of you will wait here for my return.”
“YES, YOUNG MASTER!”
With the order given, the two Masters picked, Joffrey made his way into the cave with the old Grandmaster and Talim in tow.
Once they reached the Nightmare Gate spewing the three colors of red, orange, and yellow, the Grandmaster, forced to follow, touched the spherical gate and used his Aura to connect with Talim, the two Masters, and Joffrey, his Young Master.
Though the moment the connection got established, and their bodies began to blur as if being sucked into the spherical entrance, the old man sensed a tiny spike of excitement within his Aura. However, the excitement came not from his Young Master but from the Blue Stage Apprentice Adventurer who had led them all here to this point.
At the last moment, just before the old Grandmaster lost awareness, he glanced toward Talim’s direction. There, he saw a smile. A madman’s smile, telling the Grandmaster how everything went according to plan and to such a degree of perfection that he didn't even bother to hide it from the Grandmaster.
He even saw the Adventurer, known as Talim, wink at him before he lost all coherent thought due to the dimensional transference.