As multiple A-Class scouts are tasked with stealth missions across the world to survey the lands of three nations they believe to be in turmoil, the meeting in Monk's temple beneath Valor City continues.

While a quick history lesson on the old man's origins and his thoughts on the global economy shifting from education, natural resources, and real estate to dungeon diving and energy gathering is interesting, I'm more focused on the urgent future.

"These trials you speak of—tell me more. Why is everyone so certain these doors will open? I've done countless scans on the abyss, yet I can never sense anything within. Was there something I missed before it all awakened?"

I turn to Raven, then back to the old man.

"And the big three as well. I want to know everything about them. They'll be our biggest adversaries moving forward, correct?"

The old man smiles and glances toward the room's exit.

"To answer your questions about the trials and the abyss, I think it's best to explain further once we leave this temple. I can't use my mana equipment to show you the necessary data in here. As for the big three..."

He turns to Raven, and she responds to my second question.

"I know I haven't told you much, but that's because it's all I know. I've only met each of them a handful of times in my decades with the Order. I can give you physical descriptions and list the powers I'm aware of, but they stay in their fortresses, in central, to contain their power from the outside world. Even as a True Core, the few minutes I've spent in their presence made it feel like my mind and body were about to split in two. They're on another level..."

I mull over her words as we conclude the meeting and leave the underground fortress together.

Raven provides vague descriptions of the Big Three. She is most detailed about Redgrave's, as during her early days with the association, once she gained enough trust to become an A-Class hunter, he was the one who gave her private training in the great central labyrinth, helping her surpass level 10,000.

Other than Raven herself, the only three hunters on the planet above that rank are the big three.

Elara is another member she has encountered only a few times, but her aura alone made it impossible for Raven to remain nearby for more than a few seconds at a time.

Any region Elara touches turns to ice.

The Saint interjects, recalling that back when he was active in the Order, before Raven joined, Elara possessed a Type-C originator artifact used during battle. He mentions it was potent for both offense and defense, but he's only seen crystal footage of this feat, which is now archived after the first great war.

Neither the Saint nor Raven have much to share on Beckman. They describe him similarly: tall, pale, handsome, and unlike the others, he doesn't emit a powerful aura. Despite this, both felt in mortal danger every second they spent in his presence, though it was purely instinctual. There were no physical signs to justify the feeling.

Their insights give me mental images of the enemies at the top, but no clear strategy to face them, other than getting stronger for the inevitable clash.

My doubles are hard at work across many nations, ensuring my plan to rise in strength happens as soon as possible. I see real-time memories of pure mana being farmed from the artificial mountains in the west and brought into the Crimson City labyrinth.

In the few hours since it started, quadrillions of MP have been transported, as there are no other humans nearby for my doubles to hold back on, already elevating the labyrinth by a full floor.

A mental map of the island of Palmyra also forms in my mind as the day progresses. Even the finger islands are being surveyed, along with the locations of storage houses. By the time night falls, I'm confident a silent assassination of their dual tyrant leaders will be an easy feat, without anyone realizing what has been done.

I grin as we walk out of the temple as a group of three.

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The two orange-cored disciples remain in one of the training rooms while the three of us depart.

The Saint is far better than them at creating a thick layer of pure white Qi around his body, preventing any aura from leaking out as we pass by weaker humans.

Raven, on the other hand, needs to maintain physical contact with me to hold the purple barrier in place as we leave.

I share my concealment skill with her as we step out into the platinum district. I send a telepathic message to Lith, assuring him not to worry about the silent alarms that are triggered as we float upward and out of Valor City, heading toward the abyss.

The Saint reaches into an item box, now reactivated in mana-rich air, and pulls out a recording crystal that was previously dormant.

"To answer your question about how and why we're certain the doors will open, this is why."

The crystal shows an old recording of a large black slab of stone in a dark room. Surrounding it are dozens of humans with bright red, orange, and yellow cores in their chests.

The video rotates around the slab, revealing illegible writing carved into it in an unknown language. The rotating stops at a diagram depicting a large tower with archways opening at its base.

More diagrams of oddly shaped creatures standing before the doors are etched into the stone.

The recording zooms in on a depiction of one of the doors opening, with a creature stepping inside.

The image freezes for a few seconds, then cuts to a new scene of ancient writing—impossible to read.

The Saint allows the video to continue, showing different stone slabs and artifacts, with far fewer people in these recordings, as there are only texts, no images.

He ends the video prematurely and puts the crystal away, speaking again.

"There was once a large collection of artifacts open to anyone within an alliance with Order members. Their trusted guards could visit, and researchers and recorders were welcome to study and contribute to the common knowledge of the originator's texts."

He gazes off into the mountainous landscape of Sector 1 as we fly toward the abyss.

"This too was taken away from the public eye, reserved for the big three to study once the Demons planted the throne, discovered by the central scouting unit not long after. All I have left to study are my personal artifacts, occasional outings to the demonic realm when rift keys are found, and the limited recordings from earlier explorations."

I respond.

"So this is how you know of the doors, but what of the trials?"

The Saint nods as the endless darkness of the abyss comes into view, even as I suppress all my senses and aura to avoid disrupting life in the nearby villages.

"One of the oldest translated texts, above these visual depictions, states that for the throne of a world to be claimed, its strongest champions must pass through the doors together. A trial of the body, a trial of the mind, and a trial of the soul must be passed before one can challenge the other champions..."

He pauses, thinking, then continues.

"There's another well-studied text, it was discovered in another region of the world. It roughly translates to: 'The one who walks through the final door will be the champion that never stops climbing. The steps to the other side do not end. Only one who does not wish to pass through shall never die...' or something like that."

The old man pulls out his recording crystal again, scrolling through the tapes before showing a piece of stone with incoherent carvings. He flips it toward me, and the three of us look down at it as he continues.

"My theory is that these texts speak of different events, but they're all connected. Over the years, I've come to believe that the Demons have replicated originator technology, imbuing it with their power source, and spread their reign from world to world by creating events for their Arch Demons to compete and upgrade their cores in a final trial for a world."

I raise an eyebrow at the Saint's words. Everything he says makes sense, but it all connects from different angles.

The first new piece of information I've gathered today is that the pillar I see in the distance will be opening to accept challengers. This aligns with what Ember, The Lich King, Celia, and even Raven have told me so far.

However, the second line in the Saint's description sounds odd. The talk of immortality in these ancient texts doesn't quite fit with the facts I've heard from the true immortals or those closer to the source.

Celia described reaching immortality as a universe-bending event, one she spent her 800 years trying to master. Simply claiming a world doesn't seem like such an event if her own creation of the divine construct wasn't enough to satisfy this metric.

Ember's old descriptions of this feat to an immortal core also seem far off. His only mention of the throne awakening was that it was a challenge for Arch Demons to become lords.

So, I fixate on this fact, thinking the Saint's knowledge will be the most accurate here.

"I believe it's a challenge for the Arch Demons as well... I've spoken to a few, and they're all keen on climbing the ranks, bringing mana back to their realm, and I've heard the throne is their opportunity to rank up and become Demon Lords."

The old man's eyes gleam with understanding, and I follow up with a question.

"How strong was the Demon who came to plant the throne? You said even the big three in central likely made a deal with them, as they weren't fit to face them in their current forms. What did you mean by that? Were they stronger than us? Was it a green core?"

The Saint's eyes widen even further as we reach the edge of the Abyss in Sector 1, far from any villages or trade routes. I allow more of my perception and aura to leak out.

As soon as he begins to answer, more land falls under my perception, and I sense multiple gravity wells far in the distance closing in on my territory. They don't seem strong, but they're certainly divine core holders, and I've never encountered these individuals before.