Xander shook his head, while Ashley sent Felix a fierce glare. “Hmph, says the man who fell out of heaven,” she said with a scowl, though she couldn't avert her worried glances from the man.

Next to them, Xander also gave Felix a worried look. “What happened? Did you fall out with the gods?” Xander asked, making Felix laugh.

“Of course not,” Felix shrugged. “They gave me a mission down here on the Mortal World,” Felix said, looking at his mentor.

“Master Xander, you're the most knowledgeable person I know. Do you know something called the ‘World Beacon’?” Felix asked. Xander frowned, squinting his eyes in focus.

Alas, he shook his head. “It's my first time hearing about it. What's it for?”

“I don't know either,” Felix groaned. Seeing the two go silent, Ashley couldn't help butting in.

“What's that have to do with falling from the skies?” She asked, a small frown on her face.

Seeing that look, Felix made a strange look. It felt weird seeing a friend, who was usually snarky, act mature—like seeing Satan do good deeds.

“Well…” Felix gulped, his previous words to rile up the girl going down his throat. “They want me to protect the World Beacon.”

Xander hummed. “It must be important. Where is it?”

Felic shrugged. “The gods didn't say much, just telling me to guard where I land. Apparently, the World Beacon is here in Devlin.”

Xander raised an eyebrow. “Maybe the natives know about it. After we get back, I'll go dig around the library and talk to some people.”

Felix smiled. “Thank you, Master Xander,” he said, to which the latter waved him off.

“So uh,” Felix looked behind him, feeling the remnants of unstable mana in the air. “Can someone tell me what happened?”

Hearing that, Ashley belatedly looked out for the clay man intruder, frowning when he saw nothing on the field. Xander sighed, “they escaped, Ashley.”

Ashley clicked her tongue, cursing. Felix blinked. “Anyone?”

“A clay man invaded the city,” Xander began, but was quickly halted by Felix.

“A what now?” Felix laughed incredulously. “As in, a man made of clay? Or a man using some earth magic?”

Xander sighed, shaking his head. “No, it's an actual—”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Felix, do you remember the game ‘Domination’?” Ashely suddenly asked, making Xander furrow his brows. In the end, he let Ashley take the stage.

“That game?” Felix squinted, nodding his head. “Wait, you don't suggest—”

“Yeah, it's that kind of clay man,” Ashley said, making Xander look at Felix. “Do you know that clay man?” He asked.

Felix pondered. “What's the clay man's name?”

Xander paused—it has a name? He thought.

Ashley frowned at the question. “We don't know… but your guild has officially waged war against that clay man,” she said.

Felix looked at her, smirking incredulously. “It's just a clay man, what are they worried about?”

Xander frowned. “Just a clay man?” He looked behind him, seeing the chaos in the city. While the damages weren't too severe… if they hadn't reacted on time, would it still be that way?

Following his gaze, Felix stared in surprise at the city. There were many cracks on the streets, looking as though somebody speared the ground multiple times. Not only that, he also saw the crumbling city gates.

“The clay man did this?” Felix asked absentmindedly. “How big is its army? I remember that the bigger the clay man army is, the stronger it gets.”

Xander frowned. “It has an army?”

Although they knew that Eve had been destroying villages, only the Sapphire Guild was aware of Eve's army because of Miguel's student. If it weren't for that, they wouldn't even know who attacked the villages, blindly that the other kingdoms were invading them.

The Sapphire Guild shared their information to the other guilds, but not everyone knew the full information yet. News traveled slow, not to mention the current lack of manpower in the kingdom due to the dungeons.

“Yes,” Felix nodded. “If it has a really big army, then we're in trouble. But if its army is small, then it should be fine. If the clay man in the game is the same as the clay man here, it shouldn't be able to use magic,” Felix said.

“But this isn't a game,” Xander mumbled.

“Well,” Felix scratched his ears. “You'll understand,” he said vaguely. “Let's set the clay men aside, have you prepared for the tribulations yet?”

This time, both Ashley and Xander frowned. “The tribulations? It's happening already?”

Felix looked confused. “The temples didn't inform you? The gods should've already sent oracles,” he said, suddenly feeling that something was off.

“No,” Ashely shook her head. Xander nodded. “The temples have been quiet lately,” he added.

“That's no good,” Felix sighed. “You guys should check on the temples regularly. Who knows if some…” Felix narrowed his eyes. “If some malicious guy went on a rampage.”

Xander sighed. “What does that mean?”

Felix sighed as well, rubbing his shoulders. “It's about Heaven. Let's talk about it later, fix the city first.”

What about you? Ashley couldn't even open her mouth before Felix answered her unsaid question.

“I can't help too much. If possible, the fewer people who know about my descent, the better.”

Felix said, not bothering to explain any further. Xander made some small talk before bidding goodbye, while Ashley walked with Felix toward the city gates.

“Hey Felix,” Ashley called out. “What's the tribulation about?”

Felix chuckled. He told Xander and Ashley to prepare the candidates for the upcoming tribulation, which would be two months later.

“Don't you already know?” He asked, knowing it wasn't the answer Ashley wanted.

As expected, Ashley scoffed. Although she wasn't one of the elite heroes, neither was Xander, the latter had many connections. His fame wasn't small, either, having taught many gold ranks before and one of them, Felix, even ascended to heaven.

She knew that the tribulations were a test made by the gods to help humans ascend to the Heaven World, and that only a hundred people participate every time it happens. As for when tribulations happen, only gods knew that. For all she knew, the gods did it on a whim.

“I was asking about what during the tribulations,” Ashley shook her head, reigning on her annoyance.

“Tribulations, huh?” Felix sighed. They stopped, arriving at the broken city gates with traces of blood seeping through the rubble.

Ashley frowned at the sight, though used to it.

“Tribulations are honestly like games,” Felix said. “Have you read those novels about transmigration? Climbing towers for a grand price?”

Ashley nodded. “I've read some,” she said.

Felix chuckled. “You mean you've read hundreds,” he teased. Before Ashley could retort, he was already spilling the beans.

“It's like that, though not always. I, for one, was summoned inside a fifty floor tower and my mission was to clear it. Simple, right?” Felix chuckled, though his eyes were full of disgust.

“I cleared the tower on my first day,” he said. “But I was forced to repeat it dozens of times. Do you know why?”

Ashley looked at her old friend. Felix was glaring at the debris on the ground, and she could spot the veins on his jaws bulging out.

“Why?”

Felix scowled. “Because I was supposed to help the people living on the floors. Only after I did that, would I pass the test.”

Ashley furrowed her brows in confusion. Wasn't that… a good thing? Seeing through her doubts, Felix scoffed.

“You wouldn't understand, but after living in the so-called heaven,” Felix clenched his fists. He patted his waist, seeing that he had forgotten to grab his sword on the way down.

Shaking his head, he breathed out, calming his nerves.

“I've come to learn that gods are hypocrites.”