Two days later, Iain and Lilly woke up in their rooms. Groob had put them through a harsh training, pushing their limits constantly. However, this also led to their abilities growing at a frightening speed.

The commonly accepted minimum to travel into the Frozen Hell was a cold resistance of 7. With his high endurance Iain had been able to stay longer in the ice chamber thus even reaching level 9, shattering the goal they set.

His sister had been a bit slower, only reaching level 8. However, by diligently practicing on herself the young woman managed to raise her healing magic by one level.

It quickly became clear to the siblings how much the vault supported one if they sought to acquire skills.

Lilly for example had only been able to reach level 5 per the vaults system in her healing magic after a decade of practice. However, now with more structure through Nua’s books and the vault’s help she had managed to raise her level in a single day.

Groob had shown obvious appreciation as he listened to their results. The initial goals Groob had set would have already required above average advancement speed.

Now that the siblings had exceeded his expectations, they could proudly be called geniuses.

Therefore, the trio planned to train Iain’s and Lilly’s heat resistance for the next two days. Although they obviously wouldn’t need this in a place called Frozen Hell, it was still a practical skill one should have on planet Hex.

After three days on training without rest, Iain and Lilly had passed out immediately when Groob allowed them to go to bed. The siblings only got rid off their exhaustion after a comfortable ten hours of sleep.

As they now gathered for breakfast however, Iain and Lilly could already feel their bodies were filled with strength. After receiving a lot of rewards from the vault, they felt healthy and strong like never before.

The siblings also noted that the level in their status changed to 9 and 8 respectively. They were eager to clear their confusion, so Lilly asked Groob as soon as the met:

“Good morning, Groob.”

The adventurer was naturally in a good mood as he did some easy but well-paid work right now.

“Morning, kids. You look well rested today. I hope you are ready for training.”

“Of course. Can I ask you a question real quick though?”

“Sure. That’s what I’m here for.”

“You see, we were checking our stats today… through meditation, and noticed that our level seems to have changed? What’s the pattern here?”

“Ahh that’s easy. Your level simply follows your highest ranked skill. Most of the time it doesn’t matter too much, but you have to be careful every ten levels.”

Iain, who had already reached level 9 perked up at this remark. He asked with curiosity:

“What happens every ten levels?”

“You will encounter bottlenecks. Some of them are harder to overcome and some easier. However, two conditions have to be fulfilled every time.”

“Those are?”

“In order to overcome a specific bottleneck, you need to have a certain number of skills reach this level. It is always your level divided by 10.”

While Iain thought about this explanation for a second, Lilly cleverly added:

“So, we must possess three level 30 skills at level 30, or seven level 70 skills at level 70 for example?”

“Correct!”, exclaimed Groob. “This is the first condition. Only if you have fulfilled this can you train one skill past the respective level and break the bottleneck.

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You will then receive extra rewards from the vault depending on the skill you trained. Thus, I would advise you not to use your cold resistance to break through but a more practical skill.”

Understanding dawned on the siblings as they learned more and more about the vault. Lilly recognized the vault’s purpose of training strong warriors in a reasonable timeframe.

As the siblings quietly shared their thoughts about the vault during breakfast, some invisible pressure bore down on their minds.

From this system they gleamed small insights about the dangers of this universe.

Just imagine the scale of a war if the vault, which could potentially grant every human unimaginable power, was only enough to grind the fighting to a standstill.

Furthermore, there existed beings like the God of Light, who was hailed as almost omnipotent by his believers. Yet the Malohcras posed a real threat. On top of that they abused all kinds of malicious schemes like spreading the Malo Disease.

Observing the sibling’s growing uneasiness, Groob lightly hit the back of their heads.

“What are you two thinking so much? You can’t even be considered warriors yet. The war has as little to do with your lives as a beautiful wife with mine.

Let’s go and train your heat resistance!”

The pair of siblings let go off their heavy minds as they chuckled over Groob’s joke. They knew the adventurer was correct. They reeled in their minds and focused back on the present.

Soon the trio found themselves in the familiar elevator. Contrary to the last few days however, they were travelling upwards this time.

As they passed floor after floor, Groob suddenly reminded the siblings:

“Did you bring your sun protectors?”

Iain and Lilly nodded as they put the shaded glasses on.

A few seconds later the door opened silently on the fiftieth floor.

Similarly to the environment on the lower floors they once again entered a comfortable lounge filled with mostly children. Two main differences immediately caught the siblings’ eyes though.

Everyone on this floor wore sun protectors to shield them from the light entering through the windows and multiple spots offering something to drink lined the walls here.

Groob didn’t waste much time as he led Iain and Lilly towards a door leading outside this circular room. The siblings were slightly confused as they next entered a small room which seemingly served no purpose.

Only after Groob’s explanation did they understand that this room called air lock was designed to keep the uncomfortable, hot air out.

An uneasy feeling spread in the Rottal’s stomachs as the door behind them closed, only for the one in front of them to open soon after.

The full might of six stars suddenly barreled down on Iain and Lilly. Stepping forward they quickly realized that they stood in one of the strange towers they saw a few days ago.

On this floor the training center didn’t have any walls and only pillars held up the next floor. Sunlight filled their surroundings, leading to a heat way beyond what could be felt on the ground.

However, the siblings ignored the unpleasant surroundings for now as something else drew their attention. Groob followed Lilly and Iain as they hastily walked past the scattered people training here and carefully approached the tower’s edge.

The siblings were left in awe as they observed the city from high up. Groob showed an understanding look on his face. Everyone who saw Iomor’s Grace for the first time from this position, would show similar reactions.

Right now, Lilly and Iain didn’t care for other’s reactions, as they drew in this unique sight.

Their immediate surroundings were dominated by similar towers. Those however grew copious amounts of big, yellow plants in their wide-open floors.

Tearing their eyes away form the cities lifeline, Lilly and Iain observed the ant-like citizens crowding the luxurious streets between beautiful houses.

The crowd seemingly grew busier the closer they came to the massive statue marking the cities’ center. Everything else, roads, houses, even people, surrounded this sign of the god of light’s might in a circle.

Letting her eyes wander away from the golden statue, Lilly recognized how everything seemed less luxurious the closer it was placed towards the city’s edge. Until almost slum-like conditions dominated the area close to the massive city wall.

Iain was especially impressed by the high wall protecting Iomor’s Grace. The young smith recognized the golden lines spread on it even from their position. Insane amounts of mana ran along those lines, constantly protecting the city from harm.

An inkling of understanding appeared in Iain’s mind as he traced those runic lines. It wasn’t that surprising that the city mostly seemed to run on lightning energy gathered by floating panels, as most of its mana reserves probably powered the wall. The young smith let out an appreciative sigh before turning around.

Groob hid his smile when he noticed that the siblings had finished marveling at the city. Remembering their purpose here, Lilly spoke up apologetically:

“Sorry Groob, we were too fascinated by the view.”

“Haha no problem. Everyone will behave like this during their first time here.”

“But now we are ready, let’s begin training.”

Suddenly Groob couldn’t hold himself back and began laughing loudly.

“Haha, kids. Your training has already begun since we arrived here. Get yourself a comfortable place and enjoy the sun. I will wait in the lounge for you!”

Only after Grob words did the siblings notice the sweat already dripping from their bodies. The all-encompassing heat didn’t show them any mercy as their skin had to protect them from almost 60 degrees.

Although their training clothes still covered most of their bodies, the siblings almost felt roasted alive. Fortunately, they had already strengthened their endurance, giving them some advantage in this training.

Thus, Lilly and Iain found a random spot to sit on the floor as Groob went back inside.