Max stood in front of the sa portal from which he had entered the Phoenix Order guild when he first arrived at the periter of the guild with Master Sophia all those months ago.
Many mbers of the guild were standing beside him, while others were entering the portal, disappearing into it.
"She is late," Max sighed, noticing there was still no trace of Alice. He had notified her so early and yet she was still late making him wonder what she was up to.
It wasn't until a full half-hour later that he saw her running toward him.
"What took you so long?" Max asked, complaining.
Alice smiled as she took out a red bracelet. "I asked Mother for a protective treasure for you. It took so ti," she explained.
"Let's go," Max said, turning toward the portal, a grin spreading across his face as a bubbling emotion surged within him.
But Alice blocked his path. "First, take this bracelet. We don't know when the Blade will attack you outside, so it's better to be ready," she said solemnly.
Max took the bracelet from her. "Alright, if you say so," he replied, putting it on.
"Hehe, let's go then," Alice smiled sweetly, pleased to see Max wearing the bracelet. She entered the portal and disappeared.
Max followed her, disappearing from the periter of the Phoenix Order guild.
---
After passing through the portal, what greeted Max was a world full of skyscrapers, neon lights, and signs. Even though it was day, the nurous skyscrapers blocked out the sun entirely. Stay connected with empire
"This is Central City… the main city of the Core Circle in the East Region," Alice introduced.
Max nodded, his eyes wandering around in amazent. He had read about Central City in books. It was said to be the most advanced city and the safest place in the entire East Region.
However, very few people could enter Central City from the Inner Circle, as not everyone had access to top guilds like Max did.
"Let tell you a fun fact," Alice said, turning to Max with a teasing expression.
Max caught the teasing smile and shot back, "Wait! Wait! Are you going to tease again for revenge or sothing?"
"Hahaha," Alice chuckled. "No, fool. It's just that what I want to tell you will blow your mind."
Max beca curious. "What is it?" he asked eagerly.
Alice smiled mysteriously, intentionally taking her ti to tease Max. She kept him in suspense before saying, "The entire Central City is bigger than the entire Inner Circle combined."
Max's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. He understood how large the Inner Circle was, having lived there for years. Just traveling between districts and cities often required taking trains.
Now, the city he stood in was even larger than the Inner Circle, which didn't make sense to Max at all.
"Shocked? Hehe," Alice giggled at Max's reaction.
Max nodded, taking a deep breath. "It is indeed a bit shocking," he said before getting to the main topic. "Let's head to the Rune Tower."
Alice nodded. "Let's go. It's within walking distance from the portal."
Max followed beside her.
"By the way, why the sudden interest in the Runes?" Alice asked suddenly as they walked toward the Rune Tower.
Max turned to her, his expression turning mysterious. "It's my secret."
"Aaaahhhh!" Alice scread in frustration, stomping her feet. "Just how many secrets do you have?"
Max chuckled. "Not a lot, but every one of them will shock you—especially the last one."
Alice sighed, her expression turning a little sad. "It doesn't matter since you won't tell about these secrets at all."
Max noticed her expression but knew better than anyone to never reveal his secrets to others. Not even to the closest person.
"Don't worry about them," Max said, then teased, "Do you have any secrets?"
Alice thought for a mont. "I don't think so," she replied.
"I guess you're no fun," Max shook his head in pity.
Alice bickered, "What do you an? Should we have so sort of secrets?"
Max smiled. "Yeah, it's better to have one than not have any secrets."
Alice and Max continued bickering as they soon arrived in front of a strange tower.
Max saw that the tower consisted of a large cube-shaped block and a massive sphere-shaped block stacked on top of each other, ten tis, resulting in the tower before them.
On the middle cube block, so words were written in a very strange symbol, glowing with bright golden light.
Max understood the aning of those symbols. They were called Rune Symbols, and the symbol on the cube ant "RUNE TOWER."
Outside the Rune Tower, a large entrance was surrounded by many individuals freely going in and out of the tower.
Max and Alice entered the Rune Tower and were imdiately greeted by a young woman wearing a professional suit. "Hello, I'm Viola. How can I help you?" she asked.
Max looked at her and asked, "We're here to buy materials for runes. Where can we find them?"
Viola glanced at Max, recognizing him and Alice. "Co this way, please." She politely led them through the crowded common hall to a secluded door.
"This is where guests can buy materials for Rank 1 Runes," Viola said, pointing at the door.
Max nodded at her, then entered the room with Alice.
Inside, the room was elegantly decorated, filled with rune markings. Three individuals stood together talking when they entered.
Max could tell one of them was the shopkeeper, while the other two were harder to identify, though their clothing suggested they held high statuses.
"Alice, what are you doing here?" one of the figures, a sixteen-year-old girl with long yellow hair, ran to Alice and hugged her.
"Lily, it's been a while since we t," Alice smiled, looking at the yellow-haired girl.
Max glanced at them when he suddenly felt a cold sensation wash over him. It felt as though he had beco the target of a very powerful monster, whose eyes were locked on him.
But Max knew where that sensation ca from. It was from the last figure in the room.
'Damn, this guy is intentionally pressuring with his strength,' Max thought, but he also knew that, for so reason, pressure from others didn't affect him. He would feel things like a cold sensation or a glare, but not the actual pressure.
He had noticed this strange ability of his when Master Sophia tried to teach him how to handle pressure from soone much stronger than him by getting used to her presence.
However, Max didn't feel her pressure at all and rely acted the entire training out.
'If he thinks he can pressure into fear, he's in for a ride,' Max sneered as he turned toward the figure in the hall, looking him straight in the eyes with a smirk on his face.
The figure was that of an old man, his broad, towering fra radiating strength and authority. His yellow hair, streaked with touches of white, was neatly combed back, giving him an air of both dignity and resilience. He wore what appeared to be a training suit, its practical design hinting at a life dedicated to discipline and mastery.
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