The apartnt was tiny, barely large enough for one person. The bed was small and old, the blankets thin and worn. There was almost no personal decoration or belongings visible anywhere. The kitchen consisted of a single electric burner and a few mismatched dishes. Everything spoke of soone who had been living in poverty for quite so ti.
He had been suffering and struggling for so long in these conditions. But thankfully, now that he had successfully beco a Stellar Knight and survived his trial, his circumstances would improve dramatically. He would be able to afford a much better living situation after going into dinsional dungeons and hunting Sunfiend-level beasts for their valuable materials.
Gloria sat down on Vogue’s bed, which creaked slightly under her weight due to its age. She looked at him with eyes that showed genuine concern mixed with frustration.
"You left the stadium without even informing you were going," she said, her tone carrying a note of accusation. "And then you didn’t send a single text ssage for three entire days. I was extrely worried about you. I didn’t know if sothing had happened or if you were injured or if you were even still alive!"
Vogue walked over to where she was sitting and leaned down, giving her a soft kiss on the lips to pacify her anger.
"I had sothing very important I needed to attend to privately. I’m sorry for making you worry."
Gloria’s eyes closed automatically as they kissed, and a small involuntary moan escaped from her throat. When they finally separated, a thin line of saliva stretched between their lips, connecting them for a mont before the elastic limit was reached and it broke apart.
Her annoyance had visibly lted away, replaced by warmth and affection.
"Did you want to eat sothing?" Vogue gestured toward the pot of instant noodles he had been preparing. "I was just about to make dinner."
Gloria’s eyes followed his gesture to the kitchen area, and her expression imdiately changed to one of disapproval when she saw what he’d been planning to eat.
"Why are you eating that unhealthy junk food!" she exclaid, standing up from the bed with sudden energy.
Before Vogue could respond or defend his food choices, Gloria had marched into the kitchen area, picked up the pot of boiling water along with the package of instant noodles, and unceremoniously threw both of them into the small trash bin.
"Hey, I was hungry—" Vogue started to protest.
"Absolutely not!" Gloria cut him off firmly. She physically grabbed his shoulders and pushed him out of the kitchen area. "You just underwent a major trial and evolution. Your body needs proper nutrition, not processed garbage filled with chemicals and sodium. Now sit down and let cook sothing actually healthy for you!"
Vogue sighed in resignation but couldn’t help feeling sowhat pleased by her concern. He obediently retreated to his bed and sat down cross-legged, deciding not to argue with her about cooking thods.
While Gloria busied herself in the kitchen area, pulling ingredients from a shopping bag she had apparently brought with her specifically for this purpose, Vogue closed his eyes and turned his attention inward.
He focused his consciousness on looking deep inside himself, examining his internal cultivation space.
Within the depths of his mind, floating in the center of his inner world above the four elental regions, was a scroll. The ancient parchnt hovered there mysteriously, completely covered in golden flas that burned without consuming the material beneath.
This scroll was one of the three main treasures Vogue had purchased from the Cosmic Store using his hard-earned points. It was actually an Eternal Grade ditation technique, the highest tier available in the entire shop. Acquiring it had cost him nearly one million points alone—almost his entire fortune from the trial.
Eternal Grade was multiple tiers above even Heaven Grade techniques. It was the kind of foundational thod that could support cultivation all the way to the absolute peak of power, with no limits or bottlenecks built into the technique itself.
But there was one significant problem that Vogue hadn’t anticipated when making the purchase.
Ever since the scroll had entered his body after he bought it and bound it with his blood, Vogue had been completely unable to actually open and read the technique contained within. Every single ti he closed his eyes and attempted to access the scroll’s contents, it remained stubbornly sealed shut.
He had tried everything he could think of. He had channeled all four of his elental laws into the scroll simultaneously. He had attempted to burn away the golden flas. He had tried speaking commands aloud and ntally. He had even tried physically grabbing the scroll with his spiritual hands.
The most he had achieved was making the scroll budge slightly when he poured massive amounts of combined law energy into it. But even then, it refused to actually open and reveal its secrets.
Vogue sighed internally with frustration. If he had known this limitation existed, he would have been far more conservative with his point spending. He could have purchased a Divine Grade or Heaven Grade technique instead—sothing he could actually use imdiately—rather than buying sothing so far beyond his current ability to access that it might as well not exist.
He had definitely bitten off more than he could chew with this purchase.
"Vogue, co eat," Gloria’s soft voice pulled him out of his ditation. She gently caressed his face to get his attention.
Vogue opened his eyes and saw that she had sohow managed to prepare a proper al using his extrely limited kitchen equipnt. The small table was set with rice, stir-fried vegetables, and what looked like grilled fish that she must have brought with her.
The two of them sat down together and began eating. The food was genuinely delicious, far better than anything Vogue had eaten in months. Gloria had real cooking skills that transford even basic ingredients into sothing special.
As they ate, Gloria asked him various questions about what had happened during the Osympic Trial. She wanted to know details about the challenges he’d faced.
Vogue answered so questions that he was able to answer, but definitely not everything she asked about. Upon exiting any Osympic Trial, all participants were placed under an absolute restriction by the Omnibus System that prevented them from sharing specific details about their experiences.
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