When Moon's profile was featured, his background stood in stark contrast to every other team mber.
An awakener whose parents had been killed when a gate suddenly opened. Soone who'd suffered an error during his awakening ceremony that made the entire community believe he was a null, powerless.
For months afterward, he'd continued fighting against impossible odds with nothing but determination and hidden potential. He'd beco an anchor that supported Ironpeak Base during the catastrophic siege of monsters that had nearly destroyed it, ultimately killing an S-rank beast alongside Kael Glassy—another mber of the current team—in the process.
It was a textbook underdog story, the kind of narrative that resonated powerfully with ordinary people.
Moon's background brought him thousands of spontaneous supporters from civilians and low-potential awakeners alike. They felt a genuine connection to his journey, seeing in him the achievent of what they all desperately wanted: power earned through struggle rather than inherited privilege.
Whether it was civilians who'd evacuated their hos in Zone C, or mbers of powerful Groups with powerful leadership around the world, many began actively searching for more detailed information about Moon's background and accomplishnts.
His na was trending across multiple social platforms, his story being shared and discussed with intense interest.
Inside a tall tower in one of the zone B's most exclusive districts, within a vast celebration hall, many powerful young awakeners were currently enjoying themselves while watching the news coverage on massive displays.
"This bastard... wasn't he supposed to be a null? How is he becoming a public hero?!" Marcus Miller's face twisted with visible irritation as he stared at the image of Moon entering the gate alongside the other S-rankers.
He could still rember the day that Sarah left him to join his ground, when he publicly humiliated him.
His group—Adrian, Lena, and Mark—sneered with contempt at the screen, sharing their leader's disdain.
All except one person.
Sarah stood slightly apart from the others, staring at Moon's image with complex emotions hidden behind a neutral expression that nobody around her could properly interpret.
"Who cares about so awakener getting temporary fa?!" Adrian scoffed dismissively, his voice dripping in contempt. "He's nothing but an awakener, no matter how strong he thinks he is. He will never amount to anything compared to us. We're Evolvers now. We could kill him as easily as swatting a fly."
The contempt in his tone was absolute, having crossed the threshold into the Second Sanctuary and gained power that made even S-rank awakeners seem insignificant by comparison.
Awakening the unique Spellblade class and being part of Marcus's prestigious group had inflated Adrian's ego to remarkable heights.
Marcus nodded slowly, though his expression remained troubled rather than dismissive.
"Still," he said quietly, more to himself than the others, "he's in an S-rank gate. If he survives and completes his evolution..."
He didn't finish the thought, but the aning behind his words hung heavy in the air.
If Moon survived and beca an Evolver, the gap between them would narrow considerably. And that possibility bothered Marcus far more than he wanted to admit.
"That's the thing…He won't, haha. The idiot will probably be the downfall of his group, I can already imagine him dead by now. It's only a matter of ti before Zone C becos nothing but a rubble of the past…it's dood." Mark chipped in.
Sarah continued staring at the screen, her expression unreadable, saying nothing.
"Sarah, what do you think?" Marcus turned towards her.
Sarah shrugged her shoulders, "Does it matter? His life and death are aningless to …us. Let's just enjoy ourselves." She lifted her cup in the air, "Cheers."
"Ha-ha, you are right. People like us shouldn't bother with ants, cheers!" Marcus laughed wholeheartedly, his laughter filling the entire hall.
♢♢♢♢
The group continued their expedition deeper into the cavern system until they spotted sothing intriguing carved into the stone wall.
"Wait, stop. Check this out!" Jonah, the assassin, spoke suddenly, his sharp eyes having spotted human writings etched into a small stone tablet embedded in the cavern wall.
The team gathered around as their lighting runes illuminated the inscribed text:
[Let it be known to those who enter with ambition in their hearts: this place does not reward the patient.]
[Let it be known to those who stand before the ten: he who opens one and rests has opened nothing at all. To free one is to free none.]
The group read through the cryptic ssage in its entirety, their faces cycling through various degrees of confusion.
"What the hell is that supposed to an? Ten what? Beasts? Open what?" Nina frowned deeply, staring at the tablet with obvious irritation. She had never liked puzzles or riddles, ever since childhood. She simply preferred straightforward combat, using her fists instead of her brain. Reading this obscure tablet made her feel actively annoyed.
"Ugh, do you understand any of this, Mara?" Nina turned toward the healer with a slightly pleading expression.
Mara shook her head with a wry smile, "Sorry, I don't."
Moon's eyes briefly landed to observe the two won's interaction.
'They knew each other before this mission... this isn't their first ti working together. Turns out she was backing her friend earlier, ' he noted ntally, filing that information away for potential relevance later. The reason behind Mara's decision to complain about him alongside Nina was clear to Moon, especially when nobody else did.
His focus returned imdiately to the tablet, working to pass its cryptic content.
Grant pulled out a parchnt and writing implent from his storage ring, transcribing what was written on the tablet. He copied each phrase carefully, word for word, letter for letter, ensuring no detail was lost or misrembered.
Once the transcription was complete, he stored the parchnt safely in his ring.
"Does anyone have any theories or leads about what this ssage ans?" Grant asked, his gaze sweeping across each team mber's face, searching for signs of insight.
Everyone shook their heads, none confident enough to offer an interpretation of the deliberately vague text.
Moon remained silent as well, though he wasn't entirely clueless. The emphasis on "ten" suggested multiple objectives or challenges. The warning against partial completion implied so kind of linked system where finishing one task without finishing all was aningless or perhaps even dangerous.
But without more context, speculation was premature. With no solid evidence backing his claim, Moon wasn't going to speak ignorantly, just to be proven wrong later on, that would just lower the group's trust in him.
"Alright then," Grant nodded, accepting that imdiate understanding wasn't possible."I've preserved its content on parchnt for later analysis. Let's continue exploring this place more deeply. There might be more clues, additional tablets, or context that makes this ssage clearer."
He gestured toward the branching tunnels ahead.
"Stay alert. If this is so kind of trial or puzzle built into the gate's structure, there will likely be more challenges ahead."
The group resud their cautious advance, moving deeper into the cavern.
Moon continued working on the riddle even as his eyes scanned for threats.
Ten of sothing. Conquer all or conquer none. Open all or open none. Free all or free none.
The repetition suggested deep importance.
Whatever this gate's true challenge was, it apparently couldn't be half-completed.
They would either succeed entirely, or their efforts would an nothing. The last ti he felt this was in the hidden realm, against the winter beast.
Moon's grip tightened slightly on his staff.
Interesting.
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