Chapter 175: Under The Ruins
William looked at the trial creator, who was staring at him waiting for a response. He had spent the last few minutes thinking to himself about the decision he was about to make, but Riyald hadn't made a sound since.
It was clear that the old man knew how tough this decision was for William, who would have to leave behind his friends and family.
"Sir, I accept becoming your disciple." William said.
-Accepted a powerful Master: +1000 PP
"That's great! Now, come along and I will take you to your living quarters." Riyald opened a portal that teleported to an unknown location.
"Sir, you're a Space Mage as well?" William asked with surprise.
"Haha, no my Disciple. I just happen to have a few treasures that allow me to mimic some aspects of a Space Mage. It's best to think of it like you would a Space Ring. Also, call me Master from now on."
William understood immediately, using his knowledge of Arrays to fill in the gaps of information.
"Yes Master." he replied as Riyald ushered him into the portal.
The portal teleported them both underneath the Gravitas Ruins, where William could see a giant laboratory filled with many unusual machines. Despite the vast amount of machinery, the lab was completely silent, as if all the machines were insulated with sound-proofing material.
William looked around more, noticing that there was even a large glass chemistry station in one corner of the room, which he hadn't seen since his old world. He wondered what someone would do with chemistry in this world that revolved around Cultivation, Magic, and Alchemy to solve many chemistry-related issues.
"Oh, I see you've noticed my Glass Alchemizer! What great eyes you have!" Riyald commented in satisfaction.
"Glass Alchemizer?" William asked.
"Yes, that's what I decided to call it. I found while exploring a Mysterious Realm that suddenly popped up a few months ago. It's the source of my current experiment. I've been trying to figure out how it works for a while now."
A Mysterious Realm that has modern items from Reius?
"Where did you find this Mysterious Realm, Master?"
"Are you interested in exploring it as well? I'm sorry to say but you're not quite strong enough yet. The spatial storms would tear you to shreds before you had time to say "cheeks". It's best you wait until you're at least in the Soul Formation Realm with your current strength."
William frowned. The Soul Formation Realm was way too far away and would probably take years unless he could improve his Cultivation Talent quickly.
"Oh, don't make that face, my young Disciple. If it was anyone else, I would have told them not to enter until at least the Tribulation Transcendence Realm. For someone of your Talent, I wouldn't be surprised if you managed to reach the Soul Formation Realm in less than a hundred years!"
A hundred years?!? William had experienced it once before in the simulated Array Talent upgrade, but the stress on his mind was greatly reduced at the time.
It could hardly be called an experience, but William knew just how long a hundred years was when he hadn't lived much more than twenty as of yet.
He felt that asking further about this matter would only make him feel more depressed, but William made a mental note to visit the Mysterious Realm that Riyald mentioned in the future. Perhaps he could find a way back to his old world?
Riyald showed William around the laboratory for a few minutes, explaining each of his experimental machines before moving on to the living quarters.
Since he hadn't been expecting a new Disciple so soon, Riyald hadn't prepared a proper room for William to stay in.
After taking a few turns in a winding corridor, Riyald made a few gestures with his hands, a set of Perfect Arrays appearing in an instant and constructing a room made of wood and stone.
The stone transformed into thousands of grey bricks that pieced themselves together with a cement-like liquid that solidified quickly. The bricks formed four symmetrical walls, while wooden floorboards fit together on the ground.
Riyald added a few decorative items, such as a rug and paintings on the wall, then built a bed from scratch using the Plant Element. After he was done, he flashed a smile at William and motioned for him to enter the room.
"Thank you, Master." William felt the room needed work, but it was good enough.
"It seems you do know how to say thanks. I was beginning to wonder if I should even give you a reward for the previous trial tower's clear."
William's eyes flashed with surprise. How did I forget about the reward?
He assumed Riyald's appearance had distracted him.
Riyald pulled a golden box from his Space Ring and handed it to William. "Here's the reward I've decided to give you. It's not much, but I'm sure you will find the items inside very useful."
-Completed an SSR-Rank Trial in the Gravitas Ruins: +10000 PP
There was no message this time that William had gained ownership of a tower, but probably because he was pulled into an Illusory Realm.
William was at least thankful that he received ten thousand Potential Points, which would be more than enough for him to upgrade his Cultivation Talent again.
He stored the box in his Space Ring, since it would be rude to open his reward in front of his Master. He spoke with Riyald for a while more about his duties as a Disciple, but his Master was very vague and only told him to show up at nine in the morning the following day.
A reasonable schedule! William was overjoyed. He was tired of having to wake up as early as six or even four in the morning for various Sect matters. The sound of nine in the morning rang in his ears like the most beautiful song.
Riyald suddenly thought of something, "Boy, let me see your Gravitas Ruins Ticket."
William did as he was told, pulling the item from his Space Ring, which read Day 45. Riyald took the Gravitas Ruins Ticket and infused some of his Mana inside, changing the number to Day -360, which should give William an additional year inside the Gravitas Ruins.
Since time in the Gravitas Ruins flowed four times faster than outside, this meant that an additional four months would pass outside before he was kicked out of the Gravitas Ruins!
Four months didn't sound so bad, but William worried about Charlotte, who would probably think he was dead if he was gone for so long.
"Master, is there a way I can tell my Sect that I'm alive?"
"Why would you want to do that?" Riyald asked, but he already knew what was on William's mind. He took an Amulet shaped like a blue disc out of his Space Ring and whispered a few words into it that William didn't understand.
"It is done, Disciple William." he waved his hand as if it was nothing. "I will be returning to my experiments now. If you need something, call out to my Artifact Spirit, Sir Reynolds. He is always listening, so no need to worry if he didn't hear you."
An Artifact Spirit that is always listening? That's not creepy at all...How am I supposed to enjoy my alone time?
William nodded as Riyald walked down the corridor back towards the laboratory. After the old man was gone, he immediately pulled out the gold box, eager to see what rewards the trial creator had given out this time.