Azzy finished reading the story on the first slab.
He stepped aside and then continued to read out loud uninterrupted.
The next five parts mostly contained his journey to Ars Goetia, the land of demons.
At present day, it is called a forbidden region with the whole 8 million sq. km of landmass completely sealed up by the ancient Supreme realm experts after they witnessed the demonic energy is affecting the corrupting the people of the mainland.
Only those who had the power of a demigod could break that seal. But, if you had such power, why would you care about the barren land that is devoid of life? You would rather go and venture into the cosmos.
But, this was the time when there was no seal. This was during the first millennium of the first Epoch when only a tiny percentage of demons survived the Great War.
The land, which was said to be the most chaotic and dangerous place in the world, is now available for the unnamed half-elf to explore.
On the way, he claimed to have met the mermen and mermaids, fairies, giants, etc…
Uphiar and Louis were listening to Azzy in pin-drop silence. Their concentration was at its peak and felt as if they have opened a new door to ancient history.
Meanwhile, Azzy reached the seventh and last part of the story.
"Year 724, First Epoch;
I finally made it to the last stop before reaching Ars Goetia.
It is an island kingdom of Triastal, once known as the home of high elves. But, more than eight hundred years ago, everyone perished under the onslaught of demons during the Great War.
Now, it was being ruled by a queen. Maybe, Triastal was the first land I have saw a female human ruler. It's really a surprise to witness such a change among humans considering the male domination in the undeveloped human civilizations.
Originally, I was only supposed to stay there for a day or two before setting out to the destination but to my surprise, I stumbled upon an old ash tree, located in the center of the royal city of Leaf.
It wasn't that huge, just barely about 5 meters, and neither was it alive. However, it was given importance by the royal family as a way of showing homage to the lost souls who used to live in this land, centuries ago.
People over there mentioned that this ancient tree is rumored to be there even during the age of apocalypse and dried up after the invasion of demons. Of course, I didn't buy that. How could any tree live for millions of years?
But, when I went there, a miracle happened.
I heard the voice of the tree spirit. It introduces itself as Yggdrassil. It is a Celestial grade Arcana of an elf prince named Elwin Triastal who left his kingdom at a young age to serve King Arthur before he united all the human kingdoms and established the Empire of Arcana.
It expressed its happiness to finally encounter an elf after so long. After all, only with elven blood could hear its voice.
Yggdrasil said that it was separated from its master or rather abandoned before he ascended to the God realm.
In return for giving me a mystical fruit made out of its energy, it requested me to find the other half, hidden somewhere out there.
Reuniting both of them will make it become a divine grade Arcana and so, it could be reborn as the divine tree god at the Celestial realm.
Yggdrasil then transformed itself into a simple wooden branch, so that it can travel with me.
Maybe, it was destiny that led me there. How else, a half-elf like me who should be singing stories to others and sending information to his homeland will go on such a mission.
Eating the mystical fruit also changed my constitution. With long pointy ears, a tall figure, emerald eyes, and a pale face, I look more like a pure-blood elf. Not to mention my soul power grew leaps and bounds, making me enter the Exalt realm.
I started traveling to the places once again, continuing to be a bard, a spy, and a man on a mission.
After failing to find it in our world of Gaia, I ventured into the world of Arcana. There, the cities are being developed, academies are being built, and young adults are learning to live in this dangerous environment. The change is happening rather fast. But then again, it is a good thing.
It's the Year 1255. It took me 500 years to finally complete my mission. Yggdrasil became whole and ascended to the Celestial Realm. Meanwhile, I was on the verge of becoming a demigod.
The year 1389;
It's been more than a century. I have yet to make a breakthrough. I guess I have no choice other than to risk it. I need to kill a powerful rank-10 beast and forcefully breakthrough so that I will be qualified to enter the world of immortals.
Today is probably the last day of my life. I'm going to the forest of death to face the void dragon.
After today, either I will ascend to become a demigod or fall to death to go to the spirit realm.
I really want to see my family for the last time but I was afraid to find out that my family tree had disappeared long ago. Sigh…"
As Azzy finished reading the last part, Uphiar spoke his thoughts, "Until the end, he didn't reveal his name. I wonder if he had become a demigod."
"Who knows…" Azzy shrugged his shoulders in disinterest. Just like the Reaper mentioned earlier, the writings on the stone slabs are nothing useful to him except for the knowing familiar identities, General Triastal and Yggdrassil. Well, if he had to look into it deeply, he also found out that Claire's home was once known to be the land of elves.
Meanwhile, Louis was silent and fell into deep thoughts for a while. It is unknown what he was thinking though.
Uphiar spotted it.
"What is it, student Louis?"
When asked by the teacher, Louis who, return to reality, simply changed the topic to the continuation of their sparring. He also asked Azzy to join in.
Azzy refused it and said he needs to work on something.
Since he should be constant on Uphiar's watch under the absence of Izora, he requested the sorcerer to take him to the illusion realm where he could battle peak-rank-6 beasts.
Uphiar agreed with it and quickly sent him to the illusion realm for training while the latter sat inside the cave. The cobra staff continued to watch while Uphiar sparred with Louis above the sandy region.
Until the evening, Azzy mostly worked on his control just like how he had trained during the previous year.
He would use his rank-6 strength but will make sure his speed, punches, and kicks will be controlled in a way the rank-6 beasts won't be killed in one move.
By the time, the sun is about to set, everyone returned to the city. Claire, Mia, Estella, and even Gideon, all of them improved their soul power by a marginal portion during the past 12 hours.
The biggest improvement was seen in Claire, who entered the peak stage of rank-5. Mia was also close to reaching the peak stage.
It is really a huge improvement considering both of them are only at the beginner stage, 12 hours ago. Both of them had to risk fighting a bunch of rank-6 beasts one after another to get such an improvement.
Claire can also break through but because of the worry over losing control, she stopped there. For the next seven days, she plans on stabilizing the realm, back at the silver city.
Uphiar congratulated everyone and said, "Okay, before we leave, there's something student Azrael wanted to say to all of you."
Everyone looked at Azzy who had already told it to Louis and Uphiar earlier.
Taking a deep breath, he announced, "A week later, the world league preliminaries will start. As everyone already knows, I will have to attend the training at WAMO, every 3rd week of the month. So, we'll part here and directly meet on the day of our first battle as a group. In my absence, I hope no one would lag behind.
According to the rules, nine people can be registered as a team with five as the main and four as substitutes. We are only eight but everyone should keep in mind that it doesn't mean all of us will be registered in the same team. After all, we aren't the students of Aclein Academy but belong to the Aclein city branch of Eternal Institutions of Arcana."
Everyone's facial expression changed.
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