Gacha Sovereign

"I don't know much either, so I will only tell you what I know. It was around four thousand or five thousand years ago. Back then, I heard there was a world that wanted to rule this universe. Of course, many gods took it as an offense. But that world also fought back against the gods. And it finally happened, the war between that world and the gods.     

In that war, many gods died in the battle. But eventually, the gods were victorious which led the ruling kingdom in that world to decline and eventually get destroyed. After that victory, the gods destroyed all things related to this universe and that battle because of their ambition. That is why they now can't have any ambition or any power to come back from that. After that, the gods decided to exile that world into something you can call a 'trash bin'. It's the place where the world was exiled and let them extinct naturally. That's why there are no other beings you can find there. Even if you manage to find them, they are either the new exiled one or a new being born in there, which means their civilization restarts from zero.     

In that place, there might be some worlds that could sustain living beings, but there are others without any living beings. A place to let the worlds destroy themselves, a place where living beings extinct naturally. It's called 'trash bin' but the nicer word would be 'Worlds Graveyard'. That's all I know."     

Alex was very surprised to hear all of this. Was that really Earth? He said 'Kingdom', right? Four thousand or five thousand years ago? Around two thousand or three thousand B.C.     

'Hmm… I'm not very good with world history. But, I think I only know two 'Kingdoms' around that time… Mesopotamian and Ancient Egyptian Kingdom. Maybe there were some others, I don't know… well, I'm here now. So, there is no point in going back to that place again. After all, there are no attachments left in that place,' Alex thought to himself.     

He pushed that thought in mind. He considered it as one of world history and that was all. He had no intention to go back.     

Looking at Alex's expression, Maxwell also knew what he was thinking about. Alex seemed to not have any attachment to that world. He won't blabber or take revenge for that world. Knowing that, Maxwell felt relieved.     

Not wanting to make the situation more awkward, Maxwell decided to change the topic.     

"Alright, we better not talk about it any further. Let's go back to our discussion. Oh, wait, how can you speak the common language if you are from there?"     

"Common language? I only use my native language all this time."     

"…" Maxwell looked at Alex, he was astonished by the answer Alex gave. "What a useful technique you have there. Let me test it."     

Maxwell wrote something on the ground and it was written something like this, '₥ᶗѪᴌ'     

"Is this your language?"     

Alex shook his head, he looked at the character but he didn't recognize which character it was. But he knew, no, he understood the word. It read 'Maxwell'.     

"Master, is that your name?"     

"As expected. What a convenient ability," Maxwell's expression turned serious. "Let me warn you first. Since you can understand the language then there should be no problem. But never laugh at someone's name. There is someone whose name is written like this, 'Юл'. What do you think about this name?"     

"Gay?" Alex was confused, it was indeed a very weird name.     

"That's right. It's written as 'Gay'. Then, what does 'gay' mean? You know it, right? But in his world, that name means brave and gallant. I hope you keep this in mind. No matter what kind of weird name you come across later on, never laugh at them."     

Alex nodded. If someone who got a weird name like that was very powerful and he laughed at him/her, Alex might have to face serious consequences.     

"Alright, since you got it, let's move on. Since you are already at the Peak Qi Gathering Stage, I will help you advance to the Qi Manipulation Stage."     

"Thank you, Master."     

Maxwell nodded, "This is the second thing we have to deal with. What do you think about the next stage after the Qi Manipulation Stage?"     

Alex was confused for a moment, he knew there was another stage after the Qi Manipulation Stage. But he still didn't know what stage it was.     

"It's a Martial Master Stage. It's the beforehand stage either it's Body Tempering Stage, Qi Gathering Stage, or even Qi Manipulation Stage. It's only a foundation stage. For example, each stage just teaches you the basics of the basics. It's like when you are in the Qi Gathering Stage, for the Early Phase, you learn how to punch. For the Middle Phase, you learn how to kick. For Peak Phase, you learn how to use them effectively. That's why it's hard to fight someone whose rank is higher than you.     

It's also the reason why it's the first step where true cultivation starts after you reach the Martial Master Stage. There are six other stages above the Martial Master Stage. They are Martial Grandmaster Stage, Martial Lord Stage, Martial King Stage, Martial Monarch Stage, Martial Emperor Stage, and Martial Saint Stage. Along with the Martial Master Stage, these are the true seven stages of cultivation. Each Stage consists of ten stars. You can fill it later after you reach that stage. There is a difference between each star. But unlike the foundation stage, it's possible to defeat a higher star practitioner if you have good technique or skill."     

"The true Seven Stages of Cultivation…" Alex was astonished. "Then, what's your rank, Master?"     

"Ara, are you going to feel disappointed if I only have a lower rank?"     

"No… no... that's not what I mean, I'm just curious. It's alright if Master didn't want to answer it."     

"Haha… I'm just fooling around. I'm above them. After a saint, your body will transform from a mortal body and become a god. You can consider me as a god but as for my specific rank, I won't say it to you for now. It's for your good, trust me."     

Alex was surprised. His 'master' was proclaimed as 'God (?)'. Whether it was true or not, Alex would know it later. He better put this matter aside.     

"Alright, let's move to another topic. What do you think about the requirement for ascending?"     

Alex contemplated a bit. "Martial Master Stage?"     

"You are half correct."     

"…" Alex was confused again, he thought hard. What was the requirement then? He tried to answer again, "Is it rank 10?"     

"Wrong."     

"Ugh, Master, please don't tease me."     

"Alright… alright. I will tell you, the requirement is the dungeon."     

"Dungeon?" Alex was shocked, the dungeon suddenly came into his mind. What kind of secret did the dungeon have? Why did his master mention it out of nowhere?     

"Yes. Do you feel any difference between the dungeon and the world?"     

Alex was deep in thought. But suddenly something came into his mind. "The Monster?"     

"That's right. Then, what is their difference?"     

"Monster core."     

"You are correct. I will tell you the secret of that dungeon. The dungeon in this world is some kind of a test for us. Why are the monsters in the dungeon different from the monsters on the surface? The answer is simple, the monsters in the dungeon don't originate from this world."     

"What?" Alex's new Master seemed to keep giving Alex many surprises with every sentence he uttered.     

"Yes, the monster was originally from the upper world. It was transported from the upper world to this world."     

Alex was surely astonished by this fact. But something was bothering him, "But, Master said that 'outsider' can't enter this world? Then how can they be transported to this world?"     

"Haha… at first, I was also confused about that. The reason is because of God. He was known as the Dungeon God. In the record, He was one of the highest rank gods."     

"Was one of the highest rank gods?"     

"Yes. He died in that 'battle' I told you earlier."     

"I see."     

"From the record, He was one of the highest rank gods. But his personality was weird. He made those dungeons to satisfy his desire. I don't know what kind of desire it was but I just knowH He was weird.      

We derailed a bit. Let's go back to the main topic. If you manage to reach a hundred levels of the dungeon, you will see an array. It's the one that transports all those monsters from the upper world to the dungeon. It's some kind of set up so the monsters can't leave the dungeon. After we kill them, the monster would drop the monster core but no other parts, right?"     

Alex nodded to that question.     

"According to my research, the other parts are for nourishment. So the array will continuously work. That means, the monsters that are killed will always be replaced with another monster."     

"I see. From what Master had said, then there are two requirements to ascend to the upper world. First, we need to reach the 100th floor and go to that array. The second is that we have to reach at least the Martial Master Stage to activate the array."     

"Yes. That's right. Those two are the requirements to ascend. Then there are nine dungeons in this world. What are the differences between them?"     

Alex thought a bit, "According to Master. If the monsters are transported from the upper world, assuming that they originate from the same world, that means the place where they are kidnapped is the difference."     

This time, Maxwell was the one who was astonished. With that little information, Alex could conclude everything correctly, "Haha… you are right. Then, which one will you choose if you are going to the upper world?"     

"Hmm…" Alex thought for a moment. "I don't know. How about Master?"     

"I don't have any recommendations. It's up to you."     

"I see, then I will choose the one closest to me. Since all of them led to the same world."     

"Yes. Well, all of them are a lower-level place, after all, so they are all the same," Maxwell nodded. "Alright. The next one is…"     

"Wuu..." Sherry, who kept silent all this time, suddenly let out a sound.     

"Ah, I'm sorry Sherry."     

"Oh… right. I feel like both of you have signed a contract. What kind of contract is it?"     

"Contract? What is that?"     

"Eh? You don't know about it even though you already set it up?"     

Alex shook his head confusedly.     

"Then, let me check," as Maxwell said earlier, suddenly there was some kind of magic circle, but it appeared differently. When it took shape, Alex felt his back starting to get hot. Sherry also felt the same. Not long after, a fox tattoo on Alex's back resurfaced. And the Fox head emblem also resurfaced from Sherry. Maxwell was astonished by what he saw just now, "What? Life and Death Contract?"     

"Life and Death Contract?"     

"As its name implies, Life and Death Contract means your life and her life are shared. But, it only applies to her. That means, if you die, then she will die too. But if she dies, you will not die. Only the beast can set this up. After all, this contract means that the beast lays all its life to its owner. That means, she gave her life to your hand."     

"What? Sherry, how can you do that?"     

"Wuu… Wuu… (That's fine, that means I can be together with Master forever)."     

"Sherry…" Alex was moved with what Sherry had done all this time, from the moment she carried him from that forest to the Acacia Kingdom, until the moment they arrived in this strange place. "But, since when?"     

"Wuu… Wuu... Wuu… Wuu…. Wuu (I think when Master's wife got hurt, Master got out of control. I just wanted to calm Master. Master won't throw me out, right?"     

She looked at Alex with sparkling eyes on her eyes.     

"Of course I won't. I will kill whoever dares to hurt you," said Alex confidently.     

"Wuu..."     

"Haha… alright, we've reached the place," since they were talking so long, they didn't realize they had arrived at a place Maxwell wanted them to go.     

"Where is this, Master?" In front of them, there was a giant gate.     

"This is my treasury," Maxwell said as he opened the gate.     

When the gate opened, Alex could see everything. There were many high-rank raw materials and treasures inside. Maxwell waved his hand. Suddenly, a herb and a book flew.     

Alex grabbed them and he heard Maxwell saying, "This book is the one thing I want you to learn."     

Alex looked at the book and 'Fire Phoenix Art' was written on it. "Master, what is this?"     

"This is fire art. Well, even when the Pure Fire or Absolute Flame might be great, I think this should be enough since both of them will also come with danger. I'm sure many factions want to have you if they know you have a Pure Element. Some will even think of you as a pest. This Fire Phoenix Art will camouflage your Fire Element. After you get the Fire Phoenix Seed according to this Art, no one can know that your Fire is a Pure Fire Element. Sadly, you can't get any elemental advantage. Our fire's power alone can minimize that effect."