Chapter 187: Proposal
"Let’s go before any other monster comes here after hearing the earlier commotion," Azrael said to Elyara and Luo Bingqing as he landed before them.
Both of them nodded at his words, though their hearts were still filled with shock.
As they moved forward, Elyara couldn’t help but ask, "Those wings... was that an Essentia Art?"
"Yes," Azrael nodded without hiding anything.
Although they had already expected the answer, both of them still sucked in a sharp breath of cold air when they heard his confirmation.
"Didn’t you activate your powers less than a month ago?" Luo Bingqing asked, disbelief heavy in his voice.
They were so shocked because they knew Azrael had only completed his Eonrift Trial earlier this month, and it had not even been a full twenty days since he had activated his powers.
To learn Essentia Arts, it was necessary for the user to first activate their powers. This meant Azrael had only begun learning the Essentia Art after completing his Eonrift Trial.
But as someone who were themselves learning Essentia Arts, they understood just how difficult it was to even reach the entry level.
They had both activated their powers in January, more than six months ago, and it had taken them months of constant effort to reach entry level in their chosen Essentia Arts.
Yet now, seeing Azrael use one flawlessly despite only activating his powers recently, they couldn’t help but wonder just what kind of monster he truly was.
What chilled their hearts even more was the way he used it. From what they saw earlier, his control over the Essentia Art was almost seamless and had no flaws.
The level 23 land wild boar had not been given even a single chance to fight back before it was killed, all because the Wings of Wind granted Azrael overwhelming agility.
From the way he used the wings, it seemed to them as though Azrael had been practicing this Essentia Art for years.
While both of them were still lost in their thoughts, Azrael glanced at them from the corner of his eye, his mind racing.
As they began climbing the cliff, Azrael finally made up his mind. His expression hardened as he spoke in a serious voice, "I have a proposal for both of you."
Elyara and Luo Bingqing snapped out of their daze at his words and looked at him in confusion.
Seeing he had their attention, Azrael stayed silent for a moment before finally continuing. "I have a way that will allow you two to increase your power at a rapid pace. But in return, whatever you find inside the ruins—half of those things will belong to me."
Both Elyara and Luo Bingqing frowned at his words.
"What do you mean by increasing our powers?" Elyara asked, narrowing her eyes.
"I have a method that will let both of you level up faster. If things go according to plan, it won’t be impossible for all of us to reach above level 20, or even the peak of class level before leaving the ruins."
Luo Bingqing and Elyara’s breaths hitched as they looked at him in shock.
"Are you serious?" Luo Bingqing asked, disbelief plain in his voice.
Azrael met his gaze flatly. "I don’t have any reason to lie to you."
Elyara and Luo Bingqing exchanged deep, searching looks before Elyara spoke again. "How are you going to increase our powers? If it’s something that will harm my foundation, I am not interested."
Azrael shook his head. "Don’t worry. It won’t affect your foundation or your source core in any way."
Elyara fell silent at his reassurance. She glanced at Luo Bingqing and saw that he was also deep in thought.
After a long moment, Luo Bingqing was the first to speak. "As long as the method is safe, I don’t have a problem giving you half of my gains."
Luo Bingqing was currently at level 16. If Azrael’s words were true and he really could reach above level 20—or even the peak of class level, then giving away half his gains was a price more than worth paying.
At his current cultivation speed, even while focusing diligently on his source core, learning skills, practicing his Essentia Art, and searching for primary energy veins, he estimated it would take him seven to nine months to reach the peak of class level.
If Azrael could shorten that time significantly, then Luo Bingqing had no complaints about the price.
"Good," Azrael smiled faintly when he heard Luo Bingqing’s agreement, then turned his gaze toward Elyara.
Elyara thought for a moment longer before she also nodded.
"Alright. Let’s reach the top of the cliff first," Azrael said once both had accepted his offer, and the three of them quickly rushed upward.
’I was afraid they might reject my offer, but it’s good that they didn’t.’
There was a simple reason Azrael had made them such an offer.
It was because as long as any monsters were killed within two hundred meters of him, the others would also receive the benefits of the Rule Stone.
The Rule Stone altered the laws within a two-hundred-meter radius around him, allowing anyone who slew a creature inside that domain to absorb a portion of the creature’s power.
Simply put, the Rule Stone had the effect of turning the two-hundred-meter area around him into something similar to the Eonrift. Within this area, as long as they killed a creature, they would be able to absorb a portion of its power.
Even if Azrael had wanted to keep the secret to himself, he would still have to cooperate with Luo Bingqing and Elyara whenever they encountered Epic-level monsters later on. During those times, once they killed the monsters together, they would naturally level up whether he wished it or not.
’Well, since they are going to enjoy the benefits brought by the two thousand task points I spent, it’s only natural for them to pay something in return.’
The cliff was about three hundred meters tall, and with their physical abilities, it took them less than a minute to reach the top... And the moment they stepped onto the summit and got a clearer view of the ruins beyond, their eyes widened in shock.