บท 27: Eighth Gate
A large, ten-legged spider roared silently. Its dark grey fur and crimson eyes made its looks ferocious. After letting out the roar, it started moving towards the clouds that were covering a bright star. Behind the spider, Sigil could see seven spots of bright light, forming a strange pattern.
Thud
The large, starry sky shook a little as the spider collided with an invisible wall. Its eyes shined brutally as it started thrashing on the invisible wall.
In the real world, Sigil's body kept on shuddering. After all, the rough treatment to the gates caused some damages to Sigil. But still, he silently endured it. His expression still like a lake and a soft glow emerged from the region surrounding his heart.
Sigil wasn't impatient with his Cultivation, after all, he had full three hours, unlike others. He and Alicia were chosen for the last spot of scouting and thus, they both were given the advantage to absorb more energy than others.
Time slowly passed as the surroundings remained silent. Evidently, many people decided to quietly absorb energy and increase their power instead of fighting it out this early. But Sigil still felt something wrong.
According to the information, the closer one is the totem, the purer the energy absorbed, but this was a super-sized Ancestral Pool. If Sigil was even 100 metres away from the totem pillar, he could still peacefully advance to the Chakra Stage.
Even though he understood the concept of crippling the competition, the people participating in the event weren't fools and wouldn't act if they did not obtain any profit. If he followed this conjecture, he had a feeling that there was something special near the totem that will induce a battle royale.
***
Three hours later.
Sigil and Alicia walked out as they nodded towards Bethany and Annie. After relieving the two girls from their duty, Sigil and Alicia stood together as they looked towards the totem pool.
Unknown to Alicia, Sigil's hand moved towards her very slowly.
'Since I am going to act like a young master, maybe I should get some benefits when no one is looking.'
Yes, even when Sigil loved treating the two girls with respect and showered them with praise, taking slight advantage of them during their alone time is also a show of respect.
The moment his hands neared enough, Sigil decided to distract her and strike.
"You remember when you kissed me in the car?" His words startled Alicia as her mind flashed the image of her climbing on top of Sigil as she gave her a passionate kiss and passed on her mother's heirloom.
"Wha-"
Her eyes widened as a slithering hand grabbed her perky butt and a hand grabbed on her neck and pulled her face upwards. Her mind started to ring warning bells as they were bypassed by something warm on her lips.
Feeling the tender kiss and passionate grabbing, her mind finally calmed down and she closed her eyes. A slight blush emerged on her smooth cheeks and she could only squirm a little to fulfill her ego. After all, no girl wanted to show her man that she was easy to get.
Alas, the naïve maiden did not know that her fake struggle gave a sensual feeling to Sigil's hand as he started to massage them unconsciously. He did not need to grab the other cheek since it would only make him more awkward. His grip on her neck tightened a little and his tender love turned fierce.
If she wanted to struggle, he needed to show her that it was useless!
After a full five minutes, Sigil decided to take a break. Even though he just wanted to have a little fun and tease her, Sigil felt a little terrified by the fact that her charm made him go for real. As he took deep breaths, he looked towards the panting Alicia.
Her entire demeanor was a mess. Previously, she wanted to show off the fact that she had opened the eighth gate in a single cultivation session. This feat spoke volumes about the benefits of super-sized Ancestral Pool and her talents. But her plan was ruined by Sigil.
....Not that she hated it.
Alicia shook her head and tried to control her thoughts. She slowly calmed down, but her physical appearance was still in a mess. Her face had a tinge of pink and her lips looked more sensual and luscious.
As Sigil saw the thought-provoking beauty, he grinned. From her reactions, he knew that he did good enough.
"This is the payback." Sigil concluded calmly. But the lower tent betrayed his gentlemanly demeanor.
"You- you.... What if someone caught us?" Alicia chided fiercely.
"Caught us?" Sigil thought before his aura changed. A pressure belonging to the experts with all of their gates unlocked emerged from his body, this aura surprised Alicia.
"We both are going to be engaged. So what if someone saw us? They can only envy the fact that you are mine and I am yours."
Sigil words were spoken carefully and seriously. Hearing her, Alicia's heartbeat quickened. An exciting, yet, unknown feeling welled up her heart and body. She couldn't rebuke Sigil as he really did get her this time.
She quickly averted her eyes and spoke in a whisper.
"Whatever! Congratulations on your breakthrough."
"The same goes for you."
His words surprised her again.
"How did you know?"
"Oh... um... let's just say that you can't control yourself when you are aroused." He smiled and spoke bluntly.
Alicia felt embarrassed, but kept quiet. Apparently, she wasn't successful in diverting the topic and it led back to their make out.
"Now that fun time is over, I want to discuss something." His voice turned serious. In such a tense environment, the previous situation helped both of their mentality as they could calm down a little and their frustration level was low.
It had to be known that Old Sparrow had played quite a game with the youngsters. By informing them that they were allowed to cripple the competition, he planted a vicious seed inside the mind of every competitor. His words implied the impending battle royale and many would want to strike before others could get stronger.
Even Sigil wasn't aware of such a psychological impact. After all, he was still a little short in schemes when compared to a hundred years old monsters. But their make out relieved them of their psychological stress, making them feel a little refreshed.
"What is it?" Alicia asked.
"Why do you think that we will have to fight other eventually?" Sigil asked her. His question had profound meaning that pointed at various clues and doubts.
Alicia thought for a little while as she muttered under her breath.
"Humanity is a greedy species. The only thing capable of raising conflicts is profits. But this ancestral pool is already a huge profit. This means–"
Her eyes twinkled as she tried to control her excitement.
"There is something even better than the ancestral pool." Sigil nodded and completed her statement.
"I think that many have already figured out the existence of the hidden treasure. Most likely, we will be finding it near the totem pole. Now, I wanted to discuss the methods of dealing with the situation."
Sigil explained the methods he came up with.
First was to form an alliance.
Their team could ally with some of the exclusive members of the dark guild by using Ivan as the mediator.
Second was the preemptive strike. They could move for the treasure immediately and contest to acquire it. Since it has only been a few hours, not many would have gained the true benefits of the Ancestral Pool.
Alicia pondered on both of the situations as she pointed out the loopholes.
"In the first method, we do not have a strong binding force. What if the value of the treasure exceed our imagination and they turn their back on the alliance. And the second method also has many risks. First of all, we are trapped here for five days. If we move out now and acquire the treasure, then it wouldn't be a simple competition between the groups, but a hunt. All the teams will hunt our team." She sighed. Her will was resolute and she wanted to fight for the treasures. Sigil was similar to her.
Arriving at this city brought back the sad memory of him abandoning the Grimoire World, gaining huge losses. Even though the core materials were stored inside the Grimoire, he still felt sad.
This memory brought along a burning will to swallow up the entire competition and gain the maximum benefits.
***
"Huff, just a little more." Ivan stood up and sighed. He had been trying to break his mortal shackles and open his chakra point. His team included the core members of the Black Spider. Even though he came from the newly established alliance, the presence of internal strife remained. It was natural, wherever humans existed, conflicts were bound to arise.
Right now, there were three factions from the alliance, four Families and a group of lone Witches brought here with the intention of recruitment.
Ivan slightly smiled as he looked towards the totem pillar. He was confident in Victory. After all, the Yellow Spider Family was the direct subordinate of the Black Spider Faction and he had them under his control. He just needed another faction as an alliance to draw in the lone witches and his task will be accomplished.
He thought for a little while. He couldn't cooperate with RedHawks, the BlackBee Family could be a worse decision as they belonged to another faction. This left him with the Grey Family. Even though they weren't a direct subordinate, they still belonged to the faction of Black Spider and he also had a friend in that family. He was almost sure that he could easily gain their cooperation.
While thinking all of this, he also remembered his senior's words.
"Remember, the director wants to know worthy members to place as spies. Watch out for potential."
***
"It's your turn." Jacob came out of his room. Since the team comprised of seven members, he was the only member who would be keeping an eye on the surroundings alone. This was only because of the fact that Annie was a girl and she was grouped with Bethany. Alicia and Sigil were a couple and therefore grouped together. Even George and Oliver befriended each other, leaving Jacob alone.
He could only blame his luck as he saw both of them entering their rooms after giving him a nod.
He looked around and thought of relieving his stress too, but the thought of failure stopped him. He was feeling uneasy, but he did not know the reason. This kind of situation increased his mental burden as he heaved a deep sigh.
"Don't worry, you chose to remain a bachelor. After all, who would want to hear a girl's nagging every day? Yes, it isn't because you couldn't woo a girl, it's because you chose this path."
He kept on repeating his bachelor sutra and guarded the place with diligence.
After one hour, Oliver and George replaced Jacob and the cycle continued for a whole day. Even when all of them were feeling hungry and thirsty, they kept continued their cultivation. The benefit of the Ancestral Pool started to emerge as the group's cultivation increased by leaps and bounds. Bethany was on the verge of unlocking her Eighth Gate while George and Jacob had unlocked their seventh gate.
Annie and Oliver still had to show some significant results. Even though they both were chosen to enter the ancestral pool because of their Background, they weren't talented enough to exploit the opportunity for their maximum benefit.
Due to such a situation, there was a change in the social position of the group. Bethany was already Sigil's and Alicia's friend and started hanging out with them. She had already lost her interest in Annie while Alicia and Sigil decided to keep watch for their location. After all, the quality of the energy wasn't strong enough for another breakthrough.
On the other hand, George and Jacob recognised each other and became friends. Only the talentless Annie and Oliver remained as they looked at their peers with envy.
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