Tower of Heaven

Atlas soon joined his two companions in the hole they'd created. As the two of them celebrated their discovery, they made their way through the tunnel to find what was at its end.

And it wasn't what they expected.

Even Atlas thought that they'd find a hidden treasure with a guardian beast. Instead, they found themselves entering a cavern much larger than anything in their imaginations.

"This…is this a thing?" Artemia commented incredulously.

"Even I have never seen something like this," Horus added.

Atlas frowned as he looked out into the scenery. What was this? It was easiest to call it an underground hill. The land changed in elevation until it reached a peak over a hundred meters above the tunnel's exit point.

The hill was not empty either. No. It was home to several houses, farms, and buildings. There was an entire village hiding in this place, far beneath the ground in the 39th Floor's trial dungeon.

'It would have been one thing if it was abandoned.'

Then, it could be called a displacement that occurred due to the Tower's creation.

Only, it wasn't abandoned, was it?

There were crops actively growing that looked almost ready to harvest. There was smoke rising from the chimneys of some of the homes, indicating that there were clearly people living inside.

And if that wasn't enough, then would the people walking around the mountain village and living their lives be proof enough?

Atlas became wary the instant he realized that this was an actual settlement. However, Artemia and Horus only felt excitement.

"Let's go!"

Artemia led the way with Horus and Atlas following close behind. They walked up the hillside and arrived at the entrance to the village.

The moment they were spotted by the residents, they caused a scene.

"Visitors?"

"Can there be visitors?"

"At this time?"

"No, how long has it been since we had visitors?"

"Someone call the chief!"

There were tens of them. As if they were seeing immortals descend from the Heavens, they dropped everything they were doing and formed a crowd around the three.

"They look different. Are they foreigners?"

"Nonsense! We are the foreigners if you think about it."

"Eh? But aren't they the ones who came to our village?"

"If you don't know anything, then there's no need to talk."

"Hey, you! Where did you come from?"

The conversations of the village people started to overlap and become chaotic. In the midst of it, Artemia and Horus could only awkwardly stand and wait for them to calm down.

Their prayers were answered when an old man with a hunchback and a walking stick arrived. The crowd parted for him naturally, and the three Ascenders were finally greeted.

"I apologize for the commotion. It is quite rare for us to receive guests, after all," the old man said with a smile.

"I am the chief of this village, Erku. Please follow me and make yourselves comfortable. You have arrived at the perfect time."

Erku turned around and started walking, expecting them to follow him. Artemia looked back with hopeful eyes, and Atlas could only shrug.

'This is suspicious in many ways, but it is not for me to say. If I am being paranoid, then I am being paranoid. If I am not, then this will be a lesson for them.'

The trio followed Erku further up the hill and to a vacant house on the main road.

"You can share this residence while you stay here. I know you must be weary from your travels. Feel free to take rest."

Erku smiled and bowed slightly, making his exit.

Before the door completely closed behind him, he turned around as if he'd suddenly remembered something important.

"Ah, if you have the time, I recommend you stay for another week. Our Harvest Festival will begin soon. It will be splendid if we can welcome new folks into our sacred tradition."

He didn't try to convince them or elaborate. He merely left them alone in the house to rest. Seemingly, they had been easily accepted as part of the village.

"See?" Artemia said once the door closed.

"I told you it would be fun!"

Horus nodded his head in agreement.

"I never expected there to be such a thing as a hidden underground civilization. And for them to be treating us so favorably… I am truly interested in their culture."

"What about you, Atlas?"

Artemia turned both of their attention to him.

"It is definitely something I haven't seen many times. In that sense, it is indeed interesting."

'However, things are certainly not as they seem. There is a certain stench in the air…'

He was the only one who could sense it, so he did not mention it.

"If you're not tired, you can go explore the village. Otherwise, it's best to do as the village chief said and rest," he said in the end.

"What will you do?" Horus asked.

"I will stay here and cultivate, but you don't need to mind me. If you want to explore, go ahead. I'll join you later."

Horus nodded. As for Artemia, she was already halfway out the door. She knew Atlas' personality so she didn't bother asking him to explore.

As the two of them left, Atlas closed his eyes and focused on his internal body.

'The energy here is impure, so actually cultivating is not possible.'

However, he only wanted to immerse himself in meditation and comprehension. His connection to the Heavens wouldn't be affected by the negative energy of this space.

'The Stone Buddha's Sacred Manual is very interesting. The concept of weight as well seems to be much more esoteric than I originally expected.'

Weight was a great concept. It could even be used to influence the very laws of the world, manipulating the weight of the world itself. There was a concept Atlas had never heard of mentioned in the manual, something that referred to the world's shape and how it was influenced by weight.

The concept told that there was a specific force keeping everything in the world grounded, and weight was a concept that could control that force.

'Wood is my main supplementary element. Water is a secondary element that can be used to attack and defend. Fire is purely offensive, and as I begin to comprehend Earth, I feel that I am adding even more raw power into my combat style.'

He sighed.

'If it weren't for the breakthrough requirements, I would never think to compile more power when I cannot even use what I have properly. Regardless, I must find time in the coming months or years to completely focus on training so that my strengths can be used to their fullest.'

Atlas had been very careful as to not damage his foundation. In fact, he strengthened it at every possible opportunity.

However, what he built atop that sturdy foundation was a group of flimsy towers that were made collectively with the same amount of material needed to make one properly fortified tower.

His cultivation path was hard to understand at the moment, but he felt as if everything would start to come together as he progressed through the realms.

'Everything will work out. I only need to keep my eyes up and climb.'

That was the lesson he learned from Alaric. He didn't plan on forgetting it so soon.

Nevertheless, his worries were all in regard to future problems.

Currently, his attention was required on a far more immediate issue.