Chapter 2492: [Bonus] Challenge Sequence

[Bonus chappy thanks to Mr. Ham <3 (4/6)

Clarence sat in silence, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders.

The reality was that the Dream Pavilion was just one of many, and the only reason their numbers were so few was that there was no one else among the humans worthy of joining... well, aside from that old witch of the Cult and...

Clarence's mind landed on Leonel once again. He had forgotten just how many times he had thought of this young man in the last few weeks. But now it seemed that it was nothing more than a foolish dream of his.

A single year?

He laughed bitterly. He knew they were doing it on purpose. It was a slap to their faces that the mighty Dream Pavilion had such a stain on their record, it was just that they didn't have any other formal rules of kicking a Pavilion out of the structured Alliance... until King's death gave them the excuse they needed.

It was truly a great joke. The mighty Dream Pavilion, rather than finding out who had killed one of their Pavilion Heads, actually moved on and pretended as though it hadn't happened at all, instead using it as an excuse to wipe this stain from their record entirely.

It wasn't too much of an oddity for a Pavilion Head position to remain empty for a decade or more. How could the matter of a new Pavilion Head position be chosen so casually?

It had to be understood that to these behemoths, a year of time might as well have been the blink of an eye. It wasn't an exaggeration that a year of time to them was the equivalent of a handful of hours to a mortal.

They probably would have made the time shorter if it wouldn't be too obvious what they were doing. How could they possibly raise a Life State expert in that time? Especially in a Force as difficult to grasp as Dream Force?

But who asked them to be so weak?

The Dream Pavilion was constantly making efforts to bring in new blood. It was why they had made the Dream Force items so cheap during the exchange. But how hard was it to create such experts?

Not only did you need Dream Force affinity, it had to also be of a certain standard. Not just any existence capable of using Dream Force would be allowed in and earn their colors.

Clarence had been so interested in Leonel because he might have given them a chance. If they could have had a hundred year period, they might have been able to raise Leonel to that standard.

But now it was all for naught. Even in his wildest dreams, he would never think it to be possible.

Clarence stood to his feet and sighed.

The loss of the Dream Pavilion would be a heavy blow to the Human Race. It was the existence of the Dream Pavilion that made it impossible for powerhouses outside of their Bubbles to impose their will onto the already weak Human Race. Those God Race existences wouldn't even have to show their faces to genocide them down to the last man, woman, and child. Without the Pavilion's protection, they wouldn't last even a few days.

As for the idea of hunkering down and hoping to reclaim the Dream Pavilion in the future, how could it be possible?

They had been holding onto this Pavilion as the last bastion of a long-forgotten age of excellence. Claiming a Pavilion was much more difficult than maintaining one. There were only 9999 Pavilions in all of Existence, and there were many eager to claim one.

Once they lost this right, they could forget about claiming it again until they managed to forge a Creation State expert.

Just that thought was a great joke alone. They couldn't even form a Life State expert, where were they going to get such a God?

Clarence, now standing, closed his eyes then took another deep breath.

He took a step onto the wide staircase, trying to make his way up.

He nearly collapsed after just the first step. When he tried to take the second, he was blasted away like an iron ball out of a cannon.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes turning crimson. The ghosts tried to claw their way out of his face again, but he quickly suppressed them, taking another deep breath to calm him.

Those bastards. They actually increased the difficulty!

There were nine steps, and in the past he had been able to make it to the fourth step quite comfortably. He knew it was foolish to even try to climb it again, but he was desperate and hoped his extra will power would help.

He didn't expect that he wouldn't even be able to take the second step this time.

There was no doubt, they were trying to close off all potential paths. They really wanted the Human Race to be entirely wiped out.

Clarence grit his teeth so hard that a few of them actually cracked beneath the pressure. He barely managed to use this pain to awaken himself and stop the ghosts from trying to claw their way out again.

He exhaled. There was only one chance remaining to them.

"I, Deputy Pavilion Head Clarence Regalis, hereby use my authority to activate the Challenge Sequence."

At that moment, in a far-off place, a stone stele standing in the depths of what looked like a world of dreams trembled.

There was a list of exactly 9999 marked on its body, and a name in the 123rd position trembled.

Vast Dream Pavilion.

This name shone wildly until it reached a fever pitch. Then, it quickly plummeted. From 123rd, it fell at an astonishing speed, not stopping until it fell to the 9999th position.

In a single instant of time, Clarence traded in millions of years worth of merits without the slightest hesitation.

The Vast Dream Pavilion rumbled, and the other Ninth Dimensional experts rushed toward Clarence's temple.

But it was already too late.