Chương 511: Chapter 480: Difficult Choice

Thalion appeared back in the wardrobe after the time ran out. After killing a good number of parties, no new challengers entered the dungeon—which was fine with him. He had slaughtered group after group, with only a few even able to push him slightly. He was simply too strong. Most parties either spawned into complete darkness, a raging snowstorm with lightning crashing down, or a jungle of blood plants with quite the appetite.

If they had managed not to lose half their party in the first few seconds, they might have stood a chance—but for enemies only forty to fifty levels above Thalion, there was simply no way. Now, hopefully, that annoying Ethan was gone, and he could finally talk to his friends about the future. It would likely come down to them staying with Eric, while Thalion went off on his own—grinding levels and doing system events.

The fact that the system events were accelerating far faster than Ratgul, R-87, and Lyrian had expected was worrying. As architects, they should have been as close to the system as possible. Something else was pushing the events forward. Sadly, that suspicion alone wouldn't help him. The only thing that mattered was getting stronger. And the easiest way to do that was leveling up.

His time as a dungeon boss had brought him to level ninety-eight—which felt like nothing, considering how many of those half-sheep he had killed while gaining double experience. Reaching D-grade would definitely take a while. The good news was that the Chosen would likely need more time as well. Meeting a D-grade Chosen would probably be the end of him—even with his current power. It was dark inside the wardrobe, but with his blood vision, Thalion could see seven figures sitting in the living room.

Since none of them carried the overwhelming presence of a Chosen, he stepped out. What surprised him most was the crudely repaired hole in the wall.

"Yo Thalion, where have you been? We were worried, you know," Jack called from the couch. Maike, Kaldrek, Josh, Lucan, Annie, and Jakob were all there. This time, there was no food—which meant things were a bit more serious.

"Well, I had to leave so that annoying Chosen wouldn't find me. By the way, who repaired that wall?" Thalion asked, pointing at the mess. The work was so rough that it might've been safer to just leave the hole as it was.

"Since we didn't know if you were coming back, we couldn't let someone else repair it, so we did it ourselves," Josh said proudly. Thalion had no idea they were this bad at doing repairs.

"So, what happened with the Chosen? Did the war start?" They all paused for a moment before Maike answered.

"No, not yet. The Chosen want to reach D-grade first before attacking—and the same goes for the enemy. As for the elites, we're already fighting."

"This isn't some battlefield war where two armies clash head-on. We're protecting those gathering materials and taking hunting quests for dangerous beasts preying on humans. Right now, those monsters are a bigger problem than the elves."

"But it won't take long before the real war begins. The teleportation circles make it even worse—entire armies can move instantly. And if that wasn't enough, the elves have more than twice as many Chosen as we do." Those were indeed pretty bad circumstances.

"I'd love to help—but my head would probably be the first to roll," Thalion muttered, stepping closer to the table. The smell of the wardrobe still lingered unpleasantly.

"After what happened here, we'd honestly rather leave," Kaldrek added.

"The old days in the tutorial were way better than this. You mentioned something about teleportation to integrated space?"

"Maybe you shouldn't have called the Chosen of Aeta an idiot," Maike snapped.

"What were you even thinking? You're usually not that stupid. It almost sounds like you were drunk." Thalion fought hard to keep a straight face—for Kaldrek's sake. Especially without his red mask. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"I think you did great, Kaldrek. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise," Jack said, giving him a wink and a wide grin. Thalion watched as Maike's face slowly began to turn red, which looked even funnier through his blood vision. It was amusing to see the pressure building. Maybe his blood sight could even help him detect lies if his title ever stopped working in the future. With Maike getting more and more angry, Thalion decided to step in and help Kaldrek. Jack could handle himself.

"Initially, that's why I came here—but there are a few hiccups. First, we don't have the power to hold such a place. Maybe if I gain more levels, it might be possible, but the Chosen operate in small factions. Against multiple of them, there's likely no realistic chance for me to win."

"On top of that, I have no idea where such a place even is. If we could actually hold one, it would really feel like the old days in the tutorial."

"I could stop my current chainsaw research and try building a bomb. Or we mine the whole place so no Chosen can get close," Lucan offered.

"Nah, I think you should stick to the chainsaws," Josh laughed.

"In theory, the war isn't that bad for you—as long as you don't run into a Chosen. No other group will work together as well as you do. With the war, you'll gain levels and improve drastically."

"But if I find one of those places, things will become much more dangerous. We might even have to start our own faction just to avoid getting overrun," Thalion mentioned. He had thought about this dilemma a lot over the past few days.

"Why not ask the termites? They should be able to build an army pretty quickly, and they don't have any connections to gods," Jakob suggested. That made everyone fall silent for a moment. Then Annie spoke.

"That could work. I overheard Ethan telling Eric that you were seen with the First Daughter during the treasure hunt. Are you on good terms with her, or is she an enemy?" Those were interesting suggestions—but Thalion wasn't convinced things were that simple. The First Daughter didn't seem interested in revenge, despite him massacring her siblings during the tutorial. Still, there were other reasons to stay cautious.

The man who had trapped Maike and Kaldrek in the black pillar carried the same kind of outsider presence as the reapers in the termite hive. Outsiders were forbidden. If that human had escaped the hive, it meant the queen—or someone high up—was experimenting with them. Using humans as guinea pigs. That was something Thalion wouldn't forget. Sure, the termites were likely an incredibly powerful force—but with all the mysteries surrounding them, he felt much safer keeping his distance.

There was also another small detail: He had no intention of allying himself with someone potentially stronger than him. The First Daughter would likely reach D-grade soon. And when she did— She would become an absolute monster. Considering how many stats Thalion had gained from his own E-grade evolution, he didn't even want to imagine what she might become.

"Maybe I'll pay them a visit if I learn where the location is," Thalion said with a slight smile.

"But I don't think an alliance is very likely. They have some pretty dark secrets—and I'd rather let a Chosen poke that nest."

"I don't want to fight in this war," Maike complained, sinking deep into the couch.

"And I definitely don't want to deal with Kael or any of Ethan's fighters."

"Thalion, you need to find one of those portals. Then we build a city around it—or a wall, I don't care. But the way things are going here is unacceptable."

"Did you know that people are already saying Eric isn't as good as you were? That's really getting to him."

"That's nice to hear—even if all I did was threaten everyone with a horrible death if they attacked us," Thalion shrugged.

"In general, I'll be grinding levels nonstop from now on and checking out the system events. If I find one of those teleportation hubs, I'll let you know—but by then, I need to be strong enough."

"And you need to get stronger too."

"Being at the top isn't enough—you need to make sure there's a real gap between you and second place."

"Oh, I like that," Jack grinned.

"And even though I feel a bit sorry… Josh, you'll have the honor of being far, far below me."

"We can get you a token so you can come and go as you please," Kaldrek offered.

"Security here is pretty lacking, to be honest. No one will look at you twice."

"Ehh, I don't know about that. Look—his eyes are glowing like a demon's, he has golden skin, and that red robe and the hovering sword has more power than most could ever dream of," Jakob chuckled.

"Hmm, that's true. We need to get you a disguise. Otherwise, we also have communication tokens that work over quite a distance. The range is so high you wouldn't even need to enter the city to contact us," Lucan added, deep in thought. Yeah… the fact that he had managed to enter unnoticed might have worked once. Maybe even a second time. But a third or fourth? Unlikely. Thalion didn't want to give Eric more headaches than he already had.

Ethan—and most of the other human Chosen—were probably his enemies due to Ethan's influence. But in the end, they were still fighting for humanity and those who survived the tutorial. Creating trouble for them would only make things harder against the elves, vampires, or orcs. There were also the blue robes—Thalion still wasn't sure whether they would side with the humans or do their own thing.

"I agree. A disguise will be necessary. I'm also not sure how often I can come by, so don't throw your lives away. Always keep an escape token ready—and don't forget that the Chosen have items that can interrupt them for a short time," Thalion explained. The war was an opportunity for his friends, but opportunities rarly came without risk. If one of the elven Chosen—or one of their top parties—ran into them, survival wouldn't be guaranteed. In the end, everyone had to walk their own path.

And at some point, Thalion would have to accept that they might die while he continued to ascend. The road to godhood was long. And they still had to worry about rarity. Thalion himself would need to undergo body tempering—but if it didn't go well at one grade, he could simply push for the next. Something almost no one else could afford to do at higher levels.

"Don't worry about us. We'll be fine. Just come by from time to time, okay?" Jakob said with a chuckle. The others clearly felt the same. The rest of the day passed with conversation—and a bit of drinking. It all ended as night approached. Thalion packed his backpack and put on his disguise: a helmet covering his eyes, a brown robe, and a leather sheath for Sarayana strapped to his back for appearances. He couldn't move too fast—otherwise, the sword would cut straight through it—but it would do.

The city was still on high alert after they found the guard, believing a vampire had infiltrated the area. Ethan, of course, had his own theory—but no one paid him much attention. After all, Thalion entering the city made no sense to them. And the looming war demanded all their focus. Under the cover of night, Thalion left the city. He buried his disguise in the forest, along with the backpack and tokens. It was time for him to grow stronger.

Even though leveling had already slowed down, he wanted to reach at least level one hundred and five before the second system event began. He would have enjoyed staying a bit longer, but it was simply too risky, and he really needed to get more levels under his belt.