"Haron... Are my parents okay?"

<No... My lady, the whole mansion is in an incredibly tense mood. Your mother is so worried that she hasn’t eaten anything for days... And your father—>

Suddenly, the sound muffled as someone else snatched the phone on the other end of the line.

"Your Majesty, please—!"

"Give me the phone!" a booming voice commanded.

Serene panicked. She easily recognized the voice; it was none other than her father.

<Hello?! Sera, my little angel, are you okay? Hello, can you hear me? Sera?!>

His voice was filled with deep worry. Serene couldn’t help but blame herself for causing so much trouble for her parents. They had been worried sick about her.

"Dad? I am okay! No, I mean, I’m perfectly fine! I just came out of the Ascension Realm yesterday and I was just on my way home..."

<Where are you currently? Tell me, I will come there right now! Send me your location!>

Serene panicked at her father’s demand. She was currently in a hospital. If her father came here and saw her in hospital, his sheer anger would probably level the entire building. She absolutely did not want to worry him any further.

"N-No, no! I will just come home as soon as possible. You don’t have to worry! And Zane is also with me, so we are completely okay..."

<What?! That bastard’s son is with you?!>

<Then I definitely have to come there as soon as possible! Give the phone to him! Let me speak with him right now!>

Serene looked over at Zane, whose face had suddenly turned deathly pale.

"Hmph... Zane... is injured and lying on a hospital bed," Serene lied weakly.

<Huh? So he’s injured? But he can still speak! Give him the phone!>

"I-I... no, I mean, he is sleeping!"

"What do you mean he’s sleeping?! My daughter hasn’t been home for months, and he is just taking a nap?! Just let me meet him! I will beat the shit out of that boy!"

Zane quickly snatched the phone from Serene’s hand, absolutely terrified of getting beaten to death by her father.

"Father-in—Ah! I mean, Sir! I’m perfectly okay. Sera is just kidding around. What did you want to discuss?" Zane babbled nervously.

<Huh? So you’re saying my daughter is lying? Who the hell do you think you are?! Just wait until I get there. I will personally show you why I earned the title of ’Supreme Sage’!>

Zane panicked and desperately backpedaled.

"N-No, no, I mean she is not lying! I am injured! I am half-dead! I’m lying on my bed! I just woke up and I didn’t want to worry you!"

<Huh? Worry me? My foot! Even your own bastard father doesn’t worry about you! Damn it, just remembering his name makes my head ache!"

<And wait, if you’re lying there half-dead, that means Sera is alone! Send me your location! I’m going to pick her up!>

<Wait! Why am I even asking you? I can just track Sera’s phone and teleport there myself. Just wait for me, Sera!>

*Click!*

Suddenly, the line was cut off.

Zane looked at Serene with a desperate, hopeful expression, silently praying that she would protect him. Since Zane was the one who had invited her on this journey, her father was definitely going to place all the blame on him.

Serene turned her eyes away from Zane’s hopeful gaze. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to protect him, but she hadn’t contacted her parents for two whole months. If her father arrived now, he wasn’t going to listen to any of their excuses.

Just as she was trying to think of what to do, she suddenly remembered something and frowned.

"Zane... After we left the very first trial where we got separated, I called you several times. Why didn’t you pick up the phone? If you had just answered, we would have met up much earlier."

Zane looked at her, deeply embarrassed.

"I... I forgot to bring my phone when we left on our journey..."

Originally, Zane had thought about bringing his phone when he went to Serene’s house to pick her up. But he knew that his own father was an absolute expert at tracking people, even across entire continents.

It was nearly impossible for Zane to travel without appearing on his father’s radar, so he deliberately left his phone behind to lessen the chances of being tracked. He had been so excited about going on a journey alone with his crush that he didn’t want any disturbances. But to his horrible luck, the very moment they entered the Dimensional Gate, they were separated.

Even after coming out of that first trial, Zane had tried to contact her using a public telephone booth. However, Serene’s overprotective father had placed heavy security restrictions on her phone. Any unknown number that wasn’t saved in her contact list was instantly blocked from calling her.

As a result, Zane had been completely useless. He couldn’t return to her father to ask for help, because the ’Supreme Sage’ would have beaten the life out of him upon learning he had lost his daughter.

He also couldn’t go back to his own home. His father wouldn’t have welcomed him with open arms; in fact, the chances of getting killed by his own father were arguably higher than getting killed by Serene’s father.

Serene was the beloved daughter of her own parents, and she had even managed to charm Zane’s parents as well. Sometimes, Zane genuinely felt like his parents considered Serene to be their child more than they did him. Not that he blamed them—she was definitely charming.

As Zane sat there, internally praising Serene’s charming, smug face, a sudden breeze in the hospital room ripped his attention away.

"Sera! My daughter! Are you okay?! Why are there two beds in this room? Are you hurt?!"

A tall man had appeared completely out of thin air. He didn’t hesitate for a single second before pulling Serene’s petite form into a tight embrace.

It was none other than her father.

Zane blinked, caught completely off guard by his sudden entrance.

’How did he get here so fast? Did he use some high-tier instant teleportation artifact?’ Zane thought, sweating bullets.

***

Artifacts.

There were various magical artifacts present in the world. They could be obtained as rewards from Ascension Realm trials, or they could be excavated from ancient ruins left behind by their ancestors across Asterion.

Artifacts contained different kinds of power. Some were used for devastating magical attacks, some for rapid healing, and others for teleportation or utility. Artifacts were incredibly difficult to artificially construct. Because they required complex magical formulas, it was nearly impossible for a normal Awakener to forge an artifact, even if they possessed massive knowledge on the subject.

If a person wanted to create an Artifact Sword, they needed mastery over swordsmanship, magical theory, and the specific elemental power they wished to imbue into the blade. Even then, an artifact couldn’t be made easily. Various unique and incredibly rare ingredients were required. Even if a highly proficient Artificer had all the ingredients, there was no guarantee the crafting would actually work. The chances of a successful forging were often less than 50%.

Despite the difficulty, the modern world contained many artifacts, as legendary Artificers had made a name for themselves crafting high-tier gear. However, the most powerful artifacts found in ancient ruins and the Ascension Realm had completely unknown origins. No one knew where they came from or who had forged them.

Artifacts did not all stand at the same rank. Some were so catastrophically strong that a single use could erase the planets, while others were merely used to dry wet clothes or light a kitchen fire.

Artifacts were strictly classified based on the following Grades:

1.Common Grade

2.Uncommon Grade

3.Rare Grade

4.Elite Grade

5.Master Grade

5.Legendary Grade

6.Mythic Grade

7.Divine Grade

8.Primordial Grade

9.Transcendent Grade

The artifact Serene’s father had just used to detect her location and instantly teleport into the hospital room had to be at least a Legendary Grade artifact. It was a priceless treasure, valuable enough to feed the entire population of Kalos for decades.

But the man standing in front of Zane was no small figure. He was the man who had climbed all the way to the 7th Stage of the Ascension Realm. He was widely considered to be one of the strongest men in the entire world.

As the tall man with pitch-black hair and glowing silver eyes turned his murderous gaze toward Zane, a terrifying chill ran down the boy’s spine.

The sheer pressure the man emitted caused the entire hospital building to shake.

Zane was just one second away from getting his ass brutally beaten.