MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 1084: Message

Anthony appeared atop the Storm Brothers’ aircraft; the crew were already waiting for him in quiet anticipation. The moment he appeared, he removed the mana that had been cloaking them, they each stretched lazily, their bodies relaxing after everything they had just experienced, then lay down atop the aircraft as they continued gazing at the night sky in calm, reflective silence.

”That was a beautiful experience,” Tiara stated as she gazed at the moon, a moon she had been standing on mere moments ago, her eyes filled with lingering wonder and quiet fascination that had yet to fade.

”It is, but with me now having the experience of standing on the moon, the sun, and various constellations, the sky doesn’t feel so beautiful anymore,” Bryan stated from the side, his tone thoughtful, almost conflicted, as though something within him had shifted permanently.

”True,” Rider added without missing a beat, agreeing instantly, his gaze still fixed upward as if trying to rediscover the beauty he had never once took for granted.

”Don’t worry, you will begin to enjoy the sky once again in a couple of days,” Anthony stated as he lowered himself into a sitting position atop the aircraft, his voice calm, steady, and certain, as though he had long since understood such feelings.

Everyone stayed silent, then nodded slowly; deep down, they wished they could experience what they had just experienced every single day, to roam the stars freely and witness the vastness of existence without restriction, too bad they couldn’t, as such experiences were far beyond the reach of most beings.

Silence passed between them as though each of them had been swallowed by their own thoughts and imagination of what they had just experienced. Anthony didn’t speak; he also remained silent, his eyes closed as his white hair danced gently with the night breeze, his presence calm and unmoving like a still ocean.

’I wonder what amount of progress Vega has made,’ he thought to himself with his eyes closed. After all, Vega was within the Divine Realm; definitely a couple of months, if not years, had passed within that realm, although only a few hours had passed in this part of reality, a difference in time flow that always fascinated him.

As Anthony was busy thinking about Vega, his thoughts were forcefully broken by Rider’s voice, which cut through the silence unexpectedly.

”Ahhh... I just remembered, Father told me to tell you something,” Rider stated as he recalled the message his father had given him to pass to Anthony. Due to his overwhelming excitement about everything that had been happening and unfolding in real time, he had completely forgotten to pass the message until now.

”Father gave us a message to pass to Anthony? How come I didn’t know?” Bringer asked as he arched an eyebrow in confusion, clearly surprised and slightly irritated at being left out.

”Because you would simply forget to pass the message,” Rider replied bluntly, his tone direct and unfiltered, leaving no room for argument or denial.

Anthony opened his eyes as he gazed at Rider, wondering what message Gorath Storm, the Patriarch of the Titan Domain, had given his son to pass along after all this time.

”Father said he would be needing your help for a certain sword artefact you gave him; he said it’s been a few years and he can’t even figure out a single thing about the artefact aside from its basic function,” Rider stated. ”He said you should name your price, since you were once the owner of the artefact.”

”What artefact is that?” Bryan asked, his curiosity piqued as he leaned slightly forward, his interest momentarily reignited.

”I don’t know; this was the message I was told to pass along. But from the message, it seems to be a sword artefact Anthony once used,” Rider replied. ”And Father also said if he is able to crack the artefact, the Titan Domain will benefit immensely in terms of craftsmanship and smithing, possibly elevating their entire Domain.”

Bryan and Tiara simply nodded and lost interest almost immediately; after all, they weren’t particularly interested in crafting and smithing, that was something the Dwarf and Titan races obsessed over endlessly, not them.

Anthony remembered the artefact in question; it was his katana that he had purchased from the system when he first fought the monster known as Dreg, a weapon that scaled together with his current Mana Rank and evolved alongside him seamlessly.

Initially, after the Starborn Tournament, Anthony had given it to the Dwarf Domain King, Baldor Ironhammer. But the Titan Patriarch had also come asking for his, so Anthony had simply purchased another one and handed it over to the man just to avoid being pestered endlessly by an insistent and overly persistent old powerhouse.

”I refuse,” Anthony replied flatly, his tone calm. ”If he can’t figure it out himself, then there is no need for him to have it. And besides, the Dwarf Domain also possesses the same artefact. Maybe the Dwarf Domain has made more progress than the Titan Domain, so your father should contact Baldor Ironhammer instead of me,” he stated plainly, leaving no room for argument, negotiation, or persuasion.

Rider stayed silent for a moment, then nodded his head slowly; he didn’t dare to push Anthony into accepting his father’s request or even attempt to convince him. If Anthony declined, there was nothing he could do about it. His father, who was an Apexus Mana Ranker, should confront Anthony himself if he truly desired answers.

Also, knowing his father, he knew his father would never meet with the Dwarf King, his pride alone would never allow such a meeting to occur under any circumstance, no matter the benefits.

He could only sigh inwardly in quiet defeat.

Anthony had spoken about the Dwarf race making progress, but that was merely a lie; there was no way anyone below ???’s rank would be able to see through something created at that level of existence. So, the Dwarfs were just as hopeless as the Titans when it came to truly understanding the artefact.

None of them could even properly use the artefact, as it had been linked to Anthony from the very beginning, bound to him in ways they couldn’t comprehend, replicate, or override no matter how advanced their knowledge was.

’This world is technologically more advanced than Earth, but I wonder how technologically advanced the Dwarf Domain truly is,’ Anthony thought to himself, a faint trace of curiosity surfacing within his otherwise calm mind.

Since the Dwarfs were known as inventors, innovators, and master craftsmen, surely they possessed even more advanced and refined technology than the Human Domain, perhaps even something that bordered on the absurd or incomprehensible.

’Well, I guess I will explore that later,’ Anthony thought to himself as he added the Dwarf Domain to the list of Domains he intended to explore in the near future. Before, the Titan Domain had also been on this list, but with the request of the Titan Patriarch, Anthony now planned to avoid the Domain entirely for the time being.

After all, he could already imagine a scenario where Gorath Storm would disturb him endlessly, persistently, and relentlessly until he eventually gave in and helped, something Anthony had no intention of dealing with at all.