Free Web NovelChapter 69: Gravity Vault.
Kael stared at the message for several seconds.
Why?
That was the obvious question.
From everything he had observed so far, both Adam and Zoey came from backgrounds far beyond ordinary people.
The way they carried themselves.
None of it matched average Awakeners.
Which meant Zoey’s grandfather was likely someone important.
Perhaps a guild executive.
Perhaps an influential figure within some major organization.
Or maybe someone even higher.
Kael suspected Zoey had told her family about what happened inside the rift.
That was probably what sparked this invitation.
After considering it briefly, he typed a response.
There wasn’t any reason to reject the offer.
When he found the time, he would go and see what the old man wanted.
With that done, Kael finally put his phone away.
The day wasn’t over yet.
First came a shower.
Several hours of cultivation had left him sweaty and uncomfortable.
The hot water washed away the grime.
By the time he emerged and changed into fresh clothes, he felt significantly better.
Then he waited.
It didn’t take long before the apartment door opened.
Lyra returned home carrying several shopping bags.
The moment she stepped inside, she immediately launched into an enthusiastic explanation of her tower run.
Kael listened while helping prepare dinner.
Apparently she had challenged Nightmare Difficulty.
Exactly as he expected.
Reckless?
Maybe.
But still within reason.
Unlike him.
By the end of the run, she had successfully cleared ten floors in one go.
Ten.
Kael nearly choked when he heard that.
His little sister was already ahead of him in floor progression.
That was honestly a little painful.
"Try not to sound so jealous," Lyra teased.
"I’m not jealous."
"You absolutely are."
Kael clicked his tongue.
Unfortunately she wasn’t wrong.
Still, he wasn’t particularly worried.
Tonight he planned on making a serious push through the tower himself.
With his current strength, clearing multiple floors shouldn’t be difficult.
At least not under normal circumstances.
The only real concern was Hell Difficulty absurd trials.
That ridiculous difficulty setting had an unfortunate habit of creating challenges where raw power wasn’t the answer.
Fortunately the chances of encountering something truly problematic remained low.
After dinner was finished and the dishes were cleaned, Kael finally brought up Dun’s proposal.
The reaction was immediate.
Lyra’s eyes widened.
Then filled with tears.
Hearing that a research into mana sickness had finally produced meaningful results hit her harder than Kael expected.
Especially considering their mother.
For several moments she couldn’t even speak.
Kael spent nearly ten minutes calming her down before she finally regained her composure.
As for Dun’s request...
Lyra thought about it carefully.
Then she shook her head.
"I don’t think I should get involved."
Kael remained silent and let her continue.
"Dun already has evidence. He already has witnesses. Whether I step forward or not won’t really change much."
She smiled softly.
"And honestly? I’d rather move forward than keep looking backward."
Kael studied her expression.
Then nodded.
That was probably for the best.
He had never liked the idea in the first place.
The rest of the evening passed peacefully.
The siblings chatted about random topics.
Eventually the night grew late.
Lyra retired to her room.
Kael did not.
The moment his bedroom door closed behind him, he began equipping his gear.
It was time.
The tower awaited.
A few moments later, familiar spatial distortion enveloped him.
The world blurred.
Then vanished.
When his vision returned, he found himself standing inside the start room.
Unfortunately.
It was still painfully pink.
Kael’s eye twitched.
The tiny house sitting nearby opened.
The miniature fairy flew out immediately.
"Good evening, Challenger!" Aiona greeted cheerfully.
Kael sighed.
"Hey there, Aiona."
A few brief pleasantries were exchanged before he focused back on what he was here for.
The tower wasted no time.
Space distorted again.
The start room disappeared.
The next moment Kael found himself standing inside a square chamber constructed entirely from metal.
Cold steel walls surrounded him from every direction.
A notification appeared.
---
[FLOOR 4 — HELL DIFFICULTY]
[Mission: Endurance]
[Objective: Withstand crushing gravity of the gravity vault for 30 minutes.]
[Warning: Gravity will continue increasing every minute.]
---
Kael barely finished reading.
A crushing force descended instantly.
Boom.
The pressure slammed into him from all directions.
Gravity increased to several times normal levels.
Enough to flatten ordinary people instantly.
Kael didn’t even flinch.
His current stats were simply too high.
This level of gravity wasn’t remotely threatening.
Still.
Something felt strange.
The pressure affecting him seemed weaker than it should have been.
It took only a few moments for him to realize why.
The planetary cells.
Over a dozen cells had already undergone transformation.
Though tiny compared to the trillions that remained untouched, they were still fundamentally different from ordinary cells.
And planets possessed gravity.
That was their nature.
When external gravitational force descended upon him, the developing planetary cells naturally generated their own opposing pull.
The effect was small.
Very small.
But it existed.
Enough to noticeably reduce the burden placed upon him.
Kael couldn’t help grinning.
"This technique really is ridiculous."
True gravitational manipulation wouldn’t come until the fifth sub-stage of the Planetary Form.
Core of Existence.
That was when planetary gravity could be actively controlled.
For now, this passive effect was more than enough.
With nothing else to do, Kael sat down.
Thirty minutes.
Just sitting around waiting sounded incredibly boring.
Since cultivating the Primordial Genesis Sutra required hours of uninterrupted focus, there wasn’t much point attempting it here.
Instead, he directed his attention elsewhere.
His consciousness turned inward.
The familiar inner space appeared.
An endless darkness filled with countless floating points.
Cells.
Trillions upon trillions of them.
Among that endless sea, several stood apart.
The cultivated ones.
The planetary cells. freēwēbnovel.com
Kael focused on them.
Instantly his perspective shifted.
The selected cells expanded.
And for the first time, he saw them properly.
His eyes widened.
From a distance they appeared tiny.
Insignificant.
Yet up close...
Massive.
Each one resembled an actual planet.
A colossal celestial body suspended within darkness.
Kael couldn’t help staring.
How something this large could exist inside his body made absolutely no sense.
The laws of physics had apparently packed their bags and left the building.
Not that he was complaining.
After recovering from his surprise, he began studying them carefully.
At first glance they appeared lifeless.
Nothing more than enormous masses of earth.
But the longer he observed them, the more he realized there was something deeper hidden beneath the surface.
Something he hadn’t noticed before.
So he began observing it.
Slowly he began unraveling the mysteries hidden within those newborn planets.
Until eventually...
A notification appeared.
The trial had ended.
Kael blinked.
His consciousness returned to reality.
Then he slowly opened his eyes.
The thirty-minute endurance challenge was finally over.
