Chapter 528 The Returning Travelers Part 2 of 2
With Alina’s stern reminder, Alex and Asteria pulled themselves back on what they were supposed to be talking about.
"Ehem. As for the 4th Returning Traveler, this one is neither human nor beast. The 4th Returning Traveler is a mechanical lifeform, whose body was said to be as large as a country. It calls itself as the Overlord, and its Mechanical Army spans as wide as the world itself." Asteria certainly did not hold back her words on her next description, with her vividly explaining the supposedly ’massive’ berth of the 4th Traveler.
"A mechanical lifeform?" Alex mumbled while he cocked his head in wonder. "So it’s a robot?"
"...Robots are just one of the sub-types of a mechanical life-form, but yeah, the Overlord is similar to a robot. But its body is not made of metals. Instead, the Overlord is made up of magical crystals and ores..." Asteria replied. "Ah, that actually makes the Overlord closer to a golem..."
"A golem huh. So creatures like him can be a Traveler too. Hmph, the Endless Monarch is really not that picky with his choices..." After hearing that something like a golem can be a Traveler too, all that Alex can do was to acknowledge it. After all, the Multiverse is wide and varied, so for a creature like the Overlord to exist is plausible...
"Asteria, is there anyone else among the Returning Travelers that are like the Overlord?" Alex asked with his interest now piqued. "Surely it’s not just the Overlord that is not a human..."
"....I think there’s one more, hooman. But this Returning Traveler is not a mechanical lifeform. Instead, this one is a creature made up of Laws." Asteria said, with her eyes seemingly burning in jealousy. "Ugh, now that I mention this one, I still cannot help but feel angry! There’s actually a being that can be made up of Laws? Argh, this just frustrates me!"
"..." Alex did not chide Asteria from her sudden tantrum, as even he can understand where her anger comes from.
"Sigh, from what I know, creatures that are made up of Laws are extremely rare, and once one of them appears, they will either be killed or saved by their brethren. After all, a creature made up of Laws is guaranteed to become a Transcendent Being in the future. It just needs more time..." Alex thought as he shook his head.
Even he could not help but feel jealous at this point too, as the benefits that a creature made up of Laws is just too much!
"Since they are made up of Laws, they can easily make the Laws follow their whim. It’s just like an Emperor, but the Laws are their friends, not servants. Aside from that, they can also use these Laws to make their breakthrough to Transcendence Stage much easier. Sigh, why do creatures like them even exist?" Alex thought sadly as he shook his head again. "Tsk, and it can also..."
historical
Having these thoughts inside his mind forced Alex to be plunged into silence, which made him lose interest on Asteria and Alina. Asteria saw this, and it prompted her to add more volume to her next words.
"Ehem. That’s already the first 5 Returning Travelers. There’s still 4 more, so continue listening to me." Asteria loudly said, which fortunately made Alex break out of his stupor.
"Oh, right, we’ve done 5. So who’s the 6th one?"
"...The 6th Returning Traveler is a teenaged male like you, and he calls himself as the Grandmaster. Not much was really known about his power since he did not reveal it yet, but the aura that he released on his arrival indicated that he’s indeed a Half-Step Transcendent Being." Asteria furrowed her brows while saying these words, as if the mention of Grandmaster elicited a reaction from her.
"But even if he did not show any of his powers, the Grandmaster showed his insane talent on anything related to strategies and deception." Asteria added, this time with her eyes looking at Alex with interest. "Mock battles, large-scale wards, board games, name anything that needs strategies, and the Grandmaster showed his expertise on these.... In fact, none of the other Returning Travelers had even defeated the Grandmaster’s mind games!"
"Asteria, I know that look, ok? I admit, I am interested when I heard that this ’Grandmaster’ guy is a great planner and strategist. But what about that? Even if I am interested, I don’t plan on fighting him yet." Alex said as he sighed for the nth time. "Maybe if there’s a merit to it, I will fight him. But now? Nope, I won’t do it. So stop goading me again and finish your story!"
This merciless reply by Alex made Asteria flush for a second, as if her plans had been seen through. She only let out an awkward cough after this, which she followed up with her new info.
"....The 7th Returning Traveler is someone familiar to you. She’s called the Great TimeMaster. You don’t need any more explanations for that, right?" Asteria said, with her embarrassment now replaced with joy, especially when she saw the surprise dawning on Alex’s face. "Hehehe, why give that look to me? You look like-"
"What the f**k? The Great TimeMaster is a Traveler? But... but I did not sense her as a Traveler in the Immortal World!" Alex shouted out as he felt dazed and confused by the revelation given to him.
The Great TImeMaster was a Traveler? If that’s true, then that could explain why she had contact with Asteria and the Endless Monarch.
However, her status as a Traveler will make some things lose sense!
First of all, if the Great TimeMaster was indeed a Traveler, then why has she not done something to heal her daughter’s damaged soul before? With her status as a powerful Traveler, she could have bought something important here at the Traveler’s World!
For her to leave her daughter’s soul in a damaged state, and only find a way to heal it thousands of years later is an illogical action!
Not only that, but if she used her status as a Traveler, then she could have done something to solve all the problems in the Immortal World. Why go to the trouble of making Alex do the missions, when she can just do it by herself?
These illogical actions made Alex greatly doubt Asteria’s revelations, which made him think of rebuking her now.
But before Alex could even start talking, Asteria interrupted him with a steely glare.
"Hooman, I am sure that you find my claims untrue. But I assure you, the Great TimeMaster is indeed a Returning Traveler, and her main body is right here in this world." Asteria said as she crossed her arms.
"But-"
"If you think that her actions in the Immortal World was illogical, I assure you that it is not." Asteria continued to say as she kicked Alex in his elbow. "There’s a reason that the Great TimeMaster had to make her daughter stay damaged for long, and there’s a reason that she cannot fix the Immortal World by herself..."
"There’s a reason for that, Asteria? Come on, what the hell could that reason be? Explain it to me-"
"I’m sorry hooman, but this reason is a secret that only the Returning Travelers could know. If you want to know it, then become a Returning Traveler first." Asteria mercilessly replied, turning Alex’s command down quickly. "For now, just believe the fact that the Great TimeMaster is here...."
"..."
"..."
"HOho, now I understand the meaning of the Great TimeMaster’s last message. We will actually meet her again... But I did not expect it to be here." Alex was left with nothing but these words to say, as he only felt tired from hearing the truth. "Tsk, and here I thought I could ignore the Great TimeMaster’s request to me! Tsk, should I do my best to avoid her?"
"Going on! The 8th Traveler is a man who calls himself as the Rainbow Quasar, Soul Exacaliber, Magnificent Dude. Yeah, I know that his name sucks, but that’s his real title here." Asteria said, with the tense atmosphere from the reveal earlier now replaced with just utter confusion.
"Wait, he really calls himself as the Rainbow Quasar, Soul Exacaliber, Magnificent Dude? What the hell? Is that guy nuts on his head or something?" Alex blurted out with his shock from earlier now replaced by just utter confusion. After all, hearing such a flamboyant and... weird name is a surprise here.
"Don’t ask me that. Many asked that question to him, but the Rainbow Quasar, Soul Exacaliber, Magnificent Dude only beat them up." Asteria replied as she shook her head. "He chose to not tell the reason for his name, so his followers have no choice but to call him like that..."
"He still had followers even with that name? My goodnesss!"
"Hooman, once a Rookie Traveler gets here, they will forcefully beaten up and auctioned just like that guy ouside. So even if nobody wants to be under the Rainbow Quasar, Soul Exacaliber, Magnificent Dude, these Rookie Travelers have no say to that." Asteria replied. "They can only rely on their luck if they want to find a good leader..."
"Ok, his name is bad. But his power is strong, right?" Alex said as he felt pity to those that followed the Rainbow Quasar, Soul Exacaliber, Magnificent Dude.
But after he asked this question, he saw Asteria’s face morph into more displeasure.
"Wait Asteria, don’t tell me that his powers has..."
"Ugh, don’t get me started with his powers hooman. All his abilities are linked with cringy names! Even the one that he used to evaporate a mountain has a bad name too! What was it again? Ah, ’Descent of the Chicken Legs!’. Argh, do you even know how bad that sounds?" Asteria said as she shivered, a sign that indicates her extreme revulsion. "Ugh, can I go on to the last Returning Traveler already? I can’t talk about the Rainbow Quasar, Soul Exacaliber, Magnificent Dude anymore!"
"...Ok fine. I will just do more research on his later."
"Ehem. So last but not the least is the 9th Returning Traveler. His name is not really that known, since he does not talk at all. As such, it was his followers who gave him a name. He’s called the Old Man which is fitting, as he looks like a long bearded, old man...." Asteria said, with her voice already back to their normal levels.
"Out of all the Returning Travelers, it was the Old Man who was the most-lowkey. He did not participate on any fights in this world since his arrival, and he did not even respond to those who threatened him. But even with that, the others recognize that the Old Man is a Half-Step Transcendent Being. As for why he does not fight at all, nobody has an explanation for that."
"...."
"And that’s the end of our discussion about the 9 Returning Travelers. If you want to know more about them, you should go out and explore the outside world, hooman! I assure you, you will really have fu-"
"Just like what I said earlier Asteria, I am still waiting for something before I go out. Before that, I will only stay here, ok? If you don’t agree to that, then just stay there and skulk all that you want!"
"..."