His answer made all of them frown.
The breakfast continued, and Kane made small talk, explaining about the situation of Tartarus to them.
“Everyone in Tartarus, except those who were born here, has a connection to their own world’s World Core.
“Do you know what that means?” he asked.
“They don’t care if Tartarus’ World Core is destroyed?” Percival said.
“You are correct. Everyone here hates being in Tartarus. Most of them are looking for a way out. The easiest option is to—”
“Destroy Tartarus’ World Core,” Olivia completed his words. “Then what about those who were born here? Their Core would be linked to Tartarus’ World Core. They must want to protect Tartarus at all costs.”
“I didn’t expect you guys to know so much about World Cores.” Kane joked, then explained. “Wars happened in the past between both sides.
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“Some wanted to find and destroy Tartarus’ World Core and escape this hellhole, others wanted to stop them.
“It wasn’t until the Seven Dragon Clans appeared that a ceasefire happened between both sides.”
Kane chewed his food before he added,
“The current aim of everyone in Tartarus is to find its World Core. After that, they will force the World Core to send them back.”
The Executioners frowned.
The way Kane worded his explanation made one thing very clear.
“No one knows where the World Core is?” Olivia asked, hoping otherwise, or else their mission’s difficulty would spike.
“Unfortunately, no.” Kane shook his head. “The World Core hid itself to protect its life. I don’t think I need to explain why it did so.”
Everyone nodded.
Since Tartarus kept its inhabitants locked inside, there was no surprise they wanted to escape, and planned to destroy the Core to achieve that.
The breakfast ended.
Ava took the dishes to the kitchen.
There, she used a Spell to clean them instantly before bringing dessert for the ‘guests.’
“What about our tasks?” Percival questioned.
“Remember what I said about not knowing the location of the World Core?
“Actually, we do have a rough idea where it is.”
Kane stood up and went inside the room.
He brought out pen and paper and drew a diagram on it.
“Abyss of Nightmares. It’s hiding in there.”
“What is that?”
Seeing Olivia’s frown, Kane explained more.
“Think of it as a dungeon, but on a larger scale. It’s bigger than entire worlds and with multiple floors.”
“Dungeon?”
“Oh, my bad, I forgot you guys wouldn’t know what a dungeon is.” Kane let out a chuckle. “During my time, almost everyone knew what dungeons were.”
Only Neo understood that Kane was talking about dungeons that appeared in light novels and anime.
“Think of it as a place where mob monsters, extremely powerful monsters, and natural treasures that are born due to high concentration of energy are found,” Kane explained.
He drew seven emblems around the diagram.
“You guys are in luck. The Ninth Grand Expedition will enter the Abyss of Nightmares in a week.
“If you would’ve been a bit more late, you would have to enter that place alone.”
Grand Expeditions were formed by combining the most powerful forces of the Seven Dragon Clans.
Their goal was to enter the Abyss of Nightmares, map it, record its environment, and, their main goal was to locate the World Core hiding within.
All past eight Grand Expeditions had met a dreadful end.
None of them could locate the World Core.
Their catastrophic defeat was what led the survivors to name the place ‘Abyss of Nightmares.’
The Ninth Expedition was formed after carefully selecting the most powerful talents from across Tartarus.
Its preparation alone had taken 500 years.
“You guys will go with them. I will introduce you to their leader and help you join the Expedition.
“You will be safer with them, and you don’t need to worry, the Dragon Clans are prepared. This time, the Expedition will be successful.”
Kane’s words were blunt.
Percival finally understood why Kane had said they won’t get rest anytime soon after today.
“If you want us to join the Expedition, I suppose Ares’ God Weapon and the Sacred Treasure are both there. Do you want us to help the Expedition at the same time?”
Kane laughed when he heard Percival.
“I’m sorry for laughing, but yeah, something similar to Ares’ God Weapon was recorded in the information left behind by the Fourth Grand Expedition.
“I will tell you about it later.
“As for the Sacred Treasure, since the World Core is there, it must be there too.”
While Ava was taking away the plates used for desserts, she mumbled to herself, “Helping the Expedition? I shouldn’t have expected anything better from people who willingly entered Tartarus.”
Hearing her, Percival tilted his head.
“Was there something wrong with what I said? Are the Dragon Clans opposed to outsiders?”
“Hardly. In fact, they are welcoming to outsiders. The problem is…”
Kane looked at the four of them.
“Olivia and Nicolas can join the Expedition. They won’t be anywhere near the top forces in terms of strength, but they will be good enough.
“The two of you, though, won’t survive a day there,” Kane said.
“What’s the problem with us?” Percival narrowed his eyes.
“What’s the problem?” Kane seemed surprised. “Don’t tell me you don’t understand what is wrong with you two?”
He stared at Percival.
“You are a peak Empyrean. How do you think you will fare in a place that gives trouble to an army of Exalted?”
“I can make my breakthrough to Paragon any day now. And even in my current state, I can fight Exalted—”
“Fighting is not the same as being equal in strength.”
The atmosphere of the room shifted.
Kane frowned.
“The first three ranks are [Mortals]. Even if you, an Empyrean, can fight Exalted, which I doubt, you aren’t at the same level as those beyond Mortal ranks.
“Just hearing True Names will kill you. And how long can you even fight Exalted ranks? Five minutes? Ten minutes? That’s far from enough.
“The Expedition can take weeks, months, or years. You won’t survive there with your stamina.”
He spoke in a cold tone.
“You must be banking on your ancestor’s Blessing that allows you to use his Spirit, Sunshine. But are you sure that you can use Sunshine within the Abyss of Nightmares?
“That place is special. It might not allow a Spirit like Sunshine to manifest.”
After berating Percival, he turned to Neo.
“You are weirder than him. You don’t have a Spirit’s boost like him, and you are a Grade 5 Paragon, but you seem much stronger, not to mention the other source of strength you have inside you.”
Neo was surprised.
Even if Kane could use Intent, it was far from what Neo could use.
He hadn’t expected Kane to be able to sense Neo was different—thanks to him being a Heavenbreaker.
“What rank can you fight at your current level?” Kane asked Neo.
“Grade 5 or Grade 4 Exalted.”
“That’s barely anything. The difference between each Grade of Exalted rank is more than the difference between peak Grade 1 Paragon and a new Grade 5 Exalted. At your current combat strength, Grade 3 Exalted monsters will crush you and use you as a toothpick without any trouble.”