A sudden sound nearby alerted everyone, and they gathered to look nearby.
It was a floating triangle. Made of off-white stone, it wore a white cloth robe, resembling a robe.
The robe looked clean, but the marks on it revealed its age.
The hem of the robe had been worn, tattered, and hung haphazardly in strips.
The entire triangle was roughly the size of a human head.
The voice emanated from this floating triangle.
"Oh, don't be nervous. I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?"
Although the stone triangle's expression was unseen, everyone could sense its human nature.
"I'm the guide here, or at least I used to be."
"What about you? Are you here to participate in the trial?"
They clearly couldn't understand the words he spoke, but as they entered their minds, they automatically understood what he meant.
It seemed not the language, but the magical power woven into the words.
But the current situation clearly didn't concern them.
Arka looked at the floating triangle before him. From what he said, it seemed he meant no harm.
But they remained vigilant.
Magic power was already flowing from his palms, ready to be activated at any moment.
After a moment's thought, he explained, "We simply discovered this island while sailing at sea, so we came up to check it out. After all, that tower is quite conspicuous, isn't it?"
"Oh, yes, yes. Since we've come to this island, are we going to participate in the trial?"
What's going on with this guy? He keeps talking about the trial.
"What's a trial?" Jason asked.
Hearing everyone finally curious about what a trial was, Triangle excitedly began explaining.
"See that tower? That's the trial site. Enter the tower and climb up. Once you pass, you'll have completed the trial."
"Well? Easy to understand, right?"
Hearing this, everyone turned their heads toward the stone tower.
"There has to be a reward, right? Otherwise, it's all a waste of effort," Jason said.
As soon as he said this, Triangle fell silent.
"...Hmm... maybe I can gain... valuable experience?"
It was clear he was losing his breath, and then he gave up.
"Well, in this broken age, what reward is there in these ruins? There's not even glory."
He rambled on, his words incomprehensible.
Everyone exchanged glances.
Lucelia suddenly said, "I'm very interested in the history of this ruin. Would you mind telling us about it?"
"Oh, of course, of course." Triangle seemed to have regained his enthusiasm.
"But this doesn't seem like a good place to chat. Come with me. There's a relatively intact room here."
As he spoke, Triangle walked towards a white building not far away.
The building was indeed much better preserved than the surrounding buildings, with only some surface damage, but the overall structure was sound.
Everyone looked at each other and decided to follow.
After following Triangle for a while, they arrived outside the building.
Through the broken door, they entered.
There was a living room inside, and the furniture inside seemed to be in relatively good condition.
Although some marks indicated the furniture was old,
At least it was clean, indicating that it was regularly cleaned.
A feather-like broom, condensed from a faint blue light, swept the nonexistent dust from the chairs.
Inviting everyone to sit down.
"We're out of tea for you now. I hope you'll forgive me."
"No problem, no problem."
"It's truly disrespectful to have a descendant of the gods as a guest in such a shabby place."
He said with some frustration.
Hearing his words, it was clear he had discerned Alka's identity.
He had made it clear from the moment they first met him.
Alka glanced at his companions.
There was a hint of confusion in his eyes: Is it that obvious to me?
Everyone silently shook their heads, indicating that they couldn't see it anyway.
After all, this was a ruin from ten thousand years ago, a ruin from before the War of the Gods.
Some unusual methods were understandable.
"Since you distinguished guests are so interested, I, the messenger and guide, will share the history of the Trial Grounds."
Looking at a floating triangle dressed in white and boasting, it felt a bit strange.
"This is the Trial Grounds, unique to the various factions and the neutral forces outside the city-states. Founded by the god-Aspirant, it serves as a test for all beings who aspire to progress, allowing them to advance further."
"From us have come the leaders of countless factions, the founders of countless city-states, and numerous renowned divine messengers and even agents.
We've even produced those who ascended to godhood! Ten thousand years ago, beings constantly sought to come here to undergo the trials of advancement."
"What a pity... Even if we remained neutral, we were not immune to the divine war that shattered even the world."
At this point, the triangle's mood visibly darkened, but he recovered and spoke to the crowd.
"Although the gods have passed away and the trial grounds have suffered damage, the only remaining Trial Tower remains intact."
"Perhaps your ancestors also began to look to the future from this place, unwilling to retrace their steps?"
Here he began to encourage them to take the Trial again.
Alka ignored him and asked, "I saw signs of others coming here. Didn't they take the Trial?"
"You mean those people from before? Even though this area has become an island, people like you still come here from time to time."
"Some are willing to take the Trial, while others simply want to search for valuables in the ruins.
Some even want to destroy the stone tower. It's incomprehensible."
"No one wants to take the Trial? That's impossible," Jason said in amazement.
He wanted to try it too. It's impossible that none of the people who came here wanted to take the Trial.
This doesn't make sense.
"Of course some have tried the Trial, but failed. Or perhaps they're not qualified."
"Do they need to qualify?" Alka asked, a bit puzzled.
Then why don't they constantly have to endure the Trial?
"Of course they do. Being too strong or too weak won't do. After all, there's only one tower left.
All the Trial Towers were built by the Aspirants themselves. How could a mortal being disobey them?"
Oh, I see. This means their current strength is just right for the Trial.
"Are there anyone else on this island besides us?" Julia suddenly asked.
"Of course there are."
Indeed, there are.
Then why didn't they see any ships when they circled?
Alka couldn't help but wonder.
"There's a short guy, but he has absolutely no manners. He's been here for quite some time."
"I've told you countless times, I'm short because of my race, you ignorant piece of shit."
A resonant voice, tinged with calmness, reached the crowd, but no one saw the speaker.
The Triangle only said, "Don't worry. That rude short guy can hear people talking about him from a long distance away. He's not even here."
"Just wait, you piece of shit. I'm going to smash you to pieces today."
Then there was a loud rumbling noise outside.
Everyone immediately became alert.
They left the hall and entered through the broken door.
In the distance, dust billowed as a figure swiftly made its way through the ruins, approaching them.
It was a short, middle-aged man in brown adventure clothing with a large, red nose.
Short gray-black hair and a well-groomed-looking beard.
He was almost identical to the dwarf in Arka's memory.
"He's really short," Jason whispered in everyone's ear.
"Damn human, I can hear you!"
The bearded dwarf leaped and roared.
Having been caught badmouthing someone behind their back, Jason quickly apologized.
But the man only roared, showing no signs of anger, as if he'd long been accustomed to it.
"You people here are so ignorant."
Julia had been frowning since she saw the dwarf, staring at him intently.
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with him?" Sofia asked from the side.
Julia's expression was clearly off.
Upon hearing this, she said, "He doesn't fit in with this world...." Everyone was sizing up the dwarf before them, and the dwarf was carefully observing Alka and the others.
"Are you... a dwarf?" Alka asked uncertainly.
He looked awfully like the characters from the entertainment he remembered. The short stature, the long beard, and so on.
Upon hearing Alka's words, the dwarf's eyes lit up, and he quickly walked over, sizing up the speaker.
"You're different, my friend. You're the first person in this damn place to call someone of my race. Have you ever met anyone of my kind before?"
There was a hint of excitement in his voice. "Um, no, I just know some similar information."
"Really? But it doesn't matter. It's great that you can call my race "friend."
He was delighted that Alka could call his race "friend." He was even unusually familiar, treating Alka like a friend.
Alka just smiled without further explanation. He couldn't say he knew about it from some old entertainment.
The main point was that the dwarves were a very well-known race in old fantasy entertainment, just like the elves.
I didn't expect to see them in this world. It was truly rare.
Alka had thought there were no such races in this world.
They really lived in the Infinite Ocean.
Wait...
Alka suddenly thought of something strange: the Triangle didn't know about dwarves.
This was very strange.
The triangle existed before the War of Gods, as he just explained.
Then he couldn't possibly be unaware of the dwarven race.
Unless this race was newly born after the world shattered and then glued together.
But that's clearly not true.
And what that person just said was strange.
Your place.
He's obviously not referring to this island; he's most likely referring to the entire Infinite Ocean.
Hiss... This thought seemed to reveal something profound.
Arka couldn't help but feel startled.
Thinking carefully, if this dwarf had always lived in the Infinite Ocean, he wouldn't have said that Arka was the only one who had called his name correctly.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.
Doesn't it fit in here...?
He looked at the dwarf and suddenly said, "You're not from this world, are you?"
"Of course not." The dwarf looked at Alka with a strange look, then asked, "You can even identify my race. What's so strange about that? Didn't the information you saw explain that?"
Sorry, there's no such thing.
Alka grumbled, but he was even more astonished.
He had actually seen a being that didn't belong to this world.
And he had just admitted it.
It wasn't just Alka; Sofia and the others were clearly more surprised than Alka.
They couldn't understand. How could someone who didn't belong to this world end up here?
Facing the astonishment of Alka and the others,
The dwarf before them was actually a bit puzzled.
"You're so surprised to learn I'm not from this world."
He pondered for a moment, "Could you be the legendary Four Gods Sea?"
He'd been exposed again, and by someone who wasn't from this world.
Is it really that obvious?
Alka thought, somewhat puzzled.
"Isn't the legend a bit exaggerated? I remember seeing many people from the Four Gods Sea in the Infinite Sea," Simon couldn't help but quip.
It made them seem like they were from some extraordinary place.
"You don't understand. I've been here for over 50 years, and this is the first time I've seen someone from the Four Gods Sea. Before, I only knew about you from others."
The dwarf said excitedly.
He raised his hand and shook Alka's.
"Meet me, my name is Harvey Copperhammer. There aren't any other dwarves here, so you can just call me Copperhammer. I'm a scholar of other civilizations."
"Nice to meet you. Just call me Alka."
Jason and the others briefly introduced themselves.
But "scholar of other civilizations" sounds a bit too impressive.
Alka couldn't help but wonder.
If it's literally what it means.
He was about to ask when Lucelia impatiently asked from Alka's shoulder, "What does 'scholar of other civilizations' mean? Does it mean someone who studies other civilizations?"
"Haha, of course. That's impressive, isn't it?" Copperhammer was clearly pleased, seeming quite proud of his profession.
"Then you must know a lot about other civilizations? Have you even been to other worlds?" Lucelia asked excitedly.
That's other worlds, knowledge I've never known before." Lusilia had no idea there were other worlds like this.
Not just Lusilia, but everyone else, including Alka, was incredibly curious.
Other worlds... so is it possible...
Alka couldn't help but let his thoughts wander, feeling an inexplicable stirring in his heart.
"Haha, of course. I've been to many worlds."
"Tell me about it," Lusilia said impatiently.
"Of course, if you want to know, of course I'll do. But in return, please tell me about the Four Gods Sea later."
With that, Copper Hammer swaggered into the hall.
"Hey, you rude fellow, I didn't invite you in," Triangle said from the side.
"Don't be so fussy, you rotten stone. Even as a dwarf, I'm not fussy. Don't worry about these details."
Everyone followed him in and took their seats.
Looking at the crowd
The copper hammer clearly enjoyed the curious glances from the crowd.
Clearing his throat, he began to narrate.
"Let me tell you about some unique and interesting worlds.
It's too complicated, and you obviously don't quite understand."
He stood on the bench and raised his hand.
Magical power sketched a three-dimensional shape.
Within a patch of blue light lay a dense mass of tiny dots.
Some of the dots were spherical, while others took on various shapes.
"These tiny dots are worlds, and this space is the astral plane, the world that encompasses worlds."
"I once visited an island without land, not even an ocean.
It was quite similar to yours, except the ocean was replaced by sky."
"Are you saying that all the islands there float in the sky?" Simon asked.
"That's right, everything there floats in the sky. It's quite interesting."
"Yeah!"
Everyone nodded; it sounded quite fascinating.
"People there have wings on their backs, just like angels. Do you know what an angel is?"
Alka nodded, but everyone else shook their heads, indicating they didn't know.
Looking at Alka, who nodded, everyone looked at him.
Bronze Hammer waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Okay, forget it. Just pretend you're a person with wings."
"Later, through my archaeological research, I discovered that world was formed by the fusion of the corpse of an Origin Titan and an Elemental Interface, which is why it looks like that."
"Origin Titan?"
"Elemental Interface?"
Everyone asked in confusion.
"You don't even know that?" Bronze Hammer expressed surprise.
Then he tapped his head, a thought dawning on him, seeming a bit annoyed at having asked such a question.
"Right, your world is already like this, how can we possibly understand it?" he muttered to himself.
He organized his words and explained to the crowd.
"Just imagine the Origin Titan as a god, a god above gods, the original god of this astral plane."
"Just imagine the Elemental Plane as a world with a single magical attribute."
It can only be said that he was worthy of someone who traveled through various worlds and studied their civilizations.
He possessed a knowledge that belied his appearance.
His simple and easy-to-understand words made everyone understand his meaning.
While his expression might not be entirely accurate, the general meaning was still easily grasped.