- Fantasy Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence
- FLDI Chapter 189
The dim sky, with the setting sun like blood.
A dark red aura permeated the entire world.
An ominous and dark atmosphere intertwined, spreading its chilling presence.
Across the land, piled high like mountains, were countless bones—so many that they would send shivers down anyone’s spine.
Ghostly figures floated above the bones, eerie and unsettling.
In a daze, Thor’s consciousness gradually began to wake.
But the moment he regained his senses, he was shocked. He could feel no trace of life force. The seed of life that had once resided within his body had completely disappeared.
Instinctively, he raised his arm, his gaze focusing. He could clearly see through his arm, his surroundings becoming visible through the translucent limbs.
“What is this?”
Thor was initially confused, but soon the final memory of the previous moment flooded his mind, helping him understand what was going on.
If he wasn’t mistaken, he had already entered the Divine Ruins.
As for his current state, this was the unique condition one entered when stepping into the Divine Ruins.
Anubis, the God of Death, ruled over a divine realm where only the deceased could enter.
At least, beings like them—who had not yet reached the Holy Domain—were incapable of violating this rule.
Under such circumstances, their souls had been stripped from their bodies and pulled into the Divine Ruins, while their physical forms remained in the portion of the divine realm that had materialized.
Thoughts mingled, and memories quickly returned to him.
Thor’s eyes gradually cleared, and his form solidified.
“The Divine Ruins, imprinted with the divine law of the gods, require one to comprehend the law of Anubis within. Alternatively, one can directly absorb the divine power contained within.”
Thor muttered to himself, reflecting on the intelligence he had gathered and the information he received from Isabelle.
During this time, as he grew more familiar with Isabelle, she had shared much about the Divine Ruins without reserve. As the heir of the Anubis family, her knowledge provided Thor with a clearer understanding.
Just as he had learned before, the Divine Ruins were special realms created when a god’s domain had not fully descended. Half of it existed as a true divine realm, while the other half was a phantom-like existence—the Divine Ruins.
The Ruins were usually imbued with the laws of the gods.
Those who entered the Ruins could absorb and comprehend these divine laws.
Normally, entering the Ruins triggered intense reactions as the boundary between the real and the illusionary merged. Beings infused with the law of the divine realm would attack any who entered.
By defeating these beings, one could gain power from their divine laws.
The more such beings one defeated, the more substantial the divine laws they could absorb.
Divine laws were a significant threshold for those aiming to transcend the Holy Domain and enter the Divine Domain.
If one could gain enough insight from the Ruins, not only would they be ready to become Holy Domain knights, but they could also have a high chance of reaching the Divine Domain.
Of course, entering the Divine Ruins wasn’t without its dangers.
The Ruins existed in a space where the real and the illusory intertwined.
Death within the Divine Ruins meant death in the real world.
And the beings infused with divine law weren’t easy to deal with.
They carried the laws of the gods, and even at the second rank, their strength far exceeded that of ordinary knights. At the third rank, they would be far more powerful than Earth knights.
In the Ruins, these beings constantly appeared, and their attacks never ceased.
If one could not withstand it and failed to retreat in time, the consequences would be grave.
Divine Ruins had appeared many times across the continent. While some had gained power from the Ruins, far more had perished within them.
Especially given that the Ruins existed in both the real and the illusory.
No matter how many entered, each individual’s space was completely separate.
Cooperation was practically impossible.
In other words, if one wanted to gain benefits, they had to rely on themselves.
Fortunately, the trials within the Divine Ruins were generally consistent.
A squire knight faced only the strength of a squire knight, while a formal knight faced the power of a formal knight.
Otherwise, weaker beings would be swallowed up the moment they entered.
“Splash!”
The sound of flowing water echoed through the air. Thor instinctively looked up and saw an ethereal river cutting across the dark sky.
It was undoubtedly the projection of the River of the Underworld.
Though it was just a projection, in the Divine Ruins, that River of the Underworld was as real as it could be.
Even from a distance, Thor could feel the ominous and deathly aura emanating from it.
On the River of the Underworld, flowers of the afterlife bloomed, radiating an allure that threatened to ensnare the soul.
Thor didn’t doubt that if his soul fell into it, there would be no chance of escape.
“Splash!”
The river surged once more, and Thor felt a faint shift in his soul. Before he could investigate further, beneath the darkened sky, the heaps of bones began to stir. Black gas gathered, and spectral werewolves began to materialize.
Their eyes glowed with a ghostly green, and their gaze locked onto Thor.
One. Two.
Five.
Ten.
From the piles of bones, more and more werewolves materialized. An invisible sense of oppression spread across the area.
Just witnessing these werewolves with their eerie green eyes was enough to make one’s heart shudder.
These weren’t mere orcs; they were beings woven from souls and the laws of the divine realm.
Thor, who could no longer sense his life force, understood that his life force would be meaningless against these beings. After all, they were composed of souls.
They were the divine power of Anubis’s realm.
“It really feels like a game!”
Thor whispered to himself with a light laugh. Upon understanding everything within the Divine Ruins, he couldn’t shake the sensation that this was all like a game.
Now that he was seeing it with his own eyes, that feeling was even more intense, and ripples stirred in his heart.
However, these ripples quickly faded. What he needed to focus on wasn’t the game-like sensation, but on how to maximize his benefits within the Ruins.
To gain more benefits, the key was to endure in the Divine Ruins longer. Only by doing so could he maximize his potential rewards.
In the next moment, a knight’s lance appeared in his hand, just like the one he had previously carried.
As a soul entity, Thor had lost his life force and the ability to wield the seed of life.
But there were some advantages. As long as he had enough soul energy, he could materialize anything he desired.
Including weapons.
“A battle of souls… this is my first time experiencing it!”
“This is the perfect opportunity to test it out!”
With that thought, Thor gripped his lance and charged at the werewolves.
At the same time, the spectral werewolves lunged at him.
The battle quickly began.
The moment their weapons collided, Thor immediately felt the difference. This wasn’t like fighting with a physical body.
There was no life force.
It was a pure contest of soul energy.
Fortunately, Thor’s soul power was incredibly strong. Having lived two lives and formed a soul-sharing pact with an elf, his soul energy was even greater than that of an average Earth knight.
His lance flashed like a rainbow, and in an instant, it pierced through one of the werewolves’ bodies.
The werewolf whose body was pierced slowly turned into swirling black mist and dissipated, while a trace of primordial essence began to merge into Thor’s body.
A cool sensation spread through him.
His consciousness seemed to become clearer.
“Come again!”
Thor shouted lightly, gripping his knight’s spear and charging once more.
The battle quickly escalated.
One after another, the werewolves fell to his spear, and fragments of primordial power flowed into his being, gradually making his soul form sharper and clearer.
One.
Two.
Three.
Five.
Ten.
Thor began to lose himself, forgetting everything around him. The only thing that mattered was the swing of his knight’s spear.
More and more werewolves fell at his hands.
Beneath the dim sky, there was no sense of time.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, nor did he care.
Unlike the previous battles, this time Thor seemed to be immersed in a deep understanding. A swirling aura of death spread, interweaving around him.
At the same time, a faint coldness emanated from Thor’s body, slowly beginning to condense.
This was the power of the ice attribute, gradually intertwining with the divine laws.
Once this formed into the law of ice, this power would no longer be that of a natural elf but Thor’s own divine law.
However, the process was slow.
It would still take some time before Thor’s ice attribute energy would align with the law of ice.
“Whoosh!”
The illusory River of the Underworld continued to flow.
In the surrounding spaces, the same scene was unfolding.
But compared to Thor’s relative ease, the others weren’t so lucky.
The offspring of powerful nobles, with all kinds of incredible means, yet their souls weren’t necessarily as strong. The bloodthirsty werewolves were on the same level as them.
Facing them was an extremely difficult task.
“Boom!”
A noble’s descendant shuddered, as a werewolf crashed into his body, sending him flying into the pile of bones.
“How could this be?”
A strange voice sounded, filled with disbelief as the figure crashed down, stunned.
Even a werewolf… he couldn’t even withstand a single hit?
He had been confident in his life force, which could match a mid-tier Earth knight in the outside world.
But the current situation didn’t allow him time to think.
The werewolf charged at him again, ready to tear into him.
“Screech!”
In the midst of his shock, one of his arms was torn off, sending a wave of searing pain through his soul, immediately jolting him into full awareness.
“I have to leave!”
He cried out desperately.
The next moment, a beam of light shot directly toward him.
Outside the Ruins.
A figure stumbled out, pale-faced, with his right arm hanging limply by his side.
“Damn it, I… was the first?”
Looking around, he saw nothing but emptiness. He checked the time and realized it hadn’t been long since he entered.
His face turned pale with horror.
Clearly, he was the first to be eliminated.
Even worse, his right arm, although still physically present, had no feeling. It was obvious that the soul within had been devoured, and his arm was lost for good.
Even high-grade life potions wouldn’t be able to restore it.
Only advanced magic potions, soul mages, or high-ranking priests might be able to help—none of which the kingdom had access to.
His face drained of color as he glanced at the pitch-black landscape. With a change of expression, he finally lowered his head and walked off toward the distance.
He didn’t return to the fortress but left in the opposite direction.
The first to be eliminated, and too embarrassed to face anyone.
He didn’t want to hear the mockery of others.
An hour later, figures began to emerge from the black mist, one by one, each with a pale, defeated look.
When they realized that not much time had passed, their faces grew even darker.
Clearly, from the perspective of time alone, they had all failed.
Looking at these eliminated participants, distant figures who hadn’t entered the Ruins cast mocking, solemn, or disdainful glances.
This made the eliminated even more uncomfortable.
Of course, Thor knew nothing about all of this.
As time passed, Thor remained completely absorbed in his enlightenment. Each werewolf he killed infused him with a fragment of primordial power, making his soul energy grow stronger. Meanwhile, a cold aura and the scent of death blended together, slowly condensing within him.
His body gradually became more solid, with almost no trace of illusion remaining.
Even his attacks began to carry traces of ice attribute power, as though the difference between using life force and this power was diminishing.
(Author note on the story’s recent developments: The current plot mostly serves to introduce the world and its setting. The three kingdoms and the three dukes, while important in the larger picture, don’t have a significant impact on the main character at the moment. As shown earlier in the narrative, the dukes and royalty are largely uninvolved in domestic affairs. The focus remains on the main character’s personal growth and the immediate challenges he faces.)
(End of Chapter)