Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

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[Welcome back, Dawnbringer.]

The cheerful and mechanical voice of the tower's AI greeted him the moment he appeared at The Lobby. Cedric felt a strong nostalgia despite the familiar sight around him.

'I still returned here earlier than I intended.' Cedric thought to himself.

He glanced at the familiar interior of the lobby and still felt the same ironic feeling as if he never left home with how familiar everything in here was to him. It wasn't because he spent a lot of time here but because all the items, furniture, and even some of the interior design of the lobby bear a striking resemblance to human aesthetics.

Originally, Cedric wanted to wait until he's at least 100 years old in his world before returning here. He had up until 500 years old before he was disqualified anyway, so he wanted to accompany his wives and their future children for some time before facing any challenges that remain here for him.

However, his wives insisted that they're fine and that he could leave with the assurance that they'd still be safe and sound until he returns. He did all that he could to ensure not only theirs but also the entire humanity's safety, and he should trust his judgement.

They didn't want to be an excessive burden to him. Just as he wanted the best for them, they too want Cedric to reach his full potential, and they all knew that Cedric has completely outgrown Prime Earth already.

After scanning his surroundings for a bit, Cedric took a deep breath and checked himself to see if he could sense something different.

There was a difference, and it's pretty obvious to him. After all, he did return here this time with his physical body. To him, this place can no longer be mistaken as a virtual reality. Well, it never was to begin with, but since only his consciousness was sent here in addition to the time difference between here and his reality, it never felt'real' to him.

Back then, he sometimes felt that this place was just a virtual reality created to help out the poor people of the lower worlds.

But it's different now. The clear and crisp feedback he's receiving by interacting with this place made everything feel more real. It feels weird, but it's something he had to get used to as soon as he could.

"Am I still using my old room here?" Cedric asked the AI.

[Indeed. But there have been some upgrades now that you've returned. Please check them out yourself. If you need any further assistance, don't hesitate to ask.]

"Upgrades, huh?" Cedric was amused.

He began making his way to his private room here. So far, he hasn't seen any of the friends he made here. He figured that they must've been busy. The group chat has also been strangely quiet recently. Even the most talkative ones like Howler, Backpack Fatty, Morning Wood, and Eunuch Wei had been strangely silent lately.

It made Cedric wonder if something happened while he's gone or if they're just really too busy to make some noise.

Either way, he'd figure it out later. He didn't bother asking the AI either since, aside from confirming whether they're still around or not, it wouldn't reveal any personal information about them since it's forbidden from doing so.

The door quite literally swallowed him whole, which surprised him a bit. He could've stopped it, but he didn't feel any ill intent, just a strong attraction towards somewhere, so he allowed himself to be pulled.

His vision spun for a bit before stabilizing; once it did, the so-called upgrades in his room became obvious to him.

"Oh, wow. How generous." Cedric raised a brow in surprise upon seeing the changes in his room.

Previously, his room appeared to be located in an empty meadow, surrounded by a vast field of grass. It looked humble and was large enough for his use. He was provided with a straw hut with a modernized interior. The hut was inside a fenced area; it has a small garden and a low-grade spiritual lake that has been a huge help to him.

All of this was provided to him for free by simply being fortunate enough to be here.

Now though, everything he knew about it had changed.

For starters, he no longer appeared on a modest and peaceful meadow like before. Instead, he found himself standing on a sea of white and fluffy clouds. Each step he took felt like he's strolling at the skies, quite literally.

Each breath he took filled him with energy and deep-seated comfort. He could feel the warmth of the sun shining down on him. The sun felt so close, and since it's an element, he thrived in this connection.

Above him, there's a vast, clear blue sky dotted with distant celestial bodies. Cedric had the impression that if he zoomed in at any with his eyes, he'd actually see what they're like. That this isn't just some virtual reality space.

Strolling for quite some time, he found an island floating above the clouds. There is a humble mansion at its center. The island was rich in life and concept laws, at least ten times richer than what Prime Earth has.

Cedric slowed down upon reaching the island and took his time familiarizing himself with this new world. He's communicating with nature, introducing himself in a gentle and friendly manner to make sure that this place doesn't turn hostile to him.

By the time he reached the mansion, he could also feel the concepts of the world recognizing him as a friendly citizen.

He entered the mansion and wasn't disappointed nor surprised by what he saw inside. The strange feeling of familiarity returned though; that seems to be the theme here for him.

It has everything one could expect from a mansion. If Cedric didn't know that AI was responsible for this, he'd suspect that this mansion was built by humans for him, and that would've been really strange.

The most important thing about this upgrade though was not the sea of clouds, the island, or this mansion. They could've given him a stone bed or something and he'd be completely fine with it.

What really surprised Cedric was the discovery of the A-grade Spiritual Lake in this place.

Previously, he only had a C-grade Spiritual Lake, which had been an immense help to him. That lake allowed him to advance by leaps and bounds, making it possible to reach the level of strength he had now.

Of course, the difference between a C-grade and an A-grade Spiritual Lake was immense. Comparing the two wouldn't be fair at all.

That see of clouds earlier? Yeah, that's no ordinary cloud. It never was and never will. Those were formed from the excessive abundance of energies here. That's the 'lake' part of this A-grade Spiritual Lake.

The air in this place was already overcharged with energy. Just by taking deep breaths, Cedric could feel himself relaxing, and his strength was steadily rising as well, but at a snail's pace.

But if he were to actively cultivate here, though? His progress will be much faster than this.

The clouds out there were formed from the excessive condensation of enegies here. Cedric could freely devour them to advance his cultivation even further.

All in all, this was a wonderful upgrade. One that Cedric never expected he was going to get. And that made him curious.

"System? Why the sudden upgrades? I don't want to sound suspicious of your generosity, but I don't remember doing anything that prompts this change."

[It's a service upgrade, Dawnbringer. You deserve it for making it this far at the trials. Besides, the previous environment you're in will only stagnate your cultivation. And as one of the tower's challengers, we're not keen on letting your potential wither when we can obviously do something about it.

[Don't fret, Dawnbringer. We won't charge any additional fees for this upgrade. We simply gave you what you deserved.

[Besides, we're only lending you this place, so don't feel burdened. We suggest you take advantage of it as much as you can while you're here.]

"I see. Thanks!"

That made sense. He shouldn't care about why they gave him these things. He should just be happy that he got them and make sure he makes the most of it.

"Well, I'm not in a hurry to go into the trials right now. I should re-familiarize myself in my full power again since I couldn't do so in Prime Earth."

Cedric felt that if he released the true weight of his aura on Prime Earth, he would cause some disaster. After all, he's too strong for that world.

However, this place was different. He could already tell that this place could not only endure whatever he could dish out but also make things more interesting for him.

And so, now that he has a playground, he figured that it's best to re-discover just how powerful he truly was so that he could be ready for his upcoming 6th trials.

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