Money was simply far too important to Thales.
With enough funds, he could obtain his own advancement ritual from the organization and finally become an Evolver.
He had waited for this day for a very, very long time.
No one who already had one foot through the door of becoming an Evolver could resist such a temptation, and Thales was no exception.
"Where is this place you mentioned? Take me there to see it."
In the end, Thales made his choice. Regardless of anything else, he would go and see it for himself first.
After all, Gerard and the others had already visited. He could be certain that while it was somewhat dangerous, the threat wasn't significant—it certainly wouldn't be enough to stop him.
He felt the only thing he truly needed to worry about was whether he could successfully take the gold and silver treasures from that place.
The group immediately set out again, heading toward the previously abandoned park.
Before long, they returned to the abandoned park and arrived at the ancient ruins.
Upon arriving, Olivia's heart raced with anticipation for what was about to happen.
Gerard once again bestowed a layer of shielding upon everyone to ward off the attacks of invisible ghosts.
Then, the group followed the familiar path down, soon arriving before the mountain of gold and silver treasures that were actually made of bones.
At the sight of the dazzling treasures, even someone of Thales's status couldn't help but widen his eyes, his breathing growing rapid.
It was actually real! There really was such a vast hoard of gold and silver here!
Thales's eyes burned with intense fervor.
Even with his strength, he couldn't see anything wrong with these treasures. He only saw the path to becoming an Evolver laid out right before him.
Thales stepped forward, reached down, and grabbed a gold bar from the ground.
But the moment he gripped it, the gold bar became incredibly slippery.
The bar then wrenched itself free from Thales's grasp and struck his protective barrier directly, the impact leaving a visible crack on the shield.
"What is going on?"
The situation made Thales frown, feeling that the gold bar he had tried to grab was very strange.
Gerard took the opportunity to say, "We encountered the same situation earlier. These treasures are right in front of us, but we cannot take them away.
"It's possible that whoever left these treasures behind set up some kind of ritual to protect them.
"We just haven't figured out exactly what kind of ritual it is yet."
Olivia found that she didn't even need to say anything; Gerard would naturally speak up on her behalf.
And Thales, listening to Gerard's words, became lost in thought.
The Skywalker, who had one foot through the door of becoming an Evolver, began to surge with magic power. It seemed he intended to use brute force to obtain the treasures.
As Thales's magic power surged, Olivia noticed a change occurring before her eyes.
Under the Eye of Discernment, nothing could remain hidden.
The phantom demon resting beside the area of gold and silver twitched slightly, showing signs of waking up. Clearly, the magic power fluctuations of a Skywalker had disturbed it.
This caused Olivia to instinctively touch King's Domain hidden in her sleeve, ready to flee at any moment.
She naturally had to prepare to run. After all, if the phantom demon could even handle Thales, she had no reason to stay.
With his magic power fully surging, Thales finally sensed something different ahead. It seemed an invisible barrier was shrouding the treasures, preventing him from taking them.
He reached out, curling his hand into a claw, and lunged fiercely at the invisible barrier as if trying to tear it apart.
And just as Thales displayed this clear aggressive intent, the phantom demon's body moved more noticeably. Then, a pair of crimson eyes snapped open on its form.
Its form was exceptionally ethereal, like a ghost, with its appearance resembling a strange beastly face. As it opened its eyes, a wave of pure ferocity washed over the area.
Then, those eyes locked onto Thales.
At this moment, no one except Olivia noticed that a terrifying phantom demon had awakened.
Who would have thought that such a horrifying monster was hidden deep beneath the Imperial Capital of Kaliron?
Olivia instinctively took a step back.
Thales was about to exert all his strength to break the invisible barrier, but at that moment, his vision blurred.
Next, he found himself standing in a desolate, dark land filled with nothing but skeletal remains.
He was the only person in this vast world, accompanied only by the bones scattered everywhere.
Then, the skeletal remains all over the ground began to shift slightly before standing up and walking toward him.
"What's happening? An illusion?" Thales muttered in surprise.
For the time being, only Thales was trapped in the illusion.
As for Olivia and the others, they were standing behind him and had no idea what Thales was seeing, though they heard his startled words.
"What's wrong, Mr. Thales?" Gerard asked, confused.
Thales gave no answer. At this point, he was completely trapped in the dreamscape and unable to extricate himself.
While Gerard continued to press for an answer, Olivia was constantly consulting the magic mirror in her heart, calibrating the exact moment she needed to flee.
The phantom demon naturally wouldn't stop with Thales. After dragging him into the illusion, its crimson eyes fell upon the other three.
It was at this moment!
Olivia didn't hesitate to pull out King's Domain and activate its teleportation function. In an instant, she vanished from the area.
This situation left Gerard and Freya stunned. For a moment, they couldn't understand what Olivia was doing.
Why would a person suddenly vanish into thin air for no reason?
Before they could figure out what was happening, their own vision blurred.
Gerard felt as if he were in the middle of a boundless ocean. The moment he appeared, he plunged into the water as countless waves crashed over him, seemingly trying to drown him on the spot.
Meanwhile, Freya found herself in the middle of an endless desert where dust billowed and the sun was so merciless that within moments, she felt as if she were about to collapse from the heat.
Three people, three different illusions.
Rate on N.U.
