Chapter 53: Astral Realm

As the saying goes, "He who counts the giant's ribs forgets the reach of his club."

Max noted that the Priest had been careless regarding everything that had transpired. Although the Priest must have faced many Adventurers over the years, witnessing every type of individual power and pinnacle of party coordination, he remained inattentive. Still, Max believed the Priest was far too careless. Seeing a party bravely enter without preparation should have served as a warning, even if the party possessed no tricks to use against him.

However, this carelessness only increased after the Priest witnessed Max healing Katerina. He had considered Max a mere healer, a role generally viewed as a party's weak point. His guess was understandable; after all, who would think a healer could use such a technique to attack? Ultimately, that overconfidence resulted in his death.

When they entered the Hall, their chances of victory had seemed almost null. Yet, they had somehow achieved the impossible, and Max's work for this Dungeon Quest was done. He would receive the rewards he was eager about. The Priest had left behind a Core similar to the one Max saw before entering Level 2, meaning this Core must be the key to entering Level 3. Aside from that, the Priest did not drop any loot, leading Max to guess that the treasures lying upon the altar were considered the loot.

As the group gathered around the altar, their eyes looked intently at a pot full of gold. Since they had not agreed to share any loot aside from the Bow at the time of their agreement, Max did not eye anything other than the Mysterious Bow.

"Everyone, witness the glory; we have finally done it," Adrien said, looking around. "The hard work we have gone through finally gave the true result."

He moved toward the altar. Max stood there expecting Adrien to distribute the treasure, but Adrien ignored almost all of the loot, his hands moving instead toward the parchment sitting at the end.

Seeing this action, everyone laughed, feeling proud and relieved as if they had conquered a kingdom. Max, however, did not have a clue what the parchment meant. Seeing their reactions, it must be the real treasure that these people trying to conquer the Dungeon had aimed for. The smiles on their faces did not wane; they looked at the parchment as if it were their life. Although Max wanted to ask what it was, he restrained himself.

Adrien finally took the parchment, unrolling it and reading the contents. As his eyes moved down, his smile widened. Everyone waited eagerly for him to finish and speak.

"Everyone," Adrien finally said. "It is what it is."

Seeing this, Max could not control his frustration. *God damn it, tell me what it is for god's sake,* he thought.

While he was thinking that, Adrien suddenly looked at him, his smile stopping. Adrien walked toward Max. Once he stood before him, he extended the parchment toward him. Dumbfounded by this, Max looked around at the others. He saw eager excitement on their faces as they looked at him.

Max did not say anything. He took the parchment and read the contents, deciding to get to know what the hell the parchment was.

[CONGRATULATIONS.]

[You have successfully conquered the Temple of Neri.]

[Reward: One Entry Pass to the Astral Realm.]

[This pass grants the bearer permission to enter the Astral Realm once.]

Max read it and wondered about the Astral Realm. He had never heard about it, but guessing by these guys' reactions and wide smiles, the place must be important. However, this was only a single pass; out of all of them, only one could go to this Realm.

Suddenly, a thought came to his mind. Did these people want him to go? Was that why they gave the parchment to him? Wow, what generous people. He had definitely helped them in battle. Although it was very little, without him, they would have failed. So, he must accept the reward, not deny it.

Such were Max's thoughts as emotion overwhelmed him. However, in the next second, Adrien took the parchment right back from his hand.

"Max, thanks for your help. Without your assistance, we would not have gotten this pass. This victory belongs to you," Adrien declared.

"Yes, without Max, we either would have failed this quest or died, god forbid," Leon joined in, praising him.

"That is true. Without Max, we would have failed in the middle of the village crossing. His sudden help allowed us to come this far and attain the pass." Katerina nodded her head.

"Not only that, if it weren't for his timely help, we would never have had a chance to defeat the Priest," Ewan spoke, a point Adrien agreed upon.

Max stood amidst the rain of praises, waiting for them to explain what the pass was for.

"Thanks, everyone, I did what I could. But what is this pass for? What is the Astral Realm?" Max asked, finally realizing these people were not going to willingly tell him.

"Oh, well, that is understandable. As a first-year, you have yet to come to know the Realms," Adrien spoke. "Well, as it says, it is a pass to travel to the Astral Realm. Realms are places one can visit to attain power and wealth. The Astral Realm is one of them," he explained simply.

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*Okay, it is similar to the Dungeon we are in.* It made perfect sense, since they were in a different place and had indeed obtained power and wealth.

"Yes, you are correct. But the difference between a regular Dungeon and a Realm is the amount of danger and the rewards it grants. Dungeons are considered Tier-5 Realms, and the Astral Realm is a Tier-2 Realm. So, you can guess the difference." Adrien explained about the Realms, albeit superficially.

However, Max's interest was piqued; he would definitely read about it extensively.

But the real question was why these guys were happy about a place that would be more dangerous. After all, they could not even conquer a Tier-5 Realm for 25 years. Furthermore, the parchment was only a single pass, meaning only one person from the party could visit that place.

"But it is not a party pass, and only one individual can visit?" Max voiced his doubt, seeing everyone in great joy as if each of them thought they were the one going to visit the Realm.

"Hahaha." Suddenly, everyone laughed.

"Max, we are not strong enough to visit a Tier-2 Realm yet," Adrien said as he rolled the parchment back up.

"Then what was the use of all the grueling battles so far?" Max was taken aback by this answer. If these guys were not capable of visiting the Realm, why take this dangerous Quest?

The smiles on their faces faltered after hearing Max's question. They somewhat understood his feelings; they had gone through life and death and achieved the almost impossible. If, in the end, they would not utilize the rewards for themselves, then what was the purpose of all these battles?

"Max, I understand your question. Though none of us can use this pass to visit the Realm, we indeed hugely benefit from this pass." Adrien thought back to how they had pushed themselves to their limits to pass through the last five villages, and how they had struggled to kill the overpowered Priest.

"The thing is, even if we were capable of using this pass to visit the Realm, we can't do it. It is a rule in our kingdom that any pass to a higher-tier Realm must be submitted to kingdom officials. However, we get to exchange it for an equal worth of treasures and artifacts directly from the Kingdom's treasury. So, from the start, that was our main aim and the reason we approached you."

Adrien calmly explained the matters they could not dictate or decide, as well as the rules of the Kingdom.

"In fact, the officials are already present at the entrance of the Dungeon. That is how things work. So, if you feel your efforts were misused, please accept our apologies," Adrien said, lowering his head.

"Well, it does not matter if this matter involves the kingdom. But regarding this visit to the Kingdom's treasury, do I qualify for that?" Max somewhat knew how kingdom-related matters worked, so he did not want to hear anymore or get involved with them. However, he wanted to know one thing: whether he was qualified for the rewards they were going to be given.

"Hahaha, of course you are qualified. Your name was listed in the party, and as soon as we exit the Dungeon, the kingdom officials will register our names. So, do not worry," Adrien laughed and said.

Hearing this, Max sighed. Since he was a first-year, he had almost thought he would not be eligible for the reward.

"Here, this is your promised reward. An exact replica of this was obtained by someone twenty-five years ago, and he accomplished some noteworthy achievements with it. I wish you all the best." Adrien directly picked up the Bow and handed it over to Max.

"Haha, thanks," Max said, taking the Bow. It looked like a traditional longbow made of a mysterious metal. Max could not say for sure, since it was a grayish color. The strange part of the Bow was that it did not have a string. It was empty; however, Max knew why it was empty and how to activate it.

In the next second, he infused mana into it, and a string made of mana suddenly started to appear. It was a splendid weapon. Of all its features, the one Max liked most was that it did not need traditional arrows. It used mana as an arrow.

Max gave the string a flick; it was as sturdy as a regular string. He positioned his fingers in the middle and pulled back. Max felt he needed a little more strength than he was currently using. As soon as the string was pulled back to a certain stretch, an arrow made of the same grayish color materialized. When his pull reached his cheek, the arrow fully formed, ready to fire.

*It is perfect,* Max said inwardly, dismissing the arrow. He did not want to shoot anything in the hall, lest it trigger something. Once he finished checking the Bow, he looked around and noticed everyone watching him. This was especially true for Harold, whose eyes yearned for the Bow, since he was also an archer.

"Do you like it?" Adrien asked.

"Yes, I like it. Thanks," Max said with a wide smile.

"Not a problem; it was the reward we agreed upon," Adrien said as he put away the parchment and quickly collected the other treasures.

Now that Level 2 was done, they had to move to Level 3, which Max guessed the party intended to do.

"Is everyone ready?" Adrien asked as he extended the Core left behind by the Priest. Once everyone touched it, they were transported to Level 3. This was a world where no humans were present, only monsters.

The objective was similar to the other two levels: they had to kill the Boss monster. To do that, they had to reach a certain location and eliminate a certain number of monsters. Unlike Level 2, where zombie monsters tried to inflict diseases, Level 3 contained pure monsters that simply tried to eat them. Thus, it was a purely combat-oriented fight where Max was not needed much.

As usual, everyone exerted their full strength. Although they struggled somewhat, with their unbreakable coordination, they pushed through the mob monsters and finally reached the Boss.

The Boss was another type of monster entirely, possessing four hands, a slim human structure, and jagged teeth. It was very agile and used multiple high-level skills. The party struggled through multiple mutilations and near-death situations before they finally killed the Boss. Since the Level 3 monsters did not use any tricky skills, the party ultimately came out on top.

Max provided the necessary help on Level 3. Since the ordinary monsters were around Level 110, there was not even a 1% chance he could engage in combat. He would be killed just by brushing against them. He spent most of the time hiding, only stepping out to heal the people when the fight was done. After spending another day inside the Dungeon, the party successfully completed a quest that had been waiting for over two and a half decades.

"Ready, everyone?" Adrien asked as he extended the Core that would transport them out of the Dungeon.

Everyone nodded their heads, readying themselves to face the mob of people already gathered outside the Dungeon gate. Max touched the Core. Crumbling into smoke, they left the Dungeon and appeared in the real world.