Lord of the Karmic Fate

The hologram screen was split into two sections, each side currently showcasing two different scenes.

The one on the left displayed the sight of a massive gate towering above numerous buildings in the middle of a street with hundreds of people surrounding it, while the other one was a scenery where the ground was floating clouds and the sky was a clear blue sky.

Obviously, it was the Blue Realm Gate in Nova City and seemingly the Empty World within.

"What's going on? Why are they streaming the Realm Gate all of a sudden?" Raven's brows lowered into a puzzled frown and shifted his gaze at Kayn.

So far, it was common knowledge that people could bring anything inside Realm Games and Realm Domains, let it be items such as cameras or weapons like knives and guns. Thus, it was also possible to record Realm Games and later on upload them on various websites for others to see.

However, those were videotapes were recorded beforehand, and only then were they uploaded. None of them were streams broadcast live much less worldwide such as this one!

"Are you asking that from me, but who should I ask then?" Kayn shrugged when he heard Raven's question and after pondering for a while he took out another phone from his other pocket, quickly calling someone.

He talked for several minutes straight, his face undergoing various emotions, and after 20 minutes of straight-talking he hung up and put the phone away.

"I just called your father, it seems this is not the doing of the Realm Association nor the United World League. They are just as confused as we are."

"What? It is not their doing? How is that even possible?"

Kayn raised a hand and scratched his cheek while pondering in silence. It was needless to say, he was just as lost as Raven.

"According to what your father told me, they even tried to track down the source of the stream from where it was broadcasted but they found nothing. Even at the spot where the camera should have been there was no one and nothing, not even a drone." Kayn explained slowly.

"This makes zero sense" Raven mumbled as his eyes remained on the hologram.

The two of them waited for minutes to see whether something would happen, but strangely, nothing did.

"Strange, maybe whoever started the stream did so to wait for someone to enter the Realm Gate and start the Realm Game within?" Raven furrowed his brows to which Kayn let out a mocking laugh.

"Well, whoever it was, they are just wasting their time. After failing numerous times to complete the Realm Game, the Realm Association prohibited anyone below Rank 10 to enter the Realm Gate. Hell, Rank 10! Do you even have any idea what that means?"

"Yeah, I know." Raven nodded and sighed.

Although he knew how people increased their Avatar Traits like crazy, he was also aware how the strongest man currently on Earth was just at Rank 7 with over 70 points of Constitution.

Rank 7!

While it was true it was a high Rank compared to the majority of humans who were still struggling to reach Rank 5, compared to Rank 10, which was the requirement to enter the Blue Realm Gate according to the Realm Association, it was nothing.

As Raven thought about this and was ready to put his phone away, losing interest in the stream, suddenly a magic panel popped up in front of his and Kayn's faces, surprising both of them greatly.

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[Special Event: Blue Realm Invasion]

• Time: 23 hours and 59 minutes before the start.

• Description: A Special Event that can be entered by anyone above Rank 5!

<Anyone joining the Special Event will be granted 5 Random Avatar Flasks right away!>

<Anyone joining the Special Event and succeeds in completing it will be granted the following rewards mentioned below!>

~~~

[Special Event Rewards]

- 5 Avatar Flasks of your choice! (Each granting 9 points!)

- 1,000 Astral Core!

- 1 Random Rare Item!

<Special Event Rewards don't contain rewards of the Realm Game!>

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[Do you want to join the Special Event: Blue Realm Invasion?]

[Y/N.]

"What?!"

Both Raven and Kayn widened their eyes upon the appearance of the magic panels and they were left speechless for numerous minutes before they could finally talk.

"Interesting. So it's just like a do or dies thing." Kayn pondered loudly, "If we decided to join we will not only get the chance to increase our strength by a huge margin while at the same time getting our hands on various goods, but we will also risk our Artifact and our Avatar Traits."

Raven nodded when he heard Kayn's words as, just like everyone else, he understood clearly that if someone entered the Blue Realm Gate and ended up failing, they would not only sustain injuries and lose the majority of their Avatar Traits, but also would lose their Artifacts as result!

Such a thing was truly like akin to a...

"Gambling..." Raven mumbled under his breath and all of a sudden a weird sensation took over his body.

His breathing became slightly ragged, his vision shrunk and focused only on the magic panel in front of him, his ears literally locked out all sound around him, and the middle of his palms began to sweat.

He knew way too well what this feeling was, and no matter how much he hated it and wished to resist it, he failed to do so.

Thus, in the end, even before Kayn could have stopped him, he spoke;

"Yes, I do."

"What?" Kayn's eyes widened and his head snapped toward where Raven stood, ready to shout at him when suddenly a magic panel neither he nor Raven expected to se appeared.

Whoosh!

[Warning! You have yet to reach Rank 5! You cannot join the Special Event!]

"Huh?" snapping out of his daze, Raven's eyes widened as he read the words presented on the magic panel floating before his face.

Then, realizing what was happening, his eyes widened even more before a hand was firmly plated on his shoulder, and was forced to turn to the left. It was Kayn who grabbed him and forcefully twisted his body to the side.

"Did you lose your fucking mind? Didn't you read the description? If it were not for your low Rank now your entire future would have been at stake!" Kayn blurted out, his usually calm face now showing a level of anger because of Raven's foolish action.

Despite the fact that the rewards were tempting, Kayn, as he had already said this, knew it was insanely risky to join. Hell, he was pretty sure after knowing the risks of entering the Blue Realm Game there will be only a few that will decide to join!

Raven was surprised by the sudden outburst of Kayn as he didn't expect him to have such a reaction. He was pleasantly surprised and also secretly touched as the way Kayn looked at him really showed he was caring for him.

"Don't get me wrong, you do whatever you want, you are already a grown-up." understanding Raven's thoughts, Kayn took a deep breath and stepped back.

"But that does not mean you can be reckless. You have to understand our lives are slowly changing, and while you can become strong with Avatar Traits and other items, in the end, your Artifact will determine who you will become in the future. Losing it would be akin to destroying your future!"

Kayn was right. Avatar Traits just increased one's physical strength while Items, accessories, and Rune Marks only increased one's strength a tiny bit and even just passively. Even the Avatar Titles were something that barely raised one's power and they were really hard to acquire.

On the other hand, Artifacts were something that determined what kind of an individual one could become in the future. They were the essence of a person's life and losing them, while not being hopeless, was pretty much akin to being a cripple!

After all, without Artifacts, one couldn't wield any special power and without any, their lives rested in others' hands.

The only thing that could possibly help those who lost their Artifact would be some powerful Relics, which different from Artifacts while capable of granting special powers couldn't be enhanced, and Avatar Imprints.

Though, so far, as Raven seemed to understand it, the only individual who possessed an Avatar Imprint was him. Not even that guy with his Rank 7 was able to reach 10 points with all his Avatar Traits or else news about it would be everywhere around the world!

Yet, despite knowing that Kayn was right, for some weird reason and almost as if he was possessed by the devil, Raven still wished to join the event which with each passing minute became stronger and stronger!

It was almost as if he suddenly became an addict and his only way to calm his thirst was to get what he wanted, to join the event!

And what was the fastest way for him to do that?

The Star Treasury!