Chapter 616: We’ll Not Cheat On Your Rewards, Okay? [Part 2] Arlo and the other Absolutes, who served as the Guides of the Wanderers, stared at Thirteen with awe and admiration. "Your people are now free," Thirteen declared. "The restrictions placed upon all of you will now disappear. You will be able to raise your ranks past the Champion Rank and become true overlords of your own domain. "But whether the Absolutes will regain their former glory isn't certain. It will not be an easy task. However, you know, right? From this moment onward, you all owe me a debt that I will ask you to repay in the future." Arlo and the rest of the Absolutes placed their closed fist over their chest and made a pledge. """The debt we owe will be repaid in full! The heavens will be our witness!""" Thirteen smiled faintly before looking up at the sky. His body started to glow, and soon, he too ascended to the heavens to return to the place where he needed to be. Within the Celestial Realm... Thirteen happily rubbed his hands together as he looked at the Laplace Demon with the smile of a merchant. Tiona, who was coiled on his neck, kissed her Master repeatedly because she missed him terribly. "Don't give us that look," Laplace Demon said, the corner of his lips twitching. "We'll not cheat on your rewards, okay?" "Of course, I believe that I will not be cheated for all of my hard work," Thirteen replied. "Um, the requests that I asked for will also be added to my rewards, right? "You're annoying." Laplace Demon clicked his tongue as he reached out to take the Black Flag of the Parade of a Hundred Demons from Thirteen's hand. The number of Monsters that Thirteen could add to his Black Flag was only around a hundred monsters. However, he asked for it to be upgraded so that he could add a hundred more monsters to it. Of course, Laplace Demon didn't agree to his request and lowered the additional slots to fifty. Thirteen understood that Laplace Demon and The One had already made a compromise, so he agreed to it. All in all, with a hundred-fifty monsters under his command, he would be able to summon three hundred of them including their clones. And each monster would possess an additional 149 Skills in their arsenal, making them incredibly deadly in battle. Thirteen also requested an increase in the number of people whom he could bestow Martial Skills upon outside his family. After careful negotiations, The One agreed to add ten more people who could benefit from Thirteen's Rune Magic. Of course, that wasn't all the rewards given to him. Since he couldn't gain anything in Solterra the normal way, Laplace Demon and The One agreed to personally give him his rewards based on his contribution. After upgrading the Flag of the Parade of a Hundred Demons, Thirteen handed his Soul Eater Armor to Laplace Demon to give it some upgrades as well. Laplace Demon had given it fifty percent resistance to Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth, allowing the armor to resist a good portion of the four elemental attacks. He also gave it the ability that allowed Thirteen to breathe and move quickly underwater, which would increase his survivability. Aside from the upgrades, the currency that they had agreed on was Beast Cores. Since Thirteen didn't really need weapons and armor-his father, Gerald, could craft them for him-he just asked for Beast Cores to fuel his Rune Magic. Also, he needed to give Camazotz a new armor, which would be forged from the Scales of Orochi, making the Death Bat less likely to die in battle. He would also need Beast Cores for that, so he asked Laplace Demon for Rank 7 and above Beast Cores as the reward for his hardships. The Jinn invasion in the Cygni Continent would start in a few years, so he would need to finish his preparations before then. All in all, he was given thirty Rank 5 Beast Cores, twenty Rank 6 Beast Cores, ten Rank 7 Beast Cores, five Rank 8 Beast Cores, and 1 Rank 9 Beast Core. The reason why he asked for thirty Rank 5 Beast Cores was due to the fact that he could give them to Wanderers, allowing them to absorb them during their first Wandering. This was something that shouldn't be allowed, but who was Thirteen? After seeing him use two worlds as hostages, Laplace Demon and The One decided to turn a blind eye to his shamelessness. Thirteen planned to let Remi and Rhia absorb a Rank 5 Beast Core even though they were still many years away from their First Wandering. This would ensure that they would gain the best starting point before they even entered the world of Solterra, making them Pseudo-Wanderers. Last but not the least, Thirteen had asked for an artifact called, Boltron, which he intended to use for his next project. After getting all of his rewards, the teenage boy bid the Celestial Realm goodbye, and he was sent back to Pangea. Just like when he first returned after completing his 13 Trials, another phenomenon manifested before he was teleported back to the world. But this time, the Military was prepared and had cleared the Teleportation Gate where Thirteen would make an appearance in advance. The skies above the teleportation gate were covered with dark clouds, and thunder boomed in the heavens. Suddenly, a single thunderbolt descended from the sky, and hit the ground with a force that sent a mini-shockwave in the surroundings. When Thirteen opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by military personnel, who hurriedly escorted him to the Humvee they had prepared beforehand. While he was an ordinary Rookie in Solterra, he still held a very high position within the Central Government. After the battle in the Rigel Continent ended, his Rank was promoted to Brigadier General, making him the youngest General in the army. His other position was the Supreme Commander and Strategist of the Alliance, granting him great prestige among the different factions. Erica, who had arrived earlier, was already in the Humvee, waiting for his arrival. "What took you so long?" Erica asked. "Laplace Demon asked for my autograph," Thirteen replied. The corner of Erica's lips twitched after hearing the teenage boy's reply. Laplace Demon was someone whom not many Wanderers could meet even if they wanted to, and the boy beside her casually said that the demon even asked for his autograph? "Do you really think that I'm gullible or something?" Erica scoffed. "Yes," Thirteen replied. "Why you!" Erica didn't hold back and tried to pinch Thirteen's cheeks, but he blocked her hands and counterattacked, pinching Erica's cheek instead. "Ouch! Hey! Stop it!" "I'll stop if you stop asking for trouble." The Special Team who were assigned to escort Zion and Erica to their Barracks couldn't help but smile because the two teenagers seemed to get along with each other very much. After making sure that Erica stayed put, Thirteen finally asked the soldiers a question. "Where are we going?" Thirteen asked. "Sir, we will head to the Barracks first," the Special Unit that was assigned to escort Thirteen replied. "The Field Marshal and the Grand Marshal ordered that once you arrive, we should take you to the Barracks first so that they can come to meet the two of you personally." Thirteen nodded because he didn't mind talking to the two highest-ranked people in the Central Government before going home to see the people who were eagerly waiting for his return.