Reading through the books, Shiro's mind started to wander not even 10 minutes in as her surroundings seemed to close in on her.

The shadows would seem to flicker as she bit her lip and shook her head, trying to ignore it.

However, her surroundings continued to darken as Shiro activated her runes and surrounded herself in a fortress of nanotech.

Hugging her knees while using her spare hand to read the book, Shiro hoped that the 24 hours would end soon.

Even with the joy of reading books on the runes that the god used, it was still hard to focus when she couldn't concentrate.

'I should just memorise everything first and read it later when I have time.' Shiro thought to herself as she started to flick through the books in an attempt to just remember each page rather than deciphering anything.

Once she finished flicking through a book, she would throw it out of her bunker so that it wouldn't take up space.

Continuously flipping through the books, Shiro made sure to remember everything she saw. Even the smallest detail had to be remembered in case she discovers a link later that requires these details.

###

Shiro didn't know how long she had been reading for. Each moment felt like it would spread on for an eternity.

She had been forcing herself to regulate her breathing as to not hyperventilate while doubts filled her mind.

Gritting her teeth, she had an urge to lash out and destroy all of the shadows near her but she knew that it was most likely just her mind playing with her.

Scratching her hair, she tossed the book in her hands away while drinking a mana potion.

Creating several motes of lights, she looked at the remaining stacks of books.

She had an idea but it was akin to running away from her fears rather than confronting them. But with the way that things are going, she knew she wasn't going to get through all of the books in time.

Closing her eyes, Shiro did a hard reset with her 'main self' sealed away for the time being. It couldn't be a soft reset since there's a high chance of her remembering her trauma again.

The only way for her to continue with studying these runes was a hard reset where her only purpose was to read through all of the books and memorise them. She didn't need to think about anything else. A blank slate with a single line carved within her mind.

[Read and Memorise everything here.]

Opening her eyes once more, they lacked any form of emotion. Unnerving calmness, a puppet of sorts.

Waving her hand, she dismissed the fortress and started to read without a single care about her surroundings.

She just needed to keep reading. Ignore everything.

###

Waiting by the staircase, Nan Tian waited without a second word since he wasn't able to get access to the trials. He didn't have any healing magic nor was he a demi god that could spark the interest of a dead god.

Looking at the altar, she couldn't help but wonder how Shiro was holding up.

It had long passed 10 minutes which was her current limit so he wondered if she was fine.

Just the thought of her being alone while trying to withstand her fears caused him to sigh as he glanced at his sleeve and stood up.

Walking around the temple, he looked at each of the statues while he waited since he didn't know how long they'll be in there.

While he was investigating, mostly out of boredom, he noticed a presence. It was so small that if he wasn't focused on finding anything out of the ordinary, he wouldn't have discovered it.

Walking towards the presence, Nan Tian saw that a small lizard of sorts was now running away at full speed.

Furrowing his brows, he noticed that it was familiar.

*PUCHI!!!

Before it could get far, Nan Tian had already summoned a light sword and slashed it in half.

"Not good." He muttered. The familiar had probably long sent the information back to the summoner so depending on who they are, they might get surrounded soon. Unsure of when the group will return from their trials, Nan Tian stepped out of the temple and laid a protective barrier around the entire place before standing above the staircase.

Taking a deep breath, he checked his inventory for anything he could use and saw that he still had a piece of the Runic Guardian that Shiro had given him.

It was a black grade item that allowed him to summon a Runic Guard with the same stats as Shiro and had a defence guaranteed by Hephaestus himself.

Just as a precaution, he placed the rune in a pocket so that he could bring it out whenever he wanted.

It didn't take long before he could see a group of people approaching from the distance.

A single glance caused him to furrowed his brows since his enemy was unexpectedly a Queen.

[Natia LVL 700 Queen of Summons.]

Around her seemed to be guards around level 650 while 'cannon fodder' averaged around level 300 to 400.

"What brings you to this empty city, your highness. I do believe that we are not acquainted." Nan Tian called out as he placed his mask over his face. Shiro didn't like others seeing his face after all.

"Does this city belong to you? I happened to hear some news about trials along with a secondary trial which has the inheritance of a god. Unless you're the owner, this is a free place." Natia chuckled as she stepped forward.

She had long silver blond hair along with a pair of blue eyes that matched the colour of the sky. She wore a white dress that was covered by some light armour.

"If you don't mind me asking, may I know who you heard the news from?" Nan Tian asked, keeping his guard up in case a surprise attack was launched against him mid talk. The longer he delayed the better since he wasn't sure he could defeat all of them.

"Just a helpful fellow. Now why don't you tell me about yourself. Your face is rather desirable after all." Natia smiled as she licked her lips but Nan Tian shook his head.

"Sorry but there's only one woman in my heart and that is not you. Though if you needed comfort in bed I'm sure one of your summons can help you with that." Nan Tian laughed but Natia only narrowed her eyes.

"Shame. But you really think a level 530 can stand up to all of us?"

"Not really. I wasn't able to cultivate much for levels since someone needed my help. However..." He trailed off as his figure started to warp.

Suddenly, he reappeared in front of Natia and cleaved his sword down.

*CRACK!!!

'Sh*t! it's shallow.' Nan Tian clicked his tongue since he wanted to kill her in one go but her reactions were better than what he had expected. All he managed to achieve was draw a little bit of blood.

Seeing his hostility, Natia didn't hesitate to take a step back as she waved her hand. Suddenly, several tier 6 magic circles appeared with portals opening above Nan Tian.

Understanding that they were summoned monsters, he decided to take care of the cannon fodder first. Even if they were cannon fodder, it'll still be annoying if he kept on getting hit by them.

Slamming his hand down, a tier 6 magic circle appeared as he teleported away using his control over light.

Those that were standing in the magic circle felt danger beneath them as sword of light shot up through a certain entrance and ripped them in half. The wounds were charred as the smell of cooked meat started to drift through the area.

Making some distance between him and Natia so that he didn't get surrounded, Nan Tian was about to summon the guard when a trident appeared in his peripherals.

Ducking down as fast as he could, he barely avoided being stabbed in the head but the attacker wasn't done.

Stomping down, Nan Tian's body tensed up uncontrollably as the attacker slammed his palm against his chest.

COUGH!

Coughing up a mouthful of blood from the impact, his body was launched towards the portals as several elemental attacks were launched towards him.

Gritting his teeth, he twisted his body in mid air as tens of swords were summoned besides him.

Biting his finger, he traced a line of blood down his arm as his sleeves burned away to reveal a row of glowing runes that seemed to be formed from the sun. The light distorted from the heat as Nan Tian aimed his palm towards the summoned monsters.

Without a second word, he swiped his hands down as the swords shot towards them, pinning them in place.

In the next moment, a pillar of light descended from the sky and obliterated everything in front of him.

Hovering in the air, Nan Tian held his sword while quickly giving himself some healing front that single hit he took from the guard.

"Well this is certainly unfair wouldn't you say? Many vs one." Nan Tian forced a smile as Natia only narrowed her eyes before commanding everyone to charge towards him.

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