Endless Journey: Infinite Realms

Chapter 226 Am I a joke to you?

What happened after the agreement was made was a blur to Alex and his companions.

The Grand Symbolist and his daughter Astria did not waste time as they introduced Alex and his companions to the other Symbolists.

Needless to say, the reception that they gave Alex was lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. Alex had the same reaction as the Symbolists, as he treated them as mere acquaintances only.

Once the introductions were made, the Grand Symbolist explained to everyone about the agreement that he just did with Alex, and the implications that it will have for everyone.

This time, the reactions given by the Symbolists were of shock and indignance, but with the Grand Symbolist glaring at them with full force, they were forced to accept it.

And with that, the alliance between Alex and the Symbolists had officially started.

*************

72 DAYS LATER.

"So, today is the last wave huh. It’s been a long 2 Months and 12 days." Alex muttered to himself as he shook his head. "Sigh, how fast time could really fly..."

As Alex said these words, he started to stand up from his seat as he looked at the war-torn landscape in front of him.

His sentimental expression then changed to that of a pissed one as he gritted his teeth angrily.

"I thought that those waves will only come out once per day. Why would they come out twice per day this time? Is this Calamity rushing us or something?" Alex complained to himself inwardly as he shook his head. "This is just really abnormal!"

Alina, who was standing behind Alex, was only nodding her head in affirmation as she seemed to understand Alex’s grievances.

************

When Alex started the alliance with the Symbolists, he thought that there is a chance that the waves of the Calamity will come out every single day.

But to his and the Symbolists’ surprise, instead of one, what happened was that 2 Waves came out per day!

To make it more specific, a wave has come out for every 12 hours that have passed by!

This was the greatest frequency of waves that have come out since the start of the Calamities!

Needless to say, everyone in this world was hit hard by what had happened.

This sudden increase on the release frequency made it harder for the Symbolists and Alex’s team to exterminate each waves that have come out.

The same thing could be said for the Devourers and the Celestials, as they also were surprised with what happened.

Orcs, elves, demons, beastmen, wyrms, drakes, dragons, lizardmen, trolls, and many more.

These monsters were the ones that came out of the 143 Waves, and each one of them posed their own difficulties to Alex and the Symbolists.

Alex, who was good at surviving, actually met some close calls during these waves, and he had to rely on all of his tricks just to survive these near-death experiences.

The same thing could be said to Alina, Queen Mother, and Professor Frances, who had their own scary encounters too.

However, even if these waves came out in a higher frequency, there’s something that the Symbolists noticed about these waves.

And that was the fact that these waves were not as powerful compared to the waves that came from the First, Second, and Third Calamities.!

The first 3 Calamities had almost brought the world into ruin, and there are still some signs of their effects in this present day.

But the Fourth Calamity? Sure the waves that came out of it was powerful, but it was not powerful enough to induce a world-ending disaster!

With this sheer difference in power, everyone thought that the Fourth Calamity was not meant to destroy the world!

It was as if the Fourth Calamity happened for other purposes.

When this hypothesis was made, attention was once again give to Alex’s portal to the blue moon.

Since the Fourth Calamity was not meant to destroy the world, then maybe its purpose was related to the portals to the moons?

This hypothesis was further cemented when the spies of the Symbolists discovered something interesting about the Celestials and the Devourers.

As it turns out, the guests of the Celestials and the Devourers had shown the keys to the Yellow Moon and the Green Moon respectively, with them saying that they need the blood from all the 144 waves to open the portals to their respective moons.

With this discovery and the apparent weakness of the Fourth Calamity, the Symbolists started to trust Alex’s claims more.

And all of that brings Alex right at this day.

************

Alex, who was currently wearing a leather jacket with cargo pants, looked at Alina as he asked her,

"Alina, how many minutes is there until the 144th Wave arrives?"

"There’s still 15 minutes before the final wave arrives." Alina replied. "Do you want to join with the Symbolists now, or will you just join the battle later at its climax?"

Alina was still wearing the same clothes, although her hair was shorter now, this time with her hair only reaching the back of her ribs.

Alex marveled at Alina’s battle-hardened expression for a second before he gave her a reply.

"I will go and join the fight right now." Alex replied as massaged his shoulder. "Since this is the final wave already, I plan to fight as much as I can. That’s the best thing that I can do now."

"Alex, don’t tell me you’re planning to do that again..."

"Well, since this is already the final wave, it won’t hurt if I will try it again." Alex said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe this time I will actually succeed!"

"Sigh..."

"Oh anyway, where’s Queen Mother and Professor Frances?" Alex asked as he adjusted his leather jacket. "Are they still engrossed on making some experiments with Astria?"

"No. This time, all of them actually went out of the lab. They seem to be interested on joining in the fight too." Alina replied as she tilted her head. "Do you have a problem with that, Alex?"

"Well, I have no problem. I just thought that those two were so engrossed with their experiments..." Alex replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "Knowing that they came out makes me a little relieved."

"You’re talking about being relieved, yet you’re the one who we should be worried about." Alina replied with a harsh tone of her voice. "Talk about hypocrisy."

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

"Stop beating around the bush Alex." Alina said before Alex could explain himself. "How many times have you forced yourself to reach Grade 7 in Abyss Energy? Asteria told me you are trying it everyday, even at the expense of your well-being!"

"Well I-"

"You’re the one who’s talking about moderation, yet you resort yourself to dangerous fights just to reach Grade 7. Is that what you call moderation?" Alina said as she almost shouted at Alex. "You have almost died for 15 times already, and it seems like you are still intent on putting yourself in danger just to reach your breakthrough!"

"Alina-"

"Am I a joke to you?"

"..."

"..."

"Alina, you know the condition that I have to fulfill in order to reach Grade 7." Alex finally managed to say as he saw Alina staying quiet in front of him. "Come on, you can say it right now."

"...You need to make your current Monster Body undergo evolution." Alina muttered as she averted her gaze away from Alex. "It’s only when you evolve that you can reach Grade 7."

"And Alina, what do I need to do in order to evolve?"

"You should place yourself in perilous situations and survive." Alina replied as she gritted her teeth. "As for how many perilous experiences you should face, it will depend on your Monster Type."

"That’s it." Alex replied as he nodded his head. "I just have to fight a lot and live through these fights. Simple, right?"

"Yes, it’s simple, but it’s still wrong." Alina replied as she let out a sigh. "Why are you even so intent on reaching Grade 7 now? With your current power, I think it’s already enough for our current world. Do you still need to risk yourself right now?"

"Alina, if we can get stronger, then our enemies can get stronger too." Alex replied as he shook his head. "Since there is an opportunity for me to break through to Grade 7 here, I will gladly do it, if it will give us a higher chance of winning!"

"Alex-"

"Alina, no matter what you say now, you won’t be able to change my mind." Alex said as he avoided Alina’s glare. "I will continue what I am doing, and I will not stop until I reached my goal. You know about my stubbornness. There’s no way that you can stop me now."

"..."

"..."

"...Sigh." In the end, Alina was forced to relent as she could see Alex won’t be listening to her anymore.

"Alex, this is the final wave already. Since I can’t change your mind anymore, I can just wish that you succeed this time around." Alina said as she walked towards the encampment of the Symbolists.

"I swear to you that I will succeed Alina." Alex replied as he followed his lover. "When did one of my plans even fail?"

"....Even the best planners will also fail. Don’t be that overconfident. Just a random mistake can send you spiraling to oblivion." Alina replied as she continued on walking forward. "Just make sure that today is not the day that you will fail. Because if you do, then it’s game over for us!"

"...I’ll take that in mind."’

"You better do, or else I will personally punish you for it."

"..."