Doomsday Pillars

In the ice cave, somewhere within the main chamber of Abyss, a group of people were resting. From the state of their bodies, where one could clearly see bloodstains and wounds covering their entire body, it looked like the group had gone through an extremely harsh battle. Some of them looked very tired and disheveled, but were still trying to be on guard, while others just straight off laid on the icy ground, unbothered by their surroundings and the piercing cold ground.

After fighting ceaselessly against the countless waves of gargoyles for a whole day, the group finally managed to find a giant ice cave where they could rest and regain their energy. Before the expedition began, these 160 people were filled with contempt and impudence, as if there was nothing that could stand and block their way. 

It was true these fighters could effortlessly kill the critters and hellhounds in the antechamber. However, from when they passed the gate guarded by the Cerberus and began to fight against the gargoyles of the main chamber, their worldview was shattered, as they were hit by the cold hard truth in front of them.

Even though those who joined the expedition were the strongest fighters their respective region had, these abyss creatures: the gargoyles, were the strongest enemies they had ever encountered. A creature on par with the trolls and the white zombies in strength and speed, but which possessed a body and skin that could only be penetrated by magic enchanted objects.

Alex, who saw the condition of the fighters, couldn\'t help but shake his head. Some of them looked very exhausted after fighting all day against enemies that were equal to them.. There were also some who were injured and took this rare opportunity to receive a healing treatment from the Sky Magus which could use healing spells. Scanning the fighters in the cave, Alex sighed in silence thinking about what he could have done to make this situation impossible in the first place.

He remembered the first time he came here followed by Aria, where both of them managed to survive for 6 months and gained a lot of benefits in Abyss\'s main chamber. However, the only reason that could happen was because they used guerilla strategies when fighting the gargoyles, not fighting them head-on like now. Moreover, the two of them possessed abilities beyond the standard of even other elite fighters. 

Aria with her dual element could easily obliterate several gargoyles at once and Alex with his hexagram technique, that provided immense enhancement and mysterious footwork, allowed him to swiftly kill the gargoyles. 

All these facts combined with Alex\'s tier 5 sword, as well as the ability to create magic scrolls, allowed them to kill dozens of gargoyles quickly and efficiently, giving no chance for the Abyss creatures to call for reinforcement. Thus, resulting in an instance where the two of them could survive and even thrive in the Abyss\'s main chamber. However, the same could not be said with his current group. 

Even though Alex has repeatedly warned that only mid stage Sky realm Magus were allowed to participate in the expedition, these representatives still ignored his warnings and came with their own agenda. As a result, some of the fighters, who lacked the ability to fight when needed, could only become a burden, hindering and disrupting the expedition. The lives of those, who didn\'t have magic powers or magic weapons capable of killing gargoyles, will continue to be threatened as long as they follow the expedition.

It was indeed true that everyone on the expedition knew more or less about the dangers they would face and agreed to risk their lives. However, those with the ability to fight back had at least a better, if not higher, chance of survival compared to those without the ability. Thinking of this, Alex could only shake his head sadly, letting out a deep sigh.

-

When the fighters were taking and enjoying their chance to rest, several people were seen coming over to Alex.

These people were the representatives of several countries; to be precise America, Germany, Singapore, and Australia. They seemed to have something they wanted to ask as they approached Alex together. This strange yet intriguing scene where representatives from four different countries walked together towards the leader of the expedition immediately lured the representatives from other countries to approach as well.

Seeing this group of people, Alex smiled and said, "What can I do to help you, gentlemen?"

Captain Liam, the American fighter and soldier, the representative from General Max\'s camp was the first to open his voice.

"Mr Alex, we would like to inquire about the weapons you used before. If you have such technology, why don\'t you share it with us?"

The crowd behind him also seemed to want to ask the same thing. Hans, the representative from Germany, then added.

"What Mr Liam said is true, Mr Alex. Not only your fighters are strong, they are also wearing top of the line artifacts. What is your secret, Mr Alex? Please share it with us."

Before Alex could open his mouth, Prime Minister Sidao of Singapore spoke up.

"Mr Alex, we are your neighbouring country and we have been working together since Doomsday began. How come that we never heard about this? We have come here to help you clear your trouble, but you seem to keep something from us."

Listening to the simple and polite questions that were asked, turning into demands, Alex became silent. But inwardly, he smiled. It seemed everything was going according to his plan.

James, who also approached Alex, hurriedly joined in the conversation lest the situation turned worse, "Calm down, everyone. I\'m sure that Alex has a perfectly good reason for all of this." said James, turning his head towards Alex. "Am I right, Alex?"

Alex stared at James and spoke with a smile, "Of course you are, James." 

He then took his attention away from James and looked at the others, "Of course I will share the information I have, gentlemen. After all, there have been no secrets among us since the beginning."

Quickly scanning everyone around him, Alex then continued his words, "It\'s just that I only found out about the matter recently and what you saw today was part of the experiment. A testing trial… you could say."

He then drew Strokes from its sheath and said, "This is a powerful artifact that allowed me to create the miracles you saw today, allowing me to enchant equipment."

Alex then proceeded to explain the function of an enchantment, which could upgrade a normal object into a magic item. 

Currently, the Doomsday Pillar only granted the fighters access to tier 2 artifacts. Meanwhile, they could only get tier 3 artifacts inside relic ruins, but it was very rare for them to find relic ruins with tier 3 artifacts. The rarity of magic weapons made the information Alex disclosed very shocking for them.

Alex then showed them a [Magic Scroll] which shocked their souls even more. Seeing their reaction, he then went ahead and made a magic scroll directly in front of them using Strokes. The next thing Alex showed was the [Magic Bullet], using his revolver and Aria\'s rifle. He simply explained the concept of the creation very quickly, giving them a rough understanding of it. In the end, the representatives standing there were dumbfounded by the information revealed by Alex.

"To be completely honest with you all as requested, this artifact that made all this possible is a tier 5 artifacts. And it has chosen me  as the only one who can use it. So that means only I can do the enchantment. Therefore, I sincerely apologize that mass production is not possible" said Alex with a small smile.

Alex was sure that the information he revealed gave mixed feelings to the group. Some would see this as good news for mankind, while others would feel threatened by the existence of an item that could make high tier equipment.

Seeing the still shocked representatives, Alex said, "I once again must remind you all that we are all here for one main goal. The survival of humanity. Thus, I hope that we can work together and put our differences aside."

He then took out several large boxes from his storage ring, "As my gratitude to everyone who helped this expedition, please accept my gift," said Alex, smiling faintly.

Alex gave one box to each group, inside there were ten pieces of tier 2 protective vest that he made. All with protective energy better than the common tier 2 protection vest bought from the Doomsday Pillars.

"I hope you like the present. With these, I hope we can clear and destroy this Abyss more quickly and without causality."

Alex just gave out the tier artifacts for free which made some of their previous protested faces turn to smile, except the group in red robes. Anas their speaker of the Heavenly gate approaches Alex asking for their share of the gift.

"Ahhh.. i am really sorry, the artifacts were prepared numbered as the invitation,. But don\'t worry i am sure your god will be much better protection than this silly armor"------------

----