Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

"Oh, Dawnbringer! You're back!"

Cedric looked at the person who spoke and saw Moss Lady smiling at him.

"Oh, hey! Yeah, I'm back. Long time no see, for me at least." He replied in good-nature.

Moss Lady, according to what Cedric learned, was a Forest Pixie—a unique race that appears only in places where life is abundant and has a dense spirituality.

That tree bark-like skin on her and her gorgeous pair of dragonfly wings still left a deep impression on Cedric, no matter how many times he saw them.

"Have you taken care of everything back at home?" Moss Lady curiously asked.

"Not really," Cedric replied with a sigh as he expertly moved around the kitchen. "I mean, things are fine. My home is currently in a period of steady development, and I suddenly found myself having too much free time in my hands. I figured I might as well return here and make actual progress, you know?"

"My, how relatable!" Moss Lady chuckled almost seductively.

Whether she's doing this on purpose or not, Cedric doesn't know. Ignoring this would be the smartest choice, he thinks. He's already in a committed relationship, after all.

"Am I still the most recent addition here, or did someone new come?" Cedric asked.

"Nope, it's still you." She replied, "Hey, it's not that easy to gain qualifications to be here. Besides, the ones giving out the invitations are, most of the time, lazy. They couldn't care less whether they miss a budding genius or not. After all, it's not like any of us would create great waves when we eventually join the alliance."

Cedric could hear a hint of resentment and mockery in her voice, but it's well concealed. Once again, he chose to ignore this and just hummed in agreement.

He made food for both of them. Moss Lady was, after all, one of the people whom he charmed with his culinary skills. She was the source of the seeds he brought back home, so if he could trade with her more, Cedric obviously wouldn't miss the chance.

"Here's your Caesar salad with poached eggs," Cedric stated as he sat down on the table with her.

"Oh, yay! Thank you," Moss Lady replied, immediately digging in.

Cedric actually thinks that this is strange. In the past, he tried serving Moss Lady some beef stew, the same one that the others liked too much, but he learned that she didn't like it. However, weirdly enough, she loved salads.

He thought to himself, 'Isn't this considered cannibalism? '

But, of course, he's never pointed this out. She's a lady, after all. Plus, he didn't want to offend one of his clients.

They talked about some random things; no trade was made during this time, and that's fine. Cedric just returned after all.

After sharing a meal with her and eating his fill, Cedric made his way back to his room to digest not only the food but also his recent gains.

He soaked into the spiritual lake and thought to himself,

"It took me six months to learn a single move."

"From what I understood so far, there's eight more moves after this. All nine moves make up the entire sword technique, of which I don't know the name yet."

Because he had no idea what the name of the sword technique was just yet and he only learned the very first move, he could only call it the 'Nameless Sword Technique'.

The memory of his recent practice was still fresh in his mind. He could even feel it in his bones. If it weren't for the fact that he mastered the Myriad Sword Catalogue, he'd probably have a more difficult time learning this.

Obviously, the Nameless Sword Technique was far more profound than the Myriad Sword Technique. This was made obvious by how lethal that single move he learned was, as it transcends all forms of defense and could even ignore laws.

Cedric was really curious as to who made this technique. Was it that purple-skinned man? But after some cursory search using the tower's system AI, he found nothing, so he could only drop it for now.

As for his progress, of course he has learned and replicated the first move perfectly. He entered the state of enlightenment, which helped a lot. The whole process lasted for six months without any pause. Actually, it's a miracle that he's not yet tired after that; he's only hungry.

But now that he's full and has the leisure to relax, Cedric can feel its toll on his body. His eyes were drooping as he soaked in the lake. He underestimated his exhaustion. Fortunately, he's in a safe and secured location, or else this could've been fatal to him.

Cedric didn't fight this feeling. He allowed himself to fall asleep, not even bothering to go to an actual bed. He just stayed in the lake with his lower body soaked and fell asleep right there.

His sleep lasted for an entire week, and even after that, he still feels drowsy. He only woke up to eat once; he ate what he'd got on his inventory and fell asleep again right after.

It wasn't until he woke up the second week that he no longer felt tired. It's also then that he discovers that, aside from having recovered from his exhaustion, his cultivation also progresses while he's asleep.

He reached the late stage of 1-star Planetary Sage Life Evolution, just a step shy of reaching 2 stars.

The 7th Extreme Sun Aperture on his body looks nearly the same as the previous ones. He just needs to accumulate for quite some time, and he'll be ready to open the 8th aperture.

This brought a smile to his face. If he had remained on Prime Earth, this kind of progress would've taken years. This just shows the sheer difference between the worlds.

He ate whatever he had once more and threw himself into his training routine.
Stay connected with m v l e mpyr

**

Time passed by, and soon it would be the 10th year since Cedric returned to the tower.

Cedric still looked relatively the same, but the air of calm and gentleness around him became even more obvious. His eyes, though, looked a bit dull. Probably because of the loneliness he felt, but this was nothing new to him.

In his personal dimension, Cedric held an ordinary sword in his hand. He assumed a stance and began practicing the nameless sword technique.

Swoosh!

It started with a seemingly benign and innocuous overhead sword swing. He then twisted his grip on the sword and continued to make a horizontal sweep, dragging the sword's edge in a perfect arc around him, which then turned into a forward stab and a rising slash.

Cedric performed all four moves without any hint of instability; each move was connected to the other. And strangely enough, he performed it so fast that it gave the illusion that he didn't move at all.

Even after 10 years since he returned, Cedric still has no idea what this sword technique was called, so he still labels it as the Nameless Sword Technique.

He has learned four out of nine moves so far, and that took him an entire decade to do. Whether this was fast or not, Cedric has no idea. Even if he does, he probably wouldn't care.

As expected, Cedric couldn't rely on entering the enlightenment state whenever he encountered the stone steel. Experiencing it on his first contact was a blessing; entering this state again at the second one was a miracle. After that, there were none. He had to do it manually, like everyone else that came before him.

Fortunately, the enigmatic shadows he encounters on his climb aren't strong enough to give him a headache just yet. He could still easily deal with them with a simple point of his finger. The only difference is that they're looking more and more real each time he encounters them.

As usual, Cedric remained true to his purpose here. Aside from occasionally saying hello to his fellow challengers, his destination was only either the trials or his room. It's not like there are other places here he could go to anyway.

He had a few trades with them here and there, which obviously made him happy because he received more of their trash, which is treasure for him and his world. With the few items he has received so far, this trip has already been worth it.

Of course, Cedric doesn't have any plans to return just yet. How could he when he's not yet done with his trials? Moreover, even though his progress has slowed considerably, it's still there, so why should he return right away?

With a sigh, Cedric ended his practice for today. He changed into a fresh set of clothes and made his way out of his room. Nobody, aside from him, was around again, and that's normal.

He went up to the doors that led to the trials, but instead of entering the one leading to the trial of mind, he went to the one that leads to the trial of body.

Upon entering, he felt the familiar sensation of being transported. When it ended, he found himself standing in a dojo with a man wearing a strict expression looking at him.

"Here to receive a beating again, Kid?"