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Chapter 353: The Origin Factions

“I’ll explain what factions are once we get to the place I have in mind,” Cardis hastily replied as he continued to dash through the various dirt paths, taking a few turns from time to time. There were even times that he decided to veer off the dirt paths, taking a shortcut that led to another dirt path.

Eventually, his frenzied run came to an end at around five minutes or so as the two of them appeared at what seemed to be the central portion of the Origin Pantheon. Now being able to control his body, Argentum went ahead and shook off the pain he felt from being dragged along as he used his enhanced senses to take in the sight that was currently in front of him.

From what he could see, he and Cardis seemed to be in what looked like a plaza, but with the surface area of the plaza being hundreds of times larger than a usual plaza. Not only that, but at the center of this plaza, one would be able to see pedestals that had exquisitely crafted statues on top of it. On top of the outermost pedestals, one would be able to a finely crafted statue of a wisp of fire, a drop of water, a gust of wind, and a bit of earth.

Going one step closer to the center, one would be able to see pedestals that were considerably higher than the outermost pedestals, housing statues that seemed to combine two elements at once. As for the pedestals one step closer compared to these, they housed states that combined three elements at once.

Eventually, one would be able to see the pedestals at the innermost region that were at least three times as tall as the outermost pedestals. Unlike the statues on top of the outer pedestals that showed the fusion of elements, the statues on top of these pedestals instead showed an abstract message. In fact, only three statues showed an abstract message on top of them.

The first one was the lowest pedestal out of all the three, showing what seemed to be a sapling gradually growing. From what he could feel from the statue, Argentum felt that the statue talked about the word ‘life’.

As for the second lowest pedestal, the statue on top of it was that of people holding their hands together, as if they were moving as one. In an instant, Argentum had a feeling that the statue was talking about the word ‘unity’.

And for the tallest pedestal out of all the pedestals out there, a ring could be seen on top of it, gradually rotating along the same axis, making Argentum think that the ring was a large wheel. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to realize that the statue was actually talking about the word ‘cycle’.

“Life, unity, and cycle…” Argentum muttered, shocking Cardis, who was waiting for Argentum to start talking. Listening to what Argentum said, Cardis could not help but look at Argentum as if he was a freak and asked, “You already got what the three pedestals were trying to say?”

“Yeah? Is there something wrong with me doing that?” Argentum responded, asking a question in the process. In response, Cardis took in a deep breath and said, “There’s nothing wrong with what you’ve done, but you’re just…a bit too fast, don’t you think?”

“In any case, those are the factions,” he continued talking with Argentum, pointing at the pedestals while doing so. In an instant, Argentum radiated an aura of confusion as he asked, “So you’re telling me, those pedestals…are the factions you were talking about?”

“Well, to be more specific, I’m talking about the statues on top of the pedestals,” Cardis replied, before pointing at the various people that were passing by the plaza. “I don’t know if you can see it, but at a certain part of their body, you could see a pin that is the same shape as one of the statues on these pedestals.”

Hearing that statement, Argentum went ahead and utilized his enhanced senses to the fullest as he made sure to check for a pin on the bodies of the various beings that passed along them. Surprisingly, it did not take long for him to find out that what Cardis said was correct.

Although the place where they had the pin varied between person and person, he could see very well the images of the statues on their bodies, with some having the statues on the outermost pedestals, while rarely, he would see those with pins of the statues at the innermost region of the pedestals. Even Cardis, who was beside him, had a pin of the statues that pertained to the fusion of three out of the four foundational elements out there.

Noticing that there was a pattern going on, Argentum looked at Cardis and asked, “So, you’re telling me that if they have a pin of a certain statue, they’re part of that faction?”

“Exactly,” Cardis replied with a light smile as he continued, “Those with pins of the statues at the outermost pedestals are part of the factions that have the most members, while those with pins of the statues at the innermost pedestals are part of the factions that have the least members. If my memory serves me right, the cycle statue, the one at the highest pedestal, is only owned by one person.”

“As for me, I’m part of the Waterflame Tempest faction, which doesn’t have a lot of members, but not too few either,” Cardis added not long after.

“Do these statues mean anything else?” Argentum asked soon after, feeling that he had only solved half of the problem. In response, Cardis nodded as he said, “Indeed. These statues show your understanding of the term ‘Origin’. Some interpret it as their starting point, which is why the four foundational elements are at the outermost pedestals, while some interpret it as something greater, like those at the three innermost pedestals.”

“Naturally, it also shows the understanding of the person towards the element related to Origin, no matter what variant it may be,” Cardis continued.

“And the reason why you brought me here is because…?” Argentum asked once more, to which Cardis replied, “I wanted to show you the various factions that we currently have and…”

“I want you to aim higher than those at the three innermost pedestals,” he added. “I don’t know why, but I have a hunch that you can do more than that even though I’ve only met you a few minutes ago.”

“Pfft. You think this trash right here could understand a far larger part of the Origin than even Torvas himself?” Out of nowhere, a man jeered at Cardis’ statement, eliciting Cardis to slightly frown as the man continued to talk.

Nevertheless, Cardis wasn’t someone who backed down that easily, telling the man, “Says the guy who decided to lick the boot of someone who’s just part of a triple element faction. Am I not wrong, Tristan?”

Tristan, who was the one jeering at Cardis’ statement a while ago, could not help but grit his teeth in anger as he knew that it was true. Of course, he knew that admitting defeat would go against his whole lifeblood, prompting him to let out a sneer as he said, “So what if I am licking the boot of someone from a triple element faction? At the very least, I’m far better than this weak Pseudo-Animate right here.”

“Oh?” Cardis could not help but raise his eyebrow in response as a light yet confident smile appeared on his face. Not long after, he took in a deep breath before shouting, “Do you really think that way, Tristan? How about we bet on it?”

“Did someone say a bet?”

“Who are we betting on?”

“Where’s the bet happening?”

In an instant, a decently large crowd of people gathered around Cardis, Tristan, and Argentum as they heard the word ‘bet’ resound throughout the plaza. Naturally, all of these people were gamblers by nature, seeking the pleasure and thrill that came with sacrificing their hard-earned resources for a chance to earn more.

Seeing the crowd that had gathered around them, Tristan could not help but look at Cardis with killing intent as he knew that this guy was trying to lead him towards a dead end. With a look of anger on his face, he could not help but mutter, “To think that the person I considered as my friend back then would betray me like this.”

“Who are you to talk about betrayal if you were the one who betrayed me in the first place?” Cardis rebutted with his own statement, prompting the crowd to scream and shout with fervor and excitement at the current situation. Of course, with no way out, Tristan decided to go all in and hope for the best as he said, “You wanted a bet, right? Then, I’ll give you a bet you won’t regret.”

“I’ll place in 100 Rank 9 Mana Stones on the possibility that this Pseudo-Animate right here would not be able to understand the Origin far beyond the Cycle,” Tristan said without hesitation, though in reality, his heart was arching as 100 Rank 9 Mana Stones was already three quarters of his whole assets.

In response, Cardis still had a confident smile on his face as he went ahead and formed a rift, allowing a pile of mana stones that looked like pure crystals to drop on the ground without fear. Not long after, the rift was closed, allowing Cardis to place his bet as he said, “Alright, then. Since you’re betting 100 Rank 9 Mana Stones, I’ll bet 200 Rank 9 Mana Stones on the possibility that this friend of mine right here would be able to understand the Origin far beyond the Cycle.”

Soon after that, Cardis then went ahead and said to everyone, “Everyone, listen up! If you bet that this friend of mine can’t understand the Origin beyond the Cycle, then you’ll win twice of what you placed in. But if you bet that this friend of mine can understand the Origin beyond the Cycle, then you’ll win…”

“…ten times of what you placed in,” Cardis continued, leaving everyone in the crowd at a loss for words before they went ahead and frantically bet on the chances of Argentum achieving this or Argentum achieving that.

Of course, Argentum, who was confused as to how he was added into this bet thing out of nowhere, could not help but ask Cardis, “How did we end up here?”

“No idea either,” Cardis said in response as he laughed it off. He then told Argentum, “In any case, just do your best. Don’t be pressured by all of this.”

‘I’m not really pressured by any of this…I’m just confused…’ Argentum could not help but think to himself as he listened to Cardis’ statement, though he still nodded outward.

“I’ll bet 10 Rank 7 Mana Stones on the Pseudo-Animate going beyond the Cycle!”

“I’ll bet 30 Rank 8 Mana Stones on the Pseudo-Animate not going beyond the Cycle!”

“I’ll bet 5 Rank 4 Mana Stones on the Pseudo-Animate going beyond the Cycle!”

“I’ll bet 1000 Transcendent Mana Stones on the Pseudo-Animate going beyond the Cycle.” Just as the people were frantically placing their bets on Argentum’s chances, a person went ahead and placed in a large bet out of nowhere, shocking everyone. But after they looked at the man who placed the bet, their expressions of shock turned into that of awe and reverence, with Cardis and Tristan even looking at the man with awe as all of them said with glee.

“Torvas!”

“Hello there. Don’t mind me,” Torvas greeted everyone with a light smile on his face, with Cardis even smiling from the greeting. Though, it did not take long for Cardis to realize that if Argentum did achieve a level of understanding beyond the Cycle, he would have to pay Torvas 10 times the original amount he had placed, which he could not even do in the first place.

With this in mind, Cardis scratched his head as he sent a strand of energy to Torvas and said, “Er…would it be possible for you to bet in le—”

Before Cardis could finish his words, Torvas looked at him and responded with a light chuckle, “Don’t worry. Think of my bet as the capital you’ll use for everyone’s prize. The remaining stones after that will naturally go back to me, though.”

“But of course, Torvas!” Cardis said in response, his expression that of gratitude and joy while Torvas looked at him with a light smile. Not long after, Torvas looked at Argentum with a slightly examining gaze before nodding in satisfaction.

“He definitely has the ability to do it,” Torvas muttered before leaving the area, prompting the crowd to become silent for a bit before changing their minds to bet on Argentum achieving an understanding beyond the Cycle.

Of course, while this all happened, Argentum looked at everything with an aura of confusion as he asked himself.

“How did I get myself involved in all of this?”