Abyssal Awakening

From her estimations, Alice guessed that there was an 80% chance that the top of the mountain contained fighters who were sparring at this moment.

However, she had no information about the place, it's formalities or whether or not they'll accept a spar with an outsider to begin with.

Therefore, the first step was to gather information!

'Let's see… we need to go look for Suyin so that we don't blow everything up that we touch. She mentioned that she was located in the region closest to the south so there's a bit of distance for us to cover.' Alice mused to herself.

Stay connected via empire

Since the distance was long, it gives them more time to spar with people that she came across.

Making her way towards the base of the mountain, she was beginning to see more and more people with weapons strapped onto their back or waist.

If the previous area could be called the residential area and the markets, this was now the place for fighters.

'They're… not that strong are they?' Alice frowned. She was trying to find a strong fighter within the crowd but she couldn't see anyone that stood out to her. If she has to estimate, they were only about 3 Sigils in strength maybe less. She hadn't seen anyone with four Sigils yet.

'The homeless looking old man earlier didn't use Sigil powers a lot either. Only maybe like 2 Sigils at most.' Alyss spoke up as Alice nodded in agreement.

What the homeless looking old man used was mostly physical attacks with hints of Sigil powers at certain moments. In terms of what she expected for Martial Arts, what he demonstrated was probably the closest to their expectations.

Regardless, Alice wasn't going to get information just by speculating. Walking around the base of the mountain, she looked for someone that seemed knowledgeable and focused.

'Found one.'

Her target was a bald man with a scar over his eye. He had a sword on his back and a martial attire consisting of a sleeveless shirt and baggy pants. An outfit that allowed for maximum body movement.

"Hi~ Excuse me~"

"F*ck off." The man snapped back at her before focusing on the steps.

". . ."

'I wanna punch him.' Alice supressed the annoyance in her chest and looked for someone else.

Unfortunately, she was turned away by everyone she tried to talk to.

'What the hell is going on??? Do the people in Sikha have a habit of not talking???' Alice fumed while sitting by the side, watching the fighters stand in silence before making their way up the steps.

[You know, I could've gathered informa-]

'If I didn't seal you. Yes Cayla, I'm aware.' Alice pouted.

[I'm glad you know.] Cayla smiled.

Even after all this time, she was still holding a slight grudge over the fact that Alice had sealed her without prior warning.

She knew what Alice was going for but she should at least let Cayla know so that she could make certain preparations. But now, she couldn't do anything other than work with what she already knows and try help Alice balance her body at times.

Not wanting to give up, Alice made her way to the second floor of a restaurant nearby and sat by the window.

She wanted to observe the fighters and what they were doing.

For two whole hours, she sat there watching but still couldn't figure out what was going on. They all stood in silence in front of the steps before going up. There was no fluctuations or anything.

"Guest, are you perhaps interested in what they're doing? You've been observing them for two hours now." A young waiter asked with a smile.

Glancing at him, Alice nodded her head.

"I tried to ask them but they all told me to leave." Alice smiled helplessly with a shrug.

Even though she was dressed like them now, she was still clueless about the local customs.

"That's only to be expected ahaha. They're trying to focus on passing the exam before they're allowed to go up." The waiter laughed as Alice tilted her head.

"Exam?"

"Indeed. Every sect requires you to pass an exam before going up the mountain. It's given through jade talismans that you can buy-"

"Okay you know what, that's all I need to know. Thank you." Alice smiled, placing down her money before leaving.

Since everything was involved with Suyin's inventions, she couldn't exactly go through the conventional means.

Therefore, she can only scale the steps without passing anything.

Making her way to the steps, Alice scratched her chin before pushing past the people blocking the way.

Immediately, Alice sensed hostility aimed towards her but she couldn't quite make out the direction.

'Do you think it's a defensive trap? To stop people from brute forcing their way up?' Alice asked curiously as Alyss simply shrugged.

Plus, even if they knew, it's not like they'll change their approach.

As Alice took another step, a flaming arrow manifested nearby and shot towards her.

However, she simply smiled and tilted her head back, dodging the arrow with ease.

'Seems like it is a defensive formation.' Alice smirked.

Taking another step, more arrows began to appear and rushed towards her.

Without hesitation, she snapped her fingers and created a singularity above her palm.

The arrows were drawn in and destroyed without resistance.

Seeing as how the defensive traps are merely arrows, Alice continued to walk up the steps as the fighters from below watched in confusion before realising that she must be an intruder trying to brute force her way into the sect!

Just as some of them were about to move, a thick wave of killing intent washed over turn, causing them to hallucinate.

The skies turned blood red as withered hands broke out from the ground. Raven cries echoed out as Alice's shadow seemed to stretch over them, warning them not to make a move.

All of the fighters immediately froze up, unable to take even a single step out of fear.

Glancing back at them with a smirk, Alice turned her attention back at the steps and continued to walk up.

She could feel some sort of energy trying to prevent her approach but she simply surrounded herself with the violet flames.

Right now, Alice was akin to a demon. None of the traps could slow her down and non of the usual methods were working.

She was completely unphased!

In the distance, bells started to ring as Alice could sense several 'powerful' auras approaching the top of the steps.

'They're probably preparing to fight back.' Alyss folded her arms.

'So be it. We're not exactly going through the conventional method after all.' Alice laughed.

'Do you want to take over? You want to learn martial arts after all.' She offered as Alyss nodded her head.

Golden chains manifested across Alyss's body while blood swirled around her.

Alice had also taken this chance to help change Alyss into an outfit that better suited her tastes.

Compared to Alice's outfit, Alyss's was a lot more revealing. A sleeveless black crop top with silver highlights, black gloves reaching her elbows, a high split skirt that reached down to her ankles with a pair of shorts underneath, stockings and a pair of boots.

Her entire outfit screamed physical fighter with Alyss cracking her knuckles. She had a menacing grin on her face as she made her presence know with a burst of aura.

Down below, even know the fighters were afraid, some couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed and excited seeing Alyss's outfit. Her shoulders, stomach and thighs were exposed for the world to see after all.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Intruder! State your purpose!" A booming voice roared down from above.

It carried an invisible force that tried to push Alyss back but she shrugged it off without care.

"I came to fight! Bring me your strongest!"

Crouching down, Alyss funnelled strength into her legs before launching herself up the mountain.

Countless traps were triggered in an attempt to drag her down with one even transforming the world around her.

However, Alyss understood it was simply an illusion. It didn't feel like a personal domain and instead, it was more similar to the hallucinations that was caused by her first Sigil.

Pulling her arm back, energy coursed through her body as she laughed and punched down.

*BANG!!! SHATTER!!!

The illusion was forcefully dispelled as the impact of her punch crashed into the wave of arrows and attacks sent her way.

"I found you." She narrowed her gaze, sensing the powerful figure at the top of the steps.

The shadow beneath her stretched out with blackened limbs reaching up. Using it as a foothold, Alyss launched her body up and arrived at the mountain peak.

She could see a group of people waiting for her arrival, each with their weapons in hand.

"Attack!"

A myriad of abilities were sent her way but Alyss was unphased.

Compared to the homeless old man, this was nothing!

Purple energy crackled across her body as she slammed down with her heel.

*BANG!!!

Breaking through the net of abilities without any issues, she had already determined their rough strength. Most of them were around four Sigils with one having five.

Spreading out her senses, it seemed as though he was the only one worth thinking about as Alyss immediately targeted the five Sigil man.

Slamming her palms down, shadows stretched out as the limbs grabbed the other disciples and threw them away, giving her the chance for a one on one.

Realising that the intruder wanted a one on one battle, the man summoned a halberd and swung towards Alyss with killing intent.