Parallel Vol. 4 [LEGACY EDITION]

Chapter 95.2: Bok's Resolve

Tap! Tap!

Everyone's attention turned to the lithe figure that walked out from the crowd. Bok, garbed in naught but a pair of shorts, pauldrons, and armor covering his upper thighs, weathered the curious gazes as he calmly made his way to the base of the stairs.

'So high.' Bok swallowed hard. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he looked up to the Primates. That was where he needed to be. He needed at least that much power if he wanted to change the dire fate of goblins.

Bok strengthened his resolve, and then took the first step. DUN! He nearly choked under the pressure that suddenly assaulted him. He could tell that this was some sort of test. He would not be allowed to present himself if he could not even make it up these stairs.

Bok gritted his teeth, and then took the next step, and then the next. The pressure increased with each step, at a point almost forcing Bok to double over as he climbed. Many times, the goblin wanted to give up. But, each time, he would recall the dead bodies he hid under. He would remember that Summoned warrior's disdainful eyes as he destroyed his tribe. Each time, he would dig his fingernails into his palms, and then forcibly carry on.

"Bok. Stop."

Suddenly, a voice forced the goblin out of his near-trance like state. Bok looked up to see Myra two steps ahead of him. The wisben wore a proud smile as she observed the pale goblin. Primates needed more than just strength and uniqueness. A Primate needed a few loose screws in their heads. They had to be willing to challenge an unfair world, no matter how terrible the odds may be. One could not change the world without that kind of mentality.

Myra nodded, but then ordered with a stern glare, "What are you waiting for? Greet Her Highness!"

Bok panicked. He swiftly looked at the daeben woman at the top of the stairs. Brrrr! The goblin shivered upon making eye contact with the daeben queen. He felt like an insignificant bug beneath the heel of a great shoe. He had never felt this type of suffocating feeling. Not even when he looked at that damned warrior.

Bam! Bok obeyed his instincts. He knelt and greeted with a humble tone. "It is Bok's honor to finally meet the Great Queen." Evidently, the goblin's intelligence had grown. But he still could not shake the habit of referring to himself in the third person.

"Mm." Queen Alia's eyes shone with a red light as she activated one of her secret skills. [Talent Reader] allowed Queen Alia to judge the potential of a person before her. Queen Alia's ability exposed a person's current strength, as well as how much room was left for improvement.

"Oh?" Queen Alia blinked in shock. The goblin was emitting a golden light. This was just a level below the highest grade she knew, Platinum. This goblin was shining gold. This meant, he, at the very least, hade what it took to be a Primate. She seductively smiled, pleased with the find. She looked at Myra. "How long did he last?"

Myra scratched her cheek, and then confessed with an embarrassed smirk, "Ten days, two hours, thirty minutes, and four seconds."

A collective gasp rang out. The Primates looked at the goblin with shock in their eyes. They then turned to look at the cloaked figures behind Queen Alia. Precisely, they were looking at a single man. That figure took off his robe, revealing a hulking, Nordic man, who looked to stand around 8-feet tall. The man, whose gray beard suggested he was in his fifties, had dozens of bells strapped along his arms, chest and legs.

Strangely, though, the bells made no sound as he walked forward.

Queen Alia smiled as she looked at the man. "What's the matter, Bellmaster Rene? Are you annoyed that your record has finally been cracked?"