System's POV
chapter-247-4

After going through Arundel's personal treasures, Thirteen decided to pick two things from them.

The first one was a crimson ring, which he believed was a storage ring.

All the storage rings in Solterra and Pangea had a storage space of four square meters.

According to Metatron, the ring he picked was called the Ring of the Apocalypse and had a storage space of two hundred square meters.

Its storage capacity alone was more than enough for Thirteen to choose this item. But, that wasn't all that the ring could do.

It was a very special ring that had the ability to store both living and non-living things inside of it.

All the members of the Order of the Apocalypse had this ring because of its usefulness.

At first, Thirteen was in doubt. But, after the Metatron said that he was allowed to return and exchange the ring for another item if it didn't meet his expectations, he decided to trust Metatron this one time.

A storage ring that could store living creatures had strategic value in it.

But what surprised Thirteen the most was the fact that the Ring was a Divine Item.

"Divine Items will not be affected by the restrictions that are placed on your vessel," Metatron stated. "However, not everyone, especially those of the Rookie Rank, and below could use such items. Fortunately, this is a reward that a God has personally bestowed upon you.

"This means that regardless of your rank, you will be able to use it normally. Aren't you lucky, Thirteen? Being part of the Order of the Apocalypse is nice, right? You get to acquire items of this level once a year, allowing you to bypass the restrictions of Item Ban and Skill Ban."

Thirteen neither agreed nor disagreed with Metatron's words.

But, one thing was clear.

Staying with the Order of the Apocalypse would allow him to grow despite the limitations that shackled him in place.

"Now, choose your last reward." Metatron crossed his arms over his chest. "After that, we will visit the Treasury so that you can gain one more freebie. I'm such a nice person, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Thirteen replied casually. "Very nice."

Metatron chuckled after hearing the boy's reply and patiently waited for the seven-year-old to take the last item he was going to choose as his reward.

After a few minutes, the boy reached out to one item in particular, which made Metatron arch an eyebrow.

"The Mantle of Flames," Metatron said. "This red mantle will make you nearly immune to all kinds of Flames, Fire Spells, and other abilities that fall under the Fire Element. But, since it is only of the Legendary Rank, it will still be affected by your Item Ban and Skill Ban.

"In short, aside from looking cool and imposing, the most you can use it for is a blanket or a bed roll."

Thirteen nodded in understanding. The remainder of the items that Arundel possessed were of the Legendary Rank, so he couldn't really use them.

Because of this, he simply chose the coolest item because the design of the Mantle of Flames made him look as if he was a "Little King".

It even had a mane around the neck area, making it look imposing.

Since he couldn't use any of the other artifacts, he simply-mindedly chose the coolest looking one to make him look good in the eyes of others.

Simply put, he chose it purely for aesthetics!

"Well, you can also give it to others if you like, so it's not really a bad choice," Metatron stated. "I will also tell you one special ability of this Mantle. It would allow you to walk over fire and magma as if you are walking on land. It's truly an interesting item."

The Guardian of the Treasury of the Apocalypse clapped his hand, and the other items in front of them disappeared.

"Now, let's talk about the Treasury that you're about to visit," Metatron waved his hand, and a giant black pyramid suddenly rose in the distance. "The Treasury of the Apocalypse has Thirteen Levels.

"At the moment, the first level is the only level you can access. However, as you gain more Apocalypse Points, you will be able to unlock the higher levels, which hold rarer items."

"What items can be found on the 13th Layer?" Thirteen asked.

"You're already eyeing the 13th Layer?" Metatron laughed before giving the boy a thumbs up. "You sure aim high, Thirteen. I like!"

The Will of Metatron then looked at the highest point of the Pyramid where the greatest treasure of all was located.

"The 13th Layer only contains one item," Metatron stated. "It is also the item that all members of the Order of the Apocalypse strive to get. It's none other than Pandora's Box, the Divine Artifact that will open the doors of the Apocalypse to the world."

Thirteen frowned. He knew about Pandora's Box and that it was indeed capable of bringing the end of the world, making the Order of the Apocalypse a very dangerous organization.

"But it's very hard to reach the 13th Layer, you know?" Metatron sighed. "Even the oldest member of the Order has only unlocked the Sixth layer. But I have a feeling that you will be able to unlock the other levels faster compared to them.

"Since you can only step into the Rookie Rank, the missions that will be available to you aren't as groundbreaking as the missions that the other members of the Order needed to accomplish every year.

"This is what you call 'being weak has their advantages' as well. So, please, Thirteen, work hard to unlock the 13th Layer as fast as you can, okay? I'll tell you a little secret. Once the Pandora's Box is opened, you will be able to lock things inside of it.

"For example… you can lock up a God inside of it. Since we both hate Fate, why don't you trap them inside of Pandora's Box? That way, all lives in the world will no longer be dictated by their laws."

Thirteen's interest was piqued after hearing that Pandora's Box could trap a God. Since he knew that fighting against his Old Man would be difficult, he could just trap him inside the Box and toss Fate inside of it to keep him company.

"Sounds like a plan," Thirteen smirked. "Well then, how do you unlock the 13th Layer?"

"Good question!" Metatron waved his hand and several numbers appeared on each Layer of the Black Pyramid.

100 - 2nd layer

200 - 3rd Layer

400 - 4th Layer

800 - 5th Layer

1600- 6th Layer

3200 - 7th Layer

6400 - 8th Layer

12800 - 9th Layer

25,600 - 10th Layer

51,200 - 11th Layer

102,400 - 12th Layer

204,800 - 13th Layer

"You'll need 100 Apocalypse Points to unlock the 2nd Layer of the treasury," Metatron explained. "200 for the 3rd Layer, so on and so forth. As you can see, the difficulty for unlocking each layer jumps up considerably, so until now, only Kamrusepa has managed to reach the 6th Layer."

Metatron's revelation didn't surprise him. He believed that only Kamrusepa would be able to accomplish such a task.

With her power of Divination, she would be able to choose the best missions for her, which would allow her to gain many Apocalypse Points every year.

"Well then, let's enter the First Layer," Metatron said with a smile. "There are no Divine Artifacts on the First Layer, but there are plenty of Legendary Artifacts inside of it. I'm sure that you will be able to choose one that you can give to your subordinates, regardless of their rank."

"Regardless of their rank?" Thirteen arched an eyebrow. "You mean, I can give it to a Rookie and they can use the abilities of that item?"

"Of course," Metatron replied. "This is what you call Bestowal. The Members of the Order use these items to reward their subordinates who performed well."

"… Can I sell it?" Thirteen inquired.

"Of course not," Metatron answered. "Any items that belong to the Order cannot be sold or auctioned away. Doing so will have your rights to enter the Treasury revoked for a hundred years, which will be a very sad thing, no?"

Thirteen no longer said anything and entered the treasury to choose one Legendary Item, which he didn't plan to use for himself.

This time, it took Thirteen five hours to go through all the items on the First Level of the Treasury.

There were many incredible artifacts that were housed inside of it, and the seven-year-old had a very hard time deciding which one he would take with him.

After nearly an hour of deliberation, he decided to choose a purple Conch Shell that could be blown like a horn.

"Thirteen, you like to court death, don't you?" Metatron didn't know if he should be impressed, or disappointed by the young man's choice.

"I don't plan on dying anytime soon," Thirteen stated. "But it will be best to have one or two Trump Cards if things go south."

"Are you sure that you want to pick that item?" Metatron inquired. "You will only be allowed to enter the Treasury again after the Night of the Solstice. Will you not change your mind?"

"No," Thirteen replied. "I'm fine with this."

Seeing that he couldn't convince the seven-year-old to change his mind, Metatron gave up and closed the treasury once more.

"Well then, time for you to go back to Solterra," Metatron crouched down to pat the boy's shoulder. "Remember this, Thirteen, I am rooting for you."

"Thanks." Thirteen smiled faintly.

Whether he believed that Metatron was really rooting for him or not, he kept it well hidden inside his heart.

The Guardian of the Apocalypse then snapped his fingers, returning the boy back to the world, where a black snake was patiently waiting for his return.

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