Chapter 1056: Expectation and reality.

“Eh? Nexus Sol03? What is it

[Nexus is a core system city. Its structure, functions and development are formed by the Hosts of all Systems in the world through the installation of modules.]

[Nexus Sol03 is a core system city, Earth—bound.]

“System city?”

This was the first time Idan and Arabel had heard of something like this. It was only recently that they learned about the appearance of the Systems Dungeon, the System Network, and then the city arrived.

Which begs the question: what else awaits them?

[To learn more about the Nexus Sol03, Hosts need to visit the city in person.]

“Visit in person, right? And how do we get there?” — Idan decided to ask this question right away, without losing the thread of the conversation.

[The Nexus Sol03 can only be accessed through the Dungeon Gate with a pass. The entrance to the Nexus Sol03 is closed without a pass.]

It immediately dawned on Idan and Arabel that with the Back Entrance to the Dungeon and the right of “Permanent Guest” they could enter this Nexus directly from the Kingdom. Now all that remained was to find out what advantages the two Core Modules in this Nexus gave them.

Idan’s intuition told him that this might be related to property rights in this city. To confirm their assumptions, they had to visit it first and find out all the details.

[Access to the Dungeon will be opened at 20:28:57, when the other three gate defense events are completed.]

[Access to the Nexus Sol03 is open.]

[As a reward, the Hosts are given the opportunity to stay until the end of the Event and even use the temporary space.]

[Do you want to stay or leave?]

“Can we see what’s going on in the other three arenas?” asked Idan.

[Unfortunately, access to other arenas is limited]

Idan sighed with annoyance, and Arabel, who was standing next to him, shared his disappointment.

She also wanted to know what the other groups, chosen by the World Will to protect the remaining three gates, were capable of.

A girl and a young man in a hood especially attracted her attention.

Idan and Arabel looked at each other and understood each other’s intentions without words.

“We want to leave,” Idan announced.

There was no point in staying here.

Their Kingdom already had a time room, so the service offered by the dungeon didn’t seem like anything special to them.

After Idan and Arabel made their decision, they were teleported back to the place they were taken from—the living room of their “Family Home.”

Seeing the familiar surroundings, Arabel breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that everything was over. She examined her body and found no changes.

Joyfully, she turned to her husband, wanting to hug him, but froze when she saw that Idan was standing with a shocked expression on his face.

“What happened?” asked Arabel.

Her question snapped Idan out of his daze. He looked at her, and then at his bulging belly, where a cheeky bird had built its nest in his uniform.

It was still there, but unlike when he accepted the Will of the World’s offer to participate in the event, he no longer felt it presence.

After checking, Idan was convinced that the bird showed no signs of life.… It was dead.

He knew almost nothing about the bird and did not interact with it.

However, for some reason, the news of its death hurt him greatly.

Idan unbuttoned his uniform and easily extracted the bird. Previously, it had clung to him like a parasite, but now there was nothing holding it back.

The tiny body of the ugly bird had already managed to stiffen.

“What? Is it dead?”— Arabel could not believe his eyes, looking at the lifeless body. “How? And why?”

“I do not know,” — Idan said softly. “Perhaps it ate more than it could digest and couldn’t handle the power of the fire law seed.”

That was the only way he could explain it death.

They stood in silence for a while, looking at the bird’s body.

Idan decided to use his flame to set the bird on fire. Flames engulfed his arms and the bird’s body, and it began to slowly burn up.

However, in the process, Idan noticed something strange: some of his flame energy was disappearing, as if being absorbed by the corpse of a bird. With every passing second, the power of absorption became more noticeable.

“Really…”

Suddenly, Idan was overcome with excitement, and it dawned on him that perhaps the bird was not completely dead, but was on the verge of its transformation.… Transformation into a phoenix.

Without thinking, Idan redoubled his efforts.

“What’s going on?” asked Arabel, noticing a strange change in her husband’s mood.

“Perhaps the bird is still alive,” Idan replied excitedly, causing her surprise.

“What?”— Arabel asked, looking at the black lump that continued to burn in her husband’s hands.𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Some time passed, and Idan, feeling that the lump was no longer absorbing the fire, stopped.

The former body of the bird turned into a small black ball, similar to an egg.

Idan and Arabel stared at the black ball with bated breath until it twitched.

“Ah ha ha, it’s still alive!” exclaimed Idan, and his sadness turned to joy. Arabel also felt this joy, and she quickly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

The black ball continued to shake until cracks appeared on its surface.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

The husband and wife watched the process with bated breath, waiting to see what kind of miracle would appear from this egg.

But time passed, and the bird was in no hurry to leave its hiding place.

Finally, when a large gap appeared, and an eye appeared from it, and then the head of the bird, Idan and Arabel froze in amazement. Their eyes and lips twitched when they saw this “miracle.”

The bird, noticing them, opened its beak slightly, but did not make a sound.

Then it broke the egg and appeared in front of the couple.

It was bigger than a regular chicken.…

But most importantly, Idan’s expectation of seeing the legendary phoenix did not materialize.

Instead of a majestic and sweet appearance, the bird remained as ugly as it was before.

[The ugly bird]