My Wife is a Hidden Big Shot

Chapter 434 - 398: Feeling Screwed Over by the Martial God

「Ten minutes later...」

Alvin Morgan and Aurora Sinclair stepped out of their game pods.

Both of them wore solemn expressions. This latest upgrade might have a special meaning.

"Morgan, what did Vick mean with his last words?"

"It might be unlocking a new instance."

However, when they logged back into the game on their computers three days later, the stone monument and Vick were both gone.

Instead, a mysterious new map called the Holy Mountain had appeared in the game world’s Boreal Reaches, with a level requirement of Level 120.

"Vick’s hidden quest must be permanently closed..." Alvin hadn’t finished speaking when Aurora suddenly pointed at her computer screen for him to see.

"Morgan, look at this."

On the circular stone wall, which had previously been blank, many strange patterns had appeared.

"The mysterious geoglyphs, giant pictographs, cross patterns, megalithic statues, crop circles..."

The more Alvin looked, the more alarmed he became, until his handsome brows were tightly furrowed.

"Morgan, what are these?"

"Unsolved mysteries of the world. Things that can’t be fully explained by modern science. Many people speculate they are miracles left behind by aliens..."

"Is this the start of a space exploration quest?"

Hearing this, Alvin turned to look at Aurora and saw her looking down at the ring on her hand.

"Aurora, check your inventory. Is the Space Ring still there?"

The Space Ring was indeed still in both of their inventories. However, the rings had changed color slightly. Master Rory’s ring had turned completely red, while White’s had turned gold.

"Let’s go. To the entrance of the Alternate Dimension."

The two of them immediately flew toward the entrance to the Alternate Dimension. The single guard at the entrance had become ten, each corresponding to one of the ten Energy Elements.

On Aurora’s screen, a gray question mark indicating an uncompleted quest appeared above the head of a guard named Fire. There were no symbols above the other guards.

On Alvin’s screen, a gray question mark for an uncompleted quest appeared above a guard named King.

"Let’s go complete the quests and see what happens..."

They immediately formed a party and entered the Alternate Dimension.

This time, after they completed certain quests, their rings finally activated, displaying a prompt: "Collect Energy Elements?"

They both immediately selected [Yes].

Then, when they emerged after completing all the quests, the question marks above the heads of their respective quest-giving guards had turned gold.

They submitted the quests at once.

The animation for completing the quest had changed. A special energy symbol appeared, containing unique markers for the ten Energy Elements.

It was a large pentagon, with the common five elements at each corner. In the center was a square with the special elements at its four corners. And in the very middle was the rare element, Vitality.

After Aurora’s ring dissipated, its energy flowed directly into the fire element pattern.

"Aurora, mine is the Gold element," Alvin said calmly, leaning over to glance at her screen.

Aurora looked at the ring on her hand again and asked softly, "Is this part of the game, or is it real?"

Alvin couldn’t make a rational judgment at that moment either. He reached out and pulled her into his embrace. "Real or not, I’ll always be with you."

Burrowing into his chest, Aurora’s voice was muffled. "I feel like the Martial God scammed us."

The corners of Alvin’s mouth lifted slightly. "You have me!"

「Elsewhere.」

A knock sounded on the door of an office at the International Martial Alliance headquarters.

A man in a black suit walked quickly into the room, respectfully addressing the door to an inner office. "Sir, someone in *Conquest & Glory* has triggered Vick’s quest."

"Who?"

"Two players from Veridia. Their IDs are Master Rory and White."

The man inside, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them, his dark pupils narrowing slightly.

"Keep a close eye on them."

"Yes, sir—"

The man stared at the pattern on the wall in front of him, a cold glint appearing in his eyes.

’Discovering the secrets of the Holy Mountain might not be a good thing!’

***

「Three weeks later...」

The Arcadian Championship was held in Keldara, a neutral nation in Arcadia.

Aurora Sinclair and Alvin Morgan were among the contestants using game pods for the competition.

Compared to playing on a computer, the game pods placed high demands on the user’s physical abilities.

Furthermore, to create a fully immersive and realistic experience, the pods engaged all five of the user’s senses.

If a player was hit, they would feel real, physical pain.

However, this pain sensation had been adjusted to its lowest setting.

The sensation of death in combat was also minimized. The system directly monitored a contestant’s health points, and if their health was depleted, the contestant would be automatically ejected from the game pod.

Aurora and Alvin expertly donned their gear and entered their game pods.

Perhaps because many international contestants were using the game pods for the first time and were very unaccustomed to them, they were almost all the first to be eliminated.

Inside the game pod, patterns for class skills would appear in front of the players during combat. They just needed to reach out and press the skill pattern, similar to using a computer keyboard, to activate the skill.

However, there were no skill patterns for basic Body Technique Skills. To dodge an attack, contestants had to rely on their own physical abilities, which caused some mentally unprepared players to become completely flustered.

Just as the Veridian fans were worrying about Master Rory and White, the pair gave everyone an incredible surprise.

Their performance was like a textbook example of a perfect match, leaving the audience thrilled and excited.

A few high-ranking members of the International Martial Alliance watched with looks of amazement.

"Referee Lennox, do you know who this Master Rory is?"

A smile played on Hector Lennox’s lips as he nodded slightly. "That would be my martial niece, Dawn Miles."

"No wonder she’s so skilled."

"Referee Lennox, has this child been invited to join the Alliance?"

Hector looked hesitant. "I invited her three years ago, but she didn’t come, so..."

"Such a promising talent must be invited into the Alliance. I’ll go invite her."

"Then I’ll leave it to you, Referee Lawson."

Vincent Lawson smiled and continued watching the girl on the screen.

After the match, Vincent Lawson quickly left the conference room and headed straight for a certain office.

He knocked, then entered with a slight bow, speaking respectfully to the inner door. "Sir, both of them are incredibly skilled. One of them is even Referee Lennox’s martial niece."

"Invite them to the Alliance."

"Yes, sir—"

Vincent Lawson gave a respectful Ancient Martial Ceremony bow before leaving the room.

After he left, a cold sneer appeared on the face of the man inside the room.

’The Martial God’s successor?’

***

The Arcadian Championship lasted for a month and a half. Veridia won the championship without any suspense and began preparing for the global tournament.

By now, the names Master Rory and White were famous all over the world.

Master Rory’s skills, in particular, led many people to ask Arthur Lockwood and Gideon Lockwood about her identity.

Unexpectedly, during an interview back home, Master Rory gave a direct advertisement for the Kane & Ming Dojo, encouraging people to learn martial arts there.

As a result, the Kane Family’s reputation soared, and they were directly invited to Kingsford by the Lockwood Family.

Thus, the Kane Family replaced the Vance Family, becoming the new Ancient Martial Family in Kingsford. However, unlike the Vance Family, the Kanes had been personally sponsored by Aurora Sinclair.

Their status was so special that no one dared to provoke them.

Just when everyone thought the Kane Family would eagerly absorb the Vance Family’s connections and resources, they made no move at all. They remained as low-key as they had been in Oakhaven. Aside from teaching at their newly opened dojo each day, they steered clear of all trouble.

They even turned away the minor families who came to pledge allegiance, and they refused to touch any other industries.

This allowed many of the Great Families to breathe a secret sigh of relief. At the same time, their minds started turning, and they began thinking about arranging marriages with the Kanes.

Until one day, the Kane Family Head suddenly announced to the public: "My nephew is in love with the eldest daughter of the Sinclair Family."