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280 lines
6.4 KiB
Markdown
280 lines
6.4 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Chapter 253 Old Saintess"
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slug: "ch-253"
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novel: "Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100"
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number: 253
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views: 0
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likes: 0
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wordCount: 1040
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createdAt: "2026-04-13"
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---
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Max acknowledged him with a small nod—but his attention was elsewhere.
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His gaze shifted toward the old woman.
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Something about her made him hesitate.
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Perhaps it was the way she sat—completely at ease, yet carrying the weight of someone who had watched lifetimes pass before her.
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Still, he spoke.
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"And you are?"
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A sudden cough from Klaus.
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"Max—"
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He barely got the word out before—
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SLAP!
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A sharp sting ran through Max's palm.
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His brain stalled.
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'What the hell?'
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The old lady had smacked his hand.
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The strike wasn't just fast—it was perfectly timed, impossibly precise.
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"That's how you talk to an old lady?" she scolded, her tone unimpressed, almost bored.
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"Don't you know how to respect your elders?"
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Max's eye twitched.
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Even with 300 Dragon Scales reinforcing his body—he 'felt' that slap.
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This wasn't just an ordinary elder.
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This woman had technique.
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For the first time, he took a proper look at her.
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Long black hair streaked with white. Wrinkles tracing across her face.
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But her eyes—dead calm.
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Emotionless. Unshaken. Unreadable.
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They weren't eyes that held rage, amusement, or arrogance.
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They were eyes that had seen too much.
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Perhaps even everything.
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Max rubbed his palm, suppressing the urge to curse aloud.
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Fine.
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If that was how she wanted to play it—
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He straightened his posture, his voice even.
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His voice polite.
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"I am Max. It's nice to meet you."
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Then—
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SMACK!
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Pain flared through his other hand.
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Another perfectly placed slap.
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Max's teeth clenched.
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What. The. Hell.
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The old woman clicked her tongue.
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"Kids these days," she muttered, shaking her head in clear disappointment.
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"They just don't know how to respect their elders."
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Max exhaled slowly.
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His palms burned, a low sting pulsing through his skin.
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His mind was a storm of disbelief.
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'This old hag!'
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He wanted to say something. To protest.
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But some deep, instinctual survival sense warned him—
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If he talked back, he'd get slapped again.
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So, for now—
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He endured.
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The old woman leaned forward, her piercing gaze locking onto Max like a predator sizing up prey.
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For the first time since entering, he felt it—a shift in the air.
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A presence so heavy, so absolute, that the very space around her seemed to thicken.
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"I am the Old Saintess of the Black Lotus Guild," she said, her voice even, yet carrying a weight that left no room for doubt.
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"And you have already met the current Saintess, so let's not waste time. Let's get straight to the topic."
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Max's frown deepened.
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Saintess?𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
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Callie?
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The word echoed in his mind.
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He had no idea what she was talking about.
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Noticing his confusion, Klaus chuckled lightly.
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His stance remained relaxed, but his tone carried an unmistakable reverence.
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"Max, our Black Lotus Guild has existed in this world for a very, very long time."
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He spoke as if recounting a fact of nature—an undeniable truth.
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"We have seen the birth of Sovereigns and Emperors, watched their rise, their fall, their ascensions, and their ultimate declines."
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Max's expression didn't shift, but inwardly—he was listening.
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Carefully.
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Because if what they were saying was true—
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Then the Black Lotus Guild wasn't just another powerful underground faction.
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They were something else entirely.
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Klaus continued, his voice steady, his words carrying the weight of history.
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"Because of our history, our ways of power may seem a bit… traditional."
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At that, the Old Saintess shot him a glare so sharp it could cut through steel.
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"Traditional?" she echoed, her tone laced with irritation.
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The air seemed to grow colder.
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"You young ones just don't understand the importance of traditions."
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Klaus coughed awkwardly, shifting slightly but refusing to be thrown off track.
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"A long time ago, our guild wasn't even a guild."
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He paused.
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Then—his next words came with deliberate weight.
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"It was a power known as the 'Black Dragon Palace'."
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Max's brows furrowed.
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He had never heard of it.
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Black Dragon Palace.
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There was something about the name. Something that felt too ancient, too distant.
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Klaus continued, his voice growing more solemn.
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"But as the world changed, so did we. We adapted, evolving both inside and out."
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His words settled in the dimly lit room, each syllable carrying the weight of something far older than any empire.
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Then, after a beat, he added—
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"To the outside world, we are just another guild, one of the many forces in the East Region."
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A slight pause.
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Then—his next words shook Max to the core.
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"But the truth is—we existed long before the four great families and the five top guilds were even a thing."
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Max's eyes narrowed slightly.
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Before the four super families? Before the five strongest guilds?
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That wasn't just a claim.
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That was a rewriting of history.
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Max had always known that the Black Lotus Guild operated in secrecy, its movements unseen, its influence stretching into places others dared not reach.
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Why?
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But this?
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This was something else entirely.
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This wasn't just an old guild with deep roots.
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This was an ancient force, one that had deliberately hidden its true strength.
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And the bigger question?
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Why?
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Why had a power this old remained in the shadows?
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Max exhaled slowly, processing every word.
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The Black Lotus Guild—or rather, the Black Dragon Palace—wasn't just another faction.
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It was a relic of a forgotten era.
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And relics only stayed hidden for one reason.
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Because their existence threatened the present.
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Max's eyes narrowed, his mind racing.
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Then, the question surfaced.
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A question so absurd, so unbelievable, that even saying it felt surreal.
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"Does that mean… you experienced the war from ten thousand years ago?"
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His voice held an edge of disbelief, his eyes locked onto the Old Saintess, searching—for what, he wasn't sure.
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The room fell into silence for a fraction of a second.
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Then—
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A low chuckle.
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Not just amusement.
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Disdain.
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The Old Saintess shook her head, lips curling slightly.
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"Experienced it?"
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The way she said it sent a chill down his spine.
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Then—
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"Heh. I 'fought' in that war myself."
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The world seemed to slow.
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Max's breath hitched.
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His mind reeled, grasping at logic, at reason, at anything that made sense.
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"You 'fought' in the war?"
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He barely recognized his own voice.
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A slight tremor.
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An involuntary reaction to the sheer weight of those words. |