As Rody stepped out of the great door, his mood was heavy.
If his greatest achievement in life was only reaching the level of a Polaris Seven-Star Magic Master, avenging himself would be impossible. Afflicted by the magic-martial prohibition, he would remain powerless unless he surpassed the saint level. The necromancy he had been secretly practicing was not suitable for public display, nor was there any higher magic to learn. In such dire circumstances, what future awaited him?
The old men watched Rody emerge with a gloomy face, appearing surprised. Alecles, the guide, asked, "Little Rody, what's wrong?"
"The servant said I have only seven-star potential. My greatest achievement in life will only be that of a Polaris Seven-Star Magic Master... Perhaps for an ordinary person, being a seventh-level mage is a great future, but it's far from my expectations..." Rody sighed lightly, feeling extremely disheartened. He walked back to the old men and sat down among them.
Rody suddenly felt that these elders, like him, came here with great expectations, only to face disappointment, like he did, and eventually stayed here, leading aimless lives.
He now understood this feeling well, because after receiving his assessment, he too thought of returning to Whitestone Town to live a quiet life with his mother, who was waiting for him, always hoping for his return.
But now, Rody felt an apprehension about going back. He feared his mother's disappointment, feared seeing her tears, feared breaking her heart. With his limited potential and achievements, he was not the genius she was proud of, but merely a Polaris Seven-Star Magic Master, slightly better than an ordinary person...
"Seven stars?" The elders were taken aback upon hearing this, exchanging looks, all showing strange expressions on their faces.
"Little Rody, what do you wish to become? A Mage King? Or a Mage Saint?" Alecles, the guide, asked with a smile in his eyes. "You should know, Mage Kings and Saints are even rarer than dragons in this world. To advance to a Mage King, one must endure hardships a hundred times more than an ordinary person. To become a Mage Saint, the difficulties are a thousandfold."
"I'm not afraid of hardship, I just hate a life without hope," Rody leaned against a stone, trying hard to bear the pain in his heart.
"How can life be without hope?" The silver-haired wise elder suddenly spoke. "Over five hundred years ago, a Silver-Eyed Singer, a mute from birth and thus unable to sing or become a magician, persisted in her training. Despite her inability to produce sound, she created her own music magic, unable to sing vocally but able to enchant any creature with her music, becoming the unique Silver-Eyed Singer."
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"How could she sing without a voice?" Rody was astonished.
"She longed to sing. Though voiceless, her spirit was always singing. Her powerful spirit could touch any living being, even the dullest orc," Alecles laughed heartily. "Little Rody, nothing is impossible in this world."
"Let me tell you an ancient story," an old-looking elder began slowly. "Fifty thousand years ago, powerful beings on earth broke through to the divine level, and many humans and other beings achieved divinity, becoming gods. But before that, there were already gods in heaven who didn't want these earthly strong ones to challenge them, leading to a divine war. The heavenly gods oppressed the earthly strong ones, cleansing all life that could break through. Despite countless deaths, the earthly strong ones continuously ascended, eventually matching the heavenly gods, causing collapse in heaven and earth, and finally forcing the heavenly gods to recognize their right to ascend. If we talk about difficulty, what's harder than ascending under the pursuit of gods? Yet our ancestors did it..."
"Does this mean, this Divine Ruins is left by our ancestors? And the assessment is to find life with potential to break through to the divine level?" Rody suddenly realized, exclaiming in shock.
"You guessed right," someone laughed approvingly.
"Actually, the servant is not human or a life form. It's the armor worn by one of our ancestors, the Wishful Goddess, during battle. After her death protecting her descendants, she left her armor to continue her divine will," the skinny man explained seriously.
"The servant said that in fifty thousand years, only 3086 life forms, including me, have been assessed. How many strong ones have entered the divine level among such few assessed lives?" Rody asked in doubt.
"In fifty thousand years, a total of 105 strong ones have ascended to the divine level," Alecles revealed, startling Rody.
"So many?" Rody was astonished for a long time, repeatedly confirming he hadn't heard wrong before believing it.
"Not all who ascend to the divine level become chief gods. Some can only be lesser gods
or godly envoys, but it's certain that at least five chief gods and one god king emerged from our earthly strong ones, or else they couldn't have contended with the heavenly gods," the silver-haired wise elder gently advised. "Young man, your heart should be filled with hope, not useless despair. We old folks have never given up, so why should you be so disheartened?"
"Thank you," Rody stood up and bowed to those who comforted him, gratefully saying, "My heart is now firm."
"Little Rody, what did you exchange with the gods?" Alecles asked with a slight smile.
"Nothing," Rody paused, then said, "Firstly, I have no god to believe in; secondly, I'm not willing to exchange... Although I desire power, I don't want to lose part of my personality or one of my senses. My eyes are to see my mother's face; my ears to hear her voice; my tongue to taste the food she cooks... In short, I hope to improve through my own efforts, not by exchange."
"Self-training? Even better! Haha," Alecles laughed loudly, his laughter leaving Rody somewhat puzzled.
"Your current strength and willpower make it difficult to pass the test of the gods," the silver-haired wise elder nodded slowly. "If you don't mind, perhaps you can exchange something with us old folks. Of course, we won't ask for your senses or personality, just for you to handle some worldly affairs. Are you willing?"
"If it doesn't go against my principles, I'll do my best," Rody replied excitedly, his heart racing. He had always been alone and was eager for any offered help.
"Young man, you might need this," the old-looking elder slowly took out a magical book with ancient characters Rody couldn't recognize.
"What would you ask of me in exchange?" Rody decided to listen to the conditions first before accepting the ancient magical book.