Sponsored Release
!!!!! Pr Credits To Draconis Von BloodTrap Who Constantly Helps With SR chapters, Please take the time to rep him for his work :)
Special thanks to my Donator's for supporting SR!. this and the next chapter releases are sponsored by Tobias Klauke, thank you!
Geez this hit me suddenly, i guess i have my own queue to clear now, though i guess it isn't so bad, i will consider it motivation to help me write quicker and even rid myself of any traces of writers block, thankfully i have quite a bit planned for the story. I hope you all enjoy this sponsored release, chapter 111 isn't written yet but i will get right to it, and like before i will release it as soon as it is available for you all.
--------------------
Currently, everyone was being led away by servants to rooms that were assigned to them. Of course, none were unphased and weren’t worried about tomorrow, when they would be fighting the Empire’s fiercest warriors. They would not only lose but be destroyed. They needed to plan and think of a strategy to at least make a good appearance.
Avrin quietly followed one of the servants. As he was led away, he looked around casually. “-This third test should be interesting. I have to complete this one. It's ok if I come in second place. Regardless, I will get that one wish-”
Soon, the large group of geniuses was split and everyone entered their rooms. Avrin was sitting in his, gazing out the window quietly. He was thinking about his situation. “-If I can retrieve this piece of Skymetal, as well as the one promised by Azrael, it will be two wins for me. Though, forging them...I wonder if it is possible to control the forging process. Some armor would be invaluable for me-”
Pondering quietly to himself, Avrin raised his head and gazed at the door. Within moments of looking at it, a knock was heard. “Come in.” He spoke while looking to the window again. Of course, because of his Divine Sense, he knew who it was.
The door opened and the female with the greatsword entered the room before shutting the door. The girl glanced at Avrin with a look of reverence and respect before she courteously bowed and introduced herself. “Greetings. My name Ophelia Lexus. I never expected to encounter someone capable of keeping me on edge.”
Avrin looked carefully at her and raised a brow. “Miss Ophelia, I’m quite thankful for your actions in my defence. Though I'm sure you're not here to discuss me rivaling you.” Avrin was not one to beat around the bush with people. Ophelia revealed a smirk and nodded.
“ofcourse!. Your name is Herth, correct? You are the rumored Enigma ability user whom the Empire and Gaia Academy are going to great lengths to recruit. I do not doubt that even if you failed this test, you would still be a winner.”
Listening to the girl, she seemed quite unfazed, though this only made Avrin even more cautious. “I cannot wrong your words. I can see both value you me, enough so that it may cause issues when i pick a side. Though despite this, I'm sure you have a point to this conversation?”
Ophelia nodded and reached over to a hidden pocket within her armor and pulled out a small metal plate with a purple wing engraved on it. “I know this may be a bit of a hindrance to you, but my uncle begged me to offer you a spot within our family with benefits and all if I was to meet you here. I apologize.” She spoke, feeling a little awkward.
Avrin glanced at the plate and revealed a strange expression. “-Dark matter? This is made from dark matter?-” Avrin interest was piqued as he looked at Ophelia. “This is an interesting plate. I have never seen the material before, it must be quite unique.”
Ophelia suddenly smiled and spoke. “Indeed! My uncle is a great mage who is planning on rising to power. He has some mysterious new methods and will surely make a change in the Empire.” Avrin glanced at her and revealed a faint smile. “Your uncle sounds amazing. After this event is over, I would like to meet him.”
Avrin spoke courteously, much different to how he was before. He was thinking the situation had turned serious. If there was a spectral loose in the world, he could cause trouble that would bring everyone towards him. Avrin’s choice was simple. Send him to the north or terminate him.
With that said and done, Ophelia heaved a sigh of relief and bowed again before leaving. Avrin had a good feeling about her. She didn't seem arrogant and was quite respectable. Although maybe it was because he was considered an Enigma user. But for now, he left the matter alone.
He decided to sleep despite not needing it. The joy of sleeping could become a relaxing habit, and as soon as he laid down and closed his eyes, time went by in a flash and the evening of that day turned into the morning of the next.
Avrin opened his eyes and stood up. His body began to stretch and turn as if it were living on it's own. His bones stretched and fit back into a preferable place and Nebula Mist surged around him slightly to clean and refresh him.
Afterwards, he left the room. The servant had instructed him that he was allowed to go to certain areas, such as the open library or the dining hall, as well as the garden. Everywhere else was considered out of bounds, and those who disobeyed this rule would be disqualified. Avrin decided to visit the open library. He had arrived quite quickly and noticed that no one was around.
Avrin spent quite a bit of time here, and soon the other so called geniuses began to wake up or exit their midnight training after relaxing and eating, and soon the servants were sent out again at 11:00am to gather everyone.
Avrin couldn't relax. He held the plate Ophelia have him in his hand and examined it carefully. It was made from dark matter. The feeling of dark matter was all but natural to him. Especially when not an ounce of mana emitted from it.
Following the servants, who began to lead everybody, they were soon back in the Generation Hall. Standing there was the azure armored old man who had a prideful smile on his face.
As soon as everyone entered and the large doors shut, he spoke, “Today the third and final test will be conducted. From there, you will be evaluated and the two winners will be picked. This test is one of talent. You may be at a certain level of strength, but if your talent is great, you may be able to defeat someone at a higher level than you. Each of you will be transported to a separate arena where you will face opponent after opponent until you fall.
I will let you know that no one has ever gotten past defeating a second opponent and only one person in history has succeeded in beating the first opponent, and that is great the Sage level master Retria Zircus, His Majesty’s sister and Successor to the Archmage.”
With eyes filled with respect and awe, everyone listened intently. They had heard rumors and legends of Sage level people. These were people who received power with their own hard work and not with the help of a Sigil. True geniuses.
“Well then. I'm sure you are all eager to start, and we are also eager to select two winners. Let’s begin.” Just like before, the runic circles appeared under everyone and flashes of light shone before everybody vanished.
The space he was in stretched for fifty meters in all directions. Avrin figured the underground space of the palace was specifically made for the Generation Hall, as a space above ground would attract too much attention. They wanted to keep things hidden and under control.
Looking around the room, it seemed similar to the room of the first test, and Avrin quietly glanced around. Though a few seconds after being transported, another white light appeared opposite of him.
A large, muscular, bearded man wearing leather fighting gear as well as the insignia of the Empire appeared. He scratched his face and looked bored. “Ah.. His Majesty picked me for this test again.. I was about to go out to drink… Oh well. I'll get it over with...Hey kid..try your best, hah..”
The bearded man didn't seem to wait for Avrin to reply as mana surged around him. He released killing intent. He seemed to take the fight seriously. One could tell this man was one who never underestimated his opponent.
“Early stage Grandmaster?” The bearded man charged towards Avrin like a bullet. He punched, not holding back at all. As if he wanted to teach him a lesson. Avrin, of course, casually sidestepped while maintaining a defensive stance. He turned his left palm and plowed it against the man’s side.
The counter was quite quick, and the man’s eyes widened. He felt his the left side of his rib cage crack and a few break as he was blown away like a ragdoll before smashing into the wall, causing a deep indentation.
The bearded man was unconscious and foaming at the mouth. “Oh?.. Guess I should have held back.” Avrin’s face turned a little pale. He had gotten a little excited. He hadn’t faced such killing intent in a while, and decided to counter with his hands instead of using Phantom Pulse.
Of course, he would have no idea that those old Grandmasters who were watching were showing looks of shock. “He just….” One spoke with disbelief. “Incredible… Such a perfect counter...one move. He only needed one move to defeat Lupen, who excels at physical combat and defence!!” another said.
These people were stunned. Defeating someone within the third test of the Generation Hall was only ever seen once, and now it was done a second time. Many of these people thought it signalled the coming of a second sage, and even during the first time it was not an easy win.
“What now? What do we do?” An old woman who seemed to be in her seventies asked. Another woman, this time middle aged in terms of appearance, replied, “We continue. This Herth is remarkable. I would have liked to view his Enigma ability. This time, you go, Leora. You're a middle stage Grandmaster, correct? You must of had a breakthrough.”
Leora, who was the old woman, had a pale face. “M..Me?... Hmph. Clearly that Herth is hiding his power. I do not dare make a fool of myself.” The six people, all of whom were Grandmasters, began to argue with each other until the azure armor clad individual narrowed his eyes narrow and spoke.
“Fools!” His voice resounded like thunder, causing them to quiet down. “Are you that scared of a child? This was nothing but luck. I'm sure of it. I will go myself.” With that being said, the azure armor clad old man vanished with the help of teleportation and appeared in the arena with Avrin.
The hole in the wall was left, while Lupen had long since been transported out to recover. Avrin looked over at the azure armored old man with a gaze of indifference. “Senior, are you here to fight me?”
Avrin asked curiously. The azure armored old man nodded and took a fighting stance. “Indeed. You cannot be underestimated, thus, we have decided to take you seriously. You are a powerful Enigma ability user after all.”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Avrin tilted his head. “Very well, Senior. I want to apologize in advance for breaking the kept tradition of the Empire. This second match will not be your win.” Avrin was not afraid in the least of this man.
“Let’s see if your words can be backed up! The old man suddenly began to chant and two spheres of blue light appeared in his hands before shooting towards the ceiling. The spheres exploded into icicles that shot towards Avrin.
“-Magic!-” Avrin excitedly thought. He hadn't encountered a battle with mage before, though this magic was not strong enough to phase him at all, so a flash of disappointment appeared in his eyes. Avrin casually used his speed to dodge the crashing icicles, each one managing to pierce into the ground like daggers.
While Avrin was dodging, the old man had already used this time to chant another spell. “Mighty azure God of Water and Sea, Tialoc, allow this wizard to borrow your strength!” Suddenly, ice began to gather around the walls and frost began to build up on the ground. Avrin’s eyes narrowed a little. “Field magic, Senior?”
The old man smirked and raised his hand in an upward motion. The ice on the floor under Avrin suddenly trembled before forming into a pillar that shot upwards. Avrin felt he should hold back a little. He didn't want to show that his strength was almighty, as it may raise many suspicions. But, showing too little would not allow him to receive the reaction he wanted.
As the pillar shot up, it smashed against his stomach and pushed him upward until he hit the high ceiling. The pillar of ice glistened like a white diamond, but soon it trembled and cracked. Avrin fell and landed on his feet while clutching his stomach. The attack itself did only a bit of damage, but he acted as if he were wounded.
“A..Amazing. Senior, you are indeed stro-” Avrin was not able to complete his sentence, as the wizard held a ball of transparent light blue mana in his hands. He smashed it into the ground. “Ice Wave!” He shouted. The ice on the walls combined with the ice and the floor, causing a small ripple that grew into a tsunami.
“-He really isn't holding back. The Empire’s Grandmasters are truly something else!-” Avrin looked nervous intentionally and ran towards the wall behind him. “Running away? You can't evade it!” The old man called out, before a look of shock appeared in his eyes.
Avrin was indeed running, not because of fear, but to gain an advantage. As he and the ice wave neared the wall, Avrin leapt towards it, using his feet to kick off which caused him to gain incredible height, avoiding the ten meter tall ice wave. The wave crashed against the wall, making the arena tremble.
“He is matching Lord Delion quite well!” One of the old men observing the match spoke. By now, a majority of the matches had concluded and the Grandmasters who were sent to fight against the others had gathered to watch this fight, hoping to see the Enigma ability in action.
“yes, but he doesn't seem to be able to do much. He is on the defensive.” A woman who looked to be in her late twenties said. “Let’s see how long the boy can keep it up. In the end, this match is already enough to place that boy in the top two. Yuten is still fighting that Ophelia girl, and they are neck and neck. As for who comes first between Ophelia and Herth, we shall see.”
Avrin glanced at Delion. He was emitting a light blue aura with ice surging around his feet. “Enough games! I have yet to see your Enigma ability. If you do not want to use it, I will force it out of you!” Suddenly, Delion raised his hands and mana swarmed around him.
The entire ice field trembled, as all the ice seemed to be drawn to the center of Delion’s hands, forming a large sphere of ice. “The stage above Grandmaster is Sage. Sages are capable of utilizing their ice field to form a powerful attack. Although I am unable to form that attack, I can utilize the ice itself to improvise!”
Avrin looked closely. He had purposely dragged this fight on, mainly to see what a mage is capable of. But he didn't seem all that impressed. “Frozen Planet!” Delion roared out, and blue mana gathered around the large ice sphere that began to condense incredibly quick until it was no longer ten meters in a circular diameter, but the size of a soccer ball.
A look of caution appeared on Avrin’s face. The soccer ball sized condensed ice shot towards him like a comet. Avrin extended his arms, as if to grab it. He snickered. He wanted to test himself. This was an improvised attack that tried to mimic a Sage’s ability. He wanted to see how strong it was against him.
The ice sphere left a trail of frozen ground while shooting at Avrin. Avrin quickly wrapped his arms around it, but was still being pushed back several meters every second.
Delion gazed at Avrin. “You fool! You are truly seeking to die. Let it go and give up!” Not only Delion, but many of the other Grandmasters watching were thinking Avrin was crazy. Avrin felt a little winded and gave a serious look. He traveled seven meters before he finally stopped.
The ice sphere continued to slowly rotate in his grasp, causing frost to form on his body. “If this is all you have, Senior…” Avrin’s muscles flexed and the ice sphere cracked and shattered into pieces, causing a wave of mana to surge outward before dissipating, “ You can't win…”
Delion’s mouth was hanging low as he looked in amazement and horror at Avrin. He took this fight seriously, but never expected that this child had such monstrous strength. He felt a tinge of fear in his heart.
He knew he wasn't capable of beating Avrin, since that attack used up quite a bit of mana and was his strongest move. “I….f..forfeit…” Delion said half heartedly, before a rune under him appeared and teleported him out.
Avrin dropped the remaining shards of ice and tilted his head from side to side to crack his neck. “-Grandmasters really aren't anything for me anymore. I want to fight someone above and beyond-” Deep inside, Avrin he felt a battle lust slowly build up. This was something that he had never had as a human, but slowly grew within this body, as if he wanted to constantly seek a challenge to help himself grow.
“Lord Delion lost!! How can this be? What's going on!?” The observers were in shock as they all turned rowdy and began to argue. Delion appeared with a pale look on his face. Everyone remained quiet as they looked over to him. “Lord Delion, this-” Before the man could continue, Delion spoke.
“This Herth’s Enigma ability is truly strange. He also has hidden strength. He can defeat me, and didn't even seem to be to serious. But we can't let him be so arrogant. We have no choice. I will go notify His Majesty and see how he wants to handle the situation. In the meantime, keep him there. I'm sure His Majesty will think of something.”
It didn't seem like they wanted to let Avrin break tradition and obtain a victory in the third unbeatable test. Of course, Avrin was leaning against the wall and began to cautiously think to himself, “-They don't seem to be letting me out. Maybe they are ringing their heads together to find someone for me.
Though if I show my power a bit too much, I'm sure Abbadon will find out somehow. If he sees what I am capable of, no doubt his suspicions of me will rise. If I can obtain the Skymetal from this place, I will no longer have business within the central continent-”
Avrin had at first considered to make a reputation for himself and gain a political advantage to allow his people some piece of mind, but due to unforeseen circumstances, he thought that he had to take risks and not always think everything will go according to plan. The Skymetal has taken top priority. He didn't doubt that Abbadon would find out. Avrin would obtain the Skymetal and vanish like a breeze.
Currently, thirteen Grandmasters were gathered within the observation room, each one debating and asking about Avrin and his Enigma ability. By now, the battle with Ophelia had concluded with her losing to her opponent, so all the Grandmasters were gathered and discussing Avrin’s two victories and what would happen next.
“This Herth is truly remarkable. The Empire will surely be strengthened if he accepts His Majesty’s offer.” One woman spoke, while one of the men replied. “I agree. To have such shocking talent at that boy’s age, it is scary if you think carefully.
Just how limitless is his potential?” While people discussed this, another man replied. “You're right. I'm sure Gaia Academy will get wind of the events here. We can't let them get their hands on a monstrous talent like this young buy. Only the Empire can raise him properly. He will be humanity's new warrior!”
They continued to argue, until suddenly, an immense feeling of pressure came over them. Everyone went quiet as they watched three figures casually make their way in. One was Delion, the other was the great Sage Retria, and the final one, King Leo Zircus!
“What's this I hear about a boy who defeated Delion and Lupen?” Leo frowned as he looked around. “Y..Your Majesty..” Everyone knelt down in reverence towards him.
“Your Majesty, the Enigma wielding boy from Laymist. Lord Abbadon had also asked us to be careful of him.”
Leo listened to his sister as he gazed at the magic screen to see Avrin casually leaning against the wall. He began to think, “I see. This boy has impressive strength. He is also under suspicion of freeing Azrael.
That being said, if he thought he was guilty, he wouldn't even be here and would have gone off into hiding. We can't be too sure. Regardless, I am not Abbadon and have my own Empire to tend to. If this boy can be roped in, so be it. If not, a friendship may be built.”
Delion, who was quite nervous around both Retria and Leo, suddenly spoke. “Your Majesty….what should we do?” Leo was carefully thinking, before his sister spoke out, “Simple. Let me handle the situation.” She spoke before raising her hand. A long, red and blue staff appeared, forming out of mana.
But as she stepped forward, Leo raised his hand and moved it in front of her to stop her. “No need. This Enigma boy will surely grow to be someone incredibly powerful. I will handle this personally.“ He gave a soft smile.
The room filled with buzz and amazement. No one had seen the king fight in many years, and now he would be fighting against a young boy who possessed an Enigma level ability. “Brother,” Retria spoke without referring to him as royalty, “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Leo nodded before cracking his knuckles. “I feel I can learn quite a bit from him. It will also allow me to test just how strong he is and see if Lord Abbadon’s suspicions were right or wrong.” After he had spoken, he vanished in the white light of teleportation.
Inside the arena, Avrin strangely felt his heart skip a beat as he raised his head to look at the figure being teleported in.
-----------
P.S Next chapter is a sponsored release so i will try to get it out asap!.