When Solum, Yunli, Bibilionia, and Nidhogg returned to the secret realm, they found the other three Despairers waiting, looking rather bored. Two of them even flew over and looked directly at Nidhogg.

Nidhogg was puzzled as to why these individuals hadn't entered the secret realm themselves.

"Oh, so you're the Pale Mask that Viktor mentioned? To think you could withstand Mina's Blazing Flame Realm is truly impressive..."

A cloying voice reached him. Nidhogg turned to see a woman in a red and green long dress adorned with countless red scorpions, with a strikingly long white leg exposed.

What caught the eye even more was the mysterious golden light glinting in the cleavage between her ample, white peaks, sparking endless imagination, yet her expression was one of pure, untouchable sanctity. However, her enchanting eyes seemed to suggest something else.

A captivating beauty.

This was an incomparable beauty, and from a male perspective, she far surpassed the cold and sharp-tongued Nina.

The difference between them was clear: one had developed her allure to the extreme, while the other, despite possessing the ultimate conditions, focused single-mindedly on her control and power as a sorcerer apprentice.

A temptress...

Nidhogg evaluated the Despairer known as Enchantress. She was a tantalizing, man-eating temptress.

Through Solum and the others, Nidhogg learned that this Despairer's name was Elizabeth, an apprentice with deep expertise in mind sorcery, soul sorcery, and curse sorcery, and her companion creature was a rare combat type.

She took particular delight in torturing and killing anyone foolish enough to show interest in her.

In essence, she was someone male sorcerer apprentices should absolutely avoid provoking.

"You can call me Nidhogg."

He spoke from beneath his pale mask with an unruffled tone.

Elizabeth feigned biting her finger sensually, but seeing Nidhogg unresponsive, she lost interest, pouting, "Such a blockhead..."

With a cold snort, Mechanical Heart said, "You indeed came to this secret realm, though the outcome disappointed me."

Nidhogg said nothing, shifting his gaze to where Ghoul Thief lay lazily on a totem pole, munching an apple.

Ghoul Thief shrugged, "Don’t look at me. I did what everyone wanted. I have no interest in you; I just want the reward my teacher left in the secret realm."

Nidhogg was taken aback—teacher-prepared rewards?

"Okay, enough. Let's get ready and open the secret realm to finish this trial," Solum said casually, looking at Nidhogg. "To open the secret realm, two conditions must be met. First, we need seven apprentices with mark values over thirty. Second, these seven must input magic into the totem poles continuously for three hourglass durations without interruption."

Ghoul Thief added, "We killed those investigating apprentices precisely for the second condition Solum mentioned. Otherwise, you think I’d enjoy killing so many? The academy set rules that penalize our rewards if our mark value exceeds a hundred."

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Nidhogg's face darkened beneath his mask.

So this trial was tailored for these Despairers, armed with information unknown to ordinary apprentices. Furthermore, the rewards from this third realm were apparently left by their teachers.

Now, due to unexpected events, the rewards intended for Sun’s Child might change hands.

As for ownership...

Nidhogg stood atop the totem pole originally meant for Sun's Child, holding a magic stone in one hand and channeling magic with the other.

Most apprentices dared not approach due to the Despairers’ earlier "clearance." Although Sun’s Child had suffered grave humiliation in various battles, she didn’t return to "disrupt," allowing the process to go smoothly. After three hourglass durations, Nidhogg felt a strong spatial energy burst from the totem pole, transporting him to an unfamiliar space.

"Where is this?"

Nidhogg asked in amazement as he surveyed the gray sky and air devoid of elemental energy.

"This is a space fragment discovered by Dark Realm Sorcerer Academy, fortified by a sorcerer into a place akin to the academy’s treasury," Solum said from not far away, excitedly examining an ancient gray scroll, without looking back at Nidhogg.

Presumably, this scroll was what the Faceless Mask Sorcerer had left for Solum.

"Don’t leave this barrier or wander around, or the consequences will be severe," Bibilionia advised Nidhogg, indicating the blue-glowing barrier surrounding them.

Her prize was a vial containing a blue "blood" inside, which made her face full of excitement.

Looking around, Nidhogg saw that a blue glow enveloped the hundred-meter radius from the central pedestal. Beyond the barrier remained obscure.

The other Despairers also demonstrated great enthusiasm handling their prizes.

Seeing this, Nidhogg turned his attention to the pedestal before him, anticipation swelling.

What kind of reward had Sun's Child’s teacher left for her?

Before him sat an unassuming crystal ball, prompting Nidhogg to frown.

A crystal ball?

Yet as he picked it up, he noticed an unusual fluctuation. Startled, his eyes widened in disbelief as he murmured, "No way..."

If anyone listened closely, they would detect a tremor in Nidhogg's voice!

The crystal ball itself was a high-quality piece, but worth just a few hundred magic stones—not worthy of a secret realm's reward.

What captivated Nidhogg was the familiar wave sealed within the ball—a soul wave!

A split soul?

Sorcerers could indeed split souls, a pivotal practice in gathering soul slaves.

However, a sorcerer below level four, even those skilled in soul sorcery, could only split their soul a limited number of times—not exceeding ten, as far as Nidhogg knew.

Receiving a split soul led Nidhogg to believe this was a significant inheritance from a sorcerer.

Such a valuable reward was indeed befitting of Sun's Child.

Nidhogg wasted no time erasing the previous ownership mark on the crystal ball and linked it to himself. As the souls merged, threads of soul information began to integrate into Nidhogg’s soul, as though undergoing an ancient inheritance.

This was a soul inheritance.

After absorbing about a tenth of the crystal ball’s soul data over a quarter-hour, Nidhogg felt both fulfilled and fatigued, pausing the inheritance with excitement, murmuring, "It's a rare fire element rune inheritance, imbued with an immortality trait?"

Throughout the inheritance within the secret realm, none of the seven wandered from their pedestals.

Firstly, they studied their rewards, which were invaluable treasures for apprentices. Secondly, any move from one could spark a conflict, a trial for the Despairers by the trial grounds.

Should one suppress the others, they would claim all the secret realm's treasures!

Yet such a dominant Despairer was absent here, leaving everyone content to research their rewards quietly.

Nidhogg was content with this peace, as he would be the weakest in any outbreak. With tranquility prevailing, he devoted days to absorbing the soul inheritance.

After ten days.

In the outskirts of the trial grounds, a space fluctuation heralded the emergence of Nidhogg in a desolate forest. Shaking his groggy head, he looked around in surprise, "Where is this? Ten days... the trial should be over by now."

Indeed, Nidhogg realized he was in an isolated part of the Thistleglint Forest.

Yet his expression changed.

Sensing waves of six mental energy signatures locking onto him, channeling natural energy to suppress and constrain his movements.

Any rash action might yield unpleasant consequences, the mental waves bore a simple message and warning.

Even unclear on why these marks targeted him, Nidhogg hesitantly uttered, "The six sorcerer academies' sorcerers?"