This was a dimly lit, isolated chamber.

Nidhogg sat on a chair in the middle of the chamber, like a helpless lamb, trembling and bewildered as he looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. The magic fluctuations emanating from the hexagram magic restriction around Nidhogg were enough to make him shiver and despair. He sat at its center, awaiting interrogation from the mysterious and high-ranking sorcerers surrounding him.

Torches replaced the elemental magic lamps, and twelve sorcerers sat in elevated positions around the hexagram restriction beneath Nidhogg, scrutinizing him from above. The shadows cast by their wide robes exuded a mysterious, cold, and inviolable air of authority, obscuring their true faces.

This was an advanced prison used for interrogating official sorcerers, but unexpectedly, Nidhogg, still just an apprentice, was experiencing it firsthand.

"Speak. Who is your mentor? Hmph, covering for them will only result in harsher punishment!" The voice, belonging to a sorcerer from the Dark Realm Sorcerer Academy, dripped with malice, cruelty, and severity. It was the first to break the silence, interrogating Nidhogg.

Nidhogg flinched at the stern rebuke of the sorcerer and replied, "I don't have a mentor."

"Hmm? No mentor?" This voice, belonging to the Ivory Tower Sorcerer Academy, was a clear and curious female voice, seemingly questioning the Blacksaw Tower Sorcerer Academy.

"Our investigation shows that this apprentice named Nidhogg indeed has no mentor at the Blacksaw Tower Sorcerer Academy," spoke an older voice. Nidhogg looked up, slightly surprised to find a sorcerer with a pair of ghostly green eyes on their shoulders...

Wasn't that the black cat from Val’s workshop on the seventh floor of Blacksaw Tower?

"Hmph! No mentor? Is he mocking the wisdom of sorcerers? Apprentice, tell me, what’s the story behind this mask?" This time, the angry male voice sounded as if it wanted to devour Nidhogg, echoing through the hall and making Nidhogg's ears ring.

This sorcerer was seated in the direction of the Hourglass Sorcerer Academy, holding the mask that Nidhogg had purchased on the third floor of Blacksaw Tower.

"This mask, I purchased it from a sorcerer on the third floor of Blacksaw Tower," Nidhogg answered in trepidation.

Hmph...

After an indignant snort from someone, the hexagram barrier flashed again, and Nidhogg found himself completely isolated in a dark, cramped space. It was a void devoid of elemental energy, sound, or scent, and all his belongings had been confiscated by an impartial sorcerer.

Amid his fear, Nidhogg had a vague suspicion. The sorcerers likely believed that some mentor had given him the pale mask to pass the trial, allowing him to seize the reward that belonged to Sun’s Child of the Hourglass Sorcerer Academy.

In the darkness, he faced his anxiety over the delayed judgment, his fear of not controlling his fate, and his joy over acquiring the rare fire element rune in his soul.

Time passed indefinitely.

With a swoosh and a wave of magical energy, light and sound returned to Nidhogg’s surroundings. He shielded his eyes with his sleeve from the sudden brightness, and as his eyes adjusted, he noticed three new figures in addition to the original twelve sorcerers. Unlike the other twelve, these three did not conceal their appearances.

The foremost of the three was the sorcerer who had sold him the pale mask and taught him basic alchemy. He looked the same—short, barely five feet tall, thin but energetic, sporting a goatee and a smug smile.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"Haha, kiddo, I didn’t expect you to be a novice who's been at the academy for only three years. I thought you were some old sorcerer’s prized pupil. But I must thank you; I never imagined selling an apprentice-grade magical device to you would be such an advertisement. Now all of the Seventh Ring knows of my alchemical talents. Hahaha..."

The old sorcerer was extremely pleased, constantly stroking his goatee.

Nidhogg forced a smile, unsure of what to say, and glanced at the two people behind the old sorcerer—they were Yunli and Mina (Sun’s Child).

Yunli said nonchalantly, "Though we’re both from the Blacksaw Tower Sorcerer Academy, I reported your blatant rule-breaking first thing after getting out, but she beat me to it, and I was summoned."

By "she," Yunli was referring to Mina.

After being ousted from the trial grounds, Mina's mentor, the Immortal Fire Soul, naturally felt outraged and bewildered. Upon inquiry, the anomaly of the Pale Mask reached the ears of the great sorcerer. Thus, after ten days in the secret realm, Nidhogg was tracked and detained by six sorcerers who could predict his general teleportation path and brought to this "high-end, luxurious" interrogation room meant for official sorcerers.

"Hmph, so you’re called Nidhogg? While you took what was mine, you and your backer will face repercussions beyond what that reward was worth," Mina said with evident resentment. Before the gathered sorcerers, she refrained from displaying her usual arrogance.

Admittedly, Mina’s figure and poise carried an allure akin to a sultry bombshell with a character that mixed impishness and arrogance. However, Nidhogg, the oblivious type with no eye for admiration, remained silent for a moment before coolly replying, "I have no idea what you’re talking about."

"You..."

Mina's temper flared, but a sorcerer with an even hotter temper interrupted her. This was the sorcerer seated for the Hourglass Sorcerer Academy, who had previously questioned Nidhogg and was Mina's mentor, a formal level two sorcerer known as the Immortal Fire Soul.

"Rrr! Arrogant brat, tell me, where did you get the magic stones to buy the mask? Every sorcerer knows the rules—no apprentice is given more than a hundred magic stones, nor any magical device worth over five hundred magic stones!"

Before Nidhogg could respond, another voice, that of a female sorcerer from the Labyrinth Academy, interjected.

Her voice was melancholic, and she spoke gently, "Nidhogg, think carefully. Don’t protect those behind you. While you broke trial rules, it's not solely because of that mask. To oust the strongest Despairer, Sun’s Child, you must have had some strength, wisdom, and luck. Plus, you've acquired the immortal fire element rune inheritance, so we can't easily sentence you to death. All you need to do is reveal your backer."

Death sentence?

Cold sweat broke out on Nidhogg's body—this wasn’t a jest. One wrong move, and he might never leave.

This wasn't death from trial, rules, tasks, or adventure; it was being erased by sorcerers beyond his resistance.

Trembling, Nidhogg said, "I... I don’t have a backer."

Bang!

"Bastard! No backer? Then where did you get the magic stones for the mask?" Immortal Fire Soul slammed the table, his magic surged furiously, roaring at Nidhogg like a maddened beast.

Then, another voice, this one impatient, spoke up.

"Nidhogg, think before you answer. Do you think we sorcerers don’t know the rules for newcomers? We know exactly how much magic stones a newcomer can earn in three years. If you keep lying, not even Blacksaw Tower can save you. We will find out who’s behind this, even if it means using soul-searching!" This time, it was the mysterious sorcerer from the Blacksaw Tower Academy, the one with the black cat on their shoulder.

Soul-searching, especially on a sorcerer apprentice, would surely kill Nidhogg.

However, despite their harsh words, Nidhogg was slightly moved that the Blacksaw Tower Sorcerer Academy would intervene to save his life.

Taking a deep breath, Nidhogg shouted, "I earned the magic stones through my intellect!"

"Bull..."

Bang!

This time, the Blacksaw Tower sorcerer with the black cat interjected again, with surprise rather than anger, saying, "Earned them? With your intellect? How?"

Nidhogg sighed in relief and calmly replied, "Aphrodite's Venom."

"The perfume?"

"Impossible, it was a sorcerer apprentice..."

There was a murmur of voices, the first coming from the logical, calm voice of the sorcerer from the Bone Clock Tower Academy, curiously asking, "You created Aphrodite’s Venom? Yes, it’s indeed a wondrous creation, full of imagination. But how can you prove you created it?"

"The fat guy on the first floor of Blacksaw Tower—I signed a Seventh Ring contract with him, and the contract is filed with him," Nidhogg responded without hesitation.

Following Nidhogg's words, the hexagram magic restriction flashed again, plunging him back into darkness.