Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein's arrival did not immediately commence the next trial.

Since a few platforms were still empty, Sein figured some of the other trialists had not arrived yet.

Given the mechanisms of this special legacy secret realm, it seemed likely that the final trial would only begin once everyone had gathered.

The secret realm that Sein and Leena had stumbled into was originally discovered by Sein.

But this trial secret realm was likely connected to multiple entrances scattered throughout the heart of the Knight Continent.

That explained why so many talents had converged here.

Thankfully, Sein and the others did not have to wait too long.

Over the next few days, more trialists arrived one after another, taking their places atop the towering platforms. Every last one of them turned out to be a demigod-level mage.

Sein had never seen this many demigod-level mages in the Knight Continent's trial zone before, which only deepened his suspicion.

"Time must have been flowing differently inside the earlier trial spaces. Otherwise, there's no way everyone would arrive so close together. Could this have involved the power of time itself...?" Sein mused quietly.

In all his travels so far, Sein had only ever encountered this phenomenon in one remote part of the Knight Continent.

Could the creator of this secret realm be connected to whoever built the Knight Continent itself?

Each mage who reached the tenth level radiated a distinct aura.

Among them, one mage stood out the most—not because he was stronger, but because he was different.

Unlike the majority, who were either Pyromancers or Lumimancers, this man was a mechanic specializing in sonido element.

One of his arms had been fully replaced with a metal prosthetic, its surface lined with exposed wires.

A metal orb hovered in his mechanical hand, emitting faint but ear-piercing sound waves with every subtle vibration.

This was an undeniably arrogant demigod-level mechanic.

While the other mages kept a low profile after arriving, he was anything but quiet.

The metal orb in his mechanical hand vibrated constantly, while the low, mischievous chuckle escaping his lips gradually grated on everyone's nerves.

Not all Magus World mages were reasonable, humble types—and this mechanic standing before him was living proof.

He was nowhere near as undisciplined as a black mage, yet carried the kind of reckless, arrogant attitude that made Sein loathe him even more than the black mages.

Of course, the mechanic had every right to act arrogant.

When he arrived in the trial space, the colorful energy band beneath his platform shot upward in a brilliant streak.

In the end, the light band settled at an impressive height.

At the same moment, the mechanic's smug chuckle finally stopped.

His light band had stopped just a small distance behind Sein's, placing him in third place.

The mechanic shot a venomous glare at Sein and the gold-robed mage, the only two with higher scores than him.

It was only then that Sein noticed the mechanic had modified more than just his arm—one of his eyes had been replaced too.

Because of the mechanic's advanced skills in body modifications, Sein did not realize right away that it was a prosthetic eye.

It seemed the mechanic was entirely immune to the confusing effects of Sein's Demon Eye Mask.

He only gave Sein's magic rod a few lingering glances, just as the gold-robed mage had earlier.

Sein had no idea what he was muttering under his breath, but whatever it was, it probably was not anything good.

Then, the last person entered the tenth trial space—an old acquaintance Sein had not expected: Grimm.

It had been many years since Grimm left the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring with his mentor, and Sein had not been in contact with him since.

Although they had exchanged crystal ball contact information back then, Sein's long travels across the Magus World and the years he was stranded in Faeloria had kept them apart.

Since returning to the Magus World, Sein had not even gone back to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, let alone had the time to catch up with his old friends.

Grimm had since become a Rank Three grand mage.

He was the only ordinary Rank Three mage among the trialists here. Every other participant was a demigod-level mage.

When Grimm stepped onto the platform, the colored light band beneath his feet rose into a long, radiant strip.

Although it did not climb very high, it placed him solidly in the middle of the rankings.

For a Rank Three mage, that was already an impressive feat.

The few demigod-level mages who ranked even lower than Grimm looked a little humiliated.

Like Sein, Grimm also wore a mask.

Unlike Sein's crimson Demon Eye Mask, Grimm's was a pale white mask, adorned with six compound eyes and a spiraling white horn.

Sein was the first to spot Grimm, so he took the initiative to greet him.

Grimm turned toward him, visibly surprised. He clearly had not expected to see Sein here either.

With Grimm's arrival, all the platforms in the tenth level of the trial space were now occupied.

The trial had officially entered its final phase.

This time, no powerful trial creatures appeared, and no special law projections emerged.

Instead, the trial's objective was transmitted directly into the participants' minds.

They were to use the gains from the previous nine levels to refine a magic artifact.

Their alchemical skills had already been tested back at the fifth level.

At that stage, Sein's reward had been a high-magnification elemental microscope.

It was, without a doubt, the highest-grade elemental microscope Sein had ever used—superior even to the one in Master Lorianne's laboratory.

For an alchemist, an elemental microscope of that caliber was priceless.

In fact, Sein had not received a single "low-grade" reward in this secret realm.

Every reward he obtained was an extremely precious material or item, even to demigod-level mages.

And it made him wonder—what kind of prize awaited at the very end of this trial?

Frowning slightly, Sein laid out the materials he had collected over the course of the previous trials.

The ingredients for crafting the required magic artifact were not limited to the materials from the trials—the participants' own resources could be used as well.

Scanning the assortment spread before him, Sein's gaze lingered on the thin needle imbued with sonido elemental power.

After some thought, he decided that he would craft a magic mask, using the Demon Eye Mask he wore as the base.

As Sein removed the mask from his face, the other mages on the surrounding platforms also began their own work.

The mage ranked first was crafting a magic rod.

The one in third place appeared to be forging a special metal orb.

Since he knew Grimm, Sein took an extra glance at him.

To his surprise, Grimm was also crafting a mask.

When they both removed their masks, their eyes met—both visibly surprised to find the other making the same choice.

But Sein's approach was slightly different.

Alongside the materials he had gathered in the trial space, he paused for a moment, then reached into his storage and brought out the Goddess of Music's divine relic and the Octave Box he had obtained back in Faeloria.

The mechanic, standing on the platform closest to Sein, happened to glance his way just as Sein took them out.

"Damn!" the mechanic blurted, unable to stop himself from cursing when he recognized the divine relic and divine artifact in Sein's hands.